By Charles Hallman Staff Writer St. Paul Public Schools’ (SPPS) Black suspension rate dropped only two percent from 2010-11 to 2011-12. Black students there still receive nearly 70 percent of all suspensions. SPPS Chief of Staff Michelle Walker told the MSR that Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) and “Courageous Conversations” strategies, used to help […]
May 2013
Posted inNews
Speculation runs wild in Franklin shooting case — Without an ‘official’ report, family and friends remain skeptical
By Mel Reeves Contributing Writer Terrance Franklin, the 22-year-old who on May 10 was shot and killed in the basement of a South Minneapolis home by police after a pursuit, appeared to have been shot five times in the back of the head and twice in the back according to a knowledgeable source who saw […]
Posted inNews
Dred Scott’s story a ‘springboard’ into authentic Black history
That in turn can help free both U.S. Whites and Blacks By Charles Hallman Staff Writer She always knew about them, but Dred and Harriet Scott’s great-great granddaughter says she’s learning more about them every day. Lynne Jackson heads the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation, and since 2007 she has been very active in […]
Posted inNews
John Legend urges educational reform as top priority
By Charles Hallman Staff Writer Fixing U.S. schools must be a top priority, says award-winning singer-songwriter John Legend, who spoke last week at the Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul in the second Minneapolis Foundation RESET Education event this year. RESET is an acronym for “Real-Time Use of Data, Expectations not Excuses, Strong Leadership, Effective Teaching […]
Posted inGo Green
Report estimates job growth in water treatment — Most jobs require less than a two-year degree
By Charles Hallman Staff writer Water is essential as both a source of energy production as well as a through treatment and distribution. According to a 2011 Green for All report, water shortages in the next five years are predicted in at least 36 U.S. states. And each year 250,000 water mains break in this […]
Posted inGo Green
Penn Gas Stop joins healthy eating project in N. Mpls
By Makula Dunbar Contributing Writer If you look closely between the two “No Trespassing” signs on the outside of Penn Gas Stop, an improved addition is advertised on another sign: fresh produce. As a part of the Healthy Corner Store Project, the station located on the corner of Penn and 26th Avenue N. in Minneapolis […]
Posted inGo Green
Mpls to build 100 green homes on city’s North Side
Welcome, MSR readers, to a new section you will see appear regularly in these pages, something we call Green2Green. Most of you by now have heard of the green movement to clean up our planet, stop the waste of precious natural resources, and get climate change under control. What is not always clear is just […]
Posted inGo Green
Climate change is the defining issue of our time
During his State of the Union address, President Barak Obama proposed that the United States take the lead internationally to address climate change. He quoted John F. Kennedy, who said, “Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man.” When thinking about this climate problem, many in communities of color do not feel […]
Posted inGo Green
Landscape Revival: Native Plant Expo and Market
Welcome, MSR readers, to a new section you will see appear regularly in these pages, something we call Green2Green. Most of you by now have heard of the green movement to clean up our planet, stop the waste of precious natural resources, and get climate change under control. What is not always clear is just […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Dwight Hobbes’ Black and Single Blues
Editor’s note: This is the 16th episode of “Black & Single Blues” since the series began in our February 14 issue. Thus far, Dwight Hobbes’ continuation and expansion of a story that originally appeared in Essence magazine has taken Keith Jackson through prolonged reflection on his relationship with Lesli Hall, who remain unaware of Keith’s […]
Posted inArts + Culture
This week’s Entertainment spotlights!
The Music Kings of the Mic Tour Thurs., May 30, 7:30 pm • Target Center, 600 First Ave. N., Mpls., 612-673-1600 • Two-time Grammy-winning recording artist, LL COOL J featuring DJ Z-Trip, will headline the “Kings of the Mic” Tour, which will prove to be this summer’s ultimate hip hop music experience. Joined by legendary […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Three jazz artists producing quality material
What does it mean to work with a high level of musicality? Three cutting-edge musicians with new albums out — veteran artists Nicholas Payton, Christian McBride, and rising star Gerald Clayton —certainly know the answer to that question. And for their enduring creative efforts, their passionate music is wooing the world. Trumpeter Payton, bassist McBride, […]
Posted inOpinion
Unanswered questions still cloud police shooting of T.T. Franklin
The Star Tribune’s headline of May 18, 2013: “Sources: Burglary suspect fired shots that injured Minneapolis Officers.” What about the shots that killed the “suspect,” Terrance Terrill Franklin? Why, when surrounded by five SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) officers and a K-9 unit dog, was he not tasered instead? How could he so easily wound […]
Posted inOpinion
The Ku Klux Klan in 86 years lynched 3,446 — Abortions accomplish this number in four days
“My name is Dan Zimmerman. Over the last three years I have done a significant amount of research on abortion in Minnesota and its effects on women. The research has revealed frightening things both about abortion and the leading abortion provider, Planned Parenthood (almost one million abortions in the last three years). I found that […]
Posted inHealth + Wellness
New research shows Blacks cope better than others with early childhood adversity
News Analysis By Michelle Lawrence Contributing Writer From ancient philosophers and mystics to modern skeptics and intellectuals alike, the topic of human suffering has spanned the ages and continues to be the source of great contemplation and debate. Why does human suffering exist? Of course I do not pretend to know the answer, but what […]
Posted inOpinion
As a Black president, Barack Obama is a bust
If Barack Obama isn’t going to have Black issues high among his priorities, what was the point of America making such a big deal out of him being the first Black president? Indeed, why did Black voters turn out in record numbers to put him in the White House? Just for the sake of being […]
Posted inOpinion
Obama’s troubles aren’t comparable to ‘Watergate’
By George E. Curry Guest Commentator The Obama administration deserves to be richly criticized for surreptitiously obtaining the telephone records of reporters for the Associated Press, especially for bypassing court proceedings that would have allowed executives of the news organizations an opportunity to at least argue against releasing the documents. It was also wrong to […]
Posted inHealth + Wellness
Should I take vitamins and other supplements?
Physician recommendations on taking vitamins seem to be constantly changing. Over the past few years, researchers have found that some vitamins thought to be helpful might not be as beneficial as originally believed. In fact, some may even be harmful. In the Iowa Women’s Health Study, which tracked supplementation habits in women 55 years of […]
Posted inSports
WNBA season preview
The 2013 WNBA season opened last weekend in Dickensian fashion — great expectations. “I think this is the most anticipated season for me,” proclaims ESPN analyst and former WNBA coach/general manager Carolyn Peck. SB Nation’s Nate Parham analyzed each W club, in 25 words or less, by conference, beginning with the East: [New coach Mike […]