The Minneapolis Story -- Columns 2011 Quarter 4

The Experience of Ron Edwards

A Renaissance Black Man in a White Man's World

A Beacon for Freedom in the City

2011 Columns
Quarter 4: October thru December ~ Columns #40 - #52

Home | 2011 Columns » | All Columns » | 2011 Blogs »
« Previous Quarter | Next Quarter »

December 28, 2011 Column #52: 2011: Preparing for the Election of 2012

"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards featured in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

If 2012 is an extension of 2011, there could be hell to pay as both political parties continue their Year of Preparation to obtain the prize each seeks: the presidency of the United States.

Each will work hard to defeat the other; that is the American way. Don’t get mad at that. I’m just the messenger to remind all about this American genius. It is not devious. It is competing for power without using guns.

But race haunts this election. Few will oppose Republicans just because they are White. The question is how many will oppose Barack Obama just because he is Black? And as Black leaders are not up to the task, we must individually carry our own water and vote. We must work to be sure our agenda and needs are part of the planks of both parties.

Yes, you heard that right. We need to impact both parties. But if the President loses, we must not stop running the race, and not wait passively.

We as a people know everything about survival and how to stand up for our rights. Be prepared to act. Worldwide, passive is out, action is in.

“Equality” before the law is bedrock: Declaration of Independence, Constitution’s Bill of Rights. Even though Lincoln brought “equality for all” before the law out of the shadows and had it finally apply to the Negro through his Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address, it was muted for the Negro by Reconstruction and Jim Crow. And even though the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were passed, we still find barriers to the big 3: voting, equal access and equal opportunity.

Six separate lists of my columns published in this paper are arranged by topic on my website to provide the evidence that this is still ongoing. See especially the ones documenting failures in the Police Department, hiring non-compliance, and leadership. Another is on the Star Tribune’s silence in covering such stories, which explains why you don’t read about it outside the MSR.

2011 has revealed dangerous indicators about voting. We need to work together to put countermeasures in place to counter acts of sabotage against Black voters in 2012.

Recently, Attorney General Eric Holder expressed his concern about election protocols put forward by 30 Republican governors, protocols that, if left unchanged, will make it extremely difficult for significant numbers of African Americans to vote in 2012. I do not oppose protocols, only those that promote unfairness and put barriers preventing Blacks from voting.

Attorney General Holder is probably 18 months late and certainly a dollar short in addressing this problem. See chapters three through six and eight of my 2002 book for my detailed discussion.

In the Old South, the main barriers were a poll tax and literacy tests. Today’s barrier makers are more sophisticated. We are faced with the failure of the federal government, state governments, and local municipalities to address and support the search of significant numbers of African Americans to find employment. Congress spends too much time dilly dallying and not enough time working to find meaningful approaches that will allow jobs to be created.

We need action. Minneapolis is at the top of the list of cities with Blacks as “last hired, first fired,” and most unemployed. We are also among the most over-trained groups graduating without exit jobs.

It’s always our fault, even as Blacks are still purposefully denied jobs (the city’s infamous, “we can meet minority hiring compliance laws without hiring a single Black person”).

As there has never been an all-Black legislature or government (federal or state), it is always White legislatures and governments that control the purse strings, create legislation, and define laws.

After nearly 200 years, Thurgood Marshall became the first African American on the Supreme Court. This has been compounded in this century by Black American leadership no longer being up to the task, due to the money they receive to collaborate with the City and State in their anti-Black statutes and policies.

So what will be the big picture for Blacks in 2012? Think of society for Blacks as a movie house with battered seats and tattered screens, but no projectors to project a vision onto the big screen, leaving just the movie’s title: Last Hired, First Fired, Heavily Trained but Barred from Jobs, produced and directed by Whites and their Black collaborators.

Think about it.

Stay tuned.

Ron Edwards' journalist platforms for communicating with the community:
(1) Hosts "Black Focus," Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm;
(2) Hosts “Black Focus,” on Blog Talk radio, Sundays, 3:00 pm;
(3) Co-hosts “ON POINT!" Blog Talk Radio’s Saturdays, 4 pm;
(4) Weekly column, "Through My Eyes";
(5) Order his two books,The Minneapolis Story, Through My Eyes, and A Seat For Everyone: The Freedom Guide that Explores A Vision for America;
(6) Hear his readings from his book;
(7) Solution papers for community planning and development;
(8)"Tracking the Gaps" Blog or web log.
Ron Edwards is the former head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League. He continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis, and his work to contribute to the planning discussions in order to help mold a consensus for the future of Black and White Americans together in Minneapolis.

Posted Tuesday, December 27, 2011, 7:24 a.m.

December 21, 2011 Column #51: Some in Mpls City Hall are hostile to Blacks. Chief Alex Jackson is a target again.

"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards featured in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

My Minneapolis beat continually exposes me to the fact that Black folks are really not liked nor appreciated in some circles in Minneapolis.

The latest focus of City leadership is on our Minneapolis Fire Department because of its successful leadership by a Black man. Some in city government are determined to portray Fire Chief Alex Jackson as a negative example.

Yet in my estimation, he has been one of the finest leaders in the history of the Minneapolis Fire Department (MFD). I should know, as I served a decade as one of six citizens presiding over the fire department for the federal court when the MFD was as discriminatory as the police department.

Chief Alex Jackson’s stewardship goes beyond race. He has worked brilliantly despite the political and budget decisions of the city council that have caused staff reductions, budget cuts, and, most telling, the removal of responsibilities from the department.

Due to my long experience as a representative of the federal court, along with the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis, in the case known as Carter v. Gallagher, I am extremely familiar with the demanding responsibilities of being chief of the Minneapolis Fire Department. Chief Jackson fulfills his responsibilities.

The problem is that race is again a factor. Even though it seems that Chief Jackson has the seven necessary votes on the council to be reappointed, I remain concerned about unwarranted statements about the department that are far from the truth.

Example: It was surprising to recently observe how many current city council members did not know that the department’s policy on sick leave was the City’s policy, not a policy created by the Minneapolis Fire Department. Thus the criticism has to be directed at the City, not the fire department.

Example: One of the most egregious offenders is the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department. Some would say you should not compare the 12 or so in the civil rights department against the better than 480 members of the fire department. Doesn’t matter. Proportionally, the civil rights department has one of the worst records of any department.

Example: The success of one of the greatest cover-ups is taking place around the issue of overtime in the Minneapolis Police Department under its current chief. In fact, very quietly over the past two years officers have been quietly transferred out of their units to cover up their shenanigans.

Example: Three internal auditors hired earlier this year discovered all kinds of abuses of overtime and sick leave in the Minneapolis Police Department.

Example: Left out of the Steve Brandt story in the Sunday, December 11 edition of the Star Tribune and left out of the previous Star Tribune editorial is that Chief Alex Jackson will come in under budget. This omission leaves the false impression that Chief Jackson is a failure and a disaster as a department head.

Example: Four years ago when the Star Tribune said that they were trying to examine the issue of overtime and sick leave in the Minneapolis Police Department, the department told them to go to hell and the Star Tribune withheld the data from its story.

Example: The majority of the city council was serving then as now, and they seem have no problem with restricting the state’s largest newspaper from examining overtime and sick leave in the Minneapolis Police Department.

Example: Imagine what would have happened to Chief Jackson if he had decided to be as obstinate in his responsibility to his stewardship as the chief of police has been in his. Most objective observers agree that the leadership of the two departments is different in complexion in more ways than one.

Example: The recently unveiled downtown $2 billion development package contained no information regarding any role, plan or participation by Blacks in this promised economic upsurge.

Add the examples above to the lists of examples by topic that I’ve posted on my website, the first of five being about (1) the Minneapolis Police Department, (2) the record of Minneapolis’ disparity and avoiding compliance with hiring Black people, (3) planning that meets the needs of White planners but not Black neighborhoods, (4) singling out the Vikings to leave town, and (5) the silence of the Star Tribune in covering the evidence outlined in these columns.

These examples clearly support my statement that some key leaders in Minneapolis City Hall just do not like or accept Black folks.

Stay tuned.

Posted Saturday, December 23, 2011, 6:07 p.m.

December 14, 2011 Column #50: The three unforgivable sins of Herman Cain

"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards featured in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

Cain disappeared in the first week of December 2011 as a candidate for the Republican nomination for president. I was not surprised.

A little over a month ago, in this column, I said Herman Cain had to stop stepping on the banana peels. There have clearly been more banana peels than Herman Cain could tap dance around.

In the tradition of a classic Broadway musical, Herman Cain danced and sang, but it wasn’t enough. A 13-year relationship with a young lady by the name of Ginger White brought down the final curtain on his off-Broadway production called “Herman Cain: I want to be president but I don’t want anyone to look too closely at my past.”

But Herman, my friend, that is what people do for all candidates — look closely at them. This is one reason we all know that the many debates in this year’s series will expose even more candidates in terms of their personal behavior and what they really don’t know.

We knew you were a little light on foreign affairs. And although you need a good staff to help guide you around the information banana peels, your discourse on foreign policy in a way that would embarrass a high school student is your fault. (Jerry Ford lost when he said Eastern Europe wasn’t controlled by the USSR.)

It is not your staffs’ fault that you have such a lack of understanding and recognition of America’s foreign policy, not to mention ignorance of the real politics of race in this country, saying you neither needed nor used civil rights and affirmative action, the first of three unforgivable sins.

So, in the end, Herman, your candidacy was all a game, even the perceived enthusiasm about your candidacy. You gave fuel to the lie that a colored guy could not be on the same stage with the White cream of the presidential GOP crop.

The Republicans haven’t been pouring chocolate, nor did they intend to. You helped them in their resolve. That is your second unforgivable sin. The others knew what was going on and easily found where you buried your skeletons.

One of the cardinal rules, Herman, is that you forgot that not everyone who pats you on the back, gives you a cigar, and asks you to sing a song really believes in you, respects you, and would vote for you. That was one of the banana peels we were talking about a month ago.

The questioning that Black America must ask tonight, irrespective of Barack Obama, current President of the United States, is how much damage Herman Cain has done to future, legitimate Black candidates who will seek political office in America in both parties. I’m not sure what the fallout will be, but we do know that with the suspension of his campaign, Herman Cain has become the new poster child for “don’t believe in any colored candidate.”

The one positive is that he showed there are other Blacks aspiring to be president. They will just have to work harder now.

Herman Cain’s third unforgivable sin, after denying he needed or used civil rights and affirmative action, was to then pull the race card to invoke all of the clichés of a Black candidate being abused by the White power structure. That type of race card is always the last refuge of the scoundrel, whether Black or White.

We hope the lesson is clear. The front-runners for both parties are dedicated family men, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. They don’t have the baggage of personal banana peels. At the age of 15, George Washington made that personal character commitment and lived by it.

Our young Black men are being misled by the myths of gangsta rap and disrespect- women-any-way-you-want videos, adding to the false urban myth that no harm can come to Black men acting that way.

Thus, I would be personally remiss if I didn’t close this column to admire one of the most principled and courageous persons in this entire episode, Herman Cain’s lovely and courageous wife. She could have easily thrown him under the bus also, but in the tradition of the real strength of the Black family, she stood by her man. That is commendable and a profile in courage and love. We await such a one to run for office.

Stay tuned.

Posted Saturday, December 14, 2011, 6:37 a.m.

December 07, 2011 Column #49: Blacks wait for jobs as White planners plan planning. Growing Anxiety about Jobs Plans. Where is Obamas Jobs Legislation?

"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards featured in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

Black unemployment in Minneapolis was 20.7 percent in 2010 (nearly four times that of Whites) and even higher today. For Black youth: 45 percent unemployment.

The Minneapolis Foundation, the Blue Ribbon Commission, the Pacific Northwest Foundation, and other enlightened worthies can’t figure out how “one of the most generous, philanthropic states in the nation” can have “one of the worst disparities — education, economic development, housing, imprisonment" in the nation. That’s code for “What’s wrong with Blacks?”

It is not a mystery. It’s on purpose. The purposeful policies and actions regarding no jobs for Blacks are not new. Among 20 columns I’ve written on this since 2005, see:
June 23, 2010 (“Shameful Black unemployment gap
in Mpls gets silent treatment”)
November 17, 2010 “Disparity study finally released. It took 15 years to tell us what we already knew”)
November 24, 2010 (“Disparity Study reveals City failed to monitor hiring, contracting jobs and income. Result for Blacks: shameful loss of jobs and income”).
See also first posted solution paper in 2002:
“The Economics of Racism.”

You could build a new Vikings stadium for the money spent on subsidizing purposeful employment disparity. In the words of Malcolm X, for both Blacks and now Whites, those chickens are coming home to roost.

Look around and see the despair and hopelessness in the state of Minnesota. Where is a Minnesota Jobs Plan that includes Blacks? On March 30 of this year, Governor Mark Dayton, Democrat, held a come-to-Jesus meeting in North Minneapolis. There were lots of statements about getting the big economic engine started to improve economic opportunities for African Americans and others.

Four months later, the governor hosted another economic summit in a downtown St. Paul hotel. Over 1,000 participants/experts showed up. That’s eight months of discussions and reflections for planning to plan plans for planning. But there’s been no action on real jobs except for government planners.

Do you remember the 2002 McKinsey report of Minneapolis spending over $900 million on planning for low-income housing and winding up with only 55 units? Lots of planning, but little jobs action.

Planning without action is not an action plan, is it? Think of the jobs that could have been enabled if this time, money and effort were put into jobs for all?

In the meantime, the quality-of-life standards in the African American community continue to plunge at an accelerated rate. Governor Dayton doesn’t seem to have a timetable. President Obama doesn’t seem to have a timetable either, even with his Federal Jobs Plan.

All of this raises the old, old question of waiting. The title of one of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s books explains it all: “Why We Can’t Wait.” Waiting is not one of our luxuries.

Of course, African Americans don’t have much choice. In November 2012, Black Americans can express their displeasure that we as a nation and we as a state will still be without a jobs creation plan. And that means that we will go through the motions of looking as if we have to reinvent the wheel.

Think about it: You’ll have a new Congress, you may have a new president, and at the state level you’ll have the same governor but a new legislature that will still be talking about a plan, 20 months after the economic summit of March 30, 2011. White planners. Black waiters.

The statistics are not positive, so I continue to raise the question of why Whites think Black Americans have the luxury of waiting for the jobs patent office to open up again. When I look at the economic and educational deterioration confronting Black Americans, I wonder just how long White America thinks Black America will just stand by while White America keeps recycling their plans that keep access to jobs away from African Americans?

Think about it my friends: How much will you accept being asked to bear? How much weight placed upon your shoulders, your souls, and your spirit can you carry and still continue to believe, to have hope, and to have a dream?

In his new book Back to Work, Bill Clinton calls for the best of what both parties have to offer to engage the “American Dream growth” style. But does that include offering jobs to Blacks as well?

At some point Jesus just can’t help us, and we need to come up with our own plan. We must pursue our survival by any means necessary.

Stay tuned.

Posted Saturday, December 7, 2011, 4:02 a.m.

November 30, 2011 Column #48: Tell us something we didn’t already know: The corruption of disadvantaged business enterprise programs in Minneapolis.

"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards featured in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

PULL QUOTE: The Star Tribune reporter provided two examples of DBEs, both owned by women, both White. Not one African American was reported.

When the Monday, November 21, morning edition of the Star Tribune hit the streets, I was amused by the headline: “Preferred Public Works Contracts Get Scrutiny.” I’ve written 20 columns on this since 2005, identifying corruption and criminal malfeasance that has shut African Americans out of programs that were allegedly created to give the African American community a shot at some of the so-called big dollars, such as the $950 million Light Rail Corridor Project and the Gopher and Twins stadiums.

So I welcome the Star Tribune in joining us in scrutinizing the whole issue of how fairness, justice and equality of opportunity for Blacks has been sidestepped by not enforcing disparity/diversity statutes, ignoring them, as politicians and their bureaucratic enablers favor laws/statutes/rules benefiting other groups claiming to be minorities. Had Martha Stewart been a Congress member, she would not have gone to jail for insider trading

But, as the former director of the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights infamously said, pointing out how discrimination and exclusion is legal again, “We can meet our minority hiring compliance requirements without hiring a single Black person.”

The danger in this kind of investigative reporting is that there are those who attack you for printing the truth, trying to apply pressure to make your column disappear, as they oppose hope and change in order to keep the changeless status quo and their position in it. But God is a good God: Be patient, persevere, and lay out the facts, and the truth will make a difference. I haven’t taken my eyes off the prize: prosperity for all through education that qualifies boys and girls and men and women for jobs, and then facilities equal access to those jobs

When the City of Minneapolis released its report last year entitled The State of Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises, October 22, 2010 (DBEs: Disadvantaged Business Enterprise programs), I wrote that it contained the evidence, statistics and data exposing the criminal acts against the interests and the future economic opportunity for African Americans in Minnesota.

Think of how much better things could be for everyone if the Star Tribune practiced good journalism all of the time. I am pleased the Star Tribune column of Nov. 21 examines and confirms what this column has long investigated and reported on: the unquestionable and incontrovertible evidence of the efforts against the survival of the African American community.

The Star Tribune reporter provided two examples of DBEs, both owned by women, both White. Not one African American was reported (as “minorities” now seems to mean “women” to many, not “African American”).

This is a very dangerous signal being sent to the African American communities where violence is on the rise as African Americans are being gunned down in the streets and stabbed to death in downtown Minneapolis. Studies indicate a growing depression about the next cycle of economic prosperity, as, for too many African Americans in Minnesota, they feel they will be left behind.

Now that the Council of Black Minnesotan’s executive director was forced out after 23 years, what is left: three human/civil rights departments, Minnesota, Minneapolis, St. Paul. They are either being too passive or too corrupt to enforce the law. Too many African Americans are still in a life-and-death struggle for their economic survival.

With no commitment to statutory enforcement on behalf of African Americans, and with the level of despair and mental depression in existence within the African American community, I again ask: Where is the plan to both protect and provide hope to the African American communities of Minnesota, other than the plans to hold more planning meetings? Where is the vision for Black success on the White Horizon of Minneapolis’ future?

That’s right: a White Horizon, because most reports done by White think tanks clearly indicate that, absent a corrective plan that is then enforced, African Americans in Minneapolis are an endangered species.

Solution Paper #46 in the “Solutions” section of The Minneapolis Story website, Diversity and Compliance Studies: list of 20 columns reporting on Minneapolis purposefully practicing disparity and avoiding diversity compliance, posted 11-22-11).

See especially columns of November 17, 2010 (“Disparity study finally released. It took 15 years to tell us what we already knew”) and November 24, 2010 (“Disparity Study reveals City failed to monitor hiring, contracting jobs and income. Result for Blacks: shameful loss of jobs and income”).

Stay tuned.

Posted Saturday, November 30, 2011, 5:20 a.m.

November 23, 2011 Column #47: 16 reasons why JoePa should have done the right thing.

"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards featured in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

The philosophy in America has always been that one is innocent until proven guilty. Jerry Sandusky and Joe Paterno are clearly poster children for that doctrine or its failure, depending on how you look at it.

Penn States seems to have a culture where children are sacrificed, where legality (“I reported.”) trumps morality (“I followed up.”). Leave no doubt in anyone’s mind: This is an ugly situation.

There are enough mysteries going around that if Alfred Hitchcock were still alive he could make three movies out of this: a county DA who received the report nearly a decade ago and then disappeared, never to be heard from again; riveting testimony before the grand jury of sexual abuse and failure to apply the law (and in fact failure to even report allegations of sexual abuse; it was a mother who stepped forth, not the men).

Penn State stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars due to lawsuits and legal fees. The Big Ten, to demonstrate its moral superiority all of sudden, took Paterno’s name off the championship trophy. And everyone is getting a criminal attorney, which is kind of peculiar when at the same time they call these allegations false, figments of imagination, and by gosh, it just didn’t happen.

Now, there are several problems with that. A Grand Jury for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania met for over a year. They heard testimony. The transcript says they heard from some of the victims (who were 10, 11 and 12 years old when this happened 10, 15 years ago), while the perpetrator was allowed to still use football facilities and showers.
The initial reaction coming out of central Pennsylvania, when the story broke, was that in some way or another, although these children were said to be victims, they still in some way or another were interrupting a good thing: big-time collegiate football profits and disturbing legends of the game.

The ESPN broadcaster urged focus on football, not what was off the field. Really? He was as shallow as the citizen-students on the campus of Penn State (yes, students, whether rioters or not, are citizens first).

How do you riot in support of Joe Paterno and totally disregard the heartache, pain and suffering of the victims? You would think that young people spending the hard-earned incomes of their mothers and fathers to get an education in higher learning would have been more intellectually astute figuring out that they were sending the wrong message.

We don’t know what motivated Jerry Sandusky. What motivated Paterno? JoePa has 16 grandchildren who we assume he loves dearly, and yet his statement that with hindsight he would have done more stills rings hollow and insensitive. He did nothing for these grandchildren of others.

I doubt Paterno would have allowed a grown man to horse around naked in a gang shower with any of his 16 grandchildren. So why these? He seems to have treated interceptions and fumbles with greater concern than he treated information about the potential misconduct of one of his favored assistant coaches.

Jerry Sandusky, until his early retirement in 1999 at age 55, was the heir apparent at Penn State when JoePa would step aside.

Finally, there are a couple of other things to consider. First, the judge who set a rather questionably low bail of $100,000 “forgot” to reveal that she was a member of the board of directors of the youth organization that Jerry Sandusky was involved with.

And then there is the general counsel for Penn State, Mr. Courtney, who “forgot” to mention that in the late 1990s, when he was asked to investigate allegations against Mr. Sandusky, he was also the general counsel for the organization that Jerry Sandusky had founded in 1977.

No, my friends, it is not a pretty picture, and it seems now that damage control is late in coming (should have been exercised at the first report of an incident). Now a state university — which means, in the final analysis, the taxpayers of the state of Pennsylvania — will have to foot the bill for the damage that has been done.

The problem is a lot greater than simply to say, as JoePa did, that in hindsight he “would have done it differently.” Tell that to the victims and the taxpayers of Pennsylvania.

Stay tuned.

Posted Saturday, November 26, 2011, 7:20 a.m.

November 16, 2011 Column #46: U.S. African Command: the return of colonialism to Black Africa?

"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards featured in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

November 16, 2011

Eight months ago, just before the outbreak of hostilities in Libya, and with little fanfare or coverage by European or American press, the Obama administration quietly announced General Carter Ham’s appointment as supreme commander for the U.S. African Command, to deal with the increased presence of terrorists in the middle part of Black Africa.

The command is now making its presence and authority known in Black Africa from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, through the heart of Black Africa, as American military recon teams stake out territories of involvement. This includes pursuing and destroying the chief rebel band in Central Africa, the Lord’s Resistance Army.

Its leader, Joseph Kony, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for acts of terror and murder in Uganda, in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in the Central African Republic. He has been killing and raping fellow Black Africans for 10 years.

News reports indicate American Special Forces are providing a broad neck of military presence across Black Africa, including in Chad, Martinique, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal, while keeping an eye on the soon-to-be-oil-rich Liberia. Does this mean lucrative opportunities for White companies or Black companies?

When you think about the riches of middle Africa, do you think in terms of helping African economies and African companies to set up their own pan-African OPEC-like union of producers? Or do you think of helping European and American economies get back on their feet through American and European companies with African branches, colonial style? Or will African companies with African branches prevail?

I applaud Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade, who, at a 2010 mining conference in Senegal, said to 500 delegates from foreign mining firms, "I never said, enrichissez-vous [enrich yourselves]. I said enrichissons-nous [let's enrich one another].” We see listed as needs in Africa what is also needed in North Minneapolis: “Hire more locals, adhere to stricter environmental rules, [and] build more roads and schools for local communities.”

Will the projected oil revenues in the offshore oil fields of Liberia be for Big Western White Oil or for the Black people of Liberia? Is oil production revenue to help develop Liberia or to help stabilize economically paralyzed Europe at Africa’s expense? Is this administration saying Europe is more important than Africa?

African riches spans the five major mineral categories: precious metals and minerals; energy minerals; non-ferrous metals and minerals; ferrous minerals; and industrial minerals. Besides oil and coal, the riches of Africa include some of the earth’s largest deposits of phosphates, iron ore, bauxite, copper, platinum, gold, silver, diamonds, uranium, chrome, manganese, zirconium, vanadium and titanium.

The U.S. Africa Command has already stated it expects to utilize military resources and assets from Britain, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and, for the first time since 1916, Germany, all in Black Africa again. Is this to stabilize Africa or Europe?

Now, one has to assume that there are some military leaders and heads of intelligent agencies in Black African countries raising this question amongst themselves: If the United States doesn’t have respect for the color of the skin of its own leader, how can it care about people of color 8,000 miles away? Happily, the more progressive intelligence agencies, such as in Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania, are already asking such questions among themselves.

With its recollection of conflict between Blacks and Whites during and after Apartheid, how will South Africa’s experience help answer these tense questions?

The question I ask in this column is: Will this be America’s commitment and program for the next 10 years for Africa or Europe?

But before White House, State Department, Pentagon, and corporate and think tank experts act to answer that question, it first needs a serious and open discussion among Black Americans, now and through the lead-up to the 2012 election. We want to know.

We still remember the significant number of Black Panamanians and Black Granadians laying dead, lining their countries’ highways when we entered them in the 1980s. We well remember how easy it was for American politicians and American media to dismiss the staggering number of Black nationals slain, executed, and killed, often under very questionable circumstances, including the execution of Granada’s Prime Minister Bishop.

Whether in America or Africa, it is too easy to look at persons of color as if they are terrorists. Keep an eye on the U.S. African Command.

And stay tuned.

Ron Edwards' journalist platforms for communicating with the community:
(1) Hosts "Black Focus," Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm; (2) Hosts “Black Focus,” on Blog Talk radio, Sundays, 3:00 pm;
(3) Co-hosts “ON POINT!" Blog Talk Radio’s Saturdays, 4 pm;
(4) Weekly column, "Through My Eyes";
(5) Order his two books,The Minneapolis Story, Through My Eyes, and A Seat For Everyone: The Freedom Guide that Explores A Vision for America;
(6) Hear his readings from his book;
(7) Solution papers for community planning and development; (8)"Tracking the Gaps" Blog or web log.
Ron Edwards is the former head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League. He continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis, and his work to contribute to the planning discussions in order to help mold a consensus for the future of Black and White Americans together in Minneapolis.

Posted Wednesday, November 17, 5:05, a.m.

November 09, 2011 Column #45: Stop the punting of the Vikings! Minnesotans: Unite with a ‘Fan Response Movement’ to keep the team

"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards
Featured in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

In 2002, I wrote the following in my book The Minneapolis Story, Through My Eyes about for the Vikings:

“The Plan of the movers and shakers of Minneapolis is to move the Vikings out of Minnesota (p. 253).
“These powers…have created the false notion that the Twin Cities can’t support four teams. As you will see, they don’t want to. …But the powers do love the University of Minnesota Gophers, so they will be the ones to get a new stadium…[and] the Twins.” (p. 254)
Henry Savelkoul [January 8, 1997], Metropolitan Sports Facility Commission chairman, wrote, “The Viability of Four Major Sports Teams in Minnesota,” which he concluded was not viable and [that] “Minnesota can’t afford four major league teams” (p. 259).
“Economic data demonstrate that all four teams can be supported.” (p.262)
“...[The] lazy wealthy, with the money, didn’t want four sets of luxury boxes [and thus] major corporations are not sponsors.” (p. 255)
“…[T]he so-called great families of Minneapolis: the Bingers, the Cowleses, the Cargills, the Dyers, the Junts, the Maases, the McKays, the McMillans, the Pohlads, the Taylors, the Whitneys, are about to do one of their worst collective takeaways: sending the city’s beloved Vikings out of state.” (p. 38)
“The University of Minnesota…is an 800-pound guerilla that sits anywhere it wants. Most of the powers in business and politics in Minneapolis are graduates of the University of Minnesota. …Whatever the University wants, the University gets. …The University is the only Big 10 team that has to contend with an NFL team. But soon the Vikings will be gone…and the last attendance competitor will be gone, and the University will finally get its own campus football stadium, at taxpayer expense.” (p. 159)
“The legislature appointed a task force. They were provided with ten models and 8 different ways to finance new stadiums without new taxes, and they never contacted the person submitting these models, even though he gave them not only to the task force but also to key legislators, the governor, the Mayor, the Twins and the Vikings. …Not one person from any of these entities contacted him.” (p. 259)

On December 3, 2003, I published the The Roll Call of all who want the Vikings to leave. No one has denied it. Get rid of the Vikings. It’s what the corporations and the wealthy want, fans be damned. My May 25, 2011 Column, Budget battle threatens Vikings’ future, lists my columns on the leave/stay debate written since 2005.

The Star Tribune and local media won’t talk about it: They don’t want you to know the truth, which is why the Star Tribune “shelved” my book (their term) and refused to acknowledge it in 2002. One of their writers, in 2000, in his book Stadium Games, already declared that the “leaders” of the city and state want the Vikings to move.

There are two movements abroad in the land, the Tea Party Movement and the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Both are expressing their contempt for the contempt shown them by the political and corporate elites, elites who will make both parties and all the fans the scapegoats.

The Metrodome was never the property of the Vikings or Twins or their owners. It is community property of the people, a Commons for all that our taxes built. Remodeled, it can be as good an NFL stadium as any, and do four things:

(1) cost less than half of what is now proposed

(2) enable the Vikings to earn two to three times more, a profit margin they seek to remain competitive

(3) stop the NFL from interfering with Minnesota and stop Cincinnati and Cleveland and Indianapolis and Kansas City, etc. from voting to steal our team

(4) enable the NFL to recognize that there is much more money for all 32 teams by expanding in Los Angeles with two new teams, rather than shrinking the pie by taking two teams away from their fans and putting them in the same stadium in L.A. Expansion creates a far greater pie for NFL owners to share.

Any who deny any of these 4 points is a liar.
WHAT TO DO: Become a part of the Save the Vikings Movement. Tell five people about this column and have them tell five and have them tell five, etc. Tell them to read it and then, IF THEY WANT TO SAVE THE VIKINGS, join the movement to contact the governor, legislators, mayor, the Vikings, Star Tribune, WCCO, etc. and tell them to hold a family meeting, resolve this, and keep the Vikings.

Stay tuned.

Ron Edwards' journalist platforms for communicating with the community:
(1) Hosts "Black Focus," Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm; (2) Hosts “Black Focus,” on Blog Talk radio, Sundays, 3:00 pm;
(3) Co-hosts “ON POINT!" Blog Talk Radio’s Saturdays, 4 pm;
(4) Weekly column, "Through My Eyes";
(5) Order his two books,The Minneapolis Story, Through My Eyes, and A Seat For Everyone: The Freedom Guide that Explores A Vision for America;
(6) Hear his readings from his book;
(7) Solution papers for community planning and development; (8)"Tracking the Gaps" Blog or web log.
Ron Edwards is the former head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League. He continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis, and his work to contribute to the planning discussions in order to help mold a consensus for the future of Black and White Americans together in Minneapolis.

Posted Wednesday, November9, 2012, 8:11 a.m.

November 02, 2011 Column #44: Can it happen: jobs legislation? Can the political parties come together? Can they all get along, despite race?

"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards
Featured in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

As the nation contemplates the various national, state, and local campaigns of 2012, reflecting on the unique dynamic of America in all of its democratic voting glory, the obvious question as we follow today’s Republican debates and speeches and actions of the president: What will be the mindset of the American voter by summer 2012, especially about the disparity of Black unemployment?

Our power-sharing process stands alone in a world resisting sharing power with “the people.” So why is that resistance still for Blacks in inner cities and rural areas?

There are danger signs coming from cities across the world of steep divides, not only between the haves and the have-nots, but between retired elderly on promised benefits and young workers paying for it thinking those benefits won’t be there when they retire. But the biggest divide reveals the contest between the idea of democratic-based welfare with limits and the idea of centralized, imposed welfare with few limits.

After nearly 30 years of economic and social progress tilted to Whites, we have hit the inevitable cycle of cracks in the economic and social walls of America, cracks widened by a poor education system in cities for Blacks, government-sanctioned gentrification of disbursing Blacks from inner cities, and the retarding of business innovation and new business starts for Blacks barred from being part of “the people.”

The president has tried to deal with this, and in the process has made three mistakes.

The first was in not making jobs legislative priority number one. Had he done so, “the people” would be clamoring for his re-election despite slow economic recovery.

His second was not directing his Department of Justice to investigate sooner those on Wall Street gambling fast, loose and dangerously with America’s economic stability and, by extension, the world’s. It was an error not to challenge their claims that their initiatives and innovations were scientific and “risk-less.”

The most troubling error to me was his not focusing on the reality of the Black-White divide he inherited in education and jobs from the four previous administrations. He had to know we were in big trouble with respect to jobs. He should not have waited so long to change course.
The last three years have been particularly painful to Black America, despite early warnings from the Congressional Black Caucus. There are now more Black Americans unemployed than in January 2009.

Now, the Obama administration is faced with both a hostile Democratic Senate and a hostile Republican House of Representatives. Some would seemingly rather see this nation go up in flames than see President Obama achieve even minimal success in putting all Americans back to work, not unlike those who voiced the same regarding his predecessor getting out of the Iraq War.

This is an extremely dangerous situation. Impassioned demonstrations are taking place across the world. The PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Spain) and the rest of Europe are in an economic crisis. Blacks must not be forced again to accept the dimming of their light to save the brightness of the lights of others.

This has been an extremely bitter pill for Black Americans to swallow, as they have loved and believed in this president. We understand how treacherous the system can be in this country. Nonetheless, Martin Luther King, Jr. must be more than a giant face on a Mt. Rushmore-like slab of granite with his words etched alongside.

The president must, at some point, pull up his own bootstraps and not fear doing battle with the intentional discrimination tolerated and abetted by the Big Three: corporations, state and local governments. He does not have to apologize for putting at the top of his agenda equal access and equal opportunity for all Americans.

The problem for Black Americans is that they are not on the agendas for economic consideration and opportunity, as seen in reports issued by research groups and thing tanks. As detailed in these columns, it is more than just Black Americans not finding jobs. It is their being systematically barred from good education that is needed to qualify for good jobs. History will show that this place called Minneapolis is an illustration of opportunity denied African Americans by putting barriers in front of them.

People of all colors across this country, including Whites, need jobs, and especially Blacks with two and three times more unemployed. National elections will have great impact on it.

Stay tuned.

Ron Edwards' journalist platforms for communicating with the community:
(1) Hosts "Black Focus," Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm; (2) Hosts “Black Focus,” on Blog Talk radio, Sundays, 3:00 pm;
(3) Co-hosts “ON POINT!" Blog Talk Radio’s Saturdays, 4 pm;
(4) Weekly column, "Through My Eyes";
(5) Order his two books,The Minneapolis Story, Through My Eyes, and A Seat For Everyone: The Freedom Guide that Explores A Vision for America;
(6) Hear his readings from his book;
(7) Solution papers for community planning and development; (8)"Tracking the Gaps" Blog or web log.
Ron Edwards is the former head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League. He continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis, and his work to contribute to the planning discussions in order to help mold a consensus for the future of Black and White Americans together in Minneapolis.

Posted Friday, November 4, 2012, 8:10 a.m.

October 26, 2011 Column #43: Candidate Herman Cain: A Republican First, Long Overdue

"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards featured in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

Polls show that Black Republican presidential contender Herman Cain, a former resident of the Twin Cities, continues to hang on in the race for the Republican prize. We should all be proud that finally it is routine to see Blacks qualified to be President.

How great it would be if to see two Blacks vying for the Presidency as representatives of the two major political parties. That would make Martin Luther King smile down from his new Mt. Rushmore likeness on the Mall in Washington, D.C. and it would make Abraham Lincoln smile in his chair as he looks over the Reflecting Pool, staring at Capital Hill. Who would have ever thought it?

The question is this: is America ready for even more prime time? I’m not sure, although it’s clearly possible. Look how many of us said a Black man would not be elected President in our lifetime.

One of the measuring sticks for a Presidential Campaign is the ability to raise money, where the key color is not white or black or red or brown or yellow. The key color is green. I’m not sure Herman Cain is going to be able to do that over the Long Haul. Key Republican contributors like the Koch brothers will hardly funnel money Cain’s way. But then again, it could happen.

But Herman, as all candidates, has to stop stepping on the banana peels, those tossed by his competing Republican candidates and those he tosses on the floor himself. It wasn’t very wise last week to advocate building an electrified fence along the border that would send those who touch it to their death. But he is in good company: too many Republican contenders speak carelessly about not wanting to follow constitutional rights and constitutional guarantees.

Herman Cain should know better. In fact, as a young man working for the Pillsbury Company here in the Twin Cities, Herman had a little different view about Muslims, immigrants and civil rights. Yes, I knew Herman Cain then. He was part of the corporate hierarchy that we were all members of (I was in the office of the President of NSP). Most of us have heard the political doctrine that you have to be “a man for all seasons.” The key is not to pick the wrong season and not to get swept away by the media tidal wave, never to be heard from again.

One of the banana peels Herman has tossed on the floor and slipped on, as have other prominent Blacks, is the dismissal of the significance and importance of affirmative action to the civil rights movement. When Herman Cain founded the CDH record company in the Twin Cities, Herman didn’t have a problem taking advantage of equal opportunity loans and funding. In fact it was affirmative action and civil rights that placed Herman into Pillsbury in the first place, putting him up on the corporate ladder where he could then have access and opportunity to pursue his success.

Sometimes we forget from whence we come and sometimes we don’t have a clue about where we are about to go. One of the worst feelings in life is when you are in a dark room and can’t find your way, and you step off that unseen step and think that you won’t stop falling. Brothers and sisters who benefited from affirmative action should give thanks for it, not pretend as if it didn’t exist, that they did it all on their own. We need more action affirming the value of Blacks to improve education and jobs.

If this were October of 2012, two weeks before the national election, I’d say that Herman would be a serious candidate and that history was about to be made again. But instead, this is October 2011, not November 2012. We’ll be watching closely. Will his campaign momentum continue to be positive? Will the Republican rank and file will see him as a viable candidate to carry the Republican Party’s banner in the Presidential campaign of 2012?

But candidates, white or Black, that don’t avoid slipping on banana peels, will be nothing more than answers to presidential trivial questions, their moment fleeting, as they join others who stepped up, stumbled, fell back, never to be heard of again.

These are serious times in America. We cannot have someone who is viewed as not serious or as a clown entertaining the political masses.

Stay tuned.

Ron Edwards' journalist platforms for communicating with the community:
(1) Hosts "Black Focus," Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm; (2) Hosts “Black Focus,” on Blog Talk radio, Sundays, 3:00 pm;
(3) Co-hosts “ON POINT!" Blog Talk Radio’s Saturdays, 4 pm;
(4) Weekly column, "Through My Eyes";
(5) Order his two books,The Minneapolis Story, Through My Eyes, and A Seat For Everyone: The Freedom Guide that Explores A Vision for America;
(6) Hear his readings from his book;
(7) Solution papers for community planning and development; (8)"Tracking the Gaps" Blog or web log.
Ron Edwards is the former head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League. He continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis, and his work to contribute to the planning discussions in order to help mold a consensus for the future of Black and White Americans together in Minneapolis.

Posted Friday, October 22, 2012, 8:12 p.m.

October 19, 2011 Column #42: State’s only winning professional team brings joy to the faithfull

"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards
Featured in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

Congratulations to the Minnesota Lynx, 2011 World Champions of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA)!

This WNBA team joins the legendary NBA Minneapolis Lakers of George Miken, Jim Pollard, and Vern Nickleson; the four NFL Minnesota Vikings Super Bowl teams of Alan Page, Jim Marshall, and Big Carl Eller; and the MLB two-time World Series-winning Minnesota Twins of Kirby Puckett, Rod Carew and Harmon Killebrew.

The Minnesota Lynx brought joy to the Minnesota faithful. Their road to victory provided moments that will not soon be forgotten, particularly their demonstration of what is too often lacking among male athletes: unselfish play and a commitment to and an enthusiasm for the game.

This is a team that finished with 34 wins and nine losses overall — 27-8 during the regular season and 7-1 in their phenomenal playoff run. It was a joy to watch these women: Seimone Augustus, the Playoff MVP; Lindsay Whalen; and of course Maya Moore, one of the most energetic players, rookie or veteran, in professional sports, as well as all the others on the team. I call them the Eleven Women of Perfection who brought a championship to Minnesota and to their fans who have proudly supported them.

It was refreshing to see over 15,000 spectators line the Victory Parade route as their fans displayed their warmth and respect for their Women of Perfection.
But all must understand that if not for the tenaciousness and commitment to the Lynx, to the WNBA, and to Minnesota sports fans by owner Glenn Taylor, none of these words of appreciation would be expressed. Without Glenn Taylor there would be no Minnesota Lynx and no history-making championship.

Glenn Taylor stayed the course when some suggested it was time to fold up this WNBA franchise. It is clear that this owner is a man who cares and believes, making the fans and supporters of the Minnesota Lynx world champions.

What a difference honesty and integrity make in the world of sports. Far too many would have played games with the city, made excuses, and driven away fans. We are thankful that Glenn Taylor has supported and nurtured professional women’s sports in Minnesota.

Glenn Taylor brought back to this franchise a little of the good, old-fashioned “I love the game” and “I’ll support it with my money, my passion, and my commitment” attitude and enthusiasm. This is a wonderful change from much of professional sports where it’s usually all about me, me, me and profit, profit, profit. That’s important, but not as important as the fans and the joy a team can bring to the fans and their community.

And so we all need to send a shout-out to Glenn Taylor for staying the course, and a shout-out to his beloved Minnesota Lynx, who have rewarded him and us fans with a magnificent championship season by a team of magnificent athletes.

They are supported by a magnificent group of fans who felt their dollars were well spent for watching and reporting and cheering this group of professional athletes, who knew what it took to win and won. They did so by being committed, by being unselfish, and by enjoying the game, and in return bringing the joy of winning to professional sports in Minnesota.

Here are some famous quotes to help us celebrate the Lynx championship.
From Branch Rickey, MLB pioneer: "The greatest untapped reservoir of raw material in the history of our game is the Black race,” said during the signing of Jackie Robinson (1946).
From Al Davis, NFL pioneer: “I was attending Grambling at the time, and we were doing things for the Civil Rights Movement there. We were hitting the streets like a lot of colleges did, so we started going to other campuses and other cities.”

From Jackie Robinson, first Black MLB player: “I guess you'd call me an independent, since I've never identified myself with one party or another in politics. I always decide my vote by taking as careful a look as I can at the actual candidates and issues themselves, no matter what the party label… The right of every American to first-class citizenship is the most important issue of our time.”

Bill Russell, 11-time NBA champion: “What's more important than who's going to be the first Black manager is who's going to be the first Black sports editor of the New York Times.
Stay tuned.

Ron Edwards hosts “Black Focus” on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm; hosts “Black Focus” on Blog Talk radio Sundays at 3 pm; and co-hosts Blog Talk Radio’s “ON POINT!” Saturdays at 4 pm, providing coverage about Black Minnesota. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com. Hear his readings and read his solution papers for community planning and development and “web log” at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Ron Edwards' journalist platforms for communicating with the community:
(1) Hosts "Black Focus," Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm; (2) Hosts “Black Focus,” on Blog Talk radio, Sundays, 3:00 pm;
(3) Co-hosts “ON POINT!" Blog Talk Radio’s Saturdays, 4 pm;
(4) Weekly column, "Through My Eyes";
(5) Order his two books,The Minneapolis Story, Through My Eyes, and A Seat For Everyone: The Freedom Guide that Explores A Vision for America;
(6) Hear his readings from his book;
(7) Solution papers for community planning and development; (8)"Tracking the Gaps" Blog or web log.
Ron Edwards is the former head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League. He continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis, and his work to contribute to the planning discussions in order to help mold a consensus for the future of Black and White Americans together in Minneapolis.

Posted Friday, October 22, 2012, 8:08 p.m.

October 12, 2011 Column #41: Mayor Rybak, Minneapolis officials hear private Vikings stadium pitch in Portland, Oregon

"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards featured in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

When the general manager of the Monaco Hotel in Portland, Oregon received reservation requests from Minneapolis for 90 guests for October 2-4, he may have thought a professional team was coming. Instead, it was the Select 90, the brain trust of Minneapolis’ professional urban design community, led by Mayor R.T. Rybak.

They were there to see firsthand Portland’s approach to city planning in general and transportation in particular. They were joined by Les Bagby, who heads the Minnesota Vikings stadium initiative. He hosted a dinner and presentation for the Select 90 at Widmer Brewery on Portland’s East Side.

I understand the interest by Minneapolis planners in Portland’s regional master plan. The multiple mode transportation development part includes transit centers, stops for light rail, street cars, trolleys, aerial tram and busses, as well as an extensive bike lane system and extensive parks and open space system with walking paths based on Portland’s Pedestrian Master Plan.

Portland engages rather than neglects the city’s two downtown cores, one on each side of the Willamette River that bisects the city. Portland has also successfully thinned out Blacks from its two downtown cores.

What I don’t understand is this: What message to the Select 90 did the Vikings deliver in Portland that couldn’t be delivered in Minneapolis?

I alerted my publisher, who is in Portland, about the Select 90 being in town and asked him to check it out. He was admitted to the beer tasting and dinner hosted by the Vikings, which gave him a chance to renew old acquaintances with Mayor Rybak and the Pacific Northwest Foundation’s Gary Cunningham.

He asked both of them why Minneapolis doesn’t hold a conference on the Planning Initiative Suggestions I have proposed. My planning approach begins with education and jobs, with inclusion and equal access and equal opportunity. He also had a chance to briefly compare stadium funding notes with Les Bagley.

When my publisher was later told by organizers that he could not stay for Les’ presentation, he let Les know he wished he could have heard him speak. Les said, “I’ll give you my presentation summary,” and then, as he pounded his fist into his hand, he repeated, “Build the stadium, build the stadium, build the stadium.”

What was the Vikings’ message delivered to the Select 90 that it had to be private? Was this a last-ditch stand to get a plan for building a Vikings stadium or else it’s off to Los Angeles?

My message since 2002 (see Chapter 15 of my 2002 book, The Minneapolis Story, and follow-up columns, TV and radio shows) has warned of “The Plan” to force the Vikings out. I list in the “Solutions” section of my website the Roll Call of those in Minneapolis who want the team to leave and why. So far, no one has refuted anyone or anything on that roll call. See also the columns listed in my May 25, 2011 Column, Budget battle threatens Vikings’ future.

Interestingly, before I met my publisher, he put on his personal website in 2000 what he sent to the governor, legislators and others regarding how to finance a Vikings stadium without new taxes, but no one in the city or state or corporations ever asked him for more. The Vikings told him in 2000 that they didn’t need it as they had a deal with the legislature to provide the funds.

Does this mean that the move-not-move question has reached the 11th hour point of no return, such that the Vikings had to go to the extreme of going to Portland, Oregon to deliver a message to make their point to the significant movers and shakers of our metropolitan area?

Remember the quick and decisive departure of NFL teams from Baltimore to Indianapolis and from L.A. to St. Louis? It’s happened before. It will happen again.

Will our beloved Minnesota Vikings be next, relocating to Los Angeles or another city? It would be better for Minnesotans to be told in an honest manner what was talked about and what decisions may have been proposed in that closed meeting in Portland about the future of our great franchise.

By gosh, you’d think the Select 90, traveling on taxpayers’ dollars, would realize they owe an explanation to the taxpayers and hold open meetings. The manager of the Monaco was partially correct — the guests were professional planners and politicians, not athletes.

Minneapolis needs to know what was discussed and advocated for professional football in Minnesota and for widening gentrification.

Stay tuned.

Ron Edwards' journalist platforms for communicating with the community:
(1) Hosts "Black Focus," Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm; (2) Hosts “Black Focus,” on Blog Talk radio, Sundays, 3:00 pm;
(3) Co-hosts “ON POINT!" Blog Talk Radio’s Saturdays, 4 pm;
(4) Weekly column, "Through My Eyes";
(5) Order his two books,The Minneapolis Story, Through My Eyes, and A Seat For Everyone: The Freedom Guide that Explores A Vision for America;
(6) Hear his readings from his book;
(7) Solution papers for community planning and development; (8)"Tracking the Gaps" Blog or web log.
Ron Edwards is the former head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League. He continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis, and his work to contribute to the planning discussions in order to help mold a consensus for the future of Black and White Americans together in Minneapolis.

Posted Wednesday, October 12, 2012, 4:10 a.m.

October 05, 2011 Column #40: Who’s in charge of 807 West Broadway — soon to be 1200 West Broadway?

"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards featured in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

The headline of this column reflects the soon-to-be-finished headquarters of Special School District #1 of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) and the mystery surrounding its funding. This raises further questions about who will operate the building, who will control other activities in the building, and what other groups are expecting to benefit, perhaps even be housed in the building at public expense.

It also raises the question of MPS funding in general due to the discovery of a “deferred” $32 million fund, heretofore unknown to the public, for use in funding the $27 million projected as needed to redesign and expand three elementary schools in South Minneapolis

These issues — the new district headquarters at 1200 West Broadway and why the district will not own that building for the next 20 years, and the redesign and expansion of three South Minneapolis elementary schools — were rekindled at the school board meeting last Tuesday, September 27. The school issue was raised in two recent Corey Mitchell stories in the Star Tribune (September 24 in the daily paper and in his online blog of September 27).

At Tuesday’s meeting, the board reported it was hiring a consultant — name and amount of contract not stated — to begin redesign of those schools to be expanded.

This brings to mind the candidates’ forum at UROC in North Minneapolis on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 where I served as one of the moderators. The candidates were asked about the ownership of the district’s new headquarters. Board member T. Williams was the only candidate to answer: He said that there was a shortfall, and that certain financial arrangements were being made to make up for it with the Ackerberg Group, a commercial real estate firm, who would finance it and hold title for the next 20 years.

That was quite a surprise for many in the audience that night. That information from Board Member T. Williams has never been challenged or disputed. I wrote about this in my column of October 20, 2010.

Several questions present themselves: Is the $32 million actually in place, or is it part of anticipated revenue that the district expects to acquire through a nine percent tax levy increase at the end of the year? Is the money “deferred” from this intended tax or carried over from some other source, and if so, what source?

As the public will not be made aware until December that this increase will be coming, how does it fit into the assurance of the mayor and the Minneapolis City Council to property owners that there will be no increase in property taxes?

Also at the Tuesday, October 27 meeting, the board was to have received a report laying out the financial/budgetary plan, a report some say is already four months overdue. The board clearly has the authority, under law, to set its own property tax levy.

But for some reason Rick Mills, the deputy superintendent and chief executive officer of the MPS who started July 1, 2011, has not been able to get the proposal in place. Consequently, questions remain regarding whether both the $32 million is in place and whether the surplus some say currently resides in bank accounts of Minneapolis Special School District No. 1 totals $98 million.

MPS has earned much suspicion from taxpayers and parents because of past practices. A recent internal evaluation led to the creation of the deputy superintendent/CEO position overseeing the associate superintendents. Clearly this was done to help the superintendent develop her skills and improve her performance in areas cited as weak.

These are not our evaluations, but evaluations from internal and external reports consultants have presented. Observers indicated that the board was caught off guard more than once at the school board meeting of September 27 in discussions of fiscal stability and financial planning and analysis.

In fact, one of the questions asked internally by the board is how is the redesign of North High School is going. My question is this: Will there be enough money budgeted to make the recommended redesign of North High School a reality?
These are tough questions in tough economic times for a legislature controlled by tough-minded Republicans who are in the driver’s seat for another calendar year. Taxpayers should not be blindsided by property tax increases in December without proper hearings and announcements. This is the kind of bad government and poor planning that Hubert Humphrey would not want.

Stay tuned.

Ron Edwards' journalism platforms for communicating with the community:
(1) Hosts "Black Focus," Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm; (2) Hosts “Black Focus,” on Blog Talk radio, Sundays, 3:00 pm;
(3) Co-hosts “ON POINT!" Blog Talk Radio’s Saturdays at 4 pm;
(4) Weekly column, "Through My Eyes";
(5) Order his two books,The Minneapolis Story, Through My Eyes, and A Seat For Everyone: The Freedom Guide that Explores A Vision for America;
(6) Hear his readings from his book;
(7) Solution papers for community planning and development; (8)"Tracking the Gaps" Blog or web log.
Ron Edwards is the former head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League. He continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis, and his work to contribute to the planning discussions in order to help mold a consensus for the future of Black and White Americans together in Minneapolis.

Posted Wednesday, September 5, 2011, 5:55 a.m.

December 21, 2011 Column #51: TITLE HERE

"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards featured in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

COLUMN HERE

Permission is granted to reproduce The Minneapolis Story columns, blog entires and solution papers. Please cite the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder and www.TheMinneapolisStory.com for the columns. Please cite www.TheMinneapolisStory.com for blog entries and solution papers.

« Previous Quarter | Next Quarter »
Home | 2011 Columns » | All Columns » | 2011 Blogs »

The Experience of Ron Edwards

A Renaissance Black Man in a White Man's World

A Beacon for Freedom in the City

2011 Columns Quarter 4: October thru December ~ Columns #40 - #52

2011 Columns
Quarter 4: October thru December ~ Columns #40 - #52