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2016 Columns
Quarter 2: April thru June ~ Columns #14 - #26

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June, 29, 2016 #26: LeBron, LeBron, LeBron.A Man Who Kept His Promise to his state, his city and his team.

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

June 30, 2016
                                                                                                                              
It was one of the greatest Game 7’s in NBA history; almost mystical.  LeBron James kept his promise to his state of Ohio, his City of Cleveland, and to his Cleveland Cavaliers’ team and organization. 

LeBron James brought Cleveland back from a 3-1 NBA Finals deficit.  No team in NBA history has accomplished that.  LeBron brought pride back to the City of Cleveland, its first Cleveland Championship in professional sports since 1964, when the legendary Jim Brown brought the NFL title to the City of Cleveland.

On the championship trophy presentation platform, LeBron James stood with the legendary Bill Russell, the man for whom the NBA Finals MVP trophy is rightly named.  And we should not forget Cavaliers’ African American Head Coach Tyronn Lue, the third youngest winningest coach, from a place called Mexico, Missouri,.  As commentators are pointing out, this Black coach, Ty Lue outcoached the White coach.  Lue is special:  2 rings as a player, and now first one as Head Coach. 

Sadly, it remains difficult for Black coaches in the NBA, the NFL, and MLB to be allowed to show their competency and ability to win.  Indeed, as we pointed out in this column a month ago, we’re concerned that Blacks are being quietly eliminated from the ranks of Head Coaches.

But in this seven game series, no one but God himself could have stopped LeBron James in one of the most magnificent performances the history of professional basketball has seen,  carrying on from the play of such legendary players as Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, and Magic Johnson.

Throughout, LeBron James displayed his strength and mental toughness:  two games with 41 points each in comeback games 5 and 6; a Triple Double in Game 7.  LeBron was much maligned and disrespected when he left Cleveland for Miami and was again maligned and disrespected when he returned home to Cleveland from Miami.  Tough and resilient, he has delivered championships to both cities. 

As with LaBron James, so too with Ty Lue, as he demonstrated that if an African American is given the opportunity to be hired, put together a plan and be allowed to exercise his plan,  and not be interfered with, no matter what the sport, African American coaches can prevail, can win, and can show that the sons and daughters of the African understand and exercise the importance of hard work, discipline, and wining.

History shall not be able to turn its back on LeBron James.  All across the country we hear  “LeBron, LeBron, LeBron:  You’re the man.”   He kept his word.  He got the job down.  They won. 

There used to be a saying, dripping with racism, that whenever a black person excelled, too many sports writers and other commentators would say he was a credit to his race But no, they are more than that.  Just as Muhammmed Ali, they are a credit to the human race, not just the Black race.  How blessed it is that within days of the passing of Muhammed Ali, the Man above granted total and absolute joy to Ohio and Clevelalnd, through the actions of LeBron James, Ty Lue, and company, enabling them to achieve what others said was impossible. 

I hope you saw what I saw:  you see what I saw:  the hand of Muhammed Ali on the shoulder of LeBron James, making sure that the legacy of Black Excellence will continue to have a place in the history books of success for as long as we can remember, for we, the sons and daughters of the African, are blessed. 

Thank you Lebron.  Thank you Ty.  Thank you Muhammed Ali.  Thank you Dan Gilbert.

Stay tuned.

For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.

To date: 47 Solution Papers.

Written Monday, June 20, 2016
Published, MSR, Thursday, July 28,, 2016
Posted,TMS, Monday, July 18, 2016, 11:04 a.m.


June, 22, 2016 #25: Terror grips America, again. Advantage Trump?

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

June 23, 2016

Pull quote #1: Two prime issues have now pushed Trump to the forefront: (1)the wall along the border with Mexico, and (2) the attempts to end immigration of “undesirables.”

Once again America has been impacted by a mass killing: 49 people killed in Orlando, Florida, Sunday, June 12, 2016. It shook our nation and the world.

Will it cause significant change in ideas about race, religion, sexual preference, and guns? This column doesn’t think so. I submit this country lost the opportunity to take the moral high ground when Sandy Hook exploded, challenging the conscience of this nation, despite President Obama covering our lack of response by calling it “shameful.”

America will never give up its guns. We must be honest about what we fear. We are the best armed citizenry nation in the world. Yet once again, we respond with politically correct words of condolences from politicians of the left and right, as they wring their hands making “correct” statements. As a result, in this 2016 election year there is now an even greater danger presently marching over the horizon, events leading to Donald Trump being elected president.

The massacre/act of war in Orlando and its tragic consequences could make Donald Trump the most appealing of the presidential candidates. I understand that there are those who read this column who will take exception to this. I write as an investigative journalist and historian, as objective as possible, without bias, as I report on civil rights. I’m a realist, writing about what is, as a way of keeping our eyes on the prize: colorblind acceptance and inclusion.

Orlando has delivered the issue Trump needs to regain his campaign footing and thus prevail in November. If you say to yourself, “God help us,” then you are correct and you understand how dangerous and precarious the 2016 presidential political platforms are.

Experts and pundits will ask, “What will they say over the following four weeks?” How many experts and voters will have the same level of concern and horror regarding what took place in Orlando? On the other hand, how many will begin to say we must make America a great fortress again, keeping out those perceived as threatening to our safety and threatening to our moral doctrines?

Think hard about what I write in this column. Understand Orlando not as a street crime, but as another act of war. Yet since Twin Towers, we have yet to declare war on those who have declared war on us. Orlando swings the political advantage to Trump as voters ask themselves who will protect them. This demonstrates the need for the United States of America to pause to truly understand both sides of the discussions, to understand the calls for action, and what must be done to protect the future of this nation. Or do we leave the Middle East, its oil and future to Putin and Russia?

Two prime issues have now pushed Trump to the forefront: the wall across the border with Mexico, and the attempts to end immigration of “undesirables.”

Trump is more shrewd than given credit. The election will turn on whether voters want or don’t want his proposals, based on which platform they feel will make them safe in the future.

We have been a compassionate nation in the past. Will we continue to be compassionate, or will we become a nation of isolation? Our self-imposed isolation prior to two world wars almost caused our nation to lose its way in those great global conflicts.

We must be a realistic nation of fairness, compassion, justice and love. In a word: provide a seat for everyone at the table. Failure to do so threatens our future.

Stay tuned.

For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.

To date: 47 Solution Papers.

Written Monday, June13, 2016
Published, MSR, Thursday, June 23, 2016
Posted,TMS, Monday, July 18, 2016, 11:04 a.m.


June, 15, 2016 #24: Muhammed Ali: a great world champion, legend. A great American who made a difference.

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

June 16, 2016

On refusing to be drafted: “I will not [become] a tool to enslave those who are fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality. I’d rather go to jail. So what? We've been in jail for 400 years.

Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn’t matter which color does the hating. It’s just plain wrong.
— Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali passed June 3, 2016 at age 74. He was the most widely recognized personality of the 20th century, making such a humanitarian impact outside the ring that he made the top 50 influencers of the second half of the 20th century list.

I had a chance to first meet and speak with Muhammed Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, in Madison, Wisconsin, 1959, during the Pan American Games boxing tryouts. A group of us travelled to Madison from Minneapolis to watch one of the great local Minnesota heroes, Leroy Bogar — one of the most outstanding light heavyweight fighters in boxing history.

In the third round of the light heavyweight tryouts, Bogar was pitted against the young man from Louisville, Kentucky, and although Bogar was TKOed in the second round by Clay, he became, in the first round, the first man to put Clay on the canvas. In his first book, Clay wrote about Bogar, the South paw from Minneapolis.

Cassius Clay would later embrace the Muslim religion and change his name to Muhammed Ali. He became an inspiration to African Americans as the battle lines were being drawn in America in the battle for civil rights, forcing Whites to face and deal with an African American population that would no longer back down.

When Muhammed Ali spoke of the war in Vietnam, many of us understood and respected what he was saying, that this was not a conflict for which African Americans had any skin in the game. We didn’t see the yellow man of Asia as the enemy of the Black man in America.

When stripped of his heavy weight crown for refusing to be drafted by the Army, he fought the decision. When kept out of the ring during his most important years for a boxer, he fought. When he was sentenced to prison, he fought. He took his fight to the Supreme Court, where he won an 8-0 decision. Throughout his life he fought, but did so standing on his principles: peace, inclusion, and non-violence.

This Black man became the most well-known man in the world. Barack Obama became the most powerful man in the world. Each of them broke through the self-imposed ceiling of too many that say Black men can’t go far. They have shown us the way.

Will we stop carrying the racist’s water by refusing any more to claim that being Black is why we can’t succeed? Will we follow their example?

I well remember the respect and deference shown to him by the great legends of politics, entertainment, sports and business, such as Bill Russell, Jim Brown, John Carlos, and other great African American athletes, the living ex-presidents, many civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr., and untold Black and White sports and entertainment giants and professionals across the spectrum of accomplished people.

Muhammed Ali was a giant among men and women, a hero to billions. Even Parkinson’s disease couldn’t silence his voice, his message, or the significance of his presence on the world stage.

He will forever be missed but not forgotten. He accomplished much on a great life’s journey. He will be forever remembered as "The Greatest," as “The Champ.”

Stay tuned.

For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.

To date: 47 Solution Papers.

Written Monday, June 6, 2016
Published, MSR, Thursday, June 16, 2016
Posted,TMS Thursday, June 16, 2016, 7:00 a.m.
Site glitch; reposted, June 19, 2016, 1:55 a.m.


June, 08, 2016 #23: A gentle woman killed on the streets of Minneapolis.MPD chief reaches out to the community.

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

June 9, 2016

Ms. Birdell Beeks was shot and killed Thursday, May 26, 2016, as she waited in her car with her granddaughter at a stoplight at 21st and Penn Ave. North, sending shock waves throughout the Twin Cities. The Star Tribune (May 29) called MsBeeks “a force for kindness” and “the latest example of the violence gripping North Minneapolis,” an example of how unchecked violence can hold neighborhoods “hostage” (to use City Council President Barbara Johnson’s term).

The Star Tribune described Beeks as one who gave her soul and life to the Northside community she called home throughout her life. Yet she became another senseless act of violence, caught in someone else’s deadly argument.

Upon hearing of the killing, MPD Police Chief Janeé Harteau immediately rushed back from a law enforcement conference in New York City, quickly convening a meeting of her community response team on May 28. She asked us for advice and specific solution recommendations. 

The chief correctly reminded us that the community also has responsibilities to make solution recommendations and to do everything possible to bring an end to the violence in our city, as we work together to bring Minneapolis back to being an enclave of peace and safety.  

Groups of younger people trying to make a positive difference with significant suggestions are dismissed by older people, Black and White, fearing funding competition for their ineffectual organizations. 

So why not fund the willing young to help turn around the unwilling young?

An epidemic of shootings and killings is raging in America’s cities. The FBI reports that from January through March 2016, homicides increased nine percent in the largest 63 cities; nonfatal shootings were up 21 percent. Most sobering: Sixty percent of 10 heavily Black cities show murder spikes above 60 percent

We have long warned in this column of serious danger signs about the future health and welfare of the Twin Cities, as Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan did long ago when he warned that breaking families and neighborhoods apart makes things worse. Black professionals and other middle class Blacks, so urgently needed in our inner cities, are giving up and leaving in what is called “Black flight.” The problem, as one Chicago resident put it,  “is not the cops, it’s the people, especially this younger crowd with the guns.”

We need to follow the example of Msd Beeks’ commitment to the peace, tranquilly and safety of our families and community. No person should have their life taken because young people are out of control, showing no regard whatsoever for the lives of others, while older people mostly show regard only for funding for more meetings.

The death of Ms Beeks sadly reminds us of the troubling conditions sweeping across America that cut away foundational supports for important respect for all life, property, safety, and the ideal that every human being’s life matters. This is not the time for more silence. This is not the time for more meetings and plans for meetings. This is not the time for outrage for the sake of outrage. 

Rather, this is the time for crafting plans and solutions, as we have pointed out in recent columns (and in over 40 solution papers with suggestions, posted on our website). We all need to commit to protecting the most innocent and vulnerable. This is the time to utilize formulas of peace and models of conflict resolution.

Ms Birdell Beeks should be enjoying life with her children, grandchildren and loved ones. She should not be lost in another senseless act of violence. We as a society have lost a precious soul and a force for kindness. How many more lives won’t matter?

Stay tuned.

For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.

To date: 47 Solution Papers.

Written Monday, May 28, 2016
Published, MSR, Thursday, June 9, 2016
Posted TMS, Thursday, June 9, 2016, 1:07 p.m.


June, 01, 2016 #22: Racism inside Theodore Wirth golf course.White Mike Baker forced out by internal White racism.

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

June 2, 2016

Michael Baker, a white man with 25 years of exemplary service with the Minneapolis Park System, is being fired for hiring Black Americans instead of being made manager of the Theodore Wirth 18-par golf course and its par-three nine-hole course.

I grew up playing golf on the 18-hole Theodore Wirth golf course beginning in 1959. I’ve seen managers come and go. I was part of the battle to integrate all aspects of the park system, including golf course maintenance personnel and its police department.

This newspaper ran a number of feature stories about the suffering and abuse of the Minneapolis park system’s Black employees several years ago. Leadership in this city, Black and White, did nothing regarding this growing cancer of racism.

So now, Michael Baker, a decent human being, a 25-year exemplary employee, a White man, tried to do the right thing on behalf of Black Americans. Whites applaud his firing. Blacks, by remaining silent, do so as well.

The park board posted the notice of Mr. Baker’s job being available before they let him know they were going to fire him. If this pattern continues, Black employees, male and female, will be removed from their positions of responsibility and authority, bringing out of the shadows the standing racist policy that is business as usual.

Mike Baker was sabotaged and fired because of his commitment to diversity and integration, déjà vu all over again. Black leadership enabled and facilitated the White leadership’s purposeful discrimination and violations of civil rights statutes, and then stood by mute, without protest.

Thirty years ago, my very good friend Danny Davis and I filed a discrimination law suit against the Minneapolis park system because it would not hire Black Americans. The result: we were appointed to a committee with oversight of the park system that lasted 10 years. Under our oversight, they hired African Americans. They now want to reverse.

When the park system started to hire African Americans in its golf system, Blacks were not allowed to physically handle money nor make purchases. It took 10 years to correct that. It is time young Americans, Black and White, learn and understand this history.

Thus, Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis Branch of the NAACP, was mostly accurate when she accused the park system’s White leadership of having one of the most aggressive levels of racism of all the various units of Minneapolis government. The Minneapolis park system’s charter provides for it to be separate from other City of Minneapolis activities (taxation, bonding, its own law enforcement department), and yet it is lapsing back into being a racist empire unto itself.

Its decision to remove Michael Baker was not because he did not have a four-year college degree as alleged (after working there for 25 years?), but because, simply put, Mr. Baker is a White man making park system Whites uncomfortable by hiring Black Americans for positions of authority and responsibility.

I have supported civil rights causes for over 50 years. Handkerchief heads that say the park system is okay segregated, need to be dismissed if they hold onto that belief. The question for both Whites and Blacks is this: Are they contributing to making a meaningful and prosperous community or a painful and poor one?

We must stand up for the community, but not for the “good people” when they do bad. And we must encourage “bad people” when they do good. Will the confrontation between the president of the Minneapolis NAACP and the chairman of the all-White Minneapolis Park Board end well or badly? Which lives matter?

Stay tuned.

For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.

To date: 47 Solution Papers.

Written Monday, May 23, 2016
Published, MSR, Thursday, June 2, 2016
Posted TMS, Friday, June 3, 2016, 1:46 p.m.


May, 25, 2016 #21: Karl-Anthony Towns: NBA Rookie of the Year.Sam Mitchell: we thank you for a job well done.

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

May 26, 2016

We are elated that Timberwolves rookie Karl-Anthony Towns was voted 2016 NBA Rookie of the Year (the second year in a row for a Timberwolves’ player: Andrew Wiggins was 2015 Rookie of the year). But don’t forget the key role Sam Mitchell played in developing these outstanding future Hall of Famers.

So why was the architect of these MVPs, Sam Mitchell, fired and not moved to head coach from interim coach after Flip Saunders’ death? Flip Saunders brought Sam Mitchell to the Timberwolves (and was influential in bringing Milt Newton to Minnesota as GM, another African American). So with a record like theirs, and the blessing of Flip Saunders, why did Glenn Taylor utter “you’re fired” — and by phone, no less?

The White 4th estate began its sniping attacks on Mitchell after Flip Saunders’ death, which is especially troubling, as Timberwolves owner, the billionaire Glenn Taylor, owns the major 4th estate paper in Minnesota, the Star Tribune.

The unfairness of racism continues to permeate Minnesota sports and other relationships, the downside of majority rule when checks and balances are not implemented (a recent documentary on PBS declared Minneapolis as one of the most racist cities in America). It is what majorities without checks and balances do (Japanese in Japan, Asians in Asia, Spanish and Latins in Mexico and South America, Russians in Russia, Blacks in Africa).

We stand with Martin Luther King, Jr.’s principles of nonviolence, judging others by the content of their character and not the color of their skin, and standing together as citizens of the nation first and then members of smaller “tribes” and membership groups however defined (race, gender, creed, sexual orientation, social movements, high school and/or college alma mater, social clubs, sports team fanatics, and the vast range of voluntary membership organizations.)

King believed in the call of our Constitution and Declaration of Independence for a seat at the table for everyone (despite slowness in implementation, with slavery and later Jim Crow the most egregious stalls. As President Obama noted in a commencement addresses this month, we have gotten much better, with gaps yet to fill. White Minnesota talks the good talk but does not walk the talk, as documented in our columns, books, blog and solution papers.

We ask our perennial question: win with the best or only with the best Whites?

Minnesota’s 4th estate has never been comfortable with non-Whites as team owners, head coaches, or general managers. It is the ultimate downside of negative diversity, profiling acceptance based on color, creed, country of origin, neighborhood, sexual orientation, etc., and not by character, talent, or being “American.”
The headline and pictures in the May 16 Star Tribune featured four White coaches, headlined “In Good Hands.” To be accurate: “In Good White Hands from a White Talent Pool.”

Leslie Frazer should be praised for developing and cultivating the current winning culture of the Vikings before he was drummed out of Minnesota. But the most vicious and underserving attacks were the media lynching of Adrian Peterson, led by Minnesota’s white 4th estate.

The manner in which Sam Mitchell was dismissed reflects the level of disrespect for African Americans in leadership positions (come on Glenn: firing Mitchell by phone?). Those who thought the next UM Athletic Department head would be African American were wrong again.

Instead it seems that the only thing African Americans are considered good for, male or female, is to perform and entertain White ticket holders and make money for White owners (think Kirby Puckett, Carl Eller, Sandy Stephens, Denny Green, Dante Culpepper, Randy Moss, etc). Few are allowed positions of authority and responsibility.

Stay tuned.

For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.

To date: 47 Solution Papers.

Written Monday, May 16, 2016
Published, MSR, Thursday, May 19, 2016
Posted TMS, Friday, May 27, 2016, 2:22 p.m.


May, 18, 2016 #20: The Continued Betrayal of African American Youth by Black Leadership

Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards
featured in the weekly Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
and Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder News Online
 
May 19, 2016

Black leadership is trying to get additional funding for their organizations inside the racial spoils industry, by talking about violence instead of education, training, and jobs needed by young people to qualify for jobs that will enable supporting families and contribute to reducing violence.

Since the Minnesota legislature convened their short session March 8th, there has been little news coverage regarding legislation targeted for working out formulas of peace to deal with the escalation of violence in Minneapolis (between January 1 and May 9, 2016, there have been 121 individuals shot).

Despite attempts by Twin City Black youth and their organizations to discuss and propose solutions, Black Leadership dismisses efforts of some of the longest standing gang organizations to work together to begin reducing the ongoing violence.

One organization developed a plan that recognized the problems and offered workable solutions to which other organizations agreed. But they were purposefully shoved aside and told that representatives of traditionalyl “less threatening” organizations present their recommendations and proposals (still without credit).

This sends the wrong message. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported earlier this month, in Trends in the Joblessness and Incarceration of Young Men that “out of the 38 million young men in the U.S. in 2014, 5 million or 13 percent were jobless and 1 million or 3 percent were incarcerated,” that “economics, policy, and skill-set changes contributed to the large increase in joblessness and incarceration from 1980 to 2014.”

How is trust to be developed if the solution suggestions of these young people are pirated by Black leaders of churches, community organizations, and legislative committees that present them as their own, despite their having little relationship and familiarity with the issues that are contributing to the violence gripping this city?

In his recent commencement address at Howard University, President Obama said that despite progress, “gaps” still exist, that “anger at injustice [is] not enough,” that besides passion “you need a strategy.” These gang members provided strategies, yet were dismissed. They need to be included and given credit for their ideas. Betrayal will once again make it difficult to secure peace.

The good news: they have not withdrawn their proposals. They still seek to work with larger organizations. The latter are attempting to keep hidden that these young men are equally concerned and want to work to establish and maintain peace. Why shut the door in the face of those prepared to come to the table of mediation and negotiation, denying what I titled my second book, “A Seat for Everyone”?

Those undermining the negotiations care only for themselves and their “do good” organizations, as they accept damage to those they are supposed to serve as a “fee” they are willing to pay to get funding. In light of the death of a young man a week ago in an alley in North Minneapolis, whose family and organization is one of the most influential and effective in the city, it is becoming more difficult to identify solutions and corrective action reflective of how dangerous the city was in the early 1990s.

Black leaders who say these gangs cannot understand the governance and the doctrines of politics (as in Blacks can’t be quarterbacks), are repeating what whites told us before and after the Civil War, during and after jim crow. Extreme care is needed to give credit to where credit is due when presenting to the MN legislature and to big MN corporations.

Significant damage has been done that needs to be undone. It can be repaired, but not by denial. If they are kept at a distance, both sides will cry out, for different reasons, “God help us all.”

Stay tuned.

For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.

To date: 47 Solution Papers.

Written Monday, May 9, 2016
Published, MSR, Thursday, May 19, 2016
Posted TMS, Sunday, May 19, 2016, 12:55 p.m.

======

SELECTED LIST OF COLUMNS, 2015 and 2016, ON A KEY THEME OF FAILED AND COLLAPSING LEADERSHIP (BLACK and WHITE, both separately and collaboratively) REGARDING CONNECTING THE DOTS TO ACHIEVE NEIGHBORHOOD PEACE AND PROSPERITY, THROUGH EDUCATION, JOBS, HOUSING, PUBILC SAFETY, AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (PUBLIC, PRIVATE, NON-PROFIT,both separately and collaboratively).

2016
May 19, 2016: The Continued Betrayal of African American Youth by Black Leadership.
January 13, 2016: Terrorists in Oregon: yes or no?
               Pull quote: Hypocrisy regarding justice and fairness in Black inner cities has now leapt to communities, large and small, run by Whites.
2015
January 1, 2015: 2014: Looking bad: Year-end reflections of 2014: a year of confusion and expectations.
January 8, 2015: 2015: Looking Ahead: A Year of Preparation.
January 15, 3015: Black leadership: What’s the plan?
February 19 2015: Leader's Preparation for a ‘safe’ summer.
March 5 2015: Police and Community Work to Hold Down TensionMarch 12, 2015: Council on Black Minnesotans ..... The Liberals’
               instrument of destruction.
March 19, 2015: Stadium Pattern & Practice with employment #s
April 2, 2010, Dangerous signs of trouble. ...disturbances.
April 16, 2015, Crises in Black leadership: MUL & NAACP changes.
April 23, 2015, Minneapolis Urban League in Trouble. Successes?April 30, 2015, Terrorism in the Homeland...danger to Twin Cities.
May 7, 2015, Where is the Stadium employment equity audit?
May 14, 2015,Marilyn Mosby Does Her Job. Other States' Attorneys across the country need to catch up.
August 13, 2015, Remember The Boys of Summer:  The 1960s Twins: A Period of Sports and Civil Rights Success
September 10, 2015, Will the stadium come in on time?
               Accidents, mistrust, and internal fighting
.
September 24, 2015, Violence in downtown continues unabated.
October 1, 2015, Strange sounds from city hall . Test of  leadership.
October 8, 2015, Mayor Makes Right Decision in Reappointing MPD Chief. Now work to Restore MPD to handling Viking Stadium security.
October 22, 2015, Violence in Minneapolis high schools
               Are there any answers?"

October 29, 2015, Silence breeds violence. A dangerous pattern in public safety.
November 12, 2015, When will diversity numbers for Vikings stadium construction be available?
November 26, 2015, Listen and Understand. City Tense After African American Youth Shot and Killed in Police Involved Shooting. Anger builds after shooting.
December 10, 2015, An open letter: To Black Lives Matter, NAACP, and out of town demonstrators.
December 17, 2015, Whose voice will be heard? And when?
               The struggle for control.
December 24, 2015, Breaking the heart of a community.  
               BLM & NAACP  Protestors Attack Black fire fighters and police officers.
December 30, 2015, 2015: A Year Of Terror And Indecision
                              2016: A Year Of…?

Complete list of all 2015 columns is here.
Complete list of all 2016 columns is here.

=======

List of Columns on the Jamar Clark case and aftermath since.

Questionable conduct by county attorney in prosecution of Jerome Copeland
April 20, 2016

Federal Grand Jury begins to prepare for Clark Case
Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. will call the shots.
April 13, 2016

In the matter of Jamar Clark and Jerome C. Copeland.
Jerome Copeland, an eyewitness to the death of Jamar Clark.

April 6, 2016

In the matter of Jamar Clarks’ death.
Has the integrity of the investigation been compromised?

March 23, 2016

In the matter of Jamar Clark. Preparing for the Grand JuriesMarch 2, 2016

2015: A Year Of Terror And Indecision.
2016: A Year Of…?

December, 31, 2015

Breaking the heart of a community in response to the death of Jumar Clark: Bogth BLM & NAACP Protestors Attack Black fire fighters and police officers.
December, 24, 2015

Whose voice will be heard? And when?
The struggle for control.

December 17, 2016

An open letter: To Black Lives Matter, NAACP, and out of town demonstration
December 10, 2015

White supremacists shoot and wound protestors in North Minneapolis.
December 3, 2016

Listen and Understand. City Tense After African American Youth, Jamar Clar, Shot and Killed in Police Involved Shooting. Anger builds after shooting.
November 26, 2015

=========

EDITOR's note: on, Sunday, March 29, 2016. The Minneapolis Star Tribune published today these 3 summaries of the Jamar Clark case so far:

1. What we know about the death of Jamar Clark: 29 point Star Tribune list.
2. Full Coverage: list of 31 Star Tribune Stories on the Jamar Clarkcase.
3. Time Line of the Jamar Clark shooting: 12 point Star Tribune list from November 15, 2015 (the day of the shooting) to February 10, 2016 (when the findings of the BCA -- Bureau of Criminal Apprehension -- were turned over to the Hennepin County attorney's office.

See also: May 2016 Blog


May, 11, 2016 #19: Shooting war rages on streets of Minneapolis. Political dangers for Minneapolis officials.

Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards
featured in the weekly Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
and Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder News Online
 
May 12, 2016

Pull quote: Is there a plan for dealing with North Minneapolis residents and young people under a near state of siege, where gun battles and injuries are commonplace?

An eerie silence has settled over our Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, a silence shattered only by all too often incidents of gunfire and general mayhem. January through April: over 100 people have been shot, wounded and/or killed, with 40 in April.

My annual question: What will be done to ward off a hot summer?

The future seems needlessly bleak for families attempting to raise children with a sense of comfort and safety. Grievances, whether real or perceived, become real with violence met with violence. Violence becomes the model for our young who then grow up to be violent, as too many see community violence and shootings as normal.

Over two weeks ago, six people were gunned down in North Minneapolis in a 10-hour period, three blocks from the Fourth Precinct. There is enough blame to go around for everyone — White and Black, private and government sectors, churches and nonprofits, parents and neighbors, activists and the inactive. Organizations and leaders of our neighborhoods and city must go beyond recording acts of violence and put in place meaningful operational plans for increasing the safety of our community.

We have had discussions during this legislative session about surpluses of money and jobs and yet silence about the growing number of people shot and unemployed. If not for the ability to rush victims to medical center triages, the number of DOAs (dead on arrival) would be 50 percent greater.

Why do we let our streets become scary and dangerous? In the 1990s we were “Murderopolis.” Today we are “Dodge City,” with North Minneapolis becoming the Minnesota version of “someplace” in the Middle East. With the exception of this column and this paper, the 4th estate remains frighteningly silent about this violence, practicing unacceptable journalism.

For 10 years I’ve asked for a plan in writing for protecting and securing safety for the streets of North Minneapolis. Was one developed after the occupation siege of the Fourth Precinct? Is there a plan for dealing with North Minneapolis residents and young people under a near state of siege, where gun battles and injuries are commonplace?

We have much to be proud of: the opening of a new Vikings stadium, hosting Super Bowl 2018, hosting Final Fours, contributing to the economic growth of our cities and the new jobs that come with it. When do we develop pride in our neighborhoods by developing plans to deal with the silence about the hopelessness and despair expressed by our young people?

Will we be proud of enacting successful plans or watching our bad chickens come home to roost?

Our young “hear” the  silence about their lack of hope and change and wonder why there are no plans regarding education, training, jobs and a business environment to help make them happen? Will plans be for leaders (their next election/appointment/promotion) or citizens (schools, including student graduation, roads and rails and the economic development and jobs they create, housing, medical care for young and old, and public safety)?

We can do this. Let us do this. Let us stop acting like a third-world country, banana republic or city that has abandoned governance and instead serve the present and protects the future.

Without such plans put into action, our young will deliver the political dangers.

Without putting plans in action, we invite the erosion of our civilized aspects that we claim are so dear and precious to us.

There is a war on the streets of our city. It is time for real plans, real action. If not, God help us as a people

Stay tuned.

For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.

To date: 47 Solution Papers.

Written Monday, May 1, 2016
Published, MSR, Thursday, May 12, 2016
Posted TMS, Sunday, May 15, 2016, 11:55 p.m.


May, 04, 2016 #18: Prince: America’s musical genius. Rest in Peace!

Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards
featured in the weekly Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
and Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder News Online
 
May 5, 2016

Pull quote:  His four-decade career, as all the greats, leaves a great legacy that will long be remembered.

Millions around the world were in a state of shock to learn of the passing of Prince at 57. History will record and identify Prince Rodgers Nelson as one of the greatest musical geniuses of this nation. Minnesota and Minnesotans should feel proud of this native son, acknowledged as a “prodigious talent and relentless innovator” who rose “from humble origins to mega-stardom.”

I remember this young Black activist who used to come to our civil rights meeting as a young man, who was a life-long soldier of the “Revolution,” the name he chose for one of his musical groups, part of his “protean career.”

Prince accepted with great passion the forces that drove him and provided him with the genius and the command of music’s creative usess of instruments, composition, and performance. He has served well the history and the image of Minnesota as a place of innovative change agents.

He could have located anywhere on this planet — Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, London, Paris. He chose to stay home in Minnesota. He has been called by national writers as "perhaps the greatest living performer in the pop tradition," the “creator of a hybrid of rock and funk,” “a musician, songwriter, producer and actor… widely considered the single greatest live performer in rock.”

As another wrote, he overcame what many youth in our community have not overcome, as he  “bounced from relative to relative and home to home — changing address over 30 times, with music as his path out of struggle and isolation.” This reminds us of the paths we need to provide and help our young people find today.

Prince was a private person. He was not flamboyant, disrespectful or disruptive. He respected his profession and those he worked with. He handled accordingly the success and failure of his legacy. He had a spiritual side, and became a devoted Jehovah's Witness in 2001, joining congregants in door-to-door proselytizing.

He provided Minnesota with an industry that thrives even today, as his “Minneapolis Sound” became a legacy both locally and world-wide. He made Paisley Park his musical and recording capital. Some would call it his Taj Mahal. His respect for Minnesota and his respect for its citizens will always be remembered, and we would hope that his legacy would always be appreciated and respected.

He left this life too early. There are decisions that are made which we do not always understand. He had physical issues from his marathon performances — some up to five hours, creating hip and knee problems that came from years of jumping off risers and stage speakers in heels.

His four-decade career, as with all the greats, leaves a great legacy that will long be remembered. He was a man of drive and discipline.

As Duke Ellington, “the piano prince,” used to say, “Self-discipline, as a virtue or an acquired asset, can be invaluable to anyone.” May more of our young people emulate that about Prince. For Prince, as for Louis Armstrong, his “life has always been his music, it always came first.”

It is said that we only pass this way once. We all need to leave a positive legacy, to create a sense of purpose, to bring joy into the life of society, as did Prince. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world.”

Prince was a gift to us. May his success be remembered. May he rest in peace as one of God’ treasures gifted to us to continually value.

Stay tuned.

For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.

To date: 47 Solution Papers.

Written Monday, April 25, 2016
Published, MSR, Thursday, May 5, 2016
Posted TMS, Friday, May 6, 2016, 1:40 p.m.


April, 27, 2016 #17: Dusty Baker: Last Black MLB Manager Standing

Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards
featured in the weekly Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
and Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder News Online
 
April 28, 2016

Dusty Baker, second most winning active manager in Major League Baseball, as of the writing of this column, is the only African American manager in Major League Baseball (of 30 Major League Baseball mangers, 29 are White). Obviously there is still a color line that baseball doesn’t want to talk about, let alone act upon. The one being the only before Dusty was Lloyd McClendon.

Major League Baseball (MLB) recently held its traditional, annual honoring of #42, Jackie Robinson. African Americans have played professional baseball for as long as White Americans, ever since it became an organized sport in the second half of the 19th century. Then the door was slammed shut at the turn of the 20th century, not to be opened again until Jackie Robinson was allowed to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers at the old Ebbets Field, April 15, 1947.  How serious are they in the honoring, when, sadly, the Jackie Robinson school on the old Ebbets Field site in Brooklyn, fails its Black children?

MLB’s Selig Rule and NFL’s Rooney Rule urging professional teams to “consider” Black managers and coaches, confirms the door is not wide open, for if teams were seeking the best managers and coaches, not just the best White managers and coaches, there would be no need for separate rules when Blacks are already among the best managers and coaches.

Baseball’s second period of purposeful integration began after its initial period of purposeful segregation, when a man named Branch Rickey took the bold step of signing Jackie Robinson to a major league contract. History was not as kind to a Black ball player named Willard Brown, who was signed at the same time by the St. Louis Browns of the then American League. That is how people use history selectively for their own purposes.

Even before Branch Rickey, there was Rueben Foster, a very respected and effective African American who owned a team in the old Negro League, proving Blacks could successfully own and operate a franchise. And yet, Blacks are still not “allowed” in the owners suites. There is only one majority owner among the MLB, NFL, and NBA: three leagues, 92 teams and only one Black principal/majority owner.

As one who has enjoyed many an hour in the Negro Baseball Hall of Fame in Kansas, Missouri, I urge all who can to visit the Hall to get reacquainted with past successes of the Negro in America and use it to inspire decisions for the future. As a Black historian, I again extend my appreciation to a man named John “Buck” O’Neil, and his role in preserving that history. Buck passed from this life in October of 2006.

There were many heroes who made it possible to allow reestablishing Negroes in America’s “great past time.” We personally question baseball as America’s great past time when it excludes certain Americans, a sport still trying to be a part of White privilege.

That brings us back to Dusty Baker, the last African American standing, the only one, tgoday, allowed to manage a 25-player team roster.

It seems we pursue our level of perfection and knowledge in and about the game of baseball. Not meaning any disrespect for our dark-skinned Latin brothers, but it is quite clear that some people in Major League Baseball, White owners among them, have begun to make the decision again that there is no longer a place in White major league baseball for Black Americans, despite the many who have fought and died for this country in many conflicts.

I believe that those good enough to die for their country are also good enough to benefit from this “great” American pastime.

Stay tuned.

For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.

To date: 47 Solution Papers.

Written Monday, April 18, 2016
Published, MSR, Wednesday, April 28, 2016
Posted TMS, Thursday, April 29, 2016, 7:52 p.m.


April, 20, 2016 #16: Questionable conduct by county attorney in prosecution of Jerome Copeland.

Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards
featured in the weekly Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
and Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder News Online
 
April 21, 2016

The name of Jerome Copeland was first made known to the public two weeks ago in this column with his permission. It has been greeted with silence in all quarters of the so-called institutions for justice. I am not surprised.

When Mr. Copeland was incarcerated for three weeks in the Hennepin County Workhouse, the county attorney’s office knew that he was possibly the most significant witness in the officer-involved shooting death of Jamar Clark. I would invite all to review the transcript of his questions and answers session with the investigators of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and the FBI on November 18, 2015.

I hear a lot of discussion about the great commitment to liberal thinking about types of justice in Minnesota. Which type favors you: the one seemingly for Whites or the seemingly different one for African Americans?

If not for the passionate defense of Mr. Copeland’s constitutional and equal protection rights under the law by his Hennepin County public defender, Ms. Bovee, who still believes in constitutional protection for all clients, the Hennepin County prosecutors would have made Mr. Copeland disappear on a trumped up charge for a significant period of time as the latest African American denied equal protection under the law.

It was no coincidence that after our column of January 28, 2016, in which we referred to Mr. Copeland but not by name, that some within our own community claimed incorrectly to know who the key witness was, even though they were not present on the morning of November 15, 2016. Various individuals of our community have joined forces with special agent Chris Olson of the BCA and the prosecutor of the county attorney’s office to destroy the credibility of Mr. Copeland and to quash his eyewitness account by claiming it was someone else.

If it were not for a Hennepin County district judge who was clearly persuaded by the arguments and evidence presented by County public Defender Ms. Bovee, the result could have been Mr. Copeland becoming a non-person in the tradition of South Africa. This pattern and practice of justice is far too common in this country of ours.

We have reason to believe that Mr. Copeland’s Q&A did not “appear” as a transcript until the investigative report was sent back on a second occasion by the BCA. Too often in our justice system eager officials either use fear and intimidation to “help” witness memory and testimony to reflect official biases, or they knowingly accept false “evidence” that fits their bias. Their bias feeds on its own ideology that leads them to believe that their bias is actually factual (which is why questioning and interrogations should be videotaped for later review and confirmation).

In an early April local radio interview, Hennepin County AttorneyMr. Freeman finally confirmed the unasked question the white 4th estate should have raised: that he was uncomfortable about his statement and that he did not have all of the testimony of all of the witnesses. He should have been asked which witnesses he was talking about.

Under the state constitution, only the MN State Supreme Court can be petitioned to order the opening into the investigation of the death of Jamar Clark. I assume all associated with calling for no grand jury reviewed that constitutional option and decided they didn’t have energy, commitment, or witnesses to raise that constitutional question before the Minnesota Supreme Court.

I await the decision of the Department of Justice in setting the time and date for a review by a federal grand jury.

Stay tuned.

For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.

To date: 47 Solution Papers.

Written Monday, April 11, 2016
Published, MSR, Wednesday, April 21, 2016
Posted TMS, Thursday, April 21, 2016, 12:36 p.m.

===================

November 26, 2015


April, 13, 2016 #15: Federal Grand Jury begins to prepare for Clark Case. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. will call the shots.

Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards
featured in the weekly Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
and Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder News Online
 
April 14, 201

MSR PULLQUOTE: Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. will call the shots

Black Lives Matter Minneapolis (BLM) and the Minneapolis chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), on April 4, 2016, called for Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman to reconsider his decision not to convene a grand jury in the police involved killing of Jamar Clark, an interesting about face as the demonstrations and occupations earlier by the MLM and NAACP were in opposition to convening a Grand Jury. 

Freeman carried out his state constitutional responsibilities.  But there is also federal law, opening an opportunity to include those who want to be a part.  The FBI investigation continues, making contacts and notifying persons of interest.

Which is why we have been puzzled by the “no Grand Jury” statements when the federal government can empanel one on its own and take over the Grand Jury Agenda.

Those who complained that they were not contacted for the investigation of Jamar Clark’s death will now have an opportunity to step up and testify, under oath, in their quest for justice.  According to the BLM and NAACP, depending on which published story you read, they have 20-40 witnesses not interviewed nor contacted, names we are sure they are turning over to the FBI so these 20-40 individuals can finally testify as the NAACP has long requested. 

We are puzzled about how one of their key witnesses, RayAnn Hayes, will testify.  She spoke at the April 4, 2016 press conference.  Authorities say she gave statements that misrepresented the truth regarding what happened November 15 and 16, 2015.  She can clear everything up when she testifies.  She first said she was with Mr. Clark when he was shot (then said she was not), that she was his girl friend (then said she was not), and that he had physically beat her (then said he did not).

Thus, for her and for all witnesses, this will be an opportunity, under oath, to provide absolute clarity to what they saw, said, and did when Jamar Clark was killed.

The FBI forensic laboratory in Quantico, VA, will coordinate and review forensic evidence, including the many videos the NAACP says they have of the shooting that, they say, proves their contentions.  Upon completion of the review of statements and videos, the FBI will make a determination deduced from those statements and videos regarding the shooting.

On February 2, 2016, in a letter to the Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division of the US Department of Justice (DOJ), I asked for a special prosecutor and for a Grand Jury to be empaneled (the letter is posted on my website:  www.theminneapolisstory.com). 

The Federal Grand Jury Process will take at least three weeks to take testimony under oath, after which a legal assessment will be made by the DOJ experts. This should please all who say they were witnesses to the killing of Jamar Clark and who can give first hand knowledge of the circumstances around Mr. Clark’s death.

In addition, the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) will conduct an internal affairs investigation.  And of course, it is anticipated that there will be civil action taken by Jamar Clark’s heirs. This should be completed by the first week of November, 2016.

We await testimony regarding Mr. Clark’s death from the many witnesses, names of which are being given to state and federal authorities.  The Federal Grand Jury and testimony about the truth and ensuing Federal prosecution will be a good thing that will be followed in various media nation wide.  What a remembrance in honor of Mr. Clark, as, together, we pursue the quest for community peace, fairness and justice.  

Stay tuned

For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.

To date: 47 Solution Papers.

Written Monday, April 4, 2016
Published, MSR, Wednesday, April 14, 2016
Posted TMS, Monday, April 18, 2016, 1:38 a.m.


April, 06, 2016 #14: In the matter of Jamar Clark and Jerome C. Copeland. Jerome Copeland, an eyewitness to the death of Jamar Clark.

Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards
featured in the weekly Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
and Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder News Online
 
April 6, 2016

 Pull quote: His phone records will show that [Mr. Copeland] first reached out to the president of the Minneapolis branch of the NAACP. Neither the NAACP nor the BCA sought him out again.

Jamar Clark is now well known nation-wide, due to his tragic death at the hands of police, November 15, 2015. It has now been announced that the county attorney will not charge the two White police officers involved in his death.

Unlike Jamar Clark, Jerome Copeland is not publically well known except to the agencies investigating the shooting. On the week of November 15, 2015, Mr. Copeland came forward with testimony on what he witnessed in the death of Mr. Clark. Mr. Copeland provided one hour of recorded testimony to two agents of the investigative agencies, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). My column on January 28, 2016, detailed Mr. Copeland’s statements to the investigative agents.

My letter, dated February 2, 2016 to the U.S. Department of Justice, highlighted the retaliatory action taken by the BCA against Mr. Copeland when they jailed him for three weeks in the Hennepin County Workhouse. He was wrongfully jailed, and only released because of a decision by a Hennepin County District Court judge, who ordered Mr. Copeland released from imprisonment.

Mr. Copeland represents the kind of citizen law enforcement claims it wants, citizens who will stand up for justice and come forward with testimony, delivering information seen first hand. Given how Mr. Copeland was treated, is it any wonder people hesitate or refuse to come forward?

In late February of 2016, Mr. Copeland and I did a reenactment of the shooting circumstances that took place November 15, 2015. That reenactment included Mr. Copeland’s presence and his firsthand knowledge of the final moments of Mr. Clark’s life.

On Friday, March 25, this columnist revealed, with Mr. Copeland’s permission, his name to the County Attorney’s office. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Public Information Officer told me Mr. Copeland’s name was already known to them.

As I pointed out to the U.S. Department of Justice, in my correspondence of Feb 2, 2016, Mr. Copeland had had no contact with the investigative team since the week of November 15, 2015. Yet Mr. Copeland had been imprisoned for over three weeks. Adding insult to injury, his reputation as a witness was attacked by the BCA agent, Chris Olson, who, in early December, approached Mr. Copeland’s Public Defender attorney of record. That move by the state of Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension was bold and decisive, yet inappropriate and inexcusable. I am not surprised, as it is similar to investigative misdeeds in places like Ferguson, Missouri; Chicago, Illinois; and Cleveland, Ohio.

Jerome Copeland did what any committed, conscientious and honest citizen would do; he stepped forward after witnessing a tragedy take place. His phone records will show that he first reached out to the president of the Minneapolis branch of the NAACP. Neither the NAACP nor the BCA sought him out again.

In return for his commitment to pursue justice, as noted above, and to the DOJ, the justice system wrongfully placed him in jail for over three weeks. As of the writing of this column, Mr. Copeland has never been shown his statement, and thus has not read it nor been given a chance to correct it if need be, nor has he been allowed to initial or sign it as is required by BCA.

I have covered this case in eight columns since Nov. 26, 2015: (2015: Nov 26, Dec 3, 10, 17, 24.
2016: Jan 28, Feb 10 March 2 and 23 )

I was told March 25, 2016, that the county attorney had a transcript of Mr. Copeland’s testimony of those things that he saw. I am disappointed by how this entire episode has been handled, but then we must remember the White institutions involved have seemingly reverted to business as usual with a Black victim.

Stay tuned.

For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.

To date: 47 Solution Papers.

Written Monday, March 21, 2016
Published, MSR, Wednesday, April 7, 2016
Posted TMS, Wednesday , April 6, 2016, 12:38 a.m.


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.

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