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2010 Columns
Quarter 1: January thru March ~ Columns #1 - #13

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March 31, 2010 Column #13: HHF666: a recipe for an unstable America

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

In the legislative protocol of the United States of America, be it state or federal, bills, or legislation, are identified by a House or Senate file number. The headline in this story represents the disservice committed by Republicans and conservatives since the Heathcare Bill was passed on Sunday, the 21st of March, 2010, and signed by the president on Tuesday the 23rd.

The title of this column refers to Hate Health File 666. In Biblical terms, 666 are the call letters of the anti-Christ. If we are not careful, conservatives and Republicans who remain silent will allow this nation to be torn apart, all because of a commitment to compassion and caring for the health needs of all of our citizens by our president who was successful in achieving a campaign promise.

The outrageous conduct on Saturday and Sunday in and around the capitol should both shame and anger Americans of goodwill and compassion. As Congressman John Lewis, Democrat of Georgia, a 12-term congressman and a hero of the Civil Rights Movement, said on the floor of the House of Representatives on Sunday, he had never been so fearful nor felt so threatened by the outrageous conduct of those who represented everything that is negative, threatening and dangerous for America. Congressman Lewis, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, Democrat of Missouri, and Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Democrat of California, found themselves the targets outside the capitol and in the corridors of the capitol, the targets of outrageous threats and racial epithets.

In fact, by Wednesday, the 24th of March, the Democratic leadership found it necessary to entertain a request for at least 10 Democratic members of Congress who had received death threats against their persons and against their families. This represents a level of discord and terror seen allegedly in Third-World nations, not the United State of America in the 21st century.
Even as the president signed into law the healthcare legislation, the disciples and supporters of discord, threats, and violence were terrorizing members of the Democratic Party. By late Wednesday, liberal and moderate commentators were suggesting that Republican leadership in America needed to speak out against these violent threats.

As we go to press, we are not sure that the Republicans and conservatives have the vision and the commitment to turn back the forces of the anti-Christ. Understand my friends, that on the day of the Christian Sabbath, in the corridors of the legislative capitol building, in a country that purports to have the strongest democratic institutions, African American congressmen and women, and those of other persuasions, such as Congressman Barney Frank of MA and Congressman Stupac of MI, found themselves being spat upon, heard the “N” word used and directed toward them personally, heard members of the opposition refer to them as “baby killers” and “fa**ots,” with references that should be confined to the dark corridors of those who support the thinking of the anti-Christ and those who would rip apart this great nation.

Democrat James Clyborn of South Carolina, Democratic Party whip, said it best on the early aft of the 24th of March, when he indicated that he had not seen nor felt as threatened for his personal safety and the safety of his colleagues, both Black and White, male and female, as he had observed in the previous 72 hours.

We as Americans expect that there will be disagreement and discord. But to hear the types of threats that are being made and the United States government taking an action to protect the safety of at least 10 or more of the Congress of the United States is unacceptable, and it is frightening, and it is time that leaders on both sides of the aisle come to their senses and rein those in who would invoke the philosophical approach of those who would embrace the anti-Christ and tear apart the democratic institutions of this nation. This was a healthcare bill for all Americans, and not a piece of legislation intended to tear this nation apart.

It will probably be left to the president to bring the parties together and return civility to the democratic institutions of this great nation.

Ron hosts "Black Focus" on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm. Formerly head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League, he continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com; hear his readings and read his solution papers and "web log" at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Posted 4-4-10, 7:07 p.m.


March 24, 2010 Column #12: Murder on 4th Avenue: The violence continues

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

Last week, Minneapolis recorded 2010’s homicide number 13 (which equals an annualized rate of 52/year, or one a week). Different definitions of place and political correctness have the city saying 11 to make itself look better. But you can’t make any homicide number look good.

With the latest homicide, this one of a 20-year-old African American man on a bicycle four blocks from the offices of the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder at 6:45 pm March 17, 2010, violence returns to South Minneapolis. In broad daylight. Multiple shots. No immediate suspects.

Gang members shooting gang members are one thing. Shooting citizens at random is another, which instills far worse fears.

When a life is lost in a homicide, troubling aspects affect everyone from the loved ones devastated by the death to witnesses, residents and business owners. We could be facing a 2010 spring and summer of uncontested violence.

Politicians and “leaders,” Black and White, have no answer. They want us to believe they are on top of the problem. They aren’t.

Despite hearing of plans for months, there are none. Talk is cheap. I have asked about plans for nearly a decade. I’ve provided suggestions for plans in my books and in the “Solutions” section of my web page. We still wait.

A number of months ago, there was a “Black Leadership” meeting at General Mills. They need to meet again. Let’s hope they help develop and execute a plan before we have more funerals.

Folks, we are going to have to get real serious. This extremely dangerous situation is not healthy for our community, our city, or our families as people begin to wonder if the knock on the door or the telephone call brings distressing news of death or injury.

We are not puzzled by the silence of elected and self-appointed leaders, Black and White, as they have no plan other than walking around with their fingers crossed, hoping their delusions will hold and the homicides will stop at 13.

All of us know that one cause of violence is public policy purposefully blocking equal access and equal opportunity in quality education and quality jobs. A great lady, Nellie Stone Johnson, laid down the clues in a very compelling observation years ago: no education, no jobs, no housing. These “no’s” instill despair, placing too many in harm’s way.

Martin Luther King, Jr. called such despair “born from the wounds,” especially of the “lie of their inferiority [that] is accepted as truth in the society dominating them.” King was very clear: “[T]he white man…day in and day out, violates welfare laws,…flagrantly violates building codes and regulations; his police make a mockery of law; he violates laws on equal employment and education and the provisions of civil services."

This latest homicide took place at a busy Southside intersection surrounded by businesses and pedestrians and lots of witnesses, sending a message similar to what we hear south of us in Juarez and Tijuana as it becomes harder to hold on to the myth that we are miles ahead of Mexico in law and order, justice and stability.

The situation in Minneapolis is just as fragile as in Mexico, especially for the 13 killed and their families and those fearful of being next. Across the Rio Grande, officials are beginning to address the issue as they develop and follow plans.

In Minneapolis? Silence.

Indeed, the police chief is happy to have been reappointed last week, even if only by an eight-to-five vote. We fear he’ll think he doesn’t have to do much over the next three years other than look forward to retirement, which does nothing for a city in need of a public safety plan that will work.
Despite my placing a spotlight on the violence in my columns and books and being a “Beacon on the Hill,” the City still refuses to shine its own light on the coming violence. Mexico’s public safety chief would be removed if he was as cavalier as ours.

Mexico was on the verge of becoming a thugocracy of drug dealers before officials finally began to push back. Does Minneapolis have to wait for that level of violence before the reality is dealt with? Will the Rybak administration, while Rybak himself runs for governor, continue to sing us happy-days-are-here-again lullabies insisting these problems are illusions?

Thirteen murders is no illusion, as the victims’ families know.

Violence on city streets. Indifference at city hall. Fear in the community. Stay tuned

Ron hosts "Black Focus" on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm. Formerly head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League, he continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com; hear his readings and read his solution papers and "web log" at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Posted 3-25-10, 3:50 a.m.


March 17, 2010 Column #11: Where’s the plan to confront these dangerous, violent times?

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

Where’s the plan to confront these dangerous, violent times?

March 17, 2010, Column #11

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

When television and newspapers reported the dangerous events of shootings and killings the weekend of March 5 through March 7, 2010, it reminded me that dangerous acts during dangerous times have dangerous consequences.

Let’s not accept a 17-year-old girl losing her life at a party or young men being shot down in the streets or men with guns entering houses of worship during sacred events — in one case, the funeral of the 17-year-old girl. Let’s not accept Black leaders remaining quiet or city officials saying all is under control when these events and 10 homicides show it is not.

Let’s not dismiss the danger signs, dangerous acts, and dangerous consequences as “it just happens.”

Remember when carrying weapons into a house of prayer and carrying out assassinations would have been unthinkable in our community? Yet on Saturday, March 6, at approximately 12:15 pm, young men in our community attempted to do just that. If not for county sheriffs and federal law enforcement officials watching the individuals in question, we could have had another Fort Hood-like tragedy.

Those responsible for working with youth have received hundreds of millions of dollars of private and public money over the past decade, including educators. They must explain to the community what the money was spent on besides salaries and offices and account for why, given all the millions put forth, these are the results.

Those responsible must tell us why their so-called “relationships” and “success” in the community and schools they herald during fundraising and raising taxes is, at best, their myth and, at worst, their outright lie.

Ever since the first of January this year, during this latest cycle of violence, why have we heard so little from those who say they are involved in interventions with the Black youth of our city? It is equally disturbing that so many shootings and homicides have taken place and yet there are no suspects in custody.

When newspapers and the TV ask people to call listed telephone numbers with information, as officials have no suspects, it sends a signal that far too many experts are clueless about what is happening and who is involved. Without trusted police of a community’s race and ethnicity, how is a community to have faith in the police?

The police need to graduate far more officers of color.

In the March 9, Star Tribune last week, a spokesman for the Minneapolis Police Department identified one of the gunmen at the March 6 funeral as a person who has long been a problem and threat to the Northside community, a person identified three years ago as being involved in the murder of a 14-year-old African American child, Jarez Jones.

Many living in North and South Minneapolis are still trying to figure out how such individuals are enabled to walk away from their crimes.

Our community is uneasy as it faces the dangerous acts and dangerous circumstances of these dangerous times. The Black community deserves protection from acts that continue to take the lives of those within our community. We need a plan for how to preserve the youth and the people of all ages in our community, a plan that is acted on and is not just a planning exercise.

After hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on planning over the past couple of decades in Minneapolis, the mayor last week called for more planning instead of unveiling an actual plan. Planning is thinking about long-term jobs for the planners themselves. Plans are about providing long-term jobs for everyday workers in our community.

And yet we know the solution: education. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Thurgood Marshall, W.E.B. DuBois, Martin Luther King, Jr., Nellie Stone Johnson, and Colin Powell agree that no education means low-paying jobs, which means poor housing and a dangerous community.

And yet the mayor, city council, school system, teachers union, and the mayor’s designated Black “leaders” all conspire to provide either no education or a lousy education for our African American K-12 students and then blame the community. “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste” should be the foundation of an Action Plan for K-12 education that leads to good-paying jobs (and college, too) for all 21st -century students.

Thurgood Marshall said, “The measure of a country’s greatness is its ability to retain compassion in times of crisis,” asking, “What is the quality of your intent?” and concluding, “…intent will be evident in the results.”

Stay tuned.

Ron hosts "Black Focus" on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm. Formerly head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League, he continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com; hear his readings and read his solution papers and "web log" at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Posted Wed, 3-17-10, 3:30 a.m.


March 10, 2010 Column #10: Fourth Precinct at forefront of MPD terrorism. Inspector Mike Martin needs to step down.

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

Fourth Precinct at forefront of MPD terrorism.
Inspector Mike Martin needs to step down.
March 10, 2010, Column #10

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

The Fourth Precinct of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), on the North Side and made up of a conglomeration of different communities of color, has been a political albatross to the City for many years. It holds White inspectors to a lower standard of performance than Black inspectors.

Incidentally, current MPD Chief Dolan served as a commander at the Fourth a decade ago.
Given the out-of-control violence and absolute mayhem by gang bangers and by police on citizens that has been ongoing in the Fourth Precinct under Inspector Martin, we ask how Mike Martin continues as the inspector in charge of the precinct compared to why Black inspectors Dan Battum and Lee Edwards were dismissed.

The mayhem of the past month has included the death of a 17-year-old African American teenager; the shooting of two African Americans on a city bus 18 hours later; the shooting of another African American on Broadway; the unprecedented ambush and attack on a memorial gathering at 35th and Humbolt North; and the continued gunfire that has erupted not only in the Fourth Precinct but across the city, with another man shot at 23rd and Blaisdell (in the Fifth Precinct) and an African American beaten up so badly by the police of the Fourth Precinct that charges against him were dismissed.

Despite Inspector Mike Martin coming into his position as a recognized national expert on gangs, it is clear that the department and its leadership didn’t see this current wave coming. They haven’t a clue who the perpetrators are, and yet we hear not a peep or suggestion from either the chief or the mayor that they are concerned about the performance of the Fourth Precinct.

It’s difficult for any community that is disrespected, disenfranchised, and continuously abused by law enforcement to have any enthusiasm for and trust in law enforcement. The inability or unwillingness of Inspector Mike Martin to control rogues under his command speaks volumes about how much City officials really care.

I say “rogue,” for how else are we to explain that over half of the lawsuits and millions of dollars paid out these past 14 months came out of the Fourth Precinct? A specific example is the beating given Ira Alexander Stafford, African American, 52 years old, on the evening of August 14, 2009.

Stafford was stopped at Bryant and Lowry Avenue North by Squad 425. Three other squad cars (with their lights and sirens off) came. With eight officers present, the beating and tasering commenced, after which false explanations of “probable cause” were filed. And yet Inspector Martin stays.

The camera of Squad 425 filmed the beating. His wounds needed time to heal before he could appear in court, where all charges were dismissed. Mr. Stafford is filing a lawsuit in the federal courts.

WCCO gave a sanitized version of the video on March 3, 2010 (muting the screaming and the Willie Nelson “Country Boy” soundtrack accompanying the beating, and cutting the second beating that occurred in the back seat of the squad car.) We showed a longer cut of the details, graphics and sound on our MTN TV program, Black Focus, last Sunday.

Are you as troubled as I am that during the summer of 2009 a lot of African Americans suffered the same brutality that befell Mr. Stafford (many charged with the catchall for Blacks: “obstructing legal process”)? The MPD took out its anger about the exposure of misconduct and brutality of their gang strike force and other special MPD units, as, during July and August, African Americans were fair game to have their civil and human rights violated and their heads split open.

The Fourth Precinct has been in the forefront of this terror. Attempts to file complaints were suppressed by the MPD and its Internal Affairs Department, all under the leadership of Chief Tim Dolan.

It’s only when politicians seek higher office that they express concern for communities of color. Otherwise, these same politicians turn a blind eye and deaf ear to the egregious acts violating civil and human rights.

It is despair, unemployment, the lack of education, and an uncaring police department that turn communities into garrison states, resulting in our African American community, like our most recently fallen, lovely, 17-year-old African American female, becoming the targets and the victims.

I understand why the community lacks trust in the police. The continuing disenfranchisement of the African American and other communities of color is unacceptable.
Stay tuned.

Ron hosts "Black Focus" on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm. Formerly head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League, he continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com; hear his readings and read his solution papers and "web log" at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Posted March 10, 2010, 2:20 am


March 03, 2010 Column #9: A man for the ages: former mayor Charles Stenvig (Mayor 1969-71, 1971-73, 1975-77)

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

A man for the ages: former mayor Charles Stenvig
March 3, 2010, Column #9

Pullquote: 34 years later we have an administration and police department that thinks the same way Charlie Stenvig did: African Americans were pushing too hard, too far, too fast, and asking for too much.

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

Three-term Minneapolis Mayor Charles Stenvig (1969-71, 1971-73, 1975-77) passed away February 22, in Sun City, Arizona, where he had retired 20 years ago. He was 82.

Mayor Stenvig and I did not see eye to eye on civil rights and race relations issues. I was vice chair of the Civil Rights Commission when he became mayor.

His greatest accomplishment? To expose the fact that Minneapolis was not the liberal enclave everyone pretended it to be.

He became one of the first “law and order” politicians, stating public officials and police were weak and fearful of “a few lawbreakers and hoodlums.” [See Feb 23, 2010, Star Tribune, "Charles Stenvig, three-term Mpls. mayor, dies", with subhead, "At a time of tumult in Minneapolis, Stenvig laid down the law-and-order"]

Today we have weak liberals and weak civil rights leaders. As our mutual friend, former policeman and City Council member Walt Dziedzic pointed out in the Star Tribune, Feb. 24, 2005 (“At a time of tumult in Minneapolis, Stenvig laid down the law-and-order”), Charles Stenvig was ahead of his time concentrating on crime.

His dirty little secret? He knew he was in step with the electorate in rejecting civil rights. He understood the dark side of people (see the reader comments to the Star Tribune article). Interestingly enough, one of his closest advisors on the issues of race and crime was our mutual friend, Richard Parker.

After winning the mayor’s race in 1969, Charles Stenvig nominated Richard Parker to be director of the Civil Rights Department. As Richard had had a minor brush with the law as a youth, the City Council rejected his nomination.

Stenvig then selected Robert Benford, Sr. (who was the second director, 1969-1974), and appointed Richard Parker as his chief of staff.

Mayor Charles Stenvig drove Black leaders crazy with his rejection of and resistance to their agendas. Charles Stenvig was an honest man about what he felt and what he believed in. I was just as honest about mine.

We were each other’s strongest critics.

These were troubling times (Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy had been assassinated in 1968, followed by city riots, followed by White flight to suburbs). Fear gripped many.

Politicians like Charles Stenvig and newly elected President Richard Nixon played on those fears — and got elected. Whites and Blacks, out of fear, took their eyes off the prize turning back the clock on civil rights, equal access and equal opportunity.

Charlie Stenvig was not alone in America when he won election in 1969 (61 percent), and when he won again in 1971 by an even larger margin.

Because Charlie was not a good administrator, he lost in 1973, but won again in 1975.

He exposed the soft underbelly of liberalism’s distortion of the African American’s civil rights message. Even Hubert Humphrey was absent (in 1948, he had become the first Democrat since before the Civil War to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Minnesota).

This is not to say that Charles Stenvig was a bad person. He was merely a man who preferred that age at the expense of civil rights.

His tactic, accepted by Minnesotans and too many other White Americans?

“Slow down!” Despite Martin Luther King’s eloquent “we can’t wait,” Stenvig was among those who said African Americans pushed too hard and too fast. How can pushing be “too hard” and “too fast” to ending discrimination and injustice?

What was good for Stenvig was not good for Minneapolis minorities. Minneapolis hasn’t recovered from the rupture in police community relations then, so 34 years later we have an administration and police department that thinks the same way Charlie Stenvig did: African Americans were pushing too hard, too far, too fast, and asking for too much.

When is asking for ending discrimination and injustice asking for too much?

Stenvig, just as our current mayor, helped reveal the true character of Minnesota liberalism, patting itself on its back for its talk while using the other hand to prevent us from the walk through the door of opportunity and inclusion.

Congratulations to Ralph Remington

Former Councilman Ralph Remington, DFL, 10th ward, was recently appointed director of theater and music theater at the National Endowment for the Arts.

He starts March 15, 2010. Ralph served his one term on the City Council with distinction. He now answers another calling, where he will find folks more sincere than they are in the political arena. Ralph, we wish you the best and we look forward to seeing your innovative stamp on the National Endowment of the Arts.

Stay tuned.

Ron hosts "Black Focus" on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm. Formerly head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League, he continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com; hear his readings and read his solution papers and "web log" at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Posted March 3, 2010, 4:52 a.m.


February 24, 2010 Column #8: Why the delay in Chief Dolan’s reappointment?

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

February 24, 2010, Column #8
"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues..."
A weekly column by Ron Edwards featured in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

It is now the end of February, and one appointment we thought most certainly would be completed by now is the reappointment of Police Chief Tim Dolan (see my 10-28-09 column “Mayor nominates his chief ‘partner’ for another term”), as they apparently overcame issues raised in my 9-24-08 column “Is an exit plan for MPD chief in place?

We first saw red flags when the Minneapolis Star Tribune quoted reliable City Hall sources who intimated the appointment of the chief could be delayed. Now the Strib reports (2-17-10, that the “reappointment hearing will be March 3rd.”

As a longtime observer covering this administration, I am puzzled. Why the delay? Is there a problem getting the necessary votes in the city council? Are there other legal consequences that could embarrass City Hall or the mayor in his bid to become our next governor?

We have been told a number of fairy tales: that morale is good within the department, crime is down (particularly juvenile crime), police intelligence is at its best ever. Indeed, at a meeting in South Minneapolis a week and a half ago, the police department high command intimated they had even broken the backs of organized gangs and reduced violence on the streets of Minneapolis.

But, with the homicide figure so far in 2010 at 10, and for other reasons listed below, I am not convinced.

Certainly, whether Whites are concerned or not, these are issues of concern to a disenfranchised community lacking leadership that speaks up for the African American community. Our leadership has not spoken above a whisper about the questions raised weekly in this column, including those about this chief who, just five months ago, was supposedly on a fast track to reappointment (see my 12-2-09 column).

Have the fast track wheels come off? Certainly concerns about testimony before currently ongoing special federal grand juries and continued high-profile lawsuits can cause the wheels to shred. Examples are plentiful.

Jason Anderson is an example. He has once again become a person of significant interest to federal authorities and their special task force. It is said that some police officers in Crystal, Minnesota, were extremely outraged and concerned about the conduct of Officer Anderson in a recent incident in their city.

They took their complaint to the Internal Affairs Unit of the Minneapolis Police Department. It was suppressed.

And then there is the case of Officer Duy Ngo, who was awarded over $4.5 million in 2007 for injuries he suffered at the hands of his fellow officers who, when he called for help on a case in 2003, shot him multiple times. Sadly, it is now alleged in court documents that Officer Ngo was involved in an incident last fall, on the Nicollet Mall, where a female suffered serious injury after being knocked to the ground by Officer Duy Ngo. There will be a hearing in Hennepin District Court on March 3 to deal with some of the preliminary findings.

For other examples, see #31, under “Solutions” on my Minneapolis Story web page, which is my 7-14-08 list of links to my 2003-2008 Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder columns. See also my 5-21-08 column “Police Federation requests criminal investigation of MPD Chief Dolan,” and my 10-8-08 column “Why did Star Tribune drop its MPD investigation when White officers were implicated?”).

And what about the Civilian Review Board rating Chief Dolan’s conduct as “unsatisfactory”? All of these examples go to the heart of the question raised above: Why the delay in the reappointment of Police Chief Tim Dolan?

Regardless, I assume the Minneapolis City Council will be expected to act as if they believe the fairy tales and vote to reappoint.

The Rybak administration has always alleged that transparency and honesty were its cornerstones. I’m not the only one who disagrees, as seen in the current investigations and taking of testimony by the U.S. Department of Justice, a convened grand jury, and a special federal task force, leading me to believe they also don’t believe the fairy tale that all is well in the police department our city.

Nonetheless, with a hearing set for March 3, the council could vote to confirm Chief Dolan as soon as the 19th of March. If that happens, that will answer my question regarding when the issue will be resolved regarding the reappointment of Police Chief Dolan to serve and lead the Minneapolis Police Department.

Ron hosts “Black Focus” on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm. Formerly head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League, he continues his “watchdog” role for Minneapolis. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com; hear his readings and read his solution papers and “web log” at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Posted 2-24-10, 1:18 a.m.


February 17, 2010 Column #7: The burning of Black history

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

Last week’s column puzzled some readers because of my drawing the parallel of the attempted destruction of our community (in cooperation with so-called Black leaders) to the attempted destruction of Jews in Europe by Nazi Germany. Last week I listed nine 2009 columns of evidence.

The history parallel continues: Hitler’s Nazi (German National Socialist) Party burned books considered “un-German” as the Nazis took control of German culture, just as the Minneapolis Public Schools have burned books on Black history, most from schools closed over the past five years.

How do I know? I was shown earlier this month a library of nearly 1,000 books rescued from Minneapolis Public Schools book bins of books being sent to be burned by the thousands. These rescued books included the full breadth of Black culture in histories, essays, biographies, poetry, novels, etc.
Surprisingly, one of the books, African Americans in the American Congress, 1870-2007, is from a school still open, the Minneapolis Academy (nearly 50 percent African American, 25 percent White). This 803 page first edition, published by the Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, was presented to the school by Congressman Keith Ellison. (His March 24, 2009, letter of presentation is still in the book.) I showed the book, with others, on my TV program.

This destruction of books is another example of how Minneapolis Black leadership men do not stand up for our community.

Another book, Sisters in the Struggle: African-American Women in the Civil Rights-Black Power Movement by V.P. Franklin and Bettye Collier-Thomas, reflects the rich history of the contributions of African American women to the civil rights struggle, going back to 1915. Its place in a bin for burning signals how little historical significance is given to Black women in the struggle. Yet, had it not been for Black women, the Civil Rights Movement would not have been successful.

Another book is Daily Life on A Southern Plantation, 1853, by the renowned and respected author Paul Erickson. Other books include those relating the life of W. Harry Davis, a 20-year member of the Minneapolis Public School Board and a lifelong resident of Minneapolis.

Such book burning reflects finding Black history unacceptable, just as the Nazi National Socialists burned what they found unacceptable in German history. Who will fight to prevent such purges of Black literary and historical materials?

I never thought my dreams of equality and fairness and the education of the masses irrespective of race, creed, color or sexual orientation would be met with actions that parallel Nazi Germany.
Where are our community leaders with the guts to say no? Thankfully, a small group of brave citizens found out what was happening and were able to keep some of the books on people of color from being destroyed.

The volume and number of materials and books saved exceeded by at least five times the very prestigious Gary Suddeth collection at Sumner Library. Does it break your heart, as it does mine, when we see that those who say they want to lead our school district really don’t care about our children and their history? Budget-wise, how do you burn books and seek money for more books?
Are you not concerned with this willful burning of the record of Black writing? Are you not concerned with the disrespect of a sitting African American U.S. congressman? How many other books are likewise disrespected? Of the 2008 edition of Black Americans in Congress, 1870-2007, Congressman Ellison wrote, “I hope the book will become a valued addition to your collection of African American resource materials.”

Such is the nullification of the value of the African American, done before our eyes by our own. We need to light the fire of education in our children, not snuff it out.

As the great educator Mary McLeod Bethune said of the importance of learning our history, “[T]he drums of Africa still beat in my heart. They will not let me rest while there is a single Negro boy or girl without a chance to prove his worth.” Let us not rest until books are made available, not burned, and all of our boys and girls get a chance to prove their worth.

We are criticized as a people having no history. No wonder, as proof otherwise is purged and burned. We assumed good stewardship in the preservation of the important history of our community and people. Let us take steps to ensure that such stewardship occurs from this day forward.

Ron hosts "Black Focus" on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm. Formerly head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League, he continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com; hear his readings and read his solution papers and "web log" at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Posted Wednesday, February 17, 2010, 3:33 a.m.


February 10, 2010 Column #6: Where did it all go wrong? Jordan’s dismissal one more nail in the civil rights coffin

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

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported February 3, 2010, that Mayor R.T. Rybak would not reappoint Michael Jordan as the city’s civil rights director, saying it “was not unanticipated.” What went wrong?

My July 8, 2009, column reported “the corridors of Minneapolis City Hall” were “rife with rumors” that “Jordan will be pushed out after the elections in November.” Two key points: First, the Star Tribune cooperated with the mayor in not reporting this before the election.

Secondly, this is how R.T. Rybak and the city council reward loyal soldiers: by making them scapegoats. (Jordan elected to do their bidding, thus sealing his own fate.) Here is a brief history of the City’s betrayal of our community during 2009, as seen in my columns on the following dates:

2-18-09: nine past columns are listed, reporting how Blacks have been systematically shut out of construction contracts and jobs.
3-11-09: reported that for the first time since 1996, a compliance report was presented to the council but the figures were false. (The council knew and still accepted the report.)
4-15-09: reported the secret email of Jordan outlining the plan to dismantle his department.
5-20-09: reported that even the Civil Rights Commission refused to offer a no-confidence vote in the Civil Rights Department, revealing the contempt both the mayor and council have for Minneapolis’ minorities, keeping both the City’s department and the “independent” commission under their thumbs.
6-3-09: reported that Jordan didn’t start it, “he inherited the system of giving the citizens the runaround” that he perpetuates for the mayor and city council (which is why they don’t stop it).
7-8-09: reported Jordan would be dismissed, noting that the mayor won’t “come clean with voters” prior to the elections.
7-15-09: reported how, being caught, the department was forced to put out “a rare re-bid” for the Marquette and 2nd Avenue project.
11-4-09: I again asked, “Where is the inclusion compliance report” for stadium construction? I reminded readers that Jordan had said much earlier that the City can meet its minority compliance goals without having to hire a single Black person. Response from mayor and council? None.

Thus, Michael Jordan (the sixth director in eight years) carried the noncompliance water for the mayor and council and yet is the only department head not reappointed. They will find another future scapegoat willing to continue to put nails into the coffin of a once-great dream.

I served on the first Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission, created in 1967, in response to the city’s insurrection, chaos, and racial strife (the National Guard patrolling our streets). We rejoiced at the creation of the Civil Rights Department and Civil Rights Commission. Where has that compassion and commitment of the Black community’s leadership gone?

Back then, Black people felt White liberals could be trusted and believed. Instead, they are gutting our neighborhoods and dispersing our people from their homes to become minority minorities in the outer belts of the city. Where and how did it go wrong?

Too many so-called Black “leaders” participated in the tragic destruction of the Black community. Minneapolis is breathtaking in its audacity to drive this final dagger into the Civil Rights Movement during Black History month. As one friend said to me, Minneapolis has become as the Southern cities Minneapolis once so eagerly protested against.

This comes right after the January 28 meeting at the UROC Center, where 160 citizens turned out to hear about light rail, thinking they would hear about jobs and economic inclusion. Instead, the elected public officials of the Democratic Party who were present said that jobs would not be a discussion item, another serious body blow to the dreams and the visions of the African American community.

Jan. 28 and Feb. 3, 2010, will live in infamy as the times and occasions civil rights died in Minneapolis and Minnesota.

The only thing lacking is an orchestra like those positioned to be heard by captives marching to the ovens of the holocaust. A bitter and haunting melody lingers on, giving us a better understanding of how and why and when it all went wrong in Minneapolis.

What has happened to civil rights in this city on the occasion of celebrating Black History is part of an American tragedy for which, at some point in time, there will be an accounting. So who will lead its resurrection? God bless the Black citizens of Minnesota and the city of Minneapolis.

Stay tuned.

Ron hosts "Black Focus" on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm. Formerly head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission, he continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com; hear his readings and read his solution papers and "web log" at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Ron hosts "Black Focus" on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm. Formerly head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League, he continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com; hear his readings and read his solution papers and "web log" at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Posted Feb 12, 2010, 8:14 a.m.


February 03, 2010 Column #5: Honest, transparent discussion needed on new MPS superintendent

Is Bernadeia Johnson right for this job? Subhead: As the 5th worse school district in America, when will the Board of Education become concerned about the future of the African American community’s children?

The education portion of the President’s State of the Union Speech resonates with this column: “reward only success”; “only invest in reform that raises student achievement”. “Seize the moment to start anew, to carry the dream forward.”

These words cause me to raise questions regarding the announcement by the Minneapolis School Board that Deputy Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson, sole candidate for the District Superintendent job and heir apparent to succeed outgoing Superintendent Bill Green (see Star Tribune, Minneapolis superintendent choice causes split, Tuesday, January 26, 2010).

These divisions and concerns were discussed at the meeting I attended January 25, 2010, at the Minneapolis Urban League. The African American Covenant, endorsed by the Minneapolis Board of Education in May 2008 was discussed. Questions emerged that need to be answered by any Board seeking a new Superintendent.

How will she handle the severe deficit of $28 million when the state, under law, borrows from the education fund for other needs? As Deputy Superintendent, what concrete plan has she in place for this long discussed budget crisis, and what was her role in the failure of the African American Covenant project?

Will she have time and energy to devote to the job given her commitment to complete her dissertation to obtain her doctoral degree, especially when she is allowed only so much time to complete it?

Given she doesn’t have her doctorate, can Minnesota certify Johnson as “Superintendent Qualified” while over 35 administrators at the 807 office building already have their doctorates?

Is this another situation like that of former Superintendent Peoples, where there was a certification question, leading to her tenure being cut short?

Parents, citizens and other stakeholders are concerned that the third largest school district in the state of Minnesota, of which Deputy Superintendent Johnson is the Academic Officer, is the 5th worst in the nation. Its decreasing test scores and other educational performance problems have brought warnings about falling below certain key thresholds from both the Minnesota Department of Education and the Federal Department of Education.

Having been part of the school system unable to “Seize this moment to start anew,” and that has rewarded failure, not success, maintaining the status quo and shunning needed reform of value to our students, our city, or our state,” how can she now be the right person for the job?

What significant part has Deputy Superintendent Johnson played in the recommendations leading to so many school closings in North Minneapolis that played a role in dispersing people of color out of North Minneapolis, just as closing down traditional Black housing has done?

As the 5th worse school district in America, when will the Board of Education become concerned about the future of the African American community’s children?

Given that Deputy Superintendent Johnson has not acted on her professed concern about the future of the children of the African American community, what are her real key concerns? As an African American columnist, I reserve the right to speak out on what impacts the future of African American students.

The January 26, 2010 Star Tribune article reporting a $13 million deficit for the 2010 – 2011 school year adds to the concerns about the low level of education of students, causing me to ask the question of what plan the school district has for improving the schools and attracting new students rather than planning for downsizing schools?

Both the Palenty administration and Minneapolis Board of Education have clearly demonstrated a lack of education vision.

This all adds up to a lot that will be on the plate of any new Superintendent. The question is whether Bernadeia Johnson is the right Superintendent. This question has to be asked for the sake of our children. More status quo doesn’t bode well for the future of the children of Minneapolis, particularly the least of these children, those of color.

These questions need to be discussed in an honest, transparent manner. It is important to have explained what happened to the African American Covenant entrusted to the stewardship of Deputy Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson. These are fair questions and issues for the purpose of discussion and clarification. It is important to the future of the children of color and, in fact, all children of the city’s schools.

I predicted many of these current problems in Chapter 7,on Education (pp.. 119-126), in my 2000 Book, The Minneapolis Story, which I open with a sentence important to both Blacks and whites: “As a school system goes, so goes a city.”

Ron hosts "Black Focus" on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm. Formerly head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League, he continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com; hear his readings and read his solution papers and "web log" at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Posted Feb. 3, 2010, 2:45 a.m.


January 27, 2010 Column #4: Let’s celebrate Minnesota’s success stories during Black History Month

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

Black History Month means little if all we do is celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. without also celebrating the success stories of Black Americans he helped make possible. There is nothing more appropriate this year than to celebrate the success stories of Alex Jackson, the first African American fire chief in the city of Minneapolis, and John Lyght, the first and only African American to be elected as sheriff of a Minnesota county.

John Lyght was born and raised in nearly all-White Cook County along the North Shore of Lake Superior. A pioneering legend in Minnesota law enforcement, Lyght died January 15 at age 82. He held office for over 22 years, elected with 97.4 percent of the vote.

I first had the pleasure of meeting Sheriff John Lyght in the late 1970s, when he used to visit the state capitol when he served on the State Committee on Law Enforcement. Over the next 20 years, I had the opportunity to visit with him on my travels into that part of Minnesota.

He was a gentle giant. His parents had moved from Pennsylvania to Minnesota in 1913. He was an integral part of Cook County, and was well respected in the law enforcement community, as he protected the Cook County residents’ franchise.

Hopefully there will be an enshrinement of his tenure and his legacy as a Minnesota first. Sheriff Lyght did proud by his profession as he built his legacy.

The history of Alex Jackson, our fire chief, moves along a parallel path. See my columns of June 18, 2008 (“Long chain of perseverance led to new Fire Chief Jackson”) and December 30, 2009 (“Historic Success Story: Integration of the Minneapolis Fire Dept”).

Chief Jackson is a native-born Minnesotan, a man who came up through the ranks, a man given guidance by the legendary Rocko Forte, chief of the fire department in the 1990s and a man who opened the door wide for the continued diversification of the Minneapolis Fire Department.

In the year and a half that he has been fire chief, Jackson has maintained the legacy of Carter vs. Gallagher, the landmark court decision of 1972 that integrated this department.

John and Alex share a similar legacy. They are Minnesota firsts. They did their jobs with integrity and effectiveness. Yet so little is known about them, as it seems White Minnesota only wants to hear about a person of color’s missteps, news items centered in the spotlight of controversy and analysis.

Young men and women of all colors and races need to know about these great Americans, these great Minnesotans. They need to know they too can be successful. It serves no purpose to talk of their success after they are dead and gone, for it is when they are alive that our young people can hear from them.

During this period of honoring King and Black history, there has been no recognition of these native sons of Minnesota. It bears repeating: John Lyght was the first and only Black elected sheriff in this state’s history.

Too many of our so-called Black leadership groups are jealous of those who are successful in more than being self proclaimed victims. In fearing and thus ignoring doers, our true heritage is denied to our young people.

John Lyght has departed this life. Chief Alex Jackson is still with us and, with God’s blessing, shall have a long and successful career. When will both Black and White Minneapolis celebrate and utilize the success story that Chief Jackson represents?

Coming up through the ranks of his department, Chief Jackson has maintained and managed during a time of severe economic downturn. In these tough economic times, times that are also bringing violence and anger to our city and state, you would think that we would want to recognize and embrace these two great Americans, these two great Minnesotans, who understand how to get the job done.

We need to tap into the success and style of Chief Alex Jackson, just as we need to remember a pioneer of the Minnesota experience, Sheriff John Lyght, who made history, who retained his integrity and dignity living an American success story.

That’s what it’s all about it isn’t it, my friends? Stay tuned.

Violence continues
As we go to press, a seventh Black male has fallen victim to homicide since the beginning of the year.

Ron hosts "Black Focus" on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm. Formerly head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League, he continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com; hear his readings and read his solution papers and "web log" at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Posted Wed, Jan 28, 2010, 12:10 p.m.


January 20, 2010 Column #3: Surge of violence bloodies our communities of color.
We pray for our own city as well as for the people of Haiti

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

All during the Minneapolis mayoral campaign of 2009, we were told — nay, guaranteed and reassured — that order was the norm in Minneapolis, with crime down, murders down, juvenile crime down, and the city as a whole as safe as it had ever been.

I have periodically reminded my readers throughout 2009 that this was not true, that there were red flags and magnifying glasses drawing attention to and exposing the real conditions and the real horror stories, ranging from no jobs, failing institutions, disastrous educational goals and results, poor housing, and poor economic conditions, as well as fear for one’s public safety from one’s fellow citizens.

Periodically I have reported stories of people who had lost hope that their concerns would ever be addressed. And as Election Day, November 2, 2009, came and went, City officials pretended, as they spun the spin, that everything was in order.

The seven days beginning January 2, 2010, tragically, and in a most bloody and fatal manner, exposed that lie. Examples:

A father taking his child to a sleep-over is gunned down in the street.

Two clerks and a customer are gunned down in a community store on Franklin Avenue.

A young honor student at Edina High School is brutally executed along the 3400 block of Chicago Avenue South.

An 18-month-old baby, in the arms of her mother, is shot through the hip as they exited a bus on Olson Highway.

People in their respective communities told me of the fear and terror they felt. Even our major dailies had to finally report stories of citizens speaking of their fear of venturing out of their homes. Businessmen of the East African community told me of their fear of the economic downturn that was taking place, of the robberies, of the assaults being committed against their businesses.

No one can explain how an 18-month-old baby could be shot in broad daylight, nor how two African American men could be gunned down in the streets of North Minneapolis seven days apart. And yet, to get elected in 2009 our City officeholders told us that order was in place and the threat of crime and all that goes with it had almost been eradicated.

We were told that, as part of this wonderful new order, certain organizations were working closely with the youth of our city. In fact, in November and December of 2009, the philanthropic and corporate communities did give hundreds of thousands of new dollars to the old and new overlords of our community.

And yet, during this recent violence, it was those same overlords who, for the first 15 days of January, have been conspicuous in both their silence and absence. This in a city in which yet another police officer has been arrested, this time for what has to be one of the most bizarre crime waves in modern law enforcement history: a Minneapolis Police Department officer who has stuck up at least 12 establishments, including three banks, in little over a month.

Minneapolis offers us another understanding of that old saying that the inmates are running the asylum, in this case the city. But of greatest concern is that communities of color once again have been bloodied, beaten and battered.

The front page of the January 11, 2010, Minneapolis Star Tribune speaks volumes to the pain and fear of a community under siege whose concerns are rejected, recommendations dismissed, and respect not given. Our communities are dismissed out of hand as irrelevant. This does not bode well for 2010.

Martin Luther King, Jr., and others would not be comfortable with the trend and pattern that has emerged in this new year of 2010. Let jus pray for the future and safety of our respective communities. And God save the children.

Haitian tragedy

See NYT piece and TDB piece

Our prayers go out to the nation and people of Haiti. As this column is being written, facts are still being gathered on what may be one of the worst catastrophes in the history of the Western Hemisphere.

The devastating earthquake has severely damaged Port Au Prince and has cost the loss of tens of thousands of Haitian lives. It’s a tragic part of a tragic history that has befallen a great and proud people.

In my next column, I will take a look at a nation that has been severely broken and how we can help to repair it. We will continue to offer our prayers.

Ron hosts "Black Focus" on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm. Formerly head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League, he continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com; hear his readings and read his solution papers and "web log" at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
Posted Wednesday, January 20, 2010, 2:50 am


January 13, 2010 Column #2: Who's monitoring minority hiring on stadium projects? Inclusion Compliance Report is long overdue
Subreport: Golf, Tiger Woods, and The Whitest professional sport in America

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

I questioned the accuracy of the numbers on diversity on major construction projects in my November 4, 2009 column. ("The stadiums are done. Where is the Inclusion Compliance Report?").

For example, the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department was given a $100,000 contract to monitor and report on diversity in the construction of the new Minnesota Twins stadium and yet, in violation of that contract, has not gathered the information. Instead, the department had operatives circulate the erroneous information that upwards of 25 percent of the work force on the stadium were African Americans.

Another example is my May 14, 2008 column on the civil rights department's report on contract compliance for Jan.-Mar. of 2008: "Jordan [Michael Jordan, civil rights department director] reported that on nearly $700 million worth of construction projects, minority skilled participants totaled 26.59 percent of the workers, while 26.58 percent were minority unskilled workers."

Really? As I wrote then, "That would mean 53.17 percent of the workers were minorities. As you walked or drove by construction projects, did you even see one percent that were Black, let alone half?"

As these statistics are not true, I have asked State Representatives Champion and Hayden to request formal documentation. For too many this is a political hot potato that is too hot to handle.

This comes at a bad time for the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department. It is under investigation by the City's finance department for questionable expenditures on trips taken by department officials, particularly a trip to Austin, Texas, in 2009, in which the numbers don't add up and the documentation appears to be not forthcoming, as questions go unanswered about unmarried staff members staying in the same hotel with married civil rights officials.

Sometimes when you "play," the rule of thumb is to take the wife once in a while and leave the girlfriend back at the office. That does not seem to be the rule practiced by the civil rights department. Consequently, the responsibility to meet the obligation of their $100,000 contract, as an example, does not get done, along with other responsibilities.

It is as if our civil rights officials are saying that if African Americans are not employed on the projects or awarded contracts, so what -- our conscience is clear and we got ours. Minneapolis is voluntarily in noncompliance. Black organizations (and so-called progressive White ones) are supporting this injustice when they remain silent.

I am constantly haunted by the gnawing at the back of my mind of an earlier column when I reported Michael Jordan saying the City can achieve its minority compliance goals on any project without having to hire a single Black person.

Stay tuned.

The Whitest professional sport in America

With the temporary departure of Tiger Woods from the PGA tour, professional golf has again become the Whitest professional sport in America.

Whatever you may be feeling about Tiger Woods and his personal problems, the fact remains that Tiger reinvigorated the game of golf, gave it an international flavor in nations of color around the world, and generated a hope and expectation that others that looked like him would join him on the professional golf tour.

But, as I have written before, the disturbing pattern continues of no breakthroughs for other African Americans to follow in his footsteps on the men's and women's tours, even though Tiger was clearly the dominant professional golfer in the game, bar none. The Augusta walls erected to maintain golf as a White person's game are high. There are more African Americans on the senior tour—three—than there are on the men's and women's professional tours in America combined.

At least on the women's tour, young Asians have stormed the gates. Michelle Wie, playing out of Hawaii, is clearly an emerging star. The last great African American woman on the tour was Renee Powell, who left the tour almost a decade ago to help her father, William Powell.

Mr. Powell, who passed away a week ago in Ohio at the age of 92, was the only African American to both build and own his own golf course. He too did not live to see a decent number of African Americans, male and female, play on the professional tour.

These are the questions of race people don't like to talk about in America. With the exception of Tiger Woods, there are no African Americans on either the men's or women's professional golf tours in the Untied States of America. How long will silence enable the Augusta walls to stand?

Ron hosts "Black Focus" on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm. Formerly head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League, he continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com; hear his readings and read his solution papers and "web log" at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Posted January 13, 2010, 1:20 p.m.


January 6, 2010 Column #1: Obama in 2009: Bold action to save the nation — He needs and deserves our redoubled support

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

The early assessments of Barrack Obama’s presidency are in for 2009. He told Oprah he would give himself a grade of “B+.” Others have said “F.” I give him an “A-.”

It has been a hard, challenging, and historic 11 and a half months since he was sworn in January 20, 2009. The problems facing his presidency and, thus, the nation, were many when he took office.

To hear some criticisms and attacks, one would think he had been in office since 2001. We all know he didn’t cause the problems, but as he has been tasked with resolving them, as it is now his watch, he now owns them. He understands, as Harry Truman said, “The buck stops here.”

I judge him on what I believe, in the long run, will show him to be a bold and courageous leader, able to slow the chaos down so it can be stabilized, so he can act to resolve the chaos. But he can’t wait for 2010 to make his “half-time” adjustments. He must make them now.

President Obama reflects the best of Thurgood Marshall’s reminding us of the importance of a united nation. At the 2004 Democratic National Convention, then-Senator Obama said, “There’s not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America — there’s the United States of America.” Too many, even progressives, act to maintain differences rather than unity.

But he can’t act in a vacuum. When FDR was urged by supporters to do things, he said to push him so he could. So let’s not complain. Let’s us not raise our hands to say that Barack Obama has not been an effective leader, but rather lets redouble our efforts to support him and urge him to be the Obama we elected.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Faith is taking the first steps even when you don't see the whole staircase." President Obama has been willing to take steps others feared to take. He will get us to the top of the staircase.

President Obama shows he understands the key Bill Clinton reminded us of: “It’s the economy, stupid.” Thus, President Obama works to fix an economy in stress that he inherited.

He understands that the economy touches on and has serious implications for every category of American life, from banks and other financial institutions to health care and economic growth, from energy independence and climate change to military strength and national security, from education to housing.

Even our automobile industry was on the verge of collapse. President Obama is working to turn all of these around.

As part of the economy, President Obama also inherited a housing crisis. Not since the Great Depression of the 1930s has there been such a feeling in many quarters of fear and apprehension, raising serious questions in some circles about the future of this great nation.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will America be righted in a day.

President Obama also inherited two of America’s longest wars. We were reminded by the attempted act of terror in an airplane over Detroit on Christmas Day that came on the heels of the Ft. Hood incident, shaking the American public and its confidence in our homeland security.

These issues and others, especially unemployment or the fear of it, have created anger, criticism, and a fragile balance in this country. Thus, it is not helpful when commentators, left and right, confuse the Big Picture in their attempt to blame President Barrack Obama for the apprehension, anger, and mistrust that existed when he took office.

He didn’t cause it. He is boldly acting on it.

Certainly there are things we are not satisfied with, but in this holiday season there are many who are unhappy even with Jesus Christ and his churches. No person is perfect, no agenda absolutely “right.” No human being moves within their area of responsibility without error and without mistakes.

I believe history will show that President Barrack Obama, in the year 2009 and beyond, saved this nation from spiraling into the depths of anger, confusion and failures. Be aware of those playing the political and race cards to falsely state that he has achieved nothing and done nothing to strengthen this nation.

God bless you, Mr. President, and may 2010 allow your positive presidency to grow, and may God continue to bless your presidency and this nation.

Stay tuned.

Ron hosts "Black Focus" on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm. Formerly head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League, he continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com; hear his readings and read his solution papers and "web log" at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Posted 1/8/10


Ron hosts “Black Focus” on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm. Formerly head of the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League, he continues his “watchdog” role for Minneapolis. Order his book, hear his voice, read his solution papers, and read his between columns “web log” at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

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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