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2012 Columns
Quarter 1: January thru March ~ Columns #1 - #13

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March 28, 2012 Column #13: Trayvon Martin murder exposes madness of Stand Your Ground laws

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

March 28, 2012

On February 26, 2012, unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot to death by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old wannabe cop and self-appointed gun-carrying neighborhood watchman in a gated community, just outside Orlando in Sanford, Florida. (No local or gated community rule authorized such an armed role.)

Trayvon was returning from a convenience store three blocks from the home of his dad’s fiancée to get snacks for watching a basketball game. He was essentially shot for SWB (shopping while Black).

The 911 tapes (which police withheld until forced to release them by court order) make it easier to understand this latest American tragedy, as it reveals the use of racial hate language. The shooter was told by 911 to stand down and stop trailing the young man.

Witnesses say Zimmerman struck Trayvon from behind, then shot him through the heart as he lay on the ground. Other “arrest” factors include the chilling one that Zimmerman was not only allowed to go free but also to keep his weapon.

It is these kinds of actions of Zimmerman, the Sanford Police Department, and the state of Florida that brings shivers and fear into the African American community in Florida and other “Stand Your Ground” states.

Fifteen states have Stand Your Ground gun laws that essentially expand on the “right” of citizens to claim self-defense in killing other citizens. Florida passed its law in 2005. There are thousands of gun laws, but police are lax in enforcement.

And there remains a bias in favor of White gun owners. Zimmerman had been arrested four years ago in an armed assault on a police officer. He is not legally allowed to be issued a permit to carry a gun, and yet he was.

Was this an Emmett Till moment?

Too often, Black America suffers shootings in silence. Trayvon Martin’s family played the game the way White folks do, as they tenaciously took the necessary legal procedure steps, beginning with filing in court and getting release of the 911 tapes.

Homicides (purposeful murders) require bureaucratic report writing and investigating. It is so much easier for police departments to label them “accidental” and be done with them. It works because African Americans too often remain silent and don't take the necessary legal steps.

You see, the Sanford Police Department refused to launch an investigation; they merely took the word of the assailant that young Mr. Martin represented a threat to Mr. Zimmerman by virtue of his race and appearance. The Martin family is showing the legal procedural way for future victims of such “accidents” to get justice.

Florida Representative Corrine Brown was able to bring the Black Congressional Caucus and national figures such as the Rev. Al Sharpton to pressure Florida authorities and the Obama administration to explain why Mr. Zimmerman was let go instead of being charged.

It is no wonder that Florida’s passage of Stand Your Ground legislation, combined with lax support of gun laws, caused many Blacks in the state of Florida to argue that this represents a dangerous and immediate threat to African Americans. It could be used as an instrument by White supremacists, vigilantes, and those who simply hate African Americans and others to hide behind the law as a legal shield to threaten and to terminate the lives of African Americans.

Too many of the 2012 presidential candidates of the right, and their supporters, seem drawn to talk darkly about marginalizing and dismissing the rights of African Americans and other non-Whites. Despite “it can’t happen here” claims, it clearly does.

And now, belatedly, cases are being examined in other American states with Stand Your Ground legislation. Did you know that our sister state of Wisconsin passed such a law and that one is working its way through the Minnesota legislature?

Not surprisingly, there have been questionable circumstances where African Americans have lost their lives in, for example, Milwaukee and Beloit, Wisconsin, Texas, Louisiana, and Western states like Idaho, Utah and Arizona. An examination is underway to ascertain how these killings — nay, executions, murders — were handled of African Americans sacrificed on the altar of Stand Your Ground legislation. It’s American character soul-searching time.

Only a veto from Governor Mark Dayton will stop it from becoming law in Minnesota.

Too many within White America still harbor “master class” delusions that African Americans have no rights and feel free to curb them.

Will Minnesota also adopt Stand Your Ground legislation, adding another clear and present “open season” danger to African Americans in the United States of America?

Please stay tuned.

Ron Edwards hosts “Black Focus” on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm, and hosts Blog Talk Radio’s “Black Focus V” on Sundays, 3-3:30 pm and Thursdays, 7-8:30 pm, providing coverage about Black Minnesota. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com. Hear his readings and read his solution papers for community planning and development, “web log,” and archives at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Posted April 4, 2012, 2:07 a.m.

Column 2012/#13

Ron's media message platforms:
(1) Column (since 2003): "Through My Eyes: The Minneapolis Story Continues", published weekly in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.;
(2) TV: Host of weekly Black Focus, Sundays, 5-6 pm, on Channel 17, MTN-TV;
(3) Blog Talk radio podcasts: host of “Black Focus V,” Sundays, 3-3:30 pm; and Thursdays, 7-8:30 pm;
(4) Books: The Minneapolis Story Through My Eyes (2002); and A Seat for Everyone (2008); Order here.
(5) Solution Papers: for community leadership, planning and development;
(6) Blog: "Tracking the Gaps"
(7) CD: Hear his readings;
(8) Archives. (Columns, Blog entries, Solution Papers).


March 21, 2012 Column #12: Early Spring Offensive of Violence. Minneapolis Police Department Takes Possession of the CRA (Civilian Review Authority).

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

March 21, 2012

On the international scene last year, the Arab Spring brought an offensive of hope for positive change in the Middle East, led by the young and unemployed.  It also brought an offensive uprising of violence and confrontation by those wanting to dash hope and prevent needed change. Is this what’s in store for Minneapolis?

My concern is not what happens with the 21st century Arab Spring but with Minneapolis Spring of 2012 and the disturbing pattern developing violence (drive by shootings, gun battles in the street, white and black youth fighting together and against each other in and through downtown).  This is a concern for everyone, not just Blacks, not just Whites. 

The frustrated and unemployed are sending a very chilling message, asking clear questions about decades of broken promises, which, if continued, risks a Minneapolis Spring and Summer of dangerous discontent.

In a six day period, from March 9 through March 14, at least ten individuals were shot and wounded in confrontations raging from Cedar Riverside, east of Downtown Minneapolis, to North Minneapolis in the again under siege  4th precinct. 

There were also shootings and stabbings in South Minneapolis.   But it is that stretch from the West of the city limits in North Minneapolis, through downtown and almost onto the campus of the University of Minnesota that is my focus, as it signals an early and dangerous offensive of violence and threats to all citizens.

In downtown Minneapolis, in that six day period, groups of young people disrupted traffic and the sense of security and safety along the Nicolet Mall and in other parts of downtown Minneapolis.  Large groups of young people beat and attacked citizens attempting to enjoy activities and the “safety” of downtown Minneapolis.

In North Minneapolis, more citizens than officials want to admit to and confirm, are creating safe rooms to protect their children, themselves and their loved ones from what has been an epidemic of activities of shooting into homes, shooting into cars, and shooting into citizens.  It is further compounded by the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department and its Director to recommend to the City Council that the Civilian Review Authority be placed under the control of the Minneapolis Police Department and its Internal Affairs unit.  All need to be included in the solutions.  Exclusions lead to more failure.

A disturbing pattern seems to indicate a total disregard for an under siege community and its citizens.  The Minneapolis Star Tribune has embraced an interesting policy of a benign cover up of this early uprising of violence.  The Star Tribune reports shootings and violence 4 or 5 days after they happen.  We call your attention to a story in that paper last Wednesday, which reported on a violent confrontation in which two African Americans, one who had been featured with US Representative Keith Ellison just a month ago, were gunned down in their automobile by unknown shooters in cars working an obviously coordinated drive by.  Such gunmen are attempting to take control of the city of Minneapolis. 

We do not speak or write lightly about this significant increase of violence with guns, knifes, and boots. 

But we have to again ask:  where is the Plan to provide hope to those who send a message to city officials and others, that they see no hope (we offer our suggestions on our web site)?  The community feels no one cares, and consequently they act out.  That does not make it right nor is it being endorsed in this column.  But we ask about all the 100s of millions of dollars and jobs the Mayor’s administration says have been made available over the past ten years to our communities. 

The data on payouts to traditional hustlers is not encouraging.  Needed is adding to the big pay outs like the Vikings stadium by spreading the wealth across the entire playing field, such that everyone can sit and eat at the table of economic equality. 

Instead, residents of North Minneapolis are being used to generate money for folks living outside of North Minneapolis, as the city has deliberately failed to hold even itself in compliance with hiring laws, as it sows seeds of distrust that could lead to sprouting more violence.

The councils insistence that minorities be included in any stadium bill is a welcome first step.  Now let the executives and officials throughout the public and private sectors do the same, and develop and publish their plans for upcoming hiring compliance.

Stay tuned.

Ron Edwards hosts “Black Focus” on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm, and hosts Blog Talk Radio’s “Black Focus V” on Sundays, 3-3:30 pm and Thursdays, 7-8:30 pm, providing coverage about Black Minnesota. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com. Hear his readings and read his solution papers for community planning and development, “web log,” and archives at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Posted March 25, 2012, 11:44 p.m.

Column 2012/#12

Ron's media message platforms:
(1) Column (since 2003): "Through My Eyes: The Minneapolis Story Continues", published weekly in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.;
(2) TV: Host of weekly Black Focus, Sundays, 5-6 pm, on Channel 17, MTN-TV;
(3) Blog Talk radio podcasts: host of “Black Focus V,” Sundays, 3-3:30 pm; and Thursdays, 7-8:30 pm;
(4) Books: The Minneapolis Story Through My Eyes (2002); and A Seat for Everyone (2008); Order here.
(5) Solution Papers: for community leadership, planning and development;
(6) Blog: "Tracking the Gaps"
(7) CD: Hear his readings;
(8) Archives. (Columns, Blog entries, Solution Papers).


March 14, 2012 Column #11: Vikings stadium plan in place???

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

March 14, 2012

The headline of the March 7, 2012 Star Tribune story was very confusing: “:  Senator says Target Center is in Vikings stadium bill, 'but it isn’t’.” Did you just hear the euphoria of the previous week’s “deal” whimper away? Maneuvers with strings attached by pro-stadium interests may have jeopardized what seemed to be a clear legislative undertaking.

Mayor R.T. Rybak feels compelled to find dollars for the Target Center. Why “all or nothing”?

The Star Tribune article of March 7 is self-explanatory, hence our title with three question marks. Three Vikings agreements are still “missing” from the discussions:

1. A lease agreement for the old Metrodome for the 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons.

2. A rental agreement for University of Minnesota TCF stadium for the 2015 season.

3. A lease agreement with new stadium authority for the 2016 season and beyond.

Governor Dayton’s stadium point man, Ted Mondale, threw sand when he said construction and financial plans would put the Vikings in their new stadium for the 2016 season, even after the Vikings said the extra wait is a deal killer (the Vikings’ owners, not the team, are paying $20 million extra each year on debt service) waiting for the 2004 promise of a new stadium.

I am repeating what has been said by the prime-time players. By the time this column goes to press, will the ink also be drying on these three separate agreements?

Vikings owner Ziggy Wilf is neither stupid nor naïve. How can it be assumed that the Vikings can be pressured to sign a long-term agreement on the Metrodome before the new Vikings stadium deal is done? Would any good attorney or financial advisor say this is the best deal for either the ownership group or the team itself, especially with Los Angeles shining with the color of gold?

I’ve been looking at the NFL constitution. It states that when teams operate in a facility, whether owned, leased or rented, they have to protect the interests of the league, the franchise and the players with insurance. The NFL constitution insists upon a clear and concise legal understanding of who is libel for what. How can they do so without a lease?

A year ago the Minnesota Vikings declined to sign an extension of their lease with the Metropolitan Sports Authority. The situation is past rolling things over or extending arrangements and contracts, because right now there are none to extend. 

My question, then, continues to be this: How is the negotiation going in regards to the Vikings as Metrodome tenants in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and University TCF Stadium tenants in 2015 with a new stadium lease beginning in 2016?

The Star Tribune article raised serious funding questions. We ask: How can the Vikings open the exhibition season at the Metrodome in early August without these three leases in place? 

How can the Minnesota Vikings, the NFL, and the players’ association be expected to play in the Metrodome without a signed and delivered lease agreement and without a new stadium deal? Is this all a part of how the one percent plan to send the Vikings out of town and away from the 99 percent who want to occupy jobs?

Will Minnesota “Save the Vikings” or not? Here are the “wave bye-bye” deal-breakers:

State deal-breaker (Mondale): if state money goes to remodeling Target Center.

City deal-beaker (Rybak): if no money goes for remodeling the Target Center.

Vikings’ deal-breaker: Minnesota not keeping 2004 promise to build new stadium.

NFL deal-breaker: Minnesota not keeping 2004 promise to build new stadium.

Fans’ deal-breaker: legislature treating them as too small to occupy big jobs while “too big to fail” corporations are bailed out and given bonuses. Send the stadium jobs to Los Angeles and fans will see that legislators no longer occupy their seats.

Who will call the “family meeting”? In 2000 (Star Tribune, August 10), Dave Jennings, then president of the Chamber of Commerce, said about the future of the Twins and Vikings in Minnesota, “The teams are crying out for somebody to call the family meeting.” The Twins got one. Why not the Vikings?

Bottom line: Minneapolis and Minnesota need our need our November 09, 2011, Plan for fans to unite behind a movement to keep the team.  The The Vikings have never used Los Angeles as a bluff. Doesn’t matter. High stakes risk: blink or lose, bluff and lose the Vikings.

Stay tuned.

NOTE: Star Tribune: Council group urges minority hiring for Vikings stadium, February 29, 2012.

Ron Edwards hosts “Black Focus” on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm, and hosts Blog Talk Radio’s “Black Focus V” on Sundays, 3-3:30 pm and Thursdays, 7-8:30 pm, providing coverage about Black Minnesota. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com. Hear his readings and read his solution papers for community planning and development, “web log,” and archives at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Ron Edwards hosts “Black Focus” on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm; hosts “Black Focus” on Blog Talk radio Sundays at 3 pm; and hosts Blog Talk Radio’s “ON POINT!" Thursdays a 7 pm, providing coverage about Black Minnesota. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com. Hear his readings and read his solution papers for community planning and development and “web log” at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Posted Wednesday, March 14, 2012, 11:28 a.m.
Column 2012/#11

Ron's media message platforms:
(1) Column (since 2003): "Through My Eyes: The Minneapolis Story Continues", published weekly in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.;
(2) TV: Host of weekly Black Focus, Sundays, 5-6 pm, on Channel 17, MTN-TV;
(3) Blog Talk radio podcasts: host of “Black Focus V,” Sundays, 3-3:30 pm; and Thursdays, 7-8:30 pm;
(4) Books: The Minneapolis Story Through My Eyes (2002); and A Seat for Everyone (2008); Order here.
(5) Solution Papers: for community leadership, planning and development;
(6) Blog: "Tracking the Gaps"
(7) CD: Hear his readings;
(8) Archives. (Columns, Blog entries, Solution Papers).


March 07, 2012 Column #10: Police unions turn to Republicans for help. Rybak administration and Civil Rights Department blindsided

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

March 7, 2012

One wonders how long it took the Rybak administration to realize the powerful Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis had turned to the Republican majority in the Minnesota legislature. Unlike Black organizations that do nothing when ignored and are thus taken for granted, the Police Officers Federation, ignored by the City, went to the other party. It’s a White thing Blacks need to learn how to do, which won’t happen as long as they stay self-glued to one party.

As legislative lobbyists, special-interest advocates, and legislators themselves keep their supporters informed about legislation that will affect them, I wonder why the two Black state legislators for the City of Minneapolis didn’t give our community a heads up? It could have made a difference, and it could have resulted in the federation taking a softer position instead of setting up the demise of the Civilian Review Authority (CRA).

I don’t know what it was that caused the Korbel Group in her Department of Civil Rights (DCR) to think they could get in the middle of White folks’ business. They are now suffering pain and retaliation. The police union and the Republicans in the legislature are showing how real politics is played. Of course there are those who say that this is what Mayor R.T. Rybak has wanted all along, as I suggested in this column a couple of years ago: end the MDCR and the CRA.

What the police federation did was brilliant. It makes sense. As police union President John Delmonico put it in a February 23, 2012 Star Tribune article "We have worked with the city to do two or three revamps of the Civilian Review Authority. It has fallen on deaf ears" (“Bills would rein in police review board”). When the Rybak administration would not listen, the federation reached out to the Republican majority to seek legislation that will make the Civilian Review Authority disappear, as they believed the DCR and CRA were being dishonest and indifferent.

Consequently, according to sources inside the federation, it was necessary to bang the drum, meaning take it to a higher level, and if that meant going to the legislature to get support for eliminating the incompetence, arrogance and indifference of the CRA, then so be it.

Understandably, when the federation experienced incompetence and dishonesty in the DCR and its CRA, combined with the administration’s refusal to act, the police federation acted instead. The Republicans have solicited enough support from Democrats that they will be able to override any governor’s veto. Now that is effective politics.

This is what happens when Blacks get involved in the middle of White folks business. Blacks must never forget that for any minority group, there is always a double standard. Minorities cannot be as incompetent and dishonest as the majority (in this case, Whites) and still expect to get ahead.

This is a disaster for the African American community and other racial groups who fought long and tirelessly for civil rights in 1965 and for the CRA in 1990. As one who was there for both, as one who fought battles then and now, I cannot begin to say to you how disappointing it is to see this level of incompetency at the DCR that has resulted in these steps to eliminate the CRA.

Once the police federation began to tell Republican legislators the horrifying stories of incompetency and dishonesty within the Civil Rights Department and the Civilian Review Authority, it was all the Republicans needed to hear (the DFL also knew but would do nothing). Obviously, members of the mayor’s own political party agree the Civilian Review Authority and the Civil Rights Department should pass into American history.

So what’s it all about? Simply this: Who will meet the responsibility of the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department to administer and investigate cases? Who will meet the responsibility of the Civil Rights Commission to handle the judicial aspects of cases? And who will meet the responsibility of the Civil Review Authority to handle hearings on cases about findings regarding complaints about the police?
In the struggle for equality, the poorest legacy is having failed due to being incompetent and dishonest. That will be the legacy of the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department, Civil Rights Commission, and Civilian Review Authority. They marked time waiting for their pensions. They failed their mission, they failed their people, they took their eyes off the prize — the dream. And now they will lose their jobs.
Stay tuned.

Ron Edwards hosts “Black Focus” on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm; hosts “Black Focus” on Blog Talk radio Sundays at 3 pm; and hosts Blog Talk Radio’s “ON POINT!" Thursdays a 7 pm, providing coverage about Black Minnesota. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com. Hear his readings and read his solution papers for community planning and development and “web log” at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Posted Wednesday, March 8, 2012, 2:42 a.m.
Column 2012/#10

Ron's media message platforms:
(1) Column (since 2003): "Through My Eyes: The Minneapolis Story Continues", published weekly in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.;
(2) TV: Host of weekly Black Focus, Sundays, 5-6 pm, on Channel 17, MTN-TV;
(3) Blog Talk radio podcasts: host of “Black Focus V,” Sundays, 3-3:30 pm; and Thursdays, 7-8:30 pm;
(4) Books: The Minneapolis Story Through My Eyes (2002); and A Seat for Everyone (2008); Order here.
(5) Solution Papers: for community leadership, planning and development;
(6) Blog: "Tracking the Gaps"
(7) CD: Hear his readings;
(8) Archives. (Columns, Blog entries, Solution Papers).


February 29, 2012 Column #09: Can Minneapolis taxpayers afford the CRA? Too expensive for the average citizen?

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

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

February 29, 2012

The Star Tribune story “New names, old pains on Minneapolis police review panel”, February 20, 2012, reported on what we have reported on for a decade: the slow, continued collapse of the Civilian Review Authority (CRA) and, by extension, the collapse of its parent, the Civil Rights Department (CRD). Thus words in the story were not a surprise to us: “ranks depleted, … investigative staff overwhelmed … recommendations routinely ignored,” with the CRA “far weaker” in its investigation “of complaints against the police.”

We know that the quality of professional investigation in the CRA leaves a lot to be desired. We understand why the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Tim Dolan thinks the CRA is incompetent. This is one the dark holes that the Rybak administration needs to be concerned about falling into.

Taxpayers have every right to expect that their hard earned dollars will provide the best possible service. One of the more revealing features of the Star Tribune’s story was that the CRA has only one investigator, with a second investigator on leave. Now this one working investigator reports to an $80K/year director, which raises the question of a lot of pork barreling.

The CRD and, by extension, the CRA, seems to be extremely heavy with the presence of highly paid assistant directors and very few staff to do the work. We see a department that allegedly investigates as many as 300 cases. Yet it has a 3 year backlog of cases waiting to be investigated.

Minneapolis taxpayers are not getting a quality return for their dollar. Needless to say, the Mayor understands that this kind of fiscal imbalance makes it easier to jettison the CRD and the CRA. Is that the goal here?

The Rybak administration owes the taxpayers an explanation. It is clear that the Chief of the MPD, Tim Dolan, has no confidence whatsoever in the administrative and investigative quality of the CRA and, by extension, the CRD. In fact, it is quite clear that the CRA’s Board didn’t have much confidence in their responsibilities, because they never spoke up about the number of vacancies that existed on the CRA Board. Nine of the eleven positions were unfilled and allowed to let stand unfilled for quite some time, adding to the CRA’s inability to carry out its administrative responsibility, which is to hear the cases.

Last year the city paid out $4.7 million of taxpayer money, the second highest total for a single year ever.
“Police chief Tim Dolan dismissed all but 17 of 129 complaints filed with the CRA.” 112 cases were dismissed.

Now we read that departing members of “the CRA Board are quoted as saying they have no confidence that Chief Dolan and the MPD command staff will ensure discipline for sustained allegations of misconduct.” But lack of confidence is a two way street. The Chief doesn’t believe in the CRA and the CRA doesn’t believe in the Chief. So who are the taxpayers of the City of Minneapolis to believe in and what needs to be done to keep their hard earned tax dollars from going to waste?

This is a “luxury” the City of Minneapolis cannot afford. The Mayor is trying to get a stadium for those who can afford to be entertained, but this column feels that priorities are in the wrong place. The commitment of the taxpayers to support an effective and competent government should be a priority over all other things.

The taxpayers of Minneapolis cannot afford this impasse. Large payouts. Non-responsiveness. Significant infighting inside City Hall. The Star Tribune piece includes this most compelling statement: that “Kenneth Brown, 2008-2009 Chairman of the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission, says Dolan does not believe in citizen scrutiny of police. He says Rybak is partially to blame for failing to appoint enough board members.” Said Brown: “The police chief and the mayor don’t believe they have to be accountable to the citizens of this city who are putting them in office.”

Velma Korvelle said there is a plan for corrective action. I assume that that will take place during the confirmation hearings of the 8 new board members that, 3-4 months after the fact, are hearings finally being moved forward.

My friends, the taxpayers of the City of Minneapolis cannot afford this kind of irresponsible governance and waste of their hard earned tax dollars. Think of how the city could afford to support a new stadium with the monies that it wastes.

Stay tuned.

Ron Edwards hosts “Black Focus” on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm; Hosts Blog Talk radio podcasts: “Black Focus V,” Sundays, 3:00 - 3:30pm, and Thursdays at 7:00 - 8:30 pm; providing coverage about Black Minnesota. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com. Hear his readings and read his solution papers for community planning and development, “web log,” and archives, at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Posted Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 2:22 a.m.
Column 2012/#9

Ron's media message platforms:
(1) Column (since 2003): "Through My Eyes: The Minneapolis Story Continues", published weekly in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.;
(2) TV: Host of weekly Black Focus, Sundays, 5-6 pm, on Channel 17, MTN-TV;
(3) Blog Talk radio podcasts: host of “Black Focus V,” Sundays, 3-3:30 pm; and Thursdays, 7-8:30 pm;
(4) Books: The Minneapolis Story Through My Eyes (2002); and A Seat for Everyone (2008); Order here.
(5) Solution Papers: for community leadership, planning and development;
(6) Blog: "Tracking the Gaps"
(7) CD: Hear his readings;
(8) Archives. (Columns, Blog entries, Solution Papers).


February 22, 2012 Column #08: MPD Chief Dolan hits back. Attempts by subordinates and the Civil Rights Department to oust him fail.

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

February 22, 2012

It is clear that Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) Chief Tim Dolan has known that many of the recommendations coming from the Civilian Review Authority (CRA) were based on incompetence and dishonesty. So when an incompetent and dishonest recommendation was made to terminate two officers of color, the chief dug in and not only refused to fire the officers, but also reinstated them to duty.

The action of reinstatement has revealed a significant and politically charged rift inside the top command of the MPD, along with an equally serious rift between the chief and his boss, Mayor R.T. Rybak. Contributing to the rift was the act of Assistant Chief Janee Harteau and Deputy Chief Scott Gerlicher when they terminated the two officers of color without proper consultation with the chief.

Other actions include the leaking of the fact of the rift as reported in a December 19, 2011 article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Dolan panned on cop discipline).  At that time, some in his own command indicated Dolan would be stepping down as chief in January 2012, a full year before his contract was to expire.

The chief clearly identified the assistant chief and the deputy chief, as well as members of the Civil Rights Department (CRD) and the CRA staff (which is a part of the Minneapolis CRD), as sources of the leaks. According to reliable sources inside the police department, this was seen in statements by former CRA Chairman Bellfield as he closed out his term as a member of the CRA Board.

The rift significantly increased when the chief reversed the actions of Harteau and Gerlicher. This deepening of the rift comes at a difficult time for the Rybak administration and the city council and those attempting to undermine Chief Dolan as head of the department.

The lawsuit filed in 2011 by Lt. Andrew Smith and Sgt. Patrick King will go to trial in April of 2012. Chief Dolan became significantly aware of this when one of his favorite deputy chiefs, Rob Allen, was identified as not having properly supervised Lt. Smith and Sgt. King. Apparently, in December 2011 and January 2012 the chief uncovered the sources of numerous rumors and attacks on his administration in the attempts of others to position Assistant Chief Harteau as his successor.

This has now led to a new political quagmire involving discussions of bringing in an outside person to succeed Chief Dolan. One person discussed is an African American. At this time, I choose not to disclose the person’s name.

The discussions are at a crucial stage inside city hall. Some say Harteau has lost the support and confidence of Council President Barb Johnson, a very powerful player in the process of selecting a new chief.

This all comes at a significant time for the Rybak administration in light of pending lawsuits against the City by Lt. Michael Keefe and Lt. Lee Edwards. Having a significant impact on relationships is the Star Tribune declining to report on the conspiracy against Chief Dolan as well as failing to report on the collapse of the CRA as a functional entity. Some maintain that that in itself will strengthen the chief’s hand if he decides to initiate litigation to protect both his tenure as chief and his reputation as a law enforcement officer.

This rift has driven an unprecedented wedge into the department, maybe the most significant since the dark days of 2007 and 2008, when Black police officers were the targets of the conspiracy that destroyed the Black Police Officers Association and made them nearly invisible.

I will continue to follow this closely over the next weeks. Damage has been done to the effectiveness of this department in certain areas of administration and professional performance.

Historically, this kind of bureaucratic infighting over a position bringing out the worst in people is not unusual. The most celebrated example was the decades-later exposure of the identity of “Deep Throat,” whose Watergate leaks led to bringing down the Nixon administration.

Deep Throat, as it turned out, was Mark Felton, who attempted to position himself as the successor to FBI head J. Edgar Hoover (as reported in the new book Enemies: A History of the FBI,” by Tim Weiner).

As Robert Peale, who created the first modern police department in 1829 London and who later became British Prime Minister, said, “There seems to me to be very few facts, at least ascertainable facts, in politics.”

Stay tuned.

NOTE: following the 2-16-12submission of column to the MSR for its 2-22-12 issue, the Minneapolis Star Tribune published a story 2-20-12 discussing these same events: New names, old pains on Mpls. police review panel.

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

Posted Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 6:43 p.m.
Column 2012/#8

Ron's media message platforms:
(1) Column (since 2003): "Through My Eyes: The Minneapolis Story Continues", published weekly in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.;
(2) TV: Host of weekly Black Focus, Sundays, 5-6 pm, on Channel 17, MTN-TV;
(3) Blog Talk radio podcasts: host of “Black Focus V,” Sundays, 3-3:30 pm; and Thursdays, 7-8:30 pm;
(4) Books: The Minneapolis Story Through My Eyes (2002); and A Seat for Everyone (2008); Order here.
(5) Solution Papers: for community leadership, planning and development;
(6) Blog: "Tracking the Gaps"
(7) CD: Hear his readings;
(8) Archives. (Columns, Blog entries, Solution Papers).



February 15, 2012 Column #07: Black jobs promised on Vikings stadium construction. Who will ensure the promises are kept?

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

February 15, 2012

Mayor R.T. Rybak stated in his February 6 press conference that he was pressing hard for the Minneapolis City Council to support his dream of a Vikings stadium near the Metrodome. (Star Tribune, “Flanked by union workers, Rybak pleads for Vikings stadium”)

The mayor’s declaration reminds me of Isabel Wilkerson’s current best seller and Pulitzer Prize winning The Warmth of Other Suns, a moving, well-researched story of the promises made to Negroes of the World War II era that influenced the great racial migration from the South to the North. Their dream: good employment, good education for their kids, and a good future.

The Oct. 22, 2010 “Disparity Report” disclosed that the involvement of the African American community in Minneapolis was heretofore nonexistent in the city and the surrounding metropolitan area.

Thus, for too long, Minneapolis “Blacks need not apply!” signs replaced promises of full employment on such mega-projects as Twins’ Target Field, Timberwolves’ Target Arena, Gophers’ TCF Bank Stadium, University of Minnesota’s Children’s Hospital, Minneapolis Public Schools’ new headquarters building on West Broadway, Colorplas, Mall of America Phase II, new casinos, new light rail lines, major “destination” development , ancillary projects part of or next to these major projects, and infrastructure development.

The statistical data of the $500,000 taxpayer funded October 22, 2010 disparity report, “The State of Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises: Evidence from Minneapolis,” “Program Recommendations Prepared for the City of Minneapolis,” and the report “M/WBE’s Availability in the City of Minneapolis Market Place” affirmed data in the 19 columns of my website’s Solution Paper 49 exposing the purposeful avoidance of hiring compliance discussed in the disparity studies, exposing the dark side of Minnesota political and community leaders Black and White.

It is important to recognize that the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department (MCRD) did not contest the October 22, 2010 “Disparity Report” findings, did not conduct appropriate on-site visits, and could not confirm the authenticity of the figures they signed off on.
Here are suggestions for addressing the findings of the “Disparity Report” in order to provide a seat at the construction table of the Minneapolis Vikings stadium project for African Americans:

• Include correcting the 31 pages of problems identified in the October 22, 2010 report (pp. 74 – 111).

• Include Blacks in the City and County process to acquire the land for stadium.

• Include Black architects to design the facility, estimating $9-12 million.

• Include a Black joint venture partner with the general contractor at around 30-35 percent or $250 million.

• Include a requirement for Black subcontractors/specialist contractors that hire individual laborers to include Black laborers, adding another $360 million for the African American community.

• Include among the laborers the young men in hard hats at the 2/6/12 press conference.

• Include a MCRD Enforcement Plan that includes verification visits, authentication of the M/WBE participation and Black laborers.

• Include hiring compliance goals of the team owners, contractors, and the City and State agencies that will put together the construction of the Vikings stadium.

• Include information notices that the MCRD, acting on behalf of the City, has the necessary statutory protection.

• Include a series of joint hearings by the city council’s Economic Development Committee along with the African American representatives in the Minnesota Legislature, regarding The Plan. Neither the Vikings nor the Black communities have time to continue hiring non-compliance.

• Include the Vikings’ reasonable timetable of a stadium in two years. The City-suggested four years endangers the several million dollars to be brought into the African American community in planning for development along Broadway and light rail. The extra two years is unsustainable by the V
ikings and is the equivalent of being The Plan to get them to move to Los Angeles.

• Include disparity study suggestions for how to bring economic opportunity to Minneapolis.

• Include the ideas and suggestions of our columns and solution papers on planning, which suggest a minimum $570 million for the African American community and nearly $2 billion for the White community.

When will the Construction Hiring Verification Plan be announced and implemented?

When will the plan offering a fair shake and seat at the jobs table be promised to the young men at the press conference?

We thank the mayor for his early signal that the economic stimulus plans will include everyone in the city of Minneapolis. We look forward to seeing the Enforcement Plans being developed by the Civil Rights Department.

Stay tuned.

NOTE: Star Tribune: Council group urges minority hiring for Vikings stadium, February 29, 2012.

Ron Edwards hosts “Black Focus” on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm, and Hosts Blot Talk Radio’s Black Focus V on Sundays, 3-3:30 pm and Thursdays, 7-8:30 pm, providing coverage about Black Minnesota. Order his books at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com. Hear his readings and read his solution papers for community planning and development,“web log,” and archives, at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Posted Wednesday, February 15, 2012, 6:43 a.m.
Column 2012/#7

Ron's media message platforms:
(1) Column (since 2003): "Through My Eyes: The Minneapolis Story Continues", published weekly in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.;
(2) TV: Host of weekly Black Focus, Sundays, 5-6 pm, on Channel 17, MTN-TV;
(3) Blog Talk radio podcasts: host of “Black Focus V,” Sundays, 3-3:30 pm; and Thursdays, 7-8:30 pm;
(4) Books: The Minneapolis Story Through My Eyes (2002); and A Seat for Everyone (2008); Order here.
(5) Solution Papers: for community leadership, planning and development;
(6) Blog: "Tracking the Gaps"
(7) CD: Hear his readings;
(8) Archives. (Columns, Blog entries, Solution Papers).


February 08, 2012 Column #06: Now the real battle for 2012 begins. Let’s hope it doesn’t get much uglier.

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

February 8, 2012

The ugliness during the Republican primary in Florida provided us a front-row seat in the arena of negative electioneering that has become a hallmark of the 2012 Republican campaign. To say it has been uglier in the past doesn’t excuse it.

It will get worse when Republicans vs. Republicans turn their vicious and ugly campaign against Barrack Obama, as Republicans train their sights on just a single target: the president.

It began to emerge in Iowa. There was not much in New Hampshire. And then full-throated negative explosions erupted in South Carolina and Florida.

Gingrich clearly signals he does not intend to stand back from the abyss he helped create. He has become “The Speaker of the House of Campaign 2012 Negativity.”

In 2008, after a very bloody fight in the Democratic primary between Obama and Clinton, both sides were able to hold their noses and still shake hands. There is no indication at this hour that this strategy of cooperative support exists among the Republican contenders.

Ron Paul will stay the course (in his attempt to influence the choice of candidate and party planks).

Santorum with his emphasis on culture war issues is finally finding out he isn’t the soul of the Republican Party.

Gingrich is too much in love with attention and hunting for a big post-campaign lobbying or nonprofit job to think of the Republican Party or put conservative principles first.

Super PACS: Both Democrats and Republicans rely on Super PACS (Political Action Committees) while holding to the fiction that their candidates have no contact with them. Funds raised by the Super PAC supporting Romney clearly indicate that big conservative money in America is prepared to underwrite this PAC’s negative, political juggernaut.

Negative campaigning
Some say that after the Republicans have finished bloodying and annihilating each other, President Barrack Obama will have a cakewalk to re-election. We in this column are not so sure it will be that easy.

An example of this troubling and dangerous pattern of negative campaigning is the call by the Republican Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives, Mitch O’Neal, citing Biblical scripture (Psalm 109), calling for the death of the president. This is not Billy Bob sitting in his basement with a six-pack of beer throwing darts at a picture of Barack Obama. This is a man who presides over the Kansas legislature.

Another example is the editorial by the owner of the Atlanta Jewish World News newspaper calling for President Barack Obama to be assassinated by Israeli agents as an option for saving Israel.

Later apologies don’t take away the fact that these were serious statements comprised of dangerous rhetoric. Worse, they are statements of belief. It is the kind of rhetoric that drives some (and it doesn’t take many) to take political matters into their own hands.

Black America has suffered through the assassinations of Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, Jr., and far too many others, including JFK and RFK. Black America suffered through the pain and the loss of those giants. Far too many political and religious conservatives who enjoy significant positions, prestige and power stand silent on this dangerous rhetoric from the Republican right.

Doesn’t matter. Our concern is how the negative campaigns of either party impact what is more important: allowing all African Americans to sit at the education, jobs and housing tables.

Blacks continue to unduly suffer due to the purposeful barriers to access and opportunity for African Americans in terms of the “Big 3” areas of Nellie Stone Johnson: good education, jobs and housing (see our columns on purposeful employment non-compliance). This has both victims and victimizers on the downward slope of what Thurgood Marshall called “nullification” and “reversal” of progress made in terms of denied access and opportunity based on race.

The source of prosperity for people and the overall economy is jobs. Policies allowing mortgages backed with government guarantees only bring prosperity to banks.

Policy should support creating jobs to enable earnings to facilitate home buying, not raising barriers to jobs. Job policies are needed, not new ways to spend money that doesn’t exist for people without jobs and without money to repay loans.

Black History Month. It is tragic that this discussion has to take place during Black History Month. Who will stop the right-wing train of nullification and reversal regarding race as it thunders down the tracks away from the notion of the America Dream for all?

Stay tuned.

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

Posted Wednesday, February 8, 2012, 12:41 a.m.
Column 2012/#6

Ron's media message platforms:
(1) Columns (since 2003): "Through My Eyes:
The Minneapolis Story Continues", published weekly in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.;
(2) TV: Host of weekly Black Focus, Sundays, 5-6 pm, on Channel 17, MTN-TV;
(3) Blog Talk radio: hosts “Black Focus,” Sundays, 3:00 pm;
(4) Blog Talk Radio:
Co-Host of weekly “ON POINT!",Saturdays at 5 pm;
(5) Book: The Minneapolis Story Through My Eyes (2002);
(6) Book: A Seat for Everyone (2008);
(7) Solution Papers: for community leadership, planning and development;
(8) Blog:
"Tracking the Gaps"
web log at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com;
(9) CD: Hear his readings;
(10)
Archives. (Columns, Blog entries, Solution Papers)
Order
his books at http://www.BeaconOnTheHill.com.


February 01, 2012 Column #05: The Road To Re-Election: The President’s State Of The Union Message

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

February 1, 2012

The president’s “A Blueprint for an America Built to Last” State of the Union speech, on January 24, 2012, was a brilliant send-off for 2012 voters. The president, well prepared, vision clear, broad and inclusive, offered for discussion to all voters a blueprint for continuing America as “built to last.”

The author of the book on corporations the president referenced, “Built to Last,” has since written on why “built to last” didn’t. This is why this blueprint is so important for America, so the oldest constitution in the world lasts.

In a word, the president was pitch perfect for the group that will determine the election: independents. Whoever wins in November, regardless of party, will use much of this blueprint. Readers of this column know we personally wish the future of African Americans was included in his blueprint, especially in Black enclaves in inner cities, suburbs, and rural areas.

Although we understand the president’s strategy, we haven’t forgotten the statistics and facts showing purposeful, unfair outcomes regarding education, jobs, housing, diversity compliance, etc., as reported for eight years in this column.

Key blueprint points for keeping “the American promise” alive:

The president outlined our political parties’ strengths to achieve successful change in education, jobs, job training, energy, housing, manufacturing renewal, immigration, health care, Social Security, Medicare, deficit reduction, entitlement programs for the rich and the poor, college costs, student loan relief, and tax fairness proposals.

Changes in technology and globalization will impact policy debates more and faster; they need to catch up, as the USA and the world seek a balance between investments and subsidies strategies.

The president said, “I will work with anyone in this chamber to build on this momentum.” But just in case Washington stays “broken,” he’s taking his blueprint to the voters in November. So, just as with the Constitutional Blueprint designed 236 years ago, the American voters will be the final judges in November regarding who will lead 2012’s “Blueprint for an America Built to Last.”

Stay tuned.

Ron Edwards is the former head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League. He continues his "watchdog" role in Minneapolis, works to contribute to the discussions on leadership, planning, and the future of Black and White Americans living and working together in Minneapolis.

Posted Wednesday, Febdruary 1, 2012,7:57 a.m.
Column 2012/#5

Ron's media message platforms:
(1) Columns (since 2003): "Through My Eyes:
The Minneapolis Story Continues", published weekly in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.;
(2) TV: Host of weekly Black Focus, Sundays, 5-6 pm, on Channel 17, MTN-TV;
(3) Blog Talk radio: hosts “Black Focus,” Sundays, 3:00 pm;
(4) Blog Talk Radio:
Co-Host of weekly “ON POINT!",Saturdays at 5 pm;
(5) Book: The Minneapolis Story Through My Eyes (2002);
(6) Book: A Seat for Everyone (2008);
(7) Solution Papers: for community leadership, planning and development;
(8) Blog:
"Tracking the Gaps"
web log at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com;
(9) CD: Hear his readings;
(10)
Archives. (Columns, Blog entries, Solution Papers)
Order
his books at http://www.BeaconOnTheHill.com.


January 25, 2012: NCAA contenders looked like Black colleges. They were not. Nor do Black athletes or Black colleges share in the wealth.

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

A week ago, tens of millions of Americans (with millions more around the world) tuned into the NCAA BCS national championship football game, played at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. A big game.

And a big revenue generator. A great payday for all White colleges eligible to get their cut of the media and game-day millions. A big payday for White coaches dependent on winning records.

Ask, then, with all these millions, why players only receive a room, some books and a blanket? The players, the majority of whom are Black, are the economic engines causing mega-millions to rain down on America’s major White institutions.

And its not just football. It’s the same agenda and scenario with college basketball.

As we watched the BCS championship game, it was if we were watching two Black traditional colleges, because there were so many superb and excellent Black athletes on display in that game. Surely the winner was the Black college (as it would have been regardless of who won), which would also be an easy mistake to make for those watching around the world.

But then I came back to reality: White schools making millions off of Black field hands on America’s collegiate sports plantations. And yet, since the creation of the coach’s poll, the AP poll, and other polls in both football and basketball, a Black college has never been ranked in the top 25.

The facts: Black athletes make hundreds of millions of dollars for White institutions in exchange for a room, some books, a blanket, and the NFL dream.

Playing for a top-25 college is the doorway to being showcased for playing in the NFL. Only about eight out of every 10,000 high school football players will make the NFL draft. Black athletes play collegiate football and basketball at all levels. There are two national collegiate championships, football and basketball. Doesn’t it seem each year as if they are Black colleges?

In the 2012 national BCS championship game, the two White coaches are going to make, in salaries, bonuses and other gratuities, over $4 million between them. Guaranteed.

The players? Graduation? Not guaranteed. Studies indicate only 35 percent of Black players will graduate with a degree. Some believe the number is lower.

Yes, Blacks have come a long way. When the NFL became integrated in 1946, Alabama and Louisiana State University didn’t allow Blacks to do anything on campus except sweep and clean.

After the “integration” of the White schools, their sports riches became even greater for the White schools they now went to. And with the lucrative television contracts starting in the 1980s, America’s White universities hit a gold mine, where the schools got the gold and most Black players got the shaft.

And yet, in the tradition of “separate and unequal,” Black colleges in America slip further and further down the ladder of economic opportunity and growth. In the top division of NCAA collegiate football, there is an overwhelming number of Black players yet few Black coaches, few Black athletic directors, and few Black college presidents.

Fifteen years ago, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow Coalition drew attention to the disparity confronting Blacks in the sports worlds of America. Then Rev. Jackson got distracted and backed away. We have not.

We well remember the meeting held right here in Minneapolis, 15 years ago, at the Hyatt Regency, when White coaches like Joe Paterno, Lou Holtz and others told Blacks in sports to just be patient, as things would improve. Martin Luther King, Jr. decried the “wait and be patient” advice, as do we, for it really means wait patiently in your place at the back of the bus and be thankful to have that place.

And so you can understand my confusion and error in the championship game at the Superdome in New Orleans. I was thinking about the dream, the dream deferred, a dream big money says we should not talk about anymore.

Kind of like what Joe Paterno told the gathering at the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Minneapolis 15 years ago: Just wait and be patient and something good will come your way. Just like his assistant coach and all of those little boys?

God bless the American Dream. Think about the future and don’t take your eyes off the prize.

Stay tuned.

Posted Wednesday, January 25, 2011, 12:30 a.m.
Column 2012/#4

Ron Edwards is the former head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League. He continues his "watchdog" role in Minneapolis, works to contribute to the discussions on leadership, planning, and the future of Black and White Americans living and working together in Minneapolis.

Posted Wednesday, January 25, 2011, 2:15 a.m.
Column 2012/#4

Ron's media message platforms:
(1) Columns (since 2003): "Through My Eyes:
The Minneapolis Story Continues", published weekly in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.;
(2) TV: Host of weekly Black Focus, Sundays, 5-6 pm, on Channel 17, MTN-TV;
(3) Blog Talk radio: hosts “Black Focus,” Sundays, 3:00pm;
(4) Blog Talk Radio:
Co-Host of weekly “ON POINT!",Saturdays at 5 pm;
(5) Book: The Minneapolis Story Through My Eyes (2002);
(6) Book: A Seat for Everyone (2008);
(7) Solution Papers: for community leadership, planning and development;
(8) Blog:
"Tracking the Gaps"
web log at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com;
(9) CD: Hear his readings;
(10)
Archives. (Columns, Blog entries, Solution Papers)
Order
his books at http://www.BeaconOnTheHill.com.


January 18, 2012: A good man departs public service. Fire Chief Alex Jackson to step down February 29, 2012.     

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

When Minneapolis Fire Department (MFD) Chief Alex Jackson announced his retirement two weeks ago, it was not necessarily surprising to us in this corner. We saw it coming as far back as April 2010 in the rush to judgment over the April 2, 2010 fire that was used to unfairly yet purposefully undercut Chief Jackson.

As I wrote in my April 28, 2010 Column, “All the Star Tribune and City Council Member Gary Schiff (DFL, Ninth Ward) have managed to do as shameless, vocal town criers against the department’s Chief Jackson, Assistant Chief Penn, and Fire Marshall Tyner, all African Americans, is get egg on their faces.”

Despite how he has been treated, the good news is that Chief Jackson is leaving for retirement on his own terms, his head unbowed. 

Due to my long experience as one of the federal court-appointed overseers of the department, I am extremely familiar with the MFD and its demands. It was not always an easy task to convey to the union and the politicians the importance of adhering to the orders of the federal court.

In the early 1990s, City officials thought they could skirt the laws. The federal court sanctioned the City to the tune of $1 million in fines. In the case called Carter v. Gallagher, Alex Jackson, John Griffen and Ricky Campbell gave testimony exposing the City’s court order violations.  [See my December 30, 2009 Column: Historic Success Story: Integration of the Minneapolis Fire Dept]

Alex Jackson has been an outstanding public servant and excellent fire chief. He took a department in budget disarray and low morale and reestablished the department’s strength.

I watched Alex Jackson come into the fire department as a recruit. I watched him, Ricky Campbell, and the late Big John Griffen provide a level of leadership that enabled the MFD to become one of the most respected and diversified departments in the United States.  [Star Tribune, June 10, 2008:  Chief Jackson is the MFD first Black Chief].

And, as I wrote in my column of December 30, 2009, the integration of the MFD is a nationally recognized historic success story. Half the size of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), it has twice the number of Blacks.

Chief Alex Jackson has been attentive to the orders of the court and the plan put in place by a committee appointed for the Minneapolis Fire Department and the City of Minneapolis. Throughout his career, he acted as an exemplary professional.

But when you are committed to justice, you make enemies. We would like to think that everyone believes in equal access (diversity, opportunity, and that old civil rights term, integration). Unfortunately, too many people in positions of Minneapolis influence don’t. If they had their way, there would never be a Black fire chief and there would never be any Black fire fighters or Black police officers.

During this occasion of the celebration of the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. and coming up on Black History Month, what better time to retool and remember the successful battles that were fought during a time that has moved beyond the current battles of today. Chief Jackson exemplifies what Martin Luther King, Jr. meant when he said that some Blacks may be unqualified, but they are definitely qualifiable.

Chief Alex Jackson was both old school (respected the past) and new school (understood the importance of the past for the present and the future). He will be moving on with his life, his career, and will continue to pursue his vision of a better America for all.

The loss is the city’s and its public institutions. All of us will lose as another successful warrior, advocate and visionary moves on. 

We say this to Chief Alex Jackson as he folds his flag of success and moves off the battlefield: Well done, Sir! Well done! And may God keep His hand on your shoulder and those of your family, for yours has been a story of success.

You have made proud the many legends that came before you, such as Cecil Newman, Nellie Stone Johnson, and brother Michael Collins, all successful warriors who could not only talk the talk but could walk the talk as well.

As Cornell West would put it, “You’ve got to be a thermostat rather than a thermometer. A thermostat shapes the climate of opinion [transformative]; a thermometer just reflects it [runs on polls].Lincoln was a thermostat. Johnson and F.D.R., too.”

It’s also the difference between the evidence-based commentary of this column and mere prejudiced judgments that have been directed at Chief Jackson.

Stay tuned.

Ron Edwards is the former head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League. He continues his "watchdog" role in Minneapolis, works to contribute to the discussions on leadership, planning, and the future of Black and White Americans living and working together in Minneapolis.

Posted Wednesday, January 18, 2011, 1:28 a.m.
Column 2012/#3

Ron's media message platforms:
(1) Columns (since 2003): "Through My Eyes:
The Minneapolis Story Continues", published weekly in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.;
(2) TV: Host of weekly Black Focus, Sundays, 5-6 pm, on Channel 17, MTN-TV;
(3) Blog Talk radio: hosts “Black Focus,” Sundays, 3:00pm;
(4) Blog Talk Radio:
Co-Host of weekly “ON POINT!",Saturdays at 5 pm;
(5) Book: The Minneapolis Story Through My Eyes (2002);
(6) Book: A Seat for Everyone (2008);
(7) Solution Papers: for community leadership, planning and development;
(8) Blog:
"Tracking the Gaps"
web log at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com;
(9) CD: Hear his readings;
(10)
Archives. (Columns, Blog entries, Solution Papers)
Order
his books at http://www.BeaconOnTheHill.com.


January 11, 2012: We still need help here! African American children continue to die, and with them our spirits.

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

On Christmas day, December 25, 2011, three-year-old Terrell Mayes, Jr. enjoyed Christmas and the love and warmth of his family. By the late evening of December 26, Terrell Mayes, Jr. was dead, the victim of the continuous, senseless violence that is tearing at the soul of our city.

By Wednesday, December 28, politicians were trying to put a favorable twist on this tragic story. But there is no twist, no mirage, no Madison Avenue-driven theme, no so-called “closure.” Death is irreversible. And at three years of age, this child’s death will haunt family, friends and community for the rest of our lives.

Sadly, it is just as plain as the five fingers of your hand that violence, tragedy and death are alive and well in Minneapolis. The picture in the Sunday, January 1 edition of the Star Tribune said it all: a mother with tears running down her cheeks, remembering her youngest child who will never know another Christmas, never again hear the laughter of his loved ones and friends, never attend his first class in school, never know high school graduation, never see the birth of his own child, and never again feel the love and hugs of his mother.

These are no longer happy events to be taken for granted about this three-year-old innocent Black child who had nothing to do with his own senseless death, despite the audacity of those who suggest that, based on his race and the circumstances of his life, he and others like him bring such fatalities upon themselves. To read such comments on White blogger websites and in the Star Tribune suggests a mean-spirited doctrine that continues to exist within this city and within this nation, despite pious protests to the contrary.

People have been too quick to assume this was a Black-on-Black crime — as of this writing we don’t know that. There are no suspects, no witnesses, as has happened with too many other African American males and females who perished during 2011.

Just the heartache of another lost Black life remains. My July 14, 2010 column was Please! We need help here! We are in perilous trouble as a people and a city, standing at a race-relations crossroads.

As I talk to and meet a lot of people, I’m hearing far too many African Americans say that downtown, the Man, White folks, and even our own Black leaders don’t give a damn. That’s dangerous, my friends. When one peels back the casualty figures to reveal the number of African Americans, particularly the young, who continue to be the targets and victims of the violence, death, mayhem, heartache and sadness, one realizes that there is legitimacy to the statements made and feelings expressed.

But nothing said now or later will bring back the life of three-year-old Terrell Mayes, Jr. How many more tragic ends like this can we afford? None before. None now. None tomorrow.

Terrell Maze should not have been a victim in the first place. If we, as a city and as a nation, were committed beyond paying lip service to those things we say we are committed to — the preservation of life and the protection of our citizens, not to mention education, jobs, and most importantly the safety of our children — this would not have happened.

Think of it, my friends: This child and his siblings heard gunfire that had become a daily occurrence in their neighborhood and around their home. That daily occurrence was hardly their fault. They were attempting to flee within their home to a place of safety, to a shelter that would protect them.

But young Terrell didn’t make it. The bullet was faster. With his death, a little bit of all of us died. At some point in time, you begin to lose just a part of your soul and your spirit. We can’t continue to let our children die, to look the other way, to put our heads in the policy sands and pretend it won’t happen again.

The tombstones reflect our looking away from the death of our babies. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the theologian Hitler had killed for standing up for the children of Germany, wrote, “The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.”

Stay tuned.

Ron Edwards is the former head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League. He continues his "watchdog" role in Minneapolis, works to contribute to the discussions on leadership, planning, and the future of Black and White Americans living and working together in Minneapolis.

Posted Wednesday, January 11, 2011, 10:41 p.m.
with minor changes January 12, 2012, 7:17 a.m.
Column 2012/#2

Ron's media message platforms:
(1) Columns (since 2003): "Through My Eyes:
The Minneapolis Story Continues", published weekly in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.;
(2) TV: Host of weekly Black Focus, Sundays, 5-6 pm, on Channel 17, MTN-TV;
(3) Blog Talk radio: hosts “Black Focus,” Sundays, 3:00pm;
(4) Blog Talk Radio:
Co-Host of weekly “ON POINT!",Saturdays at 5 pm;
(5) Book: The Minneapolis Story Through My Eyes (2002);
(6) Book: A Seat for Everyone (2008);
(7) Solution Papers: for community leadership, planning and development;
(8) Blog:
"Tracking the Gaps"
web log at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com;
(9) CD: Hear his readings;
(10)
Archives. (Columns, Blog entries, Solution Papers)
Order
his books at http://www.BeaconOnTheHill.com.


January 04, 2012: A year of decision, a year of danger

January 4, 2012

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

2012 for Black America could be one of the most decisive and dangerous years since the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and the turbulent days of the Civil Rights Movement (1950s and 1960s), regardless of which party wins in November.

The conservative wing of American politics, so obsessed with defeating Barack Obama, has thrown their normal political caution to the winds. Before, for over 40 years, the left was seen as compulsive, irrational and careless.

Danger: Both parties are not cooperating, just as in the period leading up to the Civil War and the period just prior to the Great Depression of 1929.

Danger: According to the largest hunger report, “Hunger in America,” nearly 49 million people, one in six of the U.S. population and more than one in five children, were hungry or faced food insecurity at some point during 2010. 2011 statistics will be higher.

Danger:  When Americans, including military personnel returning from conflicts and wars in foreign lands, can’t find jobs due to the clash of ideologies and philosophies, trouble brews. 

Danger: If democratic institutions and the growing prosperity they inspire are shut down, it could end the scale of our democracy and prosperity.

Danger: Partisan debates regarding unemployment, wage stagnation, education, health care, foreign affairs, and the growing number of the hungry and “food insecure” will only get worse if both political parties don’t act from common ground. America’s citizens want their elected officials to seek creative, honest and successful ideas for answering these challenges that are testing America’s strength and fiber.

Danger: The parties seeking secrecy to avoid elections being put under a microscope, whether U.S. Presidential, Senate and House campaigns, campaigns for state governors and city mayors, or for state legislatures and city councils, will only make matters worse. If those inside the beltway won’t work together, it’s up to us outside the beltway to elect those who will. We need to be able to see the lights at the end of the tunnel: jobs, housing, and better education results, showcasing a nation that can compete on the world stage. 

Danger: If we continue to live off the earnings of our children and grandchildren and not our own, African Americans understand a tilt downward and/or backward is the worst possible thing for the dream of Black America for parity and a future that will finally bring all of Black America into the mainstream.

Danger: “Kicking the can down the road” has been the result of both parties spending money for programs each wants when each is in power. We learned in Vietnam and again in Iraq and Afghanistan that we can’t have both guns and butter, cutting taxes while increasing spending. 

Danger: As I have long stressed, if we do not discuss the slippage in the area of quality of life, if Americans believe that the only way we can compete is by fighting wars in foreign lands and dropping bombs on other people, our goals of hope, equal access and equal opportunity, fairness and justice are at risk.

Which model? Exclusive and inclusive? Empty chairs or a seat for everyone? Will we opt for a more empowered and arbitrary centralized Federal government wealth redistribution model that gets ahead of revenue and is not inclusive of all the people? Or will we work toward a decentralized people empowered redistribution model in which the Federal government collaborates with states and municipalities to enable a more pro-growth self-reliant citizenry model adaptable by each level of government and enterprise, making sure everyone is included at the table and allowed to both participate and benefit? Will the 50% of Black Americans left out be invited to the table or will they have to keep fighting for a seat at the American table?

Required is leadership. We have been harsh on Black leadership in this column and in Chapter 14 of my book. The old guard used their leadership positions for self-serving ends. The recent awarding of $28 million to a new nexus of leaders reflects this changing of the guard. We will watch them just as closely.

It’s not who wears the leadership uniform that counts — it’s the results of leadership in terms of equal access and equal opportunity for all in education, jobs, and housing that count. See our new “solutions” paper on leadership on our web page, which includes a history and roundup of our suggestions regarding leadership and planning since 2002. 

It’s not who wears the leadership uniform that counts — it’s the results of leadership in terms of equal access and equal opportunity for all in education, jobs, and housing that count. See our new “solutions” paper on leadership on our web page, which includes a history and roundup of our suggestions regarding leadership and planning since 2002. 

The decisions of 2012 will determine whether 2012 is a year of danger or a year when all are invited to the table. What direction we go only God knows. It’s time we all came together to give Him a hand.

Stay tuned.

OUR CONDOLENCES to the family of three-year-old Terrell Mayes, Jr., killed by a stray bullet December 27, 2011.

Ron Edwards is the former head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League. He continues his "watchdog" role in Minneapolis, works to contribute to the discussions on leadership, planning, and the future of Black and White Americans living and working together in Minneapolis.

Posted Tuesday, January 4, 2011, 2:22 a.m.
Column 2012/#1

Ron's media message platforms:
(1) Columns (since 2003): "Through My Eyes:
The Minneapolis Story Continues", published weekly in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.;
(2) TV: Host of weekly Black Focus, Sundays, 5-6 pm, on Channel 17, MTN-TV;
(3) Blog Talk radio: hosts “Black Focus,” Sundays, 3:00pm;
(4) Blog Talk Radio:
Co-Host of weekly “ON POINT!",Saturdays at 5 pm;
(5) Book: The Minneapolis Story Through My Eyes (2002);
(6) Book: A Seat for Everyone (2008);
(7) Solution Papers: for community leadership, planning and development;
(8) Blog:
"Tracking the Gaps"
web log at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com;
(9) CD: Hear his readings;
(10)
Archives. (Columns, Blog entries, Solution Papers)
Order
his books at http://www.BeaconOnTheHill.com.


Ron hosts "Black Focus" on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm, and co-hosts Blog Talk Radio’s “ON POINT!" Saturdays at 5 pm, providing coverage about Black Minnesota. Order his books at http://www.BeaconOnTheHill.com. Hear his readings and read his solution papers and "Tracking the Gaps" web log. Formerly head of key civil rights organizations, including the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League, he continues his "watchdog" role for Minneapolis.

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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