“lift Every Voice and Sing…where is the Outcry From our Self-appointed African-american Leaders?”
As the toll on human life mounts in north Minneapolis, I am shocked that no action or verbal commentary has been offered by our “self-appointed” African-American leaders. The only time these leaders respond is when money is involved. These self-appointed leaders are poverty pimps, in my opinion. The dictionary defines “poverty pimp” as any self-appointed leader, usually of a racial or ethnic heritage, who extols the perpetual poorness of his/her ethnicity, yet is quite financially well-off as a result of his/her efforts. Such a “poverty pimp” is usually a reverend of a well-known church, a non-profit organization leader, or a man who sells out the community to the White man and then is seen standing before the TV cameras. Poverty pimps are also people who rely on the White man’s guilt to gain credibility, money and influence, and are usually racists themselves. But beware, poverty pimps are the same people who always show up for development projects in north Minneapolis – you’ve heard the names, they’re at the “table” now (2009).
This apathy, this indifference to the concerns of our community is a serious problem that is rampant on the North side. For example, a pregnant 15-year-old girl was found dead in an abandoned north Minneapolis garage, and no one has expressed outrage or concern. No one in the community has uttered a word about her death. The only communication about her death has been the reports that appeared on the teenager’s high school website, TV and in a suburban newspaper, The Lake Minnetonka Liberty.
The suburban paper featured the story: “Turns out the body found in the garage of some boarded-up property in North Minneapolis earlier this month was that of a pregnant 15-year-old girl who police now say was murdered. The girl has been identified as Annshalike Hamilton of Minneapolis. The property owner found her body inside the garage at 22-22 North Fourth Street on December 15th. The medical examiner says both Hamilton, and the fetus she was carrying, died as a result of blunt force injuries. Police are treating the case as a double-homicide”.
This story was also reported on AM radio WCCO 830. But so far, the long-time north Minneapolis newspaper, Insight News, has not reported or commented on the teen’s death.
On Saturday, January 10, 2009 young Ms. Annshalike Hamilton was laid to rest at funeral services held at St. Philips church in north Minneapolis. (Our condolences go out to her family and her fellow Patrick Henry High School students).
Isn’t it time the community to come together and express our outrage about the toll these heinous crimes and misdeeds take on human lives? Isn’t this teen’s death newsworthy information the community should be informed about?
If Insight News is the “go-to” paper for the African-American community, why has the African-American community been so ill-informed about this teen’s death and other important issues? Instead of telling the story of this teen’s life and unfortunate death, Insight News chose to re-publish a story about the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s (MNDoT) failure to sufficiently hire women and minority contractors. Was it really timely and newsworthy to re-publish this story about MNDot’s hiring practices, which was featured in mainstream media, including Minnesota Public Radio’s (MPR) website? In my opinion, there is never a slow news day in north Minneapolis. Therefore, I question whether news is really the focus of the Insight News “paper.”
No assistance from the Minneapolis Urban League…again!
At 6:30 a.m. on Friday, December 19, 2008, Brooklyn Park police knocked on the door at 6300 82nd Place. As the residents inside the home slept, the police broke a patio-door window and the front door to gain access into the home of Victor Took and his fiancée Courtney Totten and their six children. The children and Took’s fiancée where ordered outside the home and were forced to lay in the snow for nearly 20 minutes with no shoes, shirts or socks while the police beat Took and ransacked his home. After beating Took and destroying his home, the Brooklyn Park police learned that this was a miss-directed tip. The couple’s two-week-old baby was later rushed to the hospital suffering from a respiratory infection. Took’s fiancée telephoned the Minneapolis Urban League to talk to someone about the traumatic event and its affect on her children, and to possibly file charges against the police officers for human rights violations. Ms. Totten said regarding her phone call to the Minneapolis Urban League: “When I call them, they just take your number and never call back. What’s the problem?”
NorthPoint and the University of Minnesota:
A savvy business strategy for the University of Minnesota in 2009 would be to implement a takeover of NorthPoint Health and Wellness Centers (The City of Minneapolis and Hennepin County might go for this). The U, which initially proposed $60 million to partner with NorthPoint to develop a new facility, could give the City of Minneapolis/Hennepin County $10 million for the sale of NorthPoint, which would help ease the City’s deficit. The remaining $50 million could be used to develop the proposed new, innovative center offering resources and access to jobs – a facility never before imagined in north Minneapolis. (Personally, I would love to have a Dairy Queen or Jamba Juice on the North side!)
These are just a few of the examples of how people, organizations and systems have failed north Minneapolis and the African-American community. If our self-appointed African-American leaders continue to be apathetic regarding issues of dire importance to our community, then how will we as a community become socially and economically self-sufficient? In some respects, we residents must blame ourselves for our failure as a community. If we continue to appoint the same people to sit at the table and then demand nothing of them regarding access to jobs, the reinvestment and redevelopment of our community, and improved health care, then we are just as culpable, maybe more culpable than those we appoint to the table. In essence, we’re getting back exactly what we expect of ourselves and our community – nothing!
_________________________________________________
In 2008, the Minneapolis Urban League, Northway Community Trust, the Stairstep Foundation, Jordan Area Community Council, and the African American Men Project did not step up to the plate to address issues or to coordinate efforts to add value for the life’s of the north Minneapolis residents. We need new people with fresh ideas that believe in action. As of January 2009, we don’t own any Banks, Hotels, Airlines or Car Dealerships.
Do the Minneapolis Urban League and other agencies have a contingency plan for 2009?
About the Author
Donald is the Executive V.P./General Manager of Twin City Business in Minneapolis.
FrankenUL7