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"5-year old kid shot in the head at close range."
“…Mama, life had just begun – But now I’ve gone and thrown it all away…Mama, ooo – Didn’t mean to make you cry – If I’m not back again this time tomorrow…Carry on, carry on, as if nothing really matters. ~Queen
Below: The rock group Queen put out a song called Bohemian Rhapsody. Released 31st October, 1975 – Spent 17 weeks on chart (9 at number 1) and went platinum. This was the first song ever to take advantage of a promotional video. We have posted the video and some words from the song to show an example of what is heard by family members in north Minneapolis far too much; lifes lost and futures cut short because of a lack of common sense and planning. Do residents of Minnesota need a “super committee” of politicians to address unempolyment and jobs? It seems to me like more of the same pomp and circumstance heading into an election year.
Fast Tube by Casper
By Donald W.R. Allen, II – Editor in Chief/IBNN NEWS and Black Politics in Minneapolis
Minneapolis, MN (IBNN NEWS/Editorial Opinion/August 26, 2011)…The six words that a mother would be terrified to hear: “Momma, I just killed a Man.” Youth are afraid to attend funeral without having a weapon. (See IBNN NEWS exclusive video below.)
Fast Tube by Casper
Minneapolis history has shown a clear pattern of benign neglect and severe and violent economic disenfranchisement of a race and class of people in Minneapolis. These six words have been used far too much in the Black community destroying families, friends and shaking the foundation of an already weak infrastructure.
The history of Minneapolis has also shown that leaders have abandoned the traditional forms of community communication in favor of folly. Press conferences of which we’ll call “funding seekers” don’t address; and never have addressed the killing of innocent Black youth anywhere. The show of “hollow unity” with local north Minneapolis spokespersons who in IBNN’s eyes are responsible for this mess in the first place.
The city of Minneapolis has a big problem. The problem exists in the form of a political plantation that has choked-off and out the creation of a new generation of leadership that could address issues “outside the box” with a business acumen and a sense of responsibility missing in Minneapolis since 2006.
There’s a war against living responsible among the youth of Minneapolis. Children imitate their atmosphere. If parents are hopeless, this is passed to the children in many forms of physiological and social constructs that are layered in the makeup of who the children are: their economic status, class and race.
For example, children whose parents finished high school and went onto college are more likely to follow in the footsteps of their parents. On the other hand, children who have been unfortunates in the realm of education, economic opportunities and future outlooks become the part of society that creates a continued perpetual circle of low standards, violence and in most cases, lifetime riders on government assistance.
Black youth must be entertained while being educated. This brings up another missed opportunity. Today’s youth love, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, Blogging and Twitter. The current leadership in the Black community (especially in north Minneapolis) is terrified of technology, the Internet and anything having to do with a computer. Missed opportunities are simply due to the innocence and ignorance of not knowing.
Several organizations in the Twin Cities received over $4 million dollars to address ‘closing the digital divide’ or more simply put, teaching technology to underserved community members in an effort to create a skill base that in today’s market can be turned into economic opportunities.
The technology model works. The challenge: there are only a handful in the community that have the necessary skill sets to launch these opportunities and community leaders and spokespersons think it’s better to marginalize “computer geeks” then to engage them. It’s there loss.
If you can’t entertain children of color while teaching them, you’ve already lost. This is the case in the Minneapolis Public Schools for over a decade. Low expectations for Black youth from mostly White teachers denotes a teaching effort which is absent of passion from educators.
The recent violence in north Minneapolis can be explained straightforwardly. What you have is an outcome that follows logically from a certain socioeconomic reality, and a failure to act on the part of those whose positive actions could have made a real difference.
After the May 22nd tornado that displaced more than 5000 families, the Black community across the Twin Cities and in north Minneapolis found out just how venerable, weak and directionless they really are. Local organizations and community members found out that no African-American transitional housing existed in north Minneapolis and that flagship organizations had misappropriated dollars in an effort to keep the lights on. This set in motion a series of events that poured dollars into a fundraising effort to get 150 youth employment. Still today, we don’t know how many youth actually were employed or how many t-shirt changes were made to give the impression that this program worked – but still the economic base was skewed by lack of direction by leaders overseeing the effort.
Money was put on the street into the pockets of children that didn’t have the skill sets to bank, invest, share and achieve success during the very short work period in the summer of 2011. This meant companies like Fubu, Nike, Foot Locker and others benefited from the dollars that came into north Minneapolis through the summer job program for youth.
My stomach tightens when I hear Black organizations talk about solving poverty with a “blueprint of action” or “gateway to opportunity,” which means nothing if all you have is a loaf of bread and can’t see how tomorrow will look.
At no point was there any clear planning about the residual effects of the have and have-nots during this summer work program that became a public relations gimmick for those in power while youth across the city were being gunned down, stabbed beaten and robbed.
There’s a war against addressing Black Youth Crime – but not if someone can make a dime.
