People wave U.S. flags during a 2017 naturalization ceremony at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Photo: NPR
People wave U.S. flags during a 2017 naturalization ceremony at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Photo: NPRPeople wave U.S. flags during a 2017 naturalization ceremony at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Photo: NPR
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Thursday officially changed its mission statement by striking out the words “nation of immigrants” from it. The mission statement until this week read “USCIS secures America’s promise as a nation of immigrants by providing accurate and useful information to our customers, granting immigration and citizenship benefits, promoting an awareness and understanding of citizenship, and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system.”
The new mission statement now reads “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services administers the nation’s lawful immigration system, safeguarding its integrity and promise by efficiently and fairly adjudicating requests for immigration benefits while protecting Americans, securing the homeland, and honoring our values.”
The news was first reported by The Intercept which obtained an email that USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna sent to staff in which he said of the changes “I believe this simple, straightforward statement clearly defines the agency’s role in our country’s lawful immigration system and the commitment we have to the American people.”
The changes come in the wake of president Trump’s heightened crackdown on illegal immigration and his tough rhetoric on immigration that includes curbs on legal immigration.
Unidentified participants attend a workshop during the World Social Forum in Nairobi, January 23, 2007. Photo: Antony Njuguna/Public Radio International
Unidentified participants attend a workshop during the World Social Forum in Nairobi, January 23, 2007. Photo: Antony Njuguna/Public Radio InternationalUnidentified participants attend a workshop during the World Social Forum in Nairobi, January 23, 2007. Photo: Antony Njuguna/Public Radio International
Kenya’s High Court will hear a case on Thursday seeking to strike down sections of the country’s laws that criminalize same sex relations, the Kenyan National Gay and Lesbian Rights Commission (NGLHRC) said on Tuesday. The case was filed in 2016.
NGLHRC said it would argue that sections of the Kenyan Penal Code are in breach of the constitution and deny basic rights to the country’s citizens. The country’s new constitution was enacted in 2010 following a referendum approved by over 70 per cent of the voters. Its passage earned the country worldwide praise for setting up a system of checks and balances and scaling back the vast presidential powers that the old constitution provided. Then US president Obama said, “The overwhelming approval of the proposed new constitution reflects the desire of the Kenyan people to put their country on a path toward improved governance, greater stability and increased prosperity.”
NGLHRC, founded by a group of Kenyan lawyers to protect the rights of the LGBT community, says it has recorded over 1,000 incidents of violations against LGBT people since 2014 — ranging from murder to mob violence, rape, blackmail and extortion.
The group’s executive director, Eric Gitari, says sections of the laws his organization is challenging in court this week do not conform to the ideals of the 2010 constitution and are used to discriminate and justify violence against LGBT people.
“We have a constitution that carries the will of the Kenyan people and that says no one should be discriminated against, yet these laws do just that,” Gitari said.
The laws in question, which were established in 1897, are a relic of the country’s colonial legacy. They refer for instance to “carnal knowledge against the order of nature” and “gross indecency.”
Renowned Kenyan lawyer, Paul Muite, will argue the case on behalf NGLHRC at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi. The Attorney General’s office, whose head resigned for an unspecified reason last week, will appear for the government. The much-anticipated case has wide implications beyond Kenya given its leadership role in the region and the continent.
Editor’s note: Former Minneapolis based Mshale staff writer, Kari Mugo, is a staffer at NGLHRC.
Alvin Kamara of teh New Orleans Saints accepting the NFL Rookie of teh Year award during the NFL Honors in Minneapolis on February 3, 2018. Photo: NBC Screen Grab
Alvin Kamara of teh New Orleans Saints accepting the NFL Rookie of teh Year award during the NFL Honors in Minneapolis on February 3, 2018. Photo: NBC Screen GrabAlvin Kamara of the New Orleans Saints accepting the NFL Rookie of the Year award during the NFL Honors in Minneapolis on February 3, 2018. Photo: NBC Screen Grab
Saints running back Alvin Kamara won the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year at NFL Honors on Saturday. Kamara (28 votes) beat out Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt (21) and Texans QB Deshaun Watson
Adama Kamara, the Liberian mother of Alvin Kamara of the New Orleans Saints, reacts as his son accepts the Rookie of the Year Award at the NFL Honors held in Minneapolis on February 3, 2018. Photo: NNC Screen GrabAlvin Kamara of the New Orleans Saints arrives at the NFL Honors Awards red carpet on February 3, 2018. He won the NFL Rookie of the Year. Photo: Courtesy NFL.com
(1).The NFL Honors ceremony was held in Minneapolis at the University of Minnesota’s Northrop Auditorium, a day before the Super Bowl.
As chronicled in Sports Illustrated and reported by NFL.com, Kamara spoke of how much he relished New Orleans’ “feel-good vibe” and how he enjoyed walking home from games at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, one with the fans, on his way to the city’s many fine eating establishments and equally renowned clubs.
“I’m enjoying the motherf—–g bountiful harvest,” he said after one win. “We win, I’m turning up.”
Kamara was drafted by the Saints in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft, finished the season with 1,554 scrimmage yards in his first season. However, it wasn’t until the Saints traded Adrian Peterson to the Arizona Cardinals did Kamara’s star started to shine.
Kamara was born in Norcross, Georgia to a Liberian mother. With his mother watching in the audience as he accepted his award, Kamara said “Thank you mom, she told me not to say anything but thank you because she said she looked likely she would cry.”
A billboard in New Orleans congratulates Alvin Kamara of the New Orleans Saints for winning the 2017 Rookie of the Year at the NFL Honors held in Minneapolis on February 3, 2018.
WGNO, the local ABC affiliate in New Orleans reported after the NFL Honors win that Airheads, the candy Kamara loves and eats on the sidelines during Saints games, took out a billboard in New Orleans congratulating the running back on taking home the Rookie of the Year award.
Ethiopian Airlines announced this week that it will start non-stop service between Chicago and Addis Ababa on June 9, 2018. Photo: Courtesy Ethiopian Airlines
Ethiopian Airlines announced this week that it will start non-stop service between Chicago and Addis Ababa on June 9, 2018. Photo: Courtesy Ethiopian AirlinesEthiopian Airlines announced this week that it will start non-stop service between Chicago and Addis Ababa on June 9, 2018. Photo: Courtesy Ethiopian Airlines
Ethiopian Airlines is set to become the first Africa-based airline to have a direct flight from Africa to Chicago starting in June, the airline announced in a news statement to Mshale this week. Chicago is also the hometown of former president Barack Obama and will be home of the Museum of the Obama Presidential Center, the planned presidential library of the 44th US president.
The press statement said Ethiopian Airlines would on June 9 start non-stop service three times a week between Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport. In 2007, South African Airways was destined to be the first airline to have nonstop service between Africa and Chicago but unceremoniously canceled the plan without explanation.
This will be the airline’s fifth non-stop Addis Ababa to a North American destination. It already flies non-stop from its Addis Ababa hub to Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles and Toronto.
Those traveling to countries surrounding Ethiopia might find this new option appealing as opposed to Emirates, Etihad Airways or Qatar Airways, which currently provide connecting service to Africa but where one has to fly to these airlines’ respective hubs first from Chicago before connecting to their final African destination. Once you land in Addis Ababa, it will be a short connecting flight to say Nairobi or Kampala instead of a five hour connecting flight from Dubai to Nairobi.
Ethiopian Airlines was on November 2017 voted ‘African Airline of the Year’ by the African Airlines Association (AFRAA). The Chicago to Addis Ababa flights will be each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday aboard a 270 seat Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
“Ethiopian Airlines is striving to accelerate the U.S.-Africa connection as part of our service expansion plan. From Chicago O’Hare, one of the best-connected airports in the U.S., we will propel connections between Africa to the rest of the world like never before. We are well positioned to provide the missing link in connecting Africa with its major trading partners in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North and South America,”Tewolde Gebre Mariam, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines said in a statement.
Ethiopian Airlines is part of the Star Alliance, which includes United Airlines. Chicago is also the main hub for United Airlines.
U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis joins White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. February 7, 2018. Photo: White House
U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis joins White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. February 7, 2018. Photo: White HouseU.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis joins White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. February 7, 2018. Photo: White House
The nearly 850 immigrants currently serving in the military or waiting to start basic training won’t face deportation despite the ongoing federal wrangling over the fate of people who came to America illegally as children, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday.
Mattis said he spoke with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen earlier Thursday in what he described as a “confirming call” and was told that those military members and all veterans who were honorably discharged will be safe unless they have committed a serious felony or a judge had issued a specific deportation order for them.
President Donald Trump said in September that he was terminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which provided protection from deportation for people brought to America as children who are now living here illegally.
Previously, U.S. officials have said the military members’ DACA status wasn’t clear. But on Thursday, Mattis said flatly it’s not a problem.
“They will not be subject to any kind of deportation,” he told reporters. “In terms of the DACA situation … it’s clarified they are not in any kind of jeopardy.”
Mattis added that Homeland Security has been always willing to work with the Pentagon on DACA issues, and he said, “we would always stand by one of our people.”
All of those DACA service members came in under a small, special recruiting program called Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest, that seeks people with particularly critical skills. Many of them are fluent in key languages, including various Afghan and Iraqi dialects or perhaps Russian or Chinese.
The Dandies Project Book Release party will be at 514 Studios in Minneapolis on February 15, 2018. Photo: Courtesy of the Dandies
The Dandies Project Book Release party will be at 514 Studios in Minneapolis on February 15, 2018. Photo: Courtesy of the DandiesThe Dandies Project Book Release party will be at 514 Studios in Minneapolis on February 15, 2018. Photo: Courtesy of the Dandies
The annual Dandies Project book release party is fast approaching and will be held in Minneapolis’s Warehouse District on Thursday, February 15 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm.
You don’t know what a Dandy is? Get a primer from Mshale’s Kari Mugo from a previous posting.
The Dandies project as the organizers describe it “is carefully curated and designed into a look book which will serve as a fundraiser effort of the 2018 Dandies.”
The dandies come from a broad spectrum of society but tends to draw heavily from the professional and business classes. The Twin Cities based Dandies Project initially focused on successful men of color but has branched out and now includes all men.
Proceeds from the look book, as in previous years, benefits a local charity. The Dandies Project lead Amara Kamara said this week in a Facebook posting that this year’s beneficiary will be Lovely Sewing & Arts Collective, a non-profit based in north Minneapolis that is bringing back the art of sewing to the community as a tool “to teach patience, focus, leadership, entrepreneurship and accountability.”
What: 2018 Dandies Project Book Release Party When: Thursday, February 15, 2018 @ 6-9pm Where: 514 Studios. 514 North 3rd Street, Suite 101, Minneapolis, MN 55401 Admission: Free. Book will be available for sale at $70. Cash and credit accepted. Items for auction also available. RSVP: Not required but you can do so on this Facebook Invite.
Democratic party candidates for Minnesota House District 62A during a candidate forum at Sabathani Community Center in Minneapolis on Tuesday, January 30, 2018. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
Democratic party candidates for Minnesota House District 62A during a candidate forum at Sabathani Community Center in Minneapolis on Tuesday, January 30, 2018. Photo: Tom Gitaa/MshaleDemocratic party candidates for Minnesota House District 62A during a candidate forum at Sabathani Community Center in Minneapolis on Tuesday, January 30, 2018. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
Six Democrats who have announced in Minnesota House District 62A met for their first candidate forum in Minneapolis Tuesday night ahead of next week’s February 6 caucuses. The six included four Somali-Americans that have declared for the same seat, a record number in the 22 years that Mshale has covered the state’s African immigrant community. Four of the candidates at the forum were Somali-American and a fifth that was expected and had his nametag already waiting for him, Guhaad Said, was a no show.
District 62A encompasses a large portion of south Minneapolis including the neighborhoods of Powderhorn Park, Ventura Village, Seward, Phillips (Midtown and East), Whittier and Stevens Square (where Minneapolis Institute of Art is located)
Osman Ahmed is a staffer at US Senator Tina Smith’s district office.
“As a community organizer and a public servant in the last ten years I understand our issues and challenges,” Ahmed said. “I am running because I want to see change in our community and I am not waiting for someone else to make it happen.”
Ahmed, born in Somalia, has lived in the district for over ten years and moved to Minnesota from a refugee camp in Kenya at the age of 16 in 2004. His first experience with politics was to work on the re-election of Barack Obama as a senior in high school. After graduating from the University of Minnesota, he worked as a field representative for Congressman Keith Ellison and
Osman Ahmed
eventually for former Senator Al Franken.
Omar Fateh, a state employee at the Minnesota Department of Revenue said he has the knowledge, vision and experience to serve as the district’s next state representative. He told the forum that public service has been his passion “my whole life.”
“Listening to stories across the district I am reminded how we are in a moment of crisis. I am running because there are many challenges our district faces that disproportionately affects communities of color. Many of the crises we face begin with the crisis of housing. The solution lies in more units of affordable housing. As your representative I will require that any new housing complexes designate units for low income families through inclusionary zoning.”
Fateh was born and raised in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) area before attending George Mason University where he obtained both his bachelors and master’s in public administration.
Mental health clinician Hodan Hassan told the forum she first moved to the Twin Cities in 1994 and lived in Ventura Village, which is in District 62A until 2004. She said she just moved back to the district a year ago. Ventura Village imbued in her the passion for diverse communities and she got the chance to work with underserved communities.
“Minnesota is the best state for students who are white but at the same time it is number 48 for students of color and that is unacceptable,” Hassan said. “As someone who has worked through these different systems I know how to make the systems work and if elected to this position I want to advocate for universal healthcare with emphasis on preventive care.”
Jen Kader, an eight-year district resident emphasized her community organizing and lengthy resume of involvement in various Twin Cities citizen groups and advisory committees.
“When I think what a good legislator looks like, the following four things come to mind, someone who listens, thinks critically and looks for linkages and patterns and builds relations and coalitions for the wellbeing of those in their community presently and future generations” Kader said. “These are attributes that have characterized my work and volunteer time and ones that I
Omar Fateh
will strive to continue to live by as the next district representative.”
Farhio Khalif rose to prominence when she founded Voice of East African Women in 2012 to advocate for survivors of domestic violence. She was the only candidate on stage to directly acknowledge the heavy Somali presence with a thunderous greeting of “As-Salaam-Alaikum” which translates to “Peace be upon you.”
“In this same room we are tonight I brought Governor Mark Dayton to a forum to talk about islamophobia and hate crimes and he sat here for an hour and a half,” Khalif said. “If we work together and are united we will be stronger together and I will bring you along to do the fighting together.”
Margarita Ortega, born to a Native American mother and Cuban father, has lived all her life in the district. She shared with the forum the struggles of her life growing up in the district, which included homelessness and the inequities that bedevil the area. Those experiences, she said, have given her a unique perspective on what government is supposed to do to address an unequal society. She drew sustained applause for pausing to admit how nervous she was speaking at the forum.
“I am running not because I am seeking fame but because I want to change the system that has oppressed our communities for too long,” Ortega said. “My priorities are based off of my experiences; I will work on homelessness as I have experienced it. We need to change the Hennepin County income cap to help alleviate some of the issues and barriers to paying rent and we need to make affordable housing actually mean affordable and I also want to make sure Karen Clarks legacy of environmental justice lives on.” Karen Clark is the retiring 19-term representative who announced in December that she would not be seeking reelection in November, which started a scramble for the safe Democratic seat. The six candidates seeking to replace Clark were yet to be born when she first won the seat in 1980.
All the candidates went to great lengths to express their high regard and respect for the departing popular 19-term legislator Karen Clark.
Jen Kader
The six candidates addressed audience questions on affordable housing, LGBTQ rights, K12 education, jobs and Ranked Choice Voting.
Ranked Choice Voting
The candidates agreed in virtually all the issues raised at the forum with the exception of Ranked Choice Voting. Khalif was the only one to say she does not favor expanding the system. Ranked Choice Voting is used only in local government elections in Minneapolis and St. Paul. This past November it was instrumental in the election of the first black Mayor in the City of St. Paul, the state’s capital city.
Fateh called for the banning of unpaid internships for the youth as it disadvantages students from poor families who cannot afford to enroll in unpaid summer internships because they have to take up retail jobs to support their families. He said he would author legislation to correct this if elected.
“As an academic advisor I saw very brilliant students forego unpaid opportunities and the experience.”
Hodan Hassan took used her time to point out the many significant employers that are in the district such as the Midtown Global Market, Wells Fargo campus, Children’s Hospital and Abbot Northwestern Hospital and the two main Somali malls in Minneapolis.
“This means money on the table and we need to bring them to the table to ensure jobs for our people and youth,” Hassan said.
Jen Kader stressed the importance of focusing on systemic changes and how different parts operate to effect change.
“I will be sure to bring the focus on system level changes to address the challenges we have in our community,” she said.
Farhio Khalif
Osman Ahmed said he is worried about the assault on workers’ rights and their stagnant wages.
“If you elect me I will be out there fighting for you and with you. We also need to protect our unions because if they lose their power there will be no one advocating for workers’ rights.”
Khalif joined all the other candidates in pledging her support for the protection of LGBTQ rights and their safety. She highlighted her documented efforts to defeat the marriage amendment proposal in Minnesota, which ensured equality of marriage in Minnesota for that community.
“I am a Somali immigrant and the same rights that we fight for the LGBTQ community is entitled to the same and if I am elected I will make sure to fight for them.”
On Ranked Choice Voting where Khalif was the only contrarian from the pack, Ortega gave that system of voting its best defense at the forum.
“I am in favor of it because I have seen how we could get new people in power to make the changes we want.”
Endorsement
All the candidates, responding to whether they will abide by the party endorsement and support the party’s endorsed candidate, with some hesitancy they all pledged to do so as long as they
Margarita Ortega
deemed the endorsement process to be fair.
The 470 capacity Marion O. Snargrass Auditorium at Sabathani Community Center was mostly full with Somali-Americans constituting the majority of those attending.
In terms of income, census data shows the legislative district has the lowest median household income in the state at $29,651. It has just over 41,000 residents with 49% identified as white and 30% as black. 24% are Latino or Hispanic and 4% are Native American. The Little Earth Native American community is located in the district.
What is next?
Minnesota party caucuses will be on Tuesday, February 6. At the caucuses, straw polls will be held and delegates to the Senate District 62 Convention on March 10 will be elected. It is at this March 10 convention where one of the six candidates will be endorsed as the party candidate for 62A.
State Democratic Party chair, Ken Martin, said this week thousands are expected at next week’s caucuses for his party. He however does not expect numbers to hit the record of 321,354 set two years ago during a presidential election year that saw Trump winning the presidency.
Where to Caucus:
Keep in mind caucuses are a political party affair.
Hugh Masekela performing at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis on October 20, 2010. The musician died Tuesday, January 23 2018 in Johannesburg after a battle with prostate cancer. Photo: Ephraim Bird/Mshale
Hugh Masekela performing at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis on October 20, 2010. The musician died Tuesday, January 23 2018 in Johannesburg after a battle with prostate cancer. Photo: Ephraim Bird/MshaleHugh Masekela performing at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis on October 20, 2010. The musician died Tuesday, January 23 2018 in Johannesburg after a battle with prostate cancer. Photo: Ephraim Bird/MshaleHugh Masekela poses with a fan, Ephraim Bird, after performing at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis on October 20, 2010. Masekela died on Tuesday, January 23 2018 after a battle with prostate cancer. Photo: Guy Western/Mshale
Hugh Masekela of South Africa, a celebrated musician famously known for his mastery of the trumpet and also an anti-apartheid fighter, died on Tuesday, January 23 in Johannesburg not far from the nearby town of Witbank where he was born on April 4, 1939 and named Ramapolo Hugh Masekela. He was 78.
Masekela’s last performance in Minnesota was on March 7, 2015 during a joint concert with fellow South African Vusi Mahlasela during the duo’s ’20 Years of Freedom’ tour. The concert was part of the Ordway Center for Performing Arts “22 days of opening nights” to showcase its newly renovated 1,100-seat concert hall, according to Mshale’s Kari Mugo who reviewed the concert. Prior to his concert at the Ordway, he was no stranger to the Twin Cities at venues that have perfected hosting top touring African acts.
Masekela’s family confirmed his death through a statement sent to media by Dreamcatcher, a communications agency.
The statement said, “After a protracted and courageous battle with prostate cancer, he passed peacefully in Johannesburg, surrounded by his family.” The family lauded the press for respecting his privacy during his battle with cancer. They described him as a loving father, brother, grandfather and friend that will be “forever in our hearts.”
The Sharpeville massacre in 1960 drove Masekela into exile. Apartheid police killed 69 protesters in a township called Sharpeville just outside Johannesburg and the white regime banned gatherings of more than 10 people. He went to London and signed up at Guildhall School of Music before landing at Manhattan School of Music through efforts by fellow South African Miriam Makeba and American singer Harry Belafonte.
When Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1990, Masekela moved back to South Africa.
Reviewing his last performance in Minnesota in 2015 with Vusi Mahlasela, Kari Mugo wrote in Mshale: “In song and instrument, Masekela and Mahlasela were dedicated performers, covering their hits as well as songs that had been part of the anti-apartheid struggle, and that spoke to issues that still faced Africans. Speaking to the dangers the mining industry still poses in “Stimela” (“Coal Train”), Masekela spoke in English about the trains carrying African laborers to backbreaking jobs in the mines. As the song drew to an end, Masekela who had mimicked the movement of a train with his body, released screeching like brakes and train whistles that signaled the train’s movement and left chills on my arms.”
A son, Sal Masekela and a daughter, Pula Twala, survive Hugh Masekela. Two sisters, Elaine and Barbara, also survive him.
Details on a memorial and burial service will be released in due course, the family said in its statement.
Anaa Jibicho, who was awared two tickets to teh February 4, 2018 Super Bowl in Minneapolis with Allyson Hartle, Director of Government Affairs, Comcast Twin Cities. Photo: Submitted
Anaa Jibicho, who was awared two tickets to teh February 4, 2018 Super Bowl in Minneapolis with Allyson Hartle, Director of Government Affairs, Comcast Twin Cities. Photo: SubmittedAnaa Jibicho, who was awared two tickets to teh February 4, 2018 Super Bowl in Minneapolis with Allyson Hartle, Director of Government Affairs, Comcast Twin Cities. Photo: SubmittedMembers of the Mt. Airy Boys & Girls Club and Comcast officials congratulate Anaa Jibicho for his two tickets to the February 4, 2018 Super Bowl in Minneapolis courtesy of Comcast. Photo: Submitted
Comcast last week awarded Anaa Jibicho, a 17-year-old junior at Washington Technology Magnet School in St. Paul and a Boys & Girls Club member for 8 years, two tickets to this year’s Super Bowl being held in Minneapolis on February 4, which will be aired live on NBC-TV, which is owned, by Comcast.
As of the time of publishing this story, tickets to the Super Bowl in Minneapolis are being offered on resale websites for over $4,000 per ticket.
The opportunity for Jibicho came through a partnership between the Boys & Girls Clubs and Comcast NBCUniversal’s recently launched technology education program, called My.Future which teaches Club kids about the digital world and “get them passionate about the endless possibilities that technology offers.”
“We are incredibly excited about the opportunity Comcast and NBC Sports are creating for Anaa. Anna was our 2017 Twin Cities Youth of the Year, and is very deserving of this wonderful experience. He is already a leader and inspiration to many of his fellow Club members and receiving an honor like this shows his peers that hard work and dedication does not go unnoticed,” Terryl Brumm, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities said during a ceremony at the club where Allyson Hartle, Director of Government Affairs at Comcast Twin Cities presented the tickets to Jibicho.
The tickets will allow Jibicho and a guest of his choice to attend the Super Bowl at US Bank Stadium as well as the ‘NFL Experience’ at the Minneapolis Convention Center, which includes the Super Bowl Memorabilia Show, live broadcasts of NFL Network, NFL Rush Zone, and the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Comcast’s relationship with the Boys & Girls Clubs spans 15 years, according to statement from the company’s Twin Cities regional office. The company has provided approximately $90 million in cash and in-kind contributions since 2009, its statement added.
Vieux Farka Touré from Mali will perform at teh Dakota in Minneapolis on Saturday, February 17, 2018. Photo: Courtesy
Vieux Farka Touré from Mali will perform at teh Dakota in Minneapolis on Saturday, February 17, 2018. Photo: CourtesyVieux Farka Touré from Mali will perform at teh Dakota in Minneapolis on Saturday, February 17, 2018. Photo: Courtesy
Vieux Farka Touré from Mali, commonly referred by Americans as “The Hendrix of the Sahara” will bring his vibrant sound to Minneapolis on February 17 at the Dakota for one show. He is the son of the late Grammy winner Ali Farka Touré. This is a rare treat for the Twin Cities when a renowned musician makes a weekend stop here and on a Saturday no less
Touré usually sings in Mali’s national language Bambara but also in the Songhai language as well as French. He is famous for bridging the gap between traditional West African music and the blues.
His famous musician father never wanted him to play music, as he wanted him to have an easier life than he did. However, with help from family friend the kora maestro Toumani Diabaté, Vieux eventually convinced his father to give him his blessing to become a musician shortly before he died.
He started as a drummer and calabash player at Mali’s Institut National des Arts, but secretly began playing guitar in 2001.
He is in the middle of preparing to release another unexpected, genre-bending collaborative album, this time with New York-based singer Julia Easterlin, aptly titled ‘Touristes’.
US Senator Tina Smith speaking to reporters from the ethnic press during the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Breakfast on Monday, January 15 2018 in Minneapolis. The senator condemned president Trump for calling Africa and Haiti "shithole countries." Photo: Uche Iroegbu
US Senator Tina Smith speaking to reporters from the ethnic press during the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Breakfast on Monday, January 15 2018 in Minneapolis. The senator condemned president Trump for calling Africa and Haiti “shithole countries.” Photo: Uche Iroegbu
MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota’s newly minted US Senator, Tina Smith, has strongly rebuked president Donald Trump’s reported calling of immigrants from Africa and Haiti coming to the US as hailing from “shithole countries.”
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton appointed Smith in December to take the place of Al Franken who resigned was speaking to members of the ethnic press at the annual Martin Luther King Breakfast on Monday, where British-Nigerian actor David Oyelowo gave the keynote address. Oyelowo played Martin Luther King, Jr. in the critically acclaimed ‘Selma’ movie.
The junior senator from Minnesota said Trump’s comments “was a dramatic demonstration of his racism.” Smith went on to say that she does not believe the president “understands what this country is all about.” The immigrants that come here make the United States stronger, she said.
Trump made the comments while meeting with lawmakers at the Oval Office to discuss immigration reforms. Top on the agenda was how to provide permanent legal status to DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) individuals which affects individuals that were brought here as children. There is bipartisan support to find relief for them but there is no bipartisan consensus on matters such as the Diversity Visa Lottery that many Republicans want to get rid of. Africans have been some of the main beneficiaries of the Diversity Visa Lottery that targets regions that have had historically low levels of immigration into the United States.
Senator Smith went on to say, “it’s shocking to me that someone who speaks on behalf of our country should be speaking in such hateful terms.”
The president’s derogatory remarks on Africa also elicited a rare press release from the African Union Mission in Washington. In a statement sent over the weekend to Mshale as the storm grew, the AU ambassador to the US said, “The African Union Mission condemns the comments in the strongest terms and demands a retraction of the comment as well as an apology to not only to the Africans but to all people of African descent around the globe.”
In the wide-ranging interview following the Martin Luther King Breakfast, Senator Smith, responding to a question from Mshale said she has not yet started preparing for the November special election where she will be on the ballot to fill the rest of Al Franken’s term. Her appointment to the seat by Governor Dayton is good through the November election. The state constitution then calls for a special election to fill the rest of the resigned Franken’s term.
“I have been very focused on getting the senate office running but I have the website going,” Senator Smith said.
Smith said she would be joining three senate committees: Health & Education, Energy and the Agriculture committee.
Responding to a question from Insight News, Smith said her priorities in Washington would include addressing the nation’s rising health care costs, child and maternal health as well as education with a specific emphasis on the achievement gap. She obliged that Minnesota has the best schools in the nation but they are not working as well as they should for students of color “and I will be working to address that in Washington,” she said.
“I realize Washington has been a divisive place but I will look for common ground on those things that we can get done,” Smith said.
