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Year of the History-Makers

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN-RECORDER — 2018 proved to be the year of history-makers for African Americans across the country, and Minnesota, in particular.

Published

7 years ago

January 3, 2019

Oakland Post

By Stephenetta (isis) Harmon

2018 proved to be the year of history-makers for African Americans across the country, and Minnesota, in particular. From landmark elections and groundbreaking appointments to Hall of Famers and historical institutions, the MSR was on the frontlines covering Black Minnesota as it positioned itself for sweeping change.

Political firsts

While politicians across the country aimed for blue and red to color the 2018 midterm elections, it was a decidedly Black wave that will impact the 2019 landscape.

And Black voters showed up and showed out across the country, even helping to push historically red states and seats closer towards the blue line.

The election was full of historic wins, especially right here in Minnesota.

Among the political firsts, Keith Ellison took home the prize as the first African American elected attorney general or any statewide office in Minnesota. Winning Ellison’s former seat, Ilhan Omar is set to be the first-ever Somali American to serve in Congress.

Medaria Arradondo, Minneapolis’ first Black chief of police, was appointed to serve his first full term in 2019. And, let’s not forget Melvin Carter III who kicked off his historic term in January as St. Paul’s first-ever Black mayor.

There was also an increase in Black representation and wins across all levels, from city councils to school boards, as well as beyond the Twin Cities. Angela Conley is the first Black person to be elected to serve on the Hennepin County board of commissioners. After an appointment by outgoing Gov. Mark Dayton, Judge Juanita Freeman will be the first Black district judge to serve in Washington County. And Mike Elliott will be the first Liberian American to serve as mayor of Brooklyn Center.

History makers

This year’s history-makers also include longtime teacher Tonyus Chavers, who played on one of the eight original Women’s Professional Basketball League teams. She was inducted into its Hall of Fame as a “Trailblazer of the Game.”

Brittany Baker, graduated as St. Paul’s first Black woman firefighter in 10 years; Nerita Hughes became North Hennepin Technical College first African American dean, and the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery was the first of its kind to open its doors in the Twin Cities this past September.

While it wasn’t necessarily history-making, Minnesota did show a marked increase in diversity while hosting this year’s Super Bowl as compared to when it last hosted in 1992.

Buried history

In the midst of highlighting our communities, the MSR even unearthed Black history at Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery, Minneapolis’ oldest cemetery, which holds the remains of John W. Cheatham, the first African American firefighter in Minneapolis; Morgan Jones, a former slave of a Virginia tobacco field who moved to Minnesota after gaining his freedom; and William C. Goodridge, who was born slave in 1806, freed by age 16 and started his first business — a barbershop — at 18 years old.

A look to the future

While all of these firsts signal a welcome wave of change in Minnesota, our communities still face persistent racial disparities, which led to the Twin Cities being named the fourth worst place to live in the country. But, leaders are poised and hopeful for change.

“We’ve got strong leadership at the director levels of all of these critical areas, [from] social work to human services to health to public safety,” said Alex Tittle, Hennepin County Disparity Reduction Director. “This next group of commissioners, new leadership, attorney general, Chief Rondo — you’ve got a ton of people who are at the table who are focused and cognizant of the issues and they’re smart enough and they’re in leadership positions.

“If we can’t deal with this right now with who we’ve got in place, shame on us. The World, the county, the community is depending us to do it right, [and] we’re positioned to do it.”

This article originally appeared in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.

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Oakland Post: Week of July 2- 8, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 2 – 8, 2025

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1 week ago

July 7, 2025

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Trump Set to Sign Largest Cut to Medicaid After a Marathon Protest Speech by Leader Jeffries

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S.

Published

1 week ago

July 3, 2025

Oakland Post

By Lauren Burke

By a vote of 218 to 214, the GOP-controlled U.S. House passed President Trump’s massive budget and spending bill that will add $3.5 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S. With $175 billion allocated in spending for immigration enforcement, the money for more police officers eclipsed the 2026 budget for the U.S. Marines, which is $57 billion. Almost all of the policy focus from the Trump Administration has focused on deporting immigrants of color from Mexico and Haiti.

The vote occurred as members were pressed to complete their work before the arbitrary deadline of the July 4 holiday set by President Trump. It also occurred after Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took the House floor for over 8 hours in protest. Leader Jeffries broke the record in the U.S. House for the longest floor speech in history on the House floor. The Senate passed the bill days before and was tied at 50-50, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying that, “my hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.” There were no changes made to the Senate bill by the House. A series of overnight phone calls to Republicans voting against, not changes, was what won over enough Republicans to pass the legislation, even though it adds trillions to the debt. The Trump spending bill also cuts money to Pell grants.

“The Big Ugly Bill steals food out of the hands of starving children, steals medicine from the cabinets of cancer patients, and equips ICE with more funding and more weapons of war than the United States Marine Corps. Is there any question of who those agents will be going to war for, or who they will be going to war against? Beyond these sadistic provisions, Republicans just voted nearly unanimously to close urban and rural hospitals, cripple the child tax credit, and to top it all off, add $3.3 trillion to the ticking time bomb that is the federal deficit – all from a party that embarrassingly pretends to stand for fiscal responsibility and lowering costs,” wrote Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) in a statement on July 3.

“The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 17 million people will lose their health insurance, including over 322,000 Virginians. It will make college less affordable. Three million people will lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And up to 16 million students could lose access to free school meals. The Republican bill does all of this to fund tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations,” wrote Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) in a statement. The bill’s passage has prompted Democrats to start thinking about 2026 and the next election cycle. With the margins of victory in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate being so narrow, many are convinced that the balance of power and the question of millions being able to enjoy health care come down to only several thousand votes in congressional elections. But currently, Republicans controlled by the MAGA movement control all three branches of government. That reality was never made more stark and more clear than the last seven days of activity in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.