On June 24, 1975, almost 40 years ago, Leroy King, Sr. was the founder/owner/operator of King Supermarket. This African American family-owned grocery store was located at 2005 Plymouth Avenue North in Minneapolis. Currently that space is occupied by the University of Minnesota's Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC), and its new address is now 2001 Plymouth … [Read more...]
The Hickman-Parks family: generations of patriotism, activism, service
As the Emancipation Proclamation was declared and the American Civil War came to an end, there was still a lot of work to do and trails to travel for the freed African slaves here in America. It was the late 1890s when a group of approximately 40 Black families in Kentucky decided to head north, migrating to Minnesota and eventually landing in Fergus Falls. Many decided to … [Read more...]
2015 may see U.S. imperialism and its minions turn up the heat
The year 2015 promises to be a very different year than years past. If the last four months are any indication, we are in for rough times. There are those who think either things can’t get worse or that things get better with time. Neither are true, and when applied to the U.S. landscape they are even more false. President Obama has tried to tell us that the lives of Black … [Read more...]
Dr. Thomas Johnson: Black medical pioneer was also a supper club owner
It is impossible to mention medicine and health care from an African American perspective here in Minnesota without mentioning Dr. Thomas Johnson. He had established clinics starting in South Minneapolis in 1957. He stayed there until 1966, and because 80 percent of his clientele came from North Minneapolis, he moved to the corner of Plymouth and Queen Avenues North in 1966. He … [Read more...]
It’s time for Hollywood to act like diversity matters
Hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the 87th Annual Academy Awards ceremony — better known as the Oscars — will either best be remembered for the uproar incited by this year’s homogenous nominations or as a seminal moment for change in the Academy’s long, non-inclusive history. For the first time since 1998, the stage has been set for our nation to … [Read more...]