‘Alley Communications News’ Archives
Fire and Ice
By HARVEY WINJE December 20th -- Now in its second year, the Winter Solstice Lantern Parade brought light and delight to South Minneapolis on the longest night of the year. Community lantern making workshops and the parade event are organized by Phillips’ own Semilla Center for the Arts and Barebones Puppets, along with In the Heart of the Beast Theatre, and Artstart. PHOTO: Laura Hulscher This Wendell Phillips quote was a response to a friend, Brother May, who had asked, “Wendell, why are you so on fire?” after a fervent speech against the moral outrage of slavery. Phillips’s reply highlights the immense challenge he and other abolitionists faced in changing the deep-seated apathy, indifference, and resistance to their cause. The “fire” represented his passion and moral clarity, while the “mountains of ice” symbolized societal inertia and opposition to abolishing slavery.There is societal inertia and opposition to “Peace if possible, Justice at any [...]
The alley, Like a Cat
By HARVEY WINJE Cats sense by sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Their sensory world is much richer than ours because of unique night vision, incredibly sensitive whiskers (vibrissae) for feeling surroundings, excellent hearing for high frequencies, and a strong reliance on smell, plus a specialized “sixth sense” through their Jacobson’s organ for detecting pheromones, They love any fish except a ‘red herring’ and seldom “bite” on clickbait. A cat won’t miss a chance to play, cautiously. Cats are exceptionally flexible due to fifty-three vertebrae, elastic cushioning discs, and loose pelvic connections, allowing for a nearly 180-degree rotation enabling twisting and maneuvering with great agility; thereby always landing on their feet. The alley Newspaper’s several lives show its adaptability and resilience, too. Always “landing on its feet” through seven phases with leadership by forty people who produced 569 issues adapting to the needs and means [...]
One Community, Many Voices
Introducing the Phillips Community Oral History Project By PHILLIPS COMMUNITY ORAL HISTORY PROJECT PARTNERS Alley Communications and the United Phillips Coalition are excited to announce the launch of the Phillips Community Oral History Project! Three years ago, neighborhood organization staff and members of Alley Communications (publisher of the alley), began discussing ways to collaborate to empower residents to tell their own stories. This discussion resulted in the launch of the Community Journalism Training Program, an 18-month project of Alley Communications, Journalism of Color Training Center, and Phillips West Neighborhood Organization (PWNO). Around the same time, PWNO also began working collaboratively with Midtown Phillips Neighborhood Association, Inc. (MPNAI) and the East Phillips Improvement Coalition (EPIC) to better serve the whole of Phillips by establishing the United Phillips Coalition. Since then our relationships have grown and the mission [...]
