‘Commentary’ Archives
Raise Your Voice: Babies of the World Unite!
By PETER MOLENAAR Peter Molenaar Smith Foundry,November 10, 2023:Joe Vital of the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute had alerted me to a 5:00 pm rally at the front entrance to my place of longtime employment. Yes, I too was appalled that federal inspectors had seemingly been compelled to intervene after years of disrespect leveled at our community by the state agency (MPCA). I would enter the scene with mixed emotions and some trepidation. Note:The splendid rally was, in no small measure, the handiwork of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. FRSO has been at odds with the CPUSA (Community Party of the USA)for many years. However, they mostly greeted me with warm affection. So, perhaps there is hope.As it happened, I asserted myself and the gatekeeper to the speaker’s list gave me a pass. My co-workers were to be commended for having sacrificed their health and longevity for the sake of their families. On the other hand, nobody has the right to diminish the development [...]
An Author’s Author
Something I Said By DWIGHT HOBBES Dwight Hobbes Marcie Rendon is an author’s author. Among her accomplishments: Murder on the Red River, Girl Gone Missing, Sinister Graves (crime novels), SongCatcher (Minnesota History Theater), Pow Wow Summer, Farmer’s Market: Families Working Together (non-fiction) and Dreaming Into Being (poetry). She’s won a slew of awards, including McKnight Foundation’s Distinguished Artist Award, Pinckley Prize for Debut Crime Fiction and WLA Children’s Book Award. Marcie Rendon gave the following interview to the alley. Q: You’re producer/director/creator of ‘Free FryBread’ (Raving Native Productions) a mock telethon mercilessly satirizing America’s prison system and its treatment of Indigenous people. How’d that happen?A: came about as a result of me receiving the LIN (Leadership in Neighborhoods Award) back in the early 90s. The goal for me, for the award, was to create a viable Native American presence in the Twin Cities [...]
