‘Cover Stories’ Archives
What”'s on your mind? What makes you optimistic about life in the neighborhood? What makes you angry. Tell Wendell Phillips on 11-11-11
Phillips Community is named after Wendell Phillips an extraordinary champion of racial and economic justice. Just how cool is that? Â The community”'s name announces to the world that the people of Phillips stand for equality for each of us and justice for all of us! Phillips was born 200 years ago in Boston, Massachusetts. He became famous across the USA for hating slavery, condemning racial prejudice, demanding women”'s rights and defending Indigenous peoples from land-hungry white people and the US Army. Everything he demanded back then is just as important to the people of Phillips today. What if Wendell Phillips came back to life today? What would he say about the continuing abuse of immigrants, the continuing spread of poverty, police brutality, and violence against women, gang violence and white racism? What advice would he give the people of Phillips? (more…)
Why Phillips? Why Care?
By James Brewer Stewart Why is the Phillips Neighborhood named Phillips?”“Who was “Phillips”?”“Why should anyone care? Simply because this “Phillips” stands for a real person”“Wendell Phillips”“one of the world”'s most admired fighters for human rights and for equality for everybody”“ No Exceptions”“women and men, young and old, all colors, all backgrounds, all cultures.. That”'s right””“Phillips” stands for racial and gender equality, workers”' rights and social justice. It means standing strong for personal dignity. It means looking to the future with eyes full of hope. It means exposing and condemning racism, sexism and economic exploitation. It means treating everyone with respect. How perfect a name for Minneapolis”'s most culturally diverse, most heavily discriminated against, most economically exploited neighborhood! How perfect a name for the endlessly [...]
1st Annual Bridging Festival was a Blast!
By Dallas Johnson Our 12 hour event on 8/13 (two dozen activities moving through 10 sites) exceeded our wildest expectations. The active embodiment of an invitation, the majority of the day was hands-on and interactive. It was well attended and numbers grew with each stop along 24th St. From collecting the water at dawn, bringing the water together (w/ Sandy Spieler), Simone Speer”'s dance workshop at E Philips Park, singing quietly in a circle (with Louis Alemayhu at PCC), decorating parade regalia (w/ Heart of the Beast), marveling at the Somali Mall, the parade up 24th St (with three 12 foot puppets, musicians and our decorated umbrellas), a big crowd and Patrick Nolan”'s original poem at the murals unveiling (w/ artists Elissa Cedarleaf and Greta McLain), neighborhood skit honoring Muriel Simmons that ended in a spiral dance, party at Center for Changing Lives with art activities, seed balls, MPRB”'s kids”' games, live African music, The Alley-hosted [...]
