‘Cover Stories’ Archives
MayDay, HOTB: What will we build together?
By CORRIE ZOLL, HOTB EX. DIRECTOR Photo by Tesha M. ChristensenA record number of people attended the 45th annual MayDay parade and celebration on Sunday, May 5, enjoying beautiful weather while celebrating organizer Sandy Spieler”™s last year. A lot has happened over the past six months. HOBT experienced many of the same challenges faced by other legacy arts organizations that have been lost in recent years. Though this period has been difficult, at every step we felt and appreciated the support from your calls, messages, donations and social media posts. You are the reason we continue to strive toward finding a future for this work. As you may know, in January HOBT announced budget and personnel cuts after $130,000 in projected income did not come through. The layoffs are significant, more than half the staff have been laid off. Added together, the stories of those people and their time with HOBT take up a century. The loss is painful for these [...]
MayDay 1974-2019: Tree of Life reflections
Photo by Susan GustThe 2019 Tree of Life team stands under the ToL on the stage of HOBT. What keeps crew members there for decades are the same feelings and experiences that make MayDay a cherished event. By CAROL AND DAN NEUMAN, CARETAKERS OF THE TREE OF LIFE Performing the Tree of Life (ToL) at the Mayday Ceremony is an honor and a responsibility. Â It”™s thrilling and scary. Â While all around thousands of people are cheering and exulting, and the adrenaline is coursing through your veins, you must have intense focus on the job at hand. Â The Tree has a lot of weight way up in the air and the gusty winds (and it seems there is always a gusty wind) billowing the arms like giant sails. As the Tree circles, the force of the wind shifts from one side to the other in an instant, requiring quick, decisive action by the people on the guy ropes, and no interference by any of the celebrants on the ceremony ground. No one on the crew relaxes until the [...]
Hennepin County”™s first African American commissioner Angela Conley is a lifelong Southside resident with innovative ideas on how to bring more diverse voices into government.
By Tesha M. Christensen Photo courtesy of Chris JuhnAngela Conley (center) is Hennepin County”™s first African American commissioner, and she”™s staffed her office with other women of color who are working on racial equity issues. On the left is Policy Director Cacje Henderson and on the right is District Outreach and Scheduler Cheniqua Johnson. Editor”™s note: This is the first in a two-part series that originally appeared in the Longfellow Nokomis Messenger. Angela Conley has yearned to be a Hennepin County Commissioner for 20 years so that she had the power to make changes to the system she worked within. On Jan. 7, 2019, that dream came true. The lifelong Southside resident was sworn in as a county commissioner for District 4, and became the county”™s first Black commissioner in 166 years. “Being in this level of leadership now has really opened my eyes to seeing how the system is set up in a way that perpetuates [...]
