Small Newspapers Help Tell the Vaders’ Story
from Tales from Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery
By SUE HUNTER WEIR
223rd in a Series
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, an estimated 30% of children did not live to see their fifth birthdays. Of those, the majority did not reach their first birthdays. Cemetery records, census information, and death records tell part of the story, but other sources, especially newspapers, help fill in some of the blanks. Around that time, there were two newspapers, The Appeal and the Twin Cities Star, that served Minneapolis’ early African-American community. Although their stories were often brief, they help bring us closer to understanding the grief and losses that families experienced more than a century ago.
Jerry (Jeremiah) Vader and Lois Cush Vader had ten children. Jerry, who was African-American, was born in Bradford, New York, on June 26, 1852.… Read the rest “Small Newspapers Help Tell the Vaders’ Story”
Juneteenth
from the series Something I Said
By DWIGHT HOBBES
Rabble rouser cum activist Al Flowers will be on hand for a good, old-fashioned Juneteenth joint over north at Bethune/Phyllis Wheatley on the 15th. Bet money mainstream notables, stylin’ and profilin’ to see and be seen, will swing by for a foto-opp, maybe sign some autographs. Then, get back to living the boozhie life. Flowers, though, didn’t trade the Civil Rights Era clarion call, “We Shall Overcome” in for “I Have Overcome”. Still grounded in the grassroot, he’ll be there not for show but for grow – as in helping the community honor our past, while putting a foot down about the future.
Juneteenth celebrates how Texas slaves, after being hoodwinked for two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, learned they were free and had a real good time! Albeit belatedly – baseball games, fishing, rodeos, street fairs and, of course, tradition that stands to this day. Cookouts.
You’ll have the occasion to get a load of Flowers – think along the lines of Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael and H. Rap Brown. Al takes being a renowned community organizer in stride a la no brag, just fact. To him, he just does what he does, because he’s supposed to do it.… Read the rest “Juneteenth”
Letter to the Editor: Cartoonist Delight!
Kudos to the alley editorial staff for publishing Fire Boy by Jude Anikpo. We’re delighted to see another comic gracing these pages!
Jude’s action-packed, nicely-designed panels are inspiring and fun. We hope other artists will be encouraged to share their creative work with the neighborhood – we know you’re out there!
In the meantime, we eagerly await Fire Boy II.
Dave Moore & Linnea Hadaway
East Phillips
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