Reload document 
Open in new tab News to Use: May 24
City of Minneapolis is accepting applications for a new African American Heritage Work Group
The City is recruiting members for a newly formed African American Heritage Work Group. This body will serve as an advisory board to the City Council on efforts to document and honor African American history. Community members who are knowledgeable on the topic of African American heritage are encouraged to apply by May 12.
Up to 15 community members will be included in the work group: 13 to be appointed by council members and two by the mayor. The work group will advise on the selection of 25 properties associated with Black history in the city to be surveyed for inclusion in a Minneapolis African American Historic and Cultural Context Study. At least three properties will eventually be nominated by the City for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.
The African American Heritage Work Group will meet approximately every one to two months between July 2024 and June 2025. The meetings will be organized by City staff and will be open to the public. The group will be asked to suggest relevant research materials; advise on the properties to be surveyed for the context study; review draft reports; and make recommendations about next steps.… Read the rest “News to Use: May 24”
A Hopeful Sign
from the series Peace House Community – A Place to Belong
By MARTI MALTBY
Like many people in this part of Minneapolis, I am continually reminded of the challenges facing our neighborhoods. High crime rates, limited resources, livability, crimes, drug use… you know the list as well as I do.
Aside from my personal observations, I hear about the challenges the members at Peace House Community deal with every day. I also attend meetings hosted by the Metro Urban Indian Directors (MUID), which works to combat the homelessness and opioid epidemics in the local Native American community. As you might expect, most of what I hear about conditions on the street and in the encampments is pretty depressing.
I realized this week how cynical I have become because of these issues, but it was actually some good news that brought this to my attention. Dawn LaRoque of the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center spoke of changes she has started seeing as a result of outreach efforts to those enmeshed in homelessness and addiction. She repeated the phrase “little by little” to describe the gains that outreach workers have been making, and I think it was the repetition that caught my attention.… Read the rest “A Hopeful Sign”