USA Radical Black

Open Letter to Mr. Gary Cunningham and Kevin Walker of the Northwest Area Foundation, Headwaters Foundation and State Representative Bobby Jo Champion (D-MN/58B) – “Where Does Black Leadership begin in Minnesota?”

On Saturday, November 21, 2009 an African American Leadership Forum will be held at General Mills starting at 7 a.m. -  the group of hand-picked, like-minded participants will insure that Black Minnesotans will achieve the same status-quo engagement while non-profit “fat cats” receive funding that never makes it past the agencies doors.

In the case of the now lack-luster Northway Community Trust who granted an out-of-town agency $50,000 for a survey of businesses on Broadway Avenue who never delivered a report – is one of the examples of Northwest Area Foundations “community engagements.”

The following email was sent to Northwest Area Foundations Gary Cunningham and President Kevin Walker:

Dear Mr. Cunningham and others,

I am writing to express my disdain for being lied to by you and the Foundation you represent regarding the African-American Leadership Forum tomorrow (11/21) at General Mills.

Northwest Area Foundation continues to overlook the community members who strive for social change aggressively and who are outspoken about social issues, when we are the people fighting in the trenches on a daily basis.  You promised in previous emails sent directly to me, that you would invite me and Mr. Edwards to this “leadership” meeting for a chance to dialog and observe the process.

Today, I spoke with Alfred Babington-Johnson from the Stairstep Foundation and Trista Harris from Headwaters Foundation and “hand-picked” participants to attend a “leadership forum” to be held on Saturday, November 21, 2009 starting at 7 a.m. and once again, you have overlooked inviting major activists in the Twin Cities and people who could create real change.

By working with those you feel comfortable with, lends itself to collusion, corruption and no results to no successful measurable outcome for the community. Read More »

Tags: Black Minnesota, Collusion, Haters, Politics

MLK Breakfast Part II: Go Ahead “Celebrate,” while your having breakfast…2 Million Black Households With Children Face Hunger

Source: Feeding America

Again the community is pimped, played and starved.

1.8 million Black Households with children are food insecure – Black households with children experiencing very low food security up 92%

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (USDA) reported yesterday that almost one in four children living in the United States are food insecure. According to the 2009 report on Household Food Insecurity in the United States, there is a striking disparity in the prevalence of food insecurity among black children. Nearly two million black households with children were food insecure at least some time during the year, an increase of 25 percent over 2007. In 2008, there were 3.76 million non-Hispanic white households with children that were food insecure. The study also revealed that 146,000 black households with children — a 92 percent increase over 2007 — experienced very low food security, meaning that the food intake of one or more of the household children was reduced and their eating patterns were disrupted at times during the year because the household lacked money.

This marks the largest increase in food insecurity rates among African-American households with children since the USDA has been collecting data. Very low food insecurity for non-Hispanic whites rose 35 percent during the same period.

“Importantly, these numbers reflect the state of the nation one year ago, in 2008. Since then, the economy has significantly weakened, and there are likely many more children of varying ethnicity struggling with hunger than this report states,” said Vicki Escara, president and CEO of Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization. “It is an outrage that one in four children in this nation lives on the brink of hunger and doesn’t have access to adequate amounts of nutritious food.”

The new data reinforces recent findings from a research study conducted by Feeding America reflecting a dramatic increase in requests for emergency food assistance from food banks across the country. Conducted in September, the Feeding America study shows that more than half of its network food banks reported seeing more children as clients.

“This study reveals particularly tragic realities facing many black families with children. We know that inadequate nutrition in children often delays their cognitive development and cannot be restored later in life,” said Escarra. “Feeding America will continue to focus on expanding programs to hungry and at-risk kids to ensure that our future engines of economic growth are strong adults.

“Feeding America’s 200 food banks continue to work on the front lines feeding more than 25 million people each year, through our country’s food pantries, soup kitchens, and emergency feeding centers — more than 63,000 agencies in total,” said Escarra. “These establishments, many of which are grass root and faith based centers operated solely by volunteers, serve as an oasis for the more than 4 million people who seek relief weekly to help feed themselves and their families. Emergency food assistance is a critical link in the nation’s response chain to help people through times of crisis.”

Escarra observes, “Our network food banks are calling us every day, telling us that demand for emergency food is higher than it has ever been in our history. Feeding America will continue to work closely with our partners at USDA to ensure that the public and charitable sectors are keeping pace — as best we can — with the dramatically increasing needs for food assistance.”

Tags: 2009 in America, Food, Hunger