Authors & Artists
is celebrated, documented and archived through publications, professional
development trainings/opportunities, and public presentations.
Katie L. Sample
Katie L. Sample is the youngest daughter of six girls born to Isaac and Eva Williamson in Rockford, Illinois, in 1933. Katie, an educator, child advocate, and social worker, worked in the Minneapolis Public Schools for 25 years, retiring in 1993. Katie founded the African American Academy for Accelerated Learning (AAAL), a program that fostered an appreciation of African history, culture, and values. After 21 years, Katie retired from AAAL in 2009. AAAL offers summer enrichment programming under the leadership of the board of directors and the program coordinator. Katie continues to serve and support her community.
Henry Banks
Born and liberally raised with conservative values in St. Joseph, MO, Henry Banks is a child of God, a community activist, a closeted glory seeker, and a nobleman. During his bronze years, he championed his way through academia – graduating from the University of Minnesota and brilliantly securing a degree in Political Science. It would not be long before Banks would penetrate the professional arena. Eventually thrusting himself into the multi-layered position of Executive Producer, Program Author, Coordinator, and Department Head of The African-American Student Services Program, Banks grew to become a bushwhacker for African Heritage folk living in Duluth, MN. During his golden years, Banks took on a new inspiration that led him to register for the running of Duluth City Council under the banner “Banks for Duluth”. Though he was able to capture 18 percent of the public’s vote, he was gently let down in defeat by his opponent. Banks was the first African American man to serve on the ISD 709 Duluth, Minnesota School Board. He was elected on November 29th, 2023. Henry Banks is the founder and first chair of the Clayton, Jackson, and McGhie Memorial in Duluth, MN. These days, in the silver years, Banks spends a considerable portion of his downtime channeling through thrift store aisles in search of humble acquisitions. Banks is currently on his first book to be published in the coming years.
Tracey Williams-Dillard
Tracey Lynn Williams-Dillard has always been driven by her dedication to her multi-generational family and their family business. As the CEO of the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder (MSR), Tracey is responsible for the day-to-day operations and strategic direction of the newspaper. Her vision, passion, and commitment have been instrumental in carrying the newspaper into the future, more than nine decades after its founding by her grandfather, the late Cecil E. Newman, in 1934.
Tracey’s journey with the paper began at the age of eight, when she mastered the operation of the “Address-O-Graph” machine. Over the years, she has held various roles within the organization, including receptionist, billing, and advertising sales representative.
In 2001, Tracey became the president and chief executive officer of the 89-year-old weekly community newspaper, and in 2006, she assumed the role of owner and CEO. She is on the Board of Directors for MSR and the President of the Spokesman-Recorder Nonprofit.
In 2006, Tracey founded “Sister Spokesman,” a group that provides women of color with monthly networking and learning opportunities. The group continues to thrive, with monthly attendance averaging 75-100 participants. One of Tracey’s proudest achievements is the launch of the Spokesman-Recorder’s annual “Graduation Celebration: A Family Affair” in 1995. This event celebrated the educational milestones of African and African American graduating seniors and their families, emphasizing the importance of education to the future of Black Americans.
Dallas Watson
Dallas Jewell Watson is an undergraduate student, in her second year at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated and Known MPLS. She is the co-founder of Auntie & Z, an intergenerational space for the younger generation to talk and learn from their elders. Her current scholarly interests are Africana Studies, Geography, Urban Studies, and American Studies. Dallas is the recipient of the Questbridge National College Match, the Gilman International Scholar Award, and the East St. Louis NAACP Oratory competition awards. She is also a co-contributor to the book, ReAuthoring Savage Inequalities: Narratives of Community Cultural Wealth in Urban Educational Environments.
Dr. Catherine R. Squires
Catherine R. Squires retired in 2022 from her position as Associate Dean of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Professor Squires is the author of multiple books and articles on media, race, gender, and politics, including Dispatches from the Color Line (2007) and The Post-Racial Mystique (2014), and the edited collection Dangerous Discourses: Feminism, Gun Violence & Civic Life (2016). She has engaged in multiple community partnerships in the Twin Cities to uplift and share local Black histories, support BIPOC writers, curate panels, host conferences, and facilitate intergenerational story sharing.
Dr. Squires earned her PhD in Communication Studies from Northwestern University. Prior to finishing her PhD. She was a doctoral fellow in the Center for Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara (1998-99). In 1999, she began her first faculty position at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and in 2007 she was hired as the inaugural Cowles Professor of Journalism, Diversity & Equality at the University of Minnesota’s School of Journalism & Mass Communication. She lives in St. Paul with her family and is always on the lookout for interesting birds.
Jasmine Snow
Jasmine Snow is a storyteller, a journalist, a researcher, and a craft enthusiast. She is passionate about community-centered work and believes that nothing is possible without working for and alongside the communities she belongs to and lives with. Originally from South Dakota, she’s been steadily heading east, collecting an undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota and currently working on a master’s in journalism at Michigan State University. Her work has been featured in places like the Minnesota Star Tribune, the Sahan Journal, the Minnesota Daily, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, UMN’s The Tower literary art magazine, and more.
Lissa Jones-Lofgren
Lissa Jones-Lofgren is a distinguished executive leader with extensive experience driving organizational change and fostering inclusive cultures. As a seasoned Fractional CEO and Organizational Behaviorist, Lissa specializes in guiding organizations through complex transformations, aligning missions with strategic goals, and cultivating environments where diversity, equity, and inclusion are not just ideals but practiced values.
With a proven track record as an executive director and interim leader, Lissa has successfully led teams through periods of significant change, always with a focus on operational excellence and cultural integrity. Her expertise in governance, strategic planning, and stakeholder engagement has made her a trusted advisor and coach to leaders and boards committed to achieving meaningful and sustainable impact.
Lissa is also a sought-after speaker and facilitator, known for her ability to challenge organizations to move beyond superficial inclusion to embrace true diversity and equity. She spent 15 years as the host and content creator of Urban Agenda on KMOJ Radio, where she remained deeply connected to the community she represents. Currently, she hosts the acclaimed podcast Black Market Reads for the Givens Foundation for African American Literature, amplifying the voices of Black authors and exploring the rich tapestry of African American literature.
In addition to her executive roles, Lissa served as the Chair of the University of Minnesota Friends of the Libraries, reflecting her commitment to literacy, cultural equity, and community engagement. A lifelong Minnesotan, Lissa’s leadership is deeply rooted in her understanding of the communities she serves and her unwavering dedication to advancing social justice.
Dr. Robin P. Hickman-Winfield
Robin is the CEO and Executive Producer of SoulTouch Production. SoulTouch is a television and film production, youth development, and community engagement consulting company, with a mission to make meaningful media and produce powerful social impact experiences. Robin was the Director of Taking Our Place Centerstage and Organizational Strategist at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. Taking Our Place Centerstage (TOPC) engaged and partnered with members of Indigenous, Latino, Asian, and Black communities to bring nationally recognized talent to the Ordway and engage local communities with them. She helped produce with Vocal Essence a production of WITNESS: Honoring the Life and Legacy of Gordon Parks at the Ordway. Robin is the Founder and Creative Director/Artist at A Celebration of Soulful Dolls, an inspiring doll artistry that uniquely presents positive and powerful imagery of Family, Community, and History, with a splash of Social Commentary! Robin with other Parks family members works with Gordon Parks High School in St. Paul on the Gordon Parks Legacy Educational Experience, which engages students in understanding their vision, purpose, and possibilities. As the great-niece of Gordon Parks, she instills his legacy in all the work she does.
Georgia Fort
Georgia Fort is a two-time Midwest Emmy award-winning journalist. She was one of two journalists in the courtroom for the sentencing of Derek Chauvin. Her reporting has been published on CNN, ABC, NBC, Fox, and CBS affiliates. Her mission as a storyteller is to change the narrative by amplifying truth, citing diverse sources, and contextualizing social justice issues. Since 2019 Georgia has actively produced and published digital content independently in efforts to activate her own platform, create opportunities for other creators, and be a pioneer of the future of news. Her work ethic and powerful approach to storytelling allowed her to launch her own independent TV news program “Here’s the Truth” which has aired 3 seasons on the CW Twin Cities. In 2020 she worked as a field producer for the NBC Today Show online where she helped create a piece about the Say Their Names Cemetery in Minneapolis and contributed to PBS Frontlines American Voices.
Georgia is a mother of three girls and wife of former pro-boxer and gym owner Cerresso Fort.
Dr. Danielle K. Brown
Dr. Danielle K. Brown is a social movement and media researcher and holds the 1855 Community and Urban Journalism University Professorship at Michigan State. She is the founding director of the LIFT project – a project focused on mapping, networking, and resourcing trusted messengers to dismantle dis- and misinformation narratives that circulate in Black communities and about Black communities in other spaces. Danielle consults in newsrooms nationwide to help turn narrative analyses into tools for advancing the profession and encouraging citizen engagement in democracy. Her publicly accessible articles and commentary have appeared in local, national, and international outlets such as Nature, Scientific American, The Conversation, The Columbia Journalism Review, Nieman Lab, and The Washington Post. This work has helped mainstream theories about the protest paradigm and informed the curriculums of training organizations around the country about producing pro-democratic protest reporting. In addition, I have developed workshops and trainings for multiple professional and public audiences, including organizations like the Carnegie Council, Council for Foreign Relations, National Press Club, and the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources. She has received several early career awards for her efforts, including being honored as the 2024 International Communication Association’s Early Career Scholar award. She previously held the John & Elizabeth Bates Cowles Professorship at the University of Minnesota (2020-2023).
Daniel Pierce Bergin
Daniel Pierce Bergin creates media that explores diverse people, places, and the past through restorative narratives. The Twin Cities PBS Executive Producer and WEM Endowed Director of History has won over 20 regional Emmy awards for productions ranging from 30-second PSAs to feature-length documentaries including Jim Crow of the North, Out North: MNLGBTQ History, Lost Twin Cities 5, and Make it OK: Mental Illness & Stigma. His documentary With Impunity: Men & Gender Violence was named ‘Best Documentary of 2012’ by Mpls/St. Paul Magazine. Daniel has had films broadcast across the PBS system and screened at a range of festivals including Input, the Pan African Film Festival, the Minneapolis St Paul International Film Festival, The Hollywood Black Film Festival, and the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival.
The Minneapolis native and University of Minnesota graduate has served as a director on the boards of several community media organizations. Daniel has been an adjunct instructor and lectured and presented in countless schools, colleges, and community settings. He has been recognized as a MN State Arts Board Fellow, a City Pages Artist of the Year, an UofMN Outstanding Alumni Award, A.P. Anderson Award for significant artistic contributions, and was awarded a Bush Leadership Fellowship for his work in community media.
Al McFarlane
Elder Al McFarlane is the Editor-In-Chief of Insight News and CEO at McFarlane Media Interests, Inc. both housed at the Marcus Garvey House located in North Minneapolis. He is a journalist, news reporter, editor, content creator, and curator of many multi-media vehicles such as the partnership with KFAI radio hosting weekly Conversations with Al McFarlane, which also is a daily podcast. Insight News is also on the World Wide Web and serves not only Minnesota but serves the African diaspora with its outreach and news content. Elder McFarlane works in the proud Black press tradition of courageous journalism, creating a historical record and a Black perspective, which serves as a knowledge foundation for future generations and serves as a catalyst for changing our society. Al McFarlane the editor for this anthology publication about the Black community and the media which will be launched at In Black Ink’s 2024 Sankofa Event.
Donnie Nicole Belcher
Donnie Nicole Belcher is a lifelong educator who operates at the intersection of culture, change, and community. She was named one of Ebony Magazine’s Ebony Power 100 Honorees in 2016. After spending 12 years in the Chicago Public School system teaching Literature and Writing to students in grades 9-12, Donnie co-founded Art of Culture (AoC) Inc., a nonprofit that cultivates youth’s creative potential through arts & professional development. Donnie returned home to Minnesota in 2019 and launched Work with Donnie, a consulting firm that provides diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and communications services. Notable clients include the University of Minnesota and Virgin Hotels North America. She has received the Courage Award from NYU’s Hip Hop Education Center, the Deloris Jordan Award for Excellence in Community, and an Echoing Green Fellowship. Donnie currently serves as the Director of Communications for Minneapolis Public Schools and is the proud mother to Amelia Rena. For more information about Donnie visit WorkWithDonnie.com.
Jacqueline “Lady J” Maddix
Jacqueline “Lady J” Maddix lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, in close proximity to her sons and siblings. A native of Minnesota, Jacquie, Lady J, is a thirty-year veteran Blues broadcaster currently broadcasting at KFAI Radio 90.3 FM in Minneapolis and producing programming at Saint Paul Neighborhood Network cable access television. She has written songs, CD liner notes, gig reviews, and poetry. Her byline can be found online at Minnesota Blues on Stage and at the Twin Cities Blues News.
Ms. Maddix is a Blues performer and percussionist, fronting her own band, Lady J Griot & Her Root Doctors, that focuses on preserving the African heritage of the Blues. Her style blends Delta Blues with Chicago Blues while expressing the root history of the music in true indigenous storyteller fashion. In 2015 she was inducted into the Minnesota Blues Hall of Fame as a Blues historian.
From a very young age, Jacquie was drawn to the magical lyrics of the Blues. This lifelong fascination directed her to “follow the music,” and in doing so, she discovered the hidden messages that awakened the soul self that lives in the pages of this book.
Karen Felecia Nance
Karen Felecia Nance is an attorney specializing in criminal defense and child support law. She is an advocate for children and adults with special needs. She also provides support to domestic and international adoptees. Karen is a licensed private investigator, a restorative justice facilitator, a mediator, and a writer. As a lay historian and genealogist, she has researched her family history and now is writing extensively about her family, including the most famous member, Ethel Ray Nance, her grandmother.
Mychal Batson
Strategist. designer. illustrator. storyteller. futurist. Mychal Batson is a freelance designer, illustrator, writer and futurist who grew up in the Rondo neighborhood in St. Paul, Minnesota. He credits his 15 years of experience in the Rondo/Frogtown community for helping him become the man and artist he is today. www.mycdazzle.com • Instagram @MycDazzle
Ericka Dennis
Ericka Dennis is an actress, director, playwright, and now, author of her first children’s book: Mr. Rondo’s Spirit. Ericka grew up in the Rondo community where she currently resides. She has 20 years of artistic service to youth and the Rondo community. Ericka has written and directed plays, taught theater arts to youth and performed on various stages across the Twin Cities area.
Broderick Poole
Broderick Poole is an artist that specializes in acrylic paintings and patch manufacturing. He is an illustrator and graphic designer from St. Paul, Minnesota. Poole is the owner of Vintage Pooleboy Art and Apparel. He mentors emerging Rondo business owners and teaches visual arts to children.
Artika Tyner
Dr. Artika R. Tyner (a.k.a. Miss Freedom Fighter, Esquire) is a child of Rondo. She is a passionate educator, an award-winning author, a civil rights attorney, a sought-after speaker, and an advocate for justice, who is committed to helping children discover their leadership potential and serve as change agents in the global community. She is the founder/CEO of the Planting People Growing Justice LLC where she provides training and resources for entrepreneurs.
Gevonee Ford
Gevonee Ford is the Founder and Executive Director of Network for the Development of Children of African Descent (NdCAD), a nonprofit, family education center based in Minneapolis, MN. He holds a B.S. in Integrative Studies and is currently pursuing a M.A. in Education Policy and Organizational Leadership. Gevonee has worked in the fields of early childhood and K12 education for the past 35 years, specializing in program development, non-profit management and educational policy. Gevonee has been at the forefront of progressive education in Minnesota serving as a teacher, trainer, program director and community organizer. His work has been recognized at national, state and local levels. He has received numerous awards including being named a 2012 White House Champion of Change, under the Obama administration.
Ngeri Nnachi
Ngeri Nnachi is in the last semester of her coursework in an interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Language, Literacy and Culture at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Her dissertation topic focuses on the experiences of black students as they matriculate through our K-12 educational system. In May 2016, she graduated from the University of St. Thomas with her Juris Doctor and Master’s in Public Policy & Leadership. Prior to that, she obtained her B.A. in American Studies also at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. She is incredibly passionate about her community and looks forward to being even more instrumental in ensuring that her people are granted opportunities to be proud of themselves, and their culture. She believes that as black people, we deserve the right to be our best advocates and exert the agency that we innately have by way of being alive. In her spare time, she runs her business, Designs By Ngeri, which specializes in handmade bags and other accessories.
Seba Ahmad Azzahir
Ahmad Azzahir is the Founder and Director of the International Khepran Institute (IKI) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. IKI is an African educational and spiritual community institution. Azzahir has taught many courses to the African heritage community through IKI such as African thought and spirituality, African philosophy and psychology and African civilizational building.
Azzahir has studied at the University of Toronto (BA), University of Saskatchewan (MA), University of Alberta and the University of Minnesota (Ph.D. work in Futures Studies) where he developed the foundation for his seminal works and writings on African community development. In 1995 Azzahir earned the title of Seba from the Akhepran (African) Community. Seba comes out of the Kemetic (ancient Egyptian) intellectual tradition, which means spiritual/community guide and teacher.
Azzahir has consulted and worked with many organizations and institutions on the African foundations of education such as the Akhepran Children’s Institute, The Imhotep Science Academy, The Afrocentric Educational Academy (MPS), The African-American Academy of Accelerated Learning, the Cultural Wellness Center and the Akhepran International Academy (Bahamas). Azzahir was born in Grenada (Caribbean) and now lives in Minneapolis, MN.
Partial List of Publications:
The Three Books of Khepra, International Khepran Institute, Minneapolis, MN, 1992.
Time Dimensions and Community Development, International Khepran Institute, Minneapolis, MN, 2001.
The Ethiop, International Khepran Institute, Minneapolis, MN, 2006.
“Research and the Cultural Wellness Center,” International Khepran Institute, Minneapolis, MN, 2006.
Rekhet Si-Asar
Rekhet is the Executive Director of In Black Ink, a non-profit that seeks to create spaces where the intergenerational stories about Minnesotans of African heritage can be shared, documented, and archived. Rekhet is also a School Psychologist in the Minneapolis Public Schools.
Rekhet Si-Asar was born and raised in Georgetown, Guyana. She migrated to Brooklyn, New York as a child with her family. She earned her Associate of Arts in Fashion Illustration from the Fashion Institute of Technology, Bachelor of Arts from Hunter College in Child Psychology and Communications; a Master of Arts from the Institute of Child Development; and, her Educational Specialist Degree (Ed.S.) from the University of Minnesota’s, School Psychology Program. Rekhet attended the International Khepran Institute in Minneapolis where she studied African foundations for community development and educational program/curriculum design.
Rekhet was the coordinator for the Imhotep Science Academy and Initiatives, an African-centered K-8 educational STEM program in St. Paul and Minneapolis. She was the past Operations Manager and an illustrator with Papyrus Publishing Inc. in Brooklyn Park, MN. She was a past Board Chair for the Cultural Wellness Center in Minneapolis, MN.
Jeffery A. Hassan
Jeffrey A. Hassan is a retired attorney having worked with the State of Minnesota Department of Human Rights, Jordan & Keys, LLC in Washington, D.C. and Hassan & Reed, Ltd, his own law firm representing plaintiffs in personal injury, medical malpractice and police misconduct in state and federal court. Hassan graduated from Macalester College and the University of Minnesota Law School. He is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association and Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers. He was former president of the Minnesota Minority Lawyers Association.
Hassan is active in the community, volunteering with several organizations such as the African American Leadership Forum, which he is the former Executive Director. Also he has worked and volunteered with several educational institutions such as Harvest Preparatory School and BEST Academy in north Minneapolis.
Eric Mahmoud
Eric Mahmoud is the President/CEO/Founder at Seed Academy and Harvest BEST Academy in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is a charter school leader and expert. Eric Mahmoud has more than 30 years of hands-on experience in educational administration. His commitment to academic excellence is reflected in his passionate pursuit of policies and programs that support teachers, empower parents, and inspire students. He believes, fundamentally, that all children deserve, and must receive, a high-quality education.
Carol Dawson
Carol Dawson has lived in the Saint Paul African American community since 1947 when her parents moved there from Akron, Ohio. She is grateful for having lived in what she considers to be an exceptional community. She credits the community and her family for having instilled in her the values of integrity, humanity, and generosity. Carol retired from the Saint Paul Public School District after 30 years of diverse experiences in varying capacities. She worked at the classroom level teaching grades three through sixth in a non-graded, nontraditional school as well as several traditional settings. She had school-wide responsibilities both as a mentor coordinator of the Help One Student to Succeed Language Arts program, and as an America’s Choice Literacy Coach for fourth through sixth grade students and teachers. At the District level, Carol was a member of a Curriculum Development and Management Leadership Team and was an African American Curriculum Specialist at the District’s Multicultural Resource Center.
After retiring, she fulfilled a life-long desire to go to Africa. In 2003, she traveled to South Africa as a member of the Eisenhower People-To-People Ambassador Program, Educational Leadership Delegation. She also participated in the Healing the Heart of Diversity Leadership Education Study Tour of West Africa (Benin, Senegal, and Togo) in 2004. Some of her other post-retirement endeavors were staff member of the Center for Excellence in Urban Teaching, Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota; member of the African American Leadership Council Education Committee; American Composers Forum, Voices of Rondo, curriculum developer; Science Museum of Minnesota, RACE EXHIBIT: Are We So Different? Talking Circles moderator; and African American Leadership Forum, Ubuntu Committee member.
Rose M. Brewer
Dr. Rose M. Brewer is The Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor and past Chair of the Department of African American & African Studies at the University of Minnesota. A social activist and scholar, she publishes extensively on Black feminism, political economy, social movements, race, class, gender and social change. She is one of the authors of the award-winning book, The Color of Wealth (edited volume) as well as author of more than 70 essays, articles, and referenced publications. She is a 2014 CLA Dean’s Medalist, a member of the Academy of Distinguished Teachers, and a 2013 winner of the American Sociological Association’s Distinguished Teaching Award.
Mary K. Murray Boyd
Dr. Mary K. Murray Boyd is President and CEO of MKB & Associates, Inc., an education and human services consulting business. She has held several positions in the Saint Paul Public School District beginning as a teacher’s aide and retiring in 2001 as an Area Superintendent. Since retirement she has served in three interim positions, Manager of Ramsey County Child Protection, Director of Ramsey County Services to Children and Families and Dean of the Graduate School of Education at Hamline University. She has served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of St. Thomas and the University of Minnesota. She has been the recipient of many awards and continues to serve on several boards and committees.
Boyd is first and foremost an educator who cares deeply about her people and the power of education to transform lives. She has and will continue to advocate for the recognition, respect, voice, strength and potential of African/African American children, youth and families. Boyd is most proud of her titles of Mother to Jeffery (Racara) and Laureen; Grandmother to James; Elder in her community and Child of Rondo.
James Franklin Boyd
James F. Boyd was 14 years-old at the writing of this essay and he collaborated with Mary K. Boyd his grandmother. Currently, he is a student attending Woodbury High School in Minnesota. His favorite subject is math and his hobbies are playing basketball and baseball. He likes to hang out with friends and socialize. James is interested in sports marketing as a career. The intergeneration essay collaboration was exciting because he felt that often adults do not value young peoples’ opinions on the issues of today. James was honored to work on this essay because it is important for the community to understand how young people think, feel and most importantly hear their perspective.
Josie R. Johnson
Josie R. Johnson is an educator, activist and administrator. She was born and raised in Texas. Johnson has played an active role in the civil rights movement since her teenage years, when she and her father gathered signatures on an anti-poll tax petition in her hometown. She earned a B.A. in Sociology at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, and an M.A. and Ed. D. at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
In the early 1960s, Johnson lobbied professionally for passage of bills concerning such issues as fair housing and employment opportunities. She also worked for the Minneapolis Urban League. In 1971, Johnson became the first African-American to serve as a Regent on the University of Minnesota Board of Regents. She helped create the African & African-American Studies Department at the University of Minnesota as well.
Johnson worked with elected officials over the years. In 1968, she became a legislative liaison and community liaison as a mayoral aide in Minneapolis. She was the executive assistant to the Lieutenant Governor of Colorado from 1975 to 1978. Johnson went to Texas in 1978 and supervised Judson Robinson’s campaign staff. In 1980, she served as Deputy Campaign Manager for the Jimmy Carter presidential campaign in Tennessee.
Johnson returned in the University of Minnesota in late 1980s as faculty in the College of Education and Senior Fellow at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. She later served as the Associate Vice-President for Academic Affairs with special responsibility for minority affairs and diversity. In her honor, the University of Minnesota created The Josie R. Johnson Human Rights and Social Justice Award in 1997. The African American Leadership Forum in Minnesota created The Josie R. Johnson Leadership Academy in her honor, which is a leadership development cohort experience for African American leaders in the area. Dr. Johnson recently published Hope in the Struggle, her memoir about her work and activism in the cause of social justice during the civil rights movement in the US and specifically in Minnesota.
Kambon Camara
Kambon Camara was born in Fort Pierce, Fl. and attended Florida A&M University, where he successfully became a member of the world renowned FAMU, Marching 100 (Rattlesnakes) Band. He found his way to Minneapolis where he did critical community development work such as helping to establish the Malcolm X Pan-Afrikan Institute; serving as co-producer of the Pan-Afrikan Network, a weekly radio program that ran for 20 years, broadcast on KUXL in the Twin Cities. Camara was employed for many years at the Minneapolis Urban League Street Academy, an alternative school for young people who had fallen through the cracks of the traditional school system. He provided significant guidance for countless young people throughout our community. He volunteered weekly for more than 25 years as an external sponsor for Black men and women groups in Minnesota correctional facilities. Camara was an organizer and active participant in the Sixth Pan-Afrikan Conference in Tanzania serving on the African Liberation Support Committee. He was an active contributor to the Institute for African Education, an afterschool-tutoring program for Black children and Dr. Geraldine Carter’s Survival Skills Institute. He also taught for 20 years in the Psychology Department at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania from which he retired and was very active in the African American community in Harrisburg, PA. Camara passed away on April 18th, 2016 at the age of 75.
Mahmoud El-Kati
Mahmoud El-Kati is a lecturer, author, and commentator on the African American experience. El-Kati is Professor Emeritus of History at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was also one of the first professors in the African and African American Studies Department at the University of Minnesota. Professor El-Kati was influential in the development of and advisor to the Pan-African Conference at Minnesota State University – Mankato, which lasted 40 years, with Dr. Michael Fagin. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he was also part of the faculty at The Way Unlimited Inc. in north Minneapolis.
Professor El-Kati is the author of Politically Considered: 50th Commemoration of the Supreme Court Decision of 1954, The Hiptionary: A Survey of African American Speech Patterns with Critical Commentary and A Digest of Key Words and Phrases, Haiti: The Hidden Truth, The Myth of Race/The Reality of Racism: Critical Essays and Zola Shines, a Kwanzaa children’s book.
El-Kati is the former host of 4th Fridays at the Movies, a movie and discussion group about classic Black films held at Golden Thyme Coffee in St. Paul. He currently hosts the weekly public affairs radio show called “Reflections and Connections” on KMOJ/89.9 FM radio in the northside of Minneapolis. As a guiding Elder to Solidarity – Twin Cities, a social activist and educational organization, he stays active in the upliftment and liberation of the African-American community. His current work includes being an instructor for the Nu Skool of Afrikan American Thought, a monthly community forum hosted at the High School for Recording Arts in St. Paul.
Please visit his website at www.MahmoudElKati.com and join his Facebook page at Dr. Mahmoud El-Kati: Books, Events and Speaking Engagements to stay connected to him.
Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy
Copyright In Black Ink | All Rights Reserved
Contact
848A Selby Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55104
(651) 231-6604