Racism takes aim at community members in newspaper

What does racism look like?

I saw it in April when I received an envelope at my south Minneapolis post office box filled with clips of nearly every person of color who made our edition of the Midway Como Frogtown Monitor in St. Paul that month. The Monitor is a sister paper to the Longfellow Nokomis Messenger and Southwest Connector.

Among them were our regular columnists, Melvin Giles of Peace Bubbles, Rennie Gaither of Greening Frogtown and Dr. Artika Tyner of Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute. A female high school wrestler was on our front page, and Como Park High School teacher and coach Eric Erickson also wrote about the group of students who toured D.C. There was an image of the new District 4 County Commissioner Garrison McMurtrey (the first Black county commissioner in Ramsey County’s history), and Hamline Elementary teacher Amanda Jagdeo, who was a semi-finalist for Minnesota Teacher of the Year.

These are the people who are writing about education and sustainability. They care about the community and are working to make it better. They are stepping up and stepping out. 

They are our leaders. 

And I was so disappointed and upset to see this targeted hate.

It was unsigned and lacked a return address. I question when someone’s opinions are such that they don’t sign their name to it.

We believe in transparency. We also believe in putting our names on what we write – which makes us different from various online sites and social media. That’s why we don’t publish unsigned letters.

Erickson is the White teacher at Como Park High who works to highlight the great things going on at the school for the Monitor each month. “It’s troubling to see a community newspaper reporting on the accomplishments and activities of its local residents be targeted. And for what reason? Apparently, the sender does not want to see or read about people in the community who are not White. If that is indeed the intended message, we have a piece of evidence revealing that racism appears to be seeping into places and spaces where society had seemed to make progress over decades – reporting and celebrating the achievements, work, and voices of people in our community regardless of their skin color,” he said.

“Among the big reasons I have lived in Frogtown for 44 years and continue to live here is that my life has been enriched by my many neighbors who come from all the corners of the earth,” stated Patricia Ohmans of Frogtown Green, who is White. 

“It’s alarming that some people suddenly feel enabled to tout their small-minded, racist attitudes. That isn’t what Frogtown is about. It’s not what Minnesota is about. And it’s not what America is about. It’s way past time to call out this thinking and identify it as the hateful ignorance that it is.” 

 

INCIDENT ALONG EDMUND AVENUE

While delivering the May issue of the Longfellow Nokomis Messenger, our longtime female carrier (who lives in Longfellow) came back to her car along Edmund Boulevard to find it strewn with about 40 newspapers from the delivery the month before. On her dash was an ugly note saying the newspaper was “litter.” 

It was unsigned.

The April edition of the paper had a lovely photo by Bruce Silcox accompanying a story titled, “Lifting up Lake Street” about an initiative supporting murals, festivals, business advice and development assistance. There were items about recycling ambassadors, Patrick Scully of Patrick’s Cabaret, the Ward 8 race, Chard Your Yard, and how federal job cuts are hitting close to home. 

And inside was a short brief about a meeting with Reclaiming Edmund Coalition on plans to rename Edmund Blvd., as the boulevard’s namesake, Edmund G. Walton is considered the first developer in Minneapolis to apply racially restrictive covenants to the properties he sold, which was used for decades as a legal way to racially segregate the city.

I can’t help but wonder about that timing. 

I am also concerned that one individual is going behind our carriers and picking up papers at other’s homes. If you haven’t been getting a newspaper at your home, please let us know. If you know people who live along Edmund Boulevard, please check in with them to see if they’re getting their newspapers.

We haven’t stopped delivering printed editions of the paper. We have items online, too, but we know that many people don’t have access to the internet, even in the city. We don’t expect you to know how to find us in what can be an overwhelming array of opinions and information online.

We’re still doing what we’ve always done, delivering door-to-door in the neighborhood bringing the news about your community directly to your front door. We make sure you’re informed and get news that is relevant. We aim to be trustworthy and accurate. 

We’re a woman-owned, family-run business that employs local writers, photographers, carriers, and sales people.

We live here, too.

 

INCIDENT AT THE NORTHEASTER

The Northeaster newspaper in Northeast Minneapolis recently responded to someone that came to their office and wrote on an editorial with profanity and other colorful and hateful language and taped it to their front door – unsigned, of course. They responded in the next editorial on Feb. 26, 2025, with a piece calling things out.

“To be sure, the scrawler is within their constitutional right to protest,” Northeaster staff wrote. “We just wish they had the courage of their convictions and would write us a printable letter. ... 

“We all have to live on this Earth together, and it’s better if we all get along. This means having a civil discourse about an issue. It means trying to understand one another, rather than putting someone down or becoming angry because the other person doesn’t agree with your thinking. In Congress and in the Minnesota Legislature, it means reaching across the aisle and working together on laws that benefit people.”

 

WRITE TO US - AND SIGN YOUR NAME

We operate as the Northeaster does. We don’t print letters that denigrate other people or races, and we don’t print cuss words. It’s basic decency. We edit for length (our space is limited), pertinence and libel (we don’t want you – or us – to get into legal trouble). Just make sure to sign your missive. We don’t print anonymous submissions.

Send us a letter or email sharing your thoughts. That’s what this page is for. Email me at tesha@tmcpub.com.

I’m proud of the diversity of our community, and we actively work to make sure that our pages reflect that diversity. We’re here to mirror our community, to reflect it, to showcase it. 

We’re not going to stop doing that just because racist individuals are targeting us.