Minnesota politicians want to save the Walleye, but the African American community is dealt another Black eye.

By Don Allen, Publisher – Our Black News

If you’re black and if you read Thursday mornings story in the Star Tribune, you should be asking yourself how are black people in Minnesota poorer than those in Mississippi? Minnesota Democrats, including our three elected black officials say they’ll fix certain things, and the opposite happens (MnDOT, MNSure, MDVA, Met Council, and Minnesota Department of Human Rights).

Over and over and over again, the black community, especially in the Twin Cities is sold a bill of goods: Jobs, new business, economic development, equity and more funding for education. Call me crazy, but I think it’s intentional to keep certain groups voting for Democrats. Maybe it’s unintentional, but the coincidence is remarkable…nothing gets done.

The story in Thursday’s Star Tribune entitled, “Black household income plunges in one year in Minnesota,” is factual account of the state of black Minnesotans and their economic viability in this state. “From 2013 to 2014, the median income for black households in the state fell 14 percent. In constant dollars, that was a decline from about $31,500 to $27,000 — or $4,500 in a single year. The median black household in Minnesota is now worse off than its counterpart in Mississippi. Among the 50 states, along with Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., Minnesota ranked 45th in median black household income. Mississippi ranked 44th.” (Star Tribune).

Of course Minnesota’s local DFL politicians do not want to respond to this heinous malfeasance, but again, Minnesota’s Gov. Mark Dayton said he couldn’t respond to the report because he wasn’t given enough time to address the complicated issue.

Yes, it is a complicated issue brought on by a plantation mentality in the sphere of a political party that has run out of ideas, leadership and the ability to keep a straight face when telling bold-faced lies to black folks. Senators Jeff Hayden (D) and Bobby Joe Champion (D) could not be reached for a comment.

Some of us already know this. It makes us wonder why black elected are attacking the Council on Minnesotans of African Heritage (CMAH), formally the Council on Black Minnesotans a why the mayors of Saint Paul and Minneapolis will not address their civil rights directors in a meaningful way for the years of “looking the other way” as it pertains to contract compliance and civil rights complaints.

This story is just the beginning. While local black leadership is lobbying the city council members for money to stop the violence in downtown Minneapolis, it seems their eyes have never really been focused on the prize…black Minnesotans.