My deepest hope is that this post truly leads to some thoughtful discussion on this Mpls Issue List. Thank you.
The new Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center, planned for the Phillips-Central area of South Minneapolis, can revive the settlement houses that flourished at the beginning of the last century. Those settlement houses helped immigrants, minorities and the poor learn how to enhance their academic skills, improve their parenting, and help their children become good citizens.
I know. I was one of those kids.
Here's my short list of reasons not to spend money on the Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center.
1. I don't believe in naming public buildings after living people. (I don't much care for naming them after dead people either).
2. We have a perfectly terrific center - the Sabathani Center - great name, too. Give it the capital support instead of CPYC.
3. With all due respect to Harry Davis, an icon of our community and a revered person for his courage and leadership, the things he lists are the things currently done by schools, libraries, and a myriad of non profit organizations that have decentralized the old settlement house model to meet the needs of community members where they live. Give the schools and libraries back the money taken away from them - that's a better idea.
4. The last thing we need in Minneapolis is a revision of the old noblesse oblige model of charity. Settlement houses ruled from ten miles up. No local controls. Don't we want community control and responsiveness? Don't we want the center to reflect what Minneapolis is all about, not Urban Ventures or Colin Powell? Colin Powell might be a perfectly nice person but why would he lend his name to a center in Minneapolis? Why not Harlem, NY? There is some weird stuff going on if we have to have an outside eminence gris model to teach kids and "minorities" how to enhance etc and become good citizens - in Minneapolis.
Best,
Laura
Laura Waterman Wittstock MIGIZI Communications, Inc. 3123 East Lake Street Minneapolis, MN 55406 612.721.6631 ext 219 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.migizi.org
REMINDERS:
1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait.
For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
