Journal of a Black Teacher

  I wasn’t there, nor would I be. My research  found   no verified evidence   that “Black delegates” as a group ignored Sheriff Dawanna Witt. What is confirmed: Witt received about   58% , below the   60% endorsement threshold , withdrew after multiple ballots, and the fight centered on law enforcement, ICE/protest response, and DFL factional politics. ( Star Tribune ) By Don Allen What happened at the Hennepin County DFL convention should bother anyone who still believes political endorsement processes are supposed to reflect judgment, fairness, and coalition-building. Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt, the sitting sheriff, the first Black person and first woman to hold the office, failed to secure the DFL endorsement after receiving roughly 58 percent of delegate support. The threshold was 60 percent. After several rounds, she withdrew. Let that sink in. A sitting Democratic sheriff, apparently the only Democrat in the race, came within two points of e...

  The future will not be determined by whether artificial intelligence becomes more powerful. It will be determined by whether Black people remain capable of recognizing one another in a world increasingly filled with digital noise. By Don Allen I live in St. Paul, Minnesota, a state that seems determined to find itself in the national headlines every week for one reason or another. Every day brings another controversy, another scandal, another public embarrassment, or another issue that many people simply do not want to discuss honestly. Take government accountability. When billions of taxpayer dollars disappear through fraud or mismanagement, my concern is not merely with the individuals who exploited the system. My concern is with the people sitting behind government desks who approved the funding, failed to monitor it, and ignored the warning signs. Accountability does not begin with the thief. It begins with the gatekeeper. But that is a discussion for another day. What c...