Gov. Mark Dayton proposes a $75 million capital fund for black businesses, a plan that shares an outline with a "United Black Legislative Agenda" rolled out on Wednesday at the State Capitol ("$75M is proposed for black start-ups," April 7). Though well-intended, it changes no fundamentals. People wonder why we can't attract new business to the area. As a resident of north Minneapolis for 14 years, the main deterrent I see is the gun violence and the fact that anybody who tries to open a business has drug dealers piggyback on the traffic these businesses create. Along with ruining a store's ambience, this drug-dealing also ruins residential neighborhoods. One day I witnessed a former neighbor selling pot from a car parked out front all day long. About 9 that evening, the dealing erupted in gunfire as the participants were held up for their cash. This is the kind of terrorizing activity that makes everyone want to abandon the neighborhood.
If we want to see real change, we need to make pot legal. I propose a special economic development plan whereby pot is legalized in north Minneapolis for one year, and afterward there is a review of the results. Pot is ubiquitous right now, so nothing is going to change in that regard. It's here to stay regardless of any feel-good prohibition. Fighting pot just turns our neighborhoods into war zones.
Unlike Dayton's throw-money-at-it proposal, my idea provides structural change to our legal system that paves the way for real and positive change. Why are we waiting for the inevitable on this wise thing to do?
James Roettger, Minneapolis
• • •
The "United Black Legislative Agenda" seeking to help blacks combat economic disparities in the state is discriminatory. Why provide these funds only to blacks? Do not people of other races suffer from low income and lack of opportunity?
Our government — whether through the state, counties, cities or public schools — already provides millions in social services and opportunities to all Minnesotans, including blacks. I suggest that black community leaders work with their young people to stay in school. The high school dropout rate among blacks is still too high. Too many black children score significantly below the median in testing. I suggest that black community leaders work with black youths to become role models for their peers. The percentage of black men incarcerated in this country far exceeds any other race.
I suggest black leaders start their efforts at home before asking taxpayers for more funding.
Steve Holupchinski, North St. Paul
JAMAR CLARK CASE
Witness recollections may vary, but that doesn't mean no truth
So, witnesses at the Jamar Clark shooting disagree (Readers Write, April 7)? Of course they do. None of us sees an event exactly the same way. The question is: How much do they agree? I used to do an experiment in my high school psychology classes. I would arrange with a known, fairly rebellious student to be more than tardy to class, with no pass. We would have a verbal altercation that the class thought was real. When I finally sent the tardy student to his/her seat, I would tell students to take out pen and paper and, without talking, write down everything they had just witnessed. The difference among those 30 or so witnesses was amazing, but buried within those statements were kernels of truth. It should have been Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman's job to find the kernels of truth.
