Last week, few people had heard of Neighborhoods Organizing for Change (NOC). Then a silly television story dubbed "Pointergate," in which police officers accused Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges of throwing gang signs at NOC employee Navell Gordon, hit the fan.
This week the little nonprofit in the heart of West Broadway is reaping the benefits of unintentional fame.
"We've been flooded support from all over the world and definitely are feeling the love," said Becky Dernbach, communications director for NOC. "We've received $4,000 or $5,000 in online donations. We've received messages of support to pass on to Navell from Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and France, among other places."
The story, by KSTP-TV's Jay Kolls, showed a photograph of the mayor and Gordon standing together and pointing at each other. Like people in photos often do these days.
Kolls found a retired cop and got city police union president John Delmonico to allege that the pointing was a gang sign used by the Stick Up Boys that jeopardized officers' safety on the street. The report pointed out that Gordon has a criminal record, and insinuated he might have gang ties.
The allegation was so ludicrous that two reporters at the Star Tribune ignored it after it was pitched to one of them by someone in law enforcement. But Kolls, seeing a sensational story, bit.
Gordon has acknowledged his criminal past, but said NOC was part of his attempt to get his life straight. When the photo was taken, he was knocking on doors to persuade residents of north Minneapolis to vote, something he can't do as a felon.
KSTP never mentioned that when the photo was taken, Gordon and Hodges were with another well-known public figure: Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau. The gang sign accusation was a rather bold personal attack in the union's spitting match with the mayor.
