Hmong Children Respond to Community Meeting

Post and photo by the Hawthorne Hawkman

After last Saturday's recent meeting between many NoMi Hmong residents and several public officials, some organizers had a discussion with Hmong youth ages 9 through 13. They told an organizer what they liked and didn't like from the meeting. It should come as no shock that the "didn't like" column was focused largely on the behavior of the police.

I was asked to publish this list, and whether I agree with its content or not, whether I think it is politically savvy or not, the list is substantive. I decided to use the same standards for what these kids wrote as I would for any other comment submitted to the JNS blog. Virtually all substantive comments get approved.

ADDENDUM: I expressed doubt regarding the "over 100 people" comment below and was later informed that organizers did a head count and tallied 91 people in attendance. More came after that count, so the claim of having over 100 people is likely accurate.

So, without further ado, the children in attendance liked and did not like the following things...

...Liked

-Food
-Everybody stood up, talked
-Nothing
-Adults spoke up
-Girls row had attitude
-Yue helped
-More time for volleyball
-Blong, parents, most powerful, said I'm angry
-Over 100 people
-Police say sorry
-I don't care what police say
-Yia say in Hmong
-Kids talk about problems

Did Not Like
-Police talked too much
-Talk about gangs, not what we wanted
-Police changed subject
-Councilmember doesn't talk
-Police talked impolite
-Police talked bad
-Police talked hostile
-Said no to Hmong translator (unclear if this "said no" was in reference to the translator at this event or to whether translators were otherwise available)
-Police only talk of gangs
-Police talk for two hours (also unclear if the time is accurate; but this is what the children said and is being reprinted here)
-Very disrespectful
-Boring
-Condescending
-Police yelled at us, we need video of his behavior
-Police talked to much
-He's scary

I was also sent the following letter, attributed to the kids who participated in the post-meeting discussion. It should be noted that although the list and the letter often say "police" in general terms, there was only one police officer present for the duration of the meeting and the discussions.

"April 11, 2010

To Councilmember Samuels:

We are Hmong students at Saturday’s meeting.
At Saturday’s meeting, we did not like police officer Lembek.
He was mad
He was mean
He said he doesn’t need Hmong translators
He doesn’t listen
He talked too much
He only thought of gangs
He yelled at us
He was impolite.
He talked about gangs, not what we wanted.
We do not want him at our meetings
He was scary
He hates the Hmong
He said we are gangmembers, and we aren’t. Our families are angry at him for saying that.
He read our list of problems, but he minimized what we said."

Once again, I wish to stress that Lindback did apologize and that many of his ideas were solid ones that deserve immediate action. I also personally disagree with the statement that "he hates the Hmong." But the responses above and the specific request to publish them here indicate a serious issue.

One other anecdote is important to note here. At one point when Lindback was suggesting a series of community discussions, he asked whether people would be interested in knowing what happens if their own child were arrested and charged with a serious crime. Wouldn't people want to understand the criminal justice system and how their child might navigate through such processes?

In short, the answer was "no." If their child was arrested, or if he did something wrong, let him suffer the consequences. People who responded essentially said that they weren't overly concerned about what would happen to their child as long as he (or she) were held accountable for breaking the law.

Later, I asked if this response was a reaction borne out of opposition to Lindback or whether it was expressive of Hmong cultural values. I was told that "you could not have an immigrant group more tailor-made to interact with the police," from the standpoint that they place a high value on law and order.

The Hmong youth and the "girls with attitude" have been calling officials to schedule a follow-up meeting so that the dialogue can continue.

Community Dialogue Gets as Spicy as Papaya Salad

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman

On Saturday, April 10th, the Minnesota Center for Neighborhood Organizing put together a meeting to discuss getting a Hmong police officer on the day shift in the fourth precinct. This was a follow-up meeting to one that happened in September of last year. In that meeting, we were told that the police contracts made it impossible to get a Hmong police officer on the day shift for a very long time.

But the MNCO folks and a Hmong attorney looked over the police contracts in question. What they found was that...

...this is not necessarily the case. Let's break down what we were told vs. what is actually in the police contracts.

First, there are three Hmong police officers in the 4th Precinct and all are on the night shift. There is one Hmong Park Police officer in NoMi, but he is not part of the Minneapolis Police Department. Both city officials and police representatives have said that putting the MPD officers on the day shift is not permitted because new police officers are required to work their first five years on the overnight shift.

The contract, however, states, "Newly Hired Employees shall be assigned to work on the Night Watch for at least twelve (12) months during their first two (2) years of employment."

Police and city officials have also said that the 4th Precinct Hmong police officers cannot be placed on the day shift because non-Hmong officers have seniority and the police union contracts dictate that senior officers have priority for choosing such shifts.

The contract, however, states, "...the precinct commander should give primary consideration to the most senior volunteer. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the precinct commander is not required to select the most senior person;" According to MNCO's reading of the contract, such assignments can be made based on qualifications and abilities (such as the ability to speak Hmong) and not solely on seniority.

A police spokesman has also said that the police union contract would have to be renegotiated to permit moving a 4th precinct Hmong officer to the day shift. However, the contract states, "Filling Assignments. The Department retains the right to establish and and modify in its sole discretion the selection process and criteria used to select personnel to fill Non-Bid Assignments...Scheduling. The Department retains the right to establish work schedules for Non-Bid Assignments."

Here are several other highlighted texts from the contract that are pertinent to getting a Hmong police officer on the day shift in the 4th Precinct: "Temporary Change in Shifts...The Department shall have the right to temporarily depart from the posted schedule of shift assignments." "Nothing in this article shall be construed as a limitation or restriction upon the Department respecting the scheduling of employees..." "Nothing herein shall be construed as a limitation upon the Employer's managerial prerogatives...except as expressly set forth in this agreement."

A Police official also stated that the Hmong population was no longer concentrated in the 4th Precinct as it was in 2000. Those of us who live here know that is not the case, but having a report from the Minneapolis Public Schools helps. This indicated the primary language spoken at home in the 2009-2010 school year, and showed that the concentration of Hmong residents in north Minneapolis has not significantly decreased since the 2000 Census.

The organizers and the community were armed with this knowledge coming into this meeting. Even though residents expected to hold our elected and appointed officials accountable, there did not seem to be an antagonistic attitude from the Hmong people in attendance. They seemed to want to simply continue the dialogue, knowing that a flat-out "no" was not an acceptable answer anymore. But the meeting got off to a positive start when Lt. Lindbeck and CMs Samuels and Hofstede were thanked for helping to keep some Hmong officers on board as new MPD recruits in spite of budget problems.

Organizers Jay Clark and Yia Yang helped draw out some answers from the group. There was a pattern that happened with every single family. Organizers would ask, "Are you having problems with crime on your block." The answer would be no. But a deeper conversation with kids and families would reveal that Hmong families are dealing with drug dealing, robberies, assaults, arson, prostitution, and other issues.

Then a series of questions were asked where the attendees raised their hands.


Through this exercise, we learned that virtually every Hmong in attendance was not born in the US, virtually every Hmong person did not speak English at home, roughly half of the room said they'd arrived since 2004, and only three people said they would feel comfortable having a conversation in English.

Some stories were told about experiences with criminal activity, and then Blong Yang highlighted the findings in the police contract. "The idea that this is impossible is flat-out wrong," he said.

Then Lt. Bret Lindback spoke. Lindback has extensive experience working with the Hmong community in the 4th Precinct, and in discussions afterward, it was clear he knows much more than I do about Hmong history and culture.



But there's really no way to sugarcoat his actions and demeanor at this meeting. He was standoffish and even aggressively condescending. He said he'd been having these same discussions since 1994 and expects that these same kinds of discussions will continue to happen long after he retires. He also said things like, "This is not my first rodeo," and "You had an opportunity to lecture us, now I'm going to lecture you."

And it happened again! The Johnny Northside blog was scooped by North News. Margo Ashmore put up a story about this event before I did, and detailed much of Lindback's rant. I'm going to give her credit where credit's due and also save the time of typing out a very similar version. Go and read her article.

In fairness to Lindback, many of his proposals were good, solid ideas and I hope we can get to work on them quickly. But the delivery of those proposals was not conducive to building a strong relationship between the Hmong and the 4th Precinct. Also, he later apologized for his remarks and demeanor, saying he initially felt that the meeting was designed to make him and the MPD look foolish, and he realized this was not the case.

A businessman named Her spoke about how he's lived and run a business in north Minneapolis for twenty years. He said that he wants to build trust between the Hmong community and the MPD, but Lindback's responses were not what they had come to discuss. He thanked Samuels and Hofstede for their attendance and visibly choked up when he said he was disappointed with the Lieutenant (although those statements were made before the apology).

Don Samuels spoke next.



Samuels said that he wants to make sure the request to meet with NoMi CM's three times a year is upheld, and that "an ongoing conversation is better than a relationship based on problems." He told the room he knows what it's like to be bullied and he knows what it's like to be an immigrant, although he cannot relate to experiencing a language barrier.

CM Samuels also helped smooth things over by saying that even the strong exchange of ideas that was just held was a good thing. The intensity of a conversation means people are speaking from their hearts, and not that either side should go away or stop talking to each other.

CM Hofstede followed Samuels.



She said she came from an immigrant family and that English was not the language spoken in her household growing up. She appreciated the straightforward conversation we were having, and told the Hmong community, "You belong here. I want you to stay, generation after generation."

At this point, Lindback offered his mea culpa and gave out his cell phone number, saying that people should call him if they have concerns. If they can't speak English, leave a message in Hmong and he'd find a translator.

Don Samuels said he and Council President Barb Johnson had met with 4th Precinct Inspector Mike Martin about this issue shortly after the September meeting. They all agreed that one Hmong officer on the day shift would be helpful but would not solve all our problems. Three, or five might not even do it. So we need to be creative in coming up with solutions. We need more Hmong people calling 911, an intern that could help with translation might be useful, and ongoing community meetings would be necessary.

Samuels told of his first experiences as a city council member, and how he was "tired of seeing white cops arrest black kids." But many African-American policeman in the northside had said the African-American criminals actually treated them worse because of their common race. So Samuels said he understands what the Hmong community is trying to do, but we also need to work to make it desirable for a Hmong officer to be on the day shift in the 4th Precinct.

Blong then said to the group, "If we're still struggling with communicating twenty years later, we've failed." By that time the food was ready and we got down to the best part of the meeting: the spicy papaya salad.

Here's hoping the communal feeling of breaking bread (ok, in this case, noodles) together carries over into our efforts to build a healthy dialogue between our Hmong residents and the MPD.

Hmong Organizing in North Minneapolis: Hue's Story

Post and stock photo by the Hawthorne Hawkman

Not too long ago, Jay Clark from CURA sent me an email about a video he'd found. The footage profiled work done by the Hawthorne Neighborhood Council and the Jordan Area Community Council with Hmong in our community.

Coming up this Saturday at three, there will be a meeting at Farview Park to follow up on getting a Hmong police officer on the day shift in the fourth precinct. Leading up to that meeting, I thought it would be good to profile one of our successful partnerships with our neighbors.

You can click here for the video of Hue's story or read more for the transcript of the video after the jump...

...here, although I apologize for any inaccuracies that may be there as I transcribe this.

"My name is Hue Yang. My family came to America in September of 2004 from the refugee camps in Thailand. We are Hmong refugees. This is my mother Chu, this is my sister. This is my brother Shue.

"I am going to tell you how the Hawthorne Area Community Council helped me and other Hmong students get a bilingual Hmong teacher in the class. In 2004 and 2005 a thousand Hmong refugees came to north Minneapolis from Thailand. Many went to school at Jordan Park. We liked doing prayers and our New Year's tradition at Jordan Park. We also liked our first Halloween in America.

"Our Hmong teachers helped us with English and learn about life in America. We also had many problems at Jordan Park. Our classes were really big and we were (inaudible, sounds like "hated") by other students and didn't like American food. Michael Yang, the director of Hawthorne Area Community Council, met the teachers and students at Jordan Park to hear our problems and know our families.

"The Hawthorne and Jordan Area Community Council signed up Jordan Park students for a Hmong soccer team. We loved playing in our first soccer tournament in our lives. In the fall, a north Minneapolis school board member, Lydia Lee, came to meet the soccer players. In November, our Hmong teacher was taken out of our class and our new teacher could not speak Hmong or Thai and had trouble speaking English.

"Our families worked to immediately get a Hmong teacher back in our class. Hundreds of Hmong signed sheets that we want a bilingual Hmong teacher. Soccer players brought the sheets to Lydia Lee's house. Lydia said she would meet with the families. The Hawthorne and Jordan Area Community Councils wrote letters supporting the families.

"Hawthorne got a church basement to have the meeting with Lydia Lee. Many Hmong families did not have a car. Hawthorne got a volunteer to drive many Hmong students and children to the meeting. Hawthorne and Jordan had pizza and lemonade and supported the Hmong families at the meeting. This is my brother, standing next to Lydia Lee.

"In the meeting, Hmong parents were upset because their children had been in America less than a year. They still needed Hmong teachers to help them learn English. The students said that often they cannot understand what a teacher said. Two days later, Hawthorne and Jordan helped get many Hmong students to a Jordan Park school meeting and spoke in support of the Hmong families.

"Students wrote down why they wanted a Hmong teacher. A month later, we got a new Hmong teacher. This is a picture of our class with Mrs. Yang. A soccer team started by the Hawthorne Area Community Council still plays every day. We have gone to a city championship.

"We also had a Hmong girls' volleyball team. Our soccer team had successfully taken on many school issues - smaller classes, more buses and rides, a Hmong magnet school, stopping fights, and school choice. And Hawthorne Area Community Council continues to help the Hmong.

"Hawthorne put in a soccer field at Farview Park to help the youth. Hawthorne had a pizza dinner with Hmong neighbors to hear their problems. A Hawthorne college student is studying how to get more Hmong police officers."

More Details On The Terrifying Hmong Home Invasion Burglary...

Ryan Steven Fore mugshot, therefore in public domain, blog post by John Hoff

As previously reported on Johnny Northside Dot Com--prior to being reported by WCCO, thank you very much--five children were temporarily held captive in a terrifying home invasion allegedly committed by Ryan S. Fore, pictured above.

Now, a reliable source has come forward with additional information about the incident...

It is confirmed five children were home, no adults. WCCO reports the oldest child was 13. (This blog had previously estimated the oldest child was 12)

Here is what my source told me, word for word:

"The man threatened to shoot them with a gun unless they went upstairs. While they were upstairs, he ransacked the downstairs, taking among other items a computer, and laptop computer, a camera and an ipod or iphone. He threaened to kill them if they came downstairs or called the police.

"A neighbor at 29XX Alrdrich saw the man inside, knew he didn't belong there, and called the police. They said the police got there quickly. One squad car pulled into the alley, and the children yelled for help.

"They said that everything he took either they got back or is being held for evidence."

JNS blog adds: word is the neighbor that called the police is in the same building where the campaign began to get more Hmong police officers. This campaign began after that building was "taken over" by gang members and an older Hmong resident wanted to talk to a Hmong-speaking police officer.

The WCCO report appears to confirm there was one suspect, not two. I personally saw a suspect placed into a police vehicle at two different locations, but I was never sure if it was one guy or two and my reporting reflected that.

Apparently, the suspect was transferred or removed from one vehicle and put back inside another--or the same vehicle at a different location--leading another eyewitness at the scene to conclude there were two different suspects.

On another note...I hope the authorities throw the book at this (alleged) terrorizer of children and (suspected) no account thug.

Suspect "Ryan Fore" Held In Terrifying Hmong Home Invasion Where Five Small Children Were Apparently Present...

Photo and blog post by John Hoff

After reporting exclusively on the terrifying home invasion burglary where five small Hmong children were present, click here for that article, information came to Johnny Northside Dot Com that "Ryan Fore" was the individual arrested in the incident.

(JNS blog continues to be unsure whether one or two individuals were arrested based on observations at the scene)

Here is Ryan's jailhouse roster info, as follows...

Full Name: FORE, RYAN STEVEN

Booking Number: 2010007401
Date of Birth: 8/10/1990
Sheriff's Custody: IN CUSTODY . .
Housing Location: MINNEAPOLIS CITY HALL Address
Received Date/Time: 3/21/2010.. 11:56
Arrested By: MINNEAPOLIS PD

1/1 FALSE IMPRISONMENT MINNEAPOLIS PD PROBABLE CAUSE PROB CAUSE $0
HOLD W/O BAIL
1/2 BURGLARY MINNEAPOLIS PD PROBABLE CAUSE PROB CAUSE $0

There is another Ryan Steven Fore with an extensive arrest record, but that individual has a different date of birth in the early 1960s. The person I saw being arrested at the scene looks more like somebody born in 1990.

I might add this incident is another good piece of evidence as to why a Hmong police officer is needed, an issue which has been raised by other media, click here.

These five small children were left to deal with the police--apparently by themselves. They would have been comforted by the presence of a Hmong police officer.

JNS BLOG EXCLUSIVE: Arrest(s) In Home Invasion Robbery...

Photos and blog post by John Hoff

At least one, but possibly two suspects were arrested today in a home invasion robbery where five young children were present in the house. The victims appeared to be Hmong. The incident took place around the 2800 block of Aldrich Ave. N. this morning and went down right in front of me.

Officers in half a dozen squad cars were observed setting up a perimeter around a one-block area...

...apparently in pursuit of somebody on foot.

In the photo above, an officer stakes out his portion of the perimeter. I observed him deliberately scan his head ahead and to the left, ahead and to the left...seemingly watching for a suspect to be flushed out. Several bystanders in the neighborhood watched the action.

Two officers have a squad-to-squad conference in the street.

One suspect was arrested in the alley. Later, I saw a suspect put into a police car in a different location, (photo at top of blog post) but I couldn't be positive it was a different suspect. One eyewitness told me she saw two different suspects taken into custody.

A suspect (on the right) is placed into a squad car in the alley.

Officers converged on this house on the 2800 block of Aldrich and were seen talking to five children; the oldest of which may have been 12. A witness to some of the events said there was a home invasion robbery with the children present in the home. The witness strongly implied--but did not say directly--he or some other person witnessed a suspect "mosey" off the porch of the house on the 2800 block of Aldrich and realized that person did not belong at that particular house and was probably up to no good, and so called authorities.

The same witness spoke of decent people in the neighborhood who pick up trash and do other "neighborhood things" to make things "safe and quiet," and said "this is usually a very quiet and safe block."

According to the witness, there had been a home invasion robbery in the last couple months, aimed at the house right next door, also occupied by a family which appeared to be Hmong. In that instance--according to the witness--the "grandma" of the house opened the door and a robber forced his way inside with a gun, threatening violence and looting the house while keeping the "grandma" covered with the gun.

The crime lab van showed up at the scene, and two officers were seen in the alley behind the house using flashlights in the daylight and examining the ground while wearing gloves. The children at the house on the 2800 block were seen speaking to a police officer who took notes. At one point, the officers went in the house with the four oldest children.

The smallest child, a little boy of about 4, stayed in the front yard and looked at the police cars with a worried, pensive look.

Editorial comment by Johnny Northside: Thanks to Chief Dolan for all the great work your officers do to fight crime in North Minneapolis. God bless the Fourth Precinct.

This Is Why We Need More Hmong Police Officers in the 4th Precinct!

Guest post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman

On Monday I was driving to work and I saw a car that had been totaled and spun around facing the wrong way on Emerson. I thought about calling it in to 311 to say that we had a vehicle that obviously wasn't drivable and needed to be towed away. But a little voice seemed to speak up in my head that I should hold off. I couldn't say why, but I've learned to trust that intuition. It's a good thing I did, because tonight at the Hawthorne Crime Prevention and Family Safety meeting, I found out what happened...

ADDENDUM: The accident happened early on Saturday morning. While it has been described as a "hit and run," the vehicle that crashed into the parked car did NOT drive away. However, the driver and any other passengers did flee on foot and have not been caught.

ADDENDUM: See comment section for a post from an officer who responded to the call. It seems the officer did everything right, including getting one of the night shift Hmong officers to come and translate. Perhaps the confusion was more around the bewilderment any of us would feel if our car was totaled at 2 a.m. in this way. Still, I stand by my claim that we need more Hmong police officers in the 4th Precinct on the day shift, but I am deeply grateful for the service of the men and women of the Minneapolis Police Department.

A Hmong family who lives at 26th and Emerson owns the vehicle in question. They were woken up at about two in the morning (it's unclear if this happened at 2 a.m. on Sunday or Monday) to a loud crash. Their beautiful car was the victim of a hit-and-run by a driver they say was drunk.

Two thoughts immediately sprang to mind upon hearing the story and knowing what the vehicle looked like: thank GOD nobody was hurt, and how in the WORLD does the other car manage to drive away from something like that?

The family did call 911, and the police did show up. But it seems that the response was not helpful enough. I spoke with one relative and from what I can gather, no translation services were offered. Organizers from CURA are helping us and the family work with the insurance company because-surprise!-they don't have Hmong translation either.

About a month ago, a meeting was held at Farview Park where, based on a report, we asked CMs Samuels and Johnson to help get a Hmong police officer in the 4th Precinct - and one that works the day shift. We know the steps to make that happen won't be easy, but we need to be intentional about doing everything we can to accomplish this.

In the meantime, this family needs a police visit from someone who speaks Hmong or has a translator. It was brought up at our Crime and Safety meeting that Hawthorne sponsored some business cards that read, "I do not speak English. Please call ______, _______, or ________ for translation in (insert language)." We were asked if we could start this program up again as a building block for police relations with the Hmong community, and we will do that.

I want to make it clear that I am not blaming anyone except the hit-and-run driver, but I am emphatically stating a need in Hawthorne and the 4th Precinct and I hope that we can make this happen.

NoMi Hmong Press Their Request For Hmong Police Officer On Day Shift...

Photo By John Hoff

With organizing assistance from Jay Clark of CURA at the U of M, last night Hmong children passed out cards at the Hawthorne Annual Meeting and Dinner for Hawthorne residents and businesspeople to sign. The cards basically ask Mayor Rybak for a Hmong officer on the 4th Precinct day shift.

Housing Director Jeff Skrenes recently summed up the problem this way...

IF YOUR HAND IS ON A HOT STOVE, but you have no nerves in your hand, you won't know your tissue is being burned and injured. So it is with some of the Hmong in North Minneapolis, who feel cut off from using services like 911 and 311 due to language and cultural barriers.

There are reports of Hmong who have been terrorized by thugs and drug dealers, and sipmly endured for months or years because of the cultural and language barriers. This needs to stop. We need to find a way to bridge the gulf for these Hmong.

U of M Report Calls for More Hmong Officers in 4th Precinct

Guest Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman

The Hawthorne Neighborhood Council has spent a large part of the summer working to organize many of the Hmong families in our neighborhood. We've had our fair share of meetings where only a handful of people (or sometimes no one) showed up. That all changed on Saturday, September 12, when...




Hmong families from the Hawthorne and surrounding neighborhoods gathered at Farview Park to meet with councilmembers Samuels and Johnson to tell their stories. A little background:

Hmong, Hmong-Thai, and other southeast Asian residents make up an increasingly large number of residents in Hawthorne and throughout north Minneapolis. Yet as with many immigrant and minority groups, their voices, their needs, and their abilities are often unheard and unrecognized. This became apparent last summer at 2903 Aldrich Ave N. Local youth involved in gangs had taken over the front porch of this property, which was rented by a Hmong family. The gang activity included kicking holes in walls, threatening and assaulting the residents, and spray-painting gang signs and phallic drawings on the property.

Jay Clark and Yia Yang of CURA (the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, part of the University of Minnesota) came to me last summer with this concern, and we started to call various representatives within the police force. We actually did get some response, and I had thought the issue was at least somewhat resolved after not hearing much about this family. But at Saturday's meeting, I found out that even if the gang activity subsided, the family was so affected by the trauma that they picked up and moved to Arkansas.

Our greatest difficulty in finding a solution was that we knew of no Hmong police officers who could come and speak with this - or any other - family in need. So Jay approached Hawthorne and asked if we would support a study that would tell us how many Hmong police officers we had in Minneapolis, and when and where they work. We already intuitively knew these answers, but having them documented with the academic weight of the University helps us bring about policy changes. So Hawthorne supported the research and CURA went to work.

The research can be found at http://www.mcno.umn.edu/documents/Hmong_Police_Report_000.pdf and I want to point out that in terms of population percentages, they are going off of the 2000 census. It is likely that those numbers will be MUCH higher when the 2010 census is done.

What we found was that there were actually two MORE Hmong officers in the 4th Precinct than we expected to find. The two officers work the "dog shift" overnight and are not available to the Hmong community during daytime and evening hours when service is most likely needed. There is a third Hmong officer who works for the parks throughout Minneapolis, and he has had some contact with Hmong children in the 4th precinct. South and southwest Minneapolis have the highest concentration of Hmong officers, but have almost no Hmong residents.

This needs to change, and the first step in bringing about that change happened on Saturday when dozens of Hmong residents (many of them in Hawthorne) gathered at Farview Park to talk about this report and tell their stories to CMs Don Samuels and Barb Johnson. The meeting started off on a celebratory note, with news that the Farview Park soccer teams (made up of kids from Hawthorne and Jordan primarily) won their games that day, 13-0, 7-0, and 4-1. Yia Yang, Melinda Yang, and Jay Clark then asked a series of questions in Hmong and English.

It turns out that many of the Hmong youth have had positive experiences with the park officer, but nobody has met the two Hmong officers working the night shift. Virtually everyone in the room experiences crime in the same way as many other residents, only they have a voice that hasn't been heard--yet. Yia and Melinda took turns translating back and forth between English and Hmong. As Yia spoke about how the Hmong so often "just suck it up and take it," and "there comes a point where you just can't take it anymore," I thought of the Langston Hughes poem "A Dream Deferred."

What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--and then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?

Whether it's been riots of years past or the Fong Lee shooting and the aftermath of sorting out exactly what happened there, we've had our share of deferred dreams in north Minneapolis. I honestly believe we're turning the corner on so many of these concerns, but hearing stories that night made me realize that we still have work to do.

After a while, it was time to hear stories from residents who have been affected by crime. I'm going to glaze over some details in order to protect those who shared their stories.

One person who lives next to a house that was set on fire actually saw a gas can at the place and removed it. The former occupants came around looking for the gas can and he didn't tell them where it was. But since he didn't have a good relationship with the police, he didn't call in anything, and a few days later the house was set on fire.

Another woman had her purse stolen, and the perpetrator was hanging around the block. She called the police, they came, and she positively identified the person who stole her purse. But with her limited English, the thief was able to convince the officer that this was a misunderstanding and he was just coming into the area from south Minneapolis to visit a friend. He was let go and the woman never retrieved her stolen purse.

Another man had a neighbor run into his car and the damage was so severe that the bumper fell off. He called the police, who told him that since they were neighbors, they could just sort it out, and the neighbor said to just go and get an estimate and he'd take care of it. When the bill came in at $1800, the neighbor said it was too expensive, but a friend could do it for a few hundred. The resident than said that wasn't good enough, since the work would be substandard, and the neighbor called the police on HIM to get him off the property.

Some other folks had their car repeatedly broken into; to the point where the family has to park the car several blocks away at night. They feel safer walking a few blocks in the middle of the night than they do parking their own car in front of their own house.

One man stopped someone from either stealing his car or setting it on fire. A drivers' license was left behind in the hubbub. Although he could positively identify the assailant, he hasn't called the police because he's not sure anything will come of it.

A common theme was that there are mothers and grandmothers home all day who witness crime but speak very limited English. If they were able to call 911 and describe the situation to someone who understands Hmong, we would have a much safer community.

Listening to their stories, I was struck by how much this opportunity to express what they are going through really meant. Here was a chance to finally, FINALLY speak to someone in power about how things really are. And there was a chance that these people will listen and work with us to bring about change. Even before Yia or Melinda got around to translating the stories and questions, one could easily hear the frustration, the cathartic release, and sometimes especially the hope in people's voices. It hung in the air until it was almost tangible.

I also came to realize that in all likelihood I will never understand exactly what it is that many of our Hmong residents are going through. I've lived in Honduras for a time, so I have some firsthand experience with being judged by an outward appearance different than those around me. But I knew I was returning home at some point; I was not forcibly uprooted from my home and brought to a strange and foreign place. Even my "gringo" appearance in Central America probably afforded me some degree of status since people assumed I had money. I began to think that I might attain some level of understanding about the cultural and linguistic barriers that Hmong in my community face, but I probably will never truly know their experience. This was especially true of the Fong Lee and Vang Khang situations and how sentiments have rippled across a community.

And finally, I thought about the crooks who are targeting many people because the Hmong will "sit there and take it," or at least not be able to effectively communicate with the authorities. Chances are that those criminals are not just targeting the Hmong; they are out in my neighborhood doing something else to someone else as well. So the more we have ALL residents calling 911 at the appropriate times, the better off we will ALL be.

Once the residents were done telling their stories, it was time for Barb Johnson and Don Samuels to speak. Both pledged their support to setting up a meeting with Chief Dolan to work towards solutions. They also laid out some of the realities that we need to hear. I appreciate this about Johnson and Samuels (and Rybak too); they won't come in and promise something that they can't deliver. If something is going to be hard or near-impossible, they'll say so even if it makes the people in the room unhappy to hear it.

One of the realities is that it takes two years of training to get someone qualified as a police officer, and after that the first five years of the job is usually done on the night shift. Agreements with the police unions make it difficult or impossible to simply transfer someone to another precinct if they don't want it and if another officer is displaced. So getting more Hmong officers in the 4th precinct isn't going to happen by just snapping our fingers.

Don spoke about how he had similar frustrations when he first became politically involved; that there were too many white officers arresting black men, and he worried about what this would do for race relations and community relations with the police department. Barb encouraged people to get involved in career programs to become officers, and especially made a plea that this is a good and honorable choice for young women.

Perhaps a shorter-term solution might come through 911 operators. Apparently right now when someone calls 911 and needs help in Hmong, the call is transferred to a national translation service. Well that national person might not know much at all about Minneapolis in general or the 4th precinct in particular. So the Hmong 911 caller, even wtih translation, is still not getting the same level of communication and understanding as the rest of us. If there is a way to hire more Hmong 911 operators, that could happen sooner than training and placing police officers.

However even that solution is staring budget cuts and hiring freezes in the face.

Also, police officers are supposed to be using their cell phones to call in translation services even if the translation only happens over the phone and not face-to-face. From the sounds of it, this doesn't seem to be happening very often though.

We left the meeting with promises from Johnson and Samuels to help set up a meeting with Chief Dolan and the deputy chief who is in charge of assigning where officers work. It is always an exhilarating moment when a group of people come together and make their voice heard in a way that perhaps hasn't been done before. I was honored to have a small part in that moment, and I know our neighborhood looks forward to making these needed changes a reality.

Hmong Students Work For Hawthorne, Jordan...

Contributed Photo

Hmong students have started working for the Hawthorne and Jordan neighborhoods. One of their tasks is to identify Hmong-occupied houses for community organizing and outreach. At the Hawthorne Housing Committee meeting a few nights ago, Jay Clark of the U of M CURA program gave a sometimes-humorous talk about how to identify a Hmong house just from looking at the exterior.

Turns out Hmong children are a sign of Hmong. Who knew? Reminds me of an Onion article saying turkey sandwiches are a rich source of turkey sandwiches.

Hawthorne Housing Director Jeff Skrenes reports the Hmong students working for Hawthorne and Jordan are so driven and motivated that he will give them a task and they'll complete it within a few hours, then come to ask for more work. They are intensely-focused on their task, and do not waste effort.

Here, Jeff forces one of the students to relax and take a break with some air hockey at Farview Park. The student pictured is Moua Chang.

(Do not click "Read More")

Hmong Organizers Working In NoMi...

Photos By John Hoff

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet Nu Lor, (top photo, left) and Yia Yang (top photo, right) who are organizers in the North Minneapolis Hmong community.

Nu is a student at MCTC on work study, and is working for the Hawthorne Neighborhood for a couple months. It appears there will be more organizers like Nu, who will be Hmong high school students. Yia Yang, on the other hand, is...

...affiliated with the University of Minnesota, and often works with soccer teams, which are very popular in the Hmong community.

Yesterday, Yia and Nu talked to some Hmong community members about playing a role in the South Hawthorne Community Garden, accompanied by Jeff Skrenes (in the purple shirt) and Mike Klick. (middle photo, in dark hooded sweatshirt)

The South Hawthorne Community Garden continues to be a powerful tool of outreach and unification in our neighborhood, thanks to the incredibly hard work of all involved.