Nekima Levy-Pounds | The UpTake

Minneapolis Mayor's Race 2017

Minneapolis Mayoral Candidates: Let Artists Lead – Video Replay

By Text by Cynthia Sowden, Video by Michael McIntee | October 17, 2017

Minneapolis mayoral candidates talk arts and culture in a 75 minute forum. Participating are: Rep. Raymond Dehn, City Council Member Jacob Frey, Tom Hoch, Mayor Betsy Hodges, Nekima Levy-Pounds, and Aswar Rahman.

Minneapolis

Video Replay: Minneapolis Mayoral Candidates Forum With Somali DFL Caucus

By Bill Sorem | May 19, 2017

Seven of the candidates running for Minneapolis Mayor appeared Thursday night to answer questions at a forum sponsored by the DFL Somali Caucus.

Minimum Wage

Six Minneapolis Mayoral Candidates Face Off For First Time At Forum

By Text by Mary Turck, Video By Bill Sorem | March 8, 2017

Hundreds of voters filled the Calvary Church while hundreds more watched on line as six candidates for Minneapolis mayor debated the issues in the first candidate forum of the 2017 election season.

Minneapolis

Activist To Candidate: Nekima Levy-Pounds To Run For Minneapolis Mayor

By Bill Sorem | November 15, 2016

Levy-Pounds made her announcement outside the Minneapolis 4th Police Precinct, the same place where she and many others had staged protests a year ago when Jamar Clark was gunned down by police.

Criminal Justice

Misleading To Say “Special Prosecutor” Hired In Philando Castile Case Says NAACP

By Michael McIntee | July 29, 2016

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi has taken the rare step of hiring a special prosecutor — Don Lewis— to help with deciding if police officers who killed Philando Castile at a traffic stop should be prosecuted.

Gun Violence

Video Replay: Justice Rally For Philando Castile – Rage, Frustration And Prayer

By Michael McIntee | July 7, 2016

The line of people wanting to speak just kept growing. NAACP Minneapolis President Nekima Levy-Pounds had called a 10am news conference outside of Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton’s residence to urge him to take action in the fatal police shooting of Philando Castile.

Gun Violence

Diamond Reynolds On How Police Killed Philando Castile

By Michael McIntee | July 7, 2016

Diamond Reynolds, who recorded video in the car after Philando Castile was shot to death by a police officer, describes what happened and calls for justice in the shooting.

Minnesota

Why The NAACP Opposes MN Police Body Cam Bill

By Michael McIntee | May 11, 2016

Trust of the police and the justice system when it comes to people of color is low. So it may be surprising that the Minneapolis NAACP is against a bill in the Minnesota legislature that would pave the way for more cities to equip their police with “body cams” that could show conclusively if an officer took inappropriate action.

Criminal Justice

Political Campaigns Promised After No Charges In Jamar Clark Case

By Video by Bill Sorem, text by Michael McIntee | March 30, 2016

NAACP Minneapolis President Nekima Levy-Pounds says County Attorney Mike Freeman needs to be replaced. She is fielding candidates to run against Freeman and did not rule herself out as a candidate.

Criminal Justice

Video From Activists Puts Police On Notice In Advance Of Jamar Clark Announcement

By Michael McIntee | March 30, 2016

Activists say they will not tolerate police engaging in excessive force and say they are planning “nonviolent, peaceful protest.” The police must strike a balance between protecting free speech and public safety says the video.

Criminal Justice

Why People Are Rallying Against Police Killing Of Jamar Clark

By Video by Benjamin Gross & Bill Sorem, Text By Michael McIntee | March 28, 2016

People who attended a rally calling for justice in the Minneapolis police killing of Jamar Clark tell us in song and prose why they are there.

Criminal Justice

Hundreds Rally To Have Police Prosecuted For Jamar Clark’s Death

By Bill Sorem | March 26, 2016

Several hundred people rallied Saturday to put pressure on Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman to prosecute the Minneapolis police officers who shot and killed Jamar Clark.

Criminal Justice

Private Prison Leasing Bill Advances Despite Opposition

By Michael McIntee | March 22, 2016

“The notion that we incarcerate people for profit, for corporate profit, I think is the antithesis of America.” — Minnesota Department of Corrections Commissioner Tom Roy.

Minnesota

Photo Depicting Lynching Was Part Of Chain Restaurant Decor

By Video by Bill Sorem, text by Michael McIntee | March 10, 2016

The caption next to one of the black lynching victims read “All I said was ‘I didn’t like the gumbo.'”

Minneapolis

Black Lives Matter Stopped Minneapolis “From Burning To The Ground” Says NAACP Leader

By Video by Bill Sorem, Text by Michael McIntee | December 22, 2015

“They have no idea about the number of people that we were able to stop from doing things that would have been harmful and destructive out of rage.” — Nekima Levy-Pounds NAACP Minneapolis President

Gun Violence

Mall Of America Target Again For Black Lives Matter

By Video by Bill Sorem, Text by Michael McIntee | December 17, 2015

Black Lives Matter is threatening to protest at the nation’s largest shopping mall during one of the busiest shopping days of the year if its demands are not met, including the release of video surrounding the police shooting of Jamar Clark.

Minnesota

Barricaded Police Station Symbol Of Separate But Unequal Minneapolis

By Video by Bill Sorem, text by Michael McIntee | December 9, 2015

Minneapolis has put up a prison like barricade around a police station in the wake of Black Lives Matters protests. “What are they trying to keep out?” ask the protesters who want the “disturbing” barricade removed and more transparent investigation of the police shooting of an unarmed black man.

Criminal Justice

New Minneapolis NAACP intends to ‘speak truth to power’

By Paige Elliott | November 18, 2015

First official event takes on justice system abuses against women

Criminal Justice

Long Probation Part Of MN Prison Population Problem, Says NAACP

By Video by Bill Sorem, text by Michael McIntee | October 25, 2015

Long paroles mean more parolees get sent back to Minnesota prisons for non-violent offenses, swelling the prison population even more.

Minnesota

Black Lives Matter In It For The Long Run, Say Organizers

By Video By Bill Sorem, Text By Michael McIntee | September 19, 2015

Organizers and leaders of the Black Lives Matter group say they are ready for what could be a long fight to bring about the change they want.

Criminal Justice

VIDEO REPLAY- Race And Policing: A Conference on Ferguson and Beyond

By Video by Bill Sorem, text by Michael McIntee | July 23, 2015

Could what happened in Ferguson, Missouri happen in Minnesota? That’s one of the questions an ACLU-MN panel discussed while examining the disparities between how whites and people of color are treated by police officers.

Minnesota

NAACP Calls For Independent Investigation Of Metro Transit Officer

By Video by Bill Sorem, text by Michael McIntee | July 20, 2015

Draon Armstrong understands that he violated the law by not paying a $1.75 fare for riding the train. But he doesn’t understand why a Metro Transit officer threw him to the ground while arresting him.

Minnesota

Can These Stories Help Eliminate Structural Racism?

By Video by Bill Sorem, text by Michael McIntee | May 22, 2015

It takes more than a law to eliminate structural racism. According to Minneapolis City Council Member Cam Gordon it also takes people speaking up and telling their stories. Listen to some of them.

Criminal Justice

Nekima Levy-Pounds honored at 9th Annual Facing Race Ambassador Awards

By Jeff Achen | May 1, 2015

Nekima Levy-Pounds has made it her life’s work to stand up for equal rights and the well-being of all people, especially those who have been marginalized by society. Nekima is a civil rights attorney, an award-winning professor of law at the University of St. Thomas Law School, and a tireless advocate for social justice.

Minnesota

Following Court Appearance, #BlackLivesMatter Protesters Call For Mall Of America Boycott

By Bill Sorem | March 10, 2015

As hundreds protested outside court house, eleven organizers of a December Black Lives Matter protest at the Mall of America appeared in court on various charges that could send them to jail for up to two years. They all pleaded not guilty. The next court date has been set for May 1.