to the editor

REPRESENTATIVE MAN
While Clinton Collins’ musings have long been a favorite of mine, it is a shame that he is perpetuating the (implied) myth of how the shortest month of the year came to be Black History Month [Love It and Leave It, February]. The selection of February, in fact, was made by a black scholar, Harvard professor Carter G. Woodson, in 1926 when he initiated “Negro History Week” in the second week of February. Dr. Woodson chose that week in homage to Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. There are numerous websites with information on the origins of Black History Month, such as www.freemaninstitute.com/woodson.htm.
Patty Dean
Minneapolis

HERE, HERE
African-American history doesn’t fit into white-American folk history in the same way that black South African history didn’t fit into Afrikaan’s folk history. It took years of revolt and international pressure to change apartheid South Africa. Mainstream American history, despite the revolt of the 1960s, is still a folk history filled with tall tales and omissions. American music, writing, the visual arts, and political change owe much to African-Americans. A month of lip-service is insulting.
Walt Rupp
St. Paul

MILL CITY MUSEUM: ALIVE AND WELL
It was wonderful to read last monthÕs cover story about the great things happening with the new Minneapolis Library [Who Needs All These Books, Anyway? February]. But given the flurry of activities that happen daily at Mill City Museum, we were bemused to see ourselves described as an “exquisite corpse.” The grand architectural achievement created at the museum is becoming well known through various awards and public acclaim, but we fear that the article missed the point of how this architecture was envisioned, and how visitors experience history at the museum. Since our opening in September 2003, more than thirty thousand schoolchildren have explored their roots through our engaging programs. Another one hundred thousand regular visitors have experienced history in a variety of innovative ways–through the eight-story “Flour Tower,” a modern music series in our Ruin Courtyard called Mill City Live (sponsored by The Rake), and numerous events such as weddings, class reunions, corporate parties, and, yes, a multitude of museum programs and demonstrations that put the past into context. And if readers need further convincing about the vitality of this place, then they simply need to come marvel at the transforming and vibrant Minneapolis riverfront from the top of our building–perhaps the most dramatic observation deck in the state. According to the National Historic Trust for Preservation, Mill City Museum is now the national standard in successful public/private preservation. Even the American Institute of Architects recently honored Mill City Museum with its highest award for architectural achievement. These awards are testament to the power of making history matter for people in the current moment, and for the ability of this unique venue to create a sense of the past that informs our communityÕs hopes for the future. We invite you to come down and give us a pinch. You’ll find we are alive and well, and eager to treat you to a taste of Minneapolis past and present.
John Crippen
Mill City Museum Director
Minnesota Historical Society

LIBRARIANS DO IT IN THEIR STACKS
What a great article! I live in western Hennepin County but I sent my check for twelve dollars (and more) to the Minneapolis Public library. I used this system extensively when in college and could not have graduated from college without it. Well-staffed and stocked school libraries actually boost all students’ test scorces K-12. We have test data for more than six years that prove it. Regardless of socio-economic factors and education level of parents. What a great buy! Let’s all rejoice in all libraries.
S. Mays
Minneapolis

EXTEND THOSE HOURS, ASAP
When I was a kid in Chicago, libraries were open until midnight on Friday and Saturday. They also showed educational films to the general public. The libraries were a place to go, learn, and talk to your neighbors, and they were pretty busy. The libraries here are not typically available for anyone other than people who have the day off or on weekends. I believe they should all be open until 10 P.M. and they should start to open themselves up to more community events. Whatever happens, libraries are a great resource and could be more effectively used as the hub of a community.
Daniel Blackburn
St. Paul

TRAFFIC RADIO
Regarding 511 Is A Joke [Good Intentions, February]: MnDOT’s cancellation of the KBEM partnership is yet another major public education cut made by a governor’s administration that is simultaneously pretending it is increasing funding to public schools and has yet to do anything real about our traffic situation. We all know that traffic changes by the minute. 511.org is outdated by the time I get to my car, and calling 511 takes more time to use than driving during rush hour. I do hope the partnership will be reconsidered (reinstated) by MnDOT. Minneapolis Public Schools should consider selling airtime to other metro school districts. Not only would MPS retain ownership of this important asset, but students from all metro districts would learn about all facets of operating a radio station while getting a first-class education in jazz. That is a win for students, MPS, and those of us stuck in traffic.
Tom Madden
Minneapolis

SMOKE ‘EM IN THE BOYS ROOM?
In response to Fred Eisenbery, the smoking bike-messenger who complains, “Minnesota is such a mommy state, where absolutely nothing is allowed … ” [One Step Forward, Two Smokes Back, the Rakish Angle, February]: If you want to smoke your lungs out like I did when I was eighteen, so be it. I strongly recommend that you quit, but you’re a big boy now. My main beef is with your secondhand smoke, not your bad habit. You and your buddies are standing outside Dunn Brothers on Nicollet because that smoke coming off your cigarettes and out of your lungs is not only putting you at risk, but also everyone working there, and the people like me who start off every day with some high-octane joe. That’s why indoor workplaces are going smoke free in Hennepin County in March, and hopefully statewide in August. Still think smoking isn’t so bad? Check out our website: www.alamn.org.
Robert Moffitt
Communications Director
American Lung Association of Minnesota