October 1, 2006 Guest - Don
Samuels
Program: The Goliath of Racism
Don
Samuels was first elected to the City Council in February 2003 in a
special election for the 3rd Ward. Don was re-elected to the 5th Ward in
November 2005 reaching out to a diverse Northside community. Before
joining the City Council, Don served as a community activist, ordained
minister and a Fortune 500 business executive.
As a Council Member, Don Co-chairs the
Executive Committee of the Empowerment Zone Board that helped bring over
$1 million dollars to North Minneapolis, is vice chair of the Public
Safety and Regulatory Services Committee, the only Northside
representative of the Community Development Committee and sits on the
board of the Greater Minneapolis Convention and Visitors Association.
Don was a deciding factor in the hiring of Chief McManus, led the fight
against predatory lending, authored the loitering ordinance, and
co-authored the Northside Housing Moratorium and other key council
decisions.
Don is the Founder of the PEACE Foundation
(Public Engagement and Community Empowerment) to enrich and challenged
communities. He also founded the African Americana Economic Development
Committee, to steer the development of African American businesses in
the city. With his wife Sondra, Don also founded the Institute for
Authentic Dialogue on race, which guides executives and leaders in
conversations and relationships across race with unprecedented clarity
and mutuality. |