Wednesday, November 1st, 2000
Day 6
Today's Contact Person: Carol Krush-612.822.5282 or ckrush@pol.net
WebReporter/Photographer-Edie Kalweit
| Schedule of Activities | |
 9:00 am: All arrive at
SJA. 9:30 am: Project Regina Lehman
Center, 1006 W. Lake St. Mpls. 11 am: Vendors at
Mercado Central, 1515 E. Lake St., Mpls.; (612)
728-5424 12 pm: Lunch at Mercado
Central 1:30 pm: Resource Center of the
Americas, 3019 Minnehaha Ave South, Minneapolis (one
half block south of Lake and 27th Ave S.), (612)
276-0788 5:30 pm: Dinner with host
families 7 pm: All Saints and Souls
Liturgy/Remembering Enrique Morales. Exchange with host
families. |
 |
The first center we visited, Regina Lehman
Center, located at 1006 W. Lake Street, MPLS, combined teaching
the sewing trade and teaching English to refugees and
immigrants. They accept 22 students each Fall into a nine-month
program of combined sewing instruction and bookwork in the
English language. The goal is to graduate skilled sewing
professionals who have sufficient proficiency in English to
obtain work in the marketplace. They have students originating
from all corners of the earth! As the student learns to sew an
item, he/she is asked to make two. One item is kept by the
student, the other is used by the center to raise revenue or is
donated to a worthy charity. This coming Saturday some of their
work will be offered for sale! The Third World Jubilee Sale,
Nov. 18th, will happen at the "Colonial Church of Edina" from
9a.m. to 4p.m. After seeing the quality of their work, I plan
to be there! They were making the most wonderful Christmas
vests in brilliant colors. This center does not charge the
students for their education or training, so the only source of
revenue they have is through the sale of these items, or
through sponsorships of all varieties, (individual, corporate,
foundations etc.). And "yes" this center is the brainchild of a
Regina High School dreamer! I left this center feeling very
good about the exceptional effort to help 22 people make it
each year. A small, yet significant contribution to making our
society better.
"Mercado Central" was our second stop. We ate
ethnic Hispanic foods prepared as we waited, and visited with
Rachel Dolan, who gave us the history of Mercado Central and
some of the background for why it was and remains so important
in the Hispanic community. It's located at 1515 E. Lake Street,
MPLS and houses 35 businesses. The purpose originally was to
provide a small affordable space to any vendor who wanted to
start a consumer oriented business, especially those that
reached out to Hispanics. In the year since its inception, it
has taken in two million dollars in sales, contributed to the
good state of MN. sales taxes, provided over twenty jobs to the
community and offered Hispanic Peoples a community gathering
place. Ethnic foods, bakery, artwork, craft and textile
imports, and leather goods are but a few of the unique items to
be found here. It is worth "checking out" prior to doing your
holiday shopping.
Our last stop during the day was to "The
Resource Center of the Americas." It is located one block south
of Lake, at 3019 Minnehaha Ave. S., MPLS. First we visited the
bookstore. Not only did we experience an entire bookstore
committed to Central and South America, but also you had the
choice of books in the Spanish or English language. There were
other items to be found there as well. Hard to find children's
books in Spanish, works of art, jewelry, cards, calendars and
so on. Today is All Saint's Day in our tradition, but the
tradition they recognize, ( which is quite similar ) is, "Day
of the Dead." The souls, who have gone before us, are
especially communicative at this time of year! In Hispanic
artwork you will see skeletons, sitting at table eating. We saw
altars set up at both the Mercado Center and at this center
remembering "special souls." In Spanish it is referred to as
"Festival del Dia de Los Muertos."
The Resource Center of the Americas seems to be
a meeting place for peace and justice activists as well. The
Resource Center also hosts a restaurant/gathering place. The
upper level sports a research center and library. Presently the
"Freire Center" is homed here as well. This is a center
dedicated to democratic social change. Check out the website,
