Minneapolis City Council member Andrea Jenkins is proud to be the first openly transgender black woman elected to public office in the U.S. But it's public service itself that gives the longtime city official and activist a sense of purpose.
"It's really a great honor to be included in those categories, but even more so to be able to sit in the Minneapolis City Council and represent my community on matters that are important to them and try to help people have better lives," Jenkins told Cheddar.
Jenkins is no political rookie. She worked as a staff member and policy aide for the Minneapolis City Council for 12 years before leaving City Hall briefly to focus on writing and activism.
She curated the Transgender Oral History Project for the University of Minnesota's Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies. The project compiled the stories of trans and gender non-conforming people in the upper Midwest.
Her poetry collection, The T is Not Silent: new and selected poems, about the plight and invisibility of the trans community, came out around the same time.
Jenkins decided to run for City Council in 2016 and was elected in 2018 along with Phillipe Cunningham, who is one of the first openly transgender men to be elected to public office.
Since then, she's helped pass a local ban on conversion therapy after the Minnesota state legislature failed to agree on the language for a statewide ban.
However, Jenkins isn't focused solely on LGBTQ issues though. The elected official has embraced her mandate to serve all of Minneapolis' needs.
"I've worked with different jurisdictions, the state government, the county government, seeking ways to end homelessness, to increase educational opportunities, to make sure that our roads and bridges are up to speed, to keep our eye focused on economic development, and to center communities of color in those conversations always," Jenkins said.
Jenkins' answer to solving the problem of violence against transgender people also encompasses broad-based economic policies.
"We stop this violence through creating more opportunities for trans and gender non-conforming people to have access to housing, to have access to full employment, to have opportunities for people to be a part of society," Jenkins said.
The lack of access to these resources and opportunities, she added, forces trans-people to the margins of society, where they are more likely to be exploited or threatened.
Looking beyond local politics, Jenkins cautiously voiced her support for Minnesota U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar in the presidential election, though she said her personal choice was still an open question.
"We need a new president, so I will be supporting whoever is nominated in that process, whether it's Bernie Sanders, Mike Bloomberg, or whoever else," she said.
The Omicron variant is raising concerns about how safe it is to travel, just as millions of Americans were getting ready to jet set away for the holidays. Scientists are still trying to understand how much protection vaccines offer against the new variant, and many questions remain unanswered. Sara Nelson, President of the Association of Flight Attendants, gives tips on how to travel safely and comments on the aviation industry's ongoing recovery from the pandemic.
Carlo and Baker cover the latest data showing the Omicron wave has likely started, Pfizer's Covid pill, Jan. 6 and a box office rescue attempt courtesy of Spider-Man.
As 2021 is approaching its end, the meme stock mania that surrounded companies like Gamestop and AMC this year doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Stocks for both companies plunged to their lowest levels in months on Monday, but on Tuesday, traders seemed to come to the rescue, as the stocks for both companies saw rebounds. Great Hill Capital Chariman Thomas Hayes joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Upward Farms is an indoor vertical farming company on a mission to heal our broken food system and reconnect consumers with organic locally-grown food. The Brooklyn-based company uses its controlled environment farms to grow organic leafy greens, which are sold at whole foods markets in New York City. Upward Farms co-founder and CEO Jason Green joined Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Cheddar is looking back at the 12 biggest buzzwords of the year leading up to Christmas. Today's word of the day is "Infrastructure." Definition: (noun) the basic physical and organizational systems that uphold the structure of the economy.
The U.S. cannabis industry is on track to hit almost $25 billion in sales, according to New Frontier Data. Vivien Azer, managing director and senior research analyst at Cowen, and Russell Stanley, managing director and equity research at Beacon Securities Limited, join Cheddar News to give their predictions for the budding industry in 2022.
As more states begin to legalize recreational marijuana, there's a growing interest in legalizing cannabis cultivation. As the rise in cannabis farms expands across the U.S., more research is being done to examine its impact on the planet. Michael Katz, executive director at Mendocino Cannabis Alliance, joins Cheddar News to talk about the carbon footprint of cannabis farms.
Former 'Real Housewives of New York' star Dorinda Medley is introducing a premium small-batch bourbon, named after her iconic Massachusetts home, Bluestone Manor. The reality TV star joins Cheddar News to talk about her new book, returning to the 'RHONY' franchise, and her new bourbon.
With the new year right around the corner, people are starting to set lofty goals for 2022. However, research shows that very few people actually attain their new year's goals, and with the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, it may be even tougher this year. Sandee Sgarlata, expert happiness coach and author of 'Happiness Solved,' joined Cheddar News to offer tips on how to actually help your 2022 resolutions stick.
