Counterpoint: Here’s a first the press is quiet about

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As a longtime subscriber to the Minnesota Star Tribune, I have become accustomed to the frequent mention of “firsts,” particularly when those firsts are people of color. I remember the front-page photo of Sharon Sayles Belton basking in the applause as she became the first Black and first woman mayor of Minneapolis. Then Janeé Harteau became the first woman chief of police in Minneapolis as well as the first Native American to hold the position and the first gay person to hold the office.

Ilhan Omar became the first Somali American in the U.S. Congress while also being the first woman of color to represent Minnesota in Congress and one of only two of the first Muslim women to serve in the U.S. Congress. The Star Tribune rarely fails to mention that she is the first Somali representative in the country, even though she joined Congress in 2019.

Peggy Flanagan became the first woman of color elected to a statewide office in Minnesota and is the highest-ranking Native American in elected office in the nation. This newspaper was quick to point out that, if Gov. Tim Walz had become vice president, Flanagan would have become the first woman governor in the state.

Keith Ellison was the first Muslim elected to Congress, the first Black representative from Minnesota, the first Black person elected to statewide Minnesota political office, and the first Muslim in the U.S. elected to statewide office.

Garrison McMurtrey just became the first Black man elected to a county board in Minnesota.

The “firsts” are not limited to politics, as the paper reported a year ago that Yahya Abdi was believed to be the first Somali state trooper in Minnesota. Emily Ford was the second person to through-hike the Ice Age Trail in winter, the first woman and person of color to cover the 1,200 miles of the National Scenic Trail, and is attempting to become the second Black female musher to finish in this year’s Iditarod, as noted in the recent front page and multipage story, which is even larger than the previous Star Tribune articles about her in March and November of 2021.

All of these “firsts” and even “seconds” are newsworthy and true accomplishments that deserve to be recognized. This paper has devoted many, many articles to the people in these stories, and many columnists have interviewed and written about these trailblazers over the years, some of them multiple times. So what is my problem?

Where are all of the fawning coverage and column inches devoted to the first Black speaker in the Minnesota House? Speaker Lisa Demuth is the most politically powerful woman in the state, yet I cannot find references to her being an example and inspiration for young Black girls everywhere, about breaking another glass ceiling, about empowering women of all colors, about hope for those who often cannot find it no matter how far they look.

The second paragraph of the first article on the front page of the Star Tribune about Demuth taking over as the speaker of the fully gathered House — presented next to a small inset photo — says “this time, her election was legitimate.” How flattering. A second article from that same date finally gets around to focusing on Demuth as the first person of color and first female Republican to become the speaker, while also noting lower in the text that “she’s a baker with a favored family recipe for sugar cookies” and always brings the same peanut butter sandwich to work every day at the State Capitol. Seriously? Does anyone know what Keith Ellison or Ilhan Omar brings to lunch? Are Janeé Harteau or Peggy Flanagan bakers?

It has been more than a month and neither the retired editorial writer who doubles as a Minnesota political historian (but who just wrote a column about Keith Ellison) nor the self-promoting guest columnist who constantly tells us all how she helps Black women can find the time for Speaker Demuth.

None of the columnists or any members of the Editorial Board in their current role have written a thing about the speaker. That she is a Republican doesn’t mean she doesn’t deserve all of the accolades and praise so freely handed out to all of the other “firsts” in the Star Tribune.

Tom Anderson lives in Coon Rapids.