- [Voiceover] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

(soft acoustic music) - Coming to you from 125 Live, "R-Town".

(soft acoustic music continues) So if you're anything like me, you may have spent much of the last year in glorified lounge wear or at leisure.

But the force of fashion is strong as ever.

And the trends picked up, those beloved sweats and raised you romantic puff sleeves like I'm wearing right now, and added a little platform lift to those crocs and 90s tevas.

Here to talk to us all about fashion is fashion blogger, Trina Morris, also known as the headwrap Socialite.

Welcome to "R-Town", Trina.

- Thank you.

Thank you for having me.

- Of course, well this is a whole look.

So of course, I'm gonna have to ask you before we start or as we start, what are you wearing?

And who are you wearing?

I guess, as they say on the red carpet.

- Absolutely.

So, on top I have Whip Two.

Designer based out of New York city.

- Love it.

- On bottom, I have Cynthia Rowley.

And the shoes are the iconic Betsy Johnson who does fabulous cartwheels when she's presenting.

And then I could not leave home without my- - Yeah.

- Telfar bag.

(Trina laughs) - Yes your telfar bag.

Oh my goodness.

That is the most coveted item for those of you that don't know.

- Absolutely.

(both laughing) - So, I'm so happy to see that it is here with us.

Thank you.

- [Trina] Absolutely.

- So you have a fashion blog and you create content on social media as at the head rapes... @theheadwrapsocialite, sorry.

So why did you start that platform and what do you hope it inspires?

- Well, I started the platform during the time of the pandemic.

And during that time it was such uncertainty.

No one knew what we were going to face.

And I thought to myself as part of my self-care, I was gonna get dressed every day.

Even if that meant going from the bedroom to the kitchen, to make myself a cup of tea and then go and sit down and read a book.

I said, I'm gonna get dressed every day.

And then when I started doing that, I said, you know what, I'm gonna Instagram it.

So I started posting what I was wearing.

And then people started responding and saying that, you know, I was bringing them light and positivity.

So I said, I'm gonna continue with it.

And I realized during the pandemic that people need people and we were missing that connectedness part.

And I said, you know what?

If this is bringing someone a little bit of hope, I'm gonna continue with it.

And honestly, I hoped to inspire everyone.

Young, old, you know, it doesn't, matter to me.

The race, your creed, what you believe in just you love fashion, I'm here for you.

And I honestly hope to inspire those little brown and black girls that look like me saying that in the fashion world, like you can do it.

Whether it's on Instagram, whether it's walking a runway, you know.

Just know that you are made to be something special, so.

- I love that.

Thank you so much for sharing that.

I think that moment of self care that you had turned into this really wonderful moment of connection and it's something really powerful.

I think, especially as we've gone through this past year.

It's been a really difficult year, of course.

And you mentioned this starting kind of out of that pandemic struggle.

We also had, of course, the struggle for black lives and, you know, and sort of your thinking about fashion.

What do you think the purpose of fashion is in challenging times?

- You know, I honestly think the purpose of fashion is to mirror exactly what's going on in society.

You know, during the 60s and 70s, when we were having and going through civil rights moments, we were in daishiki and some of us were in structured tailored suits because that for them presented what it means to be part of the cause.

In the last year it's been, you know, a struggle.

I raised four biracial young men and part of their fashion aesthetic was walking around and they would have a mask on as part of their aesthetic saying that my life matters, you know?

So I believe that fashion plays a huge part of that.

Whether you're a designer, or a news person, or you're an social influencer, you know.

It's our job to show exactly what is going on, you know, in our society, so.

- Thank you.

You mentioned daishiki and the civil rights movement and of course the headwrap has such a special history in the black community, in the African diaspora.

Has a really special meaning to me.

Growing up, seeing, you know, aunties and grandmas and aunties in headwraps.

And I'm always inspired by women who wear headwraps regularly.

Can you talk a little bit about what the headwrap means to you?

- Absolutely.

And as you stated, you know the headwrap has a storied past, you know.

It started out with, you know, we were here and we wore headwraps to denote, like what tribe you were from, or your marital status.

Whether you have single or married.

For me over the years, I've grown up watching my grandmother wear headwraps.

My mom wear headwraps.

I was even fortunate enough to watch, you know, my great-grandmother, who I was able to have with me until I was in my early teens wear headwraps or scarves.

And for me, it's just, again, it's a sense of connecting the past to the present.

My mom and my grandmother are no longer here in the flesh, but they're here in spirit.

And a lot of the headwraps that I wear are from them, you know.

And when I tie that headwrap on, it makes me feel like they are still very much a part of me and my story, so.

- Thank you so much, Trina.

Thank you for sharing your joy with us and your story.

And we'll be sure to follow you @theheadwrapsocialite on Instagram.

- [Trina] Thank you so much for having me.

(upbeat music) - Be sure to stick around.

We have much more coming your way on "R-Town".

We head over to Tom Cadillacs Auto Body for bike night at Torque and Tacos.

And Sydney Frye stops by to tell us about his new position with the Olmsted County's diversity equity and community outreach team.

But up first, we meet an Egyptian immigrant who came to Rochester to pursue a career in this week's R-Culture segment.

(smooth piano music) - [Narrator] Bassem Fadlia is a 45 year old business intelligence analyst.

He lives in Rochester with his family.

- I'm married and have three boys.

They are 16, 13 and four.

My wife is recently became a teacher.

The older kids that are now, they don't want anything from me.

The older one is doing his sports or meeting his friends.

And so right now it's only me and the four year old.

(bright upbeat music) - [Narrator] As a student Bassem excelled in the classroom.

- I was good in math.

And if you go into any engineering, the top choice was to go into computer science, at least in Egypt.

I got a bachelor degree in computer science.

Back when I graduated in 1998, there was a lot of recruiters used to come and come to Egypt or other countries and interview people and hire them and start processing the paperwork for them to move there.

(bright upbeat music) I was 24 when I moved to the United States.

Immigration through employment based process.

It's very slow.

It's very complicated and many things can go wrong at any time.

So for me, it took since it started maybe 11 years from the beginning until I got my citizenship.

And all that time your life is on hold.

In the beginning of the immigration process, it's easy to travel.

And then later in the immigration process, there is some risk that they would think that this travel means abandoning your application.

So, that made me not travel for a long time.

After you get your permanent residence, after five years you apply for the citizenship.

And you have to pass a very basic English exam.

And it's like a hundred multiple choice questions.

- [Narrator] In September of 2016, Bassem and his wife Nala obtained their US citizenship.

- Until I got my citizenship I didn't travel.

It was more than 10 years until I traveled in 2018.

- [Narrator] Once back in his home country, Bassem went to the places that meant the most to him.

- I haven't been in the country for more than 12 years.

So, I acted like a tourist.

I went to Cairo and went to all the pyramids and the old mosques and museums.

And even in my hometown in Alexandria.

I went to my university and my elementary school.

The place where my parents lived.

- [Narrator] We asked Bassem how he views the recent rise in anti-immigrant sentiment in the US.

- I had some people when they were congratulating me on getting my citizenship at the same sentence, they tell me and good that you did it the right way.

And I snapped back at them.

It's don't use this moment to, insert your anti-immigrant feelings.

Even those undocumented people they're hardworking.

You didn't choose to be born here.

They didn't choose to be undocumented.

They're trying to make a better life for their family, just like all of us.

And if we see the humanity in every one of us, it will be much better for everyone.

(bright upbeat music) - [Voiceover] For more information about this story and other "R-Town" features connect with us on Facebook, twitter @KSMQ, #RTown or ksmq.org/town.

(smooth guitar music) - I'm Danielle Teal your moderator for "R-Town" The Spotlight.

A segment we'd like to dedicate to spotlighting businesses and organizations in Rochester.

With us today is Dennis Wong from Dunn Brothers Coffee, right across the street from 125 Live.

And can I just mention one of my favorite spots.

The chocolate steam nirvana is my favorite drink.

So welcome.

- Hello.

- Well, we're so glad to have you here and that you're a neighbor to 125 Live.

Can you share a little bit about the location and your thoughts around some of the construction, like the bridge enhancement that's gonna be happening soon too.

- We've been in this location since 1997 and it's been a great neighborhood spot for us.

And we are concerned about the bridge construction because it's such a major thoroughfare.

We hope we can rely on neighbors finding us locally.

And we've also got some delivery service options available.

- Oh, that's great.

So did you have those delivery options available because of the pandemic?

Did that kind of speed up that process or are you doing that specific to the construction?

- We did... Had it during the pandemic and we're using a local service wages express.

- Okay, great.

Great.

And where is the... Is there gonna be a modified or a reroute to access your business or is it gonna be signage that's gonna help direct people so they know how to get there?

- Yeah, we're following the construction management team and it looks like they've put a pretty good plan in place for signage to direct people through alternate routes.

And they've done that along the Broadway construction.

We're hoping that they do the same thing for the bridge construction.

- Now I know that the other side of Dunn Brothers used to be a different name.

And there's a new name for it, Blue Plate Diner.

What was the motivation for kind of changing things up a bit?

- The timing wasn't the greatest we planned and the end of 2019, we've always had a great neighborhood coffee shop and we thought we'd pair that with a neighborhood diner next door to offer more food offerings.

And that was the basic idea.

- And can I share that?

I appreciate that because the biscuits and gravy are also very good.

(both laughing) So what is your favorite thing to offer at Dunn Brothers and what is the most popular thing?

- It's hard to pinpoint one, but I mean the biscuits and gravy we've gotten a lot of great comments on that.

Our pancakes.

Our three grain, organic pancake sure are a really popular item.

- Perfect.

Well, anybody can go by and check out Dunn Brothers as well as Blue Plate Diner.

It's quite enjoyable.

And we're so glad that you were here.

Thank you so much for sharing.

- [Dennis] Thank you.

(smooth music) - Hey there.

This is Michael BoJack with your "R-Town rundown.

Audrey Becker recently announced her retirement from the Rochester Public Library.

Her and her team built an incredibly inclusive space for the community that's beloved by many.

In addition to that in 2018, they were recognized by significant national award.

We're gonna miss Audrey, but we wish her well in her next phase of life.

The County Fair is going on this week.

And it's one of those fantastic events that brings folks from throughout the county together.

Whether you live in a small town, city or rural area, there's something for everybody.

Some of the highlights of the Fair include the miracle of birth center and of course the Fair food.

Coming up this Sunday at 3:00 p.m there will be an artist talk at the Rochester Arts Center.

Jocelyn Suzuka Figueroa will be giving a talk at 3:00 p.m.

Encourage you to get out and learn about a new exhibit coming to our community.

Also going on in the same facility this weekend and into next, there'll be production of "Turn The Screw".

Which is an exciting horror based production done by the Rochester Repertory Theater.

Encourage you to get out and support some local theater.

And finally, the highlight of the summer Thursdays on first is continuing to on.

Next Thursday at 5:00 p.m Fernando Ufret will be playing.

We all look forward to seeing Fernando play.

If you've never seen her play, it's a great one to get out there and catch.

And that's just a little bit of what's going on in Rochester.

(electric guitar music) - This is Danielle Teal with "R-Town" walkabout.

We're at Tom Cadillac to check out the motorcycle show that's hosted by Torque and Tacos.

I'm standing right by one of my favorites.

It's got teal color with beautiful tan leather around it.

Just absolutely stunning.

- Anything with wheels and a motor we like to have people out here.

We do this just to get people out here and keep them excited about motors.

Keep them excited about cars, bikes.

Anything to keep kids, young people, old people any age involved in motor sports.

- What is your booth for?

- So we are Bikers Against Child Abuse.

So we are out of the Bluff Valley Chapter.

We are out of Spring Valley here in Minnesota.

Our mission is to work with local and state officials who are already in place helping kids.

Just to give kids another resource.

Our mission really is to empower children so that they're not afraid of the world in which they live.

- [Danielle] What is the one bike that is your favorite so far?

- [Honey] I do really like the Indian over there.

- [Danielle] Okay.

- [Honey] That's kind of like the green and cream.

- Okay, so that was my favorite too- - That's a good one.

- 'Cause my last name is Teal and I was like, that's gonna be my bike one day.

(Honey laughs) Although I don't know how to ride one.

- It's actually a 2016 Indian chief vintage.

So, it comes stocked from the factory pretty much like this.

It really appealed to me because it was a color combination that really spoke to me.

- [Danielle] Yeah, do you get stopped all the time about this bike?

- I do.

(Danielle laughs) I do.

- It is really gorgeous.

- As a matter of fact my wife doesn't like to ride her bike with me because I get stopped all the time.

- [Danielle] So you get more attention and- - That's right.

She likes her Harley.

I showed her a picture and she said, you know, that's really great, but you're not gonna buy that color combination, are you?

(Danielle gasps) And I said, absolutely, I'm gonna buy it.

(Danielle laughs) (rock music) - [Danielle] What's your favorite bike?

- Harley, of course.

(rock music continues) (bright upbeat music) - For the last year the Olmsted County's diversity equity and community outreach team has been working to advance inclusion, equity and diversity in the county.

Sydney Frye II will be taking up the mantle as the new program director for the team next month.

And we have a chance to sit down with him today to learn more about his work and the continuing work... His role and the continuing work of DECO that he will oversee.

Welcome to "R-Town" Sydney.

- Thank you.

Thank you for having me.

- So to get us started, can you talk a little bit about what groups you'll be primarily responsible for in this new role.

- Yeah, well I'm really excited 'cause a lot of the program areas are really kind of on the cutting edge of some of the work that's being done within community corrections.

So, in particular, I'll be as you referenced supervising the DECO team, which stands for diversity, equity and community outreach.

So in addition to that, I'll also be supervising our pretrial program.

And then there's another new initiative that specifically focuses on supporting individuals.

Young adult African-American males, particularly between the ages of 18 to 24 that might be on probation or parole.

And so, I'll also be supervising that team as well.

- So, you did mention the pre-trial release team and I know the county just won a national achievement award for that program.

Can you tell us a little bit more about that program and how it addresses current disparities.

- Yeah, well, I think the pre-trial team, and as, I guess a disclaimer, I'm learning more about some of the program areas, but from what I understand, and you cited the award, noting the work that is already being done in that team, as it relates to, if you think about equity from a economic lens.

I mean, you think about people that... And this is before being convicted of a crime.

You know, people that are able to be released and people that are not.

There's a discrepancy there.

And oftentimes it falls along those lines of economic status.

And if we think about those groups that typically are disadvantaged, oftentimes those could be communities of color.

And so if, the pre-trial program really is trying to maximize not only public safety, but also maximizing release and return to court.

So, I think by offering that program, it's really being able to address some of that inequity through that economic lens.

And so that's part of the heart of that program.

- So in terms of the work that you're gonna be doing with the DECO team, who makes up that team and what are some of the key accomplishments?

It's been around for about a year now.

And yeah, just share a little bit about that with us.

- Yeah.

So the DECO team is really, again, kind of on the cutting edge of some of the innovations that we're seeing you know, becoming a trend, not only locally, but nationally as well.

Within corrections in our, at large criminal justice system.

What we've been able to accomplish here within Olmsted County, is really taking in this last year.

It going from that concept to a concrete kind of program and that iterative process, right?

Of going from the idea to the implementation of that idea.

And it's really within the last, I believe, six months or so, where we've been able to see the team, which you've referenced.

It's primarily right now composed of four community outreach specialists, which all primarily have a background in the social work field.

And so, within again, like I said, probably mid to early January, that's when the team has actually started to respond to calls in the community.

And they're going out specifically around issues that might come up with individuals related to their mental health.

It could be a chemical dependency or substance use.

It could be vagrancy, or it could be just general welfare.

All kind of calls that are coming in.

And so, their work is responding and it's taking in kind of context, some of that co-responder model work that is again, starting to become a trend nationwide.

And I think so again, really at the ground level right now.

But I think part of it too, with what they've done in the last six months is not only just responding to that in moment crisis and use that term broadly.

But also connecting that individual, you know, with continuing services.

So that means partnering with other agencies and service providers in our community.

And so that outreach work is part of that team's efforts as well.

- Yeah, I love that you mentioned that 'cause I was... My next question was gonna be about some of the efforts that are being made to kind of address some of those social determinants of corrections and incarceration and just yeah.

Having to confront those community corrections services.

And, you know, are there other... You mentioned partnering.

Are there other efforts that are being made to address that?

- Yeah, I think, you know, Olmsted County is really particularly putting a focus on... And when you're talking about social determinants.

Oftentimes for me, I think that's really taking into context the broader picture of what's going on in visual.

Oftentimes if we're, you know, kind of narrowing our focus on the behavior or the criminality of that behavior, we miss kind of the broader picture of what might be at play.

And so, you know, we kind of referenced this earlier but just like when we're talking about health, we're not just talking about physical health, right?

We're also talking about mental health.

We're talking about chemical health.

We're talking about economic stability.

We're talking about which, you know, we're not by any means an aberration in this regard.

But you know, you thinking about like housing is a basic need and that goes to the neighborhood or built environment that a person's living in.

And so how do we respond to those needs of individuals, which are kind of I think more at the root cause of what we see.

The behavior is symptomatic of, you know, needs not being addressed related to housing or employment, which is kind of a bedrock for economic stability.

And so, yeah, I think corrections... Community corrections is really intently focusing on how do we support individuals around housing, employment and addressing their holistic health.

- Okay.

You've mentioned the word trend a little bit and you know, how much of this do you feel is really just about... Is going to be... You're gonna be able to make a way of being for the team and for the county?

- Well, that would be one of my hopes is that, you know, that this is not just to kind of a one-off.

Or kind of... Because of environmental factors nationwide, as far as putting the emphasis on when we're talking about diversity and inclusion within the context of corrections.

But really being able to continue and sustain those efforts and really make that long lasting change and shift.

And I don't know if it's necessarily a shift, but it's continuing progress.

'Cause there's, you know, work that's already been done.

And it's now let's just continue to keep that important work going, so.

- As we're wrapping up here, can you maybe just share like one thing that you were very excited about as you were kind of embarking on this new role?

- Well, I mean, I think for me, it's just exciting to kind of come in, you know, at an early stage, as this program.

And these different programs are really being formed and to be able to have some small role in helping to continue to expand on those ideas that are still, you know, in some level you know, of development.

And so I think that's what excites me is that opportunity to do some development work and to learn about the needs of our community.

And how we can best serve, you know, everybody in our community.

And making sure that we're responding to those needs in an equitable way.

So that's, I guess, really what I'm looking forward to, so.

- Yeah, definitely.

Got your work cut out for you.

Thank you so much (laughs) for joining us today.

We'll be sure to catch up with you and follow up once you get started.

- Awesome.

Thank you for having me.

- Of course.

And thank you for joining us today for more wonderful content produced right here in Rochester.

Please be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter at #RTown.

We hope that you stay well, stay safe.

And we will see you next time on "R-Town", the show about Rochester.

(bright upbeat music) - [Voiceover] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.