A Northside poet seeks a seat on the City Council
Pearll Warren
By David Pierini, Editor
Words have a way of pulling Pearll Warren out of a deep sleep.
Over time, these awakenings have fed a wellspring of powerful poems that made her Da Black Pearll, a spoken word artist with state and national recognition.
Lately, Warren has been stirred by other ideas that she hopes will lead to another identity: Minneapolis City Councilwoman.
Warren is the first to declare her candidacy for the Ward 5 seat currently occupied by Jeremiah Ellison, who recently announced that he would not seek a fourth term.
Pearll Tinitha Warren was born in Chicago and her family moved to North Minneapolis when she was 4. Warren discovered her love of poetry in elementary school, and today, she makes regular appearances at Twin Cities clubs that host spoken word shows. She has won several awards for her work, owns Black Berry Graphics, an African-American greeting card company, and facilitates writing workshops through Words of Wise-Dome, another organization she founded.
Warren is the homeownership development manager for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity and served as a HUD-certified housing and financial counselor with Urban League Twin Cities. As a city council member, Warren expects to use this background to bring perspective to ongoing housing issues that face the council.
She owns a home in the Hawthorne neighborhood near 21st Avenue and is eager to be involved in conversations about plans to build light rail tracks down that thoroughfare.
Warren wants to reduce the size of the Northside’s food desert, improve public safety, and bring economic prosperity to areas with vacant buildings, including West Broadway Avenue.
“I truly believe that I’m already a servant and that my life is about servitude,” Warren said. “I know the beautiful mosaic gateway that North Minneapolis has been and what it can still be, the reflection of the beautiful people that live here.
“The art of leadership is about guiding others, not by commanding your steps.”