Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller

Community leaders react as we wait for the Chauvin verdict

Protesters face off against police behind a fence.
Demonstrators protesting the shooting death of Daunte Wright face off with National Guard soldiers and police protecting the Brooklyn Center police station on April 13, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minn. Wright, a Black man whose car was stopped in town on Sunday reportedly for an expired registration, was shot and killed by an officer who police say mistook her gun for a Taser.
Scott Olson | Getty Images

It’s a tense week in Minnesota.

Protests are ongoing after the killing of Daunte Wright. Some journalists covering those protests have been  brutalized by police. And National Guard troops patrol the streets in Minneapolis as we wait for a verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial.

For some Minnesotans, the last year has been disorienting. Our state is making headlines as a great place to live — unless you’re Black. For others, the trauma of police violence triggers a fresh wave of grief.  

Tuesday morning, MPR News host Kerri Miller invited two wise guests to discuss and opened the phone lines to hear from the community about how we are reacting to this moment, and how we might grieve, hope and heal together.

Guests:

  • Taiyon Coleman is an associate professor of English literature at St. Catherine University. 

  • Sondra Samuels is president and CEO of the Northside Achievement Zone and founder of Healing Our City, a virtual prayer tent for Minneapolis.

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS