Social Issues

Kao Kalia Yang started out writing her family’s refugee memoir. Now she’s sharing the journeys of others
The Minnesota author's new book, "Somewhere in the Unknown World," began when she collected her uncle’s story about fleeing Laos. Then she spoke to a Liberian hospital worker, a Karen parent from school, a Jewish singer from Ukraine — and created “a collective refugee memoir.”
Teaching kids Indigenous language and culture
Some Minnesota school districts are home to Native American education programs, where Native kids can learn Indigenous languages, art forms and history. At 11 a.m. Monday, MPR News host Angela Davis will talk with two educators who lead these programs about why they’re so important to have in our public schools.
County government is boring by design. National politics are making it less so
As this year’s hotly contested presidential election draws near, the drama is bleeding down into Minnesota’s ground-level politics. That’s especially true in Beltrami County, where local races seem to be messier and more partisan than ever.
Sixty years on, an NBA story teaches about racial injustice
The Minneapolis Laker’s Elgin Baylor’s high-flying style of basketball energized the early NBA, but it was his appearance courtside in a suit that changed the league. Now that story is being told in a children’s book.
Feminists weigh their wins and losses after nearly four years of Trump
The latest round of women's marches is against the filling of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Supreme Court seat. It's also an opportunity for activists to take stock as the stakes of the election loom.
Gun-waving St. Louis couple plead not guilty to 2 felony charges
A grand jury indicted Mark and Patricia McCloskey last week on weapon and evidence charges. The case stems from a confrontation between the McCloskeys and protesters for racial justice on June 28.
Meet the Minneapolis ‘violence interrupters’
The city has employed community members to head off conflicts before they turn deadly. The anti-violence program is being rolled out at a time when shootings in Minneapolis are at a five-year high.