Race: Conversations around race and racial justice

The May 25 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody has ignited an urgent push for racial equality across Minnesota and the United States. Here are the latest on the fight against racism, voices calling for racial justice and in-depth stories on communities of color and other racial issues from MPR News.

Voices of Minnesota Calls for change across the state

Protests and pain The killing of George Floyd

Call To Mind Spotlight on black trauma and policing

Amplifying voices Share your experiences and hopes for the future

Young black women learning different medical tools

To address health disparities, Hennepin Healthcare turns to local youth

February 18, 2023 5:52 PM

By Feven Gerezgiher

About 70 young Black women explored a career in the medical field through Hennepin Healthcare’s “Talent Garden” workforce development initiative on Saturday.

Police move outside on the street.

Activists say diversifying police forces not best answer to cop misconduct

February 15, 2023 4:00 AM

By Sarah Thamer and Jon Collins

There’s been a drive for decades to diversify the nation’s mostly white police forces, including in the Twin Cities. But the recent fatal beating of a Black man by five Black Memphis police officers has renewed questions about the role police officer diversity plays in reducing officer misconduct or brutality.

A gallery with people in the back

'Taking up space': Black designers focus on joy in Augsburg exhibition

February 14, 2023 4:00 AM

By Alex Cipolle

Through an art exhibition at Augsburg University, Minneapolis designers and curators Olivia House and Silent Fox are developing their canon of the next generation Black designers.

Young children watch a man signing a document

‘Opportunity to make history’: Communities of color look to lawmakers to close gaps

February 13, 2023 4:00 AM

By Dana Ferguson

In Minnesota, people of color and Indigenous people face disparate outcomes when it comes to income, housing, academic opportunities and more. Some DFL state lawmakers said this is the year to make progress in shrinking those gaps.

Black Voters Wisconsin

GOP election tactics no surprise to Wisconsin's Black voters

February 12, 2023 3:20 PM

By The Associated Press

For years, voting rights advocates have accused Wisconsin Republicans of pushing policies to suppress voters of color and lower-income voters. Many of those policies centered on the Democratic stronghold of Milwaukee.

Jordan Lewis, Eddie Lewis Sr. and Eddie Lewis III standing on the ground of their Louisiana farm.

Black farmers call for justice from the USDA

February 12, 2023 10:36 AM

By Ximena Bustillo

Decades after a major lawsuit against the USDA, Black farmers still face inequality. They say not all settlements from the case made it into their hands, which has exacerbated debt and other problems.

a person at a protest holds a sign that reads 'racism is a pandemic'

Racial equity funds spurred by murder of George Floyd bear fruit

February 10, 2023 4:18 PM

By Tom Crann and Megan Burks

After the police murder of George Floyd, foundations and corporations pledged millions to spur economic development in Black communities and rebuild Lake Street. This year, about $100 million-worth of projects funded by those initiatives will open or break ground, according to Star Tribune reporter Dee DePass.

A woman wearing a white headscarf poses for a portrait

Future of Us: What's next for education in Minnesota?

February 6, 2023 6:38 PM

By Tom Crann and Ngoc Bui

Minnesota’s 2020 Teacher of the Year Qorsho Hassan imagines the future of education -- how the pandemic and the murder of George Floyd shaped her vision for a new model of teaching and learning that centers student voice and leadership.

Group of people gathering

Black business owners make their voices heard at Capitol

February 3, 2023 2:55 PM

Black business owners filled the Capitol rotunda Friday morning to lobby lawmakers for more resources.

Young children watch a man signing a document

Juneteenth is now a holiday in Minnesota

February 3, 2023 2:05 PM

Minnesota is the 26th state to make Juneteenth, also known as Black freedom day, a holiday after Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill Friday that passed with bipartisan support.