'A Good Time for the Truth': What it's like to be a person of color in Minnesota

'A Good Time for the Truth'
'A Good Time for the Truth,' edited by Sun Yung Shin
Courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society Press

Sun Yung Shin came to the Minnesota Historical Society Press with an idea: She wanted to organize a book on race in Minnesota. Not just about the African-American experience in Minnesota, or the Hispanic experience, or the Hmong experience — she wanted to compile all of these perspectives in one book.

The book, "A Good Time for the Truth," features essays from 16 local writers, as they share their experiences of what it's like to be a person of color in Minnesota.

Shin and two contributors to the collection, Bao Phi and Venessa Fuentes, joined MPR News host Tom Weber to talk about the book.

Some of the essays contain provocative accounts. That was necessary, Shin said.

"We knew it was going to make people uncomfortable but we also knew we weren't going to grow unless we got into some of those hidden things," Shin said.

For the full discussion with Sun Yung Shin, Bao Phi and Venessa Fuentes on "A Good Time for the Truth," use the audio player above.

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