Ground Level®: Amplifying Community Voices

Your story is powerful. The stories you share with others honor the complexity of our communities while forging a more equitable and vibrant future.

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We’d like to hear your thoughts and questions. Your ideas about solutions. How are your communities? What are you seeing today? And what do you want to see tomorrow?

Note that while we will exercise editorial judgment for language, length and avoiding personal attacks, we will not sacrifice your meaning. We will ensure your main message comes through on air and online.

July 10, 2020 12:00 PM

Why 40 Black women are joining forces to run for office in Minnesota in 2020

More than 40 Black women are running for office in Minnesota this election year, hoping to use their collective political power to respond to George Floyd’s killing.

by Angela Davis and Katie Moritz

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July 7, 2020 12:00 PM

Do police officers belong in schools?

Amid calls for police reform, we’ve seen new scrutiny on the use of police officers inside schools. Some school districts in Minnesota are removing school resource officers from their buildings.

by Angela Davis and Katie Moritz

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July 2, 2020 10:26 AM

Voices of Minnesota: Calls for change across the state

MPR News is talking to some of the people behind rallies, marches and demonstrations happening beyond the Twin Cities metro area — about their experiences with race in Minnesota, why they march and what they hope for the future.

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June 29, 2020 5:24 PM

Rebuilding, reopening and returning to Minneapolis

What’s happening to the businesses that were damaged and destroyed in Minneapolis and St. Paul during the civil unrest that followed the killing of George Floyd? What will it take to rebuild and reopen? And when will customers return?

by Angela Davis and Katie Moritz

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June 29, 2020 4:02 PM

For moms striving for better work-life balance, COVID-19 upset the scales

The gender wage gap and the division of household labor were unequal before the pandemic. With schools, summer camps and care facilities either being closed or operating at limited capacity, more women are seeing extra responsibilities added back onto their plates.

by Kerri Miller and Marcheta Fornoff

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June 29, 2020 4:00 PM

How do you talk to kids about racism? Two Black Minnesota teachers share how they do it

For Qorsho Hassan and Monet Barnes, two Black educators who are part of an overwhelmingly white teaching force in Minnesota, teaching kids about racism is a priority. Here’s their advice.

by Elizabeth Shockman

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June 25, 2020 1:54 PM

How interracial couples are navigating conversations about race

In the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd and calls for racial equity, how are interracial couples and multiracial families navigating conversations about race and their identity?

by Angela Davis and Katie Moritz

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June 22, 2020 4:43 PM

The 'coronavirus slide' in education and what to do about it

The summer slide — when students lose some of what they’ve learned over the summer months — is being compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. What can be done about it?

by Angela Davis and Katie Moritz

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June 22, 2020 10:15 AM

What it would take to close the racial housing gap

The Twin Cities have one of the largest gaps in the country when it comes to homeownership rates between black and white residents. Two experts share their ideas on closing the gap.

by Kerri Miller and Marcheta Fornoff

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June 22, 2020 5:12 AM

Waiting for justice for Floyd, north siders work the land as an act of healing

An urban garden in the Hawthorne neighborhood in north Minneapolis has been in the works for months. But after the police killed George Floyd, it has become a healing space — particularly for Black residents who often feel targeted and criminalized.

by Melissa Townsend

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