Race: Conversations around race and racial justice

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

1 side owned slaves. The other side started Black History Month. How a family heals
In the U.S., what does it mean when a white family and a Black family share a last name — and one of their ancestors is a pioneer of Black history? How Black and white Woodsons became one family.
Activists say diversifying police forces not best answer to cop misconduct
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. 
'Taking up space': Black designers focus on joy in Augsburg exhibition
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.
‘Opportunity to make history’: Communities of color look to lawmakers to close gaps
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.
GOP election tactics no surprise to Wisconsin's Black voters
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.
Black farmers call for justice from the USDA
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.
Racial equity funds spurred by murder of George Floyd bear fruit
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.
Future of Us: What's next for education in Minnesota?
Minnesota’s 2020 Teacher of the Year, Qorsho Hassan, on how the pandemic and the murder of George Floyd reshaped shaped her vision for education to center student voice and leadership.