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

Brooklyn Center, Minnesota's most diverse city, in the spotlight after shooting
The Minneapolis suburb where Daunte Wright was shot by police has diversified dramatically over the last 30 years. Its city administration — and police force — have been slower to change.
Jury deliberations in the Chauvin trial: Key questions, answered
The jury in Derek Chauvin’s murder trial began deliberations Monday afternoon, after three weeks of hearing testimony from witnesses and experts called by the prosecution and defense. The panel of 12 will weigh whether the former Minneapolis officer’s actions led to George Floyd’s death while in police custody last May. 
Simon & Schuster reverses, won't distribute book by officer in Breonna Taylor raid
Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly is writing a book about the botched raid, during which he shot into Taylor's apartment after being wounded. Post Hill Press says it will move forward with its plans to publish.
Explainer: Can officers stop drivers for air fresheners in Minnesota?
Minnesota is one of a number of states with laws that prohibit drivers from hanging objects from their rearview mirrors on the grounds that the items could obstruct their view. The laws have led to vehement complaints from civil rights advocates who say police can use them as a pretext for stopping Black motorists to investigate them for more serious crimes.
Officer in Wright's killing: From veteran who trained colleagues to defendant
The white police officer who fatally shot a Black man in a Minneapolis suburb has gone from being a veteran staffer who trained less experienced colleagues and led the department's union, to a criminal defendant held up by community activists as a symbol of police aggression toward Black people.
Daunte Wright, slain by police, known as jokester, doting dad
Daunte Wright loved making people laugh and, after becoming a father in his teens, relished the role of doting young dad, according to his family and friends. He also had talked to a mentor about being careful if he was pulled over by police, given the long history of Black men shot by police during traffic stops.
'I'm scared because of that booming': A preschooler and her family watch protests, police in Brooklyn Center
On the day Daunte Wright was killed by a Brooklyn Center police officer, Tenean Manier says she and her two little kids didn’t sleep most of the night. The space near her apartment building quickly filled with protesters, then police officers and flash-bangs. She says it felt like her neighborhood had suddenly become a war zone.