Be the Change MN hosted its annual Winter Wonderland event at the Mall of America, welcoming more than 1,000 Minneapolis students and families for a day of joy, care, and connection.
Scott Selmer
Posted inSister Spokesman
Sister Spokesman participants pause to breathe and heal
At Sister Spokesman’s Pause. Breathe. Heal. event, Black women filled a glass lined community space near NorthPoint for an afternoon that felt less like a program and more like a communal exhale. Publisher Tracey Williams Dillard, therapist Venus Burney, and trauma specialist Dr. Resmaa Menakem led a candid conversation about stress, survival, and the weight Black bodies carry, while vendors, laughter, and connection turned the room into a living space of healing and joy.
Posted inMetro
Minnesota honors Gordon Parks with living memorial
On a snow-lashed winter afternoon on Nov. 30 at Landmark Center, Minnesota lawmakers, cultural leaders, and members of the Gordon Parks family formally announced the creation of the Gordon Parks Living Memorial, a long-awaited public tribute to the legendary photographer, filmmaker, author, and humanitarian whose artistic journey began in Minnesota and reshaped global culture. The […]
Posted inBlack Business Spotlight
Five-Star Chuck: A locksmith built on trust
One early winter morning in Oakdale, Minnesota, the cash drawer at a HomeGoods jammed shut with the night’s revenue locked inside. Management needed it opened immediately. The call went to one man: “Five-Star Chuck.” Less than an hour later, Charles “Chuck” Bradley was on site, opening the drawer with practiced precision. The store opened on […]
Posted inEducation
Minneapolis schools avoid strike, but staff wages still lag
Minneapolis teachers have voted to ratify a new contract and avert a strike, bringing relief to families worried about classroom disruptions. The agreement includes gains for adult education teachers and modest raises for some education support professionals, but ESPs say pay still lags far behind the cost of living. Educators warn that Black students and Black staff remain concentrated in under resourced roles and schools, and say the contract is only a first step toward real equity.
Posted inMetro
Target’s DE&I pullback leaves Black local suppliers in limbo
Target’s billion-dollar DEI and supplier diversity push helped some Twin Cities Black entrepreneurs secure national shelf space, jobs and new revenue streams. With the retailer now pulling back from those equity commitments, Black-owned businesses and community partners are feeling the ripple effects in hiring, contracts and long-term wealth building, and are left questioning how durable corporate promises to Black communities really are.
Posted inMetro
Jellybean Johnson: A legacy of joy and genius
Jellybean Johnson was thunder on stage and gentle at home, a drummer, guitarist and producer whose joy lit up Minneapolis for decades. Loved ones and musical peers recall his role in shaping the Minneapolis Sound, mentoring “nephews” in the scene and building the Minneapolis Sound Museum to keep the culture alive for the next generation.
Posted inMetro
Providers say universal pre-k falls short for Minnesota families
Early childhood providers say Minnesota’s universal pre K plan fails to meet the real needs of Black families. Educators argue that culturally affirming childcare starting in infancy would do more to close the racial achievement gap than expanding free pre K for four year olds.
Posted inPolitics
Disbelief a common reaction to Carter’s loss in St. Paul
In the days after St. Paul’s mayoral election, disbelief rippled through the blocks of Frogtown and Midway. Soon-to-be-former Mayor Melvin Carter, a two-term incumbent with deep roots and strong name recognition, had lost to Kaohly Vang Her, a legislator who entered the race barely 10 weeks earlier. To some, it was a political upset; to […]
Posted inPolitics
“He acts like he cares”: Voices from a divided Minneapolis after Frey’s win
When the last of the ranked-choice votes were counted, Jacob Frey had won reelection as Minneapolis mayor, but not resoundingly. It was a victory drawn out by mathematical transfers and emotional fatigue. Some residents wondered whether the mayor remained engaged in the fight for them and for their families, or rather just to stay in […]
Posted inMetro
Families say MPD fails to protect women of color
Under gray skies on the afternoon of Oct. 30, relatives of two women, one Black, one Indigenous, gathered outside the Hennepin County Government Center accusing Minneapolis police and city officials of failing to protect women of color from domestic violence. The families came seeking justice for Mariah Samuels, a 30-year-old African American mother who was […]
Supported
Posted inHelp Is Here
Twin Cities Recovery Project bridges the opioid care divide
When Latricia Tate talks about addiction, she doesn’t speak from statistics. She speaks from experience. Her parents were victims of the 1980s crack epidemic on Chicago’s South Side, a trauma that shaped her life and, ultimately, her calling. “Nobody talked about what was wrong with my parents,” Tate recalled. “It was like a secret.” Today, […]
Posted inPolitics
Court orders Trump Administration to restore SNAP Benefits, but USDA halves November aid
A federal court has ordered the USDA to restore nutrition support for more than 42 million Americans after Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison led a lawsuit over suspended SNAP benefits. The ruling protects thousands of Minnesota families during the ongoing government shutdown, but partial payments raise new concerns.
Posted inEducation
‘Why Teach’ event asks who’s missing from teacher pipeline, and why
North Hennepin Community College’s annual “Why Teach” event in a packed campus hall took place October 9 with students, educators, and community partners talking plainly about Minnesota’s teacher pipeline and the urgent need for more Black educators. The Why Teach event, now a biennial NHCC tradition, combines keynote speakers, networking, and mentorship opportunities for students […]
Posted inMetro
St. Paul development corp celebrates its past, reimagines its future
Stage lights glowed warmly over the 825 Arts theater as longtime residents, former staff, and supporters gathered to mark a milestone few community organizations achieve: 45 years of the Aurora St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation (ASANDC). The evening was both a reunion and a call to action, a celebration of endurance amid decades of change […]
Posted inPolitics
How Black Minnesotans are responding to ‘No Kings’
On a gray fall Saturday in October, the Twin Cities streets echoed with chants of demonstrators carrying signs that read “No Kings.” For some, the phrase is a rallying cry against what they see as the creeping authoritarianism of Donald Trump’s presidency. For others, it blends into a political landscape that feels broken and exhausting. […]
Posted inMetro
Attorney General Ellison sues Trump administration for illegally suspending SNAP benefits
According to a recent press release of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, Minnesota General Keith Ellison co-led a coalition of 22 other attorneys general and three governors yesterday in filing a lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its Secretary Brooke Rollins for unlawfully suspending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The coalition […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Bloomington gallery specializes in Shona sculpture
Rex Mhiripiri’s Bloomington gallery showcases hundreds of hand-carved Zimbabwean Shona sculptures, creating a thriving cultural and artistic bridge between Africa and the Midwest.
Posted inBlack Business Spotlight
ProVisionAry Childcare
ProVisionAry Childcare in North Minneapolis brings cultural pride and community care together. Founder Danielle Tucker’s Afro-centric, home-based program focuses on faith, inclusion, and affirming every child’s identity.
Posted inNews
Federal shutdown pushes single mothers in Minnesota to the brink
One single mother of three children, ages 4, 10, and 20 have recently become homeless. She felt compelled to leave an unsafe apartment building where drug dealers were actively selling drugs around her children.