The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder has launched a Reader Survey and wants your feedback to help shape the future of our news coverage. The survey is open through June 22 and only takes a few minutes to complete.
Opinion
The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder (MSR) welcomes thoughtful commentary and feedback from the community. All articles in this section are edited for clarity and space; the views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the MSR. MSR does not provide payment for commentary. To submit an opinion piece, please send inquiries and submissions to submissions@spokesman-recorder.com.
Posted inOpinion
Why “foster” is our lifelong claimÂ
Foster Advocates Executive Director Osahon Akpata-Tanious writes that Black communities have always understood the power of naming themselves, and calls on Black Minnesotans to see the Foster identity for what it is: a stigma being dismantled, not preserved.
Posted inOpinion
Policy shifts are reshaping Black and immigrant business economy
Procurement expert R. Lynn Pingol argues that Minnesota’s small businesses are facing a perfect storm of federal shocks, from DEI restrictions to DBE rollbacks and SBA delays, landing hardest on Black, immigrant and BIPOC-owned firms with the least margin for disruption.
Posted inOpinion
No, your summer vacation isn’t going to kill you
Consumer advocate Christopher Elliott addresses the most common summer travel fears, from airline bankruptcies to geopolitical anxiety, and makes the case that the world in 2026 is no more dangerous than it was in 2016.
Posted inOpinion
They’re testing democracy’s collapse in Louisiana first
New Orleans native and former educator Julienne Louis-Anderson writes that what is happening in Louisiana is not just policy but a blueprint, as attacks on Black voting power and democratic institutions spread from the South to the rest of the nation.
Posted inPerspectives From Within
What are the ripple effects of harsh conditions at Rush City prison
Rush City prison inmate Keith Hapana Crow writes about deteriorating conditions following the closure of Stillwater prison, including restricted recreation, mental health neglect and practices he argues violate restorative justice principles.
Posted inOpinion
Redistricting fight raises fears of constitutional power grab
Senior Black Press of America correspondent Stacy M. Brown reports on Republican redistricting efforts across the South that voting rights advocates say are part of a long-term strategy to build enough political power to permanently reshape American democracy.
Posted inOpinion
Why the Supreme Court’s war on voting rights is a debt our children shouldn’t have to pay
Legal Defense Fund Policy Director Demetria McCain responds to the Supreme Court’s Callais decision gutting the Voting Rights Act, calling on Black communities to organize, register voters, advocate for state voting rights laws and fight on every front as if their lives depend on it.
Posted inOpinion
Misogynoir, gun violence, and a crisis we refuse to name
March For Our Lives board member Mariah Cooley argues that the epidemic of gun violence against Black women is being ignored by the gun safety movement and political leaders, and calls for a movement that centers Black women before it is too late.
Posted inOpinion
The stigma we carry, the silence we must break
Dr. Sharon M. Holder writes that mental health stigma in communities of color is rooted in generational silence, systemic barriers and trauma, and calls on readers to break that silence this Mental Health Month.
Posted inOpinion
Smart PFAS policy should protect health, not create new barriers
Edwardo Rikprashad argues that Minnesota’s new PFAS reporting law, while well-intentioned, risks creating new barriers for small contractors and developers before the state’s reporting system is ready to handle real-world conditions.
Posted inOpinion
Black women built the workforce, why are we locked out of it?
Nikki Porcher argues that the unemployment crisis among Black women is a systemic failure, not a personal one, and calls for workforce systems that center Black women’s lived experience and support their proven economic power.
Posted inOpinion
We Need to Talk About The Belt Scene In Michael and Why It’s Linked to Slavery
Lawrence Ware of The Root uses a scene from the Michael Jackson biopic to examine the cultural, historical and religious roots of corporal punishment in Black families and why it is time to choose something different.
Posted inOpinion
Trump Uses Immigration Enforcement to Make America Whiter Again
Margaret Kimberley argues that the Trump administration’s immigration crackdowns are rooted in white supremacy, from admitting white South Africans as refugees to blocking naturalization for Black and brown immigrants worldwide.
Posted inOpinion
We must rekindle our relationship with Earth
Rev. Dr. Heber Brown III reflects on Earth Day, environmental justice and the deep agrarian roots of Black people, drawing on family memory and the legacy of George Washington Carver, Hazel Johnson and others.
Posted inOpinion
Shame About Being Abused Silenced Me. Now, I’m Speaking Up.
A survivor of intimate partner violence shares her personal story and calls on Black women, friends and family to break the silence around IPV as Black women face disproportionate rates of abuse and murder by intimate partners.
Posted inOpinion
Small businesses need Minnesota to act on pass-through tax policy
A Twin Cities small business owner urges Minnesota lawmakers to extend the Pass-Through Entity tax option, arguing its expiration would hit immigrant-owned businesses and communities already recovering from Operation Metro Surge.
Posted inOpinion
Minnesota prisons’ refusal to implement the law
A firsthand account from inside Faribault Correctional Facility describes how the Minnesota DOC is failing to implement the MRRA Act, leaving thousands of incarcerated people unable to earn early release they are legally entitled to.
Posted inOpinion
An open letter to Hennepin County Commissioner Angela Conley
An open letter to Hennepin County Commissioner Angela Conley from a North Minneapolis resident who has lived near the HERC trash burner since 1999 and is calling her to honor her environmental justice promises.
Posted inOpinion
The racial divide isn’t as wide as you think
New research from Brookings and the National Collaborative for Health Equity shows Americans are rejecting racial bias and building meaningful cross-racial relationships at historic rates.