EdTrust president Denise Forte argues that the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais is not only a voting rights threat but a direct attack on educational equity, warning that reduced Black political representation weakens communities’ influence over school funding, curriculum and opportunity.
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Posted inEducation
Black Men Teach celebrates fellows, calls for investment in Black male educators
Black Men Teach gathered educators, fellows and community members at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis for its annual Gold Star Gala, raising funds for scholarships and celebrating the Black male teachers transforming Twin Cities classrooms.
Posted inLocal & State
Minneapolis City Council votes on three measures affecting George Floyd Square
The Minneapolis City Council voted June 11 to deny special assessments for homeowners and businesses near George Floyd Square, reject exclusive development rights for Agape Movement at People’s Way and request a report on the 38th Street THRIVE Plan.
Posted inLet them Rise
Building the bridge
MSR columnist Richard D. Terrell closes out his series on educating Black boys with a call to build the bridge between potential and opportunity, one relationship, one classroom and one community at a time.
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Neighborhood Development Center Spotlights Community Businesses Through Hidden GEMS Campaign
The Hidden GEMS on University Avenue campaign spotlights Flava Coffee and Cafe, Angelea’s Soul Food Kitchen and The Collective Salon Studios as part of NDC’s St. Paul Commercial Corridor Program celebrating the people and places that make the corridor special.
Posted inOpinion
Stigma, misogynoir, and the burden of “going high”
Behavioral health researcher Dr. Sharon M. Holder writes that the recent smear against Michelle Obama is not an isolated incident but a textbook example of how stigma and misogynoir function, and calls on America to stop expecting Black women to go high simply to survive.
Posted inLocal & State
Elders reflect on struggle, survival and hope at Juneteenth brunch
Black Lives Matter Minnesota gathered elders, advocates and community members for a Juneteenth morning brunch honoring Valerie Castile, Jeweliean Jackson and others who have carried the movement, with MSR CEO and Publisher Tracey Williams-Dillard also recognized with a Celebrating Revolutionary Sistas award.
Posted inOdds and Ends
Back together againÂ
MSR sports columnist Charles Hallman sits down with Janel McCarville, now in her first year as a Minnesota Lynx assistant coach alongside Lindsay Whalen, tracing a friendship and partnership that began at the University of Minnesota and has lasted nearly three decades.
Posted inLocal & State
Hundreds Gather at Rondo Juneteenth Celebration for Ceremony of Joy, Tribute, and Resistance
Hundreds gathered at the sixth annual Rondo Juneteenth Celebration in St. Paul for a ceremony that was equal parts celebration, tribute and rallying cry, with Gov. Walz, Lt. Gov. Flanagan, Sen. Klobuchar and Sen. Smith all speaking on voting rights, DEI and the fight for Black freedom.
Posted inLocal & State
Rebound Inc. creates pathways for Black youth beyond the justice system
Rebound Inc. is working to help Black youth in the Twin Cities move beyond systems involvement through prevention programs, transitional housing, group homes and youth advocacy, serving young people at every stage of their journey toward stability and independence.
Posted inBooks
Justin Ellis confronts Minneapolis’ hidden racial history in new book
Minneapolis native and journalist Justin Ellis discusses his new book The Cruelty of Nice Folks at Magers and Quinn on June 22, examining how Minneapolis has hidden its history of white supremacy and racial inequality behind the veneer of Minnesota Nice.
Posted inLocal & State
Human Rights Watch Report Accuses Federal Agents of Killings, Racial Profiling During Minnesota Immigration Crackdown
A 180-page Human Rights Watch report calls Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota a manufactured crisis, names nine DHS officials for investigation and documents how federal agents killed two Minneapolis residents, racially profiled thousands and dismantled the oversight apparatus designed to investigate such abuses.
Posted inLocal & State
Miss Juneteenth Minnesota royalty speak to continued power of the pageant
At 54, Zina Alston Fizer was crowned First Lady Juneteenth Minnesota at the third annual Miss Juneteenth Minnesota State Pageant, fulfilling a lifelong dream for a woman who grew up watching beauty pageants and never seeing herself reflected in them.
Posted inTwins/MLB
Four to watch
With Simeon Woods Richardson traded to Toronto, the Minnesota Twins now have four Black players on the roster: Josh Bell, Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis and Taj Bradley, all four of whom played in last Sunday’s win over St. Louis.
Posted inMusic
Known MPLS youth choir drops Father’s Day single celebrating Black men
Known MPLS, a Twin Cities youth choir founded by Courtland Pickens, is releasing a new single this Father’s Day weekend celebrating Black men, with an upcoming five-song EP and appearances alongside Josh Groban and Jennifer Hudson on June 28.
Posted inSports
World Cup joy out of reach for thousands shut out by US border policies
Contributing writer Noah Riccardi reports on how Trump administration travel bans, visa denials and border restrictions are preventing fans from Africa, the Middle East and the Global South from attending the 2026 World Cup in the United States.
Posted inFrom the Publisher
Juneteenth is a day of joy, and a day of reckoning
MSR CEO and Publisher Tracey Williams-Dillard reflects on the meaning of Juneteenth in a political moment that is testing the durability of hard-won freedoms, and reaffirms the Spokesman-Recorder’s commitment to bearing witness to Black life in all of its complexity, grief and glory.
Posted inEvents
Twin Cities Music and Movement Festival Returns August 22 in Saint Paul
The Twin Cities Music and Movement Festival returns Saturday, Aug. 22 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Western Sculpture Garden Park in Saint Paul for a free day of music, dancing, food trucks, steppin, salsa and community.
Posted inAnother View
Cost of college sports
MSR sports columnist Charles Hallman examines the NIL wild west in the first of a two-part series on the cost of college sports, tracing the legal battles that made player compensation possible and the congressional efforts now trying to roll it back.
Posted inOpinion
By the time he is fourteen
Contributing writer De’Vonna Pittman writes about watching the world watch her Black grandsons at a water park and asks the question America rarely does: what happened before the moment we decide to pay attention to Black boys?