The origins of policing in the United States trace back to slave patrols, revealing a system designed to enforce racial and economic control.
racial justice
Posted inLocal & State
Minnesotans resisting injustice are today’s freedom fighters
Minnesota freedom fighters are organizing through protests, mutual aid and advocacy as ICE escalation and racial injustice impact communities statewide.
Posted inOpinion
This Is the America Black People Have Always Known
The killing of Renee Nicole Good has shocked the nation, but for Black Americans, it confirms a reality shaped by centuries of racialized state violence and impunity.
Posted inSpecial Edition - Echoes of Unity
The Minneapolis NAACP’s continued fight for justice
In the Echoes of Unity Special Edition, the Minneapolis NAACP highlights how unity, advocacy, and community organizing continue to drive civil rights work in the city.
Posted inLocal & State
Golden plaque honors Ron Edwards for decades of civil rights work
Ron Edwards was honored with a memorial plaque at Minneapolis Fire Station 1, recognizing his decades of civil rights advocacy and work to diversify the Minneapolis Fire Department.
Posted inNational
Tulsa Race Massacre survivor Viola Ford Fletcher can finally rest
Viola Ford Fletcher, the oldest known survivor of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, has died at 111. As a child she watched Black Wall Street burn, survived the terror that destroyed her community, and spent the next century demanding that the nation confront the truth. Her testimony before Congress helped push the Justice Department to publicly acknowledge the massacre as a coordinated attack that killed hundreds of Black residents. Fletcher’s legacy lives on in her courage, her memoir, and her unwavering call for justice.
Posted inNews
Making America white again
“White people are trapped in a history they do not understand; and until they understand it, they cannot be released from it.” — James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids are not a new invention of law and order. They are the evolution of slave patrols — […]
Posted inLocal & State
National boycott brings Target ‘to its knees’
Days before the holiday shopping rush, civil rights leaders gathered in Minneapolis urging Minnesotans to continue the Target boycott. They argue the retailer rolled back its DEI commitments, harmed Black and immigrant communities, and is now relying on steep price cuts to recover from months of declining sales. Organizers say the boycott will continue until Target recommits to its racial equity promises made after George Floyd’s murder.
Posted inLocal & State
Mpls street renamed Lena Smith Blvd. corrects a historic wrong
A Minneapolis street has been renamed Lena Smith Boulevard to honor Minnesota’s first Black female attorney and correct the legacy of segregation tied to its former namesake. Community members led the five-year effort to reclaim the space and uplift a civil rights icon.
Posted inLocal & State
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 […]
Posted inEvents
Brandon Blackwood and Tricia Hersey headline “The Collective Sum,” a first-of-its-kind equity gathering in Minneapolis
The Collective Sum will bring together 400 changemakers in Minneapolis Nov. 18–20 for a three-day multicultural convening centered on Black joy, creativity, and movement building. Presented by the Black Collective Foundation MN, the event features nationally recognized leaders Brandon Blackwood and Tricia Hersey. Workshops will focus on justice, collaboration, wellness, and community power.
Posted inOpinion
We still have power until we give it away
Thirty years after the Million Man March, the fight for democracy and self-determination continues. The No King’s Movement revives that spirit of collective power — a reminder that unity remains our greatest defense against tyranny.
Posted inOpinion
When Trump’s troops come, it won’t be to help Black people
I’ve lived long enough to know that when power feels cornered, it looks for a mirror to break. The Insurrection Act is that mirror, a 19th-century law revived whenever those in charge want to project fear instead of face truth. Written in 1807, the Act allows the president to deploy the military on U.S. soil, […]
Posted inOpinion
The MLK files endgame: Erase the man, then erase the holiday
The release of over 230,000 FBI files on Dr. King isn’t about truth — it’s about erasure. These coordinated attacks are designed to unravel civil rights progress and silence Black history. We must resist.
Posted inOpinion
Give people what they need to fight for racial justice
Talking about race can spark progress—or backlash. That’s why understanding racial equity is like takeoff: it takes strategy, patience, and stages. This piece outlines how to meet people where they are and keep moving forward.
Posted inLocal & State
MPD under fire for promoting officer who killed Amir Locke
Amir Locke’s family and local activists are condemning MPD’s decision to name Sgt. Mark Hanneman, the officer who killed Locke in a 2022 raid, as a training instructor. The appointment has sparked citywide backlash and renewed calls for reform.
Posted inOpinion
Concentration camps like Trump’s are not new to the U.S.
Trump’s mass deportation plan has drawn comparisons to concentration camps—but the U.S. has long operated systems of confinement and control. This isn’t unprecedented. It’s rooted in American history.
Posted inBlacklight On Sports
Sports, Justice, and Speaking Truth to Power Featuring Nekima Levy Armstrong
This week on Blacklight On Sports, civil rights leader Nekima Levy Armstrong joins the conversation on athletes, activism, race, and what justice looks like on and off the field.
Posted inOpinion
Black folks take note: It’s not just about immigrants
Black folks may think immigration raids don’t impact them — but they do. From surveillance creep to ICE detaining U.S. citizens, we’re already in the fight. And silence won’t save us.
Posted inOpinion
Reclaiming Juneteenth in a time of backlash
Cicley Gay of BLM reflects on Juneteenth as a celebration of Black joy and a call to resist erasure. “Freedom includes the right for everyone to play, to dream, and to live fully.”