MPR has been recording decades of material that reflect the Black experience in Minnesota directly from the voices of members in the community. The wide-ranging subject matter of civil rights, politics, arts & culture, sports, music, education, and business are captured in the stories, memories, commentary, and speeches.
December 15, 1993 - A special Midmorning broadcast from the Minneapolis Police Department 5th Precinct. Host Cathy Wurzer talks with law enforcement officials and a legal advocate about the daily experience of local policing. Program also presents various reports on policing, community engagement, and relations with Black residents in Minnesota.
December 28, 1993 - Midday’s Gary Eichten interviews Bill Wilson, out-going St. Paul council president and civil rights activist, about his thoughts on the city of St. Paul…what’s better, what’s not, and what’s changing. Topics of discussion include downtown business, race relations, and politics.
January 3, 1994 - MPR’s Tom Fudge provides a summary report on the inauguration of Sharon Sayles Belton as mayor of Minneapolis. Sayles Belton becomes the first African American and first woman to hold that position.
January 3, 1994 - On this Midday program, coverage from the Minneapolis and St. Paul mayoral inaugurations. Program includes interviews, music clips, and speeches.
January 4, 1994 - MPR’s Tom Fudge tales a look at inauguration of Sharon Sayles Belton, the new Minneapolis mayor; and Jackie Cherryhomes, the new Minneapolis city council president.
January 14, 1994 - MPR’s Perry Finelli interviews Connie Chivers about publishing the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. Chivers also talks about her father Curtis Chivers and paper founder Cecil E. Newman.
February 21, 1994 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer interviews teacher and author Judy Henderson about recording and preserving the music of African American communities in Minnesota over the course of state’s history. Henderson compiled a book w/accompanying CD, titled African American Music in Minnesota.
May 30, 1994 - Midday’s Gary Eichten talks with Matthew Ramadan, member of Nation of Islam in Minnesota, about the differences between his religious organization and Louis Farrakhan’s Black nationalist organization, the Nation of Islam.
August 27, 1994 - On the passing of his friend Gleason Glover, Harry Davis reflects on the local civil rights activist and longtime head of the Minneapolis Urban League. Davis shares historical moments that Glover was a part of in the Twin Cities.
September 28, 1994 - Local activist, scholar, and professor Mahmoud El-Kati shares his thoughts on topic of multiculturalism in the United States. El-Kati strongly disagrees with the view from academic Arthur Schlesinger Jr. that multiculturalism is damaging unity in U.S. society.