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.
April 6, 1998 - MPR’s Bob Potter talks with Reverends David Johnson and Ronald Smith. The pastors say they've been trying to lead a joint church - and the broader community - in a difficult process called racial reconciliation.
July 10, 1998 - On this Midday program, nationally known political commentator Carl Rowan addresses the American Association of Retired Persons. Rowan speaks on his early days as a writer for the Minneapolis Tribune and reflects on the battle over affirmative action in America.
August 7, 1998 - MPR’s Euan Kerr talks with Minneapolis playwright and columnist Syl Jones about his social satire Black No More. Jones says the work is a social satire about race, gender, religion, and science.
August 25, 1998 - MPR’s John Rabe reports on local African American leaders from the Twin Cities talking with local black leaders in South Africa.
April 13, 1999 - MPR’s Eric Jansen reports on community complaints regarding Minneapolis Police Department’s CODEFOR program. Minneapolis’ mayor and police chief say CODEFOR has dramatically reduced crime in the city. Critics and civil rights groups claim the computer-assisted program that targets neighborhoods based on crime patterns encourages police harassment and makes some residents feel like prisoners in their own homes.
May 3, 1999 - Midday presents a Mainstreet Radio special report "Hidden Rainbow: The Changing Face of Minnesota." Program presents a series of reports on the state's growing minority population in outstate Minnesota.
May 3, 1999 - On this segment of Mainstreet Radio’s Rural Diversity series, Tom Robertson looks at Minnesota's 'hidden' population -- rural minorities.
May 5, 1999 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from St. Cloud State University as part of MPR's week-long project called "Hidden Rainbow: The Changing Face of Minnesota." In this first hour of program, Rachel Reabe hosts a discussion on racism in St. Cloud with Ralonda Mason, a local lawyer handling racism cases for St. Cloud Area Legal Services; Taye Reta, former St. Cloud business owner and member of the State Council on Black Minnesotans; Susan Ihne, executive editor at The St. Cloud Times; and Vusi Khamalo, director for the Multicultural Services at St. Cloud Technical College.
May 6, 1999 - John Lyght, former Cook County Sheriff, talks about being born and raised in Cook County, along Minnesota's far Northeastern corner. With his parents, and eventually 14 brothers and sisters, the Lyghts were the first African American family that settled among the Swedes and Norwegians on Lake Superior's North Shore.
May 31, 1999 - A PRI presentation of "The Mississippi River: A River of Song" by Smithsonian Productions. This program in series is titled “Land of Lakes and Immigrant Songs.”