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.
March 9, 2009 - Some of the state's best high school poets competed for the state championship, with eighteen students from across the state took part in the 'Poetry Out Loud' contest. They were judged by a panel on seven criteria, including physical presence and level of difficulty. The champion, Thandisizwe Jackson-Nisan, was named after three rounds of poems.
August 3, 2009 - MPR’s Euan Kerr speaks with Penumbra Artistic Director Lou Bellamy about Claude Purdy, a founding member of the Penumbra Theater in St. Paul. Bellamy says Purdy offered many strengths to the stage.
January 15, 2010 - MPR’s Dan Olson profiles Twin Cities musician and educator Cyril Paul. A native of Trinidad, Paul has lived in Minnesota for more than 50 years performing the music of his homeland and also serving as a music resource person in schools and churches.
January 28, 2010 - As part of MPR's Youth Radio Series, Youth Radio reporter Roy Lee Spearman Jones tells the story of being out on his own as a gay and homeless young man.
February 15, 2010 - MPR’s Rupa Shenoy reports on a group of local African Americans working to purchase the historic Amos Coe mansion in Minneapolis, in hopes of developing museum devoted to Black Minnesotans…a first. There are hopes the museum can be a place where African immigrants and African Americans learn about each other.
March 29, 2010 - As part of MPR's Youth Radio Series, Youth Radio reporter Iman Fears shares her experience in U.S. Senate Youth Program, which leads to meeting officials in Washington D.C., including Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, and President Barack Obama.
April 19, 2010 - MPR’s Gary Eichten talks with Justice Alan Page, and wife Diane Sims Page, about the importance of educational achievement. The two co-founded the Page Education Foundation to help students of color.
April 21, 2010 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer takes a walking tour with historian Annette Atkins of Harriett Island to check out the pavilion, a building created by noted St. Paul architect Clarence W. "Cap" Wigington. The African American architect left his mark throughout the city.
June 10, 2010 - As part of MPR's Youth Radio Series, Youth Radio reporter Tiara Bellaphant details the experience and outcome of being a participant in the Destination 2010 scholarship program.
June 11, 2010 - MPR’s Brandt Williams profiles Jamil Jackson, who manages a basketball league where he mentors youth through a program called Change Equals Opportunity. Every week, Jackson convenes the program and basketball league at the Jerry Gamble Boys and Girls Club in north Minneapolis.