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.
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.
June 25, 2010 - MPR’s Brandt Williams takes a look at the history of Twin Cities night spots that cater to Black customers and the continuing closures of said establishments. Examples include Norma Jean's, Sylvia's, Cato Club, Escape Ultra Lounge, Riverview Supper Club, and the latest…Gabby's Saloon.
June 25, 2010 - As one of Minnesota's most famous sons receives a lifetime achievement award by the cable tv station BET, Chris Roberts gathers two prominent Prince watchers and his former drummer to talk about Prince's relationship with his hometown.