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.
November 30, 2012 - MPR’s David Cazares profiles all-Black jazz group Mother of Masks, a group that blends spoken word, poetry and improvised music in a blues-based fountain of black creative consciousness.
March 15, 2013 - MPR’s Tom Weber speaks with Lou Bellamy, artistic director of The Penumbra Theatre, about organization overcoming recent financial crisis.
April 5, 2013 - MPR’s Tom Crann interviews Supreme Court Justice Alan Page about the Page Educational Foundation.
April 25, 2013 - MPR’s David Cazares profiles acclaimed pianist, composer, and Golden Valley native Craig Taborn. In the jazz world, some listeners might yearn for tradition, while others listen for signs of authenticity. Taborn doesn't worry about such hang-ups. Whether on solo piano, in a trio, or experimenting with electronic music, he tries to reflect an evolving culture.
August 9, 2013 - Is there room in the hyper-masculine hip-hop world for gay artists? Minneapolis rapper Kevin "Kaoz" Moore thinks so. MPR’s Nikki Tundel interviews Moore about being Black and gay in the rap music scene.
January 13, 2014 - MPR’s Euan Kerr reports on announcement of Sarah Bellamy as new artistic director at Penumbra Theatre and its five-year plan in stabilizing organization after financial struggle.
June 23, 2014 - When construction crews bulldozed St. Paul's Rondo neighborhood to make way for Interstate 94 in the 1960s, they destroyed the center of the city's African American life, forcing many of the community's residents to move. But the spirit of Rondo lives on among its former residents and their descendants. Among them is Daina Stanley, a University of Tampa junior. When she spoke with members of her family about the Rondo they knew and loved, that helped her find home.
June 12, 2015 - MPR News host Tom Weber discusses social justice, police reform, and the 50th anniversary of Malcolm X’s assassination with Twin Cities journalist and activist, Mel Reeves, who is planning a conference around his practices and social justice at Harvest Prep School in Minneapolis.
July 29, 2015 - Award-winning author Alexs Pate discusses how his experiences as a Black-American man influence his writing and move him to explore themes of guilt and innocence — along with hope and bitterness. Pate is the author of five novels, including the best-selling Amistad.
July 30, 2015 - MPR’s Brandt Williams reports on tensions between the police and many people of color, who say they're being targeted by officers. Some black residents of north Minneapolis appreciate the extra attention their area gets from police…others resent it.