MPR Archive presents a selection of stories tied to various the aspects, history, and battles for civil rights of individuals and groups within the State of Minnesota.
April 18, 2006 - All Things Considered’s Tom Crann talks with Jacob Reitan, director of the Soul Force Equality Ride; and Jay Barnes, Bethel University's Provost, about a visit of the cross-country bus tour by gay-rights activists to Bethel University.
August 11, 2006 - MPR’s Lorna Benson looks at the life of W. Harry Davis, Minneapolis civil rights activist and educator, who passed away on August 11th, 2006. Davis rose from humble beginnings in a poor, segregated north Minneapolis neighborhood to prominent business and civic leadership in the Twin Cities.
September 18, 2006 - MPR’s Stephen Smith moderates a civil rights panel discussion with an author, an activist, a teacher and a former vice president of the United States at the Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis.
April 17, 2007 - Years after the 9/11 attacks, many Minnesotans say they are still feeling uneasy around one another. A new study by Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights documents both overt and subtle discrimination against the state's minority groups. Minnesota Public Radio's Roseanne Pereira reports the study's findings are being spread in a number of ways.
October 23, 2007 - MPR’s Tom Crann interviews Wabasha native Nelson Peery, who describes growing up Black in Minneosta, his path to the Minnesota Communist Party, and his book "Black Radical."
February 8, 2008 - All Things Considered’s Tom Crann interviews Ann DeGroot, outgoing executive director & co-founder of OutFront Minnesota. DeGroot shares her thoughts on the most impactful things to have happened in the gay and lesbian movement over the previous two decades.
March 4, 2008 - Members of the Minnesota 8, anti-war activists who were sentenced to prison for destroying draft files during the Vietnam War, join Midday to discuss their story, which is the subject of a play at the History Theater, titled Peace Crimes: The Minnesota 8. The two guests, Bill Tilton and Frank Kroncke, also answer listener questions.
August 28, 2008 - MPR’s Curtis Gilbert talks with civil rights activist Josie Johnson about the speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama.
September 5, 2008 - MPR’s Sea Staura recounts scenes of protest that started on the Minneosta State Capitol lawn and ended with the biggest number of arrests of any day during the Republican National Convention, being hosted at the Xcel Center in St. Paul.
May 11, 2009 - Brandt Williams reports on nearly 200, mostly Hmong people, demonstrating in front of the U.S. courthouse in downtown St. Paul. They came to rally support for the family of Fong Lee, who was shot and killed by a Minneapolis police officer in 2006.