When Minnesota was a new state, thousands of settlers arrived, many of them from Europe. But in recent decades, the state has attracted large numbers of Hmong and Somali refugees. There are also thousands of people from India, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Mexico and the People’s Republic of China living in Minnesota.
The state has become more racially diverse in the last 10 years, and demographers said that's especially true among children. About 83 percent of Minnesotans were white, non-Hispanic for the 2010 census, compared to 88 percent in 2000.
December 7, 1980 - MPR’s Mark Johnson interviews Charles Johnson, a Macalester professor, about the history and current situation of the Hmong people. Johnson also discusses his project of collected Hmong traditional folk stories translated in English for ESL studies.
April 3, 1981 - The Minnesota human rights law currently forbids discrimination on the basis of faces, sex, age, marital status among other things. Repeal of the gay rights in the city of St. Paul left Minneapolis as the only community in the state that protects homosexuals. DFL Representative Karen Clark of Minneapolis led a parade of witnesses before the House Law Reform Subcommittee. She stated that 10 percent of the population is homosexual and that the biggest single area of discrimination is employment. Clark is satisfied with the hearing results for the time being.
April 24, 1982 - MPR’s Dale Connelly interviews Melissa Ringheim, a curator at the Science Museum of Minnesota, about exhibit of Hmong and Iu Mien embroidery, batik, and applique work. Ringheim describes the detail and style of the wearable art.
April 29, 1983 - MPR’s Jim Ragsdale reports on ten Hmong men selected for a farm training project with the hope that they would settle with their families on a plot of farmland near Homer, Minnesota.
June 3, 1983 - MPR’s Jim Ragsdale reports on Hmong students as they prepare to graduate. They not only had to learn the English language, but also American highschool culture. Now they must prepare for the challenges that lie ahead after graduation.
September 14, 1984 - MPR’s Paula Schroeder reports on efforts of Southeast Asian refugees and educators to develop successful English as a second language (ESL) programs. In particular, the Hmong have an additional challenge in learning English, as their own language didn’t have a written form.
November 16, 1984 - MPR’s Kate Moos reports on growing businesses and entrepreneurial spirit of the refugee community as they adapt to their new home in the U.S.
November 2, 1985 - MPR’s Mark Heistd talks with Ginger Oakland about development of Hmong Methodist Church in Minnesota.
November 7, 1986 - A group calling itself Community United Against Violence said one purpose of its announcement is to draw attention to the recent death of Robert Churchill. Churchill is the latest victim in a string of eleven gay murders in the Twin Cities. During November the group will be organizing activity to heighten awareness of violence, especially violence against homosexuals. Yesterday’s announcement comes at a time of heightened tension between some leaders of the gay community and police. There have been complaints that the police aren’t doing enough to solve unsolved gay murder cases.
April 6, 1987 - Under current law in Minnesota, sodomy, adultery and sex out of wedlock are illegal. A bill by Senator Donna Peterson, a Minneapolis democrat, would erase those laws, but would also make it illegal to engage in sex in public. Peterson told a Senate judiciary committee that her measure would create a law that’s needed and do away with laws that are both unfair and unenforced.