June 21, 2001 - St. Paul city officials and civil rights activists are all singing the praises of a new racial profiling agreement. Under the terms of a pact between police and the St. Paul NAACP, citizens will be able to file complaints against the police more easily if they believe they've been targeted because of their race. The department is also promising to take community groups' views more into account when making policy decisions. But what representatives of both the police and the community say they're most proud of is how St. Paul developed a way to address racial profiling - something the state legislature has yet to do.
June 28, 2001 - This morning, Minneapolis police officials will announce updates to their traffic stop and search policies to address allegations of racial profiling. The announcement comes on the heels of a racial profiling agreement presented last week in St. Paul. However, Minneapolis police officials say the policy update was in the works well before the St. Paul agreement was finalized. The changes mean city residents may notice some similarities between Minneapolis and St. Paul police procedures.
July 5, 2001 - Race relations in Rochester are in turmoil, following allegations of police brutality involving a minor at a local dance club. The incident is being investigated by local police, and the FBI, but tempers flared today when members of the African American community sat down for heated discussion with Rochester's mayor and chief of police.
November 13, 2001 - Studies show African Americans and other people of color are in Minnesota's criminal justice system at a rate far greater than their presence in the population. That disparity has grown despite years of studies. No one seems to know why Minnesota's predominantly white population turns overwhelmingly nonwhite inside the state's prison gates. Some blame police practices as racial profiling for bringing more people of color into the court system. But in the end, judges bear the responsibility for sending people to jail. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports on the connection between judges and racial disparities in this installment in our series, The Color of Justice.
November 14, 2001 - On this special edition of Midday, Gary Eichten hosts MPR's "Color of Justice Forum," held at the Sabathani Community Center in Minneapolis. Panelists include St. Paul Police Chief Bill Finney, DFL State Senator Jane Ranum, Republican State Representative and Minneapolis Police Inspector Rich Stanek, Hennepin County Judge Tanya Bransford, Hennepin County Public Defender Leonardo Castro, and Minnesota Corrections Commissioner Sheryl Ramstad-Hvass.
November 15, 2001 - A collection of reports from the MPR special series "The Color of Justice," which investigates the racial disparity in Minnesota’s criminal justice system. This Midday program includes reports by MPR’s Dan Olson, Brandt Williams, and Elizabeth Stawicki, as well as various interviews and commentary of officials, academics, and community members.
November 15, 2001 - MPR’s Brandt Williams conducts a 'rolling roundtable' discussion on the issue of "Driving While Black" with three Black men as they drive around the Twin Cities.
November 16, 2001 - “The Color of Justice: The News Disparities” is part five of an MPR special series which investigates the racial disparity in Minnesota’s criminal justice system. Discussions of race and the criminal justice system tend to focus on the disproportionate rates at which African Americans are arrested and jailed. However, the growth of Latinos, Hmong, and Somali in Minnesota has broadened the scope of the disparities issue.
November 16, 2001 - A conversation with former Minneapolis Police Chief Tony Bouza about diversity on the force, racial profiling and other issues facing law enforcement today.
November 28, 2001 - MPR’s Jeff Horwich presents a Mainstreet Radio series looking at the growing role of Spanish in the Minnesota work place. Horwich spent an evening with one rural Minnesota police officer helping his department relate to the town's changing population.