November 8, 1992 - Mary Frances Berry, U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner, giving inaugural lecture in a new series of Hamline University Lectures on "Creating Community Through Diversity". Berry’s speech was titled "Achieving the American Dream". Berry gained national attention in 1983, when she and several other commissioners on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights were fired by President Reagan for criticizing the President's civil rights policies. Berry successfully sued the government and was reinstated by a Federal District Court. She is a former Assistant Secretary for Education in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and is now a Professor of American Social Thought at the University of Pennsylvania.
December 11, 1992 - An MPR report, titled "Fighting for Family," brings an inside look at family preservation and at one family's struggle to stay together. What is the cost of keeping a troubled family together compared to the cost of splitting up the family? There are hundreds of thousands of children in this country living in foster homes away from their parents. Foster care has been part of the formula used to "fix" troubled families since the turn of the century. But is it the best method? Is it cost effective? What is the emotional price paid by family members forced to live apart from each other? These are questions being asked by social workers, judges and elected officials who must apportion money to pay for solutions to the growing number of neglect and abuse cases being reported each year. As an alternative to foster care, some people in the child welfare system are raising the banner for what is called family preservation. Its advocates say that family preservation holds great promise for families who want to remain together and work out their problems. Program is narrated by Vertamae Grosvenor Received First Place, National Sigma Delta Chi Award: Public Service category.
January 4, 1993 - MPR’s Bob Potter interviews newly elected Associate Supreme Court Justice Alan Page. They discuss the court, expectations, race, and Page’s career path.
January 4, 1993 - MPR’s Catherine Winter reports on swearing-in of Alan Page to the Minnesota Supreme Court, the only person of color in the State appellate court system.
February 8, 1993 - Mary Mauler, director of Regional Affairs at Social Security Administration, explains when one needs to pay social security taxes for wages on work done.
February 22, 1993 - Dr. Beverly Coleman-Miller, president of a public health consulting firm called BCM Group, speaks at the Itasca Seminar, which was sponsored by the Minneapolis Foundation. Coleman-Miller’s speech was on the topic and “epidemic” of violence in the United States. Topics include street crime, education, and guns.
March 4, 1993 - MPR’s Paula Schroeder interviews recently elected Supreme Court Justice Alan Page, who discusses the importance for role models and need for focus on developing children. The Page Education Foundation is also discussed.
March 10, 1993 - Robert Guzy, president of Minnesota Bar Association, comments on Paul Wellstone’s committee judge selections. Both selections are African American.
March 13, 1993 - Mainstreet Radio’s Catherine Winter reports on the difficulty to prosecute child abuse on Red Lake and other Indian reservations. On most reservations, state criminal laws don’t apply. The federal government is responsible for prosecuting serious cries under federal law. While child sex abuse is prohibited under federal law, child physical abuse is not.
March 18, 1993 - MPR’s Mike Mulcahy describes the scene as Minnesota Senate debates and votes to extend the Minnesota Human Rights Bill to include protections on one’s sexual orientation. Report includes clips of Senate floor speeches.