September 21, 2015 - MPR’s Laura Yuen and Mukhtar Ibrahim profile Amir Meshal, a Bloomington man who is under both U.S. government and community scrutiny. They present a complicated story.
September 24, 2015 - Penumbra Theatre co-artistic director Sarah Bellamy moderated a discussion "On The Front Lines," featuring Nekima Levy-Pounds, University of St. Thomas professor and the president of the Minneapolis Chapter of the NAACP; John Harrington, Metro Transit Police chief and former State Senator; Signe Harriday, local artist and activist; and Dave Ellis, a consultant. The panelists talk about the racial tensions between police and community.
September 30, 2015 - MPR’s Marianne Comb interviews writer and performer Roger Guenveur Smith about his play Rodney King. The one-man show is performed at Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul.
October 7, 2015 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer reports on the one-man show Rodney King, playing at the Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul, that resonates with the discussion on race. Report includes clip of interview with actor Roger Guenveur Smith.
October 27, 2015 - MPR’s Tim Pugmire reports on the disparity of people of color in state legislature. When Peggy Flanagan, executive director of the Children's Defense Fund-Minnesota wins election to the Minnesota House, she'll join an exclusive club. A member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, Flanagan will become one of only a handful of legislators of color at the Capitol.
November 6, 2015 - MPR’s Marianne Combs profiles a group of six Black women Minnesota writers Carolyn Holbrook, Lori Young-Williams, Andrea Jenkins, Shannon Gibney, Tish Jones, and Mary Moore Easter. They gathered at the The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis for a reading series called “More Than a Single Story.” Series was created by Carolyn Holbrook.
December 4, 2015 - All Things Considered presents an MPR Special Report on the shooting of Jamar Clark in Minneapolis. Segment includes a chronology of shooting, history of Minneapolis police shootings, community reaction, and the many questions that have followed in Clark’s death.
February 29, 2016 - MPR’s Marianne Combs reports on Penumbra Theatre’s opening run of The Dutchman and The Owl Answers - two surreal one-act plays that explore race relations, sexual politics and biracial identity.
April 18, 2016 - As part of MPR News series “Minnesota's Opioid Epidemic,” MPR’s Jon Collins talks with Dave Baker, Minnesota state representative (R-Willmar), about the addiction and overdose death of his son, Dan Baker.
April 19, 2016 - As part of MPR News series “Minnesota's Opioid Epidemic,” MPR’s Jon Collins profiles Rita Rogers, a mother from White Earth who lost her pregnant daughter Tiffany to heroin overdose.