April 19, 2002 - MPR’s Brandt Williams reports on Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak upcoming plans. Report includes subject of campaign promise of mixed income housing to the city, and on getting a new Minneapolis police chief.
April 18, 2002 - MPR’s Brandt Williams reports on Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak’s statements that it is time for Police Chief Robert Olson to go. Mayor Rybak says the chief hasn't done enough to foster public trust in the Minneapolis Police Department. Rybak will need the City Council's approval to buy out the remainder of the chief's contract. However, the council appears split on the issue, with some council members saying constituents don't believe a new chief will necessarily bring better relations between police and the community. Reports includes comments from Keith Ellison, attorney and community activist; Mathea Little-Smith, DFL activist; and Robert Lilligren, Minneapolis city council member.
April 3, 2002 - MPR's Brandt Williams looks at the life of Minnesota civil rights pioneer Nellie Stone Johnson, who passed away on April 2nd, 2002. Johnson spent the majority of her life fighting for social causes, especially those focused on the rights of labor unions, African Americans, and women. Those who knew her say that her activism was a testament to her passion for equality.
March 28, 2002 -
March 20, 2002 -
March 19, 2002 -
March 12, 2002 - Somali community leaders in Minneapolis are appealing to the African American community to join them in protesting the police shooting and killing of a mentally ill Somali man last weekend. Minneapolis officials say the officers acted in accordance with police regulations. But the Somali leaders told a predominantly African American crowd this morning Tuesday the death of Abu Kassim Jelani is a case of police brutality. Some members of the African American community said they can sympathize with the Somalis. Minnesota Public Radio's Brandt Williams reports.
March 7, 2002 -
February 12, 2002 - As part of the American RadioWorks project called "Radio Fights Jim Crow," MPR’s Brandt Williams talks with older African Americans in Minnesota about their memories of segregation in the feature “Up South.”
February 6, 2002 - When Africans immigrate to America they confront racism, perhaps for the first time. The longer they live in this country and become African Americans, they realize they are identified more by the color of their skin than by their nationality. In the last part of a series on the relationship between Africans and African Americans, Minnesota Public Radio's Brandt Williams looks at how race can complicate the process of assimilation for African immigrants.