In Focus: A Trial and Minnesota’s Search for Equity and Healing 

The concrete barricades and barbed wire outside the courtroom where former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is standing trial in George Floyd’s killing are a stark reminder of what our state and nation went through last year.  

Minnesota will be back in the spotlight during the trial, but this is only part of the story. Floyd’s killing last May also led to renewed efforts toward racial equity—in neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, businesses and many other institutions. How are we doing on our path toward racial equity? How are Black people, Indigenous people, people of color and their white counterparts navigating conversations about the trial and its broader implications for racial justice in a state known for its persistent racial disparities?  

What have we learned about how BIPOC communities in Minnesota are experiencing these events differently from their white neighbors? How can that knowledge lead to greater empathy and ultimately progress on racial justice and equity? 

Join us on March 31 at noon, in partnership with MPR News. Host Angela Davis will lead our next In Focus conversation on how we as Minnesotans are experiencing the trial and how we can move forward as neighbors. Register today!