White privilege & anti-racist initiatives in the rural Midwest In a recent StarTribune opinion piece, “How young men of color mattered to a rural Midwestern community,” Cary Radisewitz of Luverne, MN, describes a few of the disturbing instances of blatant racism in a small South Dakota town and its neighboring communities during his time as the Huron (SD) University’s head football coach. He also provides importa... Read More
GET OUT THE VOTE! Please take a look at this powerful video and share it widely! Thank you, Mark Ritchie! The Climate Clock is counting down… The giant digital clock installed at the Metronome in New York was recently converted into an artistic statement that counts down the time until an “an irreversible climate emergency alters human existence as we know it,” says a recent article from The Washington Post... Read More
Minority Owned Rural Firms & the Pandemic The Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group, the Housing Assistance Council, the Rural Community Assistance Partnership and Rural LISC have come together to create virtual Rural Opportunity and Development Sessions, or ROAD Sessions. The first session, "Open for Business: Working with Minority-Owned Rural Firms through the Pandemic" this week featured entrepreneurs from Native, Latinx and Black r... Read More
A hurdle for economic revival The New York Times published a feature on the child care crisis emerging out of the pandemic-induced economic collapse, using New York City as an example of how reopening plans and conflicts with child care in the fall could present a huge barrier to rebuilding the economy. The article broaches the concern that the country doesn’t have a “serious solution” for a child care crisis. &l... Read More
“Toward a better patriotism” Dane Smith, a Growth & Justice senior fellow and co-editor of the Minnesota Equity Blueprint, wrote an op-ed for the Star Tribune titled “Toward a better patriotism.” He discusses the protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death, the statue removal of figures like Christopher Columbus, and the country-wide efforts to confront systemic racism-- all within the context of recent annive... Read More