Our Blog
Wild Things – Transgender Day of Visibility
March 14, 2023 - By Lynette Reini-Grandell
I am honored to be invited to talk about my memoir, Wild Things: A Trans-Glam-Punk-Rock Love Story, with my spouse Venus de Mars on Transgender Day of Visibility. The book chronicles our personal stories of what it was like to be trans in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, before…
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The Impacts of We Are Water
May 10, 2022 - By Troy Goodnough
I am excited about Minnesota Humanities Center leadership and for making the We Are Water MN (WAW) program available to partner-host sites across the state. I want to share a bit about our experience at UMN Morris. The We Are Water program was an important catalyst for our community to…
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Celebrating Women’s History Month: Remembering Women Democracy Educators
March 11, 2022 - By Marie Ström
A learning pair at the Jane Addams School Social movements don’t gain momentum automatically. People must be equipped for leadership and action. Too often this formative work is overshadowed by the headline-making events it makes possible. Women’s History Month provides an opportunity to shine a spotlight on women democracy educators…
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Third Way Civics: Educating Undergraduates for American Democracy
March 4, 2022 - By Trygve Throntveit
“Most students report that they want their post-college lives to be personally rewarding and publicly meaningful.” What does it mean to live in a democracy? This question confronts all peoples aspiring to a life of liberty, security, and dignity. For those living in a political system committed to realizing…
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MHC Receives the 2021 Schwartz Prize: It Took a Village!
December 15, 2021 - By Rose McGee
The nation witnessed in horror and heard Mr. George Floyd’s plea, “I can’t breathe” and with his last dying breath, his call out for his “Mama.” That was May 2020 and all eyes were on Minnesota. At Minnesota Humanities Center (MHC), we struggled with how and even when to respond…
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A tribute to Dr. James Peterson (1942–2021): In Memoriam
November 5, 2021 - By Patrick Henry
James L. Peterson, who served on the Minnesota Humanities Center (MHC) Board of Directors from 2009 to 2018, died on October 30, 2021. In May 2018 he was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer and lived an almost unheard-of additional three and a half years. Jim brought to the MHC…
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Impossible to Remain Silent
June 3, 2021 - By Kevin Lindsey
Our nation, for far too long, has remained silent about open and notorious acts of racial violence experienced by African Americans. As a teenager reading, The Black Book edited by Middleton A. Harris and Toni Morrison, I became aware of the countless atrocities experienced by African Americans that were ignored…
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Rage and the Minnesota Poet Laureate
April 30, 2021 - By Athena Kildegaard
A few days ago a jury found Derek Chauvin guilty of killing George Floyd—a murder that feels simultaneously as if it happened yesterday and as if it happened years ago.
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Remembering the Women who Shaped my Life
April 14, 2021 - By Mary K. Boyd
I grew up in the Rondo community. It was a village of community educators. As I reflect, I am grateful to the women of that village who helped to guide and shape my life. I remember being told by my mother, “There is nothing that you cannot do if you…
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On the Blazing of Trails
March 26, 2021 - By Dr. Theresa Battle
In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Minnesota Humanities Center has asked some of our friends to write essays to share with you their thoughts on diverse women’s achievements and challenges over time, in Minnesota and elsewhere. These thoughts and reflections display a variety of perspectives to encourage healthy dialogue,…
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