CEO Summer Update

Summer has arrived in Minnesota and like most of you, we are attempting to make the most of the warm weather by keeping ourselves busy.

We were so fortunate to have so many wonderful speakers, chefs, artists, and partners for our recent Juneteenth programming.

The enthusiastic response to our “Feeding Our Souls: The Essence of Juneteenth Joy” was so overwhelming that I must take a moment to thank Dr. Jessica B. Harris for her soul-filling conversation, as well as the six local Black chefs who served an incredible assortment of delicacies that underscored the richness of African, Caribbean, and African American cuisine.

We heard from several attendees that MHC should add Essence of Juneteenth Joy as one of its signature Juneteenth programs.

Also well received was the conversation with the esteemed Howard University Law Professor Sherrilyn Ifill. Her timing in starting the nation’s first legal center focused on the 14th Amendment and her comments and insights about the importance of how we should understand the Civil War Amendments and Civil War seemed especially relevant and pertinent given recent decisions by the United States Supreme Court.

Many thanks to our partners Sweet Potato Comfort Pie, for the play Kumbayah the Juneteenth Story: Special Edition, and OMG Media, for the film Reconstruction Destructed. Look for opportunities for continuing legal education and continuing education credits with special screenings of the film Reconstruction Destructed later this summer.

Summer break provides an opportunity for educators to attend valuable professional development opportunities. Here are just a few that are currently open for registration:

On July 25, we will visit the Watt Munisotaram, the largest Cambodian Buddhist temple in the United States and one of Minnesota’s most vibrant cultural landmarks, located in the serene countryside of Hampton. Minnesota is home to the fifth–largest Cambodian population in the United States, and this free event offers a rare opportunity to explore the intersection of history, spirituality, and community.

MHC will present with the Minnesota Department of Education and Sourcewell in Staples on July 29. The Summer Training: K–8 Social Studies Standards will provide regional professional development on Minnesota’s new K-8 Social Studies Standards. This full-day training will equip educators with tools to bundle standards into interdisciplinary, inquiry–driven units. Please register today.

Finally, MHC will also host a five-day workshop August 4–8 at MHC to assist educators in developing Indigenous Education for All (IEFA) classroom materials and planning professional development activities for their school district. The workshop is being led by the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) and presented with the Tribal Nations Education Committee, Minnesota Department of Education’s Office of American Indian Education, and MHC.

All the upcoming public events listed below are all free thanks to generous legislative support that MHC receives through the Minnesota Legacy Fund.

If you live in the City of Lakes, how can you not stop by our We Are Water travelling exhibit at the Nicollet Mall? The exhibit will be there until August 11, and of course, non-Minneapolis residents are also welcome and encouraged to attend.

On August 4, we will launch the Native American Lives Book Series, a groundbreaking set of biographies for middle – grade readers featuring Dakota and Ojibwe leaders and changemakers. Attendees will hear from editors Heid E. Erdrich and Diane Wilson, receive a free book, and be able to purchase subsequent books at a special price. The Series was developed by MHC and Lerner Publishing Group, and funded in part by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community’s Understand Native Minnesota campaign. Registration link coming soon!

MHC Summer on the Lawn fun returns with three family friendly events. First, we welcome back (third summer for MHC) Classical Actors Ensemble (CAE) for their 11th season of Shakespeare in our Parks on July 13. This season, CAE will present one of Shakespeare’s lesser–known comedies, “All’s Well That Ends Well” to our summer stage. On August 1, Trilingua Cinema (Trilingua) will present the movie “Holes” for our first movie screening under the stars! Trilingua is a nonprofit traveling cinema with the mission of utilizing films to build community and a movie theater for the residents of Saint Paul’s East Side. And to wrap up this summer series, Puppets and Performance will entertain guests of all ages with musical storytelling by Rose Lani and the Rosie Posies, followed by Open Eye Theatre’s Driveway Tour performers presenting a puppet show inspired by Puerto Rican folk stories.

On August 7, MHC’s Minnesota Writers Off the Page comes to Duluth with the 2025 Minnesota Book Award winning anthology, “Locker Room Talk: Women in Private Spaces,” which was edited by Michelle Filkins, Margaret Aldrich and Julie Gard. Joining the editors will be contributing authors Jennifer Hopkins and Leslie Miller, for a discussion on how women show up and care for one another while creating space for themselves to thrive.

Looking ahead, we will formally announce the second year of the Sketches of Minnesota tour which will include ten communities, and one great Minnesota get together.

Thanks for your support!

Kevin