
Community Conversations
New Narratives
Carry Us Forward
Community Conversations are your opportunity to join us for fun, challenging, fascinating events that help build thoughtful, literate, and engaged Minnesotans. How do we amplify and recognize authentic narratives of traditionally under-represented people? How do we engage in civil discourse about what unites us, not divides us? How do we feel inspired and energized by our shared humanity? We feel that Community Conversations and the humanities are a place to start.
Upcoming Events
Minneapolis – The Art of Healing and Resilience Through Permaculture (Session 1 of 4)
In celebration of May, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and the beginning of Minnesota’s planting season, the Minnesota Humanities Center is collaborating with The SEAD Project (Southeast Asian Diaspora) to provide a cohort interactive learning workshop series based on permaculture.
Learn MoreSt. Paul – Becoming the Hero of Your Own Story
Theater Mu will offer insight into why it is important to see Asian-American heroes represented in television, film, and on stage. Mu artists will reflect on past and current examples of Asian protagonists in mainstream media paired with live performances.
Learn MoreSt. Paul – Telling My Story!
This writing retreat is focused on the process of naming strength and finding healing through writing and is open to all members of the Black community, writers at all levels and non-writers alike.
Learn MoreWrite on Race
The Minnesota Humanities Center and Love & Struggle are partnering to help regional hubs develop action plans to create a more just society. Using the Write on Race framework participants will learn about past, present, and future impacts of race in our communities.
Learn MoreONLINE – What We Hunger For (Minnesota Writers Series)
Join the Minnesota Humanities Center (MHC) for readings and a discussion around the book, “What We Hunger For: Refugee and Immigrant Stories about Food and Family.” This book is the first text featured in MHC’s new Minnesota Writers Series, which amplifies recent publications from Minnesota authors.
Learn MorePast Events
2021–2022 Spotlight Series: Reconsidering Patriotism, Public Service, and Civic Engagement
The six-part University of Minnesota Spotlight Series, hosted in partnership with the MHC, focuses on patriotism, public service, and civic engagement. The moderator for all six events will be Kevin Lindsey, CEO of MHC. Q&A sessions will follow each event.
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The Great Northern Festival – Learning from Place: Bdote
Learning from Place: Bdote – visit sites of great significance to Dakota people. Participants will learn from Dakota community members through stories and histories that have often been left out of our state’s history. This event is offered in partnership with The Great Northern as part of its 2022 festival.

The Gift of Culture – Minnesota’s Cultural Destinations
Explore, celebrate, and support the vibrant small businesses within Minnesota’s cultural corridors and ethnic malls. Grab a cup of tea and join us for a virtual tour of cultural malls and businesses in the metro area and greater Minnesota as we learn from Dr. Bruce Corrie, economist and cultural entrepreneur.

Learning from Place: HmongTown Market
Immerse yourself within Minnesota’s vibrant Hmong community through an interactive, in-person experience at the iconic HmongTown Marketplace in St. Paul.
Understanding Lynching Violence | Road to Reconciliation
Commemorate one of the darkest moments of racial violence in Minnesota history—the June 15, 1920 lynching of three young black men, Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie in Duluth—and examine the history of racially motivated violence and our efforts toward racial reconciliation.
Learn MoreHow Can We Breathe
The Minnesota Humanities Center and Sweet Potato Comfort Pie present How Can We Breathe, a four-part community engagement initiative to amplify the voices of African Americans and make meaning of the Minnesota we’re living in right now.
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With Malice Toward None
With Malice Toward None offers participants an opportunity to hear, share with, and better understand one another across lines of difference. It also offers hope for change.
SOAR Writing Retreat
Stand Out And Roar (SOAR) is an immersive two-day self-reflection and writing retreat that seeks to harness the power of storytelling to help participants face disruptive narratives in their life in order to find their voice and SOAR.
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