A Century of Racism in Minnesota
Start Date
15-4-2021 11:00 AM
End Date
15-4-2021 12:00 PM
Student's Major
Honors Program
Mentor's Name
Leah White
Mentor's Department
Honors Program
Description
This research project contains depictions of racial violence and may be sensitive for some viewers. In 1920, Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhee were lynched in Duluth based on an accusation of assault. 100 years later, in 2020, George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis by police based on an accusation of a fraudulent $20 bill. 2 events, a century a part, show that while years have passed, Minnesota’s history of racial discrimination still repeats itself. As I looked at what happened in both situations, I ask myself how, if at all, has racism changed in Minnesota? And what is the cause? I researched racially motivated events in Minnesota from 1920 to 2020 to uncover hidden acts of discrimination. I analyzed how supremacy and white fragility play a role in the discrimination we see today.
A Century of Racism in Minnesota
This research project contains depictions of racial violence and may be sensitive for some viewers. In 1920, Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhee were lynched in Duluth based on an accusation of assault. 100 years later, in 2020, George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis by police based on an accusation of a fraudulent $20 bill. 2 events, a century a part, show that while years have passed, Minnesota’s history of racial discrimination still repeats itself. As I looked at what happened in both situations, I ask myself how, if at all, has racism changed in Minnesota? And what is the cause? I researched racially motivated events in Minnesota from 1920 to 2020 to uncover hidden acts of discrimination. I analyzed how supremacy and white fragility play a role in the discrimination we see today.
