Public Humanities

Activities and events implemented during the biennium include:

• 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 now.
• Virtual reading of Amoke Kubat’s “Angry Black Woman & Well-Intentioned White Girl”; following a reading of an excerpt of the play, attendees participate in a mediated conversation strengthening intercultural understanding and communications.
• True Crime: Why We Are So Obsessed, exploring the fascination with stories of real life crime with panelists and discussing how judges, juries, and forensic science come together, or not, to ensure justice is served.
• Humanities To Go virtual event series: conversations that illuminate what the humanities are, from many different perspectives and experiences for a general public. HTG champions, shares, and supports humanities work by humanities practitioners and creatives from all corners of Minnesota. Programming features multicultural perspectives on emergent news items, cultural heritage months, holidays, commemorations/anniversaries, and recognitions of Minnesotans for outstanding humanities accomplishments.
• MHC’s pilot annual event, Envision A Just Minnesota: celebrating the humanities and envision a just Minnesota that is connected, curious, and compassionate. Minnesota’s most creative thought leaders muse, inspire, and reflect on what a just society means and requires through the humanities.
• Financial and program support through re-grants and funding opportunities for humanities projects in communities across the state including the Twin Cities, Granite Falls, Waite Park, and Pipestone.
• Neurodiverse Literature & Art: this interactive event featured literary and visual artists with intellectual/developmental disabilities, touching on the power of the humanities as a gateway to broader inclusion and its unique implications for the disability community.
• Write on Race: The Minnesota Humanities Center and Love & Struggle partnered to help regional hubs develop action plans to create a more just society. Participants learn about past, present, and future impacts of race in our communities, reflect through journal writing and build understanding with community members by storytelling and sharing, and develop action plans to move communities from passive non-racism to active anti-racism.
• Read Brave virtual events: A community partner with St. Paul’s Read Brave program, MHC hosted virtual events featuring artists, authors, and guest speakers discussing Read Brave book selections and their themes.
• With Malice Toward None: Community conversation event in which participants hear, share with, and better understand one another across lines of difference through reflections on featured stories, conversations in breakouts, and personal action commitments.

A small amount of funds has been spent so far towards the implementation of a new grant program designed to build relationships between community organizations, leveraging the humanities to address community-identified needs and opportunities.