Floyd’s death laid bare the ‘Minnesota Paradox’ of racism

MINNEAPOLIS — George Floyd’s death under a white Minneapolis police officer’s knee severely tarnished Minnesota’s reputation as a progressive state on matters of race. “If there’s one state where you might be able to solve these problems and set an example that other states could follow, it would be Minnesota.” Samuel Myers Jr., director of the Roy Wilkins Center for Human Relations and Social Justice at the University of Minnesota, has spent years documenting what he calls “The Minnesota Paradox.” The state boasts high levels of educational attainment, world-class medical care such as the Mayo Clinic, shopping magnets such as the Mall of America, a vibrant arts scene, and big philanthropy-minded employers like 3M, Best Buy, General Mills and Target. “You’re expected to be polite, to not have any hostility to folks who are different from you, but you’re not going to tackle these potentially explosive issues, not going to get to know people outside your immediate circle of family and friends.” That’s been changing since Floyd’s death and former police Officer Derek Chauvin’s conviction, he said, with ordinary Minnesotans starting to have those conversations. Sarah Campbell, a minister at Mayflower Church in Minneapolis, said Floyd’s death caused “deep soul searching” within her progressive but mostly white faith community, part of the United Church of Christ.