 | Liam James Doyle for MPR News
June 15, 2020
‘We never solved the problem’: Echoes of 1920 Duluth lynching persist at centennial
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Good morning. Monday is starting off warm and breezy, with most of the state seeing temperatures in the 60s, and parts of the state, especially western Minnesota, experiencing wind gusts over 30 mph. It remains breezy all day, with much of the state getting gusts over 20 and 30 mph at times, and the winds will be predominantly out of the south and southeast, funneling warmer air into Minnesota. The warmer air brings temperatures above average, with most places making it into the 80s, and parts of western Minnesota climbing into the 90s. Read more on Updraft.
Echoes of 1920 Duluth lynching persist at centennial
MPR News' Dan Kraker writes: On the corner of First Street and Second Avenue East in downtown Duluth, a simple, concrete monument marks the spot where a white mob lynched Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson and Isaac McGhie from a light post on June 15, 1920.
Ten thousand people surrounded the men as they were killed.
Then the crowd parted so a picture could be taken: Dozens of white faces staring into the camera, some grinning, Jackson and McGhie's bodies still hanging from the street light, for a postcard later sold as a souvenir.
"We use the term ‘ritualized white supremacy,’” said Heidi Baak Hansen, one of the founding members of the committee that built the memorial, “and that's that's what we're talking about, where the photo is a trophy shot. It's a hunting photo."
To mark the 100 years that have passed since the lynching, organizers planned to bring another 10,000 people to the spot where three black men were killed — to say their names and ensure their story is not forgotten. The pandemic squelched those plans, but a tragedy in Minneapolis brought people back to the streets.
‘She saw me in George Floyd’: The trauma of watching another black person die
MPR News' Alisa Rother reports: The mental anguish of George Floyd’s killing doesn’t go away, even after the officers are charged and many of the protesters have gone home. One recent study said police shootings can affect people’s mental health for three months or more.
COVID-19 in MN: Pace of outbreak continues to slow
The pace of Minnesota’s COVID-19 outbreak continued to slow over the weekend, but state health officials in recent days warned the situation could take a turn for the worse if safety measures aren’t followed.
Study finds pharmaceuticals, other chemicals in remote Minnesota lakes
The chemicals were often found in lakes that receive discharged water from wastewater treatment plants. But they also turned up in remote lakes with little or no human development, sometimes at levels similar to more populated lakes. Read more from MPR News reporter Kirsti Marone.
Schools out for summer, but what does the future hold?
Anthony Lonetree writes in the Star Tribune, “Students and families ended a school year like no other in St. Paul last week, but for Superintendent Joe Gothard, there wasn’t a lot of time to look back. During a virtual meeting he hosted at year’s end, Gothard was peppered with questions about the future, specifically, what is school going to look like in the fall? It is a quandary facing every school leader in the state, and the answer isn’t easy: Stay tuned."
Have a good week,
Michael Olson, MPR News | @publicmic |
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