Social Issues

A panel of Twin Cities community leaders say they're discouraged by the attitudes of Minnesotans who are fed up with immigrants. The panelists were brought together by the Minnesota Community Project to debunk misperceptions about immigrants.
This month, food shelves around the Twin Cities find themselves short thousands of pounds of fruits, vegetables, and bread they had expected. Rainbow Foods, one of the state's largest grocery chains, abruptly stopped donating its leftover produce and day-old baked goods.
In 1967, Thurgood Marshall became the first African American appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. But Marshall had already earned a place in history as the leader of an extraordinary legal campaign against racial segregation in America, culminating in the landmark Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education. This American RadioWorks documentary tells the story of the first Black Supreme Court Justice before he donned his judicial robes.
Minnesotans' attitudes about the role of government, community and immigration are changing for the worse, say the authors of a report. The Minnesota Community Project expressed dismay over data which show a streak of hostility toward immigrants, especially by people living in the outer-ring suburbs.
When former Minnesota Viking Carl Eller was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer, he vowed to use the honor to lead young African-American males "toward the great colleges and universities of our nation, not to prisons and jail cells." Eller will be honored during the half-time ceremony at Sunday's Vikings game.
On Saturday, hundreds of African immigrants will converge on a Minneapolis community center for the state's first ever African World AIDS Day. It's part of an ongoing effort to educate the African-born community about HIV and AIDS. It's a population that's been especially hard hit by the disease.
Midmorning takes a look at the business of food banks. The chief executive of America's largest hunger relief organization talks about the process of supplying local food shelves and helping the hungry.
Everyone experiences the world differently -- some more differently than others. It's those differences that make understanding one another so difficult sometimes.
The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether the federal government can override state laws permitting medicinal use of marijuana. This case and the increase in drug arrests have some wondering whether the war on drugs needs to be revisited.