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Riham Feshir

Protesters disrupt Hodges talk on racial equity

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About a dozen protesters abruptly got on stage and snatched a microphone away from Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges as she spoke about improving racial equity at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs Thursday night.

Hodges began her talk by discussing efforts to recruit more employees of color in public works, technology and law enforcement. But the protesters who had been seated in the audience reacted when she mentioned a federal review of how the city responded to the 4th Precinct police station occupation last November.

The handful of protesters who said they were with the groups Black Lives Matter and Black Liberation Project pressed Hodges about why she didn't call for a special prosecutor to reopen Jamar Clark's officer-involved shooting investigation after Hennepin County prosecutor Mike Freeman declined to charge the police officers who shot Clark.

University of Minnesota police escorted the protesters out. Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance in the Humphrey School and moderator of the event, told protesters their behavior violated several University policies and state laws about trespassing before asking police to remove them.

A few others who didn't disrupt Hodges speech stayed behind and asked her to specifically explain how exactly she's trying to close disparity gaps.

Jacobs also challenged Hodges to answer questions from others who say they haven't seen tangible change they can see and feel when it comes to equity since Hodges took office in 2014.

Hodges said systemic changes take time and that one of her top priorities is to keep discussions about equity at the forefront.

"I'm not after change," she said, "I'm after transformation."

Hodges said in the interim, she's led efforts to up the city's hiring of people of color by 40 percent, from 23 percent of the workforce in 2013 to 33 percent in 2015. She said she's working with groups to foster early childhood development and help shape the city's future workforce.

The city was also having trouble recruiting people of color into public works entry-level jobs. Hodges said Minneapolis has changed job classifications to attract more qualified candidates and received hundreds more job applications in response.