HomeMSP Allyship Event Ideas

Allyship Ideas and Activities

Join the Mary Ann Key Book Club

The book club was inspired by a Star Tribune column written by Myron Medcalf – the great-great-great-grandson of Mary Ann Key.

“I’m honored to partner with Hennepin County Library to launch the Mary Ann Key Book Club, named after the matriarch of my family, who was a slave in Georgia in the 1850s. Purchased for $1,000 at the age of 14, Mary Ann Key persevered. Her body was in bondage, but slavery never stole the freedom of her heart, mind and soul. This book club is about focusing on the truths of the past, our challenges in the present and the possibilities of the future…” – Myron Medcalf

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Juneteenth Is Here—Celebrate with These 9 Books

9 book ideas

In honor of #BlackBirdersWeek2024, join us and @blackafinstem live on YouTube on Tuesday, May 28 at 5pm ET for a panel discussion that delves into the unique experiences and challenges faced by Black birders in today’s outdoor and birding communities.

Through thoughtful dialogue and personal narratives, panelists will explore the intersection of race, identity, and nature, highlighting the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in birding and environmental conservation.

Whether you’re an avid birder, a nature enthusiast, or simply curious about the experiences of Black individuals in outdoor spaces, this panel promises to be an enlightening and inspiring conversation.

Tune in on @audubonsociety’s YouTube channel by visiting youtube.com/nationalaudubon. We’ll see you there!

Each year, we mark the anniversary of George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis and the uprising that followed with a special Forum featuring a national voice on racial justice.

This year we are honored to welcome Pulitzer Prize-winning journalistWesley Lowery.

Lowery will speak at our annual Arc Toward Justice Forum on Thursday May23at6pm. Detailsonline here.

Wesley Lowery is one of the nation's most influential reporters on issues of race and justice. He is the author ofAmerican Whitelash: A Changing Nation and the Cost of Progress.

Sean Sherman: Why aren't there more Native American Restaurants?

Hoċokata Ṫi’s 3,805-square-foot public exhibit, called Mdewakanton: Dwellers of the Spirit Lake, provides visitors with a cultural experience that enhances their knowledge and understanding of the Mdewakanton Dakota people and their history. The exhibit is open to the public and enables the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community to share its story with the greater public.

Hocokata Ti

The Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery (MAAHMG) preserves, documents and highlights the achievements, contributions and experiences of African Americans in Minnesota.

This mission is carried out through exhibits, programs and events that educate and inform the public about the history, culture, and art of African Americans in Minnesota. Opened in 2018, the museum is also a community gathering place where people meet and celebrate Black history. The museum is free and accessible to all.

MN African American Heritage Museum and Gallery

Check out the History Center and all of it's offerings for American Indian Heritage Month.

Find Native American History and Heritage in Minnesota!

Explore Minnesota

Celebrating Native American Heritage

Look for events, food, book shops on the Minneapolis calendar.

Native American Heritage Month

Public Television

NATIVE AMERICA is a four-part PBS series that challenges everything we thought we knew about the Americas before and since contact with Europe. It travels through 15,000-years to showcase massive cities, unique systems of science, art, and writing, and 100 million people connected by social networks and spiritual beliefs spanning two continents. The series reveals some of the most advanced cultures in human history and the Native American people who created it and whose legacy continues, unbroken, to this day. The series explores this extraordinary world through an unprecedented combination of cutting edge science and traditional indigenous knowledge. It is NATIVE AMERICA as never seen before-featuring sacred rituals filmed for the first time, history changing scientific discoveries, and rarely heard voices from the living legacy of Native American culture. NATIVE AMERICA rediscovers a past whose splendor and sophistication is only now being realized, and whose story has for too long remained untold. Emmy-award winning cinematographers and Academy Award nominated animators bring to life towering pyramids, sprawling empires, and incredible indigenous legends. NATIVE AMERICA reveals a unifying belief that inspires these diverse cultures – people are deeply connected to earth, sky, water, and all living things. This belief is rooted in millennia of living on this land and continues to resonate in the lives of Native Americans to this day.
TPT/Native America

Upcoming Events

Cultural Appropriation Guide
Cultural Appropriation in the Wellness Space - Recording
Native Fashion and Sovereignty Recording
The Pendleton Problem
Eighth Generation

Minneapolis Community Education is a great resource for events and tours.
You do not have to be a resident of Minneapolis to take part in these events.

Adult Enrichment

Minnesota is home to a rich LGBTQIA+ history. LGBTQIA+

Before the Mayflowers Landed

“The Lost Negroes of North America:” A Silent Film Experience - November 19th 2 - 4 pm

Join us for an exclusive film screening experience as Independent Journalist Ralph L. Crowder III shares his examination of Northern Family and community life featured in silent 8mm film footage captured in South Minneapolis circa 1944-1955.

This film will be accompanied by a live band, DJ, poets and a music soundtrack performed by Kevin Washington, Truth Maze, and Jamela Pettiford. Attendees are encouraged to stay for a panel discussion following the screening.

Go sign up

First Thursday Films at the Capri
Come for the movies and stay for the Conversation.

Capri First Thursdays

I hope you can join us for our new, free virtual program, Powwow Prep on May 22^nd from 6:00-7:30 (CST). Ours guests will be Becky Taylor and Thomas Cain, both Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe tribal members. They have decades of experience dancing, singing, judging, and organizing powwows. Becky is a Champion Fancy Shawl dancer and Thomas an award-winning singer. There will be something for everyone. If you're new to powwows, Becky and friends will dance you through the basics, while Thomas provides live singing and drumming.

This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. To register, please visit our website wihist.org/WIPowwows or go directly to the registration page Register Once you’re registered, you will receive a Zoom link to attend on May 22^nd. You can learn more about Becky and Thomas on our powwows webpage.

Dakota Sacred Hoop Walk

A new augmented reality exhibit by Spirit Lake Dakota digital artist Marlena Myles is now open at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska. The Revelo AR app allows visitors to tour five stops on the Arboretum grounds, starting in the Harrison Sculpture Garden, with images and audio to honor Dakota storytelling, history and culture, and to connect visitors to the significance of the land.