Clearing the hurdles to achieving Black wealth

The racial disparities between Minnesota’s Black and White residents have been widely reported and discussed, especially in recent years following the murder of George Floyd and the civil unrest that followed in the wake of his death. Homeownership, education, employment and health outcomes are just a few areas in which Black Minnesotans experience large disparities compared to their White counterparts. 

While many organizations and government agencies have highlighted the disenfranchisement of Black Minnesotans and put forth solutions to tackle the systemic racism that contributes to the disparities, many of these conversations have occurred in silos. 

In recognition of the interconnected role community organizations and elected officials have in providing a solution, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) facilitated a panel on “Building Black Wealth” with local Black leaders in the banking, education, and community organizing sectors serving the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota. 

The panel discussion took place on February 10 at Metro State University. Among the panel participants were Northside Economic Opportunity Network (NEON) President Warren McLean; Vice Chancellor of Equity and Inclusion for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Andriel Dees; Senior Vice President of First Independence Bank Damon Jenkins; Managing Director of Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity (MBCRE) Tiffani Daniels; and African American Leadership Forum (AALF) CEO Adair Mosley. 

Senator Smith’s office released a press advisory ahead of the panel highlighting some of the challenges that Minnesota’s Black community is facing broadly. Only 25 percent of Black households in Minnesota own their home compared to 76 percent of White households. 

She co-sponsored the “Fair Access to Financial Services Act,” the “Choice in Affordable Housing Act,” and has led a bill to support Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to address gaps in economic opportunity. Additionally, she made recommendations to ensure systemic exclusion of communities of color is addressed through enhanced data collection and other measures in updating regulations in the Community Reinvestment Act. 

In her opening remarks, Senator Smith referred to the Urban Institute’s report that the Twin Cities has the worst Black-White homeownership gap in the country, which peaked in the 1950s. (See “Jim Crow of the North” article in Metro on pg. 2.) 

Currently, large real estate investors and associations have blocked access to affordable homes for many, but they have a long history of blocking members of the Black community. Just last year, Twin Cities real estate agents apologized for furthering the gap in homeownership between Black and White Minnesotans. 

Much of the panel’s discussions revolved around the issues of housing, job opportunities, transportation, and access to financial resources. Since many of these are deeply rooted issues caused by systemic racism, panelists called for structural solutions. 

Mosley suggested that the government could serve as a conduit for change as community organizations help channel those resources directly to the people in need. He pointed to organizations like NEON as an example of community resources that are able to uplift entrepreneurs to scale their businesses. 

“The unit of change is the neighborhood,” Mosley said. “We need those financial levers as well. We need the capital. We need to remove the structural barriers that exist in terms of accessing capital, particularly for Black entrepreneurs.”

Recent reports of business closures in North Minneapolis underlined the panel’s discussion of disenfranchisement as both Aldi and Walgreens have exited the North Side. This would now make Cub Foods the only location to provide both groceries and pharmacy needs in North Minneapolis. The panel pointed to this recent development as an example of how the disenfranchisement of the Black community has been an ongoing issue.  

“This disinvestment in Black communities is not just historic, it’s current. It’s still happening,” Senator Smith said.  

Daniels of Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity MBCRE spoke about the relationship small business owners and entrepreneurs can have with larger businesses that would create a sustainable ecosystem. 

“There are a set of tall hurdles to clear for a business to be able to qualify to serve as a supplier for some of our large enterprises here,” she said. “A lot of times Black-owned businesses do not meet those hurdles, and so we need to talk about what’s in the way.”

McLean, whose work at NEON directly supports the development of Northside business owners, has seen what the recent closures of businesses has done to residents of the area, but said that with the right investment more businesses would be drawn to the area. 

“I think one of the things that we need to start with is investing in the Black community, investing in the indigenous [local] people there,” he said. “We keep going outside. And I think that even though Aldi and Walgreens are leaving, right down the block Satori Village is being built. 

“It’s a $60 million market-rate housing. When those people come in, they’re going to need a place to shop. Someone’s going to move in and take advantage of that opportunity.”

Following the panel, Senator Smith took questions from the press about her work in Washington aimed at providing avenues for the Black community to attain access to financial resources and eventually accumulate wealth. 

“I’ve been quite focused on the work we need to do to expand access to credit and to capital,” she said. “A few things that I’m working on in Washington are really informed by these community leaders and others in Minnesota, but also what I see is being successful in communities around the country.”

Among those things is how individuals at the grassroots level can leverage community development financial institutions. According to Senator Smith, it’s a strong strategy that must be expanded. 

Jenkins, senior vice president of the First Independence Bank, shared this point during the panel, stating that some of the barriers to accessing financing had to be reshaped to best serve communities that have historically been blocked from these resources. 

“As we think about the systemic inequalities that plague communities of color, we know it’s very intentional, and so we have to be just that intentional in changing it,” Jenkins said. 

Another area of Black wealth creation that Senator Smith is looking to highlight in Congress is housing and making it easier for Americans to enter the housing market. AALF’s Adair spoke about a crisis of big institutional investors buying up homes. 

“Not only are they not taking care of those homes, but they’re really pushing them out of the homeownership market,” Smith said. “There’s some good takeaways to go about that around the country, and I want to bring that back to Minnesota and also make sure that we’re holding these big institutional investors accountable.” 

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To commemorate Black History Month, the Business Journal will celebrate 200 Black leaders in the Twin Cities region in a special print and online series published throughout the coming weeks.

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If you don’t know the importance of hair in Black culture, consider this quote from Dr. Ashley McMullen, from the podcast Black Voices in Healthcare: “The story of my Black hair is the story of my life.”

Hair is a source of joy, beauty and pride to many Black people. It can also be a source of pain that starts early. According to the CROWN research study, more than 50% of Black mothers say their daughters faced discrimination because of their hair when they were just five years old.

Today in Minnesota, it is legal to discriminate against a person because of their hair. It happens at work. It happens at school. It happens in all kinds of settings. For too long, too many people have judged Black hair and hairstyles as different, distracting, and unprofessional. For too long in mainstream culture, Black hair has meant unique, but wrong for the workplace.

Thankfully that attitude is changing. In Minnesota, Representative Esther Agbaje and Senator Bobby Joe Champion have introduced the CROWN Act, which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.” We applaud the Minnesota House of Representatives for discussing and voting on the CROWN Act this week and are looking forward to the Senate doing the same in the coming weeks.  

You may be wondering—why do we, a business coalition and a children’s health system, want the CROWN Act passed?

The Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity (MBCRE), comprised of 50 MN-based companies, exists for businesses to work together to build a more just and prosperous state with and for Black Minnesotans. Our members work to ensure that Black Minnesotans are hired, retained, and can advance in an inclusive workplace, devoid of race-based discrimination.

Formed in the midst of the racial reckoning in 2020, business leaders of many of our state’s most prominent employers came together because they understand that it’s not enough to have racial diversity in the workplace, we must continue to build environments where everyone has the freedom to express their ideas and authenticity. We strongly support the CROWN Act because it contributes to more inclusive work environments and signals that all employees are welcome to bring their full selves to work, including wearing their natural hair. Our businesses benefit when that happens.

At Children’s Minnesota, the largest pediatric health system in the state, we serve young people of all races and ethnicities, with a variety of hair textures and curl patterns. We know that caring for children in our hospitals means caring for their hair the way they would at home. We work with Black, Indigenous, Asian and Latino-owned businesses to source appropriate products. Our staff learns how to use them. We talk with our patient families about their individual needs. We want them to feel seen and included. This helps us build trust, ultimately resulting in better care.

Black Minnesotans should not be forced to divest themselves of their racial or cultural identity by changing their hair to adapt at work, school, in the hospital or anywhere else. They should not be made to feel less than because of how their hair looks. When it comes to our children, and Minnesotans of all ages, there is no place for shaming, discrimination and exclusion.

We urge the House and Senate to pass this bill so that we can protect Minnesotans of all races and ethnicities against discrimination based on hair texture and style. Enacting the CROWN Act is an important step to ensuring all of our state’s citizens are treated equitably and fairly.

Tiffani Daniels, Managing Director, Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity

James C. Burroughs II, senior vice president, government and community relations, chief equity and inclusion officer, Children’s Minnesota

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The Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity (MBCRE) was founded by area business leaders in 2020 amid the civil unrest in the months following George Floyd’s killing by local police. More than 70 businesses and organizations came together with the understanding that there was more they could do to help eliminate racial disparities in our state.

Like many of the initiatives sparked by George Floyd’s tragic death, our coalition faces challenges with maintaining momentum the farther we get from that fateful day. Although the road to racial equity is unpaved, MBCRE continues to explore ways to make a difference.

Moving towards healing

In its second year, the MBCRE dealt with the killing of Amir Locke by police serving a no-knock warrant. Still, in the midst of a pandemic, we convened a solemn healing circle via Zoom, where Dr. Joi Lewis led us in a communal ritual. More than 700 people from member companies attended virtually.

The event aligned with our Community Well-Being pillar, where one of the focus areas is public safety. In that vein, we wrote a letter to state legislators in support of public safety reform. We also ran sponsored content in this newspaper on MBCRE member GreenLight Fund Twin Cities, whose Let Everyone Advance with Dignity (LEAD) innovative programming offers alternatives to community support and police intervention.

MBCRE also hired a lobbyist to put more muscle behind key policy priorities; sent letters to legislators in support of The Crown Act for more inclusive workplaces; and testified in the House to advocate for investments in affordable housing and down-payment assistance. 

A Black media initiative

One of the key initiatives in our Black Business Development pillar is our Black Media Initiative. Launched in early 2022, the three-year pilot program seeks to create partnerships between Black-owned media companies and MBCRE member companies.

To date, MBCRE members General Mills and Target have signed deals with local journalist Sheletta Brundidge, and she and Emmy-nominated Georgia Fort have both worked on projects with brand and marketing executive, Hillery Shay of MBCRE member Children’s Minnesota.

The wage and wealth gap

The focus of our Employment Opportunity pillar centers around efforts to hire, retain and advance Black talent in member companies. On September 20, Colette Campbell of Bremer Bank, Laurin Cathey of Children’s Minnesota and Chris Brunson from General Mills— which graciously offered the venue—looked at strategies for employees and employers to close the wage and wealth gaps in Minnesota. Pay disparities affect everything from the quality of housing one can afford; to having money to send children to college; to tapping the resources to handle an emergency.

Looking ahead to 2023

Beyond our three focus areas, MBCRE will support Black-led efforts across the state like the Black Collective Foundation MN, which has a powerful vision for Black-led change, and First Independence Bank, which recently opened its second branch on East Lake Street.

In 2023, we’ve got a lot on tap. It includes plans to partner with a number of entities around bridging the wealth gap, increasing supplier diversity, and helping to develop and retain Black employees in our member companies. We’re excited for the coming year!

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August 3, 2022 (US News) — Everywhere you look, the American economy finds itself at a significant crossroads. Declining GDP. Growing inflation. Rapid technology growth. The ongoing fight against COVID-19. And a racial reckoning that is changing the conversation about opportunity in America.
For anyone trying to understand this inflection point, I believe Minnesota offers an essential view to understand this moment – and predict what’s next.

The state’s unique economic success story offers many lessons. Moving forward, the way Minnesota responds to the racial disparities that were amplified on a global stage following George Floyd’s murder here will reveal much about how the U.S. will be able to grow.

I came to this view as someone who grew up in the state but spent most of the last 20 years in Silicon Valley working at Google. I returned here four years ago, and began serving as Minnesota’s economic development commissioner under Gov. Tim Walz.

Bringing fresh eyes to a state I’ve always called home, I’ve rediscovered an economy that punches far above its weight – for most people.

U.S. News has ranked Minnesota in the top three of its Best States rankings every year since it began the analysis. This month, the state logged the lowest unemployment rate ever recorded in American history – an eye-popping 1.8%. We also have one of the top labor force participation rates in the country, and a 5-year business survivability rate consistently ranked near the top in the nation.

We’re ranked among the best states to raise a family, the least-stressed states in America, and have ranked number one in voter participation for decades (in a state that’s consistently purple) – all validation of a model that seems to be working well.

However, that wasn’t always the case.

For much of the 20th century, Minnesota ranked below average on many economic metrics. But in the early 1970s, the state orchestrated what’s often called the “Minnesota Miracle” – a dramatic reshaping of state taxes for K-12 schools, reducing their dependence on local property taxes. Combined with a rapid growth in the supercomputer industry here, Minnesota saw its economic and educational prospects soar.

Continued investments in talent have paid off. For example, Minnesota pioneered one of the only state-driven Workforce Development Funds in the country – leveraging a payroll tax on employers to train the workers they need. With some of the strongest graduation rates in America, that talent built the densest Fortune-500 market in the U.S., and one of the most diverse state economies in America.

All these things give Minnesota unique bellwether status.

Want to see how inflation and supply chain woes are affecting business? Look at our retail giants like Target and Best Buy.

Want to see how the country is keeping people healthy in the wake of COVID-19? Look no further than Mayo Clinic, the nucleus of “Medical Alley,” the number one medical technology cluster in the world.

Want to see how startups are building the next big thing? Our innovation ecosystem in the Twin Cities is rapidly growing and recently named a top-5 emerging startup market.

Yet the racial economic disparities here, like America as whole, remain our primary impediment to growth. Just one example: Remember that 1.8% unemployment rate? For Black Minnesotans, the rate is almost three times that of whites.

These disparities have been around for a long time and are mirrored across America. Floyd’s murder brought fresh moral outrage to them. But there’s an economic outrage, too.

America’s racial wealth gap will cost the U.S. economy between 1-1.5$ trillion in GDP by 2028 if nothing changes. In Minnesota, 70% of our population growth in the next 10 years will come from people of color. The future of our country’s economy depends on our ability to transform the systemic racism that is holding it back.

Can Minnesota – the state where the national movement on racial equity has gained new momentum – get it right? The last two years have shown some signs for hope. Galvanized by the global attention and pressure this moment brought, grassroots activists and leaders have been treading new ground.

A few months ago, a group of banking leaders collaborated to bring the first Black-owned bank to Minneapolis, capitalizing it with their own assets. They did so on their own, without government intervention.

Minnesota’s top companies formed the Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity, a group focused on eliminating racial disparities through collective action. And the locally based McKnight Foundation has started the GroundBreak Coalition, a group of business, government and community leaders who’ve come together with a goal to raise $2 billion in capital to focus on equitable economic growth.

Meanwhile, Gov. Walz has been able to collaborate with legislators on several packages that have advanced small business growth in Black and brown communities, including a special fund focused on rebuilding the corridors hit by the civil unrest following Floyd’s murder. With a divided legislature, that hasn’t been easy. But in the past three years, the governor has quadrupled the amount of dollars our agency has funneled to businesses led by people of color.

Just last week, the Governor’s Council on Economic Expansion, comprised of 15 business, labor and community leaders, released its final report: Minnesota’s Moment: A roadmap for equitable economic expansion. It calls out this inflection point in Minnesota and outlines a series of steps that must be taken to transform the economy.

It’s an exceedingly practical roadmap, as applicable in any state as it is here.

How America handles its economy in these next few years will affect the next few decades of growth. In Minnesota, we’re meeting this moment with new focus and energy. If we are able to get it right here, I believe it could offer not just hope for the rest of the country – but a valuable model for success.

August 1, 2022 (Star Tribune) Minnesota is a great place to live — unless you’re Black. That’s a saying I’ve heard time and again, and for many persistent disparities in education, income and homeownership bear that out.

As we come upon our second year of the Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity (MBCRE), our 70-plus member companies continue to work toward a more prosperous state with and for Black Minnesotans, which we believe will benefit everyone. Our coalition members are large enterprises such as Best Buy, U.S. Bank and 3M, and smaller companies such as Children’s Minnesota, Delta Dental of Minnesota and Great Clips.

Racial equity work has no road map, and yet the periodic killings of Black people by police here and around the country — such as George Floyd, Daunte Wright and Amir Locke — continue to point to a need for resources and systems that ensure a higher level of public safety, so that everyone has a chance to live out their best life.

Growing up in the vibrant Black community of my hometown, Detroit, I knew racial inequities were woven into the fabric of our nation, but it wasn’t until I pursued my education and landed my first job that I often found myself the only Black person or person of color in the room.

That strong sense of otherness made me feel like I didn’t have a say. It muted the woman my mother and village had sacrificed for me to become. As I rose the corporate ladder, which involved relocating to Minneapolis, my early career experiences stayed with me and made me want to ensure that others felt they could bring the fullness of who they are not only to work, but to every aspect of their lives.

As the MBCRE looked across the spectrum of need, we decided to create smaller working groups, which we called pillars. We focused on policy, philanthropy, the workplace and allyship. Our goal was to identify the ways in which the business community could harness and deploy its collective resources and expertise on behalf of justice and prosperity for Black Minnesotans.

We hired a lobbyist to reach out to legislators and help us advance policies centered on racial equity that are also backed by our business community. We created a best practice guide for companies of all sizes to establish and/or improve their diversity, equity and inclusion practices. And we put together allyship resources and materials to foster a more welcoming environment for the Black Minnesotans employed by MBCRE member companies.

I’m grateful for our members’ commitment to leading initiatives and contributing financial and in-kind resources to our coalition. And I’m thankful for the employee representatives who generously contribute their time, which goes well beyond the scope of their day jobs.

Before I became managing director of MBCRE nearly a year ago, something in my spirit was calling for change. Even though this new role required that I take a detour from the fast track of my career at General Mills, I sensed that the opportunity would help me channel the grief and heaviness I’d carried after George Floyd’s murder, which shadowed me across the pandemic.

Oddly enough, it was on the day of Floyd’s tragic death that I found out that I was pregnant with my youngest son, DJ. From that moment, I sensed that there was something more I was supposed to be doing. When my two sons get older, I want to be able to tell them that, amid a racial reckoning, their mother and father stepped forward and showed leadership. It also felt right to answer a call that I felt deep down in my soul. I’m grateful that General Mills understands that racial equity is a business imperative and gives me space to apply the skills I’ve gained there as a general manager to leading MBCRE.

I’m proud that the Minnesota business community actively partners with and advocates for Black Minnesotans to co-create a vision for equal economic opportunity and a chance for everyone to thrive.

One of the things that is important to MBCRE — because it is important to Black Minnesotans — was taking a stand on public safety. We were formed in the aftermath of a public-safety tragedy two years ago, so it was critical for us to put forth reform measures and investments that foster trust between community members and law enforcement.

We recently wrote a letter to our legislators about the importance of law-enforcement accountability, supporting:

• Enhancing Minnesota Peace Officers Standards and Training Board intervention efforts to include licensure revocation or suspension when officers have a pattern of misconduct or complaint.
• Body-worn cameras and other technology for training.
• Co-responder models that offer law-enforcement alternatives as needed, including investment in crime prevention and youth intervention.
• Funding for officer recruitment and retention to increase diversity.

We must stop oversimplifying racial equity as the right thing to do. In fact, a 2018 study found that the U.S. economy could be $8 trillion larger by 2050 if the country eliminated racial disparities in health, education, incarceration and employment, it would also bolster the nation’s competitiveness for decades to come.

According to the Alana Community Brain Trust, the opportunity cost of racism in Minnesota, via loss of income, lack of homeownership, tax burdens and business losses, is estimated to be $287 billion. Building a more just and prosperous state is not a matter of being Minnesota nice, our economic future depends on it.

July 21, 2022 (Spokesman-Recorder) The Lake Street corridor has a long, storied history. Early on it was a dirt road stretching across South Minneapolis. Then it became a transportation route. From there, it evolved into a busy corridor of retail shops, restaurants and auto dealers.

Over the decades, Lake Street has seen good times and bad, the latter coming most recently on the heels of the murder of George Floyd by local police, from which the area is still healing. And yet the area’s diversity remains rich and vibrant: More than 85 percent of Lake Street business owners are Black, Indigenous, people of color or immigrants.

Among a flurry of revitalization along the corridor is the Let Everyone Advance With Dignity (LEAD) program. Launched this spring, it is an initiative supported by GreenLight Fund Twin Cities through a multi-year investment. When first introduced in Seattle in 2011, LEAD stood for Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, but in honor of George Floyd, it evolved to stand for Let Everyone Advance with Dignity, a name that Minneapolis was the first to adopt.

COMMUNITY-DRIVEN PROCESS

“We’ve heard loud and clear that now is the time to center community and de-center law enforcement,” says Simone Hardeman-Jones, executive director of GreenLight Fund Twin Cities, a former Obama Administration staffer who grew up near the Lake Street corridor.

GreenLight facilitates a community-driven process that matches local individuals and families—whose needs are not being met by existing programs—to organizations with track records of success elsewhere. GreenLight identifies, invites in, and launches proven organizations to provide collaborative support so they can quickly deliver change. GreenLight’s work is designed to remove barriers to inclusive prosperity that are all too often rooted in racial inequities. The organization plans to address one specific, community-identified need each year.

BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS

“After several months of deep listening to Minneapolis and St. Paul residents, GreenLight made its first multi-year investment in LEAD,” said Hardeman-Jones. “We chose the program because of its proven impact in over 70 cities across the country, and for its ability to divert individuals cycling in and out of the legal system into a long-term, case-management model of care.”

With a public-health approach to community safety, LEAD is working to address unmet local needs and challenges, while building relationships with residents and businesses, and affirming the humanity of all it serves.  

“Thanks to GreenLight Twin Cities, Minneapolis now has a public-private partnership that offers the prospect of real change,” said former Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton, a vice president for Strategic Partnerships and Alliances at Thomson Reuters. She noted: “GreenLight has an excellent track record in other cities.”

GreenLight is also a proud member of the Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity (MBCRE). Formed about two years ago in the wake of George Floyd’s death, it is composed of more than 70 businesses with the collective intention of building a just and prosperous state with and for Black Minnesotans. MBCRE also sees public safety as foundational.

HARM-REDUCTION MODEL

LEAD operates outside the court system and uses a harm-reduction model to improve buy-in and outcomes. Moving beyond criminalizing addiction-driven behavior, mental health, poverty and homelessness, LEAD will respond to the needs of individuals during their most vulnerable moments by asking one simple question: What can we do today to make your tomorrow better?

Housed at Pillsbury United Communities, the new LEAD program is led by project manager Latasha Jennings formerly of Ramsey County Community Corrections where she had a successful tenure as a Racial and Health Equity Planning Specialist.

The LEAD program is a true collaboration between neighborhood residents, community leaders, business owners and government officials. Find out more about LEAD trainings, jobs and case management. Get involved at GreenLight Fund Twin Cities. The power to create change is ours!

The Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity (MBCRE) brings together Minnesota’s leading businesses and organizations to build an equitable, inclusive and prosperous state with and for Black residents.

Tiffani will manage all aspects of day-to-day operations, oversee the budget, and act as the external spokesperson for the MBCRE.  She will be responsible for developing and implementing the Coalition’s strategic plan.

She was selected for this role after a vigorous search process by the MBCRE for her proven leadership, commitment, and skills to grow and lead this new initiative by synthesizing the ideas and vision to appropriate action, infrastructure, and programs. 

Tiffani is an employee of General Mills, which is excited to share Tiffani’s amazing talents with MBCRE. General Mills is investing in MBCRE by placing Tiffani on assignment with the Coalition; during her term as Managing Director, Tiffani will report to the MBCRE leadership and work full time on behalf of MBCRE.

Tiffani has a long career of successful leadership.  At General Mills, she has achieved the Cannes Gold Lion Award for Branded Content & Entertainment and the Gold Medal Award for Remarkable Brand Building.  She serves as the Diversity & Inclusion Marketing Network President.

She is a fierce advocate for underrepresented groups and excels at building consumer-centric strategies to achieve impressive growth.  Tiffani serves as President of the Diverse Marketing Community and has been a key leader of the General Mills Black Champions Network. She earned the Black Champions Network President’s Award and the Black Champions Network Emerging Leader Award.  In 2018, she served as the MLK Leadership Summit Chair. 

Tiffani holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan – Ross School of Business. She was awarded Consortium for Graduate Study in Management Fellowship and chosen out of 450 students for the first Ross Leaders Academy cohort.  She also holds a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia – Reynolds Journalism Institute.

Tiffani lives in the Minneapolis area with her husband, Dameon, and two sons, Quincy and DJ.

“I am honored to lead the Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity and grateful to General Mills for supporting my assignment to lead this important work. I look forward to working with the steering committee and members to create a more just and prosperous state for Black Minnesotans.”

– Tiffani Daniels, Managing Director

Click here to urge state leaders to prioritize reform before the end of this legislative session.

April 21, 2021 (New York Times) — George Floyd’s killing ignited violence and unrest last summer that forced Target to shutter a number of its stores and limit hours in others. More broadly, it set off a social reckoning across corporate America, as business leaders sought to address racial inequity both within their own walls and the community at large. In Minnesota, more than 80 companies including General Mills, Best Buy and 3M started the Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity aimed at improving outcomes for the state’s Black community.

As the state gears up for the possibility of renewed unrest, a spokesman for Target said the retailer was “closely monitoring the trial and any surrounding activity,” but did not indicate any plans to close stores in advance of a verdict.

The majority of the company’s headquarters work force is already working from home, but for those employees still in its main office and stores downtown, “we’ve communicated to them about the trial, shared that we’re monitoring closely and let them know we’ll reach out if there’s any impact to our business,” the Target spokesman said.

A spokeswoman for General Mills, which sells its Cheerios and other baked goods around the world, said the company remained focused on broader issues facing the company and country.

“As a global company headquartered in Minneapolis, we understand the nation is in a long overdue conversation on systemic racism,” she said. “Further, we know we have a role to play and all of us have a lot of work to do on this count.” The company’s top priority is communicating its “support and allyship” to its employees, she said.

Minnesota’s largest company by revenue, UnitedHealth Group, is “offering training for managers to have conversations with their teams, and seminars focused on empathy and compassion,” a spokesman said. “Our priority during this period is supporting our employees who continue to be affected in different ways by this case.”

At 3M, which makes products across a broad array of industries, the company has increased resources in its employee assistance program, a spokesman said. “We continue to have, and encourage, open discussions with our colleagues to listen, understand, and act, as needed.”