Five years after George Floyd’s murder, the city has invited the award-winning nonprofit StoryCorps Studios to create an oral history of residents’ experiences with racial discrimination, civil unrest and police reform.
StoryCorps will preserve the interviews at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. They may also be featured at the National Museum of African American History and culture.
“Storytelling allows individuals to recognize the common threads that bind us all together in this fight for racial justice,” said Prince Corbett, Minneapolis Director of Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, in a statement. “It is through this process of sharing that we can truly begin to heal and move toward reconciliation.”
A StoryCorps recording booth will be at Powderhorn Park through May 22, but all available slots have been booked. Residents wanting to participate can still record and upload their own stories online through the end of June.
Afterward, the city will host a community listening session to highlight select recordings.
“At StoryCorps, our mission is to help people believe in each other by illuminating the humanity and possibility in us all — one story at a time,” said Caitlin Moses Bowser, managing director of StoryCorps Studios + Strategic Partnerships. “By surfacing unheard voices and adding nuance to the narrative, we hope to create a lasting archive of stories that connect people, foster understanding and help bridge divides.”
