Minnesota Legislature Addresses Racial Disparities

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Earlier this month, at the close of the legislative session, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed into law a supplementary spending plan that includes $35 million in one-time funding for programs that help reduce racial and ethnic economic and educational disparities. The legislature agreed to a continued $17.5 million in annual funding going forward.

The majority of the funds ($34 million) will be managed by Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). The agency will distribute grant funding to over 30 organizations and nonprofit groups in the state. These groups include Hennepin County’s Career Connections Pathways, the White Earth Nation Business Development, and the Latino nonprofit group CLUES.

Many of the grants will be used to help expand access to nutritious food as well as neighborhood development, and aiding access to jobs and career training. Minnesota, according to the 2010 U.S. Census, has a Latino population that is currently at 5% and growing.

In a separate effort, the city governments of Minneapolis and St. Paul have begun system-wide efforts to improve equity in their overall operations. Officials from 13 Minnesota government agencies, including cities and counties, met for the first time earlier in 2016 to discuss systemic inequity changes.

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