Select committee delivers recommendations on tackling MN’s racial inequities

Following months of work, the House Select Committee on Racial Justice adopted a report Tuesday that lays out recommended legislative action to address racial inequities in Minnesota.

The panel, which began meeting in September, unveiled its 45-page report two weeks before the new Legislature convenes Jan. 5. It includes recommendations both small and sweeping, including the proposed establishment of a $1 billion capital fund to boost BIPOC economic development activities in an effort to aid in the building of wealth in those communities.

[MORE: See the select committee's full report]

Other recommendations include measures aimed at eliminating inequalities in housing, education, public safety, health and human services, and environmental justice that committee members described as a starting point for additional legislative discussion.

“There are huge disparities in our state that allows us to have to dig deep into different areas and different ways that we — as a Legislature — can get some ideas for how to move forward in this state to really work on the inequities that are penetrating our state,” said Rep. Rena Moran (DFL-St. Paul), who co-chaired the panel with Rep. Ruth Richardson (DFL-Mendota Heights).