I was home in Minnesota when the protests for George Floyd broke out. In learning and researching about the discrimination present in my home state, I created this informational stop motion video about redlining and racial covenants.

Some writing I did after making the video:

Over the past two weeks as we’ve watched the protests break out in Minneapolis and then expand out internationally, I found myself asking the question, why Minneapolis?

This question was rooted in the fact that I grew up here. This place raised me, and I love it deeply but there is clearly something profoundly wrong. I can’t acknowledge my love for it without working to understand the deeply ingrained racial prejudice that lives here as well - a fact which is often left undiscussed given the surface level progressiveness of MN.

As I started to research, I quickly found that Minnesota ranks almost last when looking at disparities in poverty rates, homeownership, employment, and education between its Black and White residents.

The video I created focuses on homeownership, since it felt like this was one of the deepest roots of the many other disparities that exist here. More and more I’m realizing how interconnected the issues of our society really are.

I just graduated from Stanford, and I had never heard of any of the terms or topics in this video before researching them myself. So, if you have not heard the terms racial covenants or redlining (much like myself only a few days ago) please watch. If you don’t believe that systemic racism exists, please watch. And of course, if you disagree with any of the video or the way I put it together, let me know.