Elections 2026: Stay Focused on Racial Justice
On Tuesday, November 3, we will hold elections to choose from among us whom to lead our local and state-level public offices and whom to represent us in our nation’s Capitol.
Because MnEEP is a nonprofit organization organized under U.S. tax laws as a 501(c)3, we are required to not engage in partisan electoral activities. We cannot advocate for who to vote for, but we can encourage what nonpartisan principles and values to guide you if you align with our mission “to transform education systems to advance race equity and excellence in education.”
Twenty-five years ago MnEEP began publishing a periodic “State of Students of Color American Indian Students Report”. We captured data on the experiences of these students in Minnesota’s K-16 education systems.
The story was raw and compelling. In a state that often led the nation in student academic outcomes—including standardized test scores, high school graduation and college attainment rates—Native Indian students and students of Color persistently had outcomes that were sizable in being much less successful.
We knew that these differences were not the result of inherent cultural attributes these students possessed. We came to understand that they were brought about by the way we have collectively designed our schools to maximize the experiences of students our society had identified as White, experiences that were distinct from the racial harm that had long been extended to students of Color and Native Indian students.
When school systems produce different outcomes characterized by racial disparities, racial justice requires practices to engage in actions that are racially equitable. This means equipping students of Color and Native Indian students with what they need to reach success no less than their White peers.
MnEEP asks that we all bring this understanding to the voting booth this year and that we seek to choose elected officials who will govern for racial justice, who will guide our schools and colleges to engage in race equity with the high expectations and supports that each student needs to realize their academic goals.
A true democracy is one where all take part. An education system that actively rejects racism is how we make a healthy democracy—the one our multiracial, multicultural society deserves.
