Paradox: Documentary Movie Showing on Minneapolis Policing

We recently screened the new Twin Cities Public Television documentary Paradox: Echoes of Reform & the Minneapolis Police (https://www.tpt.org/paradox-echoes-reform-minneapolis-police/), with Augsburg Professor Michael Lansing and Daniel Bergin the filmmaker (and Twin Cities Public Television executive producer and historian).

The film – a compelling blend of deep research, candid interviews, and rare archival footage- explores the history of police reform in Minneapolis.  It illustrates how mayoral politics, community activism, and police union pushback shaped the city’s trajectory as well as what is at stake for the future of public safety. Over the course of a 2 hour event, Lansing and Bergin showed a number of clips from the documentary, providing introductory framing and commentary throughout. The audience asked many wonderful questions that gave these two space to elaborate about the film and the careful historical work that went into developing it.

As a resident of Minneapolis, it was refreshing to hear the detailed historical, local reconstruction that these two, as well as Professor Yohuru Williams of the University of St. Thomas, did to assemble this film. They dug up archival material, captured interviews with many of those involved, and gave coherence to the unfolding of policing in Minneapolis. Understanding this narrative helped us to understand why policing today has taken shape in these specific ways.

The event was hosted by the Augsburg Center for Teaching and Learning, Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship, Office of Faculty Development, and the History Department.