May 25 - George Floyd is murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin
May 29 - A post on the Humphrey School FB group raises the issue of the Freeman Family's connection to the school. The post garners 36 replies, and some students in the comments coordinate to begin drafting a petition.
June 9 - The Freeman Family Petition is posted to the Humphrey Student Affairs Student Group, endorsed by the Humphrey Students of Color Association (HSOCA) and the Humphrey Students for Accountability (HSA)
July 14 - PASA unanimously votes to formally support Freeman Family Petition
July 15 - PASA delivers the petition to Dean Bloomberg on behalf of the student body, with ~ 350 signatures
July 16 - At Dean Bloomberg's Town Hall, she is asked about the petition. She replies that she wants more time to review, and that this isn't the right forum to discuss, but shares that (1) she will have a reply with 'concrete next steps' by the end of July (2) 'community members' had strong push back against removing CA Freeman from the Advisory Council. Says she is unwilling to make 'unilateral' decision on Freeman's removal.
July 29 - Dean Bloomberg formally responds to the petition. In her six-page long response, she replies to the following petition demands as follows:
Re: Call to remove Mike Freeman from the Dean's Advisory Council - Dean Bloomberg does not agree, but notes that CA Freeman will be 'cycling off the council' at the end of this academic term. The Dean notes that the Advisory Council has grown in diversity from 15% people of color in 2018 to 18% people of color today.
Re: Call to allow BIPOC students to rename the Orville and Jane Freeman Commons - Dean Bloomberg does not agree to this process, replying that any such action must require 'careful deliberation among a broad range of stakeholders'. Dean Bloomberg suggests a next step of having the Equity and Inclusion Council spend their time researching the legacy of both Orville and Jane Freeman and the history of Rondo.
Re: Call to share records of financial ties to Freeman Family - Dean Bloomberg confirmed that the major financial contributions are through the Freeman Faculty Chair in International Trade and Investment Policy and the Jane C. Freeman Rural Policy Fellowship.
Re: Call to establish a fund for anti-racism training and curriculum development -
Dean Bloomberg shares that "We are allocating funds" that "support equity and inclusion priorities" including "funding for visiting scholar/practitioner positions, professional development opportunities, guest speakers and curricular innovations in partnership with community organizations founded and led by people of color." Specific partnerships, programs, or funding allocations are not given.
Dean Bloomberg promises that a "core focus of equity and inclusion planning this year" is "applying an equity lens to curriculum design", and that new courses on white supremacy and reparations will be offered or are under development.
Re: the hiring of Black tenure-track faculty- The Dean commits to "engage" to "lay the groundwork" for faculty searches that will yield a "diverse pool of...candidates"
Aug 2 - The petition is publicized in an article by the Minnesota Daily
Aug 3 - Dean Bloomberg reaches out to the petition working group, suggesting that they meet with the Advisory Council members to oppose Mike Freeman's removal from the Council. There is back and forth throughout the month as the working group tries to negotiate a public forum for this conversation.
Aug 31 - During the Dean's welcome session for the incoming class, she replies to questions about the petition, saying in part that she's been 'very clear' that she has 'no intention of removing Mike Freeman from the Advisory Council' and that while that might 'upset' students, she's not 'shying away' from conflict. When asked why she wouldn't remove Freeman, the Dean replied that 'many people of color and alumni' on the Council opposed his removal. When asked to explain by two students in the chat the rationale for their opposition, the Dean declined to elaborate, but followed up privately to say that the EIC Town Hall on August 23rd would be the appropriate forum to go into this in more depth.
Next Steps: We need EVERYONE on campus to be involved in this effort! If you think petitions are ineffective, do the things you think WILL be effective in changing our institution's policies and practices. If you think our asks are too small or miss-focused, make the big asks! Email and call Dean Bloomberg yourself to push for Mike Freeman's removal. Talk to your classmates and professors. Bring anti-racism into the classroom. Speak up. Organize with other students to educate yourselves about the UMN's and the Twin Cities legacies of racial oppression. If you need help, have questions, or have ideas for how to bring this work forward, reach out to the working group at humphrey.petitioners [at] gmail.com
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