Petition: Humphrey School Connections to the Freeman Family

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

TO: Humphrey School of Public Affairs Dean Laura Bloomberg, Associate Dean Carissa Slotterbeck, incoming Associate Dean Catherine Squires

CC: University of Minnesota Board of Regents, Members of the Dean’s Advisory Board

RE: Petition: Humphrey School Connections to the Freeman Family

We—the students, staff, and alumni of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs—call on our school to show uncompromising institutional support for racial justice by critically reevaluating and transforming our relationship with Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman and the Freeman family.

In the wake of George Floyd’s killing at the hands of four Hennepin County Police Officers, County Attorney (CA) Freeman’s public statements implicated Floyd in his own murder, saying “underlying health conditions and any potential intoxicants...likely contributed to his death.” An independent autopsy found no evidence to support this. Moreover, this type of blaming the victim and deflecting blame from the police perpetrators is antithetical to the cause of justice and a key part of systemic racism: black and brown citizens are blamed for invented shortcomings, while whites are excused or even lauded for their potential. 

As the public called for justice, Freeman claimed, “There’s other evidence that does not support a criminal charge.” After a night of protests and the burning of the 3rd Precinct Police Station, Freeman reversed his position and charged former officer Derek Chauvin with third-degree murder, a charge which did not hold Chauvin to the highest levels of accountability. Furthermore, Freeman failed to charge the other three officers complicit in the killing of George Floyd (Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas K. Lane). It was only after Freeman was replaced by State Attorney General Keith Ellison that Chauvin’s charge was upgraded to second-degree murder and the three police accomplices to the crime were arrested. These are but a few examples of how Mike Freeman’s response to George Floyd’s murder prioritized the perpitrators at the expense of justice for the victim.

These actions of CA Freeman are part of a career-long pattern of deliberately suppressing cases of police brutality against black men, as happened in 2015 when Freeman declined to press charges in the death of Jamar Clark, publicly defending the actions of the police officers who shot Jamar and again in 2018 when he refused to charge the officers who shot and killed Thurman Blevins.  In the 23 years that Freeman has served as CA, he prosecuted only a single instance of police shooting, the 2017 killing of Australian national Justine Damond by a Somali-American Minneapolis police officer.  Mike Freeman’s attorney career is marred by numerous instances where he has denied equal protection under the law to black and brown victims of police violence, in a broader context of systemic racial profiling by Hennepin County law enforcement. As such, the Humphrey School’s close association with Mike Freeman is antithetical to the institution’s core beliefs.

While our school’s historical connection to the Freeman family predates Mike Freeman’s time as CA, we also ask our community to look honestly at our relationship to Orville Freeman, the father of Mike Freeman. One of the key legacies of Orville Freeman’s Governorship of Minnesota is the decimation of black communities, specifically the Rondo neighborhood in Saint Paul. The construction of I-94 and I-35, signed into law by Governor Freeman, tore apart black communities and destroyed black wealth.   Speaking about the impact of I-94 on the existing community, Gov. Freeman said: 

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"I want you to know that this highway program has been planned giving every possible consideration to the people whose lives are disrupted. You know, in a democracy, sometimes all of us must give way to the benefit of the majority and if a highway runs through your property, why you of course have to give way to the majority will." 

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Using the rationale of “majority will,” Gov. Freeman endorsed policy that was foundational to racial inequities we still see in the Twin Cities today. His dismissive comments remind us he was complicit in institutional racism that has resulted in Minnesota being ranked one of the worst states in the nation for racial disparities in wealth, housing, education, health outcomes, and employment. 

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As members of the Humphrey community concerned about the intersections of racial justice and public policy, we are disturbed by the institutional ties that the Humphrey School holds with the Freeman family, and find these relationships at odds with Hubert Humphrey’s legacy and the school’s public commitment to equity and racial justice. 

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As such, we call on our administration, specifically Dean Laura Bloomberg and Associate Dean Carissa Slotterbeck, to meet the following demands:

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1. Immediately remove Mike Freeman from the Humphrey School Dean’s Advisory Council.

2. Develop a transparent process to rename the Orville and Jane Freeman Commons.

   1. By August 15th - Announce a working group led by Black and Indigenous students

   2. By September 15th - Convene first meeting of working group

   3. By January 1st, 2021 -  Publicly announce new name

3. By September 15th publically share records of all current and historical financial ties between the Freeman family and the Humphrey School.

   1. Designate any remaining funds to anti-racism efforts at Humphrey listed under demand number four. 

4. By January 1st, 2021 establish a permanent fund to be used for

   1. The hiring of tenure track faculty in accordance to the Humphrey School’s commitment to “recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty”

   2. Curriculum development focused on the intersection of critical race theory and public policy

   3. Anti-racism training for Humphrey faculty, staff, and students

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Here at the close of two weeks of trauma, police brutality, protest, and community uprising, we call on the Humphrey School’s administration to lead our community with an uncompromising, tangible commitment to Black liberation and racial equity. We—students, alumni, and staff—both demand this, and will work with you to achieve it. To quote our namesake: 

“If there is dissatisfaction with the status quo, good. 

If there is ferment, so much the better. 

If there is restlessness, I am pleased. 

Then let there be ideas, and hard thought, and hard work.” 

We make these demands holding the following ideas and hard thoughts close to our hearts:

1. Who we “let in the room” matters. We believe Mike Freeman’s record on police brutality disqualifies him from the “distinguished group” of counselors and advisors to the dean.

2. Names have meaning, purpose, and power. In naming institutions, buildings, scholarships, rooms, and spaces we place a special significance on the individuals and the legacies that their name espouses.

3. Our minds are shaped by our professors, mentors, and colleagues. In the spirit of equity and a desire to challenge an unjust status quo, we expect and demand teachers that challenge us to think critically about the intersection of race and public policy. 

We are ready to do the hard work with you to make these demands a reality and create a better future for ourselves, our school, and our community.