By Kevin Yang, Education Marketing Specialist at Twin Cities PBS
Minnesota is living through a defining moment. In times like these, stories matter — not just the headlines, but the personal stories that help us understand who we are and where we’re headed.
When I joined Twin Cities PBS, my first project was working on an initiative called “Moving Lives Minnesota” that explored stories of immigration and origin in the state of Minnesota. I led a letter writing campaign called “Dear Minnesota,” where I asked Minnesotans to send me their family histories on how Minnesota became home for them. Over a year, I received nearly 50 stories from all corners of the state.
I heard stories from folks who had arrived only recently in the last decade, families that have been in the state since the 1800s, and Indigenous communities that consider Minnesota their sacred homeland. The reasons folks chose to come here were just as varied. I read letters from refugees escaping warzones, students pursuing higher education opportunities, and farmers who had inherited the family business. I also heard stories that remind me that this history can be difficult and complicated, especially when we consider the past and present-day impacts of colonialism, slavery, and violence.
A throughline between all these stories was that everyone carried a deep desire to make the lives of future generations of Minnesotans better than the ones before them. As a second-generation Hmong American and the child of two immigrants who fled their homes as children to find a better life in the United States, I can deeply relate to this ambition.
I am eager to share the work that Twin Cities PBS is doing through our campaign, Voices Rising, to highlight the multitude of stories that Minnesotans have to share. Voices Rising is our commitment to share stories that speak up — voices rooted in pride, resilience, culture, and community.
This curated media collection on Minnesotans defining ‘home’ spans several centuries of history and includes communities from all over the world. Many of these documentaries were created during my time on the “Moving Lives Minnesota” initiative such as Coming to Mni Sota, produced by Twin Cities PBS, This Town, produced by PBS North in Duluth, and Esta Es Mi Casa, produced by Prairie Public in Fargo.
I hope these stories encourage all Minnesotans to think deeply about how we can make our state a better home for ourselves and our neighbors. I look forward to sharing even more stories from Minnesotans throughout the rest of our Voices Rising campaign.
Be Heard.
Coming To Mni Sota
Coming to Mni Sota explores conflicts, contradictions, and solidarity among the millions who have moved to and through Minnesota. For centuries, arrivals from around the world have changed Minnesota’s identity and the lives of those already here. By examining these intertwining narratives, unique stories reveal a greater shared understanding.
Four Strangers: Why I Moved To Minnesota And What Keeps Me Here
In Nigeria, Olu was made to speak English over Yoruba, his tribal language. Now a filmmaker in the Midwest, he navigates the rhetoric of Blackness in America while finding kinship with South Asian flavors that remind him of home.
North Star: Minnesota’s Black Pioneers
Twelve stories of men and women who came to Minnesota to make a home and a difference, including fur trader George Bonga and the state’s first Black woman lawyer, Lena Smith.
This Town
From Grand Portage to Sandstone, Northern Minnesota is dotted with small towns that are packed with big stories. Narrated by storyteller Kevin Kling, with music by Grammy-award-winner Jon Vezner, PBS North’s documentary, "This Town," looks at the stories behind some of these towns and at the people who are continuing these communities' stories into the future.
Esta Es Mi Casa: This Is My Home
Starting in the 1930s and continuing for decades, farmers in the Red River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota depended on Hispanic field workers from Texas and Mexico who arrived to help with the beet fields. Now, one and two generations later, these migrant workers have assimilated and settled in the region. This documentary examines the journey of the Red River Valley’s Hispanic community.