Michelle S. Phelps, author of The Minneapolis Reckoning: Race, Violence, and the Politics of Policing in America
Emilie Buchwald Award for Minnesota Nonfiction Category, sponsored by Annette and John Whaley
Each week leading up to the 37th annual Minnesota Book Awards, we are featuring exclusive interviews with our finalists. You can also watch the authors in conversation with their fellow category finalists here.
What inspired you to write this book – or inspired you while writing it?
I am inspired by all of the people who are trying to change what policing looks like in the U.S., whether they’re working inside of city halls and state legislatures, precinct buildings, and newsrooms or marching in the streets. It was the eruption of Black Lives Matter protests in Minneapolis that started me on this project, and the book in its final form only emerged after the horrific murder of George Floyd and all of the attempts to secure “Justice for George.” Today, I’m inspired by the people still continuing to show up and do this work despite the challenges.
What is one detail you wanted to include in this book, but couldn’t find a place for?
There were so many places where I had to condense a lot of events, people, and decisions to keep the book a readable length. I’m just able to scratch the surface of the city’s history, for example, and name only the most central organizers and city leaders throughout the text. Families impacted by police violence, organizers and leaders fighting for change, and residents who lived through the unrest in Minneapolis all have their unique experiences to share and I hope other projects are able to surface more of these stories.
Tell us about someone (whose name isn’t on the cover!) who proved instrumental to the creation of this book.
My students! This book emerged in the context of a set of team-based research projects with undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Minnesota, where I work as a Professor of Sociology. In many ways, the book represents a dialogue between me and these collaborators as well as all the students who showed up in my classrooms as I worked for years on these projects.
Please tell us something about yourself that is not widely known. (It doesn’t have to be about the book in question – or even about your writing at all!)
I was a theater kid growing up, performing in plays as a child and teen. While today I prefer to mostly work behind the screen, that performing arts background is surprisingly helpful for teaching and talking to the media.
Share your thoughts about the role and value of libraries.
As a parent, the library is sacred to me. My kids are so delighted to get their new batch of books every week and to explore every topic under the sun. Libraries are so important for building community and serving as a tangible presence of government in service of the people.
Michelle S. Phelps is associate professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She is the coauthor of Breaking the Pendulum: The Long Struggle Over Criminal Justice. Her research has been featured in the Washington Post, The New Yorker, Time Magazine, NPR, FiveThirtyEight, The Appeal, and other media outlets, and has informed criminal justice reform efforts by the Human Rights Watch and Pew Charitable Trusts Public Safety Performance Project.