Welcome to the Council on Black Minnesotans Website

The Council was created by the Minnesota legislature in July 1980 (Minnesota Statutes. Section 3.9225). It has as its primary purpose to advise the Governor and legislature on the nature and intensity of issues confronting the state's Black populations. The formation of the Council was critical for Black Minnesotans because, historically, this population has been, and continues to be, underrepresented in the legislature and has had little access to the office of the governor or other policy makers.

The Council is a policy-oriented agency that uses a community mobilization and involvement model. Prior to the creation of the Council, there was no state or local agency with the responsibility for advising and educating policy makers, researching and analyzing the broad spectrum of issues affecting Black Minnesotans, and advocating on their behalf. And, there was also no agency or organization with the responsibility to educate and reeducate Black Minnesotans regarding specific policy issues and the value of political and policy participation. The Council's advice to policy makers must be well founded, accurate and representative of the will of its constituencies.

To facilitate these functions, the Council is made up of 13 public members appointed by the governor with the understanding that they must be broadly representative of Minnesota's Black communities. Four ex-officio legislative representatives are also members of the Council and participate in setting the agenda and priorities of the agency.

I would like to encourage you to explore the Councils web site. If you have any questions, or comments, please feel free to let me know at 651-642-0812 or email me Rebecca Johnson.