MINNESOTA ISN'T NICE TO BLACKS

For years, there have been studies showing that a disproportionate
number of black men have been put in Minnesota prisons, that a
disproportionate number of black children have dropped out of
Minnesota high schools and that a disproportionate number of black
teenage girls have been having babies.

Despite the ever-increasing stacks of grim statistics, I've been able
to come up with all sorts of denials allowing me to cling to the
notion that Minnesota's really a tolerant place.

"Race relations may not be perfect here," I've assured myself, "but
it's sure better here than in most places."

I've been clinging to a myth.

An organization called Human Rights Watch held a mirror up to
Minnesota last week, and we should be appalled at the sight.

The Human Rights Watch study, comparing the rate at which blacks and
whites are imprisoned, found that Minneota has the worst record of
racial disparity of 49 states studied. (Maine was not studied.) Only
the District of Columbia has a worse rate.

Want it even more ugly? Beyond D.C., few states are even close to our
disparity rate, which shows that a black man in Minnesota is 27 times
more likely than a white man to be tossed into prison. One in every 24
black men in Minnesota is in prison. White men, on the other hand, are
incarcerated at the lowest rate in the country, one in 642.

Minnesota's alleged drug war is responsible for much of the disparity.
Blacks say -- and stats back them up -- that whites get treatment for
drug problems and blacks get prison.

Some of the study's conclusions were published in Thursday's Star
Tribune.

Remember how we have felt so smug about race relations here as opposed
to places such as Mississippi and Alabama? In those two states, blacks
are seven times more likely to be put in prison than whites.

Can this be as intolerably awful as it looks? Yes, according to Tom
Johnson, a former Hennepin County attorney who heads an organization,
Council on Crimes and Justice, that is conducting a study to try to
understand why Minnesota's arrest and incarceration statistics are so
color-driven.

"We're off the map," said Johnson, who is white. "Minnesota
historically has, with some justification, taken pride in its quality
of life. We have a high per-capita income, longevity, high graduation
rates. But if you break out the statistics of minorities, you have a
completely different story."

Do these Human Rights Watch statistics reflect something deeper than
incarceration rates? Do they reflect life in Minnesota for blacks?

"I'm afraid they do," said Bill English, who is black.

English, a retired Ceridian Corp. executive, moved to Minnesota in
1959 from East St. Louis, Ill., because he saw the state as a special
place of opportunity. He was embraced then. Minnesotans were tolerant,
when numbers of blacks were minuscule. He still lives here.

"Minnesota was a blessing for me and my family," English said. "But
that's not true anymore. Minnesota's become a curse for black people.
'Minnesota Nice' does not exist for black people."

Should state leaders step forward quickly and challenge all of us to
live the Minnesota myth? Of course. But that seems unlikely.

I called Gov. Jesse Ventura's office on Thursday. The governor, who
this week will be fulfilling a lifelong dream by being in an episode
of his favorite soap opera, "The Young and the Restless," wasn't
available for comment about this profound issue. But his spokesman,
John Wodele, made a few comments.

"This does deserve very, very intense scrutiny," Wodele said. " . . .
But I want to emphasize that I don't think you would find too many
people who aren't surprised by these findings."

But the fact is, people involved in public policy aren't surprised.
Warnings have been published and shouted for years.

Tom Johnson, who has worked on studies published before this study, is
not surprised by the horrendous numbers. Bill English, who has become
a community activist and has been pleading with white churches to join
black churches in battling racism, is not surprised.

And Pamela Alexander, a black Hennepin County District judge, is not
surprised. Ten years ago, Alexander had the courage to point out that
users of crack cocaine (often blacks), were treated far more harshly
in the criminal justice system than users of powder cocaine (the drug
of choice among well-to-do whites). A lifelong Minnesotan, she has
been involved in many race-and-justice commissions, so the numbers
published Thursday contained no real surprises for her. They only
added to her sense of urgency and sadness.

"I think Minnesota has changed," she said. "In the Humphrey years, we
were more accepting. We had loftier ideals. But it was easier when
communities of color were so small."

She believes that many white Minnesotans hold on to noble
ideals.

"Maybe what's good about this is that people will be able to talk
about issues of race without being polarized," she said. "We'll be
able to sit down together and say, 'Look, this is the stark reality of
it.' "

But what would she do if a black professional person from another
state asked Alexander if she would recommend a move to Minnesota?

There was a long pause, before Alexander answered.

"I couldn't recommend it," she said.