The Minneapolis Police Department has spent a lot of time in the national spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

It’s operating under a court-ordered agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights after investigators in 2022 found a pattern of racism in Minneapolis policing that violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act.

In late December, MPD and the U.S. Justice Department reached an agreement on a federal consent decree that would mandate additional changes. It still needs the approval of a federal judge, who has not set a timeline for considering it.

Going forward, how can Minneapolis build trust between police and community members?

MPR News host Angela Davis presents an audio documentary about her experiences traveling to Montgomery, Ala., with a group of Minneapolis police officers and Black community members working to bridge the divide.

They’re part of an ambitious effort called the Police and Black Men Project. Eight years ago, following the police killing of Philando Castile in a Twin Cities suburb, the group started meeting regularly to talk about repairing and building relationships between police and the people they serve.

On the Alabama trip, they toured museums and historical sites telling the story of slavery, racial segregation and mass incarceration in America. Then they sat down in small groups and talked about what they’d seen and heard.

The goal was to connect the past to the present, create a better understanding of the distrust that exists today and learn how to talk about it. They invited Angela and producer Stephen Smith to tag along, observe and record their intimate discussions.

Listen to Angela’s Alabama scrapbook and check out her reporter’s notebook story online that’s filled with insights and photos from the trip.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full audio documentary.