On April 11, 2021, 20 year-old Daunte Wright was murdered by police in Brooklyn Center, just miles away from where Derek Chauvin was on trial for the murder of George Floyd. Brooklyn Center erupted into protests which the Brooklyn Center police department met with what many saw as unreasonable force, escalating the unrest.

As Minnesota responded in horror to yet another police murder of a Black community member, there was also admiration for the spontaneous yet swift Brooklyn Center community organized response to Daunte Wright’s murder, both in the form of protests and mutual aid. We speak with Jackie Hayden (she/her), Longkee Vang (he/him), and Ngan Nguyen (she/her), three educators from Brooklyn Center Community Schools who were part of those mutual aid efforts. They share the response to Daunte Wright’s murder from their school youth, the generosity and ingenuity of Brooklyn Center residents in the face of crisis, and what the path forward looks like for their community.

This series is made in collaboration with Buddhist Justice Reporter, with support from the Minneapolis Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship at Macalester College. Music by Small Million.