The legalization of cannabis has opened doors for change and growth. In this episode, Makeda Zulu chats with Anthony Newby, Max Zappi, and Professor Rhonda Jones-Webb from the University of Minnesota about the financial and social impacts of marijuana legalization in Minnesota, and how communities that have historically been the most impacted can benefit economically from the growing cannabis industry.

The University of Minnesota’s Office for Public Engagement (OPE) is widely considered a national leader in advancing community-engaged research, teaching, and outreach that addresses the most pressing issues of our time. Together UROC and OPE work to make their vision of public engagement a reality. Discover how OPE builds and supports infrastructure throughout the University’s five-campus system that promotes deep, mutually beneficial partnerships for scholars, students, and communities throughout Minnesota and beyond. 

As Minnesota's Commissioner of Health, Dr. Brooke Cunningham is responsible for directing the work of the Minnesota Department of Health, the state's lead public health agency, responsible for protecting, maintaining, and improving the health of all Minnesotans. Dr. Cunningham is a general internist, sociologist, and assistant professor in the University of Minnesota’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and a primary care provider at the University’s Community-University Health Care Clinic.  Her research focused on developing strategies to reduce racial disparities in health, including addressing the adverse impacts of exposure to racism. Dr. Cunningham and podcast host UROC Executive Director Makeda Zulu will discuss how the state’s health priorities dovetail with UROC’s mission and how partnerships are a way to move forward.

Tonia Brinston and Sharon Powell are widely recognized financial educators who help individuals and families gain control over their lives by creating a budget, improving their credit scores, and paying down debt. Their UROC supported “Voices of the Future: Linking Historical Trauma, Ambiguous Loss, and Financial Decision Making Among African American Families” project helps families understand how systemic racism has affected their current financial well-being and equips participants with information and tools so they can make better financial decisions going forward. 

Disrupting sex trafficking networks in Minnesota and beyond
Description: Lauren Martin and her work with UROC in researching and disrupting the sex trafficking industry has received national and international attention. Her breakthrough Mapping the Demand: Sex Buyers in the State of Minnesota and her team’s work serve as a national model understanding the market structure behind trafficking.

North Minneapolis’s Liberty Community Church has been a steadfast partner and loyal advocate of UROC’s for more than a decade. Hear how the University of Minnesota through UROC works with the local faith community and its leaders and learn about Liberty’s Northside Healing, a community-driven solution to healing the trauma of North Minneapolis residents. 

UROC Research Agenda awardee and nationally recognized community-engaged scholar Rachel Hardeman is leading a major research project titled Multidimensional Measures of Structural Racism. The project explores the measurement of the impact of structural racism in urban communities and documents the ways that Black communities have been and are currently systemically disenfranchised. In particular, structural racism disadvantages Black birthing people before, during, and after pregnancy, leading to heartbreaking health inequities for them and their babies. 

Since opening its doors in 2009, UROC has worked to build thriving, innovative, and respectful collaborations while creating new models of urban and community development. UROC’s hallmark project addressing economic development is the Northside Job Creation Team (NJCT).  Founded in 2012 with the goal of attracting sustainable-wage jobs to North Minneapolis by 2019, the NJCT is a collaboration representing major stakeholders across the University, the government sector, non-profits, local business owners and the faith community.

The University of Minnesota Extension has been recognized nationally by the CDC for its effectiveness in combating diabetes. Learn about the innovative ways the University and the Black Storytellers Alliance are working with UROC to engage communities in the battle to combat the disease. 

Healthy eating plays a key role in people’s ability to thrive. UROC Research Agenda awardee Professor Fernando Burga digs deeply into the history and policymaking of food systems in Minneapolis. His works includes his community partner Queen Frye, co-founder of R. Roots Garden, a Minnesota non-profit helping underserved Minneapolis communities by growing fresh produce on four privately owned lots in North Minneapolis. The team works with Northside residents and to gather data and empower them to advocate for a healthier and more culturally relevant foodscape.