How to Fix North Minneapolis: No 11-year-old should be shot and killed!
By Don Allen - Journal of A Black Teacher (2025) Author Note Don Allen is an educator, researcher, and writer based in St. Paul, Minnesota. He founded the Journal of a Black Teacher and is a doctoral candidate in education leadership. He specializes in charter and public schools and community reform in historically underperforming and under-led learning organization systems in urban areas. Abstract This editorial addresses the tragic and preventable death of an 11-year-old boy in North Minneapolis. It challenges the performative politics of local leadership, particularly leaders of color, and the silence of historically influential organizations like the NAACP and Urban League. It calls for a public reckoning, a radical reimagining of public/charter school education, safety, and community accountability with a data-informed investment in the children and families of North Minneapolis. Editorial Opinion There is no excuse… none, for an 11-year-old to be shot and killed in his own neig...