Royce, Professor Penn, and Minneapolis business owner Edwin Reed expose what happened inside the George Floyd Square “no-go zone” following the 2020 riots. Edwin recounts losing access to his successful business, being denied police protection, witnessing deadly violence, and receiving little help from Mayor Jacob Frey or Minnesota’s political establishment. The hosts argue that Minneapolis exploited black identity for a social-justice narrative while abandoning independent black businesses that challenged dependency on government. Royce examines how globalization destroyed black working-class jobs and how Democrats prioritized organized immigrant and activist groups while longtime black residents remained politically divided. The…
Professor Penn and Royce White continue the George Floyd Square story with Edwin and Angela Williams, digging into the legal fight, business losses, barricades, police withdrawal, and the city’s alleged failure to protect small business owners after the unrest. Edwin lays out how the Cup Foods case, property-value losses, lack of access, and pending summary judgment connect to a much larger question about whether Minneapolis business owners can still receive justice under the rule of law. The conversation turns toward the nonprofit money machine, with Edwin arguing that federal and state recovery funds were routed through preferred organizations while real LLC businesses at the center of the damage were left behind. Angela adds a direct…
Professor Penn and Royce White sit down with Sir Don Allen for a hard look at Minneapolis, George Floyd Square, and the broken promises made to local business owners left behind by city leadership. Allen traces the Twin Cities from the thriving neighborhoods of the 1970s to today’s education crisis, arguing that the collapse is not rooted in the children, but in failed leadership, political protection, weak discipline, and systems that reward dependency over achievement. The conversation digs into Minneapolis and St. Paul public schools, where proficiency rates, classroom safety, teacher protections, and union priorities reveal a system more interested in managing failure than producing independent, capable students. Royce connects the…
Royce White sits down with Sir Don Allen for a raw, local history lesson on Minneapolis, George Floyd Square, and the collapse of institutions that once held neighborhoods together. Allen begins with Edwin Read’s fight as a small business owner near George Floyd Square, arguing that city leaders and nonprofit power structures left real businesses behind while political promises went unkept. The conversation moves back into 1970s Minneapolis, when neighborhoods like 38th and Chicago had schools, businesses, police relationships, family structure, and community trust that Allen says have since been broken apart. From there, Allen uses his experience as an educator to expose what he sees as the deeper crisis inside Minneapolis and St. Paul…
