The cruelty behind 'Minnesota nice'

NPR | By Henry Larson,

Pien Huang, Sarah Robbins

Published June 20, 2026 at 5:35 PM EDT

George Floyd's murder put Minneapolis in the spotlight. Justin Ellis' new book, 'The Cruelty of Nice Folks: Why Minneapolis is the Story of America,' says the city embodies a contradiction - liberal ideals alongside deep racial disparities.

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