Black and White and Frayed All Over

Teenagers on the North Side getting gunned down. Rich versus poor. Lake Harriet versus Plymouth Ave. The blame game. Keith Ellison, savior/demon. Murderapolis, summer 2006. Somalis on the defensive. Bar fights, street hassles, the basketball hoops taken off the backboards at Painter Park, which has been done in the past at area parks to -- shhh -- discourage gatherings of young black men. [Your symptom here].

What I want to know is, apart from the U of M riots in the early '70s, and various other long hot summers, have racial tensions in this town ever been so brittle? No hard evidence, but here's Ruben Rosario's answer. Nick Coleman's question. Mike Mosedale's unpacking. Charles Hallman's truth. MNspeakers' debate. Anti-Racist Action Twin Cities' efforts.