';In writing a book about Minneapolis, Justin Ellis has really written a book about America's favorite liethat good intentions lead to justice. Ellis is a rigorous historian and a visceral storyteller, and he has produced something essential: a reckoning with a city that wanted to be a safe haven for all and built a foundation that made this impossible.' Aaron Robertson, author of The Black Utopians
A Boston Globe Best Book of Summer 2026
One of The Millions' Most Anticipated Spring 2026 Books
A revelatory look at one of America's most progressive citiesMinneapolisas journalist Justin Ellis returns to his hometown to grapple with the quiet history of white supremacy in the wake of George Floyd's murder, uncover his family's story of surviving ';Minnesota nice,' and revisit the city years later as state violence again forces the question of what a real reckoning looks like.
It's the ';North,' they like to say, not the Midwest. It's different. Minneapolis is a city for everyone. But in 2020, George Floyd's murder by the city's police left many Americans stunned and wondering, ';How could this happen in Minneapolis?' To Ellis, the real question is: What made people think it couldn't?
The Minneapolis Justin Ellis grew up in is not the idealistic metropolis it claims to be. The ';City of Lakes' was built on discrimination in its housing, its schools, its politicsmuch like all other American cities. Black families were systematically cut out of the prosperous neighborhoods, lush parks, and pristine lakes that make Minneapolis a haven of the heartland. Because of its image as a liberal ally in the fight for civil rights, Minneapolis has rarely been forced to confront this fact. But when George Floyd's murder sparks a global protest movement with the city as ground zero, its residents must finally ask what being a good neighbor actually means.
In a powerful new epilogue, Ellis turns his gaze back
