Politics | Page 11

Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson

Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson, April 8, 1997. Photograph by Dave Saville/FEMA News. Public domain.

Minnesota Representative Karen Clark

Minnesota Representative Karen Clark, ca. 1991.

Governor Harold Levander signs the Minnesota State Act Against Discrimination

Governor Harold Levander (seated) signs the Minnesota State Act Against Discrimination into law in 1967. It was renamed the Minnesota Human Rights Act in 1973.

Minnesota Human Rights Act

Minnesota enacted its first major human rights law in 1967. That statute made it unlawful to discriminate against people based on race, color, creed, and national origin in unions, employment, education, public services, and public accommodations. Over the next twenty-five years DFL legislators tried and failed six times to amend the law to add sexual orientation. They succeeded in 1993.

MN90: Into The Bright Sunshine Of Human Rights

Segment on on the career of Hubert H. Humphrey from MN90: Minnesota History in 90 Seconds.

"Monopoly" special edition commemorating Gorbachev's Minnesota visit

Rectangular box containing a Russian version of "Monopoly." Produced by Parker Brothers, a division of Tonka Corporation, in Minnetonka, Minnesota, ca. 1990.

Star Tribune promotional poster

Minneapolis Star Tribune poster promoting its coverage of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's visit to Minneapolis on June 3 and 4, 1990.

Gomez-Bethke, Irene (1935–2021)

“We are one race—the Human Race.” These are the words of Irene Gomez-Bethke, a daughter of Mexican parents who immigrated to Minnesota. Throughout her life, she played a leadership role in bending the arc of history toward social justice, serving as Minnesota Commissioner of Human Rights, guiding boards and commissions as a volunteer, and co-founding both Centro Cultural Chicano and Instituto de Arte y Cultura.

Irene Gomez-Bethke and Jack Bethke with Walter Mondale

Irene Gomez-Bethke with Walter Mondale (center) and Jack A. Bethke (right), ca. 1982. Used with the permission of Jesse Bethke Gomez.

Irene Gomez-Bethke with Rudy and Lola Perpich

Irene Gomez-Bethke with then-candidate-for-governor Rudy Perpich and his wife, Lola Perpich, ca. 1980s. Left to right are Jack L. Bethke, Jesse Bethke, Raquel Cervantes, Irene Gomez-Bethke, Rudy Perpich, Jack. A. Bethke, Lola Perpich, and Manuel J. Cervantes. Used with the permission of Jesse Bethke Gomez.

Gale Family Library