Erased by Assimilation: Why Black Minnesotans Are Invisible in Politics and Policy

In Minnesota, Many immigrant communities carry distinct names that make it easy to find and mobilize their voters in public data.

But Foundational Black Americans—descendants of U.S. slavery—can’t. Our African names were stripped away through slavery, replaced with European surnames that blend into the broader population. That forced assimilation makes us nearly invisible in political and economic data.

Minnesota law makes it worse. The statewide voter file lists names, addresses, and ages—but no race, ethnicity, or heritage. Race data in other state systems is classified as private under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act and the new Consumer Data Privacy Act, which treats race as “sensitive” information requiring consent.

The result? Campaigns can’t target our neighborhoods with the same precision other groups enjoy. Our voter participation is blended with immigrant populations who may have different priorities. This makes it harder for Black candidates to win—and easier for others to claim our issues as their own.

When programs for economic justice, reparations, or equity are based on broad “Black” or “BIPOC” numbers, funding often gets diverted to non-lineage groups. Our unique history of harm—from enslavement and segregation to police brutality, educational inequities, and generational economic disparities—has been reduced to a shared talking point for others, claimed without our voice, our leadership, or our consent.

Minnesota already proves disaggregation is possible: state law requires schools to break out data for “five of the most populous Black and African Heritage groups” in K–12 reporting. It’s time to extend that same visibility to civic and economic life.

We cannot fight for policies we cannot measure. Without lineage-based data, our voices in politics will fade, our economic needs will be overlooked, and our future will be written by others