While thousands of Minnesota seniors celebrated graduation this spring, several Twin Cities ceremonies looked strikingly different from those of generations past.
Land acknowledgments, tribal drumming, speeches delivered in multiple languages other than English, and discussions of ICE deportations were among the themes at several Twin Cities graduation ceremonies reviewed by Alpha News. In one case, a graduation celebration ended in a brawl that reportedly left attendees temporarily locked inside the building after the ceremony had concluded.
The focus on identity politics and immigration issues comes at a time when a majority of Minnesota public school students are not meeting state proficiency standards in reading or math.
Identity themes take center stage
At Minneapolis North High School, where state data show just 1% of students are proficient in math and 15% in reading, commencement speakers devoted significant attention to land acknowledgments and topics ranging from the school’s “unapologetically black” identity to the impact of Operation Metro Surge.
Principal Mauri Friestleben opened the school’s commencement ceremony with a land acknowledgment recognizing Dakota land and Native people who, she said, “were attempted to be genocidally annihilated.”
“North High School sits on Dakota land. Our state breathes Dakota air and Native air,” Friestleben told graduates and attendees.
Teacher Tom Lachermeier invoked Operation Metro Surge during the commencement ceremony, telling graduates that federal immigration enforcement actions were among the defining hardships of their senior year.
“This group of young men and women has endured many trials and tribulations just to be here today,” Lachermeier said, including “watching ICE invade our city, take our community members, family members, and even one of our classmates away.”
In her speech, Friestleben also emphasized identity and culture, describing North High as a school that embraces and leans into its “black identity,” despite one-third of the student body being Hispanic, White, Asian and Native American, according to state data.
“Unapologetically black is what we like to say,” Friestleben added. “Don’t get me wrong, we embrace everybody, but we definitely lean into our blackness and you will probably see that today if you haven’t already.”
Ceremony ends in brawl
What viewers of North High’s graduation livestream did not see was what transpired after the cameras stopped rolling: a fight erupted among attendees that Minneapolis Public Schools later described as an “unfortunate” incident and that drew a sharp rebuke from retired Minneapolis Police Sgt. Lisa Clemons, who was in attendance.
Clemons is the founder of A Mother’s Love Initiative, a North Minneapolis nonprofit focused on violence prevention and youth outreach.
“It should never have ended in a brawl,” Clemons wrote in a Facebook post following North High’s June 5 ceremony.
“To my Black people and my Somali brothers and sisters (scholars and family members) … STOP IT!!!” she wrote. “It’s sad, ridiculous and embarrassing. Graduations and proms are the most exciting time for our senior[s]. You have marred many of those special memories. The last 2 to 3 years have been the worst I’ve ever seen.”
According to Clemons, the altercation was serious enough that attendees were temporarily prevented from leaving the venue.
“Now everybody is locked in here cause y’all cannot control yourselves,” she wrote in another post. “It’s disgusting that our children will end their year walking across the stage and into this melee.”
In response to questions from Alpha News, Minneapolis Public Schools acknowledged it was aware of an “unfortunate and isolated incident following a graduation ceremony at North Community High School.”
The district said it had received no reports of injuries and remains focused on celebrating the school’s 128 graduates and their accomplishments.
Tribal drumming, multilingual speeches and political themes
Once a rarity at commencement ceremonies, tribal drumming was featured at a number of Minneapolis graduations this year, including Roosevelt, South, FAIR, Camden and Edison high schools.
Multilingual student speeches likewise appeared at several Twin Cities graduations. At Southwest High School’s June 6 commencement ceremony, three students delivered speeches in languages other than English.
Hopkins High School took the same approach on June 10, opening its commencement ceremony with three consecutive speeches in Hmong, Somali and Spanish. Each lasted several minutes before the program moved on to other speakers.
Later in the program, another Hopkins student speaker addressed issues of race, policing and immigration enforcement.
“People of color will have to be even more aware of the fact of people following them around in stores or being seen as non-threatening to law enforcement,” the student said. “Even this year, we have had to watch as our neighbors, as our friends, even our families, are ripped out of their homes and stripped of their dignity from being taken by ICE.”
South High School Principal Ahmed Amin struck a similar tone, emphasizing community activism during his commencement address while referencing Operation Metro Surge, which he said dramatically altered the school’s operations.
“At one point, half of our students were attending school virtually,” Amin said.
Rather than recalling the books, backpacks and calculators traditionally associated with student life, Amin told graduates that “whistles and passports became important items you did not leave the house without.”
Amin’s remarks followed a performance of the Black National Anthem. The National Anthem was not played.
Academic results tell another story
Minnesota’s four-year graduation rate reached 84.9% for the class of 2025, while Minneapolis Public Schools reported a four-year graduation rate of 73%, according to the Minnesota Report Card.
The graduation rates stand in contrast to state assessment data showing that a majority of Minnesota students are not proficient in reading or math.
According to the Minnesota Report Card, just 49.6% of students statewide are proficient in reading and 45.2% are proficient in math.
In Minneapolis Public Schools, those figures drop to approximately 41% in reading and 36% in math.
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
