A pilgrimage to the George Floyd memorial in Minneapolis this summer confirmed what the Lundquist family had thought for a long time: They could no longer live in the overwhelmingly white city of Roseau, Minn.
In September, the family of eight moved 340 miles south to Brooklyn Park — one of the most diverse cities in the state, with 57% of residents identifying as Black, Indigenous and people of color.
Two of Kate and Jacob Lundquist's six children are adopted from Haiti and were often the only students of color in classrooms in Roseau, whose population is 97% white.
"I'm doing the opposite of white flight," Kate said from their new home with framed pictures still in bubble wrap. "We made the decision and eight weeks later, we turned our entire life upside down."
Even though Floyd was killed in the Twin Cities, the Lundquists were drawn to the metro by its diversity and anti-racist activism. They contrast it with what they heard in Roseau after Floyd's death in May.
Kate said people she considered friends and neighbors were saying Floyd deserved it, that he was a criminal.
"I've been watching how people react to the death of unarmed Black people for years now, and it's just very subtle. But when George Floyd died, it wasn't so subtle anymore. That was scary. As a mom, you just think, 'Well, what if that was my kid? How would my community react? Would they fight with me? Or would they tell me that the world is better off without them?' And that's why we're here."
In early June, Kate packed the minivan and drove six hours with her Haitian-born sons Nelson, 11, and Maki, 9, along with son Ridge, 9, and daughter Charlotte, 11, to visit the memorial in south Minneapolis. Jacob stayed home with 2-year-old Verabeth and eldest daughter Addi, 14.