DEI is not decoration. It is institutional intelligence. Target wants to know how an offensive Halloween costume got through after it retreated from diversity commitments. My latest for @startribune.com asks if the answer is already in front of us. www.startribune.com/target-racis...

Taylor Schlitz: Target’s offensive Halloween costume is exactly what DEI was supposed to prevent

"How does something that so many Black people could recognize almost instantly move through the layers of a major American corporation without being stopped?" Haley Taylor Schlitz writes.

startribune.com

Minnesota will elect its first woman governor this November. We have spent generations looking at the glass ceiling. But we also have to ask about the floor beneath it. The ceiling asks who can rise. The floor asks how women live. Link to my latest @startribune.com column in comments.

Congratulations to my first boss, mentor & friend @keithellison.bsky.social on winning the DFL Attorney General primary tonight!

Out knocking doors with my friend Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega and reminding neighbors to vote. María is on the ballot TODAY for Ramsey County Commissioner, District 5. I’ve seen her commitment to community up close, and I’m proud to support her. Go vote, Ramsey County!

I was proud to be interviewed by the Good Morning America team for this story about my little sister, Hana Taylor Schlitz. I’ve had a front-row seat to her journey & I’m so proud of the purpose & determination she brings to the path ahead. www.goodmorningamerica.com/video/135515...

I voted today in Minnesota’s primary election. Election Day is Tuesday, August 11, but you can vote early, including this Saturday at many locations. Primary elections shape the choices we will have in November. Make a plan and make your voice heard. mnvotes.gov

The road never ends. The old maps no longer work. Why Gen Z horror films are capturing something real about young adulthood: www.startribune.com/gen-z-indie-...

Taylor Schlitz: Gen Z angst is real. These horror films reflect that.

The Gen Z horror-thriller film “It Ends," along with box-office hits "Backrooms" and "Obsession," reflect the uncertainty of the moment for young people, Haley Taylor Schlitz writes.

startribune.com

This morning, we lost a great tree, and the news brought me to a complete stop. @deniseoliver-velez.bsky.social spent her life fighting for freedom and reaching back to prepare the next generation. Earlier this year, she placed her faith in me. I will carry it always. Rest in power, Denise.

America has marked 250 years. Now the question is what we are willing to build next. I’m honored to join Good Trouble MN for State of the Youth 2026: Shaping the Next 250. Thursday, July 16 5 to 7 p.m. Mosaic Venue goodtroublemn.org/soty #GOODTROUBLE250 #SOTY26

Some images pass through our lives in seconds. Others ask us to stop. This 4th of July, a photograph of a young Black woman surrounded by masked white nationalists forced me to think about citizenship, memory & who gets to belong in America. My latest for the @startribune.com

To every single 1 of you Gen Z "leaders" who backed Platner, you have to do more than I'm sorry. Black Gen Z women live with the realities of growing hate & you told us to put up with it because of "electability". We are bringing the energy of this photo to every conversation.

"Conditions he would like met"? The audacity of this racist clown & the people who anointed him. There better be a postmortem on how his rise happened & accountability.

HuffPost@huffpost.com · 2mo ago

As Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner (D) considers whether to drop out of the race, he reportedly has some conditions he'd like met.

Women - MANY Black women among them, have been detailing the edgelord-to-neo-nazis pipeline since Gamergate. youtu.be/adHzmDI4LXw?... As soon as #GrahamPlatner "s Nazi tattoo + edgelord posts were revealed ALL support 4 him should have ended. There ARE baggage free progressive candidates in Maine.

Graham Platner Is Now Democrats’ Biggest Risk. These People Handpicked Him. | WSJ

YouTube video by The Wall Street Journal

youtu.be

this guy also needs to just not be allowed near democratic politics ever again. same with everyone who thought any of this was a good idea

The ‘Mad Scientist’ Behind Graham Platner’s Scandal-Plagued Rise

Dan Moraff rushed the vetting of the Maine Senate candidate. He says he’s trying to blow up the way Democrats run campaigns.

wsj.com

For every Democrat who demanded the postmortem on VP Harris campaign, I better see you demanding the same here.

Michelle Goldberg@michellegoldberg.bsky.social · 2mo ago

www.nytimes.com/2026/07/06/o...

Sometimes a memory brings you back to a younger version of yourself. This was my talent performance at Miss Texas’ Outstanding Teen five years ago, playing piano on stage in a moment that held more than music. It held practice, nerves, discipline, courage, & growth. Grateful for every season.

Deeply grateful to Attorney Benjamin Crump @attorneybencrump.bsky.social for recognizing me at Jack and Jill of America’s South Central Region Teen Conference as the youngest Black person to graduate from law school in U.S. history. A moment I will never forget. #SouloftheSouth #JackandJill

#Juneteenth & the 4th of July should not sit apart from one another. The days between them are a season of unfinished freedom. My latest @startribune.com column reflects on Black liberation, American promise & the work still before us. www.startribune.com/black-libera... #UnfinishedFreedom

Taylor Schlitz: We’re entering the season of America’s unfinished freedom

From Juneteenth to the 4th of July, now is a good time to ponder our country’s promises and failures, and where we should go from here, Haley Taylor Schlitz writes.

startribune.com

Thousands of Puerto Ricans are facing a severe water shortage as the governor activates the National Guard thegrio.com/2026/06/16/p...

Thousands of Puerto Ricans are facing a severe water shortage as the governor activates the National Guard

The Puerto Rico water shortage has left thousands without running water for weeks, prompting National Guard deployment.

thegrio.com

Encouragement tells girls they belong. Infrastructure gives them a place to prove it. I asked Emily Weinberg of the Minnesota Vikings what becomes possible when institutions build real pathways for girls to play. MN should sanction #GirlsFlagFootball as a varsity sport.

I asked Karin Nelsen of the Minnesota Vikings what this championship meant to her as a woman in NFL leadership. Girls seeing themselves on the field matters. Girls seeing women lead in football matters too. Minnesota should sanction girls flag football as a varsity sport. #GirlsFlagFootball

“If you let me play” was always about more than sports. I asked players what flag football has given them beyond the game. Their answers: confidence, friendship, purpose and belief. Minnesota should sanction girls flag football as a varsity sport. #GirlsFlagFootball

Flag football teaches girls how to compete, make mistakes, recover and move to the next play. That is bigger than football. Minnesota should sanction girls flag football as a varsity sport. #GirlsFlagFootball

I asked coaches what girls have discovered about themselves through flag football. Their answer: confidence, leadership and resilience. Minnesota should sanction girls flag football as a varsity sport. #GirlsFlagFootball #GenZ #FlagFootball

I asked players what they hoped younger girls would see watching them compete. Their answer: possibility. Girls flag football shows girls they belong on the field too. Minnesota should sanction it as a varsity sport. #GirlsFlagFootball #WomenInSports #FlagFootball

The most powerful part of reporting this column was listening to the girls. Flag football is giving them confidence, community & a place to believe in themselves. #Minnesota should sanction it as a varsity sport. #GirlsFlagFootball #FlagFootball

“If you let me play.” Those words hung on my childhood wall. At Minnesota’s girls flag football championship, I watched them come alive. Girls flag football is about access, confidence and recognition. Minnesota should sanction it as a varsity sport. Link to column in comments.

“If you let me play.” Those words hung on my childhood wall. Today, I’m watching Minnesota girls answer them on the football field. Column coming soon. #ifyouletmeplay #girlsflagfootball #womeninsports #GenZ #MinnesotaVikings

Welcome back to Democracy Math. Rule #4: The map is not neutral. District lines decide who gets grouped, separated, heard, and diluted. When they say, “It’s just a map,” ask who gets power from the lines. #DemocracyMath #VotingRights

Welcome back to Democracy Math. Rule #3: Visibility is not power. Representation is not symbolism. It decides who writes laws, controls budgets, funds schools, protects rights, and gets heard. Visibility gets applause. Power gets decisions. #DemocracyMath #VotingRights