Well, they got a chance to explain why they did it, and their explanation is that he thought he should be allowed to play topical music and occasionally switch up the playlist. That's either not the real reason or some record-setting management fragility. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/09/10/mprs-only-black-classical-host-garrett-mcqueen-fired-after-being-taken-off-air

I happen to know Garrett. He's fiery. He doesn't like rules much. I'll go so far as to say I think he sometimes goes looking to get a reaction out of people, which rarely plays well in Minnesota. But that man is good at his job, and this is a damn shame.

I see people asking what they can do about this, and I'm struggling with that myself. I have a lot of friends who work at MPR/APM, and my employer partners with them weekly, but I also have quite a number who have now been callously mistreated by the company's management.

Tonight, I decided that this decision by APM management, coupled with so many others in the past months, is enough for me to ask them to cancel my membership. I've been a donor for as long as I've lived in Mpls, and I feel terrible because I do care for so many people there.

But there are times that cultural orgs need to hear in the clearest way possible that they've lost the path, and I feel like this is one of those times. If they only ever hear that message when someone like Keillor gets fired, we're not doing our jobs as progressive listeners.

I'm not a major donor to MPR by any stretch - my $10/month isn't much to them. But I know they do care deeply about what their listeners think, and this is one way to be heard. I think Garrett deserves at least that. I hope someone over on Cedar Street is listening.