in the news

For examples of recent community support provided by PCRF,  visit Giving Back.
For coverage of awards received by PCRF, visit Honors.
For press releases issued by PCRF, visit Press Releases.
For information on the Philando Castile Peace Garden, visit the Peace Garden Fund website.

RECENT ARTICLES AND NEWS STORIES

• The MN Legislature Special Session Omnibus Funding Bill granted a continuation of $6 million per year for peace officer training assistance through 2025, to be named the Philando Castile Memorial Training Fund. Funding goes to the Peace Officers Standards and Training Board (POST). For a summary of the 2021 Legislative Session, see the MN Association of Counties.
  

• Public Art Saint Paul welcomed Paul Farber, Director and Co-Founder of Monument Lab, to share their wealth of knowledge of monument creation, including the Philando Castile Peace Garden. For more details and a video of the event, click here. (Nov. 10, 2021)
  

Paul Farber joined Valerie Castile and other key activists in touring the Philando Castile Peace Garden in Falcon Heights, MN.

• ‘Not Going to Do This Anymore’: Fed-Up Prosecutor Is Done With BS Traffic Stops:John Choi, the Minnesota prosecutor who charged the cop who killed Philando Castile, is already earning enemies for his groundbreaking new policy. Daily Beast (Sept. 8, 2021)
  
• Ramsey County attorney says he won't prosecute most felonies arising from low-level traffic stops. Star Tribune (Sept. 8, 2021)
  
• Ramsey County Attorney John Choi: "We have to make some changes." Star Tribune video (Sept. 8, 2021)
• A change of law, a change of heart, on the anniversary of Philando Castile's killing. "For years, Valerie Castile has worked to keep his memory a blessing. The family established the Philando Castile Relief Foundation, to help victims of gun and police violence, and to look out for the kids in the lunch line and beyond." ​Star Tribune (Jul. 10, 2021)
• Five years after his death, Philando Castile's mother criticizes lack of progress in police accountability. MPR News (Jul. 6. 2021)
• Family and activists remember Philando Castile five years after his death. Star Tribune (Jul. 6, 2021)
• 'Guerrilla gardens' take root across Twin Cities: "On the fifth anniversary (of Philando Castile's death) July 6, the Philando Castile Peace Garden committee will break ground on the garden with an expected completion date of Aug. 26, the opening of the State Fair." Star Tribune (Jul. 3, 2021)

• Falcon Heights to unveil Philando Castile street signs Wednesday Twin Cities Pioneer Press (Jun. 4, 2021)​

At the unveiling (l-r): Randy Gustafson, Falcon Heights Mayor; Melanie March Leehy, Falcon Heights City Council Member; Bishop Harding Smith, Spiritual Church of God, Brooklyn Center; and Valerie Castile, mother of Philando Castile.

Valerie (center) mother and Allysza Castile (left) sister of Philando Castile at a candlelight vigil in his honor. (Chris Juhn/MSR News)

• Valerie Castile: unbending, unbowed, MSR Minnesota Spokesman- Recorder (Apr. 24, 2021)

• Valerie Castile on Chauvin verdict: 'A victory for one is a victory for all.' Valerie Castile, mother of Philando Castile, recalls meeting George Floyd after her son's death, “He gave me a hug, a really big strong hug...You can feel people’s spirits when you meet them. You can just feel the energy that they have, and he had just a wonderful spirit." KARE 11 (Apr. 21, 2021)
• For mother of Philando Castile, Derek Chauvin's conviction brings joy and relief: Castile said her goal is to encourage young Black people to change the system from within. “I tell them, ‘In order to change the system, you have to be within the system,’ ” she said. ” ‘You have to be that police officer, be that mayor, be that congressman, be that representative. You can’t keep throwing stones. You have to beat this from the inside out.’ ”​Twin Cities Pioneer Press (Apr. 20, 2021)

---

• Pilgrimage to Philando Castile Memorial Peace Garden (Apr. 4, 2021)

---

• ​Families of those killed by police demand justice for George Floyd in former officer Derek Chauvin's trial, Star Tribune (Mar. 6, 2021)
• Community activists and families of loved ones killed at the hands of police demand justice: "We’re here to stand in unity as a visual statement to the state, says Valerie Castile. "We're not going to sit down, we're going to stand in unity." KARE 11 (Mar. 5, 2021)
• Duluthians show support for Philando Castile omnibus bill: 
  The bill, set to be heard in the Government Finance and Election Committee hearing on Thursday morning, seeks to improve socioeconomic and racial justice. Duluth News Tribune (Feb. 28, 2021)
• Philando Castile Memorial Avenue name approved for Larpenteur in Falcon Heights: Ground to be broken on Peace Garden this Spring, Twin Cities Pioneer Press (Feb. 25, 2021)
• My Son, Philando Castile, Was a Role Model. Here’s How I’m Keeping His Legacy Alive: “He wanted to ensure every child got a chance to eat.” bon appétit (Feb. 12, 2021)

• The Philando Castile Bill (HF 784 and SF 800)​ was introduced to the Minnesota House on Feb. 4, 2021. It provides funding for ending systemic racism and provisions that address racial injustice. If the bill were enacted, it would create five Philando Castile Family Centers in Minnesota. For more detail, click on the graphic to the right.​

---

• City of Falcon Heights considers honorary road name change for Philando Castile, KARE 11 (Jan. 13, 2021)
• Time of Reckoning for Female and Femme Family, Healing Justice Foundation (Dec. 11, 2020). Time of Reckoning is a series of community engagement sessions grounded in healing justice, focusing on the criminal justice system and its collateral consequences on Black families in Minnesota. Each forum centers around a different family members’ experience. Valerie Castile is featured in the Female and Femme Family forum, which covers Black women and girls’ experience with the criminal justice system.​
• Valerie Castile Touts Pouch Intended To Prevent Traffic Stop Shootings, CBS Minnesota, WCCO 4 (Oct. 28, 2020)
• Philando Castile's mom honored for anti-racism work by St. Paul & Minnesota Foundation: She was one of four to receive the foundation's 14th annual Facing Race Awards, Star Tribune (Oct. 7, 2020)
• Driving while Black: ABC News analysis of traffic stops reveals racial disparities in several US cities (Sept. 9, 2020) "Driving while Black and dealing with law enforcement," Clarence (Philando Castile's uncle) said, "is one of the most serious and deadly encounters that could happen to a person of color these days."
• Remembering Philando Castile, four years later: 'We got strength in numbers now,' Star Tribune (Jul. 6, 2020)
• Philando Castile's mother shares pain, hopes for the future four years after his death, ABC Eyewitness News, KSTP 5 (Jul. 6, 2020)
• Four years after Philando Castile's death, Minnesota updates state's driver's manual for legal gun owners, CBS Minnesota, WCCO 4 (Jul. 6, 2020): "It's about keeping everyone safe."
• It's been four years since Philando Castile died. His mother thinks about him 'every breathing day,' Pioneer Press (Jul. 5, 2020)
• He was Philando Castile's friend. Now he's running for office, The New York Times (Jul. 5, 2020)
• Stacey Abrams and Philando Castile Relief Foundation among distinguished NEA honorees (Jun. 25, 2020)
• For mother of Philando Castile, George Floyd's death a nightmare revisited, Star Tribune (Jun. 4, 2020): "I've said it time after time. You cannot keep treating people this way."
• Minnesota's political, faith, community leaders plead for an end to riots, Star Tribune (May 30, 2020):  "Clarence Castile knows how hard it is..."

• Turning Tragedy into Action, Minnesota Women's Press (Nov. 26, 2019)

Cultivating a Caring Community, Healing and Understanding panel discussion -- July 6, 2019: (L-R) Melany Leehy, Falcon Heights City Council member; Kay Andrews, Falcon Heights Inclusion and Policing Task Force member; John Thomson, nonprofit director; Valerie Castile, mother of Philando and activist; Sack Thongvanh, Falcon Heights city administrator

• ​Valerie Castile keeps Philando's legacy alive, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder (Jun. 5, 2019)
• Justine Damond settlement has unsettling side, Star Tribune (May 4, 2019): "The city’s attempt to put a price on Damond’s life... stirred painful questions about whose lives we value and which deaths we can explain away."​​

Toolkit on the Prosecutor’s Role in Officer-Involved Fatalities and Critical Incidents developed by the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution (IIP). The IIP convened a year-long Working Group on the prosecutor's role in addressing officer-involved fatalities. Comprised of 50 experts from across the country—prosecutors, police chiefs, and families directly impacted—the Working Group included Ramsey County Attorney John Choi, whose office tried the police officer who killed Philando Castile, Philando's mother Valerie Castile, and Philando's uncle Clarence Castile. The group developed a Toolkit with concrete actions prosecutors can take and communities can advocate for around the shared goals of preventing use of force, and providing a path to accountability for unjustified force. With the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP) and IIP, County Attorney Choi and Ms. Castile discussed the working group model and the Toolkit culminating from its work on March 11, 2019.
View the Toolkit.
Learn more about the Working Group. 
​Click on the video above to listen to the March 11 conversation with John Choi and Valerie Castile. 

Valerie Castile, MN First Lady Gwen Walz, My'Leetha Thompson (Gov. Reception: Feb. 28)

• Valerie Castile and John Choi create guidelines to reduce officer-involved shootings, Star Tribune (Mar. 19, 2019)
• Philando Castile’s Mother, Ramsey Co. Attorney Develop Crisis Tool Kit, CBS Minnesota, WCCO 4 (Mar. 18, 2019)
• Prosecutor, Philando Castile's mom develop crisis tool kit, Hastings Tribune (Mar. 18, 2019)
• Philando Castile's mother creates 'tool kit' to help families after police shootings, Grand Forks Herald/St. Paul Pioneer Press (Mar. 16, 2019)

---

​Minneapolis Urban League Annual Unity Ball (Oct. 25, 2018)

Valerie Castile  (community activist, convener and mother of Philando Castile), received the Community Champion Award: pictured at left with Allysza Castile. 

---

• Mother of Philando Castile Brings Hopeful Message to D.C. Students, The Washington Informer (Oct. 24, 2018)
• Philando Castile shooting did prompt change. Will it last? Pioneer Press (July 7, 2018)
• Philando Castile’s family two years after deadly shooting:
  Understanding may never come for Philando Castile's mother, Valerie Castile. But peace is plenty., KARE11 News (July 6, 2018)
• A student remembers her school's 'lunch man,' Philando Castile, MPR News (July 6, 2018)
• Falcon Heights to honor Philando Castile this weekend, MPR News (July 6, 2018)
• Castile exhibit at Mia intersects art and activism, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder (July 3, 2018)
• 2018 Philando Castile Memorial Scholarship Recipient, Central Honors Philando, Saint Paul Central High School Foundation
• Philando Castile exhibit at Minneapolis Institute of Art embraces beauty and trauma, Star Tribune (June 19, 2018)
• Falcon Heights remembers Philando Castile with Restoration and Unity  days, Lillie News (June 5, 2018)
• Charity Honoring Philando Castile Pays All Lunch Debts In St. Paul School System, NPR (Mar. 5, 2018)

Visit the News Archive for earlier articles (2017).​
​

INTERVIEWS

---

Valerie Castile and Jackie Carter on Black Press USA (September 11, 2020): ​Mother of Philando Castile and Law Enforcement Expert Jackie Carter on the issue of police shootings during traffic stops and how individuals can prevent them from happening. Posted via Facebook.
​

Vice News Tonight 
(Jun. 4, 2020): George Floyd's killing has reignited calls for justice nationwide. VICE News speaks with Valerie Castile, who also lost her son, Philando Castile, to police violence in 2016. ​

Grieving Out Loud: a conversation with Valerie Castile. Episode 6 from the Minneapolis Foundation Conversations with Chandra podcast series.
​

ChangeMakers: Valerie and Allysza Castile, carrying on Philando's spirit
MPR News (Feb. 27, 2019)

---

‘We Have Had Enough’: Toolkit Seeks To Reduce, Prevent Police Shooting Deaths, CBS Minnesota, WCCO 4 (Feb. 28, 2019)
​

Welcome Valerie Castile, the mother of Philando Castile (Show #119), Radar Radio USA, BLIS.FM (Oct. 19, 2018)

R.I.P. Philando Castile (Show #82), Neo Noir, BLIS.FM (Oct. 18, 2018)
​
Ujamaa Place Power Hour with Valerie Castile, SoundCloud

---