News Archive

news archive

2020

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..."

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

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