When Bruce Springsteen released “Streets of Minneapolis” earlier this year, he did what protest musicians have long done in moments of democratic strain: he turned public grief into public memory.
Written in response to the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good during federal immigration operations, the song offered more than commentary. It interpreted a national crisis, asking listeners to confront what state power looks like when it arrives in neighborhoods, on sidewalks and in the lives of ordinary families.
That is precisely why this moment belongs not only on playlists and opinion pages, but in civic education…