As Minnesotans prepare to pay their final respects to Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman, lawmakers remembered her as an advocate for a range of causes that improved the lives of Black and other marginalized people.

Hortman, 55, was gunned down at her home in a Minneapolis suburb on June 14 in what the authorities said was a “politically motivated” attack. Her husband, Mark, was also killed. 

During her 20 years in the Minnesota House of Representatives, Hortman played a role in passing key pieces of legislation — involving issues from voting rights to free school meals — that social justice advocates said were crucial in uplifting the state’s Black and marginalized communities.

“I have worked closely with Speaker Emerita Hortman, as a former member of the House, and with Sen. Hoffman as President of the Senate,” Democratic state Sen. Bobby Joe Champion said in a statement. “I know firsthand that they are dedicated public servants who have been committed to making our state better for every Minnesotan.”

Democratic state Sen. John A. Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, also were shot multiple times in their home on Saturday, but they survived and remain in critical condition.

The alleged shooter, who was later arrested, had a “hit list” of 45 elected officials who were all Democrats, police said. He has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder, according to a criminal complaint.

A 2024 report from New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, a think tank, found “alarming, increasing levels of threats” directed at political leaders. Forty-three percent of the state legislators who had been surveyed for the report experienced threats.

Hortman was the speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives during the 2023-2024 legislative session, when her party enjoyed a majority in both chambers.

Here’s an overview of three key reforms that she helped to push through — and their implications for Black Minnesotans.

Voting rights

In 2024, Minnesota officials responded to a court decision that limited who can sue under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 by creating a voting rights act of their own. At the time, the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party controlled the state legislature, and Hortman was the highest-ranking member of the House.

The Minnesota Voting Rights Act revives the “private right of action,” allowing ordinary citizens and advocacy groups to sue to protect access to the ballot box. The law also eases the process of voting for college students and eliminates prison gerrymandering by using an incarcerated person’s previous address for census counting instead of the address of their place of imprisonment.

Champion, who was the lead Senate author of the Minnesota Voting Rights Act, previously described the importance of the legislation to Capital B.

“This is the political environment we live in. It’s not getting better — it’s getting worse,” he explained. “Usually, you get rid of protections when there’s been improvement, when you can conclude that a particular need no longer exists. But that’s not the case. It’s not even close.”

Writing for the Minnesota Star Tribune in 2024, Hortman and Democratic state Sen. Erin Murphy called the 2023-2024 session the “most productive two-year session” in decades, citing the passage of the Minnesota Voting Rights Act as one of their greatest achievements.

Free school meals

Minnesota officials in 2023 enacted legislation that institutes no-cost breakfast and lunch for students statewide.

“It’s hard to learn when you’re hungry,” Hortman said in a statement after the House passed the bill. “DFLers are acting today to help make sure Minnesota’s children aren’t hungry at school, but that they are ready to learn.”

“When kids come to school in the morning, all of them should be able to go to the cafeteria and get breakfast to start off the day, and at lunch, everyone should get a meal as well,” she added.

The measure ensures that all students — including Black students, who are disproportionately affected by poverty in the state — have access to nutritious food. It was one of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s primary talking points during the 2024 presidential election, when he and former Vice President Kamala Harris sought to distinguish their political vision from that of their Republican rivals.

A recent proposal in the state legislature would create an income cap that scales back the free school meals program. Republican state Rep. Andrew Myers, the bill’s sponsor, says that the measure would save money at a time when school districts are being confronted by budget shortfalls. The program has saved families around $1,000 per student.

Reproductive care

Weeks after Democrats gained control of both houses of the Minnesota Legislature in 2023, the state enshrined the right to abortion into law.

The law was designed to provide more protections to Minnesotans at a moment when the reproductive rights landscape was uncertain: In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and, with it, the federal right to abortion.

This protection was seen as especially important for preventing racial disparities in health from worsening. Black Minnesotans account for 23% of pregnancy-related deaths, though they represent only 13% of mothers, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

“Fundamentally this legislation is about who decides,” Hortman said in 2023. “Who should be legally entitled to make reproductive health care decisions for an individual. … It can’t be decided by politicians. It can’t be decided by judges.”

Minnesota later passed other reproductive care-related bills, including bills that increase state funding for abortion clinics and provide protections to abortion providers.