The City of Minneapolis has appointed 15 members to the new African American Historic Work Group to honor and preserve the city’s African American history.
The work group consists of local artists, community planners and educators who select places in the city of historic importance that need preservation.
The group will work with the Minneapolis African American Historic and Cultural Context study and select 25 places significant to the city’s Black community. Of the 25 places, three will be nominated for the National Register of Historic Places, according to the City of Minneapolis’ website.
If accepted by the National Register, these locations will receive preservation benefits and tax incentives to help maintain or restore these historic locations.
“Minneapolis is a city of progress, but it’s crucial we also reflect on our history and learn from it,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a press conference on July 11. “Minneapolis has long been home to a vibrant and resilient African American community, and this new work group will help us honor their past while also educating future generations, building understanding and promoting equity.”
The study is currently in phase two, meaning a consultant team was hired and community engagement is ongoing for which locations residents feel are important, said Senior City Planner Erin Que.
The workgroup members have the opportunity to bring forward ideas about sites reflecting African American history to add to the context study, Que said.
James Curry, a new appointee to the workgroup, said he feels a civic responsibility to highlight historically underrepresented places.
“Having this history in our heads and these oral histories and this connective tissue, and having the opportunity to share it with like-minded African American residents of Minneapolis and thread a story and have community is such a rich experience,” Curry said.
Que said no single African American experience in Minneapolis is the same, so including different voices is something that drove the engagement process during phase one.
“I think something remarkable about the makeup of (the workgroup) is the age diversity, as well as the diversity of lived experiences in terms of people who know they descend from their maybe fourth or fifth generation Black Minnesotans, all the way to folks who are more recent, either transplants to the state or even immigrants from an African country,” Que said. “Also understanding that there are so many layers to the African American experience in Minneapolis and the history of African Americans.”
As the city changes, African American history tends to get lost, said Greg McMoore, a new appointee and community historian.
“I’m excited to tell the story. I’m excited to educate,” McMoore said. “I do some mentoring at one of the local high schools, and it’s interesting that young folks know very little about the community that they live in or where they go to school or what it was all about.”
Curry said historic preservation is a step in the right direction for Minneapolis to bring back African American history and appreciates the opportunity to do so.
New Appointee Kendra Ellner said she hopes historic preservation becomes more normalized as African American history is an important part of both the city and state’s history.
“It’s really important to have the connection to a sense of place when it comes to historic preservation,” Ellner said. “We can really highlight those places, people, events that African Americans existed here in Minneapolis. Just acknowledging that, those that came before us and the change and the growth of the community.”