Our Blog
I Was Not a Slave . . .
February 22, 2021 - By Amelious N. Whyte, Jr., Ph.D.
“Slavery is not African and Black history, it’s an interruption of African and Black history. Let’s be clear, slavery and colonialism is European history!”
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Mancala Gameworlds and the Afrofuturist Orbit
February 19, 2021 - By John S. Wright, Professor Emeritus University of Minnesota
I managed to meet prize-winning Macalester College novelist/professor Marlon James last year following the publication of his epic fantasy saga "Black Leopard, Red Wolf." It's the first of a planned trilogy in the Afrofuturist orbit: the multidisciplinary movement to imagine or reimagine human technological, social, and political futures and pasts through black speculative cultural lenses.
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Reimagining Minnesota and America
February 17, 2021 - By Christopher P. Lehman
I am part of the first generation in my family to be born after the end of legal segregation by skin color. My parents and I were the second African American family to move into my hometown (in 1976), and the first such family preceded us by only three years.
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Black History
February 15, 2021 - By Kevin Lindsey
In celebration of Black History Month, the Minnesota Humanities Center has asked some of our friends to write essays to share with you their thoughts on black history and culture, as well as on broad issues of racial and social justice. Like a good conversation with friends after a good…
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How Can We Breathe – A Time to Listen, Share, and Be Heard
August 25, 2020 - By Kevin Lindsey
At the dawn of the formation of our country, and even begrudgingly to this day, the existing political and social hierarchy of our nation has sought to deny and frustrate the inalienable rights of African Americans to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Since the video of the murder…
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Celebrating Juneteenth by Finishing the Work
June 19, 2020 - By Kevin Lindsey
A new movement has begun to recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday. Proponents stress the need for America never to forget how racial slavery has been imprinted upon the soul of the nation and to always remember how the descendants of enslaved African Americans continue to shape its present and future.
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The Death of George Floyd
May 28, 2020 - By Kevin Lindsey
As the leader of the Minnesota Humanities Center, envisioning a just society that is connected, curious, and compassionate, we send our condolences to the family of George Floyd and his many friends.
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A Conversation with 2019 Jefferson Lecturer Father Columba Stewart
October 3, 2019 - By Minnesota Humanities Center
Why Cultural Heritage Matters Globally and Locally: A Conversation with Father Columba Stewart and Fred The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML), the Minnesota Humanities Center (MHC), and the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) are pleased to present Why Cultural Heritage Matters Globally and Locally: A Conversation with Father Columba Stewart…
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For Accurate Narratives of Disability, Let People Speak for Themselves
May 7, 2019 - By Ally Kann
When I was younger, I don’t think I really knew what it meant when my parents told me that my sister has a disability. Maria was born with Down Syndrome—an intellectual and developmental disability. While I watched my friends’ siblings grow up through the “average” public school system, playing sports,…
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Not My Thing to Give Up
February 19, 2019 - By Ayomide Adesnaya
Every night at 8:30 p.m., the lights went out. I didn’t have a say. At the Bridge for Youth Homeless Shelter in Minneapolis, my freedom was limited.
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