A Message from Mapping Prejudice

Thank you to our Team and Volunteers

2020 Year in Review

Data and Maps Available  - Hennepin County

Mapping a Path Towards Equity

Mapping Prejudice co-founders, Kevin Ehrman-Solberg and Kirsten Delegard, co-authored an article in GeoJournal with CREATE initiative co-directors Kate Derickson and Bonnie Keeler. In the article they examine how the Mapping Prejudice Project and the CREATE Initiative are working to transform the role of community engagement in community geography research projects. It further explores the challenges of this kind of research and articulates a vision for collaboration with community organizations.

Minneapolis Uprising

June saw the world turn its eyes to Minneapolis following the murder of George Floyd. During this time that has come to be known as the Minneapolis Uprising, many questioned how something like this could happen in Minneapolis. This question can be answered with a term introduced by University of Minnesota professor, Samuel Myers Jr. -- the “Minnesota Paradox”. Despite the reputation of Minneapolis as being progressive, inclusive, and affordable place to live, racial inequalities persist within the landscape of the city. An article from The Atlantic notes that while 75% of white families own their homes, that percentage is 23% for Black families. According to The Washington Post, this paired with lower earning among Black families has resulted in perpetual gaps in wealth barring Black families from enjoying the same propersity as the white population. This disparity finds its roots racially restrictive covenants from the early 20th century. And though the Fair Housing Act of 1968 made these covenants illegal, the legacy they left still scars cities today. Mapping Prejudice continues to work on exposing the harmful legacies left behind by racially restrictive housing practices, and as this past summer illustrated, our work towards justice is nowhere near finished.

You can read more about Mapping Prejudice and the Minneapolis uprising here.

Education Materials

Researcher, Maggie Mills, compiled resources for our Educators Guide. Check it out to learn how you can engage younger audiences in discussions about structural racism in the Twin Cities.

Just Deeds Coalition

In response to the growing number of homeowners concerned with discharging racial covenants attached to their property, Mapping Prejudice collaborated with the Just Deeds Coalition. Just Deeds is made up of volunteers with legal and real estate expertise who are dedicated to providing assistance to folks working through the paperwork necessary to discharge their deeds.

If you are in Hennepin County and would like to discharge a covenant, please fill out this form and follow this checklist.

Welcoming the Dear Neighbor?

This year saw Mapping Prejudice’s efforts expand into Ramsey County with “Welcoming the Dear Neighbor?” This collaboration with St. Catherine University “draws its name from the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, who founded the university. These Sisters are animated by their desire to love their neighbors “without distinction.”” Ultimately this project means to question who was welcomed “without distinction” and who was left out.

NSGIC Award

Mapping Prejudice was honored with a 2020 NSGIC Geospatial Excellence Award. This award pays tribute to the vision of the project -- using GIS to promote social change. We are grateful for our team members and volunteers -- without their hard work and dedication, this honor would not have been possible. Going into the new year, we hope to continue to inspire others to engage with their communities to promote change in housing policies. You can read more about this honor here.

NEH Grant

Mapping Prejudice was the recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2020. This grant will allow Mapping Prejudice to develop its digital tools, and to empower communities around the country as they begin to map their own covenants.

Exodus Map Honored with Award

Marguerite Mills, a researcher with Mapping Prejudice, was honored with the U-Spatial “Best Overall Map” award for her work, “Exodus: Living and Leaving the North Side.” This magnificent project demonstrates Jewish migration to the suburbs, questioning the narrative that the Jewish and Black community faced similar housing discrimination leading up to the Plymouth Avenue Rebellion.

Upcoming Events

New Volunteer Transcription Sessions: Ongoing

Please join the effort to identify racial covenants in Ramsey County. Start by watching this training video. Then join Maggie Mills and Penny Petersen for one of our new volunteer sessions. Penny and Maggie are working with the “Welcoming the Dear Neighbor” team from St. Catherine’s University to create a collaborative online space to continue the work that we started in Hennepin County. Register for one of these events and then spend an hour learning from project leaders about how you can contribute to this important effort. 

Find links to register for all of our upcoming events on our website.

A Thank You to our Volunteers

Top Volunteers of 2020

Outreach and Community Engagement

Medtronic
Target Corporate
American Library Association - Map & Geospatial Information Roundtable
California Map Society
Western Association of Map Libraries
Tax Institute
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee