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Notes from the Archive

Evelyn’s Addition

In the first decades of the twentieth century, John Scott worked to expand the boundaries of Black owned land in Minneapolis. In 1904, the Black waiter acquired four acres in the southwest corner of the city, just a block from the 50th and France intersection that would later be known for its high-end shopping. Scott's story illuminates how land was more than an economic investment for Black families; it was a form of resistance. It also shows how hard it was for Black families to maintain control of land during this period of intensifying white supremacy. In the case of Scott, once he sold pieces of his original homestead, it was restricted for the exclusive use of white people through racial covenants.

Read the full story here.

News

Mapping Prejudice Honored with NSGIC Award

Mapping Prejudice’s work has been recognized with a NSGIC Excellence Award (in the Catalyst category). NSGIC is the National States Geographic Information Council; its members are the top geospatial experts in the country. The award commends Mapping Prejudice for using GIS for social change, which is evident in a change to state law allowing covenants to be discharged. As this Continuum article notes, the recognition from this award may inspire other projects similar to Mapping Prejudice.

You can read more about the award here.

Mapping a Path Towards Equity

A new journal article co-authored by Kevin Ehrman-Solberg, Bonnie Keller, Kate Derickson, and Kirsten Delegard has been published in GeoJournal. The article examines 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.

Covenants and Environmental Justice

How have racist housing policies like redlining contributed to environmental injustice? This article in National Geographic explores the connection between racist housing policies and ambient air temperature in different neighborhoods. Previously redlined areas of the city were found to have less green spaces and trees. Today this means that those areas are 10 degrees warmer in the summer than other neighborhoods with more green spaces and less pavement. These higher temperatures exacerbate health disparities, which are already enormous in Minneapolis.

CitySCOPE Podcast

The CitySCOPE podcast talked with Mapping Prejudice co-founders Kirsten Delegard and Kevin Ehrman-Solberg about the history of racist housing policies and the way that the project has mobilized community members to confront this dark past. The conversation focused on the policy implications of this work, delving into the pitfalls and possibilities of the Minneapolis 2040 plan. The podcast is entitled Geography of Race and Space and is the third episode.

Upcoming Events

A Public History of 35W: October 24 3:00 PM

Join Mapping Prejudice alum Denise Pike and colleagues for a virtual talk hosted by the Hennepin History Museum. This event will explore topics including discriminatory housing practices and policies, the displacement of families for the construction of I-35W in South Minneapolis, and will include a presentation on the Tilsenbilt Homes. If interested, please register in advance.

More information found here.

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.

Activist/Volunteer Spotlight
Tina Carvelli: Confronting the Past by Volunteering

Tina Carvelli is a new volunteer with the Mapping Prejudice project. Though she grew up in the Twin Cities, she has spent time moving around the US before returning to her hometown. Tina remembers listening to Martin Luther King, Jr. speak when she was a young girl, when she believed that racial equality was finally within reach. Now Tina feels like she was deceived. She began to see the world differently after falling in love with a Black man. This realization has been overwhelming. But Tina has started to ask herself: “how can I make things right for things I missed in the past? What things can I do to make things better?” These questions led her to volunteer for organizations around the city, and eventually to Mapping Prejudice. Tina believes volunteering for this project will help her to open up other’s eyes to hidden racist practices, and the efforts anyone can take to make the future better.

Mapping Prejudice by the Numbers

Our volunteers are incredible! We are transcribing thousands of deeds each day. So far we have completed more than 155,105 of 248,020 deed transcriptions necessary to map covenants in Ramsey County. This means we are 63% complete! If our 4,807 rockstar volunteers continue working at their current pace, we will finish Ramsey County transcriptions in 172 days!

We have 4,807 rockstar volunteers! If our volunteers continue working at their current pace, we will finish Ramsey County transcriptions in 172 days!

Top Volunteers!

Above are the rankings of our current top volunteers and the transcriptions they have completed. Check back next month to see who’s on top!

We Need to Talk

Target Corporation
InterCity Leadership Visit
Golden Valley Rotary Club
St. Louis Park Rotary Club
Westminster TownTalks
Hopkins Race in Equity Initiative
KMOJ
League of Minnesota Cities
Minnesota Banking Law Institute
zAmya Theater
Hennepin County Board of Commissioners
Friends of the University of Minnesota Libraries
Ward One Community Forum

Future Cities
Side by Side Realty
St. Paul Area Association of Realtors
Minnesota Education Association
Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors
Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce
National Child Support Enforcement Association
Thinking Spatially Forum
World Habitat Day
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church
Education Minnesota
University of Minnesota Morris

Volunteer Today!

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