History and Community
Minneapolis Saint Paul’s original African American neighborhood was Saint Paul’s Rondo, near Selby Avenue and Dale street. Minneapolis’s first Black mayor, Sharon Sayles Belton, and Roy Wilkins, longtime executive director of the NAACP, both grew up in this neighborhood. While most of the African American community moved from homes in the area in the 1960s, its influence can still clearly be seen. Rondo Days – the second largest African American festival in the state – commemorates the heart of Saint Paul’s African American community each July.
Also located in what was once the Rondo neighborhood is the Martin Luther King Community Center, home to Penumbra Theatre Company. A forum for African American voices, Penumbra staged productions created by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson while he lived here for nearly 20 years.
North Minneapolis, represented by black city council member Don Samuels, is home to the Minneapolis Urban League offices and Phyllis Wheatley Community Center, the first agency dedicated to serving African Americans here.
Partly represented by another black city council member (Ralph Remington), South Minneapolis is home to much of the middle class black community. It’s historically a place African Americans have lived since the mid-century. Schools in this part of town stand out. Washburn High School is committed to equality and maintains access for its diverse population of students. South High School, while praised for its theater program, it is probably best known for one of its famous alumni: Prince. The school is well-known for its cultural diversity, with students from white, African American, indigenous African, Asian (particularly Hmong), Native American and Hispanic communities.
