Bonga, George (1802-1880)

Fur trader and translator, George Bonga was one of the first black men born in Minnesota. His mother was Anishinaabe (Ojibwe), as were both of his wives. Through these relationships, Bonga was part of the mixed racial and cultural groups that connected trading companies to American Indians in the Minnesota territory and guided white immigrants and traders through the region. Comfortable in many worlds, Bonga often worked as an advocate for the Anishinaabe in their dealings with trading companies and the Minnesota government.

Casiville Bullard House, St. Paul

The 1909 Casiville Bullard House in St. Paul is a rare example of a house built and owned by an African American skilled laborer in the early twentieth century in Minnesota. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 in recognition of its significance.

Cooke, Marvel Jackson (1901-2000)

Marvel Cooke was a pioneering African American female journalist and political activist. Cooke's groundbreaking career was spent in a world where she was often the only female African American. Talking about her work for the white-owned newspaper, The Compass , she told biographer Kay Mills in 1988, ''there were no black workers there and no women."

Godfrey, Joseph (c.1830-1909)

The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 was a turning point in Minnesota history. Joseph Godfrey, an escaped slave, joined the Dakota in their fight against white settlers that summer and fall, one of only two African Americans to do so.

McGhee, Fredrick (1861-1912)

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Fredrick McGhee was known as one of Minnesota's most prominent trial lawyers. In 1905 he was one of a group of thirty-two men, led by W.E.B. DuBois, who founded the Niagara Movement, which called for full civil liberties and an end to racial discrimination.

Western Appeal

The Western Appeal was one of the most successful African American newspapers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. At the height of its popularity, it was published in six separate editions in cities across the United States, including St. Paul.

Wilkins, Roy (1901-1981)

Roy Wilkins, who spent his formative years in the Twin Cities, led the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 1949 to 1977. During those years, the NAACP helped achieve the greatest civil rights advancements in U.S. history. Wilkins favored new laws and legal challenges as the best ways for blacks to gain civil rights.