African Americans | Page 39

Simms, Hilda (1918–1994)

Raised in a large Catholic family in North Minneapolis, Hilda Simms became a national celebrity for her leading role in the first all-Black performance of the Broadway show Anna Lucasta. Frustrated by her struggling career and the lack of roles for Black actors, Simms worked as the creative director for the New York State Human Rights Commission to address racial discrimination in the entertainment industry.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Coretta Scott King; and Hubert Humphrey

Martin Luther King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, with Vice President Hubert Humphrey, c. late 1960s.

Black and white photograph of African American troops and officers of the Twenty-fifth Infantry standing by the Round Tower, c.1887.

African American enlisted men and white officers of the Twenty-fifth Infantry standing by the Round Tower

African American enlisted men and white officers of the Twenty-fifth Infantry standing by the Round Tower, c.1887.

Black and white photograph of National Guardsmen patrolling Plymouth Avenue in North Minneapolis, July 1967.

Civilians and National Guardsmen on Plymouth Avenue

Civilians and National Guardsmen on Plymouth Avenue in North Minneapolis, July 1967.

Civil Unrest on Plymouth Avenue, Minneapolis, 1967

On the night of July 19, 1967, racial tension in North Minneapolis erupted along Plymouth Avenue in a series of acts of arson, assaults, and vandalism. The violence, which lasted for three nights, is often linked with other race-related demonstrations in cities across the nation during 1967’s “long hot summer.”