Color image of St. Mark’s African Methodist Episcopal Church, Duluth, 2001.

St. Mark’s African Methodist Episcopal Church, Duluth

St. Mark’s African Methodist Episcopal Church, Duluth, 2001.

St. Mark’s AME Church, Duluth

St. Mark’s African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church has played a central role in Duluth’s African American community for over 125 years. While other Black organizations have dissolved or moved to the Twin Cities, St. Mark’s has been a mainstay.

Black and white photograph of Toni Stone meeting her idol, boxer Joe Louis, c.1949.

Toni Stone and Joe Louis

Toni Stone meeting her idol, boxer Joe Louis, c.1949.

Stone, Marcenia Lyle (Toni), 1921–1996

Marcenia Lyle (Toni "Tomboy") Stone broke both gender and racial barriers by becoming the first female professional baseball player in the Negro Major League. During her career, she played with a variety of men's teams before making history when she joined the Indianapolis Clowns, a Negro Major League Team.

Black and white photograph of Nellie Stone Johnson, c.1935.

Nellie Stone Johnson

Nellie Stone Johnson, c.1935.

Black and white scan of a flyer, with photo, advertising a Communist Party-sponsored event, 1946.

Lenin Memorial Meeting flyer

Flyer, with photo, advertising a Communist Party-sponsored event, 1946. Nellie Stone Johnson was the featured speaker at the 22nd Anniversary Lenin Memorial Meeting to raise money for striking union workers.

Nellie Stone Johnson (far right) with NAACP leaders, 1954.

Nellie Stone Johnson with NAACP leaders

Nellie Stone Johnson (far right) with NAACP leaders, including Anthony Cassius (far left); publisher Milton G. Williams (third from left); and Howard Bennett, later appointed Minnesota’s first black judge (second from right), 1954.

Johnson, Nellie Stone (1905–2002)

Nellie Stone Johnson was an African American union and civil rights leader whose career spanned the class-conscious politics of the 1930s and the liberal reforms of the Minnesota DFL Party. She believed unions and education were paths to economic security for African Americans, including women. Her self-reliant personality and pragmatic politics sustained her long and active life.

Black and white photograph of Frederick McKinley Jones and drafting team, c.1960.

Frederick McKinley Jones and drafting team

Frederick McKinley Jones and drafting team, c.1960. Image is from the Frederick Jones papers (1910–[196-]), Mansucripts Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

Black and white photograph of Frederick McKinley Jones standing next to a truck outfitted with a mobile refrigeration unit, c.1950.

Frederick McKinley Jones

Frederick McKinley Jones standing next to a truck outfitted with a mobile refrigeration unit, c.1950.

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