The Leif Erikson memorial on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol, St. Paul. Photograph by Wikimedia Commons user Mulad, June 22, 2005. Public domain.

The Storied: Queer Voices series interviews Andrea Jenkins, a poet, writer, transgender activist, and educator. Jenkins, a Ward 8 council member and vice president of the Minneapolis City Council, holds an MFA in creative writing from Hamline University and teaches poetry at Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She is a co-editor of Queer Voices: Poetry, Prose, and Pride. Her book of poetry is titled The T is Not Silent: new and selected poems. Her writing is also featured in the MNHS Press books Blues Vision: African American Writing from Minnesota and A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota.

Entryway inside the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame. Photo by the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame’s Facebook account, 2014.

Artifacts and photographs on display inside the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame. Photo by Robin Gehl, 2020.

Records, photographs, and a map related to Minnesota ballrooms on display inside the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame. Photo by Robin Gehl, 2020.

A tuba and other artifacts on display inside the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame. Photo by Robin Gehl, 2020.

Sign inside the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame used to advertise the Six Fat Dutchmen as the premier polka band in the United States. Photo by Robin Gehl, 2020.

Concertina used by polka musician “Whoopee John” Wilfahrt on display at the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame. Photo by Robin Gehl, 2020.

Front entrance to the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame, New Ulm. Photo by Robin Gehl, 2020.