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This ad in the January 12, 1919 Minneapolis Tribune by developer Edmund G. Walton offered “restricted” housing sites.
The May 25 death of George Floyd, 46, at 38th and Chicago in South Minneapolis, is just the latest in a long history of racial injustice in Minneapolis.
The Libraries’ Mapping Prejudice project, for example, has documented how housing deeds were used to create structural barriers that stopped many people who were not white from buying property and building wealth for most of the last century. In Minneapolis, these restrictions served as powerful obstacles for people of color seeking safe and affordable housing.
‘Structural racism is really baked into … this city’
“Even though 38th and Chicago now is not seen as overtly white space, what these covenants show is that this intersection has always been a point of contention. ‘Whose space is this? Who gets to be here? Who doesn’t get to be here? And who’s going to enforce that?’” Mapping Prejudice Director Kirsten Delegard said recently to TIME magazine. “Structural racism is really baked into the geography of this city and as a result it really permeates every institution in this city.”
In today’s New York Times, reporters note that “the intersection where Mr. Floyd died … had an invisible barrier designed to keep out African-Americans.” They go on to cite the Mapping Prejudice’s work in identifying the language in the housing deed covenants “that prohibited black people from living in or purchasing” homes.
“We had this invisible system of American apartheid with these covenants,” Delegard told the New York Times reporters. “It’s a segregation of opportunity.”
More about Mapping PrejudiceSince George Floyd died at the hands of Minneapolis police, the Mapping Prejudice Project has attracted media attention from around the world. The project has helped people understand why a global civil rights movement started in Minneapolis. It has illuminated the structural racism of a city long known for its progressive politics and pointed the way forward in this moment of historic reckoning.
- “George Floyd’s Minneapolis: Multicultural Facade Hid Decades of Simmering Racial Inequality.” Sheree R. Curry. USA Today. Accessed June 13, 2020.
- “Opinion: Urban Planning Sowed Racial Inequality in Minneapolis. Other North American Cities Must Heed That Warning.” Heather Worthington. The Globe and Mail. Accessed June 12, 2020.
- “Opinion | To Fix Our Cities, We Must Reckon with Our Racist Urban Past.” Gabe Klein. Washington Post. Accessed June 12, 2020.
- “Minnesota Is One Of The Best Places To Live … Unless You’re Black, Data Shows,” CBSN Minnesota. June 10, 2020.
- “Edina Realty Agent Terminated after Tearing Down Black Lives Matter Posters.” John Reinan. Star Tribune. Accessed June 10, 2020.
- “A Look at the History of Racial Covenants and Housing Discrimination in Minneapolis.” kare11.com. Accessed June 10, 2020.
- “Minneapolis Had This Coming.” Justin Ellis. The Atlantic. Accessed June 10, 2020.
- “Minneapolis Housing Advocates Look Ahead.” Next City. Accessed June 9, 2020.
- “After the Death of George Floyd, Where Does Minneapolis, Its Police Department — and the Country — Go from Here?” Los Angeles Times. June 6, 2020.
- “Decades of Racist Policies and ‘White Mob Violence’ Sparked Minneapolis Unrest after Floyd Murder,” Salon. June 8, 2020.
- Why This Started in Minneapolis (City Lab)
- The ‘Minnesota Paradox’: A State Grapples With Stark Racial Disparities (U.S. News & World Report)
- Minneapolis is proud of its liberal politics, but its black population is still struggling (Quartz)
- Racial inequality in Minneapolis is among the worst in the nation (The Washington Post)
- George Floyd’s Death and the Long History of Racism in Minneapolis (TIME)
- 21 Resources on Redlining’s Role in Cementing the American Wealth Gap (Dwell)
- Write on Race back to discuss COVID-19 racism (Mankato Free Press)
- Minneapolis y sus ‘heridas ocultas’ (Hoy Chicago)
- Kematian George Floyd dan Sejarah Panjang Rasisme di Minneapolis (National Geographic Indonesia)
- “Is Minneapolis Prepared to Dismantle — Not Just Acknowledge — Structural Racism?” MinnPost. June 1, 2020.
- “21 Resources on Redlining’s Role in Cementing the American Wealth Gap.” Dwell. Accessed June 5, 2020.
- “A Longa História de Segregação e Conflito Racial Em Minneapolis, Onde George Floyd Foi Morto Pela Polícia.” BBC News Brasil. Accessed June 5, 2020.
- “Minneapolis Face à Ses « blessures Cachées ».” AFP. Le Journal de Montréal. Accessed June 5, 2020.
- “Minneapolis y sus ‘heridas ocultas.’” AFP, Charlotte Plantive. chicagotribune.com. Accessed June 5, 2020.
- “Desigualdade Racial Em Minneapolis é Uma Das Maiores Dos EUA.” Internacional – Estadão. Accessed June 5, 2020.
- “George Floyd’s Death and the History of Race in Minneapolis.” Time. Accessed June 5, 2020.
- “#GeorgeFloydChallenge: o monstruoso viral criado por adolescentes racistas.” Capricho. Accessed June 5, 2020.
- “Qué es la ‘paradoja de Minnesota’ y qué dice del racismo en Estados Unidos.” El Diario NY (blog). BBC News Mundo. June 1, 2020.
- “Kematian George Floyd dan Sejarah Panjang Rasisme di Minneapolis” Semua Halaman. National Geographic. Accessed June 5, 2020.
- “Δολοφονία Φλόιντ: Μαθήματα αμερικάνικης ιστορίας,” Red Line. June 4, 2020.
- “Minneapolis, la battaglia degli afro-americani è tornata nelle strade,” NapoliMONiTOR. June 4, 2020.
- “Mort de George Floyd : Minneapolis, La Ville Aux Deux Visages.” Le Monde. Accessed June 5, 2020.
- “Muerte de George Floyd: Qué Es La ‘Paradoja de Minnesota’ y Qué Dice de La Discriminación Racial En Estados Unidos.” La Prensa Grafica. Accessed June 5, 2020.
- “Racial Inequality in Minneapolis Is among the Worst in the Nation.” The Washington Post. Accessed June 5, 2020.
- “¿Qué es la ‘paradoja de Minnesota’ y qué dice de la discriminación en EE. UU?” Semana. Accessed June 5, 2020.
- “SEMMCHRA — Committed to Fair Housing and Equality.” Southernminn.com. Accessed June 5, 2020.
- “Minneapolis – Điểm nóng phân biệt chủng tộc ở Mỹ.” vnexpress.net. Accessed June 5, 2020.
- “Why I, a Minneapolis Rabbi, Changed My Mind About ‘Black Lives Matter’” Jewish Week. Accessed June 5, 2020.
- “National Guard Called as Minneapolis Erupts in Solidarity for George Floyd.” Matt Furber, John Eligon, and Audra D. S. Burch. The New York Times, May 28, 2020.
