MPR’s Cari Spencer takes a tour of south Minneapolis with Greg McMoore, member of the African American Heritage Work Group. McMoore highlights various sites he hopes to preserve as part of the city’s African American history.
The 15-person advisory board is guiding the city in efforts to research and document sites of significance, ultimately narrowing in on three to nominate to the National Register of Historic Places.
SPEAKER: What do baseball legend Willie Mays and Lena Smith, the first Black woman to hold a law license in the state of Minnesota, have in common? Both of them are former residents of South Minneapolis. A work group made up of Minneapolis residents is currently creating a list of African-American historical sites across the city. Cari Spencer recently tagged along with a member of the group, who gave her a tour of a section of the city's South Side that holds deep significance for him and generations of other African-Americans.
CARI SPENCER: As a kid in the 1960s, Greg McMoore and his friends perused Mr. Crown's Record Shop, near the corner of 38th Street and Fourth Ave., picking out 45s recorded by their favorite artists.
[THE TEMPTATIONS, "GET READY"]
GREG MCMOORE: I was a Temptations person, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, kind of the romantic stuff.
(SINGING) You're all right
CARI SPENCER: McMoore and his friends would wait outside the shop for a glimpse of their personal heroes, the Central High track team, as they ran past the Young Brothers Barbershop, past Mr. [? Coleman's ?] Shoe Store, past the Dreamland Social Club and the bank. McMoore is now 71. Standing near the intersection on a crisp fall day, he says this area was the hub of a vital community.
GREG MCMOORE: When you came into this community, especially when you went across 38th Street, there was something in the air. You felt that you belonged to something. It was a sense of strength and vitality.
CARI SPENCER: As a member of the African-American Heritage Work Group, McMoore is one of 15 city residents tasked with researching and narrowing in on a list of notable places to nominate to the National Register of Historic Places.
GREG MCMOORE: I'm, I guess, viewed as an elder now. And there's not many of us left to be able to talk about what was here.
CARI SPENCER: The group is considering a number of landmarks across the city, including several in his old neighborhood, like the Sabathani Community Center, which used to be Bryant Junior High School. Documenting it all is an important job for McMoore. And he's been eager to bring his South Side knowledge to the table.
GREG MCMOORE: I'm always thinking about where we came from as developing an understanding of where we're going to go. You have to know where you came from if you want to talk about who you are.
CARI SPENCER: McMoore points out how the intersection of 38th and Fourth used to be full of African-American-owned businesses, like the Black-owned newspaper now known as the Minnesota Spokesman Recorder, which recently celebrated its 90th year.
[CAR DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
McMoore gets in his car to continue his tour of South Side historical sites. He passes the home where the legendary Willie Mays lived when he played baseball for the city's AAA ball club, the Minneapolis Millers.
GREG MCMOORE: Wow, that's Willie Mays.
[LAUGHS]
And he lived right here in this block.
CARI SPENCER: We also passed by where Lena O. Smith, the first Black woman licensed to practice law in Minnesota, once lived. Then McMoore approaches a bridge over I-35W, which was built through the heart of the old South Side Black community more than 50 years ago.
GREG MCMOORE: Whenever I head to downtown Minneapolis on the freeway, I know exactly where the house was, and it feels like I'm driving through my living room.
CARI SPENCER: Freeway construction in the '60s wiped out homes were over 80% of the Twin Cities' Black population lived, destroying the opportunity to build wealth.
GREG MCMOORE: There's many folks who talk about 94 going through St. Paul and destroying Rondo. But over here, it was 35 going through South Minneapolis and dismantled our community.
CARI SPENCER: That community and all of its vibrance needs to be honored, he says. And he's eager to help the city recognize its historical significance. The work group will hold its next meeting in February. Cari Spencer, MPR News, Minneapolis.
SPEAKER: This story was made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendments Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
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