Thank you to everyone who helped make the 2021 Exploring History and Culture in Central Minnesota February event series a great success. This year’s series featured programming from the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery (MAAHMG). Founded in 2018, MAAHMG is dedicated to preserving, recording and highlighting the achievements, contributions and experiences of African Americans in Minnesota. Special thanks to Tina Burnside from MAAHMG for organizing this year’s events. Thank you also to the other program participants – Coventry Cowens, Georgia Fort, Joe Davis, Melodee Strong, Leesa Kelly and Kenda Zellner-Smith.
Launched in 2019, the Exploring History and Culture in Central Minnesota series is a partnership project of the Benton, Sherburne, Stearns and Morrison County historical societies. This year’s series was made possible through the generous support of Sourcewell and Rethos: Places Reimagined. Support also comes from the members and donors of each organization, whose contributions help to preserve and share the history of central Minnesota and to provide for programs like these.
To learn more about the series and the programs offered in 2019 with The Somali Museum of Minnesota and in 2020 with The Museum of Russian Art, look for our About tab and select Exploring History and Culture in Central Minnesota in the drop-down menu (https://morrisoncountyhistory.org/?page_id=8698). There you will find information on the series and links to videos of the first two events, A Conversation with the Cofounders of the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery (MAAHMG) and The Role of the Arts and Artists in Social Justice Movements. Technical difficulties the day of the final event, Save the Boards to Memorialize the Movement, unfortunately prevented recording. Learn more about the Save the Boards project on the Memorialize the Movement website. Also available on the event series page is a link to the KVSC Untold Stories of Central MN podcast featuring this year’s series.
Thank you to Riley Gage of Rethos for managing the technical side of this year’s virtual events and to Professor Christopher P. Lehman of St. Cloud State University, the Minnesota Historical Society Press and the Great River Regional Library for help with the Reading Resource List.
This year’s series was held via Zoom due to the pandemic. We hope to return to in-person events next year with the addition of a hybrid model, allowing for remote access. Stay tuned!