The City of Minneapolis has appointed 15 community members to the newly formed African American Heritage Work Group including these seven Northsiders: Kendra Ellner, Michelle Gibson, Minister Dr. Ora Hokes, Denise Jamison, Julia Moturi, Beverly Propes and Keegan Xavi.
The African American Heritage Work Group (AAHWG) will serve as an advisory board to the Minneapolis City Council on efforts to document and honor African American history. They will begin meeting in late July. Artists, educators, community leaders, and planners are among the volunteers selected for the work group.
AAHWG will advise on the Minneapolis African American Historic and Cultural Context study, which will include research on 25 sites that are culturally relevant or historically significant to the city’s Black community. Eventually, three sites from the context study will be nominated to the National Register of Historic Places.
The work group will meet once every one to two months throughout the next year. The first meeting will be Tuesday, July 30, 4-5 p.m. at the Minneapolis Central Library. The meetings will be organized by City staff and the public can attend and observe. Community members are invited to share their ideas about this work through an online feedback form.
Visit the City website to read more about the African American Historic and Cultural Context Study or to sign up for email updates on the project.