Raised in a large Catholic family in North Minneapolis, Hilda Simms became a national celebrity for her leading role in the first all-Black performance of the Broadway show Anna Lucasta. Frustrated by her struggling career and the lack of roles for Black actors, Simms worked as the creative director for the New York State Human Rights Commission to address racial discrimination in the entertainment industry.
J.C. Burbank’s Residence, Summit Avenue, St. Paul, MN. Engraving of the house from An Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Minnesota, by A. T. Andreas, 1874.