African Americans

Ruth Lamar McGhee

Ruth Lamar McGhee, adopted daughter of Frederick L. and Mattie Crane McGhee, in St. Paul, ca. 1910.

Hallie Q. Brown Community Center, St. Paul

Hallie Q. Brown Community Center (HQB) was founded in 1929 to support the growing Black community of St. Paul. Established to promote social harmony and help people find adequate housing, HQB also provided a place of refuge and solace. It became the second-largest neighborhood center in St. Paul, complementing the Phyllis Wheatley Settlement House in Minneapolis.

Lionel Richie, Apollonia Kotero, and Eddie Murphy at the Purple Rain premiere

Lionel Richie, Apollonia Kotero, and Eddie Murphy at the premiere of the movie Purple Rain, held in Los Angeles on July 26, 1984. Photo by Ellen Jaskol. Los Angeles Times Photographic Collection, Department of Special Collections, UCLA Library.

Minneapolis Sound (music genre)

The Minneapolis Sound is a music genre popularized by Prince and his many side bands, including Morris Day and The Time, the Family, Vanity 6, and Apollonia 6, as well as Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (working most notably with Janet Jackson) and the Jets. The Minneapolis Sound defined the sonic landscape of the 1980s and 1990s with its heavy punk- and rock-guitar solos, hard-driving, funky bass lines, and synth-forward, new-wave pop sensibilities. In the twenty-first century, it continues to influence artists like Janelle Monáe, Lizzo, Bruno Mars, and Brittany Howard.

Myst with Network

Myst, later known as Best Kept Secret. Pictured are (front, left to right) Kathleen Johnson, Kym/Mocha Johnson, and Rhonda Johnson with the band Network, including Kirk Johnson (back row, red bow tie). Photograph by Charles Chamblis, ca. 1985. Used with the permission of the Minnesota Historical Society library.