On August 21, 2021, Harold Huggins and his vision for a historical bicycle tour under the name Ride4Reparations embarked from McRae Park in South Minneapolis.
Harold’s intention with his route was to combine his love of bicycling with his desire to:
- Raise the consciousness of Americans regarding how important slavery and enslaved people were
in making America the prosperous and powerful country it is today. - Recognize that systemic American racism, a legacy of slavery, is a disease in America and that both the cure and the vaccine for racism is honest, in-depth education.
- Give people transformational, educational bicycle rides intended to raise awareness and bring about individual change through highlighting sites of importance in America’s Black communities, and
- Donate financially to the agencies and institutions whose mission is to uplift members of these communities.
While the ride is not scheduled to be repeated any time soon, we have provided a link to the route here and an explanation of the significance of the stops along the route below starting and ending at McRae Park.
Stop 1 – The Lee House – 4600 Columbus Ave.
The Lee Family was the first black family to move into this neighborhood and were met with constant harassment that even escalated to a climax on July 17, 1931, only a month after the Lees moved in, when an “unruly mob” of about 4,000 people gathered in front of the house, demanding that the black family leave the white neighborhood. More on Streets.mn
Stop 2 – The Jackson House – 17 Melbourne Ave.
The Jacksons and Simpson families each faced intimidation from the all-white neighborhood they attempted to move into in Prospect Park. The Minneapolis Tribune even referred to it as a “Race War.” More at Historyapolis.
Stop 3 – President of Augsburg College Home – 2848 West River Road.
Paul Pribbenow was horrified to discover that there was a racial covenant on his home that had prohibited black people from living there. Efforts have been underway to remove racial covenants from deeds. More about the Mapping Prejudice project.
Stop 4 – Edmund Walton Racial Covenant Origin 3420 Park Terrace
Developer Edmund G. Walton offered “restricted” housing sites overlooking Lake of the Isles that could not “be conveyed mortgaged or leased to any person or persons of Chinese, Japanese, Moorish, Turkish, Negro, Mongolian, Semetic [sic] or African blood or descent.” More at mnopedia.org
Stop 5 – Thorpe Bros. Development – 4648 Nokomis Ave.
Like Walton, Samuel Thorpe was also instrumental in spreading the usage of racial covenants in highly desirable areas of Minneapolis like the stretch of Minnehaha Creek from 4648 Nokomis Ave. LOTS more at storymaps.
Big thanks to Penny Peterson and others of the Mapping Prejudice project. A great discussion on the project can be listened to at the streetsmn podcast here.
If you were moved by any of the content here it’s Harold’s wish that you will consider your role in supporting the movement for reparations for Black families. Donations to the Northside Achievement Zone will also be appreciated.
