What was it like for African Americans (who at that time in history preferred to be called Negroes) in a very white state from 1820 to 1920? How were they treated? Where did they work? You’ll find that some white Minnesotans owned slaves, that St. Paul was a station on the underground railroad, and that the St. Paul Public Schools were segregated by law. In addition, the Ku Klux Klan was alive and well in the land of 10,000 Scandinavians. Join us in learning some surprising aspects of Minnesota’s past.

Kathy Simmer taught in the St. Paul Public Schools and was very interested in historical research. Upon retirement she began teaching classes on American history topics in several suburbs and for various organizations. She likes to include the details that are often left out of the history books. All of her portion of the class fee is donated to the Alzheimer’s Association or the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research.