Twin Cities Green Book sites were touchstones for Black travelers in the segregation era
A copy of the 1952 Green Book and a page showing Green Book sites in Minnesota.
Courtesy of New York Public Library Digital Collections
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During the era of Jim Crow laws and racial segregation, 87 locations in Minnesota were listed in the Green Book, a guidebook that helped Black travelers find lodgings, businesses and gas stations that would serve them.
But less than a quarter of these sites in Minnesota remain standing today. Most of the state’s Green Book sites were in the Twin Cities and many were demolished to make way for the construction of I35-W and I-94.
Nieeta Presley is a native of the historic Rondo neighborhood, which was one of those demolished by highway construction. She published research on Rondo Green Book sites with the Ramsey County Historical Society and joins MPR News host Nina Moini to share what she found.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
NINA MOINI: During the era of Jim Crow laws and racial segregation, 87 locations in Minnesota were listed in the Green Book, a guidebook that helped Black travelers find lodging, businesses, and gas stations that would serve them. But less than a quarter of these sites in Minnesota remain standing today.
The majority of Green Book sites were in the Twin Cities, and many of those sites were demolished to make way for the construction of I-35W and I-94. We want to focus on Green Book sites in one of those neighborhoods demolished by highway construction, the historic Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul.
Joining me in the studio to talk about this is Nieeta Presley She's a Rondo native and published her research on Rondo Green Book sites with the Ramsey County Historical Society. Thanks so much for being here, Nieeta.
NIEETA PRESLEY: Thank you for having me.
NINA MOINI: This is just such an amazing project that you've been working on. I feel like some Minnesotans may be surprised, though, that Green Book sites were here in Minnesota, not just in the Deep South. For people who may not be familiar with this just part of history, can you talk a little bit, please, about how important the Green Book was to Black travelers during that time?
NIEETA PRESLEY: Well, during this time of the publication of the Green Book, it was very important for Black people because the book allowed Black folk to travel safely and to know places that cater to Black people, and also how to travel through different towns and different states.
NINA MOINI: Yeah-- a critical resource, really. And I understand there were nine Green Book locations in Rondo in St. Paul area. Could you tell me about how these locations and the people who owned them and ran them contributed to the community and being helpful?
NIEETA PRESLEY: Well, it's exciting to know that the nine sites in the Rondo neighborhood were in business as early as the 1920s, early-1920s. So they had been serving people in various ways. And the sites that I talked about, the nine sites that I talked about, were published in the Green Book starting in about 1940. And these businesses were a collection of gas stations, service stations, restaurants slash bars, or they were places where people could lay their heads and stay while they were staying in Minnesota.
NINA MOINI: May I ask what led you to want to research these locations?
NIEETA PRESLEY: Well, it's unfortunate that a lot of people didn't know about the Green Book, and I'm one of them. I didn't know about the Green Book until I actually looked at the movie called The Green Book. And it was a story about a famous pianist, Don-- I'm losing his name. Don Shelby, who was going to travel to the South.
And he used the Green Book, along with a driver that was Italian, to know where to go and safe places. So my interest was really sparked. And then the editor from the Ramsey County Historical Magazine happened to be talking to my former board chair of the organization in which I retired about writing an article on Nellie Francis, who was a Black suffragist and activist.
And she had brought along a couple of the Green Books that she had. And in the conversation, she asked me, she said, I'm looking for an author or a writer to do some research on the Green Book sites in Minnesota-- in particular, the Rondo neighborhood.
NINA MOINI: Sure.
NIEETA PRESLEY: So I was taken aback. I said, oh, we had Green Book sites in the Rondo neighborhood? And at that time, I said, well, I think I'm a little too busy. But I'm excited. I would love to do it.
So fast forwarding, once I retired, she reached out to me again and asked me, would I be still interested in doing the research and writing an article? So that's how it all came about, me writing this, doing the research, and writing this article.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. So many of us don't know many parts of history. Even when you're from an area, you might not know. So this is a beautiful undertaking that you've taken on here.
Was there anything that really surprised you about what you came to find or really stood out?
NIEETA PRESLEY: Well, there were several things that really stood out. I was excited to find that some of the homeowner-- well, not only homeowners, or owners of the businesses that were run by Black women. And they usually were a couple-- they were husband and wives. But the women took charge of the businesses.
They were the face of the business. They managed it. They operated it, ran it. So that was one thing that was exciting to me and something interesting to find.
NINA MOINI: Absolutely. Just the critical role of women throughout history, sometimes it's not the most highlighted, but it's fascinating to learn about. I want to talk about the sites in Rondo, though, because I understand eight of the nine are actually no longer standing, right, due, again, to the construction of I-94 that really demolished this vibrant community of Rondo that was predominantly with Black residents at the time. But one remains. Can you talk a little bit about the Villa Wilson and some of the efforts to get it recognized as a historic landmark?
NIEETA PRESLEY: Well, yes. The one that's standing is at 697 St. Anthony in St. Paul. And that's the Wilson Villa boarding house. It is now a single family home, owned home by a family now.
And one of the things that rethinking I-94 MNDOT has done, they have to do a scan of all the buildings, and homes, or businesses that were in the area that they're going to do this redevelopment of I-94. And so with that information that we've done, or I've done, with this research, I would like to see how not only 697 can be honored as a historic site in the history to the Rondo neighborhood and to the African-American community, but look at the other eight sites that were in the neighborhood as well. So I've been in conversation with MNDOT and some of the folks that are working closely with the Rondo neighborhood in thinking about that might be something that we could do.
NINA MOINI: Absolutely. The project you're talking about, Rethinking I-94, is the state and the Department of Transportation saying when these highways were constructed, it took out homes, and businesses, and neighborhoods. When the state is going to go ahead and do some work in that area, they want to take into account the harm that was done in the past. And this fascinated me that there's only two Minnesota businesses that continue to operate under the same name and location they were listed in the Green Book.
Those are not in Rondo-- we talked about Rondo-- but the St. Paul Hotel and Lexington Restaurant, both in the city of St. Paul. That's a lot of history that has been lost. Before I let you go, Nieeta, I wonder how you would advise Minnesotans to do more to make sure that these sites are remembered.
NIEETA PRESLEY: Yes. To add to the historical scan, our organization, the organization I retired from, the Aurora St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation, we were able to get funding through the legacy funding to do what is called the first St. Paul African-American Historic Cultural Context study.
And in that study, there were many sites and buildings in the Rondo neighborhood, and in the state of Minnesota, that were found and looked at in this historic context study. And what it helps us do is identify our history and can help us think about setting up a preservation plan. So having these additional sites be named in the Green Book could, again, help us as a community, as the Rondo descendants in the Rondo neighborhood think about creating a preservation plan.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. Just make formalized ways to really preserve history and to continue to talk about it. Nieeta, thank you so much for coming in today and sharing your wonderful work with us. It's so important. Thank you.
NIEETA PRESLEY: And Thank you for having me.
NINA MOINI: Absolutely. That was Rondo Native Nieeta Presley. Her research on Rondo Green Book sites is published in the Ramsey County Historical Society magazine. For Black History Month, MPR News has compiled a list of Black historic sites across the state of Minnesota. You can find that at mprnews.org.
The majority of Green Book sites were in the Twin Cities, and many of those sites were demolished to make way for the construction of I-35W and I-94. We want to focus on Green Book sites in one of those neighborhoods demolished by highway construction, the historic Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul.
Joining me in the studio to talk about this is Nieeta Presley She's a Rondo native and published her research on Rondo Green Book sites with the Ramsey County Historical Society. Thanks so much for being here, Nieeta.
NIEETA PRESLEY: Thank you for having me.
NINA MOINI: This is just such an amazing project that you've been working on. I feel like some Minnesotans may be surprised, though, that Green Book sites were here in Minnesota, not just in the Deep South. For people who may not be familiar with this just part of history, can you talk a little bit, please, about how important the Green Book was to Black travelers during that time?
NIEETA PRESLEY: Well, during this time of the publication of the Green Book, it was very important for Black people because the book allowed Black folk to travel safely and to know places that cater to Black people, and also how to travel through different towns and different states.
NINA MOINI: Yeah-- a critical resource, really. And I understand there were nine Green Book locations in Rondo in St. Paul area. Could you tell me about how these locations and the people who owned them and ran them contributed to the community and being helpful?
NIEETA PRESLEY: Well, it's exciting to know that the nine sites in the Rondo neighborhood were in business as early as the 1920s, early-1920s. So they had been serving people in various ways. And the sites that I talked about, the nine sites that I talked about, were published in the Green Book starting in about 1940. And these businesses were a collection of gas stations, service stations, restaurants slash bars, or they were places where people could lay their heads and stay while they were staying in Minnesota.
NINA MOINI: May I ask what led you to want to research these locations?
NIEETA PRESLEY: Well, it's unfortunate that a lot of people didn't know about the Green Book, and I'm one of them. I didn't know about the Green Book until I actually looked at the movie called The Green Book. And it was a story about a famous pianist, Don-- I'm losing his name. Don Shelby, who was going to travel to the South.
And he used the Green Book, along with a driver that was Italian, to know where to go and safe places. So my interest was really sparked. And then the editor from the Ramsey County Historical Magazine happened to be talking to my former board chair of the organization in which I retired about writing an article on Nellie Francis, who was a Black suffragist and activist.
And she had brought along a couple of the Green Books that she had. And in the conversation, she asked me, she said, I'm looking for an author or a writer to do some research on the Green Book sites in Minnesota-- in particular, the Rondo neighborhood.
NINA MOINI: Sure.
NIEETA PRESLEY: So I was taken aback. I said, oh, we had Green Book sites in the Rondo neighborhood? And at that time, I said, well, I think I'm a little too busy. But I'm excited. I would love to do it.
So fast forwarding, once I retired, she reached out to me again and asked me, would I be still interested in doing the research and writing an article? So that's how it all came about, me writing this, doing the research, and writing this article.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. So many of us don't know many parts of history. Even when you're from an area, you might not know. So this is a beautiful undertaking that you've taken on here.
Was there anything that really surprised you about what you came to find or really stood out?
NIEETA PRESLEY: Well, there were several things that really stood out. I was excited to find that some of the homeowner-- well, not only homeowners, or owners of the businesses that were run by Black women. And they usually were a couple-- they were husband and wives. But the women took charge of the businesses.
They were the face of the business. They managed it. They operated it, ran it. So that was one thing that was exciting to me and something interesting to find.
NINA MOINI: Absolutely. Just the critical role of women throughout history, sometimes it's not the most highlighted, but it's fascinating to learn about. I want to talk about the sites in Rondo, though, because I understand eight of the nine are actually no longer standing, right, due, again, to the construction of I-94 that really demolished this vibrant community of Rondo that was predominantly with Black residents at the time. But one remains. Can you talk a little bit about the Villa Wilson and some of the efforts to get it recognized as a historic landmark?
NIEETA PRESLEY: Well, yes. The one that's standing is at 697 St. Anthony in St. Paul. And that's the Wilson Villa boarding house. It is now a single family home, owned home by a family now.
And one of the things that rethinking I-94 MNDOT has done, they have to do a scan of all the buildings, and homes, or businesses that were in the area that they're going to do this redevelopment of I-94. And so with that information that we've done, or I've done, with this research, I would like to see how not only 697 can be honored as a historic site in the history to the Rondo neighborhood and to the African-American community, but look at the other eight sites that were in the neighborhood as well. So I've been in conversation with MNDOT and some of the folks that are working closely with the Rondo neighborhood in thinking about that might be something that we could do.
NINA MOINI: Absolutely. The project you're talking about, Rethinking I-94, is the state and the Department of Transportation saying when these highways were constructed, it took out homes, and businesses, and neighborhoods. When the state is going to go ahead and do some work in that area, they want to take into account the harm that was done in the past. And this fascinated me that there's only two Minnesota businesses that continue to operate under the same name and location they were listed in the Green Book.
Those are not in Rondo-- we talked about Rondo-- but the St. Paul Hotel and Lexington Restaurant, both in the city of St. Paul. That's a lot of history that has been lost. Before I let you go, Nieeta, I wonder how you would advise Minnesotans to do more to make sure that these sites are remembered.
NIEETA PRESLEY: Yes. To add to the historical scan, our organization, the organization I retired from, the Aurora St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation, we were able to get funding through the legacy funding to do what is called the first St. Paul African-American Historic Cultural Context study.
And in that study, there were many sites and buildings in the Rondo neighborhood, and in the state of Minnesota, that were found and looked at in this historic context study. And what it helps us do is identify our history and can help us think about setting up a preservation plan. So having these additional sites be named in the Green Book could, again, help us as a community, as the Rondo descendants in the Rondo neighborhood think about creating a preservation plan.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. Just make formalized ways to really preserve history and to continue to talk about it. Nieeta, thank you so much for coming in today and sharing your wonderful work with us. It's so important. Thank you.
NIEETA PRESLEY: And Thank you for having me.
NINA MOINI: Absolutely. That was Rondo Native Nieeta Presley. Her research on Rondo Green Book sites is published in the Ramsey County Historical Society magazine. For Black History Month, MPR News has compiled a list of Black historic sites across the state of Minnesota. You can find that at mprnews.org.
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