Black Minnesotans in the Red River Valley at the Browns Valley Public Library

Missy Hermes, Education Coordinator for the Otter Tail County Historical Society, delves into the region’s unique and proud African America history that dates back to the first Black people to live in Minnesota, the Bonga family. Pride in this history sometimes overlooks challenges of being Black in rural Minnesota.

A companion program to the TESTIFY Exhibit.

This program is sponsored by Browns Valley Public Library and Viking Library System, funded in part or in whole with monies from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Photo of the Honeycutt family courtesy of the Otter Tail County Historical Society.