Minnesota's Black Community in the 21st Century

Edited by Anthony R. Scott, Dr. Chaunda L. Scott, and Dr. Charles E. Crutchfield III
Foreword by Mahmoud El-Kati

Minnesota Historical Society Press (June 2020)

An inspiring celebration of the accomplishments of African American professionals in Minnesota, highlighting the contributions of individuals and organizations in a wide range of fields.

Description

While African Americans comprise just five percent of the total population of Minnesota today, the state boasts many successful, creative, and influential African American residents who have left and continue to leave their mark in a wide range of professional and avocational pursuits. This book honors those individuals.

Minnesota's Black Community in the 21st Century shines a spotlight on African American individuals and organizations who are helping to build a better Minnesota. Continuing the tradition established by the pioneering books published by Walter R. Scott Sr. in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s, the Minnesota Black Community Project highlights the contributions of contemporary black Minnesotans in the fields of the arts, beauty and fashion, community service, education, entertainment, finance, government, labor, law and law enforcement, media and communications, medicine and health care, religion, social services, sports, science and technology, and more. Through a collaborative effort of writers and photographers, the book profiles men, women, and youth from throughout the state and examines the myriad ways in which the black community is engaged in Minnesota politics, business, and culture. Providing a snapshot look at African Americans today, the book offers inspiration for the future and looks forward to where we are heading.

Author information

About the Co-editors of Minnesota's Black Community in the 21st Century:

Anthony R. Scott, President, Minnesota's Black Community Project
Anthony R. Scott spent many years as a career counselor and vocational expert for the State of Minnesota Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Social Security Office, and his own private firm. He later spent 20 years as a supervisor with the Hennepin County Child Protection Unit. He continues to work as a consultant in employment issues. Scott also currently serves as the president of Minnesota’s Black Community Project, a nonprofit organization that highlights and celebrates the accomplishments of blacks in Minnesota. He lives in Minneapolis.​

Dr. Chaunda L. Scott, Secretary, Minnesota's Black Community Project
Dr. Chaunda L. Scott is an associate professor, graduate coordinator, and diversity and inclusion specialist at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. She earned a doctorate in Adult Education/Organizational Leadership with a focus in diversity education from Teachers College at Columbia University and a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Dr. Scott has co-authored seven scholarly books and numerous single authored and co-authored book chapters and articles on the topics of workforce diversity education, diversity education, eradicating racism, human resource development, and organizational leadership. Dr. Scott has also been the recipient of several academic teaching, research and service awards with the most recent award being the 2020 Monica Emerson Diversity Excellence Award. Most notable in 2015,. Dr. Scott was granted a prestigious Fulbright Specialist Award in Cape Town, South Africa, where she engaged in diversity education work focused in the areas of teaching and research. In addition to the above, Dr. Scott serves as the secretary for Minnesota’s Black Community Project.

Dr. Charles E. Crutchfield III, Vice, President, Minnesota's Black Community Project
Charles E. Crutchfield III, M.D., is a board-certified dermatologist and graduate of the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine and a Clinical Professor of Dermatology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Dr. Crutchfield is a Benedict Distinguished Visiting Professor of Biology at Carleton College. He is currently the Medical Director of Crutchfield Dermatology in Eagan, (serving the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area), Minnesota. Dr. Crutchfield has been selected as one of the "Best Doctors in America" by Castle Connolly and has been internationally recognized as an expert in skin-of-color disorders as well as acne, psoriasis, vitiligo, and atopic eczema. Dr. Crutchfield is the co-author of a children's book on sun protection and a textbook of dermatology. He is a member of the AΩA National Medical Honor Society, an expert consultant for WebMD and CNN, and a recipient of the Karis Humanitarian Award from the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine. Dr. Crutchfield was also given "first a physician" award from Twin Cities Medical Society, Healthcare Hero award, and selected as one of the 100 most influential healthcare leaders in Minnesota, and one of the Top 100 African –American Newsmakers in the United States by The Grio, an affiliate of NBC News. Dr. Crutchfield is also the past president of the Minnesota Association of Black Physicians and the Vice President of Minnesota’s Black Community Project.

Foreword by:

Mahmoud El-Kati is a lecturer, writer, and commentator on the African American experience. He specializes in African American history and advocates institution building within cultural communities. He is professor emeritus of history at Macalester College, which has established the Mahmoud El-Kati Distinguished Lectureship in American Studies. El-Kati lives in the Rondo neighborhood, St. Paul’s historic Black community.

Reviews and news

Winner of the 2020 R. Wayne Pace Human Resource Development Book of the Year Award from the Academy of Human Resource Development (HRD), Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

MPR
African American Registry

Advance Praise:

“Much of the history of African Americans in Minnesota has fortunately been preserved for the ages thanks to the pioneering work of Walter Scott, whose publications from the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s have recently been reissued by the Minnesota Historical Society as The Scott Collection. Now, Mr. Scott’s children, who are board members of Minnesota’s Black Community Project, have undertaken a continuation of their father’s work by bringing his treasuries of historical preservation up to date.

“Their new collection, Minnesota’s Black Community in the 21st Century, continues the documentation of Black excellence by highlighting contemporary successful African Americans engaged in a broad range of crafts and professions. The book’s short biographies and photos capture as nothing else can all there is to celebrate in the present generation of Minnesota’s African American community. Together with Walter Scott’s legacy, we are blessed with a panoramic vision of a people’s indomitable pride, dignity, and steady advance. To experience this vision is to be inspired and filled with pride and hope for our future. Enjoy the books, see the vision, and give thanks.”
Jerry Freeman, senior editor, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

“Our history as a people is one that must be told, learned, and recorded. Minnesota’s Black Community in the 21st Century is a wonderful and needed continuation of Mr. Walter Scott’s publications. It is a valuable public resource as well as a great reference for educators at all levels.”
Benjamin Mchie, founder and president, African American Registry

“Minnesota’s Black Community in the 21st Century continues the important work of Walter Scott and his profiles of prominent African Americans in Minnesota from the 1960s and ’70s. The biographies in this work, compiled by Minnesota’s Black Community Project, will give today’s readers an excellent overview of key figures in the state’s African American community, while also providing vital information for future researchers.”
Edward Hathaway, manager, Special Collections, Archives, Preservation and Digitization, Hennepin County Library

“All too often, Minnesota history has been whitewashed as the story of voyageurs and senators, and the vibrant cultural and artistic life of Minnesota’s Black community is presented only as an ‘add on’ to a white narrative. In this crucial and necessary book, we see the current and future faces of our state excelling across all dimensions of human endeavor. It is a valuable documentation of where we are now and the promise of our future.”
Stephen Brookfield, John Ireland Endowed Chair, University of St. Thomas

“Without documentation, history cannot be preserved. Minneapolis publisher Walter R. Scott Sr. knew this when he set out to record the lives and work of Black Minnesotans in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. Collectively the photos and biographical sketches in his three books provide more than snapshots of vibrant lives—they give us the feel of an era. Minnesota’s Black Community in the 21st Century extends Scott’s extraordinary vision and puts in our hands the joys and accomplishments of today’s Black professionals in Minnesota, ensuring that Minnesota’s Black history will endure. This highly anticipated publication will serve as an essential resource on Black history in Minnesota and is a welcome addition to the shelves of the Gary Sudduth African American History and Culture Collection at Sumner Library.”
Natalie Hart, adult services librarian, Hennepin County Library Sumner Branch

“When it comes to researching and preserving the history of postwar African American life in Minnesota, Walter Scott’s pioneering trilogy of books—now reissued as The Scott Collection—has proven invaluable. Minnesota’s Black Community in the 21st Century builds on Walter Scott’s legacy as a forward-thinking journalist and chronicler of everyday Black excellence, bringing the project into the modern age by highlighting the contributions being made right here, right now.”
Andrea Swensson, radio host for 89.3 The Current and author of Got to Be Something Here: The Rise of the Minneapolis Sound

“I have lived in the Twin Cities since the early ’70s, and I had been exposed to Walter Scott’s books shortly after arriving. When I met Anthony Scott some time later, I was surprised to hear his father was the author of those books. I’m elated to see those books updated into the 21st century. I know his father is proud that the legacy continues.”
William C. Crutcher III, retired assistant general counsel, chief environmental counsel, General Mills

“The publication of Minnesota’s Black Community in the 21st Century is both necessary and timely. The continued documentation of the progress made is also a reminder that the work is ongoing and continuing to progress. I applaud the efforts of the nonprofit Minnesota’s Black Community Project in compiling such an important work.”
Michael T. Fagin, PhD, special presidential advisor, Minnesota State University

Video

• Hardcover
• 224 pages
• 300 b/w photos
• 8.5 x 11 inches
• ISBN: 9781681341316