“Community Connections: African Americans in Rochester,” which opened July 9, explores how the Black community developed in the city in the 1960s and 1970s. It helps to fill in a knowledge gap in the general public about the city’s small and under-represented Black population.
Here are five takeaways from the exhibit:
Rochester was a hostile environment for Black people in the 1960s.
Rochester citizens were antagonistic to Black people when they first started coming to the city in higher numbers. They faced outrage and discrimination.
Moreover, there was no community for the new Black Rochesterites. There was no place for them to get haircuts, buy clothes or participate in social gatherings. They could go weeks without seeing another person of color away from work.
In the words of Virginia Mendenhall, who came to Rochester in the 1960s: “Minnesota was basically a white state.”
Jobs at IBM drove Black people to migrate to Rochester, and the company became a hub of social activity.
In 1960, there were only 68 Black citizens in Olmsted County, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But when IBM began recruiting Black people to come work at its facility in Rochester, that population rapidly increased.
With the lack of an established Black community, the workplace turned into the go-to spot for building connections. IBM provided many benefits besides a good job, including social gatherings like cookouts, banquets and sports leagues.
This allowed the growing Black workforce to make friends and begin creating that community they so desired.
Social clubs were instrumental in the development of Black culture and community.
Outside of IBM, there still remained no real sense of acceptance for the Black population. That changed with the founding of two social clubs: the all-male Trendsetters, and the all-female EbonSisters.
These groups facilitated connections between otherwise isolated Black populations. They hosted events like holiday parties, game nights and organized activities like group trips to the Twin Cities to see Black artists.
Within these popular clubs, Black culture flourished.
Churches gave many Black families something familiar and helped ground them in the community.
As in many Black communities in America, the church was the center of social life. That was the case in Rochester, too, but it developed in a more unusual way.
Early Black Rochesterites attended white churches because the community did not have an established place of worship. Levels of acceptance within these churches varied, but once Black residents found a place where they felt most comfortable, the church became an important part of their life.
When the Rochester Community Baptist Church was established, it became the first predominantly Black church in the city. Not all Black residents left for this new house of worship, especially if they were not Baptist, but it provided a place for a thriving Black community to develop.
Organized sports helped Black children stay active, even if they faced unequal treatment.
While adults relied on social groups and churches to build community, Black youngsters turned to extracurricular activities to make those connections, particularly organized sports.
Football and baseball were the most popular sports, though Black players weren’t always given a fair shot. They didn’t play as much because the white coaches did not want them to outplay their white teammates. Particularly in football, white players would try to purposely injure the Black players.
When Black parents got involved in coaching, that forced white parents and players to become more comfortable with the Black players. They were then more effectively able to create a community and sporting culture.
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