Twin Cities Green Book sites were touchstones for Black travelers in the segregation era

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.