Listening to the Voices

During this session, Eric Roper and Greg McMoore reflected on race, housing, and the hidden histories woven into Minneapolis neighborhoods. Eric shared how researching his 113-year-old Minneapolis home led him to uncover the story of the Robinson family, a couple who lived there nearly a century ago. Through their lives, he explored broader truths about race, belonging, and the ways housing history reveals patterns of inequality in Minneapolis—often called the city that became ground zero for a global racial reckoning. Greg added his perspective as a lifelong South Minneapolis resident, activist, and community historian, sharing his own family’s “North Star Journey” from escaping slavery in Virginia to becoming one of the first Black families to settle in Hastings, Minnesota. Together, the conversation highlighted how personal histories and neighborhood stories help us better understand our communities today, and the work still needed for justice and belonging.