Exhibits

Through personal stories, photographs, cultural objects, and community voices, Highlands to Home explores the journeys of Hmong families who established new roots in Minnesota. Celebrating traditions, perseverance, and cultural continuity, it highlights the many ways Hmong communities have contributed to and transformed the region’s cultural fabric. Visitors are invited to reflect on themes of belonging, identity, and community while honoring a legacy that continues to shape Minnesota today.

In 2015, 70 individuals, representing more than a dozen local organizations, traveled from Saint Paul, Minnesota to Selma, Alabama to commemorate the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday.” This journey wasn’t just about looking back. It was a call to action, a reminder that the fight for civil rights and justice is ongoing. The Pilgrims’ experiences, their reflections, and the lessons they brought back are captured in this Selma 70 exhibit. Through their eyes, we explore not only the history of the Civil Rights Movement but also its lasting impact and the continuous struggle for equality and justice in our own times.

Persistence: Continuing the Struggle for Suffrage and Equality, 1848 – 2020, recognizes the champions at all levels of work who struggled to achieve voting rights for women in Minnesota, and whose example still serves activists in our community today

The exhibition, created with a partnership between the Ramsey County Historical Society and Minneapolis/St. Paul (MN) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated features historical information and photos, interpretive panels, and objects that documents the history of the Minneapolis/St. Paul (MN) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated. The Links, Incorporated is one of this nation’s oldest and largest volunteer service organizations. These extraordinary women are committed to enriching, sustaining, and ensuring the cultural and economic survival of African Americans and other people of African ancestry.

Image: Charter members of Minneapolis/St. Paul (MN) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, 1973.
Photo courtesy of Marion Kennon.
Back row, (l-r): Wilma Allison (Moore), Cynthia Tyson, Sandra McGee, Beverly Thompson, Jean Hudson, Shirley Kaiser, Marion Kennon.
Middle row, (l-r): LaRue McClung, Ida-Lorraine Wilderson, Diane Jones (Smith), Leanora Charles, Phyllis Ellis.
Front row, (l-r): Joyce Jackson, Wenda Moore, Rosemary Davis.