When most people think of a Southside, they usually are thinking of the Southside of Chicago, with all of its culture and history. Well, this ain’t that Southside. This is the Southside of a place most people have heard of, but know very little about. I’m talking about the Southside of Minneapolis, like in Minnesota.
From the 1960s through the early 1980s, the heart of Black life in South Minneapolis was a clearly defined, culturally rich enclave shaped both by community resilience and the constraints of discriminatory housing practices. The neighborhood stretched from Chicago Avenue on the east, Nicollet Avenue on the west, Lake Street to the north, and 48th Street to the south.
Due to redlining and restrictive covenants, this area became the primary residential hub for Black families in South Minneapolis, forming a tight-knit, vibrant community.
The undisputed center of Black Southside life was the intersection of 38th Street and 4th Avenue. Here, a concentration of Black-owned businesses—barbershops, beauty salons, soul food restaurants, small grocery stores, record shops, and service businesses—made the corner a gathering place where people met, talked, worshiped, organized, and supported one another. This corner was more than commerce—it was the cultural heartbeat of the community.
It wasn’t as big as the Northside Black community. In fact, it often felt like it was the Northside’s younger sibling. Each area had its own identity, as well as the Rondo district, in St. Paul, which was decimated by the construction of I-94 running right through the heart of the neighborhood.
The characters in these stories are not based on anyone in particular, so if a character is mentioned who lived on 37th and 3rd Avenue, and you think it must be…..No, it’s not.
Hope you enjoy