A Peculiar Imbalance: The Fall and Rise of Racial Equality in Early Minnesota

by William D. Green

In the 1850s, as Minnesota Territory was reaching toward statehood, settlers from the eastern United States moved in, carrying rigid perceptions of race and culture into a community built by people of many backgrounds who relied on each other for survival. History professor William Green unearths the untold stories of African Americans and contrasts their experiences with those of Indians, mixed bloods, and Irish Catholics. He demonstrates how a government built on the ideals of liberty and equality denied the rights to vote, run for office, and serve on a jury to free men fully engaged in the lives of their respective communities.

Genres: History, Research, Race

232 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2007

About the author

William D. Green was the M. Anita Gaye Hawthorne Professor of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies and Professor of History at Augsburg University until 2022. Devoting his career to writing about race and Minnesota, he has published four books—A Peculiar Imbalance: The Fall and Rise of Racial Equality in Early Minnesota, Degrees of Freedom: The Origins of Civil Rights in Minnesota, The Children of Lincoln: White Paternalism and the Limits on Black Opportunity, and Nellie Francis: Fighting for Racial Justice and Women’s Equality in Minnesota.

Degrees of Freedom and The Children of Lincoln won the Hognander-Minnesota Book Awards in 2016 and 2020, respectively. He holds an MA, a PhD, and a JD from the University of Minnesota, and a B.A. in History from Gustavus Adolphus College. He served as Superintendent of Minneapolis Schools and vice president of the executive council of the Minnesota Historical Society. He has published articles, op-ed pieces, and book chapters on history, law, and education, and has spoken widely at such places as the Ramsey County Bar Association; Friends of the Ramsey County Library; Unity Unitarian Universalist Church in St. Paul, and William Mitchell Law School. He has also lectured at Peabody College-Vanderbilt University, St. John’s University, and Lincoln College-Oxford University. While serving as Superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools, he studied school reform at Harvard University.

Reviews

[Karen Kohoutek · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more of a proper history book than I normally read (more dates and facts than analysis, sometimes a little dry), but it's full of information I didn't know about my home state, and very valuable in giving context to how we as a nation got in this mess. It details the evolving legal status (as far as citizenship, voting rights and other civic inclusion, and eventually segregation issues) of black and indigenous people in Minnesota, before and after statehood. Interestingly, there were people at the time who recognized that there was no logical or ethical reason to keep these people, or women as a group, from their rights! At the same time, many politicians who publicly praised the communities of color, and believed themselves free of personal prejudice, balked at voting on behalf of their legal rights, largely due to fear of losing political power: planting the seeds of liberal racism as Minnesota knows it today.

[Daniel Kleven · Rating 5 out of 5]

A groundbreaking work of Minnesota history, particularly the history of race in Minnesota, by an eminent Minnesotan historian.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book, written by an Augsburg College professor, highlights the history of race in Minnesota, from early settlements by American troops, some of whom brought slaves, to the early years of emancipation, which began with heavy prejudice and Jim Crow laws in the North. The book reads like a history book, looking at the uncomfortable tension between racism and idealism with reserve and not drama. This is about as fair a look at the origin of systemic racism as you can get.