We are coming off the most transformational year in our lifetime. A year when the murder of George Floyd in our own city sparked the largest and most interracial movement against racism and police brutality in U.S. history. A year when voters of color saved American democracy in the face of intense voter suppression and pandemic barriers. A year when we learned the true meaning of community and how much we need each other to survive.
This is progress. Not social progress. Not racial progress. Not political progress. This is human progress.
But you wouldn't know it reading headlines and scrolling Instagram, where the racist underpinnings of our society are almost glorified.
We know we were born into a racist system. We don't need to keep creating a kaleidoscope of all the different ways of looking at how Black folks are wronged by America.
Stop loving the problem. Start building the solution.
We must do what has never been done and build the vibrant Black futures that will save American communities from themselves.
Minneapolis was ground zero for a global Black Lives Matter demonstration condemning police brutality. And if we rise up to the calling of our lifetime, Minneapolis will be ground zero for a global Black Excellence demonstration showing a model of community development done differently. Black-led, culturally centered and built for everyone.
Everyone.
I grew up on the North Side. I went to North High. I started cutting hair in my auntie's basement. And more than a decade ago, I bought a building on the corner of North 44th Avenue and North Humboldt Avenue in the Camdentown neighborhood of north Minneapolis, one of the most disinvested and historically racially segregated areas of the city.
What started as a barbershop became a community gathering space for Black men from all over the city of Minneapolis who craved a culture of their own making, who craved conversation around Black experiences, who craved a space where they could show up authentically.
Minneapolis has asked Black people to perform for too long, to fit into white spaces in a way that keeps white folks comfortable. As a human race we so often fail to recognize that growth comes from discomfort, that new ideas come from friction.
Camdentown begins to normalize what multicultural excellence looks like, feels like.
I don't want to live in a community of two types of Black people: the exceptional Negro or the activist. I want to live in a community of every type of Black person and every type of any sort of person who believes in standing against hate and bringing people of all races, identities and ideas together.
What this city lacks for Black folks is intergenerational knowledge and trusted guides who embody what it means to be Black and excellent. There has not been a meaningful transfer of generational wealth or social capital here in Minneapolis for the Black community. But we're changing all that.
The property that has been my barbershop for 13 years is being rebuilt. The renovated building underway will be more than a barbershop. It will be the home of my coffee company and a retail space for my fashion enterprise. But it will be more than those things too. It will be the heart of Camdentown. It will be the first of many new thriving Black ventures to come. It will be the beginning of a new era of Black excellence.
For years I've been building strategic partnerships with dedicated organizations and government officials around a shared vision: a Black-led community for all built by the people for the people. A thriving community where the streets are paved with authenticity and love for one another. Black-led small businesses of all kinds. Restaurants born of the community but recognized widely for their soulful fare. Music venues for artists Prince would be proud to know came after him in his city. Spontaneous block parties and neighborhood barbecues where all are welcome. How do we move toward this future?
Together. We are exploring new ways to develop shared governance and ensure full community ownership of that future. Join me, please.
Camdentown is not a place — it's an idea. It's an inclusive celebration of Black culture, human excellence and the power of community at its best. We are building a model for the rest of the country. Make no mistake: The dream of a Camdentown exists in every city across America. Time to act.
Houston White is founder of Camdentown Minneapolis
