Our History: Oral History

The grant helped fund an oral history research project into how Latino businesses on East Lake Street initiated the revitalization of the area at the end of the 20th century.
In 1995, a New York Times story called Minneapolis "Murderapolis" after a record 97 murders that year, and the center of this crime was around Lake Street in South Minneapolis. Mercado Central was the first business to come into the area in 1999 and began its transformation. After that, many more Latino businesses opened on Lake Street, as well as businesses of other nationalities and ethnicities. Although this area still faces many problems today, it has undergone many positive changes since the influx of these businesses into the area, including greatly reduced crime and poverty.

Interviews and transcripts, plus edited videos from the interviews were completed. The project was able to secure the participation of 15 informants. Future generations of students, residents, and entrepreneurs will benefit from learning from this extraordinary process, from the creation of the Mercado Central to the reshaping of the entire neighborhood, but particularly from the endurance of those who have continued with the legacy themselves brought to the area, as those who have been and will continue replicating the example.