North Star: Minnesota's Black Pioneers
Fearless and from the West
Clip: Episode 1 | 11m 25sVideo has Closed Captions
In a time when it was rare for African American women to work as "professionals...
In a time when it was rare for African American women to work as "professionals," Lena Smith tackled a multitude of careers. Finally settling on law as her field of choice, Smith became the first African American woman licensed to practice law in Minnesota and among the first dozen in the entire nation. A tireless advocate for Civil Rights, Smith emerged as one of the most potent and unique...
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North Star: Minnesota's Black Pioneers is a local public television program presented by Minnesota PBS
North Star: Minnesota's Black Pioneers
Fearless and from the West
Clip: Episode 1 | 11m 25sVideo has Closed Captions
In a time when it was rare for African American women to work as "professionals," Lena Smith tackled a multitude of careers. Finally settling on law as her field of choice, Smith became the first African American woman licensed to practice law in Minnesota and among the first dozen in the entire nation. A tireless advocate for Civil Rights, Smith emerged as one of the most potent and unique...
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Where to Watch North Star: Minnesota's Black Pioneers
North Star: Minnesota's Black Pioneers is available to stream on pbs.org and the PBS app.
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Clip: Ep1 | 8m | Half black, half Ojibwe, George Bonga was the first-known person of African ancestry... (8m)
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Clip: Ep1 | 10m 9s | From the state's birth to 2004, Minnesota elected only one African American State... (10m 9s)
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Clip: Ep1 | 4m 44s | Inventor, racecar driver and self-taught engineer Frederick McKinley Jones is... (4m 44s)
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Clip: Ep1 | 11m 41s | The historic March on Washington solidified the Civil Rights Movement. For the... (11m 41s)
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Clip: Ep1 | 11m 7s | In 1857, Emily Grey set foot on the banks of St. Anthony Falls. In Minnesota... (11m 7s)
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Clip: Ep1 | 10m 17s | Fredrick McGhee was Minnesota's first black lawyer. His good looks, articulate speech... (10m 17s)
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Clip: Ep1 | 7m 28s | In 1863, Missouri slave preacher Robert Hickman led a community of African Americans... (7m 28s)
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Clip: Ep1 | 7m 2s | At the turn of the 20th century, Harry Shepherd was one of Minnesota's most... (7m 2s)
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Clip: Ep1 | 12m 51s | In June of 1920, six black circus workers were wrongly accused of raping a white... (12m 51s)
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Clip: Ep1 | 9m 6s | In 1900, Fergus Falls was home to over 50 African Americans. The first among them was... (9m 6s)
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Clip: Ep1 | 9m 35s | In between World Wars, the Harlem renaissance gave rise to a "new kind of Negro... (9m 35s)
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