KARE 11 —Minnesota was a part of the Union, right? One of the first states to join.
But that doesn’t mean that the North Star State was free from the practice of slavery. In fact, slavery was legal at different times and in different ways in Minnesota. At one point, there was even a movement to change the law to legalize it – at least for southern tourists.
Dr. Christopher Lehman, the chair of the Department of Ethnic, Gender and Women’s Studies at St. Cloud State University, has spent years researching the topic of slavery’s impact in the Midwest. His latest book, “Slavery’s Reach,” dives into how Minnesota benefited from the money of slaveholders, both directly and indirectly, and how slavery persisted even in the north.
Read more: When slavery was legal in Minnesota
