Title
Honoring the Legacy of Yusef Mgeni in the City of St. Paul.
Body
WHEREAS, Yusef Mgeni, a devoted husband, father, historian, journalist, community educator, and civil rights leader, passed away on April 7, 2026, leaving behind a legacy that will echo through generations, shaping how Black Minnesota history is preserved, understood, and carried forward; and
WHEREAS, born Charles Anderson and raised in the historic Rondo community of Saint Paul, to Charles Crane Anderson and Theresa Agness Baker Anderson, he was shaped by a family deeply engaged in civic, religious, and cultural life, including Saint Peter Claver Catholic Church and the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center; and
WHEREAS, he carried forward a multi-generational legacy of civil rights leadership as the grandnephew of Fredrick L. McGhee, one of Minnesota’s first Black attorneys and co-founder of the Niagara Movement, founder of Minnesota’s first NAACP chapter, and co-founder of St. Peter Claver Catholic Church; and
WHEREAS, his early intellectual foundation was shaped by his grandmother, Constance “Connie” Anderson, who instilled in him a lifelong discipline of reading, study, and critical thought rooted in the works of Richard Wright and Carter G. Woodson; and
WHEREAS, as a student at Saint Paul Central High School, he witnessed defining moments of the Civil Rights Movement, including hearing Martin Luther King Jr. and learning of organizing efforts led by A. Philip Randolph; and
WHEREAS, in 1972, he formally took his African Yoruba name, Yusef Mgeni, reflecting his commitment to heritage, dignity, and purpose, and graduated from Metropolitan State University in 1974 with a degree in journalism; and
WHEREAS, he began producing programming at KUOM Radio in 1973 and contributed to the Malcolm X Pan-Afrikan Institute, using media as a tool to educate, inform, and uplift community voices; and
WHEREAS, he helped organize Minnesota’s participation in the 1995 Million Man March, demonstrating his ...
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