Ramsey County Historical Society is proud to partner with TPT-Twin Cities PBS to produce a ground-breaking new documentary, North Star: Civil War Stories, which uncovers hidden details of African-American men from Minnesota involved in the Civil War. Using emerging research and scholarship, North Star: Civil War Stories looks at the lives and contributions of these men during and after the war.

Four stories bring to light the hidden histories of African American Minnesotans during and after the Civil War. These unsung heroes made unique contributions to the Union and their new state, but the details and records of their involvement still challenge historians.

Created for not only the broadcast viewing audience, but also with educators and classroom audiences in mind, this important documentary will be made available on DVD for use in schools, universities, and to the general public.

For a preview of the documentary, see the TPT website at http://www.tpt.org/north-star-civil-war-stories/.

Free Event with Daniel Bergin & William Green

Wednesday, February 21, noon-1:00 pm
Landmark Center Weyerhauser Auditorium (basement level)
75 Fifth St W, Saint Paul MN 55102
Free public event, open to all

On February 21, RCHS & TPT will host a special noontime screening of North Star: Civil War Stories at Landmark Center Weyerhauser Auditorium, followed by a discussion and questions-and-answers with filmmaker and producer Daniel Bergin, and historian William Greene. Film is approx. 25 minutes, discussion to follow.

Featured image above: A. Van Spence, courtesy of The Meeker County Historical Society

Daniel Pierce Bergin is Senior Producer & Partnership Manager for Twin Cities Public Television. He was a Production Fellow for the PBS documentary Slavery by Another Name, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Bergin won a regional Emmy Award for Slavery By Another Name: Behind the Scenes. His other notable productions include regional Emmy-winners Asian Flavors, North Star: Minnesota’s Black Pioneers; Lowertown: The Rise of an Urban Village; Cass Gilbert: Standing the Test of Time. His literary history documentary, Literature & Life: The Givens Collection was named “Best History Documentary” at the Prized Pieces International Black Film Festival. His documentary With Impunity: Men & Gender Violence was named “Best Documentary of 2012” by Mpls/St. Paul Magazine. In addition to long-form documentary work, Bergin received a regional Emmy award for Legacy Letters, a PSA series about celebrating and protecting Minnesota’s natural, historical, and cultural heritage. Bergin produced exhibit videos for the Science Museum of Minnesota’s award-winning touring exhibit “Race: Are We So Different?” He also produced a companion program for broadcast.

The filmmaker’s short narrative films have screened at the American Film Institute, the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, The Wexner Center, and the Hollywood Black Film Festival.  In the 1990s, Daniel Bergin produced the ground breaking “Don’t Believe the Hype,” TPT’s Emmy award winning youth media program.

The Minneapolis native and University of Minnesota graduate has served as a director on the boards of several community media organizations including Intermedia Arts, St. Paul Neighborhood Network, Hennepin Theatre Trust, and IFP MN. He was on the Walker Art Center’s Parent Advisory Council. Daniel is an adjunct instructor at St. Cloud State University. He has been recognized as a MN State Arts Board Fellow, a 2003 Twin Cities Business Journal’s “40 under 40”, a City Pages Artist of the Year, attended the esteemed PBS Producers Academy, and was awarded a Bush Leadership Fellowship for his work in community media.

William (Bill) Green received his B.A. in History from Gustavus Adolphus College, and his M.A., Ph.D. and J.D. from the University of Minnesota. He has published articles, op-ed pieces, and book chapters on history, law, and education, and he has published two books on race and civil rights in Minnesota history-A Peculiar Imbalance in Early Minnesota: 1837-1869, and Degrees of Freedom: The Origin of Civil Rights in Minnesota, 1865-1914, which won the 2015 Minnesota Book Award-Hognander Prize. He is presently working on a history of Minnesota during the period of the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Bill has spoken widely at such places as the Ramsey County Bar Association; Bethel Lutheran Church, the Friends of the Ramsey County Library; Unity Unitarian Universalist Church in St. Paul, and William Mitchell Law School. He has also lectured at Peabody College-Vanderbilt University, St. John’s University, and Lincoln College-Oxford University. While serving as Superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools, he studied school reform at Harvard University.

He presently serves as vice president of the Minnesota Historical Society, and is currently on the faculty of Augsberg College.

This project has been financed in part with funds provided by the State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society.

Thank you to Landmark Center for their support of this program.

History Revealed Presentations

Scheduled 2018 History Revealed Programs
Check back for updates!

Click on the titles for more information.
Please note that topics and speakers may change. Check the website and our Facebook page for updates.
Please also note presentation location and times.

February 15, 2018, Thursday, 7:00 pm – Steve Werle, The Political Rise, Demise, and Redemption of Harold E. Stassen
Roseville Library, 2180 Hamline Ave N, Roseville, MN 55113. Free and open to all.

February 21, 2018, Wednesday, noon – North Star: Civil War Stories Event
Film screening & discussion. Free & open to all.
Landmark Center Weyerhauser Auditorium, 75 W Fifth St., Saint Paul MN 55102.

March 14, 2018, Wednesday, noon – Mollie Spillman, How to Research Your House
Landmark Center, 75 Fifth St W, Saint Paul MN 55102. Free and open to all.

March 22, 2018, Thursday, 7:00 pm – Kim Heikkila, To Bear the Mark: Unwed Motherhood at the Salvation Army’s Booth Memorial Hospital, 1913-1973 (or, History, My Mother, and Me)
Roseville Library, 2180 Hamline Ave N, Roseville, MN 55113. Free and open to all.

April 18, 2018, Wednesday, noon – James Marrinan & Bonnie Lindberg, Value: It’s Not Always in the Money! A Look at YOUR Treasured Antiques
Landmark Center, 75 Fifth St W, Saint Paul MN 55102
Registration required.

April 26, 2018, Thursday, 7:00 pm – John Diers, 1,100 Streetcars: The Rise and Fall of the Twin City Rapid Transit Company
Roseville Library, 2180 Hamline Ave N, Roseville, MN 55113. Free and open to all.

May 16, 2018, Wednesday, noon – Paul Nelson, Rocky Roots: Walking Tour of the Geology of Downtown Saint Paul
Landmark Center, 75 Fifth St W, Saint Paul MN 55102
Meet at the Landmark Center. Reservations required, limit 20.

May 24, 2018, Thursday, 7:00 pm – Terry Swanson, Elaine Goodale Eastman: Sister to the Sioux in Her Own Words
Roseville Library, 2180 Hamline Ave N, Roseville, MN 55113. Free and open to all.

June 6, 2018, Wednesday, 10:30 am-noon – Mark Haidet, Walking Tour of the MN State Fair
Minnesota State Fairgrounds, 1265 Snelling Ave N, Saint Paul, MN 55108
Meet at the History & Heritage Center. Reservations required, limit 30.

July 26, 2018, Thursday, 7:00 pm – Mark Haidet, The Minnesota State Fair During World War I
Roseville Library, 2180 Hamline Ave N, Roseville MN 55113. Free and open to all.