A Visit to Minnesota's History Museum

While visiting a friend in the Twin Cities, I looked to see what interesting there was to do. While this was not a “free” event as I had hoped (as a struggling student), I did think it worthwhile to check out the “WE ARE HMONG” exhibit at the St. Paul History Museum. My friend had not been to this museum, so it was a “win-win” for both of us. I had known that there was a large Hmong population in Minnesota, but embarrassingly, I really didn’t know a lot about the community and culture.

After parking, we walked into a fairly large, stone building. It seemed new, but we later learned it was built in 1995. We entered the extra large, glass doors. Sunlight filled the entryway, which we welcomed, since yesterday was cool and overcast.

With my student ID ready, my friend paid my admission and we got our typical metal, museum clip-on button. “Where is the Hmong exhibit?” I asked the staff person. We proceeded to the elevators and to the second floor.

Oh, Minn-uh-soh-tah

I'm visiting a friend in the Twin Cities. I hadn't visited for a few years. Things had definitely changed. First,  there's the light rail. There's different colors and everything. Then, there's clearly greater diversity.  I saw this in Target. Both in employees and in customers,  it was clear that there are new communities in this area.

I knew from other folks that the Hmong community had significantly increased. But,  I could also tell African and Muslims,  too.

My friend and I talked a little bit about this change. I wondered how folks were handing it. Social service agencies,  school systems,  etc. How did the "Minnesota nice" come into play?