Phyllis Wheatley center, once a Green Book haven for Black students and artists, turns 100

Kimberly Caprini grew up on the north side of Minneapolis participating in activities at the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center. Like other young Black kids at the time, she spent many summers as a camper at its Camp Katharine Parsons. 

“I was always afraid of everything outdoors, bugs, birds, squirrels, grass,” she said.

She visited the 106-acre campground on Oak Lake near Watertown as an adult recently as part of a group working to clear brush. Memories of her time at the camp first trickled then flooded her mind during her visit. She said she remembered the time when camp counselors introduced her to the night sky.

“They had us close our eyes walking down out … where the lake is and then have us open our eyes,” Caprini said. “I screamed because I had never seen that many stars in the sky before. Never seen anything like it. Grew up in the city and didn’t do those kinds of things.”

Providing kids the chance to explore the outdoors, listen to the sounds of nature and take a dip in a lake had been a high priority for Phyllis Wheatley. It began summer camp programs in 1932. The mission of “the Wheatley,” as many refer to the center, has always been service to the community. 

And this year, the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center is turning 100 years old and celebrating a century of its mission.

The north Minneapolis center has shifted priorities over the years as society has evolved. 

The center was founded in October 1924 as the Phyllis Wheatley Settlement House. The building was established to help the growing African American community that was new to Minneapolis.  

It had been spearheaded by the WCA — Woman’s Cooperative Alliance — a community organization that liaised with religious, political and racial groups. During the 1910s, young African American women migrated to Minneapolis to find jobs. There were services to help young, single white women, but none for Black women.

The WCA and other partner social agencies soon realized that all African Americans living in Minneapolis were in need of services, according to the Minnesota Historical Society. The agencies then decided on a settlement house for the growing African American community.

Not only did the Black population grow, so did the organization. It became a social and cultural center offering sports, camping, drum corps, child care, after-school activities and medical services. 

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And it became so much more.

Theartrice “T” Williams was its executive director from 1965 to 1972. 

“It was a gathering place. It was a cultural center,” he explained. “It was a convening place for the public and community, and it has been an organizer in the community.”

Williams said during segregation, Phyllis Wheatley was a welcoming and safe space for African Americans. The Wheatley, which changed its name to the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center in 1962, was included in the Green Book, a guide for African Americans traveling across the country.

“When Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway and all those big name entertainers back in the ‘30s and ‘40s, would come to play at venues [in Minneapolis] they couldn't stay in the hotels down there,” Williams said.

University of Minnesota students also stayed at the Wheatley, Williams said. The U of M barred Black students from living in its dormitories. One such student, Carl Stokes, went on to become the first African American elected mayor of a major city in 1967 when voters chose him to lead the city of Cleveland, Ohio. 

The center also has a distinguished role in Prince history. His parents John L. Nelson and Mattie Shaw met as musicians at Phyllis Wheatley. Nelson’s jazz group, the Prince Rogers Trio, performed there. He recruited Shaw to sing in the band. 

A camp official says a young Prince also attended Camp Parsons.

In 1956, Katharine Parsons, a board member of the Phyllis Wheatley Settlement House, helped establish a campsite for the organization, according to a website that lays out the summer camp programs’ histories. Parsons, who was white, bought the land and transferred the property over to the Wheatley. She also funded the camp buildings and amenities early on.

“There were adults that cared enough to bring these inner city kids out, to Never Never Land, basically, you know, the outdoors, who otherwise may not have been able to see it until they were older,” Caprini said. “And provided that experience, an opportunity to, to make a difference.”

Parsons campers, none the wiser, simply enjoyed attending the day camp year after year. In 2001, the Wheatley closed it down due to financial challenges. But they still own the land.

Five years ago, the center and the Minnesota Land Trust signed a conservation easement that preserves 83 acres of the 106-acre camp as natural habitat.

This past spring, state lawmakers set aside $550,000 for the organization to restore the camp. It is unclear when it will reopen.

Over the years, Phyllis Wheatley has expanded its mission to include a wide range of programs and services for children, families and the community as a whole.

The center is expected to name a new executive director this week.

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