From 1954 to 1957, Archie Givens, Sr., a black architect, and Edward Tilsen, a home builder and Jewish immigrant, combined their talents and energies to create the first privately developed integrated housing project in Minneapolis.
—–Editor: Britt Aamodt Producer: Britt Aamodt Editorial support: Emily Krumberger Mixing & mastering: Chris Harwood
Transcript
MN90 Intro: Welcome to MN90: Minnesota History in 90 Seconds.
Britt Aamodt: The 1950s ushered in not just a baby boom but also a housing boom. The GIs, back from World War II, were getting hitched, making families, and moving out to the suburbs. The federal government was right there too, forking over guaranteed mortgages to get them housed.
But the picture was not so rosy if you were Black. Your homeowning dreams were derailed by redlining and restrictive covenants.
Yet that didn't stop Archie Givens, Sr., a Black realtor from Minneapolis, and Edward Tilsen, a home builder and Jewish immigrant from St. Paul. The two put their heads together and combined their considerable energies to create a new housing development in South Minneapolis. From 1954 to '57, they built 63 three-bedroom ranchers and sold 90 percent of them to Black families.
These Tilsenbilt Homes represented the first privately developed integrated housing project in Minneapolis history. And they are still around today.
MN90 Outro: MN90 is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, made possible by funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Online at mn90.org.