Anna Arnold Hedgeman was raised in Anoka in the early 20th century and graduated from Anoka Senior High in 1918. She was the first black student to attend Hamline University in St. Paul. She devoted the rest of her life to education and social justice at the state, national, and international level. She played a pivotal role in organizing the March on Washington in August of 1963 and was a founding member of the National Organization For Women (NOW).

As a kid growing up in Anoka, Anna Arnold Hedgeman was completely unknown to me. In fact, it wasn't until 2018 that I happened to discover who she was. The excitement I felt at learning this new and incredible information soon gave way to another emotion. I was overwhelmed with anger at the racism and sexism that buried her achievements and deprived generations of school kids like me a chance to be exposed to the black experience in my overwhelmingly white town. How different would our perspectives on race and gender have been if we had known and celebrated the life and work of this black woman?

What if we Anoka kids were raised to have the same pride in Anna Arnold Hedgeman that Hibbing has for Dylan? That St. Paul has for F. Scott Fitzgerald? That Minneapolis has for Prince? What if the next generation of Anokans were quick to answer a hometown question like this:

 “Me? I’m from Anoka. You know, the childhood home of civil rights giant Anna Arnold Hedgeman. Halloween? Oh, we think that’s pretty cool, too.”

The purpose of this petition to Anoka County is two-fold:

1. To have the Rum River Library in Anoka renamed The Anna Arnold Hedgeman Library

2. To create an interactive educational kiosk about Anna Arnold Hedgeman for the library that highlights her life and her historic work in the fields of racial justice and gender equality.

Please sign and pass it on! Help bring Anna Arnold Hedgeman out of the shadows of history so she can inform and inspire future generations of Anokans!

Thanks!

-Scott