In 1952, Glendale Townhomes became one of Minneapolis’s first public housing communities—home to Black Americans, East African and Hmong immigrants, refugees, students, and working-class families. Decades later, as city officials sought to privatize or demolish its 184 units, residents organized the Defend Glendale & Public Housing Coalition, transforming a threat of displacement into a movement for dignity, equity, and the right to stay, and redefining preservation itself—not only as saving buildings, but as protecting people, memories, and community life.

bghpn.org / dgphc.org