Seitu Jones

Seitu Ken Jones is a multidisciplinary artist, advocate and maker based in St. Paul, MN who has been tending the soil of community through art for more than 40 years. Seitu Jones was an Anderson Center First Step Public Artist Resident in May 2022.

At the Anderson Center, Seitu worked with Red Wing community members and historians to research African American history and design a series of public artworks. Titled Stand in the Shadows, these works recall and remember African American history in Red Wing & Goodhue County. In the late 1800’s, Red Wing’s African American community included multiple business owners and families. Stand in the Shadows is part of a larger series that Jones started with Ta-Coumba Aitken and Soyini Guyton at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Each site features a permanent shadow etched into the sidewalk, accompanied by poetic language and an informational plaque providing more information about the life of historic Red Wing community members.

Implementation

The first artwork in Red Wing was installed in summer 2023 at the corner of 5th and Plum Streets, where an etching and interpretive plaque mark the former site of the Equal Rights Meat Market. This business was founded in 1897 and co-owned by a Black man named Jeremiah Patterson, who worked alongside Julia B. Nelson (a white woman). The corner of 5th and Plum Streets is now the site of the Salvation Army Red Wing Family Store, and Anderson Center is grateful for their support and partnership in this project.

In spring 2024, the second location was installed at on Bush Street between Highway 61 and Levee Street at the historic St. James Hotel. This location tells the story of Jones’ great-grandfather, Joseph Parker, and other African Americans who worked for and ran businesses in the St. James Hotel. One prominent individual was the barber Henry Fogg. Fogg’s wife Amanda served as a laundress, and his son . “My family’s story in Minnesota began with Joseph Parker, my great-grandfather who was living in Red Wing around 1877. I have always wanted to develop a public artwork inspired and informed by my family’s connection to Red Wing,” Jones shares. “While very personal to me, Joseph Parker’s story is also the story of so many 19th century African Americans living in Goodhue County and the upper Midwest.”

A highlight of the project was a workshop that Seitu Jones did with the Red Wing High School Black Student Union. Michael Holmes, Chair of the City of Red Wing’s Human Rights Commission, says that the project has, “allowed me to show and embrace the rich history of black Americans in the city of Red Wing with the younger generation. It warms my heart that the younger generation can see proper representation being recognized in the city of Red Wing.” Stephanie Rogers, Executive and Artistic Director of the Anderson Center adds, “I hope that when people see this, they not only remember specific individuals, but also reflect on what their own legacy will be.”

Photo by Cate Vermeland.

Collaborators

Stand in the Shadows has been made possible through the collaboration, support, and expertise of historian Frederick Johnson, genealogist Mica Anders, and scholar Davu Seru. Major thanks to the Red Wing High School Black Student Union for their engagement and support, and to the City of Red Wing Arts and Culture Commission, Human Rights Commission, Heritage Preservation Commission, and City Council for their support. This project has also been made possible by the support of artists and administrators with Seitu Jones Studio, especially Shannon Brunette (Jerome Emerging Artist Resident ’12).

Funders

This project has been made possible by support from Blandin Foundation, the Human Rights Commission of the City of Red Wing, and by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

About the Artist

Artist and advocate Seitu Ken Jones has been tending the soil of community through art for more than 40 years. Throughout his career, he has harnessed the tools of visual art, infrastructure, and civic engagement to create work that links history to the present and honors the community’s assets — from its historic figures to natural resources to cultural traditions. In his public art and events, Jones pushes beyond traditional art spaces to reach people in the context of their lives and communities.

Jones is a recently retired faculty member of Goddard College in Washington State. He holds a BS degree in Landscape Design and a MLS in Environmental History from the University of Minnesota. He’s been a Senior Fellow in Agricultural Systems in the College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Science Resources at the University of Minnesota and is a member of the board of managers for the Capitol Region Watershed District. He resides in St. Paul, Minnesota, with his partner the poet Soyini Guyton.