Ghost of a Chance: Using One Couple's History to Tell a Bigger Story About Race in Minnesota

The Star Tribune has launched a new podcast called "Ghost of a Chance" that tells the story of a black couple named Harry and Clementine Robinson who lived in South Minneapolis in the early twentieth century. The house that they occupied now belongs to Eric Roper, who happens to be the editor of the paper's regular history feature, "Curious Minnesota." Roper purchased the home in March of 2020 and used the extra time he had during the pandemic to research its former occupants. That took him deeply into the family histories of the couple, and he travelled all over the country to follow leads. Eventually, the paper decided to make the story into a narrative podcast, and he teamed with audio producer Melissa Townshend to make that happen. Along the way they spoke with historians, authors, psychologists, and excerpted oral histories to bring all that history to life. Roper and Townsend discuss the podcast with Jazz88's Peter Solomon. (Pictured: Eric Roper shows an abstract title of his house in Minneapolis on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. The Robinsons were the second owners of the house in 1917. (Ayrton Breckenridge/The Minnesota Star Tribune)