Overview:
Yusef Mgeni, a brilliant historian, community organizer, former St. Paul educator and fierce advocate for Black people, died on April 7, 2026, leaving behind a legacy that will echo through generations of Black Minnesota history and community building.
Minnesota and the world lost a powerful voice and a true warrior on April 7, 2026. Yusef Mgeni is gone, but his legacy will echo for generations.
Yusef was a brilliant historian, a community organizer, a former St. Paul educator, and a fierce advocate for Black people. He carried with him an extraordinary archive of speeches, books, articles, and photographs documenting the work of countless Black scholars and leaders. His knowledge was not just deep. It was generational. Talk to him about any subject concerning Black history and he would give you a dissertation.
His roots in this community ran deeper than most people knew. Yusef was the grandnephew of Fredrick McGhee, the pioneering 20th century civil rights activist and attorney who made his mark in St. Paul at the turn of the century. That lineage was not lost on Yusef. He carried it forward with pride and purpose, spending decades making sure the stories of Black Minnesotans were told, preserved, and passed on.
As a journalist, Yusef called NAACP leaders and community figures to identify the issues that mattered most to Black people and wrote about them in local newspapers. He was a contributor to the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, a platform he understood and respected deeply. As a former St. Paul NAACP vice president, he remained active and engaged well into his retirement, answering emails and voicemails for residents who were at their wit’s end, helping them navigate evictions, legal challenges, and systemic barriers.
“Generally, they contact us when they are at their wit’s end,” he once said. “They are going to get evicted; their car is getting repossessed. We assist in navigating the system.”
His work was always about access. Under his leadership and alongside other NAACP leaders, the St. Paul chapter helped establish a landmark covenant between the police and the St. Paul community in 2001, a model that contributed to dramatically lower excessive force costs compared to Minneapolis in the decade that followed.
Yusef was also a passionate champion of ethnic studies in Minnesota’s schools, understanding that education rooted in Black and Brown history was not a supplement to American history but central to it.
“Ethnic studies is also American history,” he said. “The fact that the legislature and the MDE have both endorsed ethnic studies requirements in schools is a real plus for giving people the opportunity to explore and learn more about American history, and more importantly, to see themselves reflected in that learning.”
In the 1970s and ’80s, Yusef worked alongside Mrs. Clarissa Walker at Sabathani Community Center, where both of them poured their energy into uplifting and empowering the community. Their work helped shape the cultural and political landscape of South Minneapolis during a critical era. They were part of a generation that built institutions, nurtured young people, and fought for justice with unwavering commitment.
Yusef also played a key role in the early development of KMOJ Radio, helping to establish a platform that amplified Black voices long before it was common or convenient. His activism extended through education, the St. Paul NAACP, the Million Man March, and the Urban Coalition, always rooted in a deep and abiding love for his people.
He was also an interviewee in the Rondo neighborhood oral history project preserved by the Minnesota Historical Society, ensuring that the voices and stories of that community would never be lost.
Not long ago, a colleague was blessed to sit with Yusef at his home, where he reflected on his life and his legacy. He talked about his work in education, his activism, and his years of service to the community. But what stood out just as much was how he spoke about his family and his people, with warmth, with pride, and with purpose.
Today, we honor him not only for what he accomplished, but for the spirit with which he did it.
A scholar. A builder. A warrior. A keeper of our stories.
Thank you, Yusef, for everything you gave and everything you sacrificed on behalf of Black people. Your legacy stands tall, and our community is better because of you.
Rest in Power, Yusef Mgeni.