Essie Johnson, diversity coordinator for the Apple Valley/Eagan/Rosemount school district, at a 1995 meeting of the CGC.“What are you students looking for in order to stay in Minnesota after you graduate?” asked Essie Johnson, diversity coordinator for the Apple Valley/Eagan/Rosemount school district, at a 1995 meeting of the CGC. Photo by Leo Kim.

Creating common ground

Since 1989, the Common Ground Consortium has fostered black intellectual life in the college