Minnesota Girls in the 20th Century

Judy's Group Reflections

The significance of this project is that it has required extensive group collaboration to capture the essence of this Midwestern woman’s life. Not only was this woman from Minnesota, but she was also an African American woman who struggled from a young age to become a successful teacher, mother, wife, and musician.

“To be yourself first, then LEARN to give back” is something Judy believed all young women should understand. With an amazing history of growing up with her father as a minister, Judy wanted to march with Dr. Martin Luther King–an experience that is remarkable beyond our imagination. Her story makes us realize how the decades have changed typical family traditions to this fast lifestyle of unpredictable images for the future of our young women.

We hope that with her stories, you can embrace the type of woman she is and what her stories symbolize to youth today, as well as how her stories could affect or have affected you. One of the reasons we chose Mrs. Henderson was the fact that we wanted a woman of color to give a different perspective on what it was like to grow up in Minnesota.

The project itself was very fascinating and very fast-paced. With the in-depth technical applications, there were times when we thought we weren’t going to get it done. But with the support from each of the group members, we pulled through with an amazing story about an amazing woman!