South Minneapolis’ Edmund Boulevard is about as nice of a place as you’ll find in an American City. A leafy street in a quiet neighborhood, each house faces the stunning Mississippi River gorge, itself a huge linear park boasting one of the city’s best recreational paths. Throw in good public schools, not to mention the private ones, and countless cultural amenities and restaurants within an easy drive, it’s easy to get enchanted.

Yet whether they like or not, the residents of Edmund Boulevard are becoming symbols of Minneapolis’ often invisible racism. For historians, the street reflects the structural racism that’s made Minneapolis a poster child for deeply rooted racial inequality. That’s because the mile-long street is named after Edmund Walton, the man who brought legal racial segregation to Minnesota.