Cyclist, Leader, Businessman, Orator, Lawyer, Advocate of Civil Rights in Jim Crow Era
232nd in a series from Tales from Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery
By SUE HUNTER WEIR
In his Obituary, Harvey B. Burk was described as “a young man who had made his own way in life.” He accomplished more in his 36 years than most people could accomplish in a longer lifetime. He was a civic and social leader, an orator, a lawyer, and an outspoken supporter of civil rights during the Jim Crow era. His life story reflects the resilience of a Community that not only survived but thrived during very difficult times.
His prominence in the Black Community did not shield him from racism.
Cyclist
Little is known about his early life other than that he was born in Ohio on January 11, 1874. His name first appeared in the Minneapolis Tribune in 1896 when, at the age of 21, he was among 100 men selected to participate in the Northwestern Cycle Company’s 15-mile road race around Lake Harriet.
Civic and Social Leader and Businessman
Four years later, he was elected president of the Businessman’s Club of Minneapolis and St. Paul. By 1902, he was president of the Hennepin County Colored Republican Club which endorsed Theodore Roosevelt for president. Two years later, he was elected vice president of the National Afro-American Council and became business manager of the Minneapolis office of The Appeal, one of the nation’s largest newspapers that served the Black Community.
Orator
He was a well-known orator who spoke on a range of subjects including:
- the Emancipation Proclamation
- Frederick Douglass
- William Lloyd Garrison, founder of The Liberator, an abolitionist newspaper founded in 1831
- Judge Albion Tourgee, an early civil rights activist and founder of the National Citizens’ Rights Association
- Prohibition
While he might have been opposed to alcohol use, he was very much involved in the social life of the community. He was a member of the “Social Five,” which organized elaborate parties on Easter and New Years. He was founder of the “Cosmos Club,” described as one of the leading social clubs of the Cities. And he moderated a spelling bee, a fundraiser for charity, whose competitors were some of the city’s better-known hotel waiters. If there was a social or charitable event taking place anywhere in the Twin Cities, he was bound to be there.
Lawyer
He did all of this while attending law school. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1908 and opened his private law practice a few months later.
Advocate
His prominence in the Black community did not shield him from racism. In 1902. Burk experienced racism first-hand when the cook in a restaurant deliberately burned his food. The server, Victoria Cardinal, refused to serve it; she said that her “religion taught her to serve all persons alike.” She was fired. Burk and two other men visited her and presented her with a handmade silver coin purse filled with silver dollars that was inscribed “In token of esteem to Victoria Cardinal.”
Died at 36 years with “High Prospects.”
According to his Obituary, he was a man “for whom the future held high prospects.” Unfortunately, his life was cut short. He died in St. Mary’s Hospital on April 26,1910, from a burst appendix. His funeral was held at Bethesda Baptist Church.
EVENTS: Importance and Methods of History
“Finding Your Family: An African American Genealogy Workshop” by Michele Pollard, HN Cty History Museum Archivist.
Sat. March 15 from
11:00 AM to12:00 PM
“Building Community by Studying the Past,” a conversation with Sue Hunter Weir, Pioneer and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery and Phillips Community Historian/Writer and John Crippen, Executive Director of the Hennepin History Museum.
Saturday, April 12 from
2-3 PM
Both of these Events at at the Hennepin County History Museum at 2303 3rd Avenue, Mpls, MN 55404
“Listing” and “Honoring” Celebration
at Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery
June 7th, 2025
Time TBD
Join the Cemetery celebrating their listing on the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom and the contributions of the eleven African American Civil War Veterans and Buffalo Soldiers who are buried in the Cemetery.
This event is co-sponsored by the Hennepin History Museum, the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Friends of the Cemetery. The Cemetery is at the NE Corner of Cedar and Lake Street Intersection.
Sue Hunter Weir is chair of Friends of the Cemetery, an organization dedicated to preserving and maintaining the Cemetery. She has lived in Phillips for almost 50 years and loves living in such a historic community.
