Help honor the Robinsons and the Old Southside

Clementine Robinson, a protagonist of the Minnesota Star Tribune’s podcast “Ghost of a Chance,” was buried in an unmarked grave in north Minneapolis in the 1960s. This GoFundMe is designed to raise money to give Clementine a proper memorial, while also promoting the legacy of Minneapolis’ Old Southside area where she lived for more than three decades.

After the launch of the podcast, a number of listeners approached the Minnesota Star Tribune to donate toward a headstone for Clementine. Reporter Eric Roper and Producer Melissa Townsend designed a mockup of the headstone at Crystal Lake Cemetery, where she is buried. Clementine’s husband, Harry Robinson, was cremated and has no known marker. So the headstone will also pay tribute to him.

NOTE: The rendering on this page is not the final design of the headstone.

Eric convened a small committee of community members to lead this fundraiser. Clementine and Harry didn’t have children, but Eric has talked to distant relatives who approve of this plan. We hope some family members will be able to attend the headstone installation.

This fundraiser has a goal of $15,000. The money will be collected by the Southside Back In The Day organization, run by Lisa Crawford, which holds an annual festival in Phelps Park to celebrate the Old Southside. This festival is featured in Episode 6 of “Ghost of a Chance.”

The money raised will support the following:

• A headstone, which will cost approximately $3,400

• Travel/lodging for Clementine’s family to attend the headstone installation

• Some physical remembrance of the Robinsons at 38th Street and 4th Avenue, the hub of the Old Southside.

• The Southside Back in the Day Festival on Saturday, August 30, 2025