8th Annual Every brick Counts Ceremony
On September 25, RCODE welcomed over 100 people to the Rondo Plaza to celebrate the 2025 cohort of brick purchasers. View a recording of the event here. Following opening remarks from Marvin Roger Anderson, we welcomed centenarians Pearl Jackson & Dr. Roxie Smith to the stage.
Ms. Jackson’s Uncle Jim brought honeysuckle to Minnesota over 150 years ago, after serving in the Civil War and making his way from Alabama to Minnesota. That honeysuckle is now planted at the Rondo Center Community Gardens, adjacent to the plaza.
Reverend Dr. Roxie T. Smith will celebrate her 100th birthday on October 13th, 2025. She was a polio hot pack administrator and a pioneering force in school-based clinics, nurturing over 8000 students at Maxfield Elementary and Central High. Dr. Smith cofacilitated the Circle of Love group for African Americans with HIV/AIDS. As a result of her incredible service, Governor Tim Walz proclaimed Oct. 13th as Reverend Dr. Roxie T. Smith day.
Next, Director Marvin Anderson introduced Tom Kustermann, who grew up on the land at 820 Rondo Ave. Mr. Kustermann’s grandfather owned McGill’s Grocery Store (1916-1957), with Tom & his family living above the store. Thanks to a generous donation from Tom & Sandra Kustermann, all future centenarian bricks have been paid off.
From Geneva Harper Gill to Gretchen King (whose mom worked at McGill’s Grocery Store), attendees shared stories of loved ones, memories of growing up in a tight-knit community, and gratitude for those parents, friends, family, and elders who have shaped them. There couldn’t have been a more fitting time for Marvin Anderson to announce his retirement, as he passed the torch to RCODE’s new Executive Director, Jonathan Palmer. Jonathan was the former Executive Director of Hallie Q. Brown Community Center for many years and has served as Chair of the RCODE Board.
Attendees enjoyed learning about author Debra Stone’s new book, The House on Rondo, to be published on October 7th, 2025.
Finally, Macalester College student Jonah Zimmer shared information about a new website that showcases the plaza’s brick path digitally. Jonah has been coding and designing the website since February of 2025. You can visit the website here.
The ceremony ended with remarks from Jerome Richardson, Community Engagement Specialist for ReConnect Rondo. Jerome spoke of a future vision for the neighborhood — an African American Cultural Enterprise District and a land bridge capping Interstate-94. As stated by Jeffrey Lyles, the brick path tells the story of our past, but it also symbolizes hope for the future. “These bricks…there is a symbolism of taking a brick, placing it in a ground, like a seed, like all of our ancestors did when they came to this land and planted seeds in the ground. And the reason that we planted those seeds is to honor our past and hope that they sprout into something great in the future. And that is the hope that Mr. Anderson has put before all of us by putting these bricks into the ground.”
Thank you for sharing your stories, your families, and your memories at the plaza.
Though we initially had technical difficulty with our livestream, ReConnect Rondo streamed the event on Instagram & Facebook Live. The stream is available to view on the Rondo Center of Diverse Expressions YouTube page. A huge thank you to Sedric McClure, Jerome Richardson, and Shaniya Patton for help with AV/Technology & livestreaming, to Dr. June Parrot for passing out snacks, to Charlotte Kadifa for assisting in set-up, tabling, and take-down.
