Uplifting Rondo Panel
Join authors Debra J. Stone, Dr. Artika Tyner, and Hawona Sullivan Janzen, and host Emma Collins for a conversation on the past, present, and future of the Rondo neighborhood. This panel of esteemed authors will share and discuss their work that celebrates, preserves, and uplifts the legacy of this historically vibrant African American neighborhood that was forcibly displaced and fractured by the development of the I-94 corridor in the 1950s & 1960s.
Come for the conversation and stay to browse the books at Black Garnet Books.
Learn more about Black Garnet Books at blackgarnetbooks.com
Friday, Oct 2, 4- 5:30 p.m
Black Garnet Books | 1319 University Ave
Panelist | Debra J Stone
Debra J Stone is a Jerome Hill Arts Fellow in Literature 2023-25, a recipient of several Minnesota State Arts Board grants, and The Loft Mirrors and Windows Fellow 2023 for writing books for BIPOC children and young adults. Her debut novel, The House on Rondo, was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in the Middle Grade Fiction category. Her novel was also a finalist in the Children’s category for the Midwest Independent Publishers Association Midwest Book Awards. The House on Rondo is published by the University of Minnesota Press. Debra resides in Minneapolis with her husband and dog Ruby, a rambunctious Red Heeler Australian Cattle Dog. You can find more information about Debra and her writing at debrajeannestone.com and on Instagram @debra2036.
Panelist | Dr. Artika Tyner
Dr. Artika Tyner is a fifth-generation Rondo native, educator, author, civil rights attorney, and literacy advocate. She is the founder of Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute, a Midway nonprofit and publisher dedicated to promoting literacy, diverse books, and leadership through community programs. Through her work, Dr. Tyner helps people of all ages connect with their gifts and develop tangible tools for bringing forth sustainable, durable change in the family, workplace, community, and schools.
Dr. Tyner is also a prominent voice in local efforts to preserve and uplift the history and the continuing story of the Rondo neighborhood. Through its Rondo Renaissance initiative, PPGJLI uses literacy, arts, storytelling, cultural tours, and community programming to preserve Rondo's history and celebrate the neighborhood's continuing cultural legacy. As part of this initiative, Tyner is the author or co-author of several children's books and anthologies sharing the story of Rondo, including R is for Rondo, Violet Loves Rondo, and Rondo: The Renaissance.
Learn more about Dr. Artika Tyner at artikatyner.com and on Instagram @artikatyner
Find Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute on Instagram @plantingpeoplegrowingjustice and at www.ppgjli.org.
Panelist | Hawona Sullivan Janzen
Hawona Sullivan Janzen is a poet, artist, and arts administrator who believes art is the only thing that can save us from ourselves. Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, Hawona has been part of the Dale Street Bridge Project and the John Biggers Seed Project – two government-supported public art efforts that sought to rectify past wrongs against historically African American communities in Minnesota. Her arts administration work on #ReVisionRice, a five-year effort to artfully engage with residents of the North End Neighborhood of Saint Paul, has won numerous local and national awards.
Her poetry has been read on National Public Radio, featured in 10-foot-tall broadsides for the “Poetry of Resistance and Change Project,” and performed as a jazz opera. Her recent works include: “Love Letters for the Midway,” a crowdsourced 100-line love poem for the Hamline-Midway Community printed onto lawn signs and hosted in neighborhood front yards and storefront windows of the Midway; the “Rondo Family Reunion,” a photography and poetry project soon to be published as a book; and “Freeway Stories,” a play about the impact of I-94 on life in the Rondo Community of St. Paul, written for Mixed Blood Theater and performed outside in the shadow of I-94.
Moderator | Emma Collins
Emma Collins is the Producer and co-host of Write On! Radio, the longstanding radio show on KFAI 90.3FM. She fell in love with reading as a teenager and is glad to give back her love of reading by showcasing local authors and playwrights here in the Twin Cities. Emma loves listening to live music, painting, and going to the movies with friends.
Find Emma on Instagram @writeonradiokfai and follow along with Write On! Radio at writeonradio.substack.com.