Teens develop "Voices of Rondo" podcast to tell neighborhood's history
ST. PAUL, Minn. — It's one of the darkest chapters in Twin Cities history.
In the 60's, Rondo, a St. Paul neighborhood, was full of Black culture and wealth. But it was demolished to build Interstate 94.
At least 600 families lost their homes, most without fair market compensation. Now, a creative group of teenagers is making sure the story is not lost either.
At High School for Recording in St. Paul, a studio full of faces of the future is focused on the past. A dozen teens are recording a podcast.
RELATED: St. Paul names 1st recipient of Rondo Inheritance Fund, getting $90K toward home ownership
Rafael Karpowitz is the host of the "Voices of Rondo Podcast."
Rondo's history is one 18-year-old Karpowitz learned about when he moved to the neighborhood four years ago.
"I was surprised but also not so surprised because this is something I had heard happened in other places," Karpowitz said.
Places like Treme in New Orleans - places where interstates are built through neighborhoods.
It's a history new to Erica Lee too. She's a senior at Brooklyn Park High School. She is also on the Voices of Rondo Podcast Team.
"I just heard about this, like a year ago, despite living next to St. Paul my entire life. So this story, despite how impactful it was to people in Rondo and people around the country, it's not being told, it's being forgot, making it easier for this to continue to happen, for history to repeat itself, and that's dangerous," Lee said.
The podcast is now run by teens who talk about the past, with guests who lived in the area. They also talk about the future — ReConnect Rondo — a proposed landbridge to restore the continuity of the neighborhood.
"My dream is that this gets out, because I think the first part of fixing issues is first of all knowing about it, acknowledging it and creating meaningful knowledge behind that," Lee said.
You can find "Voices of Rondo" on iTunes, Spotify and they have a video version on YouTube.
