Going Back to Rondo

GOING BACK TO RONDO

By Mizz Mercedez

It’s a pleasure to read comic books and graphic art featuring BIPOC characters front and center, and Mizz Mercedez does it with panache. When the subject is our local community, something extra is added. In this her latest edition, she encompasses the science of time travel in Going Back to Rondo.

The story begins with Mizz Mercedez teaching history to her students. The students in question are complaining about how boring it is, so she engages the power of her Time Machine watch and takes them back to 1827 in Red River, Canada, where they encounter Canadian immigrant Joseph Rondeau and his Native American wife Josephine. Ultimately, they settle in St. Paul years later, and it is he for whom St. Paul’s Rondo community was named.

Their next time trip takes them to the Rondo community of 1910, where they encounter Pullman porters, segregated schools, historic figures like William Jackson, landmarks such as the original Maxfield Elementary School and the Hallie Q. Brown Center, and various clubs, organizations, and businesses that made the Black community thrive.

When the class stops in 1956, they witness the eviction of Rev. George Davis as part of the “eminent domain” plan to build I-94 through the Rondo community, thus impacting and displacing Black residents and businesses in St. Paul.

With a blend of comics, actual news articles, and photos, Mercedez makes the history of the Rondo community highly engaging for young readers. Being of African descent, ours is an oral tradition, so it’s vital to pass down the history and the wisdom through our elders, as her acknowledgment of DeeDee Ray shows.

Also important to children and adults are the Magic Glasses. Mizz Mercedez (aka #YoKidzFavoriteTeacher) states, “We all have Magic Glasses power! We just have to believe it, to see it. Control our minds to think positive. What we think and speak will become our reality.”

Going Back to Rondo is available through her website, www.MizzMercedez.com.

Thank you, Mizz Mercedez, for the positive difference you are making through your work, and for being the change we want to see in our community. Let’s all put on our Magic Glasses!