{"id":4021,"date":"2025-07-31T17:43:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T17:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/?p=4021"},"modified":"2026-07-16T17:52:04","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T17:52:04","slug":"a-visual-tribute-to-community-giants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/2025\/07\/31\/a-visual-tribute-to-community-giants\/","title":{"rendered":"A visual tribute to community giants"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Roosevelt Mansfield<\/a> speaks about his exhibit My Living Legends of Rondo<\/a>, his voice doesn\u2019t carry the tone of an artist merely discussing work. It carries reverence and an emotional register that makes it clear: this project is about legacy, gratitude, and memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aired on KFAI 90.3FM\u2019s popular radio show The Conversation with Al McFarlane<\/a>, the segment drew listeners into the heart of the Rondo community through Mansfield\u2019s lens. Literally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe whole idea came from a dark place,\u201d Mansfield admitted. \u201cCOVID almost took me out. I was in really bad shape. I started thinking about all the people who got me here, who saved me, who showed up when my parents couldn\u2019t. And I just knew I needed to give them their flowers while they could still smell them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result is My Living Legends of Rondo, a photography exhibit that debuted at 825 Arts<\/a>, the newly named community arts hub in St. Paul\u2019s Rondo neighborhood. The collection features striking portraits of elders, coaches, activists, and unsung heroes who helped shape generations, many of whom never sought the spotlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coach Ronnie Smith<\/a> is among them. In one photograph, Coach Ronnie is captured in a pose that radiates strength and quiet resolve. Mansfield shared the backstory. \u201cWhen I was a teen, my family was living in shelters. Coach sold me basketball shoes for $20. Not gave, sold. That small transaction gave me pride. I wasn\u2019t getting a handout. I earned it. That kept my dignity intact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He went on to describe how Smith prepared neighborhood boys for big games, not in the gym, but on the blacktop. \u201cHe\u2019d invite us to scrimmage with older players. Every move, he\u2019d coach us. We didn\u2019t even know he was training us for competition. That\u2019s the kind of intentional care he gave us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another photo features educator and mentor Floyd Smaller, seated beside a 1936 radio. The moment was spontaneous. \u201cHe was telling someone how he and his brothers used to \u2018watch TV through the radio.\u2019 That memory? How sound painted the pictures for them? I had to capture that,\u201d Mansfield said. \u201cThat\u2019s history in motion. It\u2019s storytelling in the body.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These aren\u2019t polished studio shots. They\u2019re atmospheric, textural, layered. And that\u2019s the point. \u201cI\u2019m self-taught. I learned to draw from JC Penney catalogs and the Sunday comics. But I stopped because I was teased for drawing dresses and hairstyles,\u201d he said. \u201cYears later, my daughters played volleyball. I bought a camera to capture their games, and I realized I could still show people what I see, even if I can\u2019t always explain it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mansfield  was the DJ at the \u201cChoice of Weapons\u201d exhibit featuring works Gordon Parks and Jamel Shabazz. Roosevelt introduced himself, showed photos and his vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That vision earned him a mentorship with world-renowned photographer Jamel Shabazz. \u201cNow he\u2019s guiding me, helping me understand the publishing world, exhibition circuits. I just got back from Photoville in New York,\u201d Mansfield said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With My Living Legends, Mansfield is already turning heads locally. His exhibit \u201cUS\u201d is showing at 804 Artists Lofts in Minneapolis. His  large-scale image from the \u201cIts The People\u201d project is now displayed behind the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis along Hennepin Avenue. \u201cMy Living Legends of Rondo – Giving Flowers\u201d exhibit is on display at Halle Q Brown Community Center in the heart of Rondo  \u201cWe\u2019re not just documenting history but we\u2019re placing it where people can\u2019t ignore it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mizz Mercedes, community organizer and director at 825 Arts, called the exhibit \u201ctransformational.\u201d She noted how many of the featured elders still play vital roles in young people\u2019s lives. \u201cMr. Mansfield featured folks who mentored him, but they\u2019re also coaching our kids today. It\u2019s generational continuity,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s what Rondo is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Mansfield, the message is clear. \u201cPhotography is life. It\u2019s how we shape perception. If we don\u2019t define our story, someone else will. And they\u2019ll get it wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a time when murals have been painted over and history risks being forgotten, My Living Legends of Rondo reclaims the narrative, with dignity, clarity, and love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: The \u201cMy Living Legends of Rondo\u201d exhibit was first showcased at 825 Arts during Rondo Days 2024 and is part of a broader initiative to preserve Black legacy in St. Paul. The conversation originally aired on KFAI\u2019s \u201cThe Conversation with Al McFarlane.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explore the full conversation with Roosevelt Mansfield and Ms. Mercedes on The Conversation with Al McFarlane, originally aired on KFAI 90.3FM. Hear their voices, see their passion, and witness how Rondo\u2019s story continues through art and memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch here: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JDBUH82a6TM&t=7s<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Roosevelt Mansfield speaks about his exhibit My Living Legends of Rondo, his voice doesn\u2019t carry the tone of an artist merely discussing work. It carries reverence and an emotional register that makes it clear: this project is about legacy, gratitude, and memory. Aired on KFAI 90.3FM\u2019s popular radio show The Conversation with Al McFarlane, the segment drew listeners […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4024,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[2611,2612,2610],"class_list":["post-4021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-coach-ronnie-smith","tag-floyd-smaller","tag-roosevelt-mansfield","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Insight-News-Website-Images-2.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4021"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4023,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4021\/revisions\/4023"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}