By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

Many of us who enrolled in college oftentimes refer to “positive lifelong impacts” that continue to shape who we are as individuals long after attending classes on college campuses. These include lifelong friendships.

Two students who impacted my life at Moorhead State College (today MSUM) in the late 1960s and early 1970s were young men who enrolled at Moorhead State in 1968.  Carl Griffin and Lewis Scott were part of the Rondo African American neighborhood in the Twin Cities and came to Moorhead State College. Carl, like me, majored in journalism. Lewis majored in speech pathology and was in my college fraternity.

Their Rondo community in the Twin Cities ended in the 1960s when the neighborhood gave way to the construction of Interstate 94 between Minneapolis and St. Paul. Two other students from the Rondo neighborhood (Russel Balenger and Readus Fletcher) joined Carl and Lewis in enrolling at Moorhead State College in 1968.

“I was able to pay my way through school with help from my parents, working at the Ballard Hall (student residence) office and as a Resident Assistant (RA) at Nelson Hall,” Lewis said.

Fast forward to 2024 and their story became part of a documentary, “The Brothers of Rondo.” This documentary film aired on public television Thursday evening, Nov. 6. The Rondo brothers, as noted in the documentary, channeled lessons learned in their Rondo neighborhood and at Moorhead State College to make profound impacts in their careers, communities and the state of Minnesota.

It was Lewis Scott who suggested that I be included in the documentary for which I will be forever grateful.

“The Rondo brothers are staying busy in the Twin Cities,” said Lewis to me in an email on Nov. 9. “College campuses are interested in our history and we had a big evening turnout for a neighborhood discussion about a month ago.”

For Lewis, his presence on panels has been virtual from his home in Atlanta, Georgia.  A young movie producer who grew up in Rondo in the Twin Cities is interested in creating a Rondo Brothers movie. “We’re waiting to see what develops,” Lewis said.

You can access the Rondo Brothers documentary by doing this search online: “The Brothers of Rondo: A Legacy of Black Resilience”

A footnote: Lewis, after graduating from MSUM in 1973, was an educator and school administrator for close to 50 years, first in St. Paul and later in Atlanta, Georgia. Carl Griffin worked for the Fargo Forum, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Washington Post and ended his career working for nonprofit organizations such as the American Red Cross and Plymouth Christian Youth Center in the Twin Cities.