Back

Learn how this community center has served as a safe haven for generations in Saint Paul.

“I want people to come here and feel like they’re home,” said Benny Roberts, executive director of the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center.

For nearly 100 years, the Hallie Q. Brown Center has been a lighthouse in the Rondo neighborhood. What originally was a settlement house has become an institution that has served as a resource hub for generations, supporting children and families from the cradle and beyond.

“When people are down on their luck, when kids don't feel safe, when our elders don't feel seen, this is the place where they're seen,” Benny said. “This is the place that remembers them.”

Watch the Corner Conversations Video

Nearly a Century in the Community

The history of this communal gathering place dates back as far as 1908, when Black community members in the Rondo neighborhood came together to support one another after being denied services elsewhere.

According to Benny’s research, with support from a diverse group of individuals from the surrounding area, the community officially established the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center in 1929, originally located on Aurora Avenue and Kent Street. After the building of Highway 94, the center moved to its current location, a few blocks down.

“Hallie is special because gathering is multigenerational,” Benny said.

For decades, Benny and his family have benefited from programs at the center. Whether it was his grandparents utilizing the food shelf, his mother and her siblings attending the center for activities and sports or Benny and his siblings attending the afterschool program and winning various sports championships — the center has been a part of their legacy.

Continuing to Serve the Rondo Community

“So many families have come here for so many different things,” said Benny. “In the past Hallie would always change their programing and pivot with the needs of the community.”

Other programming at the center includes an archival program, senior care programs and groups and a basic needs closet. In addition to services, the center also houses Penumbra Theatre, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Saint Paul and Saint Paul Parks and Recreation’s Martin Luther King Center.

If that wasn’t enough, the center has a long history supporting music organizations, such as Schubert Club and Walker West Music Academy. And you can’t forget about Rondo Days, an annual community event that’s held in the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center’s backyard.

In the future Benny hopes the center will become a one-stop resource for the community.

“I see a Rondo Museum, coffee shops, restaurants, a grocery store, community service hub and center that families can come to,” Benny said. “I see adequate space for youth to explore, to grow and learn, lead and be active participants and contributors to society. I see it all as continuing that legacy and moving it for another hundred years.”

“ So many families have come here for so many different things. In the past Hallie would always change their programing and pivot with the needs of the community.”

Benny Roberts, Executive Director of Hallie Q. Brown Community Center

Inspired to Make a Difference?

1. Participate: Participate in an event or attend a program at your local community center. Many organizations like the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center offer activities and events for people of all ages.

2. Support: Find out how you can support your local community center by donating to their closet or food pantry, volunteering to coach a team that plays your favorite sport or making a gift to support other programs.

3. Share: Share the stories about the great work community centers like Hallie Q. Brown are doing with others. You never know who may be able to benefit from their services.

View More Corner Conversations

Corner Conversations feature individuals and nonprofits driving change in the East Metro and beyond by highlighting their work in connection to current topics and issues facing our communities and state.