Brick by Brick: The African Americans who built the Capitol (episode 113)

Brian Pease

Brian Pease has been with the Minnesota Historical Society since 1987. He holds a BA in history from St. Cloud State University as well as an MA in History from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Since 2008, Pease has been the Site Manager at the Minnesota State Capitol. As site manager, he is responsible for overseeing the capitol’s guided tours, interpretive programming and the care of the original furniture, artwork and artifacts. From 2013 to 2017, during the capitol repair and restoration project, Pease served as an advisor on the history and historic preservation of the building. He also served as the project manager for the Minnesota battle-flag conservation project from 2009 to 2012.

Marvin Roger Anderson

Marvin Roger Anderson is a retired attorney at law and former Minnesota State Law Librarian. Anderson graduated from Morehouse College and continued his education at Hastings College of Law where he received his J.D. Degree. After spending two years in Senegal with the Peace Corps, he returned to Minnesota where he was an ordinance drafter for the city of Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights. Anderson practiced law for several years before earning an MA from the University of Minnesota’s School of Library Science. In 1980, he was appointed State Law Librarian, a position he held for 22 years.

Born and raised in the Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul, Anderson is a community leader and key figure involved in the ongoing efforts to celebrate the past, present and future of St. Paul’s African American community of Rondo. Currently, he serves as the executive director of the Rondo Center of Diverse Expression and the Rondo Commemorative Plaza. Anderson also chairs the board of directors of Reconnect Rondo, where he is instrumental in helping the organization lead a movement in the community for the creation of a Rondo historic district connected by a land bridge.

John Sielaff

John Sielaff is a retired carpenter and member of Carpenters Local 322 here in the Twin Cities. Sielaff’s historical interests lay in the history of stonework, organized labor studies and genealogy. In 2011, Seilaff heard about a project with the Labor Education Services at the University of Minnesota, researching the workers who constructed the State Capitol between 1895 to 1906. Sielaff initially joined the project to help locate descendants of original construction members. Through his efforts, the team has gathered information on over 600 workers. His research has taken him across the United States, from California to New York CIty, searching for details about the lives of those who worked on the Minnesota State Capitol.