Showing The Days of Rondo (Minnesota) by Evelyn Fairbanks

In the 1930s and 1940s Rondo Avenue was at the heart of St. Paul's largest black neighborhood, a vibrant, vital community that was in many ways independent of the white society around it.The Days of Rondo is Evelyn Fairbank's affectionate memoir of Rondo. Its pages are filled with fascinating people: Mama and Daddy--Wille Mae and George Edwards--who taught her about love and pride and dignity; her brother Morris, who "tookthe time to teach me about the street and the people I would find there"; Mrs. Eva Neal, the genteel activist who showed her the difference between a salad fork and a dessert fork. Evelyn writes about everyday worlds of church and school, street games and dating--and about how World War II touched her life. And through the years, this gifted storyteller was also discovering what it means to grow up as a black person in Minnesota."Narrative history at its best." Choice"Her prose is simple and concise and is leavened by a rich sense of humor." Minnesota Monthly"Fairbanks spins yarns about St. Paul's black society with the flair of a campfire story teller." St. Paul Pioneer Press