The Days of Rondo

by Evelyn Fairbanks

Born in 1928, Evelyn Fairbanks did not have an easy time growing up. She was raised by parents who were not her birth parents and lost both of them at a young age. She was then raised by the sister of her “mother.” She grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in a neighborhood known as Rondo. Rondo was a black neighborhood in the primarily white city.

Her memoir is, essentially, a look back at her youth in Rondo. More than anything, Evelyn’s story is a story about family. It is not a tale of growing up black in Minnesota. Rather, it is a story of a girl growing up, a girl who just happens to be black.

This memoir is okay, but not really groundbreaking. I read it for a book discussion at the Saint Paul Public Library.

2/8/11