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YW News - February

Feature - History of the Rondo Neighborhood

Today we look at the Rondo neighborhood (roughly between University Avenue to the north, Selby Avenue to the south, Rice Street to the east, and Lexington Avenue to the west), where YWCA St. Paul is located and creates a strong sense of community. St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood was the center of the Black community in the Twin Cities for much of the 20th century.

From the beginning, Rondo was a haven for people of color and immigrants. Its namesake, Joseph Rondeau, moved there in the late 1850s from a location close to Fort Snelling where he had faced discrimination due to his wife’s mixed white and indigenous heritage. French Canadian immigrants followed Rondeau to the area in the late nineteenth century; later, German, Russian, Irish, and Jewish families found homes there.

The Rondo neighborhood, once home to 80 percent of St. Paul’s Black residents, consisted of a working-class community, supported by social clubs, religious organizations, community centers and a thriving business community. It was home to doctors and lawyers, barbers and maids, civil rights leaders and Pullman porters.

DESTRUCTION OF RONDO

The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 provided funding for cities to create a network of freeways across the country. So, the state of Minnesota decided to build a 13-mile connection between downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul. A proposed northern route, along abandoned railroad tracks near Pierce Butler Road, would have been less disruptive to neighborhoods, but a more central route, right through the heart of Rondo, was chosen.

Rondo residents didn’t have pockets deep enough to alter or reroute the project — something predominantly white neighborhoods would at least partly achieve years later.

Rondo was razed in the 1960’s to construct Interstate-94, which cut the neighborhood in half, causing the loss of 700 homes, around 300 mostly Black-owned businesses and a significant drop in population and homeownership in the area. Hundreds of millions of dollars of community wealth was lost.

Many families didn’t receive fair market value for their homes, and because of discriminatory housing practices like redlining and restrictive covenants, they had limited choices of where they could move.

RONDO TODAY

While the construction of I-94 radically changed the landscape of the neighborhood, the community of Rondo still exists, and its persistence and growth are celebrated through events like Rondo Days in July and the Selby Avenue Jazz Festival.

In 2016 a formal apology was given formally by Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner Charlie Zelle and then St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman. The Rondo Commemorative Plaza was then installed in to commemorate the Rondo community.

Recently, a group called Reconnect Rondo has a plan to right a wrong and make up for some of the racial injustices of the past.

Their plan calls for a cap over a portion of I-94 and build a land bridge several blocks-long with affordable housing, green space, a museum and a marketplace that would re-link both sides of the neighborhood cut in half by the freeway and restore a community destroyed 60 years ago.

To learn more, here are some additional resources:

St. Paul’s Past: Rondo, St. Paul’s African-American Community (video)

Why Is There Always A Winner and a Loser?: A Place-Based Study of Gentrification and Housing Resiliency for ReConnectRondo

Jim Crow of the North (video)

Anti-Racism Resources

Black History Month celebrates the impact Black heritage has had on our country. As we take a look back at history, it’s also important to determine how we’re going to change for the future. And part of the change includes learning about the impacts Black, Indigenous and Immigrant cultures have had, and continue to have, on society. Click here for a list of anti-racism resources.

Spotlight Series

YWCA St. Paul is thrilled to launch our "Spotlight Series," designed to highlight important members of our YW community.

Our Board Spotlight is on Beverly Jones Heydinger, our outgoing Board Chair. As Bev’s exalted tenure comes to end, she provides insight and advice for those considering Board service. Read more.

The Funder Spotlight features Former Executive Director for HRK Foundation, Kathleen Fluegel. Kathleen has been a long-time advocate, champion and friend to YWCA St. Paul. Read more. 

EVENTS

Thursday, March 4, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. - Legal Perspectives on the Chauvin Trial: What to Expect and What’s At Stake

YWCA St. Paul is proud to co-sponsor this event, held by the University of St. Thomas School of Law.

As the first of the former police officers charged in the death of George Floyd heads to trial on March 8, many members of our community have questions about the legal process. Join us for a panel and discussion that will help us understand the process and learn more about the events happening in the courtroon and in our community. For more information, click here. 

To join the Zoom event on March 4 at noon, click here (you don't need to register in advance).