A full house for the Voices of Rondo community conversation

About 40 SPAAR Realtors®, Affiliates and staff members gathered at 825 Arts in St. Paul on April 17 for a discussion of the book Voices of Rondo: Oral Histories of Saint Paul's Historic Black Community. This discussion was led by the book’s author, Kate Cavett, and special guest Nathaniel “Nick” Khaliq, who credits Kate for helping preserve the legacy of St. Paul’s Rondo community and whose story appears in the book.

This book was the most recent book club choice of SPAAR’s Housing Affordability Task Force and is filled with fascinating and enlightening stories told by Rondo residents of their time in this tight-knit community. Unfortunately, the construction of Interstate 94 displaced many of them, taking a toll on this once thriving area of St. Paul. In total, about 700 family homes and 300 businesses were destroyed.

Nick, who served in the military, as a firefighter, and as the NAACP’s local  president for a time, has been a lifelong Rondo resident. During this discussion he said, “Once construction started you could drive through where my bedroom once stood near Sears when heading west on I-94.”

If you are interested in reading the book, you can find it here: Voices of Rondo: Oral Histories of St. Paul’s Historic Black Community

The Voices of Rondo: A Community Conversation was hosted by SPAAR’s Housing book club and Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.