Trying to remember the title of this novel from this passage.

I remember reading a novel in which, I believe, a younger black girl is taken to the circus, specifically on the day when black people are allowed to go; I believe she is being taken by an older male friend of her mother in order to stop her from bothering said mother, or she is taken by the whole family and feels left out for some reason. Either way, she then sees other black people as exhibits in this circus/fair/whatever, which is why I am attempting to find the passage. Can anyone name this book for me? For some reason, I keep thinking it's Beloved, but I'm not finding anything of the sort so I'm thinking it's probably not.