A freshman at Saint Louis University, I have recently come to know and love the famous city home to the Cardinals, the Anheuser-Busch brewery, and the Gateway Arch. While Saint Louis is among the best-known metropolitan cities in the United States, many are unaware that just across the Mississippi River and the Missouri-Illinois border lies East St. Louis, a center for poor education and crime and a reminder to our country that issues such as racism are not merely problems of the past.
What struck me most as I read this article is that I currently live only about 5 miles west of ESL. I could easily attend school here for the next four years and never hear anything about it except caveats from locals encouraging me to stay as far away as possible. Many people do. I learned from a friend who completed a research project on ESL last year that the highway system is actually designed to keep outsiders out. In the article, Safir Ahmed, a young reporter states “the ultimate terror for white people is to leave the highway by mistake and find themselves in East St. Louis. People speak of getting lost in East St. Louis as a nightmare” (18).
White people are definitely a minority in ESL, as the population according to Kozol is 98% African American (7). Among the immense amount of sewage waste that constantly infiltrates the soil and streets of the city, the city’s lack of resources has also created problems of unemployment, violence, poor education, and a population unable to escape the cycle of poverty.
I share Ahmed’s sentiment when he expresses his disbelief at the situation by exclaiming, “My God! This is the United States!” (17). Living in a well-off suburban town in the north has not been conducive to my understanding of urban issues, and it is hard for me to comprehend that our country possesses areas of such social distress.
I had the opportunity to take a short visit to ESL earlier this fall on a retreat focusing on urban issues. The friendly police officer that approached our group expressing his concern for our presence there after quietly walking the streets of the city for ten minutes snapped me into the reality that is East St. Louis today. While the easiest thing for me to do is stay out, I can’t help but think that this mindset has largely contributed to the problems of East St. Louis.
Books like Savage Inequalities tend to ignite my moral ire, and I first think of what I can do to make some sort of positive contribution to the situation. But in reality, what can I, as a young white woman with no steady income do? I like to problem solve and get things done, but one thing I have learned this year is that this is not always the best way to approach situations. Sometimes it is best to merely be with people. What frustrates me most is that I have never known that this was going on in our country, and I assume that many others don’t as well. In general, I feel that East St. Louis tends to be ignored by neighboring towns and districts, and I think that if this changes then significant steps can be taken to improve the condition of the city and of its citizens’ lives. With modern technology I think the best skill young people have today is the ability to communicate. Through communication, we can build solidarity. There is no reason that the people of Missouri and Illinois should be ignorant to this case. The United States has many areas like East St. Louis and it is merely irresponsible of us to ignore them. If citizens of our country are denied the rights to education, health, safety, and social justice, then they at least deserve to have their voices heard. Ahmed states, “the nightmare to me is that they never leave the highway so they never know what life is like for the children here. They ought to get off that highway. The nightmare isn’t in their heads. It’s a real place. There are children living here” (18).
Indignation is one of the purposes, I think, of Kozol's work. Raising our consciousness or awareness of the problems facing those in ESL and in other urban areas is another purpose. As you note, you may not feel as if you directly affect the people living in these areas, but I wouldn't sell yourself short. As you become aware of situations such as these, you can become a part of the solution. That solution involves educating others about the reality of the situation for people that are living in our backyard--just 5 miles away as you point out.
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