the feminist librarian reads

Racial animosity predates the death of Michael Brown by centuries, structuring the city’s geography in good times and bad. By 1916, St. Louis had become a region of decadence and development: the fourth-largest city in the U.S, the envy of the world. That same year local magazines ran ads decrying blocks “ruined by Negro invasion” and asking residents to vote for segregation. In 1917, neighboring East St. Louis burned in some of the worst race riots in U.S. history. Today, impoverished East St. Louis is one of the many areas in the metro region St. Louisans encourage people to avoid. They will tell you it is dangerous but they will not say it is suffering. The region’s wounds are visible, unseen by choice.