My representations are of two materials that are closely related about the suburbs of St. Louis and as such are from approximately the same period. The first is a picture from 1917 and is named "mob stopping street car". The second is an article from the New York Times called “Massacre at St. Louis." The major theme that keeps reoccurring in these two texts is that of racism in America. Saint Louis is rumored to be one of the most racist cities in the country, and that is no exception to its suburbs.
The two articles show in explicit detail how racism was profound in this suburb. The first material is a piece of art which shows an instance in the history of the Ferguson when Caucasian Americans went on a rampage and attacked black Americans on the streets wherever they found them (Public domain, 1917). This image shows a crowd of people surrounding a bus that is assumed to have blacks inside seemingly with the purpose of attacking them.
The second article is the account of detectives of the law about the events that led to the public attacked of African Americans in broad daylight. The article established that the conflict started when Black Americans were hired in place of whites who were on strike. The article continues to say that the violence escalated after a white man was allegedly attacked and assaulted by a black man in the town (Rudwick, 1917).
It is easy to argue that the suburb of Ferguson St. Louis is one of the most racist in America. History has shown that the minority group of the blacks has undergone great strain to get to the present (Rudwick, 1917). At the time of these articles, racism and discrimination against the blacks seemed to be the norm. It happened in broad daylight, and the authorities did not seem to do much to change the situation.
The materials show the chaotic and violent side of this suburb. In the picture, the attackers seem to be clamoring around the bus seemingly eager to inflict as much harm as they could on the inhabitants of the bus. The article calls the events of this day the "greatest outrage of the century". These articles show the chaotic nature of this particular suburb from a historical perspective.
Understanding these two materials is vital in understanding where this town is coming from historically and how it is portrayed to the world. Since the picture they offer is one that is negative in nature, it does not mean they should be ignored at all; they offer a different perspective and a learning opportunity. The two materials depict the suburbs of Ferguson as a racist and discriminative society. The materials offer a historical perspective of what happened in the past; this means that the mistakes of the past can be learned from.
The suburb located in East St Louis shows a town that is disorganized and wreaked havoc by the plague of racial discrimination (McLaughlin, 2005). The article in particular depicts the riots as one of the most unsettling events of the century. The tribulations still continue to the present day with only little having being done to abate the situation. These materials show the history of the town. They show the genesis of the scourge. Their timing signifies the exact period of when, the problems started for the town of Ferguson, St. Louis.
Works Cited
Domain, Public. Mob Stopping Street Car, East St. Louis Riot. 1917. Race Riot at East St. Louis, St. Louis. Public domain 2 July 1917: n.p. Print.
McLaughlin, Malcolm. Power, community, and racial killing in East St. Louis. New York, N.Y.: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Print.
Rudwick, Elliott M.. Race riot at East St. Louis, July 2, 1917. New York: New York Times, 1917. Print.
