I also have two bonus videos posted right now. One uses interview footage to explore racism as a systemic (as opposed to individual) issue while the other is of a presentation I made at Marquette describing how this project has impacted me.

Understanding racism: www.kirkwood-documentary.com/bonus-videos/understanding-racism/
Presentation: www.kirkwood-documentary.com/presentation/

It has been a challenging journey for me over the last two years and I am glad to finally be able to share it with you.

Kind regards,
Chris Jeske

Charles Lee “Cookie” Thornton arrived at Kirkwood City Hall for the City Council meeting and while walking to the chambers, saw Kirkwood Police Officer Sgt. William Biggs walking outside. Thornton approached Sgt. Biggs and shot him with a .44 Magnum revolver. Before he was fatally shot, Sgt. Biggs pressed a distress signal on his radio. Thornton proceeded to take Sgt. Biggs’ .40 caliber handgun before he went into the City Council Chambers.

Thornton concealed his weapons as he entered the City Council Chambers. Thornton then pulled out the guns and shot Officer Tom Ballman in the head. Over the next 1 minute 13 seconds, Thornton unleashed close range fire on members of the City Council.

Thornton fired 15 shots, killing Council members Connie Karr and Michael H.T. Lynch, and Public Works Director Ken Yost. Mayor Mike Swoboda was shot twice in the head and died seven months later, unable to fully recover from the wounds to his head. Suburban Journals reporter Todd Smith was also shot in the hand and released from the hospital within 24 hours.

Officers from the Kirkwood Police Department responded quickly and Thornton was killed in the Chambers from two gunshot wounds before he could shoot anyone else.

Kirkwood City Hall Shooting Investigative Report

Below is a short news clip from the day after the shooting.

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Sources:

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/DF9F175C2F225844862573E9001BDB9A?OpenDocument

http://www.kmov.com/justposted/stories/kmov_localnews_080808_kirkwood_shootings_report.295d8a81.html

http://www.websterkirkwoodtimes.com/Articles-i-2008-02-15-74098.113117_A_Community_Mourns.html

http://www.stlmag.com/media/St-Louis-Magazine/May-2008/Why-Did-Cookie-Thornton-Kill/

Meacham Park was a thriving interracial neighborhood until well after WWI. However, after WWII the black population in Meacham Park increased and the white popultion decreased. Meacham Park has constantly undergone changes throughout its history both good and bad. Meacham Park was an unincorporated part of St. Louis County until the 1991 annexation into Kirkwood.

1892 – Elzey E. Meacham purchases land and begins to sell lots

1896 – Sandy Spears, a farmer and real estate broker, is the first African American to live in Meacham Park

1906 – African American children attend Booker T. Washington School, white children attend Jefferson School

1908 – Meacham Park School built for the 14 white children (52 African American children have to walk to Booker T. Washington School

1912 – George Cabiness opens the first store in Meacham Park

1919 – D.M. Powell opens a grocery store; Powell is the first African American store owner in Meacham Park and becomes a prominent businessman in Meacham Park

1920 – Kirkwood School District pays tuition for African American students to attend Sumner High School in St. Louis

1921 – New Booker T. Washington School built

1924 – Meacham Park School opens; renovated in 1938; later known as the J. Milton Turner School

1930 – D.M. Powell organizes the “Powell’s Grocery” baseball team; some went on to play in the Negro Leagues

1951 – Joe Cole founds Club 44 with the Kirkwood YMCA

1954 – Brown v. Board of Education; African American students enroll in Kirkwood School District for all grades

1957 – Kirkwood annexed 100 foot strip of commercial property from Meacham Park that consisted of most of Meacham Park’s commercial area; some residents begin to distrust Kirkwood

1968 – Construction on I-44 takes some land from the Southeast corner of Meacham Park

1968 – William “Bill” Jones starts publishing In Our Opinion, a newspaper

1968 – Water and sewage systems installed using a Federal Grant from HUD

1988 – Urban League hired to survey residents about redevelopment, annexation, and general concerns; results showed that most residents were in favor of redevelopment and annexation

1991 – Meacham Park annexed into Kirkwood (approval of 83% of Meacham Park and 72% of Kirkwood voters)

1994 – OPUS Corporation awarded contract for redevelopment of Meacham Park

1995 – Desco Group replaces OPUS Corporation as developer

1999 – Kirkwood Commons open

2005 – Kevin Johnson shoots and kills Sgt. William McEntee, Kirkwood Police Officer, in Meacham Park

2008 – Meacham Park resident Charles “Cookie” Thornton opens fire at Kirkwood City Hall meeting, killing five; Thornton is shot and killed by Kirkwood Police

Sources:

http://ci.kirkwood.mo.us/com-dev/meacham-intro.htm

Meacham Park: A History 1892-1989 by Lonnie R. Speer

http://www.cfuh.org/HistoryDraft.pdf

Kirkwood is located in West St. Louis County, approximately nine square miles of land with a population of 26,818 (2007 population estimate from U.S. Census Bureau). Kirkwood’s council/manager form of government consists of one mayor and six at-large council members.

1803 – Land that will become Kirkwood is purchased from France in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803

1808 – Log house at #9 Hill Drive built; first home in Kirkwood area

1849 – St. Louis has cholera epidemic and massive fire; people start to look for safer place to live outside of the city

1853 – Pacific Railroad tracks built; Kirkwood is established

1865 – Town of Kirkwood chartered

1865 – Kirkwood School District chartered

1893 – Kirkwood Train Station built

1899 – Kirkwood reclassified as a city

1907 – Kirkwood’s sanitary sewer system completed

1924 – Kirkwood Public Library established

1942 – Kirkwood City Hall built

1946 – Kirkwood Chamber of Commerce formed

1954 – Brown v. Board of Education; Kirkwood School District enrolls black students

1966 – Kirkwood Community Center and Ice Rink opened

1966 – City of Kirkwood offers fire protection services to Meacham Park after five children die in fire

1968 – Interstate Highway Act passed; construction started on I-44 (passes through Kirkwood and Meacham Park)

1976 – Kirkwood Farmer’s Market opens

1987 – Mayor Herb Jones meets with Meacham Park residents to discuss possibility of annexation

1991 – Kirkwood annexes Meacham Park (approval of 72% of Kirkwood and 83% of Meacham Park voters)

1994 – OPUS Corporation awarded contract for redevelopment of Meacham Park

1995 – Desco Group replaces OPUS Corporation as developer

1999 – Kirkwood Commons open

2004 – Station Plaza opens

2008 – Shooting at Kirkwood City Hall, six dead

To learn more about the history of Kirkwood, visit the Kirkwood Historical Society at 302 W. Argonne on Thursdays and Sundays from 1-4.

Sources:

http://ci.kirkwood.mo.us/history.htm

Kirkwood Highlights by Betty Beck, Kirkwood Historical Society

History of Kirkwood, MO 1851-1965 by June Wilkinson Dahl

http://www.cfuh.org/HistoryDraft.pdf

http://www.explorestlouis.com/media/factSheets/fact_kirkwoodNeigh.asp

One of these profound moments came in my interview with Kirkwood High School Educational Support Counselor, Tom Gaither-Ganim. He started talking about a counseling program he participated in that was designed to promote understanding between races.

Although the context of his experience was in interracial dialogue, the message is applicable in almost any area. “We are all on a personal journey to understanding,” he said.

Although most enlightenment comes from group interaction, we are all on our own, extremely personal journey.

The significance of recognizing that everyone is on his/her own personal journey is that it also allows us to accept that we are all at different points on our journey, that we all have discovered different levels of truth. Too often, people attack those who are not at the same point in their journey as they are. This is a shame because instead of bringing others further along on their journey, it sets them back.

Although we are all at different points in our journeys, although we all are born into different starting points of our journeys, and although we all have different experiences that define our journeys, all of our journeys lead to the same end. The end of the journey is truth.

Achieving truth requires an understanding of both oneself and one’s role within a larger community; self-reflection and meaningful engagement with others. The truth is not always easy to see, so sometimes we need others to enlighten us. The truth is not always easy to accept, so we need to reflect on the implications of these truths.

I wish you the best on your journey. Remember that your success lies in your willingness to engage yourself in a fearless search for the truth.

This is the piece of art. At first glance a totem pole. Upon further scrutiny, a strong sociological statement.

Large Totem by American Folk Artist William Dawson. Picture taken at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Do you see the the profound message of this totem pole?

When I look at this I see the progression from top to bottom of light colored skin to darker skin. Most people consider the highest part of the totem pole to be the most prestigious. Looking at it this way, the art proclaims a hierarchy of white skin followed by light brown skin, followed by brown skin, followed by dark brown skin. This is a valid social critique of the role of race in American society.

However, some people argue that the totem pole is arranged in reverse hierarchy with the most important figures on the bottom. This understanding of the totem pole requires a completely different, yet equally compelling interpretation.

By interpreting the importance from bottom to top or from black to white, I would argue that the totem pole could signify the way America has been built. Whites have made large profits from the work and property of darker skinned people. First, the enslavement of Africans was the foundation of America’s first economy: Agriculture. Second, white Europeans conquered land in America from Native Americans and nearly exterminated the entire indigenous population. Third, the United State’s attack on the third world which is reflected in the Rosevelt Corollary’s expansionist/imperialist policy of overtaking small states in the Caribbean. This policy was overturned, but has not disappeared (think Vietnam, some African and Middle Eastern states during the Cold War, and currently Iraq and Afghanistan).

When combining both of these interpretations, something like the following surfaces: Whites have gained in prominence and power at the expense of the labor and resources of darker skinned people.

Does this mean that every white person’s wealth is ill got? No. But to try to understand the meaning of this work of art, one must be critical of the history of race in the United States and willing to mentally wrestle with the reality of white privilege.

What do you see when you look at the totem pole? What is the significance of the house at the base of the totem pole? Feel free to leave your comments in the section below.

I hope you can gain a little insight from this video about why people have different color skin and the significance of these differences.

http://www.ted.com/talks/nina_jablonski_breaks_the_illusion_of_skin_color.html

Peace and equality do not mean you do your thing, I do my thing and we don’t bother each other – This is a social practice of racial segregation that makes us feel “comfortable” or “safe” from people of other races. Although this “comfort” may be desirable, it is used to hide the greater fear of cross-racial interaction, of recognizing the humanity in people regardless of the color of their skin. This illusion of racial “comfort,” or rather racial ignorance, is ultimately a completely unsatisfactory solution to building race relations because it denies everyone their humanity and cripples our ability to grow as a community, as a nation, as a people.

Nelson Mandela once said “I am not truly free if I am taking away the freedoms of others.” Like freedom, justice and equality are communal activities. We have to move beyond the Cartesian intrapersonal I think therefore I am philosophy to the interpersonal Ubuntu philosophy of we are therefore I am. This is not an extension of the suggestion that assimilation will cure racism (i.e. I will accept you and respect you only if you start to act like me, to speak like me, to think like me). Instead, this idea of a communal identity declares that we need to accept people as we are. We are all imperfect and we all own a piece of the truth. The truth only exists when it is held by a whole community. Majority opinion is not the equivalent of truth. To bring out the truth, we must first establish trust and respect. Establishing trust and respect requires each of us to get to know each other (people of all races and creeds) on a personal level.

The minding your own business approach to race relations is not only ineffective, but is detrimental to the very problem it is said to address.

Is it possible that tension can escalate after years of leaving each other alone, of minding our own collective business? Absolutely. Ignorance breeds tension. Ignorance breeds misunderstanding. Ignorance breeds anger. Yet we tend to let the tension build, the misunderstandings proliferate, the anger manifest, all right before our eyes, all for the sake of avoiding some racial awkwardness or embarrassment when we find out our assumptions are rarely true.

I think the minding our own business mentality can be summed up in one word – apartheid. Apartheid simply means separateness – not separateness required by law, just separateness. If minding your own race’s business is a social norm, equality is a myth, not a reality.

Do you think this mindset is good or bad? How do you feel when people ignore you? Please share your comments in the section below.

Although Kirkwood’s situation is very different than Chicago’s, I think the overall message and the strategy is important for anyone dealing with race relations or violence to be familiar with. In my two most recent interviews with Joe Cole and Franklin McCallie, two themes predominated the talks: the importance of having truthful and honest dialog, and the importance of strong leadership in the community. Slutkin’s CeaseFire program incorporates both of these necessary elements.

Watch the 26 minute video at http://www.poptech.org/popcasts/?viewcastid=241 to learn how to eliminate violence by treating it as a medical epidemic.

To learn more about the CeaseFire campaign, visit http://www.ceasefirechicago.org/index.shtml

Do you think this perspective can eliminate violence? What parts of this project can you implement in your community? Please share your comments in the section below.

I can think of two main reasons why stereotypes stick:

1) To maintain one’s identity

2) To establish masculinity

The first reason – to maintain one’s identity – can explain why stereotypes stick because some people can feel that if their heritage is defined by traditions (sometimes expressed with stereotypes) and to break from the traditions and stereotypes can be perceived as breaking from their identity. In the case of African Americans, lots of African traditions were lost through slavery so the ones that survived and the new African American traditions that emerged from and after slavery are very important to African Americans to hold onto as a form of self identification even if they are expressed with negative, racial stereotypes. In some people’s eyes, to betray the cultural traditions which are sometimes expressed in stereotypes is equivalent to abandoning their culture and their identity – to assimilate into the white majority. It is better to maintain their cultural heritage even if that means fitting a stereotype than to be a race traitor or a part of white culture.

The second reason – to establish masculinity – can explain why stereotypes stick using the understanding of our society as patriarchal (male dominant) as a base. Several stereotypes as mentioned earlier are the foundation of prejudice and rely on the superior/inferior power structure, but this power structure can have a dual effect. The primary power structure suggests that those who fit into the stereotype are inferior to those who express the stereotype. The secondary power structure exists within the suggested inferior group. Individuals who fill out the stereotype can do so to establish masculinity or power within the minority group.

In our society, media and law enforcement criminally profile these racial masculinities. The result of this is that minority youth may frame incarceration as a rite of passage into manhood. Even more disturbing is that some minority youth expect to go to jail, even without planning to commit a violent or property crime.

Another way fulfilling a racial stereotype can feel empowering to a minority youth is that they turn to popular culture where racial stereotypes proliferate to learn about success or power. This can be of two varieties, first, as Beverly Daniel Tatum describes in Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? that young people of color reach an age where they want to differentiate themselves from the adults in their family and community. Second, as a friend pointed out to me, some of the kids don’t have parents or community leaders around to set an example for them, so they turn to popular culture.

Can you think of another reason why stereotypes stick? Do you fit a stereotype and are proud of it? Please share your comments in the section below.