Rick Dean
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March in East St. Louis will remember victims of 1917 race riot
ity:
By Norman Parish
Of the Post-Dispatch
07/01/2004
In 1917, thousands of African-Americans marched silently in New York City to protest the bloody race riots of East
St. Louis.
On Saturday, a group plans to take to the streets again over the incident. But this time the march will be the start of an annual commemoration in East St. Louis. The procession will star
t at East St. Louis City Hall, 301 River Park Drive, and proceed to the middle of the Eads Bridge.
The event is being sponsored by East St. Louis and Freedom Trails Legacies of Hope, an association in East St. Louis
that studies local African-American history.
"The whole process is to let people know that we are standing on the shoulders of a lot of people who have made sacrifices and left us the responsibility of making a better community," said Anne Walker, director of Freedom Trails.
Before the procession to the bridge, the group will gather at 8 a.m. to contribute to a time capsule. The ceremony starts at 8:30 a.m. at City Hall. After a procession to the bridge, the group will drop a wreath into the Mississippi River, the site where some people died during the incident.
On July 2-3, 1917, mobs of whites attacked black residents of East St. Louis and burned many homes and businesses. The official death toll listed 39 blacks and nine whites, but some historians
believe more than 100 people were killed during the riots. The conflict began when companies recruited blacks to cross picket lines.
The riot attracted national attention.
On Thursday, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen adopted a resoluti
on honoring the events scheduled for Saturday in East St. Louis.
Alderman Terry Kennedy, D-18th Ward, sponsored the resolution. His late father, Samuel Kennedy, the former 18th Ward alderman, was 6 years old when his mother and nine brothers and sisters fled from the riots on a raft in the river. Terry Kennedy said the family's home was burned.
"These ceremonies not only will commemorate what happened, but rededicate efforts to bridge racial divisions," Kennedy said.
What: A march to commemorate the 1917 East St. Louis riot
s.
When: 8 a.m. Saturday.
Where: East St. Louis City Hall, 301 River Park Drive.
Information: 618-397-5511.
March in East St. Louis will remember victims of 1917 race riot
ity: By Norman Parish
Of the Post-Dispatch
07/01/2004
In 1917, thousands of African-Americans marched silently in New York City to protest the bloody race riots of East
St. Louis.
On Saturday, a group plans to take to the streets again over the incident. But this time the march will be the start of an annual commemoration in East St. Louis. The procession will star
t at East St. Louis City Hall, 301 River Park Drive, and proceed to the middle of the Eads Bridge.
The event is being sponsored by East St. Louis and Freedom Trails Legacies of Hope, an association in East St. Louis
that studies local African-American history.
"The whole process is to let people know that we are standing on the shoulders of a lot of people who have made sacrifices and left us the responsibility of making a better community," said Anne Walker, director of Freedom Trails.
Before the procession to the bridge, the group will gather at 8 a.m. to contribute to a time capsule. The ceremony starts at 8:30 a.m. at City Hall. After a procession to the bridge, the group will drop a wreath into the Mississippi River, the site where some people died during the incident.
On July 2-3, 1917, mobs of whites attacked black residents of East St. Louis and burned many homes and businesses. The official death toll listed 39 blacks and nine whites, but some historians
believe more than 100 people were killed during the riots. The conflict began when companies recruited blacks to cross picket lines.
The riot attracted national attention.
On Thursday, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen adopted a resoluti
on honoring the events scheduled for Saturday in East St. Louis.
Alderman Terry Kennedy, D-18th Ward, sponsored the resolution. His late father, Samuel Kennedy, the former 18th Ward alderman, was 6 years old when his mother and nine brothers and sisters fled from the riots on a raft in the river. Terry Kennedy said the family's home was burned.
"These ceremonies not only will commemorate what happened, but rededicate efforts to bridge racial divisions," Kennedy said.
What: A march to commemorate the 1917 East St. Louis riot
s.
When: 8 a.m. Saturday.
Where: East St. Louis City Hall, 301 River Park Drive.
Information: 618-397-5511.