The First Two Murders I Witnessed

The Memoir My Dad Wouldn't Write

East St. Louis's Black community of the 1940's and 50's was a swirl of influences. Most Black people were recent migrants from the south or the children of southern migrants. They were a new citified version of Blackness, and with that newness came the stresses and pressures of urban life. A closer physical proximity. A different economic competition. More access to drugs and alcohol. More violence. In this burgeoning phase my father became a man and watched other men reckon with each other, even to the point of murder. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/treasure-shields-redmond/support