The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

Beyond the statistics

Taking a look at America’s “crime capital”
A picture of the Arch in downtown St. Louis. Officially opened in 1965, the Gateway Arch is St. Louis’s most well-known landmark and described as the “Gateway to the West.”
Addie Gleason
A picture of the Arch in downtown St. Louis. Officially opened in 1965, the Gateway Arch is St. Louis’s most well-known landmark and described as the “Gateway to the West.”

I grew up in the city of St. Louis until I was 11. I lived in the Old North neighborhood, a neighborhood particularly known for its community gardens and the famous Crown Candy kitchen. I would ride my bubblegum pink and white princess bicycle along the streets and the gravelly back alleys and see the Arch peeking above my neighbor’s house while I waited for the bus in the morning. I was aware of certain bubbles in St. Louis — the neighborhoods that were infamous for the pops of guns as soon as the sky darkened to light indigo — but in my area, all I knew was the brick houses that lined the streets that seemed so intimidating yet familiar, my knees and hands wet and dirty in the squishy brown mud as I planted carrot seeds and the commissioned murals painted on building walls.

My family certainly wasn’t poor — my father worked for the Election Board and my mother was an engineer — but they had lived in the city for their entire adult lives and hadn’t ever thought of moving until it was clear that more opportunities for my brothers and I lay 45 minutes away in West County.

Sophomore Elizabeth Franklin sits in front of her old house in Old North, St. Louis. Franklin spent half of her life living in St. Louis with her family.
Sophomore Elizabeth Franklin sits in front of her old house in Old North, St. Louis. Franklin spent half of her life living in St. Louis with her family. Credit: Tiffany Mapp Franklin

Not everyone had the same experience as I did — some lived in the bubbles that I avoided, some still live in the city, some loathe the city, some love it even more than I did — but the reactions from my classmates who lived in West County had me taken aback. I knew that there were a lot of problems that could be improved upon, but I hadn’t ever thought of St. Louis as a place of horror and petrification like the way my peers described it to me. I liked where I lived a lot, and now I believe it’s important that people don’t relegate all of St. Louis to a destitute, crime-infested city, especially people who don’t live there or have never lived there. 

St. Louis’s Unique Diversity

Social studies teacher Kristen Collins lived in Lindenwood Park, a neighborhood in the City of St. Louis, for 12 years. Contrary to popular belief, St. Louis has several different neighborhoods — 79, in fact — which all have varying characteristics and levels of affluence. These neighborhoods are just small pockets of St. Louis as a whole. 

“The adage of St. Louis — the question that’s always asked — is the ‘where did you go to high school?’ question as you get into adulthood, which can be good and bad,” Collins said. “[People] can pigeonhole [other] people based on where they’re from.”

It is true that St. Louis’s average salary is lower than the national average salary. It is also true that many of the poorest people in St. Louis are Black. However, there is a historical reason for this: redlining. Redlining is a form of economic discrimination where loans and specific types of insurance are denied to people living in certain areas because they are deemed a ‘poor financial risk.’ However, many areas that were deemed such a risk were majority Black, especially in St. Louis, which is why the generational wealth for Black families is so low compared to white families. In recent years, however, many organizations such as Action St. Louis and policies implemented by St. Louis city mayor Tishaura Jones have aimed to close the gap between white St. Louisans and Black St. Louisans.

Although poverty is somewhat prevalent in St. Louis, the poverty rate has steadily decreased since 2013. Neighborhoods such as Wydown/Skinker, Compton Heights and Central West End all have pretty high costs of living compared to the other neighborhoods in the area. There are also different attractions in the neighborhoods of St. Louis, such as the Missouri Botanical Garden in the Shaw Neighborhood, and the eateries in The Hill Neighborhood

“Not everybody who lives in the city is poor,” senior Seth Young said. “That’s a perception that [many] people in West County have, anyway — that everyone who lives in the city comes from some sort of poverty.”

Every year, Collins allows her World History and +AP World History students to learn about the diverse restaurants in St. Louis with an extra credit assignment. Most of the restaurants are east of Interstate 270, outside of West County. She wants kids to explore parts of St. Louis they would not typically see. However, Collins received criticism about her decision. 

“A parent was upset that I was trying to ‘force’ — even though it is [an] extra credit [assignment] — her student to go to ‘dangerous neighborhoods,’ to which I kind of laughed because most neighborhoods that these restaurants are in are completely safe,” Collins said. 

It’s not hard for me to believe this story because my peers repeat the same things even today. I can give you some of those stereotypes that my classmates spout right now: most of St. Louis is Black, all of it — except for downtown, near Busch Stadium — is dangerous and crime-ridden, and everyone is poor. I’ve heard it all with my own ears and processed it within my own mind. These violent, unpleasant images of St. Louis never fit with the image in my own head because I had actually lived in a neighborhood in St. Louis, while most of my peers only viewed it through what they saw in the news. 

“I know some parts are poverty-stricken and unsafe because I live there, but [West County] people can’t relate,” Young said. “They can’t relate because a lot of them are living in their fancy houses in their fancy neighborhoods, so they can’t relate to me, and it [upsets me] when they [talk down on our homes] and automatically judge it without taking into account that people actually live there.”

Young has lived in his neighborhood in the city of St. Louis his whole life. His experience is different from mine because although we both lived in the city, we lived in different neighborhoods that determined our sentiments about St. Louis. Just as Ballwin, Manchester and Eureka are not the same, St. Louis is not a monolithic city, and relegating St. Louis only to its stereotypes is a disservice to the city itself and the people who live there.

“[These thoughts] toward the city perpetuate stereotypes and definitely perpetuate racism,” Collins said. “Their fear of going into some of these neighborhoods certainly perpetuates these stereotypes because it’s the lack of [knowledge]. If you don’t experience it, if you don’t dine in and go to these places, then how are the stereotypes going to change?”

These stereotypes of St. Louis harm its reputation and keep people from exploring the city. Therefore, it’s important to learn about these stereotypes and dismantle the harmful ones to overcome them. 

The Stereotypes Rooted in Reality

Although several stereotypes aren’t true for all of St. Louis, the fact that St. Louis’s education system is of lower quality is unfortunately true. There are several consistent disparities in the quality of education throughout St. Louis, with lower-income students typically receiving the short end of the stick. Even in areas where students have a bit higher income, if the school district serves students who live in lower-income neighborhoods, then the quality of education can be questionable. This is one of the reasons why the Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Corporation (VICC) began to integrate students who lived in the area of lower-quality school districts into school districts that provided more opportunities for its students. 

“I loved the school that my daughter was going to [attend]. It was a St. Louis Public Schools school, and a couple of my friends were SLPS teachers, and they loved it,” Collins said. “But their kids were also gifted, so they [knew what] path their kids were going to be on academically through the gifted schools and the choice programs down there. But my child’s not gifted, and I wanted consistency for her. I wanted the same consistency that I had growing up.”

Some of the fears about St. Louis are valid. After all, St. Louis was number one on the most dangerous cities in the New York Times list. But one essential piece that’s missing is that St. Louis and St. Louis’s county split in 1876, meaning that there are two separate governments and two separate crime rates. Most big cities, such as Chicago, don’t typically have two different crime rates for the city and the county, which generally means that the numbers can sometimes be a little skewed. And even then, St. Louis’s crime rate has steadily declined, even in years before the pandemic.  

“People in the city, we know it can be dangerous — some people hear gunshots ringing out every night — but the [West] county people judge [all of St. Louis] the same when it’s not. People would rather judge St. Louis before actually going down there,” Young said. “You do have to know how to navigate your way through [some] parts of the city, but St. Louis is a beautiful city.”

St. Louis isn’t perfect — far from it, actually. But I believe that it’s more than its stereotypes and that it’s important to explore St. Louis before perpetuating these stereotypes further. I believe that Young’s words echo my sentiment perfectly:

“They come to the baseball games and the hockey games in the city, but they don’t realize that there are ‘hoods around there,” Young said. “[They] always saying that the city is bad, but they don’t realize when they go to [those sorts of places], they’re already around some neighborhoods they might consider dangerous. And if you’re down there already, check it out and don’t judge us.”

***

I grew up in the Old North Neighborhood in St. Louis, a historic neighborhood known for its brick homes and old stores. The neighborhood is currently being revitalized by the Old North Restoration Group, which aims to create growth in opportunities for the residents. Click on the location points in the Thinglink below to see some of the sights I’m most familiar with!

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About the Contributors
Elizabeth Franklin, Editor-in-Chief
Pronouns: she/her Grade: 12 Years on staff: 4 What is your favorite piece of literature?"Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" is such a classic piece of literature that can still resonate with many people in the U.S. today. Cassie, the book’s protagonist was and is still refreshing to me: she’s a child, so the way that racism and discrimination impact her made it easy for me, also a child at the time, to understand some of the bigotry and prejudice that many of my ancestors faced, especially living in the South. Cassie’s a little spitfire, sure, but she’s also just a child, and at the end of the day, she embodies what America’s intrinsic racism can do to childish innocence like hers. Who is your hero? My hero is Ida B. Wells. She was an excellent journalist and was always dedicated to finding the truth, no matter the obstacles — and as a Black woman reporting in the South, she had a lot of obstacles. Although my journalistic career isn’t as nearly as dangerous as hers was, her work has paved the way for numerous other Black writers and journalists in the field, and it reminds me to always keep digging, even when the subjects are obscure or controversial in today’s overall political climate. If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be? I'm not going to lie, I could probably shovel down buckets of those Welch's fruit snacks.
Addie Gleason, Managing Editor-in-Chief
Pronouns: she/her Grade: 12 Years on staff: 4 What was your favorite childhood TV show? Hannah Montana What is your favorite book? "They Both Die At The End" by Adam Silvera What motivates you? I'm motivated by family and friends to do well in school. I strive to be kind and creative so that I can be successful in life.
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  • J

    JadeNov 20, 2022 at 2:27 pm

    I loved it sharing all that with the world was an amazing idea

    Reply
  • J

    JadeNov 20, 2022 at 2:25 pm

    I think that it was great and you did a really good job

    Reply
  • T

    Tracy L BouslogMay 29, 2022 at 5:28 am

    Excellent job, Elizabeth, demonstrating the limited views many have of the richness and complexity of St. Louis City! Again, I love how you can weave in the personal stories of people with city experiences and the research about the city. The information about redlining is so important for all people to know to be able to understand the history of inequities faced today. My nephew attends a private school in the city and loves the music and art scene there. He’s also had several opportunities for volunteer work, connecting with all types of people no matter their socioeconomic background. I’m grateful every day that he values diverse people and cultural experiences. Articles like yours are so important for dispelling stereotypes and for revealing truths. Bravo!!!

    Reply
  • K

    Kasandra HodgeMay 25, 2022 at 12:58 pm

    Great piece Elizabeth! Thanks for sharing this with me. I am super proud of you. 👏🏽

    Reply
    • S

      S. LengelMay 25, 2022 at 2:47 pm

      Great piece. St. Louis City and County split in 1876, not 1867.

      Reply
  • L

    Lindi SchoenfeldMay 24, 2022 at 2:25 pm

    Well said, Elizabeth! Your sources and information will make readers question any stereotypes they might hold about St. Louis. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  • D

    Dr. PiffelMay 24, 2022 at 1:14 pm

    Thank you for writing this story, Elizabeth and thank you to both you and Seth for sharing your viewpoints so others might see from your lens! It is so important for us to learn from each other to break down those barriers! I am proud of you and commend you both! Bravo!

    Reply
  • C

    CrystalMay 24, 2022 at 11:28 am

    Great insight! This article can go beyond St. Louis to all urban cities in America and the stereotypes attached to them. Many people do not take the time or effort to realize how their stereotypes encourage and support a broken system of inequality. Thank you for writing this and being a voice to the many unheard voices.

    Reply
  • E

    Emily EarlyMay 24, 2022 at 11:26 am

    WOW. Loved this story, Elizabeth. This story needed to be written and you did so beautifully.

    Reply
  • K

    Katie WallaceMay 24, 2022 at 10:14 am

    Wow. I have chills reading this story. Elizabeth, you are genuinely making such a difference by bringing these misconceptions to attention at West High and beyond. This could not be any better written and I love how your voice shines through in the entirety of your story.

    Reply
  • S

    SerenaMay 24, 2022 at 10:13 am

    This is such a beautiful and amazing story Elizabeth!

    Reply
    • J

      Jewel MappMay 26, 2022 at 4:40 pm

      Elizabeth, beautifully written, not surprising, you are doing an awesome job

      Reply
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Beyond the statistics