Abandoned in the heartland : work, family, and living in East St. Louis / Jennifer F. Hamer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hamer, Jennifer.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African Americans.

Working class.

East Saint Louis (Ill.)--Social conditions--21st century.

East Saint Louis (Ill.).

East Saint Louis (Ill.)--Economic conditions--21st century.

Working class--Illinois--East Saint Louis.

African Americans--Illinois--East Saint Louis.

Illinois--East Saint Louis.

Physical Description:

xv, 244 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, [2011]

Summary:

Urban poverty is moving from city centers to working-class and industrial suburbs in contemporary America. Nowhere is this more evident than in East St. Louis, Illinois. Once a thriving manufacturing and transportation center, East St. Louis is now known for its unemployment, crime, and collapsing infrastructure. Abandoned in the Heartland takes us into the lives of East St. Louis's predominantly African American residents to find out what has happened since industry abandoned the city and jobs, quality schools, and city services disappeared, leaving people isolated and imperiled. Illustrated with historical and contemporary photographs showing how the city has changed over time, this book, full of stories of courage and fortitude, offers a powerful vision of the transformed circumstances of life in one American suburb. Book jacket.

Contents:

In America's heartland

East St. Louisans and their wheels

Work and meaning in a jobless city suburb

Hustling, clean and dirty

"Around here, women never get done workin"

"Gotta protect my own"

The cost of abandonment.

Notes:

"The George Gund Foundation imprint in African American studies."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780520269316

0520269314

9780520269323

0520269322

OCLC:

694172170