“They didn’t wait to see what kind of neighbors you were. They didn’t know Chris was a veteran of World War II, a Tuskegee Airman, or that I was a schoolteacher. They don’t care – they see color – and that’s it. People don’t want to get to know you.” (In 1957, Ernestine Newman and her husband Chris bought a home at 4869 Margaretta in north St. Louis. White flight was ongoing.) Oral history of Ernestine Newman, born in 1928 and raised in St Louis. Quoted in That’s the Way It Was, Stories of Struggle, Survival and Self-respect in Twentieth Century Black St. Louis” by Vida Prince.
For reflection: Do we get to know our new neighbors even if they are different from us? Jesus ate and drank with people rejected by those in his ethnic group. Do I do as Jesus did?
Interested in joining MMOC’s Peace and Justice Ministry? Call Saralou Hendrickson 314.440.2020