Researching Baton Bob, LGBTQ history, Racism in St. Louis, 1904 World's Fair, and the Gateway Arch
My essay, “Arch Magic,” written for the upcoming St. Louis Writers Guild anthology Where Rivers Meet, was my most emotionally challenging writing project to date.
The beautiful Gateway Arch and the 1904 World’s Fair are sources of civic--and personal--pride. Uncovering the actual ugly history behind these icons was gut-deep painful. Yet only by embracing truth can we grow into a just and equitable democracy--a cause I support wholeheartedly.
The following resources guided me in my writing journey. I offer them to anyone interested in exploring the issues raised in my essay, and anyone researching Inclusiveness, Diversity, and Equity. Writers of Dystopian Literature, Urban Fantasy, and Heroic Fantasy will find plenty of story sparks.
May these resources spark a creation of your own.
The beautiful Gateway Arch and the 1904 World’s Fair are sources of civic--and personal--pride. Uncovering the actual ugly history behind these icons was gut-deep painful. Yet only by embracing truth can we grow into a just and equitable democracy--a cause I support wholeheartedly.
The following resources guided me in my writing journey. I offer them to anyone interested in exploring the issues raised in my essay, and anyone researching Inclusiveness, Diversity, and Equity. Writers of Dystopian Literature, Urban Fantasy, and Heroic Fantasy will find plenty of story sparks.
May these resources spark a creation of your own.
Baton Bob
- “Best Poster Boy for the First Amendment: Bob Jamerson.” The Riverfront Times, September 29, 2004.
- “Best St. Louison of 2002: Bob Jamerson.” The Riverfront Times, September 25, 2002.
- Brown Jr., Sylvester. “Shabby treatment here has quashed Baton Bob’s mirth.” St. Louis Post Dispatch, August 8, 2004.
- Murphy, Patrick. “Baton Bob.” Living St. Louis, on Nine PBS. Video accessed August 10, 2022.
- Ratcliffe, Heather. “Police are accused of manhandling Baton Bob.” St. Louis Post Dispatch, July 9, 2004.
LGBTQ+ history
- Brawly, Steven. “Looking Forward, Looking Back: LGBTQ History in St. Louis.” Out In STL, June 28, 2019.
- “LGBT Rights in Missouri.” Wikipedia. Accessed August 10. 2022.
- “Timeline.” St. Louis LGBT History Project. 1800s through 2000s, accessed August 10, 2022.
Racism in St. Louis
- “The African American Experience,” Section 8 of A Preservation Plan for St. Louis: Part 1. Accessed August 10, 2022.
- Cooperman, Jeanette. “The story of segregation in St. Louis.” St. Louis Magazine, October 17, 2014.
- “Death by the State: Police Killings and Jail Deaths in St. Louis.” ArchCity Defenders. January 2021.
- Hill, Randall. “St. Louis Arch a Symbol of ‘Negro Removal’?” Court Issues (blog), July 14, 2018.
- Johnson, Walter. The Broken Heart of America: St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States. New York: Basic Books, 2020 and "No Rights Which the White Man is Bound to Respect." Boston Review, September 27, 2017.
- Kaplan, Fred. “The Twisted History of the Gateway Arch.” Smithsonian Magazine. October 2015.
- Murphy, M.J. “STL Arch So White.” Medium blog, July 4, 2018.
- Ruff, Corinne. “30,000 St. Louis properties have racial covenants in their deeds. Your home could be one.” St. Louis Public Radio. November 18, 2021.
1904 World’s Fair
- Allen, Gregg. “ ‘Living Exhibits’ at 1904 World’s Fair Revisited.” NPR Morning Edition. May 31, 2004.
- Johnson, Walter. The Broken Heart of America: St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States. New York: Basic Books, 2020 and “The Largest Human Zoo in World History.” Lapham’s Quarterly, April 14, 2020.
- "Hisory of Ragtime." Library of Congress. Access August 10, 2022.
Activists
Carrie Smith (Funsten Nut strike), Indigo Hann (MO Ho), Jae Shepherd (closetheworkhouse.org), Jamala Rogers (organizer and author), Jay-Marie Hill (activist, musician, and educator), Jordan Braxton (advocate and educator), Lois D. Conley (curator and educator), Ora Lee Malone (organizer and activist), Percy Green (civil rights activist), and Sylvester Brown, Jr. (journalist and change agent).
Carrie Smith (Funsten Nut strike), Indigo Hann (MO Ho), Jae Shepherd (closetheworkhouse.org), Jamala Rogers (organizer and author), Jay-Marie Hill (activist, musician, and educator), Jordan Braxton (advocate and educator), Lois D. Conley (curator and educator), Ora Lee Malone (organizer and activist), Percy Green (civil rights activist), and Sylvester Brown, Jr. (journalist and change agent).
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