I have been there. . . or rather "through" there. My husband's Aunt Shirley lives in St. Louis. We have visited there many times during the summer. We are always told not to stop in East St. Louis for any reason! Not for gas, not to eat, nothing. I have vivid images of the drive through there. Maybe it is enhanced by the fear that has been placed in us, but none-the-less, it is a different world than the city across the river. I can picture the old, abandoned factories, the endless lines of railroad tracks, people just walking to no place it seems, rusted cars, lack of trees, or anything growing. The roads even have more pot-holes. Everything seems dirty. As you drive through, you try not to notice these conditions, but rather you are trying to see the other side of the river, the Arch, the Mississippi River, Busch Stadium, Union Station. That side is beautiful. But the East side is anything but beautiful. I never considered how it got to those conditions or the people that live in those conditions. It was interesting to be taken to a place that I had avoided. I still don't understand what has caused all of this to happen. How did it get that way? I know that Kozol wants us to believe that these people have just been forgotten, over-looked, left-out. But how could this happen in America? I am guilty of just turning a blind eye to injustice because it has never hit home for me. These people must feel trapped. Has anyone else been there?

After reading this section in the book, it made me think of New Orleans. The 'everyday' conditions in East St. Louis sound a lot like flooded New Orleans: trash, sewage, leves,blacks with no money.

I've never been to St.Louis, but it sounds like any rough area, the locals tell you to stay way.

I have been to ST. Louis years ago and I remember telling my husband not to stop in East St. Louis. We did stop and visit the Arch, etc. during the 4th of July. East St. Louis at least "the bridge" that is talked about in the book is about 2 miles away from the Arch. It is like day and night. IT is sad that these innocent children live in such waste, crime, etc. It made we realize how blessed We are to live in an area such as McDowell and work in decent schools. I just wanted to take those children out of that place and bring them here with me to take care of them. It is such a disgrace to know that people let things like that go on. What got me was how the big industries there were allowed to create their own towns so they wouldn't have to pay taxes for that particular area to help support the town. America boasts how great we are when we have such things like this going on. Shame Shame shame.

I had just finished reading Savage Inequalities when I flipped on the news and another school in Charlotte had been broken into and vandalized. It made me wonder, if we put tons of money into East St. Louis or Chicago or NYC tomorrow...how long would they stay in great shape?

How can this be in America? I am astounded! Shocked! Bewildered! It sounds like church missions/support needs to be sent here to help our own instead of going abroad. Wow! Disgusted!

My dad and I had the opportunity to pass quickly through East St. Louis back in 1993. My dad and I were talking about the book and how much I was enjoying reading it when I mentioned the conditions of East St. Louis. He reminded me that we had driven briefly through the area back in 1993 when the Mississippi River had flooded so badly through the plains and small towns along the river. We were returning from Cheyenne, Wyoming after visiting my brother and his family while they were stationed there. We happened to drive home during the intense flooding and were lost or detoured somehow off a side road and ended up in East St. Louis. We weren't there long, but I remember the factories, the smell of rot and flood waters, and I remember seeing a teddy bear lying in the gutter beside a massive factory building. I thought how sad it was that some child had lost their bear. Thankfully, we were not there long.