Abandoned in the Heartland: Work, Family, and Living in East St. Louis
Abandoned in the Heartland: Work, Family, and Living in East St. Louis
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Abstract
Urban poverty, along with all of its poignant manifestations, is moving from city centers to working-class and industrial suburbs in contemporary America, and 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. This book 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. It introduces men who search for meaning and opportunity in dead-end jobs, women who often take on caretaking responsibilities until well into old age, and parents who have the impossible task of protecting their children in this dangerous, and literally toxic, environment. Illustrated with historical and contemporary photographs showing how the city has changed over time, the book, full of stories of courage and fortitude, offers a vision of the transformed circumstances of life in one American suburb.
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Front Matter
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Prologue
Jennifer F. Hamer
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One
In America's Heartland
Jennifer F. Hamer
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Two
East St. Louisans and Their Cars
Jennifer F. Hamer
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Three
Work and Meaning in a Jobless Suburb
Jennifer F. Hamer
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Four
Hustling, Clean and Dirty
Jennifer F. Hamer
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Five
“Around Here, Women Never Get Done Workin'”
Jennifer F. Hamer
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Six
“Gotta Protect My Own”
Jennifer F. Hamer
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Seven
The Cost of Abandonment
Jennifer F. Hamer
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Epilogue: Obama and East St. Louis
Jennifer F. Hamer
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End Matter
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