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Preface and Acknowledgements

Up until not too long ago, when you came into St. Louis by air, you’d be greeted by two murals at Lambert International Airport. Flight…An American Triumph was unveiled in 1980 as an illustrated history of aviation. One problem: Not one black face was included in the historical depiction!

When the racist and revisionist history was pointed out by members of the local Tuskegee Airmen, then Mayor Vince Schoemehl retorted there was no need for two murals. That colonial attitude is a reverberating reframe in the city that I often trace back to the infamous Dred Scott decision of 1857. The ruling said that black folks were only 3/5 of a human being; we have no rights that white people have to respect.

The second mural, Black Americans in Flight took almost a decade to complete, with much of that time going toward fundraising. The mural example speaks to the determined spirit of black St. Louisans who must fight every day to assert their full citizenship and to get respect. The airport wall is symptomatic of the racial dynamics that permeate the social and cultural fabric of the city as well as define the economic and political relations between the races.

In the Lou, ours is an ongoing struggle to overcome intractable racism to create a safe and just place that protects the human rights of all. This is a city which has held several dishonorable titles, including Most Racially Segregated, Most Dangerous City, Least Kid-Friendly City, # 1 in Racial Mortgage Rate Disparity, just to name a few. St. Louis racism is not just a figment of our imagination, it is our brutal reality.

My intent is always to have a conversation with my readers - to inform, to inspire, to challenge, and to move them to action. That’s whether it’s the waitress at the local restaurant or the professor at the university. Those conversations invariably continue while I’m at the grocery store, at a protest, at the clinic or wherever I meet people. Those insights are incorporated into future writings so that the summed up experiences are not just circular, but are expanded and deepened.

My writings are inspired and informed by the valiant struggles of peoples to their oppressive and exploitative conditions no matter where they are in the world. My goal is to expose the systems that reproduce those conditions and to provide possible strategies for our collective discussion and actions. I strive to show the inter-connectedness of the global economic system and how it affects are daily lives.

I’d like to thank my biological family, especially my siblings Loretta, Cheryl, Vanessa and Ben (deceased), for their love and encouragement over the years. My regret is that my brother’s premature death deprived us both of sharing in the excitement of my first book. I think my father, Bennett Massey Sr., and stepfather, Virgil Brashears, Jr. would have been pretty puffed up about the book if they were still alive. The life lessons from my “village“ are never far away when I write or speak and have definitely helped to shape my world view.

Percy Green II, my partner and soulmate, has helped me to truly appreciate St. Louis civil rights history with his stories about ordinary people creating extraordinary places and events. It really does fill in the gaps of where we are today and why.

Much respect goes to my political and cultural family which makes up the social justice community; they challenge and inspire me; they educate me on issues and their complexities. They are loyal allies on a most unique battleground. Their organized and relentless resistance has definitely made a positive impact on the quality of life wherever they are. We recognize the profundity of standing on the shoulders of those freedom fighters before us.

A special shout-out to the tech-y triumvirate of Glenn Muhammad, Wendell Layne and Program System 4 U who helped retrieve my early St. Louis American columns from a damaged floppy disk when I thought all was lost because the St. Louis Public Library’s microfiche department was unavailable due to renovations.

For the publications who have thought my voice worthy of uncensored print, I can only express my sincere gratitude, especially for the St. Louis American and Black Commentator (BC) who have reserved a regular place for me at their writers’ table. The proofreaders/editors add the polish and buff to bring out the shine of my words for optimal impact. At the American, the longest serving proofreaders of my column were former reporter Ishmael Ahmad and current editor Chris King. Nancy Littlefield at BC takes on a similar role for my column, A View from the Battlefield and also put her editing expertise to this manuscript.

To the thousands of young people whose lives have intertwined with mine at some point and time on our respective journeys, you are a motivating force that keeps me focused and fighting. I hope you learn and honor that you are the beneficiaries of the sacrifices of many to making your world a place of love, justice and peace. In the spirit of reciprocity, you must also become part of that continuum.

The Youth Council for Positive Development will receive some of the proceeds from this book.