Ferguson, Missouri made national headlines in 2014 for the shooting of Michael Brown and subsequent protests. But Ferguson has a long, complicated history with race.
According to the ACLU, the Ferguson-Florissant School District was originally created by a federal order in the face of resistance to school desegregation in St. Louis City in the 1970s -- roughly two decades after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education.
Many Black Americans moved from St. Louis City to the then-predominantly-white suburb in search of better living conditions. Many white occupants then fled farther West in yet another example of what’s been termed “White Flight.” Barbie Skinner grew up in the Ferguson-Florissant area decades ago, and gave us a glimpse of the city’s history of racism in this episode of Missouri On Mic.
Missouri on Mic is an oral history and journalism project documenting stories from around the state in its 200th year.
Barbie Skinner: We went to Ferguson-Florissant school districts. And like I said, at that time it was, you know, middle class white suburban, little ranch style houses and most of the kids in my classes. Their dads worked at McDonnell Douglas. My parents were English professors, and that was unusual.
When we were growing up... I think I was going on the bus to junior high over at Florissant Junior High School. And my sister and I were waiting for the bus, we went down to the bus stop. And it just... right across from our street is one black family moved into the neighborhood. And it's this white white neighborhood. And we went to the bus stop and there are three crosses -- one great big cross and two little crosses -- that were burned. They were charred, because people had put up big crosses in their yard and burned it the night before just the scare of these, you know, these new people to the neighborhood.
We couldn't believe it. We're just, "oh, how awful that someone would be so unwelcome." When we were excited that somebody new was in the neighborhood. And... how awful. And now the neighborhood has changed -- McDonnell Douglas kind of closed down. And it's it's changed a lot because Ferguson-Florissant, now you know as Ferguson with all the issues that they have. And I guess people, you know, they just did this white flight thing and it's very, very different. And it's really incredibly sad.
It's just like, what the hell you know, is goes on with people that they can't welcome somebody else? Who wants to just live in a nice place and in your neighborhood. And not even bother to get to know them, but scare them instead.