I am currently a Human Service major at St. Louis Community College Meramec. As an assignment by my professor, I was instructed to write a letter to the editor regarding a current issue that affects my neighborhood and state my stance. My current issue is property in what was known as the Walnut Park neighborhood but is now Walnut Park East. I grew up in Walnut Park from 1974 until 1990.
I can remember growing up on Thrush, where many of my neighbors were of European descent. The neighborhood was nice. African Americans owned the corner stores. There was a community center located on the corner of Lillian and Thrush where the activities were free and lunch was provided along with various activities. I can remember making crafts out of popsicle sticks.
There was also Mrs. Edna’s. Mrs. Edna was an African-American woman who owned and operated a beauty salon that she lived above, and she operated a candy store and sold the delicious hamburgers she cooked inside her store.
The neighbors were nice and friendly. Fred was a European who lived next door to me. He would reach over his fence and give us jelly beans, peanuts and pretzels. A couple of houses down from Fred was Mr. Kent, who would give us donuts and iron-on stickers. Those were the days of my life.
As I grow older, the neighborhood began to move away, some passed away, and this brought on a new era and new group of people. The Community Center closed. Mrs. Edna’s business was torn down, and the stores that are not gone have new owners. As times changed, people changed and things changed. Properties began to go down and deteriorate, drugs were introduced, and the crime rate began to soar. This new era and new group of people brought about change and a toll on the neighborhood as families began to leave Walnut Park.
With no one to fight for a community or neighborhood, Walnut Park has been left in shambles. It appears as if no one cares. A few new houses were built over the years, but with all the red tape and politics, no one has stepped up to revitalize this once-thriving neighborhood. It is only mentioned in connection with crime and poverty, both negativity.
This neighborhood is looked down upon as though those that reside there are less fortunate and it is their fault because they do not want to do better and they do not know better, when this assumption is not true and is biased. This is not an individual issue but a societal issue that needs to be corrected, and change needs to be made.
If change is made and this neighborhood is revitalized, not only do the residents benefit, but also our economy and we as society. This will generate revenue as well as open doors for businesses and jobs, growth and development. It takes a village to raise a kid. Without this village, our kids will be lost and we will be lost, and we will have lost the battle of revitalizing our community and city.
As an advocate for human rights and safety, we must come together as a society and do better. Encouragement is needed and should be implemented. I am for revitalizing Walnut Park and advocating our community for the greater good.
