Horror brings out ESL community spirit
By James T. Ingram
For the St. Louis American
Some cities become inextricably bound to tragedy. Oklahoma City had her bombing. Columbine will always be remembered for her tragic school shootings. Dallas is known as the city where President Kennedy was assassinated, and Memphis was where Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered.
Unfortunately, last week East St. Louis claimed national headlines (on CNN, ABC, CBS and in USA Today) after Tiffany Hall, 24, was accused of killing her lifelong friend, Jimella Tunstall, 23, and cutting her unborn fetus from her womb.
Then, in a seemingly premeditated fashion, Hall attempted to pass off Tunstall’s fetus as her own, even arranging a funeral, at which time she informed her boyfriend (during the funeral) that the baby was actually Tunstall’s and that she had murdered her in order to claim the baby.
Hall was arrested after the boyfriend (on leave from the Navy) wisely informed authorities of what was revealed to him.
As if that wasn’t barbaric enough, Hall is also suspected of drowning Tunstall’s children Ivan, 2, Jinela, 1, and Demond, 7, allegedly stuffing them inside of Tunstall’s washer and dryer.
Hall, at press time, was being held on a $5 million bond and will undergo psychological analysis. She could face the death penalty.
All of this only adds fuel to an already notorious reputation that is, oftentimes, attributed to ESL and those who were raised here.
Last Friday, an overflow crowd of mourners and community members packed the Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church, for a nearly three-hour service, punctuated by messages of forgiveness and compassion. That’s right, I said forgiveness and compassion.
You see, the true spirit of East St. Louis is one that no amount of words can describe, nor any statistical or social analyst or study can accurately capture; and when you least expect it, we contradict the stereotypes.
On one hand, when it comes to her politics, participation in the educational process or taking a stand against corruption, ESL residents are traditionally apathetic and voiceless.
However, it is tragedy that brings out the true, close-knit community spirit and love that lies right beneath the surface of East Boogie’s rough exterior.
ESL firemen and policemen took to the streets, raising over $17,000 (for funeral expenses) from a community which, throughout this tragedy, has demonstrated a sense of unity not often attributed to “our side” of the Mississippi.
Customers of the Casino Queen and restaurant and nightclub owners, Cedric and Keisha Taylor, contributed an additional $3,000, with an anonymous donor contributing $15,000 more.
The generosity was so overwhelming that Marion “Edward” Officer of M.E. Officer and Sons Funeral Home (in Belleville) requested that donations be discontinued because funeral-related expenses had been met.
All of that from a community which is so easily vilified because of her poverty, history and challenges. That’s the stereotype.
The reality is that for all of her dysfunction, complexity and desperation, ESL has a spirit and sense of community which emerges every time we begin to think of her as a hopeless cause.
Was Tiffany Hall insane to commit such a series of heinous acts? I’ll let the experts be the judge. A recent study released by the U.S. Department of Justice reveals that 56 percent of state inmates, 45 percent of federal prisoners and 64 percent of those in local jails suffer from mental illness.
Were some family members of Jimella Tunstall insane to forgive Tiffany Hall for her actions? I don’t think so. While I don’t know that I possess the capacity for that type of forgiveness, I do know that ESL, despite the criminality of a few, is a deeply spiritual, God-fearing community, not unlike other African-American communities of her ilk.
Amidst all that has gone wrong here, as of late, I was proud to witness the outpouring of love and humanity that I’m always aware of.
I just look forward to the day when such tragedy does not have to be the catalyst for such displays of unity and community.
Email: jtingram_1960@yahoo.com.