"This Place is a Hellhole:" Popular Culture and the Racial Othering of East St. Louis, Illinois
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Winter 12-2019
Publication Title
Americana: The Journal of American Popular Culture (1900-Present)
Department
Historical Studies
Abstract
Despite its small population, East St. Louis, Illinois, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, is, because of its poverty and racial makeup, often described as the inner city. East St. Louis often gets coded as a "Black Place," and its problems are explained in radicalized terms, especially in popular culture depictions of the community. This article examines popular culture depictions of East St. Louis, and popular cultures attempts to mark East St. Louis as a Black place with Black problems.
Recommended Citation
Jack, Bryan and Sumida, Jennifer, ""This Place is a Hellhole:" Popular Culture and the Racial Othering of East St. Louis, Illinois" (2019). SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity. 108.
https://spark.siue.edu/siue_fac/108