This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Sept. 4, 2011 - I'm officially a St. Louisan! After writing for the Beacon from afar all these years, I have finally made a home in St. Louis. Having grown up on the Illinois side of the metro area, my family and I recently moved to the Tower Grove area. So, I thought I would share some of my reflections on diversity from the perspective of a newbie.
The biggest shift for us is living in a city with more visible class lines, and in particular, a more visible population of people who are homeless. Our previous town definitely had people who were without homes, but it was less visible than in the city. The class demarcations are vivid, and I have yet to find a way to find articulate the dynamics to my oldest son, who is 4 and notices everything. My standard line is to acknowledge the privileges we have and the fact that not everyone has a house to sleep in and food-filled fridge. Any suggestions about volunteer opportunities for young children and/or families to connect them across lines of class are welcome.
My first public city-experience was the Tower Grove Farmer's Market. To be honest, I was surprised at how few people of color I saw. Not including my family, I barely needed two hands. I was excited to see the urban farm movement represented among the vendors. I have yet to try Soulard's, but it's next on the list. It will be hard to beat a market in my front yard, but I've heard it's worth the visit.
We thoroughly enjoyed the Festival of Nations last weekend in the park. My children danced to Moorish, Bollywood, Bulgarian and North African music and listened to Korean drumming. Nap time came too quickly, and we grabbed a bite of food from the Kenyan food tent. Sambusas, which we are told are the Kenyan's version of the hamburger, made for a quick, kid-friendly lunch. The seasoned beef in phyllo dough made everyone, child and adult, satisfied. So, when we came back to the festival on Sunday, my son insisted we return. At first, I wanted to encourage him to venture out to one of the dozens of other cuisines, but then I thought why not let him be a repeat customer developing his own preferences for international food.
We biked to one of the playgrounds in the park on Monday evening, and my oldest son said, "Mom, I'm hungry. Let's go get some Kenyan." I broke the news to him that the festival only happens once a year, and that unfortunately the tents don't stay in the park for our personal enjoyment. If anyone has a recipe for Sambusas, or knows of where I can get them in the city, let me know!
I appreciate the exposure living in this area has provided for us even in these few short weeks. Between the park events and the numerous museums, we are excited to explore more of St. Louis and call it home. If you have suggestions for places and events we should check out, feel free to let me know!
Kira Hudson Banks, Ph.D., is a professor at Saint Louis University.. The native of Edwardsville is a regular contributor to the Beacon.