'This is where they came to die': Historical marker highlights horrors at segregated reform school

tbf, clayton is *wealthy*. racism didnt just end when the legislation passed and schools desegregated--- families were (and still do) have generations of buying power that theyve been forced out of. the tornadoes from last year exemplify why this happens. once u live in the 'bad' parts, u arent experiencing life in the same ways as ppl in clayton. ur living next to abandoned buildings- which means insurers wont insure ur house and cover u when freak tornadoes blow through. ur living in areas where public transportation is harder to access, due to segregated and red lined areas not being treated the same way as other areas. u have less access to transportation in general bc its hard af to buy a car when ur barely keeping up--- and u need a car bc there arent any jobs, esp ones that pay decent, near u. public education has been devalued esp in stl- smth we see play out w public vs private schooling (and ofc more white families and families w wealth choosing private bc it provides a 'better' education). even the smallest instance of othering leads to decades of setback. and racism was (and can be argued still is to an extent) baked into the fiber of the us. the damage done is insurmountable. and its not just black folks- its native americans as well. and hispanics. and asians. and every damn minority that are othered.

I grew up in Tulsa where there's the North side which is the black side and the South side which is the white side. You can see the difference in the construction of the schools depending on which side of town you are on. Then there's the stuff they didn't teach in school that happened miles from our high school.