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A historic look at a few East St. Louis neighborhoods, a chance to develop research and writing skills and a spotlight on young voices are a few ways I Am EStL, The Magazine is helping Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Upward Bound students take pride in their past, their community and themselves. 

“We began a partnership with the I Am EStL, The Magazine in September 2016. It was a pilot program for students in the SIUE East St. Louis Center Upward Bound Program,” said Javonda Quinn, program director. “The goals of the program are to have students research neighborhoods in East St. Louis and the surrounding area, gain an understanding of those neighborhoods from a historic view, and produce their findings in the new I Am EStL, The Magazine.” 

The first class, which consisted of eight students, concluded on Dec. 15. The culmination of the course resulted in two articles written by students. One of the articles, “Alta Sita: Home to the Stars, but Mostly . . . Just Home” will be published in the I Am EStL, The Magazine in the January issue and will be available online Saturday, Jan. 7.  

“It is good to help kids learn more about East St. Louis neighborhoods. To give them a before and after picture, said Angela Burrage, course instructor/coordinator and founder of All About Education NP of St. Louis. 

“We started out studying East St. Louis at the time of the 1917 riots. We also researched various communities and went in different neighborhoods and took pictures. The class allowed a lot of hands on involvement.” The non-profit company began in 2015 and provides educational programming and financial literacy for adults and children. 

Anitra Nevels, a retired project manager, instructed the students in the techniques of research. Tiffany Lee, assistant professor of communications at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park, was the program’s writing and editing instructor. 

“I worked with the students on description, clarity in writing, personage usage, and helping them get their ideas to flow well,” Lee said. “Tone was also important, because the I Am East St. Louis Magazine promotes the positive things in the city. 

“I also talked to them about representation of their neighborhood from their perspective versus someone else’s. I used the famous poet, Nikki Giovanni’s poem, ‘Nikki-Rosa.’ One of the things I found interesting was Tianna’s (Fisher) response to living in Alta Sita.” 

“I lived in Alta Sita at one time,” said Tianna Fisher, Upward Bound EC student. She and her partners Armani Rodgers and DeAnjanea’ Mayes chose the Alta Sita neighborhood of East St. Louis. “Many people probably don’t know that Alta Sita used to be the home of Tina and Ike Turner for many years. It also had been home to many doctors, lawyers and people with different service jobs. 

“Around the 1970s, the Alta Sita neighborhood, and the city of East St. Louis as a whole, started to decline,” wrote Fisher in her magazine article ‘Alta Sita: Home to the Stars, but Mostly . . . Just Home.’ Thought I stayed in Alta Sita during the time when the city of East St. Louis was known for its violent crimes, the Alta Sita community wasn’t seen as a violent area. The neighbors were kind and cared for others. Parents and children enjoyed themselves and didn’t worry about people having disputes. The environment wasn’t just a community. It was more like a family.” 

Another community selected was Emerson Park, with an emphasis on Parson Field. De’Vion Tucker and his partner Tia Fisher, twin sister of Tianna, wrote the article: “A Legacy of its Own: Parson Field.” 

“Parson Field was a stadium that stars once used like Jackie Joyner-Kersee (Olympic legend and gold medalist) and Albert Dixon (pro football star),” said Tucker. 

“Parson Field was my first choice, because my grandfather and family still live there,” Tia Fisher said. “I didn’t think the class would be as fun as it was. I liked being able to go out and research something and write about it, and have it be part of a magazine. As young people, our opinions don’t tend to be in the newspaper or valued as much.” 

Upward Bound (UB) helps youth prepare for higher education. Participants receive instruction in literature, composition, mathematics and science on college campuses after school, on Saturdays and during the summer. UB serves students from the following high schools: East St. Louis and Cahokia (EC) and Brooklyn, East St. Louis Charter and Madison (BEM).  

With a focus on empowering people and strengthening communities, the SIUE East St. Louis Center is dedicated to improving the lives of families and individuals - from pre-school through adult - in the Metro East. Head Start/Early Head Start and a charter high school are among the programs that offer the community renewed hope and an opportunity to reach educational, career and life goals. The Center also assigns first priority to encouraging, supporting and improving the educational success of the residents of East St. Louis and surrounding urban communities. The Center provides comprehensive programs, services and training in the areas of education, health, social services and the arts.   

Photos:

Shown are the students in the SIUE Upward Bound’s first I Am EStL, The Magazine Writing Class. Front row from left to right: Dajanae Jackson, DeAnjanea’ Mayes, Armani Rodgers, Angela Burrage, Tia Fisher and De'Vion Tucker. Back row from left to right: Tianna Fisher, Cierra Bearden, Malik Franklin and Antoine Williams. 

De’Vion Tucker (right) and his partner Tia Fisher, twin sister of Tianna, wrote the article: “A Legacy of its Own: Parson Field.”