Tucked beneath the bluffs along the Mississippi on its Illinois shore, East St. Louis (pop. 80,000) is a squalid reach of crumbling brick buildings, battered frame shacks and sleazy taverns, redeemed only by a view of St. Louis' soaring Gateway Arch across the river. Poverty workers estimate that an appalling 65% of East St. Louis' housing is substandard; a full 21% of the work force is unemployed; nearly a third of the city's families—55%-60% of them Negroes—are on some form of relief. Fine kindling for riot, and last week Firebrand H. Rap Brown applied the match.
Perched on the hood...
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