ST LOUIS: THE PROBLEM LOOKING YOU RIGHT IN THE EYE, BEGGING FOR YOUR ATTENTION

Summer is almost here.  That three months of promise you work for the rest of the year.

“After all," Anne had said to Marilla once, "I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.”--- L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea

If you are an urban or inner-ring suburban kid, especially if you are African-American, there is almost nothing for you to do constructively with your peers.

Instead of listing the tens and possibly hundreds of links about the Delmar Loop's summer youth "problem", check your search engines for "delmar loop curfew"  or "problems with kids in delmar loop", etc.  (Lupe's previous post on this: http://delmarloop.blogspot.com/2010/06/loop-curfew-in-black-white.html  Also, this post about the "Delmar Divide", on the economic inequalities between north and south St. Louis. )

The one thing the city and counties have never seriously considered is opening an under-age club.  It gets lip service during the summer and then evaporates when school starts again.

The smart, powerful businessmen and civic leaders and politicians can't work something out?

Go ask the kids what they want! What do they want to do? What would they pay for and how much can they pay?  What is a good location?

Check out this great opinion piece by the awesome students of University City High School: http://www.utimesonline.com/opinions/2013/12/16/local-teens-struggle-to-keep-out-of-trouble/

Maybe a weekend teen club at the riverfront?  Maybe some rich developer could donate the space or some sort of grant could be worked out?  How much is the city spending to deal with the situation?  Take that money and build something constructive!

Make it very cheap to enter. As cheap as possible, and definitely less than $5.

The police are already sending a big chunk of District 7 to patrol the Delmar Metrolink, maybe they could staff security at the club?  To enter could be like entering a government building, with a metal search.  That should take care of any seriously violent confrontations that everyone seems so scared about.

Sell kid food (burgers, hot dogs, churros, canned drinks).  Every Friday and Saturday night is contest night.  Anyone can enter, and the audience votes by ballot.  Rap and Rhyme Contest, Beauty Contest, Dance Contest, Singers and Musicians, Hair and Fashion Shows, etc.  Ask the kids!  Ask them for ideas!  What categories?  What themes?

Prizes could be free entrance, or free food and drink.  Or even cash, once the club started making money.  There could be a community cable channel coverage, and teens could submit video's and photos to a youtube channel.

Decorations could be done by mural painters and youth artists.

The St. Louis Central Library has the great new "Creative Pods", perhaps during the week they could devote some time to training kids on how to record their songs and edit their youtube films, etc?

People like Nelly and Murphy Lee and Tef-Poe could host or perhaps co-judge with the audience ballots on performances.

Kids could work the clean-up and either be paid, or perhaps some sort of free entry, free food and drink tickets for cleaning up.

The local media could promote and cover the winners regularly.

Our youth deserve better.  They are our future.  Let's give them a chance to shine.

THE LOOP CURFEW IN BLACK & WHITE

(EDIT 2013:  This is really an essay about the "problem" that created the curfew.  The curfew itself is 8 P.M. for anyone under 18 years of age. The curfew was previously instituted in the Mall and the West End, etc.  There are still not programmes or underage clubs of any sort developed or being developed to give under-privileged--and specifically African-American teens-- something to do in this city other than wander in takeover crowds in different parts of the city.)

The Loop has simply inherited a problem from the malls (and the Central West End, and downtown, to a lesser degree).

There is nothing for teenagers to do in America. Especially poor, urban teenagers, many of whom are black. We are so gadget oriented, so tuned into our screens (computer, television, games, iPods) that we have eliminated most of the cultural gathering places that teens need to socialise.

An adult has many options if s/he chooses to go out and interact with his/her peers. But where do underage teenagers go? Even if you have money in St. Louis, there are no more arcades (are there?), not enough skating rinks, skateboard ramps, alcohol-free or under-18 nightclubs; the only thing left are movie theaters and they appear to be going they way of the arcade.

If you live and work in the Loop, as Lupe does, you might notice that the streets will be packed with hundreds of children, and on some nights, the stores and restaurants will be sparsley occupied.

The teens do not spend money here. And there is an unruly element that starts fights (with each other, and ironically, often it is girl fights!), usually in groups, and destroys property. (One night it was cars parked in the back behind the stores. Sometimes a store window is broken.)

These are not local kids. These are not faces that you see during the winter, or even during the weekdays or weeknights. When there was a stronger community here, before Wash. U. bought so much of the rental property on the north side of Delmar, local teens were the dominant force in this neighbourhood. (And as rebellious and annoying as we were, it was our neighbourhood. We took care of it.)

It isn't out of control. It isn't rioting. But it is alot for this neighbourhood to handle and it doesn't seem to take much to get a group of kids running down the sidewalks and streets, and creating serious safety hazards.

Instead of pointing the finger at Joe Edwards, or the Loop, or the police, or the Galleria, or even the kids that cause trouble, the finger needs to be pointed back at ourselves. I.E., those of us that call ourselves adults. If we can't be bothered to interact with teenagers, to make a place for them, to lead by example, then our whole society will have to pay the consequences.

This is great opportunity for youth groups to do outreach work. Also education, and volunteer groups, church and military. Send your recruiters, family planning, event organisers, etc. to the Loop on weekend nights between 8-10 PM and you can reach a lot of young people.

Even better, how about some entrepreneur open up a teen club? Or an arcade, or ANYTHING where teens can go to socialise? How about a weekend afternoon to evening club where there were singing, dance, beauty and rap/poetry contests and open mikes? One with a great internet presence where the winners could be posted each week.

Lupe is certain that would not only solve the "teen problem" but also make gads of money and probably create a bunch of St. Louis celebrities! It wouldn't even have to be in the Loop, but it would be nice if it was.

And young people, we Loopies do understand why you come here to hang out! This is a great place to enjoy yourself!! In fact, it is a great place for EVERYONE to enjoy themselves! Keep the "I saw what you said on Facebook" fights out of the Loop. This is a place of great diversity and freedom and that requires some responsibility on everyone's part.

Also, kids, you are probably not spending any money. It wouldn't hurt to give a some respect to the people that are.

Because if the people that are spending their money here go away, this area won't be fun for you to come hang out in. Capeesh??

See you in the Loop!!!