Like St. Louis, Milwaukee is one of the most segregated cities in the United States.
Jennifer Morales is the author of a new book of that explores relationships between diverse groups.
“I tried to work in a wide range of interactions across group lines, whether that was age, gender or race,” Morales told “St. Louis on the Air” host Don Marsh on Monday. The book is a collection of nine fictional short stories
Morales will be discussing her book, “Meet Me Halfway: Milwaukee Stories,” Tuesday night at Left Bank Books.
The book centers on an African American teen that suffers an accident in the home of a white neighbor and later dies. The situation prompts the community to consider divisions.
“Fiction has a special place in helping us look at social problems,” Morales said. “People can approach the problem from more of a distance.”
Although Morales completed writing her book before last year’s events in Ferguson, she said she sees it as a racial situation.
“There is this day-to-day pattern of hostility I’ve observed,” as she recalled one of the stories in her book that details how two African American students were hassled by a police officer for being out of school.
In promotion of her book, Morales is visiting 10 of the most segregated cities in the United States. The cities are Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Miami and Los Angeles.
Related Event
Left Bank Books presents author Jennifer Morales
- Tuesday, April 21, 2015
- 7:00 p.m.
- Left Bank Books, 399 N. Euclid Ave., Saint Louis, MO 63108
- More information
St. Louis on the Air discusses issues and concerns facing the St. Louis area. The show is produced by Mary Edwards and Alex Heuer and hosted by veteran journalist Don Marsh. Follow us on Twitter: @STLonAir.
