Letters to the Editor
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Tell Them What You Think
Good news! Black Jack has a website, www.cityofblackjack.com, which lists contact info for the local government [(314) 355-0400] and news station (news20@cityofblackjack.com).
Or, you can find contact information for the individual lawmakers here:
http://www.co.st-louis.mo.us/scripts/communities/muni.cfm?City=Black%20Jack
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Breaking News: Stupig Fucking Yahoos Live in Missouri
That's why those of use with non-incestuous genes prefer places like NYC or LA...
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How are they violating the ordinance?
I don't understand how they are violating the rule against three unrelated people living together. The three kids are all related to each other and both parents. That means there are two unrelated people living there.
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Somewhere in that town is another family....
scratch that, I mean group of people who are all white, make a list of all people in town this law affects and force the city to deport them all. Personally I think being deported from missouri would be a good thing, and who the hell names a town black jack...degenerate gamblers?
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Did you know, by the way...
...that the landmark Supreme Court decision striking down laws against interracial marriages was called the "Loving" case, named after the surname of the plaintiff?
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I went to school in Missouri
I know, from personal experience, how backward some in the state can be about race. However, I've found that to be true everywhere I've lived, including my current (barely) blue state of Minnesota.
The city ordinance is asinine, and it's a shame that the city council didn't take this opportunity to correct it. However, inserting race into this issue may be premature. And would the implication have even been made if Black Jack were in California?
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Disconnect
"The purpose of these occupancy permit laws generally is to avoid overcrowding by non-related parties, assure the lifelong maintenance of the city's housing stock, prevent new buyers from being obligated to repair residences that were not kept up to code, preserve the character of the neighborhoods and the city, and to protect the general safety and welfare of the city's residents."
And how, exactly, does permitting unmarried couples who are raising children together advance any of these goals? I bet the ACLU already has their briefs ready to file in this case.
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Race
I don't think race is necessarily an issue. If you look at the original Salon posting on the story, it says that other couples have been forced out under this ordinance.
Oddly enough, it appears an unmarried couple can live together. Or raise their one kid together. So the lesson for unmarried couples in Blackjack is--use contraception!
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Black Jack
I grew up in unincorporated North St. Louis County - which is right next door to Black Jack (in fact, it was the Black Jack fire department that protected us). I have no evidence that this decision is race-based, but I do have some thoughts...
North County has had a growing black population for my entire life (I'm 37). When people moved out of the stagnating the city, many of them moved North. In general, the wealthier suburbs are to the West, and to a lesser extent, the South. As a kid, the North side was middle class and white - although there is an area out by the Missouri river where very large houses on large plots of land exist (I've heard that Cedrick the Entertainer's mom lives out there- my brother even pointed out the house that he thinks is hers).
My parent's friends said all kinds of racist things when I was a kid (the NAACP was giving black people money to buy homes and "block bust" to drive the white people out, that old-time residents will never get the true values out of their homes because black people drove down prices, that "they all" buy houses and cars they can't afford and then miss their insurance payments...and on and on). So, although we can't say for certain that this is a racial thing, I can say from experience that racial tensions have existed in that part of St. Louis County for a very long time. I wouldn't be surprised if the Black Jack board saw themselves as the last bastion of moral virtue holding their precious community together and don't even see their underlying racist assumptions - it's deeply ingrained there.
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If it were me and mine, I'd consider marriage (quickly)
This story is very depressing, the city council beyond narrow-minded, and the exposure of the family to the gossip and vagaries of Black Jack must be incredibly painful.
I wonder if the couple considered a quick, minimal wedding to forestall eviction (before the situation became explosive).
Of course, I understand "the principle of the thing" and the situation is probably now beyond remediation, but it appears that home ownership was very important to the family and a major celebration of the marriage might sensibly wait till a more affordable time.
And I agree with the poster who questioned how a family of 2 adults and any number of their offspring could be construed as "3 or more unrelated persons". That had my head scratching, too.
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"Family"
I, too, was confused, but I think the ordinance means that all the people have to be related to each other by blood or marriage. So, the siblings are related to each other, and they are related to their parents, but their parents aren't related to each other. Thus, there are five people in the house who are not all related to each other.
Silly, but there you have it.
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I'm from Missouri, but I escaped!
Being from Missouri, I'd have to say that racism still boils just under the surface. After all, this was the state where the KKK participated in the "Adopt-a-highway" program a few years back.
When I was growing up in St. Louis in the 1970's, whites and non-whites were not allowed to marry. This was the law! And I seem to recall that Black Jack had a white power mayor during the 1980's. Yes, I'd say racism was a part of this decision and the other part is good old-fashioned holier-than-thou "Christian" morality.
Thanks to the person who posted contact information for Black Jack. I will make my voice heard.
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"More than three unrelated people..."
While I'm unsure if it'd be any more okay with the authorities otherwise, the family in question has three children, two together and one from a previous relationship. So, the third child may be the one who triggers the ordinance.