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In the 1960's, Cairo, Illinois had some problems. Racial problems. There were some white shopkeepers who were being required by law to hire black employees for all positions they were qualified for. These shopkeepers were racists and refused to hire out of their own kind. Rather than give in and support a more open community, they locked up their storefronts and left. They moved out of Cairo and didn't even bother to sell their buildings. They left them and allowed them to rot. "That'll show 'em." Right?
If you drive down what was once the main business district of Cairo, you will be confronted with once magnificent buildings that were shamefully left to the elements. As the years passed with no maintenance or care of any sort, the mortar that held together the brick facings crumbled away and the storefront facades thundered into the vacant streets. This is what happended to the building in the picture above. The brick front fell away leaving the underlying wooden structure exposed to the elements. Buildings have collapsed in on themselves. The city that was once the queen city at the junction of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers--filled with splended mansions and a bustling downtow--is now but a hollow ghost of the past. Simply because a few pig-headed people couldn't open their minds and choose to get along with others.
This is the legacy of those people. This is what they have left for future generations. Instead of something enriching that helps to benefit the lives of others, they left a landscape as bitter and empty as their souls. Picturesque and lovely in it's own way it echoes of yet another tale of the fruits small-minded selfish people. |
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