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Tangazo is a meeting place where we share ideas and explore efforts to improve our human conditions and quite simply make our lives better. All are welcome, none will be judged, but all are challenged to look beyond ourselves and our notions of how others think about issues of cultural​,​ political and social significance. We are building bridges of communication between the many groups that make up the St​. L​ouis Metropolitan Region by sharing and reflecting on the stories and lives of a diverse group of guests.

Host and Producer: Hank Thompson
Guest Hosts: Tim Person, Rev. Darryl Gray & Mike Jones
Technical Producers: Kevin Melter, Frankie Meixner, Ryan Voelkel, Jeron Wilson, Matt Patston, Jon Valley

Mar 19, 2018

Eugene Redmond is a poet, professor, educator, and legendary luminarie who has told the story of East St Louis for decades.

Laninya Cason served as an associate judge on the Twentieth Judicial Circuit Court in Illinois from 2003 to 2015.

Dhati Kennedy's family fled the East St Louis Race War, crossing the Mississippi aboard a homemade raft. Kennedy is a percussionist, activist, and educator. His voice and beats serve as the soundtrack to Tangazo.

Your host, Hank Thompson, has spent more than 35 years on the air in the St Louis region, covering sports, politics, race, and religion, discussing current events and ensuring that the area's history is shared with the next generation.

Here's a look at how the conversation went:

Part 1: "Race War", not "Race Riots." Get to know the guests and learn about circumstances that lead to this horrible period in our region's history. (0:00-16:00)

Part 2: Phoenix rising. Out of the ashes of this race war, new communities and artists emerged. (16:15-27:30)

Part 3: "Black people have been called lazy ever since we stopped working for free." To understand the Race War, you've got to understand how and why African-Americans migrated north in the decades following the Civil War. (27:45-36:00)

Part 4: More than talk, "I just want some  action." 100 years after these riots and 150 years after the end of slavery, these scars still shape our society - what's next? (36:00-47:00)

Helpful tip: According to Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, "A kwansaba is seven lines of seven words, with each word containing not more than seven letters."

Andy Heaslet is the show's engineer.