At its public “town hall” meeting Monday evening, HSHS St. John’s Hospital impressed the crowd with its openness about plans for a new medical office building and its interest in the public’s ideas for ways to commemorate the 1908 race riot which happened nearby. The building, to house outpatient services for women and children, will be on Ninth Street, directly across from HSHS St. John’s Children’s Hospital and adjacent to where during work on the 10th Street rail line archaeologists uncovered remains of houses burned during the riot. Among the ideas brought forward were a mural about the riots and a healing garden. Another idea, from Leroy Jordan of the Faith Coalition for the Common Good, was to provide construction jobs and scholarships leading to permanent health care jobs for people of color and women. Jobs for those traditionally left behind would be the ultimate healing touch. –Fletcher Farrar, editor and publisher. Questions or suggestions about the project may be emailed to St. John’s at 1908@hshs.org.
This article appears in Dec 3-9, 2015.
