It is readily acknowledged that you won't get even the most basic job in Chester unless you are a member of the Republican Party. It is also quickly mentioned that it would be the same if the Democrats had a choke hold. The political machine here has created a virtual vassal system and unabashedly serves its own purposes.
Chester was a boomtown through WWII and the 50s. There was heavy industry here that was well respected for its quality. One in four US ships that served in WWII were built in Chester. Then those industrial companies realized they needed to expand and have larger plants to be more efficient. And there was no room for expansion on the crowded riverfront, so one by one they left.
With housing for 90,000+ people, Chester has a population of about 35,000. The people left behind are mostly those who cannot leave, either because they don't have the skills or money to leave.
The Chester of today is in many respects the local dump. Trash is shipped in from nearby states and municipalities. The new state prison is here. The new casino is here. They are building a new soccer stadium by the river that will be home to a new "Philadelphia" team, and they are conveniently adding a spur to the interstate so no one will have to actually drive through Chester.
It seems like there are simple things that could be done to change the conditions we have found. Keep the children in school so more than the 25% of high school freshmen graduate. Teach the children who are there to read and write--almost 90% of rising seniors are functionally illiterate and even fewer have basic math skills. The average annual cost of an education is about $12,000, and it seems the local politicians would rather spend the $30,000+ per year of incarceration. Because that is what most young people who stay here have to look forward to.
And in this place of repression, toxic waste across the street from children's programs, collapsing abandoned buildings, we found such joy. Most of the people we met at Chester East Side Ministries and the Chester Senior Center met us with generous smiles, and even as they acknowledge the change they have seen in Chester they are joyous.
I was surprised today to learn that Martin Luther King went to seminary here in Chester, and he did an internship right here at Calvary Baptist. Many of the ideas and 'dreams' that he would voice on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial had their roots in this place. Although his work was in the south, Chester's struggles helped to shape the Civil Rights Movement. I pray that her struggles may set some noble spark in us also.
Peace
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