Why didn't Cairo Illinois develop into a big city? (Chicago: construction, live)

[BLS2753]

Originally Posted by Analyze This One

Cairo is NOT an urban ghetto! I've walked up and down this street (Commercial Ave) a dozen times since 2007 and have met some very kind and highly misunderstood people. Most people see you walking down Washington Street will wave to you like you were their neighbor. I am a white guy without a ponytail and never felt like I needed armed security in Cairo.

The Cairo of today is not the Cairo of the turbulent 1960's - 70's. The town was destroyed by racism and what you see is the end game of a long struggle. They are slowly picking up the pieces but in this time of a sour economy, there are few takers to the potential of Cairo.

Don't insult Cairo over it's looks. The people have risen above their woes and deserve a little D-I-G-N-I-T-Y!

They haven't risen at all. If anything they've declined.

[BLS2753]

Originally Posted by kshe95girl

Whatever......have they blown the levee yet?

The Cairo mayor has ordered mandatory evacuation. IL, KY, and MO, are still debating blowing the levee. The Army Corp of Engineers, and the court system are involved as well.

It has the potential to be a mini-Katrina. In more ways than one.

[BLS2753]

Latest update:

Ohio tops record level at Cairo; Koster appeals ruling on levee

[linicx]

IL and KY Governors in favor; MO not so much. All three states evacuating river towns. Cairo I think wil lose one way or the other. The bigger question is which mess will cost the ltaxpayers the least to clean up? A town with say with 1000 buildings, utility lines, gas station, restaurant and post office or 138,000 acres of early planted farm land. Yes the people who lose everything will be reimbursed.

Since the floods are recurring and an expensive problem anyway you look at it, perhaps the best solution is to give back to nature what man took from nature 100 years ago and cease to fight a force more powerful than man. The wildlife and fowl who live in the area will love you for it.

[BLS2753]

I'm on high ground in Metropolis, but I'm getting hemmed in by the river and various creeks. All kinds of detours this morning to get to the grocery store.

[GunnerTHB]

Originally Posted by linicx

IL and KY Governors in favor; MO not so much. All three states evacuating river towns. Cairo I think wil lose one way or the other. The bigger question is which mess will cost the ltaxpayers the least to clean up? A town with say with 1000 buildings, utility lines, gas station, restaurant and post office or 138,000 acres of early planted farm land. Yes the people who lose everything will be reimbursed.

Since the floods are recurring and an expensive problem anyway you look at it, perhaps the best solution is to give back to nature what man took from nature 100 years ago and cease to fight a force more powerful than man. The wildlife and fowl who live in the area will love you for it.

There is a good chance those farmers will not be reimbursed since they knew their land was in the spillway.

[GunnerTHB]

Originally Posted by Analyze This One

Cairo is NOT an urban ghetto! I've walked up and down this street (Commercial Ave) a dozen times since 2007 and have met some very kind and highly misunderstood people. Most people see you walking down Washington Street will wave to you like you were their neighbor. I am a white guy without a ponytail and never felt like I needed armed security in Cairo.

The Cairo of today is not the Cairo of the turbulent 1960's - 70's. The town was destroyed by racism and what you see is the end game of a long struggle. They are slowly picking up the pieces but in this time of a sour economy, there are few takers to the potential of Cairo.

Don't insult Cairo over it's looks. The people have risen above their woes and deserve a little D-I-G-N-I-T-Y!

Cairo is a lost city unless a miracle happens. I doubt Cairo will ever thrive as long as it's part of Illinois. The fact is that the city is broke, the county is broke, and the state is broke. Alexander County is probably the poorest county in the state of Illinois. Farming, hunting, and fishing is just about all they have left.

[mrtnpain]

Originally Posted by BLS2753

Cairo's issues are strictly race related.

What you've written is truer than you know. Any historians on the board?
Anyone remember this tidbit of history:

"Cairo, Illinois is a small town located at the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and was formerly known for being the first stop on the underground railroad. Now, Cairo is know as Little Egypt; a place torn by racism and open warfare. Individual and institutional racism has been rampant in Cairo since the early 1900's, but in 1969, the day came when the black citizens of Cairo began to organize themselves into dealing with this racism. They decided that the best way to deal with its institutionalized economic base was an economic boycott , and in April, 1969, the black community began their non-violent boycott of Cairo businesses. The white community responded to this action with gunfire, and within the past four years, the people of Cairo have been the targets of over 200 nights of fire-fights. The local police and a white vigillante group (White Hats) have, since then, fired into the black community with machine-guns, automatic carbines, high-powered rifles, sub-machine guns, and shot-guns. The black community has continued to defend itself."

And from Wiki:

Sharing in the culture of the South, many Cairo residents supported racial segregation. In 1909, a mob of hundreds lynched black resident Will James. Racial discrimination remained part of the society. In 1969, Cairo was the site of an intense civil rights struggle to end segregation and create job opportunities. The threat of violence resulted in the National Guard being called in to restore order. The Cairo United Front civil rights organization led a decade-long boycott of white-owned businesses—which encompassed virtually all the businesses in the town. Its economy crippled by the boycott and the shift of traffic away from the river, Cairo has emerged slowly from the years of conflict.

And finally from the Legends of America website:

"In the end, Cairo would become the city that died from racism. By 1990, the town sported a population of little less than 5,000. It's citizens tried valiantly to save the town when Riverboat Gambling was legalized the same year. Enacted partially to revitalize dying towns, it was the perfect opportunity for little Cairo to have a second chance. However, the State of Illinois, instead, awarded the license to nearby Metropolis, some 40 miles northwest on the Ohio River, dashing all hopes of the town's opportunity to revitalize its economy and population."

Sad story.

[GunnerTHB]

Originally Posted by mrtnpain

What you've written is truer than you know. Any historians on the board?
Anyone remember this tidbit of history:

"Cairo, Illinois is a small town located at the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and was formerly known for being the first stop on the underground railroad. Now, Cairo is know as Little Egypt; a place torn by racism and open warfare. Individual and institutional racism has been rampant in Cairo since the early 1900's, but in 1969, the day came when the black citizens of Cairo began to organize themselves into dealing with this racism. They decided that the best way to deal with its institutionalized economic base was an economic boycott , and in April, 1969, the black community began their non-violent boycott of Cairo businesses. The white community responded to this action with gunfire, and within the past four years, the people of Cairo have been the targets of over 200 nights of fire-fights. The local police and a white vigillante group (White Hats) have, since then, fired into the black community with machine-guns, automatic carbines, high-powered rifles, sub-machine guns, and shot-guns. The black community has continued to defend itself."

And from Wiki:

Sharing in the culture of the South, many Cairo residents supported racial segregation. In 1909, a mob of hundreds lynched black resident Will James. Racial discrimination remained part of the society. In 1969, Cairo was the site of an intense civil rights struggle to end segregation and create job opportunities. The threat of violence resulted in the National Guard being called in to restore order. The Cairo United Front civil rights organization led a decade-long boycott of white-owned businesses—which encompassed virtually all the businesses in the town. Its economy crippled by the boycott and the shift of traffic away from the river, Cairo has emerged slowly from the years of conflict.

And finally from the Legends of America website:

"In the end, Cairo would become the city that died from racism. By 1990, the town sported a population of little less than 5,000. It's citizens tried valiantly to save the town when Riverboat Gambling was legalized the same year. Enacted partially to revitalize dying towns, it was the perfect opportunity for little Cairo to have a second chance. However, the State of Illinois, instead, awarded the license to nearby Metropolis, some 40 miles northwest on the Ohio River, dashing all hopes of the town's opportunity to revitalize its economy and population."

Sad story.

Not entirely true. The blacks that really began the race riots were from Chicago, not Cairo. And I have a very reliable source, meaning someone that lived through the whole event.

[pvande55]

When it wad founded it was in a great location on two navigable rivers, but as railroads and highways, later aviation, took over much transport, river cities faded away. Of course the racial issues only added to it.