Is there a significant Bosnian population in North St. Louis? (Affton: neighborhoods, living)

[sasan2]

(Sort of a weird question. A few questions, actually. I'm asking because I'm starting to write a story set in the area.)

I know that there are many Bosnians in South St. Louis, who arrived in the 1990s, particularly around Bevo Mill. The number I keep seeing is that there are around 50,000+ people of Bosnian heritage in St. Louis -- obviously at least a few must have settled on the north side?

A problem with looking at demographics in STL is that statistics generally go county-by-county, meaning both North and South STL are grouped together in "St. Louis City" -- and then, on top of that, when stats do break down the city itself, it rarely goes past north = black and south = white.

I imagine there is a Polish population around St. Stanislaus, right? What other ethnicities, beyond just "white," are there (particularly in North St. Louis)? On top of that, beyond just "black," what makes up the black population of North St. Louis -- descendents of slaves from the south? descendents of free blacks from the north? more recent immigrants directly from Africa?

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too long;didn't read:

1) Any Bosnians in North St. Louis?
2) Any cultural/ethnic identities beyond just white/black in North St. Louis?

[1greatcity]

Bosnians settled in South St Louis and many migrated into Affton and other parts of South County. By now, there are probably at least a few Bosnians in just about all corners of the metro region, north side included. But primarily, Bosnians still live south.
Your second question, about ethnic identities in North St Louis: You are asking if there are any ethnic groups living there who aren't Black or White? Yes, there are Latinos, Asians, and others...just not very large numbers.

[masterwood89]

1greatcity pretty much summed it up. North City is around 95% black which leaves little room for a significant population of anything else, but there are very small pockets of asian and hispanic descent people that live North City along with whites. Prior to 1950 and the decline of St. Louis North City was the most diverse of ethnicities and recent immigrants compared to the whole city.

[BoomBoxing]

Interesting topic and keep us posted on the progress on your book. As to your questions....no there really isn't a Bosnian or really any non-AA population in north St. Louis. Old North St. Louis is a small neighborhood just north of downtown that is rather diverse, but it is an exception. The rest of north St. Louis neighborhoods are overwhelmingly African American. I am not a historian so I could be wrong but my understanding is that the black population in St. Louis stems mostly from the great migration in the first half of the 20th century, so yes they would likely be the decendents of slaves.

More recently (last 10-20) years St. Louis has had some immigration from African countries, mainly Somalia and Ethiopia. They have settled in pockets on the south side, but their numbers are nowhere near as significant as the Bosnian immigrants of the late 1990's and early 2000's.

St. Stanislaus is a historically Polish Catholic church but in recent years has become de-affiliated with the local Archdiocese and is now the local go-to church for local Catholics who disagree with some/all socially conservative elements of Catholic doctrine. The local Polish order is now at St. Agatha, I think. While some congregants may come from the neighborhood, I'm pretty sure most are liberal Catholics who support gay marriage, women priests, and those kinds of ideas. There's a current and long-standing legal battle over the church and its property...I'm sure a google search will turn up some recent news stories on it.

[flynavyj]

Wasn't that the deal where the archdiocese didn't seem to care about the church until they saw the size of their bank account, then it became a "hand over the $$ or we'll shut down your parish, and pull your priests, etc"...I believe this lead to them becoming a "rouge" church, however the vast majority of Catholics in St. Louis agreed more with the church, than the Archdiocese on the matter. This most likely stems from a "Middle America" idea that what people donate should be left where it was donated, and not divided by hierarchy's who do not have the best interests of the donator, at heart, this idea plays through in local government constantly.

And, i believe St. Agatha (South of Soulard, East of Benton Park) still does a Polish Mass.

[3240Redo]

Yeah, not a large Bosnian population up here on the north side. Someone mentioned Old North as having a more diverse population. This is true, but Hyde Park is the same.

Are you local? If so, would you like a driving tour of the north side to help with authenticity of place? Last question: your book won't be about vampires, will it? Please say no.

[sasan2]

I grew up in an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, but I don't live in STL right now. (Thanks for the driving-tour offer, though; the main way I think I'll try to get "authenticity" from over here is through the extraordinary website builtstlouis.net.)

I have nothing against vampires or the fantasy genre, but there certainly won't be any of that here! Think perhaps "The Wire," particularly seasons 2 and 4... or maybe "The 27th City." But those are ambitious goalposts to aim for; until one has an agent/publisher/etc., one writes for oneself, not in order to make comparisons to previous works.

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by sasan2

I grew up in an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, but I don't live in STL right now. (Thanks for the driving-tour offer, though; the main way I think I'll try to get "authenticity" from over here is through the extraordinary website builtstlouis.net.)

I have nothing against vampires or the fantasy genre, but there certainly won't be any of that here! Think perhaps "The Wire," particularly seasons 2 and 4... or maybe "The 27th City." But those are ambitious goalposts to aim for; until one has an agent/publisher/etc., one writes for oneself, not in order to make comparisons to previous works.

Builtstlouis is an extraordinary site, but it tends to be on the grim side, if you havent been to StL lately, its not all like whats on the site.
I am sure there are current citizens of the Lou that can suggest some really great sites so you can get a feel for the real StL, not just the side of it portrayed on built.

[1greatcity]

I suggest St. Louis City Talk, which has a great breakdown of STL, neighborhood by neighborhood.

[aragx6]

^Definitely second those guides!