Commemorating 60 Years: SIUE Professor's Groundbreaking Book on 1917 East St. Louis Race Violence

Commemorating 60 Years: SIUE Professor's Groundbreaking Book on 1917 East St. Louis Race Violence

July 17, 2024, 7:19 PM

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the publication of Elliott M. Rudwick's seminal work, "Race Riot at East St. Louis, July 2, 1917." First published in 1964 and written while Rudwick was a sociology faculty member at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, this book is known as the first to comprehensively document the tragic events of that day.

Rudwick joined SIUE in the summer of 1960, just before the University's fourth year of operation. He earned his PhD in sociology in 1956 at the University of Pennsylvania, with a dissertation on W. E. B. DuBois' leadership style. Before SIUE, he taught at a variety of institutions, including Arcadia University, Bates College, Temple University, Elizabethtown College, the University of Tampa, and Florida State University. His appointment as an associate professor in the Social Sciences Division of SIUE began on September 21, 1960.

Initially assigned to the East St. Louis Residence Center, Rudwick moved to the Edwardsville campus when it opened on September 23, 1965, occupying room 1205 on the first floor of the John Mason Peck Building. At SIUE, he taught various courses, including Introductory Sociology, Introduction to Social Work, Social Control, Social Movements, and his most frequent class, Race and Minority Group Relations. He also served as faculty advisor to the Sociology Club.

According to Stephen Kerber, PhD, retired university archivist and unique collections librarian, "Elliott Rudwick was a very active scholar who produced seventeen articles and three books while teaching at SIUE's East St. Louis Residence Center and at the Edwardsville campus between 1960 and 1968. He was one of the major names in the field of African American history during the 1960s and 1970s."

Rudwick earned promotion to professor in the Social Sciences Division as of September 29, 1964. He was on sabbatical leave from September 16, 1966, through September 16, 1967. His first book, completed in 1963 and published in 1964, was on the East St. Louis massacre, and also marked the start of a scholarly partnership with Dr. August Meier. This partnership blossomed in 1966 with the publication of "From Plantation to Ghetto," and his sabbatical resulted in another joint effort with Meier, "The Making of Black America."

The inspiration for Rudwick's book on East St. Louis came shortly after he began teaching at SIUE. On his first or second day of teaching in the Fall of 1960 at SIUE's East St. Louis Residence Center, a student mentioned the massacre. As a scholar of African American history and race relations, Rudwick was understandably interested. He set to work to research a major American historical event in his own backyard at a time when East St. Louis was becoming an almost entirely African American community. Despite the lack of existing literature on the subject, Rudwick pursued extensive research, aided by an SIUE grant. This included gathering data from multiple cities and conducting interviews with senior citizens, which provided valuable historical insights.

Rudwick's meticulous research highlighted the intense labor conflicts of the time, noting that the 1917 violence was significantly fueled by racial tensions and economic strife. His work remains a critical resource for understanding this dark chapter in American history.

Rudwick left SIUE in 1968 to join August Meier at Kent State University. According to Kerber, Rudwick and Meier were professional colleagues with similar research interests. Meier, a prominent historian, and prolific scholar with a similar interest in African American history, received his doctorate from Columbia University and taught at several schools, including Morgan State College, Roosevelt University in Chicago, and later at Kent State University in Ohio, where Rudwick eventually joined him.

Rudwick continued his impactful academic career until his death in 1985. His New York Times obituary described him as "an expert on the history of Black Americans." "Race Riot at East St. Louis, July 2, 1917" remained the only full-length book on the event until 2008, when two other significant works were published.

Rudwick's pioneering work remains in print and continues to be a crucial resource for understanding this chapter in East St. Louis history. In recent years, some scholars and activists have begun referring to this tragedy as a massacre or pogrom rather than a race riot, reflecting its profound impact and enduring relevance.

Rudwick's influential work, "Race Riot at East St. Louis, July 2, 1917," continues to be a relevant and important text. The book has been reprinted several times, and Lovejoy Library holds multiple copies of various printings that can be checked out by patrons, ensuring that the events of that day are not forgotten.

PHOTO: Elliott Rudwick, PhD; photo from the SIUE archives, Lovejoy Library; Memorial plaque on SIUE East St. Louis campus