Coffee Talk with SnL

January 23, 2024

8:30 am - 9:30 am

January Coffee Talk: The Last Children of Mill Creek

When: Tuesday, January 23 | 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM CT
Where: Zoom

We are pleased to have Vivian Gibson, award-winning author of The Last Children of Mill Creek, as our January 2024 Coffee Talk guest.

The Last Children of Mill Creek is a personal account of growing up in Mill Creek Valley, a segregated working-class neighborhood that was razed in 1959 to build Highway 40, an act of racism disguised under urban renewal “progress.” A moving memoir of family life at a time very different from the present, African-American families did not have indoor plumbing and sundown laws were still in effect. The book chronicles the everyday lived experiences of her large family—her seven siblings, her crafty college-educated mother and her hard-working father—and the friends, shop owners, teachers, and church ladies who made Mill Creek into a warm, tight-knit African-American community. The Los Angeles Times refers to this book as a “spare, elegant jewel of a work.”

You do not need to read the book to enjoy our illuminating conversation with Vivian, but should you choose to read it, it’s only 160 pages. You will learn a great deal about St. Louis history, including some Jewish history. This book is Missouri’s selection for the 2023 National Book Festival and Vivian has already been acknowledged as the 2022 Missouri Author of the Year.

Learn more about Vivian and “The Last Children of Mill Creek” at www.vivian-gibson.com. Her book is available online.

We look forward to you joining us for this Coffee Talk. Please click here to register.

Questions? Contact Alec arothman@ncjwstl.org or 314.993.5181