Meet DeAsia Paige, the BND’s new reporter covering East St. Louis and nearby communities

Dear readers,

I’m one of the new Report for America corps members working with the Belleville News-Democrat. Throughout the year, I’ll be covering critical issues affecting East St. Louis, Cahokia, Centreville and Alorton - all low-income and Black-majority communities in southeastern Illinois. I’m beyond excited to cover this beat, especially during a time in which Black communities across the nation are being disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and police brutality.

I was raised by a Black single mom who never made enough money to provide for me. Additionally, I grew up in the predominantly Black community of Maywood, Illinois. The city was the home of Fred Hampton, the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party who was killed at the age of 21 by Chicago police during a raid in 1969. Living in that environment and learning that history of my community at an early age introduced to me the lethal effects of systemic racism.

As a teenager, I understood those effects more deeply as I began to inspect the ways in which this country treats Black bodies. I was 13 when Trayvon Martin died. I was 15 when Michael Brown died. I was 16 when Sandra Bland died. My college career at the University of Kansas started and ended with nationwide Black Lives Matter protests. Constantly witnessing Black death and participating in protests that demanded justice for those deaths was a crucial aspect of my teenage socialization, so I know what it’s like to be seen and not always heard. That’s the history of Black people in America.

It’s also the narrative of the communities in my beat. With the exception of crime and sports stories, East St. Louis, Cahokia, Centreville and Alorton rarely make the news. Crucial coverage regarding their respective governments and culture is largely missing, which I hope to change with my reporting. It’s essential for America’s newsrooms to expand coverage of underreported Black communities as one step to combat systemic racism.

Here are some questions that I hope to explore with my beat: How are families affected by gun violence in East St. Louis dealing with their emotional trauma? What are some events and programs that bring joy to that community? How are the communities on my beat responding to COVID-19’s effects on residents? How do Black activists and community leaders in those areas feel about the current Black Lives Matter protests and are they having similar issues with their police officers? What new policies are government officials implementing in those communities?

Throughout my first two weeks at the Belleville News-Democrat, I’ve spoken to business owners, community organizers and local government officials about the aforementioned issues. But I’d also love to speak to you. If there are issues relevant to my beat that you think are deserving of more attention in the news, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I am here for you. You can reach me on Twitter @deasia_paige or send me an email at dsutgrey@bnd.com.

I’m thrilled to start reporting on this beat to cover Black communities in these chaotic times, but I’m even more excited to listen and learn from the citizens in those communities.

This story was originally published June 20, 2020 at 11:00 AM.