A digital companion to the biography Becoming Richard Pryor
Whisper magazine challenged Peoria’s rising status as an “All-American City” with some on-the-ground reporting about Peoria’s nightlife.
Far from innocent, Peoria was a “guzzling, gambling girly-girly whirl” where drugs, prostitution, and gambling were all easy to find — right around the courthouse, in fact.
Jack Kerr, “Is it True What They Say About Peoria?”, Whisper, n.d. (mid-1950s).
Richard struggled to find his way through Peoria's schools
The great comedian-to-be in Springfield, next to a statue of the Great Emancipator
The ninth-grade science teacher whom Richard rubbed the wrong way
Sixth-grade teacher Mrs. Yingst offered a stage of sorts to the young Richard
Margaret Kelch witnessed Richard's struggles at school
Richard's Uncle Dickie was netted in Peoria's first major drug sting in years
Uncle Dickie was arrested with heroin and marijuana, and under suspicion of turning women to prostitution
Jimmy Bell, a band leader at the Famous Door, fled to St. Louis when his partner was caught in drug bust
“Cleaning up Peoria” meant more raids on Bris Collins' place
Richard Pryor's childhood home was demolished to make way for the Murray Baker Bridge
Joe Eagle, a fellow N. Washington St. brothel owner, was charged with perjury and tax evasion
Peoria's Mayor threatened the livelihood of Harold's Club by taking away its liquor license
Mayor Day did everything in his power to shut down Harold Parker's club
Peoria's reformers imagined they were pitted against bossism and corruption
Reformed Peoria, an "All-America" City
“Good Government” comes to Peoria
Peoria's new reform-oriented mayor was undaunted by the bombing of his home
Whisper Magazine punctured Peoria's reputation as an All-American city
Feminist pioneer Betty Friedan praised World War II veterans for turning around Peoria.
Reform meant a new, professionalized city management, but did not go uncontested
Celebrating ten successful years, the Carver Center released a report on its progress.
Modern dance and checkers, jazz and basketball — all were on tap at the Carver Center
Pryor's time onstage at Carver was the era of its greatest expansion
Sparked by the postwar surge in Peoria's black population, the Journal Star surveyed the state of black Peoria
A case study in white resistance to desegregated housing in Peoria
The 1957 Center curriculum ranged from baton-twirling and canasta to scenery building and choir
Reportage on the Carver Center, from the point of view of a suburban high schooler
Despite recent accomplishments, overcrowding in the “black belt” of Peoria remained a problem
A quarter of Peoria's black population were enrolled in Carver Center activities in 1959
Why did so few blacks in Peoria respond to a newspaperman's basic question?
A Peorian teacher emphasized education in the fight for desegregation
Who was to blame for low black social mobility — Peoria or blacks themselves?
Carver Center teens, including later Black Panther Mark Clark, rehearsed a scene from “The Enchanted Cage”