The project River Memory centered on multigenerational memory as a prism through which to understand the interconnected threads of race, class, and labor that weave together St. Louis and East St. Louis. By collecting oral history with community elders and matching this with the poetry and reflections of emerging East St. Louis artists, the project tells a deeply embodied story. A story about how these communities’ relationships with the river have grown more distant, more managed by both real and metaphorical corporate boundaries, and how industrial commerce in the region has hemmed in civic action, environmental advocacy, and working towards social justice.