15 Photos That Show the Black Experience in St. Louis

Ivory Perry was a civil rights champion who led the cause to eliminate lead poisoning for St. Louis residents. While working for the Human Development Corporation, he found that blacks living in substandard housing had recurring health issues related to leadbased paint. In 1970, with aldermanic help, Perry got an ordinance passed forcing landlords to remove leadbased paint from their properties. (Courtesy of the Mercantile Library.)

The NAACP organized a demonstration in June 1963 in front of the board office at 911 Locust Street, demanding total integration of St. Louis Public Schools. The district was engaged in a practice of busing black students from overcrowded black schools to white schools. Once there, they were kept in a separate part of the building, with separate lunch and playground periods. (Courtesy of the Mercantile Library.)

The Pruitt-Igoe housing projects were infamous for being one of the greatest urban-renewal failures in American history. From the beginning of its occupation, there were problems with maintenance, upkeep, and crime. By the end of the 1960s, Pruitt-Igoe was almost completely abandoned, leaving those who remained in dire circumstances. In 1971, the complex was evacuated, and the buildings were demolished. (Courtesy of the Mercantile Library.)

Judge Theodore McMillian broke down many racial barriers during his lifetime. In 1956, he became the first African American Missouri circuit judge in St. Louis. In 1972, he was the first African American appointed to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District. In 1978, McMillian was the first African American appointed to the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. (Courtesy of the Mercantile Library.)

A mural was dedicated to the memory of Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager who was killed on August 9, 2014, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown’s death helped spark an international outcry for changes in policing African American communities. The mantra “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” was echoed around the country and was adopted by celebrities as a sign of solidarity for change. (Courtesy of John Wright Sr.)

Attucks School, named after Crispus Attucks, in the Clayton School District, was a segregated school attended by African American students. The building accommodated students from kindergarten to the eighth grade and was open from 1923 to 1954. After the Brown v Board of Education decision, the school was closed. Pictured is a dedication to the building site and its students in 2007. (Courtesy of Donna Rogers-Beard and the Clayton School District.)

Douglass High school was the only school for black students until 1938, when Kinloch High School opened in the Kinloch School District. Prior to the opening of Douglass in 1925, all black students traveled to Sumner High School in St. Louis. Kinloch served only the black students in the Kinloch community. Douglass served all the black students in the 497 square mile of the county and beyond. Douglass closed in 1954 after the US Supreme Court decision calling for school desegregation. Kinloch remained open until 1975, when it was closed through a court ordered merger of the Kinloch School District with the Ferguson-Florissant School District. Although both schools have long been closed, they have active alumni associations. Pictured here are members of the Kinloch Alumni Association. (Courtesy of Dorothy Squires.)

When Gwendolyn Stephenson took over the helm of St. Louis Community College in 1992 as chancellor, she became the first African American to head the institution. In her years as leader, she helped restore credibility and financial stability to the college. Before becoming chancellor, Stevenson served as president of Meramec Community College in St. Louis. (Courtesy of Pam Nichaus.)

Muhammad Ali, Dick Gregory, Ronald Gregory, and Ivory Crockett, along with several others, are pictured on Manchester Avenue in 1976 running part of the St. Louis leg of the 3,000-mile run from California to New York to dramatize hunger in America. In 2013, the USDA reported that about 49 million Americans, one in six, are in danger of suffering from a lack of proper food. (Courtesy of Ronald Gregory.)

Museums, arts organizations, and cultural and social groups have played a vital role in the African American community, from the time of segregation to the present day. These institutions remind residents of the richness of the African American culture. Pictured here is Lois Conley, founder of the Griot Museum, where black history lives. (Courtesy of John A. Wright Sr.)