St. Louis at the Crossroads of Race, Empire, and Place in U.S. Education Reform

• In Event: Vice-Presidential Session: St. Louis at the Crossroads of Race, Empire, and Place in Urban Education Reform in the United States

Abstract

The St. Louis, Missouri Region of the United States sits at the historical, geographical, cultural, political, and social crossroads of the United States. St. Louis is located within the border state of Missouri, which borders six states. Missouri was admitted as a slave state under the Missouri Compromise of 1820. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), more than 100,000 Missourians served in the Union Army and approximately 30,000 Missourians served in the Confederate Army. St. Louis’ historical significance is further evidenced by the fact that it was the site of landmark legal court cases pertaining to African Americans’ civil rights (Dred Scott v. Sandford, 1857), access to higher education (Gaines v. Canada, 1938), racially restrictive housing (Shelley v. Kraemer, 1948), and public school segregation (Liddell v. City of St. Louis Board of Education, 1972).
St. Louis’ national educational significance is illustrated by the impending termination of what was once the nation’s largest voluntary desegregation plan, Missouri’s takeover of “failing” school districts (overwhelmingly African-American), a spate of school closings in predominantly black and low-income communities, and the turmoil and inequality unveiled by the 2014 “Ferguson Unrest” and the 2017 Stockley verdict, both related to the killing of unarmed African-American males at the hands of white police officers. Emerging from these recent events, as well protests since the killing of George Floyd in 2020, is a call for ensuring increased social and educational opportunities for historically marginalized communities.

Author

• Jerome E. Morris, University of Missouri - St. Louis
  Presenting Author