St. Louis, Missouri in the 1960s | The Only Thing They Were Allowed to Build Was People

Four streets on the north side of St. Louis — Saint Louis Avenue, Easton, Sarah and Taylor — boxed in by restrictive covenants that started in 1911 and made the Ville one of the few districts a Black family could buy into. It went from 8% Black in 1920 to 86% by 1930. Inside that rectangle: Sumner High School, founded 1875, the first high school for Black students west of the Mississippi — and the school that produced the father of rock and roll, the queen of rock and roll, an opera singer, a heavyweight champion and a comedian. Homer G. Phillips Hospital opened February 22, 1937 with 52 Black physicians on staff by 1939, took more than half of all the Black medical graduates in America, and by 1961 had trained more Black doctors and nurses than anywhere on earth. The city closed it in 1979. Tell us in the comments about the school in your neighborhood — and the teacher's name. — Henry, Sweet Old America #StLouis #TheVille #1960s #BlackHistory #Nostalgia