PDF SEGREGATION IN ST. LOUIS

SEGREGATION IN ST. LOUIS: DISMANTLING THE DIVIDE

Suggested citation: Cambria N, Fehler P, Purnell JQ, Schmidt B. Segregation in St. Louis: Dismantling the Divide. St Louis, MO: Washington University in St. Louis. 2018.

Cover Photo by R.J. Hartbeck

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments 02 ................................................................................................................................................................................

Segregation at the center 04 1

................................................................................................................................................................

2 St. Louis: A city of promise, a history of segregation.......................................................................................... 14

3 Zoned out of the suburbs, displaced from opportunity: More tools of segregation and exclusion........................................................................................................................ 26

4 North St. Louis County: Segregation and tenuous diversity...................................................................... 48

Timeline: History of segregation and housing 58 ..........................................................................................................

Segregation in St. Louis today 64 5

...................................................................................................................................................

6 Dismantling the divide: Segregation's invisible boundaries....................................................................... 86

Recommendations 96 7

................................................................................................................................................................................

Glossary of terms 106 .................................................................................................................................................................................

Methodology 108 .............................................................................................................................................................................................

Reference list 112 ............................................................................................................................................................................................

Dismantling the Divide 1

Acknowledgments

This report was written by the For the Sake of All team in partnership with multiple individuals and organizations who shared their time and knowledge.

We are grateful to the following groups and individuals for their input and support.

We would like to thank Paul Fehler and Brian Schmidt of Missouri Wonk for their research and data analysis on affordable and inclusive housing in the region; Jason Purnell, Nancy Cambria, and Laura Brossart from the For the Sake of All project team for their diligent work writing, editing, and conceptualizing the design of the report.

Special thanks to E. Terrence Jones, University of MissouriSt. Louis; Karl Guenther, Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis, Molly Metzger, Washington University; and Todd Swanstrom, University of Missouri- St. Louis, for their contributions of content expertise on the regional and national history and current challenges in housing patterns and policies and their editorial recommendations on initial drafts of the report.

We are deeply indebted to Colin Gordon, author of Mapping Decline: St. Louis and the Fate of the American City, and Richard Rothstein, author of The Making of Ferguson: Public Policies at the Root of its Troubles and The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, whose research on St. Louis significantly informed this report.

We thank additional For the Sake of All team members in the Brown School at Washington University for their roles managing the production of this report, including: Jasmine Burris and Michelle Witthaus for production management and coordination, and Derek Holland and Sheree Hickman for research support.

We appreciate the expertise and insight provided by the following people in development of key issues and recommendations: Glenn Burleigh, Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council; Thomas Harvey, formerly of ArchCity Defenders; Jacki Langum, ArchCity Defenders; Nicole L. McKoy, Affordable Housing and Homelessness Task Force, Empower Missouri; David Nehrt-Flores and Jane Oliphant, Ascend STL; and Peter W. Salsich, Jr., Saint Louis University.

We thank Lara Granich, who facilitated the process of gathering input from regional leaders and the development of an action plan based upon this report.

The inspiration for this report came from discussions emanating from two events held in September 2015 and February 2016 called "Next Steps." We thank our partners in the Institute for Public Health at Washington University and at Forward Through Ferguson for co-hosting these events. A workgroup on housing was formed following the pair of Next Steps meetings. Our thanks to those who attended our workgroup meetings, completed surveys, and shared their knowledge to help shape the vision for a more equitable and inclusive St. Louis in terms of housing, including: Sally Altman, consultant to For the Sake of All; William Beyer, US Bancorp Community Development Corporation; Charles Bryson, Civil Rights Enforcement Agency, City of St. Louis; Ethel Byndom, Office of Community Empowerment, St. Louis County; Stephanie Co, Beyond Housing, Inc.; David Dwight IV, Forward Through Ferguson; Lori Fiegel, Department of Planning, St. Louis County; Debra Haire-Joshu, Washington University; Erica Henderson, St. Louis Promise Zone; Justin Idleburg, Board of Directors, Forward Through Ferguson; Veta Jeffrey, State of Missouri Department of Economic Development; Rod Jones, Grace Hill Settlement House; Sarah Kennedy, Generate Health; Laura KinsellBaer, McCormack Baron Salazar; Don Logue, Community Forward, Inc.; Mattie Moore, independent consultant; Don Roe, Planning and Urban Design Agency, City of St. Louis; Spring Schmidt, St. Louis County Department of Public Health; Paul Sorenson, GoodMap; and Will Winter, University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Our sincere gratitude also goes to residents of the St. Louis region who shared their personal stories and provided a crucial human connection to the history and data presented in this report: Anthony Bartlett, Sam Blue, Christina and Kevin Buchek, Alecia Deal, Cheeraz Gorman, LaTosha Halk, Danielle McCowan, Elle and Kevin Lashley, Betsy Meyland-Smith, Tony Messenger, Brandy and Darren Owens, Christine Schmiz, Shauna and Stephanie, Shanette Upchurch, John Warren, Ciara Washington, Thera Webster, and Tonya Williams.

2 Segregation in St. Louis

Thanks as well to Ellen Futterman, editor of the St. Louis Jewish Light, for copy-editing support; Jager Boston, whose excellent graphic design transformed text and data into an accessible and engaging narrative; the National Community Reinvestment Coalition for permission to reprint maps and research on mortgage lending and demographics in areas previously affected by redlining in St. Louis; the Missouri History Museum for permission to reprint historic photos and newspaper articles; the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for permission to reprint numerous photographs taken by its photojournalism staff; St. Louis Public radio for permission to reprint photos taken by Carolina Hidalgo; and Whitney Curtis, who granted permission to reprint past photographs and also photographed many of the residents interviewed for the report.

And finally, we thank the Missouri Foundation for Health and Wells Fargo, for their generous support of the research, production, and printing of this report.

An early community work group discussing "next steps" to achieve quality neighborhoods in the St. Louis region by supporting inclusive, affordable housing.

Dismantling the Divide 3

01

SEGREGATION AT THE CENTER

Place matters. Where people live in St.Louis has been shaped by an extensive history of segregation that was driven by policies at multiple levels of government and practices across multiple sectors of society. The effect of segregation has been to systematically exclude African American families from areas of opportunity that support positive economic, educational, and health outcomes.

4 Segregation in St. Louis

Health disparities in St. Louis

One of the most important messages in the original For the Sake of All report was that health is determined by multiple factors beyond the quality and availability of healthcare.1 Through an extensive review of data on the St. Louis region, the report highlighted the critical links between health and education, income, and the quality of neighborhoods, among other factors. It noted that limited access to these crucial resources for many African Americans helps to explain differences in health outcomes like disease, disability, and ultimately, death. Indeed, public health research has confirmed that those with fewer social and economic resources experience worse health, poorer quality of life, greater disability, and earlier death than their more affluent peers.2 Even after adjusting for socioeconomic status, though,

disparities often continue to be found between racial groups. In other words, even when African Americans and whites have comparable levels of socioeconomic status, health disparities remain. This suggests that attending to education, employment, and income alone will not entirely close the gaps between African Americans and whites detailed in For the Sake of All. Racism and the enduring legacy of systematic racial bias must be addressed along with social and economic resources.3

Of course, one of the most cited findings of the original report was the 18-year gap in life expectancy at birth between the 63106 ZIP code in North St. Louis City and the 63105 ZIP code in the Clayton area of St. Louis County--a geography separated by less than 10 miles (Figure 1). The differences between 63106 and 63105 are numerous, but perhaps most noteworthy are the very

Figure 1. Life expectancy at birth varies by ZIP code.

ZIP codes & life expectancy

N

270

Chesterfield

63017

82 40

63122

81

Kirkwood

63133

70

Pagedale

Wellston

70

63105

170 85

Clayton

JeffVanderLou

63106

67

64

63109

81

St. Louis Hills

City of St. Louis

44

0

2.5

5

St. Louis County

10 Miles

Source: City of St. Louis Department of Health-Center for Health Information, Planning and Research; Census 2010; MDDHSS, Death MICA 2010

Dismantling the Divide 5

N Figure 2. The differences between 63105 and 63106 are numerous, but perhaps most noteworthy are the very

different concentrations of affluence versus poverty and the racial composition of each place despite being less than 10 miles apart.

63105 Clayton

63106

JeffVanderLou

Racial makeup 78% white 14%2o7t0her

9% African American

40

4%

Unemployment

170 63105

Clayton 64

70

JeffVanderLou

63106

44

Racial makeup 2% white 3% other

95% African American

24%

Unemployment

7%

Percent below the poverty line

$90,000

Median household income

85

Life expectancy

St. Louis County

City of St. Louis

54%

Percent below the poverty line

$15,000

Median household income

67

Life expectancy

10 MilesSource: Washington University in St. Louis and FOCUS St. Louis. (2014). Creating Economic Opportunity for Low-to-Moderate Income Families in St. Louis: A Discussion Guide.

6 Segregation in St. Louis

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