Closed in 2012 - now YouthBuild

This school was named for Arthur Mells Jackson (1883-1945), a prominent black citizen and educator and the district's second black board member. Jackson, a Georgia native and 1907 graduate of Morehouse College, was hired by the East St. Louis Board of Education in 1915. He taught Latin and coached basketball and baseball at Lincoln High School for 30 years. As the district's first football coach, he won 70% of his games.

See also St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church (Mill Creek Valley)
In 1841, Jordan Early and other members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church secured a small log cabin near the end of Main Street. The congregation later obtained a building from the Presbyterians at Seventh & Washington. By the late 1850s, it moved to Eleventh and Lucas. In 1852, Reverend Hiram R. Revels created a school to teach Black St. Louisans to read and write. During Reconstruction, he became the first African American to serve as a United States Senator. He filled the seat once occupied by Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy. In 1878, the church moved to Hamilton Avenue in Mill Creek Valley and became St. Paul AME Church.

African Church, also known as the A.M.E. Church of St. Charles, is a historic African Methodist Episcopal church located at 554 Madison Street in St. Charles, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. It was built about 1855, and is a small brick building with a low-pitched gable roof. The building was renovated in 1947 as a residence. It is designated a state landmark and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Olympic legend Jackie Joyner-Kersee, often called the world’s greatest female athlete, grew up in a modest home in the Piggott neighborhood before it burned in 1986. A Lincoln High School graduate, she went on to win six Olympic medals in the heptathlon and long jump, becoming the first person in history to medal in a multi-event at three consecutive Olympic Games.

All Saints Episcopal Church, the first Episcopal church in St. Louis for African Americans, was established in 1847 and began as a small mission known as the Mission of Our Savior at 1220 Morgan Street. In June 1875, the mission moved to a building at 6th & Sayre Streets and was renamed the Mission of the Good Samaritan. In 1883, the name was changed to All Saints Episcopal Church, and the congregation moved to a larger building at 22nd Street and Washington Boulevard. In 1906, the church moved again, this time to the former Messiah Unitarian Church at Garrison and Locust Avenue. As membership continued to grow, the church moved to its present location at 5010 Terry Ave in 1957.

Allen Chapel and an affiliated school were established in 1876 by the Reverend William B. Hammond in a building that would later become the Dunbar School. In 1879, Hammond sold a piece of property in Upper Alton to his congregation. The present church building was completed in 1880. In the early 1940s, the structure was remodeled and covered with brick siding.

In the 1950s, the American Muslims established this mission in St. Louis. They also owned and operated several businesses in the 1900 block of Grand Avenue.

The Annie Malone Children & Family Service Center first opened its doors in 1888 as the St. Louis Colored Orphan’s Home. Helping St. Louis families for more than a century, the agency today has grown into a multi-service center in the community, addressing social and education needs of children and families in crisis and at-risk throughout St. Louis.

Annie Malone was born in Illinois and orphaned shortly after. She was raised by her older sister in Peoria, Illinois. After seeing the damage made by using animal by products on hair she created her own hair products in her home in Brooklyn, Illinois. When she learned there would be a World's Fair in nearby St. Louis she decided to come here in 1902 to sell her products at the fair. However, the fair was delayed so she traveled through the South selling door to door. Upon returning to St. Louis, she took her newfound sales skills to the streets and to the local black press. By 1924, newspapers were reporting that she had become the First Black Female Millionaire, worth over $14 million.

Antioch Baptist Church, established in 1878, stands as a historic pillar in St. Louis's Ville neighborhood. Its 1921 Gothic Revival building has long served as a spiritual and cultural hub for the African American community, earning a place on the National Register of Historic Places.

Archer Alexander (c. 1813–1880) was an enslaved man who became a symbol of courage and freedom during the Civil War era. After escaping enslavement in St. Charles County, Missouri, he found refuge in St. Louis with Unitarian minister William Greenleaf Eliot. Alexander's likeness was used for the Emancipation Memorial in Washington, D.C., unveiled in 1876. He spent his final years in St. Louis, where he passed away in 1880. His burial site at St. Peter's United Church of Christ Cemetery in Normandy, Missouri, is recognized by the National Park Service's Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

Established in 1923 at the corner of Hanley Road and Bonhomme Avenue, Attucks School served as Clayton's second educational institution for African American children, offering classes from kindergarten through eighth grade. The school was closed in the 1950s during urban renewal efforts, and the building was subsequently demolished. Today, a historical marker commemorates its legacy at the original site.

Attucks Elementary School, situated at 2436 Kansas Avenue in East St. Louis, Illinois, was part of East St. Louis School District 189. The school functioned as a special education institution until its closure in 2023. Following its shutdown, the facility ceased operations and is not accessible to the public.

The old St. Louis County Courthouse, completed in 1878, was connected to the adjacent jail by a second-floor corridor known as the Bridge of Sighs, where executions were carried out. In July 1894, Harrison Duncan, an African American man, was hanged from this bridge for allegedly killing police officer James Brady.

“Frankie and Johnny” is a traditional American folk ballad that tells the story of a woman named Frankie who shoots her cheating lover, Johnny. The song has deep roots in St. Louis, where versions of the tale circulated in the early 20th century. St. Louis’s vibrant musical culture helped popularize the story, which has been recorded by countless artists across genres, making it a lasting part of American folk and blues heritage.

The infamous legend of Stagger Lee (also known as Stagolee, Stack O' Lee, Stackerlee, Stackalee) is about a St. Louis carriage driver, gangster and pimp who gets into a dispute with his friend Billy DeLyon (also known as Billy the Lion or Billy Lyons) after losing his Stetson hat to Billy. It is often associated with Chestnut Valley, a once-thriving African American neighborhood and entertainment district in St. Louis during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The 2.55 acre Ballwin Colored Cemetery is shown in the 1909 county atlas as the "African Cemetery." In 1989 the title to the property was deeded to the First Baptist Church of Ballwin by the trustees of the Baldwin Cemetery Company.

Incorporated in 1849, this is the final resting place of two prominent ministers: the Reverend John Berry Meacham (1818–54), pastor of the First African Baptist Church, and the Reverend John Richard Anderson (1818–63).

Berea Presbyterian Church was organized in 1898 as a black congregation. Of 43 churches in the Mill Creek Valley before the 1960 demolition, Berea is the only one that did not move.

Billups Avenue, located in the Ville neighborhood, honors Kenneth B. Billups, a distinguished musician and educator who significantly influenced St. Louis's African American cultural scene.

The Black Americans In Flight mural hangs in Terminal One (T1) at St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL). The five-panel mural is eight feet tall and 51 feet long. It pays tribute to African-American Achievements in Aviation from 1917 onward.

Kirkwood High School (KHS) has a long, rich history that dates back to the founding of the Kirkwood School District in 1865. In 1865, the district rented space for Black high school and elementary students in a temporary building at Geyer and Adams. Later, in the Jefferson Avenue school, the District’s first formal school was opened in 1869. Night schools classes for adults were added in 1874-75. In 1888, the district built the Adams Avenue School next to the Jefferson School and offered a two-year high school program for students completing the elementary grades.

The Booker T. Washington Theater, located at 2248 Market Street at 23rd Street, operated from about 1920 to 1930. It was one of the first theaters in the United States built and operated by African Americans. With a seating capacity of 1,000, the theater featured vaudeville and other live entertainment, as well as motion pictures. Each week, a new show with a different theme was presented. The theater was part of the Black Vaudeville circuit, which was connected to the Theater Owners' Booking Association.

In the early 1900s, African American families began moving into central St. Louis County, settling in Clayton (the county seat), Brentwood, and Richmond Heights, to work in brickyards and serve affluent households. Smaller communities also took root in Pagedale and Breckenridge Hills. As these populations grew, they built their own homes, businesses, churches, and schools, forming largely self‑contained neighborhoods.

Cardinal Ritter College Preparatory High School is a Catholic, coeducational institution in St. Louis, Missouri, dedicated to empowering primarily African American students through academic excellence, faith development, and leadership. Established in 1979 and named after Cardinal Joseph Ritter—a pioneer in desegregating Catholic schools—the school fosters a nurturing environment where students are "Aspiring, Inspiring – Empowered for Life."

Carver House opened in 1939 in a Bell Avenue Mansion though its origins can be traced to an earlier social center founded by the Wesley House Association in 1919.

Centennial Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a historic congregation located at 4950 Fountain Avenue in St. Louis’ Fountain Park neighborhood. Founded in 1904, the church has been a cornerstone of community service and activism. In May 2025, the church building was severely damaged by a tornado, but the congregation remains committed to rebuilding and continuing its mission of hunger, housing, and healing.

Central Baptist Church, the fourth oldest black church in St Louis, organized as the Second Colored Baptist Church in 1846.

Located at 4411 North Newstead Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri, this historic facility has served various community health and support roles over the decades. Originally opened in 1925 as Christian Hospital, it has since housed organizations such as the Hopewell Center, Grace Hill Health Center, and the Prince Hall Family Support Center, providing essential medical, mental health, and social services to the local community.

Turner Open Air School is in the heart of The Ville neighborhood, just north of Tandy Park. The school was named for scientist and educator Charles Henry Turner (1867-1923).

Charlton H. Tandy (1836–1919) was a prominent African American civil rights activist, military officer, and public servant in St. Louis. Born free in Lexington, Kentucky, Tandy moved to St. Louis in 1857, where he became a leading figure in the fight for racial equality. His legacy is honored through Tandy Park and the Tandy Community Center, located at 4206 Kennerly Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63113. These landmarks commemorate his lifelong dedication to civil rights and community advancement.

Chestnut Valley was a vibrant African American neighborhood in downtown St. Louis, centered around Market Street, Targee Street (now part of Chestnut Street), and Jefferson Avenue. Flourishing from the late 19th century into the early 20th century, it was a hub for Black culture, entertainment, and commerce during an era of racial segregation. The district was home to numerous saloons, gambling houses, and brothels, many of which featured live music.

Chuck Berry's former residence at 3137 Whittier Street in St. Louis is a modest brick house where the rock 'n' roll pioneer lived from 1950 to 1958. During this period, Berry composed and recorded some of his most iconic songs, including "Johnny B. Goode" and "Maybellene." The house, now vacant and in disrepair, is owned by the City of St. Louis, which is seeking to restore it as part of a cultural district honoring Berry's legacy.

City Hospital No. 2 was established in 1919 at 2945 Lawton Avenue in the Mill Creek Valley neighborhood of St. Louis. Housed in a former medical college building, it served as the city's primary hospital for African American residents during an era of racial segregation in healthcare. The hospital also functioned as a training ground for Black physicians and nurses. Despite its critical role, the facility faced overcrowding and deteriorating conditions, leading to its closure in 1937 with the opening of Homer G. Phillips Hospital.

Clamorgan Alley, originally called "Commercial Alley," is named for Jacques Clamorgan (?-1814), a West Indian native who arrived from France to St. Louis in the 1780s and became a wealthy fur trader and landowner. Clamorgan fathered several children with free and enslaved Black women, including Cyprian Clamorgan, author of The Colored Aristocracy of St. Louis. The alley stands as a reminder of the complex and often contradictory legacy of race, power, and family in early St. Louis.

African Americans, along with English, German, French, and Irish settlers, were early residents of the Hill section of St. Louis, now known as the city’s main Italian neighborhood. Starting around 1880, Black workers came to the area to labor in clay mines and later in terracotta and brick industries along nearby railroad tracks. Two key African American community centers formed around Patterson Avenue Church (organized in 1897) and a Pentecostal Church, with over 300 Black laborers employed in local factories by 1890.

In the early 1900s, African American families began moving into central St. Louis County, settling in Clayton (the county seat), Brentwood, and Richmond Heights, to work in brickyards and serve affluent households. Smaller communities also took root in Pagedale and Breckenridge Hills. As these populations grew, they built their own homes, businesses, churches, and schools, forming largely self‑contained neighborhoods.

Clayton Missionary Baptist Church was organized on Brentwood Blvd. in Clayton, MO 12 years later, the 67 member church, then located in a small shingle building surrounded by open fields called. the Reverend WL Rhodes as its pastor. He served the church for 68 years. The congregation built a new building in 1907. In 1961, the church relocated to 2801 N Union Blvd.

The Club Imperial was a nightclub at 6306-28 West Florissant Ave in St. Louis, Missouri. During the club's heyday in the 1950s through the 1960s, acts such as Ike & Tina Turner, Chuck Berry, and Bob Kuban and the In-Men performed at the Club Imperial. The Club Imperial was owned by George Edick who turned the nightclub into a private hall in the 1970s. In the last few decades, the building went through different ownership and was almost demolished in 2018, but preservationists fought to save the site of the historic music venue.

Originally called the East St. Louis Senior Citizen Building, the center was renamed after the death of Clyde C. Jordan Sr. in 1987. Jordan, a respected newspaper publisher, philanthropist, and community leader, served as East St. Louis Township Supervisor and president of the East St. Louis School District 189 Board.

The Clyde C. Jordan Stadium was built in 1991 as an athletic facility shared by Lincoln High School and East St. Louis Senior High School. One of the primary teams using the field is the East St. Louis Flyers football team, which has long been a source of pride in the community.

Cole Elementary School opened in 1931. It was renamed for Richard H Cole, a public school teacher and principal at Simmons Elementary School in St Louis for 50 years. Born in Cincinnati, Cole lived at 4210 West Belle Place in St Louis.

Colored School No. 1 opened at 5th and Gratiot; No. 2 operated at 10th and Chambers and in the Chambers Street Baptist Church; and No. 3 was located at 24th and Morgan. These early schools frequently changed locations. For example, in 1868, Colored School No. 3 moved to 14th and Christie, and again in 1880 to 11th Street between Carr and Biddle, before closing in 1881.

Established in 1877 as Cheltenham Colored School, later known as Vashon Elementary, this institution served African American children in St. Louis until its closure in 1908.

Aldridge Elementary School, then called Baden Colored School, opened in a 2 room building on the site during the late 1870s. In 1890, the school was renamed for Ira Aldridge. It closed in 1908.

Colored school #12 also known as Arsenal Colored School, was opened in 1880 at Columbus and Barry Streets in the present day La Salle Park area. In 1885, the school had moved to 7th and Hickory St. Five years later it was renamed for Crispus Attucks, believed to be a runaway slave who was killed by the British at the Boston Massacre. The school closed at this location by 1910.

10th & Chambers - Chambers Street Baptist Church (1866)

Opened at 24th & Morgan in 1866. Moved to 14th & Christy in 1868 and again to 11th Street between Carr and Biddle in 1880. It closed in 1881.

Cozens Street (1866); 2612 Papin Street (1885); 2135 Chouteau -1 & LaSalle & Caroline - 2 (1945)

18th & Conde (1866); Montgomery & Leffingwell (1890); Stoddard School Building Lucas & Ewing (1932)

In in 1870, the Saint Louis Board of Education authorized the school administration to rent one room in Carondelet for African American students. But rented quarters proved hard to find, so in 1873 Colored School #6 was built at 5th and Market Streets, (now Virginia Ave. and Bowen St.)

The Wheatley School was last used in 1972-73 school year. The Board of Education sold the building in 1974.

see Simmons Elementary School; Simmons School, originally known as Colored School #8, opened on May 19, 1873, in the Ellardsville area. First housed in a small two-room wooden building, the school served Black children during the post-Civil War era and was run by the Board of Education for Colored Schools. Renamed in 1891 to honor educator Edward J. Simmons, the school continued to evolve, with a brick building replacing the original in 1899 and a new facility constructed on the same site in 1930. Located at 4318 St. Louis Avenue, the school stands as a testament to the legacy of Black education in St. Louis.

This 120 seat school opened in 1877 as Colored school #9 at Bellefontaine Road and O'Fallon Ave. in North Saint Louis. By 1885, the Garnet school had moved to Bulwer Ave. near Adelaide Ave. Portable buildings were added in 1906-07. The school closed in 1938.

Richard “Dick” Gregory (1932–2017) was a pioneering comedian, civil rights activist, and author, born and raised in St. Louis. A graduate of Sumner High School, he used his national platform to challenge racism through humor and activism. In 1977, Wagoner Street was renamed Dick Gregory Place in his honor. The street runs between Dr. Martin Luther King Drive and North Market Street.

This school reopened in 1980, five years after a fire had destroyed its building; it had originally been the Slade School, established in 1909. The school closed in 2013.

Dr. H. Phillip Venable Memorial Park is one of Creve Coeur's busiest parks. Spanning seven and a half acres, the park features a half-mile paved trail, three tennis courts, a soccer field, two playgrounds, a picnic pavilion, barbecue grills and seasonal restrooms. Dr. H. Phillip Venable Memorial Park was previously Beirne Park.

The school, originally known as Glasgow School was built in 1912 as a whites-only elementary and middle school. As the demographics of the neighborhood changed, though, the then-superintendent of St. Louis Public Schools declared that the school would be turned into one for Black children in 1933. It was renamed in 1937 for Paul Laurence Dunbar a poet, novelist and short story writer.

In July 1917, East St. Louis was the scene of one of the bloodiest race riots in American history. Tensions in the community had been increasing throughout the spring of 1917. The city's Black population had rapidly increased between 1910 and 1917, and white workers at local stockyards, packing plants, and factories resented the influx of cheap new labor.

The warehouse of Godfrey, Gilman & Co. was situated at the foot of William Street near where the flour mill is located today. Broadway was a one lane street at that time called Short Street. The building was stone, three stories on the street side and four stories on the river side, which was a receiving point for goods brought to Alton by steamboats. Lovejoy had moved his abolitionist newspaper, The Observer from St. Louis to Alton anticipating a more friendly environment in the free state of Illinois.

In 1879, thousands of impoverished Black men, women, and children, known as Exodusters, passed through St. Louis on their way to Kansas and other Midwestern and Western states in search of a better life. They fled the oppressive political, social, and economic conditions of the post-Reconstruction South, where former slaveholders had regained power and federal protections had been withdrawn.

Benton Barracks ("Camp Benton") was established in August 1861 at Fairground Park (Vandeventer & Natural Bridge) and prepared thousands of Federal troops from the Midwestern states for active service. The facility could accommodate up to 30,000 recruits and hospital patients at a time.

Ferrier Harris Home for the Aged founded in 1902 as the Colored Old Folks Home moved to this site in 1943. A group of Black women known as the Women's Wednesday Sewing Club raised funds for the home which continues to provide facilities for senior citizens in the African-American community. The home is named for Rose Ferrier Harris, the club's first president. In 1993, it had 27 residents

First Baptist Church traces its origin to the First African Baptist Church organized in 1818. the church bought its present site in 1917 then later purchased the adjacent 4 family flat and converted it into an educational building. The church burned to the ground in 1940 and was reconstructed on the same site within 13 months.

First Baptist Church, the oldest Baptist church west of the Mississippi River, was founded in the early 1800s in what is now Ballwin, Missouri. Once a slave trading post, the land saw Black worshipers harassed by vigilantes, forcing them to meet in secret under grape arbors and iron pots. In 1832, a judge finally granted permission to build a church, marking a powerful moment of faith and resistance.

First Baptist Church of Chesterfield was organized in 1856 on land given by enslaver Mary Long. Though the church used the site from its founding, legal ownership was not transferred to the congregation until 1875. The current church building was completed in 1975 and originally served both as a church and a school.

The Floating Freedom School was an educational facility for free and enslaved African Americans on a steamboat on the Mississippi River. It was established in 1847 by the Baptist minister John Berry Meachum. After Meachum's death in 1854, the Freedom School was taken over by Reverend John R. Anderson, a former student, and closed sometime after 1860.

Fountain Park is a historic St. Louis neighborhood centered around a circular park and fountain at Euclid and Fountain Avenues. Originally developed in the 19th century for white middle-class residents, it became a vibrant center of African American life in the mid-20th century, home to educators, artists, clergy, and professionals. Over the years, the area has reflected the city’s shifting demographics—from German and Irish immigrants to Black families during and after the Great Migration. Its rich architectural heritage and deep civic pride remain central to its identity today.

Francis L. McIntosh, aged twenty-six, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was a free man of color who worked as a porter and a cook on the steamboat Flora, which arrived in St. Louis on April 28. McIntosh departed the boat in the morning to visit an African-American chambermaid who worked aboard the Lady Jackson, which had docked the same day. According to the captain of the Flora, as McIntosh departed the boat, two police officers were chasing another sailor (who had been involved in a fight) and requested McIntosh's assistance in stopping him. McIntosh did not assist the officers, and he was arrested for interfering in the apprehension.

The Freedmen's Fair, held in Philharmonic Hall during the week of June 22, 1868, was sponsored by the African American people of Carondelet and Kirkwood to raise funds for building schools and churches in their communities.

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Gateway National Bank, incorporated in 1965, was the first Black-owned bank established in St. Louis and the eighth such institution chartered nationwide with significant Black representation among its founders. At the time of its incorporation, the bank had $200,000 in capital, a surplus of $200,000, and $100,000 in undivided profits.

This modest residence at 1703 Annie Malone Drive is the childhood home of Grace Bumbry, a pioneering American opera singer and cultural icon. Born in St. Louis in 1937, Bumbry was raised in this home, located in the historic Ville neighborhood—a vibrant center of Black culture, education, and achievement during the 20th century.

Greenwood Cemetery was established on January 19, 1874, by Herman Krueger as a final resting place for Black farm workers from the Hillsdale area. One of the oldest African American cemeteries in the St. Louis region, it served as a vital space for dignity and remembrance at a time when segregation excluded Black families from most burial grounds.

Hadley Township was a historic African American community in Richmond Heights, Missouri, founded in 1907 by the Evens and Howard Fire Brick Company to house Black workers during segregation. Over time, it grew into a thriving neighborhood with schools, businesses, and deep communal bonds. Though largely demolished for commercial development in the 2010s, its legacy lives on through stories, a commemorative plaque, and efforts to preserve its history.

The Harlem Tap Room, located at 4161 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive is a historic establishment that has served as a cornerstone of the city's African American community since its inception in 1946. Founded by Ezell Nance Sr., the bar quickly became a gathering place for locals, offering a warm atmosphere, strong drinks, and a jukebox filled with soulful tunes.

Harris-Stowe University is a historically black college in St. Louis, Missouri. It was also the first public teacher education institution west of the Mississippi River. Harris-Stowe was originally two separate institutions: Harris Teachers College and Stowe Teachers College, which were merged together in 1954 to form Harris Teachers College.

Homer G. Phillips Hospital was the only public hospital for African Americans in St. Louis from 1937 until 1955, when the city began to desegregate, and was the first teaching hospital west of the Mississippi River to serve the city's Black residents. By 1961, the hospital had trained the "largest number of Black doctors and nurses in the world." It was named for St. Louis lawyer and civil rights advocate Homer G. Phillips who helped plan it. The hospital was built a year after his death and renamed for him in 1942.

Peter & Nancy Hudlin lived with their family at the 1400 block of Thirteenth Street, just south of the old Greyhound bus station, in a home used for the Underground Railroad. There he sheltered, fed and helped transport the runaway enslaved under nightfall. Working with Elijah Lovejoy, he carried them in crates to the Alton side of the river. Richard Hudlin Sr. was a respected writer, publisher, actor, and postmaster of Clayton, Missouri. His mother, Sarah, grew up in the family that risked their lives for freedom. Richard A. Hudlin, Jr. was a Sumner educator, Arthur Ashe's tennis coach, and civil rights advocate.

In March 1965, civil rights activist Ivory Perry and Ernest Gilkey staged a bold protest by disabling their truck and blocking traffic on a Highway 40 exit ramp during rush hour. The demonstration was intended to draw attention to the violent attacks on peaceful civil rights marchers in Alabama.

In the 1980s, Dickon Street between Jefferson Avenue and Webster was renamed James “Cool Papa” Bell Avenue in honor of Negro National League legend James Thomas Bell (1903–1991). A Mississippi native who moved to St. Louis at 16, Bell played professional baseball from 1922 to 1950 and was known for his lightning speed, once reaching second base on a bunt and rounding the bases in a record 13.1 seconds. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.

The J. Milton Turner School, initially called the Meacham Park School, opened in 1925 and served African American students ad families in the Meacham Park Subdivision, a predominantly African American neighborhood. The school serves as a reminder of the history of school segregation as well as the efforts of Black educators and influential Black leaders such as J. Milton Turner an enslaved person who became a U.S. foreign diplomat.

Educator & diplomat James Milton Turner (1840-1915) was the 1st Black minister to Liberia. In 1866, he was appointed to teach in MO’s 1st tax-supported school for Black people. He was active in politics & his support of Ulysses S. Grant resulted in an appointment as minister resident & consul-general in Liberia. He was named on 3/1/1871. He was actually the 2nd Black person named since James W. Mason, nominated in Mar. 1870, never took his post.

From August 30, 1963 until March 31, 1964, Jefferson Bank & Trust Company was the scene of a 7 month long demonstration organized by the St. Louis Chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), aimed at forcing the bank to hire four black clerical workers.

The Missouri School for the Blind, located on Delmar Boulevard (formerly Morgan Street), played a pivotal role in the early life of John William “Blind” Boone. When Boone enrolled at age nine, the school had only six African American students and strictly limited their access to music education. Despite being assigned to broom-making in the trade department, Boone’s passion for music couldn’t be contained—he found ways to practice piano and often snuck out at night to explore the city’s vibrant music halls. In 1906, the school relocated to its current address at 3815 Magnolia Avenue, where it remains today.

Josephine Baker (1906–1975) was born in St. Louis’s Mill Creek Valley and raised on Gratiot Street and later at 2632 Bernard Street. She attended Lincoln Elementary School and began performing on the streets for pennies outside the Booker T. Washington Theatre. Frustrated by the racism and limited opportunities she faced in St. Louis, Baker left the city as a teenager. Josephine remains an enduring symbol of artistic brilliance, global activism, and unshakable resistance to racial injustice.

Josephine Baker (1906–1975) was born in St. Louis’s Mill Creek Valley and raised on Gratiot Street and later at 2632 Bernard Street. She attended Lincoln Elementary School and began performing on the streets for pennies outside the Booker T. Washington Theatre.

In 1974, the St. Louis Public Library broke with tradition by naming a new branch after Julia Davis (1891–1993)—a respected educator, historian, and lifelong advocate for African American history. Davis graduated from Dumas Elementary, Sumner High School, the Normal School, and Stowe Teachers College. She taught in the St. Louis Public Schools from 1913 to 1961, spending 35 years at Simmons Elementary. The original branch was located at 4660 Natural Bridge Avenue. On February 14, 1993, the Julia Davis Branch opened at its new and current location: 4415 Natural Bridge Avenue on land donated by Commerce Bank. Designed by architect Russell Lewis, the 15,000-square-foot building features a 125-seat auditorium and public access to educational software and computers. The Julia Davis Collection, previously housed at Central Library, was relocated to the branch, solidifying it as a vital center for research, learning, and cultural celebration.

Katherine Dunham (1910–2006) was a world-renowned performer, choreographer, and teacher who is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the development of modern dance. She attended the University of Chicago, where she studied anthropology, and later conducted groundbreaking research in the Caribbean and Brazil with the help of a Rosenwald Fellowship. In 1931, she founded her first school for the study of Black Caribbean dance in Chicago, an important milestone in the recognition of African and Afro-Caribbean dance traditions in the United States.

The City of Kinloch, Missouri, holds the distinction of being the first incorporated Black city in Missouri. Its incorporation on August 20, 1948, was shaped by a discriminatory real estate practice in which land was sold to white buyers at market value, who then resold it to Black families at inflated prices due to racially restrictive covenants that made it illegal to sell directly to African Americans.

Opened in 1925, L’Ouverture Elementary School in Richmond Heights, Missouri, was established to serve Black students who had previously attended school in Webster Groves. Named after Haitian revolutionary leader Toussaint L’Ouverture, the school symbolized progress and empowerment for the local African American community

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Boxing champions Leon and Michael Spinks grew up in St. Louis, first in the Pruitt-Igoe housing project and later at Darst-Webbe. Both won Olympic gold medals in Montreal in 1976. Leon famously defeated Muhammad Ali in 1978 to win the WBA heavyweight title, while Michael won the world light heavyweight title twice and the IBF heavyweight title after defeating Larry Holmes. Michael retired with a record of 31-1 after a loss to Mike Tyson in 1988.

This one-room Lincoln School opened in 1909 to serve Black students in the Maplewood-Richmond Heights School District. At the time, Missouri schools were segregated by race, and this facility was the district’s first designated school for African American children. The school's first teacher, Harvey J. Simms, named it after Lincoln Institute in Jefferson City, now known as Lincoln University. Before receiving the name “Lincoln Elementary,” the school was referred to as the “Colored School on Dale.”

In 1950, Lincoln High School moved from its Broadway location into this building, which now enrolls approximately 1,299 students in grades 9–12. Notable among its alumni is Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee (born 1962), a championship-caliber track athlete.

When it was founded in 1886, Lincoln School was a combined elementary and high school for Black students, located at 240 N. Sixth Street and St. Louis Avenue. A 1902 school census shows that 287 students were enrolled that year, and the school had an 89 percent attendance rate. Minnie C. Scott, Mary E. Scott, and Fannie Edwards made up the first class of high school graduates in 1894. As Principal B.F. Bowles wrote in a 1901 letter to the East St. Louis superintendent, the majority of graduates from the high school department became teachers.

Lincoln University of Missouri, located in Jefferson City, was established in 1866 by African American Civil War veterans of the 62nd and 65th United States Colored Infantry. It stands as the only HBCU founded by Black veterans. These soldiers, many of whom were formerly enslaved, pooled their resources to create an institution that would serve the educational needs of freed African Americans.

Lloyd Lionel Gaines was born in 1911 in Mississippi and moved with his family to St. Louis at the age of 14. A bright and determined student, Gaines graduated at the top of his class in high school and went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, one of the few higher education options available to Black students in the state at the time. In 1936, Gaines made history by applying to the University of Missouri School of Law, marking the first time a Black student had attempted to gain admission to the state’s flagship law school. His application was rejected solely because of his race.

Lovejoy was only 35 at the time of his death and continues to inspire the community today. His grave can be visited at the Alton Cemetery.

Lynch, a well-known character in his day, engaged in the slave trade in St. Louis for many years. First he ran a slave market on Locust Street, midway between Fourth and Fifth Streets. When his business outgrew those quarters, he purchased the Fifth and Myrtle site in 1859, installing barred windows, bolts, and locks to convert it to a secure prison.