Brick by Brick: How Housing Reform Dismantled Mill Creek Valley
Bradshaw, SMOS 7th
Grader
~ Every time I went to a game at the new St. Louis Soccer Park downtown, I would see a memorial made up of pillars and wonder what it was about. It interested me, so one day I did some research and found out how St. Louis city reformed its downtown by destroying a neighborhood in the 1950s, but in this case, the reform was a bad idea. The creation of the U.S. Housing Act of 1949 and the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 led Mayor Tucker to destroy Mill Creek Valley, a once-prominent Black neighborhood. The destruction of neighborhoods like this caused a housing revolution in 1968 with the passing of the Fair Housing Act. The significance of this reform and revolution continues to bring attention to Mill Creek as an example of the disastrous impact of unfair housing laws. The significance of this event is felt by St. Louis citizens, even today, who are compelled by this moment to create an exhibit and memorials- including the one I saw at the soccer stadium.
Ultimately, the destruction of Mill Creek Valley displays the importance of the decisions made by those in power. It shows how legal reform can initially seem best for a town but can turn and end up negatively impacting people who were not allowed the same rights as the majority of society—here, it was 20,000 primarily Black citizens who were forced out of their St. Louis neighborhood, Mill Creek Valley. From this, I learned that history is not just one story, but there are multiple perspectives and reasons why reform happens. It also shows how the reform of yesterday can still impact our lives today. In this case, St. Louis city’s landscape is completely reformed from how it looked in the 1950’s. It now has several highways and a national landmark, but at what cost?
The Racial Equity Team would like to highlight Josephine Bradshaw’s history project on Mill Creek. The above is an excerpt from her award-winning project. Once she returns from the National Contest in Washington, D.C., her project will be on display in the parish hall on Sunday, June 22nd. The Racial Equity Team will also have posters with additional information about Mill Creek. We hope they inspire you to visit the Mill Creek exhibit at the Missouri History Museum before it closes on July 12.
During the Summer months, this column will be highlighting the good work and parishioners involved in one of our various Social Justice Ministries. Each week, we will feature an article from a different ministry, written by one if its members, as a reflection on the calling to Catholic Social Teaching at St. Margaret of Scotland.
