Injustice is Ahistorical
A Case Study of St. Louis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18060/27431Keywords:
St. Louis, Antiracism, History, Racism, Social WorkAbstract
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of historical context in social work practice, research, and teaching. Understanding the evolution of racist policies and practices is necessary for developing antiracist practices that promote racial equity. Using St. Louis as a case study, the manuscript describes how racist policies and practices evolved over time between the 1900s and 1970s. These policies and practices will be examined at three levels: individual, local governance, and federal policy. The discussion section describes the implications of this history for contemporary social work research, practice, and education. In practice, understanding our history is necessary so we can identify when using racialized practices and hoping for different results. Understanding the historical context of our research can identify when our results provide support that racist policies and practices are working as designed. The interconnectedness of racist policy and practice necessitates re-thinking social work education, particularly as it relates to the divide of micro and macro social work practice.
References
Abramovitz, M., Sherraden, M., Hill, K., Smith, T. R., Lewis, B., & Mizrahi, T. (2019). Voting is social work: Voices from the national social work voter mobilization campaign. Journal of Social Work Education, 55(4), 626-644. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2019.1656690
Apgar, D. (2021). Developing the next generation of social work activists: Support for eliminating the micro–macro divide. Journal of Community Practice, 29(1), 62-78. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705422.2021.1881856
Arch City Defenders. (2014). Municipal Courts White Paper. November. https://www.archcitydefenders.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/ArchCity-Defenders-Municipal-Courts-Whitepaper.pdf
Baines, D. (2011). An overview of anti-oppressive practice: Roots, theory, tensions. In D. Baines (Ed.), Doing anti-oppressive practice: Social justice social work (2nd ed., pp. 1-24). Fernwood Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-3059-0_10-1
Buchanan v. Warley, 245 US 60 (1917). https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/245/60/
Cambria, N., Fehler, P., Purnell, J. Q., & Schmidt, B. (2018). Segregation in St. Louis: Dismantling the divide. Washington University in St. Louis. https://bpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/sites.wustl.edu/dist/3/1454/files/2018/06/Segregation-in-St.-Louis-Dismantling-the-Divide-22ih4vw.pdf
Cooper-McCann, P. (2016). The trap of triage: Lessons from the “Team Four Plan”. Journal of Planning History, 15(2), 149-169. https://doi.org/10.1177/1538513215602026
Costa, A. L., Vaz, H., & Menezes, I. (2021). Exploring the meanings of professional activism. Community Development, 52(2), 244-261. https://doi.org/10.1080/15575330.2020.1866049
Davis et al. v. St. Louis Housing Authority. Civil Case Files: 1938 - 1992 (1952). https://catalog.archives.gov/id/117893580
Dungy, M. L., & Krings, A. (2023). The challenges of “Moving at the Speed of Trust”: how women navigate new public management dynamics in power-based community organizations. Journal of Community Practice, 31(1), 24-43. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705422.2023.2175754
El-Khattabi, A. R., & Lester, T. W. (2019). Does tax increment financing pass the “but-for” test in Missouri? Economic Development Quarterly, 33(3), 187-202. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891242419859097
Faber, J. W. (2013). Racial dynamics of subprime mortgage lending at the peak. Housing Policy Debate, 23(2), 328-349. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2013.771788
Fetter, J. (2023). Does tax increment financing lead to gentrification? A spatial regression analysis of Saint Louis, Missouri (Doctoral dissertation, Saint Louis University). https://search.proquest.com/openview/a24e5ffe0208ad0cccd0412e9e66cf41/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
Finn, J., & Molloy, J. (2021). Advanced integrated practice: Bridging the micro-macro divide in social work pedagogy and practice. Social Work Education, 40(2), 174-189. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2020.1858043
Freire, P. (1993). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Continuum.
Gates, A. B., & Alfrey, L. M. (2023). Engaging antiracism through interdisciplinary teaching. Journal of Social Work Education, 59(sup1), S157-S165. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2023.2179148
Gearhart, M. C. (2019). Ferguson community empowerment center impact evaluation: Final Report. Urban League of St. Louis.
Gordon, C. (2008). Mapping decline: St. Louis and the fate of the American city. University of Pennsylvania Press. https://doi.org/10.9783/9780812291506
Gordon, C. (2023). Dividing the city: Race-restrictive covenants and the architecture of segregation in St. Louis. Journal of Urban History, 49(1), 160-182. https://doi.org/10.1177/0096144221999641
Home Owners Loan Corporation. (1940). Area description. St. Louis Part C-25 Ferguson-1.
Jeffries, H. K. (Ed.). (2019). Understanding and teaching the Civil Rights Movement. University of Wisconsin Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvvsqcd0
Johnson, W. (2020). The broken heart of America: St. Louis and the violent history of the United States. Basic Books.
Kendi, I. X. (2016). Stamped from the beginning: The definitive history of racist ideas in America. Hachette UK.
Kendi, I. X. (2023). How to be an antiracist. One world.
Krehmeyer, C. (2022, June 16). The key to moving St. Louis forward is not repeating what we’ve done before. The St. Louis Business Journal. https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2022/06/16/the-key-to-moving-st-louis-forward.html
Krings, A., Trubey-Hockman, C., Dentato, M. P., & Grossman, S. (2020). Recalibrating micro and macro social work: Student perceptions of social action. Social Work Education, 39(2), 160-174. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2019.1616686
Lombard, A., & Viviers, A. (2020). The micro–macro nexus: rethinking the relationship between social work, social policy and wider policy in a changing world. The British Journal of Social Work, 50(8), 2261-2278. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcaa180
Luce, T. (2003). Reclaiming the intent: Tax increment finance in the Kansas City and St. Louis metropolitan areas. Brookings Institute.
Mallach, A. (2020). Over the edge: Trajectories of African-American middle neighborhoods in St. Louis since 2000. Journal of Urban Affairs, 42(7), 1063-1085. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2019.1607747
Mason, S., & Thomas, K. P. (2010). Tax increment financing in Missouri: An analysis of determinants, competitive dynamics, equity, and path dependency. Economic Development Quarterly, 24(2), 169-179. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891242409358080
Mattocks, N. O. (2018). Social action among social work practitioners: Examining the micro–macro divide. Social Work, 63(1), 7-16. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swx057
Okonta, P. (2017). Race-based political exclusion and social subjugation: Racial gerrymandering as a badge of slavery. Columbia Human Rights Law Review, 49(2), 254-296.
Olson, B. R. (2016). That St. Louis thing, Vol. 2: An American story of roots, rhythm and race. Lulu Press.
Pitner, R., & Sakamoto, I. (2016). Cultural competence and critical consciousness in social work pedagogy. In Encyclopedia of social work. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.88
Rigel Hines, T. (2019). Community prejudice is also to blame: significant causes and effects of residential segregation in St. Louis. Journal of Urban History, 45(3), 578-594. https://doi.org/10.1177/0096144217746376
Rothman, J., & Mizrahi, T. (2014). Balancing micro and macro practice: A challenge for social work. Social Work, 59(1), 91-93. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swt067
Rothstein, R. (2017). The color of law: A forgotten history of how our government segregated America. Liveright Publishing.
Rubin, A., & Babbie, E. R. (2016). Empowerment series: Research methods for social work. Cengage Learning.
Sharkey, P. (2014). Stuck in place: Urban neighborhoods and the end of progress toward racial equality. University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226924267.001.0001
St. Louis City Plan Commission. (1947). Comprehensive city plan: St. Louis, Missouri. Author. https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/archive/1947-comprehensive-plan/
St. Louis Department of Health. (2023). Behavioral health data disparities by area. City of St. Louis. https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/health/behavioral-health/data/disparities-by-area.cfm
St. Louis Star and Times. (1924, June 18). Unscrupulous real estate agents of both races blamed for influx of negroes into white districts. St. Louis Star and Times.
Sullivan, J. N., Eberhardt, J. L., & Roberts, S. O. (2021). Conversations about race in Black and White US families: Before and after George Floyd’s death. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(38), 1-4.
Swanstrom, T. (2019). Equity planning in a fragmented suburban setting: The case of St. Louis. In N. Krumholz & K. Werthem Hexter (Eds.), Advancing equity planning now (pp. 101-124). Cornell University Press. https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501730399-008
Swanstrom, T., & Plöger, J. (2022). What to make of gentrification in older industrial cities? Comparing St. Louis (USA) and Dortmund (Germany). Urban Affairs Review, 58(2), 526-562. https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087420975203
Swanstrom, T., Webber, H., & Metzger, M. (2015). Rebound neighborhoods in older industrial cities: The case of St. Louis. In A. Brown, D. Buchholz, D. Davis, & A. Gonzalez (Eds.), Economic mobility: Research & ideas on strengthening families, communities & the economy (pp. 326-351). Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. https://www.stlouisfed.org/~/media/files/pdfs/community%20development/econmobilitypapers/econmobility_book_508.pdf
Team Four Inc. (1976). Citywide Implementation Strategies: The Draft Comprehensive Plan. Author. https://www.scribd.com/doc/76840577/Citywide-Implementation-Strategies-The-Draft-Comprehensive-Plan-Team-Four-St-Louis-MO
Uehara, E., Flynn, M., Fong, R., Brekke, J., Barth, R. P., Coulton, C., Davis, K., DiNitto, D., Hawkins, J. D., Lubben, J., Manderscheid, R., Padilla, Y., Sherraden, M., & Walters, K. (2013). Grand challenges for social work. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 4(3), 165-170. https://doi.org/10.5243/jsswr.2013.11
United States v. City of Black Jack, Missouri 372 F. Supp. 319 (E.D. Mo. 1974). https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/372/319/1421602/
U.S. Department of Justice. (2015). Investigation of the Ferguson Policy Department. Civil Rights Division. https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments/2015/03/04/ferguson_police_department_report.pdf
Webber, H., & Swanstrom, T. (2014). Rebound neighborhoods in older industrial cities: The story of St. Louis. Center for Social Development. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1837&context=csd_research
Wodtke, G. T. (2016). Are smart people less racist? Verbal ability, anti-black prejudice, and the principle-policy paradox. Social Problems, 63(1), 21-45. https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spv028
Wolff, T. (2013). A community psychologist’s involvement in policy change at the community level: Three stories from a practitioner. Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice, 4(2), 2-12. https://doi.org/10.7728/0402201304
Yearby, R. (2018). Racial disparities in health status and access to healthcare: The continuation of inequality in the United States due to structural racism. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 77(3-4), 1113-1152. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajes.12230
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Michael Gearhart
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
