Our Context in St. Louis

As a place-based learning environment, it is important for us to understand how history has shaped our present context. From historical practices of red-lining to the current use of eminent domain and tax incentives, St. Louis has been shaped by the politics of exclusion. Key events that occurred in the region include: the departure of Lewis and Clark, the Missouri Compromise, the Dred Scott trial, the 1904 World’s Fair and Olympics, women’s suffrage, the Shelley v. Kraemer restrictive covenants case, Pruitt-Igoe’s construction and demolition, immigration, the Ferguson uprising, and more.

It is also important to acknowledge and recognize, with respect, that the land we are on today is the ancestral homeland of several native populations, including the Mississippian mound-building culture, and, later, the Osage and the Illini, whose populations were forced out and destroyed in the 18th and 19th centuries by settler colonialism. We also acknowledge the land we are on is embroiled with the history of enslaved peoples. This acknowledgment embodies the Sam Fox School’s commitment to continue learning and understanding our institutional and local history.