1911 N Taylor Ave
St. Louis, MO 63113-2638
(314) 335-7700
Homer G. Phillips Hospital was a hospital located at 2601 N. Whittier Street in The Ville neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. It was the city's only hospital for African-Americans from 1937 until 1955, when city hospitals were desegregated, and continued to serve the black community of St. Louis until its closure in 1979. While in operation, it was one of the few hospitals in the United States where black Americans could train as doctors and nurses, and by 1961, Homer G. Phillips Hospital had trained the "largest number of black doctors and nurses in the world." It closed as a full-service hospital in 1979. While vacant, it was listed as a St. Louis Landmark in 1980 and on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. It reopened as senior living apartments in 2003.HistoryConstructionBetween 1910 and 1920, the black population of St. Louis increased by sixty percent, yet the public City Hospital was segregated, with no facilities for black patients or staff. Thus, a group of black community members persuaded the city in 1919 to purchase a 177-bed hospital (formerly owned by the Barnes Medical College) at Garrison and Lawson avenues on the north side of the city. This hospital, denoted City Hospital #2, was inadequate to the needs of more than 70,000 black St. Louisans, and local black attorney Homer G. Phillips led a campaign for a civic improvements bond issue that would provide for the construction of a larger black hospital.
The Urban League Young Professionals of Metropolitan St. Louis is an auxiliary organization of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, comprised of young urban leaders whose time, energy and talents are dedicated to improving the welfare of St. Louis community residents. The Young Professionals are committed to seeking innovative solutions to persistent social problems, such as economic empowerment, education, civil rights, civic engagement and financial management. Their goal is to form a cohesive group of young professional leaders whom can leverage their collective experience, education, resources and talents towards improving the lives of those in need. The Young Professionals host monthly meetings on the second Wednesday of every month at the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Inc. located at 3701 Grandel Square.
The Chuck Berry House is the former home of Chuck Berry in St. Louis, Missouri located at 3137 Whittier Street. The house was Berry's home when he wrote and first performed the majority of songs with which he is identified, including "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956), "Too Much Monkey Business" (1956), "Rock and Roll Music" (1957), "School Day" (1957), "Sweet Little Sixteen" (1958), and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958).Design and current statusBuilt in 1910, the house is located in the Greater Ville, an economically depressed neighborhood of north St. Louis. The house is vacant, but retains features and integrity dating to Berry's residence, including an awning with a letter "B" for Berry on the front porch. The house is located on a narrow lot and is closely built to other similar houses; the exterior is red brick except for a small concrete-block addition in the rear built by Berry in 1956. The addition was built both to accommodate his growing family and perhaps to allow greater space for musical practice sessions.The interior of the house includes its original floor plan, hardwood flooring, plaster walls, doors, and fixtures. The kitchen underwent a renovation in the late 1950s, while a metal front door and metal window grilles were installed at a later date. The house otherwise retains its appearance from the time of Berry's residence.
The Shelley House was the focus of the 1948 United States Supreme Court case Shelley v. Kraemer, which ruled that judicial enforcement by state courts of racially restrictive covenants violated the Constitution. The 1906 duplex in St. Louis, Missouri was designated a National Historic Landmark on December 14, 1990.DescriptionThe house is a two story brick rowhouse, typical of many found in St. Louis, in the Fairground district of St. Louis. The house retains integrity of design and construction from the date of its construction and the date of its historic significance. The house is arranged with apartments upstairs and downstairs, entered by separate doors from the front porch. The framed front porch rests on brick pillars, with wood columns supporting the shed roof. Both levels follow a four-room plan, flanked by a side hall. The front rooms feature a fireplace. An addition to the rear houses a bedroom on both levels.HistoryThe J.D. Shelley family had moved from Starkville, Mississippi in 1930, fleeing from racially motivated violence. After renting for a time, the Shelleys sought to buy the house at 4600 Labadie in 1945. The house was under a 1911 covenant that prohibited the sale of the house to anyone of the "Negro or Mongolian race" for a fifty-year period, of which the Shelleys were unaware. The Shelleys were sued by the Louis D. Kraemer family, owners of other property on the street, to restrain the Shelleys from taking title to the property. While the trial court held for the Shelleys, the decision was reversed by the Missouri Supreme Court in 1946. The Shelleys appealed to the United States Supreme Court in 1947. The U.S. Office of the Solicitor General filed, for the first time in a civil rights case, an amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief in support of the Shelleys. The May 3, 1948 decision rendered all racially restrictive covenants unenforceable on the grounds that enforcing them would violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
PayBack works in partnership with Metropolitan St. Louis Area Family Courts to help children, their families and our community, break the cycle of juvenile delinquency. Our goal is to fund and administer restorative justice programs for juvenile offenders and victims by raising restitution funds, locating job sites, and restoring the juvenile sense of self through personal accountability, community service and job skills. We celebrate serving the community for over 30 years and happily report that more than 70% of the juveniles, who participate in their program, never return to the Family Courts as re-offenders. In addition, more than half a million dollars has been returned to metro area crime victims by youth in the PayBack program. PayBack’s collaborative effort involves three components: The Family Courts, public/nonprofit agencies serving as work sites, and financial support from the community. OUR IMPACT “Restoring the health of the community, repairing the harm done, meeting victims’ needs, and emphasizing that the offender can — and must — contribute to those repairs, restores the juveniles sense of self through lessons in personal accountability, it restores the their sense of pride through work skills, community service and mentoring, it provides nonprofit and public agencies with a resource of volunteer manpower and it restores the victim’s sense of community and sense of security and control.” Juveniles, who come before the St. Louis Metropolitan Area Family Courts for crimes such as property damage, burglary, or assault are screened, counseled, ordered to participate in a victim impact session (when the courts deem it appropriate) and placed at local not-for-profits for their court ordered community service. For this mandatory work, juveniles earn minimum wage credit through PayBack (the dollar amount is determined and ordered by the courts), to be used exclusively for repayment to their victims. Those juveniles requiring more supervision are referred to work crews consisting of 4-5 children, under the supervision of a Work Crew Coordinator. Through feedback from children, parents, victims, work sites and court personnel, we know this program works! [email protected],