National Council on Public History

PROPOSAL TYPE

Community Viewpoints

SEEKING

• Seeking Additional Presenters
• Seeking General Feedback and Interest
• Seeking Specific Expertise

RELATED TOPICS

• Public Engagement
• Social Justice

ABSTRACT

This session focuses on the history of successful grassroots strategies which helped a neglected North City neighborhood, Jeff-Vander-Lou (JVL), survive the poverty and political mismanagement of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Our project proposes that the resistance and resilience driving these past successes is alive today. We ask how similar strategies can catalyze change now. As one of St. Louis’ most under resourced communities, it has been very difficult for JVL to obtain from city elected officials the funds and resources needed to rebuild their community. Building on JVL’s history, we believe this neighborhood can galvanize support for a resident developed plan championed by grassroots collaborators that will revitalize their community.

DESCRIPTION

The project’s goal is to develop and implement a plan that will successfully gain the support and resources needed to revitalize the JVL community. The proposed session will focus on the themes of resistance, resilience, and sustainability that define Jeff-Vander-Lou. A passionate group of dedicated citizens, including members of the Jeff-Vander-Lou Neighborhood Association, continue to fight oppression, protect the neighborhood’s vibrant history and build community.

We would like to use the recent historical recognition of the Mill Creek Valley as a model to build our program. Mill Creek was a vibrant Black neighborhood where many prominent St Louisans were residents. It was razed in the 1959 to make way for a so called urban renewal highway project. Mill Creek Valley has received considerable recent public attention since the publication of <em>The Last Children of Mill Creek Valley</em> by Vivian Gibson. The Missouri Historical Society created an extensive Mill Creek Valley exhibit curated by Dr. Gwen Moore and a monument to its residents has been erected. These actions provide Mill Creek Valley long overdue recognition and emphasize the tragedy of its destruction. We believe that JVL should receive the same attention since it was also a thriving black community where many prominent St. Louisans resided. Most importantly, JVL is a community that lives on and is still fighting, unlike Mill Creek Valley which no longer exists.

Our session will feature stakeholder and collaborator perspectives on how to develop and implement a successful JVL revitalization project. Community members will share their experiences growing up and living in JVL, their knowledge about the work of activists like Macler Shepard and why his citizen group succeeded. Participants will also share their memories of later community organizations like The Whole New Area and the Vashon/JeffVanderLou Initiative. We would like public historians’ input as to how to mobilize JVL’s history to ignite public support for JVL in the same way that Mill Creek Valley’s history has captured the imagination of the St. Louis community. Additional ideas to focus the proposal are welcomed.

Panel members will be invited to explore the central questions: How can we build JVL’s legacy of resistance? How can we adapt the actions of past JVL community activists to the current situation? How do we gain community support to secure the resources JVL needs to thrive?

If you have a direct offer of assistance, sensitive criticism, or wish to pass along someone’s contact information confidentially, please get in contact directly:
Elizabeth L. Sondhaus, Women’s Voices Raised for Social Justice, [email protected] 

All feedback and offers of assistance should be sent by June 5, 2026. If you have general ideas or feedback to share, please feel free to use the comments feature below.

Discussion