Saving A Sacred Cow

Sacred Cows are hard to kill they often carry with them a gravitas, and an air of inevitability. Often, their proponents, will rail against any opponents with a sense of righteous indignation, bordering on entitlement. As such, many sacred cows that have outlived their usefulness, their relevance, or their capacity to impact change seem to have nine lives, and are able to thwart any attempts to put them to pasture. In addition, sacred cows are often imbedded in the social milieu of a group, connected to a cause, or to a particular community. Those communal connections often enhance their hue and increase their reputations. Woven in the fabric of many communities are the images, structures, neighborhoods, institutions that have become part of the connective tissue of those communities and cultures. They remind us of who we were, but more important they are a reflection of a people, a time and place. Any discussion about their destruction, or talk of closing elicits a firestorm of emotions, and regurgitation of memories of halcyon days long gone. Yet for many of those places that hold precious memories, they came face to face with their own mortality. For example in the late 50’s Ebbitts Field and the Polo Ground gave way to the wrecking ball leaving behind a mountain of memories and historical events but time and shifting demographics overruled emotion. In recent years “The House that Babe Built”, Yankee Stadium, finally gave way to father time, and more importantly to unyielding baseball economies of scale. However, some cultural icons have survived, evidenced by the Apollo Theater in Harlem, and Wrigley Field in Chicago which have been given new leases on life and remain vibrant American Mecca’s of entertainment and sports.

In St. Louis, Charles Sumner High School sitting astride the historic Ville Community serves as one of the last links to a once sparkling community. A community that for years has been under siege both internally and externally. As a result, the survival of this sacred cow lies in the balance. Like an unseemly game of dominoes the Ville has crumbled under its own weight. And with it went some of the oldest and most venerable institutions in the community. In 1977 Homer Phillips was closed, prior to that, the Poro Building which spawned the careers of both Annie Malone and the first black millionaire Madame C.J. Walker fell victim to the headache ball. In addition the homes of many of the legends of the Ville like Julia Davis died a slow death after years of ugly decay - which was a reflection of the overall decay in the community. The Ville community has been beset by poor political stewardship, and despite the bevy of churches, there have been few bright spots. One of those bright lights in the darkening community, St. Matthews Parish has continued to grind away building houses, and healthy partnerships. Another bright spot took place in 2002 when the vacant Homer Phillips Hospital site was developed into senior citizen apartments, and most recently PHL Inc, a nonprofit group whose focus is to improve the athletic facilities in the Public School system completed construction of a state of the art football field at Sumner High School.
New football field notwithstanding, the long term viability of Sumner High School is being questioned in many quarters. This is not new information, and for years the backers of the school would offer as rationale for keeping the school open the school’s proud history which is a virtual Who’s Who of iconic St Louis legends from Chuck Berry to the late tennis great Arthur Ashe. Now, shootings, low attendance, and general instability all conspire to become perhaps the gravest threat to Sumner in its 134 year history.

In 2009 I begun filming a documentary tilted Misdirection! The Running of the Bulldogs which highlights the great coaching career of Lawrence Walls. In the interviews with Sumner coaches and players the level of pride in this institution is unquestioned and unshaken. Growing up in the 70’s and in the shadow of the Ville, Sumner High school was the school of choice of many of my peers. My mother is a Sumner Alumni and it only takes a reading of the Sumner yearbooks from her era to fully grasp the massive decline. Those yearbooks showed a portrait of a school that had at its core, an aura of excellence. Today it appears that even the low hanging fruit of mediocrity maybe beyond the reach of the school – and the community.

This is not to disparage many of the residents who still live in the area, but to be clear, it is an indictment and reflection of those in the community that over the years have been entrusted to serve that area, and who have utterly failed to honor and uphold that trust. This is an indictment on those who have businesses, and institutions that have profited from the community, and called the Ville home yet have either by a lack of caring or competence – or both, to make a significant difference. And finally this is an indictment of the political leadership whose mismanagement, addiction to cronyism, and who have treated integrity like a negative strand virus to such a degree that many in the investment community and community development have taken a hands off approach with respect to making any investment. The $2.4 million dollar debacle that was Ville Phillips Estate Housing project which was highlighted in a You Paid For it Segment, is one of many incomplete and disastrous housing project that are scattered throughout the community.

A few weeks ago, I did some photo journalism which showed the neglect in the housing stock throughout North St Louis and most of it was in the area immediately surrounding the Ville neighborhood, where development has been sparse in some cases, and scandalous in others. Sumner has always been a reflection of the community, for generations it was a reflection of greatness, now it has become a sad and sorrowful reflection of a community that is on life support. Supporters of Sumner when faced with this most recent call for closure have been challenged to come up with a plan – this is refreshing and challenging. The call for a plan signals a sea change in the approach to this long term North St. Louis sacred cow - no longer will evoking the names of the Sumner graduates and touting Sumner’s history is sufficient to stem the tide. This may be Sumner’s last stand, and to save Sumner the community, its leaders, residents, alumni will have to put their money where their collective mouths and hearts are, and deliver a blueprint for saving Sumner that is comprehensive, visionary, and one that breeds confidence. Sacred cows, are saved because of relevance, not history – for a school and community long on history, but short on relevance, it may be now or never.