Segregation in St. Louis: Dismantling the Divide is a 115-page community-driven report on segregation and housing in St. Louis, created in partnership with ArchCity Defenders, Ascend STL Inc., Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council (EHOC), Empower Missouri, For the Sake of All, Invest STL, and Team TIF. The report presents an extensive history of our region’s use of segregation housing policies and practices and concludes with 11 key recommendations to dismantle our significant divides.
Read the Report. Read the Recommendations chapter.
MEDIA TOOLKIT
Here are some resources, news mentions, and sample social media posts you can use to help spread the word about the new report: Segregation in St. Louis: Dismantling the Divide.
Resources:
Download the Report.
Download the Recommendations chapter.
Download the PowerPoint slide deck.
Download advocacy tips to Get Involved!
Download Recommendations for St. Louis County Municipal Leaders
Download the Slide Deck!
Bring the information in Segregation in St. Louis: Dismantling the Divide to your group or organization. Representatives who conceived and authored the report are available to speak on its findings using this downloadable slide deck.
Segregation in St. Louis: Dismantling the Divide slide deck.
For more information contact: ncambria@wustl.edu
In the news:
Listen to the St. Louis Public Radio podcast We Live Here on solutions for dismantling the divide:
Read the St. Louis American’s series of op-eds entitled DISMANTLING THE DIVIDE. They include:
- It is time for tenant organizing in St. Louis
- Bel-Nor should be an inclusive leader in its quest to stabilize homes
- Crime-free nuisance ordinances are a public menace
- Prohibit and enforce bans on income discrimination
- It’s time to dismantle TIFs as a tool of segregation
- Segregation in St. Louis hurts whites too
- St. Louis needs a Greenlining Fund to undo damage done by redlining
- County should criminalize discrimination against Section 8 vouchers
- Preventing evictions and protecting tenants
- Stadium money should be invested in Affordable Housing Trust Fund
- St. Louis County needs an Affordable Housing Trust Fund
- Towards consciously inclusive communities
Read news updates on policy action in response to the report:
- Task force formed to develop St. Louis County affordable housing fund plan
-
St. Louis County lays foundation for affordable housing trust fund
- St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger creates affordable housing task force, cites Segregation in St. Louis: Dismantling the Divide
Read Vice News/Tonic‘s coverage of the report:
Twitter hashtags & handles:
Hashtag: #dismantlingthedivide
Handles: The following partners have been instrumental in producing Segregation in St. Louis: Dismantling the Divide. Please follow them on Twitter and feel free to tag them in pertinent posts regarding housing, segregation, and dismantling the divide in St. Louis.
ArchCity Defenders: @ArchCityDefense
Invest STL: @Invest_STL
Empower Missouri: @EmpowerMissouri
For the Sake of All: @4theSakeofAll
St. Louis Transplants: @StlTransplants
Team TIF: @TeamTIFSTL
Invest STL: @Invest_STL
We Stories: @westoriesstl
Flourish St. Louis: @FlourishStLouis
Sample tweets:
Please use these sample tweets and their accompanying photos to share about the new report on social media. They are also usable for Facebook.
Tweet #1:
Where does your town rank on an Index of Exclusivity? It may not be as welcoming as you think. It’s time to solve housing segregation in St. Louis. Read the report: bit.ly/segregationinstlouis #dismantlingthedivide
Tweet #1 photo: (right click to save the image to use on social media)
Tweet #2:
Did you know that #STL is among the top 10 most segregated metros in the US? Conscious practices such as redlining, racial covenants, and exclusionary zoning brought us here. Conscious choices can also reshape our region. bit.ly/segregationinstlouis #dismantlingthedivide
Tweet #2 photo: (right click to save the image to use on social media)
Tweet #3:
Like so many families, LaTosha must travel hours on the bus to obtain affordable household essentials and groceries that aren’t available in her neighborhood. bit.ly/segregatedinstlouis #dismantlingthedivide
Tweet #3 photo: (right click to save the image to use on social media)
Tweet #4:
Decades of disinvestment have left many of our region’s poorest and most isolated neighborhoods without healthy, affordable groceries. We must have #affordablehousing in areas of opportunity. bit.ly/segregationinstlouis #dismantlingthedivide
Tweet #5:
Racial zoning was a powerful tool used in #STL to preserve segregation during the Great Migration of African Americans from the South. It marked the start of a long history of housing policies that still affect us today. bit.ly/segregationinstlouis #dismantlingthedivide
Tweet #6:
Sam & his family witnessed first-hand the cost of poorly maintained affordable housing when a mice infestation at Clinton Peabody caused mothers to sleep w/their babies, putting infants at risk of suffocation. Learn more: bit.ly/segregationinstlouis #dismantlingthedivide
Tweet #6 photo: (right click to save the image to use on social media)
Tweet #7:
Eviction is a major driver of poverty in highly segregated communities. Once tenants get an eviction on their records, most landlords refuse to rent to them, creating a cycle of housing instability for African Americans in STL. bit.ly/segregationinstlouis #dismantlingthedivide
Tweet #8:
There was given 60 days to move out of her apartment of 15 years due to gentrification. “They do these things without even thinking about who they are displacing.” Read more about Thera in the report: bit.ly/segregationinstlouis #dismantlingthedivide
Tweet #8 photo: (right click to save the image to use on social media)
Tweet #9:
Betsy addressed implicit bias with her own kids through @westoriesstl. This opportunity allows Betsy and her children to tackle racism and social justice using children’s literature. Read the report: bit.ly/segregationinstlouis #dismantlingthedivide
Tweet #9 photo: (right click to save the image to use on social media)
Tweet #10:
Shanette’s story highlights that #affordablehousing in #STL is often isolated from places of opportunity, making it more difficult for lower-income families to spend valuable time with their children.” bit.ly/segregationinstlouis #dismantlingthedivide
Tweet #10 photo: (right click to save the image to use on social media)
Tweet #11:
Children in #STL have asthma rates 2x the national average. Read the report about how Danielle and her kids’ choice of affordable housing poses health risks due to environmental factors both inside and outside their home. bit.ly/segregationinstlouis #dismantlingthedivide
Tweet #11 photo: (right click to save the image to use on social media)
Tweet #12:
In most parts of St. Louis people live in neighborhoods in which their neighbors are the same race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status. Read the report: bit.ly/segregationinstlouis #dismantlingthedivide
Tweet #12 photo: (right click to save the image to use on social media)
Tweet #13:
St. Louis remains separated by race and it is hurting us as a region. Read the report: bit.ly/segregationinstlouis #dismantlingthedivide
Tweet #13 photo: (right click to save the image to use on social media)
Tweet #14:
“If we had the same quality schools here, there would be peace of mind. We’d have a sense of community in our community.” – Brandy on underperforming schools in her segregated neighborhood. Read the report: bit.ly/segregationinstlouis #dismantlingthedivide
Tweet #14 photo: (right click to save the image to use on social media)
Tweet #15:
Hey St. Louis, let’s start talking. There are strategic ways to combat more than a century of housing segregation policies and practices in St. Louis. Read the recommendations in the report: bit.ly/segregationinstlouis #dismantlingthedivide
Tweet #15 photo: (right click to save the image to use on social media)
Tweet #16:
Tax increment financing is meant to drive development to neighborhoods that need it most. In St. Louis many segregated neighborhoods have been left out of these incentives. Learn more: bit.ly/segregationinstlouis #dismantlingthedivide @TeamTIFSTL
Tweet #16 photo: (right click to save the image to use on social media)
Tweet #17:
Greenlining mortgages and home lending in segregated neighborhoods: The antidote to our history of racially motivated redlining. Read more recommendations in: bit.ly/segregationinstlouis #dismantlingthedivide
Tweet #17 photo: (right click to save the image to use on social media)
Tweet #18:
Danielle on how her affordable housing was making her kids sick: “I think people basically think people who are poor are supposed to have their kids live like this in these conditions.” Learn about affordable housing trust funds: bit.ly/segregationinstlouis #dismantlingthedivide
Tweet #18 photo: (right click to save the image to use on social media)
Tweet #19:
Low-income housing in North St. Louis and North County is far from job hubs. But residents don’t have their own cars, making for very long commutes. Read about segregation’s impact on opportunity in Segregation in St. Louis: bit.ly/segregationinstlouis #dismantlingthedivide
Tweet #19 photo: (right click to save the image to use on social media)
Would you like to share and present about the report to your community group or faith organization. Download the Segregation in St. Louis: Dismantling the Divide slide deck, complete with speaker notes.