Historic Sumner High School Faces New Challenges Amidst Tornado Damage
Sumner High School, known for being the oldest institution west of the Mississippi River to graduate Black students, is marking its 150th year amidst challenges that threaten its future. Founded in 1875 in The Ville, a once-thriving St. Louis neighborhood, the school is now fighting to keep its doors open.
In its early days, The Ville was a hub for Black culture and commerce, a sentiment echoed by alumna Louisa Williamson, who attended Sumner in the 1940s. “The teachers saw to it that we learned. There’s a whole lot of Blacks that graduated from Sumner that were great,” Williamson recalls, noting famous alumni like Chuck Berry, Tina Turner, Arthur Ashe, Grace Bumbry, and Dick Gregory.
Despite its prestigious history, Sumner has struggled with dwindling enrollment as Black families moved away post-segregation. In 2020, the St. Louis Board of Education considered closing the school to cut costs. More recently, a tornado added to the school’s woes, causing over a million dollars in damage to its roof and classrooms, as reported by St. Louis Public Radio’s Andrea Henderson.
St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer described the tornado’s impact as extensive, displacing thousands of families. Sumner’s students have since relocated to a nearby middle school. Principal Ronda Wallace engages with students daily, aiming to maintain a sense of normalcy. “It’s not a negative ask,” she says of students’ inquiries about returning to Sumner. “It’s the, OK, when are we going to get the new roof? When are we going to get our new floors? And are they going to fix the gym, too?”
The possibility of closure looms again as the district evaluates its schools, but Principal Wallace and alumni remain hopeful that Sumner will endure. At the school’s 150th anniversary gala, graduates like E.W. Clay celebrated its impact. “Sumner High School taught me to be an activist in the community,” Clay shared, highlighting the activist spirit of the school’s educators.
The school board intends to repair the building, though a timeline remains uncertain. Recent graduate Dakota Scott is optimistic yet vigilant. “I hope that not only do they not close my school down, because we are currently thriving, but I hope that with the fundings that they’re allegedly supposed to get from closing these schools down that they will actually give us better quality education,” Scott expressed.
To preserve Sumner’s legacy, alumni are pursuing national historic landmark status through the National Park Service, aiming to safeguard the school’s place in history.
For NPR News, I’m Andrea Henderson in St. Louis.
