The New Year’s Eve tornado that hit the St. Louis area destroyed more than just Sunset Hills homes, which received most of the media’s attention, said Ward 19 Alderman Terry Kennedy.
It displaced families in the Lewis Place neighborhood – a historical landmark in St. Louis for its role in the fight for fair housing – and surrounding communities in North St. Louis City as well.
“To a large extent, people didn’t know that these other parts of the city had been hit,” Kennedy said.
With a slow initial response from the Red Cross, the neighborhood residents and leaders realized that they would need to start their own grassroots efforts, he said. Centennial Christian Church, 4950 Fountain Ave., became the center of donations and outreach after the storm. Then after several calls to Mayor Francis G. Slay’s office, a larger effort took form.
On Monday, Mayor Slay, Kennedy and the United Way of Greater St. Louis announced a new 2-1-1 Tornado Assistance Fund 2011 through the United Way. This would cover all the St. Louis areas hit by the tornado. Slay issued a proclamation calling January 17, 2011 “Lewis Place Day” and an “executive order” for various city departments to “take all necessary steps and actions” to help residents in their time of crisis.
About 15 homes in or around the Lewis Place neighborhood were damaged and several are uninhabitable, Kennedy said.
Between 1910 to 1945, Lewis Place – like many other neighborhoods in St. Louis – barred African-Americans from certain streets with the use of restrictive covenants. The covenants were agreements between white homeowners to exclude the sale of their homes to black perspective buyers.
A movement started by Lewis Place residents led to the landmark Supreme Court case of Shelly vs. Kraemer, which struck down restrictive covenants across the entire United States of America, thus opening the doors to a new set of fair housing regulations on the federal, state, and local levels.
Pamela Talley has lived in the neighborhood for 28 years, and she is the president of the board of directors for the Lewis Place Historical Preservation Inc. During the storm, the tree in front of her house fell on her neighbor’s car and completely crushed it.
The Red Cross made a brief visit after the storm but did not return, and the Salvation Army did not respond until eight days later, Talley said. Residents called both groups for assistance but got the “run around,” she said. The Red Cross told them to call the Salvation Army, who never returned calls.
“I think we got the Red Cross out again back because of Terry Kennedy,” Talley said. “It was overwhelming.”
Now with the announcement of the 2-1-1 fund Monday, Talley said that residents have not yet been told how they can participate in the effort.
“If we are going to talk about any real neighborhood effort, it should be done with us and not on our behalf,” Tally said. “We are going to seek any opportunity to ensure that happens.”
Statewide, the National Weather Service reported that at least 14 tornadoes touched down statewide on between Dec. 30 and 31, resulting in five deaths and numerous serious injuries. On Jan. 14, Governor Jay Nixon requested a disaster declaration for the State of Missouri. Then on Monday, U.S. Rep. Claire McCaskill and U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt sent a letter to President Obama, urging him to approve Nixon’s request.
Donations of food items, blankets, clothing and other items can be made at Centennial Christian Church, 4950 Fountain Ave., between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. The contact at the church is Cheryl Poynter at 314-367-1818.
Financial donations are needed to assist homeowners with repairs and rebuilding. Donate to the United Way fund at www.stl.unitedway/211tornadofund or call 2-1-1. Checks can also be made out to Lewis Place Historical Preservation, 3920 Lindell Blvd., Suite 206, St. Louis, MO 63108, attention: Pamela Talley. For information about how you can help, contact Talley at 314.535.1354, or visit the website at www.LewisPlaceSTL.org.
