“font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;”>In the summer of 1960, a group of students, primarily from
School, were on
a mission to challenge segregation in St. Louis
“font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9pt;”>.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>As members of the NAACP Youth Council, they conducted multiple sit-ins and other protests at area restaurants. John LaGrone, now a Spanish-language professor, remembers when he and six African-American students went to bowl at Crossroad Bowling Alley. They were denied service but told the owner they would wait all day. The place was packed of white young men, who immediately started glaring.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>One man attempted to start a fight with LaGrone.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“I just turned toward him,” LaGrone said. “All I could do was face him. If I had done anything more, it would have escalated. The thing was you just hold your ground, look at him, and respect him.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The group’s actions led to the passage of a city ordinance that ended decades of Jim Crow practices in St. Louis.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>To honor these contributions to the St. Louis community, the Missouri
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>History
Museum
is hosting a
gallery installation, Vashon High Activists, which opened
to the general public on Jan. 22.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The exhibit tells the story of these students’ courage and determination through photos and media coverage from that time. Audio clips allow visitors to hear the stories of five of the Vashon activists in their own words, discovering the personal impact these events had on the activists, which carried through the rest of their lives.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The student-led demonstrations lead to almost immediate results. Within
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>months of the initial protests, a municipal civil rights law was passed in 1961. In part, the actions of a small but determined group of young people helped to bring a legal end to segregation in public places in St. Louis.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The Youth Council’s contributions have been largely overshadowed by the mass national movement centered in the southern states and the far more contentious Jefferson Bank Demonstrations of 1963. Nevertheless, they played a brief but commanding role in the local struggle against inequality.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>LaGrone said that same bowling alley run took on a new significance in his life 14 years later, when he was part of the University City teachers bowling tournament.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“I won the championship and near that same lane where the fight almost broke out,” he said. “I remember when it could have been something other than a pleasant memory.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>He said he appreciated the championship even more, and he reflected on being able to move through the city as a citizen rather than someone with limited citizenship, which was the term the group used.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>LaGrone said the NAACP group started when one of his counselors encouraged him and other Vashon students to volunteer during elections. From that election activity, they became the NAACP Youth Council, which included mostly Vashon students but also some from Sumner and Beaumont.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>After school at the public library, they conducted studies of St. Louis’ laws and the hiring practices of local companies, he said. Their first actions were picketing in front of targeted stores and restaurants. In general, they didn’t have too many violent encounters with people, he said. Some students got arrested after one store owner lied and told police they were making noise and trash, LaGrone said.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“I didn’t get an opportunity to get arrested,” he said. “I was working. My family was off work so I had to get a job.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>When the laws changed and the students went on to college, the group started dismantling. LaGrone entered Harris-Stowe College and eventually began studying foreign languages. As a sophomore in college, he remembers entering into a restaurant where he wasn’t allowed to sit down and eat at just two years before. At that same restaurant as a child, his grandmother would grab him by the pants if he tried to sit down.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“That was why I participated in the movement because I remember those things as a young man,” he said. “That was a difference that I didn’t take for granted. You always felt you did something worth while.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Admission to Vashon High Activists is free.It can be viewed in the Atrium of the Missouri History Museum from January 22 through June 17, 2012.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The Missouri History Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Monday; Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the Missouri History Museum observes Summer Hours (Wednesday through Monday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.). The museum is closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. For general museum information, call (314) 746-4599 or visit our interactive website
