The fight to stabilize North St. Louis neighborhoods continued last week with the dedication of 15 new homes named for an honored fighter for civil rights and fair housing.
The Greater Ville Neighborhood is celebrating completion of Frankie Freeman Homes, a 15-unit addition of single-family homes for families earning at or below 60 percent of the area median income of $65,800, with a ribbon-cutting. The development brings the total units at Frankie Freeman Homes to 27.
Freeman was joined last Monday by U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay and other dignitaries at a ribbon-cutting for the new homes.
Clay said, “It’s only fitting” that the housing development carries Freeman’s name, “because fighting for fair housing and an end to restricted covenants is part of her remarkable legacy.”
“Whether it was in the court room, while serving on the U.S. Civil Rights Commission or as a mother and an inspiration to generations of young people, Frankie Freeman has always exhibited vision, faith and courage.”
Clay said the project “is all about providing safe housing, building stronger families, stabilizing neighborhoods and reinvesting in our city.”
Alderman Sam Moore said the Freeman Homes are part of a resurgence of his Fourth Ward – especially revitalizing the neighborhood and Martin Luther King Drive.
“The Fourth Ward and Martin Luther King Drive will soon be showplaces for St. Louis and its resurgence,” Moore said.
Moore praised “long-time residents whose faith in the neighborhood is now being justified.”
Freeman thanked Northside Community Housing, Inc., “for providing affordable housing for working families and helping to restore the Greater Ville Neighborhood.”
She then invited the assembled guests to join her in the actual ribbon-cutting ceremony, followed by a tour of one of the 15 new homes, all of which are already occupied.
Northside Community Housing, formerly the Housing Department of Northside Community Center, has developed more than 140 units of housing for low- and moderate-income families since 1977.
That work represents a $15-million investment in the Ville. Its relationship with the Missouri Housing Development Commission and SLEFI has brought $12 million in private financing into the neighborhood
Clay called the new homes the result of “a real partnership between the federal, state and local governments that is producing positive results.”
“I also want to thank the Missouri Housing & Development Corporation and United Missouri Bank for making the financing work,” he said.
Freeman became the first woman to serve on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights when President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed her in 1964. She served for 16 years.
She also helped argue the historic lawsuit that desegregated public housing in St. Louis, which helped eliminate legal “redlining” here and across America.
In 1956, she became staff attorney for the St. Louis Land Clearance and Housing Authorities and held the position until 1970.
Freeman is still a practicing attorney with Montgomery Hollie & Associates law firm in St. Louis.
