Mill Creek Valley was a once-thriving Black community dismantled in the name of urban renewal. Its destruction wasn’t caused by a lack of talent, entrepreneurship or leadership. It was caused by decisions about whose futures mattered. That lesson remains urgent today, far beyond St. Louis.
Before demolition began in 1959, Mill Creek Valley was home to more than 20,000 residents. Spanning roughly 54 blocks, the neighborhood supported 800+ businesses, 40 churches, and 5,600 housing units. Doctors, educators, tradespeople, restaurateurs, and entrepreneurs built wealth, stability, and community there. Within a few years, nearly all of it was erased; a public policy issue, not market failure.
That history matters because Missouri still grapples with the consequences of disinvestment and disenfranchisement in Black communities, particularly when economic opportunity and entrepreneurship are spotlighted.
Entrepreneurship is often framed as a risk. For many under-resourced and underrepresented communities, it is also a necessity, one of the most viable pathways to economic mobility. Small businesses are the backbone of Missouri’s economy. More than 99% of businesses in the state are small businesses, and they employ nearly half of Missouri’s private-sector workforce. Yet access to entrepreneurship as a career pathway remains deeply disproportionate.
Nationally, Black founders receive a fraction of the capital their counterparts do. According to Crunchbase, only about 4% of investment funding went to Black-owned businesses in 2024. This is not because of a lack of ideas, work ethic, ambition or merit. It is the result of systemic barriers: limited access to capital, networks, mentorship, technical assistance and markets.
Over the years, Black entrepreneurship has increased in St. Louis, but compared with other large cities, St. Louis ranks near the bottom.
In his recent State of the State address, Gov. Mike Kehoe called for building a “foundation for growth” in Missouri. This ambition will only be realized if economic opportunity reaches the communities and entrepreneurs historically excluded from it.
On Monday, state Rep. Dirk Deaton proposed reallocating $250 million among Missouri’s four-year universities. Harris-Stowe State University would have its core funding cut by almost 40%.
If Missouri is serious about strengthening its economy, especially in historically underinvested areas, entrepreneurship must be part of the solution. And that requires investing in institutions designed to meet people where they are.
Historically Black colleges and universities have long played that role. HBCUs educate a substantial share of Black professionals, entrepreneurs and civic leaders nationwide, despite representing a small fraction of higher education institutions.
Missouri has only two HBCUs: Harris-Stowe State University and Lincoln University in Jefferson City.
That makes their role even more vital.
At Harris-Stowe, the Anheuser-Busch School of Business established its Center of Innovation & Entrepreneurship to address unmet needs in the St. Louis region and beyond by providing education, consulting and support to small businesses and startups, particularly those led by underrepresented and underserved scholars and community founders.
Our vision is to create a dynamic environment that promotes innovation, entrepreneurship and community engagement while expanding economic opportunity.
The location of that work is not incidental. The Center of Innovation & Entrepreneurship sits in the historic footprint of Mill Creek Valley itself.
Entrepreneurship initiatives at Harris-Stowe help cultivate highly skilled individuals, advance applied research and deliver practical programming for aspiring and existing entrepreneurs. This work recognizes that talent is evenly distributed, even when opportunity is not, and that rebuilding requires sustained investment, not symbolic gestures.
Missouri’s Black population comprises roughly 12% of the state, with higher concentrations in metropolitan areas like St. Louis and Kansas City. Supporting Black entrepreneurship is a statewide economic imperative. When Black-owned businesses thrive, they create jobs, stabilize neighborhoods and contribute to local financial infrastructure. Everyone is a beneficiary.
In addition to honoring what was stripped from communities like Mill Creek Valley, we should also ask whether we are willing to rebuild with intention.
Missouri has a choice: we can limit our acknowledgement of Black excellence, or we can intentionally invest in the futures that were deliberately sidelined.
This strengthens Black entrepreneurship, HBCUs and communities that contribute to a stronger Missouri economy.
Stacy Gee Hollins serves as associate provost and dean of the Anheuser-Busch School of Business at Harris-Stowe State University.