When the Class of 2026 arrived at historic Charles Sumner High School four years ago, they stepped into a building still recovering from virtual learning, pandemic disruptions and uncertainty. They finished their journey standing in the same place many were when a tornado tore through their school one year earlier — the Dr. Henry Givens Jr. Building at Harris-Stowe State University.
On May 16, 2025, a violent tornado struck St. Louis whipped through Sumner’s historic building in The Ville — damaging the home of the oldest continuously operating Black public high school west of the Mississippi.
“It really impacted me emotionally because that building was like my second home,” said salutatorian Romell Calhoun. “It was almost like losing your childhood house.”
Calhoun and his classmates spent their final year away from their educational home, attending classes in the nearby Stevens Middle School building.
“When you’re from the historic Sumner High School, you can get through anything,” Calhoun said. “That’s what our legacy is built off of — perseverance.”
A portion of Calhoun’s own home also was destroyed. He spent weeks without power and was homeless for nearly a month. Still, he graduated second in his class and will attend Whittier College in Los Angeles as a track and field student-athlete while pursuing his goal of becoming an aerospace engineer and astronaut.
“Sumner was our oasis,” he said. “But Class of 2026, the world is waiting for you.”
Even while displaced, the Class of 2026 continued its mission of helping put Sumner back on the map. This was the class that revived Sumner’s student council and brought track and field back, finishing fifth in district competition. Students also earned regional awards in art, photography and film while competing nationally in robotics and museum studies.
The tornado was ruthless, disrupting more than classrooms across North St. Louis. Libraries closed, youth programs were displaced, internet access points disappeared, and students across damaged neighborhoods lost many of the spaces they relied on outside school.
“We have a simple motto, which is ‘Excellence, as expected,’” museum studies teacher Mack Williams said. “When we were faced with adversity, we just had to double down on our commitment.”
Williams said the class helped restore the culture and expectations that once defined Sumner’s legacy.
“This is the class of resilience,” Williams said. “They restored what it means to be a Bulldog.”
St. Louis Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Myra M. Berry reminded graduates that Sumner’s history stretches back to 1875 and that they now carry forward a legacy shaped by generations of Black achievement and perseverance.
“To belong to Sumner is not merely to attend school,” Berry said. “It is to inherit a tradition forged through generations of collective aspiration.”
She acknowledged the tornado directly.
“One year ago, your persistence was tested,” Berry said. “A devastating tornado displaced not only your school, but the rhythm of your everyday life.”
Berry said students continued moving forward “with dignity, composure and determination” despite the disruption.
Valedictorian Kelsey Lawson-Rainey spoke about entering high school feeling lost after not being accepted into a private school she hoped to attend.
“Looking back, Sumner gave me opportunities I may have missed otherwise,” she said.
Senior Elyse Rukundo and other classmates reflected on how quickly four years shaped them through pandemic disruptions, displacement and personal growth.
Posthumous diplomas were presented to the families of Kylie Johnson and Sincere Thomas.
Interim assistant principal Dr. Dianna Sumner delivered remarks on behalf of principal Dr. Ronda Wallace, who was absent attending her son’s graduation.
Wallace wrote that the class endured challenges “that could have broken lesser groups.”
For Calhoun’s father, Rory Calhoun, watching his son cross the stage was a culmination of survival.
“It was monumental,” he said. “We had to figure out how to make it work after the tornado. But we are a team.”
He watched his son study by generator light and refuse to give up.
“I’m so glad my son had the opportunity to attend Sumner,” he said. “The school just fit him. And from the moment he got there, he grew into the man he is now.”
“When you walk across that stage, you let them know,” Wallace wrote. “Let them know that you cannot be broken.”
The Class of 2026 did exactly that.