Attentive observers of the U.S. Supreme Court – and there appear to be more than ever, after the advent of social media – developed some serious cases of whiplash last week, as the Court issued rapid-fire rulings on three successive high-profile cases, each with the potential of living up to landmark status. Taken together, the rulings make the EYE wonder which century the Roberts Court is living in.
First came the ruling on Fisher v. Texas, which was handed down in time for the EYE to notice it last week as a diversity bullet dodged. “The Court voted to send the case back to a lower court of appeals,” Ben Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP, writes in a new commentary. “In doing so, they reaffirmed the use of race in admissions.” That’s a good, Civil Rights Movement-era, 20th Century thing – even if the details in the ruling give enemies of affirmative action plenty of pointers about how to reframe their attack.
Then came the ruling on Shelby County v. Holder, which struck down Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The decision, U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay remarked, “will make it easier to suppress the voting rights of minorities and the disabled.” That’s a bad thing, more in keeping with the values of the 19th Century. Clay agreed that it was a leap back in time. “That is a giant step backwards for this country,” Clay said, “and Congress must act to restore the Voting Rights Act to full strength.” Given that Clay actually works in this dysfunctional Congress, he knows voters would have to elect a new Congress to get something done about voting rights – or anything else of substance.
And then came the ruling striking down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), wherein the Court leap-frogged from the 19th Century all the way up to the 21st Century, where – it is becoming increasingly likely – sexual orientation will no longer be a legal impediment to anyone enjoying a full range of civil rights. “This was discrimination enshrined in law,” President Barack Obama said of DOMA. “It treated loving, committed gay and lesbian couples as a separate and lesser class of people. The Supreme Court has righted that wrong, and our country is better off for it.”
Obama made it clear he wants to move as fast and far into the 21st Century as the Court will let him. “I’ve directed the Attorney General to work with other members of my Cabinet to review all relevant federal statutes to ensure this decision, including its implications for Federal benefits and obligations, is implemented swiftly and smoothly,” Obama said.
Clay, too, saw history on the march. “The high court has affirmed that equal protection under the law applies to every American,” Clay said. “This is a historic turning point that advances full equality for all.”
The problem is, with so many “historic turning points” in so many directions in such a short period of time, the EYE is getting seasick over here and completely confused about which century we are living in.
Three-century building down
Here in St. Louis, it’s definitely the 21st Century – a stormy 21st Century, literally, where a series of devastating storms (more than one per day, on some days) has battered and weakened much of our building stock from previous centuries. Notoriously, this includes so-called Cupples 7, a seven-story brick building that is the only unrenovated structure remaining in the historic Cupples Station complex in Downtown St. Louis. The buildings were constructed by Eames and Young for Samuel Cupples, a woodenware merchant and business partner of Harry and Robert S. Brookings, between 1894 and 1917.
This late 19th-Century structure made it just barely into the 21st Century before it was condemned by the City of St. Louis in 2008. Now fierce winter and spring storms have taken their toll and left the old building on the verge of collapse, endangering public safety. The last developer standing that was considering taking a risk in investing to stabilize and restore the historic building, Vertical Realty Advisors, could not pull its financing together by the June 28 deadline. Demolition began on July 1.
“Under the proposal by Vertical Realty, the City would have had to become the Master Tenant of Cupples 7, meaning the City would have had a moral obligation to pay the unsecured debt if the development failed,” says City Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones, who was left holding the promissory note to the building by her predecessor, Treasurer Larry Williams. “That unsecured debt would have nothing backing it up other than a promise of future payments – by the City – if the developers ran out of money. If the City could not meet that financial obligation, it would default on its promise and trigger a downgrade in its credit rating.”
Jones is not taking the outlying view on this matter. Even Mayor Francis G. Slay, who has been notably responsive to the high-voting historic preservation lobby, agreed publicly. “We cannot put either the taxpayers or the City’s credit rating at risk,” said Slay. “Vertical Realty’s finance structure might work for public projects like new police stations or college dorms, but it does not fit here.”
Spiritas Wrecking Company, which was awarded the $482,500 demolition contract through an open bidding process, has begun preliminary work on the site. It does not anticipate new street closures. Right now, 11th Street from Spruce to Poplar, and Spruce between 10th and 11th Streets are closed.
New deseg headache
Or is it the 20th Century over here? Because St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County have a new school desegregation issue that looks a lot like the old one from last century. Just ask the administrators and parents in the Normandy and Francis Howell school districts.
“On June 11, 2013, the Missouri Supreme Court handed down its decision on the Breitenfeld v. School District of Clayton case. This means that students in an unaccredited school district may elect to attend a school in an accredited district in the same or an adjoining county, including St. Charles County. The two unaccredited school districts in the greater St. Louis area are Normandy and Riverview Gardens – both of which are in St. Louis County,” writes Francis Howell Superintendent Pam Sloan.
“The unaccredited school districts must choose at least one district to which they will provide transportation for resident students wishing to attend school in an accredited district. On Friday, June 28, the Normandy School District informed me that they selected Francis Howell as the district to which they will transport students. Families may choose other districts to provide their children’s education, but if a different district is chosen, transportation will become the responsibility of the parent.”
The distance from Normandy High School to Francis Howell High School is 25 miles with an estimated commute time of 40 minutes. But more than distance separates the two districts. At last count, the student population of the Francis Howell District – located in the southeast corner of St. Charles County – was 87.4 percent white. The Normandy School District is 97.6 percent black.
The EYE has seen the comments on social media – those St. Charles County parents are doing the math. It looks like their white flight just got a lot less white. Let’s hope some 21st Century respect for diversity rises to the occasion as these kids from Normandy start showing up for school in St. Chuck this fall.
