For Immediate Release
Contact: Lisa Kinsella, Foundation Coordinator
Clayton Community Foundation
Direct: (314) 290-8560
lkinsella@claytoncommunityfoundation.org
Clayton Community Foundation Joins City of Clayton to Commemorate
Black Historic Landmark
Dedication of Attucks School Marker
Clayton, MO. (February 7, 2023) – As we celebrate Black History Month, the Clayton Community Foundation (CCF) and the City of Clayton recognize the enduring contributions of its Black community. From the incorporation of Clayton in 1913 until the late 1950s, a thriving Black community called Clayton home. In the area now bounded by Brentwood Blvd. on the west, Jackson Ave. on the east, Forsyth Blvd. on the north and Forest Park Parkway on the south, Black families prospered and enjoyed a strong sense of belonging in a tight knit community.
The first school in Clayton, built in 1880, taught an integrated student body until segregation became law post-Civil War. In 1888, Black children in Clayton began attending a one-room schoolhouse until the Crispus Attucks School opened in 1923 at the corner of Hanley Rd. and Bonhomme Ave. Children attended Attucks between kindergarten and eighth grade. In the 1950s, Clayton displaced several Black families and closed the Attucks School as part of a so-called “urban renewal” program.
On Friday, February 24, the Clayton Community Foundation (CCF), a nonprofit volunteer-based philanthropic organization, will unveil a historical marker at the site of the former Attucks school. “African Americans have a proud and rich history in Clayton, and it is important to remember the legacy of the men, women, and children who built a community for themselves in present day downtown, only to be forced out by circumstances beyond their control,” said Cordell Whitlock, President of the Clayton Community Foundation. “CCF is committed to preserving and promoting the history of Clayton, and this marker will be a valuable tool to educate and inform others.”
The Black neighborhood in Clayton included a church, Clayton Baptist, and a playground that was located at the present site of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. A second marker recognizing this forgotten neighborhood was recommended by the Mayor’s Commemorative Landscape Task Force and approved by the Board of Aldermen, which will be installed later this year.
WHAT: Dedication Ceremony for the Attucks School Historic Site Marker.
The new marker follows best practices advised by the Missouri History Museum and compliments the ground marker that was dedicated by the Clayton School District in 2007. A special thanks to the CCF History Committee, the Mayor's Commemorative Landscape Task Force, volunteers, and CCF Donors for making this project possible. For more information, please visit www.ClaytonCommunityFoundation.org.
WHEN: Friday, February 24, 2023, 10:00 AM
WHERE: 7700 Bonhomme Avenue, Clayton, MO 63105
The marker is located at the site of the former Attucks School, the second School to serve Black children.
