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53 J. Urb. L. 245 (1975-1976)
Municipal Antagonism or Benign Neglect: Racial Motivations in Municipal Annexations in St. Louis County, Missouri

handle is hein.journals/udetmr53 and id is 261 raw text is: Municipal Antagonism or Benign Neglect: Racial Motivations in Municipal Annexations in St. Louis County, Missouri* ILLENE DUBROW** I. INTRODUCTION Like many metropolitan areas, St. Louis is sharply segregated., As the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals noted in a recent racial discrimination case, the St. Louis metropolitan area has the racial shape of a donut, with the Negroes in the hole and with mostly whites occupying the ring.'2 Exceptions to this general pattern are the several pockets of black settlement scattered throughout the outlying areas of the St. Louis County. Many of these date from the period after the Civil War, and were gradually surrounded as the area urbanized. The case studies to be examined in this Article focus on two of these black settlements, and will attempt to deter- mine whether the annexation process has been used for improper racial purposes in a recent period of the County's development. Two annexation studies are detailed in this Article. The annex- ation of a portion of Elmwood Park by the suburban community of Olivette in 1950 demonstrates how a boundary change, when com- bined with subsequent discriminatory actions by the municipality, may be utilized to eliminate an existing black population. The an- *Prepared for Professor Donald G. Hagman under a Russell Sage Foundation grant to investigate racially discriminatory practices in annexations and incorporations. **J.D. 1975, Washington University. Member of the Illinois State Bar. 1. See United States v. City of Black Jack, 508 F.2d 1179, 1186 (8th Cir. 1974), cert. denied, 95 S. Ct. 2656 (1975). Many municipalities adjacent to St. Louis County have experi- enced substantial changes in racial composition, but many outlying communities were experi- encing little change or even declines in total nonwhite population. See ST. Lotus COUNTY DEPT. OF PLANNING, EVALUATION OF SUBSTANDARD CONDITIONS-SELECTED UNINCORPORATED CoMMuNrriEs 184, Table 12 (1973). Population shift accounts for the decline in population experienced by these municipalities. Underlying traits shared by the cities include their proximity to St. Louis, racial integration already present or anticipated, and aging structures. See id. 182-85, Tables 11-12. 2. United States v. City of Black Jack, 508 F.2d 1179, 1186 (8th Cir. 1974), cert. denied, 95 S. Ct. 2656 (1975), quoting Mahaley v. Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, 355 F. Supp. 1257, 1260 (N.D. Ohio 1973), rev'd, 500 F.2d 1087 (6th Cir. 1974); St. Louis Post Dispatch, Dec. 29, 1974, at G-4.

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