Report on the Preservation of Sumner High School and its Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

This report details the ongoing efforts by alumni to preserve Charles Sumner High School in St. Louis, Missouri, the first public high school for African American students established west of the Mississippi River. The initiative to secure a National Historic Landmark designation for the 150-year-old institution is analyzed through the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The project demonstrates significant contributions toward SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

Historical Significance and Contribution to SDG 4: Quality Education

Sumner High School represents a landmark achievement in the history of educational equity. Its establishment provided critical access to secondary education for African Americans at a time when such opportunities were systematically denied, directly addressing the core principles of SDG 4 (Quality Education) by ensuring inclusive and equitable education.

Legacy of Educational Excellence

• The institution was founded 150 years ago and has occupied its current historic building for 115 years.
• It served as a center for academic excellence, employing highly qualified educators, including some of the first African Americans to earn PhDs in the United States.
• The quality of education provided is evidenced by its notable alumni, who have made significant national contributions. Notable graduates include:
  • Arthur Ashe, professional tennis champion
  • Tina Turner, international music icon
  • Wendell Pruitt, member of the Tuskegee Airmen

Preservation Initiative and SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

The campaign to protect the school, led by the alumni group PFRC-Sumner, Inc. (Protect-Restore-Forever Celebrate), is a direct effort to fulfill SDG 11, Target 11.4: “Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage.” The physical building, damaged by a recent tornado, and its intangible legacy are vital components of the cultural fabric of St. Louis’s “The Ville” neighborhood and the nation.

Objectives of the Preservation Campaign

1. Secure National Historic Landmark Designation: This is the primary goal, which would provide official recognition of the school’s national significance and unlock access to critical preservation grants.
2. Physical Restoration: Address the damage to the 115-year-old structure to ensure its long-term viability as a community anchor.
3. Legacy Preservation: Ensure that the school’s history of promoting Black excellence and overcoming adversity is formally documented and celebrated for future generations.

Strategic Actions and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

The success of the project hinges on effective collaboration, embodying the spirit of SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). PFRC-Sumner, Inc. has forged a crucial partnership with the National Park Service (NPS) and the U.S. Department of the Interior to navigate the landmark nomination process.

Key Developments and Partnerships

• Grant Funding: The project recently secured a $28,000 African American Civil Rights Grant from the NPS. This funding, a direct result of inter-agency partnership, will be used to hire a qualified writer to prepare the official nomination application.
• Community and Academic Collaboration: The initiative involves engaging historians and interns to conduct the necessary research to demonstrate the school’s national significance.
• Fundraising Efforts: PFRC-Sumner, Inc. continues to raise additional funds to support the nomination process, with events such as a planned golf tournament fundraiser.

National Impact and Contribution to SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

The effort to designate Sumner High School as a National Historic Landmark has broader implications for SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). By seeking this status, the project challenges historical omissions and ensures that the contributions of African American educational institutions are recognized within the national narrative.

Setting a National Precedent

• According to project leaders, the NPS has indicated that this is a pioneering case, as no all-Black high school has previously sought this level of national significance.
• The nomination has prompted the NPS to hire a historian specifically to develop a framework for evaluating the contributions of Black public high schools to American history.
• This initiative, therefore, not only elevates Sumner’s legacy but also creates a pathway for other historic Black institutions across the country to gain similar recognition, helping to rectify historical inequities in cultural preservation.

Relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The issues highlighted in the article, primarily the preservation of Sumner High School, connect to several Sustainable Development Goals. These goals address the multifaceted importance of the school as an institution of education, a symbol of racial equality, a cultural heritage site, and a focal point for community and institutional collaboration.

• SDG 4: Quality Education

  The article is centered on a school, Sumner High School, and its legacy of providing “Black excellence in education.” It emphasizes the quality of the education provided, noting that its educators were highly qualified individuals who brought advanced knowledge to the students. The article also mentions the school’s role in caring for students’ “social wellbeing, your emotional wellbeing,” which aligns with a holistic and quality educational environment.

• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

  The article explicitly frames the school’s history within the context of racial inequality. It states that the school was founded during “a period in American history when many people who look like me, African Americans, weren’t able to secure an education.” The establishment and continued existence of Sumner High School represent a direct effort to combat educational inequality based on race, making SDG 10 highly relevant.

• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

  A primary focus of the article is the effort to preserve the physical building and its legacy. The alumni group is working to obtain a “National Historic Landmark designation” to protect the 115-year-old building, which is described as a “pillar of The Ville neighborhood.” This directly relates to the goal of making cities and communities sustainable by protecting cultural heritage.

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

  The article details the process of the alumni group, PRFC-Sumner, Inc., engaging with government institutions like the National Park Service (NPS) and the US Department of the Interior. This interaction to achieve the landmark designation is an example of building effective and inclusive institutions and ensuring responsive, participatory decision-making. The fight to preserve the school’s legacy is also a pursuit of historical justice and recognition.

Specific SDG Targets

Based on the article’s content, several specific targets under the identified SDGs can be pinpointed.

1. Target 4.7: Ensure all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.

   The article highlights that Sumner provided an education that went beyond academics to include “social wellbeing” and “emotional wellbeing.” The school’s history as the “first Black public high school west of the Mississippi River” and its role in educating generations of African Americans demonstrates a tangible contribution to promoting human rights and appreciating cultural diversity.

2. Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.

   The very establishment of Sumner High School was an act of promoting the social and educational inclusion of African Americans at a time when such opportunities were legally denied in some places. The article notes the Missouri legislature’s decision to provide this education, directly aligning with the goal of empowering a historically marginalized racial group.

3. Target 11.4: Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage.

   This is the most directly addressed target. The entire initiative by PRFC-Sumner, Inc. is to “preserve its legacy” and “protect-restore-forever celebrate” the school. The specific actions mentioned, such as seeking a “National Historic Landmark designation” and securing grants for preservation, are concrete efforts to safeguard this significant piece of cultural heritage.

Implied Indicators for Measuring Progress

The article mentions or implies several indicators that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets.

• Indicator for Target 11.4: Total expenditure (public and private) per capita spent on the preservation, protection and conservation of all cultural heritage, by type of heritage (cultural, natural, mixed and World Heritage Centre designation), level of government (national, regional and local/municipal), type of expenditure (operating expenditure/investment) and type of private funding (donations in kind, private non-profit sector and sponsorship).

  The article provides specific financial data that serves as a direct indicator of progress. It mentions the receipt of a “$28,000” National Park Service (NPS) African American Civil Rights Grant. It also notes that the alumni group will “still need to raise more money to hire the writer,” indicating ongoing fundraising efforts (private funding) to supplement public grants for the preservation project.

• Indicator for Target 10.2 / 4.7: Establishment and preservation of institutions promoting inclusion and cultural appreciation.

  The primary action described in the article—the multi-stage process to secure a National Historic Landmark designation—serves as a qualitative indicator. Progress can be measured by milestones in this process: the initial letter of inquiry (March 2021), the hiring of a historian by the NPS to create a context, securing the grant, and the future submission of the nomination. Achieving the designation would be the ultimate measure of success in preserving an institution that historically promoted racial inclusion and cultural heritage.

Summary of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: firstalert4.com