During and after World War II, a large number of African Americans from the South migrated to St. Louis, Missouri. Despite Missouri's de jure segregation laws, African Americans viewed the St. Louis area as offering more opportunities for African Americans than were available in the Deep South.

The pace of this migration forced St. Louis public schools to provide school building facilities to accommodate the increasing number of school-age African American children. This issue was further highlighted after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, which made segregated public schools in Missouri illegal.

This study analyzed the site selection and architecture of the new African American elementary schools in north-central St. Louis, Missouri, and their role in maintaining a segregated school system. The study also examined the social and political context of the city of St. Louis to explore in greater detail the racism that guided the St. Louis school board's construction policies. Critical race theory is used as the analytical framework for this study.