Monday, July 24, 6-8 p.m.
Venable Park, 10630 Country View Dr., Creve Coeur, 63141
Creve Coeur’s Venable Park rises from the legacy of racial residential segregation. Rededicated in 2021, the park was developed in the late 1950s after the Venable’s property was taken by eminent domain when they refused to sell it to their White neighbors, and later the City of Creve Coeur. Both city and court records showed that the people leading the effort to obtain Dr. Venable’s land were motivated by bigotry and racial animus and sought to prevent the Venables from building their home in the City due to their race. On December 9, 2019, the Creve Coeur City Council approved Resolution 1467 renaming the park as Dr. H. Phillip Venable Memorial Park. As part of this legislation, the City Council acknowledged and apologized for the abhorrent actions of their predecessors, recognizing the Venables’ noble effort to oppose the misuse of government authority and to preserve their individual rights as citizens.