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In the wake of all the violence that have plagued Sumner High School I think that people are forgetting the importance of this school. Sumner was the first African American public school west of the Mississippi River. That fact alone should be enough for kids to have some respect for this school. I didn't say first school in St. Louis or even Missouri, first African American school this side of the water. The school was established in the late 1800's and have been at the current location we all know since 1908. Sumner had the pleasure of knowing some of the world's great entertainers before super stardom. Such as Tina Turner, Chuck Berry, Robert Guilliaume (Benson), Arthur Ashe, Dick Gregory, William L Clay, and a host of many more. I think that children today should look at it as a privilege to walk those halls. Just knowing that so much history is built into that school, attending should be like a badge of honor. Hopefully the violence can stop and the school can continue to birth future talents. Although the list that we named of entertainers is impressive, I bet there are equally doctors, lawyers, activist, police officers, and hard working people alike who have come across those doors.
