A push for African American social welfare reform began in St. Louis long before the start of the civil rights movement in the late 1950s, according to Priscilla Dowden-White, associate professor of history at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

A push for African American social welfare reform began in St. Louis long before the start of the civil rights movement in the late 1950s, according to Priscilla Dowden-White, associate professor of history at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.