For decades, Mill Creek Valley was dismissed in headlines as a “slum.” In truth, it was a cultural and civic powerhouse—a place where jazz, blues, and ragtime thrived. Black-owned businesses, churches, schools, and social clubs also flourished there. Mainstream media criminally misrepresented Mill Creek Valley in an effort to justify the even bigger crime of bulldozing a beloved Black epicenter in the name of progress. In reality, nearly 20,000 residents built lives rooted in joy, resistance and community.
On November 15, 2025, the Missouri History Museum will honor them when it unveils one of its most powerful exhibitions to date: Mill Creek: Black Metropolis. This landmark presentation resurrects the story of Mill Creek Valley. The vibrant 454-acre African American neighborhood became a casualty of “urban renewal” in the late 1950s, but was never erased from memory.
“For too long, Mill Creek was described by what was taken from it rather than what it gave,” said Julia Clark, African American History Initiative Programming Specialist at the Missouri History Museum. “This exhibit shifts the narrative toward the brilliance and everyday dignity of the people who called Mill Creek home.”…