"This book reflects the deliberate initiatives of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis that address social services from challenges to workable solutions. Since 1918, the Board, staff, members, and volunteers of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis have worked diligently in this community to serve generations of residents of all ages with programs of community empowerment, economic opportunity, educational excellence, civil rights, and advocacy. Formed to address racial issues following the devastating East St. Louis race riots, the Urban League has been a stabilizing force and a catalyst for change for a century. It is the Urban League's mission to empower African Americans and others throughout the region in securing economic self-reliance, social equality, and civil rights"--