Review\n“Although Homer G. Phillips was in existence for only 42 years, it has become a legend for the major role it played in the development of the Ville community. The book brings to life the story of a successful black hospital operated by African Americans.”—Dr. John A. Wright, former superintendent of schools in St. Louis\n“Candace O'Connor has written an inspiring, though at times despairing, account about a vital part of St. Louis's history. It not only relates a powerful story about Black St. Louis but provides rich information about Blacks and the medical profession. All St. Louisans should be grateful for this book."—Gerald Early, Washington University, editor of Ain't But a Place: An Anthology of African American Writings about St. Louis\n“I grew up in the Ville, within walking distance of Homer G. Climbing the Ladder, Chasing the Dream: The History of Homer G. Philips Hospital is not just the history of an iconic hospital, it is a walk through time of the history of healthcare for African Americans. In the age of COVID, it is not only a poignant reminder of what can be done to deal with the healthcare inequities that people of color in America face, it is also a challenge to this generation to do more.”—Ambassador Charles Stith, Chairman of The Pula Group, author of For Such a Time as This: African Leadership Challenges\n“Climbing the Ladder, Chasing the Dream is a thorough and engaging history of St. Louis’s Homer G. Phillips Hospital, one of the most important Black institutions in twentieth-century America. But the book is much more than that. Through this book, Candace O’Connor provides important perspectives on a variety of topics, including the Great Migration, the causes and consequences of segregation and integration, and the overall issue of race in modern America.”—Gary R. Kremer, Executive Director of the State Historical Society of Missouri, author of This Place of Promise: A Historian’s Perspective on 200 Years of Missouri History\n“You read Climbing the Ladder, Chasing the Dream and wonder, dazed, why no one put all this rich material together before. At once intimate and sweeping, the book is the first full history of St. Louis’s most extraordinary, embattled, and glorious hospital.”—The Common Reader\n“Provides an eloquent account of the solidarity and vitality of African American communities before integration.”—Kansas History\nNothing about Homer G. Phillips Hospital came easily. Built to serve St. Louis’s rapidly expanding African-American population, the grand new hospital opened its doors in 1937, toward the end of the Great Depression. “Homer G.,” as many called it, joined a burgeoning group of black hospitals amid a national period of institutional segregation and strong racial prejudice nationwide.\nWhen the beautiful, up-to-date hospital opened, it attracted more black residents than any other such program in the United States. Patients also flocked to the hospital, as did nursing students who found there excellent training, ready employment, and a boost into the middle class. For decades, the hospital thrived; by the 1950s, three-quarters of African-American babies in St. Louis were born at Homer G.\nBut the 1960s and 1970s brought less need for all-black hospitals, as faculty, residents, and patients were increasingly welcome in the many newly integrated institutions. Ever-tightening city budgets meant less money for the hospital, and in 1979, despite protests from the African-American community, HGPH closed. Years later, the venerated, long-vacant building came to life again as the Homer G. Phillips Senior Living Community.\nCandace O’Connor draws upon contemporary newspaper articles, institutional records, and dozens of interviews with former staff members to create the first, full history of the Homer G. Phillips Hospital. She also brings new facts and insights into the life and mysterious murder (still an unsolved case) of the hospital’s namesake, a pioneering Bl

Climbing the Ladder, Chasing the Dream: The History of Homer G. Phillips Hospital

History

O’Connor, Candace

Americas

University of Missouri

Beginning a Great Work chronicles the events and people that have shaped Washington University in St. Lousi during its first 150 years. This is a beautiful, lavishly illustratred, full-color, large-format hardcover book, well-researched, with extensive index. A must have for faculty and alumni.

Beginning a Great Work: Washington University in St. Louis, 1853-2003

Washington University (Saint Louis, Mo.)

Washington University in St. Louis

This book describes the journey of St. Louis Children's Hospital through its first 125 years, from its modest beginnings to its current position as one of the top children's hosptials in the United States. Yet amid this change, something important has remained consistent: It has always been a special place, where sick children receive the extraordinary gifts of hope and healing every day.

Hope And Healing: St. Louis Children's Hospital: The First 125 Years

St. Louis Children's Hospital

Growing up in the Jim Crow–era South, Frankie Freeman learned lessons about discrimination. She walked places rather than take the segregated streetcar; she felt hurts and vowed privately never to forget. But in her loving family, she also learned positive lessons about living: work hard, get an education, fight injustice, and make a difference. Freeman took all these lessons to Hampton Institute, to Howard University law school, then to her career as a St. Louis civil rights attorney, winning a landmark victory in the area of fair housing. In 1964, she became the first woman appointed to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, leaving in 1979 to serve as inspector general of the Community Services Administration. During these years, she was also St. Louis Housing Authority general counsel—and lost her job amid bitter controversy stirred up by a commission hearing in St. Louis County. This memoir tells the story of Frankie Freeman’s life and career. There were high points, such as meetings with President Lyndon Johnson, historic commission hearings, and her national presidency of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. There were also difficult times, such as the illness and death of her husband and son. Through it all, she continued to fight for what she believed in; she kept her faith—and carried on.

A Song of Faith and Hope: The Life of Frankie Muse Freeman (Volume 1)

Biographies & Memoirs

Freeman, Frankie Muse

Community & Culture

Missouri Historical Society Press

Meet Me In The Lobby tells the fascinating story of the world-famous Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis and three generations of the Koplar family. It captures the spirit of the "rat pack era" in the 1950's and 1960's, when entertainers such as Dean Martin, Bob Hope, and Frank Sinatra entertained thousands. At the center of the family was Harold Koplar, whose father, Sam, built the Park Plaza and later bought the adjoining Chase Hotel. Harold - known as "HK" to friends and staff alike - had a talent for discovering stars and developing chic nightclubs. He ushered in the heyday of the Chase Park Plaza and made the Chase "the place" for the country's biggest and brightest stars. A visionary, he also started KPLR Channel 11 and developed the Lodge of the Four Seasons, a resort at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri.

Meet Me in the Lobby: The Story of Harold Koplar & the Chase Park Plaza

Arts & Literature

Virginia Pub Corp

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by O’Connor, Candace. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by O’Connor, Candace