Breaking the Invisible Barriers Holding St. Louis Back
Even after nearly 30 years in leadership, one question still catches me off guard — not just from newcomers, but from people who have lived here their entire lives: “Are you from St. Louis?”
At first, it sounds innocent. I know most don’t ask it with bad intent. But in St. Louis, it can carry more weight than people realize. It reveals something deeper — and more troubling — about our city.
Here, especially among Black and White communities, an invisible system operates. A quiet, unspoken code that says: everyone has a place. And more importantly: you’re expected to stay there.
When someone moves too freely, dreams too boldly, or crosses social lines too easily, it unsettles people. Instead of questioning the system, they question the person: “Are you really from here?” Sometimes it’s curiosity. Sometimes it’s a challenge. But this “stay in your place” mindset silently shapes our leadership, neighborhoods, economy, and future.
The Cost of Staying in Place
Looking at Black leadership across St. Louis, a pattern emerges: Many of the leaders driving change — or sitting in the C-Suite — aren’t originally from here. That’s no accident.
People raised inside these invisible barriers often struggle to imagine another way. Conditioned by the system, it becomes harder to see a different path, much less take it.
Outsiders, unbound by these unwritten rules, move differently. They believe differently. And in doing so, they show us what’s possible when you refuse to be confined.
This isn’t about blaming individuals. It’s about recognizing how all of us — often unknowingly — can become stewards of an outdated system. And that system limits all of us.
Every leader who feels forced to dim their light is a spark our city loses.
Every new idea suppressed is a future opportunity we never see.
Every time we clip someone’s wings, we weaken our own ability to rise.
A Call to Conscience — and a Challenge to Move
If we want St. Louis to move forward, we have to name this dynamic. We have to see it and speak it. Not to shame or blame. But to liberate.
We can build a St. Louis where:
– Leaders aren’t questioned for dreaming differently.
– Movement across race, class, and neighborhood lines is the norm, not the exception.
– Every child believes they can rise — and knows the city will cheer them on, not hold them back.
That’s the St. Louis worth fighting for. But first, we must break the silence. Tear down the invisible fences — inside us, around us, between us. Staying in place may have been the old St. Louis way. But it cannot — it must not — be the future of a city that truly wants to thrive.
So here’s the challenge: Where in your life have you stayed in place too long? What boundary — of comfort, culture, class, or race — are you being called to cross?
The future of St. Louis doesn’t belong to those who stay behind the lines. It belongs to those brave enough to move beyond them — and invite others to follow.
Originally published in the St. Louis Business Journal in September of 2025 by Orv Kimbrough, Chairman and CEO at Midwest BankCentre