East St. Louis Jazz Hero
Decades after Miles Davis redefined the sound of jazz and became one of the most influential musicians in history, the East St. Louis house where he grew up sat vacant and in disrepair. The property where Davis learned to play trumpet had suffered a fire and had been vandalized. It was set for demolition when East St. Louis Jazz Hero Lauren Parks made a difference.
Alongside her longtime friend J. Gary Pearson, Parks not only saved the structure. The extensive renovations gave rise to the House of Miles, a nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring Davis’ legacy and providing a community center space for East St. Louis youth. The three-year project evolved out of a pro bono inspection from a local engineering firm. Parks and her team used crowd-sourced funding, donations and a grant from Lowe’s Home Improvement to fund the historic home’s renovations.
Parks found immense inspiration in Davis’s music and life, and had personal ties to the trumpeter. Her aunts knew Davis; one had fried jack salmon for the jazz legend and another crafted him a pair of custom shoes. Before the House of Miles initiative, Parks advocated for the East St. Louis community and worked to promote its growth despite its economic decline. It was during her eight-year stint as executive assistant to the mayor of East St. Louis, Alvin Parks Jr., that Parks stumbled across Miles’ childhood home on the demolition list and rallied community support to save the historical residence.
The building reopened to the public in phases beginning in 2018, with the initial phase revealing the Davis Museum featuring artifacts, personal items and concert posters. It also includes an art gallery and a music classroom for local children and teenagers, passing along Davis’ creative legacy to future generations of musical innovators.
Since its inception, the House of Miles has continued to expand its programming to provide resources and tools to the East St. Louis community. The second phase included an agricultural program that brings gardening and beekeeping skills to local youth. It also added a healthy eating program, a physical fitness regimen, and a leadership building component.
Parks’ vision for the House of Miles proves that the endearing power of jazz has no borders. Her dedication to preserving Davis’s childhood home helps ensure that the trumpeter’s life continues to be an accessible legacy in East St. Louis.
—Jasmine Osby, @jaswroteit