The roots for the current racial divide are deep. In 1916, St. Louis voters codified segregation with an ordinance that prohibited racially mixed communities. The law was struck down by the courts, but deed covenants and realtor agreements prohibiting home sales to African Americans kept segregation intact. The impact of those policies persist.By several measures, the St. Louis/Ferguson region remains among the most segregated places in the country, where most blacks and whites, though sometimes separated by only a short walk, live in different worlds.