Established in 1875 only after extensive lobbying by some of St. Louis' African-American residents, Sumner moved to its current location in 1908.

[2] Charlton Tandy led protests of the planned siting of Sumner High School in a heavily polluted area in close proximity to a lead works, lumber and tobacco warehouses, and the train station as well as brothels.

[7] The high school was established on Eleventh Street in St. Louis between Poplar and Spruce Street, in response to demands to provide educational opportunities, following a requirement that school boards support black education after Republicans passed the "radical" Constitution of 1865 in Missouri[8] that also abolished slavery.

[16][17][18] On March 25, 1993, female student Lawanda Jackson shot and killed her ex-boyfriend Tony Hall in a school hallway.

Sumner's 1969 basketball team won the Missouri Class L state championship and featured future NBA and ABA players Harry Rogers and Marshall Rogers,[29] as well as David Brent who was a 6th round draft pick for the Los Angeles Lakers.

[30] Sports that are currently offered are football, volleyball, basketball, baseball, track and field, tennis, and soccer.