tall crops for shade?

I have been trying to grow gooseberries and currants without much success.  My climate is to hot and humid during the summer.  They do good in the spring and even produce a small crop, but then lose all their leaves and go dormant.  In the fall they bud back out, I am sure production could be much better.  I really don't have a good place that gets partial shade but I have been thinking I could plant Sorghum or okra in a north/south row to the west of them mostly to provide shade.  I have never grown sorghum and a few okra plants provide all I need but the seed is cheap.  Is there any reason that this wouldn't work?  Any better ideas?

 This seems like good idea, the suggestion I would make is to plant perennials as well.
What fruit grows well in the heat of a Missouri summer?
How about figs?

Of course a trellis with vining plants might work as well.
I grow a grape vine on a wire cable to provide shade for the Western wall of my house.
No grapes, just lots of leaves that grow in right when we need them.

I am planting some sunchokes in buckets, and placing them front of a community garden greenhouse , with the idea that they will provide shade,biomass for compost, food and nursery stock.
I plan on adding favas to the buckets, and maybe some elderberry cuttings.
My only concern is high winds, but we will figure that out.

I like both the trellis an fig ideas, especially the figs.  A lot of the time figs freeze back to the ground but regrow to 8 ft and produce fruit afterward. By the time it gets hot they should have grown enough th provide shade

Corn would be my first choice for giving plants shade.

Black seed sunflower would be my second choice.

Unfortunately, those are my deer`s first/second choice too.

Nick,

I also tried to grow gooseberries and some currants. I had over 20, now I have 2. The problem with shading in summer is that the shading plant has to be quite tall and closely planted to the protected plant, otherwise high summer sun will still reach it. I have tried sunflowers but it was hard for me to make them grow (only the first year worked).
I'm just trying to figure out what to do with remaining gooseberries, ten black berries and elderberries. None of them produce anything and I'm trying to find a completely shaded spot for them, but at the same time I would have to fence them, connect irrigation and I still do not know if it will help at all, because even in the shade, it will be over 100 F dry, windy heat. If not they will have to be discarded, because they only use water and give nothing in return.
It always takes a few years to get convinced that some things will not grow without constant fight with the nature.

I would definitely recommend sunflowers. In your climate they should grow easily and as a side effect they will also produce (but not always) seeds for chicken.

Will probably do all the above suggestions.  I have some honey berries that I may give one more year before pulling, I'll try some tall plants to the west of these in addition to the currants.  I will try to root some fig cuttings and plant those also.