Riverfront Times, January 26, 2022 by Riverfront Times

RIVERFRONT TIMES

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

riverfronttimes.com

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

riverfronttimes.com

THE LEDE

“We’re very grateful to be a part of the journey. We’ve come such a long way, and we have such a long way to continue the journey. But I think we are doing a great job on our journey. I really do, especially in St. Louis. You know, we always come together, and we don’t forget, and that’s the most important thing is to just never forget.”

PHOTO BY THEO WELLING

CHINAZA UWIZEYE, DANCE AND DRUM INSTRUCTOR WITH JAHFI STUDIOS, PHOTOGRAPHED WITH HER STUDENTS AT THE MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY CELEBRATION AND MARCH IN WELLSTON ON MONDAY, JANUARY 18 riverfronttimes.com

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

History on Repeat

t can feel like everything happening right now is unique, and then you dig into the past. For this week’s cover story, RFT staffwriter Danny Wicentowski goes back to tell the story of the first Black man elected to the Missouri statehouse. The name William M. Riley has all but disappeared from our history, and when you read Danny’s story, you will see why. It is a tale of events more than 100 years ago, but as the past often does, if you bother to look, it feels strikingly relevant to today. —Doyle Murphy, editor in chief

TABLE OF CONTENTS Publisher Chris Keating Editor in Chief Doyle Murphy

E D I T O R I A L Managing Editor Daniel Hill Digital Content Editors Jaime Lees, Jenna Jones Food Editor Cheryl Baehr Staff Writer Danny Wicentowski, Ryan Krull Contributors Eric Berger, Phuong Bui, Jeannette Cooperman, Mike Fitzgerald, Eileen G’Sell, Kathy Gilsinan, Reuben Hemmer, Andy Paulissen, Justin Poole, Jack Probst, Richard Weiss, Theo Welling, Ymani Wince Columnists Thomas Chimchards, Ray Hartmann, Evan Sult Editorial Interns Madyson Dixon A R T

& P R O D U C T I O N Art Director Evan Sult Production Manager Haimanti Germain M U L T I M E D I A A D V E R T I S I N G Associate Publisher Colin Bell Account Managers Emily Fear, Jennifer Samuel Director of Business Development Brittany Forrest, Rachel Hoppman, Chelsea Nazaruk Social Media Coordinators Jamila Jackson, Sydney Schaefer

COVER Counted Out The forgotten story of the first Black man elected to Missouri’s legislature — and the campaign to wipe away his victory

C I R C U L A T I O N Circulation Manager Kevin G. Powers E U C L I D M E D I A G R O U P Chief Executive Officer Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Officers Chris Keating, Michael Wagner VP of Digital Services Stacy Volhein www.euclidmediagroup.com

Cover design by

EVAN SULT

N A T I O N A L A D V E R T I S I N G VMG Advertising 1-888-278-9866, vmgadvertising.com S U B S C R I P T I O N S Send address changes to Riverfront Times, 5257 Shaw Avenue, St. Louis, MO, 63110. Domestic subscriptions may be purchased for $78/6 months (MO add $4.74 sales tax) and $156/year (MO add $9.48 sales tax) for first class. Allow 6-10 days for standard delivery. www.riverfronttimes.com

INSIDE The Lede Hartmann News Big Mad Feature Takeaway Short Orders St. Louis Standards Reeferfront Times Culture Savage Love 6

RIVERFRONT TIMES

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

riverfronttimes.com

5 7 9 11

The Riverfront Times is published weekly by Euclid Media Group | Verified Audit Member Riverfront Times PO Box 179456, St. Louis, MO, 63117 www.riverfronttimes.com General information: 314-754-5966 Founded by Ray Hartmann in 1977

12 17 21 24 27 29 33

Riverfront Times is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. Additional copies of the current issue may be purchased for $1.00 plus postage, payable in advance at the Riverfront Times office. Riverfront Times may be distributed only by Riverfront Times authorized distributors. No person may, without prior written permission of Riverfront Times, take more than one copy of each Riverfront Times weekly issue. The entire contents of Riverfront Times are copyright 2021 by Riverfront Times, LLC. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, without the expressed written permission of the Publisher, Riverfront Times, PO Box 179456, St. Louis, Mo, 63117. Please call the Riverfront Times office for back-issue information, 314-754-5966.

HARTMANN Crusades Rep. Brian Seitz’ divine mission to protect white folk BY RAY HARTMANN

tate Representative Brian Seitz was called by God, in his telling, to serve in the Missouri General Assembly. Some 77.5 percent of the voters in the 156th House district elected him in 2020. But “God opened the door to the statehouse,” Seitz says. The Branson Republican has been a man on a mission is support of causes traditionally associated with God. Say, like Jesus cracking down on the expansion of health care to poor people. Seitz was most recently in the news for refusing to apologize for repeatedly calling COVID-19 the “China virus.” The apology had been suggested in a House committee meeting by fellow representative Shamed Dogan, R-Ballwin, who had succinctly observed Seitz’s hypocrisy about race. Seitz has authored a bill by which Big Government in Jefferson City would dictate to all public schools in Missouri that they could not permit the teaching of any content that might be seen as holding people of a race responsible for the actions of others of their race. Dogan suggested that was precisely what Seitz was doing with his racism against Chinese people because, well, he was. It happens that Dogan is the lone Black Republican in the legislature. It also happens that Seitz’s awful bill is just a front for his role in “leading the charge” against critical race theory. In Missouri, CRT is not an actual thing in education, but it’s a big thing in politics. Unlike most dog whistles which animate contemporary Republican rhetoric, CRT is a bullhorn. Stopping the spread of CRT means combatting the scourge of white people losing their majority control of America. CRT is one of the big guns in the national culture war. The prospect of racial Armageddon alarms many Caucasians as much as creeping Communism ever did.

In that context, who cares that CRT is just a dreadful idea to be avoided as opposed to a reality in Missouri? So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Seitz didn’t take his scolding by a Black guy all that well. Seitz took the rather unusual step — maybe unprecedented — of coming on conservative talk radio 250 miles from home to attack the socially conservative Dogan as a “leftist” who launched a “cancel culture attack.” Seitz was a guest last week on the Marc Cox Morning Show on 97.1 FM — Bob Romanik being presently indisposed — to impugn Dogan’s motives (he persisted in mispronouncing his name “Doogan”). It must be presumed that Seitz didn’t do this because Dogan is Black. Well, except by me. In any case, here’s my favorite bite from the interview, which apparently escaped further notice: “There are those who participate in identity politics, and it’s quite possible that Representative ‘Doogan’ identifies as a Republican and he needs to show himself to be slightly different because of the campaign he is running for St. Louis County Executive, and he was trying to build a base that he obviously doesn’t have by throwing a fellow Republican under the bus.” Welcome to the new Republican Party. Dogan is completing his term-limited eight years in the House as one of its most respected members across party lines. And I say that as no fan of most of his political stands at the state level. Dogan is collaborative. Seitz probably wants an investigation of collaboratives. The unknown freshman legislator with no political experience or portfolio feels empowered to dismiss the long-serving stalwart so dismissively. In fairness, Dogan is Black. The soft-spoken Dogan is truly the polar opposite of Seitz, a vocal extremist who has for the second time authored a bill that would allow Missouri lawmakers the power to block executive orders from the President of the United States. Now there’s a fine idea for secessionists to mull over. That thing of course didn’t even make it to a committee hearing last year and likely won’t again. Neither will the newest one from Seitz, a measure “to stop the presi-

What one really needs to champion CRT angst in the modern era is both a natural affinity for white people — and empathy for white plight — and a willingness to demonstrate a little flexibility with the truth. dent from using the Missouri National Guard without a declaration of war from Congress.” Well, of course not. We certainly wouldn’t want a repeat of President John F. Kennedy’s tyranny in Alabama in the early 1960s. That said, Seitz is tragically a better fit for today’s Republican Party than Dogan. And Seitz is especially well positioned to carry forth the banner of white people given that he represents Taney County, which comprises pretty much his whole district. Taney County is 93.5 percent white and 1.8 percent Black as of 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Those numbers speak for themselves. But it doesn’t follow at all that hailing from such a comfortably Caucasian place makes one insensitive to racial justice and equity. It most certainly does not. What one really needs to champion CRT angst in the modern era is both a natural affinity for white people — and empathy for white plight — and a willingness to demonstrate a little flexibility with the truth. After all, CRT doesn’t exist in Missouri public schools K-12, so to lead a passionate charge against it would be tough for someone mired in truth. I don’t know much about Seitz, so I visited the official House web-

riverfronttimes.com

site to read his bio. It states the following: “In addition to his legislative duties, Seitz has served as the pastor of Sovereign Grace Baptist Church in Branson for 12 years.” Now, that’s fine credential, so I thought I’d visit the church website. Funny thing, not only does such a thing not exist, but there is no Sovereign Grace Baptist Church publicly discernible in Branson. One with the same name can be found some 30 miles away in Springfield, but there’s no reference to Brian Seitz on its website. An official of that church emailed me that “Brian did attend our Church for a short period of time but never joined nor was he a pastor of our Church.” So, I contacted Seitz, who commendably was prompt in his response. “Sovereign Grace Baptist Church of Branson is no longer meeting. For about 7 years we rented the all-purpose room at Roark Health Club, until the building was purchased by a Time Share. We then began to meet for the next few years in our home. The group had aged, and with the onset of the pandemic, we met less frequently and made the decision to finish, as God had opened the door to the Statehouse and my term as a Representative. “Yes, it was a church, and yes, I was the pastor, I’ve taught the Bible for over 30 years. Most Baptist churches are independent (Southern Baptists coordinate for missions).” I don’t know my Baptist churches. I’ve been in many private homes where people prayed. We called those gatherings “poker games.” But to each his own. And unlike Seitz, I have a longstanding policy of not speaking for God. She’s never given me a green light to do so. But that isn’t to say Seitz might not have been called by God. I’m just wondering if it was a wrong number. n Ray Hartmann founded the Riverfront Times in 1977. Contact him at rhar tmann1952@gmail.com or catch him on Donnybrook at 7 p.m. on Thursdays on Nine PBS and St. Louis In the Know with Ray Hartmann from 9 to 11 p.m. Monday thru Friday on KTRS (550 AM).

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

riverfronttimes.com

NEWS Navy Medical Team to Support Hospitals’ COVID-19 Response

Gov. Parson’s self-described “common-sense approach” to COVID-19 is belied by a request for aid from FEMA.

Written by

RYAN KRULL

wo days after framing Missouri’s “balanced response” to the COVID-19 pandemic as a success, Governor Mike Parson announced that the federal government is sending military medical personnel to St. Louis to relieve strained hospital staff. “In Missouri, we took a common-sense approach to the pandemic, never shut down businesses,” Parson said in his State of the State address on January 19. He added, “When you look to some of the policies and mandates in place in other places, you find that common sense may not be so common.” Parson spent about six minutes early in his speech on the state’s COVID-19 response, highlighting what he presented as a high percentage of Missourians 65 years of age and older who have received a vaccine dose, as well as the availability of vaccines in the state. He then emphatically declared his opposition to vaccine mandates. In reality, Missouri lags behind all but five states for fully vaccinated seniors, the Kansas City Star reported. The statistics Parson cited were for people who had received at least one dose. Further undercutting the governor’s upbeat message about the state’s handling of COVID-19 was the announcement last Friday that the state had put a request in to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to send U.S. Navy medical staff to help St. Louis’ medical personnel who are currently stretched thin. The Navy deployment to BJC

Governor Mike Parson says he’s handled the pandemic just right. | GOVERNOR’S OFFICE Christian Hospital will include “a specialized medical team of U.S. military personnel, which includes doctors and nurses.” On the heels of Parson’s announcement, Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush released a statement saying that she had asked for the federal assistance to St. Louis two weeks earlier. She wrote on Twitter, “We wrote to @GovParsonMO on Jan. 6, calling on him to request federal medical personnel to help St. Louis hospitals

respond to the Omicron variant. Today, after weeks of pressure, we finally have movement A federal team of health care workers arrives next week.” Bush’s statement said that “St. Louis needed [Parson] to step up and request federal assistance to help our region respond to the Omicron variant.” Parson’s State of the State address made no mention of the current omicron wave of COVID-19. According to the Missouri Depart-

ment of Health and Senior Services, as of last week there were 3,784 COVID-19 patients in Missouri hospitals, 711 of whom were in the ICU. In the first three wee s of , according to the New York Times, issouri has recorded deaths from ID ore than , people in Missouri have died since the start of the pandemic. A similar deployment of federal medical personnel is already at work elsewhere in the state. On January 7, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services deployed a “17-member Health Care Task Force” to the Research Medical Center in Kansas City. That support initiative is set to run through February 4. n

Unhoused Woman Found Dead After Brutally Cold Night in St. Louis Written by

DOYLE MURPHY

t. Louis’ medical examiner is investigating the death of a woman who was found dead in her tent last Thursday morning in north city. Police were called to the 700 block of Aubert Avenue in the Fountain Park neighborhood for reports of a sudden death. There they discovered 27-year-old Alexis Bolden. A police spokeswoman tells the RFT there were no visible signs of physical trauma and investigators didn’t find any drug paraphernalia. It had been a brutally cold night, dropping to a low of seven degrees. However, it’s too soon to say whether Bolden died of hypothermia, says Tara Rick, director

Alexis Bolden was discovered in a tent off of Aubert Avenue. | GOOGLE MAPS of operations for the medical examiner’s office. It will probably be several weeks before routine toxicology reports are done and investigators can determine a cause of death.

riverfronttimes.com

Last winter, five unhoused people froze to death in St. Louis. This year has generally been milder, but a string of cold snaps have seen temperatures hit Continued on pg 10

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Parents Want Answers After Son Beaten to Death in Prison Written by

RYAN KRULL

fter their son died in Missouri Department of Corrections custody, Pat and Edie Hewitt are relying on hospital records and organ transplant center employees to piece together what happened. In an interview with the Riverfront Times, Pat Hewitt says his 43-year-old son Joshua died at Mercy Hospital St. Louis on January 11 after sustaining injuries three days earlier while incarcerated at the Northeast Correctional Center in Bowling Green, Missouri. Other than those basic details, Pat Hewitt says he is in the dark. His main contact at MODOC ust flat refuses to give me any kind of information,” Hewitt says. “They wouldn’t even tell us the date and the time. We’re not even sure when it happened.” MODOC spokesperson Karen Pomann confirmed to the RFT that

EXPOSURE DEATH Continued from pg 9

dangerous lows. As the RFT reported in mid-December, the city has been slow to open a new safe haven, and drop-in beds with no or few barriers to entry can be scarce — this despite an influx of millions of federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan. Plans submitted by outside organizations in October in response to the city’s call for proposals are still under review. The city has used a portion of the money in January to open an additional 100 overflow beds at shelters along Cherokee Street, Taylor Avenue and North Taylor Avenue as well as Biddle Housing Opportunities Center north of downtown, according to a statement from the city’s Department of Human Services. DHS has also expanded service to 24 hours to help connect people to beds. On nights when temperatures fall below 32 degrees, a warming bus picks up people from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at 13th and Chestnut streets.

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Joshuar Hewitt died three days after he was assaulted. | COURTESY HEWITT FAMILY “Joshua Hewitt was assaulted at NECC Jan. 8. He sustained serious injuries and was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he died Jan. 11. The matter is under investigation by the department and by local law enforcement. Because an active investigation is underway, I’m unable to provide Still, connecting the city’s most vulnerable to beds is an ongoing challenge. Bolden has had contact with the city’s homeless services but not since 2019, according to the city. On the night of her death, there were fourteen overflow beds available, the city says. “Any life lost is a tragedy, and the Department of Human Services will continue to work as quickly as possible to get support to unhoused neighbors and those in need,” DHS said in an emailed statement. Sixth Ward Alderwoman Christine Ingrassia, who often helps with the annual effort to prevent people from freezing to death in the streets, says she would like to see some of the emergency measures that kick in on the coldest nights remain in place every night through the winter. She said on Saturday volunteers were reopening a safe haven in Saint Louis University’s Il Monastero event center (3050 Olive Street) and hoped to have beds at Lincoln Hotel (2228 Olive Street). And while Ingrassia thinks the city is moving in the right direction, the current need is pressing. “It’s cold right now,” she says. n

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

additional details.” The Hewitts say they received a phone call on the morning of January 9 from a MODOC representative telling them that their son had been in an altercation in prison and was currently on life support in St. Louis. Two days later, when Joshua died, Pat says an assistant warden from NECC called to give her condolences. With MODOC unable to release any more information pending the investigation, the Hewitts have relied on hospital records and an organ transplant center employee to piece together a rough timeline of what happened to their son. However, that timeline has left the Hewitts with more questions than answers. Pat Hewitt says he learned through a Mid-America Transplant donor advocate that his son, who was an organ donor, arrived at Mercy a little before 3 a.m. on January 9. The advocate told him that the ambulance from Bowling Green passed two other hospitals on the way to St. Louis because Joshua went into cardiac arrest twice and the EMTs knew he was in need of more advanced care. It was through a Mercy doctor that Pat learned his son had broken ribs, a broken nose and a “massive head injury.” Pat Hewitt says that since he knows it takes about 75 minutes

riverfronttimes.com

to drive from Bowling Green to St. Louis, he’s estimating that his son sustained his injuries around midnight. But that’s just a guess. “I’m also concerned about: Did this assault take place at six o’clock and he wasn’t found until midnight?” Hewitt says. Two days later, on January 11, the hospital called again to inform the Hewitts their son had succumbed to the injuries to his head. Lori Curry, the executive director of Missouri Prison Reform, tells the RFT that the Hewitts are not the only ones who complain about the lack of information when it comes to incarcerated family members. “Communication from the Department of Corrections is always very minimal, whether you’re dealing with a minor medical issue with your loved one or something more serious,” Curry says. “It’s a fear we all have, that something will happen to our loved one and we won’t know the details.” Joshua Hewitt had a long criminal history. His father described him as “an alcoholic. He was in and out of prison for the last twenty years, which is pretty much most of his adult life.” Pat says that when his son wasn’t incarcerated, he was at times living on the streets. Joshua’s criminal record includes convictions for burglary and making a false report. In 2012 in Hollister, according to a probable cause statement, he touched a minor’s breast through clothing, leading to a conviction for misdemeanor sexual misconduct. He was sentenced to time served, and as part of the plea bargain had to register as a sex offender. In 2021, he failed to register as a sex offender in Taney County, resulting in a four-year prison sentence. He’d served a little over four months of it when he died. “Honestly, we always felt better when he was incarcerated,” his father says. “We knew he had two or three square meals a day. And he had a place to put his head down every night. We knew exactly where he was at. Ironically, that’s where we lost him.” Pat Hewitt says his family is struggling to come to terms with Joshua’s death. “I’m coming to the anger stage,” he says. Hewitt wonders if his son’s status as a sex offender had something to do with the assault. He also wonders if it might have been gang-related or if it was over an unpaid debt. “I’m hoping it wasn’t over a debt,” he says. “Because two incarcerations ago I refused to give him any money. I told him that was it.” n

THE BIG MAD Read It and Weep Book bans, Gretzky Stans and campaign plans Compiled by

DANIEL HILL

elcome back to the Big Mad, the RFT’s weekly roundup of righteous rage! Because we know your time is short and your anger is hot: MANY PEOPLE ARE SAYING: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt appeared Sunday on Fox News to brag about filing lawsuits against three dozen school districts (up to 45 now after critics pointed out that he curiously skipped over nine, including Kirkwood, where he lives, in Friday’s blitz), but amid his bluster, he also showed his ass: He argued that masks are useless, of course, but did so with a curiously purple description when he said that “even the advocates for these masks are saying they’re nothing more than facial decorations.” Facial decorations you say? See, those words aren’t Schmitt’s, but belong to Dr. Leana Wen, former Planned Parenthood director and CNN medical analyst, who uttered them on December 21 in a direct warning of the highly infectious omicron surge we are currently living through. But Schmitt only partially quoted her: “Don’t wear a cloth mask. Cloth masks are little more than facial decorations,” Wen had indeed said, but she had continued: “There’s no place for them in light of omicron.” Schmitt, entirely ignoring that Wen was arguing for the importance of appropriate mask usage, misquoted her and made her plural so he could sound like an Important Science Knower on cable news. Swing and a miss, Eric. Swing and a miss. NOT SO GREAT: WTF, Wayne Gretzky. What. The. Fuck. We were so pumped when you recently moved to St. Louis. You were here before and you came back for more. We knew that you just couldn’t get enough of us, could you? Well, now you’ve gone and hung out with Stan Kroenke again. We saw it all on Twitter. With respect, Sir Great One, we give that a big fat “Naw, dawg. Not cool.” See, we know that you’re pretty new here and we love immigrants of all forms so we feel obligated to help you by telling you that hanging out with Stan Kroenke is a big faux pas in St. Louis. It’s right up there with talking trash about Provel cheese or making a full and complete stop at a stop sign. Some things are just a no-no when you’re trying

One school board member claimed that The Bluest Eye “does not have academic or social value for students and could be extremely harmful.” to claim the 314 or the 636. Hanging out with Kroenke or posing with a Rams jersey is like hanging out with your girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend: It’s just weird. Nobody here likes this. You need to ditch the loser if you want to keep getting high fives in the Lou. BOOK IT: A majority of the Wentzville School District Board members collectively clutched their pearls and voted to remove four books from their library last week. Three of the books dealt with race and/ or the author’s LGBTQ identity — those weren’t even reviewed by a committee, but were still banned. The last was Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, which deals with topics such as childhood abuse and racism. In Morrison’s own words, she wanted to remind readers “how hurtful racism is.” A district review committee voted to keep Morrisson’s book, pointing out in its comments to the Board of Education that it is not required reading but rather chosen by a student. Removing the book “would infringe on the rights of parents and students to decide for themselves if they want to read this work of literature,” the committee said. But the school board, despite the committee’s recommendation, went on to claim the allegedly moral high ground and tossed it to the side, with one member noting that it “does not have academic or social value for students and could be extremely harmful.” Board members then voted to stick their heads far up their own asses and pretend banning books will stop kids from reading about these things. Give us a fucking break. It should go without saying that banning things from teens will only make them want to do the forbidden thing more. By removing books — ones that contain voices from LGBTQ+ and Black authors — the Wentzville School District is saying these stories don’t matter. And that, by far, is more fucked up than a kid reading a book by a Nobel-prize winning author. n

Now hiring caregivers/ direct support professionals! $15/hour • Transportation to outings, appointments, and shopping • Support persons with personal hygiene and grooming • Valid driver’s license, access to a vehicle with proof of insurance • Full and Part-time

www.thementornetwork.com

riverfronttimes.com

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

riverfronttimes.com

COUNTED OUT

THE FORGOTTEN STORY OF THE FIRST BLACK MAN ELECTED TO MISSOURI’S LEGISLATURE — AND THE CAMPAIGN TO WIPE AWAY HIS VICTORY BY

DANNY

WICENTOWSKI

For about six days in 1918, illiam Riley was the first elected Black lawmaker in Missouri’s state legislature.

The St. Louis optometrist’s win in the race for state representative, on a Republican ticket, made headlines across the country as newspapers detailed his victory despite a racist backlash of white voters who accused local Republican leaders of concealing Riley’s race. But those same newspapers soon had a different story to tell: Days after the election, the results were overturned. Instead of a breaker of barriers, his name etched in history, Riley was deemed the loser. His story faded from public view, even within the city he so briefly represented But the legacy of Missouri’s almost first lac lawma er deserves so much more than empty pages in our history books. That’s the position of Nathan Elwood, director of the Missouri Legislative Library in Jefferson City, who in the summer of 2021 was clicking through newspaper archives when he stumbled across a cryptic reference to a bizarre election more than a century in the past. Digging further, Elwood found accounts of Riley’s 1918 win in multiple newspapers — and he realized that he had rediscovered something important, and forgotten, about Missouri’s history. “It was a moment in the state’s electoral history where things

could have been very different,” Elwood says now. “This was national news. I have found reporting on his victory as far as California, New York, Philadelphia. This was a monumental shift for Missouri.” But after months of digging, Elwood says his research turned up no published references to Riley after 1922, even among the region’s growing Black political movements in the following decades. Instead, Elwood says Riley “basically vanishes” from all available written accounts. “I just found that very striking,” he observes, “that someone who was so significant who was reported on nationally — could in just a few years disappear, essentially.” Elwood maintains that Riley’s story is more relevant than ever. More than two dozen newspaper accounts, which Elwood shared with the Riverfront Times, help trace the story of a successful business owner whose campaign for elected office pushed against the color barrier in Missouri — and won.

‘Another step toward the goal of Democracy ’

Who was William M. Riley? Among his earliest appearances in print is a June 1918 newspaper story in the Black-owned St. Louis Argus; the story describes him as a Kansas native who moved to St. Louis after completing his studies as an optometrist at Langston University in Oklahoma. The move proved a success for Riley, who established multiple offices and other businesses, including a jewelry store. However, his entry into politics came at a time of crisis, notably World War I still raging in Europe. While there’s never been a time when it was easy to be a Black politician, 1918 was an especially difficult year Riley’s St ouis was caught in an era of intense racism and pushback to integration — with opposition coming both by ballot and bullet. Just two years earlier, in 1916, St. Louis voters had approved legal segregation through a ballot initiative that made it illegal for anyone to live on a block where 75 percent of occupants were a different race. In 1917, East St. Louis burned as mobs of white workers, their rage abetted by police, massacred dozens of Black residents in an atrocity that shocked the nation. But there was optimism around Riley’s candidacy. The Argus described him in glowing terms. “A man of his type is capable of fighting for the rights of his people,” the paper editorialized. “Honesty and perseverance is his motto. He is capable and his char-

riverfronttimes.com

acter commends him to the honor. His election will be another step toward the goal of Democracy.” Riley went on to win his August primary, setting himself up to compete in a November general election that featured three candidates from the Democratic Party and three from the Republicans. At the time, the general election was structured to send voters’ top three picks to the Missouri House, and the initial results indicated a Republican landslide: On November 6, 1918, all three Republican candidates, including Riley, swept their elections to represent St. Louis’ Fourth District in Missouri’s House of Representatives. History had been made: Riley was issouri’s first lac elected lawmaker. The Kansas City Times noted “the Missouri legislature this winter will have its first negro member,” while the St. Joseph Gazette described Riley as the first of his race ever elected to the state legislature.” But while the news of Riley’s win traveled fast, the celebrations would be short-lived. An election controversy was brewing.

Unmaking history

ess than a wee after the first reports of Riley’s victory, the November 13, 1918, headline from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch delivered a dramatic update: Although unofficial returns had seemed to indicate his election,” the paper reported a stunning reversal from the city’s Board of Election, which had found that Riley was 337 votes short of the next high-

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

Continued on pg 14

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Missouri’s 1918 state election made national news, but follow-up stories reported a surprise change in winners. | NEWSPAPERS.COM

COUNTED OUT Continued from pg 13

est vote getter, James T. O’Brien, a Democrat. News of the electoral undoing traveled, but unevenly. “The reporting on it was very confused for months after the fact,” Elwood says. He adds that he found accounts of Riley winning his seat as late as three months after the election. But it’s not clear what happened to the original count so breathlessly reported in numerous papers, and, as a historian and researcher, Elwood cautions that these are questions he can’t answer. “The reporting on this is a little bit contradictory,” he admits. “Multiple outlets did report his victory as the official count, but you don’t see a lot of concrete numbers that come with those reports.” Elections were not quick affairs in 1918, Elwood says. Early reports were often suspect. “But,” he continues, “it is significant how widely it was understood that Dr. Riley had won. You have a situation where the Board of Election Commission is mostly silent in the days immediately following the election until a week later, in which they announce the official results And then, there is a great deal of conjecture about what happened. Was he so completely defeated within the midst of what was, throughout St. Louis, a Republican landslide? Was there something untoward? There’s no concrete evidence that there was.” What there is evidence of, how-

RIVERFRONT TIMES

ever, is a hastily organized coalition of St. Louis racists who united in their mission just days before the November election. The adherents had all come to the same startling discovery: William M. Riley was Black. Apparently, this came as a shoc Although Riley was a nown businessman and had been featured in the earlier Argus coverage that directly mentioned his race, a group known as the Chouteau-Lindell Improvement Association spent the final days before the election in an effort to manufacture the controversy as a bona fide election crisis. The association seemed to benefit from newspapers’ willingness to restate their claims uncritically: One week before Election Day, on October 31, 1918, the PostDispatch reported that Riley’s race “was not known to most of the voters in the district.” The Post-Dispatch story doesn’t exactly fact-check this assertion, though its coverage does include denials from local Republican leaders distancing themselves from Riley, and “deny[ing] responsibility for putting a negro on the ticket.” It’s also notable that the PostDispatch coverage of the controversy included a description of Riley’s appearance, suggesting that his detractors made it an issue: Riley’s skin was said to be “white, except for the innumerable freckles, and his hair is straight” — but the article also acknowledged that Riley had “the unmistakable facial characteristics of his race, which he makes no effort to conceal.” This claim — that the white vot-

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

ers of District Four did not know that Riley was Black — would be repeated as fact in several ensuing accounts of the election. But the attention also gave Riley a chance to speak for himself: In a handful of interviews that represent some of the only direct quotes from the candidate himself, Riley denied that he had won nomination through deceit. He pointed out that his photo had been published before the primary, and that the white residents of the district knew him well. In an interview with the St. Louis Star and Times, Riley responded forcefully to the actions of the Chouteau-Lindell Improvement Association, which the previous night resolved to canvass house to house in the district “to inform voters about Riley’s race.” At a time when the world was at war, Riley argued for perspective: embers of my race are fighting in France to make the world safe for the white man as well as for the negro,” he said. “We ought to be treated like citizens and we are not going to be intimidated.”

A missed opportunity

Riley was ust one figure in St Louis’ burgeoning movements of Black political power. Yet, unlike Walthall Moore — whose 1920 election in St. Louis cemented his place, officially, as the first African American in the issouri House — or attorney Homer G. Phillips — whose name became synonymous with the hospital he founded that trained generations

riverfronttimes.com

of Black doctors and nurses — Riley’s story lay dormant for decades, his legacy buried in newspaper archives and waiting to be rediscovered. But where did he go after the 1918 election? Through census records, Elwood found Riley’s last listed St. Louis residence in 1922. By 1930, the census entry for a “Wm. Riley” — with the same date and birthdate — shows up in Baltimore, listed as a salesman. “I do believe he left St. Louis,” Elwood says. “I think it made it difficult to center ongoing advocacy around his election loss without him there to be part of it.” In fact, Riley had lived just three years in St. Louis before his election, and, as a transplant who appears to have departed not long after, Elwood says it is unlikely that he left behind any local living descendants. As for Riley’s disappearance from the press and history books, Elwood has several theories. One explanation is that Riley’s ouster was bad political optics — particularly at a time when both political parties struggled to retain Black voters. “It seems likely that Republicanaffiliated papers would rather avoid mentioning their failure around that election,” Elwood suggests. “The Democratic papers

Nathan Elwood, director of Missouri’s legislative library. | MISSOURI LEGISLATIVE LIBRARY would likely wish to forget their attempts at voter suppression.” Indeed, Riley’s election featured a familiar refrain of conspiracy theories around the supposed fraudulent importing of Black voters As recounted in historian James Neal Primm’s sweeping St. Louis history Lion of the Valley, proponents of the 1916 ballot initiative to legalize housing segregation spread rumors that Black residents of Memphis were being driven to voter registration in limousines “by the thousands.” The pattern repeated in 1918 with Riley; in its campaign against the optometrist, the Chouteauindell Improvement Association told an Oklahoma newspaper that the supposed Republican scheme to elect Riley was tied to heavy voter registration in the Black community “which has been found to be fraudulent.” But Elwood says he’s found no other reports of confirmed fraud during the 1918 election in local sources. Equally baseless, he says, were the reported claims that Black voter registrations for the 1918 election were traced to vacant lots, insane asylums and names “taken from tombstones in negro cemeteries.” Riley himself appeared to be aware of the attempts to undermine the vote: In pre-election coverage in the St. Louis Star and Times, Riley told a reporter that Black voters in his district “are being carefully instructed how to proceed on election day to forestall any fraudulent attempts to deprive them of their vote.” Whether Riley truly lost or was the victim of retroactive meddling, it’s clear to Elwood that Black voters took note of the strategies being deployed to keep their candidate from the halls of power. Through the next decades, it became increasingly common to

accuse Black voters of being “led to the polls” or of being brought across state lines to vote illegally. Similar accusations were levied two years later when Walthall Moore made history by entering the Missouri legislature as a state representative in 1920. One newspaper, based in Caruthersville, made no secret of its hardline racism by lamenting in a story that “the 1920 election was stolen by illegal n word votes Another report in the paper noted Moore had won his 1920 election by a heavy margin, making it a “hopeless undertaking” to reverse. The report included another notable observation: It described how, “four years ago,” a Black candidate was elected to the Missouri legislature “but was counted out, his margin being but small.” It was this last reference, a hint at what had transpired behind the scenes of Riley’s 1918 election, that caught Elwood’s attention. What seemed at first li e an offhand detail motivated him to scour newspaper archives for the full story of how a Black lawmaker had been “counted out” of an election because of his margin of victory. Riley’s election showed how a dedicated group of racists could successfully overturn a Black victory. Two years later, with Moore’s victory, Elwood notes that “it cemented a strategy of calling into question the legitimacy of elections that the white supremacist establishment opposed. If they did not like the results, they would preemptively claim that the results would be fraudulent. And those claims always fell along racial lines.” Riley’s ouster — from politics, St. Louis and history — should stand as an important moment in the history of St. Louis and Missouri. In 2022, Missouri has 25 elected Black lawmakers in the state House and Senate, the largest number ever in the history of the issouri eneral Assembly “It has taken a very long time to get to this point,” Elwood says. Today, he calls Riley’s election a “missed opportunity” for expanding enfranchisement for Missouri voters of all races. “It was because of machine politics, because of the corruption that existed at the time, because of a more entrenched racism within both of the parties throughout the 20th century,” he observes. “It’s hard to say what might have been, but I do think that it would have been significantly important to have seen a Black legislator in our state — even two years earlier than we did.” n

riverfronttimes.com

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

WEDNESDAY, 1/26/22

SUNDAY, 1/30/22

DREW LANCE 4:30PM FREE SHOW! SEAN CANAN’S VOODOO PLAYERS PRESENTS: VOODOO JERRUARY! GRATEFUL DEAD ‘69, 9PM

ANDREW DAHLE 2PM FREE SHOW! ERIC LYSAGHT 9PM FREE SHOW!

THURSDAY, 1/27/22

ANDREW DAHLE 5PM FREE SHOW! BROKEN JUKEBOX 9PM FREE SHOW! FRIDAY, 1/28/22

BUTCH MOORE 5PM FREE SHOW! TREE ONE FOUR 10PM SATURDAY ,1/29/22

ALL ROOSTERED UP 12PM SAINT BOOGIE BRASS BAND 10PM

FREE SHOW!

RIVERFRONT TIMES

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

riverfronttimes.com

MONDAY, 1/31/22

GERARD ERKER 5PM FREE SHOW! SOULARD BLUES BAND 9PM TUESDAY, 2/1/22

DUHART DUO 5PM FREE SHOW! STEVE BAUER & MATT RUDOLF 9PM FREE SHOW!

LOBSTER & OYSTER FESTIVAL FRIDAY, 1/28/22 5PM-10PM AND SATURDAY, 1/29/22 12PM-10PM

TAKEAWAY

Naomi Roquet says there is a simple way for customers to make the lives of bartenders and servers better: Be kind. | ANDY PAULISSEN

[ T H E TA K E O U T ]

Sick and Tired As the pandemic drags on, St. Louis’ food industry employees face burnout Written by

JENNA JONES

ix days a week, Naomi Roquet gets up, drinks a cup of coffee, smokes a cigarette and leaves for work at local pub Scottish Arms. But some days, she doesn’t want to. Some days, the weight of dealing with

harassment from customers who fight tooth and nail against wearing a mask, and the seemingly endless slog of COVID-19’s impacts on her wor , from staffing to supplies, is just a little too much to bear. But she carries on, greets her regulars and works her shift. She gets one day fully to herself to reset and relax with her fianc , who is also in the food industry. The day is mainly spent doing nothing in hopes of finding some peace. It’s a new reality for her and many other hourly hospitality employees who are involved in the production of the meal or drink that appears before you. From hostesses to cooks, from bartenders to servers, managers and owners, every aspect of your order comes down to a person helping along the way. This part of the food and beverage industry is not new. What is new is the way the

COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every aspect of their working lives. As one of the hardest-hit victims of the ongoing public health crisis, the daily reality in the food and beverage industry of taking care of guests prevents them from simply being “over it,” even when the rest of the world is so eager to move on. From the outset, owners have been vocal about the challenges brought on by the pandemic, such as staff shortages, inflated product costs, empty dining rooms and the difficulties that come with navigating ever-shifting rules and regulations. It has not been easy; some were simply unable to go on after the virus caused them close their doors, casualties of a situation beyond their control. But what about the people who work for them? Hourly employees have experienced firsthand the impact of

riverfronttimes.com

shortages, both in terms of staffing and from the supply chain, which conspire to create a less than optimal guest experience they must negotiate. For the past two years, hourly employees have been the first line of defense against upset customers, and it has only gotten worse as the pandemic has raged on much longer than anyone would have imagined. Stressed themselves about the seemingly never-ending crisis, customers have eschewed their “we’re all in this together” mantra of the pandemic’s early days in favor of relentless complaints that include frustrations with mask requirements, long wait times and product outages. For some employees, it’s not only ruining their day; it’s ruining their desire to continue working in the industry altogether. Roquet recounts a guest not un-

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

Continued on pg 19

RIVERFRONT TIMES

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

riverfronttimes.com

SICK AND TIRED Continued from pg 17

derstanding why she could not reserve space for twenty people; when she explained there was simply not enough staff, the woman said that it seemed to be the excuse everywhere and added that it was ridiculous there wasn’t proper staffing “And I’m like, ‘No, I completely understand why people have left the industry,’ Ro uet says ou know, because we want to be able to give every guest the best service, the best experience possible, but we are limited in what we can do And when they start treating us like we’re their help or they’re above us just because we’re serving them, it’s degrading and it’s frustrating Roquet has been in the industry for twelve years and currently runs the cocktail program at Scottish Arms, where she began as a hostess and now wor s as a bartender A majority of the time, her customers are respectful Her regulars Ama ing, even when they don’t agree on mas ing but wor to find common ground with her and mask up for the time they’re in the pub ut sometimes, Roquet says, customers can get really rude Roquet details having a decent percentage of patrons battle her on the pub’s mask policy, where they will make excuses, roll their eyes or say rude things to her Some harass her coworkers, but she says she doesn’t put up with that at all Some days, she says she just wants to pretend she doesn’t see patrons breaking their policies, because it’s tiring he strain of working additional hours, making sure people follow mask policies and complying with enhanced cleaning measures to keep the pub as safe as possible have added up for Roquet, leaving her mentally exhausted “Even though it’s a small percentage, [it] outweighs the others, Ro uet says A lot of times, it ruins your night ou now, we’ve been in the forefront, along with everyone in the hospitals and retail, like we’ve been risking our health and our lives to make sure that people can still enjoy themselves, but yet we’re not being able to enjoy ourselves at the same time Alex Salkowski, a meat cutter at AS utcher and loc , has had similar experiences He has bounced between a few jobs during the pandemic, and he says AS has been great because the shop allows him a better work-life

Alex Salkowski says he considered quitting the food industry before finding a better situation at BEAST Butcher and Block. | ANDY PAULISSEN balance, with nice regulars and great cowor ers ut at the beginning of the pandemic, before he stepped foot in AS , Sal ows i was sometimes filled with doubt that he wanted to remain in the food industry “It was just always work, always stress, always not being able to do anything, Sal ows i explains “And for a time I was thinking about just getting out of the industry and trying to do something completely different And the thought of that terrified me because I’ve been in the industry for so long I don’t necessarily have skills to do other things or go anywhere else Since he’s landed at AS , Salkowski has tried to learn everything he can from the butcher shop He’s pic ed up s ills such as crafting charcuterie and breaking down an animal, hoping to relight a fire and find a passion through his wor ut within the shop, there are more battles than the internal one Sal ows i faces ust li e every other industry, they’ve been impacted by staffing shortages, he says He’s had a few disruptive customers, but overall, he’s had a positive experience working at AS he hard part, for him and other businesses, is the lack of help ou may have to cover somebody when you thought you were going to have some time off,” Sal ows i says And ust trying to

find people, you now, we don’t have] many people come in for job interviews, or if we do, they come in and maybe they don’t come back because maybe they found another job somewhere else It’s really hard to even get somebody in the door because there’s so many job opportunities everywhere and everybody’s hurting as well A change of operating hours led one woman at Scottish Arms to leave an already short staff due to conflicts with childcare hile some are returning to the workforce, like Salkowski says, it’s hard to retain people when they’re hired on hese staffing shortages may have an impact on the guest experience, but they are felt harder by restaurant wor ers Ro uet is one of three people who can bartend, but two of those are also servers who are needed on the floor he shortage leads to it being near impossible for those on staff to get a day off or cover shifts when they get sick — Roquet says it’s usually a scramble to find the reinforcements needed on those days As far as why there’s a lack of help, Roquet points to the fact that sometimes, the food industry isn’t the most stable or financially sound ut her cowor ers and regulars have been her saving grace throughout the struggles il elly, owner of Roc star acos, recogni es the struggle of staffing in not ust his industry,

riverfronttimes.com

but in every industry In order to keep his staff happy and healthy, as well as make sure they are fairly compensated for how much work they’re doing, he took himself off the payroll in order to give everyone a raise Staffing is a bitch, elly says “And so making sure everybody’s compensated for what they do is the reason I did that It also felt like the right thing to do to take care of my people ecause it is hard, especially right now And then with this, I don’t want to say that there’s bad stuff coming, but I have a feeling there’s some bad stuff coming, you know, that I’m sure that there’s gonna be some new mandate coming down the pipe So it’s a scary time, man ut it’s not ust up to owners to eep staff happy Sal ows i, elly and Roquet all say the same thing: Customers being kind makes a world of difference, and patience and kindness are their biggest pleas “If you’re going to go to a restaurant not knowing their policies and stuff, just be respectful; that’s all we as for, Ro uet says e’re not trying to convince you that you’re wrong or get into arguments e all want to try and enoy ourselves as much as possible If you go to a place and they reuire a mas , ust follow it e’re not going to judge them for what they believe All we’re as ing for is just to be treated like human beings, you now n

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

riverfronttimes.com

SHORT ORDERS [PIZZA TIME]

Pie’s the Limit Pizza Head’s new owners promise great pizza served with purpose Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

hen Dylan Dodson and Sam Driemeier first started patroni ing Pizza Head (3196 South Grand Boulevard, 314-266-5400) a few years ago, they never dreamed that they would one day own the place hat all changed this past September when something inspired Dodson to reach out to i a Head’s former owner, Scott Sandler, to see if he’d be willing to sell As Dodson explains, he didn’t expect a yes, or even now what he would do if that yes came, but he still felt compelled to go for it I ust too a leap and messaged Scott, Dodson says I’m not sure why, but it ust occurred to me to do so I figured the worst case was that he would say no and I would ust go bac to my day ob ou don’t now until you as I felt li e there was a percent chance he’d say yes hough both Dodson and Driemeier have spent significant time in the restaurant business, neither were wor ing in it immediately prior to buying i a Head Driemeier has been a pharmacy technician for the past few years while Dodson has been in the manufacturing industry, most recently wor ing in a cardboard factory Despite their obs outside of the food and beverage field, they both longed to ma e their way bac into the business, both because of a genuine passion for it, as well as a desire to be the change they wanted to see in many of their former restaurant obs e’ve been there, and we now how we wish we were treated at the time, so we want to ta e our employees’ input and respect their ideas, Dodson says I am

Popular South Grand pizzeria Pizza Head is in good hands under its new ownership. | JJ, BE LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHY very into communication, and I feel li e I haven’t always had that in past obs Now that I am the owner, it’s very important for me to have that Dodson and Driemeier are especially cogni ant of how the ownership transition might be felt by their employees, and they say that they are ma ing every effort to involve them and hear their opinions on how things are going In turn, they are leaning on the wor ers who wor ed at i a Head under Sandler to learn a great deal about the restaurant’s recipes and processes heir guidance, coupled with the time they spent wor ing alongside Sandler himself as the deal was being finali ed, ma e them confident that they are able to continue providing the i a Head experience the restaurant’s patrons have come to now and love o that end, Dodson and Driemeier want i a Head’s loyalists to rest assured that they plan to eep the recipes, ingredients and menu items the same as they have always been he only changes they anticipate are additions, not subtractions the pair plan on expanding the restaurant’s hours they even suggest that brunch may be something to loo out for in the future , as well as its vegan offerings urrently, they are wor ing on bringing bac salads and developing vegan cheese bread, coo ies and breadstic s, which should be available soon e don’t want to turn i a Head into anything it’s not, Driemeier says e ust want to ta e

the same idea and expand on it ventually, we will see what happens down the road, because we don’t want to run before we are wal ing e feel li e we are doing well since the transition, so we don’t want to do too much too soon eyond the food, Dodson and Driemeier hope to eep another

[PROFILE]

Painted Plates For Food Raconteur, the dining table is a canvas for connection Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

shok Nageshwaran has traveled all over the world — throughout Europe, Asia, North America and Australia — and if there is one thing he has learned from those experiences, it’s that food is a vehicle for connection. “Food connects everyone,” Nageshwaran says. “It doesn’t matter one’s race, religion or where they live; it’s a connecting agent and catalyst. One of the bright spots during [the COVID-19 pandemic] has been food. It was the one thing people could look forward to. Even when everything was closed, people could bake or cook or try out something new in their homes. I truly believe it helped many people come out of depression. It’s a fantastic agent, and I feel

riverfronttimes.com

important aspect of i a Head up and running its charitable efforts In particular, the pair hope to bring bac their own version of the restaurant’s former ay It orward program, which provides pi a to those in need, as soon as possible Dodson and Driemeier have been wor ing with local shelters, nonprofits and churches to figure out how to best reinstate the initiative hough they are not uite ready to announce their plans or the name of their new initiative, they are in the process of finali ing the details and hope to ma e their vision for the program public shortly In addition to helping the hungry and unhoused members of the community, Dodson and Driemeier hope to focus on food waste, a problem they have noticed during their time in the restaurant business hey emphasi e they are committed to using their business to be a force for good, and they are eager to figure out ways to give to the community that go well beyond simply serving up great pi a Now, we are in a position to be a small part of the solution, says Dodson. n blessed to have chosen this industry.” Nageshwaran founded Food Raconteur (www.foodraconteurmo.com) in 2017 as a multifaceted culinary business that provides catering, consulting, education and private chef services to individuals and companies in the St. Louis area and beyond. A former marketing executive, the chef was inspired to leave his career behind and enter the culinary field after moving to St. Louis ten years ago for his wife’s job. Here, in a new country and new culture, he found himself questioning his path and felt that he was in a good situation to make a significant life change. “It gets to the point where you ask yourself if you are really happy with what you are doing,” Nageshwaran says. “My job looked really good from the perspective of LinkedIn — I had a good salary, 200 people reporting to me and all of that — but inside, I felt that I had another calling.” Nageshwaran always had a passion for cooking, though he never thought of pursuing it as a career. Instead, he undertook both undergraduate and graduate studies in business and dove headfirst into the corporate world, finding great success in the marketing field. Continued on pg 23

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

riverfronttimes.com

[FOOD NEWS]

Wine and Dine City Foundry introduces City Winery to St. Louis this summer Written by

JENNA JONES

he City Foundry (3730 Foundry Way) is adding another national brand to its lineup: City Winery will make its debut in St. Louis later this summer. City Winery doubles as a live music venue and a winery. Situated next to the Food Hall, the venue will boast a pizza bar, coffee roasting station and a “proprietary tap system with eco-friendly glasses of wine straight from stainless steel kegs,” according to

A winery has joined the list of destinations at City Foundry. | COURTESY OF CITY FOUNDRY/CITY WINERY a press release. The new addition can handle 175 people and can seat 70 people in its restaurant, with an extra 50 spots outdoors. You can also rent out the space for a private event.

The winery currently has locations in New York City, Boston, Nashville, Chicago, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Philadelphia and New York’s Hudson Valley. “St. Louis has always been one

“I believe there are no such things as kitchen secrets. If our ancestors held back, there would be nothing to share with the next generation.”

FOOD RACONTEUR Continued from pg 21

However, while he was pursuing his second MBA in Australia, he took on a side job as a cook in a high-end Italian restaurant. There, studying under a classically trained French chef, he felt a stir that told him this was more than just a part-time gig. It would take fifteen years for Nageshwaran to heed that calling, but once he did, he decided to go all in. In 2013, he enrolled at the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in St. Louis where he excelled in his studies, then did an externship at a secluded resort outside of the famed Spanish culinary town, San Sebastián. When he came back to St. Louis, he immediately went to work for the Ritz Carlton, St. Louis in Clayton, where he honed his fine-dining chops, then went on to the corporate dining company Sodexo in order to learn the business side of the industry, as well as high-volume dining. After gaining that knowledge, he felt ready to finally jump out on his own. Now, four-plus years into his business and with over 700 events under his belt, Nageshwaran is both thrilled and humbled by what he has been able to create. He sees Food Raconteur as not just providing food, but also experiences to his patrons, and he loves that the nature of his business constantly pushes him to learn about different cultures, which he is passionate about sharing with others. “I believe people have preconceptions about a lot of different cuisines,” Nageshwaran says. “If I say ‘Indian’ people im-

of my favorite cities in the country, it’s where I went to college, and it is an honor to be opening in the historic building of City Foundry STL,” Michael Dorf, City Winery founder and CEO, says in the release. “We are excited to bring our unique multisensory experience to the local community and become part of it.” Will Smith of New + Found, the City Foundry’s parent company, says in the release that the organi ation has been focused on finding partners that bring unique, curated experiences to St. Louis. The addition of City Winery allows St. Louisans to enjoy live music and wines made on site, Smith explains. The winery joins two other national brands: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and mini-golf spot Puttshack. The mini-golf experience with a “night club vibe” is slated to open as early as July, but may be pushed back to the fall, with a similar timeline in place for the cinema. City Winery’s opening date has not been announced but is slated for late summer. n

Ashok Nageshwaran founded Food Raconteur as a way to bring people together. | COURTESY OF FOOD RACONTEUR mediately think of biryani and curry; If I say ‘Japanese,’ it’s sushi. The world has given us so many things, and each country has so many different ingredients and cuisines. I don’t think it’s fair to judge a country by just a couple of different dishes, and I think there is a lack of understanding of different places. I try not to be preachy about it, but I like to explain why and where a dish originated and the history and stories behind it. This makes for a fun and interactive event.” Nageshwaran credits STL Foodworks, a local culinary incubator, with helping him realize his vision for Food Raconteur. He not only uses its facilities to prep his

dinners; he teaches cooking classes and conducts seminars, both virtually and in person, because he believes education is the cornerstone of his enterprise. “I believe there are no such things as kitchen secrets,” Nageshwaran says. “If our ancestors held back, there would be nothing to share with the next generation. Food is about innovation, and it constantly needs to evolve.” Nageshwaran plans to build on that education component in the future by engaging with elementary and high school students on all matters surrounding the food system. Already, he has spoken with students of the Rockwood

riverfronttimes.com

and Ladue school districts on everything from school lunches to food waste. He hopes to expand those relationships to figure out a way to address the lack of healthful and wholesome school lunches available to children; it’s an issue he believes is a serious problem, though he understands that it is complicated and difficult to tackle. Still, he is up for the challenge. In fact, those not-so-easy answers, together with a desire to connect people around food, is what keeps him going every day and confirms that he is on the right path. “My wife always tells me that it’s like I am communicating with ingredients,” Nageshwaran says. “I feel like this is a destiny or a calling, and very few people ever find that. It feels like a fairy tale; I think I am very fortunate, and that’s the reason I never want to take it for granted.” n

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

ST. LOUIS STANDARDS

[ S T. L O U I S S TA N D A R D S ]

Dream Team Clayton mainstay the Crossing owes its success to its staff’s attention to every detail Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

im Fiala doesn’t think that the food is what makes a restaurant special. It’s not the beverage selection, the setting or even the hospitality, but some un uantifiable thing that happens when you put everything together in harmony. “I am truly convinced that what makes a restaurant a spectacular restaurant is the experience,” Fiala says. “It’s not the food, not the service, not the atmosphere, not the wine list — it’s all of those things together, and then it’s the X factor. It’s having the front of house and back of house know that they have each other’s backs no matter what so they can do what they do. And putting all these little things together: That’s where everything pops. When you can give an experience like that, it’s magical.” For 24 years, Fiala has been orchestrating those magical experiences at the Crossing, his Clayton mainstay that is beloved by diners for its stunning marriage of Italian and French cuisines. Built on a foundation that spans his tenure at esteemed restaurants in San Francisco, Chicago’s famed Spiaggia, and Daniel, the hallowed New York institution, the Crossing has established itself as one of St. Louis’ top restaurants and remains as relevant two and a half decades in as it was when iala first opened its doors. However, Fiala traces the Crossing’s roots much further back than his cooking career. A St. Louis native, Fiala recalls how much dining out was a special part of his childhood and the way those experiences shaped his passion for hospitality. Growing up in the 1970s — a time when it was unheard of to take children to upscale restaurants — Fiala accom-

RIVERFRONT TIMES

For 24 years, the Crossing has blended all the right elements for an experience that continues to impress. | ANDY PAULISSEN panied his parents to some of the city’s best dining establishments, including the iconic Tony’s, which was a rite of passage for him and his siblings when each turned thirteen. From the food to the way the maitre d’ walked backward up the staircase so as to not turn his back to the guests, the experience was utterly mesmerizing, and quickly seared into Fiala’s mind. Despite his love of restaurants, Fiala instead went to college in Dallas for finance, but found himself floundering He new that a corporate job was the logical step after graduation, but he simply could not see himself in that world. “Every time I would interview at a bank, I would say to myself, ‘This isn’t me,’” Fiala says. “I just didn’t get it. I knew that wasn’t what I wanted to think about every day, and I’d walk into these interviews with this briefcase and think, ‘What am I even keeping in this briefcase? I’m such a loser.’ I had a couple of business cards and a pen and a pad of paper, and I just felt like such a goof.” Unsure of what he wanted to do, Fiala decided to take the year off to work as a deckhand with Clip-

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

The restaurant in Clayton has never lost its place in the local restaurant scene. | ANDY PAULISSEN per Cruise Line and eventually talked his managers into letting him wor in the itchen His first day on the line he knew he was in love with cooking, and when he finished his time with the ship, he came back to St. Louis determined to pursue a culinary career. He started out with Mark Erker of Catering St. Louis, then decided to leave town for San Francisco to learn at some of the top res-

riverfronttimes.com

taurants in the country. From there, he went to Spiaggia in Chicago and Daniel in New York City, where he met his dear friend, chef Cary McDowell. The two bonded over their passion for food and hospitality, and when Fiala left to take a job cooking at a hotel in Puerto Rico, McDowell soon followed. There, they further developed their professional relationship, creating menus, working out

The grilled gulf escolar with lobster, broccoli and tomato is beautifully executed. | ANDY PAULISSEN ideas for the restaurant and chatting about what it would be like to open a restaurant of their own. When Fiala moved back to St. Louis to get married after about a year in Puerto Rico, he was determined to make that dream of opening a restaurant a reality. McDowell relocated to the city shortly after Fiala returned, and the pair dove headfirst into s etching out a vision for the Crossing — a restaurant that would be different than other places that were currently operating in the St. Louis dining scene. “We were looking at other restaurants at the time — they were 250-seat restaurants,” Fiala says. “We purposely looked for something that was about 70 seats, because we didn’t want to get too big. I knew that everyone in St. Louis likes to eat at 7 p.m., so I’d have one shot to fill the restaurant for the night. If I had too many seats, I wouldn’t be able to do what I wanted to do, which was to make every dish its own entity. I didn’t want to have a tray of broccoli and zucchini and a pan of rice on a steam table. I wanted everything to be composed for its particular dish. That was our thing,

Jim Fiala. | ANDY PAULISSEN and it surprised St. Louis.” or the first few years, iala, McDowell and Fiala’s wife, Melissa, worked nonstop, seven days per week, to make the Crossing a success. Their efforts paid off, as the restaurant quickly gained a reputation as one of the top places for beautifully executed food and warm hospitality. However, they realized that schedule was unsus-

“You have to have a view of your restaurant that is bigger than you... We’re constantly trying to get better at what we do; you should never take for granted that you have arrived.” tainable and began cultivating a team around them that they empowered to make decisions. Fiala believes this approach has given the Crossing its staying power and has allowed it to remain relevant in a dining scene that has greatly evolved since 1998. “When you think about it, you have to have a view of your res-

riverfronttimes.com

taurant that is bigger than you,” Fiala says. “I don’t work the line every night anymore, but I have brought in young people to the restaurant that are super talented, so there is a lot of vitality and youthfulness in the menu. Letting up on that tight grip of every aspect of every dish and empowering others to make decisions and own them for themselves is what keeps everyone learning. We’re constantly trying to get better at what we do; you should never take for granted that you have arrived.” Fiala credits his staff — everyone from the bartenders who consistently turn out outstanding drinks to the valet who reads the St. Louis Business Journal so he can keep up with the goings-on of regular guests — with serving as the foundation of the Crossing’s success. He especially singles out his executive chef, Thu Rein Oo, a Burmese refugee who rose from washing dishes to leading the kitchen, as one of the forces that keeps the restaurant so current. His employees inspire him with their experiences and unique points of view, and he inspires them with anecdotes and ideas he’s gained over the years, and those he continues to gain with every meal he eats. That experience has given him confidence to operate the Crossing on his own terms, with the unrelenting passion for the business that he insists on sharing with everyone who walks through the restaurant’s front doors. “I don’t have to change the cooking I do to impress critics, because I know my clientele and who I am cooking for,” Fiala says. “I just think the more I stay true to knowing my staff and my guests who come in the restaurant, and I stay true to making them happy, and stay focused on realizing that I am not some chef god that they should be honored to be at my restaurant — that’s what is important. I am honored that they are at my restaurant. The more you keep that humility and remain thankful that you have guests, the more you will have fun. I’m not saying it’s always the easiest thing in the world, but there are blessings that come along with it. I’ve enjoyed the run and still enjoy it. It’s a gift that I have been given to be able to love this business.” n

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

riverfronttimes.com

REEFERFRONT TIMES

[WEED NEWS]

Seedy Affairs Records shows continued FBI interest in Independence marijuana, utility contract deals Written by

STEVE VOCKRODT AND JASON HANCOCK This story was originally published by KCUR 89.3 and the Missouri Independent.

ederal law enforcement was still seeking information as recently as last summer about medical marijuana licensing in Missouri and utility contracts in Independence that have attracted FBI scrutiny for years. That’s according to sworn deposition testimony from a Kansas City-area businessman that surfaced publicly this month. The deposition of Joseph Campbell, owner of the real estate development firm itan ish, was conducted in November as part of an ongoing defamation lawsuit he and his company filed in against the City of Independence and two city council members. Excerpts of the deposition became public last wee after they were filed in ac son County Circuit Court by Independence’s attorneys. ampbell testified that agents from the FBI, Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department’s public integrity unit interviewed him on uly , The questions, according to Campbell’s testimony, focused on his involvement with a pair of utility contracts in Independence and medical marijuana licensing in Missouri — the latest indication that a potentially wide-ranging public corruption probe may be ongoing. Campbell in his deposition indicated the FBI wanted to talk to him further, but hadn’t as of the time he gave his testimony. During the deposition, Campbell said that as part of his July interview he was asked by federal agents about several people involved in state and local politics,

Missouri’s medical marijuana regulators have recieved multiple grand jury subpoenas in the last two years as part of a federal investigation centered on Independence, Missouri. | CARLOS MORENO/KCUR 89.7 including: • Independence Mayor Eileen Weir • former Independence council members Curt Dougherty and Tom Van Camp • Independence City Manager Zach Walker • Missouri lobbyist Steve Tilley • former Missouri House Speaker John Diehl ampbell also testified that overnor Mike Parson’s name came up during the interview. But the deposition transcript that was filed last wee in ac son ounty Circuit Court does not contain Campbell’s full testimony — only pages of at least pages were included — and does not go further into why some of the names like Parson and others were discussed. ampbell’s attorney filed a motion to suppress the document two days after it appeared in the public record, arguing that it should not have been filed because the deposition isn’t yet complete. Campbell did not return requests for an interview and his attorney, Mark McFarland, declined to discuss the matter. Neither Campbell nor any of the people he was asked about during his interview last summer have been charged with any wrongdo-

ing in regard to Independence or Missouri political affairs. Campbell said repeatedly during his deposition that his only involvement in the FBI’s Independence probe is as a witness. A spokesperson for the FBI said the agency cannot confirm or deny the existence of an investigation. The records provide a fresh glimpse into an FBI probe that’s transfixed state and local politics ever since news of it surfaced in Independence deals In , ampbell bought the former Roc wood olf ourse in Independence from a company that had owned it for several years. Months later, the Independence City Council voted to buy the golf course from his real estate company, Titan Fish, for almost $1 million, close to twice what he paid to buy the property. The land was used to build a solar farm. The deal drew scrutiny over a series of donations to Weir days before she voted with the majority of council members to approve the purchase. The donations came from four political action committees connected to Tilley, a former state lawmaker and longtime friend and adviser to the governor. illey’s lobbying firm represents

riverfronttimes.com

Independence’s electric utility and the company chosen to operate the solar farm. Weir has denied any wrongdoing in relation to the donations. Campbell’s testimony reveals he is also connected to the other Independence utility contract from that has received I scrutiny: the demolition of the power plant in Missouri City owned by Independence Power & Light. The Independence City Council awarded a St ouis firm called Environmental Operations Inc. a million contract to tear down the plant, even though another bidder offered to do the job for less than half that amount. A majority of the Independence City Council approved the contract despite opposition from some council members and a board that advises the city-owned utility. ampbell testified that he was involved in the Missouri City power-plant deal through a consulting contract he had with Environmental perations He testified that the land upon which the power plant stood would become “very valuable” given its proximity to a port along the Missouri River. ampbell testified that he was originally supposed to receive

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

Continued on pg 28

RIVERFRONT TIMES

INDEPENDENCE Continued from pg 27

half of the Missouri City property once it was repurposed. But Environmental perations officials later told him that the firm had to own the entire site because of an indemnification agreement with Independence. So instead, Campbell testified that he would get a 11.3 percent cut of the contract. In 2020, the Kansas City Star reported that a federal grand ury had issued subpoenas to Independence to obtain a number of records related to the two utility deals, including minutes to private meetings held by the Independence City Council where the transactions were discussed. Attorney-client privilege? Campbell’s testimony also discusses Diehl, who resigned as issouri House Speaker in 2015 after it was revealed he had been sending inappropriate text messages to a legislative intern ampbell said Diehl, who became Environmental perations’ general counsel following his resignation, as ed if Campbell would claim that the two had an attorney-client relationship. ampbell testified that he understood Diehl had asked about forming such an arrangement in order to eep from having to hand over certain documents the government had re uested through a subpoena. ampbell testified Diehl had never represented him in a legal capacity. A request for comment to Diehl was forwarded to J.R. Hobbs of ansas ity law firm yrsch, Hobbs & Mirakian. He denied Campbell’s assertions. ur firm has represented nvironmental Operations Inc.] in connection with the inquiry, including document production and subpoena requests, and there is no accuracy to any assertion that Mr. Diehl ever advised anyone to assert privilege if it didn’t apply, Hobbs said, adding later r Diehl denies any possible assertion that he extended attorneyclient privilege at any time Medical marijuana Campbell’s testimony also reveals that he was helping finance a company called Herbal Health that applied for licenses to cultivate and sell medical mari uana He said that he was asked about mari uana licensing during the July 2021 interview with federal law enforcement.

RIVERFRONT TIMES

illey was registered as Herbal Health’s lobbyist from January 2019 to November 2020, and has numerous clients in the medical mari uana industry He did not respond to a request for comment. In November 2020, the head of issouri’s medical mari uana program testified under oath that a federal grand ury subpoena his agency received was connected to an I investigation in Independence. issouri’s medical mari uana regulators received two additional federal grand ury subpoenas last year, with each redacted before being turned over to the media at the re uest of the federal government to obfuscate the records being sought by law enforcement It was not long after reports first surfaced of the FBI’s interest in the Independence utility deals that Titan Fish led a consortium that submitted a proposal to acquire and refashion Independence Power &

ight’s soon to be shuttered lue Valley Power Plant. Tilley was listed in Titan Fish’s Blue Valley proposal. A Kansas City Star report in March 2020 quoted two Independence city council members who expressed reservations about doing business with anyone who might be sub ect to an I investigation Campbell in 2020 sued Independence and the two council members, saying their comments defamed him. ampbell’s lawsuit is ongoing, though he attempted to settle with the city if the council handed over the shuttered Blue Valley power plant to itan ish, granted tax abatement and leased back portions of the power-plant land, according to an article published earlier this month in the Kansas City Star. eir testified in a deposition in the case ee s later, her attor-

ney convinced a udge to seal her deposition after learning that an unidentified third party tried to obtain it. On Monday, the Kansas City Star filed a motion as ing a ac son ounty udge to unseal eir’s deposition, arguing that her testimony is a matter of public importance and that sealing it violated the First Amendment. eir is running for a third term as mayor and faces a crowded primary election next month. In an unrelated matter, the IRS sei ed two vehicles belonging to ampbell on ay and signaled that it may seize a lake house in organ ounty, issouri, which also belongs to ampbell An affidavit written by an IRS agent in support of the sei ures alleges that ampbell, through his various businesses, fraudulently obtained government ID relief funds and that those funds were used to buy the cars and the lake house. n

[CBD]

High Hopes CBD prevented COVID-19 infection in patients, according to new study Written by

LEE DEVITO

et another scientific study suggests that cannabis could help fight COVID-19. The latest found that CBD, the nonpsychoactive compound found in cannabis touted for its possible health benefits, was able to block COVID-19 replication in human cells. That’s according to a paper published last Thursday in the peer-reviewed Science Advances journal. The study saw a team of 33 researchers at the University of Chicago and University of Louisville survey 1,212 U.S. patients taking prescribed CBD to help manage seizures. It found that patients who took 100-milligrams-per-milliliter oral doses of CBD were less likely to get positive COVID-19 test results compared to a control group that did not take CBD (6.2 percent to 8.9 percent, respectively). Another part of the study, conducted in a lab with human lung cells, found CBD inhibited the spread of the virus. “Our results suggest that CBD and its metabolite 7-OH-CBD can block SARSCoV-2 infection at early and even later stages of infection,” the study’s authors wrote. The study comes just one week after another, from researchers affiliated with Oregon State University, that found that

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

A new study finds that oral CBD prevented both infection and the spread of COVID-19 in a group of patients. | SHUTTERSTOCK other compounds in cannabis prevented SARS-CoV-2 from infecting human cells in a lab, by effectively gumming up the virus’s spike proteins. The researchers warn that you can’t just go to a local dispensary to treat yourself for COVID-19. Neither study has undergone clinical trials yet, and the Oregon State University study used compounds that are found in raw cannabis, not the CBD or THC that people consume. “We strongly caution against the temptation to take CBD in presently available formulations including edibles, inhalants, or topicals as a preventative or treatment therapy at this time,” the University of Chicago and University of Louisville authors wrote. “Especially without the knowledge of a rigorous randomized

riverfronttimes.com

clinical trial with this natural product.” The authors of that study say that while the COVID-19 vaccines remain the best way to prevent serious illness or death, they hope a cannabis-derived product could be used as part of a multipronged approach, “especially for populations with limited inclination or access to vaccines,” they wrote. “As a bottom line, what this says is that CBD has the potential to prevent infections, such as breakthrough infections, which might be one of the most useful applications,” lead researcher Dr. Marsha Rosner told Vice. “The hope is that it would prevent more serious disease, but we don’t know yet,” Rosner said. “And we would need a clinical trial.” n

CULTURE

Afrofuturism STL saw a livestreamed release at SK8 Liborius in November. | FOVEAL MEDIA

[MUSIC]

Black to the Future A deep dive into Afrofuturism STL Written by

JOSEPH HESS

y all accounts, it takes a good deal of effort to catch a glimpse into the future. With the infinite expanse that is our physical universe, it stands to reason that any future, proven or imagined, is theoretically possible. If you’re the scientific type, your burden will then be proving your truth; if you’re more mystical in nature, an experience found through art might be your best path forward Afrofuturism often describes an

artistic aesthetic that recontextualizes the future, typically through the lens of African diasporic culture and technology. Although the term was first widely used in the 1990s, Afrofuturism has been applied retroactively to describe the wor of artists across multiple eras and disciplines. Musician George linton, sci fi novelist ctavia Butler and visual artist Angelbert Metoyer are all good reference points — but there are artists much closer to home participating in the movement as well Released on November 8, Afrofuturism STL is a compilation of songs by several area musicians and artists who share individual interpretations of possible futures that can be reached now only through sound. While the collection is available digitally, the St. Louis-based Close-Far Recordings also produced a limited edition cassette tape — a distinct retro touch provided by label founder and curator Nathan Cook. “I think overall the compilation provides a brief feel for the energy, atmosphere and character

of several communities within the city that act as audio portraits of some of the incredible artists living in it,” Cook says. “[The compilation] is also a gesture of solidarity and support to the incredible lac musicians I now and was hearing around town, and to the Black Lives Matter movement. It stems from my belief that music and art can be very powerful unifiers across social divides Cook started Close-Far Recordings in while living in Springfield, issouri, as a way of documenting the music he and his friends were ma ing at the time. After moving to St. Louis in , he witnessed a vibrant and active experimental music scene and was inspired to document the community in a distinct way y the end of 2010, Close-Far had released its first of many uality cassette tapes to come with full color art and accompanying download codes for those lacking a tape deck. lose ar has been prolific ever since, building a reputation through a wide range of albums

riverfronttimes.com

from local luminaries such as Rich ’Donnell and evin Harris, to name a few, including standouts well beyond the borders of St ouis such as ’ s New or maximalist” artist/musician Charlemagne alestine ne of the label’s most substantial wor s to date is Rhizomatic St. Louis, a compilation series that documented more than regional artists across five volumes from to , with a ma or focus on the local experimental music community. ith that series wrapped up, though, Cook set his sights on the future. “Since the Rhizomatic St. Louis compilations had ended and were a general survey of underground music in St ouis, I wanted to start new compilations focusing on specific communities wor ing in electronic and experimental music,” Cook says. Cook credits many musicians and colleagues in the creation of Afrofuturism STL, naming Michael illiams as a ey player who supported and inspired the project

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

Continued on pg 31

RIVERFRONT TIMES

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

riverfronttimes.com

AFROFUTURISM STL Continued from pg 29

and helped bring in Black Artist roup affiliated saxophonist Ariel Kenyatta for two collaborative tracks. he concept was further fleshed out after Cook reached out to several others in the community, such as local videographer and musician William Morris, who created a video for the Black Speculative Arts Movement event at the Missouri History Museum in 2018. Morris’ “Divine Reversal” serves as the collection’s penultimate track, with a spiraling composition that oozes mysticism. The compilation also features the clairvoyant talents of Nadir Smith, 18&Counting, Ra Child, Parisian, Delta Cool Breeze, Ethiks Mind, Syna So Pro and Virgil Work, Jr., who collectively represent St. Louis’ past, present, and most notably, future. After months of conjuring and collaboration, Cook spent early finishing Afrofuturism STL and focusing on ruxism, his long running monthly experimental concert series that started in 2014 and served as a vector for previous Close-Far projects, including the Rhizomatic St. Louis tape series. Slated for April at Schlafly ap Room, ruxism was set to be the release party for Afrofuturism STL, with live performances by several artists from the compilation — but this show would never happen. After the coronavirus pandemic had swept this and 99.9 percent of all live events from the calendar, Cook put the release on hold indefinitely “With so much turmoil and so many unknown variables, I just thought it would be a good time for reflection and refining of practices, oo explains I was disturbed by some Americans’ responses to the pandemic that wanted to keep bulldozing through the situation and not adjust or slow down anything, instead of cooperating and putting public health first When Cook did pick the idea up again, it found new life as a livestreamed event. After 60 years of supporting and presenting improvisational and experimental musicians from St. Louis, nationally and all over the world, St. Louis’ New Music Circle shifted its focus in 2020 from live concerts to YouTube, with an ongoing series of musical performances that continues to captivate in 2022, bringing visual elements that add di-

The cover of Afrofuturism STL. | NADIR SMITH mension to the artists on screen. This arrangement provided the perfect opportunity for Cook. “I’ve been a volunteer on the board with New Music Circle since 2014, and it’s a wonderful nonprofit organi ation to be involved with,” he says. “Since live shows didn’t seem to be coming back in a safe way I presented the idea of a collaboration with New Music Circle to release the compilation in congruence with a video presentation.” The Afrofuturism STL cassette release event aired on November 8 on YouTube. Following a brainbending intro by Ian Jones (Shinra Knives, Parisian) the viewer is warped inside SK8 Liborious Church in north St. Louis, where a film crew led by had ivins and Bryan Dematteis of Foveal captured a spree of jovial rhythmic meditations by Virgil Work, Jr., a prolific electronic music producer whose 40-plus-year body of work can be heard on at least 35 albums released across America, Australia and Europe. “It was amazing seeing Virgil perform and be on the tape, as he has been involved in making innovative electronic music in St. Louis since the ‘80s,” Cook says. “Over the last few years his archival recordings as Workdub and Vincent, originally released as limited edition cassettes, have

been reissued on vinyl and digitally by several independent record labels.” As the last song of that set came to a close, a short video collage segued to the second and final performance of the show. Nadir Smith, the moniker of sound artist Thomas “Olan” Osunsami, then closed the event with a robust piece that traveled through several aesthetic corridors with melodic loops, samples and atmospheric beats. Nadir uses improvisation to build anticipation while playing with expectations, and he loosely structures the pieces so he can respond to the energy of the space he’s performing in. While he does prepare for shows, there’s a little room built in for “play,” as he describes it. “Going into it, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, Nadir says of the experience I wasn’t really a fan of the streaming or online format initially, because of the lack of audience members and other factors with the format. Maybe the immediacy or lack of intimacy. uc ily there was a film crew and the event organizers were in attendance,” he continues. “So I was actually playing for people, you now he energy exchange that I love about playing a show, or going to a show, was there that night, and I think it turned out really nice.”

riverfronttimes.com

In addition to performing, Nadir also contributed the opening track and cover art for the compilation. Unifying artists and musicians across a single visual aesthetic presented a unique challenge, but hearing tracks from his fellow contributors helped him create a piece that represents not only his music, but the compilation as a whole. “The main image is a gold pendant, with hints of aquamarine and other colors. If you look closely, it’s a bit scratched up, rough around the edges, but still very beautiful,” Nadir says. “I felt a similar way about the music.” Nadir and Cook met through mutual friends in the music community and discovered that they had similar tastes in electronic music. After Nadir performed at one of lose ar’s ruxism events, oo approached him with the concept of Afrofuturism STL while sharing some of the other artists that were involved. As the project evolved, Nadir’s contributions grew. “For me, Afrofuturism as an aesthetic represents an alternative view of creativity, imagination, perception and general expectations of so-called ‘Blackness,’” Nadir says. He credits Sun Ra, along with creative movements such as Detroit techno in the ‘80s and ‘90s, or early ungle drum and bass, as examples of Afrofuturism in music. “I think a lot of it comes from the feeling of limitation or constraint that has been expected out of people of color, and re-imagining an alternative to that,” Nadir adds. “To me there is also an element of pushing boundaries or looking forward to what will soon be.” Afrofuturism STL can be accessed on Bandcamp or through CloseFar’s website. A limited quantity of the cassette tape is available for $10, with the digital version priced at $5. The proceeds from all sales of the compilation go to ArchCity Defenders, the St. Louis-based advocacy organization that legally combats state violence and the criminalization of poverty. The full release event can be accessed for free and in HD through New Music Circle’s YouTube Channel, along with a collection of past concerts. While a reprint is unlikely, Cook feels that more volumes could be made in a future that has yet to be clearly seen. For now, all he has left to share is gratitude. “The interest and support of all the artists featured on the compilation is the reason it was able to happen,” he says. “So I want to thank them very much for contributing and being involved.” n

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

riverfronttimes.com

SAVAGE LOVE Rooting Around BY DAN SAVAGE Hey Dan: I’m a heterosexual cisgender male who loves prostate stimulation. I discovered it later in life, but it’s been a staple for the last fifteen years. I’m worried I’m pushing the envelope too much and need your advice. Lately, the last six months or so, I will have an orgasm that’s so intense I have pain just to the right of the base of my penis & balls immediately afterwards. If I push a finger in toward the center of my body, it’s tender. It goes away after a few minutes, but sometimes my right ball remains sensitive. I’ve even taken an ibuprofen to lessen the pain and I’ve had a prostate exam when it’s happening and I do self-exams of my testicles regularly, and I’ve noticed no changes. Usually my next orgasm is normal, and there’s no pain or sensitivity afterwards. As I said, though, it happens after intense sessions with a lot of prostate stimulation. While I’ve been practicing butt stuff for a long time, I feel as I’ve only perfected it in the last year or so. I should also state that my sessions last up to two hours, and I’m erect during most of that time. I obviously don’t want to hurt myself, and I don’t think I am, but it’s a concern. It’s very hard to stop something that feels so incredibly good. I’m a little uncomfortable talking with my urologist because he treats me like a long-lost uncle. At our first visit, I told him very directly that my father had prostate cancer and I really wanted him to take his time with the exam and to really make sure all is well with my prostate. I added that the last exam I got from my primary care physician didn’t last long enough to feel very accurate and encouraged my urologist to take as much time as he wanted up there. He did not. Hoping you can help me out. Pain Around Balls Concerning I’ve never had a patient specifically say they wanted me to ‘take my time’ with a prostate exam,” said Dr. Ashley Winter, a boardcertified urologist in ortland, regon ut on numerous occasions, I’ve had a patient say, ‘Wow,

that was way more detailed of a prostate exam than my primary care doctor did ’ And generally, that comment is meant as a ‘thank you,’ as in, ‘than you for being detail-oriented.’” o be perfectly honest, A , I shared your letter with Dr inter because I suspected the reuest you made ta e your time up there, doc might’ve been the reason your doctor rushed through that prostate exam Dr inter assures me that was unlikely. I understand when someone wants their doctor to do a thorough exam, said Dr inter A detailed exam shows the clinician is actually intent on collecting information about their body apart from lab tests and imaging studies. The patient feels ‘seen.’ Or touched ou get my point ut ust as a prostate exam that ends uic ly isn’t evidence a doctor is worried a patient might be perving, an exam that ends uic ly also isn’t evidence a doctor isn’t being thorough “Some patients have a very ‘high riding prostate,’ for example, and that’s difficult to feel except for the apex, or the tip, of the prostate,” said Dr. Winter. “And I have long fingers In those cases, I will probably do a uic in and out because ta ing longer would ust involve me massaging the anus with no specific information being gathered here’s nothing wrong with massaging an anus for the sa e of massaging an anus, of course, but no one needs to go to med school and or to the doctor for that ut while I had her on the phone, I as ed Dr inter again if some people do go to the doctor for that “In extremely rare instances patients are manipulative or fetishi e their exams, but this is extremely uncommon, said Dr inter And while I can’t rule out the possibility that the urologist who saw A was ‘weirded out’ by his comments, it seems more li ely that A is pro ecting that on to his doctor here is so much shame around ‘butt stuff,’ so I can easily see how this happens.” (It’s also possible that I’m the one doing the pro ecting here, as I was the one who raised the issue That said, while intentional perving is rare, some people do get aroused during exams

nintended genital responses whether erection, or prostatic secretion during a rectal exam are normal and occur on occasion,” said Dr. Winter. “It is the role of any self respecting sex positive clinician to ac nowledge that these things are normal and move on ut it’s super uncommon and when it happens, the patient is usually stressed out and very apologetic about it As for your problem sensitivity around the base of your penis after one of your extended butt play sessions Dr inter thin s you might need a different sort of exam altogether It sounds li e what he’s having is a pelvic floor muscle spasm, said Dr inter eople tense and contract muscles in their pelvis muscles at the base of penis during periods of prolonged stimulation He’s not doing anything wrong, and he doesn’t have to stop ut he might want to ta e a warm bath after. And if it’s too uncomfortable or gets worse, he should as to be referred for a pelvic floor exam and possible pelvic floor physical therapy Follow Dr. Ashley Winter on Twitter @AshleyGWinter. Hey Dan: here’s a long running controversy among the Adult aby Diaper over A D community about the long term impacts of continuously wearing and using diapers Some argue that adult babies may or may not become a bedwetter and/or incontinent from continual diaper use he A D s who claim to have been successfully un potty trained are loudly decried as liars by other members of their community Naturally, there aren’t a lot of medical studies on this there aren’t any , and I’m not going to as my family doctor an you figure this out In Nappies Cancels Out Nocturia Nope Hey Dan: I’m a 74-year-old straight male. I don’t have a problem for you. Instead, I am writing to share an idea with you with potential benefit to society. But, unlike you, I don’t have the means to spread the news. Based on the success of your “It Gets Better” Project, you seem like the perfect person to publicize it. My idea and my proposal to you is this: International Come-

riverfronttimes.com

Out-of-the-Closet Day. It would include coming out about your sexual orientation but not be limited to sexual orientation. It would include all long-suppressed “secrets,” including affairs, crushes, no longer being in love with your spouse, or anything else a person might have kept hidden. I even have a suggestion for when to celebrate International Come-Out-of-the-Closet Day: March 4. The slogan would be “March Forth on March Fourth!” What do you think? Movement About Really Changing Hearts e already have a National oming ut Day N D , AR H, when closeted ueer people everywhere are encouraged if they can do so safely to come out to their families, friends, neighbors, and cowor ers N D is not a new thing it’s ta en place on ctober 11 every year since 1988. And while I appreciate the spirit of your proposal let’s all get those long suppressed secrets off our chests I’m not sure you’ve thoroughly thought this one through If one day a year we blurt out our secrets affairs and crushes and secret second families included the result would probably loo less li e National oming ut Day and more like The Purge. And since most people regard brea ing up on an annual holiday as a needless and avoidable cruelty, people who confess to affairs or no longer being in love on International ome ut of the loset Day will not be seen as courageous truth tellers, AR H, but as inconsiderate assholes It’s fine to dump someone, people fall out of love, people have affairs ut no one thin s it’s o ay to dump someone or to share a secret that forces someone to dump you on han sgiving or hristmas or alentine’s Day ecause then the person whose heart you stomped on winds up being reminded every year when that holiday inevitably rolls around So, for the same reason it wouldn’t be o ay to blurt out terrible secrets on the holidays we already have, it wouldn’t be o ay to blurt them out on a day dedicated to blurting out terrible secrets mail@savagelove.net @FakeDanSavage on Twitter www.savage.love

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

riverfronttimes.com

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2022

riverfronttimes.com

Riverfront Times, January 26, 2022

Articles inside

Culture

Reeferfront Times

Short Orders

Takeaway

Feature

St. Louis Standards