January 1, 2015 edition

HappyNewYear!

From The St. Louis American staff

Ferguson on fire

Why did officials let West Florissant burn?

By Kenya Vaughn

Of The St. Louis American

“Since you are selected by the Governor and you have direct contact with the Governor, can you find out from him why they didn’t protect my neighborhood?” Lula Howell asked at the inaugural Ferguson Commission meeting on Monday, December 1. She waited more than three hours to ask her simple, yet haunting, question.

In press conferences and meetings with clergy, community organizations and protest

n “Can you find out from the Governor why they didn’t protect my neighborhood?”

– Lula Howell

leaders leading up to the St. Louis County grand jury decision in the Darren Wilson case, police commanders said they were prepared.

They said police officers were going to respect people’s right to express their dissent and work with protestors to identify agitators looking to loot and destroy.

On November 24, after St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch announced the grand jury’s decision, months of discussions fell apart in minutes. Still today, the community is fighting for answers as to why the promised preemptive measures, Gov. Jay Nixon’s declaration of a State of Emergency

Medical mentor Dr.

Bullock reaches into community from WUSTL School

of Medicine

By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American

Arnold Bullock, MD is revered in medical and community circles as an outstanding urologist and medical school professor, a tireless community servant and an ardent advocate for men’s health.

Arnold Bullock, MD, is the inaugural Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Urology at the Washington University School of Medicine.

Earlier this year, Bullock was appointed the inaugural Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Urology at the Washington University School of Medicine. He plans to use that position to help young people develop an interest in medicals careers.

“For me, it’s always been my long-term goal to do more with providing exposure to youth for possible medical careers,” he said.

“My goal is to associate with organizations that are established in our middle-school systems to foster that goal.”

Receiving an endowed chair is the highest honor that can be bestowed on a faculty member, said Will Ross, MD, associate dean for Diversity and associate professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine.

“Dr. Bullock was duly honored, not only for being a nationally-recognized expert in prostate cancer and robotic surgery, but

Berkeley Mayor addresses Martin death

Theodore Hoskins: ‘You couldn’t even compare this with Ferguson’

By Kenya Vaughn and Bridjes O’Neil

Of The St. Louis American

The Berkeley Police Department concluded an independent investigation regarding the officer-involved shooting that claimed the life of 18-year-old Antonio Martin on December 23. Berkeley Mayor Theodore Hoskins and Berkeley Police Chief Frank McCall Jr. updated residents with the latest information during a press conference Tuesday, December 30 at Berkeley City Hall. McCall said the officer was responding to a call regarding a shoplifting incident at the Mobil station on Hanley and Frost. That officer was also given a description of the suspect involved in the shoplifting incident,

n “You say it’s not like Ferguson, but another young black man is dead at the hands of police again.”

– Pastor Jason Keith Coleman

which “did match Mr. Martin,” McCall said. The officer was approached by two men –Martin and an individual whose identity has not yet been released. Only a minute after arriving on the scene, the officer reported that

On Saturday, December 27 protestors marched silently to the Gateway Arch in downtown St. Louis, their mouths taped shut with the names of people who have been killed by police. Arch security closed the monument when protestors arrived.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Courtney Palmer, cousin of Antonio Martin, and his small cousins mourned at a candlelight vigil on Christmas Eve at the Mobil station in Berkeley where he was killed on December 23.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

See BULLOCK, A7

Gloves come off early in Chris Rock divorce

On Sunday Chris Rock and Malaak Compton announced that they would be divorcing after nearly two decades of marriage. Now Rock is reportedly accusing his estranged wife of keeping him from seeing his daughters.

In court docs dug up by TMZ, Rock complains Compton has been preventing him from seeing their two daughters, 12-year-old Lola and 10-year-old Zahra, and is seeking shared legal and physical custody. The divorce papers also reveal the couple’s pre-nuptial agreement expired after the couples’ 18th wedding anniversary – but Rock believes Compton has “the ability to work and contribute to her own support.”

Is Cosby planning counter attack?

Bill Cosby has hired a battalion of private investigators to dig up dirt on his many accusers.

At least one Glendale, Calif.-based firm with a half-dozen former LAPD detectives on staff is said to be working on Cosby’s behalf.

“If you’re going to say to the world that I did this to you, then the world needs to know, ‘What kind of person are you? Who is this person that’s saying it?’” Cosby told his legal and public-relations team at a recent meeting, according to an insider who was present.

“You can’t say that I put something in your coffee, threw you in a cab and then you go on and live a high-profile life, a famous life and you never complain,” Cosby said, referring to supermodel Johnson, who claimed “America’s Dad” spiked her cappuccino during a visit to his home in the 1980s, the source said. “You mean you never reported it to the police? You never tell anyone?”

Usher stalker detained for disgraceful messages

Last month Usher requested a restraining order against Darshell Jones-Rakestraw, after she sent disturbing messages to him via Twitter and Instagram.

Insiders have told the New York Post that

According to Hello Beautiful, JonesRakestraw has been arrested and is being held at the Fulton County jail after being charged with contempt of court.

In 2012, Jones-Rakestraw was served with a restraining order from Usher after she came to his home demanding access. She received a warning by police not to return to the singer’s home only to show up again the next day trying to enter his home while claiming to be his wife. It was then that she was then taken to a psychiatric ward for a mental evaluation but was released. She then created a video on YouTube excited about the restraining order Usher signed off, but somehow she interpreted that as he was attacking her

Katt Williams

A judge granted Usher’s request for the restraining order, but it ran out June 2013.

Now the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting JonesRakestraw started harassing Usher once again by leaving messages with his attorney demanding the singer send her money and return her calls. According to

court documents, Jones-Rakestraw left a voice message stating:

“I drove to Chicago and I want him to Western Union me some money or either give me something to get to work and I’m not playing with him. I’m tired of the games. If I can’t eat, he can’t eat.”

Court records also accuse JonesRakestraw of telling Usher’s security team she will follow him on tour and “get him” if he didn’t give her money.

Katt Williams claims innocence regarding robbery charge

Katt Williams has pleaded not guilty to a robbery charge after being accused of stealing a photographer’s camera.

District attorney’s spokeswoman Shiara Davila-Morales said Williams entered the plea Wednesday and was ordered to return to court Feb. 3 for a scheduling hearing.

Williams was charged along with Death Row Records founder Suge Knight with taking the camera as the photographer tried to take a picture in Beverly Hills on Sept. 5. Knight has also pleaded not guilty to the charge. The 43-year-old Williams faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

Sources: TMZ.com, The New York Post, Eurweb.com, Hello Beautiful

THE STUFF THAT HAS PEOPLE TALKING

Chris Rock

Usher

Ferg-Flor schools sued over elections

ACLU says district violates federal Voting Rights Act

By Rachel Lippmann

Of St. Louis Public Radio

The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, along with its national voting rights division, has sued the Ferguson-Florissant School District over the way members of the school board are elected.

“Every community has the right to representation in their government,” said Dale Ho, the director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “Unfortunately, for too long African Americans in the Ferguson-Florissant School District have been denied that opportunity.”

The lawsuit alleges that the current method of electing school board members at large, rather than from individual districts, violates section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act because it prevents African Americans from having a say in how the schools are run. Even though African Americans are a minority of the voting-age population in the district, the suit says, more than 75 percent of the students are black.

“Section 2 protects not only the right to cast a ballot, but to participate meaningfully in the political process,” Ho said.

Divisions in the FergusonFlorissant School District were evident long before Michael Brown Jr. was shot and killed on August 9.

Redditt Hudson, a parent with children in Ferguson-Florissant schools, noted the lawsuit was filed almost exactly one year after the school board – which, at the time, had no African-American members –issued still-unknown charges against former superintendent Art McCoy, who is African-American. He had been placed on administrative leave in November 2013, and later resigned.

“That was a tremendous blow to

the community,” Hudson said. “When the question was asked, ‘Why was this done?’ there was an ever-evolving, ever-shifting set of reasons, and we had no ability to advocate for our own interests and we saw no one on the

n “We had no ability to advocate for our own interests and we saw no one on the board who would.”

board who would.”

The ACLU was careful not to draw a direct connection between McCoy’s controversial departure and the filing of the lawsuit. In fact, Ho said it was more closely connected to Brown’s death.

“It’s kind of hard not to look at the

Ferguson area after recent events and ask yourself, ‘Are there problems of racial polarization?’” Ho said.

Brown’s death laid bare the flaws in the entire system, said ACLUMissouri’s executive director Jeffrey Mittman.

“We need to be part of moving the solution forward,” he said. “We believe that this lawsuit, engaging in a conversation, changing how the African-American community and all voters in the St. Louis area and Missouri take part in the democratic process is an important piece of that solution.”

The ACLU’s voting rights division has challenged at-large elections for local elected bodies in several Southern states, Ho said. He did not rule out additional lawsuits locally. He said the organizations’ track record at forcing reform is pretty good.

A spokeswoman for FergusonFlorissant schools said the district is reviewing the lawsuit and would issue a statement at a later date.

Reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.

East Boogie in 2014

East Boogie kicked off 2014 with the distinction of being recognized as being “the most dangerous” city in America. No surprise there, but I’d love to see how the events in Ferguson will affect our ranking for 2015.

The ESL NAACP, under the leadership of Branch President Stanley Franklin, wins my “SellOut” of the year award for awarding three out of four annual scholarships to non-black students who attend the prestigious Governor French Academy of Belleville. Congrats to Stan and the gang. Your platinum bootlicker trophy will be delivered by drone.

State Senator James Clayborne was the unanimous winner of my award for “Political Player of the Year.” After hooking-up two female acquaintances with positions on the Illinois Prisoner Review Board and the Illinois Department of Transportation, he STILL managed to be narrowly re-elected (thanks to some convenient late returns from East Boogie).

niece in the Alorton jail. She shares the dishonor with former St. Clair County Circuit Judge Michael “Bad to the Bone” Cook, who is serving a two-year sentence for heroin possession and weapons convictions, in sunny Pensacola, Florida.

I’m sure that Governor Pat Quinn wishes that he was rewarded with re-election, but unfortunately (for him) was defeated by Republican Bruce Rauner, who will be the new governor of the “worst run state” in America.

My award for most incompetently run office resulted in a tie between the City of ESL and the East St. Louis Housing Authority. The ESLHA earned this well-deserved distinction by building a $1.4 million development (six homes) with no sewer connections for the properties. But not to be outdone, the city of ESL shared in the embarrassment of this train wreck because the inspectors for ESL and the ESLHA, collectively, failed to notice the lack of sewer connections.

So for their stellar ineptitude, the “Can’t Get Right” trophy is awarded to both.

“Crooked Official of the Year” was another toss-up, due to the plethora of candidates, but I managed to narrow it down. It’s another tie, folks. The first winner is former Alorton Mayor JoAnn Reed, who was forced from her office and her job with the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department for smuggling contraband to her incarcerated

Also, for the first time in 70 years, U.S. Representative Bill Enyart, lost the Belleville/Southern Illinois Democratic seat to Republican Mike “Let my people go” Bost. But there was some good news in 2014, with President Barack Obama’s nomination and confirmation East St. Louis native Staci Yandle to the U.S District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. Then, there was the groundbreaking for the $9.5 million Sinai Village II, a development of 30 decent and affordable homes for East St. Louis residents, under the leadership of Mt. Sinai Baptist church and the Rev. Herman Watson.

And there was Jimmy Williams, native East St. Louisian and president of McDonald’s AfricanAmerican Consumer Market, who acquired, remodeled and re-opened a McDonald’s in his hometown, at 25th and State streets, as a sign of reinvestment in a community which elected his father as the first African-American mayor of ESL.

There may even be a new mayor of ESL if ESL City Councilwoman Emeka Jackson-Hicks has her way. Jackson-Hicks, the daughter of State Representative Eddie Jackson, will face off against ESL Mayor Alvin Parks in the 2015 elections.

Happy New Year and, God willing, we’ll meet here again in 2015. Email: jtingram_1960@ yahoo.com; Twitter@ JamesTIngram.

Photo by Wiley Price

Then-Superintendent Art McCoy visited with students at Parker Road Elementary in 2013 before he was mysteriously placed on administrative leave by the Ferguson-Florissant School Board.

– Redditt Hudson

James Ingram

Editorial /CommEntary

2014 Person of the Year: Ferguson protestors

Only a prophet could have foreseen, when we adopted and localized TIME Magazine’s annual Person of the Year feature a few years ago, that a time would come when TIME and we would nearly make the same selection. After all, TIME has its pick from literally every person on Earth for its Person of the Year, whereas we limit our candidates to African Americans in St. Louis. And only a prophet could have foreseen that an African American in St. Louis – or a collective of mostly young, mostly black people here –would soon compete seriously for the most important newsmaker of the year on Earth. But that is, amazingly, what happened in 2014. TIME ultimately gave the nod to the medical professionals who risked their lives to fight a potentially disastrous Ebola outbreak for its Person of the Year. But the magazine’s firstlisted runner up was Ferguson protestors, the relentless activists who turned the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown Jr. in Ferguson on August 9 into a national – and, indeed, global –struggle to reform police work and hold police officers accountable when they shoot and kill unarmed black people.

“They are poets and paralegals, college students and working professionals, some affluent, some unemployed, white as well as black,” TIME described Ferguson protestors. “They launched crowdfunding campaigns, organized council meetings and held a mock trial for St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch at the courthouse where Dred Scott once sued for his freedom. They continue to preach morning and night on Twitter, the revolutionary’s pocket pulpit.”

Their Twitter-fueled activism brought activists, celebrities and ordinary people from all over the country and the world to Ferguson. Together they helped define a national crisis –and exported the movement to other cities and countries, to fields of athletic play and political power. “They clogged freeways in Miami and Chicago, carried coffins across the Brooklyn Bridge, clashed with cops in Berkeley, Calif., flooded streets in London and toted signs around Tokyo,” TIME noted. “At colleges from Boston

‘Black’

In a recent study – “A rose by any other name?: The consequences of subtyping ‘African-Americans’ from ‘Blacks’” – researchers Erika Hall, Katherine Phillips and Sarah Townsend found that these two racial labels have a disparate impact on how minority social groups are perceived by whites. The researchers conducted four distinct studies in the realms of employment, media and criminal justice to determine the perceptions of the two labels in different contexts. The data they collected point to whites believing that the label “Black” evokes a mental representation of a person with lower socioeconomic status, education, positivity, competence and warmth than the label “African-American.

“ And that whites will react more negatively toward “Blacks” than toward “AfricanAmericans.”

to Baton Rouge, students staged ‘die-ins’ to dramatize the social value of black life. Players for the St. Louis Rams took the field with their hands raised in solidarity – a gesture repeated on the floor of Congress.”

Ferguson protestors captured the world’s attention. What they are going to do with it now remains to be seen. The largely leaderless character of the movement has made it impossible to extinguish – but also extremely difficult to focus. President Obama and his chief law enforcement official, Attorney General Eric Holder, have initiated police reforms in Ferguson and nationwide that bear watching. But locally, other than Brown’s killer Darren Wilson – who resigned from the Ferguson Police Department after the grand jury returned no indictment –everyone responsible for the Ferguson crisis remains in power. Recent protest actions have veered from one dramatic location – St. Louis City Hall, the airport, the Gateway Arch – to another, without clear purpose or direction. It does not appear to be a promising strategy to continue to inconvenience the public without a coherent, achievable set of demands and consistent attempts to negotiate solutions.

But this is a young movement, not yet five months old, consisting of mostly younger people with little or no previous leadership or policy experience. As one protestor noted on Twitter, the movement taught them that they can do anything they want to do, so long as they do it together. That is an amazing sense of unity and purpose that, frankly, many of us feared was absent from these younger generations we thought we had lost to the clubs and the streets. But, in fact, they saved themselves, and each other – together. What they are creating together has the makings, as TIME noted, of “a new civil rights movement – a battle to reshape the relationship between the police and the people they are paid to protect. What started in a Missouri suburb may end with change that can be measured in lives saved.” As Holder rightly told TIME, “What happened in Ferguson could be one of those seminal moments that transform the nation.”

Commentary

words matter

The researchers found that use of the label “Black” in a newspaper crime report is associated with more negative emotional words than in an article featuring the words “African-American.” And whites view a criminal suspect more negatively when that person is identified as “Black” versus “African-American.”

Speaking on NPR, Hall discussed surveys her team conducted in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting death. They evaluated perceptions of a “Black” or “AfricanAmerican” victim and found that respondents felt more empathy for “Black” victims than for “African-American” victims. The hypothesis is that “African-Americans” are perceived to have more advantages in life and more personal responsibility. This will come as no surprise to those who already believe that black lives don’t matter in America. But it is a wake-up call for those who don’t really understand the depth to which racial bias still exists in this country. That a perpetrator’s innocence or culpability and a victim’s worthiness of empathy

I want more! I want for you

or scorn can hinge on two terms that are used interchangeably in the media is frightening. And there’s no easy fix.

To start, different sources of demographic statistics refer to groups differently. And because all these terms have differing cultural resonance and are as likely to be embraced as shunned by the members of the race, a solution to this problem of perception cannot simply be to change reporting standards. Finally, the label dilemma will almost certainly never be solved because what people choose to call themselves is too emotional and dependent on generation, region and personal experience to codify. The burden is on the humanity of both the writer and the reader. How fair can each of us be when describing or interpreting an event that includes a human being who carries a label?

First we must understand that no matter how post-racial any of us thinks we are, we’re all carrying around varying degrees of racial bias. And the only way we’ll ever get past these biases is by understanding that they exist and must be confronted.

as the primary representatives of Saint Louis University to do more in being community stewards in the fight against anti-black racism. Each member of the SLU student/ staff/faculty/ administrative population takes direction from your lead. I ask you now: Where are we going?

scholarship is not a recruitment or retention tool for black students, then what is? How are the decision makers confronting this misuse of King’s legacy?

Do the racial mathematics on the Archdiocesan schools.

What role, besides onlooker, did members of the administration play on May 6 when black students held a conference around the time that it was revealed that only five black students (of more than 60 recipients) received a Martin Luther King Jr. scholarship?

As you will recall, during that period a student from SLU wrote racially insulting words in the Busch Student Center. I am well aware that you cannot stop hateful white people from publicly insulting black students, but SLU decision makers can give resources purposed for retaining black students.

Not surprisingly, I have heard from every administrator that they want to see more black students. Instead of having faculty like Dr. Stefan Bradley ponder questions like “I wonder what are the chances that Martin Luther King Jr. would get this scholarship?” why not create something for black students? If the MLK

Excluding Cardinal Ritter, the schools are approximately 95 percent white. The chances of the Jesuit scholarship going to a white student are exponentially higher. In a sense, this is a de facto scholarship for “white,” Catholic students from the St. Louis metropolitan area. If an extrapolation is made from the social and economic status of students that typically attend such institutions, they can also be classified as upper middle class.

Thus, a scholarship has been affirmatively created for wealthy, white Catholics residing in St. Louis. Does this fall into the classification of institutional efforts of diversity? Granted, there is a service component that is integral to the receipt of this “merit-based” scholarship. However, if this scholarship exists and is viable, then other university efforts can be piloted in a manner that’s consistent with enrolling more black students.

What do the decision makers have to say about the fact that the city is nearly half-black while our black undergraduate headcount is decreasing, black faculty headcount is low, and only black staff is increasing?

Black undergraduate headcount totaled 653, 652 and 614 in 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively. Black faculty

Letters to the editor

Thanks from Ferguson Public Library

We are flabbergasted, and heartened, by the amazing support that the Ferguson Municipal Public Library District has received. We have gotten hundreds of books and nearly $400,000 from over 12,000 donors. Gifts have come from here in St. Louis, from across the entire country, and from around the world. They have come from individuals, large and small companies, libraries, universities, publishing companies, and well-known authors. We are excited by all the wonderful possibilities this opens up to help the people of Ferguson.

The Library’s Board of Trustees has formed a strategic planning committee to judiciously allocate funding for the good of our community, within the Library’ s mission. Our first priority is to bring in a full-time Children’s Librarian, which will radically enhance our ability to help the people of Ferguson, and increase monies devoted to community-focused programming. We also hope to initiate some much-needed capital improvements like new carpeting. The planning committee will oversee the wise use of this surprising and empowering windfall.

The remarkable support that we have received will enable the Ferguson Library to continue our mission to support continuing education, promote cultural literacy, and serve as a nexus for our community. We gratefully and humbly thank all of our supporters. You are amazing!

Scott Bonner, Director Ferguson Municipal Public Library

Government-enforced roadblocks

Africans did not migrate here, they were brought here in chains and forced to build the economic social structure of America. The descendants of those Africans were never truly given the same liberties or rights to pursue the American Dream. They endured racial and social biases. They had

headcount for SLU totals 101 – with even fewer black tenured professors. Black staff headcount for SLU totaled 612, 585 and 603 in 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively. It is important to have black employees, and it is necessary to have black professors and students in a city that is nearly half-black in population. Yet SLU stands as a gated, lilywhite campus. Decision makers, how many students do we get from St. Louis Public Schools or North County school districts like Normandy? What chances do Michael Brown Jr.’s peers have of ever attending and graduating SLU? What role do you have in ensuring that SLU re-examines its role in our community, particularly north of Delmar, where its campus ostensibly just ends? Instead of listening to Dr. Norman White explain until he is blue in the face about how “we perpetuate this divide by building fences around vacant lots,” why not do something to empower the black North Side of St. Louis? Decision makers, why is the education system in St. Louis in shambles when the region has many universities, two of them large research institutions, and a community college system? The university desperately needs to define its role. Decision makers, you need to define your role. West Pine is not so far from West Florissant. Jonathan C. Pulphus Jr. is a student at SLU studying African American Studies and Women and Gender Studies.

to deal with governmentenforced roadblocks like the Supreme Court Decision of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the exclusion of domestics and agricultural workers from the Social Security Act of 1935, the provision of the Wagner Act (1935) allowing unions to exclude African Americans from union membership and the failure of the Federal Housing Administration to grant loans to even minimally integrated neighborhoods.

Thomas Payton, Via email

It begins with the heart

After Ferguson unfolded, I realized no one is actually free from deeply-held prejudices or stereotypes. Man has poor vision. Some stop at the pigmentation of skin, the group affinity, the religious belief, or the tax-revenue level. When God chose David as future king, 1 Samuel 16:7 asserts

that “man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” If we want to eliminate racism, it cannot begin with our actions. It must begin with our hearts. I cannot serve my brother and sister until God has restored my heart to relationship with Him so that I may then love my neighbor. As a 20-year-old, I have heard those of my generation question why racism still exists today. Can we ever become free of our prejudices? Can we ever know exactly where a person is and has come from at the very moment in which we meet them? No, we cannot. Let us hold each other up in mercy for the other’s failures to see. Love covers a multitude of sins. I may fail at times, but I want to see the individual’s God-given dignity and give him the respect he deserves.

Nicole Bowman, Cottleville, Missouri

Guest Columnist Jonathan C. Pulphus Jr.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Brittany Ferrell, Ashley Yates and Alexis Templeton of Millennial Activists United led a protest march in St. Louis on November 23.

Guest Columnist Esther Cepeda

Looting and justice

By Jamala Rogers For The St. Louis American

One of the elements of the Ferguson uprisings which has received lots of attention has been the issue of looting. From where I sit, the most vocal critics of the looting and arson have been right-wing conservatives, white mainstream media and middleclass black folks. For many, this display of unbridled and righteous outrage is new and unsettling.

Ferguson is not my first uprising. I’m also connected to community organizers in other cities where rebellions have taken place over the decades – Newark, Detroit, Miami, Los Angeles, etc.; we’ve shared our experiences on looting and arson. I’m going to share the accumulated insights on the topic.

White, conservative media have a field day with the images of looting. It fits into their ongoing narrative that black people are subhuman criminals and are undeserving of full citizenship in this society.

I have heard from black people from all around the country, essentially reacting to the voices of conservatives and the mainstream press, which project looting as the real problem. I let them know if you’re talking about looting instead of justice, the establishment has already won in the court of public opinion. Black folks have to unload the burden often placed on us by the oppressor to be responsible for every wrong thing another black person does. When black people get roped into this trap, they affirm the efficacy of the strategy – to distract from the systemic issues of structural racism and police violence.

There are basically four kinds of looters/arsonists. One is those people whose rage ends up being misdirected at property. Another group is straight-up opportunists (both outsiders and locals). A subset of the opportunist group is property owners who are looking to cash in on insurance policies. The last grouping is the police and its hired agents.

In the first grouping, people feel so disconnected and alienated from their community that they have no sense of the loss a grocery store or gas station has for them or their family. They want to put a hurting on someone or something. These folks aren’t always interested in the looting part; they are more interested in how much pain (damage) they can inflict. This takes the form of smashing windows, overturning cars and torching stuff.

There a couple of types of opportunists in uprisings like Ferguson. Some do it for the adrenalin rush – getting that high from a smash-and-grab and then, if successful, having the bragging rights about the bounty. Others see it as reciprocity for the injustices they have endured.

I call it collateral damage, since it is usually small businesses that are hurt, not the blood-sucking corporations that are looting our communities and government coffers daily.

When an uprising is imminent, some crafty business or property owners start smelling dollars or a way out. These folks are keenly aware that it will be a challenge for any investigation to trace arson back to them. At the end of their insurance rainbow will be a payout either to rebuild bigger and better – or to take and run.

In Ferguson, police, the National Guard and Governor Nixon have been criticized by shop owners and citizens who question whether there was any real protection of their businesses in the aftermath of the grand jury decision. How could 20 businesses burn to the ground within a few blocks (mainly on West Florissant Avenue) when the Unified Command had damn near as many troops in Ferguson as the U.S. in Iraq? And didn’t the Governor publicly promise to protect their property?

Let’s condemn the wanton destruction, but understand where it’s really comes from and why.

St. Louis Metropolitan Police officers in riot gear defended City Hall against peaceful protestors and their “Pignata of Brutality” – an “Artivist” version of a piñata in the shape of a pig dedicated to police brutality – on Friday, December 12.

‘Pignata of Brutality’ at City Hall

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Jamala Rogers

Continued from A1

and deployment of thousands of National Guardsmen and Missouri State Highway Patrol officers to the area did not protect Ferguson.

“We were told that the National Guard would be up at Buzz Westfall,” Howell said. “But that night, we didn’t have anyone there protecting our property. I’m in that subdivision that’s right where all the fire was.” Howell said it was but for the grace of God that her home didn’t catch fire after McCulloch announced that there would be no indictment of Wilson, the now-former Ferguson police officer who fatally shot unarmed teen Michael Brown Jr. on August 9.

As outrage gave way to anarchy, more than two dozen fires were set and 12 businesses burned to the ground, while looting and vandalism impacted four square miles around West Florissant Avenue. Most of the damage occurred from West Florissant and Solway avenues in Ferguson stretching north into the neighboring municipality of Dellwood.

“I have a state of emergency!” Janiece Andrews shouted at the top of her lungs, bringing complete silence during the most chaotic moment at the Ferguson Commission meeting on December 1.

“I have a home in Ferguson,” Andrews said. “I have lived there for 20 years. I built a business in Ferguson to give back to my community. I invested everything I had into my business and my community, and so did my family.” She owned Hidden Treasures antique and resale shop – and watched along with the world via broadcast news as her investment went up in flames.

“I did not receive a call to protect my assets,” Andrews said. “There is no back door on my business. If I had been at my business, I would have been

burned alive – I would have been killed,” Andrews said. “I lost everything. And yet I have not received a call from the mayor of this city. I have not received a call from anybody.”

Apocalypse on West Florissant

The street was still smoldering the early Tuesday morning after the arsons as Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson and St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar spoke in somber, defeated tones.

“We didn’t expect this,” they both said at different points in their remarks.

In the thick of things – at around 10:30 p.m. on November 24 – West Florissant Avenue looked like the setting of a post-apocalyptic action drama.

n “I’m a citizen of Ferguson. I was depending on you.”

– Janiece Andrews

Buildings were in flames. Cars were driving on both sides of the streets. People in masks were kicking in glass doors to pillage businesses. Looters – not to be confused with the peaceful protestors who kept the Ferguson movement alive since August 9 – would stop their cars in the middle of the street to snatch and grab goods once a business had been smashed open. There was virtually no protective or enforcement response from police or Guardsmen. No fire trucks were called to the scene.

That night, police officials informed media that fire trucks were not called because there was live gunfire near the burning buildings, but they asked media not to broadcast that tactic for fear it would send the message that arsonists would not be stopped. But that message was sent anyway by the actions of law enforcement officers.

A large group of police retreated to the pawn shop near West Florissant and Solway avenues, as the criminal element rampaged with little hindrance. A few officers parked in one of the shopping areas, but didn’t appear to leave their vehicles. The National Guard was nowhere to be seen as West Florissant burned.

“I was told the National Guard was in Clayton. Why weren’t they here?” Andrews asked at the December 1 Ferguson Commission meeting.

“I’m a citizen of Ferguson. I was depending on you. When someone told me everything was burning I didn’t believe them, because I went to a business meeting and they told me, ‘Don’t worry about anything.’”

Anthony Levine blamed Nixon, who called up the National Guard, for the failure to deploy them in a way that prevented destruction. Levine told the Ferguson Commission on December 1, “All this is a sham to divert attention away from the Governor and pass the blame and the responsibility of what happened to us on to somebody else.”

Ironically, at the end of December, Nixon would act to funnel money to the business district that the National Guard had let burn on his watch.

On December 29, Nixon announced his approval of an amendment that added West Florissant to the St. Louis Transportation Improvement Program of the East-West Gateway Council of Governments. This made $2 million in federal funding and a $500,000 local match available for preliminary engineering on the West Florissant Avenue Great Streets project. This “transportation improvement project within the cities of Ferguson and Dellwood,” Nixon’s office announced, “includes portions of the avenue from I-270 to Buzz Westfall Plaza” – the very stretch of West Florissant ravaged by arsonists and vandals during the second State of Emergency that Nixon declared in Ferguson.

MARTIN

Continued from A1 shots had been fired.

Several witnesses interviewed during the investigation said Martin was armed and did attempt to fire at the officer, according to McCall.

“It’s just my opinion that the weapon did not fire because the safety was not released off the weapon,” McCall said.

McCall said the officer was in fear of his life when he retreated and fired three shots – and that witness statements corroborated the surveillance video.

They did not disclose the name of the officer involved in the incident who is currently on paid administrative leave. “The officer is still having a trying time with this event,” Hoskins said.

At a previous press conference on Christmas Eve, Hoskins argued that the circumstances surrounding Martin’s death – and the investigations that followed

– are completely different from what happened just one municipality over when former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed 18-yearold Michael Brown on August 9.

“You couldn’t even compare this with Ferguson,” Hoskins said.

Unlike with the Brown shooting, video of Martin’s shooting exists and was promptly made public. The video clearly shows Martin raising his arm towards the officers face, but it’s not clear what he is holding in his hand. The response of the police officer – who backpedals hurriedly and runs for cover – shows he clearly thought Martin aimed a gun at him.

St. Louis County Police, which was called in to investigate the shooting, produced a gun allegedly recovered from the scene. The County Police investigation is ongoing.

Pastor Jason Keith Coleman of Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church spoke up at the end of the Christmas Eve press conference when Hoskins asked for questions.

“You say it’s not like

Ferguson, but I don’t understand because another young black man is dead at the hands of police again,” Coleman said.

“Everybody don’t die the same,” Hoskins responded. “Some people die because the police initiated it; others die because they initiated it.”

“Call it what it is,” Coleman said, interrupting the mayor. “A police officer has killed another young black male. The police now have a license to kill a black man. All they have to do is say ‘I felt threatened.”

The results of grand jury decisions in the deaths of Michael Brown Jr., Eric Garner and John Crawford were clearly fresh on his heart.

“This has to stop – in the city of Ferguson, in the city of Berkeley, in the city of New York and in Ohio,” Coleman said. “Until it stops, this country will remain uncomfortable from this day forward – from sea to shining sea. We will give this place hell until we get justice for every young black man or woman that has been violated by the police.”

As outrage gave way to anarchy following the St. Louis County grand jury decision on November 24, more than two dozen ires were set and 12 businesses burned to the ground, making West Florissant Avenue look like the setting of a post-apocalyptic action drama.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

BULLOCK

Continued from A1

also for his tireless efforts in educating African-American men about our heightened risk for prostate cancer,” Dr. Ross said.

“In many ways Dr. Bullock’s recognition is historic because it is a culmination of his academic credentials, which are indeed impressive, as well as the breadth of his teaching and community engagement.”

Dr. Ross added that Washington University School of Medicine realizes the critical importance of handson community engagement to reduce health disparities and affords significant value to that experience when considering faculty for promotion.

Endowed professorships are highly coveted because they provide salary support and assist the recipient in exploring other areas of research and practice.

“Whereas I was involved clinically five days a week, my goal is to go to four days a week and take one day to serve as a role model and hopefully serve in the capacity as an ad hoc science teacher in various schools,” Dr. Bullock said.

Bullock’s installation as the Wolff Professor took place on June 18 by Washington University Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton and Larry J. Shapiro, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine.

“Dr. Bullock is highly regarded for his expertise in urology, and his work at the medical school and in the community has improved the lives of countless patients,” Wrighton said. Gifts from the late Alan and Edith Wolff have supported medical research at the university for more than 30 years, advancing work by leaders in numerous fields.

“I am extremely grateful to the Wolff family for such an enormous award to my career and the endeavors of Washington University,” Dr. Bullock said.

“The generosity of Alan and Edith Wolff continues to benefit Washington University and now will contribute to new knowledge in the field of urology,” Wrighton said.

Dr. Shapiro described Dr. Bullock as an outstanding physician, a gifted educator and a valuable mentor to many medical students and residents.

“He is just the kind of dedicated, accomplished physician that Alan and Edith Wolff appreciated and reinforced with their support,” Dr. Shapiro said.

Dr. Bullock is a professor of urologic surgery at the School of Medicine and treats patients at Barnes-Jewish Hospital,

n “I am most satisfied with my involvement with groups that educate our community on preventive health care and the racial disparity in cancer outcomes.”

– Dr. Arnold Bullock

Christian Northeast Hospital and the Siteman Cancer Center.

He joined the medical school faculty in 1993 and serves as its director of men’s health. In his clinical practice, he is sought out for his expertise in urologic oncology, erectile dysfunction and other urological issues. He takes an active role in educating African-American

men about their higher-thanaverage risk of prostate cancer and the benefits of screenings. He has been instrumental in building a team of community partners to educate and conduct prostate cancer screenings in the AfricanAmerican community in St. Louis. He served as chairman of the Prostate Cancer

Committee of the Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities at Siteman Cancer Center. He is also a board member of The Empowerment Network, an award-winning prostate cancer support group.

He speaks at churches, community centers, schools and health fairs to reach people in areas hard-hit by cancer. His community outreach efforts and involvement in cancer education programs have had a significant impact on reducing racial disparities in prostate cancer outcomes and minority participation in clinical trials.

He graduated summa cum laude from Xavier University in New Orleans and received his medical degree from The

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed residencies in general surgery and urologic surgery, both at Washington University.

“In my 25 years at Washington University, my clinical focus has varied from oncology to microsurgery/ infertility and erectile dysfunction,” Dr. Bullock said.

“However, I have remained most satisfied with my involvement with community groups such as TEN, 100 Black Men and The Clergy Coalition, which educate our community on preventive health care and the racial disparity in cancer outcomes.”

Photo by Wiley Price

Arnold Bullock, M.D., the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Urology at Washington University School of Medicine.

Obituaries

Agnes Creath Hughes

Agnes Creath Hughes (Goodwin) was born on July 22, 1935 in St. Louis, MO to B.W and Myrtle Goodwin. She passed quietly on Sunday, December 14, 2014. After graduating from Sumner High School in 1952, she married Charles E. Creath and moved to Oklahoma. To this union, her only child, Charles Wendell Creath was born. After later relocating to Chicago, IL she met and married Randolph Hughes and settled in Chicago for 40+ years, working for Model Cities, Williams Clinic, and The Water Reclamation District Agency. Eventually, she returned to St. Louis and enjoyed living the retired life at The Heritage House.

Agnes was also one of the first African American models for the Clairol Company. She was very active in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, working closely with such figures as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Whitney Young (National Urban League). Her careers and talents merited her many honors and awards for her outstanding contributions in her work and in the community. Her passions included traveling, shopping, church activities, keeping up with current events, dining out, playing Scrabble, and debating. In time, she endured mounting health maladies, but continued to be always mindful of and grateful to God as the source of her life. Agnes cherished her late parents, treasured her son and doted on her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She enjoyed all genres of music and

loved visiting the Caribbean Islands.

Agnes Creath Hughes leaves to mourn: her son, Charles Wendell Creath (Lisa); five grandchildren, Charles Wendell Jones (Sabria)of Baltimore, MD, Candace Mamongay Creath, Christopher Charles Creath, Lauren Brittany Morrow of Brooklyn, NY, and Kelci Elisabeth-Marie Creath; three great- grandchildren, Kingston Elijah Moore, Myles and Drew Jones, both of Baltimore, MD; two sisters, Irene Elizabeth Graham and Ida Goodwin Woolfolk; two nieces, Irene Myrelia Graham Chaudhry and Sarah Myrtle Woolfolk Edwards (Christopher) of Portsmouth, VA; three grand-nephews, Brandon Charles Graham, Christopher Wendell Edwards and Caleb Joseph Edwards (both of Portsmouth, VA); one nephew, Wilbur Thomas Graham, preceded her in death. She also has three cousins, Thelma Hannah and Marguerite Hannah, both of Atlanta, GA and Thomas Armstrong of Houston, TX. Agnes’ extra special friends include: Peggy Sechrest of McLean, VA, Marilyn Williamson, Constance Calloway Margerum of Detroit, MI, Katie Collier of Chicago, IL, Pauline Watson Johnson of Baltimore, MD and Sammie Whiting Ellis of Washington, DC and a good number of other relatives and friends. Special thanks to David and Thelma Steward, Austin A. Layne, Edythe A. Granberry and Ronald Jones, Bishop R.J. Ward and clergy, Kennerly Temple Church and Cobic State Hospitality.

James Norvell Fitch

James Norvell Fitch, Sr. was born October 28, 1935 in St. Louis, MO, the fifth of six children of Cora (Massey) Fitch. He is preceded in death

by his mother; one son, Kevin B. Fitch, one daughter, Cynthia Fitch; three brothers, Jerry Jr., Carlee and Earl Fitch; one grandson, James N. Fitch III and one great-granddaughter, Baby Ariyelle.

James accepted Christ very early in life and regularly attended Mother Mitchell’s Spiritual Temple, pastored by Rev. L.C. Johnson. He graduated from Waring Elementary and Vashon High School and had perfect attendance at both schools. In elementary school, high school, and in competition with neighborhood friends, James excelled in all sports. Eventually, he was scouted by the St. Louis Cardinals and went to train with their minor league team. An arm injury kept him from being called to play in the major leagues.

James served the U.S. Army from 1956 to 1959. He was employed by the U.S. Postal Service for 33 years from 1959 to 1992, when he retired.

James was an avid sports enthusiast who enjoyed talking to high school athletes and others, telling them of his encounters with well-known athletes, about how proud he was when he played on various teams in school. Through the years, James attended many high school sporting events, both in and out of town.

James was a gentle man who was kind to everyone and who was loved by all who knew him. After a long illness, James departed this life on Saturday, December 6, 2014. He will be sorely missed by his ex-wife, Jimmie L. Mann; son, James N. Fitch Jr. (Yolanda); two daughters, Portia (Andrew), Sherisse; one daughter-in-

Sarah, a senior citizen lives on social security in St. Charles County. Her past due utility bill is $350. She suffers

prescription bills and food. Their past due heating bills total $875. The couple recently lost their home.

Sam lives in Jefferson County and is the sole bread-winner in his family. His wife has two sickly elderly parents. The couple has three kids under twelve. He makes $10,500 annually. They have past due heating bills mounting to $1,100.

Finally there is Georgette, a single parent, who lives in Metro East. Despite having to take care of her of four kids, and her elderly mother, she manages to work. She makes about $9,500 annually cleaning homes. Two of Georgette's smallest children are disabled. She attempts to pay something on her $900 past due utility bills, while making tough choices on life’s essentials.

law, Pat King; sister, Delores; brother, Douglass (Angeli); 19 grandchildren; 26 greatgrandchildren; nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and a host of friends.

Rev. Cleophus Robinson, Jr.

On Wednesday evening, August 21, 1957, a young star was born to Rev. Cleophus and Bertha Robinson, Sr. As a native of St. Louis, Missouri, Cleophus has been a man of God all of his life, commencing to preach at the tender age of 9 years old. Often called to the piano by his father to play; Rev. Robinson Jr., who was gifted with “perfect pitch”, would evolve to vocal mastery and into a conservative and modern keyboard instrumentalist. He was known as a preacher, singer, organist, and pianist. His life included touring throughout Europe as a vocalist and musician. He has played for Rev. Al Green, Shirley Caesar, Little Richard, the Mighty Clouds of Joy, and many others. Rev. Robinson, Jr. was a radio announcer for various St. Louis radio stations including AM 1600, KSTL, and WESL. His vocal album

of East St. Louis, Illinois for more than 20 years. He served as the Minister of Music for the Greater Bethlehem Baptist Church. Vocally, Cleophus Robinson, Jr. was unmatched in his unique style and ability to escalate musical scales. He was a powerful presence. As a preacher, he constructed sermons in an earthy fashion that grabbed and held the attention of his listeners, giving them food for the soul that was life changing. He died peacefully with his devoted and loving siblings and family near. He will lie in state on Friday, January 2, from 10 am until 8 pm at Greater Bethlehem Baptist Church. Kennerly Temple C.O.G.I.C. Church will host his funeral on Saturday, January 3 at 10 am. Cleophus Robinson Jr.

recordings include, Keep on Stepping, Consolation, Back Again, What You Need and In the Mood. He was a Stellaraward nominee who during his lifetime made TV appearances on the 700 Club, the Dinah Shore Show, and Show Me St. Louis. Rev. Robinson, Jr. was the oldest of six children. He was married to Karen Whitehead. From their marriage were born three beautiful talented children - Cleophus III, Pecola, and Grace. His two grandchildren are Paris and Cleophus IV. Rev. Robinson, Jr. pastored the North End Baptist Church

Attention St. Louis American Readers

As a service to the community, we list obituaries in the St. Louis American Newspaper, on a space-available basis and online at stlamerican.com. AT NO CHARGE. Please send all obituary notices to kdaniel @stlamerican.com.

Agnes Hughes

James Fitch

By Melanie Adams

Highlights from a great year

As we start the New Year I would like to take this opportunity to thank the readers of the St. Louis American for their support of the Missouri History Museum. St. Louis has a wealth of cultural organizations, and we are proud so many of you chose to spend your time at the museum learning about the past and finding ways to improve the future. From documentaries to theater productions to storytelling, the museum provides opportunities for everyone to be engaged in the region’s diverse history. While I think every program we do is great, below are just a few of the highlights of the past year. We kicked off 2014 with a bang as we commemorated the city’s 250th anniversary. To celebrate this momentous occasion the museum created an exhibition, 250 in 250, which told the story of the region through 50 people, 50 places, 50 moments, 50 images, and 50 objects. These were not the 250 most important things that happened in St. Louis history. Rather, they were selected to illustrate complexity of the region and the people who call it home. Everyone had a favorite part of the exhibit, whether it was the story of the lost snake at the zoo or videos of Romper Room (though they never said my name) or the portion on the history of Build-ABear workshops. The exhibition conjured up fond memories and sparked multigenerational dialogue that lasted long after families exited the museum.

In March the museum celebrated Women’s History Month with the story of entrepreneur and philanthropist Annie Malone. I have to admit that I was not able to attend this program, but I had two different people approach me while I was grocery shopping to say how much they enjoyed the program. They described program presenter Linda Nance as wonderful and said they wanted us to do it again. There is no higher praise for a program than getting stopped in Aldi’s with, “Don’t you work at the History Museum? I loved the program on Annie Malone.” April showers ushered in the Twilight Tuesdays season in May. People from all over the region and even Illinois gathered on the north lawn of the museum to dance their worries away to the tunes of the Soulard Blues Band, Groovethang, and the James Family’s tribute to Ike and Tina Turner. The Twilight Tuesdays program continues to be a wonderful family event that draws young and old together to enjoy the fellowship that only music can bring.

The summer was all about alcohol, specifically, American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. Created by the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, this exhibition explored the era of flappers, suffragists, bootleggers, and temperance workers as the country learned new ways to procure the suddenly illegal spirit. Programs on the science of brewing, the connection between the blues and Prohibition, and vintage educational films on the perils of alcohol helped round out a summer schedule that was anything but dry.

On August 9, the St. Louis region was changed forever with the tragic shooting of Michael Brown. This shooting catapulted the region into the national spotlight as a place of racial unrest and civil injustice. Since that time the museum has served as a space for difficult dialogues that examine the region’s racial history and bring people together the help find solutions. The fall calendar was already set and printed before the events in Ferguson, but many of the fall programs were relevant. Whether it was Sherrilyn Ifill of the NAACP Legal Defense or civil rights attorney Lisa Bloom, their topics of educational inequality and police brutality were brought even closer to home. The region continues to struggle to find ways to deal with the aftermath of Ferguson and how it can move forward to create equal opportunities for all of its citizens. The Missouri History Museum will continue to work with community partners to provide programs that address the region’s complex past and its bright future.

January 3, 10, 24, 31

Teens Make History

11:30am / FREE Emigrant/Immigrant

Listen to stories of emigrants (people who leave a country) and immigrants (people who arrive in a country) f rom both past and present.

Theater in the Museum Esther

For free black women like Esther, the world changed enormously with the Louisiana Purchase. Hear her story. Linda Kennedy stars.

Commemorate

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom Celebration The Dream Marches On Friday, January 16

Saint Louis Art Museum, The Farrell Auditorium

7:00 pm – 8:30 pm, Doors open at 6:30 pm Free same-day and advance tickets available Keynote Address by Sam Walker, historian and founding member of the National Voting Rights Museum Voices of Praise Choir, Greater St. Mark Family Church Civil Rights Photography by Moneta Sleet, Jr.

At the age of 11, Sam Walker and his family joined more than 600 men, women, and children in a march that would start in his home city of Selma, Alabama. The organizers had planned to walk eastward along Route 80 to the Alabama state capital in Montgomery to promote Black registration and to protest the killing of a young Black man by a state trooper during a February 18th registration march. After walking only a few blocks towards the Pettus Bridge, the nonviolent marchers were confronted by state and local policemen. The pictures and videos of the marchers being viciously beaten and attacked with clubs and tear gas would be permanently seared in the memories of people all around the world. The date was Sunday, March 7, 1965, a day that would forever be recorded in history as Bloody Sunday. Only eight days after watching the violence on television, on March 15th, President Lyndon B. Johnson presented a bill to Congress that would become the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The Saint Louis Art Museum invites you to join us on Friday, January 16 at 7:00 pm in The Farrell Auditorium for our family-friendly annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom

Celebration.

The program will praise the life and legacy of Dr. King and commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery march that ultimately led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

The Art Museum’s Freedom Celebration is inspired by more than 100 spectacular photographs in our collection by photographer Moneta Sleet, Jr. In 1955, Sleet became a staff photographer for Ebony magazine, a position he continued until his retirement in the early 1990s. Over the course of his career as a photojournalist, he would document the civil rights movement in America and Africa giving us some of our most memorable images, including those of the Selma March.

The keynote speaker for the evening program will be Sam Walker, historian and founding member of the Voting Rights Museum in Selma, Alabama. He will share his personal memories of Bloody Sunday and examine today’s social issues in the context of Dr. King’s hopes and dreams for social, political, and economic equality for all citizens. The Voices of Praise Choir of Greater St. Mark Family Church will perform interfaith gospel and spiritual music. Greater St Mark Family Church, located in Ferguson, is led by Rev. Tommie L. Pierson, Sr., pastor. We look forward to seeing you at our annual Freedom Celebration on Friday, January 16, at 7:00 pm as we continue the journey to bring Dr. King’s dreams to America’s reality. The Farrell Auditorium doors will open the public 6:30 pm. This program is free and open to the public, but seating is limited and tickets are required to. Same-day and advance FREE Tickets are available at the Museum Information Centers during regular Museum hours. Advance tickets also are available through Metrotix. The tickets are FREE, but tickets acquired through Metrotix will incur a Metrotix service fee. For additional information about tickets, please call 314.655.5444.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

A protest Christmas miracle

Officer and demonstrator reconcile after mace incident

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

There was a striking exchange amidst the shouts and shivers as individuals convened near Frost and Hanley in Berkeley on Christmas Eve, when hundreds gathered to protest the death of Antonio Martin, the latest black teen to die at the hands of police.

Martin’s body – which had just been moved – was still

visible when the unrest got underway.

Along with the standard format of emotional face-offs with police that escalates to aggression, confrontation and ultimately ends with arrests and chaos was a silver lining on this particular night.

After a midnight melee that resulted in a handful being taken into custody, the police assumed their position of standing between the property and protestors.

Some protestors formed their own line directly across from officers, while others paced the parking lot with frustration that seemed to make them impervious to the cold.

One woman was so enraged that she approached the formation of police and made her way down the line of officers while letting out a series of blood-curdling screams.

But to the right of the

action, a young black man stood intensely engaged in conversation with a white officer – one from the more than a dozen municipal police forces who were at the scene of Martin’s death, which quickly turned into a protest zone.

holler at you in a minute” or “all right, man, I’ll get at you.”

“Babe, what happened? Are you all right?” the woman persisted.

He maced me,” the young man, said pointing at the same officer he was chatting it up with.

He usually falls back when things get hectic. This time was different.

“I went to grab one of my friends from off the ground, and he just maced me,” Brown said.

His eyes and nose were like faucets.

“Yo, man, you good?” was the question of the night for Brown.

“Man, [expletive] those cops!” another man shouted in response to seeing that Brown had been hit with mace.

But of all the people on the scene, Brown did not share those sentiments – at least not after everything had settled. At first, however, he was seething.

“I was pissed – I’m still mad,” Brown said. “It was awful.”

Things changed for him, though, after Officer Lloyd initiated the conversation.

“Man, I was so mad,” Brown said. “He saw me keep staring at him, and he just came over to me.”

Officer Lloyd had no comment about what compelled him to reach out to Brown – or how he quelled the situation to the point where the two seemed to be looking forward to seeing each other back in St. Charles.

“Well, at least he didn’t shoot you,” she said.

n “He maced me,” the young man, said pointing at the officer he was chatting it up with.

“Well, at least he didn’t shoot you,” she said.

A dried white substance covered half of the youth’s face, and most of his sweatshirt was wet.

The conversation was intense, but cordial – even jovial, at times, as the two laughed at certain points.

“Babe, what happened to you?” a woman said as she approached the two and was the first to successfully break the conversation.

It wasn’t that others hadn’t tried – they were met with “I’ll

Both the officer and the man rolled their eyes and shook their heads.

“He’s from St. Charles, too,” the young man said to the woman, speaking of the officer, whose nametag said Lloyd.

Orlando Brown is a resident of St. Charles where Lloyd is an officer. Brown has been a regular on the protest scene since August.

Even so, the two seemed to have genuinely made a connection.

“Seriously, if you see me over there, come over and say hello,” Lloyd said as Brown prepared to walk away. “Be good. Don’t get in any trouble.”

“I don’t be in any trouble,” Brown snapped back – with a smile on his face. “I haven’t had any trouble since I’ve been coming out here. You’re the first person out here that did this [expletive] to me. You’re gonna go down in the Guinness Book of World Records.”

They shook hands and waved in parting.

Brown walked around to check in with the friends he had made through the protests. Most were wondering how he was holding up after getting mace sprayed directly in his face.

“We had our conversation, and that’s the only thing that’s important,” Lloyd said. “Everything I had to say about the situation, I said to him.” Brown said that it was a natural conversation – even though it grew from the most unnatural of circumstances.

That night Berkeley was the scene for yet another of the worst-case scenarios with respect to broken relationships between police and people of color. But on that very same gas station parking lot in Berkeley, Brown and Lloyd offered a glimmer of hope.

“I really didn’t want to talk with him – or hear what he had to say,” Brown said. “But then I thought, ‘Me standing there calling him out of his name won’t solve [expletive].’”

Orlando Brown spoke with police after being hit with mace during a confrontation between protestors and police on Christmas Eve at the Mobil station in Berkeley, where Antonio Martin was fatally shot by a Berkeley police officer the night before.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Business

Two years of banking in Pagedale

MBC celebrates anniversary as unbanked task force forges on

By Chris King Of The St. Louis American

Midwest BankCentre recently celebrated the second anniversary of the opening of the first fullservice bank in Pagedale, Mo., located at 6810 Page Ave. in the Rosie Shields Manor Senior Living Facility.

n “The Pagedale branch is adding households and growing loans and deposits faster than we expected.”

– Jim Watson, MBC chairman and CEO

Bank officials also celebrated some gains made in helping the unbanked access banking services. In October, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) reported that the percentage of AfricanAmerican households without a checking or savings account had dropped to 13.3 percent in 2013. That was a significant decline from the 29 percent reported in 2011 and 31 percent in 2009, when St. Louis ranked highest in the nation for unbanked African-American households.

Overall, the number of unbanked St. Louis households fell from 9.7 percent in 2011 to 4.2 percent in 2013. The complete FDIC survey can be found at www.economicinclusion.

gov.

“We are extremely pleased by the warm welcome we have received by the leaders and citizens of the Pagedale neighborhood and surrounding 24:1 Community,” said Jim Watson, MBC chairman and CEO. The 24:1 initiative, led by

Beyond Housing, groups the 24 North County municipalities that send children to Normandy public schools in an effort to consolidate resources and services.

“The Pagedale branch is adding households and growing loans and deposits faster than we expected,” Watson said, “illustrating the need for affordable banking services in this community.”

The Lemay-based MBC first agreed to open the Pagedale branch as part of an 2011 agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice over alleged redlining in its lending

See PAGEDALE, B6

New commissioner faces bankrupt districts

Vandeven chosen to succeed Nicastro at DESE

By Dale Singer Of St. Louis Public Radio

Margie Vandeven may be Missouri’s new commissioner for elementary and secondary education, but she is entering the job at the first of the year concentrating on some old problems.

One of them, she told reporters in a conference call after her unanimous selection by the state board of education, is working for changes in Missouri’s student transfer law, to help protect the budgets of districts whose students are eligible to leave. Because of the financial drain from payments for tuition and transportation, Vandeven said, those districts suffer financially,

which in turn hurts students who stay. Earlier this year, the state took over Normandy’s finances and dissolved the district in favor of the Normandy Schools Collaborative. Riverview Gardens faces the possibility of similar financial problems.

A bill designed to alleviate the problems was vetoed earlier this year by Gov. Jay Nixon for several reasons, so the old transfer law remains in place. Lawmakers have filed bills to fix the problem of tuition payments for the session that begins in January, and Vandeven said changes are a top priority to help improve struggling school districts.

“One of the first things that we need to address is a tuition fix,” she

said. “Normandy is 80 students away from potential fiscal insolvency. And while all children deserve access to a high quality education, there are ways to make that happen without bankrupting the whole school district.”

The issue, Vandeven added, is helping to make sure that students don’t have to leave their home district to attend good schools.

“We did many meetings with the Normandy families,” she said, “and one thing they spoke loudly and clearly about was that they needed and wanted quality schools in their own neighborhoods and in their own communities. So

Mike Jones has joined The St. Louis American editorial board. Perhaps best known for his work negotiating the nation’s first tenant rights agreements with public housing residents when he headed the St. Louis Housing Authority, he has held senior positions in St. Louis city and county government, among other civic leadership roles. Currently he is a member of the Missouri Board of Education.

we really need to be able to attract the best leaders and the best teachers for those schools, and with the question of fiscal insolvency, that’s a challenge to do so.”

Of the five final candidates to succeed Chris Nicastro, who retired at the end of December after five and a half years on the job, Vandeven, 46, was the only one who has not served as a superintendent.

A native of O’Fallon, Mo., she joined the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education nine years ago, after experience as an English teacher and administrator in private schools in Missouri and Maryland, and worked her way up to deputy commissioner in charge of learning services.

See VANDEVEN, B2

Sandra Jordan has joined The St. Louis American editorial board. She is the paper’s award-winning health reporter and a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists. She was the lead author of “For the sake of Michael Brown,” The American’s first editorial on the Ferguson crisis that went viral and was reprinted in The Nation, among other print and digital publications.

Ingrid ClarkJackson, associate superintendent for the Hazelwood School District, has also joined Maryville University’s faculty as a professor. In addition to her leading the Human Resources department for Hazelwood, she will also teach graduate level classes in both the masters and doctoral degree programs beginning Spring 2015.

James Morgan was promoted to Sergeant in the St. Louis County Police Department. He joined the department in 2002 and is currently assigned to the Central County Precinct. He has also served in the St. Louis County and Municipal Police Academy. He was assigned to the North County Precinct prior to his promotion. Morgan received his Master Degree in Administration of Law from the University of Phoenix.

Paula Knight received her EdD in Educational Administration with an emphasis in Elementary Education from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She is the associate superintendent of Early Childhood Education with St. Louis Public Schools. Her responsibilities include direct supervision of all elementary school principals as well as supervision of the Curriculum & Instruction and Early Childhood Education departments.

Carl Hutter Jr. was inducted into the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame. He began his professional coaching career as assistant coach at Harris-Stowe State University in 1982, and from 1983-87 he served as head coach. After leaving Harris-Stowe, he served as head coach with other collegiate organizations, but is now in his 21st season at the helm of the Lindenwood University men’s soccer program.

Sandra Jordan

Ingrid ClarkJackson

James Morgan

Paula Knight

Mike Jones

Carl Hutter Jr.

The Normandy High School band helped Midwest BankCentre celebrate the second anniversary of its Pagedale location recently.

Margie Vandeven

Planning a home remodel that actually pays off

By Jason Alderman

There was a time when contractors building McMansion-style home additions or Michelin-worthy kitchens were a regular sight in many neighborhoods – until around 2006, when the Great Recession began to take hold.

Here’s the good news: home improvements are starting to add value in a rising housing market. Here’s the bad news: you have to be very careful about the renovation or remodeling projects you select to avoid over-stretching your budget.

In 2014, completing successful home improvements comes down to two critical questions:

Will you get most of your money back when you sell your property? (The days of 100 percent-plus returns on renovations are over, at least for now.) How will project costs affect your overall financial plan?

Here are questions to fuel your planning:

How long you plan to live in the home after the renovation. The Great Recession proved many homeowners didn’t recoup elaborate – or sometimes modest – improvement costs when selling their homes. Even in a recovering market, it’s good to be wary. For now, renovate for the long haul and your personal enjoyment, not overnight sale.

Neighborhood style and standards. We’ve all seen it – the oversized addition that dwarfs the rest of the houses on the block, the $50,000 kitchen upgrade in a small home where a spruce-up for $10,000 or less would do. It’s important to know how your tastes align with what is salable in your market (see

Cost vs. Value, below).

Opportunistic buying and installation times for various projects. Take replacement windows, for example. Collect bids in mid-summer and recheck them in late fall -you’ll likely find significant savings on both windows and installation.

Available renovation tax credits on federal, state and local levels. Are there credits or tax incentives on structural equipment or appliances that can offset the cost of whatever you’re planning?

Potential effect on property taxes. Could an elaborate renovation actually turn off future buyers thanks to higher maintenance costs and property taxes?

Intelligence on recent purchase prices and home features. Smart homeowners keep an eye on recent home sale prices in the neighborhood and the features – or lack of them – that made the transaction.

Now here’s where you can find some answers.

Remodeling magazine’s annual Cost vs. Value Report (http://www.remodeling. hw.net/cost-vs-value/2014/) has become a leading consumer resource for pricing improvements and cost recovery nationwide, regionally and in major metro areas. The online format allows users to compare project cost and recovery at sale all the way back to 2002. While the nation’s housing market is generally in recovery, some of the publication’s 2014 topproducing projects were surprisingly small. The top three 2014 home improvements in terms of cost return were:

• Entry door replacement

(96.6 percent cost recovery)

• Wooden deck addition (87.4 percent)

• Attic bedroom addition/ renovation (84.3 percent)

Remodeling reported that the value of remodeling projects began to slide nationally with home values in 2006 and only began to recover in 2013. As home resale values rise, so will cost recovery on incrementally bigger projects. As the publication notes, it’s a cautious environment. For more detailed

information, seek knowledge on a more local level:

Get to know your neighbors. If your neighbors have done home improvements inside and out, politely ask if they’ll share their story.

Befriend a broker. Real estate brokers and agents are happiest when they’re closing deals, but they like to build long-term relationships, too. The best brokers are happy to share neighborhood renovation value intelligence in exchange for a house tour. They

VANDEVEN

Continued from B1

“She was a good choice in a good field of candidates,” said Peter Herschend of Branson, president of the state school board. “She has an absolute dedicated passion for the kids in this state to be successful.”

Asked about how her experience as a classroom teacher would help shape her approach as commissioner, Vandeven said, “I take the advice as commissioner that I received as a classroom teacher, and that was to know your students and your content well. Over the last nine years at the department, I believe that I’ve gained a great understanding of the diversity of our state and the people that we serve, and I’m committed to working collaboratively with them in the building of relationships.”

Vandeven said she plans to meet with superintendents

can’t sell a house filled with overpriced improvements.

Before major projects, consider a home inspector. A home inspector’s job is to determine if the structural and mechanical aspects of a property are up to code. If a home hasn’t had a structural or mechanical upgrade for many years, professional inspection may detect trouble spots and intermediate upgrades that could be far more valuable than cosmetic work.

Talk to a tax professional.

in every region of the state, stating that they are critical to the success of Missouri schools. Asked whether DESE has the resources it needs to give struggling districts the support they need, she said it does not have them at this point, but the department has submitted a new budget request for such work.

She also noted that she would like to see the department become more diverse, to more closely mirror the districts it is becoming closely involved with. “It’s a challenge, as you know,” she said. “Geography makes that a challenge.”

That lack of diversity was raised as an issue when the five final candidates were named and all were white, as is most of the top leadership in DESE. Because most of the districts that the department has dealt with in recent years have had a heavy minority population, the disconnect was seen by some as a sign that Jefferson City was out of touch with districts

Federal and state tax credits and deductions may be available as part of any project you do. The IRS has a current summary (http://www.irs. gov/uac/Newsroom/EnergyEfficient-Home-ImprovementsCan-Lower-Your-Taxes) of 2014 energy credits and related resources.

Check your credit reports and scores. If you need to borrow to complete a project, it’s a good idea to check your credit reports and current credit score to determine whether you’ll qualify for a loan. You have the right to get all three of your credit reports – from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax – once a year for free. You can do so by ordering directly from AnnualCreditReport.com.

Talk to a financial planner. Any home improvement project is potentially major when compared to what you earn or have in savings. A certified financial planner can help you evaluate potential projects against the competing financial goals in your life like saving for retirement and your children’s college tuition.

Figure out what you can do yourself. Whether it’s painting, landscaping, carpentry or electrical work, helping with a few DIY finishing touches on a home improvement project can save money. Just make sure you have the time and skill to pitch in.

Bottom line: Approach a home renovation as you would any other major financial decision – do your homework and see how it fits into your overall financial plan.

Jason Alderman directs Visa’s financial education programs. To Follow Jason Alderman on Twitter: www. twitter.com/PracticalMoney.

that needed help the most.

“As long as the state capital is in Jefferson City and the state pays what it pays, attracting top-flight minority talent is always going to be a problem for Missouri,” said Mike Jones of St. Louis, an African American who is vice president of the state board. Don Senti, who heads EducationPlus, a consortium of area school districts, said he was “surprised that a DESE insider was chosen over “four experienced, highly respected superintendents.”

“I must therefore assume that the Board is satisfied with DESE’s current initiatives and progress … and that Margie would be the best person to continue that work,” Senti said. “I hope that Margie will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the current reality in our state to determine if we are, in fact, on the right path.”

Edited for length and reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.

– LeBron James, on turning

Incarnate Word rolls to Visitation title

Seventh consecutive win at tourney

for

Red Knights pRep FooTball noTebook

By Earl Austin Jr.

Of The St. Louis American

There were a few whispers around town a few weeks ago when perennial national power Incarnate Word Academy dropped two of its first three games this season while at a big tournament in Arkansas.

Those concerns were put to bed last week as the Red Knights rolled to the championship of the Visitation Christmas Tournament. It was the seventh consecutive Viz title for Incarnate Word.

The Red Knights defeated Kirkwood 59-33 in the championship game. All-American forward Napheesa Collier was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament. Collier averaged 35 points in the Red Knights’ four victories. Junior forward Abbey Hoff also had an excellent tournament and joined Collier on the All-Tournament Team. In the third place game, St. Joseph’s defeated Parkway North 64-58 while Hazelwood Central defeated Cor Jesu in the fifth-place game.

Joining Collier and Hoff on the AllTournament Team were Alecia Sutton (Parkway North), Lauryn Miller (Kirkwood), Mary Barton (St. Joseph’s), Jaida Stewart (Webster Groves), Lexi Moe (Fort Zumwalt West) and Emma Mitchell (Visitation).

Highland Shootout Jan. 10

The Highland (Ill) Shootout is annually one of the top prep basketball showcases in the metro area. This year’s five-game event will be held on Saturday, Jan. 10 at Highland High School.

The marquee matchup of the Highland Shootout this year will be a battle between Chaminade and Chicago St. Rita, which pits

All-American Napheesa Collier of Incarnate Word (middle) shoots between Kirkwood’s Lauryn Miller (#33) and Jayla Everett (#24) during Monday’s championship game of the Visitation Christmas Tournament. Incarnate Word defeated Kirkwood 59-35 to win its seventh consecutive Viz title while Collier averaged 35 points in the Red Knights’ four victories.

one of the best teams in the state of Missouri against one of the best in the state of Illinois. It will be Game 4 of the Shootout at 5:15 p.m. Chaminade features top-ranked Class of 2016

Apparently St. Louis Rams players and coaches really enjoy early vacations. How else are we supposed to rationalize the team’s disappointing 6-10 finish? The team has now managed to miss the playoffs for 10 consecutive seasons, a paltry mark only eclipsed by the Buffalo Bills (15 years), Oakland Raiders and Cleveland Browns (12 years). Once again at season’s end, fans, sportswriters and talking TV heads are trying to figure out

where another failed team went wrong. A decade deep in the mire of mediocrity, no one in the franchise is insulated from the blame game. The owner, team executives, coaches, coordinators and players all played a part in the frustrating season that featured more downs than ups. The only consistent thing about this team was its inconsistency. My fellow St. Louis American sports columnist compadre Palmer Alexander III is adept at breaking down schemes, dissecting the Xs and Os of the

n Since it looks like the Rams are most likely sticking with Bradford for another season, they better

The St. Louis Rams ended the 2014 season the same way it started – by losing. The team lost the season finale to the Seattle Seahawks, 20-6. The defense played well in the first half of the football game, forcing a couple of turnovers keeping the Seahawks off the board. Rookie cornerback Marcus Roberson, filling in for EJ Gaines, intercepted a pass from Russell Wilson. Then second-year linebacker Alec Ogletree stripped running back Marshawn Lynch, and the Rams clung to a 6-0 lead going into halftime. And that would be the last time the Rams would have the lead. In the third quarter Janoris Jenkins – who would should make a guest appearance on Shaquille O’Neal Show “Shaqtin’ a Fool” – let Seahawks receiver Kevin Norwood go untouched as he easily gobbled up 31 yards that set up Marshawn Lynch’s 9-yard touchdown run. Those kinds of plays are killers, especially the way this Rams offense labors. The Rams offense was dreadful to watch. The offensive line had no success against the Seahawks front seven. The Rams got only 42 yards on just 19 carries. Rams running back Benny Cunningham led all Rams receivers with 7 catches for 57 yards, but he also contributed a turnover for the second straight week – a fumble, literally, at the goaline. Tight End Jared Cook had a pass go off his hand in the end zone on a play where he should have used his 6’5” frame and laid out for the ball. Journeyman quarterback Shaun Hill, whose sole purpose as a veteran backup was to protect the football and keep his team in the game, threw two interceptions. On one throw he looked like he was trying to throw the ball to the turf when Seahawks defensive tackle Jordan Hill dove and caught the pass. The second interception was not Shaun Hill’s fault. Tight end Lance Kendricks

an A for effort in filling in for the injured Sam Bradford this season, but the St. Louis Rams cannot expect to reach the playoffs next season with any of the three under center.

Ishmael H. Sistrunk

Earl Austin Jr. Palmer L. Alexander

Jayson Tatum along with 6’8” junior nationally-ranked player Tyler Cook and fellow

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Claib’s Call

With Mike Claiborne

Good, bad and ugly Rams

Now that the Rams have bowed out of the running for post-season before the New Year, as they do annually, it’s time to take a look at the good, bad and ugly. The Rams showed glimmers of hope this season, only to be followed by frowns of frustration, as there was more talk than action. There are some things to feel good about and it starts with the defense, or should I say defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. If there was ever a difference-maker when it comes to coaching, it would be Williams. His style of teaching and challenging players to be better was noticed from day one. After serving a one-year suspension, Williams took some players whom we had wondered about to a different level that they may have been shocked to see.

Rookie defensive tackle

Aaron Donald did not disappoint anyone from the day he showed up to Rams Park. He made the Pro Bowl and will certainly be a heavy favorite to be Defensive

Rookie of the Year. As for the rest of the squad, the numbers may not have overwhelmed, anyone but they showed up more Sundays than the other two units that make up the Rams.

There were some bright spots on the offense, as running back Trey Mason stepped up and took the starting job. Mason at least made the opposition pay attention. Wide receiver Kenny Britt got a

second chance to play in the NFL, and he took full advantage of it in making some big plays and being a team leader that was desperately needed. Flanker Tavon Austin improved as well, as the Rams used him in a variety of roles, some of which even worked.

How about the bad? Where should we start?

The play-calling on most Sundays was anywhere from predictable to downright ridiculous. The quarterback situation was obviously an issue once Sam Bradford went down in the pre-season. An

early-season injury to veteran backup Shaun Hill gave us free agent Austin Davis to start the season. It did not take long to learn why he was not drafted, as mistake after mistake cost him his job and perhaps his career in St. Louis.

Shaun Hill was more steady once he was healthy enough to play, but mistakes each week exposed his shortcomings, hence his labeling as a “journeyman backup.”

As for the remaining bad issues, how could we forget the dropped passes and blown coverage that were a constant staple each week? You name them and they flubbed one or two during the course of the game.

When it comes to tackling, the Rams got better as the season progressed, but it continued to be glaring problem, especially up the middle where tackles were missed or players were out of position to make plays when they counted.

Now for the ugly. This team continued to find a way to make mistakes that you would see in week two of the season all the way into week 16. Turnovers, poor offensive play-calling and suspect special teams when it came to coverage helped do the Rams in most Sundays.

The penalties bordered on embarrassing, only to be followed by coaches making excuses for some of them. When you are a bad team like the Rams were, it’s hard to get a break from the officials so why complain?

The Rams were one of the most penalized teams in the league, and their penalties were of the dumb variety. How

n The Rams were one of the most penalized teams in the league, and their penalties were of the dumb variety.

many times did the Rams kill a drive or extend an opponent’s drive with a bad penalty this year? Yes, not enough fingers and toes to count. If anything, this group led the league in bad penalties and tough talk. Then there was the offensive line, where the second pick in the draft could not start early in the season. They also were responsible for getting Bradford sidelined for the season, not mention an assortment of other protection and run-blocking debacles. You could count on at least one lineman going down with an injury each game, only to return to action later. You had a somewhat questionable collection when it came to showing any sort of toughness. How these linemen can be counted on next season will be a mystery. When you think coaching, you look at the resumes and wonder why the Rams are not better on the field. You also have to wonder when the coaching staff will stop coddling players who have not earned that right yet. When you are as inconsistent in execution as the Rams have been, the weekly scrutiny of the officiating will quickly fall on deaf ears. What was considered a vaunted pass rush last year

paled in comparison this season. The loss of Chris Long was somewhat of a factor, but after looking at the numbers before he was hurt, the Rams were not very good in that department of putting heat on the passer. Overall, the evaluation of this year’s team would be one of regression, starting with the record. The 6-10 record would indicate that the Rams took a step back in several categories. Excuses? The loss of Bradford would certainly be one. Injuries to suspect starters only proved that their replacements were not strong enough. The coaches continue to put work in, but the problem is there are still not enough good players to compete for every position and play like winners. This will take a while longer, longer than I thought. It’s my hope that next year this time the ugly will be reduced dramatically. After all, the same annual issues continue to plague this team, so it is fixable. At least I think it is, though maybe not with this cast of characters. By the way, the Rams will pick 10th in the draft. What could they use? Believe it or not, everything. The team’s future home has been in question all season, which has hurt fan support. I was mildly amused to hear a Rams official on say on KMOX radio last week that the Rams needed more corporate support. He forgot to mention on why no one has gone all in on a team that is not assured of being here after next season.

Mike Claiborne

Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson gets the ball away just a moment before being hit by the Rams’ Robert Quinn during action Sunday in Seattle. The Rams seemed just a step too late throughout the season losing many close games inishing the season at 6-10 and in last place.

Best of the littles

All ‘American’ Small Schools team

By Earl Austin Jr.

Of The St. Louis American

In last week’s American, we featured the top large school players in our St. Louis “All” American Football Team.

This week, it is time for the small school players to take their turn in the spotlight. Here are the members of the St. Louis

All “American” Small Schools team.

Small Schools

Offense

QB

– Tre Moore (John Burroughs), Sr.

RB

– John Moten (John Burroughs), Sr.

RB – Armand Keely (Orchard Farm), Sr.

RB – Marquis Stewart (Miller Career Academy), Sr.

WR – Dyllan Conway (Westminster), Soph.

WR – Chris Booker (John Burroughs), Sr.

WR – Brandon Sumrall (Lutheran North), Jr.

OL – Devondre Love (Affton), Sr.

OL – Robert Brown (Lutheran North), Jr.

OL – Robert Stepherson (Lutheran North), Sr.

OL – Jearoyd Blanchard (McCluer SouthBerkeley), Sr.

OL – Rodney Baker (Althoff), Sr.

AP – Dre Kelly (St. Charles West), Jr.

ATH – Travis Riley (Miller Career Academy), Sr.

RAMS

Continued from B3 couldn’t hang on to a pass, and Seahawks linebacker Bruce Irvin snatched the opportunity and took ball 49 yards to ice the football game. It’s too bad the season ended this way. The Rams were in a lot of football games this season. Instead of 6-10 the Rams, could be 10-6 or even better. The Rams will never get on the positive side of those numbers until they start to do things a little better. And that starts with the front office doing a better job of evaluating talent, especially on the offense.

I still for the life of me can’t understand why Coach Jeff Fisher and GM Les Snead pushed all of their chips in the middle of the table, hedging their bets on the health of Sam Bradford and Jake Long, two players coming off ACL surgery. Then you lose both players to ACL injuries. Is the bromance worth it?

CLUTCH

Continued from B3 since being named the starting QB to begin his rookie season. When Bradford has not been on the field, the Rams have been led by a host of guys who either lacked the chops to succeed in the NFL or were aging veterans whose glory days were well behind them. Shaun Hill, Austin Davis Kellen Clemons Kyle Boller Keith Null and others have tried desperately, and unsuccessfully, to lead the team to victory. I’m certain that not a single opposing defensive coordinator, lost a wink of sleep worrying about any of those signal callers, Bradford included. It’s time to move on.

Let me put it this way, if the 2015 starting QB is currently on the Rams roster, recent history will be repeated. Identifying and drafting a QB of the future is essential, but if the Rams have any desire of finishing with more wins than losses for a change, they don’t have time to wait for a rookie to develop. General Manager Les Snead needs to find a new man under center for next season. Whether it is by trade, free agent signing or a grocery boy falling off a box truck and onto the Rams roster, something needs to happen.

Some may look at the dearth of accomplished free agent QBs expected to hit free agency and make the assumption that sticking with Bradford is better than signing

Defense

DL – Justin Creighton (Westminster), Sr.

DL – David Knox (Lutheran North), Jr.

DL – Jabriel Green (Jennings), Soph.

DL – Richard Baker (Cardinal Ritter), Sr.

LB – Marcus McGhee (Jennings), Sr.

LB – Tuvone Clark (McCluer SouthBerkeley), Sr.

LB – Valentino Armendaris (Miller Career Academy), Sr.

LB – Naeem Moore (Cardinal Ritter), Sr.

DB – Bobby Sanders (Jennings), Jr.

DB – Justin Baker (Lutheran North), Sr.

DB – Ronald Smith (John Burroughs), Jr.

DB – West Lindor (Affton), Sr.

ATH – Carl Thomas (Lutheran North), Sr.

RET – Will Pratt (St. Mary’s), Sr.

Offensive Player of the Year: John Moten (John Burroughs)

Defensive Player of the Year: Valentine Armendaris (Miller Career Academy)

Lineman of the Year: Devondre Love (Affton)

Freshman of the Year: Keshon Spraggins (Lutheran South)

And since it looks like the Rams are most likely sticking with Bradford for another season, they better rebuild that offensive line. They need help at center, right guard and right

another average Joe. After all, Brian Hoyer, Mark Sanchez and Jake Locker are currently the top free agent QBs. The NFL gets crazy during the offseason however and it’s likely we’ll see a few more starting quarterbacks hit the waiver wire before too long. If not, Jay Cutler, Robert Griffin III and Mike Glennon could be available via trade. It’s always been my dream to see former Mizzou star and current Kansas City Chiefs backup Chase Daniel behind center for the Rams, but that’s probably as unlikely as Stan Kroenke publically declaring his love for St. Louis.

The one bright side of having a bad team for so long has been the team’s ability to build up talent through the draft. The team has some very talented assets, including a fear-inducing defense, a talented backfield and an improving, young core of wide receivers. But there’s a reason why the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks are now perennial playoff contenders. They all have franchise quarterbacks. They’re not ‘franchise’ because the coach thinks they have what it takes. They’re ‘franchise’ because they go out on the

PREP

Continued from B3

junior guard Mike Lewis, one of the area’s top shooters. St. Rita is also loaded with talent, led by 6’6” senior forward Charles Mathews, who has signed with the University of Kentucky and 6’4” senior Kain Harris, who has signed with DePaul.

The opening game of the event will be a girls’ contest between host Highland and Jerseyville. Highland has one of the top girls teams in the area. They are currently 12-1. Tip-off is at noon.

Game 2 of the event will feature East St. Louis vs. Normal Community (Ill) at 1:45 p.m. East St. Louis is led by 6’11” sophomore Jeremiah Tillman, who is one of the nation’s top sophomores. Normal Community will counter with 6’8” senior Tyler Siebring (signed with Elon) and 6’7” senior Alex Peacock.

In Game 3, CBC will take on Breese Mater Dei in another battle of Missouri vs. Illinois at 3:30 p.m. CBC is led by its standout junior backcourt of Jordan Barnes and Christian Willis, plus 6’8” senior Kenny Lesley. Mater Dei fields one of the biggest teams in the area, led by 6’9” senior Nolan Gerling and 6’7” senior Zach Haake.

In the finale, Fort Zumwalt

tackle. Center Scott Wells’

best days are behind him, guard Davin Joseph will have you calling for a stretcher as the back-up QB warms up, and right tackle Joe Barksdale has had his share of rough moments.

What quarterback is going to have any kind of success with an offensive line like that? Look at some of the top QBs around the NFL. Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Tony Romo and Russell Wilson all play behind very good offensive lines. Then you throw in an offensive coordinator who has an idea of the flow of the game, and that’s why the names I just mentioned are always in the conversation when it comes to MVP or Super Bowl contender.

That’s a conversation that we’ve haven’t had in St. Louis in over a decade.

I’d like to wish all of our readers and YouTube subscribers and the entire St. Louis American staff a happy and safe New Year.

For more Rams Roundup, please subscribe to youtube. com/stlamericanvideo.

football field and prove it, year in and year out.

Time for the Rams to go find a franchise guy. If one isn’t available, they should find the next best thing. At least an average new guy breeds hope. If the Rams don’t make a move

by

All-American forward Napheesa Collier was named the Most Valuable Player of the Visitation Tournament after averageing 35 over four games.

North will take on the host Highland Bulldogs at 7 p.m. Fort Zumwalt North is led by senior guard Zach Glotta, who has

Napheesa Collier

Incarnate Word – Girls Basketball

The All-American forward led the Red Knights to their seventh consecutive championship of the Visitation Holiday Tournament. The 6’1” Collier averaged 35 points a game in IWA’s four victories over Parkway South, Hazelwood Central, St. Joseph’s and Kirkwood. In the championship game, Collier had 32 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, three steals and five blocks in the Red Knights’ 59-33 victory over Kirkwood.

In the semifinals against rival St. Joseph’s, she had 33 points, 12 rebounds, six steals and five blocks in IWA’s 70-43 victory. Collier scored 39 points against Hazelwood Central in the quarterfinals and a seasonhigh 41 points against Parkway South in the first-round. For the season, Collier is averaging nearly 30 points a game to lead the St. Louis metro area in scoring. She is also averaging 10 rebounds and three blocks per game for the 5-2 Red Knights.

Collier has already signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at NCAA Women’s collegiate powerhouse Connecticut.

at QB, the best hope for next season is a .500 record and another jump start on vacation dates. The only question is whether Bradford would be healthy enough to lead the way or whether his backup would be called in for extended duty

once again. At New Year’s Resolution time, let’s home the Rams make the right decision.

Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @ IshmaelSistrunk.

Photo

Lawrence Bryant

Prep Athlete of the Week

signed with Austin Peay. Highland is led by 5’11” junior guard Austin Elledge.

The Rams’ Aaron Donald and T.J. McDonald tackle Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson during the Rams inal game of the season Sunday in Seattle.

PAGEDALE

Continued from B1 practices. Under the settlement, the bank agreed to open a branch in Pagedale and invest a total of $1.45 million in predominantly black neighborhoods. The bank was referred to the Department of Justice by the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunities Council. MBC is part a region-wide coalition of banks that have been increasing the availability of financial services to the

unbanked. MBC Senior Vice President and Director of Community Development Alex Fennoy is co-chair of the St. Louis Unbanked Task Force and its “Bank On Save Up” initiative launched in February 2013. Meanwhile, MBC Vice President of Business Banking John Shivers has helped business owners obtain loans to launch new enterprises. Ted Rice of Montgomery Bank, another bank working on the task force, said the task force was addressing the concern that “people are spending millions of dollars

on fringe financial services and getting no return on their money.”

Thelma Moorehead of Pulaski Bank, another task force member, said that enrolling people who are new to the banking system is a matter of face-to-face interaction and “overcoming objections.” Once enrolled, she said, a community banker needs to offer additional “financial literacy” so that new customers understand the benefits in continuing to use the bank, rather than a payday lender or check-cashing franchise.

Financial Focus

By Roger Macon, AAMS

•

A group of Midwest BankCentre employees taught lessons at Junior Achievement in a Day at Barack Obama Elementary School in the Normandy Schools Collaborative as part of the bank’s recent week-long celebration of the second anniversary of its branch bank in Pagedale.

Love in, love out

The New Year’s relationship resolution

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

“And here we go!”

The late Heath Ledger’s brilliantly delivered line in “Dark Knight” to introduce the chaos and drama that ensues over the course of the film is absolutely applicable as the New Year’s resolution race begins.

I know you’re thinking, “What does me swapping cobbler and cupcakes for cardio until mid-2016 have to do with my love life?”

Let me tell you … as I reflected on how I could make my 2015 count, the thought of making healthy love choices was the first thing that popped into my mind.

It was actually quite strange because I usually go straight for the unattainable short-term fitness goals and restrictive lifestyle changes that are completely impossible to maintain.

n The idea of developing a regimen in the romance department kept distracting my prep work for the marathon.

While attempting to convince myself that it is humanly possible to go from taking a brisk walk every now and again in December to running a marathon by the end of March, the idea of developing a regimen in the romance department kept distracting my prep work.

“You can’t love someone enough for the both of you … devoting, time, thoughts and energy to someone not willing to reciprocate is a waste.”

I know, I know, “No duh?” Right?

But think about how many times we’ve been gluttons for a dysfunctional relationship just to say we have one. Or we think we can create a relationship by bringing two helpings of love in exchange for a warm, indifferent body.

Those empty feelings we have when we know we should be devoting our head and heart space to anything else has that same yucked out effect as a third plate at the Chinese buffet. And in plenty of cases, we are stuffing our face to pick up the slack of an unbothered boo thang. They don’t call it comfort food for nothing, girl.

We owe it to ourselves to make responsible consumption choices in romantic relationships. There has to be something that fuels our wellbeing … or what’s the point?

Yes, the way we’ve been doing things may be

When WESL made hip-hop history

35th Anniversary of ‘Rapper’s Delight’ debut

By Emanuele Berry Of St. Louis Public Radio

It’s been 35 years since the song

“Rapper’s Delight” by Sugar Hill Gang made its debut on the radio, yet the track still holds a unique magic. It was one of the first commercial successes for rap music, and it got its radio start in East St. Louis.

“Rapper’s Delight” may now be considered a classic, but initially no one would play it on the radio. Sylvia Robinson, who co-founded Sugar Hill Records, produced “Rapper’s Delight.”

According to hip-hop lore, Robinson tried to get stations in New York and across the country to play the song, but they refused, leaving a station in East St. Louis the opportunity to break the song.

If you ask Ronald Butts, or DJ G. Wiz, about the significance of “Rapper’s Delight,” he laughs.

“Even though ‘Rapper’s Delight’ was the first song commercially successful, people all over, they were rapping,” G. Wiz said. “They just happened to be the first ones to get on record and be successful.”

G. Wiz says a lot of principal MCs at the time didn’t think the track was even good.

“Some of the people that were rapping, they didn’t like it,” G. Wiz said. “They were like, ‘Those are some wack rhymes.’ It was just a bunch of braggadocio. But the ones who had primed it, they were past

“Rapper’s Delight” by Sugar Hill Gang, released in 1979, reached No. 4 on the Billboard R&B charts – the first rap record to crack the top U.S. Top 40

that stage.”

Hip-hop culture took shape in cities along the East Coast in the mid-1970s.

In 1979, rappers were performing at live events, but not in the studio. Robinson, who died in 2011, was determined to

“Wonder Mike” Wright, Henry “Big Bank Hank” Jackson and Guy “Master Gee” O’Brien agreed to put their rhymes on vinyl. They recorded “Rapper’s Delight,” in a single take, over a version of the popular song “Good Times” by the group After struggling to get the record made, Robinson couldn’t get the song on the radio. During the fall of 1979, she begged stations to play it, but many DJs didn’t like the style, length or the sampling.

Gentleman Jim Gates, program director at WESL in East St. Louis, heard something in the track. “Wow, what is that?” Gates remembered thinking. “This is Chic’s music. That made it passable, because Chic had sold about 10 million records already. I said, ‘I like that. I’m going to play that now.’” The DJ on air then was Edie Anderson. Her radio name was Edie Bee. Edie says she had no desire to play the

See SUGAR HILL, C4

‘You must have a strategic plan’

Nelly’s speech to the Ferguson frontlines on August 18

By Nelly

Chef La Tasha McCutchen took the title and executive chef job of Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill at Caesars Atlantic City, a prize package worth $250,000.

Yo, first off, I just want to remind everybody the reason why we here is the love and the support and the strength for the Brown family, ‘cause at the end of the day they lost a son. They know what that pain feels like, but I don’t personally think I could bear that type of pain from losing my son. At the end of the day and, what I would hate, is to be sitting somewhere in court trying to make sure that the person that has killed my son – that they use anything that I have done against my son in court or in any type of procedure. Because that’s not fair to the Brown family. Now to be out here showing support and the love, that is dope, that is exactly what’s needed. But to show out here to show dysfunction, to show evilness, to show devastation, to show that we are who they think we are, that’s working backwards. That’s working backwards. In order to change the result we gotta change the strategy. That’s the only thing we have to do, because this ain’t the first time a young brother has been killed by an officer. What we have to make sure is that he pays for shooting the young man. Because what

that does, is that puts the thought in the next officer that’s about to pull that trigger – he’s gonna say, “Well, you know what, the last officer that did this got life. You know what, I’m gonna put this gun away.” They asked me today on CNN, they said this is the first time St. Louis has rioted. I said yes, it is. Back in the Civil Rights Movement, riots was breaking

See NELLY, C4

Nelly delivered an impromptu speech to the protest frontlines at the Ferguson Police Department on August 18.

Photo by Bradley Rayford

How to place a calendar listing

1. Email your listing to calendar@stlamerican. com OR

2. Visit the calendar section on stlamerican.com and place your listing

Calendar listings are free of charge, are edited for space and run on a space-available basis.

holiday haps

Through Jan. 1, Tilles Park hosts Winter Wonder Land Park Carriage Rides. Winter Wonderland is open for vehicular trafic Sunday through Friday from 5:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Saturdays are closed to vehicular trafic and reserved for carriage rides only. Horse drawn carriage rides are available every night except Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Advanced reservations are required for all carriage rides. 9551 Litzinger Rd., 63124. For more information, call (314) 615-5000 or for tickets visit www.metrotix.com.

Through Jan. 3, The Saint Louis Zoo presents Wild Lights. Stroll through the Saint Louis Zoo’s enchanting holiday wonderland and enjoy thousands of colorful lights, animated light displays and seasonal sounds. Nov. 28 – Dec. 14: open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays only. Dec. 19 – Jan. 3: open nightly. 1 Government Dr., 63110. For more information, call (314) 781-0990 or visit www.stlzoo.org.

Thur. – Sun. through Jan. 4, 6 p.m., Anheuser Busch Brewery Christmas Lights Experience. The towering, Germanic-style red-brick buildings adorned with thousands of lights can be enjoyed up-close through a self-guided walking tour. Guests aged 21 and older can sample complimentary beers along the walking tour route, get comfy and cozy around warm ire pits to roast s’mores, and pose for a souvenir photo in a themed snow globe or with a Budweiser Clydesdale. Drive-through tours are welcome on Monday and Wednesday evenings. 12th & Lynch St., 63118. For more information, visit www. budweisertours.com

Through Jan. 4, Sophia M. Sachs Butterly House

presents Winter Jewels: A Holiday Celebration. Surround yourself with the magic of the season. Go on a treasure hunt through the Animal Exhibit Hall, discover fairies in the Tropical Conservatory, and new friends in the Gnome Forest, but be sure to guard your treasure. 15193 Olive Blvd., 63017. For more information, visit www. missouribotanicalgarden.org.

Through Jan. 4, The Fox Theatre presents A Christmas Story. With songs both funny and heartfelt, and a faithful yet inventive book, A Christmas Story captures holiday wonder with such deliciously wicked wit that it is sure to delight children and grown-ups alike. It’s the Christmas present that you’ll cherish all holiday long. 527 N Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. fabulousfox.com.

concerts

Sat., Jan. 3, 11 p.m., Harry’s Restaurant and Bar presents Scooter and Lavelle. 2144 Market, 63102. For more information, call (314) 421-6969 or visit www. scooterandlavelle.com

Sat., Jan. 17, 7 p.m., Loose Cannon Entertainment and Headliner Market Group present State of Emergency 2 Concert feat. Yo Gotti, 2 Chainz, Fabolous, August Alsina, The Migos, Lil’ St. Louis, and Vega Sills. Chaifetz Arena, 1 Compton Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www.thechaifetzarena. com.

Sat., Jan. 17, 8 p.m., Powel Symphony Hall presents Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony. Exuberant and introspective, charming and complicated, Mozart’s final symphony, “Jupiter,” foreshadows the work of Beethoven and sums up what had happened in symphonic music up to that point. Hailed for music making of tremendous power,

Richard Goode joins the orchestra for Mozart’s sublime Piano Concerto No. 17. 718 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. stlsymphony.org.

Sat., Feb. 14, 8 p.m., The Chaifetz Arena presents St. Louis Valentine’s Music Festival feat. KC & Jojo, Doug E. Fresh, Guy, Bobby Brown, El Debarge, Dru Hill, SWV, Slick Rick. 1 Compton Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. thechaifetzarena.com.

local gigs

Sat., Jan. 3, 11 p.m., Harry’s Restaurant and Bar presents Scooter and Lavelle. 2144 Market, 63102. For more information, call (314) 421-6969 or visit www. scooterandlavelle.com

Sun., Jan. 11, 5 p.m., Lilly Mac Production And Management presents And Our Feelings – ATribute to Babyface Concert. Vinnis Bryant will be performing a jazz tribute to Babyface and most of his written and performed classics. The night will be full of musical numbers as well as a charity rafle and a few moments of spoken word. 212 S. Tucker Blvd., 63102. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Wednesdays, 6-10 p.m., Lexus Len’s “Winedown Wednesdays,” Live Band featuring: Cheryl Brown, Jeremiah Allen, Jeff Taylor, Gerald Warren & Amos Brewer, The Loft, 3112 Olive.

comedy

Sat., Jan. 17, 8:30 p.m., The Firebird presents Nikki Glaser. Nikki Glaser is a comedian, writer, and host whose television appearances have included The Tonight Show, CONAN, and Last Comic Standing. She was the co-host of the MTV late night talk show Nikki & Sara LIVE, as well as the popular podcast, You Had To Be There. Nikki can currently be seen as a regular contestant on Comedy Central’s @Midnight and will guest star on the upcoming season of Inside Amy Schumer. 2706 Olive St., 63103. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Feb. 27, 8 p.m., Katt Williams, Chaifetz Arena. For more information, visit www. ticketmaster.com

special events

Sat., Jan. 3, 2 p.m., Omicron Eta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and the Ivy Foundation of St. Louis, Incorporated presents The 25th annual “Little Miss Fashionetta.” Little Miss Fashionetta® is a six-month experience for young AfricanAmerican girls between the ages of 9-12. The culminating event is a spring pageant where the girls will receive awards, showcase a talent and be presented to the community in debutante attire. The pageant generates funds to benefit scholarships for our youth and other philanthropic endeavors. 6701 Delmar Blvd.,

Loose Cannon Entertainment and Headliner Market Group present State of Emergency 2 Concert feat. Yo Gotti (left), 2 Chainz, Fabolous, August Alsina, The Migos, Lil’ St. Louis, and Vega Sills. See CONCERTS for details.

63130. For more information, email littlemissfashionetta@ aka-omicronetaomega.org.

Sat., Jan. 3, 7 p.m., The Scottrade Center presents Harlem Globetrotters Fans Rule World Tour. The world famous Harlem Globetrotters have been thrilling families and millions of fans for 88 years, all the while innovating the game in exciting new ways. Last year, the Globetrotters did something unparalleled in the history of sports and entertainment, letting fans vote on new rules to be used in actual games. It was so much fun, we are doing it again, and there are cool new rules to choose from: Hot Hand Jersey, Make or Miss, or Trick Shot Challenge Take your kids to www. harlemglobetrotters.com/rule to vote for their favorite, craziest rule. Then, get your tickets to the game, where you will see the winning rules put into live action. 1401 Clark Ave., 63103. For more information, call (314) 622-5400 or visit www.scottradecenter.com.

Jan. 3 – 4, 10 a.m., EPIC STL Productions presents STL Motorcycle Show. This is the event of the year for any motorcycle enthusiast. Every make and model that St. Louis has to offer will be represented. Live bike trial demonstration from some of the hottest trick riders in the country. America’s Center, 701 Convention Plaza, 63101. For more information, call (314) 276-4497 or visit www.stlmotorcycleshow.com.

Jan. 3 – 4, 11 a.m., St. Louis Bride & Groom Magazine presents The Wedding Show. This is the largest wedding planning event in the Midwest. See some of the hottest designer bridal fashions, on a New York-style professional runway show. The show features bridal gowns, bridesmaid dresses, tuxedos, beautiful motherof-the-brides gowns, and even swimwear perfect for a tropical honeymoon. Enjoy some of the area’s top wedding musicians as they perform throughout the day in a special staging area with seating. 701

Convention Plaza, 63101. For more information, call (636) 530-7989 or visit www. stlbrideandgroom.com.

Wed., Jan. 7, 7:30 p.m., Chaifetz Arena presents Cirque Du Soleil: Varekai Deep within a forest, at the summit of a volcano, exists an extraordinary world - a world where something else is possible. From the sky falls a solitary young man, and the story of Varekai begins. Parachuted into the shadows of a magical forest, a kaleidoscopic world populated by fantastical creatures, this young man sets off on an adventure both absurd and extraordinary. 1 Compton Ave., 63101. For more information, call (314) 977-5000 or visit www. thechaifetzarena.com.

Sat., Jan. 10, 6:30 p.m., 29th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. State Celebration Commission Kick-off Program for Missouri. 2015 Theme: Emerging Leaders Called to Action: A Time for Healing. The Keynote Speaker will be Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski III, President of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Special performances by Ronni Gee, Excel Performing Arts, Point of View Jazz Ensemble, Harris-Stowe State University Concert Chorale. A reception featuring Danita Mumphard will follow the program. Harris-Stowe State University Main Auditorium, 3026 Laclede Ave., 63103. For more information, call (314) 3403390.

Jan. 10 – 11, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. St. Louis Metropolitan Chapters present Founders’ Day Celebration Weekend: Celebrating New Dimensions of a Committed Sisterhood. Jan. 10 at 11 a.m.: Rededication and Luncheon with keynote speaker; Kathy Walker-Steele, Central Regional Director of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Regency Conference Center, 400 Regency Park Dr., O’Fallon, IL., 62269. Saturday’s activities are open only to members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Jan. 11 at 11 a.m.: Morning Worship at Union Memorial United Methodist Church. 1141 Belt Ave., 63112. For more information, email basileus@akaddo.com.

Sat., Jan. 10, 2 & 5 p.m., COCA presents 20142015: Perpetual Motion –COCAdance and the COCA Hip-Hop Crew. The New Year kicks off with this highenergy dance concert that follows in the popular tradition of In the Loop. Enjoy a mix of cutting-edge hip-hop and contemporary dance in a wide range of styles. 524 Trinity Ave., 63130. For more information, call (314) 7256555 or visit www.cocastl.org.

Thur., Jan. 15, 6:05 p.m., St Lou Fringe hosts Submit to Fringe Party. Whether you’re a brave artist submitting to the festival or you’re part of the bold audience who loves the art come to the annual kickoff party and enjoy delightful culturally curious companionship and hopefully witness some cosmic creative collisions in the heart of winter. The Stage at KDHX, 3524 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, call (314) 664-3955 or visit www. stlfringe.com.

literary

Featured Event

Tues., Jan. 13, 6:30 p.m., Maplewood Public Library presents An evening with Julius Hunter. Mr. Hunter, St. Louis native, journalist, and writer, will be discussing his new book “Priscilla and Babe.” It is the

whole world. Could the man at the heart of everything be one of his patients? 399 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, call (314) 3676731 or visit www.left-bank. com.

Thur., Jan. 15, 7 p.m., St. Louis Public Library presents Authors at Your Library: William L. Clay, Sr. Congressman Clay will discuss and sign his book, Clarence Thomas: A Knight in Tainted Armor. Clay traces how U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas joined other conservatives in a shameful effort to reverse historic advancement of Civil Rights for minorities, women, and the poor. Books available for purchase courtesy of Congressman Clay. All proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to the William L. Clay Scholarship Fund. Central Library Branch, 815 Olive Blvd., 63118. For more information, call (314) 206-6755 or visit www. stlouispubliclibrary.net.

1400 Market St., 63103. For more information, call (800) 745-3000 or visit www. ticketmaster.com.

7550 Lohmeyer Ave., 63143. For more information, visit www. maplewood.lib.mo.us.

Sat., Jan. 10, 1 p.m., Book Warehouse of Chesterfield hosts author Nimbilasha Cushing, author of Come This Way: There Is an Exit and They Walked With Me Come This Way tells her remarkable story as someone who would not let herself be trapped by poverty, racism, or the odds. They Walked With Me reflects her life from tenth grade, including her time in the Air Force, a 31-year career as a United Airlines International flight attendant, to her present life as a writer and community volunteer who knows the secret of a fulfilling life. 17017 North Outer 40 Rd., 63005. For more information, call (636) 489-1994 or visit www. book-warehouse.com.

Mon., Jan. 12, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books hosts author Scott L. Miller, author of Interrogation. The first in Scott Miller’s St. Louis-based crime series introduces the reader to Dr. Mitch Adams, a Ph.D. Social Worker in private practice. Life is good, Mitch is in love, and all is right with the world. Until his girlfriend’s boss, her ex-husband, and a deranged caller derail his

Mon., Jan. 19, 7:30 p.m., Tavern of Fine Arts presents River Styx: Kiki Petrosino and Eric Lundgren Ms. Petrosino is the author of Hymn for the Black Terrific: Poems. The book offers vibrant, inventive meditations on darkness in many forms, including the colored body. The Mulattress series disassembles a sentence from Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia, which claims people of color “secrete less by the kidneys, and more by the glands of the skin, which gives them a very strong and disagreeable odor.” The collection concludes with the creation of “the eater,” an entity less a physical being than a center of intersecting desires. 313 Belt Ave., 63112. For more information, call (314) 367-7549.

theatre

Jan. 7 – Feb. 1, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts, 130 Edgar Rd,, 63119. For more information, call (314) 9684925 or visit www.repstl.org.

Jan. 13 – 18, Peabody Opera House presents The Book of Mormon. The story of two young Mormon missionaries sent to a remote village in northern Uganda, where a brutal warlord is threatening the local population. Naïve and optimistic, the two missionaries try to share the Book of Mormon, one of their scriptures—which only one of them has read—but have trouble connecting with the locals, who are more worried about war, famine, poverty, and AIDS than about religion.

Jan. 20 – Feb. 1, The Fox Theatre presents Cinderella. This lush production features an incredible orchestra, jawdropping transformations and all the moments you love—the pumpkin, the glass slipper, the masked ball and more—plus some surprising new twists. 527 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www.fabulousfox.com.

Jan. 22 – 25, Peabody Opera House presents Sesame Street Live: Let’s Dance. 1400 Market St., 63103. For more information, call (800) 745-3000 or visit www. ticketmaster.com.

arts

Through Jan. 4, St. Louis Art Museum presents Atua: Sacred Gods from Polynesia Explore, in unprecedented depth, the relationship between art objects and Polynesian concepts of atua—gods, ancestors, and spirit beings that are fundamental to the Polynesian cosmos. Organized geographically, Atua leads visitors across the vast span of Polynesian islands. With the arrival of missionaries, artworks associated with atua often were destroyed or exported to the West as souvenirs of conversion and colonialism. Among those sculptures that did survive this period, the most powerful and celebrated objects are presented in this exhibit. One Fine Arts Dr., 63110. For more information, call (314) 7210072 or visit www.slam.org/ atua.

Thur., Jan. 15, 6 p.m., St Lou Fringe 2015 Fringe Festival Submissions Go Live. At 6 p.m. sharp (CST) you can

detective. You will become Holmes’ eyes and ears as he tackles a baffling new case in a world steeped in innovation and experimentation. Along the way you’ll see a dazzling array of original manuscripts, publications, period artifacts, film and television props and costumes. You’ll learn to use investigative tools and techniques from Holmes himself, and test yourself with exciting, interactive crimesolving opportunities. Come Solve the Mystery. 5050 Oakland Ave., 63110. For more information, call (314) 289-4400 or visit www.slsc. org/watson.

Slavery still exists in our world and in our own county. You can help to break the chains of modern day slavery. Spencer Road Library, 427 Spencer Rd., 63376. For more information, call (636) 2481117.

submit your online application to secure one of our 20 (10 local and 10 national) firstcome first-served spots at St. Louis Fringe Festival. In 2014, these spots filled up in a matter of seconds! So be prepared. Producers of all genres of performing arts are invited to submit. Details, including submission guidelines, are available at www.stlfringe. com.

lectures

Through Jan. 4, 2015, The St. Louis Science Center presents The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes. Step in to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Victorian London and work sideby-side with his legendary

Tues., Jan. 6, 8 p.m., Maryville University presents 2014-15 St. Louis Speaker Series feat. Ayaan Hirsi Ali Ali was born in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1969. The daughter of a political opponent of the Somali dictatorship, she grew up in exile. As a young child, she was subjected to female genital mutilation. As she grew up, she embraced Islam and strove to live as a devout Muslim. But she began to question aspects of her faith. In 1992, Ayaan was married off by her father to a distant cousin who lived in Canada. In order to escape this marriage, she fled to the Netherlands. In 2004, Ayaan gained international attention following the murder of Theo van Gogh. Van Gogh had directed her short film Submission, a film about the oppression of women under Islam. The assassin, a radical Muslim, left a death threat for her pinned to Van Gogh’s chest.

Sat., Jan. 10, 10 a.m., St. Charles Outreach Coalition Against Human Traficking.

Sat., Jan. 17, 8:00 a.m., American Heart Association and American Stroke Association present Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Health Fair and Luncheon with special guest Richard Smallwood. Enjoy a free lunch at the health fair beginning at 11 a.m. St. Louis Union Station Doubletree, 1820 Market St., 631303. For more information or to RSVP, call (314) 692-5642 or visit www.heart.org/stlouis.

Radium in groundwater exceeds federal standard

EPA says unclear if it’s coming from West Lake Landfill waste

By Véronique LaCapra Of St. Louis Public Radio

Groundwater under the West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton is contaminated with unhealthy levels of radium. That’s according to a U.S. Geological Survey report, released recently by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

This past spring, the EPA asked the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to review data from groundwater samples collected at the West Lake Landfill between 2012 and 2014, to try to figure out whether the water is being contaminated by radioactive waste.

The USGS analysis confirms that some groundwater samples taken from wells at the landfill have more than 5 picocuries per liter of radium - the federal safe drinking water limit. But EPA Regional Administrator Karl Brooks said the contaminated groundwater is not used for drinking. And Brooks said it’s still unclear whether that contamination is coming from the landfill’s radioactive waste - also known as radiologically-impacted material, or “RIM.”

“The USGS recognized they don’t have enough data yet,” Brooks said. “And obviously then that means that EPA doesn’t have enough data to say that the contamination is either from the RIM, or from leachate generated by the site, or from any other particular origin.”

Some radium occurs naturally in groundwater in Missouri and throughout the U.S. - sometimes in concentrations higher than the federal drinking water standard.

Aside from that, the USGS cited three possible sources of the radioactivity in the groundwater under the West Lake Landfill: the leaching of radium from the radioactive waste that was dumped at the landfill illegally in the 1970s; the leaching of radium from other, non-radioactive wastes at the site; the mobilization of

radium from rocks, soils, or sediments by the waste liquid (leachate) inside the landfill.

But with limited data on background levels of radiation in groundwater - and without knowing the full extent of the landfill’s radioactive wastethe USGS couldn’t definitively attribute the groundwater contamination to any particular source.

The report did say that one well, PZ-101-SS, which had particularly high concentrations of radium, had the “greatest potential” to have been contaminated by the radioactive waste.

The USGS also said that surface runoff (not groundwater) could have transported radioactive material to “lower areas of the South quarry.” That’s where a subsurface fire has been smoldering for the past four years. That surface runoff would have happened back in the 1970s, when the mixture of radioactive waste and soil was first dumped in the north part of the quarry. At that time, rain could possibly have washed some of the contaminated soil - and radium - down into the south quarry, which at the time was just a big open pit. That’s one theory the USGS is proposing to explain the higher levels of radium in two wells in the southern part of the quarry. But it’s just a theory.

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, who sued landfill owner Republic Services over environmental contamination at the site, declined to comment about the groundwater report at this time, as did the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

A spokesperson for Republic Services, Russ Knocke, provided the following statement: “The report should allay the worst fears being

SINGLE

Continued from C1

convenient, comfortable and perhaps fills a craving. But constantly resorting to empty love calories will be as heavy on your heart as nightly dates with Snickers are on your hips. Anybody who’s been on some sort of healthy regimen – which this time of year is just about everybody – knows that there’s more to it than your intake. For the sake of my point, let’s say taking in love from your partner is equivalent to

spread by alarmists. It should reassure the community that they are safe from and not being exposed to any risk from groundwater beneath West Lake Landfill. We also hope it provides peace of mind that the site is closely monitored by leading scientific experts.”

The EPA’s Karl Brooks said regional staff would work with the agency’s Office of Research and Development, the USGS, and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to get a better understanding of how groundwater moves around the landfill site.

But Republic Services is pumping wastewater out of “leachate risers” throughout the landfill. That pumping has the effect of changing the natural movement of groundwater, making it flow into the landfill, instead of out. The USGS said that means it’s unlikely that groundwater contaminated with leachate is moving much beyond the landfill’s borders. But more groundwater wells would need to be dug and sampled outside the landfill to know for sure, for example, between the landfill and the Missouri River.

Karl Brooks said that once EPA scientists have reviewed the USGS report, the agency could decide to ask for more groundwater sampling.

He also confirmed that the EPA would need to do more radioactivity testing at the landfill to determine the extent of the radioactive contamination in the waste. He said that needed to happen both in preparation for building the planned firebreak, and before deciding what to ultimately do with the waste.

Reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.

Follow Véronique LaCapra on Twitter: @ KWMUScience.

food and the act of expressing love towards each other is the exercise. If we’ve established that, then we must accept that those most consistent and most committed are the best at it – and at bare minimum one must engage in the act, right? Say you have a gym partner that flakes out, and whenever they make one of their rare appearances they try to convince you that the two of you have earned a cheat meal. If you are serious about having a sarong-free one-piece shape before the summer, you dust them for dear life!

You don’t try to do their cardio for them or take on extra sets of reps thinking that it will get them in shape too. Because that’s ridiculous, right?

Offering your heart to someone who doesn’t want it and insisting on doing the work to keep them in your life makes the same amount of sense. As we press forward and try to make it past Valentine’s Day, let us keep in mind not only that you are what you eat – but you are who you love. And you are only going to get out of a relationship what you and your partner are willing to put in.

his way through protestors in Ferguson on August 18.

NELLY

Continued from C1

Them young brothers was killed for racism. We just had a stupid-ass cop. That we need to make sure that he pays for what he done. You need that verdict, but only way that comes is, again, we can’t overreact. I would rather overthink than overreact, because once you overreact, you can’t take it back. You can’t take it back. You can’t undo what’s been done. You can’t undo that. That ain’t got nothin’ to do with being soft; that’s like making a better plan.

We know the percentages of blacks and whites in St. Louis. You are outnumbered,

outmanned and outgunned. You are. And all that’s gon’ happen is we gon’ pay the price. Everybody in this neighborhood, we gon’ pay the price. Half our brothers either gon’ die or half our brothers gonna go get locked up. And that’s not helping. The solution is bein’ positive and knowing what we in front of, knowing how to strategically plan. It wasn’t no coincidence they released that video the day that they released the name. That was the plan. And we fell for it! They waited for the perfect time to drop that, to try to let the air out of some sails, and they did.

See what I’m saying?

Everything is strategic. They still got some more plans for ya. I’m telling you, it all ain’t

SUGAR HILL

Continued from C1

15-minute record during the last few hours of her shift.

“The last hour of my show was always the special hour,” she said. “Usually it was ladies back to back: Aretha and Gladys. So when he came to me and asked me to play this song, that’s what was going on. I was in my last hour.”

Reluctantly, Edie played the track.

“When I put it on, it was like ‘ahippity hoppity hippity.’ I was like ‘What is this?’” she said. Others had the same question.

been let out yet. Peaceful protesting, rallying, with plans to get together strategically to say, “Yo, how do we end this?” –that’s what needs to happen. The rage, I understand it, don’t get it twisted, I understand it, but at the end of the day what you gon’ change? You must have a strategic plan. We must make sure that our kids are sitting next to their kids when their kids are receiving the information that is needed to run the rest of this country. Edited from an impromptu speech made to the protest frontlines at the Ferguson Police Department on August 18. Audio provided by Bradley Rayford.

“It was just something different coming out compared to what we were used to coming up,” Hodges said. “It was blues and Motown, and this was just something else.”

Soon “Rapper’s Delight” was playing all over the country, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard R&B charts – the first rap record to crack the top U.S. Top 40. The album sold millions of copies, and its success helped usher new hiphop artists into the spotlight. Edited for length and reprinted with permission

“Lo and behold, when I put it on the turntable, people just started calling up: ‘What is that? What is that?’” Anderson said. Ronald Hodges of St. Louis remembers hearing the song on the radio in St. Louis in 1979.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Nelly made

Celebrations

Eagle Scout

Birthdays

Wishing you a Happy Birthday, Kurtis Cole, on December 30! Love your girls, Keisha, Tyra, and Kendal

Happy birthday to my high honor roll, basketball loving son. Torez Mitchell turns 14 on December 30. We all love you and expect nothing but the best from you and for you!

Scholar abroad

Congratulations to my granddaughter MarSeanna Young, who received the Benjamin Gilman Scholarship and will study abroad in England at Canterbury Christ Church University. Love your granny, Andretta

Reunions

Beaumont High Class of 1965 is planning a 50th reunion. Searching for classmates who are interesting in celebrating. Please email your contact information to bluejackets65@ gmail.com.

Beaumont High Class of 1970 is looking for team members to plan its’ 45th year reunion.

Interested? Please email Beatrice Palmer (Vanzant-Smith) at bvanzantsmith@yahoo.com or bsmithrealtor@att.net.

Beaumont High Class of 1984 can stay updated via our Facebook page “Beaumont Class of 1984”. We meet the last Friday of every month. Contact Rochelle Williams at rochellewilliams001@yahoo. com.

Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri District 3 would like to invite you to an Alumni Event. We are looking for anyone who worked in or was a member of Girl Scouts in St. Louis City. If you would like to participate, please contact Essie Harrison at essie.harrison@att.net or call (314) 400-4602 with your

name, address, phone number, and email address.

Sumner High School Class of 1965 is planning a 50th year reunion for June 12-14. 2015. Please join us via Facebook: Class of ‘65 Sumner High School St. Louis, MO.

St. Louis Community College needs your help identifying STLCC alumni. Alumni are encouraged to visit the website: www.stlcc.edu/foundation/, to become members or update information. For more information, contact Ashley Budde, coordinator of alumni relations, at abudde6@stlcc. edu, or 314-539-5145.

Sumner Class of ’59 Alumni presents 37th Annual Oldie

But Goodie Dance, Sat. Jan. 17 at 7 p.m.. There will be music provided by Baby O & Master Blaster. Machinists Hall, 12365 St. Charles Rock Rd., 63044. For more information, call (314) 6808324 or (314) 791-5504.

Sumner High Class of 1965 is planning its 50th Reunion on the second and fourth Mondays at 7 p.m. at the Lower Level of Ronald L. Jones Funeral Chapel. For updates and/or to leave your contact info--visit our Facebook group Sumner Class of ‘65.

Sumner High Class of 1970 is planning its 45th Reunion. Please provide contact information to: cshsco70@yahoo. com or J. Fox at 314-606-3506

for more information.

Sumner High Class of 1975 has started planning its 40th reunion. Please provide contact information to sumnerclassof75@gmail.com or C. Jackson 314-477-6785 for more information.

Upward Bound (Webster University ) Class of ‘66 thru ‘70 of Kinloch, Beaumont, Vashon, Summer, Central, Soldan, Northwest, McKinney and Laboure, we are the process of planning a reunion around June/ July 2015. Please respond by contacting via email or Facebook Lawrence (Larry) Lewis: lewis3936@gm.com or Kenneth W. McClendon irisingridarlene@aol.com.

Do you have a celebration you’re proud of? If so we would like to share your good news with our readers. Whether it’s a birth, graduation, wedding, engagement announcement, anniversary, retirement or birthday, send your photos and a brief announcement (50 words or less) to us and we may include it in our paper and website – AT NO COST – as space is available Photos will not be returned. Send your announcements to: kdaniel@stlamerican. com or mail to: St. Louis

Reunion notices are free of charge and based on space availability. We prefer that notices be emailed to us!

However, notices may also be sent by mail to:

Kate Daniel, 2315 Pine St., St. Louis, MO 63103

Deadline is 10 a.m. on Friday. If you’d like your class to be featured in a reunion profile, email or mail photos to us. Our email address is: reunions@ stlamerican.com

Cameron Dwight Brooks, age 16, son of Anthony and Mavus Brooks of Florissant, was recently awarded the rank of Eagle Scout. Cameron is a member of troop 921. He enlisted the help of his troop and friends to build 25 chickadee bird houses for the World Bird Sanctuary. He is a tenth grader at Hazelwood Central High School.

Religious groups assist immigrants

Leaders of many faiths help the people of the world feel at home here

By Rebecca Smith Of St. Louis Public Radio

While there have been numerous waves of immigration into St. Louis, the welcome extended by existing religious groups to new immigrants has remained fairly consistent throughout St. Louis’ 250 year history.

The International Institute of St. Louis provided many resources for recent immigrants, from English classes, to help with job placement and other services. Anna Crosslin, the organization’s president and CEO, said that religious groups play a large role in helping immigrants settle into an area.

She said that the Pakistani Islamic community in St. Louis was helpful when Bosnians first began arriving – even sending buses to pick up people for services.

Crosslin said that the Bosnian Muslims generally were more “secular” when they arrived, and the Islamic community helped them to relearn their religious practices.

Akif Cogo, a Bosnian who lives and works here in St. Louis, said the existing community was instrumental in promoting the faith of Bosnians.

“They were providing food, shelter, even some temporary assistance for them, and they were actually the ones who brought in Imam Hasic from Canada, over to serve as imam for the Bosnian community,” Cogo said.

Msgr. Michael Witt,

professor of church history at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, recounted an experience he had with a group of Bosnian women who came seeking aid at his parish, St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church.

He said neither he nor his secretary could understand the women. As the women were about to leave in frustration, one of the older women said “Don’t forget the potatoes,” in German, to one of the younger girls.

This was an important moment because Witt is fluent in German, and the Bosnian women had lived in Germany prior to coming to the U.S.

Once the language barrier was breached, the parish was able to provide the women with the resources they needed.

The Islamic community in St. Louis is not the only group that is working with more recent immigrants to preserve religious history and tradition.

Rabbi Hyim Shafner, of Bais Abraham, said his Orthodox congregation has worked with the children of Israeli immigrants in a similar fashion. They help American-born Israeli youth engage with their Jewish culture.

Shafner said his congregation opened a school for them: “A once-a-week Sunday-morning school for them to teach them to read and write Hebrew, and to try and connect them to Jewish knowledge and Jewish tradition.”

St. Mary of Victories, the second oldest Catholic Church in St. Louis, has played host

Imam

Muhamed Hasic, president of the Interfaith Partnership of Greater St. Louis, said the group works so well together because religious practices are only one aspect of a person’s life.

to many different immigrant groups throughout its more than 170-year history.

Max Kaiser, historian and long-time member of the church, said St. Mary was founded to be a German parish, but has, at some point, had Lebanese immigrants using the church for Maronite rite masses, and currently holds an 11 a.m. Sunday morning mass for the Hungarian population of St. Louis.

Monsignor Witt said St. Louis is much different than other cities in the way that religious groups interact.

“St. Louis has been a very rich city for religious diversity and respect,” Witt said. “As you look at the history of St Louis the one thing that doesn’t go over very well here is criticism of religious groups.”

He said that an anti-Catholic preacher was once expelled from the city by other

Christians and that a Jewish congregation was able to settle in an area where it was originally not welcomed because Catholics advocated for them.

Imam Muhamed Hasic is the leader of the Islamic Community Center and president of the Interfaith Partnership of Greater St. Louis. He said the interfaith partnership works so well together because religious practices are only one small aspect of a person’s life.

Crosslin said she is not surprised by the interfaith relationships that exist in St. Louis, as the religious organizations share the same ultimate goal: “to have a joyous and inclusive community that celebrates God.”

Edited for length and reprinted with permission from news. stlpublicradio.org.

Keeping the covenant

It is really something to think that God made a covenant with His people. That would mean you and me. In essence He’s made us a promise.

Now if you’ve lived as long as I have, you’ve had people make promises to you that they had no intention of keeping or failed miserably while trying to keep their word. Perhaps you are a promise breaker, rather than a promise keeper. I know I’ve broken a promise or two in my day.

But the subject here is God. I’ve got to assume that if anybody keeps His Word, it’s got to be God. Therefore it stands to reason and faith that we should take to our graves the covenant promise God made to Abraham, that is, us.

James A. Washington

Lest we forget, it’s the one

Jesus came to fulfill.

It appears the foundation of spiritual belief is wrapped up in a simple promise.

To Noah, “Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you green plants, I now give you everything.” Genesis 9:3. To Abraham, “As for me, this is my covenant with you … you will be the father of nations … I will make nations of you and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for generations to come, to be your God and the God of the descendants after you … I will be their God.” Genesis 17:2-8.

To Moses, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant then out of all nations, you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Exodus 19:5. From Jesus to the disciples, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood…for whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” 1 Corinthians 11:25-26. Remember this is God talking about His promises to us. Have you made any promises to Him lately? What about to someone who loves you or to someone you love? Have you kept them? Are you a covenant breaker or a covenant keeper? This covenant thing had a powerful beginning. A promise is downright godly. It has to be. The first one came from God to us through Adam and Eve. It kind of gets all caught up in words and the power of words and the understanding of words; God’s words, your words and more words. They have incredible power, if we could always understand them in the context of covenant. They are really vehicles to communicate with each other and the original covenant maker. My obligation then is to emulate God almighty in a manner befitting His divine order. “So shall my word be that goes forth out of your mouth.” Isaiah 55:11. This covenant is a wondrous thing because God keeps His word. The more we understand this, the more scripture opens up and reveals the true nature of God.

Partyline at a glance for 2014. In my quest to keep y’all on your toes, I’ve decided to take a slightly different route as I run y’all through the blur that was this past year. Instead of best, worst, and best of the worst, I’ve decided highlight the noteworthy happenstances that mark the nightlife/entertainment scene in STL. While they won’t be ranked per se, y’all know me well enough assume that how I feel about whatever went down will be made plain as day. Let’s look back.

STL reality TV takeover. The first thing that came to mind was how folks were repping our city on doggone near every network thanks to reality programming. Latasha Fox was on “Survivor,” Maya Warren took part in the “Amazing Race” and Shan Keith kept our “Project Runway” reputation going strong as a finalist for “Under The Gunn.” Brittish made her way onto “Basketball Wives,” and Nelly put his personal experiences on front street via BET with “Nellyville.” And before you accuse me of making this year all about the good weather reports, let me remind y’all of the “BAPs” frenzy. Controversy and shade for days marked the Lifetime Network debut of the show that was supposed to spotlight the “Black American Princesses and Princes” of STL. Y’all were fit to be tied before you even saw the show. People gasped their way through two episodes, but that was about the size of it. And by the fourth week, the network was like, “Why are we bothering again?”

The year of the day party. Baby, the way y’all got it cracking just about EVERY Sunday for almost six months straight, I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody was having a New Year’s Eve Day party in these near subzero temperatures. Inside, outside, upstairs, front patio, back patio, concrete patio, street shutdown – the folks were day partyin’ for dear life! That Sunday before Labor Day I was day partying ‘til midnight! And I know for a fact there was one in November. I’m trying to remember if I saw any turtlenecks and/or leg warmers combined with sundresses and sandals. The best one was that first one at the Marquee, with the one in Clayton as a runner up. Radio shakeups. If there were ever a time where I knew for sure that change was the only thing constant in the radio, it would be 2014. It kicked off with STL radio staple Tony Scott being shown the door at Majic 100.3. Then Radio One moved Staci Static to Old School 95.5, switched A-Plus to afternoons and brought Shorty Da Prince home in the evening slot. And just as I was catching my breath, Tony Scott moved to Radio One and Clear Channel changed to iHeart Radio and ditched the Majic brand altogether for 100.3 The Beat, an old-school hip-hop format. I can’t wait to see how 2015 shakes out on the air!

Rap shows reigned supreme. It’s probably no secret that I tend to prefer the R&B/Soul concerts over the hip-hop shows, but 2014 had me questioning my loyalty after the rap scene slayed the game on all fronts. From trap, to classic, contemporary and conscious they had the live shows on lock. From 2 Chainz (I know, I’m cringing as I write it but it’s true) to Talib Kweli, I got my life from these live rap shows. OutKast at Loufest Jeezy and Wiz Khalifa, Yo-Yo and MC Lyte from the Super Fresh HipHop Fest were among my favorites – though that show lost points overall due to Shock G wearing one of Sheryl Underwood’s wigs for most of his set. The R&B soul side of things made it almost impossible to ride with y’all. Frankie Beverly’s dust-filled vocals did me in at the Chaifetz. And Chaka Khan’s jazzy scat gibberish offering of “I Feel For You “baby baby dobby dooby do” was the highlight of what she served up at the Fox. And I can’t even use the words “soul food” and “festival in the same sentence without that tragic mess of a show traumatizing me all over again. I got what I needed from the urban series at Ballpark Village and from 112’s performance at the I’m a Survivor benefit.

Fresh funny faces. As per usual, we had a steady flow of comedy shows skip through the Lou. But what made 2014 special was the glorious featured talent that kept the mic hot for the headliners. Bo Last Name Dacious for DL Hughley, Gary Owen for the revue formerly known as the Royal Comedy Tour and DeRay Davis with Mike Epps had me all pegging them as ones to watch in the funny business.

Battle of the big name parties. I have been racking my brain to determine my party of the year crown. I’ve been torn between the soulful shenanigans of Floyd Mayweather at The Pageant and Diddy’s Ciroc influenced turn up at the Coliseum for SLIM’s birthday. As much as I still see Floyd on stage using his hand as a mirror while patting his face and singing “I woke up like this,” every time Beyoncé’s “Flawless” comes on the radio, I’m gonna have to give it to Diddy. He just had me convinced he was on stage going bananas out of genuine love for STL – and not for himself.

Nightclubs as casualties. Not one, not two but three of my favorite spots shut their doors for good before the year’s end. My heart sank when Lola dimmed the lights and the Coliseum did a final curtsey. And just before deadline I got word that Plush is following suit. I’m hoping for support, stability and prosperity for all of the nightlife proprietors in the coming year. A moment for Michael Brown Jr. and Ferguson. I can’t close the year without sending prayers to his family. After that I want to issue a special shout out to all the celebrity/entertainment folks who used their status to shine a light to what was (and still is) going on in Ferguson. I’ll start off

Michelle and Kaydee were ravishing in red Saturday @ The Red and Black party

The Umbrella Group’s Raphael was on hand with Will and Lamont to usher in the season’s cheer with their holiday party Friday night @ Soho

T-Luv and Phil Assets were among the STL movers and shakers who showed up to celebrate with b-day boy Kevin Cunningham Saturday @ Knockouts

The Loft was the final holiday hotspot for Will and Yo-Yo Sunday night

Rapper activists Tef poe, T-dubb-o and Vino chose to wind down their holiday weekend @ The Loft Sunday night

Alexis and Tiara stopped through the Red and Black Party Saturday @ Soho

Mike and PT came out to support the Goodfellas @ Soho Saturday night

Wife Shelia and their daughter Kelia helped Kevin Cunningham kick his birthday off Saturday night @ Knockouts

DJ Climate and Blu from Bad Girls Club kicked the party off with local rapper Dreco Friday night @ The Marquee

Hip-hop icon Biz Markie posed with the man of the honor Kevin Cunningham alongside LooseCannon SLIM and Vegas Sills for Kevin’s birthday bash Saturday night at Knockouts Saturday for Kevin Cunningham’s birthday party.

Photos by Lawrence Bryant & John Scott

Was it just me or did 2014 seemed to fly by like the Mazda car commercials? Zoom! Zoom! So here we are ushering in a new year with hopes of greater purpose, productivity, and increased health and wellness. Most of us are contemplating how to accomplish such lofty aspirations for this upcoming year. Therefore, in regard to your wellness goals, I have comprised my top six recommended resolutions.

#1: Resolve to stop smoking! What better way to kick of the list than to toss out those expensive, foul smelling, cancer causing cigarettes! One in five deaths can be attributed to cigarette smoking. Did you know that more women die each year from lung cancer than breast cancer? Tobacco smoke contains over 7,000 chemicals and hundreds of them have been linked to cancer. Quitting smoking is far from easy so ask your doctor for help. Medications, patches, gum, and several other methods are available to assist you in eliminating this largest preventable cause of disease in the United States.

#2: Resolve to take care of your mental health!

2015 commitment

This past year has been trying for many of you and now is the time to get help with all of those unresolved issues. Maybe you suffered the death of a spouse, child, or sibling. Maybe you have battled depression and anxiety for years but chose to just “deal with it.” Help for mental illness is available to you through your job in some cases, your insurance plans, and free for some people. Seeking help does not make you a failure; it releases you to live an abundant happier life.

Denise Hooks Anderson, M.D.

#3: Resolve to schedule a physical with your doctor!

Start the year off right by making an appointment for a routine wellness exam. This visit will allow your doctor an opportunity to assess how current you are on routine preventative maintenance testing such as mammograms, colonoscopies, immunizations, bone densities, and pap smears. These types of exams are also important for setting goals in regards to your wellness plan. And just as a

reminder, please remember that not all of your 15 health issues may get addressed at that visit. Therefore, it is imperative that you see your doctor regularly so that all medical problems will eventually get the appropriate attention it deserves.

#4: Resolve to get moving!

I am declaring 2015 as the year of movement! So many people try to make exercise the new “four letter word” but it is not. Your body is begging you to get out of your seat and do something, anything. There are no limitations on the types of exercise that you can try in order to reach your fitness goals! Try something different like rowing! Maybe you are a traditionalist so consider jogging in Forest Park. If you are new to the exercise arena, then try walking in the local malls with a friend. No willing friend to join you, then make new ones as you window shop along the way. 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise five days per week is your target.

#5: Resolve to do a random act of kindness!

Pay it forward! A Stanford University Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky, in 2006 conducted a study with students and found that random acts of kindness improved happiness in the test group as compared to the controls. I’m sure many of you know of people who enjoy doing nice things for others. So, why don’t you

join them and see how much better you feel!

#6: Resolve to make lifestyle changes Slow down! Take time for yourself even if it is nothing more than a quiet bath with jazz playing in the background. You deserve some quiet in your life: it slows down your pulse and lowers cortisol levels, which in turn decreases inflammation in your body. Turn off the television, stop updating your Facebook status, and refrain from texting for one week. I hypothesize that you will get more rest and become far more productive than you have been in quite some time.

Stretch a little and try eating fresh and wholesome for one week: no processed foods, no meat! Get acquainted with new ways to cook vegetables. You will be impressed with how delicious these nutrient-packed foods can be. This new way of eating will provide benefits such as regular soft stools, lack of bloating and even weight loss. If you want to look great (meaning better than your friends) for that upcoming high school or college reunion, start now and stay consistent with your plan. Good habits take longer to form than bad ones.

Happy New Year!

Yours in Service, Denise Hooks-Anderson, M.D. Assistant Professor SLUCare Family Medicine yourhealthmatters@stlamerican.com

Your Health Matters

A bi-monthly special supplement of the St. Louis American January 1, 2015

Your Health Matters provides up-to-date information, from an African-American perspective, about one of the most important subjects in evryone’s life – their personal health.

Donald M. Suggs, President and Publisher

Kevin Jones, Senior Vice President, COO

Dina M. Suggs, Senior Vice President

Chris King, Editorial Director

Denise Hooks Anderson, M.D., Medical Accuracy Editor

Sandra Jordan, Health Reporter

Debbie Chase, Director of Health Strategy & Outreach

Onye Hollomon, Barb Sills, Pamela Simmons, Sales

Michael Terhaar, Art/Production Manager

Angelita Jackson, Cover Design

Wiley Price, Photojournalist

St. Louis County unveils health improvement plan

The prevalence of obesity and sedentary lifestyles are higher in North St. Louis County, as are rates of hypertension.

Targets access, mental health, asthma, obesity and STIs for improvement

By Sandra Jordan

Of The St. Louis American

The St. Louis County Department of Health, along with the St. Louis County Partnership for a Health Community recently unveiled its 2014 St. Louis County Community Health Improvement Plan, or CHIP.

Two years in the making, CHIP targets four priority areas needing improvement.

1. Access to Health Care – particularly health equity and improving access

2. Behavioral Health – (mental health and substance abuse) improving access and reducing stigma associated with behavioral health

3. Health and Safety Environments – emphasis on asthma and asthma-related services

4. Prevention and Disease Management – combatting/preventing obesity and reducing sexually-transmitted infections in the community.

“This is designed to be a broad, strategic framework for future community health initiatives – a vision for the county that can be used to leverage resources and engage partners,” said Dr. Delores J. Gunn, director at the St. Louis County Department of Health. “This is only the beginning.”

Health Access and Equity

The report said access to and the availability of high-quality primary health care is inconsistent in St. Louis County,

particularly to persons with chronic health conditions, which may be due to a combination of variety of factors, including a lack of providers, health insurance coverage, or insufficient resources for self-management by the patient.

Behavioral health

Although the County appears to have more mental health resources available than most communities, there is a partic-

See PLAN, page 5

Historically, pediatricians and mental health providers assumed that very young children were too young to experience depression. However, studies in the past two decades have shown that clinical depression can appear as early as age 3.

The importance of identifying depression in young children

Historically, pediatricians and mental health providers assumed that very young children were too young to experience depression. However, studies in the past two decades have shown that clinical depression can appear as early as age 3. New treatments and studies in neuroscience now suggest that it may be important to identify depression and treat it using developmental therapies as early as possible.

Major Depressive Disorder is characterized by persistent sadness, inability to derive pleasure from things one previously enjoyed, agitation, and problems with sleep, appetite and fatigue. A person with depression may become preoccupied with negative thoughts, low self-esteem or guilt.

Although it is normal to feel sad at times, individuals with depression experience low moods most days of the week for two weeks or more. Studies have shown that depression runs in families and carries a genetic risk. That is, a person may carry a gene that makes him or her vulnerable to depression, and then if he or she experiences stresses, clinical depression may emerge. The holiday period is a time when people prone to depression may be especially vulnerable, even young children.

Importantly, depression is a treatable disorder. In adults, therapy and medication have proven effective. For young children, therapies that focus on emotional development are being tested and appear to be promising.

Depression in a young child may be harder to detect because we don’t expect it to occur. However, young children who don’t seem to enjoy activities and play (their primary work), who have trouble sleeping or experience changes in appetite, who are preoccupied with negative thoughts or death themes in play and who feel overly guilty may be clinically depressed. When these negative patterns persist, we should be concerned.

New research shows that children who experience depression during their preschool years are at high risk for an additional episode later in childhood. We also now know that depression is associated with changes in the structure and function of the brain. Depressed individuals’ brains are more reactive to negative stim-

uli and show less capacity for regulating emotion in brain circuits responsible for this. These changes also have been found in young children who experienced an episode of depression. These findings underscore why it is important to identify and treat depression early.

Washington University’s Early Emotional Development Program is currently evaluating treatments for children ages 3-7 who are struggling with symptoms of depression. They are actively looking for children and their parents to participate in this Parent Child Treatment Study. There is no cost to participate. If you are interested, please contact Caroline at 314-286-1888 or go online for more information at www. wustl. eedp.edu.

PLAN

Continued from page 3

ular need among disadvantaged populations, and more effort is needed to adequately address mental health and substance abuse needs.

Asthma

Asthma remains a chronic health issue for St. Louis area, with emergency department visits for children at one and a half times higher than rates for the state. Hospital admission rates for asthma are also higher, with mid and North County admission rates significantly above state and county rates. Asthma is more prevalent in Blacks/African Americans than other minorities or Caucasians.

Prevention and disease management

The prevalence of obesity and sedentary lifestyles are higher in North St. Louis County, as are rates of hypertension. Being overweight or obese and physical inactivity are risk factors for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other health issues.

STI prevention is a priority because St. Louis City and St. Louis County consistently ranks high among the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea. Syphilis and HIV are also major public health challenges for the area.

Action teams have been developed around each of the four priorities in the CHIP report to develop implementation plans to improve those areas. The next step

in the health improvement process is a fiveyear action cycle, when strategies deemed most promising will be implemented.

“I am quite excited to see the fruition of those efforts in this document – a document that can now serve as a roadmap for future public health efforts in the county and the region.”

The St. Louis County Partnership for a Health Community is a broad group of stakeholders convened in 2013 to identify the most pressing public health needs and to develop a response to address those needs. They utilized the Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) process to gather quantitative and qualitative data in the community health assessment.

The group looked at past and current efforts and community assets and resources to improve health. More than 2,100 responses were obtained from residents through focus groups, stakeholder interviews and telephone surveys, along with data on important issues from the St. Louis County’s Strategic Planning Survey, the Children’s Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Needs Assessment and the Regional Health Commission’s Decade Review of Health Status report.

Stakeholders included representatives from hospitals, health departments, health-related nonprofit organizations, children’s coalitions, state and local government, housing, corrections, K12 and higher education.

St. Louis County residents and partners are encouraged to review the priorities and goals in the 54-page plan and to provide input.

Read the St. Louis County Community Health Improvement Plan in its entirety at http://goo.gl/ZFtk0l.

Ferguson and the children: Leave the demonstrating to the adults

By Kenneth Haller Jr.

I have been a pediatrician for just over 30 years. I moved to Missouri in 1986 and practiced in East St. Louis for ten years. For the past 18 years, I have practiced in St. Louis at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center. I have always worked in what are euphemistically called “underserved communities.” This usually means people who are poor. This usually means people who are black. This usually means people who are both. I have seen parents endure terrible hardships to keep their families together. I have seen grandparents heroically taking on the care of children years after they thought they were done with childrearing. I have been humbled by seeing kids who have done remarkable things under circumstances that, as a kid, would have sunk me.

Sadly, I have also seen families who have not been able to withstand the pressure of being poor, overworked, and marginalized. I have seen families fall apart. I have seen kids who have developed behavior problems because their brains have to be on high alert because of various ongoing threats in their environments. I have seen parents unable to continue to be parents because of the constant strain of wondering how they can feed their kids and keep a roof over their heads while working two or three minimum wage jobs that do not make ends meet. I have also read posts on timelines all over Facebook saying that these people just need to “get a job,” “calm down and go home,” “pull their pants up.” These commentators have all been white. They do not understand, and do not wish to understand, what it is like to live another reality, one where you are always, automatically suspect, one where you will not be shown houses in certain neighborhoods, one where your family had no alternative but to send you to a crappy public school. They know that they are doing better than the AfricanAmericans who live a few miles away, and they actually believe they deserve it. They believe that their relative success is all due simply to their work ethic and their good choices. They do not believe in white privilege, i.e., that being white in America confers certain advantages over non-white persons, because, when you have it, it is nearly invisible, and if you

know you have it, your first reaction is to feel really guilty about it. So they deny it because it’s initially too painful to accept.

But it’s true, and I know how I benefitted from it. I grew up in a safe, white, middle class suburb on Long Island, with excellent schools (our high school had a full time Russian language teacher), lovely parks and beaches, dependable pubic services, where my dad had a good-paying job as an aerospace engineer that he got as a result of a college education on the GI Bill. All that prepared me to go to an excellent college where I got scholarships and to medical school to do the work I am privileged to do today. I could tick off, one by one, how many of those advantages are withheld from the kids who come to my office, as well as from their parents and families. The strange thing is not that Ferguson is happening; it’s that it’s taken this long to happen.

As I said above, I am a pediatrician. And in that role, I just want to make one plea to anyone who reads this about what may happen in the coming days: I would ask everyone who may be involved in public displays over the next few days to be aware of how this will affect the chil-

To those who will choose to be part of a demonstration, I respectfully hope that you will choose not to bring your children. If they see their parents yelling, being yelled at, being assaulted, they will experience only fear and threat, and that is never healthy for a child.

jump and climb and fall at the slightest provocation, children have unique needs are various stages of life. What does not change is that they always need to be supervised, and they always, always need to feel safe.

So to those who will choose to be part of a demonstration, I respectfully hope that you will choose not to bring your children. While I completely understand the desire that your children should be witnesses to history – and I have no doubt that Ferguson will be part of the litany that now includes Selma and Montgomery – young children will not remember this. Their brains are not wired to retain clear memories during the first few years of life. Everyone in St. Louis and around the world knows that the only thing we can predict about the upcoming days is that they will be unpredictable. And that is not an atmosphere that is healthy for kids. If they see their parents yelling, being yelled at, being assaulted, they will experience only fear and threat, and that is never healthy for a child. I know you love your kids, and you are doing this to make a better world for them. Please leave them with a responsible adult. Please make sure you get home to tuck them in. Please tell them the stories of these days when they are old enough to understand the sacrifices you made for them.

dren in your lives.

Children are not just small adults. As we learn more about child development, we know this to be true on every level: physical, psychological, cognitive, emotional. What children need – and the younger they are the more they need this – is stability, predictability, and a feeling of safety. As a species, humans are altricial, that is, we are born more immature than just about any other mammalian species our size. That means that babies need nurturing, caring, feeding, swaddling longer than do infants of other species. The payoff, of course, is enormous in terms of intelligence, creativity, and the ability to love. Part of that process, though, requires that children know who will be tucking them in, who will feed them, who will bathe and dress them, when that will all happen, and who will love them. They need this to be the same from day to day, as much as possible. They need all this because they are trying to figure out how the world works. As infants mature from beings who, at about two months, smile at everybody, to babies who, at around six to eight months, begin to know who loves them and to choose them over strangers, to toddlers who will run off and

And to those in law enforcement, if you encounter demonstrators with kids, please be aware of how your interactions will affect these children. One thing that has amazed me, both before August 9 and since, is that when I ask AfricanAmerican kids who come to visit me in my office what they want to be when they grow up, a significant plurality of the boys say, “Police.” So many of these kids already see you as people of power. Please do all you can to make sure that your interactions with them and with their parents leave them with a sense of respect for you and what you do, rather than fear.

I truly believe that both demonstrators and law enforcement want to assure that everyone remains safe in the coming days. I truly believe that both demonstrators and law enforcement are doing what they do to make the world a better place for our children. And I truly hope that everyone will keep their kids at home where they can be safe and be best prepared for this better world to come.

Kenneth Haller, Jr., MD is an associate professor and joint associate chair for Faculty Development in the Division of General Academic Pediatrics for Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

Kenneth Haller Jr.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

HealtHy Q & a

Having cancer can I still donate my organs?

Q A St. Louis American reader asks, “I have colon cancer. Can I elect to donate organs? If I can who do I contact in St Louis, Missouri?”

A: The answer comes from the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org) and the United Network for Organ Sharing, or UNOS. ACS says it is possible for many people who’ve had cancer to donate, but it varies by cancer type and medical condition. UNOS reports there area a handful of medical conditions that rule out organ donation, such as actively spreading cancer (except for primary brain tumors that have not spread beyond the brain stem), HIV-positive status or certain severe, current infections. However, for most other diseases or chronic medical conditions, organ donation remains possible.

Even if other organs and tissues can’t be used, the ACS said donating your corneas is one way to offer help to others. Almost anyone with cancer (except those with certain blood or eye cancers) can donate their corneas. You can learn more about cornea donation from the Eye Bank Association of America at www. restoresight.org.

If you have questions about whether you may be able to donate your organs or tissues, please contact UNOS, United Network for Organ Sharing at www.unos.org or Donate Life America, www.donatelife.net.

For more information about organ donation locally, visit Mid-America Transplant Services at www.mts-stl. org.

HealtH Calendar

Sat. Jan. 17, 6 p.m. – 11 p.m., Ranken Jordan 2015 Journeys Gala at the Ritz Carlton. For more information, call 3314-872-6512 or visit www.rankenjordan.org/gala.

Sat. Feb. 7, 7 p.m. - midnight, Doorways Gala, Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis, For more information, call 314-535-1919 ext. 3123 or visit www.doorwaysred.org.

Sundays, 10 a.m. – Alcoholics

Anonymous Group 109 meets in the 11th floor conference room at Christian Hospital, 11133 Dunn Road at I-270/ Hwy. 367. This is an open meeting for alcoholics, drug addicts and their family and friends.

Mondays, 7 p.m. – “Tobacco Free for Life” support group – free weekly meetings at St. Peters Mo. City Hall. Supported by SSM Cancer Care; RSVP initial participation to 636-947-5304.

Tuesdays, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. – Alcohol and Drug Informational meeting, Christian Hospital, Professional Office Building 2, Suite 401. For information, call 314-839-3171.

Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. –STEPS Schizophrenia Support Group

This nationally recognized program provides education and support for those with schizophrenia. Group is facilitated by an experienced STEPS nurse. For more information, call 314-839-3171.

First Thursdays, 10 a.m. – Family Support Group by NAMI St. Louis, The Alliance on Mental Illness at Transfiguration Lutheran Church, 1807 Biddle Street. No registration needed; no cost. For more information, call 314-962-4670.

Free psychiatric and chemical dependency evaluations are confidential at the Christian Hospital Center for Mental Health. Call 314839-3171.

SLU researcher discovers a way to control internal clocks

Finding has potential to treat sleep disorders, anxiety

In research published last week in Nature Communications, Thomas Burris, Ph.D., chair of pharmacological and physiological science at Saint Louis University, reports intriguing findings about a small molecule that directs the activity of key “clock proteins,” offering the potential to manage circadian rhythm and treat problems that are associated with its dysfunction, like sleep and anxiety disorders.

Circadian rhythm refers to biological processes that cycle every 24 hours. In mammals, the internal clock that maintains circadian rhythm is essential for normal physiological functions. The rhythms can, however, be disrupted, and dysregulation of circadian rhythm is associated with many disorders, including metabolic disease and neuropsychiatric disorders including bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and sleep disorders.

Burris and his colleagues examined compounds that target a protein called REV-ERB, which appears to play a key role in regulating mammals’ internal clocks.

“It has been suggested that REV-ERB is a core component of our clock,” said Burris. “Mice without it are arrhythmic. This study demonstrated that when we give mice a synthetic compound that turns REV-ERB on, it altered their circadian rhythm.”

The team examined effects of the REV-ERB drug on patterns of sleep and wakefulness and found that the compound increases wakefulness, reduces REM and slow-wave sleep, and, notably, decreases anxiety.

This is an interesting finding because it is unusual. Frequently, drugs that increase arousal (wakefulness) also increase anxiety (ex. cocaine, amphetamines). And, vice versa: drugs that decrease anxiety also decrease arousal (ex. benzodiazepines and ethanol). An exception to this common pattern is nicotine.

The REV-ERB drug, on the other hand, appears to target the clock in a way that is distinct from these common pathways.

Further, the REV-ERB drug appears to be associated with a suppression of reward-seeking behavior.

Drug addiction has a circadian component and mice with mutations in “clock genes” (genes that affect our

internal clocks) have altered responsiveness to the reward associated with cocaine, morphine and alcohol. Burris speculates that REV-ERB targeted drug effect on the clock would modulate reward-seeking behavior, and so may be

useful in treating addiction.

The team hypothesizes that targeting components of the mammalian clock with small molecules like REV-ERB drugs may lead to new treatments for sleep disorders and anxiety disorders. It also

is possible that REV-ERB drugs may be leveraged to help in the treatment of addiction.

The research was funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

Asthma

Free asthma and allergy clinic by Saint Louis University students at the HRC, every other Wednesday afternoon 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. by appointment with SLU physician Dr. Raymond Slavin. The clinic offers allergy skin tests, pulmonary function tests and asthma and allergy education. It is located in the Victor Roberts Building, 1408 N. Kingshighway, between Martin Luther King Drive and Page Blvd. For more information, call 314-720-1522.

Behavioral

Christian Hospital offers free and confidential psychiatric and chemical dependency evaluations at the Christian Hospital Center for Mental Health. For more information, call 314-839-3171.

Christian Hospital Key Program offers support and education to patients with chronic mental illness to prevent increased severity of symptoms and to reduce the need for inpatient re-hospitalization. Call confidentially to 314-8393171 or 1-800-447-4301.

Crime Victim Advocacy Center pro-

HealtH ResouRces

vides no cost support for persons affected by criminal acts. Email peggy@supportvictims.org, visit or call the 24-hour hotline 314-OK-BE-MAD (652-3673) or visit www.supportvictims.org.

Bike helmet safety

The St. Louis County Health Department provides free bicycle helmets to St. Louis County residents between ages 1 and 17 by appointment only. Proof of residency is required. For the location nearest you, visit www. tinyurl.freebikehelmets.

Breast Cancer

Gateway to Hope offers no-charge medical and reconstructive treatment for uninsured breast cancer patients in Missouri. Contact 314-569-1113.

Dental

Free Dental Hygiene Clinic - No charge dental exams, x-rays, cleanings and other dental services for children and adults provided by dental students at Missouri College. Patients needing more extensive dental work (fillings, crowns, etc.) will be referred to local dentists. For information, call 314-768-7899.

Diabetes CHIPS Diabetes Support Group is open to anyone and meets on Wednesday evenings from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. For more information, call 314-652-9231.

SSM St. Mary’s Health Center provides free, Diabetes Support Group sessions the second Tuesday of every month from 6 – 7 p.m. to address health management issues. It’s located at Meeting Room 1 on the second floor, 6420 Clayton Rd. in St. Louis. To register, call toll free 866-SSM-DOCS (866-776-3627).

Fresh Food Coop

Community Helpings Coop sells fresh fruits, vegetables and other foods at wholesale prices in locations throughout the St. Louis area and Metro-East. For more information, visit www.communityhelpingscoop.com.

Health Partnerships

The Center for Community Health and Partnerships: Building Bridges for Healthy Communities works to develop and support beneficial community-academic partnerships to address the health needs of the St. Louis. For more information, email publichealth@wustl.edu; phone 314-747-9212 or visit publichealth. wustl.edu.

Information

Missouri 2-1-1 offers referral and information on a wide range of social service and helpful resources. Call 2-1-1.

Lupus

A Lupus Support Group in North St. Louis County meets the third Thursday of the month from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Community Room #1 at Northwest Health Care, 1225 Graham Rd. in Hazelwood. RSVP to the Lupus Foundation of America at 314-644-2222 or email info@lfaheartland.org.

Medical

CHIPS Health & Wellness Center offers no cost medical, dental, psychiatric, chiropractic health care for uninsured children and adults by appointment only. $25 annual fee requested. For more information, call 314-652-9231 or visit www. chipsstl.org.

Boys & Girls Clubs Dental & Vision Clinic at Herbert Hoover Club, 2901 N. Grand, St. Louis. Open year-round for members at no additional fee by appointment only. Teeth cleaning, braces, x-rays, root canals, some extractions; vision mobile unit, comprehensive exam and glasses, if required. Make an appointment by calling 314-355-8122.

Salam Free Saturday Clinic, 10 a.m. –2 p.m. at the Isom Community Center at Lane Tabernacle CME Church, 916 N.

Newstead, St. Louis, Mo. for those who are uninsured. For more information, call 314-533-0534.

Nutrition

Food Outreach provides food, meals and nutritional education/ counseling to eligible persons living with HIV/AIDS or cancer in St. Louis. For more information, call 314-652-3663 or visit www. foodoutreach.org.

St. Louis Milk Depot - SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital is a breast milk depot for the Indiana Mother’s Milk Bank. Milk Depot staff will store and ship your milk to IMMB. For more information, call (314) 242-5912.

Prostate Cancer

The Cancer Center of The Empowerment Network at 6000 W. Florissant in St. Louis provides information on prostate and other types of cancer, and services and support. For more information, call 314-385-0998.

Prescription Cost Help

Schnucks Pharmacies – now offers certain prescription prenatal vitamins for free and offers no-cost generic prescription antibiotics at select locations.

Wal-Mart Pharmacies – offer select prescriptions for $4 or less for a 30-day supply or $10 for a 90-day supply. View the list at www.walmart.com/pharmacy.

Respiratory

Health

Free lung function screening - Christian Hospital Breathing Center at Northwest HealthCare, 1225 Graham Rd. For more information, call 314-953-6040. Free flu shots for patients being treated for an illness or injury at Downtown Urgent Care (314-436-9300), North City Urgent Care (314-932-1213), Creve Coeur Urgent Care (314-548-6550) and Eureka Urgent Care (636-549-2100).

Sexual Health

St. Louis County Health Department offers free, confidential testing, counseling and treatment at the North Central Community Health Center, 4000 Jennings Station Road, St. Louis, MO 63121. For more information, call 314679-7800.

The SPOT offers private, reproductive, mental and behavioral health services at no charge to youth ages 13-24, Monday – Friday, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. at 4169 Laclede Ave. For more information, call 314-535-0413 or visit http:// thespot.wustl.edu.

STI testing and treatment at North City Urgent Care and Downtown Urgent Care. For more information, call 314436-9300.

‘Special Needs’ registry to aid residents, emergency responders after disasters

Residents living with special health or mobility issues can register with St. Louis County under a new program that gives emergency responders crucial insight into

those residents’ needs.

“Our goal is to establish a data-base of residents who’ll require special assistance if we experience a disaster in St. Louis

County,” explained Andrea JacksonJennings, director of St. Louis County’s Department of Human Services, which developed and oversees the registry. “If you’re a St. Louis County resident contending with any sort of issue that would impede your ability to leave a disaster zone, we strongly encourage you to register.”

Officials emphasize the confidentiality of the County’s Access and Functional Needs Registry.

“Because the registry is exempt from Missouri’s Sunshine Laws, any information provided by residents will remain strictly internal, within St. Louis County government,” said Michael Nickel, support services supervisor with Human Services. “And the information itself will be of the most-minimal possible nature. We’re simply looking to identify individuals who’ll need special assistance in the event of a disaster, and to establish essential information, such as where those individuals live and the nature of their special needs.”

“Special needs” could include (but are not limited to) individuals who require dialysis, individuals with mobility challenges and individuals with medication dependencies. Additionally, the need may be permanent, or temporary.

“Theoretically, the registry will consist of individuals who have permanent

mobility challenges and also others who are convalescing from major surgery or recovering from a health issue that temporarily limits their ability to move,” noted Elyse Murrell, registry coordinator.

Human Services is developing the registry in conjunction with St. Louis County’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC). EOC staff will activate the registry in the event of a disaster sufficiently serious to merit the activation of the EOC itself.

“The registry doesn’t guarantee instantaneous response,” cautioned Paul Dupuis, emergency management specialist with the Emergency Operations Center. “But we’ll know where these people are, and we’ll check on them as quickly as conditions allow.”

A combination of volunteers and personnel from social agencies will collaborate, post-disaster, to ultimately contact the registry population, according to Dupois.

To learn more about the Access and Functional Needs Registry, residents may call 314-615-4426 Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., or send an email to AFNR@stlouisco. com

Applications may also be completed online by visiting www.stlouisco.com/ registry

St. Louis annual STI data show comparative improvement

According to figures released by the St. Louis Health Department, reported cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea are both down 11 percent in 2013 compared to the City of St. Louis’ highest year of 2011. And for 2014, preliminary data suggest that for 2014 compared to 2011, chlamydia may be down as much as 23 percent and gonorrhea down as much as 33 percent.

City health officials add the caveat that St. Louis and Baltimore are the only two cities that do not include a county population in their data, which, they say is like comparing apples to oranges. The St. Louis Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area or SMSA, ranks 15th in cases for chlamydia, 13th for gonorrhea and 33rd for syphilis.

“Approximately 80 percent of all STI cases in the city are reported by inde-

pendent providers or community health centers, said Pamela Walker, Health Director for the City of St. Louis. “Also, approximately 70 percent of cases in St. Louis County are reported by health care providers other than the County health department. Providers must be vigilant in diagnosing and treating STI patients and their partners immediately. We worked to change the law so that providers can treat partners presumptively. Doing so will make a difference.”

Health officials remind that sexually transmitted infections do not respect geographical boundaries. Public health departments in the region work together to track and respond to reported cases and their contacts.

The State Health Department is responsible for responding to reports of syphilis.

Tech innovators help bring health care to hard-to-reach consumers

By Benjamin Todd Jealous

Sometimes the very consumers who need health care the most are the least likely to enroll. This has been one of the challenges faced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the federal agency responsible for administering the Affordable Care Act.

To meet this challenge, the agency is looking to Silicon Valley for help. Recently, HHS announced an innovative collaboration efforts with tech firms PayNearMe, Monster.com, and Peers. org, to bring important Open Enrollment information to low-income and other tra-

ditionally hard-to-reach communities. Monster.com, for example, is already the country’s largest online platform for job seekers, counting more than 200 million registered users. The job site reaches a vast amount of unemployed and under-employed Americans. Through partnership with HHS, Monster.com will provide tips and advice on open enrollment through the company’s blog. Similarly, Peers.org has agreed to post information about Healthcare.gov on their website and will host a live video chat with HHS officials to answer questions from the Peers community.

Perhaps the most interesting partner-

ship involves the electronic cash transaction company PayNearMe. PayNearMe’s customer base includes low-income consumers and those who have limited or no access to a bank account. Almost half of this segment are people of color.

The company allows the cash-preferring people to pay their monthly billsrent, electricity, water, etc.-in cash at their local 7-Eleven and Family Dollar stores, without the high fees that generally accompany pre-paid debit cards and money orders.

Between November 15th and February 15th, the 2015 open enrollment deadline, all PayNearMe receipts printed at 7,800

7-Eleven stores nationwide will include information about enrollment deadlines and encouragement to explore tax benefits and new plans at HealthCare.gov.

The government sector sometimes gets a bad reputation for lacking imagination and innovation. It’s refreshing to see HHS step outside of Washington, D.C. to take advantage of the tech community to extend their reach and better communicate with their underserved constituents.

Benjamin Todd Jealous is a Partner at Kapor Capital and former President & CEO of the NAACP. Kapor Capital is an investor in PayNearMe, and he serves as Board Observer for the company.

Exercise and cancer prevention

Kem Smith had an immediate connection to fitness. Her mother opened the door for this passion by taking Kem to her first exercise class at age 15. Right then and there, Kem fell in love with group fitness. While Kem continued to exercise regularly, her mother struggled. Years later, Kem’s mother was diagnosed with lymphoma. She shared one final wish for her life before passing – “I want my life to mean something.”

Kem took that wish to heart. Following the passion that her

mother inspired, Kem left her job as a teacher and went into fitness full time. She opened K.I.S.S. Fitness Café and Spa in 2012. Today, Kem not only helps people stay healthy and prevent cancer through group exercise classes, but she has also opened the doors to her fitness center for the Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities (PECaD) to hold community events focusing on the health of cancer survivors.

Regular exercise – just 30 minutes each day – will lower your risk of developing cancer. Whether you’re running on a treadmill or walking around the block, it all counts. Encourage your whole

family to get up and moving together. Exercise is especially important for cancer survivors. For some cancers, regular physical activity may lower the risk of recurrence and help cut the risk of other chronic diseases.

To learn more about lowering your cancer risk or PECaD’s community events, visit:

PECaD: http://www.siteman.wustl. edu/pecad.aspx

8 Ways to Stay Health and Prevent Cancer: http://www.8ways.wustl.edu

The Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities (PECaD) at the

Siteman Cancer Center is working to eliminate local and regional disparities in cancer education, prevention and treatment through community outreach, research and training. To learn more about cancer or to get involved with PECaD, call 314-747-4611, email PECaD@wudosis.wustl.edu or write to us at SCC-PECaD, Campus Box 8100, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110. Look for future articles in Health Matters.

UMSL, MU awarded $1 million grant to train social workers aiding at-risk youth

With the help of a more than $1 million grant, the School of Social Work at the University of Missouri–St. Louis and the School of Social Work at the University of Missouri–Columbia will work to increase the behavioral health work force who serve high-need young adults ages 16-25 throughout the state and in East St. Louis, Ill.

For many young people, their pediatrician is the only health-care worker they see. And for those who are at risk of developing mental and behavioral health problems, warning signs can be missed.

The grant, awarded by the United States Health Resources and Services Administration, will extend over the next three years and will allow both campuses to train a total of 84 graduate level social work students.

Sharon Johnson, professor of social work at UMSL, is the principal inves-

n “This grant will allow us to utilize the resources of both campuses for training MSW students to recognize and treat the unique demands of the adolescent and young adult populations who have unmet behavioral health needs.”

– Sharon Johnson, professor of social work at UMSL

tigator for the grant called the UMSLMU Collaborative Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program.

“This grant will allow us to utilize the resources of both campuses for training MSW students to recognize and treat the unique demands of the adolescent and young adult populations who have unmet behavioral health needs,” Johnson said. She will collaborate with Marjorie

Sable, director and professor of social work at MU and the principal investigator for the MU portion of the grant.

“This project will give students opportunities to gain practical experience so that, after they graduate, they are equipped to make immediate contributions to helping at-risk young adults in Missouri,” Sable said. “Working at agencies that serve youth and practice integrated behavioral health will provide stu-

dents with opportunities to work on teams with other professionals and increase students’ cultural competence so they are prepared for leadership roles.”

The program will recruit master’s level students in their last year who have a desire to work with youth in integrated behavioral health settings, which allows collaboration with primary care providers. Students will receive a $10,000 stipend while they complete on-the-job training at agencies or organizations.

Additionally, Johnson said they hope to create a web-based behavioral health-training program and implement a behavioral health career services network.

“This is an excellent opportunity to train our students for the growing demand for youth-focused, behavioral health specialists throughout the state,” she said.

For more information, contact Sharon Johnson at http://tinyurl.com/m5xx8bo.