August 17th, 2017 Edition

Black UVA alumni respond to Charlottesville racial attack

By Sandra Jordan

Of The St. Louis American

Remembering

By Tiffany Anderson For The St. Louis American

Most people imagine and dream to have the

By Rev. Traci Blackmon For The St. Louis American

message to the hate-filled rhetoric of thousands of white nationalists who gathered in the city’s Emancipation Park under the pretense of protesting the scheduled removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. Friday night, people of various faiths gathered for worship in St. Paul’s Memorial Church to spiritually prepare ourselves, in the tradition of the Civil Rights marches of the ‘60s, to serve as faithful witnesses to love the next day. The sanctuary and overflow room were

By Rebecca Rivas Of

Photo by Michael Thomas

School supplies in Canfield Green

Stanley Ladelle Anderson, MD

Tiffany Anderson

University of Virginia alumni Sally Steele, Dr. Kimberly Brown, Dr. Jessica Fowler of St. Louis, and Justin Steele.

Michael Middleton

MC Lyte gets married in Montego Bay

Legendary rapper MC Lyte married the man of her dreams over the weekend in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

“It was so beautiful and a fairytale,” Lyte, 46, told Essence of her nuptials with Marine Corp veteran John Wyche my king.”

Lyte, whose real name is Lana Moorer, met her husband on Match.com in 2016. The pair got engaged earlier this year. The beachside ceremony welcomed several high-profiled guests including Lil Mama, Tai Beauchamp, SWV singer Coko and R&B star Kelly Price, who serenaded the couple during the ceremony.

“It’s incredible so

many people came out to support our union,” Wyche told Essence about their big day. “We are starting out with a strong foundation. A few months into getting to know Lana I knew I wanted this woman as my wife.”

Is Tyler Perry secretly married?

Back in 2014, Tyler Perry admitted his secret girlfriend, Ethiopian model Gelila Bekele, had given birth to their first child. Now rumors are swirling that his secret girlfriend has become his secret wife.

Several urban gossip blogs have reported that the couple has tied the knot. R&B singer Stephanie Mills may have let the cat out of the bag with a picture of Gelila sporting a wedding band and referring to her as Tyler Perry’s wife.

“Tyler, his lovely wife and I at Tyler Perry’s wrap party in Atlanta,” the caption to the Instagram picture read.

Sources say Usher

won’t settle exposure suits

According to TMZ.com, R&B star Usher has no intentions of settling the multiple lawsuits against him from people claiming that he exposed them to the herpes

virus.

“The sources say there have been no settlement talks – none – and we’re told Usher has no interest in making the claims go away in return for money,” the celebrity news and gossip site said.

“As we reported, four people – three women and one man – are suing Usher, claiming they had sexual contact, and he didn’t inform them he allegedly had genital herpes.” Usher hasn’t addressed the herpes allegations. Meanwhile, sources close to popular Atlanta celebrity blogger Sandra Rose claim that Usher does not have the virus.

Natalie Cole’s son Robert Yancy passes at 39

Tiger responds to DUI toxicology report that contained ‘cocktail of drugs’

Robert Yancy

Robert Yancy – the only son of iconic singer Natalie Cole – was found dead Monday. He was 39.

TMZ reported that Yancy was found by a friend in his San Fernando Valley, California, apartment. According to the outlet, Yancy died of natural causes, pending the completion of an autopsy and toxicology tests.

TMZ reported that family members were told by authorities that Yancy appeared to have suffered a heart attack, and that drugs were not involved.

SHOP LUNCHBOXES LAPTOP

Earlier this year, golfer Tiger Woods was arrested for DUI near his home in Jupiter, Florida.

According to reports, Woods tested positive for Vicodin, Dilaudid, Xanax, Ambien, alprazolam, zolpidem, hydrocodone, hydromorphone and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

There was no alcohol in his system.

Woods spoke with E! News regarding the reports.

“As I previously said, I received professional help to manage my medications. Recently, I had been trying on my own to treat my back pain and a sleep disorder, including insomnia, but I realize now it was a mistake to do this without medical assistance,” Woods told the celebrity news outlet. “I am continuing to work with my doctors, and they feel I’ve made significant progress. I remain grateful for the amazing support that I continue to receive and for the family and friends that are assisting me.”

Sources: Essence.com, TMZ.com, E!News, People.com, Instagram.com

MC Lyte

Progress isn’t preordained – we must fight for it

By Stephen Webber Guest columnist

I

law of life.” However, if the Republican officeholders who control that building have demonstrated one thing, it’s that unfortunately those words are not true. Progress isn’t a guarantee. Republican extremists will use their offices to push us backwards.

That’s also why I’ve never been prouder to be a Missouri Democrat. We’re the only party fighting for progress for working families. That progress means more jobs, higher wages, quality healthcare and strong public schools.

Absolutely integral to our vision of progress is the empowerment of women.

While the Republican Party is gutting employment protections for women and people of color via Senate Bill 43, the Democratic Party is proactively pushing equalpay solutions to close the gender pay gap. Access to healthcare, including sexual and reproductive health, is central to expanding economic opportunity to all Americans and fundamental to economic security for women and families.

The majority of Missourians – including Democrats, Republicans and Independents – support Roe v. Wade and believe the government should not prevent a woman from making her own private reproductive health decisions.

The Missouri Democratic Party is fighting to protect Planned Parenthood funding, to ensure that women have access to the critical health services they need.

Democratic candidates are

n Access to healthcare, including sexual and reproductive health, is central to expanding economic opportunity to all Americans.

welcome to their personal views on abortion, but the Missouri Democratic Party will never advocate that they use an elected office to limit or take away a woman’s ability to make her own reproductive health decisions – including the right to a safe, legal abortion. In order to advance this

vision of progress that protects and empowers women, the Missouri Democratic Party is reaching out to every community in Missouri. As chair I’ve held events in over 60 counties, from the City of St. Louis to rural Holt County on the Nebraska border. The Missouri Democratic Party’s platform committee has held dozens of listening posts all across our state.

We’ve also opened up our candidate recruitment process to Democrats around the state by encouraging any candidates, potential candidates, or individuals with tips on who might be a good candidate to email Run@MissouriDems.org.

It’s important that all of us work together to find strong candidates that will fight for progress – because our vision for a better Missouri isn’t an inevitable law of life.

We need to fight for it.

Stephen Webber is chair of the Missouri Democratic Party.

Hazelwood East grad serves in Japan with U.S. Navy

Seaman Amber Searcy helps maintain material readiness of the ship

By

Mass Comm. Specialist 3rd Class Theodore Quintana Of The U.S. Navy

SASEBO, Japan – A 2016 Hazelwood East High School graduate and St. Louis native is serving in Japan in the U.S. Navy aboard USS Germantown. Seaman Amber Searcy is serving aboard the ship operating out of Sasebo, Japan.

A Navy seaman is responsible for maintaining the material readiness of the ship.

“The people I work with makes being in the Navy great,” said Searcy.

With more than 50 percent of the world’s shipping tonnage and a third of the world’s crude oil passing through the region, the U.S. has historic and enduring interests in this part of the world.

“Our alliance is rooted in shared interests and shared values,” said Adm. Harry Harris, U.S. Pacific Command Commander.

“It’s not hyperbole to say that the entire world has benefited from the U.S.-Japan alliance. While our alliance helped stabilize the region after the Second World War, it also enabled the Japanese people to bring about an era of unprecedented economic growth. And for the last six decades, our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen have worked side by side with the Japan Self

Defense Force to protect and advance peace and freedom.”

Commissioned in 1986, Germantown is the second Navy ship named after the Revolutionary War Battle of Germantown. With a crew of more than 900 sailors and Marines, Germantown is 609 feet long and weighs approximately 16,000 tons.

Designed specifically to operate landing craft air cushion small craft vessels, Whidbey Islandclass dock landing ships have the largest capacity for these landing craft out of any U.S. Navy amphibious ship.

“Being stationed in Japan is amazing,” said Searcy. Sea duty is inherently

arduous and challenging but it builds strong fellowship and esprit de corps among members of the crew. The crew is highly motivated and quickly adapt to changing conditions. It is a busy life of specialized work, watches, and drills.

“Serving in the Navy brings me great honor and a strong sense of responsibility,” said Searcy. The Navy’s presence in Sasebo is part a long-standing commitment

“The U.S.-Japan alliance remains the cornerstone for peace and stability in the IndoAsia-Pacific region,” said Harris.

Seaman Amber Searcy, Hazelwood East High School Class of 2016. Is assigned to the USS Germantown, operating out of Sasebo, Japan. A Navy seaman is responsible for maintaining the material readiness of the ship.

Not ‘many sides,’ just three: racists, enablers and anti-racists

It didn’t take long for President Donald Trump to show his true colors – or, rather, color – when it comes to white supremacy.

In his responses to the white-supremacist terrorist attack at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Trump failed to unequivocally condemn the white supremacists and Nazis whose public hate speech and fear tactics were met head-on by fearless anti-racists of all colors and kinds. One anti-racist, a white woman named Heather Heyer, lost her life to a white supremacist who drove his car into a crowd, imitating a tactic used by ISIS terrorists overseas.

Many of us knew that when Trump pledged to “make America great again” in the context of his hate-filled campaign, he meant to make America white again. Now there can be no doubt to anyone paying attention that Trump allies himself with white-supremacists willing to use terror tactics to intimidate and even kill those who oppose their hateful ideology.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reflected the voice of leaders of conscience worldwide when she called the actions of the white supremacists who were coddled by Trump “horrifying and evil.” Trump, by contrast, sounded like a segregationist Southern governor from the 1960s in his incoherent outburst of rage on Tuesday in his expensively vulgar New York City building, giving full-throated support for white segregationists from his presidential platform. He is an abomination who must be shunned and isolated for his reprehensible conduct by his party and by senior leadership across all sectors in our society.

A new culture war erupted when these white supremacists and Nazis, who had been radicalized and organized over the internet, stepped into a public space with torches –pathetically, they were Tiki torches right off the rack at the mall – in deliberate echo of their terrorist forebears, who did their dirty and bloody work in hoods at night. The hoods have come off these white-supremacists and Nazis (who are now being identified from photos and videos and vilified by name by anti-racists). To be clear, that is the nature of culture war here. It is not white versus black, nor goy whites versus blacks and Jews – it is racist versus anti-racist, white-supremacist versus what we take to be the majority of Americans who believe potential and intellect are more or less evenly divided

among humanity, with disparities coming mostly in access to opportunity, resources and support systems.

To understand the true nature of this culture war – racist versus anti-racist, white-supremacists versus advocates for diversity and equal opportunity – we must each and every one of us, inside and outside of the media, immediately stop using the phrase “alt-right.” There is nothing “alt” or “alternative” about this movement of racists, white supremacists and Nazis. They have the same evil ideology of the Ku Klux Klan and Nazis of the previous century. They are using 21st century technology and tactics – tactics borrowed largely from Black Lives Matter, in the century’s greatest irony to date – but they are very typical white supremacists and Nazis in their thinking and intent. To call this movement “alt-right” is to adopt its own wannabe-hip brand, which is to enable them. This must stop now.

And let this, too, be clear: After Charlottesville, there are not “many sides” in this culture war, as Trump said, there are three sides – racists, their silent or escapist enablers, and anti-racists. It is time to pick your side. We believe firmly that potential and intellect are more or less evenly divided among humanity, with the disparities coming mostly in access to opportunity, resources and support systems. We remain committed to protecting our community from attack and working to make resources and support systems more widely available to expand opportunity and develop more of the unrealized potential in our community. We are anti-racists – and we are deeply offended and energized. It is time to stand up and fight this hate head-on.

Commentary

Black political identity and the African-American community

By Mike Jones Columnist

I ended my last commentary with a question: Are AfricanAmerican politicians, as opposed to African-American elected officials, the answer?

No, they’re not. While having AfricanAmerican elected officials evolve into politicians would be an important upgrade, it’s necessary but insufficient to address the bankrupt public policies that habitually underserve the AfricanAmerican community. The African-American community is victimized by what I call the fallacy of the politics of melanin. We regularly presume that our ethnicity as African Americans is equivalent to our political consciousness or political identity (that was a fair assumption in the pre-Civil Rights era).

Your ethnicity, like your family, is something you’re born into; you don’t get to choose. Your political consciousness or identity are like friends – you get to choose. And like your friends, you should choose carefully. We all know that black is a color but Webster says “black” also refers to any human group having dark-colored skin, especially those of African or Australian Aboriginal ancestry. There was a time in the notso-distant past when we used “black” to define who we were. But when we used “black,” we meant much more than a description of our physical ethnicity. It also described a political identity. When we talk about political consciousness or identity, we’re talking about something metaphysical. It’s a philosophical point of view, a way of looking at and

understanding the world that empowers you to act upon that world to advance your interests. Since often the further you look the less you see, I’ll stay in St. Louis to talk about concrete examples of this metaphysical concept of black political identity. The late state Senator J.B. “Jet” Banks, former St. Louis Comptroller Virvus Jones and former city Treasurer Larry Williams all met that standard, and they met it every day of their political careers. Senator Banks and Comptroller Jones were game-changing politicians. They changed the rules of political engagement and redefined what was possible in our political universe. HarrisStowe State University exists for one reason: the political skill and vision of Senator Banks. There was a moment in time when nobody in Missouri higher education supported the continued existence of HarrisStowe State College. But while many were sleeping on it or whining about it, the Missouri Legislature, the Coordinating Board of Higher Education and a governor all became supporters of Harris-Stowe and today it’s a university with a complete campus. By the way, there’s not even a bench on that campus with Jet Banks’ name on it. In St. Louis, the idea that the price of black political support for the city’s financial participation in economic development projects is synonymous with arrival of Virvus Jones in St. Louis

politics. From the time he was elected 27th Ward alderman through his tenure as comptroller, he made this the litmus test for his support and, by extension, created a new paradigm for how African Americans in St. Louis should evaluate what they politically support.

Sadly, today African Americans stand around with “25/5” signs begging to be included in projects that have to have their support in order to proceed. The tribute Virvus Jones demanded as the price for black political support for city economic development projects has turned into African Americans at red lights begging for what they should be taking.

While Treasurer Williams wasn’t a game-changer like Senator Banks or Comptroller Jones, he did max out on what was possible inside the context he operated in. Over the course of the 31 years he was St. Louis treasurer (19812012), he gave employment opportunities to hundreds of African Americans others wouldn’t have given a chance. He created that first opportunity for African-American business professionals when others said they didn’t have enough experience. He did all that while redefining the city’s Parking Division as a foundational part of the city’s redevelopment efforts.

The question that the African-American community needs to debate is: What is the relationship between us and those we elect that maximizes the return on our political investment?

Mike Jones, who has held senior policy positions in

Louis city and county government, serves on the

and

Commentary

Neo-Nazis find Trump’s response ‘really, really good’

By Eugene Robinson Washington Post

On Saturday, when President Trump could not bring himself to condemn white supremacists for the Charlottesville tragedy, he was just being consistent: He often has shown empathy for white racial grievance.

After all, who was the most prominent voice of birtherism, the unfounded and blatantly racist challenge to President Obama’s legitimacy? Who exclaimed on Twitter in 2014 that “you won’t see another black president for generations” because of Obama’s performance? Who has disseminated false, racially charged “statistics” about black crime?

Trump made a rare climbdown on Monday, specifically condemning violence by white supremacists, neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan. But his initial reaction on Saturday –after a car, allegedly driven by a young Nazi sympathizer, plowed into a crowd of demonstrators, killing 32-yearold Heather Heyer and injuring many others – was to denounce “hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides.”

In fact, there were just two sides in Charlottesville: militant white nationalists, including former Klan leader David Duke and neo-Nazis, who had descended in large numbers; and counter-protesters who came out to tell the assembled racist horde to get lost. Trump’s first statement seemed to make no moral distinction.

Prominent Republicans quickly took the president to task for his disgraceful equivocation.

“Very important for the nation to hear @potus describe events in #Charlottesville for

what they are, a terror attack by #whitesupremacists,”

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said on Twitter. “I urge the Department of Justice to immediately investigate and prosecute this grotesque act of domestic terrorism,” tweeted Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. “We should call evil by its name.

My brother didn’t give his life fighting Hitler for Nazi ideas to go unchallenged here at home,” wrote Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

Gentlemen, where have you been hiding all this righteousness? Were you not paying attention when thencandidate Trump attacked a federal judge for his MexicanAmerican heritage and demeaned a Gold Star mother and father for their Muslim faith? Did you not hear the screech of white grievance at his campaign rallies?

I might take all the GOP breast-beating more seriously if the party would abandon

n The president’s Monday reversal was clearly a political calculation. I believe what we heard Saturday was simply a genuine first reaction.

its state-by-state campaign to impose restrictive election laws that disproportionately disenfranchise AfricanAmerican and Hispanic voters.

The neo-Nazi Daily Stormer website was quite pleased with Trump’s initial comment.

“He didn’t attack us. He just said the nation should come together,” wrote the racist, anti-Semitic site’s founder.

“No condemnation at all. When asked to condemn, he just walked out of the room. Really, really good. God bless him.”

One prominent AfricanAmerican who gave the

Letters to the editor

We must condemn terror attack

I want to offer my prayers and condolences to Heather Heyer’s mother and her entire family and to the other individuals and the families who were injured in the terrorist attack in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday.

As a member of the Missouri General Assembly, I am calling on ALL of Missouri’s highest elected officials to state unequivocally that they condemn the actions of the hateful groups that initiated the horror in Charlottesville.

Considering the recent travel ban issued by the NAACP regarding Missouri, all the leaders of our state must make a strong statement that Missouri is not and will not be a safe haven for white supremacists.

State Rep. Bruce Franks Jr. St. Louis

We must defeat bigotry

The vile display of hatred and bigotry by white supremacists and Naziaffiliated hate groups in Charlottesville, Virginia and all across this country are an affront to our values and all that is decent in society. These attitudes have no place in the United States of America.

One person has been killed and dozens of others seriously injured by an act of terror in Charlottesville, and we mourn their loss and will continue to keep their families in our prayers.

But make no mistake, the

Trump administration a chance – Kenneth Frazier, chief executive of the giant Merck pharmaceutical company –decided Monday morning that he’d had enough, resigning in protest from Trump’s advisory American Manufacturing Council. Trump shot back on Twitter that now Frazier “will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!”

Note that a personal slight provoked a sharp, speedy, allcaps response. Yet even in the Monday statement, Trump did not call Saturday’s horror an act of domestic terrorism.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Charlottesville incident was, indeed, an act of terrorism, and that the Justice Department has opened a hate crime investigation to ascertain whether others may have been involved. Reflect for a moment on how Trump’s “many sides” comment made Sessions, of all people, look like some kind of civil rights hero.

There are those who see Trump’s initial reluctance to denounce white-power groups as nothing but politics – an appeal to white voters who are anxious about growing diversity. Yet the president’s Monday reversal was clearly a political calculation. I believe what we heard Saturday was simply a genuine first reaction. In 1973, Trump and his father were sued by the Justice Department for refusing to rent apartments to African Americans. He said in a 1989 interview that “a well-educated black” has an advantage in the job market – a victimhood claim refuted by academic studies. He maintained as recently as last October that the “Central Park Five” – four African-American men and one Latino – were guilty of a brutal 1989 rape, despite definitive DNA evidence that exonerated them years ago. Trump has called himself the “least racist person on earth.” There is no end to the man’s lies.

perpetrators of these crimes in the name of racism, bigotry and hatred have been enabled by the silence and inaction of those among us who refuse to condemn the views and violent acts of white supremacist groups. I refuse to be complacent while lives are lost and the disturbing surge of white supremacist-fueled violence continues to tear at the fabric of our American values.

We love and support our friends and neighbors regardless of their race, color, creed, religion or political affiliation, and it is incumbent upon all of us to condemn and defeat these bigoted acts of hate and violence wherever they fester in our country.

State Rep. Michael Butler House Minority Caucus Chairman, St. Louis

Columnist Eugene Robinson

Columnist Mike Jones

The people hold special session

by the lengthy Special Session of the Missouri Legislature called by Republican Gov. Eric Greitens.

Solar eclipse watch parties at County Library

St. Louisans can get a good view of the upcoming total solar eclipse at eight branches of St. Louis County Library on Monday, August 21. Solar eclipse watch parties will be held at the library’s branches which fall within the prime viewing area. The library will distribute eclipse glasses for safe viewing, while supplies last. The eclipse watch parties are free and open to the public. The eclipse watch parties will be held at the following library branches:

• Cliff Cave Branch, 5430 Telegraph Road, St. Louis, MO 63129, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

• Eureka Hills Branch, 156 Eureka Towne Ctr., Eureka, MO 63025, 11:00 a.m. – 12 p.m.

• Grand Glaize Branch, 1010 Meramec Station Rd., Manchester, MO 63021, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

• Grant’s View Branch, 9700 Musick Road, St. Louis, MO 63123, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

• Headquarters, 1640 South Lindbergh, St. Louis, MO 63131, 12 – 2 p.m.

• Oak Bend Branch, 842 S. Holmes Ave, St. Louis, MO 63122, 12 – 2 p.m.

• Samuel C. Sachs Branch, 16400 Burkhardt Pl., Chesterfield, MO 63017, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

• Weber Road Branch, 4444 Weber Road, St. Louis, MO 63123, 1 – 2 p.m.

Before the eclipse, the library will host educational programs throughout the summer at several branches. The programs will talk about the cause of the eclipse and its path, safe viewing strategies, the three kinds of eclipses, and offer hands-on activities. Some of the eclipse programs require registration. A list of the programs and links to register can be found at https://www.slcl.org/events. For more information please call 314 994-3300.

Hunger on campus

By Esther Cepeda Of The Washington Post

When people my age look back on their college days, they often recall being “starving” students. But, back in a time when it was possible to complete a university education with some scholarships, a modest student loan and a part-time job, few of my peers were ever truly hungry.

Now, due to hiring norms, it’s difficult to embark on any kind of stable career trajectory without at least an associate’s degree. And the cost of college is estimated to have more than doubled in the past 30 years and outpaced inflation by 2 to 4 percent –the idea that you could mostly pay out-of-pocket for college as you go is laughable.

More often, students – particularly those who are the first in their family to go to college – are cobbling together hefty financial aid and full-time jobs to attend school. And these students are increasingly going hungry.

According to the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness (NSCAHH), food insecurity among students who attend both four-year universities and community colleges is a stark reality. A 2016 NSCAHH survey of nearly 4,000 students across 34 institutions of higher learning found that 48 percent of respondents reported food insecurity in the previous 30 days.

And while there’s a misperception that hunger on campus is solely a commuter school issue – 25 percent of community college students qualified as having very low food security – students at four-year schools weren’t far behind at 20 percent.

Students of color were likelier to be hungry. Fifty-seven percent of black students reported food insecurity, compared with 40 percent of non-Hispanic white students. As a group, 56 percent of all first-generation students were food-insecure, compared with 45 percent of students who had at least one parent who had attended college.

No matter which way you look at the data, large numbers of students of all races and ethnicities – even those who hold parttime jobs and receive at least some financial aid – are at times hungry on campus.

This leads to a cascade of challenges and terrible outcomes. When faced with the choice to eat or buy a required textbook, students make rational choices: They choose to eat.

When students are hungry, they miss class – sometimes to pick up an extra shift at work, sometimes because they get sick because their immune systems are weak from malnutrition.

Now you’ve got students who can’t make it to class, can’t concentrate when they are there or don’t have the book so they can do the work. If they end up dropping the class or dropping out of school, it leaves them with no degree and student loans that must be repaid.

When this happens to the first person in a family to attempt higher education, not only have they failed themselves but they’ve become a cautionary tale about the no-safety-net-high-wire act of trying to better yourself. All the adults in that family will forever be scarred by one student’s inability to pull off this feat.

As ever, there are solutions, even if they’re not easy.

First, encourage your alma mater or local college to create campus food pantries, campus community gardens and food recovery programs. Or make a donation to such efforts.

Call your legislators and ask them to improve student access to existing federal programs, including expanding the SNAP eligibility requirements for college students, simplifying the application process for financial aid (especially for homeless students), and adding food-security measurements to the annual National Postsecondary Student Aid Study.

If none of these efforts appeals to you, then try this: Next time you run into a college student, ask him or her if you can treat them to a meal – they’ll surely appreciate the offer either way.

Esther Cepeda

State Rep. Cora Faith Walker (D-Ferguson) spoke at a People’s Session on July 29 protesting new restrictions on a women’s reproductive rights in Missouri imposed

Photo by Wiley Price

Continued from A1

be a fighter.”

The long-time professor and administrator at the University of Missouri said he gets his soft-spoken, gentle-mannered way from his father’s ancestors, who have a legacy of being Episcopal priests.

“I got this mix of a sort of subdued, calm priesthood and civil rights lawyer going for me,” Middleton said.

Put that personality in the middle of internationally watched nonviolent protests over racial disparities at Mizzou in the fall of 2015, and the results were what many had hoped.

“It was a time of great challenge for the university,” said St. Louis attorney Maurice B. Graham, who is the chairman of the University of Missouri Board of Curators.

“Clearly Mike was the right person at the right time to take over the leadership of the university. He was retired, but the university Board of Curators sought him out and told him, ‘Your university needs you.’”

Middleton replaced thenuniversity president Tim Wolfe, who stepped down following months of racial tension on the campus. During the Homecoming parade of 2015, African-American students locked arms in front of Wolfe’s car and recited historic examples of discrimination on campus and recent incidents of racism. Rather than listening to the students, Wolfe attempted to drive around them and didn’t protect them when parade attendees, who weren’t students, tried to harass them. After that incident, students demanded that Wolfe resign through various means of

ANDERSON

Continued from A1 needed to be, on the opposite end of the campus, and directed me to where I was supposed to go. Even that now has another deeper prophetic meaning. It was love at first sight, literally. There was just something about him, and he said the same about me. After

nonviolent protest. One student, Jonathan Butler, went on a hunger strike, and some Mizzou football players refused to play in solidarity. Even before Middleton came out of retirement, he was acting as a mediator between the students and the administration, as he had both groups’ respect.

“He probably is among the best example of courage, grace and class that I’ve ever met,” Graham said. “During the time he served as interim president, he was the spokesperson for the university and traveled throughout the country and state restoring the confidence in the university in those who had heard about the incidents of the fall of 2015.”

On September 23, Middleton will receive the Lifetime Achiever in Education Award at the St. Louis American Foundation’s Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship and Awards Gala. The proceeds from the event, held at the America’s Center, benefit the Foundation, which distributed more than $700,000 in minority scholarships and grants last year.

Mississippi to Mizzou

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Middleton entered Mizzou as a freshman in 1964 and was among about 150 African-American students on campus.

“I learned it wasn’t much unlike what our students were protesting in 2015,” Middleton said.

“I was isolated.”

The black students and progressive-minded people tended to stick together, he said. He, along with charter members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Zeta Alpha Chapter, founded Mizzou’s Legion of Black Collegians in 1968.

“It wasn’t unusual at all

one date, we were inseparable, and we were married by the end of the year on August 14, 1993. As I began my career and supported him through medical school, he cared for our newborn daughter and took her to classes with him, resulting in her deep knowledge of science. She just graduated from SLU in public health pre-med and works in the emergency department at DePaul Hospital, the hospital where he worked

to have someone shout the N-word out of a passing car,” Middleton said. “That happened all the time. It wasn’t unusual not to be called upon in class or to be called upon only to speak for all black people. It was better than it was in Mississippi, so I kind of adjusted fairly well.”

Middleton went on to graduate from the university’s law school in 1971 and went to work as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

“That was probably my most exciting time,” he said. “I litigated with some of the best lawyers in the country. I had the FBI doing investigations for me. It was fantastic. Nothing beats standing up in a courtroom with the United States of America as your client.”

where I believe I made an impact,” he said.

He went on to hold director and general counsel positions within the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Washington. Then in 1985, he joined the Mizzou law faculty, becoming the first African-American professor at the university’s law school.

“It’s always good to see former students who are now seasoned adults with responsible positions,” Middleton said.

Beginning in 1997, he served as the interim vice provost for minority affairs and faculty development at Mizzou.

A year later, accepted the position of deputy chancellor, where he “combined being a lawyer with being a university administrator.”

He litigated lawsuits against Jackson, Mississippi and Philadelphia to force them to integrate their fire departments and city employment. He took on discrimination cases against the airlines next.

“I had some good cases

as an OB-GYN resident. Her second job is at Children’s Hospital, teaching public health classes in the community while she studies to take the medical school exam.

My son Chris, who also has a gentle soul, learned so much on how to be a kind, humble, strong man from watching his father in action. His bond with his dad was amazing to watch – through everything, Stan never missed an athletic event for Chris, who played multiple

Michael Middleton, president of Lincoln University and former longtime University of Missouri administrator, will receive the Lifetime Achiever in Education Award at the St. Louis American Foundation’s Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship and Awards Gala on September 23 at America’s Center.

was without question. He did everything and had total integrity in everything he’s touched at the university. He has the ability to negotiate across a wide range of people and get things done.”

Between being a law professor and administrator, Deaton said that Middleton has touched a “tremendous range” of people.

“He’s certainly had an influence on me,” Deaton said.

Middleton said he was “very disappointed” when he saw the protests erupt on the campus of his alma mater.

“I had hoped that we made some progress,” Middleton said.

“And you have to get everyone on board. People figured that I could do it alone, so I never had the kind of resources that I need to really address the problem.”

However, as interim president, he feels that he finally had the power to do so. He was able to direct resources to the four campuses, gather data, form an analysis and design new programs, he said.

“As president, you have a little more power,” he said. “We have a system in place now that will hopefully resolve those problems and make the system a lot better than it was.”

While struggling to bring stability back to the university system, Middleton was also serving was one of the co-chairs for the Missouri Supreme Court’s Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness. As a response to the Ferguson unrest, the commission is tasked with addressing barriers to access and justice, eradicating bias, and increasing diversity in the judicial system and legal profession.

Then-Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Breckenridge said, “His willingness to take a leadership role when the demands on his time were so great underscores his passion that there be fairness and equal treatment for all.”

“I served under two great chancellors,” he said. “I had a good amount of influence.”

Chancellor Emeritus Brady Deaton, whose tenure ran from 2004 to 2013, whole-heartedly agreed.

“He was invaluable to me,” Deaton said. “His trust

sports. Supporting the children we were blessed to have is a lesson to be learned from watching such a great man. Because Stan encouraged me to become a school leader, I am now a superintendent, impacting thousands of children. Because I encouraged and supported him through medical school, he excelled to the highest possible levels of his career and delivered thousands of new lives. I learned that lives are interconnected and you can only be truly fulfilled when others are also fulfilled and doing well. We are all dependent on one another.

I savor his strength, kindness, incredible gentle soul, his sense of humor and his love for life. We see our purpose to be a connector for young lives, and I am so thankful for the partner God gave me to do that.

Making a legacy and being the first paves the way for others. Dr. Stanley Anderson, an African-American man who did not come from wealth, matriculated through SLU with honors from undergraduate to medical school. He is a lesson to all young African-American men to know that they too

During the 17 years he was deputy chancellor, he helped lead the university to increase its black student population and establish some “good programs,” he said. Under his guidance, the university established black studies and gender studies programs and built the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center.

“But changing that culture that I experienced back in the ‘60s is a long-term project that requires a significant amount of resources and intentionality,” Middleton said.

are destined for greatness regardless of circumstance.

As a 49-year-old black man, Stan became the first AfricanAmerican OB-GYN chair for one of the largest hospitals in Kansas City, Missouri. He still committed one day a week to serve the underserved at Swope Health Clinic, which speaks volumes about service above self.

A young black man, trained as a molecular biologist and an OBGYN surgeon, years ago became one of few robotic surgeons in Missouri. That is a lesson in risk-taking and being innovative to show new ways to solve problems. Robotics is the wave of the future, and his early willingness to explore opened hearts, minds and opportunities for others.

Dr. Stanley Ladelle Anderson is a perfect example of being a teacher and a fisher of men. He is an example of God’s light in this world, who taught me and countless others so much. He was a walking miracle. What a privilege to have been selected to care for him in his healthy state and through the medically challenging years.

Although we both loved Jennings School District, we

The 2017 Salute to Excellence in Education Gala will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, September 23, 2017 at the America’s Center Ballroom, following a reception at 5 p.m. Tickets are on sale now. Individual tickets are $85 each/$850 table, and VIP/ Corporate tickets are $1,500 table. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www. stlamerican.com and click on Salute to Excellence, or call 314-533-8000.

both were so grateful to those who didn’t question my move to Topeka and celebrated and supported us, not even knowing the health issues we faced. For God to create a new path in Kansas in such a way where Stan and I could start and end every day together this last year, I have to say miracles really do happen through Christ. I remain thankful for the time, even through the heartbreak.

Happy Anniversary, Stanley, my husband and soul mate. I cannot wait to see you again. Until then, the work we started for children and youth across states will continue.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Topeka Community Foundation to be directed to the Drs. Stanley and Tiffany Anderson Scholarship Fund. Gifts may be sent to 5431 SW 29th Street, Suite 300, Topeka, KS 66614 or made online at www. topekacommunityfoundation. org. Tiffany Anderson is superintendent of Topeka Public Schools and former superintendent of the Jennings School District.

PASTOR

Continued from A1 to capacity. We sang. We prayed. We heard encouraging words, and I preached a sermon based on 1 Samuel 17 titled, “Where Are The Dreamers?”

Shortly before the benediction, we were informed that a mob of white supremacists were marching toward the church with lighted torches, and we would not be permitted to leave due to the high probability of assault. We were held hostage inside of the church by this raging mob for approximately 30 minutes.

Outside, there was a small group of University of Virginia students who were standing against the mob in non-violent resistance. They were beaten and taunted. Just this morning I’ve received a request to pray for Tyler Magill, who works for UVA, and who came to the aid of the students being attacked on Friday night. In doing so, he was struck in the neck by a Tiki torch and it damaged his carotid artery. He suffered a stroke and is now in the ICU.

When we were finally allowed and encouraged to quickly leave the church we were ushered out of side and rear doors into an alley and quickly into cars.

As we made our way through the area, I began to weep as I saw masses of mostly young white men, clad in Polos and Oxford buttondowns with neatly coifed hair and many donning “Make America Great Again” caps, filling the streets. They carried torches in one hand and many held baseball bats in the other, chanting “Blood and Soil,” a reference to racial purity and dominance that was birthed out of the Hitler regime. They also chanted, “You will not replace us,” “Jews will not replace us,” “White lives matter” and “Whose streets? Our streets” which, ironically, was birthed in the streets of Ferguson. My tears were not tears of

fear, but tears of mourning. It is a sad moment in our nation – and yet not an unpredictable one given the current social and political tone of this presidential administration.

I cried because I recognized this moment, not as an escalation of white supremacy in this nation, but rather as its death rattle. And I know that the dying breaths of white supremacy will be long and arduous and violent. I know that there will be casualties on all sides.

‘The promises of Donald Trump’

Ultimately, people are responsible for their own actions, and yet our national

leadership bears a moral responsibility to set the tone of what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in our nation. I recognized the rage-filled chants of these men in the streets as the primal echoes of self-preservation that give voice to the intent of legislative policies being crafted and quietly implemented while we react to the screams.

I wonder might this be what former KKK leader and white supremacist David Duke meant when he said, “We are determined to take our country back. We are going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump.”

For eight years, public disrespect of the first black U.S. president was not only

tolerated by ranking GOP officials, but it was celebrated and promoted. This disrespect laid the ground work for a presidential campaign and election rooted in the promotion of racial, ethnic and religious bias.

The Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University found that the number of hate crimes rose 21 percent in major metropolitan areas in 2016 from the previous year. The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that the number of hate groups nationally rose for the second year in a row last year, with the number of antiMuslim groups tripling from 2015 to 2016.

I am not suggesting that

this president initiated any of these groups. Clearly, White nationalism has been here since the taking of Native land.

President Trump’s hateful rhetoric – categorizing entire groups of people as violent, unwanted, and undeserving of America – has given a new legitimacy to some who feel they can express attitudes which had once been discredited, but now seem again permissible.

I am stating unequivocally that this president’s hateful rhetoric and the focus of GOP policies in this current administration have stoked and exploited fears in ways that embolden white supremacist groups.

Between toxic tweets, travel bans, and assaults on voting rights, immigration rights, LGBT rights and environmental protections, there are many factors shaping an environment that gives license to hate and harass and make America, once again, a safe place to hate.

We must react to these violently demonstrable assaults on the moral fiber of our nation. But, beyond reacting, we must also respond. We must be focused, strategic, and proactive in our engagement with this administration.

What are we not paying attention to while we are reacting to death rattles, toxic tweets and incoherent temper tantrums from the highest office in this land?

For instance. the president’s third set of comments about white supremacists in Charlottesville were attached to the end of an announcement concerning an executive order to substantially reduce environmental protections on building infrastructure. But we are not talking about that because our attention is averted by our reactions to Trump’s incendiary rant.

We must react and respond

Our nation is in a moral and political crisis.

We are witnessing the last fledgling breaths of a false

racial construct whose time has come to an end, and although the death will be long and tortuous for everyone, death will ultimately come.

Our strategy must be to not only be reactionary to the primal flailing of neo-Nazi fascists, but responsive and proactive regarding legislative actions that are literally crafted by our enemies to take America back again.

We must call upon every political representative – on local, state and federal levels – to publicly denounce white supremacy, not just with statements but with instituted policies.

We must demand the restoration of the Voting Rights Act to its full power.

We must organize and mobilize the masses in every election, sending a clear message to incumbents that either they will vote in the best interest of the people or we will vote against them.

We must oppose the RAISE Act and defend DACA. We must demand comprehensive criminal justice reform.

We must urge reengagement with the Paris Agreement on climate change.

We must implement a public platform of coalition building, inclusiveness, unity, and love.

We must challenge the erection of border walls.

We must demand the de-escalation of warmongering rhetoric.

We must lay out our expectations of a budget that is fiscally responsible and yet morally grounded. This president refuses to denounce white supremacy and has made it clear that his administration does not represent all Americans. We must respond by showing him, and all who desire to serve this country, that we, the people, are one.

Rev. Traci Blackmon is executive minister of Justice and Witness at United Church of Christ and pastor at Christ The King United Church of Christ in Florissant.

Rev. Traci Blackmon, executive minister of Justice and Witness at United Church of Christ and pastor at Christ The King United Church of Christ in Florissant, was a member of the clergy who traveled to Charlottesville, Virginia to bear witness at the Unite the Right rally.

City sued to block public subsidy of improvements to Scottrade Center

The City of St. Louis was sued on Friday, August 11 in an attempt to stop the city from using public money to fund $62 million in improvements for the Scottrade Center, where the St. Louis Blues play home games.

The suit was brought by 20th Ward Alderwoman Cara Spencer; state Rep. Jeanette Mott Oxford, executive director of Empower Missouri; and James Wilson, a former city counselor. Spencer said the legislation (Ordinance 70473) to authorize this funding is unconstitutional and was passed in February under false pretense. Spencer and Wilson are being represented by attorney Erich Vieth, and attorney John Ammann of Saint Louis University Legal Clinics is representing Mott Oxford.

Spencer claimed that hockey leadership repeatedly testified that the city owned the building and so was obligated to pay for improvements. She said that two of the bill co-sponsors, President of the Board of Aldermen Lewis Reed and Alderman Jack Coatar, repeated those claims when debating the bill.

However, Spencer said that the aldermen were never given a copy of the actual lease during deliberation, although she repeatedly requested it.

“When I finally got my hands on the lease (about six weeks ago) and found out that we never had to do this, I was appalled,” Spencer said.

The lease shows that Blues have the responsibility to make their own improvements to Scottrade, the lawsuit states.

“If it was our intention to take that burden currently held by the Blues and move it to be held by the city, that should have been clear,” Spencer said. “We passed an ordinance that is against the lease in place.”

She also claimed the ordinance is illegal.

“It is against the state constitution to put public money into a private corporation to further its profits,” Spencer said.

Comptroller Darlene Green issued a statement on Friday, stating that she has not approved issuing the bonds for the renovation of Scottrade

Center, “as it would incur debt to the city’s general fund for nonessential services and negatively impact the city’s credit.”

The city faces a credit crisis, having been downgraded twice in less than six months by Moody’s Credit Rating Agency, Green stated.

In January, Green issued a letter that read, “The city’s current budget revenues should not be considered for use as part of any economic incentive package when planning financing for the project. The economic incentive package should not include adding any new city debt or using the city’s credit or current revenues as a backdrop.”

And Green is holding her ground today. In her statement, Green said that if the city wants to upgrade Scottrade Center, it needs to work “within a framework that protects the City of St. Louis’ credit and does not reduce current revenues meant for delivering essential city services, such as public safety, to our taxpayers.”

Deputy City Counselor Michael Garvin said in a statement that the city “will vigorously defend the city, its ordinances and agreements.”

He added that ordinance “was approved by the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority, the Board of Aldermen, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment and signed by then-Mayor Francis Slay.”

Among the defendants named in the lawsuit are the city, the St. Louis Blues Hockey Club and the Kiel Center Partners – who is responsible for completing the renovation project under the financing agreement that passed in February.

In a statement, Kiel Center Partners called the lawsuit “frivolous, disappointing and embarrassing to our city,” and added that it could be extremely costly to both taxpayers and St. Louis’ reputation. Then on August 15, Kiel Center Partners filed a writ of mandamus to demand that Green “execute and deliver the financing agreement,” by authorizing the issuance of bonds to finance the Scottrade

Center’s renovations.

“The delay has now reached the point where we have no alternative but to seek a legal remedy,” according to an Aug. 15 statement from Kiel Center Partners.

Green said she was being sued for doing her job, citing the City Charter provision that empowers her to defend the city’s credit rating.

The owners of the St. Louis Blues and Scottrade Center signed a 50-year lease with the city in 1992, which requires them to pay rent of only $1 per year, the lawsuit states. In return, they have sole and exclusive control of Scottrade Center, authority to build upon the land, and the right to keep all the profits. However, the lease states that they must make their own repairs and improvements to Scottrade Center, according to the lawsuit.

In January, the Blues owners said at a press conference that, “We’re going to need the city to invest alongside the Blues ownership.”

“What the ordinance requires, however, is not an investment or even a loan,” the lawsuit states. “The ordinance requires the city to give an immense gift of money to hockey ownership. The ordinance requires the city to hand over $105.9 million to hockey ownership over a period of 30 years.”

Spencer said that the city agreed to maintain ownership of the land for the sole purpose of granting extended property tax abatement.

“It was never the intention of the parties involved that the city maintain the facility, a fact which the lease makes perfectly clear,” Spencer said.

The primary purpose of the ordinance is to promote the private business interests of a for-profit corporation, the lawsuit argues. This violates Article VI, Section 25 of the Missouri Constitution, because “it permanently grants substantial public money to a for-profit corporation for the purpose of assisting that corporation to make further profits for itself,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the 22nd Circuit Court, asks the court to declare the ordinance unenforceable. The suit has been assigned to Judge Robert Dierker Jr. “We don’t have this kind of cash,” Spencer said. “We had a difficult time balancing the budget this time.” The city faced a $17 million projected shortfall in the current budget year.

Spencer argued that the city is never going to “get anywhere” without establishing some kind of regional taxing agency if they want to attract and retain professional sports teams.

She said, “We can’t do these things alone.”

NAACP alleges discrimination at Southwest Airlines

During the Ferguson

unrest of 2014, several white Southwest Airlines employees in St. Louis posted on social media, “We have to tolerate the niggas here at work, but if they come into our neighborhoods, we will shoot them,” according to a NAACP report released on August 10.

The St. Louis station manager reported the incident to senior leaders at the airline’s Dallas headquarters, the report stated, but no formal investigation was done.

These employees were not fired, according to the NAACP.

This is among more than 45 complaints that the St. Louis city NAACP branch documents in their August 10 report about the racial environment at the Southwest Airlines St. Louis Station. The airline controls 52.5 percent of the scheduled service at Lambert.

“The issue of workplace discrimination is one we take extremely seriously,” according to the NAACP.

The NAACP’s report details events where the N-word allegedly was written on walls in employee spaces and “yelled out” on the internal company radio. The report also includes of disparate work requirements and discipline for African Americans.

Jeff Hart, who is black, is currently the station manager in St. Louis and is in charge of all the airline’s local operations. However, all discipline has to go through the Texas headquarters’ human resources department, said Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis City NAACP.

The NAACP found that a big part of the problem lies in the station’s supervisors and middle managers willingness to report the complaints to upper management, Pruitt said.

The NAACP is demanding that Southwest release information about its hiring and firing practices numbers by race, as well as the number of complaints against supervisors and managers that have been investigated.

Pruitt said the NAACP will launch a campaign called “We fly Southwest and we want to know,” which will include a petition among Southwest customers to demand the information.

“We are going to keep fighting,” Pruitt said.

A spokesman for Southwest Airlines shared with The American a letter from CEO Gary Kelley where Kelley expresses disappointment that Pruitt decided to “sensationalize these alleged incidents through media outlets” rather than give the airline more details as requested.

“Southwest neither condones nor tolerates discrimination of any kind,” a spokesperson told The American, saying the company is investigating these claims.

“We continue to remain open and willing to meet and speak directly with the St. Louis city chapter of the NAACP,” the spokesperson said, “but we will not release information about our internal investigations.”

Scottrade Center

ALUMNI

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“Concerned UVA Alumni,” stated they “watched in horror along with the rest of the world as bitterness, bigotry and hatred descended on the place we have called home.”

“The hateful groups who have come to Charlottesville have traveled from far and near to espouse racial superiority and champion the Confederate cause. In the name of preserving a hateful heritage, they aim to tear a hole in the fragile fabric of reconciliation and progress in our nation. But their demonstrations have only made one point abundantly clear: that the placement of the statue of Robert E. Lee to which they rally is precisely as destructive and dangerous as we all feared,” the alumni stated.

“Today, we mourn for the lives lost in association with the protest in Charlottesville. We rise above the cries for division or the efforts to incite more violence. Today, we call for affirmative steps to make our college hometown—and so many cities like it, safer and more inclusive communities.”

This domestic terrorist act took place the weekend before UVA students were scheduled to move onto campus.

Black alumni wrote an open letter to incoming freshmen to offer support, encourage administrative responsiveness, and to spread the word about how others can support Charlottesville as it fights against the terror of white supremacy.

of National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations have helped create replies from fraternities and sororities. Alumni in law have encouraged statements form the American Bar Association and the Washington Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. Contacts also have been made with the Student National Medical Association, National Medical Association, National Bar Association, National Society of Black Engineers, and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.

“Alumni has also continued to encourage the administration and various offices at the University of Virginia to have solid plans for support of all students as they return for this academic year,” Fowler said.

Alumni want others to know that the march with torches on Friday night was led by white supremacist/nationalist youth leaders from across the country, not UVA students, and neither the campus nor students endorsed the march. The group said UVA students were on the front lines of anti-protests. At least one alumnus, Darius Carter, was hit by one of the vehicles during the fatal attack. The protestors were heading back to their cars when the suspect launched his attack.

n “Racism, prejudice, and discrimination are not values honored by the University of Virginia nor are they accepted by its students, faculty, staff or alumni.”

– UVA black alumni

“As former students, we know the angst you must be experiencing as you make last minute preparations for your move on grounds. We are sure that recent events have not only increased your anxiety but perhaps caused you to question attending the university. It’s important to note that while these events are egregious in nature they are not completely unprecedented,” black alumni wrote.

“While attending a public university in the South, each of us as black alumni has experienced or witnessed racism and prejudice. We were able to triumph over each situation through the help of the university, alumni and most importantly, through our relationships with one another in a community filled with love and support. However, the magnitude of this particular event is quite uncommon and requires immediate attention. Racism, prejudice, and discrimination are not values honored by the University of Virginia nor are they accepted by its students, faculty, staff or alumni.”

It is signed, “With Respect and Love, UVA Black Alumni Family,” and included the hashtags to share: #OurUniversity , #WeAreCharlottesville and #HoosAgainstHate (“Hoos” is an abbreviation of “Wahoos,” a nickname for UVA sports teams).

“At the forefront of the motivation for all of the actions taken is really ensuring that the students at the University of Virginia feel supported and know that the views of those who marched on our Grounds and attempted to strike fear and terror into the Charlottesville community do not represent UVA,” said Dr. Jessica Fowler, a St. Louis native and black alumna of UVA who is active in these outreach efforts.

“Currently we have alumni organizing vigils in different cities across the country, we have a group of alumni going down to UVA to help with move-in for the new first-year’s this coming weekend, and we have alumni reaching out to students in their respective regions to offer support to them and their parents who no doubt have worries and fears as this school year begins.” She said their wider goal is to mobilize nationwide against “white-supremacy groups looking to spread terror in our country.” For example, UVA alumni members of a variety

by Wiley

First day of kindergarten

In addition to the letter-writing campaign for incoming freshmen at UVA, alumni and students are using social media to take a stand against this invasion of racist outside protestors.

#TakeDownHate is in support of taking down Confederate statues that incite violence, hatred and conflicts like the one in Charlottesville.

#HoosAgainstHate seeks to unify UVA students and give them space and voice to share their where they personally stand on the issue. At press time #HoosAgainstHate had been the most impactful, with 490 posts that reached 372,738 people and left 543,659 impressions.

The group is also organizing statements in solidarity with local leadership to seek removal of Confederate symbols and asking communities nationwide to step-up such efforts to remove images that glorify a war that was rooted in defending slavery.

Alumni will be on campus at UVA during Move In Weekend to help incoming students and their families and in solidarity, “especially on a campus that has become a national battlefield to protect white supremacy.”

The group is asking others to publicly condemn what happened and to support Charlottesville mayor’s efforts to remove the statue. It asked concerned citizens to come to the campus to help the movein, in support of black and minorities in what has become a hostile environment over the issue. Lastly, the alumni group

is encouraging leaders in other cities to remove Confederate monuments, statues and other related symbols from their communities as well.

In an August 13 letter to alumnus and friends, UVA President Teresa Sullivan condemned the hate-filled events of the weekend, which included a torch march on campus Friday night with violent altercations hours before the Saturday rally in the city, where 32-year-old

paralegal Heather Heyer of Charlottesville was killed when the car smashed into counterdemonstrators . “The university supports the First Amendment rights to free speech and peaceable assembly. Acts of violence, however, are not protected by the First Amendment. Violence and bigotry are not political positions. We strongly condemn intimidating and abhorrent behavior intended to strike fear and sow division

in our community,” Sullivan stated.

“As a public institution, we value diversity, inclusion and mutual respect. We value an environment in which learning happens. The views of many of the groups who converged on Charlottesville are in direct contradiction with this. There were racist, anti-immigrant, homophobic and misogynistic chants. Such rhetoric is not intended to bring us together; it is intended to drive us apart.”

Two Virginia State Police officers were killed in a helicopter crash near Charlottesville on Saturday as well.

During his first court hearing on August 14, the suspect James Alex Fields Jr. of Ohio, was denied bail. Fields faces charges of seconddegree murder, three counts of malicious wounding and for leaving the scene of the incident. His next hearing is August 25.

Superintendent Kelvin Adams greeted Jeremiah Tabor, 5, as he arrived at Columbia Elementary School on Wednesday, August 16, the first day of school for St. Louis Public Schools. Jeremiah started kindergarten on Wednesday.

Photo

Price

Safe sky-gazing during solar eclipse

The dark journey passes south of St. Louis on August 21

By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American

total solar eclipse will

at approximately 1:18 p.m. in the St. Louis metropolitan area on Monday, August 21. Wearing protective eyewear is essential to preserving sight. If you look even for a second or so with unprotected eyes, you could go blind – or at least do irreparable harm to your retinas, MediNurse reminds. Additionally, they say the solar eclipse can be especially harmful for the elderly because of pre-existing eye health issues that make them more susceptible to total vision loss if they do not take necessary precautions before viewing the eclipse. This includes cataracts, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, dry eye and age-related macular degeneration.

n There is a safe way to put on and take off eclipse glasses. Look down at your toes, put on the glasses, then look up at the sun. To take them off, look down first – then remove the glasses.

Beyond the fad, back to the basics

By Denise Hooks-Anderson, M.D.

Of The St. Louis American

As a physician, we are required to stay current on medical information by attending conferences, reading journals, and obtaining continued medical education hours, CME’s. Diabetes, hypertension, and cancer are many of the topics where there seems to be a plethora of information.

However, I sometimes feel that the knowledge I obtain about these areas seems to lag behind the large amounts of material that surfaces on the internet, in the beauty shops, and in living rooms regarding health and exercise tips. My patients amaze me with their lists of new gadgets, diets and cleanses. Furthermore, I wish I could take all of the money that they spend on these things and place them in my oldest daughter’s college fund. With that amount of money, she could attend debt-free! Therefore, I thought we need to get back to the basics. Just learn the ABC’s of health!

A. Always exercise. Simple as that. To maintain a healthy weight, you have to move. People make exercise so complicated when it does not have to be that convoluted. Put on music and dance for 30 minutes. Try walking around your house or walking up and down your basement steps. And whatever happened to the good-old-fashioned jump rope? There are many inexpensive ways to obtain the recommended 150 minutes of cardiovascular exercise per week.

B. Be consistent. Starting and stopping your health regimen is not what you want to do. Make incremental changes in your routine so that you are more likely to stick with it. If you were someone who skipped meals, then start there. First add breakfast and then slowly add the other missing meals. After you have succeeded with this step, then you can begin with the specifics of the types of foods you are consuming.

NASA safety advice for solar eclipse

NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, offers tips to prevent long-lasting eye damage while viewing the eclipse.

Supervise children who are viewing the eclipse to make sure they are using their solar viewers properly and safely.

The only safe way to look directly at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun is through the special-purpose solar filters –eclipse glasses or hand-held solar viewers. Homemade filters or ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones, will not protect your eyes. Do not look at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun through unfiltered optical devices – even while using

direct viewing of the Sun with your eyes are those of Shade

or higher.

n Your body was fearfully and wonderfully made. It deserves only the best ingredients inside of it.

C. Choose wisely Your body was fearfully and wonderfully made. It deserves only the best ingredients inside of it. So, to be clear, that White Castle burger is probably not what the doctor ordered. Your body is craving fresh fruits and vegetables. Believe it or not, you should aim for five to nine servings of fruits and veggies per day. By shopping at local farmer’s markets or smaller grocery stores, you can obtain a variety of fruits and vegetables at a fraction of the cost. In addition, if you add up what you have been spending on fast foods, you more than likely can even afford some organic options.

D. Drink water. Most people do not realize that the bulk of their calories during the day have been obtained from consuming some type of sugary drink like juice or soda. Unfortunately, marketing departments have done a disservice to the public by making us believe that juice is better than soda. Most juices have about 30 grams of sugar per serving. Just by eliminating these types of beverages from your day could result in weight loss.

Everything I have mentioned above can

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HooksAnderson, MD

Photo by Wiley Price

Photo courtesy of NASA

By Bob Hughes Guest columnist

Michael Brown Jr.’s death on August 9, 2014, sparked a cascading series of protests, reactions, and racially charged dynamics that have come to be broadly referred to as “Ferguson.” Three years have passed, and in the aftermath it’s important for us to take stock of what progress has been made and whether we’re moving in the right direction.

I believe the events in Ferguson are a wake-up call for all of Missouri and for the U.S. as a whole. Are we heeding that call?

Ferguson, equity and health, three years later

underlying determinants of health, and how the Missouri Foundation for Health views health from a broad perspective. When we think about health this way, we realize that so many of the factors that led to the tragedy in Ferguson were, at their root, health issues.

While Ferguson has received a lot of attention from the media and policymakers, let’s acknowledge that there is nothing unique about the city’s situation. The issues that brought it to the world stage are very similar to numerous other struggling areas in the region and country. Ferguson has become emblematic of the problems many of our communities face – including racial, social, economic, educational and health disparities – but these problems extend far beyond the city’s borders. Recently I wrote about

ECLIPSE

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international safety standard. Also, make sure the glasses or viewers are new, because if they are more than three years old or have bends, wrinkles, scratches or tiny holes in them, they will not protect your eyes.

“The way that you can look to see that these are reputable glasses that will be safe to use is there is going to be two symbols on the back ,” said Anna Green, planetarium manager at the James S. McDonnell Planetarium at the St. Louis Science Center. “One is going to say, ‘ISO’ … it has got a little globe behind it, and the other one is a curved C and a curved E. That is a British standard.”

There is a safe way to put on and take off the eclipse glasses as well. Look down at your toes – put on the glasses, then look up at the sun. To take them off, look down first – then remove the glasses. Never take off the eclipse glasses while you are looking at the sun.

“You can look as long as you want as long as you have those glasses on, but when you are done, you want to look back down at your toes, and then take them back off again,” Green said. “That insures that you are not already in the process of looking up and you look at the sun without those glasses on.”

If you are planning to

There is no better reference point to use than the Ferguson Commission’s report, “Forward Through Ferguson: A Path Toward Racial Equity.”

The title is important.

It reminds us that racial inequity is at the heart of what took place in Ferguson, that “our institutions and existing systems are not equal, and that this has racial repercussions.” The report outlined a path forward, while recognizing that progress would take time. How have we done so far?

Numerous groups have helped establish positive momentum. With support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Urban Strategies worked with residents of Southeast Ferguson to explore living conditions for families and generate recommendations to share with the larger community. They found deep isolation and

capture the event by taking photos or videos on your phone or to watch through binoculars, telescopes or other optical devices, they need filters as well, even if you have on eclipse glasses. Optical devices concentrate solar rays and will damage your eclipse glasses or viewer and seriously injure your eyes.

Green also suggests anyone who plans to drive to a site to experience totality should do so the day before, to prevent being stuck in expected heavy traffic on the day of the eclipse.

For those who are sticking around St. Louis, there is also an eclipse party in the air conditioning at the Science Center.

“We are having a small event, so people who can’t make it to totality, we hope that you’ll come here and join us, because we will be observing the 99.99 percent partial [eclipse] that we’ll have here safely and we will be helping all of our visitors view it safely,” Green said.

“We will have air conditioning, we will have food and live music and, weatherpermitting, the whole thing will be outside. We hope there won’t be bad weather, but we will be doing things inside to celebrate. We have a small team going out to Festus and we will be trying to stream back totality from Festus as well. If that fails, we will also be showing the NASA stream too.” According to NASA, the last solar eclipse seen from

a lack of basic amenities and community resources such as emergency services, youth programming, transportation, and workforce development. Follow-up work is helping give community members a voice in developing projects that will affect their lives. New business ventures have helped to revitalize the economy and provide job opportunities in the city. Starbucks opening its first Ferguson store definitely provided a much-needed boost. As a number of businesses exited following the unrest,

major corporations like Centene came in and offered hope for the future. Last year, Centene unveiled a multimillion dollar claims center in the area, and more recently announced plans to partner with Schnucks and People’s Health Centers to launch a fullservice health clinic inside the Ferguson Schnucks location. There have been other positive developments. The Urban League’s Community Empowerment Center recently held an opening ceremony, its building replacing the burned-down

A father comforted his frightened daughter at an early protest in Ferguson in August 2014.

QuikTrip that had become a visual representation of the Ferguson riots. Normandy School, where Brown had been a recent graduate, will soon open a school-based health center, based on recommendations from the For the Sake of All report.

These are just a sampling of the positive projects and activities underway, but are we doing enough? Sadly, even though we can point to these encouraging efforts, we as a state and a country have not fully reckoned with the substantial changes that we

need to make for us to achieve health and racial equity. Stark health disparities are not improving and some are getting worse. The wage gap between black and white workers in the U.S. is greater than it was in 1979. Our region continues to compare unfavorably among the 50 most populous regions in the country. Earlier progress in closing the gap between whites and blacks in infant mortality rates has stalled, and inequality has actually increased. Clearly we have a lot of work to do. But despite the enormous challenges, I am cautiously optimistic about the future. The community has undertaken important projects, and groups like Forward Through Ferguson give hope that voices bringing a racial equity lens become routinely embedded in public discourse. For the well-being of all of us, we must not let the passage of time erode the vital importance of this work. The challenge for us now is to sustain a commitment to fostering racial equity for the long-term and to continue to work – in the words of the Ferguson Commission, unflinchingly – with patience and urgency. Bob Hughes is president and CEO of the Missouri Foundation for Health.

contiguous United States took place on February 26, 1979, and the last one that passed over the St. Louis area took place in 1442.

After the August 21 total solar eclipse, the next annular solar eclipse that can be seen in the continental U.S. will be on October 14, 2023, and visible

Sickle Cell Association hosts awareness events

Sickle Cell Gala The Sickle Cell Stroll will be held Saturday, September 9; Diversity in Clinical Trials and Research on Thursday, September 14; Sickle Cell Town hall Meeting Friday, September 22; and the Sickle Cell Gala, Saturday, September 30. For more information, visit sicklecellassociation.org and look under Events. The goals of these events are to increase education and awareness about the disease, engage and hear from various community members and stakeholders, and raise funds to support the mission of the association.

Sickle Cell Disease affects approximately 100,000 in the United States. There are 2.5 million living with Sickle Cell Trait. The disease is passed genetically. In the United States, according to the National Institutes of Health, most people with sickle cell disease are of African ancestry or identify themselves as black. About 1 in 13 African American babies is born with sickle cell trait; about 1

in every 365 black children is born with sickle cell disease. Knowing your trait status and that of your mate is highly recommended before having children. Symptoms of the disease often include painful episodes, organ damage, infections, stroke and premature death. For more information, visit sicklecellassociation.org or call 314-833-6751.

from Northern California to Florida. Just six months later, on April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will be visible from Texas to Maine.

Continued from A12

For more information, visit https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/ or https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-

be achieved on a modest budget and does not involve breaking the bank on the newest fad. To live a long, healthy life requires dedication, consistency and, from my point of view, simplicity. Let’s get back to the basics! Denise Hooks-Anderson, M.D., is assistant professor and practitioner for SLUCare Family Medicine, and the medical accuracy editor for The American. Email her at yourhealthmatters@stlamerican.com.

Bob Hughes

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Wearing special eclipse glasses, like those being sold at the St. Louis Science Center gift shop, is one of the few safe ways to view the solar eclipse on August 21.

Business

AUGUST 17 – 23, 2017

‘I feel more imaginative than I did before’

Paid UMSL internships expose Jennings students to careers in research

By Marisol Ramirez University of Missouri St. Louis

Opportunity. That’s what 13 Jennings Senior High School students will tell you was afforded them this summer at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

The juniors and seniors held paid internships and conducted six weeks of collegiate research alongside UMSL professors and graduate and undergraduate researchers.

The opportunity came to the high school students through the UMSL/Jennings Summer Internship Program, a budding collaboration started by E. Desmond Lee Professor of Zoological Studies Patty Parker and the Jennings administration. It offers 10-20 internship spots each summer to promising and academically curious Jennings Senior High School students.

Previously, the program specialized in biology, chemistry, physics and psychology internships, but this year it expanded to include the fields of music and education as well.

n “I wanted to help provide the same kinds of high-quality experiences that students from more affluent districts have.”

– Patty Parker, University of Missouri St. Louis

A generous anonymous donation not only made the program free for the students but also paid for the $12-per-hour income each intern earned. The support allowed them to pursue academic interests full time in lieu of a summer job.

Many of these students come from single-parent households and help out with family finances where they can. It could be a challenge to afford similar pre-collegiate summer programs that cost easily in the thousands of dollars but are the exact opportunities these collegebound high school students seek out.

“I wanted to help provide the same kinds of high-quality experiences that students from more affluent districts have,” Parker said. “These students are truly gifted and mature beyond their years. They can focus and master highly technical skills. They have tenacity, curiosity and grit, on top of their innate talents.”

“Beeing fly in the lab,” the title to the final presentation on Kyrnn Peoples’ research, might come as a surprise to those that know Peoples. He’s not the biggest fan of bees.

Even so, he spent the summer studying bumblebee and fruit fly cognition in the lab of Assistant Professor of Biology Aimee Dunlap. Specifically, he tested the insects’ decisionmaking, memory and learning using homemade flowers filled with nectar and observing the insects’ flower preference.

Peoples came to the summer internship program to gain more science experience. It was first suggested to him by UMSL alumnus and Jennings Superintendent Art McCoy, who has mentored Peoples since he came to Jennings High School after twice switching schools.

See UMSL, B6

Kelly Warren, a student at Jennings High School, tested Galapagos bird DNA for the parasite that causes avian malaria in Patty Parker’s lab at University of Missouri–St. Louis this summer. A generous anonymous donation made the program free for 13 Jennings students and paid each $12 per-hour as interns. “I feel more imaginative than I did before,” Warren said, “like I’m starting to think of different relationships between animals, like the geese on campus, for example.”

Local employers pledge to keep minimum wage at $10

Signature gathering begins for initiative to raise minimum wage statewide

American staff

More than 100 St. Louis businesses have announced that they reject a rollback in the city’s wage floor to $7.70 an hour set to take effect August 28 and urged other business owners to continue honoring the current $10 an hour local minimum wage.

The announcement signals growing support for the “Save the Raise” campaign launched in July by local fast-food workers, clergy and elected officials after Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens and Republican state lawmakers passed legislation earlier this year nullifying St. Louis’ $10 an hour minimum wage.

“I treated the minimum wage increase just like the cost of a can of tomatoes going up for my restaurants,” said Casey Miller, co-owner of the Vista Room restaurant and other businesses in the city. “The sky didn’t fall.”

The “Save the Raise” campaign launched

See WAGE, B2

Alice Prince was appointed director of the St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE) by Mayor Lyda Krewson. Prince has worked with SLATE as the agency’s Young Adult Workforce Division director since 2008. She will be sworn in on September 5. She replaces Michael Holmes.

Courtney Boddie was named director of counseling services at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Most recently he was assistant professor of clinical counseling, program site administrator and clinical counseling center co-director at Central Methodist University and served in the community as behavioral medicine provider and therapist.

Cheryl D. S. Walker joined the firm Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP. Previously she was of counsel at Bryan Cave LLP, where she practiced in the Real Estate, Construction and Financial Services Client Service Groups and her clients included real estate developers, construction contractors, quasigovernmental agencies, borrowers and lending institutions.

Jacob Manse joined KAI Design & Build as an intern architect. He has seven years of industry experience and a bachelor’s of Architecture from the University of Kansas. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.

Dionne Flowers was appointed city register by Mayor Lyda Krewson. Flowers has served as the City’s 2nd Ward alderwoman for the past 18 years. She also is a stylist and barber at Golden Shears, a familyowned hair-care firm. She was sworn in on August 14.

Ahmad Vincent was appointed a plumbing designer, VDC/BIM (Virtual Design and Construction/ Building Information Modeling) at Murphy Company, a mechanical contracting and engineering company. An experienced professional, he holds a Master of Business Administration from Keller Graduate School of Management as well as a bachelor’s degree in project/construction management from ITT Technical Institute.

Alice Prince

Courtney Boddie

Cheryl D.S. Walker

Jacob Manse

Ahmad Vincent

Dionne Flowers

Photo by August Jennewein

Advocates for a $15 wage demonstrated at St. Louis City Hall in November 2015.

Photo by Wiley Price

Consumers warned to be careful when shopping online

Better Business Bureau

While it has never been easier to shop online, the Consumer Fraud Task Force is advising consumers to take precautions against becoming victims of fraud or poor business practices.

The National Retail Federation expects e-commerce sales to reach more than $400 billion in 2017. Last year, a Pew Research study found that nearly 80 percent of shippers use online platforms to buy goods.

Better Business Bureau (BBB) ScamTracker statistics compiled during 2016 put online purchase scams as the fourth-highest scam for the year. Just over six percent of more than 30,000 ScamTracker reports made last year were consumers reporting they were ripped off while shopping online. Consumers in the St. Louis region and across the nation have been victimized in a number online scams. The Task Force warns that it is simple for an online retailer to set up shop. If consumers use a merchant they don’t know, they should research the business to make sure they are trustworthy. Too often, consumers realize after the sale they just gave their hard-earned money to an unscrupulous business.

Here are some recent cases investigated by members of the Task Force:

A St. Charles County based business that sells custom-painted video game controllers continues to receive complaints from consumers

who say the company fails to deliver product for which they have paid. The business has been the focus of two BBB consumer alerts in the last three years and complaints continue to be filed against the company to both BBB and the Missouri Attorney General. Several customers filed complaints with BBB and the Missouri Attorney General against a Columbia, Mo.based online business that sells women’s clothing and fashion accessories, saying they waited months for their orders. Some of the complainants said they

eventually received their merchandise, but only after repeatedly reaching out to the business.

The Federal Trade Commission in March charged a group of online marketers with deceptively luring consumers with “free” and “risk-free” trials for cooking gadgets, golf equipment and access to related online subscription services. According to the FTC, the businesses asked people for credit card information to cover shipping and handling and then charged the

consumers for products and services without consent. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

The Task Force offers these tips for shopping safely online:

Protect your computer. Install a firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Check for and install the latest updates and run virus scans regularly.

Check a site’s security settings. If the site is secure, its URL (web address) should start with https://.You may also see a picture of a small closed lock in the lower right hand corner of the screen.

Confirm the online merchant’s physical address and phone number. If a website doesn’t have contact information, that increases the likelihood of the site being illegitimate.

Beware of too-good-to-betrue deals. Offers on websites and in unsolicited emails may offer free or very low prices on hard-to-find items. There may be hidden costs or your

WAGE

continued from page B1

a petition on July 14 urging employers to “Save the Raise” even when preemption goes into effect. Employers can take the pledge listed on the campaign’s website and can also display a sign on their place of business to show their support and signal to customers they pay at least $10/hour. You can see a full list of signers on the campaign website www. SaveTheRaise.org.

“My own employees helped me figure out areas to cut costs so that I could pay them the higher wage,” said Anna Rivera, owner of El Chico Bakery. “And I’ll keep paying everyone who works at the bakery at least $10 an hour even after the minimum wage rolls back in August.”

Enacted in 2015, the St. Louis minimum wage ordinance was blocked for nearly two years by lawsuits from business lobbyists.

In May 2017, the workers won their court fight and the ordinance went into effect, lifting pay for 30,000 St. Louis workers to $10/hour and scheduling another increase to $11/hour for 38,000 workers in January 2018.

Shortly after, Republicans in the Missouri Legislature passed a bill to bar local governments from raising the minimum wage – rolling the $10/hour increase in St. Louis back to the statewide floor of $7.70/hour on August 28. On

purchase may sign you up for a monthly charge. Look for and read the fine print.

Always pay with a credit card. Under federal law, you can dispute the charges if you don’t receive an item. Shoppers also have dispute rights if there are unauthorized charges on the card, and many cards have zero-liability polices if someone steals and uses your card number. Check your credit card statement regularly for unauthorized charges. Never wire money to someone you don’t know.

Confirm shipping dates. Federal law requires that orders made by phone, mail or online be shipped by the date promised or within 30 days.

Know your rights. If goods aren’t shipped on time, shoppers can cancel and demand a refund. Consumers also may reject merchandise if it is defective or was misrepresented.

Do your homework. Go to bbb.org to check out a company or to register complaints. To learn about

June 30, Republican Gov. Eric Greitens announced he would not veto the bill, which will allow the bill to become law.

According to a report released in March, the National Employment Law Project estimated that the legal and political obstruction delaying the St. Louis ordinance cost St. Louis’ low-wage workers – whose incomes average $12,500 per year – a stunning $35 million.

In the seven years prior to 2015, the hourly wage in Missouri had increased by

n “I’ll keep paying everyone who works at the bakery at least $10 an hour even after the minimum wage rolls back in August.”

– Anna Rivera, owner of El Chico Bakery

only 40 cents. And a report from the Economic Policy Institute details 92 percent of workers in the low-wage sector industries are over 20 years, and 30 percent are over 40 years – dispelling arguments that these industries are filled by a young, temporary workforce and subsequently do not need to pay higher wages.

“If the owners of mom and pop shops across the city can continue paying $10/hour, why can’t big employers like McDonald’s?” said Bettie Douglas, a leader in the St.

scams reported in your area and to report if you were a target, go to BBB’s ScamTracker. The Task Force is a coalition of local, state and federal government agencies and nonprofit business and consumer groups in Missouri and Illinois that work together to protect consumer and donor rights and guard against fraud. The group has tackled predatory payday loan offers, tax scams, timeshare reselling fraud, credit repair and foreclosure scams, bogus sweepstakes, Internet sweetheart scams, phony grant scams, home remodeling, air duct cleaning schemes and a variety of other issues. BBB is a nonprofit, business-supported organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. Most BBB services to consumers are free of charge. BBB provides objective advice, free BBB Business Profiles on more than 5.3 million companies, 11,000 charity reviews, dispute resolution services, alerts and educational information on topics affecting marketplace trust. Visit bbb.org for more information.

Consumer Fraud Task contacts

To obtain information, or to report a scam, you may contact members of the Task Force: Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern and Southwest Missouri and Southern Illinois – (888) 9963887; www.bbb.org. Federal Trade Commission –(877) FTC-HELP (3824357); www.ftc.gov. Illinois Attorney General –(800) 243-0618; www. illinoisattorneygeneral.gov. Missouri Attorney General –(800) 392-8222; www.ago. mo.gov. U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Missouri – (314) 539-2200; www.usdoj.gov/ usao/moe.

U.S. Postal Inspection Service – (877) 8762455; postalinspectors.uspis. gov. U.S. Secret Service – (314) 539-2238; www.secretservice. gov.

Louis Fight for $15, who will go back to earning $7.90 after August 28, unless McDonald’s takes the pledge to pay $10. “We’re not going to just let fast-food giants steal back the raises we fought for – we’re going to take to the streets.” A University of California at Berkeley report found that Missouri taxpayers subsidize big companies like McDonald’s and Walmart in $2.4 billion of public assistance that low-wage workers require because they make only the minimum wage. Meanwhile, the Raise Up Missouri Coalition has started to gather signatures for a statewide ballot initiative that would raise the minimum wage to $8.60 in 2019 and rise 85 cents each year after that, capping at $12 in 2023. The wage would then continue to rise with the cost of living.

“Let’s let the citizens of Missouri decide what the minimum wage should be,” said Kansas City AFL-CIO President Pat Dujakovich. “That means putting the minimum wage on the ballot in 2018.”

Placing the statutory issue on the ballot requires the gathering of valid signatures representing 5 percent of ballots cast in the last gubernatorial election in 6 of the 8 congressional districts, or approximately 100,000 signatures statewide.

Employers can sign the Save the Raise pledge at www. SaveTheRaise.org. Contact the Raise Up Missouri Coalition at http://www.raiseupmo.org.

n “I just wanted to use my platform to continuously speak on injustice.”

– Seattle Seahawks’ Michael Bennett, on sitting during the national anthem

Pro Football Notebook

With Earl Austin Jr.

Top players to watch in 2017

football begins in St. Louis

Another exciting season of high school football is getting ready to begin this weekend on the Missouri side. As a new season gets underway, here is a look at some of the top players to watch in 2017. We will take a look at some of the top players on the Illinois side next week.

Earl

Cameron Brown (CBC): The Nebraska recruit caught 58 passes for 1,023 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior to help the Cadets to the Class 6 state semifinals.

Dallas Craddieth (Hazelwood Central): The senior defensive back is a high-level Division I recruit and a four-year starter who also had 13 receptions for 458 yards and five touchdowns for 11-1 Hawks. He also had 78 tackles on defense.

n Torre Dyson threw for 2,231 yards and 20 touchdowns as a sophomore.

Torre Dyson (Soldan): An excellent junior quarterback who threw for 2,231 yards and 20 touchdowns as a sophomore.

Tyler Foote (John Burroughs): The South Dakota recruit passed for 2,193 yards and 17 touchdowns as a junior. He directed the Bombers to the Class 3 state championship as a sophomore.

Bryce French (Lutheran-St. Charles): A three year starter, the senior running back rushed for 1,365 yards and 22 touchdowns as a junior.

Arther Green (Parkway

History is littered with famous brothers. Cain and Abel, the Kennedys, the Wright brothers and the Wayans brothers are a few DNA-sharing siblings that come to mind. For Mizzou basketball, however, the most esteemed brothers in recent history are Simeon and Sammie Haley (aka Slim and Slam) or Phil and Matt Pressey That’s all about to change.

Cuonzo Martin’s Missouri Tigers, which already boasted a top10 recruiting class for 2017, added a five-star cherry on top when Jontay Porter announced his decision to reclassify from the Class of 2018 into the Class of 2017. Porter will join his older brother, Michael Porter Jr. in Columbia, where the Porters led Father Tolton Catholic High School to a state championship in 2016.

awesome, and they are definitely one of the things I look forward to most about playing for Mizzou.

H.

“Mizzou is home, so first of all, I’m incredibly thankful for this opportunity to attend the University of Missouri,” Jontay Porter said via press release. “Coach Martin and his staff are

The early addition of Jontay Porter vaulted the Tigers recruiting class into the No. 4 spot, behind Duke, Kentucky and Arizona according to rankings by ESPN.com and 247Sports.com. That makes the incoming class the highest-rated Mizzou class in history. Go ahead, rename Mizzou Arena the Porter House. The future stake of the Tigers rests in the Porters hands. After all, Michael Jr. and Jontay’s sisters, Cierra and Bri Porter will again suit up for the women’s basketball team. Their father, Michael Porter Sr., is an assistant coach for the men’s team. There’s no question as to who is the first family is Mizzou hoops. The big question now is, whether Jontay and Michael Porter Jr. can live up to the hype. The Tigers finished 8-24 last

Under

Jontay Porter, reclassified into the Class of 2017, and will immediately join his brother Michael Porter Jr. at Mizzou. Senior defensive back Dallas Craddieth of Hazelwood Central is one of the top prospects in the state. He led the Hawks to an 11-1 record last season.

Austin Jr.

Ishmael

Sistrunk

Photo courtesy of Scout

SportS EyE

With Alvin A. Reid

All black NFL players should sit for anthem; Elliott appeals suspension

While native son Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension rocked the NFL last week, the events in Charlottesville, Va. could ultimately have a larger impact on the game of football and society.

A gathering of Nazi thugs and right-wing whackos gathered in the college town home of the University of Virginia on Friday and marched through the streets with burning torches screaming racial epithets. On Saturday, peaceful counter protesters were on hand and violence was unleashed upon them. A woman was killed and more than 20 people injured when one of the nut jobs crashed into them with a vehicle.

On Sunday, Seattle Seahawks star defensive end Michael Bennett sat during the playing of the national anthem. His action has not set off the level of controversy that has dogged Colin Kaepernick since he took the same action a year ago. Bennett will also not be blackballed by NFL team owners and front office personnel.

n Bennett said fans had better get used to his sitting for the anthem because it will continue all season.

“With everything that’s been going on the last couple of months and especially after the last couple of days, seeing everything in Virginia, seeing what’s going on out there earlier today in Seattle, I just wanted to be able to use my platform to be able to continue to speak over injustice,” Bennett told reporters after in Los Angeles after the Seahawks 48-7 win over the Chargers. Earlier Sunday, people clashed in downtown Seattle in either support or protest of President Donald Trump Bennett said fans had better get used to his sitting for the anthem because it will continue all season.

“I think everybody has a time where they feel like they need to be who they are and stand up for what they believe in,” Bennett said.

“I want people to understand I love the military. My father was in the military. I love hot dogs like any other American. I love football like any other American, but I don’t love segregation. I don’t love riots. I don’t love oppression. I

don’t love gender slander. Of course, I’m going to face backlash. This is bigger than me. This is bigger than football. This is bigger than anything that we have. This is about people. This is about bringing opportunities to people, giving people equality. This is bigger than a sport.”

Let the record show that Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch sat during the anthem on Saturday night. He took the first action regarding the racism and hatred displayed in Charlottesville. As the late Curtis Mayfield sings in “Freddie’s Dead,” ‘Why can’t we brothers, protect one another?’

If all – or at least most –black players refuse to stand for the national anthem, it would not matter what the hypocritical NFL, fans or abject racists think. Backlash would be the last thing on black players’ minds because their unity would shelter them from punishment.

Amazingly, my guess is that many white players would join them – at least for a game or two. Kaepernick would also find himself on a NFL franchise roster.

Bennett has authored a book entitled “Things That Make White People Uncomfortable.” His refusal to stand for the national anthem makes a lot

of black and white people uncomfortable. But his stand should – MUST – be backed by his fellow black players. It’s time, guys. In fact, it’s way past time.

Elliott’s appeal and race

Did I think Ezekiel Elliott would be suspended for a game? Yes. That was based on several off-field incidents since he entered the NFL.

Did I think he would be suspended six games because the NFL – not the judicial system – convicted him of physically abusing a woman? No.

It hasn’t been broadcast to the nation that the woman Elliott supposedly abused is white, but it will be part of his appeal that will be presented by St. Louis attorney Scott Rosenblum and others.

Elliott will allege that on

July 22 Tiffany Thompson said “You are a black male athlete. I’m a white girl. They are not going to believe you.”

She made the statement after she allegedly made multiple threats to “ruin his career.”

The appeal will include text messages from Thompson that encouraged a friend to lie to police about an alleged domestic assault in July 2016.

Her alleged threats included “You better be smart. And not be a dumb man,” and after not being granted entrance to a party attended by Elliott she shouted, “Your career is over.”

I’m not naïve. It is possible that Elliott did what she alleges. But the NFL suspended Elliott because he could not explain how she got bruises on her arms and body. Innocent until proven guilty in the legal system. Guilty until proven innocent in the NFL.

Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch sits during the playing of the national anthem on Saturday night.

The collective bargaining agreement between the NFL Players Union and the NFL allows Commissioner Roger Goodell to literally take the law into his own hands. It doesn’t protect him and the NFL from real laws and the real legal process.

If I’m Elliott I’m thinking about filing a defamation of character lawsuit, which would be heard by jurors – not people employed by the NFL.

Corey the cat lady

I know Corey, the nice lady who rescued the frightened Busch Stadium kitty, then lost it in City Garden later that evening. The frisky feline has since been found and the Cardinals are planning a Ralley Cat night later this month. Corey sports a St. Louis Cardinals tattoo on her forearm. If there is one thing she loves more than cats and dogs in peril, it is the Cardinals. I mean she is really into the Redbirds. But she feels like the team has treated her unfairly.

“They made it sound like I stole the cat from them. It only happened after they threw it out on the street,” she told me last week. I asked if the Cardinals had contacted her about attending Ralley Cat night. She hasn’t heard a word from them since the evening the cat took the field. OK, Cardinals. Get in touch with Corey at Kirkwood Ice and Fuel, invite her and family members to the game and treat them like VIPs. There is no Ralley Cat without her. Also, spell Ralley Cat like I have here – it’s cuter.

Alvin A. Reid is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook and appears on ABC’s The Allman Report and several sports radio shows, including Frank Cusumano’s “The Press Box” on KFNS. His Twitter handle is #aareid1.

Alvin A. Reid

From The easT side

With Maurice Scott

Stetson Hairston set to guide the Flyers

As the month of September approaches, most of the talk in East St. Louis, Illinois will be about the Flyers’ football program as opening day is only one week away. However, after coach Darren Sunkett and his staff produces another stellar season, hopefully another state championship, basketball season will be right around the corner. Enter the newest addition to the Flyers’ coaching staff – Stetson Hairston.

A native of East St. Louis, Hairston played his high school career at Belleville East and was a collegiate standout at Southern Illinois University. He will bring stability to the Flyers’ basketball program after consecutive early post-season losses in regional tournament competition.

n A native of East St. Louis, Hairston played his high school career at Belleville East and was a collegiate standout at Southern Illinois University.

the catalyst for the program from 2001-2005 in which the Salukis advanced to four consecutive NCAA tournaments, including a Sweet 16 berth in 2002. In addition, the 6’3” point guard led the Salukis to an impressive record of 104-28 during that span as he started 126 out of 131 games and played for head coach Bruce Weber, now the head coach at Kansas State.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to coach at East St. Louis Senior High School,” Hairston said. “After coaching at the collegiate level with a legend like Jay Harrington at SWIC, and playing for coaches like Bruce Weber, Matt Painter, (Purdue) and the relationships [with] mentors like Cuonzo Martin, I feel I’m ready for the challenge here at East St. Louis Senior High.”

for East St. Louis.

Hairston’s hiring comes after former East Side star Phillip Gilbert wasn’t retained after the season as head coach. Gilbert is now working in the Madison, Ill. school district.

A four-year standout for Southern Illinois, Hairston was

CLUTCH

Continued from B3

have never reached.

“I’m not even looking at the NCAA tournament,” Michael Porter Jr. told ESPN “I’m looking past that. I want to bring this team back to a Final Four, national championship-caliber level. I think we’re going to surprise people.”

In a remarkable feat, Martin was able to upgrade nearly every position with additions of the Porters, four-star signees Jeremiah Tilmon and Blake Harris, three-star guard C.J. Roberts and graduate transfer Kassius Robertson, who averaged 16.1 points per game last season for Canisius.

Size shouldn’t be a problem for the previously undersized Tigers. Michael Porter Jr. is listed at 6-foot-10, 215 pounds. Jontay Porter is an imposing 6-foot-11, 240 pounds. Tilmon stands at 6-foot-10 and 252 pounds. Sophomore forward Mitchell Smith might as well be an incoming recruit, as the 6-foot-10, 215-pound forward was lost to a season-ending

PREP

Continued from B3

Central): A big, athletic 6’3” senior wide receiver who had 32 receptions for 653 yards and 13 touchdowns as a junior. He has committed to Arkansas State.

Tionne Harris (Vianney): The senior dual-threat quarterback led the Golden Griffins to the Class 5 state championship. He rushed for 1,502 yards and 13 touchdowns and passed for 2,459 yards and 19 touchdowns last season.

Hassan Haskins (Eureka): The standout senior running back rushed for 1,509 yards and 21 touchdowns to lead the Wildcats to a berth in the Class 6 district finals.

Jordan Jackson (Ladue): The senior quarterback passed for 2,300 yards and 22 touchdowns while rushing for 673 yards and nine touchdowns for the Class 5 state semifinalists.

Marquis Majors (Fort Zumwalt West): The senior wide receiver had 70 receptions for 828 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior.

After losing 4 star recruit Jeremiah Tillman (Mizzou ) Reyondous Estes, Kerrion Chairs, Arthur Carter and others on a underachieving 18-8 team last season, Hairston doesn’t seem to think it will be a rebuilding 2017-18 season

“I felt the guys played hard this summer and bought in to my system quite well,” he said. “We return one of the top juniors in the state in Terrence Hargrove Jr., who won’t have to play in the shadow of Jeremiah this year. He understands that’s it his team, his year to be a dominant player for us.”

The Southwestern Conference is loaded again this

knee injury just 11 games into the 2016-17 season. Despite their impressive size, both Porter brothers bring the ability to handle, shoot, pass and rebound the basketball. How long they will put those traits on display in Columbia remains to be seen. Michael Porter Jr. is widely accepted to be a one-and-done, with a chance to be the No. 1 selection in next year’s NBA Draft. Many expect Jontay Porter to stay around for a few seasons. However, skilled bigs often find a way to shoot up the draft boards. Though the NBA currently sports a mini-

Donovan Marshall (Lutheran North): The Arkansas State recruit rushed for 1,476 yards and 17 touchdowns as a junior.

Ronnie Perkins (Lutheran North): The 6’2” 260-pound standout defensive end/tight end is one of the top prospects in the state with offers from virtually every major collegiate program.

Cody Schrader (Lutheran

Isaac Bruce has the fourth-most receiving yards in NFL history, but has not been voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

season with the favorite being Belleville West, led by Bradley Beal Elite EYBL player E.J. Liddell.

It’s kind of odd talking basketball when the boys of the fall, the Flyers’ football team, is set to kick-off their season next Saturday afternoon against Chicago Catholic power Providence Catholic High School.

But it’s a buzz around town about the upcoming basketball

Now it’s time to bring some wins.

T.D. over T.O. and Bruce?

Terrell Davis was a wonderful NFL running back. In seven seasons, he amassed 7607 rushing yards, 70 TDs and 1280 receiving yards. He was also named NFL MVP in 1998. However, Davis’ career was cut short to injuries and he ranks just 55th in career rushing yards. Davis was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

mum age of 19-years-old, NBA

Commissioner Adam Silver recently told FS1’s Colin Cowherd, “I’m rethinking our position.”

If the NBA drops the draft-eligible age back to 18-years-old before next season’s draft, Jontay Porter, who will turn 18 in Nov., could join his brother on the next level earlier than anybody anticipated. For that reason, Mizzou fans need to enjoy the Porters while they are here. The super siblings could vanish as fast as they appeared.

They’ve already brought Mizzou back to respectability without even playing a game.

South): The four-year standout rushed for 1,708 yards and 19 touchdowns with 94 tackles and six sacks as a junior.

Michael Thompson (Parkway North): An outstanding two-way lineman who dominates on both sides of the ball. Led the Vikings to the Class 4 state semifinals as a junior.

Trevor Trout (Chaminade): A 6’3” 295-

A four-year standout for Southern Illinois, Hairston was the catalyst for the program from 2001-2005 in which the Salukis advanced to four consecutive NCAA tournaments, including a Sweet 16 berth in 2002.

season in East St. Louis with the former Saluki great Stetson Hairston at the helm. However, we’ll talk about more basketball when the season gets closer. It’s football season in East St. Louis. ENOUGH SAID!

Scott’s notes

• Former Flyers All American Jeff Thomas has been very impressive in the

at his position? It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

What’s also odd about the exclusion of Owens and Bruce is that they seem to be getting shunned for opposite reasons.

Owens was a loud, brash trash-talker who bounced around the league because he rubbed players and coaches the wrong way.

Bruce was a quiet and reserved player who was often overlooked due to his humble nature.

Meanwhile two of the greatest wide receivers of all-time are left on the outside-looking-in because the Pro Football Hall of Fame hates wide receivers.

Terrell Owens’ 15,934 receiving yards rank him second in the history of the game, behind Jerry Rice Isaac Bruce’s 15,208 yards rank him fourth all-time behind Rice, Owens and Randy Moss (who will be HOF eligible for the first-time in 2018).

How can voters exclude two of the game’s top-five receivers in terms of production but vote in a player who ranks 55th

pound lineman who is one of the top prospects in the state. He has his pick of many of the nation’s top collegiate programs to choose from.

Marcus Washington (Trinity): A big-play junior wide receiver who caught 33 passes for 676 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Class 2 state runners-up.

Isaiah Williams (Trinity): A dynamic junior dual-threat

Both receivers were dominant on the football field. The Hall of Fame is supposed to recognize players based on their abilities and production, not their personalities. For decades, elite receivers have been passed over for the Hall for lesser players at other positions. It’s time for the Hall to do the right thing allow wide receivers to shine. Bruce and Owens deserve busts.

Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @ IshmaelSistrunk

quarterback who passed for 2,565 yards and 29 touchdowns while rushing for 896 yards and 20 TDs as a junior. He led Trinity to the Class 2 state finals.

Kyren Williams (Vianney):

The junior all-around athlete was a big part of the Golden Griffins Class 5 championship run with 748 yards rushing, 591 yards receiving and 28 touchdowns.

Miami Hurricanes camp. Look for him to line-up in the slot for the Hurricanes this season.

• Former Flyers wide receiver and Jackson State University star Daniel Williams signed with the New York Jets on Monday.

• The lineup for the 2nd Annual Gateway Scholars Classic lineup is set for Saturday, September 2, 2017 at Clyde C. Jordan Memorial Stadium.

• The triple-header will feature the Cahokia Comanches vs. Camden High Panthers (NJ) at 1 p.m.

• Game #2 will pit the Belleville West Maroons vs Timber Creek Chargers out of New Jersey.

• The feature game will be Darren Sunkett’s East St. Louis Flyers greeting the Evangel Christian Academy Eagles from Louisiana. The Eagles have four players who have already committed to LSU.

• Tickets are $10 for all-day access and be purchased at all the participating schools.

Next week, our East St. Louis Flyers football preview.

Listen to Maurice Scott Jr. every Wednesday night on 590AM “The Fan” on the Charlie “Tuna” Edwards show.

Top High School Football Games of the Week

By Earl Austin Jr. Of the St. Louis American

Here is a look at some of the top games during the opening weekend of high school football in the St. Louis area.

• Kirkwood at Chaminade, Friday, 7 p.m.

• Pattonville at Vianney, Friday, 7 p.m.

• Ladue at Fort Zumwalt North, Friday, 7 p.m.

• Parkway North at Parkway Central, Friday, 7 p.m.

• MICDS at St. Charles West, Friday, 7 p.m.

• Gateway STEM at SLUH, Friday, 7 p.m.

• Eureka at Fort Zumwalt West, Friday, 7 p.m.

• Miller Career Academy at CBC, Friday, 7 p.m.

Nick Williams (Ritenour): A 6’7” 270-pound senior lineman who just started playing football again last season as a junior and emerged as a Division I recruit who has committed to Kansas.

Tavian Willis (McCluer South-Berkeley): The 6’0” 195-pound senior quarterback passed for 1,968 yards and 21 touchdowns in leading the Bulldogs to the Class 3 state semifinals.

UMSL

continued from page B1

Beyond gaining science experience, Peoples found one of the best outcomes of the program was gaining other perspectives.

“At Jennings it’s majority African-American, but here there are backgrounds from all over. I met people from the Galapagos, South America, just all over,” he said.

Peoples intends to go into engineering and is considering bioengineering after his internship experience.

“I’ve enjoyed every last week,” Peoples said. “New experiences every day, and it helped me get over my fear of bumblebees too.”

Science has always been AnnDrea Jackson’s favorite subject.

“I’ve always gotten either an A or B in it,” she said. “I just like to see how things work on Earth and different outcomes.”

This summer Jackson researched gene regulation in cyanobacteria in Professor of Biology Teresa Thiel’s lab. She learned about DNA transcription, creating cytoplasmas and the cloning process.

“I’ve done a lot of hands-on stuff,” she said, “pipetting, gene cleans, making plates, taking samples and running PCR [polymerase chain reaction].”

Looking to the future, Jackson wants to work with children and possibly apply her science skills as a pediatrician or pediatric nurse. She’s also considering traveling the world to help children globally.

“I’m interested in what other struggles are out there,” she said. “And not only struggles, but what people can do to become successful mentally with all the obstacles that come their way.”

No matter what, Jackson knows she’ll need a college education. She’ll be the first in her family to earn a degree.

“Growing up, nobody ever went to college,” she said, “so I just want to do something different, not repeat the same cycle everybody else repeated.”

A returning intern, David Friend worked on two separate projects, trying his hand at a chemistry lab this summer while continuing in the joint biology and physics lab in which he had previously worked.

“I chose this program because I wanted experience in an actual research lab,” Friend said. “It’s also a really good learning experience both for working with professors and seeing what campus life is like.”

In chemistry, Friend interned in the lab of Professor Eike Bauer, analyzing reactions and testing catalysts’ efficiencies. The research involved determining at what

n “Growing up, nobody ever went to college, so I just want to do something different, not repeat the same cycle everybody else repeated.”

– AnnDrea Jackson

temperature and energy level a catalyst operated most effectively, helping increase production.

In biophysics, Friend worked with Associate Professor of Biology Wendy Olivas and Professor of Biophysics Sonya Bahar to simulate an extinction project using yeast. He set different parameters to test and find the exact turning point at which the yeast would live or die.

Not only did Friend contribute to the project, but he also learned this summer that he’ll be a co-author on the lab’s research paper for an academic journal.

“I never would have thought I would have my name on paper, especially at 17,” Friend said.

Friend isn’t yet decided on a career or field of study, but he’s set on one thing for sure – he’s going to college.

This summer Nykayla Sampson faced her internship like a challenge. An aspiring screenwriter,

she could have taken the comfortable road and chosen an internship outside of the sciences. Instead, Sampson chose to intern in the microbiology lab of Assistant Professor Lon Chubiz.

“There’s no limit to what you can do or what you should do,” Sampson said. “You never know what you’re going to write about in the future.”

Sampson said she certainly came up with a lot of material in the Chubiz lab, where she researched Salmonella and E. coli bacteria in the protein PSLT026.

Sampson joked about the serious amounts of pipetting the research had her doing, but more than anything she said she’ll remember the independence the lab helped grow in her. After her mentors demonstrated a technique, they trusted her to do it on her own.

“It’s really triumphant when you realize what to do, with what machine, how it works and why you’re doing it,” Sampson said, “and to know you did it on your own.”

In the Parker lab, Kelly Warren tested Galapagos bird DNA for the parasite that causes avian malaria. It got her considering the world in new ways.

“I feel more imaginative than I did before,” Warren said, “like I’m starting to think of different relationships between animals, like the geese on campus, for example.”

Warren caught herself asking questions like: Is it bad for them to stay on campus, where they’re around people so much? Are they exposed to more things?

“Those questions I probably never would have thought about before getting in Dr. Parker’s lab,” she said.

Warren vacillates between wanting to be a veterinarian or pharmacist. Working in the Parker lab has tugged her back towards her love of animals. One early morning she even learned how to catch, properly hold and sample birds.

“I wish more people had this opportunity,” she said. “I know a lot of people who don’t, and I wish more people had that support and motivation.”

Financial Focus

By Veronica Coleman

Living It

Brian McKnight’s 25-year full circle

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

“If you had told me in 1992 that I would be releasing my 15th album, I would have been like ‘yeah right … we’ll see,’” said multi-platinum selling and 16-time Grammy Award nominated singer Brian McKnight. “But here we are.”

On August 25, his new album “Genesis” will drop – 25 years after his self-titled debut album was released. That album would go on to sell

more than two million copies and cement him as a music star both in R&B and in pop music.

“For the last five or six years I’ve been trying to figure out a comfortable place to fit in between today’s music and the music that I’ve always created,” McKnight said. “I think that on this particular CD, I finally figured out that formula.”

Sprinkling soul on the circus

UniversSoul’s big top returns to STL

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

“Soul is not a color, it’s is an experience –but you know that anything we touch, we are going to sprinkle some soul on it and bring it to another level,” said Zeke, Ringmaster’s sidekick

Gateway Arch Park Foundation, Blues Museum concerts underway for August

By Kenya Vaughn

Of The St. Louis American

“I know St. Louis knows about the blues,” guitarist and vocalist Lil Ray Neal professed to the crowd before playing a riff instantly identifiable to the musical style. The crowd that gathered under the Eads Bridge last Friday for the kickoff of the weekly

for the UniverSoul Circus. “We’ve turned the circus world upside down and it’s been nonstop ever since.”

Zeke has been with UniverSoul Circus from its inception nearly a quarter-century ago. He connected with founder Cedric Walker back when he was a DJ and a host and Walker was promoting concerts and plays in the Atlanta region.

Walker came up with the idea of UniverSoul Circus, or as Zeke says “taking the traditional circus and putting a little soul to it” by repackaging the circus in a manner designed for African Americans to enjoy.

concert series Blues at the Arch didn’t need any further prompting or explanation – they erupted with applause and shouts to co-sign Neal’s remarks, and his impressive skills familiar to most journeymen blues musicians. Understated in his performance style, Neal let the music speak for itself. He and his band

The concert series, which takes place every Friday in August, local blues veterans are paired with national acts. The concert series C1 • ST.

Walker told Zeke he had a spot for him as the sidekick to the Ringmaster, which is essentially is the Ringmaster’s hype man. He suited up for the first-ever UniverSoul Circus big top in Atlanta, and never stopped.

“To see it from the beginning and what it has evolved from has been a blessing,” Zeke said. “I tell people all the time, ‘do not base your expectations of UniverSoul on any other circus that you’ve seen.’”

They’ve grown from an annual event in Atlanta, to touring up to 25 cities a year.

The science of a positive role model

Lewis Diuguid to discuss ‘Our Fathers: Making Black Men’ at CWAH

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

Dr. Lincoln Diuguid is a fighter – as readers will learn from the very beginning of the book Our Fathers: Making Black Men. Award-winning journalist and author Lewis Diuguid, uses his third book to pay tribute to his father, known affectionately as “Doc.” But it also praises those with a commitment to community building – and how their lives and work helped transform a South St. Louis block.

Doc fought back against the systemic racism that prevented him from being a household name, despite his pioneering work as a chemist and scientist.

did right by the genre with a set of songs that made effective use of the chord progressions and wailing vocals that all walks of life have managed to connect with in the century since the sound laid the foundation for all future forms of American music – from jazz, country, rock, R&B and even hip-hop.

Before Neal’s set, local blues legend Big George Brock served as yet another reminder that St. Louis and the blues have gone handin-hand since the very beginning, thanks to the 1914 W.C. Handy classic “St. Louis Blues.” The song forever merged the city with the music, but the city also created a signature sound for itself along the way.

n Doc was a phenomenal man and pioneer who fought to the very end of his nearly 100 years.

Instead of resigning to the times, Doc, who earned a PhD from Cornell University in chemistry, created Du-Good Chemical Laboratories & Manufacturers on South Jefferson. According to Lewis, Du-Good laid the foundation for the block’s strip of black businesses which poured into the surrounding neighborhood – which is the meat of Our Fathers: Making Black Men. Doc and the crop that were his neighbors in enterprise developed character and shaped young minds. Countless young people who otherwise may have been lost to the crime and violence that eventually creeped into surrounding areas as a result of urban decay were saved. Lewis, who spent nearly 40 years as a reporter, editor, columnist and editorial board member for the Kansas City Star newspaper, will return home to St. Louis on Saturday, August 19 for a special book signing and discussion of Our Fathers: Making Black Men.

“The goal of this very important book is that by describing what’s missing in America in the upbringing of our children, we can help to generate that cornerstone of character development in our youths’ lives and never lose it in the future.” Lewis Diuguid said in the book’s introduction.

Doc was a phenomenal man and pioneer who fought to the very end of his nearly 100 years. When he couldn’t get the opportunities he deserved as a pioneering chemist and scientific genius, he decided to create his own.

The grandson of slaves set up shop in 1947. Doc bought and converted a veterinary hospital into Du-Good Chemical Laboratories & Manufacturers thanks to his family pooling together $60,000 (more than $500,000 in today’s money) to purchase the property that

This Friday (Aug. 18), the Arts and Education Council’s Young Friends of the Arts will present A Midsummer Night’s Drink for young professionals in the region who love art, culture, food and fellowship.

Brian McKnight

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.

concerts

Sun., Aug. 20, 4 p.m., The National Blues Museum presents Soulful Sundays with Johnny King. 615 Washington Ave., 63101. For more information, call (314) 925-0016 or visit www. nationalbluesmuseum.org.

Tues., Aug. 29, 8 p.m., The Pageant presents 2 Chainz –Pretty Girls Like Trap Music Tour. 6161 Delmar Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www.thepageant.com.

Fri., Sept. 1, 8 p.m., 95.5 The Lou District Rhythms presents Johnny Gill. Ballpark Village, 601 Clark Ave., 63102. For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

Sat., Sept. 9, 4 p.m., Alton Jazz & Wine Fest. Performances by Ptah Williams Quartet, Keyon Harrold and more. Liberty Bank Alton Amphitheater, 1 Henry St., Alton, IL. 62002. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com.

Sept. 9 – 10, Loufest 2017. Performances by Weezer, Snoop Dogg, Cage the Elephant, and more. Central Field – Forest Park, 5300 Wells Dr., 63112. For more information, visit www. seatgeek.com.

Sun., Sept. 10, 8 p.m., RockHouse & Still Blessed

Entertainment present Tony! Toni! Tone! The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. ticketmaster.com.

Wed., Sept. 13, 8 p.m., Fox Theatre presents An Evening with Mary J. Blige: Strength of a Woman Tour. 527 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Wed., Sept. 13, 8 p.m., Shabazz Palaces with special guest Porter Ray. The Ready Room, 4195 Machester Ave., 63110. For more information, visit www.ticketfly.com.

Sun., Sept. 24, 7 p.m., From the Soul – Unplugged Acoustic Show feat. Drew “X-Man” Exum & the X-Men Band. Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Sq., 63108. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Sun., Sept. 24, 6:30 p.m., The Sheldon Concert Hall presents Black Violin. 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

local gigs

Sun., Aug. 27, 5:30 p.m., Union Communion Ministries presents Dirty Muggs Concert. Activities include yoga, arts and crafts, bouncy house, a raffle, and more. Ivory Perry Park, 800

The St. Louis American recommends

North Belt, 63112. For more information, call (314) 3672112 or visit www.ippconcerts. com.

Tues., Aug. 29, 6 p.m., Missouri History Museum presents Twilight Tuesday: Brazilian Night. 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. mohistory.org.

Sun., Sept. 3, 6 p.m., Soul Train: The Ride of Life, Love and Happiness. Sieglinda Fox with featured artists Alli Mays and Cheron Brash. The Signature Room, 9002 Overland Plaza, 63114. For more information, visit www.thesignatureclub.net.

Fri., Sept. 8, 7:30 p.m., Chamber Project St. Louis presents Faith. A program that explores the power, practice, and questioning of faith through the lens of music by American composers. 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112.

special events

Thur., Aug. 17, 6 p.m., Gateway Hemophilia Association’s Wine Tasting Fundraiser. Proceeds benefit the Matthew Wilson Scholarship Fund. Farotto’s Italian Restaurant & Pizzaria, 9525 Manchester Rd., 63119. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Aug. 17 – 26, St. Lou Fringe Festival 2017. A performing arts festival showcasing theatre, dance, spoken word, and more. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Fri., Aug. 18, 6 p.m., Young Friends of the Arts invites you to A Midsummer Night’s Drink. Enjoy food, drinks, and music while seeing the impact of your support for the Arts and Education Council. 3547 Olive St., 63103. For more information, visit www. keeparthappening.kintera.org.

Fri., Aug. 18, 8:10 p.m., The Glo Run 5K. Run through a Neon Luau themed glowing wonderworld of a course. Forest Park, Summit Dr., 63112. For information, visit www.theglorun.com/stlouis.

Sat., Aug. 19, 8 a.m., Top 50 Car Show to Benefit Injured Police Officers. All proceeds will benefit Officer Sheena Smith who has returned to work part-time, and Officer Gary Glasby who is in rehabilitation. Forest Park, 1 Theatre Dr., 63112. For more information, call (314) 4442531.

Aug, 19, 11 a.m., A Step Beyond Inc. Back to School Fair, Musick Park, 8617 Latty Ave. Hazelwood Mo. 63042. For more information, e-mail astep.beyond@yahoo. com

Sat., Aug. 19, 2 p.m., 2017 Rise Up Festival. An arts festival to celebrate the revitalization of St. Louis. 1627 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. riseupfestival.org.

Sat., Aug. 19, 6 p.m., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., St. Louis Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Nu Chi Chapter presents the Annual Alumni Greek Step Show. The Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry Rd., 63136. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Sat., Aug. 19, 6 p.m., Phenomenal Woman Benefit Fashion Show. A small, fun, fashion event to empower women, and showcase women owned businesses. Proceeds will benefit Haven of Grace. DK Solutions, 2727 S. Jefferson Ave., 63118. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Sun., Aug. 20, 1 p.m., Paws for Play Meet Your Match Adoption Event. 1714 Scherer Parkway, 63303. For more information, visit www. luckyk9.org.

Sun., Aug. 20, 6 p.m., Secure Entertainment presents Soul Fool Sunday Poetry & Comedy Open Mic. Hosted by Poet Lightning and comedian Frank L. Gourmetsoul Restaurant and Catering, 1620 Delmar Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Thur., Aug. 24, 4 p.m., Saint Louis Crisis Nursery presents Celebrity Waiters Night 2017. 80 West County Center Dr., 63131. For more information, call (314) 292-5770 or visit www. crisisnurserykids.org.

Aug. 24 – Sept. 4, UniverSoul Circus. Downtown Dome Tailgater’s Lot, 1111 N.

See

for

Broadway, 63102. For more information, visit www. ticketmaster.com.

Aug. 25 – 26, MathewsDickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club presents the 2nd Annual Family Reunion Weekend. Fri: Hoopin’ & Hollerin’: Basketball, Hip-Hop & Comedy (4525 N. Kingshighway); Sat: A Serenade by Brian McKnight & Ginuwine (527 N. Grand Blvd.). For more information, visit www.mathews-dickey. com.

Sat., Aug. 26, 10 a.m., Taste of COCA. A free open house event for families to sample bite-sized classes, see live performances, and check out our latest gallery exhibition. 524 Trinity Ave., 63130. For more information, visit www. cocastl.org.

Sat., Aug. 26, 6 p.m., Summer Fusion. Come out for food stations, drinks, a raffle, and silent auctions. Proceeds benefit those living with severe and persistent mental illness. Independence Center, 4245 Forest Park Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www.independencecenter. org/events.

Aug. 26 – 27, 10 a.m., International Institute St. Louis invites you to the Festival of Nations. Tower Grove Park, 4256 Magnolia Ave., 63110. For more information, visit www. festivalofnationsstl.org.

Sat., Sept. 2 & 9, 7:30 p.m., CommUNITY Arts Festival A lineup including dance, theater, poetry, and film has been assembled to speak out against violence. Sept. 2: Marcelle Theater, 3310 Samuel Shepard Dr.; Sept. 9, Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Sq. For more information, visit www. communityartsfestival.com.

Wed., Sept. 6, 11 a.m.,

Alton Jazz & Wine Fest with performances by Keyon Harrold, the Ptah Williams Quartet and more.

CONCERTS

details.

National Career Fair. Meet top employers and to interview for several positions during the course of the day. Double Tree – Westport, 1973 Craigshire Rd., 63146. For more information or to register, visit www.nationalcareerfairs.com.

Sat., Sept. 9, 9 a.m., Ferguson 1000 Hiring Event. Meet employers ready to hire people on the spot. St. Louis Community College – Florissant Valley, 3400 Pershall Rd., 63135. For more information or to register, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Sat., Sept. 9, 6 p.m., St. Louis University Black Law School Association’s 15th Annual Casino Night Scholarship Fundraiser. 100 N. Tucker Blvd., 63101. For more information, email blsa@slu. edu.

Wed., Sept. 13, 10 a.m., St. Louis Partners Job Fair Several companies will be on site to provide information and assist in the hiring process. Dress professional and bring a resume. Bringing Families Together, 7151 N. Lindbergh Blvd., 63042. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Wed., Sept. 13, 11 a.m., St. Louis Diversity Job Fair. Employers for education, finance, optical care, human resources, clerical, healthcare, and more. Ferguson Community Center, 1050 Smith Ave., 63135. For more information or to register, visit www.eventbrite.com.

literary

Thur., Aug. 17, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books hosts author Candace O’Connor, author of Renaissance: A History of the Central West End. 399 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www.leftbank.com.

Wed., Sept. 6, 7 p.m., St. Louis County Library hosts author Tess Gerritsen, author of I Know a Secret: A Rizzoli

and Isles Mystery. Jane and Maura must solve the murder of a movie producer. Library Headquarters, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd., 63131. For more information, visit www. slcl.org.

Thur., Sept. 7, 7 p.m., Missouri History Museum, hosts author Keona Ervin author of Gateway to Equality: Black Women and the Struggle for Economic Justice in St. Louis 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www.mohistory.org.

art

Fri., Aug. 18, 6 p.m., Young Friends of the Arts invites you to A Midsummer Night’s Drink. 3547 Olive St., 63103. For more information, visit www.keeparthappening. kintera.org.

Sat., Aug. 19, 1 p.m., St. Louis African American Arts Festival and Bazaar. Crowne Square Plaza, 14th St. and St. Louis Ave., 63106. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sat., Aug. 19, 4 p.m., Painting with a Twist presents Peace, Love and Afros. 08 Ronnie’s Plaza, 63126. For more information or to register, visit www. paintingwithatwist.com.

Aug. 25 – 27, 29th Midwest Salute to the Arts. Featuring 100 Award winning artists in 11 mediums displaying their work under seven large tents. Moody Park, 525 S. Ruby Ln., Fairview Heights, IL. 62208. For more information, visit www.midwestsalute.com.

Sat., Aug. 26, 7 p.m., St. Lous Effort for AIDS hosts The Art of PAWS. A celebration of phenomenal local art, music and cuisine. Gallery 400, 400 Washington Ave., 63102. For more information, visit www.stlefa. org.

Fri., Sept. 1, 7 p.m., HipHop and Fashion: From

The St. Louis American recommends

the Streets to the Runway. This discussion will examine the impact of hip-hop culture on fashion, art, and black masculinity. St. Louis Art Museum, 1 Fine Arts Dr., 63110. For more information, visit www.slam.org.

Sept. 1 – 3, The Greater St. Louis Art Association presents the Fall Art Fair at Queeny Park. 550 Weidman Rd., 63131. For more information, visit www. artfairatqueenypark.com.

lectures and workshops

Thur., Aug. 17, 6:30 p.m., S.H.E.R.A.H. presents

Human Trafficking and Black Girls. 1408 N. Kingshighway Blvd., 63113. For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

Aug. 24, 9 a.m., Small Business Majority, Center for the Acceleration of African American Business (CAAAB), Justine PETERSEN and Edward Jones for a free Small Business Growth Resources Workshop Better Family Life, 5415 Page Blvd. Register @ https:// small-business-capitalhealth-retirement-8-24-17. eventbrite.com/ or call (314) 718-0377 or email wray@ smallbusinessmajority.org

Fri., Sept. 8, 6 p.m., Ferguson 1000 presents

Empowerment Lecture

Learn about technology for financial literacy, poverty, social justice and more. St. Louis Community College – Florissant Valley, 3400 Pershall Rd., 63135. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Tues., Sept. 12, 7 p.m., Let’s Talk About What Happened. Join Stacey Newman, Rev. Dr. Cassandra Gould, and Rabbi Susan Talve, to talk about What Happened by Hillary Clinton. Left Bank Book, 399 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www.left-bank.com.

theatre

Through Aug. 17, Stages

St. Louis presents 9 to 5 The Musical. Robert G. Reim Theatre, 111 S. Geyer Rd., 63122. For more information, visit www.stagesstlouis.org.

Aug. 18 – Sept. 3, R-S Theatrics presents In the Heights..Zack, 3224 Locust St., 63103. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Aug. 24 – 26, JPEK CreativeWorks Theatre presents Respeck My Shoes

A group of women tell a compelling story and demand society respect every woman’s journey. Marcelle, 3310 Samuel Shepard Dr., 63103. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com.

Sept. 6 – 24, The St. Louis Black Repertory Company will open their 41st season with Colman Domingo’s new comedy DOT. The Edison Theatre on the campus of Washington University. For more information, visit www. theblackrep.org or call (314) 534-3807.

health

Thur., Aug. 17, 6 p.m., Gateway Hemophilia Association’s Wine Tasting Fundraiser. Proceeds

benefit the Matthew Wilson Scholarship Fund. Farotto’s Italian Restaurant & Pizzaria, 9525 Manchester Rd., 63119. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Aug. 19, Lupus Foundation of America (LFA), Heartland Chapter’s Lupus Education Conference, Lodge de Peres in St. Louis. For more information, visit http://www. lupus.org/events/entry/lupuseducation-conference-saintlouis-17

Sat., Aug. 19, 3 p.m., 5th Annual Crawl Before You Walk Pub Crawl. Soulard, 63104. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Sun., Aug. 27, 6:30 p.m. doors, Hatz 4 Hearts presents the 3rd Annual Fedora Swag Sunday, a charity fundraiser supporting cancer patients, Voce, 212 S. Tucker. For more information, call (314) 9220983 or visit www.hatz4hearts. com.

Thur., Aug. 24, 7 p.m., First Community Baptist Church of Pagedale Spiritual Healing and Restoration. Elder Ricardo Malone of The Bethel Church shares his testimony of God’s healing and restoration. 6815 Page Ave., 63133. For more information, call (314) 644-4120.

Fri., Sept. 8, 7:30 p.m., Chamber Project St. Louis presents Faith. A program that explores the power, practice, and questioning of faith through the lens of music by American composers. 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112.

Sun., Sept. 10, 5:30 p.m., Arts & Faith St. Louis Seventh Annual Interfaith Concert: Building Bridges Featuring young talent from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Mormon and Sikh faith. Sheldon, 3648 Washington Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www. artsfaithstl.org.

95.5 The Lou District Rhythms presents Johnny Gill. For more information, see CONCERTS.

FATHERS

Continued from C1

would house his business.

There he developed anticancer compounds, as well as household and personal products. But more importantly, he developed a neighborhood and the young minds who occupied it. “Doc made them start to believe in themselves and what they had to offer beyond the unforgiving dead-end of the streets,” Lewis said of his father’s outreach efforts in the book. “He would take the urchins off of South Jefferson Avenue into his lab and build them into men.” He also used his passion for science and youth-building into the classroom. While operating

CIRCUS

Zeke and company will be back in St. Louis when the UniverSoul Circus returns from August 24-September 4 across from the Dome at America’s Center Downtown.

“One time somebody joked that because we are African American owned and operated that we aren’t up to par,” Zeke said. “They said, ‘y’all don’t have real animals. Y’all have pit bulls and Rottweilers in that circus.’ But I let them, and everybody else know that we are world class – and we bring it to you like you’ve never seen it before.”

The UniverSoul Circus is as much a house party and family reunion as it is a circus. Animals, acrobats and other traditional circus acts from around the world blow the crowds away. But the audiences bring their own wow factor when they dance in their seats – and in the aisles – to music that ranges from hip-hop

Du-Good, Doc simultaneously worked as a science educator. He chaired the physical science department at what would eventually become HarrisStowe State University for 25 years. But more than a tribute to the work of his father, Lewis pays homage to the unsung heroes who used poured their gifts back into the communities that they came from.

“Here is where mothers, grandmothers and aunts hung from windows and kept a watchful eye over all who walked and played before them,” Lewis said. “It’s where mothers cried, people died and fathers went to work.”

The book is an ode to those who worked with little to no fanfare to counter the negatives images that fueled misconceptions about the

to the blues. Generations come together and each manages to get the same level of enjoyment.

“You are as much a part of the show as the performer in that ring – and you know black folks, we love to express ourselves,” Zeke said. “You don’t have to sit quiet with us. We demand that audience responds.”

His favorite part of the show is the Soul Train line that encourages audience members to come into the ring and break it all the way down.

“You just never know what type of hidden diamond you have in the crowd,” Zeke said. “Some people come up there and turn that soul train line out.”

The segment is predesignated, but it’s anyone’s guess who will volunteer for the opportunity to get down. Zeke and the circus performers enjoy a mutual exchange of energy and entertainment with the audience over the course of the night.

“You are going to feel it – between the lights, the

hardworking people who rose from the ashes of slavery and systematic oppression – and yet still managed to pour into their communities as they relentlessly pressed forward towards achieving the American dream.

“The America in the blocks surrounding Jefferson Avenue was not unlike white America,” Lewis said. “It’s just that few in the mainstream bothered to look.”

Lewis W. Diuguid will sign and discuss his book Our Fathers Making Black Men at 3 p.m. on Saturday, August 19 at the Community Women Against Hardship Family Support Center, 3963 W Belle Pl, St. Louis, MO 63108. For more information, call (314) 289-7523.

BLUES

Continued from C1

is a collaboration between the National Blues Museum and The Gateway Arch Park Foundation.

“Last year’s inaugural Blues at the Arch was a huge success,” said Dion Brown, executive director of the National Blues Museum.

“We are excited to work with Gateway Arch Park Foundation again to bring this concert series back which joins two things that St. Louis is known for: blues music and the Gateway Arch.” Blues at the Arch is the first concert series to take

MCKNIGHT

Continued from C1

sounds, the music, the world class performers and the engagement,” Zeke said. “It’s mind-blowing.”

Even after 24 years, Zeke says he still gets nervous every time he prepares to enter the ring, but the feeling subsides as soon as he steps out to perform.

“Once I go out there and hit that ring and see a grandmamma smile and a little kid with joy on his face, it’s show time,” Zeke said. “After 24 years I never get tired of it – and we do 500 shows a year and you can multiply that and see how many shows I’ve done.

Every show feels like a first show to me and we put a 110 percent into it each time. We want them to leave out with chills, thrills and all of the happy feelings.”

The UniverSoul Circus will be in St. Louis from August 24-September 4 across from the Dome at America’s Center and tickets can be purchased through ticketmaster.com. For more information on the show and a full schedule, visit http:// www.universoulcircus.com.

A day after his latest CD comes to the masses, McKnight will be in St. Louis to co-headline A Serenade with Brian McKnight and Ginuwine at The Fox Theatre. The show is taking place as part of the 2nd Annual Mathews-Dickey Family Reunion weekend programming.

“St. Louis folks are passionate – not only about their music, but about everything,” McKnight said. “I love that excitement of a St. Louis audience. If they love you, they’re going to show it. And if they don’t love you, they’ll show that too.”

He’s never had to worry about a negative reaction from his St. Louis fans because his first-tenor voice and effortless falsetto have yet to fail him during a live show. Plus, he gives the people they type of performance that they want to see – which he has every intention of doing next Saturday.

“I know the people are coming to hear my big hits from yesteryear,” McKnight

place in the newly renovated Arch grounds, part of the $380 million CityArchRiver project to renovate the national park and surrounding area in downtown St. Louis as a connected, inviting and exciting urban destination.

The show takes place in the North Gateway, which is at the north end of the park, near Laclede’s Landing.

“We are incredibly thankful for the success of last year’s Blues at the Arch and excited to bring it back with the National Blues Museum,” said Ryan McClure, director of communications for Gateway Arch Park Foundation. “This year, the concert series will be in the North Gateway, which is a perfect setting for this

said. “I am going to play all of those and then I’ll sprinkle in new music here and there – but I’m selling nostalgia and that’s exactly what I’m going to give people.”

Nostalgia may be the core of his stage show, but he is excited about handing over “Genesis” to his fans –especially those who have been with him from the beginning.

For him, the record is a fullcircle moment.

“With it, I was trying to fit in without being those younger artists. Not competing with them, but phonically fitting in,” McKnight said. “I want people to see that I’m still singing, playing, writing and producing the same way that I did when I was 19 on the first album.”

His first album came out during what McKnight proclaims as the best decade of music.

“To have a record like mine, a debut album – and the other four records I released in that decade – be recognized at all is a wonderful thing considering the amount of great music that came out of that ten year period,” McKnight said. “In any career there are going to be ups and downs, but I can’t say that there have been that many

type of event with its natural amphitheater. We believe people are going to fall in love with watching concerts in this venue just like they have in other parts of the Arch park area.” Green McDonough Band, Joe Metzka, and Mark “Muleman” Massey are the featured entertainment for August 18. The series will close out with Marquise Knox and Dexter Allen on August 25. Blues at the Arch Concert Series takes place at 6 p.m. each Friday in August at the North Gateway area of the grounds just under the Eads Bridge near Laclede’s Landing. For more information about Blues at the Arch, visit www. bluesatthearch.com.

downs. Twenty five years and to still be to be creating music – doing the one thing I love doing the most for a living – is sort of surreal.” He can’t wait to relive the best of his career next Saturday at The Fox.

“I love performing these songs that people have connected with so much,” McKnight said. “You see them react as that intro comes on … that anticipation that happens. I love the fact that something that I wrote brings so much joy to someone – a total stranger –it’s truly moving. I hope people leave The Fox saying that they didn’t pay enough, that it was so good that they should have paid more.”

A Serenade with Brian McKnight and Ginuwine will take place as part of the Mathews-Dickey Family Reunion weekend at 7 pm. on Saturday, August 26 at the Fox Theatre. For tickets, visit www.metrotix.com or call (314) 534-1111. VIP seating with 5 p.m. dinner at $200 and corporate sponsorship tables of 10 are also available, but only at www.mathews-dickey.com or by calling (314) 679-5228.

Celebrations

Birthdays

Happy 6th Birthday to Jason Julius Holman on August 19 from your Memaw (Felion Robinson) your Mom (Julia Brooks) and from your sister (Julianna Brooks)!

Happy 9th Birthday to my granddaughter, Na’ila Kerr, on August 20! With love and best birthday wishes from your grandmother, Rosalyn McKissick.

Happy Birthday to Ayana (Ana) Stringfellow as she celebrates her 4th and final year of turning 35 on August 18!

Happy 90th Birthday to Mary Attyberry Polk! She will be joined by family and friends at a celebration in her honor on August 20 at Central Baptist Church.

Reunions

Beaumont High Class of 1968 Reunion Committee will begin planning for our 50th Class Reunion to be held in St. Louis, Missouri in 2018. For more information contact Vanetta Cobbs, 314-869-5665, or email vanetta.cobbs@ sbcglobal.net.

Beaumont High School Class of 1977 will celebrate its 40year reunion Sept. 15–17, 2017. For further information, please contact: Karen Handley (314) 330-0129, Audrey Dixon (314) 413-9202, Lois Moore (314) 315-0474, Kelvin Ellison (314) 599-6733.

Beaumont High Class of 1978 will celebrate its 40-year reunion in 2018. For further information, please contact: Marietta Shegog Shelby, 314-799-5296, madeshe@ sbcglobal.net.

Hadley Tech Classes of 1962-1963 are having their 55th year reunion on October 13-15, 2017 at the St. Louis Airport Marriott. For more

information, please contact Hellon (Merritt) Jefferson at 314-307-3681, Ora (Scott) Roberts at 314-222-3662, Wilhelmina (Gibson) Baker at 314-630-9647, Pearl (Tillman) Holden 314-6850466 or Virdell (Robinson) Stennis at 314-773-8177.

Northwest High Class of 1978 is planning its 40 year reunion for next year. PLEASE reach out to our classmates, tell them get ready for this. If you have any questions please contact Sly at ( 314) 397-0311 or email us at northwestbluedevils@78 gmail.com. Check us out on Facebook Northwest High School-Class of 1978.

O’Fallon Technical High School Class of 1967, will be celebrating its 50th reunion on September 15-17, 2017. If you have not received a letter or e-mail, please call 314630-8452 with your contact information, and a committee member will contact you.

Soldan High School Class of 1967 will be holding its 50th class reunion September 29-30, 2017. For additional information, please contact Nona Binion Simpkins at 314-361-3799or Melvia Forniss at 314-725-8103.

Sumner High Class of 1972 reunion will be held September 15-17, 2017 at the Airport Hilton, 10330 Natural

Bridge Rd., 63134. Please contact Earlene Brown 314226-7019/314-534-0467 or Jazelle Brown 314-954-1470 or Kathi Washington Scott 314-445-4715.

Vashon High School will celebrate its 90th anniversary October 5-7, 2017 for alumni, students and community activities to celebrate educational commitment and tradition. For additional information, go to Vashonhigh.org or contact Elvis Hopson, elvishopson@ att.net, (314) 535-0243, Pearl Lake, lakep6@aol.com, (314) 388-0743 or Cozy W. Marks, Jr., jr3810@sbcglobal.net, (314) 383-5682.

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, 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 American

c/o Kate Daniel 2315 Pine St. St. Louis, MO 63103 FREE OF CHARGE

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

Na’ila Kerr

Ayana (Ana) Stringfellow

Jason Julius Holman

Mary Attyberry Polk

St. Louis’ own Lavell Crawford stopped through the 100.3 The Beat Studios to chat it up with midday personality Jess ahead of his two soldout shows at The Pageant. Crawford used the shows to tape his upcoming Showtime special, which is tentatively scheduled to air during the holiday season.

Swag Snap of the Week

Laughing with Lavell’s live taping. Our own funnyman Lavell Crawford came back to town just to film his upcoming special for the Showtime network and I must say that I truly appreciate the gesture. Clearly y’all did too, because you sold out both of his performances Saturday night at The Pageant. His opener didn’t really tell any jokes, but his set at the early show was saved thanks to an impromptu dance duel he initiated on stage between two audience members. I knew I was going to be in for a treat when a woman wearing an outfit that I really don’t have the space to give a description that will do the two-piece, flare leg, kick pleat, tie-dye ensemble justice. I said to myself, “she would gallop up there and try to dance somebody down.” And when he said she looked like a Clydesdale, I all but fell out. It was all in good fun as she hunched for dear life to get that Lavell t-shirt. However, the woman in the black freakum dress came with choreography on deck, so Ms. Ed didn’t stand a chance. The show itself was cool, but I was not hollering and falling out like I typically do when I see Lavell – everybody else pretty much was though. I’m not trying to give too much away as far as Lavell’s act because I don’t want to spoil the special. Just know that you will get a good cackle in whenever it airs. Okay, I have to tell one of the bits, because I related to it so much. When he said that his mama offered the disclaimer “I did the best I could” just before they were told to open the gifts and he said “I’m just gonna go on back to bed”… I thought, “Get of my head Lavell!” Seriously, that was so me in 19-nevermind when my mama pretty much made it plain that there was no Corn Silk Cabbage Patch Doll under the tree for me. But anyway, he gives a rundown on every holiday from the summer cookout ones to Christmas. Be sure to return the favor to him for coming by showing your support when it airs.

Rewine on repeat. It’s my second time at the Rewine, and I’m gonna go ahead and just say now that I have every intention of being a regular. Once again, I got my life from it as they gathered Friday night at the Blank Space. I think I thoroughly enjoyed it so much because folks actually dance up in there – and they take it seriously. As much as I go to the club, I’m as shocked as y’all that seeing uninterrupted blocks where folks break it down on the dance floor is the exception to the rule for me. For the past several years, folks do whatever the little trendy move is and then go back to hugging the wall or perching in VIP. Rewine is not that type of party –and I love it. I saw my boy Scottie and my girl Aloha Mischeaux. I also saw several of the folks involved with the documentary “Whose Streets” up in there, so I’m assuming Rewine was the unofficial release after party. Alexis Templeton, Kayla Reed and the film’s co-director Damon Davis all stopped through.

Taking off with Rhoda G. I made it my business to take time Sunday to stop through Harris-Stowe to see my girl Rhoda G. serve up a sneak preview of what she’s going to do when she takes her saxophone to Apollo Stage for its world-famous Amateur Night. If it goes anything like it did Sunday for her “Take Off” benefit concert, she’s going to literally blow everyone away. She did everything from gospel, to old school R&B and everything in between. Never in my life did I expect to hear Ed Sheeran and Anita Baker at the same show – especially when I stepped into Harris-Stowe’s Main Auditorium. Rhoda did her thing, and she is still taking donations as she prepares to make the trip to NYC. Be sure to hit her up on www.rhodag.com and drop a few coins so she can represent STL in style when she goes on the world’s most famous stage.

Getting in-depth about ‘Insecure.’ On Monday, I stopped by Urb Arts to see what the “Issa Chat” event was talking about. It was an open discussion about the hit HBO show “Insecure.” I ran into so many of my faves for it to be a somewhat intimate gathering – Vanita Applebum, her sis Carolyn and brother in law DJ WillPower was the first group I saw. Kira Van Niel, Leon Williamson, Black Spade and Marty were there. Owner M.K. Stallings was on hand too. I also got a chance to see one of my all-time favorite couples, James (a.k.a. Nappy DJ Needles) and Halima Gates, for the first time since they jumped the broom earlier this summer in Jamaica. They still had that honeymoon glow! Now I considered myself a pretty solid fan and follower, but these folks had me ready to enroll in “Insecure 101.” They broke scenes, episodes and characters down so deep that they seriously could do a dissertation on the show. It was everything to see those folks go back and forth. Somebody said, “Why do I have to be subjected to Lawrence for any other reason than the fact that he’s fine. I’m over it.” I was thinking to myself, “isn’t that reason enough?” These folks were going hard in their analysis and critique and it made me so glad that there has been a surge in shows that speak to the black experience recently – which made the whole discussion possible. I’m liking the second season of “Insecure” much better than the first (which I moderately enjoyed). But I do have two issues that are noteworthy. One is with the lack of responsibility that they portray their “love” scenes … if you get my drift. Anybody who watches knows what I’m talking about. Secondly, I in my feelings because they just dangled the fineness of St. Louis’ own Sterling K. Brown in my face like that with a cameo. I was all ready to have his recurring role tide me over until the new “This Is Us” episodes drop, but he just had to get curved by Molly. I’m praying that they bring him back one more time, because he was even finer on “Insecure” than he is on his own show!

Andre celebrated his b-day with Melvin and Lordell Friday night @ Blank Space

Z, Raven and Vicki set their weekend off @ Element Saturdays @ The Marquee

Dell, Kia and Panda kept the party cracking @ Blank Space Friday night for Rewine

Jordan, China and Bre came through to kick it @ Rewine Friday night @ Blank Space

The synthetic smoke added for dramatic effect couldn’t hide the beauty of Jaq, Essence and JJ when they stopped through Bottle Wars @ Patois

Cute couple Rickey and Kristin partied @ the Marquee Saturday night

Rhoda G was all smiles as the city came out tosupport her Take Off Benefit Concert Sunday @ HarrisStowe

Anne and Dorothy came out to support STL saxophonist Rhoda G for her Take Off Benefit Concert Sunday evening @ HarrisStowe

Vincent and DeMarco stopped through the Ready Room to check out rising star Jidenna two weeks ago

Photos by V. Lang

Charles, Chelsea and Jasmine made the most of Element Saturdays @ Marquee

TEACHER’S/TEACHER’S AIDE

Creative Kids Child Development Center is hiring Preschool Teacher’s/Preschool Teacher’s Aides. We are seeking full time teachers to join our team. Experience working in licensed child care faciliy. Creating educational lesson plans. 314-367-6343

MORNING BUS DRIVERS

Creative Kids Child Development Center is currently seeking Morning Bus Drivers. This position requires at least a Class E License and a good driving record. Pay is negotiable. Please contact 314-367-6343

BETTER BENEFITS, BETTER CULTURE, BETTER THAN A BANK –BRANCH MANGER

Anheuser-Busch Employees’ Credit Union is seeking a Branch Manager for our Florissant, MO location. The Branch Manager is responsible for the administration and daily operation of a branch office, including operations, lending, sales, member service and security and safety in accordance with Credit Union policies. Actively promotes a sales and service culture, responsible for maintaining branch goals, and will seek new business ventures by participating in community events. Please apply at: http://www.abecu.org/ home/about-us/careers

“JANITORIAL”

SENIOR CREDIT RISK UNDERWRITER

The Senior Credit Risk Underwriter (SCRU) underwrites the financial/ credit risk associated with Safety National’s (SN) Large Casualty (LC) insurance products (prospective and active accounts) and SN’s Self- Insured Workers’ Compensation (WC) Surety Bond (Bond) products (prospective and active accounts) by analyzing the financial/credit risk of these accounts/ companies. This credit risk analysis is performed primarily through an extensive evaluation of an account’s financial statements. Once the financial/credit risk analysis has been completed and properly approved, new or renewal LC/Bond terms are quoted. To apply, please visit: www.safetynational.com and click on the Careers tab.

CHEF/NUTRITION CENTER ASSISTANT

PAYROLL COORDINATOR

Webster University has an opening for a Payroll Coordinator. Please apply online at http://webster.peopleadmin.com/postings/2612. No phone calls please. Webster University provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, ethnicity, age, protected veteran or disabled status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

CLERICAL ASSISTANT

Opportunity for qualified individual with high school diploma or G.E.D., and oneyear clerical experience. Position requires data entry, extensive filing and ability to lift 25-30 pounds. Excellent communication skills and ability to work with the public required. Great employee benefits.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER/ SECTION 3 COMPLIANCE

Send resume to:

Clerical Assistant

Attn: Personnel P.O. Box 23886 St. Louis MO 63121

Resumes and/or Applications must be received by 5:00 P.M. August 25, 2017.

MAINTENANCE

Expert Maintenance individual needed to help residential landlord , pay $12 - $15 per hour, depending on experience, only experts need apply. Must have own tools and vehicle. Call JW 314-575-2665

Food Outreach, FT Cluinary/Nutrition Degree/ServSafe Cert. Some evenings/weekends. Email resume to marysue@foodoutreach.org LOAN SERVICE CLIENT REPRESENTATIVE & LOAN DOCUMENTER

WEB DEVELOPER

The Missouri History Museum seeks a Web Developer. Visit www.mohistory.org for position details. An Equal Opportunity Employer

HEAD VARSITY

BASKETBALL COACH

De Smet Jesuit High School seeks highly qualified candidates for the position of Head Basketball Coach for the 2017–2018 school year. Successful candidates will have a minimum of three to five years of experience in coaching, preferably at the high school level or above; be active in their faith; and serve as a model of being men and women for and with others. De Smet Jesuit is a Catholic college preparatory high school for boys, grades 9-12, located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri.

More information is available at https://www.desmet.org/athletics/ coachopenings. Send a resumé, cover letter, and three references to John Pukala, Athletic Director, at jpukala@ desmet.org. Application materials will be accepted through August 14.

RECREATION MANAGER

The City of

Do you have experience in Loan Servicing? Work for a great company! Royal Banks of Missouri is seeking both: Loan Service Client Representative & Loan Documenter Full-Time, Benefits, Competitive Wage, Vacation, Holiday & Sick Pay Apply at www.royalbanksofmo.com

To place an Ad email ajackson@stlamerican.com

EDI ANALYST

The EDI Analyst is responsible for all aspects of EDI quality and analysis. The EDI Analyst will be accountable for the quality and receipt of EDI data from external sources. They will partner with internal and external EDI providers to ensure the quality of incoming data, as well as resolve data issues while strategically trying to drive continuous improvement efforts to eliminate root causes. This position partners with assigned business units and provides accurate data to allow for making the best business decisions possible. Must identify and drive continuous improvements in the quality and availability of EDI data.

To apply, please visit: www.safetynational. com and click on the Careers tab.

INSTALLERS IN ST. LOUIS

Pacific Studio is looking for several Installers to install in an exhibit/custom production/custom manufacturing environment. Familiarity with hand tools, production work experience, basic shop skills, and previous installation experience required. Apply at www.pacificstudio. com.

EEO Employer/Vets/Disabled

DIRECT CARE OPENINGS

State of MO – Department of Mental Health Direct Care Openings South County, North County, and St. Charles Starting at $10.83/hr. Please contact: Elaine Tomlin 314-264-9111 or 636-926-1315 Elaine.Tomlin@dmh.mo.gov

2 POLICE OFFICER POSITIONS

The City of Clayton is accepting applications to fill two Police Officer positions. Salary range is $61,196-$73,782 with P.O.S.T. A Certification or $55,258 for an Officer-in-Training without certification. Must be 21 years of age. Find more info at www.claytonmo.gov/jobs or by picking up an Application Packet at City Hall, 10 N. Bemiston Ave, 63105. Deadline to apply is September 22, 2017. EOE.

Parenting Coordinator for Youth Pregnancy/Parenting group living:

FAITH OUTREACH COORDINATOR

The Alzheimer’s Association St. Louis Chapter has an opening for a PT 30hr/wk Faith Outreach Coordinator. The position is responsible for increasing the number of families served through the faith communities, with special attention among populations with historically low involvement, must follow the Community Development Model, identify gaps and create opportunities to expand community programs and increase referrals to the 24/7 helpline through community volunteers and partnerships, expand the faith partnership program to include faith-based organizations, coalitions and spiritual groups, host faith leader workshops with key community partners to expand awareness of Alzheimer’s. Recruit volunteers using the Personify database, train volunteers and ensure successful completion of 90-day on boarding process, increase minority and underserved 24/7 helpline users.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies, Social Work, Gerontology, Nursing, Public Health or Education preferred. Experience: 2 years program delivery, volunteer experience, sales and marketing. Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, Google, and ability to learn service user software, experience working with clerical staff and volunteers, effective written and verbal communications skills. Please submit resume and cover letter, including salary requirements and a minimum of two professional references to Stl-hr@alz.org.

SCHOOL BUS DRIVER PART-TIME

De Smet Jesuit seeks a bus driver for a morning route from North St. Louis County for the 2017-2018 school year. Applicants must have a valid driver’s license, a clean driving record, and have or be eligible for a class E driver’s license with a School Bus Endorsement. A CDL is not necessary. Wage is competitive. Interested individuals may apply through https://www. desmet.org/about/careers. Applications will be accepted through August 8, 2017.

Good Shepherd Children and Family Services is looking to support the work being done in our youth parenting and pregnancy group living program. This program is an intensive group home environment that supports youth that are experiencing one or more of the following challenges: homelessness, disruptive behaviors in community settings, complications relating to a mental health diagnosis, or a history of extensive trauma. This professional would provide the structure and support to our unit living environment through: staff scheduling, activity scheduling, crisis management, staff development, and therapeutic interventions. To view a full description of this job please visit https://www.ccstl. org/get-informed/employment/ or email kfowler@ccstl.org

Health Direct Care Openings South County, North County, and St. Charles Starting at $10.83/hr. Please contact: Elaine Tomlin 314-264-9111 or 636-926-1315 Elaine.Tomlin@dmh.mo.gov

of

for the County of St. Louis, County Government Center Administration

41 South Central Avenue, 8 th Floor, Clayton, Missouri 63105, until 2:00 p.m. on August 30, 2017.

Plans and specifications will be available on August 7, 2017 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouisco.com), or by contacting County Blue Reprographics, Inc., 1449 Strassner Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63144, (314) 961-3800.

DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

ST. LOUIS, COUNTY

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for 2016 ITS Program –Sappington/Highway 21 project will be received at the Office of the Director of Procurement for the County of St. Louis, County Government Center Administration Building, 41 South Central Avenue, 8 th Floor, Clayton, Missouri 63105, until 2:00 p.m. on August 30, 2017

Plans and specifications will be available on August 7, 2017 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouisco.com), or by contacting County Blue Reprographics, Inc., 1449 Strassner Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63144, (314) 961-3800.

DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES ST. LOUIS, COUNTY

Saint Louis Zoo Hippo/ Rhino Gate Modification RFP

SCOPE OF WORK: Contractor will be required to provide all labor and materials to successfully complete the installation, as outlined in the drawings and specifications provided for this project. Intent of this project is to upgrade interior and exterior gates at the Hippo/Rhino barn.

MANDATORY PRE-BID MEETING & SITE INSPECTION: On August 22nd at 1 PM in The Living World building on Government Drive in Forest Park, lower level. Please note that this meeting will take a couple hours as we will visit the site location so existing conditions can be examined. Bid docs can be seen at: https://www.stlzoo. org/about/contact/vendoropportunities/

CITY OF ST. LOUIS BOARD OF PUBLIC SERVICE

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS for Construction Supervision and Material Testing for the Realignment and Reconstruction of Taxiway Kilo and Reconstruction of Taxiway Sierra from Taxiway Echo to Runway 12R-30L; Widening of Taxiway Kilo Fillet from Runway 12R-30L to Taxiway Delta; Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Runway 12L-30R Outer Panels and Replacement of Electrical Circuits at St. Louis Lambert International Airport.

Statements of Qualifications due by 5:00

P.M., CT, September 12, 2017 at Board of Public Service, 1200 Market, Room 301 City Hall, St. Louis, MO 63103. RFQ may be obtained from website www.stl-bps.org, under On Line Plan Room – Plan Room, or call Board of Public Service at 314-6223535. 7.73% DBE participation goal.

BID REQUEST

Forest Park Forever is seeking requests for qualifications for the Forest Park Waterway Project. See https://www.forestparkforever.org/bids for RFQ and submit by September 8, 2017.

PROPOSAL

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS

SEWER DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District will receive RFQ’s in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103-2555 until 10:00 a.m. on September 19, 2017 to contract with a company for: SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE AND SODIUM BISULFITE. Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from www.stlmsd.com, click on the “MSD AT WORK” link, (bid opportunities). The bid document will be identified as 9039 RFQ. If you do not have access to the internet, call 314-768-6254 to request a copy of this bid. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District will receive sealed bids in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103-2555 until 10:00am September 11, 2017 for: Press Rebuild Parts Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from www.stlmsd.com - click on “MSD At Work”, then “Bidding on Projects”. The bid document will be identified as 9118 RFQ. If you do not have access to the internet, call (314) 768-6314 to request a copy of this bid.

Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

The Steering Committee for the Route 66 Meramec River Bridge, stewarded by the Missouri State Parks Foundation, is seeking proposals from Development Consultants wishing to partner with the committee to develop and recommend short and long-term strategies to reach their $10 million fundraising goal over the next eight years. Check https://savethisbridge. org/request-for-proposal and submit by 9/1/2017.

NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

Notice is hereby given that the City of Richmond Heights is requesting qualification submittals for professional architectural and engineering design services for improvements to THE HEIGHTS Community Center and Memorial Library. Submittals will be received no later than 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 14, 2017.

Interested firms may obtain a complete copy of the RFQ by visiting the City’s website at www.richmondheights.org.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Notice is hereby given that The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (District) will receive sealed bids for Glendale Section D Sanitary Relief Phase V (SKME-624) I/I Reduction under Letting No. 12177-015.1, at this office, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103, until 02:00 PM on Tuesday, September 12, 2017, at a place designated.

Bids will be received only from companies that are pre-qualified by the District’s Engineering Department for:

SEWER CONSTRUCTION – St. Louis County drainlayer’s license required Plans and Specifications are available for free electronic download. Please go to MSD’s website and look for a link to “ELECTRONIC PLANROOM.” Plans and Specifications are also available for viewing or purchase at Cross Rhodes Reprographics located at 1712 Macklind Avenue, St. Louis MO 63110. All bidders must obtain a set of plans and specifications in order to submit a bid in the name of the entity submitting the bid.

The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Notice is hereby given that The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (District) will receive sealed bids for Big Bend to Papin Storm Sewer Phase 1 under Letting No. 10035-015.1 at this office, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103, until 02:00 PM on Wednesday, September 13, 2017, at a place designated. Bids will be received only from companies that are pre-qualified by the District’s Engineering Department for:

SEWER CONSTRUCTION – St. Louis County drainlayer’s license required Plans and Specifications are available for free electronic download. Please go to MSD’s website and look for a link to “ELECTRONIC PLANROOM.” Plans and Specifications are also available for viewing or purchase at Cross Rhodes Reprographics located at 1712 Macklind Avenue, St. Louis MO 63110. All bidders must obtain a set of plans and specifications in order to submit a bid in the name of the entity submitting the bid. The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Notice is hereby given that The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (District) will receive sealed bids for RE-BID KIRKWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL, SIMMONS, WILSON, W SARAH I/I REDUCTION (MANCHESTER RD AND KIRKWOOD RD) under Letting No. 11995-015.1, at this office, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103, until 02:00 PM on Friday, September 15, 2017, at a place designated.

Bids will be received only from companies that are pre-qualified by the District’s Engineering Department for:

SEWER CONSTRUCTION – St. Louis County drainlayer’s license required

Plans and Specifications are available for free electronic download. Please go to MSD’s website and look for a link to “ELECTRONIC PLANROOM.” Plans and Specifications are also available for viewing or purchase at Cross Rhodes Reprographics located at 1712 Macklind Avenue, St. Louis MO 63110. All bidders must obtain a set of plans and specifications in order to submit a bid in the name of the entity submitting the bid. The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS

SEWER DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District will receive sealed bids in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 631032555 until 10:00am September 15, 2017 for: Final Tank 7 Collector Installation

Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from www.stlmsd.com - click on “MSD At Work”, then “Bidding on Projects”.

The bid document will be identified as 9127 RFQ. If you do not have access to the internet, call (314) 768-6314 to request a copy of this bid.

Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Notice is hereby given that The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (District) will receive sealed bids for Trenton at Ashby Sanitary Sewer (IR) under Letting No. 12650-015.1 at this office, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103, until 02:00 PM on Thursday, September 14, 2017, at a place designated.

Bids will be received only from companies that are pre-qualified by the District’s Engineering Department for: SEWER CONSTRUCTION – St. Louis County drainlayer’s license required Plans and Specifications are available for free electronic download. Please go to MSD’s website and look for a link to “ELECTRONIC PLANROOM.” Plans and Specifications are also available for viewing or purchase at Cross Rhodes Reprographics located at 1712 Macklind Avenue, St. Louis MO 63110. All bidders must obtain a set of plans and specifications in order to submit a bid in the name of the entity submitting the bid. The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

BID PROPOSAL

Great Rivers Greenway is seeking requests for proposals for Materials Testing and Inspection for Gravois Greenway:Orlando’s to River des Peres Phase 1. Check https:// greatriversgreenway.org/jobsbids/ and submit by August 23, 2017.

BID REQUEST

KCI Construction requests subcontract proposals from MBE, WBE, and SDVE businesses for the project: Construct Range – Macon Training Site, Macon, MO. Plans and specifications are available

• To view electronically at no charge from: http://planroom.adsmo.net/

• To view at our Camdenton office: 5505 Old South 5, Camdenton, MO 65020

• By a Dropbox Link request to jmorrow@kciconstruction.com

SEALED BIDS

for Construct Range, Macon Training Site, Macon, Missouri, Project No. T180501 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 9/14/2017 For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/ facilities

SEALED BIDS

for DDC HVAC Controls, G u h l e m a n a n d Hearnes Forensic Complexes, F u l t o n S

e Hospital, Fulton, MO, Project No. M1417-02 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 9/7/2017. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/

SEALED BIDS for M

Habilitation Center, Higginsville, MO, Project No. M161001 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 9/14/2017. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/ facilities

www.AmericanPreservationBuilders.com

Invitation to Bid

Construction Start Date: October 2017

Job Site: Hyde Park Village 4100 Peck Street St. Louis, Missouri 63107

MBE - WBE - Section 3 - Minority/Female Workforce goals. Renovation of (6) Townhome buildings including 48 apartments and enhancements to the community building. Site improvements throughout the property include building exterior improvements/ modifications, concrete/asphalt, landscaping, carpentry, siding, roofing, etc. NO wage requirements.

Trades Requested: HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Framing, Concrete/Asphalt, Masonry (Limited Scope), Landscaping, Rough Carpentry, Finish Carpentry, Windows/Doors, Roofing/Siding, Flooring, Painting, Cabinets/Tops, Security/Surveillance, General Labor

Please contact Frank Dottore by email at fdottore@apb-llc.com to be placed on final Bid Invite list.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The St. Louis County Port Authority (the “Authority”) is soliciting proposals from qualified contractors to construct and install lighting for two soccer fields at the Creve Coeur Park Soccer Complex located at 13236 Streetcar Drive, Maryland Heights, Missouri 63043.

To be considered, proposals must be received no later than 3:00 PM on Thursday, September 7, 2017. Proposals should be sent by e-mail to dallison@stlpartnership.com, or to St. Louis County Port Authority, c/o St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, ATTN: Dustin Allison, General Counsel, 7733 Forsyth Blvd., Suite 2300, St. Louis, Missouri 63105. DBE, MBE, and WBE firms are encouraged to bid.

The Request for Proposals may be obtained from the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership’s web site at www.stlpartnership.com. The Authority reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive informalities therein. Any questions should be directed to Dustin Allison, General Counsel, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership at (314) 615-7663 or dallison@stlpartnership.com.

St. Louis Economic Development Partnership Equal Opportunity Employer

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The St. Louis Economic Development Partnership (the “Partnership”)

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS

SEWER DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is accepting proposals in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103-2555 until 10:00 a.m. on September 15th, 2017 to contract with a company for: Property Appraisal Services. Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from www.stlmsd.com, click on the “MSD AT WORK” link, (bid opportunities). The bid document will be identified as 9123 RFP. If you do not have access to the internet, call 314.768.2735 to request a copy of this bid. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Subcontractor bids are due by 1:00 p.m. Thursday, September 14, 2017. You may email bids to jmorrow@kciconstruction. com or send a fax to 573-346-9739. Please call if you have any questions: 314-200-6496.

To be considered, proposals must be received no later than 3:00 PM on Monday, August 28, 2017. Proposals should be sent by e-mail to dallison@stlpartnership.com, or to St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, ATTN: Dustin Allison, General Coun-

BIDS & NOTICES (CONTINUED)

Service Disabled Veteran Owned & Veteran Owned Businesses For The University Of Missouri – CP170281 – East Campus Plant Growth Facilities Complex Phase 1 AND CP170282 – General Site – East Campus Site Utility & Infrastructure, Columbia, Missouri for the subcontracting opportunities in the following areas: site work, excavation, paving, drilled concrete piers, landscape, fencing, concrete, masonry, metals, rough carpentry, roofing, doors, glazing, painting, drywall, flooring, specialties, furnishings, fire suppression, greenhouse equipment, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, communications, electronic security and utilities. All interested and qualified SBE, DBE, WBE, SDVOB, AND VOB businesses should contact, in writing, (certified letter, return receipt requested) Josh Sanders to discuss the subcontracting opportunities. All negotiations must be completed prior to the bid opening date of 8/22/2017 @ 1:30 PM. Proposals will be evaluated in order on the basis of low responsive bid received. CERTIFICATION OF DBE/WBE/MBE/SDVOB/VOB STATUS MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH BID. BID DOCUMENTS MAY

Net system.

MWBE Pre-bid Meeting Notice

The SITE Improvement Association is hosting a Pre-bid meeting for Qualified and Certified MWBE contractors to discuss working on MSD’s North Clark Ave 49 Sanitary Replacement Project Contract Letting No. 12444-015

A pre-bid meeting is being held on behalf of the following SITE contractor members:

Fred M. Luth & Sons 4516 McRee Avenue St. Louis, MO 63110 314/771-3892

The meeting will take place at Thursday, August 24, 2017 SITE Improvement Association 2071 Exchange Drive, St. Charles, MO 63303 Project plans are available from MSD. For questions regarding this prebid meeting, Contact the SITE Improvement Association office at 314/966-2950.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The St. Louis County Port Authority (the “Authority”) is soliciting proposals from qualified contractors to provide universal waste removal and disposal services for certain parcels located at the former Jamestown Mall in North St. Louis County, Missouri. The parcels to be serviced are set forth in the Request for Proposals.

To be considered, proposals must be received no later than 3:00 PM on Thursday, August 17, 2017. Proposals should be sent by e-mail to dallison@stlpartnership.com, or to St. Louis County Port Authority, c/o St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, ATTN: Dustin Allison, General Counsel, 7733 Forsyth Blvd., Suite 2300, St. Louis, Missouri 63105. DBE, MBE, and WBE firms are encouraged to bid. The Request for Proposals may be obtained from the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership’s web site at www.stlpartnership.com. The Authority reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive informalities therein. Any questions should be directed to Dustin Allison, General Counsel, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership at (314) 615-7663 or dallison@stlpartnership. com.

St. Louis Economic Development Partnership Equal Opportunity Employer

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for Old Jamestown Road Sidewalk Phase II, St. Louis County Project No.AR-1417, will be received at the Office of the Director of Procurement for the County of St. Louis, County Government Center Administration Building, 41 South Central Avenue, 8th Floor, Clayton, Missouri 63105, until 2:00 p.m. on August 23, 2017.

Plans and specifications will be available on July 31, 2017 from the St.

DIRECTOR

MBE/WBE/SDVBE INVITATION TO BID

K&S Associates will be accepting bids for the following projects during the month of August. Sedalia Police Station – August 3, 2017 Hawthorn Children’s Psychiatric Hospital – August 10, 2017 Plant Growth Facilities MU Columbia – August 22, 2017 Plans and Specs can be viewed at www.ksgcstlplanroom.com Submit Bids to estimating@ksgcstl.com or Fax 314-647-5302 Contact Dennis Dyes @ 314-647-3535 with questions.

SEALED BIDS

forOffice

Renovation,Blair Bldg,Sex Offender Rehabilitationand Treatment Services, Farmington,MO, ProjectNo. M1607-01 willbereceived byFMDC,Stateof MO,UNTIL1:30 PM,8/24/2017. Forspecificproject informationand orderingplans,go to:http://oa.mo. gov/ facilities

SEALED BIDS

for Camp CrowderPaving andSealcoat, Camp CrowderTraining Site,Neosho, Missouri,Project No.T1722-01 willbe receivedby FMDC, StateofMO, UNTIL 1:30PM, 8/31/2017. Forspecificproject informationand orderingplans,go to:http://oa.mo. gov/ facilities

NOTICE

Finding Islam in prison

New book looks at conversion to religion’s impact behind bars

By SpearIt Guest columnist

In recent decades, the United States has been under a “lock ’em up and throw away the key” mentality when it comes to imprisonment. The U. S. Supreme Court has left the question of prison sentencing to the near-complete discretion of legislatures, while placing little constitutional constraint on how long inmates can be held in solitary confinement.

This hands-off approach by the court runs parallel to federal and state lawmaking that has ratcheted prison sentences upwards-only, making criminal sentencing in America something of a runaway train.

While American criminal justice doles out some of the harshest prison sentences in the world, there are a host of negative cultural impacts on society. Given that the vast majority of inmates are ultimately released back to the streets at a rate of over 700,000 annually, the “throw away the key” approach fails to take into account the social burden on communities to which these former prisoners return.

The overarching message of my anthology, American Prisons: A Critical Primer on Culture and Conversion to Islam, is that problems in prison are not isolated from society, and unlike the Las Vegas slogan, what happens in prison doesn’t stay in prison. Prisons are not neatly cornered off from society, but rather, are partners in toxic relationships with the communities to which ex-prisoners return.

Against these sinister cultural developments, the book juxtaposes the quest for God and religious conversion. More specifically, widespread conversion to Islam over many generations has made prisons an important factor for the growth of Islam in America. The book concludes with policy

prescriptions based on the notion that prison reform is not just about justice for those on lockdown, but communities on the outside as well.

One example is the serious health conditions suffered by prisoners, like HIV, gonorrhea, syphilis, and other sexually transmitted diseases. Often enough, these illnesses are spread by some released inmates when they return to their communities.

Additionally, mental illness in prisons continues to be poorly treated and poses a special burden on communities when these prisoners are released. For the state, mentally ill prisoners are expensive to house, likely to face extra punishments in prison, and are likely to recidivate.

As mentally ill prisoners disrupt the order of prison administration, one might only fathom the effect when released to alreadystressed communities.

This work, moreover, illustrates how violence in prison often spills over into communities in a myriad of ways.

Sometimes it is less a spill since prison gangs are notorious for orchestrating hits against individuals outside of prison. Gender violence in prison is another related problem that gets absorbed by communities and families, and translated into domestic sexual violence.

This violence along with negative economic, political, mental, physical, and health impacts, taken as a whole, denote that prisons perpetuate keeping underclass

communities, underclass.

Another critical finding is the juxtaposition of these ungodly cultural developments against the backdrop of God and religious conversion in prisons. The conversion from Christianity to Islam is a forceful phenomenon that seems to have had a positive impact on the lives of many behind bars and has helped ex-prisoners stay out of prison. With an estimated 40,000 inmates converting to Islam each year, Islamic teachings and lifestyle alterations have made prisons a central space for Islam in America.

As a direct result of Muslim living, the findings show that prisoners often experience a “double-conversion.” For many, the path to Islam may have begun with a nationalist, race-based, or other novel interpretation of Islam, yet that path later leads believers to embrace different ideologies.

This pattern of conversion undoubtedly augments the growth of traditional Islamic groups, including Sunni, Shia and Sufi. All three major strands of Islam undoubtedly continue to grow as a result of prison ministries within groups like the Nation of Islam and Moorish Science Temple. Paradoxically, the growth of Islam in America continues to be indebted to the efforts of groups that are sometimes considered non-traditional or unorthodox, if not heterodox, by comparison.

This book dedicates a cluster of chapters to exploring how to correct some of these salient cultural problems. For example, prison administrators should try to harness the power of religion more strategically than it has in the past and work to ensure that inmates have access to religious services, education and training. Such activities are worthy of pursuit since they also converge with institutional goals of running an orderly prison and rehabilitating prisoners.

American Prisons answers why what happens in prison should matter to us all – because there is a symbiotic relationship between prisons and society that makes prison culture critical to the well-being of communities outside. Policymakers must gain meaningful perspective of this reality and implement more practical policies that address prisoners’ needs, normalize prison culture, and recognize that at the core, prison reform is a justice issue for communities too.

SpearIt is associate professor at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University.

The Message

Strength from weakness

I remember reviewing the letters of Paul in bible study. In doing so I was constantly reminded that one cannot look at Paul without really seeing Jesus’ amazing handiwork.

A very large part of the bible is devoted to Paul’s building of the early church at a time when who you worshipped was a life and death decision. Paul himself says in his letters to the church in Corinth, there was indeed a point to his suffering and persecution and the basis for most, if not all, of what he went through was a by product of his faith in Jesus Christ.

“But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I (Paul) will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:8-10.

This kind of thinking and belief led to the eventual proliferation of the church worldwide. It also makes the point of how the lives of so few have impacted and influenced so many in the world then, and the world as we know it today.

Paul is who he is because of his unique one on one encounter with Christ. That encounter changed him and ultimately the world in which we live. Our individual encounters with Christ should also have a profound effect on us and the world in which we currently live. It is not unusual for new Christians to come under attack by old friends. It is also not unusual for new Christians to come under the attack of the world, since it is in the world where Satan has power. I think Paul’s good news is there is a place of refuge when this happens. He uses himself as an example to follow.

If I surrender my weaknesses to the power of Christ and subjugate my will to that of the Lord’s, then I become empowered to deal with whatever is thrown my way. Life, the Christian life, is funny that way. It places a bulls- eye on your back, designed to distinguish you from those non believers around you.

Your faith also sets you up and apart to do great things in the name of Jesus Christ, my personal Lord and Savior.

When the going gets extremely tough, check the human being Paul. Like Christ he’s been through and has experienced the worst that life has to offer. But because of his belief system, he’s experienced the best of God’s promises. You might also find some answers there. In the eyes of God, one’s weaknesses are welcomed opportunities for God to show up and show out.

Columnist James Washington

Guest Columnist SpearIt