St. LouiS AmericAn
Centene connects Urban League with community
Connected Center celebrates opening
By Alvin A. Reid St. Louis American
The smoke from fires set during the Ferguson Uprising had barely cleared when Michael Neidorff, the late CEO of Centene Corp., announced the firm would build a $125 million call center in Ferguson.
In 2016, the building opened and Michael McMillan, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis president and CEO, said Tuesday that, as Neidorff promised, 90% of its staff members were from the nearby community.
When employees began working from home during the pandemic, the Centene staff in the building dwindled. Many would not return once the pandemic slowed.
Rather than shutter the structure, Centene donated the building to the Urban Leage and the grand opening of the remodeled facility
See CENTENE, A7
The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis announces the grand opening of the Urban League Centene Connected Community Center. This state-of-the-art facility, located at 2900 Pershall Rd., represents a significant milestone in their ongoing mission to empower and uplift communities across North County.
The Christopher Dunn is free after legal haggling
By Alvin A. Reid St. Louis American
Thirty-four years of unjust incarceration ended on Tuesday when the words of Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore “the State elects not to proceed” in State of Missouri vs. Christopher Dunn. Dunn walked out of the Mel Carnahan Courthouse just after 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night with his wife, Kira, and attorneys at his side. With so much of his life spent in prison, Dunn could be a bitter man, but he told reporters he will be forgiving – and that he looks forward to attending St. Louis Cardinals baseball games again.
n “If I hold onto the past, I will never be able to move forward.”
– Christopher Dunn
“St. Louis, listen. It was 34 years ago that they took me away from you,” Dunn said.
“It shouldn’t have been this long. Nor should it have taken this long for everyone to want to come forward now.
“All I can ask you to do is give the system a chance to work itself out. You have to give the system a chance to work itself out. But at the same time, we can’t give up on each other. That’s what St. Louis has done for the last 34 years. I had to watch it from afar. And now, let’s see if we can get things together.”
St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Jason Sengheiser granted
Scarlett out as SLPS super
Millicent Borishade named acting superintendent
By Alvin A. Reid and Sylvester Brown Jr. St. Louis American
Just over two weeks before the opening of the school year, St. Louis Public Schools is without a permanent leader following the sudden departure of former Superintendent Dr. Keisha Scarlett. Scarlett officially began her duties as superintendent on July 1, 2023, coming to St. Louis from Seattle to replace longtime former Superintendent Kelvin Adams, The SLPS Board of Education announced on July 26, she had taken “a leave of absence.’
On Monday, Board President Toni Cousins said board members had multiple concerns about Scarlett, including a hiring decision that came under fire after a new school district employee posted online about her plans to “float” between the job here and her home in Houston.
“Some of the things that we’ve been Keisha Scarlett
By Sylvester Brown, Jr. St. Louis American
Most voters know they will choose candidates for Congress, the U.S. Senate and other elected offices during the Aug. 6 primary election. What many may not know, however, is that there are amendments and initiatives on the ballot aimed at raising the minimum wage, exempt child care establishments from property taxation and a police funding mandate that theoretically only applies to Kansas City but could have ramifications for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department as well. If it passes, the Missouri Minimum
Photo by Sophie Proe / St. Louis Public Radio
Christopher Dunn speaks to the media with his wife, Kira, by his side after being released from prison on Tuesday outside the Mel Carnahan Courthouse in downtown St. Louis.
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
Oprah addresses the ‘are they a couple?’ issue
In a face-to-face interview with Melinda Gates on her “Moments That Make Us” series, Ophra Winfrey didn’t shy away from speaking on whether she and Gayle King are a couple.
“You know, for years, people used to say we were gay, and listen, we were up against that forever. And people still may think it,” Winfrey told Gates. According to a BET report, Winfrey said rumors swirl about their relationship because people “aren’t used to seeing women with this kind of true bond.”
“The reason why I think our friendship has worked is because Gayle is happier, not happy, but happier for me for any kind of success or victory or challenge I get
through than I am for myself. And I feel as happy as she does — I can’t be happier than, cannot surpass Gayle. You cannot out-happy her. I am equally as happy for her.”
Tiffany Haddish shocked to find grocery stores in Zimbabwe
The controversial comedian Tiffany Haddish visited a supermarket in Zimbabwe and acted shocked at the store’s existence.
Haddish felt the need for an undisclosed reason to share her shock and provide proof with a walk around the store, showing that the country could have a store that sells a wide array of food on TikTok on Saturday. July
“I’m out here in Zimbabwe, and looking at the grocery store!” The out of touch Haddish proclaimed. “They’ve got a grocery store! It’s beautiful. It’s
humongous in Africa, baby… believe it!”
To dispel ‘misconceptions,’ Haddish praised the lack of an unpleasant aroma from the meat section.
“Americans need to stop disrespecting Africa, for real.” An X user commented. “She’s dispelling some stereotypes parroted by Western media.” Another commenter supported Haddish. “Open your eyes and feel the love in her eyes and voice. Thanks, @ TiffanyHaddish.”
When Haddish caught up with the polarizing reaction, she cleared the air in the messiest of ways.
“The media had me thinking all of your food is purchased at outdoor markets with goats and cows just hanging out, waiting to be slaughtered, with all kinds of smells and flies everywhere,” Haddish unfortunately said.
Slow ticket sales give Sexyy Red a Kodak moment
St. Louisan Sexyy Red is still voicing her belief that major concert pro-
moters are attempting to sabotage her upcoming Sexyy Red 4 President Tour. Despite her frustration, she hooked in Kodak Black to join her on tour with an extra August date.
“I like how our names sound together, Sexyy Red and Kodak Black,” Kodak Black said. “Hell yeah, make America sexy again.”
“IT’S DA HOOD’S HOTTEST PRINCESS AND DA PROJECT, BABY!!! WE OUTSIDE FA DA TOUR TICKETS IN MY BIO!! GLEEYEE!! [American flag emoji] + newly added Atlanta date 8/24.”
“My fans are buying tickets. We’re doing just fine. We’re not canceling, no tour, and we’re canceling it all cap.” Without a lick of proof, Redd said her decision to use an independent Blackowned tour company had rubbed ‘the important parties’ the wrong way and is sabotaging to derail her tour.
“Dis how Dey try to do u wen u go wit an independent promoter n the bigger companies try to sabotage u,” she added.
“I did my touring deal with a blackowned company, AG Entertainment, and now Dey playin’ dirty paying pages spreading fake news to discourage my fans from buying tickets.
Tiffany Haddish
- State Rep. Raychel Proudie at the
Ferguson then, now, and hope for the future
“Ferguson’s story is a story of resilience, hope, and progress.”
By Ashley Winters|
American
The St. Louis
Nine PBS Listen, St. Louis Podcast: Live Ferguson Special commemorates the 10th Anniversary of the Michael Brown Jr. shooting and the Ferguson Unrest with a live audience and panel discussion with Carol Daniel as host.
“We are grateful for everyone who has shared their stories with us so we can help our region understand where we’ve been, how far we’ve come, and how we’re moving forward,” said Vice President and Chief Content Officer Aja Williams. Nine PBS hopes to inspire viewers with stories by celebrating the achievements of the Ferguson community over the past decade while acknowledging that there is still work to be done toward racial equity and justice.
The discussion panels included Ferguson Mayor Ella Jones, Dellwood Mayor Reggie Jones, Reverend Traci Blackmon, Annissa McCaskill, Dr. Twyla Baylor, and Briant K. Mitchell, all of whom are business owners or residents of Ferguson. The event was a combination of interviews, archival footage, and visual storytelling that painted a picture of Ferguson’s transformation, highlighting the efforts of individuals, organizations, and
local leaders who have worked tirelessly to create positive change.
10 years after the unrest that faced the small North County suburb, Mayor Ella Jones has scars from August 9, 2014, and the many months following. “Of course there are scars, that’s the way of life. And you’re going to fall down but you have to determine how you’re going to get up and brush yourself off. That’s what Ferguson is in the process of,” said the mayor when describing how her city will move forward 10 years after the killing of Michael Brown and the Ferguson Unrest.
She believes Ferguson’s story is a story of resilience, hope, and progress. The live audience podcast event showed a combination of interviews, archival footage, and visual storytelling that highlighted Ferguson’s
transformation, covering the efforts of individuals, organizations, and local leaders who have worked tirelessly to create positive change. Some of the footage showed the impact of Michael Brown’s death and the protests that followed, acknowledging the community’s pain while emphasizing its strength and determination to build a better future.
“I want the world to know that he was loved, his family loved him. He was a human and he was dehumanized,” said Michaell Brown Sr. when talking about Michael Brown Jr. on video footage at the event. “He loved life and he had a bright future ahead of him,” he added.
Dr. Twyla Baylor a 40-year Ferguson resident and educator lives in the home her parents bought in Ferguson in 1980. Her
Listen, St. Louis Podcast: Live Ferguson Special, on July 30 commemorated the 10-year anniversary of the killing of Michael Brown Jr. and the Ferguson Unrest. From left, back: Ferguson Mayor Ella Jones, Dr. Twyla Baylor, Briant K. Mitchell of BKM Fitness, Aja Williams and Amy Shaw, president and CEO of Nine PBS. From left, front: Carol Daniel, Annissa McCaskill, and the Rev. Traci Blackmon.
Photo courtesy of Carol Daniel
family relocated to Ferguson from St. Louis City, she describes herself as a longtime Ferguson resident and has seen her community transition over the years but says her hometown is strong. She believes the strength of Ferguson is still a part of her town but says the residue of what happened to Michael Brown Jr. is still in the air.
“I must say still Ferguson is stronger, we’re better, and we’re coming up. We have a lot of work to do, we’re not there yet but we will build back better,” said Baylor.
Ferguson business owner Briant K. Mitchell of BKM Fitness has been in Ferguson for 10 years, the fitness gym opened just a few months before the killing of Michael Brown Jr. Mitchell said he faced a lot of hoop-jumping to get permits
for his gym from the previous administration before Mayor Jones. The former administration made him feel humiliated, he was harassed by Ferguson police–obscene things were said to him and his family and friends. “ It was very traumatic, but to see it at this level as a business owner. I’m invested in this community,” he said. During the Ferguson Unrest Mitchell remembers all the debris that was all over the streets and the smell of tear gas in the air. “I was heartbroken,” he said, remembering those dark times. Now brighter days are ahead for the gym owner who says Mayor Jones genuinely cares about her community by showing how accessible she is.
Annissa McCaskill, Forward Through Ferguson executive director, says for the St. Louis region to achieve racial equity we must continue with the process of dismantling generational systemic oppression. “Ferguson brought to light how isolated that community was, so it’s an ongoing process even though progress has been made and that complete shift won’t happen in 10 years.”
She believes the results of Michael Brown Jr.’s death were a result of the systems that have been put in place decades ago.
“We have a responsibility to help everyone have a better understanding and awareness of these events so we can continue to move toward changing our community together,” said the Vice President and Chief Content Officer.
Ashley Winters is a Report for America reporter for the St. Louis American.
The American endorses Cori Bush for Congress Commentary
The St. Louis American has a standard it uses to make political endorsementswhat maximizes the interests of the Black community. Here’s how we see the political context of the 1st Congressional race next Tuesday August 6, 2024. Whoever wins this race, the Congressperson from the 1st Congressional District, in either case, will be Black, like they have been for almost 60 years. Either the incumbent or the challenger will have very little or no seniority, therefore little to no real political influence. Lastly they will be one of 60 Black members in the House of Representatives of 435 members, and not in the leadership. While the position is important, it’s not singularly impactful. Whoever is the Congressperson from the 1st District is what they’ll really need is a Democratic President, and Democratic controlled House and Senate to be effective.
The ultimate power of government is the power to legally deny your freedom. That power resides with local prosecutors. While they must be guided by statutes passed by state legislatures, they make thousands of discretionary decisions that determine whether you walk away free or whether your fate lies with a jury of your peers. There has been no branch of American government more deleterious to the Black community than the criminal justice system.
Here is our current political situation. We have a Black Congressperson, Cori Bush, who is running for reelection. We also have a Black County Prosecuting Attorney, Wesley Bell, who is running against Cori Bush for the Democratic nomination in the 1st Congressional District. If Cori Bush prevails next Tuesday, we still have a Black Congressperson and Wesley Bell is still the Black County Prosecuting Attorney. If Wesley Bell prevails, we will still have a Black Congressperson but we’ll no longer have a Black Prosecuting Attorney.
The question for the American is: Which scenario better serves the interest of the Black Community?
There is an emerging generation of Black political leadership born in the last quarter of the 20th century, coming of age in the first quarter of this century. The American recognizes and supports this passing of the baton, however the support
is not unequivocal and we reserve the right to critique their performance.
Cori Bush seems to be confused about being an activist as synonymous with being a politician. While activism has long been the incubator of Black politics and its important that activism inform our politics, it’s not the same thing. Politics is the art and science of acquiring and successfully using power to advance your interests. The American suggest that Rep. Bush spend some time with Reps OcasioCortez, Pressley, and Tlaib to successfully master the transition from activist to effective politician.
Wesley Bell seems to suffer from a different flaw. The idea that personal political ambition and the interest of the Black community Is the same thing. The decision to abandon the Office of Prosecuting Attorney and run for Congress apparently didn’t consider the interest of the Black community.
Using the criteria that matters most, what supports and/or expands the best interest of the Black community, we support the status quo and recommend, in this cycle, the re-election of Cori Bush.
***
We think that the Democratic candidate who has the best opportunity to defeat incumbent Republican Sen. Josh Hawley in red-state Missouri is 13-year Marine veteran Lucas Kunce. He is the frontrunner in the Democratic primary on August 6, with the most resources and endorsements.
We endorse Lucas Kunce for the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate.
***
Since his appointment by Gov. Mike Parson in May 2023, Gabe Gore has doubled the number of attorneys (many who serve previously in the office), charged many more criminal cases and reduced significantly the backlog of unadjudicated cases. He also has honored his pledge to “prevent criminal action through targeted intervention and effective enforcement.”
Based on his exemplary performance, we endorse Gabe Gore unequivocally for election as St. Louis Circuit Attorney.
Kamala Harris has ‘Definitely Earned It’
By Julianne Malveaux
Vice President Kamala Harris has a political career that is classic textbook. She leveraged her legal training at the University of California into a position in the District Attorney’s office. Then she ran for San Francisco District Attorney, beating the incumbent in a runoff election. She came out on top of a crowded Democratic primary for California Attorney General, and narrowly defeated her Republican opponent for the office in 2010.
She overwhelmingly beat her Republican opponent when she ran for re-election in 2014. When she ran for the United States Senate in 2016, she garnered twice as many votes as the next-highest vote getter, and in the final election earned mor than 60% of the vote. Harris didn’t just drop out of a tree, to paraphrase her. She has worked for every office she has gained. To be sure, she was selected to serve as President Biden’s running mate. But she would not have been selected had she not been elected so many times previously. Although the Vice-President’s electoral history is well-known, I recount it for a reason. Kamala Harris achieved increasing responsibility by running for office and winning. There is no diversity, equity and inclusion in electoral politics. The only way you move up is to get more votes than your opponent. If there is any DEI in the Harris record, it’s Definitely Earned It.
NABJ embarrassed itself with Trump invitation
By Alvin A. Reid
While reporters at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in the late 1970s, the late George Curry and Gerald Boyd were instrumental in creating the Greater St. Louis Association of Black Journalists.
The organization created the inaugural GSLABJ Urban Journalism Workshops. Black high school students were given six weeks of intense journalism training, both in print and broadcast.
I attended the first two workshops, one that began in January 1977 and the following year in 1978.
Among the hundreds of discussions, the most important centered on a question that members of STLABJ put forth.
Are you a Black journalist or are you a journalist who is Black?
I have attended National Association of Black Journalist conventions, and twice been a panelist member. Black journalists surrounded me. I reveled in being there.
When I received a text on Monday night that Donald Trump had accepted an invitation to attend the NABC Conference in Chicago I was stunned.
NABJ is apparently now run by journalists who are Black, but not by Black journalists.
thing you cannot escape if you are Black, and you are a journalist – America sees a Black person first and whatever else you are second. You should too.
It is dangerous for Black Americans that a cabal of journalists have ignored this reality for the purpose of self-glory.
NABJ President Ken Lemon wrote on X “…we understand the serious work of our members and welcome the opportunity for them to ask the tough questions that will provide the truthful answers Black Americans want and need to know.”
Donald Trump providing truthful answers. Get real, Ken. This is an oxymoron.
Tia Mitchell, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Washington correspondent and a member of the committee that invited Trump wrote on X ““Some of yall need to take a step back and ask why you’re questioning why a group of JOURNALISTS wants to ask former and possibly future President Trump questions. Do yall hear yourselves?”
Yes, I hear myself. I also hear a correspondent who might be so into the D.C. power trip she forgot it’s inexcusable to give aid and comfort to a sworn enemy. He’s also a convicted felon, racist, misogynous, etc.
The gathering is held because Black journalists like Curry and others decided it is needed. There are many organizations that represent journalists, yet an organization and annual event was created to bring together specific journalists – Black journalists – to discuss why they are Black journalists and how to create opportunities for other Black journlists.
Trump should not be afforded a platform during the NABJ convention. It does not matter that Republicans have spoke at the convention and that all presidential candidates have been offered an invitation in the past.
This is 2024 and this is Donald Trump. This is about reality and the future of Black people in the United States of America.
This isn’t about fairness and the first amendment. This is about survival.
This is about remembering who you are, where you came from, and the one
The panel that interviewed Trump consisted of moderator Harris Faulkner, a Fox News anchor and host, Rachel Scott, ABC News congressional reporter, and Kadia Goba, a political correspondent for Semafor, a politics news website.
There are NABJ members that work in the Black Press that are in Chicago at the convention. Also, a reporter or editor from the historic Chicago Defender should have been a panel member.
Over the years, I’ve found that many NABJ members looked down upon those that work in the Black Press. They were/ are too good for it.
Curry worked for the St. Louis American when he was with the Post-Dispatch. His bosses didn’t like it, but he continued the work discreetly.
This is what a Black journalist does.
A journalist who is Black puts their career first, their people second, and they let Donald Trump play them like a fiddle while they dance to his tune.
President Trump and his equally woman hating VP nominee have stooped even lower, describing Harris as “garbage”, ‘bum” and “crazy.”
JD Vance has the same relationship with truth as his boss, Mr. Trump, does. In making his case against “childless cat ladies”, he accuses Democrats, including Vice President Harris, of being “antifamily.” It is Democrats that have advocated pro-family policies, including the child tax credit that would lift millions of children out of poverty. Like Trump, Vance does not mind telling outright lies.
Harris is used to the lies, the slurs, the white male disdain. She’s had to deal with that through much of her career, as most women in power have. Trump is an expert at disparaging women, attacking their looks (Carly Fiorina, E. Jean Carroll), their clothing (Nicky Haley), their mental acuity (Nancy Pelosi) and more.
Guest Columnist
By Julianne Malveaux
Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett made headlines by describing our VicePresident as a “DEI hire”, describing her as “checking all the boxes.”
If rabid Republicans stuck to describing our Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee as DEI, that would be a feckless slur. But former
All I say to these rabid Republicans is, “bring it”. Vice President Kamala Devi Harris is time enough for you. Mr. Vance has described the Harris candidacy as a “gut punch” to the Trump-Vance ticket. Instead of campaigning against a Biden they’d described as “old” and feeble, they’ve got an opponent who is young, energetic and vital. Instead of debating the Biden who failed to challenge Trump on his incessant lies in the late June debate, he will be debating the skillful prosecutor who sliced and diced Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing. Vice President Harris is not a gut punch, she is a knockout punch. She has definitely earned the nomination of her party, and indeed the presidency.
DEI, indeed! Definitely earned it!
Julianne Malveaux, a DC based economist and author, is a columnist for the Trice Edney News Wire.
Columnist Alvin A. Reid
Taniyah Burse, 10, of St. Louis recently volunteered to hide rocks with a Summer Tanager bird on them on the Great Rivers Greenway as part of the 2024 Greenway Quest, the annual hunt for hand-painted rocks hidden along the 135 miles of greenways in St. Louis, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County. If you find a painted rock, take it home and log it at GreenwayQuest.com. Participants will be entered into a drawing to win one of several prize packages.
Greenway Quest in flight as GRG lands funding
St. Louis American
Great Rivers Greenway is celebrating its annual Greenway Quest and $9.92 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation as part of its Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Program.
The funding will cover half of the projected construction cost for a new greenway bridge. Great Rivers Greenway will fund the balance with local tax dollars and private gifts from donors including the Berges Family Foundation.
The project area is in the Midtown area of St. Louis City, spanning from Laclede Avenue south on Spring Street and across Forest Park Avenue past the City Foundry. A new greenway bridge will go above the east-bound lanes and
below the west-bound lanes of I-64/40, bridging through the current barrier created by the interstate to the Grand MetroLink Station and Armory District on the other side.
“Every person and community deserve healthy and safe transit options,” said Congresswoman Bush, who helped secure the funding.
“This greenway bridge will improve connectivity between our neighborhoods and help create a more pedestrian, mass transit, and bike friendly St. Louis for everyone.”
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones said, “The many partners alongside Great Rivers Greenway are helping to make St. Louis a vibrant community with green spaces, art, and equitable economic development along the way.”
The nation we need to create
By Marian Wright Edelman
At a moment of so much uncertainty over where our nation is headed and what national unity really means, Vice President Kamala Harris, a Black woman, is the presumptive Democratic nominee for President of the United States.
I return to the wise words of my late friend Dr. Vincent Harding, the revered historian, theologian, social justice activist, and visionary who never lost sight of the “beloved community” his dear colleague Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed our nation and world could become.
At a Children’s Defense Fund conference town hall on his 81st birthday, Dr. Harding told us he believed America was a wounded nation, but despite so many years of struggle, he remained convinced America could and must get better. He urged all of us to commit ourselves to healing America and making our country what it should be and shared a line he had heard a West African poet recite: “‘I am a citizen of a country that does not yet exist.’”
The poet was speaking about his homeland, which was going through political turmoil on the road to independence.
But my dear brother Vincent said it also applied to our national spiritual and moral crisis in America: “We are citizens of a country that we still have to create—a just country, a compassionate country, a forgiving country, a multiracial, multi-religious country, a joyful country that cares about its children and about its elders, that cares about itself and about the world, that cares about what the earth needs as well as what individual people need…I am, you are, a citizen of a country that does not yet exist,” he continued, “and that badly needs to exist.”
He drew a comparison to the words of the brilliant poet Langston Hughes in “Let America Be America Again.” That poem celebrates the poor, working class, and immigrant Americans from all backgrounds and colors who have always been the farmers, factory workers, and laborers on whose backs America was built, but who generation after generation have been “tangled in that ancient endless chain/Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land! / Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need! / Of work the men! Of take the pay! / Of owning everything for one’s own greed!”
Vincent Harding borrowed Hughes’s refrain— “America never was America to me.” He said: “We can always stop there and complain and complain and complain. ‘You’ve never been America to me.’
Those of us who share the vision for a just, compassionate, multiracial, joyful nation that cares for children and elders, itself and the rest of the world, and the earth’s needs along with individual needs must never stop working alongside children and young people to make that America a reality.
That is the nation where young people are already telling us they desperately want to live. We are citizens of a country that does not yet exist, but it is up to us to finally create it and make it a just and hopeful land for all.
Marian Wright Edelman is Children’s Defense Fund president emeritus
Photo courtesy of Great Rivers Greenway
Marian Wright Edelman
Continued from A1
Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore’s motion to vacate Dunn’s conviction, ordering the state of Missouri to immediately release Dunn from custody last week.
However, state Attorney General Bailey filed notice that he would appeal and Dunn, who his wife said was minutes from freedom, remained held at the South Central Correctional Center in Licking, Missouri.
Then, the Supreme Court of Missouri issued an order on Tuesday stating that “the circuit court lacks authority to unconditionally release Dunn while criminal charges remain pending” and that “[Gore would have to indicate its intent, if any, to retry Dunn.”
Gore filed a motion saying that there would not be a retrial, which freed Dunn.
“If I hold onto the past, I will never be able to move forward,” Dunn said.
“For those who participated in my prosecution, I forgive you. I’m not [going] to forget, but I forgive you.”
When asked specifically if he wanted to say something to Bailey, Dunn responded “have a nice life.’
Dunn shared a thank you to his wife “for standing with me,” and Gore “for putting his life and career on the line.”
Christopher Dunn touches his heart after being released from prison on Tuesday outside the
He thanked the Midwest Innocence Project and other attorneys who assisted with his case. Dunn’s mother, Martha Dunn, gave a long hug to her son as the press conference ended.
Ballot
Continued from A1
Wage and Earned Paid Sick Time initiative will establish a $13.75 per hour minimum wage by 2025, which would be increased by $1.25 per hour each year until 2026, when the minimum wage is $15 per hour. The initiative would also require employers to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30
“It was great, it was great,” she proclaimed with tears in her eyes. Dunn said that the last week, knowing that a judge had granted his freedom, was “torture.”
“To hear the decision
hours worked.
Amendment 1 asks Missouri voters to amend the state constitution to allow the General Assembly to pass a property tax exemption for childcare providers. If a portion of the property of an individual or organization is used for childcare, the amendment would provide for the authorization of an assessing authority to exempt a portion of the property that is used for childcare. Opponents of
of the judge, and then get prepared to leave on [July 24] only to be brought back into the prison, it was torture,” Dunn said.
“It’s something that you shouldn’t have to put anyone through, but then again, this is what they do.”
The Midwest Innocence Project released a statement early Tuesday say-
the amendment say tax exemptions would cost cities, counties, schools and other parts of local government that depend on property taxes. Some Kansas City lawmakers claim the proposal would have an unknown financial impact on the city. Tackling the state’s childcare provider shortage has been a bipartisan priority in Jefferson City and some lawmakers see Amendment 1 as one path to cutting into the childcare shortage in
ing “We look forward to supporting Chris as he rebuilds his life.”
“But our joy in welcoming Chris home is tempered by the additional days and moments stolen from him by this week’s proceedings. Tragically, this is not the first time the Missouri Attorney General has fought to keep an innocent person in prison.
Missouri.
Mo Amendment 4 will allow the legislature to pass a law requiring Kansas City to increase funding for its police department. A “yes” vote supports amending the Missouri Constitution to increase the minimum amount Kansas City must spend on policing from 20% to 25%. A “no” vote would leave Kansas City’s spending obligations at 20%, though city officials could voluntarily spend
We hope it will be the last. Chris Dunn deserved better. Ricco Rogers and his family deserved better.
As a nation, we deserve better.”
Dunn was convicted of killing 15-year-old Rogers on May 18, 1990. Dunn, who was 18 years old at the time, was convicted in 1991. The case against Dunn
more. If this amendment seems familiar, that’s because it is. For more than 80 years, Kansas City has been the only city in Missouri — and the only major city in the U.S. — that does not have local control of its police. It’s controlled by a board of commissioners appointed by the Missouri governor.
In 2022, Missouri voters approved the police spending hike. The actual measure, however, was unpopular with many Kansas Citians, like those in the Jackson County portion of Kansas City where more than 61% of voters rejected the amendment. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas filed a lawsuit saying that a summary printed on voters’ ballots “materially misstated” the cost of the proposal. Additionally, according to Lucas’ lawsuit, the new law violated Missouri’s “Hancock Amendment,” which prohibits the state from mandating local actions without providing funding.
Lucas, when interviewed by the Missouri Independent, described the amendment as just another legislative power grab.
“To me, Amendment 4 is just another side of trying to take that authority away from Kansas Citians. It is taking creative solutions away from Kansas Citians, one dollar at a time.”
Lora McDonald, executive director of the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity (MORE2), shares Lucas’ concerns arguing that the attempt by state lawmakers to force Kansas City to spend 25% of its revenue on policing is just “a political ploy.”
“Why do you care what our police department has or doesn’t have?” McDonald said in an interview with the Missouri Independent. “It’s not your business. It’s not your money,” The Missouri Supreme Court agreed with Lucas ruling that the last paragraph people read before casting their vote — was “so inaccurate and misleading” it warranted a
relied solely on the eyewitness testimonies of two children — one 12-yearold and one 14-year-old — both who later recanted. A GoFundMe account has been established for Dunn: https://www. gofundme.com/f/helpchris-dunn-after-three-decades-of-wrongful-imprisonment
do-over. The court then ordered that the results of the Nov. 2022 election be thrown out and ordered a new election for Aug. 6. How does passage of Amendment 4 impact St. Louis?
In 2012, Missouri voters approved a statewide ballot measure to return control of the St. Louis Police Department to the city itself. More than 10 years later, legislation sponsored mostly by Republicans who live outside of St. Louis city and reside in St. Louis County or nearby St. Charles County has been have pushed legislation to return policing in St. Louis to state control. Critics of Amendment 4 say St. Louis would join Kansas City in being subject to funding mandates from the General Assembly if the legislation were to pass. State control has its roots in Missouri’s pro-slavery Civil War days. Successful passage of such measures could mean elected officials cannot set department policy or discipline officers. In theory, they can only rubber stamp the General Assembly’s estimate of the police department’s annual budget.
Both St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy and St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones have been vocal opponents of any type of state control measures fearing that passage may embolden Jefferson City legislator’s efforts to seize control of the city’s police force.
“State control of our police department is not going to make our citizens safer,” Jones said in a radio interview last year. “We will not be able to respond accordingly and swiftly to changes in policy. It’ll bring more politics into public safety.”
Those in favor of Amendment 4 say the police department needs more money to perform its duties. Opponents argue that it’s unfair that the state of Missouri has a say in local policing decisions in Kansas City or (possibly) St. Louis. Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.
Mel Carnahan Courthouse in downtown St. Louis.
Photo by Sophie Proe / St. Louis Public Radio
at 2900 Pershall Road, now called the Centene Connected Community Center, was celebrated on Tuesday.
“The mission and vision that created this building still exists. That vision of Michael Neidorff is now being implemented,” McMillan said.
The cager now houses the Urban League Head Start headquarters and will soon host Head Start kids ages 3 to 5. It is now or will become home to workforce development, education, housing, and re-entry programs. A regional food distribution center and Midwest conference center will also be part of the three-building complex.
The building donation by Centene is the largest item donated to any Urban League [affiliate] in its 114-year history
“Centene said ‘we are not going to run from the fire, we are going to run into the fire,”’ said Centene Corp. CEO Sarah London. London, who had not joined Centene in St. Louis in 2014 said “like most Americans I watched from afar” during the Ferguson Uprising.
“Michael Neidorff did not believe in watching from afar. He believed in showing up for the community we serve. He believed, and we still believe, that the best way to do that is creating opportunity. This build-
Scarlett
Continued from A1
looking at right now, one of the biggest things we know, one of the priority alarms that we would say was in regards to one of the communications directors that we had,” Cousins said.
“That was one of our concerns that we were kind of looking into. So maybe that was one of the things that probably led to this.”
When asked if Scarlett was fired, Cousins said, “Not at this time.”
Dr. Millicent Borishade, Scarlett’s deputy assistant who joined her after leaving Tukwila (Washington) Public Schools, will take over the district.
“The Board of Education has approved Deputy Superintendent Dr. Millicent Borishade as Acting Superintendent, and she has accepted this role while Superintendent Dr. Keisha Scarlett is on a temporary leave of absence,” the Board of Education said in a statement released at 10 20 a.m. Friday July 26, 2024.
“We are fully confident that, under Dr. Borishade’s leadership as acting superintendent, there will be no interruptions in the ongo-
ing will still create opportunities,” she said. Neidorff died at 79 on April 7, 2022. He had served as board chair and a board member of the St. Louis affiliate and was National Urban League board chair in 2014 when St. Louis was the site of the 2017 National Urban League convention. He moved the company from Milwaukee to St. Louis and led it from a $40-million single healthcare plan to a global healthcare company with revenues of $125 billion.
ing work and preparations for the upcoming school year.”
The district is bracing itself for a first day of school that will face transportation challenges.
In response to bus driver shortages, which led to late buses and interrupted service, SLPS is hiring 19 vendors to assist with student transportation and the fleet will include yellow buses, ride-share vehicles, passenger vans, and shuttles.
Scarlett’s recent hires included at least 12 former Seattle administrators and employees from Seattle –with some jobs going to spouses of those coming to SLPS.
In addition, SLPS’ new communications chief Phoenix Jackson had posted online last week that she would be living in both Houston and St. Louis and “float as needed between two lives and I love that for me,” while
State Sen. Brian Williams said he lived near the center as a youth, adding the Connected Center “will help people just like myself while growing up.”
“This building will make the community safer and prosperous. It will help meet the real needs of our community,” Williams said.
Shalonda Webb, St. Louis County Council chair, called the center “a phenomenal opportunity in North County and what it brings to this commu-
managing the essential role.
This and the Seattle hires led Cousins to call for an investigation into SLPS hiring and temporarily freeze any additional employment additions.
SLPS had also reportedly has gone from having a $17 million budget surplus to facing a potential $35 million shortfall.
In addition, teachers and staff in the district were notified that raises approved by the board last spring that would begin in the 2024-25 would be delayed because of “logistical issues.”
In an article by Sylvester Brown of the St. Louis American in July 2023, Scarlett said, “I have a strong faith in God’s plan and purpose. I believe I was sent here as part of a divine plan and I’m unapologetic about that.”
“I believe we are poised for a rebirth and renaissance to move forward as
nity for our youths and seniors.’
“This building will reduce disparities [and help develop] the hope, aspiration and potential of North County.”
Ferguson Mayor Ella Jones was at the opening of the building in 2016, and immediately began receiving phone calls and inquiries when Centene announced that it was moving from the location.
“I was asked ‘is the building going to be empty?’ Not in my lifetime,” she said.
one of the greatest cities in the country,” Scarlett said. “There are a lot of opportunities here, we just
“Time brings change.
The Urban League has been at the forefront of that change. This facility is much needed in North County.” Enterprise Bank and Trust will have an ATM in the building and offer financial literacy education seminars there as well.
“Our goal is to make sure our community is financially literate. Instead of just writing checks, we have boots on the ground in the community,” said Monica
Campbell, vice president of community development.
She added that “checks do help” before presenting the Urban League with a $150,000 donation.
Craig Unruh, AT&T Missouri and Arkansas president, said his firm wanted “to be one of the first to support and offer services at the incredible gift to the community.” He announced that AT&T had donated $50,000 toward conductivity in the building.
have to make sure kids who’ve been most marginalized and most disenfranchised have access to opportunities.”
Scarlett’s opportunity at SLPS ended less than 13 months after it began.
Urban League Head Start kids Marlayna Davis, Envi Reed and Brooklyn Jones provided entertainment for program goers at the grand opening of the Urban League Centene Connected Community Center. This state-of-the-art facility,located at 2900
Pershall Rd., represents a significant milestone in their ongoing mission to uplift communities across North County.
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
As both a therapist and parent of two Black boys, Natalie Williams looks at the importance of mental health from multiple angles. While the topic doesn’t carry as much stigma as in the past, there is still progress to be made. From left are Williams, Michael, 11, Ben, 9, and Conner, 2.
Reaching out to reduce children mental health disparities
Mental Health America meets the need
By JoAnn Weaver St. Louis American
Many people from racial and ethnic minority groups have difficulty getting mental health care, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. There are varied reasons, including cost or lack of adequate health insurance coverage.
CDC research also portrays the challenge of finding providers from one’s racial or ethnic group as a drawback. Stigma or negative ideas about mental health also play roles
According to Saint Louis County Department of Public Health and City
n “A lot of the kids have been through gun violence, domestic violence, bullying in school and loss of a loved one. I think for Black kids and Black families to have access to mental health professionals who look like them, it’s hugely important.”
– Natalie Williams, a trauma therapist at Mental Health America of Eastern Missouri
of St. Louis Department of Health report in 2019, children 15 to 17 years had the highest average hospitalization rates for mental disorders from 2012 to 2016. This was true in both St. Louis
Why Black women need Black doctors
Being’ dismissed’ is common ailment
By Anissa Durham Word in Black
Cynthia Guest is 57 years old and had never had a Black doctor.
And it’s not because she doesn’t want one. As a US Army sergeant in South Bend, Indiana, Guest didn’t pick the primary care doctor she was assigned more than 20 years ago. Like many Americans, her health insurance dictated what providers she could see within a network.
keep an eye on.”
County and St. Louis city. The report also showed emergency department visit rates for mental disor-
See CHILDREN, A15
FDA drags feet on dangers to Black health
By Jennifer Porter Gore Word In Black
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has pledged to protect consumers from two harmful chemical ingredients in products that are used by millions of Americans — particularly Black Americans.
But the regulatory agency’s steps toward banning formaldehyde in hair relaxers and menthol as an ingredient in cigars and cigarettes looks more like a cha-cha slide than a race to improve Black health.
For decades, as study after study linked both of those chemicals to poor health outcomes for Black consumers — including potentially deadly diseases — the agency did little to get them off the market.
In fact, the FDA has missed its own deadlines for proposed bans on menthol-flavored cigarettes and formaldehyde in hair-smoothing products.
n The FDA has missed its own deadlines for proposed bans on menthol-flavored cigarettes and formaldehyde in hair-smoothing products.
As a result, Black women with straightened or relaxed hair remained at heightened risk for developing cancer or other health problems at the hair salon. And Black smokers, who overwhelmingly prefer menthol in their tobacco products, are more likely to develop smoking-related diseases, including heart disease, lung cancer or stroke — and face a much tougher struggle if they want to quit.
Last year, Democratic Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Shontel Brown of Ohio, who are both Black women, sent a joint letter to the FDA commissioner urging more regulation over hair relaxers marketed toward See GORE, A15
Since 2020, Guest has experienced a lot of sweating, insomnia, weight gain, and blood pressure changes, likely due to menopause.
Guest describes her doctor as a nice, country, white woman with a Southern drawl like Reba McEntire. The problem isn’t how polite and respectful her doctor is, it’s the fact that concern after concern is dismissed and labeled as “something to
“She is a really nice lady, but I’m not there for that – I need help,” she says. The American Cancer Society recommends women start routine colonoscopy screenings at age 45. But Guest didn’t know, until a white woman her age recommended the test. Other preventative care tests and treatments are often waved off by her primary care provider or not brought up at all.
When she first started seeing this doctor in the early 2000s, Guest didn’t have
See DOCTORS, A15
her
Cynthia Guest of South Bend, Indiana says her longtime doctor was nice but physicians often carried stereotypes about Black people that interfered with
receiving proper care.
Photo courtesy of Natalie Williams
Photo courtesy of Cynthia Guest
Jennifer Porter Gore
‘Taking
Doctors
Continued from A14
too many health concerns. Now in her late 50s, she has higher blood pressure and fears that something serious will happen because she didn’t get enough preventative care.
“When they see you, they’re just kind of dismissive because they’re raised in America too. And all the stereotypes that they have heard is what they believe,” Guest said.
A report released this year by the Pew Research Center found Black women are more likely than Black men to say the health care system holds people back. In part, because Black women ages 18 to 49 are more likely to say they’ve experienced negative health care experiences. For example, 30% of Black women 50 years old or older and 45% of younger Black women felt their pain was not taken seriously.
Mark Hugo Lopez, director of race and ethnicity research at Pew, says it’s important to continue gathering this kind of data
Children
to tell the story of how Black Americans engage with the United States health care system. “This report was meant to build on some of the pieces we found earlier about a push to rebuild the U.S. health care system,” he says.
Unfortunately, these experiences are not new or limited to interactions with a primary care doctor. Guest will never forget the experience she had around 2016 when she took herself to the emergency room for chest pain.
After waiting nearly two hours in the waiting room, her boss, the sheriff, called and asked if she was OK. At that point, she hadn’t even been seen. He hung up. Three minutes later, nurses rushed her to be seen.
The nurses followed up with ‘Who do you know?’ Unbeknownst to Guest, the sheriff called the hospital and told them one of his officers needed to be seen. The nurses told her they didn’t realize she was a police officer.
“I said I had chest pain, like what difference did that make,” she says. “I didn’t feel like I had to say (I was an officer) for them to give me care. If I hadn’t
Continued from A14 important.”
ders increased 52% among Black/African American residents and 44% among white residents from 2010 to 2016, in St. Louis County.
Similarly, the city emergency department visit rates for mental disorders increased 46% among Black/African American residents and 38% among white residents.
Natalie Williams, a trauma therapist at Mental Health America (MHA) of Eastern Missouri who works with kids from 3 years old to 18, said when many hear the word ‘trauma’, they will assume they don’t need therapy because they haven’t experienced a traumatic event.
However, once the kids start to open up, they realize they realize they have experienced it.
“A lot of the kids that I work with have been through all sorts of different types of traumas; gun violence, domestic violence, bullying in school and loss of a loved one; it’s a lot for some of my kiddos,” Williams said.
“I think for Black kids and Black families to have access to mental health professionals who look like them and perhaps have a greater understanding of what it’s like to live in St. Louis as a Black individual, especially Black males, it’s hugely
Gore
Continued from A14
Black women.
“As a result of antiBlack hair sentiment, Black women have been unfairly subjected to scrutiny and forced to navigate the extreme politicization of hair,” Brown and Pressley wrote. “Hence, generations of Black women have adapted by straightening hair in an attempt to achieve social and economic advancement.”
Last year, the FDA announced that after decades of research showing the dangers of formaldehyde in hair care products it would move to
been in these positions, I would’ve gotten the care everybody gets.”
These kinds of inci-
As both a therapist and parent of two Black boys, Williams looks at the importance of mental health from multiple angles. While the topic doesn’t carry as much stigma today, there is still progress to be made.
“Creating a mental health awareness month [July] for communities that have been so stigmatized in so many different realms of their life [is essential.] To be able to bring light and awareness and most importantly hope to a community that struggling to find hope in general cause [is needed because] nobody should feel alone,” she said.
“There’s less stigma attached…I think there’s some things helping communities of color.”
Additionally, the organization offers free services and programs to the communities they serve in St. Louis City, St. Louis County and St. Charles County.
“We offer services in our office on Delmar, but then we also will meet people in their homes if they don’t have transportation or if it’s just you know, it’s hard if a parent has multiple kids to get one kid to therapy but other kids don’t,” Williams said.
“We’ll go into homes and meet with kids in their homes, we will meet with kids in the school during the school year at or at camps in the summer.”
prevent the chemical’s use in traditional hair relaxers and keratin-based products.
A known carcinogen, formaldehyde produces fumes in salon products, is a health hazard if inhaled and can cause damage to eyes or skin with direct contact, according to the FDA.
In 2021 and 2022, research from Boston University’s Black Women’s Health Study showed an increased risk of hormone-related cancers, including breast and uterine cancer, among women with long-term use of chemical relaxers. As part of the study, almost 45,000 women with an intact uterus who self-identified as Black were fol-
dents are common among Guest’s friends who are Black. Catey Traylor, 31, also of South Bend,
Indiana discovered she had hormonal imbalances that caused an irregular period.
“I was lucky to have a care team of doctors who were willing to listen to me … but it was me who had to initiate it,” she says.
Traylor admits to doing a lot of her own research to figure out what was going on in her body. Like many women of color, speaking up, asking questions, and advocating for oneself is a common experience in health care settings.
Additionally, Traylor’s OB-GYN and primary care physician are from two different hospital networks. This made communication between the two doctors difficult and forced her to play the middleman – making sure that both providers had her updated medical records.
Despite going back and forth to multiple physicians, everything came back normal. But she still wasn’t having regular periods. Doctors told her they could induce a period through medication, or she could lose weight. Traylor ended up treating
Thea Trynock, marketing manager at Mental Health America (MHA) of Eastern Missouri, said it has programs for children across the St. Louis region.
The PEACE (Preventing the Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences) Clinical Program is an MHA program designed to help families combat the impacts of early adversity and reduce the likelihood of children developing toxic stress.
Through various therapeutic services, PEACE aims to strengthen caregiver-child relationships, while also helping children heal from stressful experiences and improve self-control and confidence in school, community, and social settings.
“We’ve seen an incred-
lowed from 1997, when participants were first asked about chemical hair relaxer use, until 2019.
The FDA began investigating the issue in 2011, when the nonprofit Environmental Working Group petitioned the agency to ban formaldehyde in hair straighteners and require manufacturers to add warning labels on product packaging. The same year, the agency issued warning letters to manufacturers of keratin-labeled hair-smoothing products containing formaldehyde, citing violations of federal safety standards.
ible first year, as it always takes a while to get the programs started [and] for people in the community to understand them. We’ve seen an incredible increase in clients that we’ve been able to serve,” Trynock said.
The Student Wellness Program (SWP) was created to enhance every young person’s learning and living by offering students, families, and schools’ insight, language, knowledge, and support in understanding the necessity of and need for mental health in a child’s education.
“We started our student wellness program, which we are in partner schools, which include Loyola Academy, Miriam Academy, and the Parkway School District,”
own April 2024 deadline for issuing the new rule to ban the chemicals for use in cosmetics — and it hasn’t said anything about setting a new one.
Meanwhile, smoking is the number one preventable cause of death in the U.S., killing over 480,000 people per year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The dangers and disparities surrounding menthol cigarettes have been well-known for decades.
her symptoms according to her own research – which led her to start taking supplements.
“It’s frustrating on a number of levels,” she says. “It’s incredibly disheartening to know something is not right with your body and you go to the doctor … and told there’s nothing wrong.”
The toll it took didn’t just affect her body.
Traylor faced the financial burden of constantly making doctors’ appointments, and picking up the bill for whatever insurance didn’t cover. After more than five decades of non-Black health care providers, Guest finally saw her first Black doctor days after our initial interview.
“I was so happy, I wanted to give her a hug. Thank God. I’m relieved,” she says of her experience with the doctor. “To be listened to and to get basic care … I’m super excited.” Her new primary care physician ordered tests on the first visit, to check Guest’s blood pressure and high cholesterol, as well as routine labs — something she says her previous doctor never bothered to do.
online, and it’s just a screening for mental health.”
The program started in August of 2022, after coming to MHA from another agency. It celebrated a full year last August.
“I think the big thing is just trying to squash the stigma around mental health, especially the minority communities, and we’re just really trying to let people know that mental health is for everyone,” she said.
Trynock said.
“In Miriam and Loyola, we serve seventh grade students at the middle schools and in Parkway, we serve fifth, seventh, and 10th grade students.”
This program provides mental wellness screenings in partner schools, offers customized referrals to trusted mental health practitioners, and follow up case management for students and families.
“We get [the child] in immediately, then we do case management and follow up with not only the students, but with the school and the counselors and the families as well,” she said
“Our clinicians are in the schools every day during the school year, and they have a questionnaire for the kids to complete
of menthol cigarettes to Black communities for decades.
The FDA banned flavored cigarettes and cigars in 2009 but caved when tobacco lobbyists fought to keep menthol cigarettes on the market. In 2021, menthol cigarettes accounted for 37% of all U.S. cigarette sales, according to the CDC. Menthol enhances the effects of nicotine on the brain and can make tobacco products even more addictive than non-menthol cigarettes.
MHA launched its national online mental health screening tools to help individuals understand and learn more about their mental health. Since then, over 21 million screens have been taken — over 6 million in 2021 alone and 15,000 per day.
Since 2017, the organization has used the information gathered from the screening program to build content designed to help connect individuals with the information and resources they need.
“Everyone has mental health, but it’s not just a certain demographic problem, it is an everyone problem, and we just want to make sure that everyone feels comfortable opening up and getting the help they need because there’s no physical health without having your mental health taken care of as well,” Trynock said.
But this April, the FDA again missed its
Nearly 85% of Black smokers choose menthol cigarettes, compared to 34%t of white smokers. And the tobacco industry has targeted the marketing
Although the menthol ban is still in limbo, the Department of Health and Human Services earlier this year launched a “framework” of goals and strategies “to support and accelerate smoking cessation and reduce smoking- and cessation-related disparities.”
However, “when it comes to menthol-flavored cigarettes, we do not have additional information to share at this time,” the FDA says.
In April 2022, the FDA announced its intent to ban menthol-flavored cigarettes and cigars. However, the proposed ban has faced stiff opposition from various quarters — including Big Tobacco and some consumer groups. The final rule was expected last August but that deadline has come and gone.
Jennifer Porter Gore is Word In Black health reporter
Kamala Harris for President
Word In Black’s owners and publishers tell why Harris has the leadership experience we need for a free, prosperous, and more just future.
As the next presidential election rapidly approaches, our nation is, without question, at a crossroads. To the left is continued racial, economic, and social progress; to the right is regression, division, and the ongoing resurrection of overt, violent white supremacy.
Therefore, the result of November’s vote will not only define the trajectory of America in general but determine the fate of Black America in particular, with far-reaching consequences that could last for generations.
With such historically high stakes on the table — and an election in which the Black vote could be a decisive factor — we at Word In Black wholeheartedly, and without question endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for the next president of the United States. It is our first-ever political endorsement, and we make it without reservation.
At this pivotal moment in American history, Harris represents the change we want to see now. She is a transformational figure, poised to make history not only as the first woman to serve the nation as commander in chief but as the first Black woman, first HBCU graduate, and first member of a Black Greek letter organization to hold the most powerful job on earth.
Our endorsement, however, begins with President Joe Biden, who is among the most effective champions for Black America in history and who chose her as his running mate. The Biden-Harris administration created 2.6 million jobs for Black workers, cut child poverty in half, grew Black household wealth, and slashed insulin and asthma inhaler prices. They forgave $168.5 billion in student loan debt, pushed to close the Black-white digital divide, made meaningful investments in policies to fight climate change, and appointed a record number of Black judges to the federal bench.
The president also demonstrated unparalleled leadership, selflessness, and patriotism by withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race and endorsing Harris to replace him on the Democratic Party ticket. She will almost assuredly continue his agenda, but with the added perspective of her lived experience in Black spaces.
Harris has impressive credentials: former San Francisco district attorney, former California attorney general, former U.S. senator, current vice president. Her personal story — child of immigrant activist parents, Howard University graduate, member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the first Black woman to hold statewide elected office in California — is compelling. She is a fearless champion of civil rights and has advocated for criminal legal system reform, access to healthcare, and investment in underserved communities.
Furthermore, Harris’s intelligence, tenacity, charisma, and joy on the campaign trail sets her apart from her Republican opponents. Her elevation as the Democrats’
presumptive presidential nominee has electrified the campaign, generating excitement not seen since Barack Obama’s historic 2008 run to become America’s first Black president.
Consider: within the first 24 hours of Harris’ candidacy, her campaign took in a stunning $81 million — the largest single-day fundraising effort in American political history. The total included some $3 million in small-dollar, grassroots donations from an impromptu fundraising drive led solely by Black men and women.
It is clear evidence that Harris’ presence in the nation’s highest office will be an unprecedented step toward greater representation and inclusion of diverse voices at the highest levels of government.
For nearly 200 years, we in the Black press have stood for freedom, justice, equality, and democracy. We have spoken truth to power, especially when others in the mainstream, white-owned media have avoided it, or have actively spread falsehoods about our leaders and our communities.
Hear us, then, when we say Harris represents the best hope of defeating two existential threats to Black America: the return of former President Donald Trump, a bigoted, twice-impeached convicted felon and purported rapist who is attempting to divide America; and Project 2025 — a radical, far-right political, economic and social agenda Trump will almost certainly implement if he wins the White House.
For us at Word in Black, the choice for president is as obvious as it is historic. Trump represents an America that will return to its ugly, violent, racist past, a time when we were treated like second-class citizens and our communities were under constant threat. Harris represents a new generation of leadership, a future built on optimism, inclusion, and continued progress toward a more perfect union.
On Tuesday, November 5, 2024, Black Americans have an opportunity to determine which version of the nation we want for ourselves and our children. We, the owners and publishers of Word In Black, encourage our readers and supporters to join us in supporting Vice President Kamala Harris in her extraordinary presidential campaign.
Together, we can make a difference and ensure that our voices are heard in shaping the future of our country.
National Black Business Month has a tie to East St. Louis
Black women business ownership surges
By Alvin A. Reid St. Louis American
August marks National Black Business Month but few Americans know its origin, and that East St. Louis, Illinois played a significant role.
After earning his engineering degree from Howard University in 1969, Frederick E. Jordan and three other engineers formed the company
By Rudi Keller Missouri Independent
The University of Missouri will eliminate its division focused on diversity, social equity and inclusion on the Columbia campus, completing the dismantling of administrative structures put in place after protests in 2015 brought national attention to issues of racial equality.
The move coincides with the departure of division Vice Chancellor Maurice Gipson. It is designed to appease Republicans who are showing hostility towards efforts designed to attract and retain students from historically underrepresented groups, Mun Choi, University of Missouri System president and Columbia campus chancellor, said at a briefing with reporters last week.
There have been 13 bills targeting diversity, equity and inclusion filed in the legislature over the past two years Choi noted. During debate on the state budget during 2023, Republicans in the Missouri House added language banning any diversity efforts across state
Jordan, Johns, Mathis, & Pierce. After serving in the Vietnam War, Jordan earned an engineering degree from Howard University in 1969, and then attended Northeastern University in Boston in pursuit of his master’s degree in engineering.
While there, the Bechtel Corporation offered him a job in northern California, and he transferred to Stanford University.
The engineers sought out business
in predominantly Black communities.
The projects were in San Francisco, East St. Louis, the south side of Chicago, and in Seattle. In 1974, Jordan founded his own company, F.E. Jordan Associates, Inc., in San Francisco.
Jordan still remembered his early success was earned despite facing discriminatory practices by lending institutions
PeoPle on
the Move
Bob Wallace to serve as interim leader
Thompson Coburn partner and former St. Louis Rams executive
Bob Wallace will serve as interim leader of Explore St. Louis beginning August 12, 2024.
Bob Wallace
Wallace, a Thompson Coburn partner who leads the firm’s sports law group, will take a leave of absence while serving in the position
Wallace said he’s “honored to step into this important role as the board conducts their national search and look forward to contributing to the economically vital work the Explore St. Louis staff is engaged in.”
“I’ve been representing Explore St. Louis for more than a decade and also worked with the organization for years in my prior role with the St. Louis Rams,” Wallace said.
“Combined, these experiences allow me to contribute to our mission from day one.”
Childs, Williams-Moore join Ferguson board
Meredith Childs, Behavioral Health Network of Greater St. Louis Strategic Initiatives director and Monique WilliamsMoore, workforce development specialist at Ameren have joined the Ferguson Youth Initiative board of directors.
Childs brings a wealth of experience in community development and strategic planning, and WilliamsMoore, is returning for a second term on the FYI board.
“Their expertise will enhance our mission to empower teens in Ferguson and the surrounding communities,” said Willie Thompson, FYI board chair.
From fighting for equitable access to housing to food and education. We can’t wait to see what this term will bring.
The Holland Law Firm has announced the addition of Martavious Thomas, a nationally recognized asbestos attorney with over two decades of experience, to its growing litigation team. Thomas has successfully represented thousands of victims of asbestos exposure diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other related diseases. His expertise in asbestos litigation and his pursuit of justice have earned him a reputation as a leading advocate for those affected by this hazardous and deadly material.
Meredith Childs
language that was deleted before the final budget passed. One of the leading Republican candidates for governor, state Sen. Bill Eigel, has said he will fire every state employee who works to promote diversity and equi-
Rachel Burns founded Bold Spoons Creamery in 2017 and is part of a national surge in Black women owned businesses in America. According to a recent report, Black women own roughly 2.1 million businesses and 52.1% of all Black-owned enterprises.
Photo courtesy of Bold Spoon Creamery
See BUSINESS, B2
Photo by Rudi Keller / Missouri Independent
University of Missouri System President Mun Choi recently discussed plans to reorganize diversity, equity and inclusion efforts by ending a separate campus division during a Friday briefing with reporters. He was joined by Vice Chancellor Maurice Gipson, who headed the division but is leaving for a new post in Arkansas.
Monique WilliamsMoore
Continued from B1
in 2004 when he partnered with John Williams Templeton, the president and executive editor of the publishing company Access Corporation, to start National Black Business Month.
According to a US Black Chambers biography, Jordan and his partner sought to “drive the policy agenda affecting the 2.6 million African American businesses,” to highlight and empower Black business owners all over, especially given the unique challenges faced by minority business owners.
Jordan’s Black owned business was a rarity in the late 1960s, but his determination more than 60 years ago and work to create a month of Black business recognition is demonstrated in the growth of Black entrepreneurs.
Black business own-
DEI
Continued from B1 Florida, Utah, and now Alabama, as well as many others,” Choi said. Choi said the university has lobbied heavily against legislative action.
“We do believe that our proactive approaches in the past have really played an important role when diverting these bills from passing and I will be sharing our plans with elected leaders beginning this week,” he said.
The top goal is to protect the university’s operating and capital appropriations, Choi said.
“As a university we see about $500 million per year in appropriations
ership is growing at the fastest pace in 30 years, and the share of Black households owning a business has more than doubled, from 5% to 11% between 2019 and 2022, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The number of women-owned businesses has grown dramatically. From 2019 to 2023, the growth rate of women-owned businesses was 94% greater than the growth of menowned businesses.
Census Bureau data projects that a record-breaking 5.5 million new business applications were filed in 2023, making it the strongest year of new business applications on record. It is also the third consecutive year of historic small business growth
To show the rapid growth, in 2021 there were 161,031 U.S. firms with majority Black or African American ownership, up from 124,004
and $200 million in capital one-time projects,” Choi said. “If we don’t see the $700 million dollars per year, we would have to eliminate every single position at all of the colleges that we have at universities. That is not a risk that I want to take.”
Gipson, hired as vice chancellor in 2020, is leaving to become interim president at Philander Smith University, an historically Black college in Arkansas. The four units of the division will be moved into other offices, which Choi said will make their mission part of the overall mission in each office.
No employees will lose their jobs, Choi said.
Gipson, who joined Choi in the briefing, said
in 2017, according to the Annual Business Survey (ABS), conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Science Foundation.
Black-owned firms’ gross revenue soared by 43% during this time span, from an estimated $127.9 billion in 2017 to $183.3 billion in 2021.
However, just 3% of all U.S. firms that were Black owned, and the firms accounted for just 1% of gross revenue from all classifiable companies that year. in 2021, about 14% of all Americans were Black.
In a report by Jada Ingleton of Word In Black, “Black women-owned businesses have been celebrating with a rise in presence, revenue, and development opportunities amidst ongoing infrastructure challenges, research shows.”
Black female entrepreneurs have dominated the business climate, representing roughly 2.1 million
he’s confident that the work begun in the division will continue.
“We’ve been inspired and impressed that our colleagues here say, ‘this is going to work, we don’t have to all be underneath, necessarily the same place to get this work done,’” Gipson said.
The division’s units were moved out of the offices where they will return as part of a university commitment following the events of the fall of 2015, when long-simmering grievances about racial issues on campus led to a protest movement called Concerned Student 1950.
A large group of students created a tent city, a graduate student started a hunger strike and the protests grabbed
businesses and 52.1% of
all Black-owned enterprises, according to a 2024 Wells Fargo Study
“When I think about the inherent qualities women carry – to be nurturers, to be community developers, to be community builders - I think it’s a natural need that exists in every community,” says Monica Ray, president of The Congress Heights Community Training and Development Corporation (CHCTDC)
When you think about small businesses and Black women, Black women represent the fastest-growing new business opportunities in the country. Small business in general generates all of our local jobs. When you think about how to bridge the gap between how we build sustainable communities, we can’t leave Black women out of the conversation.”
Black women-owned businesses saw a surge with the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing 32.7% in average revenues between
international attention when the Missouri Tiger football team joined the protest, stating they would not participate in sports until administrators showed they were meeting the demands that included the resignation of thensystem President Tim Wolfe.
“This reporting structure in the chancellor’s office is important to cementing the level of support for this work,” Kevin McDonald, thenchief diversity, equity and inclusion officer for the UM System and vice chancellor for inclusion, diversity and equity on the MU campus told the Columbia Daily Tribune in 2016. “I would hope it elevates the level of visibility of the work they have been
2019 and 2023, compared to all women-owned businesses’ growth of 11.2%, according to a 2024 Wells Fargo Study.
Many of these initiative-takers utilized the lockdown to pivot or expand into new ventures, which allowed them to pursue more passions or earn a steady income.
Black or African American majority-owned firms provided income for roughly 1.4 million workers in 2021. Their annual payrolls were estimated at $53.6 billion.
Still, most Blackowned firms tend to be smaller businesses. Two-thirds had fewer than 10 employees in 2021; 13% had 10 to 49 employees and just 3% had 50 or more. Another 16% reported having no employees.
About 45,000 of the roughly 161,000 U.S. companies with majority Black or African American ownership, or 28% of the total, were in
doing.”
Despite those efforts, Black enrollment on the Columbia campus has fallen from 7.3% of the student body in fall 2015 to 5.3% last fall. The share of Hispanic students has increased to 5.5% from 3.5% in fall 2015 and the share of Asian students has increased from 3% from 2.2%.
The share of white students has remained virtually unchanged at about 77%.
The university anticipates an 11% increase in Black students and a 14% increase in Hispanic students on campus this fall, Choi said.
The university began removing the structures put in place following the protests last year after
the health care and social assistance sectors in 2021. Other common sectors that year included according to Pew Research:
• Professional, scientific and technical services (comprising 14% of all Black-owned businesses). This sector includes World Wide Technology in Maryland Heights, Missouri, the nation’s largest Black owned business, which is led by David Steward, founder and chair.
• Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services (8%)
• Transportation and warehousing (8%)
• Retail trade (6%)
• Construction (6%)
Most Black or African American majority-owned businesses (87%) are located in urban areas.
Just 5% are in rural areas
– that is, places with fewer than 2,500 inhabitants, under the Census Bureau’s definition.
a U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled racebased admission policies were unconstitutional.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey ordered universities to “immediately cease their practice of using racebased standards to make decisions about things like admission, scholarships, programs and employment.”
The university responded by ending preferences in a number of scholarships and persuading donors to remove any racial or ethnic criteria from endowed programs. It also stopped requiring applicants for system administration jobs to include diversity statements in their job submissions.
n “I’m 100%” looking ahead to the Summer Olympics, in 2028 in Los Angeles.”
– USA bronze medalist gymnast Frederick Richard
Sports
InSIdE SportS
By Earl Austin Jr.
A Phenom-enal summer basketball performance
The summer grassroots basketball season came to an end last weekend and some very talented girls teams came home with national championship trophies.
The Napheesa Collier Elite 16U team won the Platinum Division title at the National Championships in Louisville, KY. Phee Elite defeated Drill 4 Skill in the championship game to win the 32-team tournament. The team features several top players from St. Louis area schools which include Peyton Olufson, Savannah Stricker, Addi Owen, Nevaeh Lucious and Amya Porchia (Incarnate Word), Kennedy Stowers (Lutheran-St. Charles), Moriyah Douglass (John Burroughs), Josie Christopher (O’Fallon) and Amelia Beer (Mater Dei).
Monroe Douglass Sr. Douglass is making her own name as a basketball standout as well. She is a 6’4” junior forward who has helped John Burroughs to two state championships. She also has scores of Division I scholarship offers, which include recent ones from Houston, Gonzaga, Texas Tech, Maryland. She also has an offer from SLU, which came before she entered high school
The Missouri Phenom 15U EYBL team won the championship at the Nike Nationals in Chicago. The Phenom defeated MoKan Elite 55-54 in an exciting championship game that was decided on a buzzer beater by guard Ryenn Gorden from Centralia (MO).
What is cool about these two teams is that each one has a member that is part of a very talented family lineage in basketball. Moriyah Douglass is the daughter of former Chaminade standout Monroe Douglass Jr. and granddaughter of former McKinley High and Saint Louis U all-time great
One of the top players on Phenom’s talented team is Jordyn Haywood, a 6’0” guard who is an incoming freshman at MICDS. She is one of the top prospects in the country in the Class of 2028. She is the daughter of former Lutheran North and Saint Louis U. basketball standout Jana (Tillman) Haywood. Her father, Carl Haywood, was a two-sport standout at Jennings High. Haywood has also received several Division I scholarship offers before playing a high school game. Among the schools that have offered include Saint Louis, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Arkansas and DePaul with many more to follow suit in the future.
Some College Commitments
A pair of top high school basketball players gave their verbal commitments last weekend. BreAunna Ward, a girls basketball standout from John Burroughs, gave a
commitment to Evansville while Vashon High boys standout Dehrio McCaskill gave a verbal pledge to SIU-Edwardsville.
Ward is a 5’10” guard who has been a three-year starter for the Bombers. She helped John Burroughs win the Class 4 state championship in 2022 and the Class 4 state title in 2024. During the summer grassroots season, Ward played with the Missouri Phenom 17U EYBL team that was one
of the top summer teams in the country. McCaskill is a 6’4” shooting guard that is one of the most explosive athletes in the state of Missouri. He has been a big part of the Wolverines’ last two Class 4 state championship teams with his athleticism and perimeter shooting. On the football front, some of the top athletes in St. Louis have been making commitments
SportS EyE
With Alvin A. Reid
As the Major League Baseball trade deadline neared in July 2019, the Arizona Diamondbacks sent their No. 29 prospect to the Miami Marlins. In return, the Diamondbacks received the Marlin’s No. 5 prospect. The respective players were infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., and pitcher Zac Gallen. Gallen had been a Cardinals minor league player and noted prospect before being dealt to the Marlins along with Sandy Alcántara for slugger Marcel Ozuna.
was one of the top players for the Missouri Phenom 15U team that won the championship at the Nike Nationals in Chicago last week.
throughout the summer. One of the latest ones was defensive back Charles Bass III of East St. Louis, who committed to Missouri. Bass is a 6’2” 190-pound safety who had 56 solo and 78 solo tackles and one interception for the Flyers. Standout wide receiver Corey Simms of CBC recently gave a commitment to USC, who will be joining the Big Ten Conference this season. The 6’3” 190-pound
I wanted St. Louis to be new home of the Jazz
I’m still holding on to a dream that Chisholm will play for the Cardinals. It will have to wait. We might not ever know how close it came to happening over the past month.
R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports wrote in early July that St. Louis was “a potential suitor” for Chisholm, along with Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
Ozuna has since become a member of the Atlanta Braves, Gallen is solid starter in Arizona and Alcantara had blossomed into one of the game’s dominant pitchers before undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Let’s get back to Chisholm – and the point of this commentary.
The Marlins sent Chisholm to the New York Yankees on Saturday.
“ If the Cardinals could land him to help out in center field or second base, they would be in a significantly better spot than they already are,” Anderson said. That comment came to mind when right fielder Dylan Carlson misjudged a line drive that turned an out into a triple in the Cardinals 10-inning loss to the lowly Washington Nationals last Friday. Second baseman Nolan Gorman was not in the lineup for two games before returning on Sunday. He was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. His batting average dropped to
.204 and strikeouts jumped to an embarrassing 138 –which is the most in MLB.
Following his Yankees’ debut, Chisholm was batting .248 with 13 home runs, 50 RBIs and 23 stolen bases.
Chisholm has been injury prone, playing in just 60 games in 2022 and 97 in 2023. However, he’s played in 102 games this
Jazz
Chisholm is now a New York Yankee, but the Cardinals had been listed as a potential suitor.
Simms had a tremendous junior season in which he caught 79 passes for 1,049 yards and 13 touchdowns. Belleville Althoff standout Dierre Hill gave a commitment to Oregon earlier this summer. The 6’0” 180-pound Hill is a fantastic running back who can also make plays in the passing game. As a junior, he rushed for 1,788 yards and had 208 yards receiving and 23 touchdowns.
year, with two months left in the season.
The Yankees’ sudden freefall led to the deal that brought Chisholm to New York and left me – and hopefully the Cardinals –disappointed.
Chisholm and the Marlins were in Milwaukee when the trade was completed. He played his first game as a
Yankee on Sunday night in a nationally televised game in packed Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox.
He played centerfield, a rarity for him, and batted fifth in the lineup. He got his first hit as a Yankee and scored a run in New York’s 8-2 win.
The Yankees started him at third base on Monday night in Philadelphia, which didn’t faze Chisholm.
“I feel like I can go and play anywhere and help my team win. Especially a winning team, if they’re asking me to go somewhere and help them win, I’m definitely going to do it,” he said.
Gosh, I wish this guy were a Cardinal.
The Reid Roundup
Sophia Smith had a pair of goals and Mallory Swanson and Lynn Williams added one each in the USA’s 4-1 Olympics women’s soccer win over Germany last weekend.
The trio are players of color, something that
should be noted by the men’s national team… USA gymnast Simone Biles fought through a calf injury to qualify for five finals at the Paris Summer Olympics. She is the most-decorated gymnast in Olympic history and is now primed to add more medals to her count… David Steward, founder and chairman of Maryland Heights-based World Wide Technology, recently transferred his ownership stake (reportedly about 5%) to another investor… St. Louis native Ezekiel Elliott said he is “thrilled” to be back with the Dallas Cowboys after spending a year with New England. Elliott, who held out for a new contract in 2019, offered advice to training camp holdout wide receiver Ceedee Lamb “All you can do is put in your work and make sure you’re in shape when you get back.’’…Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love has signed a deal which pays him $55 million annually. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott could make $60 million.
Earl Austin Jr.
Alvin A. Reid
Incoming freshman basketball
standout Jordyn Haywood of MICDS (#2)
Photo by Earl Austin Jr.
Photo courtesy of mlb.com Facebook
SLACO, partners provide support for Hickey School
Other projects upcoming
SLACO is collaborating with several St. Louis organizations to partner with Hickey Elementary School to develop an intervention strategy for distressed communities like the one surrounding the school.
Targeting 18 blocks abutting the school (Kingsville), an area straddling Kingsway East and the Greater Ville, SLACO and partners have used the area as a pilot model to replicate the approach in similar communities in North St. Louis.
The basic premise of SLACO’s B.E.S.T. Approach involves making the neighborhoods more attractive and livable (B=Beautification), strengthening the neighborhood school (E=Education), ensuring security and meeting basic needs (S=Safety and Services), and providing support to local organizations (T=Technical).
In short, the B.E.S.T. Approach emphasizes
revitalizing blighted neighborhoods through a comprehensive strategy that involves rebuilding the community from the ground up. It outlines actions and potential collaborations to transform underserved communities, making them more attractive places to live and improving residents’ quality of life.
To launch the program, SLACO has sought out community partners to support the initiative called the Hickey B.E.S.T. Collective. Formed in the fall of 2022, the initial members were SLACO, the St. Louis Public Schools, the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Harris-Stowe State University, and Washington University in St. Louis. In terms of education, attendance and test scores are major concerns. Through the support of the Urban League of Metropolitan
firefighters, and EMS for all the work that they do to keep our community safe. SLACO and partners are working to help the neighborhood and school.
St. Louis, the collective has increased the afterschool program capacity at
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced $1.5 million in grant support for the Lafayette Senior Apartments.
HUD has secured $19
to
the
Because of the interns, after-school faculty can have more one-on-one
HUD grants to help renovate Lafayette
million in new grant and loan awards to 32 properties nationally under its Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP). These grants and loans will support significant energy efficiency and cli-
mate resilience renovations in more than 4,260 homes occupied by low-income individuals, families, and seniors.
GRRP is the first HUD program to simultaneously invest in energy efficiency,
renewable energy generation, climate resilience, and low-embodied-carbon materials in HUD-assisted multifamily housing.
All of the investments under the GRRP will be made in affordable hous-
contact with students, resulting in higher rates of assignment completion and increasing exposure to reading opportunities. In addition, through a donation of 800 books, Hickey library enlarged its holdings of literature by African American authors and that featured non-white characters.
During the next year, SLACO and its partners plan to expand beautification initiatives, continue recruiting Harris-Stowe interns for the after-school program through support from InverstSTL, and seek funding to enhance the program through a Twenty-First Community Learning Center grant from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), as well as seeking new partners and resources. Because of the significant progress that has already been made, the collective feels that the B.E.S.T. Approach can be established in similar communities.
ing communities serving low-income families, directly benefiting HUDassisted housing, in alignment with the Justice40 Initiative. President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act—
the largest climate investment in history—established the GRRP in 2022 to fund energy efficiency, electrification, clean energy, and climate resiliency improvements for HUD’s assisted rental portfolio.
Photo courtesy of Hickey School Facebook
The Kingsville community and Hickey Elementary came together on National Night Out last October to celebrate local law enforcement,
Hickey. Utilizing HarrisStowe interns
triple
number of scholars served.
Living It
Along for the ride
RNSS back-toschool giveaway set for August 3
By Ashley Winters
The St. Louis American
“We are a beacon of hope for the community we serve,” said Derrick Walker, Rides N’ School Supplies founder.
Since its inception in 2019, the non-profit has been on a mission to provide exposure to youth through unique experiences.
That mission is reaching new heights on Aug. 3, 2024, via a partnership with NASCAR. The annual Charity Car and Bike Show will be at the YMCA in O’Fallon Park, where RNSS will pass out back-to-school supplies, provide free haircuts from local barbers, and have STEM tables hosted by Wash U students for young minds to explore.
Walker hopes this year’s event will energize the kids and families for the new school year.
More than 75 passionate car and bike communities gather to inspire and uplift the next generation of leaders in our community and help them look and feel their best as they embark on their academic journeys.
The inspiration behind Walker’s organization can be traced back to his involvement with 100 Black Men of Metropolitan St. Louis. When the founder visited the juvenile detention center he thought of himself as a mentor, a positive male role model to help break the cycle of young people returning to the detention center. He connected with them over their shared love for cars. “After seeing their lack of inspiration, this is my way of helping them,” Walker said.
Bookbags, free haircuts, and STEM projects aren’t the only ways the program is giving back. RNSS also helps high school students pursue their secondary education through college scholarships. RNSS has handed out 8,000 backpacks since 2019. In 2022, when the organization partnered with Eastpack, RNSS gave out 1,200 backpacks filled with school supplies per school year.
Aundrea Johnson, the educator chair for the program, said RNSS received over 100 scholarship applications from high school students in the St. Louis area. “ It’s our token of love to let the students know we support them,” she said. “This is a passion of mine.” So far, close to 20 scholarships have been awarded.
“It’s a lot of people that come from where I come from that don’t have the
More than 100 engaging STEM projects sparked curiosity and innovation during the 2023 Rides N School Supplies event. In addition. more than $8,000 in scholarships were presented to college-bound students.
n “ When the founder visited the juvenile detention center he thought of himself as a mentor, a positive male role model to help break the cycle of young people returning to the detention center.”
resources they need to be successful,” said Walker. He believes it is a combination of funds and support to help the youth reach their fullest potential.
Stephon Riggins, a sophomore at Harris-Stowe State University, received a scholarship from RNSS last year. Riggins, a communications major, said he’s grate-
ful for the organization’s scholarship.
“When the community pours into young people it makes us want to be successful in our future,” Riggins said. “ I want those who invested in me to get a return on their investment.”
Before the scholarship, Riggins said he had no clue where he would get money to pay for college. “The scholarship came at the right time,” he said, expressing his gratitude for RNSS.
Johnson, a school counselor by day, has a direct relationship and impact with the students she serves at RNSS. She said she loves showing up every day for them, using her marketing skills to help make
See Ride, C3
A warrior and a guiding light
Adored St. Louis media veteran
Tammie Holland laid to rest
By Kenya Vaughn The St. Louis American
Tammie Holland’s longtime on-air partner Tony Scott echoed the sentiments of nearly everyone who filled Union Memorial Methodist Church on Tuesday morning.
“Honestly, it never occurred to me that Tammie wouldn’t beat this,” Scott said. “It never crossed my mind.”
Because of her resilience and courage from the onset of her illness until her untimely passing on July 20 at the age of 53, she gave everyone a reason to believe she would. Holland’s three-year cancer journey was a series of setbacks and comebacks with every obstacle chronicled through her social media accounts. In July of 2021, Holland was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. The colon cancer begat liver cancer. The liver cancer begat lung cancer. The lung cancer begat brain cancer. With every new diagnosis, Holland took a fighting stance and dialed up her already unrelenting optimism.
“She was a warrior,” said Terry Crouppen. “A warrior is not a person who necessarily wins or loses. It’s somebody who is willing to take 10 shots to get one
“It will change television as we know it” ‘Abbott Elementary’ star and creator Quinta Brunson on a mystery series ‘Crossover’ show.
A cinematic mirror
“Dreams in Nightmares,” a film by St. Louis native Shatara Michelle Ford, will be an opening night selection for the acclaimed BlackStar Film Festival on August 1 in Philadelphia.
STL’s own Shatara Michelle Ford’s latest film opens at BlackStar Film Festival
By American Staff
This week, St. Louis native Shatara Michelle Ford will be back at the institution that kickstarted their journey as a filmmaker. When Ford’s first film “Test Pattern” debuted in Philadelphia at the BlackStar Film Festival in 2019, it was a demonstration of their grit and commitment to seeing the story through to the screen. Ford poured everything into the film’s completion – including using nine credit cards to help finance the movie.
The film earned Ford and co-producer Pin-Chun Liu BlackStar’s 2019 Lionsgate/Starz Producer Award at BlackStar. “Test Pattern” became a darling of the film festival circuit that year and the next. It received three Gotham Award nominations and four Spirit Award nominations to name a few. Ford was also subsequently awarded the prestigious New Generation prize by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and named a 2020 Pew Fellow.
shot back at them.”
She operated as if the cancer was already defeated – and yet simultaneously lived every moment as if it was her last.
“When she went into hospice, I was hoping for a miracle,” Scott said. “It’s not for me to choose the miracle. Maybe the miracle was that she lived long enough to see Meadow graduate.”
Holland’s final post on social media was the praise report of being able to wish her daughter Meadow McNeary –Holland’s only child – a happy 18th birthday on July 14. Even those who attended her services
n “I wanted to play with and reinforce standards of beauty that we have always known existed, but might not have been permissed on-screen for a million different reasons,”
When “Test Pattern” screened at BlackStar, the film was Ford’s introduction. They return to the acclaimed festival in 2024 as a featured attraction. Their sophomore film “Dreams in Nightmares” has the distinction of a coveted anchor spot on the festival’s opening night lineup.
“Five years after BlackStar world premiered my first film ‘Test Pattern,’ catapulting my career and the careers of countless others on my team; it only felt fitting to return to the festival that embraced my work from the beginning,” Ford said in a statement. “Especially since ‘Dreams in Nightmares’ was made most immediately for the BlackStar audience.”
In the film, a group of three queer Black friends travel across the Midwest in search of a friend that seems to have disappeared.
“It’s hard to imagine a more exciting film for the opening night of the 2024 festival,” said BlackStar Film Festival director Nehad Khader. “Imbued with a sense of radical possibility — ‘Dreams in Nightmares’ is the kind of genre-defying work that our audience has long embraced, reflecting a collective vision of a more liberatory world.”
Along with the story, Ford was intentional about the aesthetics within “Dreams In Nightmares.”
“I wanted to play with and reinforce standards of beauty that we have always known existed, but might not have been permissed on-screen for a million different reasons,” Ford told ESSENCE. “I
ST. LOUIS AMERICAN • AUGUST 1 - 7, 2024
Courtesy photo
Photo by Wiley Price/St. Louis American
The community came to City Hall to pay their respects to longtime St. Louis media personality Tammie Holland on Monday, July 29. Holland passed away on July 20 after a three-year battle with cancer. She was 53.
STL Sites & Sounds
Continued from C1
sure the program is easily accessible to the northside.
RNSS partnered with
Continued from C1
wanted to challenge the idea of what we are wearing on screen, of how we actually look as we sit in our living rooms with our besties.”
Ford said those types of scenes are the exception and not the rule in commercial films.
“Typically, we usually try to find the hottest label, the hottest brand, even the sexiest, most-elevated bonnets for the look, and those things subconsciously feedback to us, signaling that we need to look perfect,” Ford continued. “We are beautiful as we are and I was interested in forcing us to remember that.
“Dreams in Nightmares” stars Denee Benton, Sasha Compère, Charlie Barnett, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mars Storm Rucker, and Dezi Bing.
Scholarship Central using their platform to spread the word about the program and the scholarships available.
“ I want the kids to know their community is here for them,” said the founder.
More than 1,200 Marvel backpacks filled with school supplies were distributed during the 2023 Rides N School Supplies event, ensuring students are well-prepared for success.
Courtesy photo
St. Louis’s Olympic Games
Continued from C1
at City Hall and Union Memorial still found her passing hard to believe. Holland captured the hearts of St. Louis as a longtime radio personality and podcast host – most recently as a co-host of “The Real Breakfast Crew” on Foxy 106.9 FM. She would have been pleased with how family, friends, fellow media colleagues, community leaders and listeners bid her farewell.
“Her voice served as a guiding light to the St. Louis region for over three decades and will remain imprinted on our hearts,” read a resolution from Congresswoman Cori Bush. “Her authenticity and sweetness brought comfort to many. Tammie Holland left a remarkable legacy and she will continue to inspire future generations.”
A phrase heard more than once throughout her funeral was, “in true Tammie fashion.” It was often used as a preface for an anecdote that illustrated her sense of humor. She would have loved seeing how laughter comforted those in attendance through their tears.
Her “Real Breakfast Crew” co-hosts Aretha Richardson and Sinita Wells had a Lucy and Ethel moment during their remarks.
“Some people come to these funerals knowing that they are not supposed to be here,” Richardson said. “Well, Tammie gave me a list.” She unleashed
Ford wrote and directed the film – and produced it along with her “Test Pattern” co-producer Liu. Naima Abed of Paradise City, Josh Peters and Robina Riccitiello of Spark Features, Ben Stillman of Birchall Entertainment, Ana Leocha of Tango, Adam Wyatt Tate, Chris QuintosCathcart and Tyler Bagley also served as producers for the film
“I believe that my role as an artist is to hold a mirror up to society,” Ford told the New Orleans Film Society in 2020. “I think good art should confront an audience, and that there is great value in work that attempts to do so. However, the way that contemporary films are manufactured – emphasizing entertainment and profitability over all else – has crowded out a good many films that challenge and provoke – often these films are led by and center
a scroll of names that unrolled and hit the floor – and kept going. “She did not,” Wells said, scooping up the scroll and scurrying Richardson back to her seat. The church erupted with laughter. The only thing missing from the bit was Holland’s signature cackle.
“Well Tony, Tammie finally got you to come to church,” said Guy Torry. In true Torry fashion, he took the joke up a notch. “Look what she had to do to get you to come.” While they started out humorous, Torry’s remarks quickly turned heartfelt after likening Holland’s lived experiences to a “Hollywood soap opera.”
“God gave her one life to live and as the world turns she will remain in our hearts for the rest of the days of our lives,” Torry said. “And it didn’t matter what age Tammie was, she was always Young and Restless – and walked through life Bold and Beautiful. And she will now be Meadow’s Guiding Light.”
Crouppen acknowledged Holland’s sense of humor and “killer smile,” but said they were just a gateway to her true gifts.
“Tammie had the ability to lift people up,” Crouppen said. “She had something in her that allowed her to see what you couldn’t see in yourself – something that you had no idea was there. You knew there was more in you and [because of her] you tried to be that. I saw her do that over and over again.”
Rev. Dr. John W. Heyward, Jr. met Holland when she was a five-year-
To learn more visit Rides N’ School Supplies.
Ashley Winters is a Report for America reporter for the St. Louis American.
the experiences of nonwhite, non-straight people. This has been to the detriment of the medium and to society. This cannot continue.”
Ford’s return to BlackStar is truly a full-circle moment for the filmmaker, who has been based in Philadelphia for several years.
“The fact that Philadelphia is also where I reside, only takes the cake as I’m excited to share my very tender film with my community and celebrate this momentous achievement with my loved ones,” Ford said.
Shatara Michelle Ford’s “Dreams in Nightmares” will screen at the BlackStar Film Festival on Thursday, August 1 in Philadelphia. For more information, visit https://www.blackstarfest.org/
By Amanda Clark Missouri Historical Society
Olympic Games and their host cities are judged just as much as their events and athletes, and few Games have been as harshly criticized as those held in St. Louis in 1904. The most accurate assessment of the St. Louis Games is likely that they were neither the overwhelming success that the organizers and local press made them out to be at the time nor the embarrassing failure most often portrayed today.
As the site of the first Games ever held in the United States—and one of only three American cities to ever host the Summer Games—St. Louis can claim a key role in Olympic history. The 1904 Games saw several world- and Olympicrecord-breaking performances. They were also home to several important firsts: George Poage, the first African American to medal; the first time gold, silver, and bronze prizes were awarded to the top three finishers; and the first Olympics to include boxing. They also featured heartwarming stories of athletes who beat the odds, such as Ray Ewry who, despite being stricken with polio as a child, won three gold medals in St. Louis.
old and he was the newly appointed senior pastor of Union Memorial.
“I watched her grow and develop into a very fine young woman,” Heyward said. “There was never a dull moment when you are with Tammie. And it looked like she got a joy out of doing something for other people. If you were down, Tammie could lift you up. If you were sad, she could make you happy. I don’t know if she could do anything for you if you were broke…”
Yet again, the church filled with laughter at the quip from the church’s pastor emeritus.
He said Holland was the personification of “give it all you’ve got.”
“Tammie gave it all she had – And she didn’t let nothing stop her,” he said. “Sixty seconds worth of distance running was Tammie’s life. She didn’t let sickness stop her.”
Her family church’s current pastor Rev. Dr. Antonio Settles delivered the eulogy and his words were perfectly aligned with all who spoke before his culminating remarks. Before he started, he led the entire church in a rendition of “This Little Light of Mine.”
“If I had to put a title on this [eulogy] I would say, ‘her light is still shining,’” Settles said. “She lit up St. Louis with her light. Tammie’s light built bridges and relationships.
Tammie’s light connected souls across the airwaves. She touched lives with that infectious smile, laugh and voice. Her light drew people into a better and brighter day.”
The New York Times praised the 1904 Games as “the peers of any previous aggregation of international character.” Ferenc Kemeny, an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member from Hungary, also praised the St. Louis Olympics. “This is the greatest athletic meet I ever witnessed,” he said at the time. “I am surprised and pleased at the success of the Olympiad.”
That judgment was in sharp contrast with that of his boss, Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the IOC. In his memoir published in 1931, Coubertin called the 1904 Games embarrassing but said he wasn’t surprised. “I had a sort of presentiment that the Olympiad would match the mediocrity of the town,” he wrote. This perception has stuck. In most popular histories of the Olympics, the St. Louis Games are held up for ridicule. A 2004 Wall Street Journal article, for example, carried the headline “The Olympics of 1904: Comedic, Disgraceful and ‘Best Forgotten.’”
This disconnect is largely for two reasons. First, the Games were mostly an American affair. About 700 athletes competed, but more than 500 were from the United States. Although heralded athletes
from across the world did come to St. Louis, their numbers weren’t enough to give these Olympics an international feel. Second, the 1904 Games were spread out over months to fit with the World’s Fair schedule, and all athletic events associated with the World’s Fair were listed as part of the Olympic Games. At the time, this didn’t confuse reporters covering the competitions—they simply referred to some events as part of the “official Olympics”—but it has made it difficult for subsequent record keepers, journalists, and historians to determine which events were truly part of the Olympics.
This became particularly damning because of the sporting events included in the World’s Fair’s Anthropology Days. The Anthropology Days involved members of the Fair’s human exhibits competing in a variety of sports (many of which they had never played) to showcase the superiority of “civilized man” over the abilities of “savages.” This was undoubtedly an ugly moment, and though at the time these events weren’t considered part of the Olympics, they have hurt the reputation of the St. Louis Games.
Smithsonian magazine’s sports journalist Frank Deford called the 1904 Games a travesty and then claimed that “mud fighting and climbing a greased pole were highlighted Olympic events.” That assessment is due largely to the taint of the Anthropology Days and the confusion over which sports were part of the Olympics. (Pole climbing and mud fighting were not.)
Yet these historical confusions and controversies don’t take away from what’s probably St. Louis’s biggest contribution to Olympic history: St. Louis kept the Olympic dream alive.
The revival of the Olympics, which started in 1896 in Athens, was off to a rocky start. Many questioned whether the idea of moving an international athletic competition around the world every four years was desirable or even feasible. Ultimately, Olympic fans and athletes owe a debt of thanks to St. Louis and other early host cities, not for putting on the perfect Games but for proving that the Olympic movement was a tradition worth continuing.
Amanda Clark is a public historian and See STL tours manager. To find a walking or bus tour, visit mohistory.org/learn/ see-stl-tours.
Missouri Historical Society Collections
George Poage (second from left) at the start of the first heat of the 60-meter run at the 1904 Olympic Games.
Religion Black clergy quickly back VP Harris presidential run
By Dorothy S. Boulware
Many churchgoers had just returned home on Sunday July 21, 2024 when the news erupted that President Joe Biden would not only decline to pursue a second term but had also endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, for president.
The unexpected timing did not deter church leaders around the country from assembling on Zoom to declare their singular support for Harris, send letters of support to their political representatives, and offer their dollars to fund her campaign.
Biden’s decision came as a surprise because, despite his recent bout with COVID-19, he had announced his July 22 return to the campaign trail. But as the tide turned with his announcement, the Black community rallied immediately to secure his seat for Harris — someone it could depend on to hear its voice.
“The best way to preserve President Biden’s legacy is to continue fighting for his agenda,” Rev. Al Sharpton wrote in a guest essay for the New York Times. “Kamala Harris is our best hope for that. Black America and all Democrats must stand behind her in this moment because of what is at stake for the future of this nation.”
Sharpton began his statement with a list of accomplishments that comprise the Biden Administration’s legacy.
“His fierce commitment to delivering on promises has made him an incredibly effective president in just one term. He made a pledge during the campaign to select the first female vice president. He did. He vowed to U.S. Rep Jim Clyburn that he would put a Black woman on the Supreme Court. He delivered us
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson,” Sharpton wrote. “He promised me executive action on police accountability. I stood alongside him and the family of George Floyd as he signed an executive order to strengthen accountability in federal law enforcement agencies.”
Bishop Joel R. Peebles sent a letter to the membership of Global United Fellowship, for which he is the presiding prelate. He called for daily prayer and a weekly fast in light of the “seismic shifts in American politics, which have led to significant instability within our
national systems and international standing.”
Peebles noted, “The withdrawal of one candidate and an assassination attempt on another have caused considerable consternation.”
Peebles also wrote, “We are believers with a powerful mandate from Christ to be the source of light, fire, and salt to the earth. The planet needs our collaborative gifts focused on providing clarity, healing, and salvation to a world suffering from ambiguity.”
He also encouraged churches to be proactive in voter regis-
tration and participation and to hold meetings allowing community members to hear from and better understand their legislative representatives.
“What people want is an America that is as good as its promises,” he wrote, adding the words of the late Rep. Barbara Jordan of Texas.
Bishop Jerome L. Williams, the presiding prelate of Changing Hearts International Fellowship, addressed his membership with similar intentionality, calling for a fast, daily prayer, and the promotion of voter engagement.
“This nation must see us reflect the righteousness of God and stand on biblical principles and standards while speaking truth to prophetic power,” he wrote in a letter.
“Let us remain the gatekeepers of integrity, justice and peace. Let us be the ignition for end-time revival to break out in our country. We have a clarion call to evangelize and win souls in times like these like never before.”
A unique religious fusion
As Associated Press story this week profiled Harris and the “fusion of traditions and teachings that have molded her religious faith and social justice values.
Harris is Baptist and married to a Jewish man. She was inspired by and often quotes Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Her mother was Indian and she knows those religious traditions, as well.
Joshua DuBois, former head of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, told the AP that Harris’ ecumenism that makes her candidacy appealing to an array of religious voters.
“I think that presidents are grounded in their faith and inspired by their faith in numerous ways. It’s the wellspring that they draw from,” said DuBois.
“When you know the world is going mad how do you connect to something larger than yourself?
“I also think faith can help you with prioritization. Often times you can only focus on one thing as president and you face the question: Who needs you the most? I think that is certainly how Jesus walked. That’s how Gandhi walked.”
Photo courtesy of Washington Informer
Kamala Harris spoke at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles while on the campaign trial in during Black History Month in 2020. Photo courtesy of KABC 7 Lon Angeles
EMPLOYMENT
LIBRARY ASSOCIATE
To Advertise your Jobs, Job Fairs, Bid Notices, Proposals, Audits email Angelita Houston at ahouston@stlamerican. com
The St. Louis County Library is seeking qualified applicants for a full-time Library Associate at the Cliff Cave Branch. Responsible for performing a variety of circulation duties to meet the needs of Library customers and other clerical duties as assigned. High School Diploma or GED required. Hours: 40 hours per week, evenings and weekends are required. Salary $36,445, plus paid vacation, sick leave, paid parental leave, pension plan and other benefits. Apply online at: https://www.slcl.org/ about-us/employment Equal Opportunity Employer
JR82275 Medical Assistant II - FPP Ambulatory Cancer Building
A Medical Assistant II prepares and maintains exam rooms, prepares charts, obtains reports and records; assists with patient flow and ensures the overall smooth running of the clinical office. They will Interact directly with patients in clinic setting and completes clinical tasks, which may include obtaining vital signs, conducting EKGs, completing a phlebotomy, and verifying medications. Also, prepares for office hours by doing tasks, such as obtaining charts, scheduling tests, and preparing exam rooms, assists with examinations, procedures and lab tests. An MA II may assist with renewal and authorization of non-narcotic medications per standing orders and department guidelines. They may also administer medications under the order of physicians or nurse practitioner (this includes vaccines and intramuscular and subcutaneous injections).
***Must obtain Basic Life Support Certification within 30 days of hire and Medical Assistants credentials within six months of hire from in-person proctored exams from the following certifying bodies: NHA, AAMA or AMT. ***
JR82848 Facilities Maintenance Technician III - OFMD (Evergreen)
Acts as primary Building Services contact for assigned areas, prioritizing work and making an initial assessment of conditions and service needs. Keeps Building Services supervisors aware of facility conditions, problems, and needs. Maintains effective communication with other Facility Maintenance Coordinators and other maintenance staff. The ideal candidate will meet the following required qualifications: High school diploma or equivalent high school certification. Three years of related experience in a skilled trade function or an equivalent combination of relevant education and work experience. Must obtain Valid Missouri Class E or Illinois Class D Driver’s license within 30 days of hire. Please visit jobs.wustl.edu for the full job description and to apply.
JR82871 Field Education/Practicum Coordinator - Brown School
The position will coordinate all administrative needs of the Assistant Dean of Field Education. This position coordinates the daily operations of OFE departmental projects. The role oversees, directs, and/or coordinates administrative, financial, personnel, and general business operations for the department and provides technical assistance and support to identify the needs and available resources related to projects. The ideal candidate will meet the following required qualifications: Bachelor’s degree and three years related program development, administrative or project management experience or equivalent combination of education/experience. Please visit jobs.wustl.edu for the full job description and to apply.
JR81562 Facilities Technician III (Controls Technician) - OFMD
The duties of this position include the programming, troubleshooting, and recommissioning of building automation/DDC systems. Assists in covering the Building Automation Control room as needed. Performs preventive and corrective maintenance, troubleshooting, optimization, and repair of the Building Automation System and DDC equipment. The ideal candidate will meet the following required qualifications: High school diploma or equivalent high school certification. Three years of related experience in a skilled trade function or an equivalent combination of relevant education and work experience. Must obtain Valid Missouri Class E or Illinois Class D Driver’s license within 30 days of hire. Please visit jobs.wustl.edu for the full job description and to apply.
For a full description of these positions and other career opportunities, please visit https://jobs.wustl.edu/ to apply.
For Full Description and to Apply for these positions Visit: https://www. employmentstl.org/ come-work-with-us Positions include Housing Specialist, DOCY Program Manager, DOCY Youth Specialist, Career Specialist (Missouri and Illinois Locations), WIOA Career Specialist, and Manager of Green Jobs.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
City of Clayton has openings for multiple positions, both full and part-time. To apply online and see full job description go to: Job Listings - City of Clayton Jobs (applicantpro.com) Open positions, include, Communications Manager, IT Support Specialist and Municipal Services Technician I
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER AND FACILITIES & OFFICE SERVICES ASSISTANT
Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri is hiring for two full-time positions: Community Engagement Manager and Facilities & Office Services Assistant. To apply, visit www. girlscoutsem.org. We are a proud Equal Opportunity Employer, and we encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply.
The Missouri Historical Society is actively hiring for the following positions: Campaign Coordinator –
Visitor Experience AssociatePart time
Please visit www.mohistory.org under the “Current Openings” at the bottom of the home page for position details and to apply.
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer Services Provided On A Non-Discriminatory Basis
Functions:
• Oversee operations of the Nutrition Center and Warehouse.
• Manages inventory, ordering and warehouse functions.
• Maintains adequate supplies of groceries and food products.
• Works closely with vendors for competitive pricing.
• Coordinates stocking of grocery shelves and freezers/ coolers.
• Manages all aspects of the Nutrition Center and Warehouse, including risk management, forklift maintenance, freezers, coolers and nutrition center equipment.
• Performs data entry of inventory.
• Assists with client check-in for Nutrition Center services.
• Manages regular bidding process for groceries and nutrition center repairs.
• Analyzes food cost comparisons.
• Analyzes Nutrition Center and Warehouse maintenance costs.
Position Qualifications:
• Experience in nonprofit, volunteer-supported community organizations.
• Experience in managing staff, volunteers, and vendors.
• Must have inventory management experience.
• Knowledge of computer networking and hardware.
• Familiarity with Access software a plus.
• Available to work or respond to emergencies on short notice and to work some evenings and weekends.
• 3 years of experience in nonprofit setting, management a plus.
Send resume to: joel@foodoutreach.org
This position may be financed in part through an allocation of Community Development Block Grant funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the City of St. Louis’ Community Development Administration. Food Outreach is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS
PARIC Corporation is seeking proposals for the following project: ST. CHARLES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS 3RD FLOOR, located at 301 N. 2nd St., St. Charles, MO 63301.
The project consists of the renovation of existing kitchen and housing space on the 3RD Floor of St. Charles County Department of Correction’s to become new substance abuse and behavioral health housing units and includes construction of a new mezzanine.
Access to documents is available from our Smartbid link. If you do not receive a bid invitation, please send your company information to tlalexander@paric.com.
A PREBID meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 13th at 10:00am at 301 North 2nd Street, St. Charles, MO 63301.
Questions / RFI’s are due to PARIC by Wednesday, August 21, 2024.
BIDS WILL BE DUE ON September 5th, 2024 @ 2:00pm.
Send all questions to Grant Whitson (gwhitson@paric.com).
This project will have prevailing wage requirements.
The construction phase of this project shall have a Supplier Diversity participation goal of subcontracting with MBE of 10%, with SDVE of 3%; and WBE, DBE, and/or VBE of 10% of the GMP. The Construction Manager at Risk is strongly encouraged to include minority and women owned firms. CMRs are also strongly encouraged to include Missouri-based firms on the team.
All bids should be delivered to PARIC via e-mail (bids@paric.com) or fax (636-561-9501).
PARIC CORPORATION IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
INVITATION TO BID:
E.M. Harris Construction Company (EMH) seeks subcontractor bids for Lafayette Apartments, located near Jefferson Ave and Park Ave, St. Louis, MO 63104. Scope of work involves renovation of 15 buildings (162 units), construction of a new clubhouse, and site improvements, including, but not limited to, interior and exterior renovations to the apartments, common areas, mechanical/electrical/plumbing systems, and site work. Minority and Women Business Enterprises and Section 3 Businesses are strongly encouraged to bid. All workers must be OSHA 10 certified. EMH is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Project plans & specifications are available for viewing online through an invitation to bid (email request to bidassist@emharris.com or call 314-436-4426). All bids due to EMH office by 5 pm, Friday, August 23, 2024.
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
ABATEMENT / THIRD PARTY ABATEMENT MONITORING AND AIR MONITORING RFP 2024
The Saint Louis Zoo seeks bids from qualified firms to submit proposals. Bid documents are available as of 7/31/24 on the Saint Louis Zoo website: stlzoo.org/
SEALED BIDS
Bids for Replace Roof, Sikeston Regional Office, Project No. M241701 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, August 15, 2024. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities
SEALED BIDS
Bids for Replace Concrete Dock & Entryway, Regional Office Building, Project No. M2408-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 9/12/24. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities
REQUEST FOR BIDS
GENERAL CONTRACTING SERVICES –SITE PREPARATION AND PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS PRESERVATION SQUARE PHASE IV
Issued July 31, 2024 Responses Due August 16, 2024
LCRA Revitalization Corporation II (LCRARCII) is requesting bids from qualified contractors to provide General Contractor will provide. 1) Demolition and Site Preparation and 2) Public Infrastructure Improvements for Preservation Square Phase IV.
Sealed bids will be received at 1520 Market Street Suite 2000 St. Louis, Missouri 63103 (Preservation
DESTINATION DISCOVERY INTERPRETATION RFP 2024
The Saint Louis Zoo seeks bids from qualified firms to submit proposals. Bid documents are available as of 7/31/24 on the Saint Louis Zoo website: stlzoo.org/vendor
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
The City of Crestwood, Missouri Department of Parks and Recreation is requesting sealed proposals for a prefabricated restroom structure delivered to and installed at Whitecliff Park. Sealed proposals are due Thursday August 8, 2024, at 10:00 am CST. For more information and the complete RFP package please see the Bids and RFP’s section of the City of Crestwood website (https://www. cityofcrestwood.org/Bids. aspx)
ST. LOUIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES HOUSING RESOURCE COMMISSION FY2025 GRANT
The St. Louis County Department of Human Services – Supportive Housing Program is seeking proposals for the Housing Resource Commission FY2025 Grant Bid Number 1997. The total funding available is approximately $444,383.43. Proposals are due electronically by 2:00 p.m. on August 28, 2024. Request For Proposal details and specifications can be obtained at the St. Louis County Bids and RFPs webpage located at https://stlouiscountymov endors.munisselfservice. com/Vendors/VBids/ BidNotificationLandingPage. aspx?BidId=2745
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS:
Requesting for proposals for Kinloch Park Renovations Phase 1. The job bids on 08/6/2034 at 1:00 PM. The minority goals are 24.5 MBE and 9.5 WBE. Scope of work includes Earthwork, Turfs & Grasses, Planting, Storm Utility Drainage, BMP, Site Clearing, of 12+ acres etc... Please send all proposals to bids@ hankinsmidwest.com if you have any questions, please feel free to contact our office at 314-426-7030
PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District Requests for Quotes, Bids and Proposals are posted online for public download. Please navigate to www.msdprojectclear.org > Doing Business With Us > View Bid Opportunities Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL: SSD 100-25 NORTH TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL – CAFETERIA AND PATIO RENOVATION PROJECT
All vendors interested in participating in the proposal process are requested to attend the pre-bid conference at 2:00 PM on Monday, August 12, 2024. The pre-pre-bid conference will commence at North Technical High School, 1700 Derhake Road, Florissant, MO 63131.
Project Manual and drawings will be available at County Blue Reprographics (811 Hanley Industrial Ct, Brentwood, MO 63144) as of August 6, 2024.
ONLY attendees on record at County Blue will receive any correspondence or communication afterb that date.
Bids are due at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, with a Public Opening at Special School District Facilities Department, 700 Fee Fee Road, Maryland Heights, MO 63043.
St. LouiS american Bids & Public Notices St. LouiS
ADVERTISEMENT TO BID
Sealed bids will be received by the Construction Manager, S. M. Wilson, at NORTHWEST R-1 SCHOOL DISTRICT Office– located at 4290 Gravois Road House Springs, MO 63051 or submitted through Building Connected, until 2:00 pm CDT, on Thursday, August 15th, 2024, for the Bid Packages described herein.
Bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at the NORTHWEST R-1 SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFICE – located at 4290 Gravois Road House Springs, MO 63051.
Northwest R-1 School District
Bid Package 02 - House Springs Elementary
A Pre-bid Meeting for Bid Package No. 2 will begin at 2:00 pm on July 30th, 2024, at the project site located at 4380 Gravois Road House Springs, MO 63051. The purpose of this meeting is to address technical questions concerning the project from prospective bidders. Contractors shall not visit the site unless prior arrangements are made with the Construction Manager.
The School District reserves the right to reject any and all Bids, and to waive informalities therein to determine the lowest and best bid.
The bid documents will be available for viewing on BuildingConnected.com. https://app.buildingconnected.com/public/5913928fce945d0a00d28943
Plans will also be available for viewing or purchase at: Cross Rhodes Print & Technologies 2713 S Jefferson Ave, St Louis, MO 63118.
No Bid may be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60) days subsequent to the specified time for receipt of Bids.
Any offer exceeding $100,000 will be subject to a Bid Bond or Certified Check made payable to the Owner, in the amount of 5% of the Base Bid shall accompany the Bid Packages as a guarantee that the bidder, if awarded the Contract, may be asked to furnish a satisfactory Performance and Payment Bond; execute the Contract; and proceed with the work. Upon failure to do so, he shall forfeit the deposit or amount of the Bid Bond as liquidated damages, and no mistakes or errors on the part of the Bidder shall excuse the Bidder or entitle him to a return of the deposit or Bid Bond.
The prevailing wage law is in effect on this project. All bidders shall conform to the State of Missouri, Division of Labor Standards, Annual Wage Order No. 31, Section 010, Jefferson County in accordance with Section 290.262 CUM. Supp. RSMo (1994). All Contractors and Subcontractors shall conform to the Excessive Unemployment Articles 290.550 through 290.580 of the Prevailing Wage Law.
Bidders must be in compliance with the rules and regulations of the Fair Employment Practices Commission.
The Construction Management Agency for this project is S. M. Wilson Contact info: Brian Nuehring, 314-306-7566 brian.nuehring@smwilson.com
Northwest R-1 School District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
S. M. Wilson. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. S. M. Wilson strives to make our industry a more inclusive community and to sustain this model for future generations. Bidders agree to take all reasonable steps necessary to ensure Minority, Women and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises have an opportunity to participate in the performance of this project. Consideration of subcontract award may be based on diversity involvement.
PUBLISHER’S NOTICE:
Advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, imitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial\status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination. “We will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.” Call Angelita Houston at 314-289-5430 or email ahouston@stlamerican.com to place your ads today!
SEALED BIDS
Bids for Install Pedestrian Bridge At Pleasant Hill Over Union Pacific Railroad, Project No. X2311-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, September 10, 2024. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http:// oa.mo.gov/ facilities
SEALED BIDS
Bids for Renovate Interior & Exterior Readiness Center Building, Mexico Readiness Center, Project No. T2318-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 8/27/24. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http:// oa.mo.gov/ facilities
SEALED BIDS
Bids for Crime Lab-Exterior Renovations Troop-H Headquarters Building, Project No. R2338-01will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, September 10, 2024. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http:// oa.mo.gov/ facilities
SEALED BIDS
OA-FMDC, State of MO will have the following MO National Guard projects that will be open for public bid through September 2024, subject to available funding. When released, bid documents will be available at https:// oa.mo.gov/facilities/ T2329-01 AVCRAD HVAC Repairs, Blade & Paint Shop T2333-01 Joplin Readiness Ctr Construct Addtn T2336-01 Ike Skelton Training Site Construct Addtn T2407-01 St Joe Rosecrans Bldg 25 Renovs
RFQ PROFESSIONAL DESIGN SERVICES
900 N 1st Street St. Louis, MO 63102
The City of St. Louis Port Authority will receive Sealed Bids on 8/16/2024 For more info. Visitstlouis-mo.gov/https://www. government/ departments/sldc/ procurement/index. cfm
PUBLIC NOTICE
Donald Maggi Inc. is accepting bids from Disadvantaged Business Enterprises for subcontracting opportunities on the Marshall Drive Sidewalk Improvements Project No.: 23062658
Bid Date and Time: 1:00 pm Wednesday, August 14, 2024
Plans/Specification is available via Dropbox or google drive or www.questcdn.com #9217419 Contact Donald Maggi Inc. at 573-364-7733 or email maggiconst@gmail.com Donald Maggi Inc.
ITB #:57824109
INVITATION TO BID
Harris-Stowe State University (HSSU) is requesting proposals for the construction services required for the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Building. Bids must be emailed no later than 2:00 pm on Monday, August 29, 2024, to Corey Freeman at freemanc@hssu.edu
Bids will be opened and read at a virtual bid opening on Monday, August 29, at 2:30 pm The link to the virtual bid opening will be sent at the time of bid submission.
A pre-bid conference and walk-through will be held on Thursday, August 1, 2024, at 2:00 pm at the Henry Givens Jr. Administration Building, room 121 located on the 1st floor.
Documents will be ready for review on July 29, 2024.
A copy of the Bidding Documents can be obtained by contacting Corey Freeman at email address: freemanc@hssu.edu, or calling (314)-340-3325.
Should you need any further assistance, please email Ryan Wilson with NAVIGATE Building Solutions at ryan@navigatebuildingsolutions.com and copy Tiesha Smith with NAVIGATE Building Solutions at tiesha@ navigatebuildingsolutions.com.
The University reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and to waive all informalities in proposals.
ADVERTISEMENT/ NOTICE
Bids for New Laboratory Campus Multi-Agency, Project No. O2301-01 will be received by McCownGordon Construction at the office of OA/FMDC, State of MO UNTIL 2:00PM, August 28, 2024. Project location is 135 N Chestnut St, Jefferson City, MO 65101. Bid Package 03 Scopes of work including: Site Concrete; Masonry; Fireproofing; Roofing; Metal & Specialty Wall Panels; Joint Sealants & Waterproofing; Interior Glass and Glazing; OH Doors, Loading Dock Equipment, Fire Curtains; Drywall & Ceilings; Walk in Coolers / Freezers; Shooting Range Equipment; Projectile Recovery Tank; Laboratory Casework & Equipment; Elevators; Overhead Hoist Rail; Fire Suppression; Site Modular Retaining Walls; Landscaping. https://app.buildingconnected.com/ public/565cdb606895000f004164f2/ projects/664e10d6f7dd580035b287cb
MBE participation goal of 10% and WBE participation Goals of 10% and SDVE participation goal of 3% are included.
OA/FMDC reserves the right to reject any and all bids and to waive all informalities in bids. McCownGordon Construction is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
