August 8th, 2019 Edition

Finding peace and purpose 5 years later

A Q&A with Michael Brown Sr.

By Rebecca Rivas Of The St.

from August 9-11.

American: What is life like for your family today?

Brown: Everyday life for the Browns. Up and down. Emotions are different. Still waking up differently. Still trying to find some kind of peace.

Jennings School District

Superintendent Art McCoy introduces Kathy Osborn, president and CEO of the Regional Business Council during the kickoff of STL.works employment training programs on Monday, Aug. 5 at the America’s Center downtown.

Last month, Mike Brown’s stepmom, Cal Brown, and local artist Dail Chambers glue old St. Louis American newspapers onto the chest of Michael Brown Sr. to build a paper-mâché case of his chest to create a life-sized replica of his son for the August 9 five-year anniversary of Mike Brown’s killing.

Stellar Performer: Valerie Bell

By Rebecca

Explaining the impact that attorney and civic volunteer Valerie Bell has had on education in St. Louis can be a little complicated.

But her husband, Kelvin Westbrook, a successful business consultant and board chair of BJC HealthCare, has a helpful analogy. The St. Louis Public School District is like an elephant, he said, and there are various people who want to help move this elephant in the right direction by

donating funds. In the past, some were pushing at the trunk and others at the legs.

“The elephant, consequently, didn’t move at all,” Westbrook said.

When Bell became the board chair of the St. Louis Public School Foundation eight years ago, she did some research, listened to the school district community, and decided to completely upend how the foundation – which is in charge of managing donations to the district – had been operating. What Bell did was lead the foundation in coming up with four main

areas where funders could plug in, essentially making sure that people were all pushing in the same direction.

“In the past, we would listen to what funders wanted to see happen,” said Jane Donahue, president of the foundation. “Val was reversing that paradigm and making sure we were responding to what was most needed by students.”

Bell ensured that educators, the superintendent and parents had a voice in shaping the four main areas that the foundation would focus on, Donahue said.

“We picked these four areas because we knew they would mean a lot to the communi-

Dunaway, Days win STL County Council seats

regain majority

By Rachel Lippmann and Jason Rosenbaum Of St. Louis Public Radio

Two Democrats captured vacant St. Louis County Council seats Tuesday, giving their party control of the governing body that was shaken up by Steve Stenger’s resignation as county executive. Former state Sen. Rita Heard Days easily won the race in the heavily Democratic 1st District, which takes in parts of central and northern St. Louis County — including Ferguson and University City. Days beat Republican Sarah Davoli with 84% of the vote. In the 2nd District, which

See MOTHER, A6

Photo by Rebecca Rivas

Rivas

Of The St. Louis American

Lezley McSpadden-Head and her son Andre, who was 12 at the time, working in a garden in the Jennings School District.

Photo by Wiley Price

Photo by Wiley Price

Bell

Court tosses Bobby Brown lawsuit against BBC, Showtime

Last year, Bobby Brown filed a lawsuit against The BBC and Showtime for using his image without permission for the Whitney Houston documentary, “Can I Be Me.”

According to reports, the case was dismissed on Friday after a judge ruled the documentary is protected under the defendants First Amendment rights.

Bobby may still be able to sue BBC and Showtime for using clips from his reality show, “Being Bobby Brown,” without permission.

lines for sex and threatening witnesses. There are 13 victims total connected to the case – including a new charge stemming from allegations in Minnesota.

R. Kelly denied bond, charged with additional sex crime in Minnesota

After being denied bond, singer R. Kelly was transferred from Chicago to Brooklyn Federal Court this week –where he pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering, transporting women and minors across state

According to St. Paul ABC affiliate KSTP, a Hennepin County attorney announced the new charges against the musician, who has also been charged with underage sex crimes in other jurisdictions, at a press conference Monday. According to the criminal complaint, on January 11, the victim reached out to law enforcement to report a sexual encounter with Kelly. She told police the incident happened when the musician was in Minneapolis for a concert. The event occurred on July 11, 2001, according to Freeman. The charges against Kelly are one count of engaging in prostitution with a person

under 18 years of age and one count of hiring a person under 18 years of age for sexual purposes, the attorney reportedly said.

The criminal complaint states Kelly offered the victim $200 to dance with him, and she agreed. According to the

victim, he then helped her remove her clothing and stated that Kelly took his clothes off as well. She went on to say Kelly laid on the bed and she climbed on top of him. Kelly is noted to have made contact with the victim’s private areas, as well as touching himself in the same area, according to the complaint.

Stevie J. granted custody after Joseline flies off with baby Bonnie Bella Reality television personality Stevie J. was granted primary custody of daughter, Bonnie Bella, after flying to Miami to pick up her for a scheduled visit only to discover that his ex, fellow reality television star Joseline, had taken the baby and flown to California. An arrest warrant was issued and Joseline was ordered back to Miami. She was also stripped of primary custody until the next custody hearing August 15.

an angel this morning.”

Diddy meets the parents

Joseline returned to Miami and the custody exchange was completed by Stevie J.’s older daughter.

Last night, Stevie J. shared a picture of Bonnie asleep in his bed on social media with the caption, “Woke up next to

On Saturday, Sean “Diddy” Combs, 49, and Lori Harvey, 22, were spotted on an obvious date at a restaurant in Nerano, Italy along with Lori’s step-father, Steve Harvey and her mother Marjorie Harvey. In the series of photographs published by The Sun, Lori cradles Diddy’s face, the couple whisper in each other’s ears and put their arms around each other. Lori Harvey was rumored to have previously been romantically linked to Trey Songz and Diddy’s own son, Christian Combs.

Sources: Instagram, The Sun, The Blast, ktsp.com

THE STUFF THAT HAS PEOPLE TALKING

Bobby Brown

Stevie J.

Sean Combs

‘This is an attack on our rights to fair representation’

Fears of undercounting people of color rise before 2020 Census

By Michael J. Fitzgerald Ethnic Media Services

Combatting a predicted major undercounting of people of color in the 2020 U.S. Census was the focus of a national roundtable discussion, featuring key representatives of civil rights and voting rights organizations in June.

In sometimes heated presentations, representatives of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), the Urban Institute, Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ) and the New York Immigration Coalition hammered home how important a full count will be.

“We are not going to stand by and be undercounted,” said Jeri Green of the Urban Institute.

On June 4, the Urban Institute released a study asserting that the upcoming census is likely to be the least accurate since 1990, or possibly worse, and that among the people likely to be overlooked will be 1.7 million kids younger than age 5. It expects California to have the highest percentage of people not counted, followed by Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, Georgia and New York.

Part of the concern expressed repeatedly in the national teleconference was the possibility that the 2020 Census will include a question inquiring about a person’s

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights predicts an undercount of as high as 4 million minorities –with a possible concomitant overcount of Caucasians – in the 2020 Census.

citizenship status. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against it but the ruling did not reject a citizenship question categorically.

“Regardless of the outcome of the Supreme Court’s decision, we will not idly stand by as others attempt to undermine the progress of the Latino community and suppress the count of the nation’s second largest population group,”

NALEO CEO Arturo Vargas said. “We will continue to fight for a just Census 2020 and

a full and accurate count of Latinos and immigrants.”

“But even if it doesn’t get put on the census, just the discussion of it has already done harm,” John Yang of the AAAJ said.

The harm, Yang explained, is that people who are already skittish about government in general — or their citizenship status — are less likely to fill out any census form, thinking it might put them at risk.

Steven Choi of the New York Immigration Coalition

said that the most effective strategy will be to have as much person-to-person contact with individuals to convince them to fill out the census because of its importance in determining federal funds and national representation.

“Clearly the Trump administration effort (wanting the citizenship question included on census forms) strikes hardest at immigrantrich states,” he said.

In New York, the state Congressional delegation is

bracing for a likely loss of two seats.

“And in terms of money and power, for every person lost — or not counted — it’s estimated to cost the state about $3,000 per person,” Choi said.

That’s money lost to all manner of public spending.

This year’s census will also be the first to extensively use the internet and online data gathering, in favor of deploying the traditional door-to-door census takers. The Census Bureau is planning to send

out an electronic request to 80 percent of U.S. households, expecting a response rate of about 45 percent. Nonresponsive households will eventually be mailed a paper census form to fill out, either in English or Spanish. Online questionnaires will have more languages to choose from Eventually, if no response is forthcoming, a Census Bureau field worker will be dispatched to contact the household in person or via telephone.

The consensus among the teleconference panelists was that if the citizenship question is included in the census, people should answer it and not leave it blank.

“You really must answer,” Choi said. “There are legal ramifications.”

Panel moderator Beth Lynk, census counts campaign director for The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said her organization is worried about an undercount of as high as 4 million minorities with a possible concomitant overcount of Caucasians.

“Everyone relies on census data,” she said.

Sulma Arias of FIRM said her organization is already holding community meetings, engaging people of color online, and getting the word out about how important this census will be.

“This is an attack on our rights to fair representation,” she said. “We refuse to be erased.”

Editorial /CommEntary

The core critique of Ferguson protestors must be heeded

The mostly young, black people who stood up to the police in Ferguson five years ago had two rallying cries that seemed, perhaps, overstated and non-strategic to older, more seasoned and settled activists. They had been working on incremental systemic change for decades when Michael Brown was killed and Ferguson erupted. They focused on white supremacy as a core issue. Conservative columnist Michael Gerson wrote “this evil – the evil of white supremacy resulting in dehumanization, inhumanity and murder – is the worst stain, the greatest crime, of American history.”

They boldly declared that “the whole damn system is guilty as hell.” Subsequent events, in St. Louis, Missouri and around the United States, have shown that they were right – and we were wrong. As deep and shattering as their critique was, it was accurate, and any attempt to improve this city, state and nation must take the critique of these courageous, mostly young, black, marginalized people as a starting point.

To cite white supremacy, many thought at the time, was a little abstract and sweeping of a critique to describe the problems of a nation that had passed some progressive laws and set many legal precedents to address the admittedly white supremacist origins of the nation – not to mention that had elected a black president twice. But they were right –we were wrong. Their critique started with the somewhat vague notion of “black lives matter.” If you can accept racial disparities in the use of police force against American citizens without opposing it, they claimed, then you accept the idea that black lives are less valuable than white lives. You accept white supremacy. They were right. Nothing proved their point more convincingly than the subsequent election of a U.S. president, a white supremacist, who has publicly encouraged police to treat suspects in a violent and unlawful manner.

Likewise, “the whole damn system is guilty as hell” seemed a bit overstated and nonstrategic as a critique for a criminal justice system where many reforms had been enacted (and many more seemed possible) since the admittedly wholly and hellishly guilty systems of slavery and its long horrendous aftermath that were African Americans’ historic experiences in this country. They were right – we were wrong. Nothing proved their point more convincingly than the subsequent election of a black woman as St. Louis prosecutor, which triggered the almost farcical collusion of white men both within (St. Louis police, the city counselor, a judge) and outside (the private attorneys who represented a former governor) the criminal justice system in an effort to undermine her authority and

destroy her career.

White supremacy still must be overcome, and the whole damn system is guilty as hell. The Ferguson protestors’ critique was neither overstated nor non-strategic. They were dead-on-the-money accurate, and no strategy that ignores these brute facts has any hope of success. However, they also were right to take positive energy from these insights which might seem forbidding or even hopeless to those of us who are more settled. For, as the poet said, if you ain’t got nothing, then you ain’t got nothing to lose. Those of us with much to lose must return to thinking and acting from the perspective of those with nothing to lose, because they see the system better for what it is, and you can only change – or defeat – what you understand and take for what it is.

Subsequent events – in addition to the burning courage of these mostly young, black and disillusioned activists – have also given new reasons to hope for change. St. Louis city and county did elect young, black prosecutors who campaigned with the pledge to make progressive reforms and are following through on their pledges. The electoral majorities of the victories of Kimberly Gardner and Wesley Bell made it clear that not only young, poor and black people voted for them. Clearly, many white people in this region want to work past white supremacy and systematic corruption to establish criminal justice standards that are more fair and equitable. Clearly, black lives also matter to more people than just black people in our region. We believe this shows that many people here – including many powerful people with everything to lose – realize that our region (and state and nation) will not prosper, but rather, continue to falter if the system is not reformed radically.

Moreover, we now see Trump enablers who deny the obvious about the current divisive president who they seek to excuse or largely ignore his hateful, racist tropes and language of white resentment. Trump is a leader whose regressive, racist positions are opening historic wounds and represent an existential threat to the future of an already increasingly multiethnic and multiracial nation.

Indeed, looking at the thoroughly corrupt white supremacist wielding power in the White House now, no truth shouted on the streets of Ferguson seems overstated or non-strategic at this point. It now seems reasonable and accurate to conclude that if we do not heed the calls for change from these courageous, even prophetic, young people who stood up to the police in Ferguson five years ago and proclaimed “black lives matter,” this nation will not survive long as a democratic nation.

Take the Senate to get gun reform

By Eugene Robinson

For The St. Louis American

Senate Majority Leader

Mitch McConnell and the Republican Party may not have pulled the triggers, but they still bear some responsibility for the weekend’s atrocities.

The only way to keep military-style weapons of war out of the clutches of would-be mass killers is to take away McConnell’s power -- which means electing a Democratic majority in the Senate next year. It is also necessary, of course, for a Democrat to defeat President Trump, whose racist rhetoric gives aid and comfort to white supremacists like the gunman who allegedly killed 22 innocent Walmart shoppers in El Paso. But even with Trump gone, McConnell will continue using his power over the Senate’s agenda to keep sensible gun control measures from even being considered.

The Republican Party’s absurd “analysis” of the weekend’s double horror -- first El Paso and then, just hours later, the killing of nine innocent men and women in Dayton, Ohio, by a young gunman -- would be laughable if this were a moment for laughter. Trump blamed the carnage on the internet, violent video games and mental illness, in that order. But all of these phenomena are present in every other industrialized country, yet none suffers the kind of horrific gun violence we routinely experience in the United States. Japan, where a culture of violent video gaming is deeply rooted, has essentially

no gun violence at all. The difference? Our nation is awash in guns, and anyone can obtain one. In Sydney or Seoul or Stockholm, a delusional racist bent on a killing spree cannot easily, quickly and legally get his hands on an AK-47-style assault rifle. Here, no problem.

Yet the Republican Party is so under the thumb of the National Rifle Association that even the mildest, least intrusive gun control measures do not get a hearing. The Democratic-controlled House has passed legislation mandating universal background checks for gun purchases, an idea supported by more than four-fifths of Americans. McConnell won’t let it come to the Senate floor for a vote. Even when Trump’s presidency is reduced to a nightmarish memory, nothing will change as long as McConnell and the Republicans control the Senate. Even as minority leader, McConnell would have considerable power -- but much less than he has now. The Senate’s arcane rules would allow him to delay and obstruct. But the Republican senators who are crying crocodile tears over El Paso and Dayton could at least be forced to go on the record as opposing common-sense gun laws that the American people, including those senators’ constituents, overwhelmingly support.

Now for the hard part. It will not be easy for Democrats to win the Senate in 2020, given which seats are being contested. But for the party to have a chance, it needs to run its very best Senate candidates -- several of whom are instead running for president. They need to reconsider.

One of them is Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, who is polling at less than 1 percent

Taking it to the streets

If the United States was the country we pretend it to be, there would be no angst over the 2020 Presidential Election, because if the United States was that country, Donald Trump wouldn’t be president, because as the cliché goes, “we’re better than that.” The reality is Donald Trump is the president because we’re not better than that.

The American political class, Democratic and Republican, are both intellectually and morally bankrupt. They are bereft of any policy ideas that are a function of an intellectually supportable theory of the world as it exists in the 21st Century. Their lack of any moral center of gravity means both substitute pandering for leadership.

When I think about America’s aged-out Baby Boomer political class, the phrase “The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity” immediately comes to mind.

Democratic establishment leadership in 2000, 2004 and 2016 (Obama was not the establishment first choice in 2008) has shown it lacks the mental toughness and political ruthlessness to win a contest against a committed amoral adversary. The Democratic establishment is the Vichy Government trying to figure out how to live with Nazi control of France.

I have little confidence in the collective leadership of the Democratic Party to develop a coherent strategy and message that will win the presidency, provide a national rationale for supporting Democratic candidates that will maintain control of the House and win the Senate, and lay siege to Republican control of state legislatures.

A conversation in the 1987 movie, The Untouchables, between Sean Connery (Jim Malone) and Kevin Costner

(Elliot Ness) about how to take down Al Capone crystalizes the reason for my pessimism:

Malone: You said you wanted to get Capone. Do you really wanna get him? You see what I›m saying is, what are you prepared to do?

Ness: Anything within the law.

Malone: And *then* what are you prepared to do? If you open the can on these worms you must be prepared to go all the way. Because they’re not gonna give up the fight, until one of you is dead.

Ness: I want to get Capone! I don’t know how to do it.

Malone: You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife; you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital; you send one of his to the morgue. *That’s* the *Chicago* way! And that’s how you get Capone. Now do you want to do that? Are you ready to do that?

I’ll risk being Captain Obvious and say the answer to the question of the readiness of the Democratic establishment to do what’s required to take down Trump is a resounding no! Democratic leadership will never be confused with Malone when it comes to toughness, or Ness when it comes to moral strength; but Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell are to American politics what Al Capone and Frank Nitti were to crime in Chicago.

How do the morally weak overcome the morally corrupt?

The short answer is they don’t.

So what are we to do?

The recent events in Puerto Rico and mass protests leading to the forced resignation of the governor, made me stop and reflect on the current political climate of the United States and what are necessary preconditions for political change.

The prerequisite for progressive political change is sustained mass action. The American political system does not initiate structural

Letters to the Editor

nationally in the overcrowded Democratic presidential field. Bullock has been elected and reelected in a deep-red state that Trump carried by 20 points in 2016. He would have an excellent chance of knocking off Republican incumbent Sen. Steve Daines, whose blind support of Trump rubs some Montanans the wrong way.

Another is former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, also polling at less than 1 percent. The incumbent I’d love to see him face, Sen. Cory Gardner, is widely considered the most vulnerable Republican senator because of Colorado’s purple status and his slavishness to Trump and McConnell. Gardner described himself as “devastated” by the “tragic events” in El Paso and the “senseless violence” in Dayton. Too bad he’s not in a position to do something about it.

The third presidential contender I’d love to see run for the Senate is Beto O’Rourke, who left the campaign trail Saturday to rush home to El Paso. In his emotional interviews, you could see how deeply the Walmart killing spree has affected him. His presence on the 2020 ballot against Republican Sen. John Cornyn would help put Texas, long a GOP stronghold, in play. And O’Rourke might just win.

I also wish the electrifying Stacey Abrams, currently not running for anything, would take on Sen. David Perdue in Georgia -- putting another Republican state up for grabs.

If Democrats are serious about tackling gun violence, if they’re serious when they say this is an emergency, then this is a moment for discipline and sacrifice. Sensible gun control requires taking the Senate. Think about it, please.

change without being prodded, pushed and pulled into the future, its default position is defense of the status quo. I could point out the Civil Rights Movement preceded civil rights legislation, the Anti-War Movement preceded United States withdrawal from Vietnam, but we don’t have to reference the last century, criminal justice reform is on political agenda because of the Black Lives Matter Movement. The predicate for the Democrats reclaiming control of the House was not Democratic establishment political leadership, but the spontaneous organized mass demonstrations against the idea of a Trump and Republicancontrolled America, beginning with the Women’s March the day after his inauguration. That was followed by mass resistance to the Muslim ban and mass demonstrations to save the Affordable Care Act. It was the momentum created by the Street that provided the political energy that routed Republicans in 2018.

Left to their own devices, the Democratic establishment will have a 2020 campaign strategy built for 1992.

We the people must act on our own behalf and in our own interests, we can’t look backward, because it’s that past that’s brought us this present. A return to normal does nothing for people of color, immigrants, the LGBT community, religious minorities or other marginalized communities. There’s nothing about America’s past that I wish to return too. We don’t need to fight back, we need to fight first. Don’t defend – attack. We’re already in a fight, so embrace the principle that the fight isn’t over until we win.

I’m going to close by putting a little Doobie in your funk: “Take this message to my brother, you will find him everywhere. Wherever people live together, tied in poverty’s despair. Oh, you, telling me the things you’re gonna do for me. I ain’t blind and I don’t like what I think I see...Takin’ it to the streets.”

All letters are edited for length and style.

Two-state solution but no BDS

I was pleased to join with a large bipartisan majority to support H. Res 246 to expose the BDS Movement in its attempts to delegitimize the State of Israel. This bipartisan legislation is an important victory against the BDS movement, which seeks to inflict and encourage economic harm on the State of Israel and its people. BDS

It comes as no surprise that Trump and Republicans’ big talk on standing with Venezuelans is a lie. While Democrats in Congress continue the fight to grant protections to Venezuelan families, this administration once again betrays our Latinx

not only hurts Israelis of all religions and ethnicities, but also injures the numerous Palestinians employed by Israeli businesses.

I will continue to advocate for a two-state solution that guarantees Israel’s security and recognizes the legitimate right of self-determination for the Palestinian people to establish their own independent state, coexisting in peace and cooperation with all its neighbors.” My vote stands for the principle that no matter how divided our politics, the protection and support of our ally Israel is a bipartisan trust and should remain as such.

U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay Washington, D.C.

Vote him out

communities by not deciding that the atrocities of the Maduro regime don’t warrant protecting the families fleeing for their lives. Trump and Republicans have abandoned Venezuelans today. By not granting TPS to Venezuelans, they are condemning these

families. It’s inhuman and it’s cruel, but it is not surprising. Latinx and ally communities everywhere will hold him accountable for this, and vote him out.

Andrew Gillum Via email

Columnist

Eugene Robinson

Columnist Mike Jones

Miss Jessie O’Bryant, a resident at Christian Extended Care & Rehabilitation (formerly Village North Health Center) in Florissant, celebrated her 105th birthday on Saturday, July 20 with family, friends and staff at the center.

August 18 deadline for Open Studios STL 2019

Registration artists for Open Studios STL 2019 is open until Sunday, August 18 at 11:59 p.m. The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (CAM) partners with artists, galleries, alternative spaces, arts organizations, and universities in St. Louis city and county to make their studios accessible to the public for one weekend, October 19–20.

Locations west of Grand Boulevard will be open to the public on Saturday, October 19, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; locations east of Grand Boulevard will be open to the public on

Sunday, October 20, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

To be eligible, artists must maintain working studios or spaces in the City of St. Louis or St. Louis County. Artists actively working in galleries, co-working spaces, university campuses, residency programs, and other alternative spaces are eligible to participate. There is no fee to register and participate. Interested artists may visit camstl.org/openstudios for submission guidelines and further information.

To Ashcroft: Do your job and write the ballot language for voters to speak

By Erin King, MD For The St. Louis American

Every moment Secretary John R. Ashcroft fails to do his job by not issuing language for the citizen’s veto of Missouri’s abortion ban is a direct insult to Missourians’ constitutional rights. Secretary Ashcroft is playing a dangerous game with Missouri voters by denying the people their right to a referendum. If Missourians wish to maintain their freedom in the democratic process, we must tell Secretary Ashcroft to let us gather signatures and put House Bill 126, the extreme bill that bans abortion after eight weeks, on the ballot.

Missourians oppose ending legal abortion. Advocates for reproductive freedom, individuals with deeply traumatic stories, and organizations that preserve constitutional rights have, and continue to, represent the majority of people across the state who believe HB 126 is dangerous.

House Bill 126 is unconstitutional and bans abortions at eight weeks, before many people even know they are pregnant. When Secretary Ashcroft tried to block HB 126 from a vote of the people he acted in an unprecedented, illegal way. Secretary Ashcroft elevated politicians above their constituents and intervened to circumvent the people’s right to vote. That is antithetical to the job of being Missouri’s Secretary of State. Corrupting the Constitution to uphold partisan politics is craven. It shows zero belief that the system of democracy itself has value. We must not let this behavior to continue.

The people have a right to weigh in on HB 126 with a vote. Frankly, Missourians have the right to bring a referendum on any piece of legislation they find objectionable. If this were any other issue, it’s doubtful the Secretary would have chosen to insert himself in the process. Secretary Ashcroft was willing to gamble the right of the people to have a referendum so that he could join the political fight to ban abortion. We stopped him, and any other secretary of state, from this type of invention going forward at the Western District Court of Appeals. Now, Ashcroft must do his job and produce ballot language immediately so that the campaign to put HB 126 before voters can start gathering signatures. The clock is ticking.

We know what Ashcroft is doing – it’s a delay tactic. And unfortunately, it’s working. Stalling by not writing the ballot language now impedes the referendum campaign. Over 100,000 signatures from Missouri residents are needed by August 28, to successfully put HB 126 on the ballot. In reality, the campaign will have to collect twice that to overcome any errors. Secretary Ashcroft’s actions threaten to disenfranchise Missouri voters.

If we, the voice of the people, want to protect our constitutional rights, we must call Secretary Ashcroft and demand he do his job. He must write ballot language now so that people can have a voice on HB 126. Call Secretary Ashcroft and ask him to approve ballot language immediately. Failing to protect the right to an abortion violates the individual freedom of Missourians. House Bill 126 runs counter to our shared belief in autonomy and it has devastating consequences for our constitutional rights.

Erin King, MD, is a gynecologist & executive director of Hope Clinic for Women, Ltd.

Erin King, MD

Miss Jessie turns 105

Continued from A1

Finding peace. Peace leaves sometimes. Just trying to stay on a positive note. Even though we are doing things to try and change pain into a purpose, it’s still a different feeling that we are trying to still get by because that was tragic. Just trying to start back loving on each other, because I think that part kind of left when that happened. Fighting for something that we believe in and losing. The rest of the kids asking questions like, ‘You forgot about us.’ Getting them to a place where they could understand why we were going so hard for their brother, but we had to understand them too. It just wasn’t about him, it was

Continued from A1

teen son was killed by then Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson. “Don’t ever think that my son’s death anniversary is a celebration for me,” she said. “I’m not looking forward to it.” His death compelled people to take to the streets and demand justice – and commit to months of nonstop protest that captured the world’s attention.

“Five years is a marker in a lot of people’s lives,”

McSpadden-Head said. “You go to school at five. You set five-year goals. Five years is a significant milestone in people’s lives. We are waiting to see a goal be scored as far as justice. Have we seen that? Of course not.”

Her recollection on the day of her son’s death was haunting. She was at her longtime job at Straub’s when she got a phone call. Someone in Canfield Green Apartments had been shot. They believed it was her son.

She had to get to her “Mike Mike,” but she was such an emotional wreck that she

about them too.

American: You mentioned previously that people react when they hear or see your name. Could you talk about what that’s like?

Brown: The thing that gets me is that people call me a celebrity. It bothers me when they say that, because I don’t know how you become a celebrity off the death of a child. But I get what they are trying to say; they’re just not seeing it right. Language. The respect that the community has overall for the family is amazing. They get some of it. They never will understand how we actually feel, but we respect the support and really appreciate it.

American: What do you want people to know? Brown: We are human too.

couldn’t drive. Her coworker volunteered to take her there. While driving, she tried to get in touch with her husband, Louis Head.

“I wanted to let him know to get around the corner because they are saying that the police just shot Mike Mike.”

When she arrived, her husband was already on the corner holding up a makeshift sign that read, “Ferguson Police Just Executed My Unarmed Son.” An image of him holding the sign went viral on social media.

“To this day I don’t even think I asked my husband, what made you write the sign,” McSpadden-Head said. “Where did you get the cardboard from? Where did you get the pen from?”

Upon entering the apartment complex, Canfield Drive was filled with St. Louis County Police cars. Brown’s father, also named Michael Brown, arrived at the exact moment.

“It was so in sync,” McSpadden-Head said. “I couldn’t say anything but his name, ‘Mike.’ That alone was saying so much – ‘I can’t believe we are here for this. I can’t believe they are saying this has happened to our son.’ When I ran down that street,

The upbringing of Mike was a regular upbringing. He was someone’s child. Someone’s brother. Someone’s everything. Keeping him in the light of people knowing that he was a human being. People have different outlooks on the situation, and they are due to their opinion. We definitely want people to know that he had people out here who loved him too. He wasn’t just a guy that the family gave up on.

American: In 2014, were you aware of some of the issues that came up after your son’s death, such as police brutality and cash bail?

Brown: I was aware of a few things, watching the news. We weren’t out there like that. I remember Mike wearing a hoodie for Travyon Martin. I was one of those people that

you’ve seen it all over the news what happened next. My mind left my body.”

Her son was under a sheet surrounding a pool of blood. He remained there for fourand-a-half hours. McSpadden stayed at the scene the entire time. It would be nearly a month before she saw his face again – during a private viewing of his body.

“When I first met with the funeral director, I told him I wanted my son to look just like himself,” she said. “Austin Layne did a really good job.”

The source of her strength

After her son’s death, and the relentless protests sparked by his killing, she had to deal with the assassination of his character.

“It was like they were killing him over and over again,” McSpadden-Head said. “The lies that were told and the stories that were being made up about him.”

She prayed to God to give her the strength to endure it all.

“I had to quit listening to these human beings and rely on God,” McSpadden-Head said. “I said, ‘I have to give it

life was moving so fast, that I wasn’t paying attention to the issues. It had to hit our front door, but I definitely understand now. It’s a hurtful feeling, but we know our roles in this play and are trying to execute.

American: Did “Mike Mike” talk to you about Travyon Martin?

Brown: He was taking pictures with his hoodie on his head. A lot of people see that picture, but didn’t know that’s why he had that hoodie on. I knew because he told me. I feel kind of bad for not being aware, but whenever, we learn.

American: Is there something that people don’t know about that day that you want them to understand?

Brown: I would recommend

to Him,’ and that’s what I did. People would say ‘you have to forgive.’ But God didn’t tell me that I had to forgive. He told me that I had to fight. He told me that I had to stand. And he told me that faith without works is dead.”

She is grateful to the people who protested and those spoke of what they witnessed that day.

“I’m so thankful that somebody was watching this time. Somebody was fed up. I’m just so thankful because I couldn’t have done this by myself,” McSpadden-Head said. “I don’t know if I would be here sitting talking about this if I didn’t have so much support and so many people saying ‘enough is enough – that boy had his hands up, we did see it.’”

She’s also thankful to the countless organizations –namely Action St. Louis and ArchCity Defenders – that pushed for systemic change as response to her son’s death.

After losing Michael, she didn’t want to let her three surviving children back out into the world and become exposed to the slanderous comments that were made about their big brother.

It was her youngest daughter

people to watch Stranger Fruit. There were a lot of things that were covered up.

American: Where were you when you found out about your son?

Brown: Our house had caught on fire a month before. We were staying with Cal’s mother (Cal is his wife). I had just gotten off work and I was folding clothes. The phone rang, and Cal gave me the phone. I think I said, ‘The police just killed my son, the police just killed Mike.’ Everything went so fast or slow – in a tunnel. I can’t really describe it. I was folding clothes at the house.

American: What was Mike like?

Brown: He was loving, silly, big, strong, goofy, pro-

that lit the spark to change her mindset.

“She came to my door, fully dressed in her uniform. She told me, ‘Mom, I’m ready to go to school,’” McSpadden-Head said. “I said, ‘If a seven-yearold can get themselves up, dressed and ready, the least you can do is meet her halfway. Get out of this bed. Put something in your mouth. Take these babies to school. Continue being their mother.’

That was the beginning of her regaining her strength.

“This was the start of me realizing that, ‘God woke you up today and you’ve got to fight.”

She threw herself into building a legacy in her son’s memory. She created a nonprofit organization, the Michael O.D. Brown We Love Our Sons And Daughters Foundation. She wrote a book. In 2017, she earned her high school diploma –same night as her eldest daughter, Deja Brown, at Jennings High School. Deja Brown attends Tennessee State University, where she studies neonatal nursing. Her son made National Honor Society and her daughter is also thriving. They both attend schools in the Jennings School District, where

tective. Just a teenager, finding his way. Trying to just be him and be happy. He was working towards his accomplishments and figuring out his future and it was taken from him. He drew a lot of people in. You couldn’t do nothing but love him.

At 11 a.m. on Aug. 9, Brown and the Michael Brown Chosen For Change Foundation are inviting people to gather at the memorial plaque in the Canfield Green neighborhood. They will hold the International Moment of Silence at 11:55 p.m. for 4.5 minutes. Then, the group will walk up to the parking lot at 9421 W. Florissant Ave., where there will be a Community Day with vendors. The As I See You exhibit will be open from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., Aug. 9-11 at the Ferguson Empowerment Center.

there is a memorial garden in honor of their brother. She ran for Ferguson City Council. She didn’t get elected, but is proud God gave her the courage to knock on more than 3,000 doors and campaign for change.

Two weeks ago, she took the inaugural group of Camp Brown Kids to Macomb, Illinois.

She considers her biggest accomplishment the ability to keep going when she wanted to give up.

She credits her husband, her family and her circle for the continued support – and considers her life mission to continue to fight for healing and change in Michael Brown’s name.

“Had this not happened to my son, St. Louis would still be operating the way that it was on August 8, 2014,” McSpadden-Head said. “Keep that in mind and keep his family in your prayers. And know that as long as I have breath in my body, I will be watching and waiting to see if any of these action words –justice, equality, equity, reform – will happen within the next five years.”

Bus stop safety

Better Family Life and St. Louis Public Schools are reaching out to men ages 18 and older to volunteer for the SLPS Neighborhood Net Team to secure safe passage to young students during the first week of school. SLPS and BFL are looking for men to provide a strong presence at neighborhood bus stops to help ensure that students get safely on the correct bus each morning. Volunteers will be background checked and trained in advance of the first week of school, which is August 13, 14, 15 and 16. Recruitment and information sessions will be held August 5 and August 6 at

Continued from A1

mean the county council has a majority of women members for the first time since the end of 2010.

Stenger’s fall contributed to the two special elections. The 2nd District seat became open when Sam Page took Stenger’s place as county executive. And Hazel Erby resigned from her 1st District seat to lead diversity efforts in Page’s administration.

Days will serve the rest of Erby’s term, which runs through 2022.

Days is a former state senator and representative. And she also was the Democratic director for the St. Louis County Board of Elections from 2011 to 2015. In addition to her county and state service, Days was a member of the Normandy School Board. “It is about service. I am a public servant,” Days told a

Continued from A1

ty: early childhood education, college and career readiness, great school leaders and addressing student well-being,” Donahue said.

Under Bell’s leadership, the foundation has helped to expand the district’s early childhood education program so now more than 2,100 children have access to quality preschools, she said. The foundation had made sure that there are college counselors and ACT prep classes for all SLPS high-school students.

“She’s helped us make sure that we can attract the best possible principals and support their innovative ideas,” Donahue said, “and to make sure we are connecting our families to the health resources they need. So now we have mental health therapists and embedded school nurses. All of

crowd at her victory party that included Erby, former county executive Charlie Dooley, county prosecutor Wesley Bell and numerous other state and local elected officials. “It is not about me. It’s not about what I can do for myself. It is about what is best for the people of the 1st County Council District. And when you put that in front of everything else, it all falls into place. You don’t have to worry about anything else, because you will have the interest and the spirit of the people at heart.”

Days developed an extensive legislative track record in Jefferson City, serving in House leadership when Democrats had control. She served in the Senate during a time when the margins between the two parties were closer than they are today, and often was a key figure in opposing the GOP majority’s policies.

In some respects, Days’ return to county government marks the further erasure

this is her vision and creation. She has driven and inspired our board to wake up every day, thinking about how we can do more for students in the St. Louis Public Schools.”

Because of her transformative work with the SLPS Foundation and many other educational initiatives, Bell is receiving the Stellar Performer in Education Award at the 32nd Annual Salute to Excellence in Education Gala, held at the America’s Center on Saturday, Sept. 21.

“Valerie Bell has been a lightning rod for change in the St. Louis community,” said Kelvin Adams, SLPS superintendent. “I am ecstatic that she’s receiving this award. It’s an award that speaks to the notion that people who have resources can and should give back, and she’s done that. She’s really made a difference in terms of revisioning the foundation and motivating persons in this community to care greatly about what happens

of Stenger’s political legacy. In 2015, Days says Stenger was behind her ouster from the elections board. That move angered some of the region’s African American leaders, many of whom had opposed Stenger’s election even after he won the Democratic primary.

Days is also a longtime ally of former county executive Charlie Dooley, whom Stenger defeated in a bruising August 2014 Democratic primary. Dooley served as treasurer of Days’ campaign committee for the council.

“As the Council returns to seven members, I want to continue our collaborative relationships,” County Executive Sam Page stated in his weekly report. “That level of communication will continue as we

in the St. Louis Public School District. But more importantly, to care greatly about the kids in the City of St. Louis.”

The “Val” that people know today is the same one that Westbrook met at Harvard Law School almost 40 years ago, he said. Her number one preoccupation in life, outside of family, has always been educational equity.

“Education is so transformative on every conceivable level you can think about,” Bell said.

That passion is one of the things that Westbrook has always admired about her. “She cares about people who are less privileged and who are born into situations through no fault of their own,” he said, “and who deserve an opportunity to be the best they can be.”

And for the past 25 years, Bell has volunteered her time to finding ways to bridge the educational gap.

“As a graduate of Princeton, as a graduate of Harvard Law School, as a gradu-

together work to restore trust in county government and to tackle the biggest challenges the St. Louis region faces.”

Kelli Dunaway will fill out a little more than a year of Page’s term in the 2nd District. She will have to run for election next year if she wants to serve a full four-year term.

“I’m just so relieved I could deliver the victory for Democrats tonight,” Dunaway said. “I’m excited about the future of our county. And I’m really looking forward to what is going to come after tonight.”

Dunaway is the director of learning and development for the Bryan Cave law firm. She had briefly run for the 2nd Congressional District seat, but ended up dropping out to

ate of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, she could do any number of things,” Westbrook said. “She chooses to do this. It puts her in a unique position to speak truth, to not pull any punches. Val is just an authentic person when it comes to these issues. There’s no hidden agenda.”

Bell stepped down as board chair of the foundation on July 1, but will remain a board member. She is currently excited about serving on the board for the National Network of Schools in Partnership. There, she has been exploring ways for top-tier private academic institutions and public schools across the country to share resources and bolster the entire educational opportunity for everyone. In St. Louis, she has helped to partner John Burroughs and the St. Louis Public Schools through an ongoing initiative called the Equity Exchange.

More than 20 years ago, Westbrook and Bell moved to

support eventual Democratic nominee Cort VanOstran.

During the truncated campaign for county council, Dunaway promised to restore faith in a county government rocked by Stenger’s guilty plea on pay-to-play charges. She also pledged to make economic development decisions with racial equity in mind, citing racial segregation as a major impediment to regional growth.

“I would like to believe, and I have a great hope, that no matter how progressive or conservative each member of the county council is that we will be able to find a place where we agree and start from that point in working together,” Dunaway said.

When she takes office, Dunaway could have to make a decision on whether to void a lease St. Louis County signed with the owners of the Crossings at Northwest in St. Ann. Stenger moved a number of county services to the former mall, but some

council members are looking into whether campaign contributions contributed to the decision. With Days and Dunaway winning, the Democratic majority now has the numbers to push through agenda items that may not have passed under GOP rule. That includes a measure that bars landlords in unincorporated parts of the county from rejecting tenants based on their source of income — such as Section 8 housing vouchers. But unlike the state Legislature or Congress, party affiliation tends to matter less in county politics — as Republicans and Democrats worked closely together through part of Stenger’s administration. Council

Presiding Officer Ernie Trakas, a Republican from south St. Louis County, has been complimentary of Page’s leadership as county executive. Edited and republished with permission of St. Louis Public Radio

St. Louis from New York with their three children, who were 9, 6, and 1 at the time. Not long after, she became legal counsel and advisor to then-Washington University Chancellor Emeritus William Danforth in his role as settlement coordinator for the St. Louis school desegregation case, and remains on the task force overseeing implementation of the settlement agreement. She is a past president of the boards of trustees of John Burroughs School and FOCUS St. Louis, and past secretary of the board of Parents as Teachers international organization. She has also been a trustee or board member of Fontbonne University, the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, the Independent Schools Association of the Central States, the St. Louis Science Center, the Deaconess Foundation, the YWCA of Metropolitan St. Louis, Christian Brothers College High School, Grace Hill Settlement House, and St. Louis Community College Foundation, among others. “From a moral perspective, it’s important for each and every person to have access to a quality education,” Bell said. “If that individual leverages him or herself, it becomes something that we all benefit from. So it’s not only something we invest in from the moral perspective. It’s also something we invest in because it’s the smart thing to do.”

The 2019 Salute to Excellence in Education Gala will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, September 21, 2019 at the America’s Center Ballroom, following a reception at 5 p.m. Tickets are on sale now. Individual tickets are $100 each/$1,000 table and VIP/ Corporate tickets are $1,500 table. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www. stlamerican.com and click on Salute to Excellence, or call 314-533-8000.

Kelli Dunaway Rita Heard Days

St. LouisAmerican holds two-week STEM camp for 4–6th graders

The St. LouisAmerican Foundation recently held its fourth annual Summer ScienceAcademy for high-achieving 4th - 6th grade students. The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Camp was held at Little Creek NatureArea in the Ferguson-Florissant School District. Participating students were a part of The St. LouisAmerican’s nationally-acclaimed Newspaper in Education program and were nominated by their teachers as a “Science Star,” with a high interest and excitement for science. The two-week, intensive summer science program was free to the participating students, through a partnership with the Boeing Company, and featured guest speakers from organizations including the Boeing Company, Endangered Wolf Center, TreeHouse Wildlife Center, Hazelwood West Robotics Team, USArmy Corps of Engineers, Two Rivers National Wildlife Refuge and others! Participating students experienced two weeks of self-directed research, hands-on lessons, individual and group experiments, engineering projects, indoor and outdoor challenges and environmental education.

Boeing scientist Christina Willis explains airplane building to the young scientists

Photos By: Wiley Price and Cathy Sewell

Discovering the many different computer programming languages

Troubleshooting the robot

Hands on robotics building

Understanding robotics wiring

Sharing robotics designs

Building different kinds of habitats

Designing and building spacecraft to withstand the elements of space travel

Creating animals and their habitats

Outside of the Classroom

Guest Speakers

Practicing casting skills

First catch of the day

Building the week-long outdoor experiment

Canoeing at Little Creek Nature Area

Working together to get the canoes in the water

Dipping for invertebrates with Ranger Bob

Hazelwood West Robotics Team teaching the summer science students

Lesson on fishing with Ranger Bob from Two Rivers National Wildlife Refuge

Jeff Capps of TreeHouse Wildlife Center shares some of their rehabilitated animals

Lizz Etzkorn of the Endangered Wolf Center teaches students how to identify wildlife using skulls and pelts

Meagan Murray, team president of the Hazelwood West Robotics team, helps students understand mechanical engineering

Boeing scientist Christina Willis helps with airplane building

Bootcamp

A place of solace and healing

By Sandra Jordan Of The St.

Louis American

In 2014, Briant K. Mitchell’s BKM Fitness Bootcamp had outgrown what would soon become the abandoned and overgrown Florissant’s Jamestown Mall site. He and his wife Felicia moved BKM’s bustling business to Ferguson in May 2014, just three months before unarmed teenager Mike Brown was shot and killed by then Ferguson police offer Darren Wilson, giving rise to all that took place in the aftermath. While BKM’s fitness program helped create

physically healthier bodies – the old building on S. Florissant Road became a place of respite from the righteous indignation against brutality and chaos in the streets during protests and violent actions of others.

“What BKM brought to the community during that time is healing and peace,” Mitchell said. “People needed to health – they wanted something they could feel good about in our community.”

On the back of BKM members t-shirts, the slogan “You will survive,” took on a whole new, more universal meaning.

“Hunger negatively impacts education, health and the economic vitality of our state both now and for future generations,” said OFS’s Executive Director Kristen Wild. “Our program works thanks to the participation of companies like Bank of America because they recognize childhood hunger is a regional issue that needs to be eliminated.” Wild added that, according to Feeding America’s 2019 Map the Meal Gap Report, “241,830 Missouri children live under the shadow of hunger including approximately 125,580 children in the St. Louis metropolitan area.” For more information, call (314) 726-5355 or visit http://www. OperationFoodSearch.org.

“We would run up and down Florissant Road and people would come by and blow their horns and let their windows down –‘Thank you’’ Mitchell said they would say. “Thank you for helping our community and giving us a reason to laugh, to smile, a reason to feel good about our community.”

“I am just amazed that God used me to help my community. It’s pretty remarkable.

“Even Michael Brown’s mom (Lezley McSpadden-Head) came to my gym to work out. She truly enjoyed herself. We

By Jamal Downer For The St. Louis American

(NAPSI)—Most people can’t go a day without a cup of coffee or checking their e-mail. But with the demands of everyday life it’s not surprising that about 50 percent of patients sometimes fail to take their daily medications as prescribed.

According to a new survey by WebMD, over the past six months onethird of respondents either sometimes or most of the time missed taking their medication as prescribed even though 76 percent know it can cause their condition to worsen or symptoms to return. When asked why they’d missed a dose, 66 percent of survey respondents said that they forgot, 38 percent said they experienced side effects, and 26 percent weren’t able to get to the pharmacy to refill their prescription on time.

n One-third of respondents either sometimes or most of the time missed taking their medication as prescribed even though 76 percent know it can cause their condition to worsen or symptoms to return.

“Not following a prescription correctly can seriously impact your health,” said Jamal Downer, a Walgreens pharmacist. “Your local pharmacist is an expert who can help you understand your medications and provide tips on how to use tools like smartphone apps that make it easier and more convenient to stay on track.” Steps to help you take your medications include services online, through apps and in store:

• Getting help whenever you need it: A pharmacist is an integral part of your support team, and now they are available anytime via phone. Walgreens Pharmacy Chat service provides 24/7 access to pharmacists who can answer questions to help you better understand your medications, including side effects and how the other medicines you take and

LOUIS AMERICAN

8 – 14, 2019

BKM Fitness Bootcamp owner Briant K. Mitchell leads one of his classes through a workout.

Photo by Wiley Price

Jamal Downer

St. Louisans mark 40 years since the closing of Homer G Phillips Hospital

The Campaign for Respect, Fairness and Human Dignity (CRF Human Dignity) is sponsoring two events at the Better Family Life facility located at 5415 Page Avenue, 63112 to observe the 40th anniversary of the closing of Homer G. Phillips Hospital. August 17 marks 40 years

Bootcamp

Continued from A10 have some of everybody walk through these doors –but to see his mom walk in our gym in Ferguson – it was truly something special.” Mitchell said McSpaddenHead got the normal treatment like everyone else – who also are looking for that “normal.”

Like several businesses in Ferguson, BKM would not go unscathed during the unrest, even though it is located down the street from the police department on Ferguson’s downtown “pride and joy” area of the city.

“The night of the verdict, our building was vandalized twice,” Mitchell said. “This whole corridor, was closed –lights off, empty. We had our doors open.” Mitchell taught three classes that night.

“My wife and I were watching CNN – we saw the guys busting our windows inside our gym; my alarm was going off –there was nothing we could do but pray.”

His devoted clientele became noticeably void of non-African American members, but only for a while. He attributes that to faith and prayer.

“Police officers always come by, wave and make sure we’re okay.” During a blackout on Halloween night 2014, Mitchell said a police officer used his spotlight to assist everyone getting to their cars safely. Mitchell said less than 10% of BKM clients are from Ferguson. His clients come from as far away as Herculaneum and Lake St. Louis in Missouri and Godfrey and Collinsville in Illinois. But all who come there gather to work out shedding pounds and increasing personal healing –with those who become like

since the forced closing of Homer G. Phillips hospital, which was the largest employer in North St. Louis. The public is invited to participate in these two events:

On Friday August 16, 6p.m – 9 p.m., “The Color of Medicine: The Story of

Homer G. Phillips Hospital” movie will be shown. Film makers will be in attendance as well as organizers who struggled for years to save the hospital.

On Saturday, August 17, 9 a.m. – Noon, there will be a panel discussion: “Obamacare to Medicare for All: Where Do

We Go from Here?” This discussion will kick-off a campaign to improve healthcare services and outcomes for the poor in Missouri. The two events are supported and co-sponsored by The St. Louis American Newspaper, Congressman Lacy Clay, Better Family

Life, the Urban League, the St. Louis Branch of the NAACP, Washington University Brown School of Social Work, the Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni, the Black Nurses Assoc., the Organization of Black Struggle, CBTU, St. Louis Branch National Association of Black Social

Workers, State Senators Karla May and Jamilah Nasheed, and many others. To RSVP or get more information, please call: 314-581-4149 or 314-3673440, ext. 152 or @CRFHuman Dignity on Facebook.

they come three

four

we open our

people will come.”

August 22 deadline for funding health equity projects

The public has until August 22 to apply to the Missouri Foundation for Health for funds to support civic engagement projects that focus on community-articulated health priorities. This includes work to increase civic engagement among local populations that have valuable perspectives and ideas, but for various reasons do not currently participate in the democratic process. The intended objectives for projects include: building ongoing, year-round civic engagement efforts into health equity issue work; mobilizing populations that are new to the democratic process, historically underrepresented; seeking out and developing trusted leaders drawn from the very communities they will work to mobilize; and developing stronger organizational capacity to do issues-based, local civic engagement work. The foundation is interested in projects that will connect with, listen to, and empower Missourians to activate their own voices to create selfdetermined, health-related, local change. Applicants are required to identify and describe the health equity issue area(s) and how the project will engage historically underrepresented populations in policy, systems change, and the democratic process. Applications are due by August 22. For more information and to apply, visit https://tinyurl.com/yyhas89g.

Downer

Continued from A10 food you eat may interact with another drug.

• Setting reminders:

Whether you need a quick prompt to take your pill or a text alert that your refill is available, calendar notifications and free tools like a pill reminder can help ensure you always have your medication on hand.

City of St. Louis will vaccinate all jail inmates for hepatitis A

The City of St. Louis Department of Health and its Division of Corrections have partnered to provide hepatitis A vaccinations for persons held at the city’s correctional facilities.

All 800 persons who are eligible to receive the vaccinations will get them. The vaccinations are a proactive public health intervention measure. Although only one hepatitis A case has been reported in the City of St. Louis, Missouri is one of 25 states that has experienced an outbreak since 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Between September 2017 and July 16, 2019, Missouri reported 366 cases of hepatitis A to the CDC. A common source for the Missouri cases has not been established. Currently, there are no hepatitis A cases in the City of St. Louis correction facilities. Hepatitis A is preventable but once

• Simplifying your refills: Pharmacists can also coordinate your prescription refills to a single pickup date with the Save a Trip Refills® program for free. Refilling your prescription can be made more convenient by switching to a 90-day supply or setting up

Dr. Fredrick Echols

contracted, it is highly contagious and can spread through direct person-to-person contact or by ingestion of food or drink contaminated with stool from an infected person.

“A comprehensive strategy to prevent hepatitis A in our community must include our correctional facilities,” says Dr. Fredrick Echols, director of health for the City of St Louis.

“The close proximity of individuals housed in correctional facilities increase their risk for infection transference, making this vaccination project important to protect both the inmate population, staff, visitors and the health of the general public as inmates reintegrate into society.”

For additional information on the hepatitis A virus, visit https://www.cdc.gov/ hepatitis/hav/index.htm.

automatic refills.

• Making refills convenient: Just like you can order purchases online from your phone, you can have refills shipped directly to your home. With Walgreens Express™, patients can prepay and pick

up prescriptions in a dedicated line or get their eligible medications delivered.

From pill reminders to tools for conveniently managing your condition, the answer to improved health and saving money could be in the palm

The Missouri Budget Project, in partnership with Kids Win Missouri and the Missouri Coalition of Children’s Agencies, has released the 2019 Medicaid & Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Chart book

The chart book shows: who is covered by Medicaid health coverage in Missouri, the premiums required by families whose children are enrolled in CHIP coverage, how Medicaid is financed, the role Medicaid plays in health coverage in our state, and how Medicaid health coverage improves health. Access the charts or download a PDF at https:// tinyurl.com/y3794ufl.

of your hand. Download the Walgreens app or ask your local pharmacist how they can help you stay on track with your medications. For further information, go to http://bit.ly/redphone-wakeup.

family. “And

to

times a week,” he said. “If

doors,

Five years later, Mitchell said the doors at Ferguson’s City Hall are open much wider and are now very welcoming. But the epicenter of the upris-

ing still needs new life.

“The forgotten Ferguson is on West Florissant and that’s unfortunate,” Mitchell said. Money goes here – but not in

my spot.” Mitchell said he pays a special to be at his location. “It’s unfortunate it took losing a life. It’s unfortunate that it took a mother losing her son,

a father losing his son, a brother losing his brother, an aunt losing her nephew,” he said. “But it was bound to happen in Ferguson.”

BKM Fitness Bootcamp owner Briant K. Mitchell encourages his clients to push hard during a class session.

Photo by Wiley Price

Ferguson five years later and reparations

By Kristine Hendrix For The St. Louis American

Earlier this year, I began the hashtag #FergusonFiveYearsLater to honor the upcoming anniversary of the Ferguson Uprising and to acknowledge the fact that five years later so much has changed and so much has stayed the same.

As we reckon with the last five years and the re-invigorated climate of overt racism and white supremacist violence that’s emboldened and endorsed by those in the nation’s highest office, it’s urgent and necessary work to dig into the festering wounds on which America is founded and to grapple with what healing might look like. The global reparations movement is the balm for what ails us, both spiritually and pragmatically.

Several organizations –Truth Telling Project, the Mike Brown Jnr Chosen for Change Foundation, Fellowship of Reconciliation, N’COBRA and more – are collaborating to hold a National Convening on Reparations at St. Mark Church over the anniversary weekend.

The Convening will see over a hundred activists and organizers from local and national Black-led grassroots organizations come together in solidarity with the families of those impacted by police violence to examine reparations through the lens of police brutality.

We join alongside the many other groups clamoring for reparative justice at a time when the issue is gathering acceptance in the wider community and public discourse.

Polling shows almost onethird of Americans support some form of reparations, 400 years since the first enslaved Africans were brought here, with a congressional hearing

finally taking place in Washington last month on H.R 40 some three decades after former U.S. Rep. John Conyers began bringing his legislation to study reparations to the table.

We see reparations as a key component of any process of healing and reconciliation, a process that acknowledges not just slavery, but its putrid legacy, via segregation, Jim Crow, redlining, voter suppression, the prisonindustrial system and the arbitrary brutalization and executions of black people by those employed to “protect and serve.”

Kristine Hendrix

Our campaign is focused on educating and sharing the truth about the black experience in this country to encourage the repair and transformation of social and behavioral patterns and to put an end to the continuous violence – both structural and direct – against communities of color.

The campaign works to facilitate structural and individual repair by creating direct grassroots reparational relationships. A grassroots - or interpersonal – approach to reparations encourages people and institutions of moral conscience to reflect on their unfair advantages and do their part to repair generations of structural discrimination and political inequality that have caused massive harm and trauma to black folk.

We believe it is imperative for spiritual and faith communities in particular to be involved in the work of reconciliation. These

communities are called upon to accept and acknowledge their complicity in the structural injustices of racism and white supremacy, as well as to own their role and responsibility for repairing harm done. The Convening will culminate in a National Day of Reparations on August 11. The goal will be to assist faith communities to become better educated about reparations as a spiritual practice rooted in sacred principles such as repentance, restitution, rehabilitation, reconciliation, and repair. Given the transformative values of this campaign, increasing awareness in faith communities offers the potential for them to engage in the long-term work of advocacy for policy and system changes and healing.

Reparations is a spiritual journey and peace treaty for the healing Black Americans are owed and this nation deserves. Those who yearn for freedom cannot rest. Ferguson taught me so much. It gave me hopes, dreams and perspective. It gave me life and brought me near death. It taught me the problems are complex and the solutions aren’t simple, but that this region and this nation must begin the process of repair. Ferguson has seen enough programs and not-forprofit dollars that don’t have a lasting impact on communities. Black communities are owed reparations: a true system that acknowledges the sins of the past and present, and that radically changes our culture into one of healing and repair where systems of oppression no longer exist.

Kristine Hendrix is a Ferguson activist, national organizer for the Truth Telling Project, a contributor to We Stay Woke podcast and president of the University City Board of Education.

Focus on History: Pulitzer Prize Photographs

By Ellen Kunkelmann

Last weekend the Missouri History Museum opened not one, but two new exhibits: Pulitzer Prize Photographs, a traveling exhibit from the Newseum in Washington, D.C., and In Focus: St. Louis Post-Dispatch Photographs. Together they feature the most comprehensive collection of Pulitzer Prize–winning photographs ever assembled, as well as unforgettable moments in St. Louis history. Jody Sowell, director of exhibitions and research at the Missouri Historical Society, shares some thoughts on these exhibits.

Why did the Missouri History Museum bring Pulitzer Prize Photographs to St. Louis?

Journalists, and especially photojournalists, capture the first draft of history. Long before historians try to make sense of the past, photojournalists are on the frontlines chronicling that history in real time. So these photographs are not just examples of great photojournalism, they are mini history lessons.

I don’t know that we’ve ever had an exhibit that shares more history than this. Usually an exhibit focuses on a specific time or theme. Pulitzer Prize Photographs, on the other hand, covers a wide range of topics including civil rights, industrial strikes, sports, war, protests, immigration, healthcare, and much more. Visitors will see photos from St. Louis to the Sudan, and they’ll see images that cover the full spectrum of human emotion.

We love bringing to our visitors traveling exhibits that speak to the St. Louis experience. Most images included in Pulitzer were not shot in St. Louis, but these photos capture what St. Louisans were talking about at their dinner tables, from the funeral for Martin Luther King Jr. to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

Michael McMillan, president and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, was among more than a dozen people who were arrested at this highway shutdown action at Interstate-70 and Hanley Road on Sept. 10, 2014.

Five years after the Ferguson crisis, we are still rebuilding

By Michael P. McMillan

On August 9, 2014 lives were changed forever. From the loss of life from Michael Brown to the multitudes of lives that were affected in the St. Louis region and around the world, Ferguson (and Civil Rights) would never be viewed in the same light. In the months and years that followed, we all tried to collectively grasp in our minds how this tragedy could have happened. How could an 18-year-old young black male who seemed to beat all the odds to graduate from high school be killed in the same summer by a police officer in his own neighborhood?

2015, the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis created the Save Our Sons program to help African American men find jobs and the Regional Business Council created the Reinvest North County Fund that raised over $950,000 to help businesses that were effected during the crisis.

gular image is, I think it’s even more powerful to think about the collection of photos and the range and richness of history they share as a group.

Which photograph means the most to you?

Pulitzer Prize Photographs features a memorable image from #Ferguson. Was its opening intended to coincide with the fifth anniversary of Michael Brown’s death?

The timing of this exhibit with the fifth anniversary of the killing of Michael Brown is coincidental, but we did know immediately that we wanted to dive deeper into Ferguson than was possible in the Pulitzer show alone. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch won for its portfolio of images of the Ferguson protests, but the Pulitzer exhibit could only feature one. By creating a complementary exhibit about photographs from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, we were able to include all nineteen photos in the Pulitzer Prize–winning portfolio.

What do you hope visitors will learn from these exhibits?

When visitors walk through the Pulitzer exhibit, they are going to find photographs that speak to them and learn the stories behind these photos. Before they leave, I hope they will take a moment to appreciate the collection of photos as a whole. As powerful as each sin-

To be honest, it changes every time I go through the gallery. This exhibit is open for six months, and by the time it is over I likely will have said just about every image is my favorite. I do, however, often come back to two. One is of Babe Ruth saying goodbye to Yankee fans. The photographer, Nate Fein, perfectly captures the almost mythic status of the great baseball player even as he has been slumped by age and illness. The other is of kids playing in front of the Cabrini-Green housing complex in Chicago. The photographer, John White, was often asked to cover the tougher side of Chicago. He said he often had a frontrow seat to death. But the images that won him the Pulitzer were the ones that covered the more joyful sides of life. And when you look into the faces of these kids, it’s pure joy.

Pulitzer Prize Photographs and In Focus: St. Louis Post-Dispatch Photographs are open now through January 20, 2020, at the Missouri History Museum. Admission is free. Pulitzer Prize Photographs was developed by the Newseum, a museum in Washington, D.C., dedicated to free expression and the freedoms of the First Amendment. Please note that some material in this exhibit may be too intense for young children. On Wednesday, August 21, join Pulitzer Prize–winning photojournalists Robert Cohen and David Carson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for a special discussion, Photojournalism and the Pulitzer Prize for Documenting Ferguson. This free program will take place in the Museum’s Lee Auditorium at 6:30 p.m.

Ellen Kunkelmann is the associate editor of the Missouri Historical Society.

Many questioned in the national and local media how could this happen? But for African Americans in this community who had long been downtrodden by racial disparities and inequality in the criminal justice, economic, educational and healthcare systems, it was a crisis that was bound to happen. The Ferguson crisis represented more than just excessive force in a police shooting. It represented an uprising of African Americans who had been oppressed for decades and reached their boiling point. Although Ferguson has a majority black population, it had only one African American member on the city council and 3 African American police officers out of 53 in 2014. Even worse, African American drivers were still more likely to be pulled over in the State of Missouri in 2017. From the very beginning, many were galvanized to action by the sheer force of the tragedy. Some became activists, some became social workers and some entered into the political field. Corporations such as Centene Corporation, AT&T and Starbucks stepped up to create buildings in the Ferguson area to spur economic development. Local corporations invested millions into scholarships, early childhood education, youth jobs, business development training, youth healthcare, education and mentoring programs. In January

On July 26, 2017, the Urban League and the Salvation Army opened the Ferguson Community Empowerment Center on the footprint of the QuikTrip which was burned down during the crisis in partnership with the Lutheran Hope Center and the University of Missouri Extension to offer Save Our Sons and other workforce development services, Pathways to Progress and youth training programs. On the political and public policy fronts, progress was made on the Ferguson City Council to ensure that a more fair and equitable government was put in place. Currently, 4 out of the 6 City Council members are African American compared to there being only one minority five years ago. Wesley Bell was elected to replace former St. Louis County Prosecutor, Robert McCulloch, who oversaw the Brown case. The Ferguson Police Department is now headed by an African American chief with a nearly 50% diversity rate. Senate Bill 5 was passed to lower the limit to 20 percent of a municipality’s revenue that could be generated by traffic fines and fees. This measure was passed to decrease the frequencies of African Americans being unjustly targeted and treated as potential criminals for the benefits of municipalities like Ferguson.

In the years since the civil unrest, there have been several peaks and valleys on the road to progress. While there has been some success, we still have a long way to go. Therefore, it is up to each of us to make the most of every opportunity to move our community forward because the work is not yet done. There are many other developments on the horizon for the City of Ferguson including the upcoming Teen Center of Excellence from the Boys and Girls Club of Greater St. Louis and the Urban League Plaza on West Florissant. Urban League Plaza will feature a full-service bank, restaurant/banquet facility and a minority business incubator. We are very excited to offer this new resource center to the community.

As a region, we must accept the challenge put in front of us to contribute to the full transformation of Ferguson and the surrounding communities. The last five years have seen seeds planted. Through new access to social service resources, diversity in political and civic leadership, and even newly found voices of the people of Ferguson, the future has great potential. However, to fulfill that potential, we encourage the people of this region to establish equitable pathways to wealth. The next great business idea, tech startup, encouraging storefront or restaurant could be located in the Ferguson community. The ability to transform West Florissant into a thriving business district, where the dollar cycles through eight times before leaving Ferguson, is at our fingertips. This dream, this goal rather, can only be actualized and manifested through the total efforts of every entity in the community. Social service agencies must provide space and access to business incubators, development centers and banks to promote financial literacy but more importantly business financial empowerment. Furthermore, the most important thing we must do is continue to support, uplift and unite for the betterment of those who cannot do for themselves. Our future will only be bleak if we give up when the road is toughest.

In one of the best-known Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs, photographer Joe Rosenthal captured six U.S. Marines raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi.

Michael P. McMillan

Jody Sowell

New York Yankee great Babe Ruth says goodbye to fans. The photographer, Nate Fein, perfectly captures the almost mythic status of the great baseball player even as he has been slumped by age and illness.

Photo by Wiley Price

Let’s start this week’s EYE with a quote that says it all.

“How ‘bout that motherf--ers? I don’t show up to the Council meetings. I don’t do f---ing s---. I’ve been sitting at my house for the past two months f---ing raising money and then won by 20%! The world’s a f---ed up place.”

It sure is.

Of course, that quote is from former St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger, and his outrageous, click-bait quotes have been circulating on social media since federal prosecutors released a pre-sentence memo filed on Aug. 2. Prosecutors said Stenger should get the maximum prison term allowed – nearly four years –for a pay-to-play scheme that began even before he took office in 2015.

U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry will sentence Stenger on Aug. 9.

But one thing that could easily get lost is that this conman routinely punished African Americans.

According to federal prosecutors, Stenger tried to economically punish a wellknown minority contractor – not because he did anything directly to Stenger, but because the contractor’s mother supported someone else during his re-election.

If you connect the dots, this is Tony Thompson, of Kwame Building Group, and Betty Thompson, who prosecutors described simply as a former state representative.

Stenger was supporting St. Louis County legislation that would fund the expansion of America’s Center in downtown St. Louis, prosecutors wrote. The proposed expansion would create substantial construction jobs for area companies. The sentencing memo states that Stenger advised his executive staff on December 3, 2018, that the contractor (Tony

‘Economic lynching’

Thompson) would not receive any work on the project solely as a result of his mother’s (Betty Thompson’s) political actions.

“We’re not going to advance our bill if [contractor] is anywhere near this thing, it’s not happening. Not. His f---ing Mom did commercials against me. If we let that go, we’re just the f---ing pussies of the universe. It’s not going to happen. It sends a message to him. F--- you. And to her, f--- you. He just lost out on probably 2% of a giant project. I mean, literally, that’s 7 million dollars to him.”

There is more to this story than just some commercials.

Betty Thompson actually supported Stenger when he first ran for office and even brought him around to black churches. She ended up working parttime as a coordinator for St. Louis County’s Community Empowerment and Diversity Program Manager’s office. The EYE remembers when on March 1, 2016, Betty Thompson told us, “I walked out this morning.”

A few days before, Stenger had dismissed the office’s executive director Annette Slack, who is also an attorney.

“She was hardworking, a registered nurse, a lieutenant colonel in the Navy for 30 years,” Betty Thompson said. “She was good. They walked in and got rid of her.”

Betty Thompson went in and told Stenger’s chief of policy Jeff Wagener, “I will not stand by and watch an African-American woman be mistreated.”

Stenger made up some lame excuse for firing Slack, that she was using county equipment to grade her students’ papers. But Slack said the real reason was that she kept asking questions about why Stenger hadn’t allocated any resources to diversity initiatives.

We learned through the indictment that around the time of Slack’s firing, Stenger was orchestrating a “sham” consulting contract of $130,000 to improve the county’s image after the Ferguson unrest – to which the contractor, his political donor, did no work, the federal investigation found and Stenger admitted.

In July 2016, John Rallo, owner of Cardinal Insurance, received the consulting agreement for $130,000.

Although Betty Thompson didn’t know all these dirty details, she knew Stenger wasn’t actually helping the African-American community as he promised – and he fired an African-American woman who was onto his scam. So Betty Thompson walked out,

Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner meets with Lamar Johnson’s lawyer after the Aug. 1 hearing on Gardner’s motion to reopen Johnson’s 1995 murder conviction.

So one of the first questions that Gardner’s team had for the judge at the Aug. 1 hearing was: why did you bring in the AG’s office on this case?

Jeffrey Estes with Gardner’s office told Hogan that there are only three reasons why the AG can appear in a case according to state law. They can be appointed by the governor, appointed by the prosecutor or brought in when the prosecuting attorney has a conflict. The first two didn’t happen, he said, and, “We are not aware of any conflicts.” Hogan responded, “As of today the court cannot find any authority that would authorize this motion. As far as conflicts are concerned, I think you have also demonstrated that there are conflicts.”

What happened next is extremely important. Johnson is being represented by a team of lawyers with the Midwest Innocence Project. One of them interrupted Hogan and asked her to put the discussion on the record.

and then she helped Mark Mantovani campaign against Stenger in his re-election.

The EYE reached out to both Betty Thompson and Tony Thompson about the sentencing memo. Tony Thompson responded by press time saying, “I’m rarely shocked. But I must say that I was shocked. I did nothing to this man.”

This was clearly “economic lynching,” Tony Thompson said, and this can’t be brushed over. The EYE’s sources said that Stenger was known to use the n-word. But Tony Thompson said, even if those words aren’t written in any federal documents, people need to read the “venom” of his words and the entire context of his actions. How often did he talk this way to those people who still wanted to see him become the czar in the city/county merger?

“This is a sad day when you can have an elected official who everyone was pushing to be the mayor of the region,” Tony Thompson said, “and now we know that he is not only corrupt but also racist. We cannot downplay that.”

More f---ed up sh-t as an innocent man is imprisoned 24 years

When Circuit Judge Elizabeth Hogan stepped into the courtroom on Thursday, Aug. 1, it was immediately apparent that a man who Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner believes was wrongfully convicted of murder 24 years ago would not be walking free anytime soon.

First of all, the entire courtroom at the Carnahan Courthouse was full. Gardner was sitting at one of the two tables in front. There was no way the white female judge

didn’t know Gardner was sitting there, or that most of the people were there because of Lamar Johnson’s case.

Twenty-four years ago, Johnson was convicted of murdering Marcus Boyd on Oct. 30, 1994, though evidence shows that Johnson was at a friend’s house and would not have been able to commit the crime.

Did Hogan take up that case first? No. She called up another attorney to the bench to talk about another case that no one could hear and made everyone wait 30 minutes.

That was the first diss.

Everyone was there to hear what the judge had to say about the prosecutors’ 67-page motion, filed on July 19, that attempts to prove Johnson’s innocence and grant him a new trial. It also provides evidence that the homicide detective allegedly made up witness testimonies, which the witnesses only learned about years later. It also provides documentation that an assistant circuit attorney paid off the only eyewitness and cleared some of his outstanding tickets.

This is the first case

Gardner’s new conviction-integrity unit has brought forth –and the first that any prosecutor in the City of St. Louis or St. Louis County has presented to the court – so the process of how the case will play out is still unclear, according to those close to the case.

Well, Hogan made it pretty apparent how it was going to go on July 29 when she ordered that the Attorney General’s office represents the State. The Circuit Attorney’s office represented the State in Johnson’s conviction, and Gardner’s team argued in the motion that the prosecutor has an obligation to right the wrong.

But Hogan just kept on rolling. Hence, this entire conversation was not transcribed or recorded and cannot be entered into proceedings.

Hogan said, “Well we can settle this right here. It would appear that someone contacted jurors in violation of the court ruling. The circuit attorney and Innocence Project are alleging misconduct and potential liability on behalf of the circuit attorney’s office, so that would be another conflict. So those were two glaring reasons why the court thought it would be best to have the attorney general also looking at these issues.” Gardner then got into the conversation and told Hogan that it’s her obligation as prosecutor to correct the wrongful conviction. And Hogan responded that she’s not questioning the case.

“The court’s questions are procedural,” she said. Hogan explained that in other states with conviction integrity units, the state legislatures have passed laws to establish procedures but Missouri has not done that. She said she couldn’t find any cases that suggest a proper procedure, though Gardner responded that there are many. Then Gardner addressed the elephant in the room.

“Under the constitution and under the ethics and duty of a prosecutor, if you’re saying that if we are to correct the wrongs whether they are inside our office or other law enforcement, then basically every law enforcement agency should conflicted on” any case that arose out of their own office. In other words, are you not able to investigate your own office?

Then Hogan said, “I am not removing the circuit attorney’s office from the case.”

Here’s how all that breaks down. Hogan is saying that she has no authority and can’t figure out how to proceed when the city’s elected circuit attorney comes to her and says that a man that was convicted of murder 24 years ago is innocent. But yet she felt completely comfortable going outside of state law and bringing in the attorney’s general office in the case. She said that Gardner has a conflict in the case, but if that were true, she could not keep her on the case. Now both AG attorneys and Gardner’s team must submit a briefing on what they think should happen in the case by Aug. 14.

This is such a painful example of how messed up the system is, particularly St. Louis courts. Why should a man who is innocent of murder sit in jail a minute longer?

Hogan is among the judges who don’t approve of the way Gardner handles the circuit attorney’s office. And her husband, Joe Hogan, is among the St. Louis Police Association’s lawyers. And one more thing, the homicide detective, Joseph Nickerson, served several years in St. Louis County Police Department as a homicide detective after he left the city. He is currently a background investigator with the county police.

Author and motivational speaker Koran Bolden motivated the sold-out crowd of his ‘Greatest Year Ever’ book event with information and a full day of programming that included a panel discussion and several speakers recently at Washington University’s Knight Hall.

Business

‘Stop yourself from stopping yourself’

Koran Bolden convenes other business leaders to motivate entrepreneurs

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

For his second year returning home to inspire aspiring entrepreneurs – and to celebrate his book “Greatest Year Ever” – motivational speaker Koran Bolden flipped the script. A native of St. Louis, Bolden has traveled the nation as a speaker, author and influencer. Last year as people piled into Knight Hall on the campus of Washington University, he encouraged them to live their best life and go after whatever they desire. They left full of fire. This year, he wanted to fan the flames and strengthen that fire with information.

“I want to tell you that motivation is good, but it’s just not good enough,” Bolden said. “If you want to build and sustain a business, you need information, you need cultivation and you

n “Just get started. Stop yourself from stopping yourself. All too often we give up – and we put the blame on other things.”

– Dr. Eboni January, OB/GYN, and owner of a fitness coaching business

need a guide.” For year two, the capacity crowd spent more than three hours on a recent Sunday hearing from successful business owners – including Bolden himself – about the highs and lows of their journeys and the lessons they learned along the way.

“Everybody sitting on this panel are jumpers,” said Cedric Cobb, owner of Best Wardrobe Solutions and inventor of the Best Pocket Square Holder – which was recently featured on the hit ABC Network show “Shark Tank.” “We had to jump off of that ledge and trust God, or whatever we believe in, to catch us.” Guests sat attentively through a panel discussion and four speakers to learn about what they can do today to become successful tomorrow. The information was broad in range – from maintaining personal health to luring investors – and dealt with the highs and the lows.

“Just get started. Stop yourself from stopping yourself,” Dr. Eboni January, OB/GYN, author and owner of her own fitness coaching business. “All too often we give up – and we put the

See BOLDEN, B6

Recruitment program for police officers starts August 27

For The St. Louis American People interested in a career in law enforcement are invited to participate in the free Pre-Academy Recruitment Program sponsored by the Ethical Society of Police (E.S.O.P.). The next session of the 10-week course begins on Tuesday, August 27, and continues through November 5. The program, which prepares attendees for the St. Louis Police Academy, is open to individuals of all races and genders, ages 19 and older.

Since 2015, 63 participants have been hired as police recruits in training and civilian law enforcement employees by local law enforcement agencies, including the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, St. Louis County Police Department and the City of St. Louis. There are five graduates of the last session, which ended May 2019, who are currently in the St. Louis City and St. Louis County Police Academy. Courses will be taught by current and former St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department

See POLICE, B2

Art McCoy will be featured on a national broadcast, “WE Day,” airing on ABC at 7 p.m. central time August 9. He is superintendent of the Jennings School District. He will appear alongside Neil Patrick Harris, Selena Gomez, Mahershala Ali, Chance The Rapper, Natalie Portman, Hailee Steinfeld and Meghan Trainor. He is being recognized for working to break the cycle of violence in Jennings to help pave a brighter future for his students.

Traci Nave was promoted to Interim Riverview Gardens High School Principal from associate principal at the school. She will provide strategic direction to all staff and students and lead day-to-day building operations. She also has served in the district as instructional guide and college and career coordinator. Previously she served as an English teacher for Saint Louis Public Schools and Dallas Independent School District.

Lawrence Simmons was selected by Mission St. Louis to receive its Staying Power Award. He is supervisor of Facilitators at Fathers’ Support Center. The award honors men and women who have exhibited true staying power throughout various aspects of their lives. Each individual has proven their pursuit for change by overcoming significant barriers and continued to make visible decisions to better their lives and those around them.

Trimiel C. Cole was selected as one of 35 Missouri Regional Teachers of the Year for 2020 by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. She teaches mathematics at Northview Elementary School in the Jennings School District. Committees comprised of education peers and key stakeholders for each Regional Professional Development Center (RPDC) in Missouri selected the 2020 Regional Teachers of the Year. She is now eligible to be named the 2020 Missouri Teacher of the Year.

Andre Grinston received the Certificate of Fundraising Management from the Eli Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. He is interim vice president for Institutional Advancement and Alumni Relations at Lincoln University.

Delaina Martin was named a Distinguished Teacher by the Noble Network of Charter Schools in Chicago, one of the leading public charter school systems in America. She is a 2007 graduate of Washington University in St. Louis. Distinguished teacher aims to reward, celebrate and learn from Noble’s most effective teachers. Among other benefits, each Distinguished Teacher will receive $10,000 annually for as long as they remain teachers at Noble.

On

Andre Grinston

Traci Nave

Delaina Martin

Trimiel C. Cole

Art McCoy

Lawrence Simmons

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Commerce opens tech-centric Commerce Bank Connect

Commerce Bank has introduced its new Commerce Bank Connect concept location, combining the convenience of digital banking solutions with a personal touch. Commerce Bank Connect opened August 5 strives to serve the needs of customers and the community through a new and innovative approach coupling digital solutions and human connection to help navigate life’s financial complexities.

The opening of Commerce Bank Connect is a further reflection of the company’s substantial investment in the St. Louis community. Over the last five years, Commerce has made enhancements to several nearby locations including Vandeventer, Met Square, Natural Bridge and Clayton.

This latest investment features a 1,800-square-foot tech-centric space aiming to tap into the momentum of the bustling Central West End neighborhood. Highlights of the location include a 24-hour Smart ATM accessible via credit or debit card swipe from any bank, appointment setting and video conferencing capabilities to connect with various specialists throughout the company, and state-of-theart meeting and event space to connect people, ideas and the community overall.

During construction of the new location, Commerce collaborated with Dream Builders

4 Equity, a local organization providing at-risk youth with access to a diverse and broad set of assets through mentorship, entrepreneurship, scholarship and leadership training. The group of students involved spent one day on site during construction of the location to observe and

gain exposure to a commercial development project. The opportunity provided students first-hand experience from construction trade professionals and a valuable learning experience.

“Being a part of the community means connecting people, ideas and solutions.

With this new location, we strive to connect with our customers, prospects and community as a whole,” said Darryl Collins, Commerce Bank’s Regional Retail Banking director. “We offer new technologies and on-demand access to experts to support your need, on your time. We support the

community and seek to help it thrive.”

Since opening its doors in 1865, Commerce has provided customers with the financial solutions to address their challenges and work toward their vision. “Our purpose as an organization is to help those around us focus on what matters most in life,” said Collins. “We want our customers to have the ability to bank on their terms – when and how they want – with a location that offers digital solutions they desire and the personal touch they deserve.”

STL Business Diversity Connect event is August 29

American staff

Five regional organizations are collaborating to host an event that will champion diverse suppliers at the corporate level. The STL Minority Business Development Agency, Women’s Business

Development Center, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, MidStates Minority Supplier Development Council and the St. Louis Regional Chamber

will partner to host the second annual STL Business Diversity Connect event on Thursday, August 29 at the Marriot St. Louis Grand Hotel, 800 Washington Ave.

“By teaming up with other diverse business development organizations in the region, we are becoming a powerhouse of connections, opportunity and economic growth,” stated Karlos Ramirez, president & CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

“Diverse suppliers are the future of our economy. If you ignore them, you are missing out on an opportunity to move your company forward.”

Minority-owned businesses are the engine of the U.S.

n “Diverse suppliers are the future of our economy. If you ignore them, you are missing out on an opportunity to move your company forward.”

– Karlos Ramirez, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

economy with 11 million minority-owned businesses in the U.S. – almost double the number 10 years ago – and a revenue of more than $1.8 trillion annually, according to data compiled by the

Business Journals. Yet, recent state, county and city studies continue to show that there is a disparity in contracts awarded to minority-owned businesses. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are 61,000 minority-owned businesses in the state of Missouri. By joining efforts to promote these diverse suppliers, corporations are able to diversify their supplier networks and cultivate economic growth for minority, women, veteran and other underrepresented business owners from St. Louis and across the Midwest. The St. Louis Business Diversity Connect’s focus is to stimulate economic growth and inclusion for diverse businesses in the region. Minorities, Women, Veteran and other underrepresented small businesses are invited to participate. For more information, visit https://2019stlbdc.mbmapp. com/.

Dream Builders 4 Equity, a local organization providing at-risk youth with access to a diverse

preneurship, scholarship and leadership training.

n “I would exchange the MVP title for the gold medal in China.”

— Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, on playing for Greece in the FIBA World Cup

Sports

Ivey goes to the NBA

Becomes only the ninth woman assistant coach

There were a couple of major developments in the St. Louis basketball community over the course of this week.

The first event came when former Cor Jesu Academy girls basketball star Niele Ivey accepted a job as an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association. Ivey has spent the past 12 years as an assistant coach at Notre Dame, where she was a star collegiate player from 1997-2001.

Ivey was promoted to Associate head coach at Notre Dame by head coach Muffet McGraw in 2015 and she helped the Fighting Irish continue as one of the dominant programs in women’s college basketball.

Ivey will be joining the staff of new Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, thus becoming the ninth woman assistant coach in the NBA.

“It really speaks to Niele’s expertise that, out of all the coaches in the country, she was chosen for this position,” McGraw said. “The NBA is setting an excellent precedent of hiring and promoting women.”

As a player and a coach, Ivey has been a winner and prime-time performer at every level. As a high school junior, she led Cor Jesu Academy to a Class 4 state championship and an undefeated record in 1995. She experienced championship success again as a senior at Notre Dame in 2001 when she was the starting point guard and a leader on the Fighting Irish’ national championship team. Making the event even more special was that the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament was in her hometown in St. Louis. Ivey spent the next

Vinsanity takes final flight

Racist Rangers fan caught on camera

Old heads, it’s time to raise your glasses of Geritol. An NBA legend is vowing to make Metamucil great again. Vince Carter, the NBA’s gracefully-aging graybeard will roam the courts again.

n The 42-year-old Carter will return to the Atlanta Hawks for the 22nd, and final, season of his storied NBA career.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the 42-year-old Carter will return to the Atlanta Hawks for the 22nd, and final, season of his storied NBA career. Once the season starts, Carter will set a new NBA record for longevity, breaking the 21-season tie he currently shares with Dirk Nowitzki Kevin Garnett, Robert Parish and Kevin Willis Carter was drafted as the fifth overall pick of the 1998 NBA Draft. In 1998, the average cost of gas was $1.15 per gallon, AOL was the most visited website in the world and a small startup called Google had just opened its doors. Teammate Trae Young was still marinating in his mother’s belly as Carter, fully 90s baggy suit swag intact, crossed the stage and shook hands with then-commissioner David Stern Early in his career, Carter dazzled as a high-scoring, higher-flying shooting guard for the Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets. In 2000, he put on a virtuoso performance in the slam dunk contest that cemented his status as one of the greatest dunkers of all-

Earl Austin Jr.

former Cor Jesu Academy girls basketball star Niele Ivey accepted a job as an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association. Ivey has spent the past 12 years as an assistant coach at Notre Dame, where she was a star collegiate player from 1997-2001.

SportS EyE

With Alvin A. Reid

Mathews-Dickey junior baseball team reaches RBI World Series tournament

The St. Louis Cardinals have proven that a wild-card berth into the postseason can be a path to a championship.

In 2011, before winning the World Series in a dramatic seven-game series against the Texas Rangers, the Cardinals failed to win the National League Central. But they parlayed a second-place finish into a title.

The Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) junior division baseball team finished second to the Chicago White Sox RBI in the Central Region Tournament in Minnesota.

Undeterred, manager Rae Merriweather’s team defeated host Indianapolis 13-3 in the RBI Regional runner-up game. The prize is the eighth and final slot in the 27th RBI World Series this week at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach, Fla.

suit for an RBI World Series title begin Thursday morning (August 8).

Merriweather praised his resilient team, the lone representative at the World Series that did not win its region.

“They have earned a chance to compete against the best in their age group from around the world,” he said.

“St. Louis can be proud of what these players have achieved and, win or lose, these kids are champions.”

Mathews-Dickey coach Al Manson called qualifying for the tournament and the trip to Florida “a fitting reward for the effort and commitment (this team) has made.”

“These kids have worked hard to improve their skills and build a real sense of teamwork.”

Team member

Landon Willbrand said the best part of the journey “is that we get to show everyone what St. Louis baseball is all about.

Advancing with the White Sox and Mathews-Dickey are Puerto Rico RBI Carolina (World Region champion), RBI of Greater Harrisburg, Pa. (Mid-Atlantic Region), Boston Red Sox Foundation RBI (Northeast Region), Miami Marlins RBI (Southeast Region), New Orleans Youth Academy (Southwest Region) and Arizona RBI (West Region.)

The Junior Division teams are comprised of players 13-15 years old and Mathews-Dickey was scheduled to play Puerto Rico-Carolina on Monday and Boston on Tuesday, respectively in games to determine seeding.

Elimination games and pur-

“Getting to come to Florida and the Jackie Robinson Training Complex and getting to meet players from other countries has been an amazing experience,” he said.

“No one has given me this kind opportunity before and, when I am successful, I will pay it forward to support Mathews-Dickey.”

While this is MathewsDickey’s first World Series, several teams are making return visits.

Following a championship game loss to Philadelphia RBI last season, White Sox RBI pitcher and outfielder Sean Moore told mlb.com his team “is a year older and a year wiser.”

“I feel we have a much better team this year. I feel like we can win it this year,” he said.

The team does more than just sport the name of the White Sox. The American League franchise is fully invested in the team and the players’ education.

White Sox RBI coach Marcus Rodgers praised the Chicago White Sox for their efforts toward the RBI program.

“The Chicago White Sox do an excellent job of putting these kids in the right places so that they can be successful not only on the baseball field, but also off,” coach Marcus Rodgers said.

“We have tutors. They do ACT prep. We have a whole group and a whole team around the kids that we just pour into them all year round. We pride ourselves, with the help of the White Sox, to be able to assist these guys in whatever they want to do in life.”

Former St. Louis Cardinal player and front office member Ted Savage hosts an annual golf tournament with some of the proceeds going to the Mathews-Dickey RBI program.

Tony Reagins, MLB’s executive vice president of baseball and softball development, visited East St. Louis earlier this summer to participate in the Fun at Bat and Play Ball program. He said RBI and other programs are vital to increasing minority participation in baseball.

“These are communities that sometimes have forgotten baseball, but we see kids engaged. We were in Gary, Ind., a couple months ago, and there were about 250 mostly African-American kids taking part and having fun,” he told mlb.com.

“To me, as an AfricanAmerican, to see that was encouraging and exciting, because these kids were all-in on baseball.

“We understand how important it is to connect our game with young people around the country and the world. In the last five years, that growth has been consistent.”

Reagins added that the annual doom-and-gloom articles on black participation in the Major Leagues and other levels that are published around Jackie Robinson Day (April 15) often leave out an important aspect.

“We see something different. We’re down in the grassroots and seeing something that’s different. It’s cool to be able to see kids from all backgrounds participating,” he said.

If the St. Louis Blues can win a Stanley Cup for the first time in 51 years – and after

being last in the NHL in points in January – Mathews-Dickey could certainly have a wild week in Vero Beach as a wildcard team and bring its first RBI World Series title back to St. Louis.

Ed Reed for president

It lasted more than 30 minutes. It was gripping, emotional and also very humorous. It was former Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed’s induction speech. It’s worth a visit to nfl.com to view and listen.

Reed described how a police officer helped put him on the road to the Hall of Fame.

Calling his neighborhood “crime-infested,” Reed said a police officer gave him a ride home one night to deliver him to his parents and remove him from potential trouble.

“I was like, ‘Oh, my God, don’t do that,’” Reed said.

“Take me to jail because my mama is home. I remember him saying: ‘Son, I know you. I see you around here playing sports. You don’t need to be hanging with those other kids and those other guys because you have something.’”

He then issued a warning to black Americans that all should heed.

“I would say to the point of what we have going on in our society, don’t aggravate or should I say push an officer to have to do something they shouldn’t have to do,” he said.

Instead of the traditional gold polo shirt worn by Hall of Fame inductees at the Hall of

Fame Game on August 1, Reed wore a T-shirt with the faces of victims of questionable police shootings and racial incidents. He discussed the racist mass shootings in El Paso, and the mass murder on July 28 in Gilroy, Calif.

“You know mental illness is one of the biggest problems in our world,” Reed said.

“It really kills. So, I’ve got to say prayers to the families that have experienced the mass shootings the last couple of days. Just in general across this country, it’s something we really need to address.” Hours later – and just miles away from Canton, Ohio and the Pro Football hall of Fame, another mass shooter stuck in Dayton, Ohio. As for the humor, there was plenty. He thanked his barber for his unique haircut, which led to the most distinctive bronze bust in Hall of Fame history. He thanked former Miami Hurricanes teammate and close friend Reggie Wayne for helping get through their times together when they had no money and the electricity was cut off.

“We really gonna light these candles and stay here?” he said as the crowd laughed. He chided the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals, but said he had great respect for both franchises.

“I also had 30 interceptions against them. It wasn’t my fault they changed quarterbacks (frequently),” he said.

The Reid Roundup First, thank you to Joan Lee Berkman at Face Watchers for her assistance with the Mathews-Dickey RBI World Series information … Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott reportedly will sit out the season without a new contract … Clarence Hill, longtime Cowboys beat writer for the Fort-Worth Star Telegram, is reporting the team has offered Elliott a deal that would not surpass that of L.A. Rams running back Todd Gurley … If the Kansas City Chiefs had not had to deal with the transgressions of former Chief Kareem Hunt and current Chief Tyreek Hill I think they would seek a deal with the Cowboys for Elliott … Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum says he played “a big role” in recruiting Kemba Walker to sign with his team … The Washington Wizards have offered guard Bradley Beal a three-year, $111 million contract extension – which he hasn’t signed. He has until Oct. 21 to decide.

Alvin A. Reid was honored as the 2017 “Best Sports Columnist – Weeklies” in the Missouri Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest and is a New York Times contributor. He is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook, a weekly contributor to “The Charlie Tuna Show” on KFNS and appears monthly on “The Dave Glover Show” on 97.1 Talk.” Reach him on Twitter @aareid1.

Alvin A. Reid

Former Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed admires his bust after being inducted into the National Football League Hall of Fame on Saturday.

five years in the WNBA where she played with the Indiana Fever, the Detroit Shock and the Phoenix Mercury basketball teams.

During her 12 seasons at Notre Dame with McGraw, the Irish posted a record of 386-55 with 14 conference championships, six NCAA title game appearances and a national championship in 2018.

The second happened when Vashon High basketball standout Cam’Ron Fletcher gave a verbal commitment to the University of Kentucky.

The 6’6” Fletcher selected Kentucky over North Carolina, Missouri Michigan State and Alabama. He made his announcement on his Twitter account over the weekend.

A high-flying athlete, Fletcher is ranked among the top 50 players in the nation in the Class of 2020 by several national recruiting outlets. He is ranked No. 37 by Rivals.com, No. 34 by Prep Hoops and No. 45 in the ESPN National 100 rankings.

As a junior, Fletcher averaged 17 points a game as he helped lead the Wolverines to the Class 3 state championship in 2019. He spent the summer playing for Brad Beal Elite 17U team in the Nike EYBL, which is the top grassroots basketball circuit in the country. He also participated in the National Basketball Players Association Top 100 camp in Norfolk, Virginia, where he was one of the top players in the camp.

Fletcher becomes the first player from the St. Louis area to commit to Kentucky in the past decade. The last player from St. Louis to suit up for the Big Blue was former St. Charles High standout Josh Harrellson, who was the starting center on the Wildcats’ NCAA Final Four team in 2012.

Caleb Love narrows list to six

CBC standout basketball player Caleb Love recently narrowed his recruiting list to six schools last week. The 6’3” Love’s final six schools are North Carolina, Kansas, Louisville, Missouri, Arizona and Indiana. Love is spending this week in Los Angeles as the Nike Skills Academy, which will run until Saturday.

Clutch

Continued from B3 Vin Baker looked as if he’d just witnessed a decapitation. Kevin Garnett was, well, Kevin Garnett.

Weis had been drafted by the Knicks in 1999 but was still under contact playing in France. He never made it to the NBA. Part of the reason is because Carter’s dunk instantly transformed him from a prospect into a punchline.

I’ll never forget the moment I saw that slam dunk. Due to the NBC tape delay, I had already read about the dunk and couldn’t wait until I made it back to my college dorm room to see the game. When I arrived, I discovered the game was on earlier than expected. The airing was already in the second half. Less than two minutes after I tuned in, Carter ended Weis’ basketball career.

I went absolutely nuts. I ran around the room in circles, yelling as if I had won a gold medal or a million dollars. The

Brad Beal Elite wins Jayhawk Finale Championship

The Brad Beal Elite 16U won the championship at the recent Jayhawk Summer Finale in Overland Park, Kansas. BBE finished the weekend with a 5-0 record, including a 59-43 victory over Marcus Denmon Elite in the championship game. The members of the team are (in front) Jaden Rogers (Fern Creek, KY), (back row, left to right), Head coach Tony Irons, assistant coach Lawndale Thomas, Nick Smith (Sherwood, AR), Luther Burden (Cardinal

KJ Lee

dunk was graceful, powerful and patriotic.

These days, Carter does not rise up quite as high or quite as often as he did back in the day. Instead of being an uber-explosive scoring machine, he’s now more of a mentor. The past five seasons, Carter has averaged around 17 minutes per game, primarily as a reserve. He is there to make the right basketball play. He’s there to share his wisdom with one of the youngest teams in the NBA.

Players like Mike Bibby Raef LaFrentz, Jason Williams and St. Louis’ own Larry Hughes, who were drafted alongside Carter, have been retired for around a decade. Meanwhile, old man Carter is still roaming the hardwood.

“I still love the game. I love to compete,” Carter told ESPN’s Lisa Salters during an interview last season. “If you love it, you’re willing to do whatever it takes. It’s still basketball. When you get on the court, you still do the same thing you’ve done all your career.”

Good luck to Carter in his farewell season. Hopefully, Atlanta will go to see a few more Vinsanity moments in Carter’s swan song.

Hispanic family harassed at Texas Rangers game

I know The St. Louis American is targeted to an African American audience, but I’d be remiss if I ignored an awful experience a Hispanic family suffered at a Texas Rangers baseball game.

According to the Dallas Morning News, “The Rangers are investigating an incident of harassment toward a Hispanic family from Fort Worth that took place at Globe Life Park in Arlington only hours after the deadly Walmart shooting in El Paso on Saturday.”

A woman named Jessica Romero, took a photo, which she later posted to Facebook, with her family while at a Rangers game. In the background, a white male is seen making an obscene gesture, clearly intended to be visible to

the camera. Romero stated that the man continuously made racist and disparaging remarks towards Hispanics. He repeated Trumpian tropes such as “build the wall” and when a child accidentally kicked his seat, the man threatened to kick “Speedy Gonzalez all the way back to Mexico.”

Black St. Louisans know

a little bit about racist baseball fans. Ferguson protestors were called “crackheads” by white Cardinals fans during a demonstration near Busch Stadium in 2014. The fans also chanted “Let’s Go Darren [Wilson]!” and “Africa! Africa!” in response to calls for social justice and equality. People often talk about the desire to separate sports from politics, but the truth is, the two can never be separated. According to the Rangers, the organization has reached out to the Romero family and apologized for the racist fan’s behavior. The franchise has also pledged to make the Romero family’s next Rangers game a memorable one. Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch online at stlamerican. com and on Twitter @ishcreates.

Ritter), Chevalier Brenson (CBC),

(Fort Zumwalt North), Tommie Williams (Belleville West), Jonathan Dunn (Hazelwood Central), Josh Robinson (Cardinal Ritter), Nicholas Kern (Vashon), assistant coach Mylin Johnson.

continued from page B1

blame on other things, like ‘I don’t have time.’ Time is what we want the most, but we use the worst. So, we have to be great now. You have to maximize your time and say, ‘What am I wasting time on?’”

‘I got back up’

“Right now, you are looking at the glamour and a bit of the glory, but there have been some hard times,” said Rance John, barbershop owner and creator of The Classic Man line of beard grooming products.

John built up a successful business, only to lose everything he owned as the result of a divorce.

“I found myself sleeping on my friend’s floor. I lost my properties. I lost my business.

I lost it all,” John said. “But because entrepreneurs are born and not made, there is a certain level of resilience that is in each and every one of us. I took baby steps to get myself back in position, but I got back up.” Cobb bought a one-way ticket from St. Louis to Baltimore to meet with a potential client. He didn’t have the money for a return flight home. He ended up landing NFL Hall of Famer Ray Lewis as his client.

“I had $35 in my pocket – which was enough for an Uber to the Four Seasons and a sandwich from McDonalds,” Cobb said.

Aundrea Chanaye, makeup artist and owner of Live Victoriously Cosmetics, took work as a housekeeper before a viral video helped propel her business to the next level.

“I was a CEO of Live Victoriously and cleaning dirty hotel rooms,” she said. “I ended up getting fired from there because I didn’t have any help with childcare for my son.”

While they all had different stories about their climb – and eventual success – they had the common thread that an

entrepreneur’s life is one of a perpetual state of discomfort.

“If you want to do this and be comfortable, don’t waste your time,” said Cobb.

Raphael Morris, attorney and owner of The Morris Firm, was digging in the seat of his car looking for enough change to buy a burger from the Wendy’s dollar menu a month before graduating from law school.

“When I’m having a tough moment or dealing with a difficult client, I think back to that same kid and remember,” Morris said. “No matter what I go through today, I just know that it’s been way worse than what it is.”

‘You need more than motivation’

The event gave several opportunities for the audience to ask questions to the panelists and speakers.

n “Everybody sitting on this panel are jumpers. We had to jump off of that ledge and trust God, or whatever we believe in, to catch us.”

– Cedric Cobb, owner of Best Wardrobe Solutions and inventor of the Best Pocket Square Holder

“It can be something as simple as the difference between having a Gmail account and your own domain name,” said Cornell Boone, owner of The Corner Street Food and Shift58 Marketing and Brand Promotion. “Those small things make a difference. As you make your money, take it and invest back into your business. That’s where the growth happens.”

Guests learned about the difference between investment and sponsorship and the proper way to secure investors.

“Whatever you structure with your investors, make sure that there is a strong WIIFT element. That’s ‘What’s In

It For Them,’” Cobb said. “So many times, we structure things as far as investments and sponsorships based on what’s best for us. We are not even concerned with what they are going to get in return. We think like, ‘You should just feel good investing in my company.’ No. I need a return on investment –and you need to know [and tell me] what that looks like.”

Latasha Fox, the region’s only African American Chicfil-A franchisee, spoke of the challenges she has experienced since opening in February.

Because she was intentional with respect to making her team of employees reflect the community where it’s located, only two employees had prior experience with the franchise.

“If you go to other stores, they have a fully experienced team that doesn’t look like us –if I’m being transparent. There are few Chic-fil-A kitchens that look like mine,” Fox said.

“I have young AfricanAmerican team workers hustling in that kitchen. We are asking for that element of grace. Sometimes we get it, sometimes we don’t. But we know we have to be twice as good to be seen as equal. I try to instill excellence in them. Focus on your people. Pour into them, and they will take care of your business.”

In the talk before Bolden closed out the event, A. Keith Turner of TurnGroup Technology offered five tips for moving forward with a business.

They included understanding of self in order to find the right type of business to operate, being able to articulate what your business is going to do, making sure that there is demand for the product or service, and developing a plan on how to make the business work and finding customers.

“You need more than motivation – you need a strategy to get your business going and a structure that you can do well in,” Turner said. “It’s great to be motivated, but you have to have some things to hang your hat on as far as business fundamentals.”

A native of St. Louis, Bolden has traveled the nation as a speaker, author and influencer.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019

‘She

was what we call a living ancestor’

Literary legend, Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison passes at 88

By Kenya

Black culture lost a monumental giant with the passing of Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, who died after a brief illness on Monday, August 5. She was 88. East St. Louis poet laureate Eugene Redmond remembered vividly the last time he saw his friend, former agent and literary collaborator. He was at the funeral of another icon, Maya Angelou.

“I was in the photo area of Riverside Church in New York firing away,” Redmond said. “She looked over, winked at me and gave me a wave.” Redmond’s history with Morrison goes back as far as her storied career as a published writer. He refers to her as simply “Morrison” in the way that teachers and professors address each other out of earshot from their students. They were both former educators. Morrison’s last teaching post was at Princeton University and Redmond recently retired as an emeritus professor of English, founding editor of Drumvoices Revue, and former chairman of the Creative Writing Committee at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.

“Who was the greatest folklorist? Morrison,” Redmond said. “Who could write the most formidable sentence? Morrison. Who told the most truth about

A king and queen hold court

Nas and Mary J. Blige display rap and R&B dynasty with Royalty Tour

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

“Illmatic” and “My Life.” Both albums were game changers – classics in their own right – when they dropped 25 years ago.

The two artists – linked by a couple of collaboration tracks and their mutual New York City upbringing – decided to hit the road together to celebrate the shared quarter-century milestone for their seminal albums. The end result is a live show that honors their respective musical legacies and proves them timeless and ageless in an industry notorious for producing disposable talent. When the pair emerged onstage at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre Wednesday night following a video montage, both looked like they had stepped right out 1994. The show kicked off with their new record “Thriving” – a record released just ahead of the start of their tour – and “Reach Out,” a song that featured Blige and appeared on Nas’ 2012 “Life is Good” album.

4 Change” concert that was part of the 2014 “Ferguson October” programming.

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

When

n “I wasn’t going out there as a rapper,” Poe said. “I was responding as a man who has a mother that lives in Ferguson.”

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Mary J. Blige and Nas at Hollywood Casino Amphitheater Wednesday night.

Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

Photos by Lawrence Bryant

How to place a calendar listing

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

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

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

back to school activities

Sat., Aug. 10, 6 p.m., Do Right Entertainment presents a Back 2 School Giveaway Concert. Feat. AMR Dee Huncho, La4ss, and Jizzle Buckz. The Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry, 63136. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com

Aug. 10 – 11, Saint Louis Public Schools and the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis present Urban Expo: Back to School & Community Festival America’s Center, 701 Convention Plaza, 63101. For more information, visit www. slps.org.

Aug. 10 – Aug. 11, Craig Blac’s 19th Annual Community Cuts For Kids, East St. Louis City Hall (Aug. 10, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.) and The O’Fallon Park Rec Plex (Aug. 11, 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.). For more information, visit craigshieldsfoundation.org

Sun., Aug. 11, 1 p.m., Made Moguls presents their 5th Annual Back To School Youth Summit 2019. Harris Stowe, 3026 Laclede Ave., 63103. For more information, call (314) 951-8393.

Sat., Aug. 17, 6 p.m., The Advancing Church presents We on Blast: Youth Back to School Concert and Giveaway. Community resources, school supplies, hip hop artists, poetry, and more. 4152 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

concerts

Fri., Aug. 9, 7:30 p.m., Live Nation presents Hammer’s House Party with MC

Hammer, Biz Markie, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Tone Loc, 2 Live Crew. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, 14141 Riverport Dr., 63043. For more information, visit www. ticketmaster.com.

Mon., Aug. 12, 8 p.m., Fox Theatre presents Gary Clark Jr. 527 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Thur., Aug. 15, 7 p.m., Fubar presents Young AR. 3108 Locust St., 63103. For more information, visit www. fubarstl.com.

Sat., Aug. 17, A Night of Class starring Dionne Warwick. With special guests Peabo Bryson & Deniece Williams. Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market St., 63103. For more information, visit www. stifeltheatre.com.

Fri., Aug. 23, 8 p.m., Throwback Legends presents Young Dro. The Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry Rd., 63136. For more information, call (314) 374-5565.

Wed., Aug. 28,7 p.m., Live Nation presents Hot 104.1 FM’s Super Jam, featuring the Meek Mill & Future: The Legendary Nights Tour. With YG, Mustard, and Megan Thee Stallion. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, 14141 Riverport Dr., 63043. For more information, visit www. ticketmaster.com.

Fri., Sept. 6, 7 p.m., Liberty Bank Alton Amphitheater presents Nelly. 1 Riverfront Dr., Alton, IL. 62002. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

local gigs

Sun., Aug. 11, Chuck Flowers & Acoustic Soul, BB’s Jazz Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, MO 63102.

The Guide

Kenya Vaughn recommends

Fri., Aug. 16, 7:30 p.m., AllN-1 Entertainment presents Divas with Voices Live Tribute Concert. Hosted by Lady Re. Jewel Event Center, 407 Dunn Rd., 63031. For more information, call (314) 690-3660.

Sat., Aug. 17, 8 p.m., Kim Fuller and Carolbeth True Perform The Music of Billie Holiday. Ozark Theatre, 103 E. Lockwood Ave., 63119. For more information, call (314) 962-7000.

Sat., Aug. 17, 8 p.m., Tonina: The St. Louis Tour. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. delmarhall.com.

Aug. 16 – 18, Blankfest 2019. A music festival to showcase some of St. Louis’ best Hip-Hip, R&B, Alternative, Rock, Hard Blues artists/bands. Blank Space, 2847 Cherokee St., 63118. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Fri., Aug. 23, 8 p.m., Pop’s Concert Venue presents Polo G. 1403 Mississippi Ave., Sauget, IL. 62201. For more information, visit www. ticketmaster.com.

special events

Fri., Aug. 9, 11 a.m., The Michael Brown Chosen For Change Foundation’s 5th Annual Michael Brown Memorial Weekend Event. Event includes memorial service, community day, and the As I See You Exhibit. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Fri., Aug. 9, 7 p.m., Anita Jackson: This Woman’s Work! A candid conversation with hard-working women. The Grandel, 3610 Grandel Sq., 63103. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com

Sat., Aug. 10, 9 a.m., Clean up & Green up The Hodiamont Tracks. Lane Tabernacle CME Church, 910 N. Newstead Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www. cleanhodiamont.eventbrite. com.

Sat., Aug. 10, 11 a.m., George B. Vashon Museum 4th Anniversary: Thriving in Spite Of…Living in Segregated St. Louis Communities. 2223 St. Louis Ave., 63106. For more information, visit www.

The Laugh Lounge presents JJ Williamson. For more information, see COMEDY.

eventbrite.com.

Sat., Aug. 10, 1 p.m., Nobel Entertainment presents Henny Fest. Hosted by JStarr. Downtown St. Louis. For more information, call (314) 2625064 or (314) 479-9949.

Sun., Aug. 11, 9 a.m., Annie Malone Children & Family Services 2nd Annual 5K. Run, walk, ride. Forest Park Upper Muny, 1 Theatre Dr., 63112. For more information, visit www.anniemalone.com.

Tues., Aug. 13, 10 a.m., St. Louis Union Station Job Fair. 1820 Market St., 63103. For more information, visit www.stlouisunionstation.com.

Wed., Aug. 14, 11 a.m., Diversity Job Source 27th Annual Diversity Job Fair. North County Recreation Complex, 2577 Redman Rd., 63136. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Thur., Aug. 15, 10:30 a.m., United 4 Children invites you to their 7th Annual Golfing for Kids Golf Tournament Fundraiser. Norman K. Probstein Golf Course, 6141 Lagoon Dr., 63112. For more information, visit www. united4children.org.

Aug. 16 – 18, 2019 Black

Pride Weekend: So St. Louis. Events include an awards mixer, festival, church service, and more. For more information, visit wwww. facebook.com.

Aug. 16 – 18, St. Louis World’s Fare Heritage Festival. World’s Fair Pavilion, Forest Park, 1904 Concourse Dr., 63112. For more information, visit www. stlworldsfare.com.

Aug. 16 – 18, Festival of the Little Hills. Featuring over 300 arts & craft booths, demonstrations, vendors, a kid’s area, and more. St. Charles Historic District, 63303. For more information, visit www. festivalofthelittlehills.com.

Sat., Aug. 17, 2 p.m., Rise Up Festival 2019. A one-day street festival celebration of revitalization in St. Louis. 1627 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Sat., Aug. 17, 5 p.m., FoodSpark presents The Spark Dinner: Black Summer. A dinner party which capstones a threemonth-long series of conversations on Black summer and Black liberation. Griot Museum of Black History, 2505 St. Louis Ave., 63106. For more information, visit www.foodspark.org.

Thur., Aug. 22, 5 p.m., St. Louis Crisis Nursery Celebrity Waiters Night. 80 W County Center Dr., 63131. For more information, visit www.crisisnurserykids.org/ events.

Fri., Aug. 23, 6 p.m., The Pink Carpet Community Gala. With host Derrion Henderson and guest speaker Dr. Lannis Hall. Bold & Confident You Fashion Show. Missouri Athletic Club Downtown, 405 Washington Ave., 63102. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sat., Aug. 24, 9 a.m., Greater North County Chamber of Commerce’s 2019 Career Fair. James J. Eagan Center, 1 James J. Eagan Dr., 63033. For more information, visit www. greaternorthcountychamber. com.

Aug. 24 – 25, 10 a.m., International Institute presents the Saint Louis Festival of Nations. Tower Grove Park, 4257 Northeast Dr., 63113. For more

information, visit www. festivalofnations.org.

Wed., Aug. 28, 6 p.m., The Zoo Young Professionals invite you to Jammin’ At The Zoo. 1 Government Dr., 63110. For more information, visit www.stlzoo.org.

Aug. 31 – Sept. 1, Taste of Africa 2019. Come out for the food, vendors, activities, musicians, and more. O’Fallon Park, 799 E. Taylor Ave., 63147. For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

Sat., Sept. 7, 11 a.m., 4th Annual ConsciousFest. A celebration of community, culture, vendors, performances, and more. 4057 Evans Ave., 63113. For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

literary

Sun., Aug. 11, 7 p.m., Churchboy Productions presents Lyricism: The Show. Church will infuse the smooth melodic sounds of R&B with the classy artistry of poetry. The Grandel, 3610 Grandel Sq., 63103. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Thur., Sept. 5, 6:30 p.m., St. Louis County Library hosts author Gina Whitlock Fletcher, author of Stumble to Rise: My Life Surviving and Thriving with M.S Grant’s View Branch, 9700 Musick Rd., 63123. For more information, visit www.slcl. org.

art

Sat., Aug. 17, 1 p.m., 6th Annual Saint Louis African American Artifacts Festival and Bazaar. Crown Square Plaza, 14th Street & St. Louis Ave., 63106. For more information, visit www. saintlaaafab.com.

Aug. 30 – Sept. 1, The Greater St. Louis Art Association presents The

Art Fair at Queeny Park Featuring up to 130 artists. Greensfelder Recreation Center, 550 Weidman Rd., 63011. For more information, visit www.artfairatqueenypark. com.

Sept. 6 – 8, Saint Louis Art Fair. Featuring 181 artists from around the world exhibiting their work. 225 S. Meramec Ave., 63105. For more information, visit www. saintlouisartfair.com.

comedy

Sun., Aug. 11, 6 p.m., Herb Middleton & Friends. Comedy & Concert Blast Peace Tour. Casa Loma Ballroom, 3354 Iowa Ave., 63118. For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

Wed., Aug. 14, 7:30 p.m., Funny Bone presents Kevin Bozeman. Funny Bone, 614 W. Port Plaza Dr., 63146. For more information, visit www. stlouisfunnybone.com.

Aug. 15 – 18, Helium Comedy Club presents Luenell. 1151 St. Louis Galleria St., 63117. For more information, visit www. heliumcomedy.com.

Thur., Aug. 15, 8 p.m., The Whole Crew Is Stupid Tour. Feat. Barry Brewer, Jahdai Pickett, and Minks. Jazzy 159, 5225 N. Illinois St., Fairview Heights, IL. 62208. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Aug. 16 – 18, The Laugh Lounge presents JJ Williamson. 11208 W. Florissant Ave., 63033. For more information, visit www. thelaughloungestl.com.

Aug. 23 – 25, Helium Comedy Club presents Tony Roberts. 1151 St. Louis Galleria St., 63117.

Through Aug. 11, The Muny

Kenya Vaughn recommends

presents Matilda. Forest Park, 1 Theatre Dr., 63112. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Sat., Aug. 17, 3:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. StarFire Productions presents NOT MY SONS written and directed by Star Ellis. A full length play coupled with a served 2 course catered dinner by StarFire Catering. The Empowerment Center @ The Center for Divine Love 3617 Wyoming Street St. Louis, MO 63116. Tickets can be purchased online at www.StarFireHot.com or call 314.732.5146 for group/ organization rates.

Aug. 17 – 24, 8 p.m., Union Avenue Opera presents Glory Denied. Follow the life of a long held POW after he returns home. 733 N. Union Blvd.,

Live Nation presents Hot 104.1 FM’s Super Jam, featuring the Meek Mill & Future: The Legendary Nights Tour. See CONCERTS for details.

more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Through Aug. 10, Gidron Global Network presents Faith Alive 2019 in St. Louis. Holiday Inn St. Louis, 811 N. 9th St., 63101. For more information, visit www. gidronglobal.com.

Aug. 22 – 25, United in Faith presents the Refreshed by Fire Conference. Holiday Inn Downtown Convention Center, 811 N. 9th St., 63101. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Sat., Aug. 24, 12 p.m., Temple of Praise Ministries Empowerment Day. Empowerment seminars, activities, vendors, trivia, and more. O’Fallon Park, 799 E. Taylor Ave., 63115. For more information, visit www. topministriesstl.org.

63108. For more information, www.unionavenueopera.org.

lectures and workshops

Sun., Aug. 11, 2 p.m., The Contributions and Legacies of Black Doughboys. Join a panel of African American veterans to discuss how the sacrifices made by veterans of the First World War transcended race and influenced the lives of American veterans. Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. mohistory.org.

Mon., Aug. 12, 6 p.m., SCORE Mentors host How to Handle Core Legal Issues

Facing a Business. Busch Hall, Fontbonne University, 6800 Wydown Blvd., 63105. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Tues., Aug. 13, 6 p.m., Ending the City-County Divide: Pros and Cons. St. Louis Public Library – Central Branch, 1301 Olive St., 63103. For more information, visit www.slpl.org.

Thur., Aug. 22, 8 p.m., An Evening With Iyanla Vanzant: Acts of Faith Remix Tour. Touhill Performing Arts Center, 1 Touhill Circle, 63121. For more information, visit www. iyanlavanzantlive.com.

Wed., Aug. 28, 6:30 p.m., City-Wide Town Hall on Gun Violence. Harris Stowe, 3026 Laclede Ave., 63103. For

Sun., Aug. 25, 3 p.m., True Light Missionary Baptist Church 110th Church Anniversary: We’re Better Together. Feat. St. Louis Finest Women in Christ. 2838 James Cool Papa Bell, 63106. For more information, call (314) 707-5608.

Aug. 28 – 30, YFC Ministries presents We Are Overcomers Conference 2019. Chase Park Plaza, 212 Kingshighway Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Thursdays, 6 p.m., Coffee Cake & True Islam, 4529 Emerson Ave.

Fri., Aug. 9, Brian Banks starring Greg Kinnear, Aldis Hodge, and Xosha Roquemore opens in theaters nationwide.

Fri., Aug. 9, The Kitchen starring Tiffany Haddish opens in theaters nationwide.

from C1

black people – who said that we cannot have a true black literature until we hear our women’s voices? Morrison.”

It was the one time Redmond’s voice cracked in his otherwise lively conversation about her.

“Who had the gall to say, ‘I didn’t have white people in my book because they were not important enough, or central to my narrative?’ Morrison,” Redmond continued. “I can go on with twenty other things. Morrison. Morrison. Morrison.”

As the world mourns her genius and immeasurable contribution to the canon of American literature, Redmond knows her well enough to talk about her personality, her demeanor – and even her laugh.

“She had an interesting chuckle,” Redmond remembered. It was so vivid to him that he laughed just thinking about it. “Sometimes it was sarcastic, sometimes sardonic, sometimes satirical. Sometimes it was almost demonical – it was a guttural laugh. She would tell you things without telling you things.”

They came to know each other through their collaboration on the posthumous releases of books by East St. Louis resident Henry Dumas.

Dumas’ first two books had been initially published in hardback by Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and

Nas & Mary

Continued from C1

After the pair of selections, Blige made an exit and left Nas to have his moment in the spotlight. He jumped right in with a power-packed start that included “It Ain’t Hard to Tell,” “Nasty” “Daughters,” “Life’s A [b-word expletive]” and “Hate Me.” He flexed his legendary MC status by performing without any vocal backing tracks or hype man. It was Nas, his “One Mic,” a live band that included a magnificent tenor

Morrison asked if there was more work.

“I said, ‘yes, but it’s not ready to be published,’” Redmond said. “She said, ‘Send me some.’ I sent it to her, and she said, ‘Oh this guy is a genius. This is some of the greatest stuff I’ve ever read.’ I knew he was brilliant, but there were aspects of his work that my consciousness hadn’t allowed me to arrive at an appreciation of yet.”

They spent the 1970s working together on Dumas. The end result was a handful of books, among them were “Ark of Bones and Other Stories (1974),” “Play Ebony, Play Ivory (1974),” and “Jonoah and the Green Stone (1976).”

“I would refer to Morrison as the in-house editor, and myself as the out-house editor,” Redmond said. “She got a real kick out of that.”

Before she became a Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prizewinning novelist, she was one of the most powerful black women in publishing. After realizing she had hit a ceiling as a professor without a PhD while working at Howard University, Morrison answered a newspaper ad for an editor position in the textbook division at Random House. She worked there for several years. In addition to her work with Dumas, she used her influence to bring African authors like Wole Soyinka to U.S. readers. She also gave popular black culture personalities and activists like Muhammad Ali, Angela Davis and Huey P. Newtown a platform to tell their story.

In the early 1970s, she decided she had her own story

vocalist singing hooks made famous by Ms. Lauryn Hill, Ginuwine and others. Nas’ set included a handful of songs he appeared on as a guest feature or led a group of featured artists –Missy Elliott’s “Hot Boy,” Ginuwine’s “You Owe Me,” and “Oochie Wally.” He never let up. His tuxedo shirt was soaked front to back as he showcased his prowess as a master lyricist and live performer through tracks like “The Message,” “Braveheart,” and “Made You Look.” The audience was along for the entire ride of his performance, but were especially

to tell and released her debut novel, “The Bluest Eye.”

With its unapologetic and undiluted references specific to the black experience, Morrison’s work as a novelist changed the landscape of fiction.

‘What a life!’

She was born Chloe Ardelia Wofford on February 18, 1931 in Lorain, Ohio, the second of four children born to parents who moved north as part of the Great Migration. The nickname Toni came in adolescence from her Catholic baptismal name,

in tune during “If I Ruled The World (which originally featured Lauryn Hill)” and “I Can” and “One Mic.” He led into “I Can” by allowing his pianist to deliver an intricately performed snippet of Beethoven’s “5th Symphony,” which the audience thoroughly appreciated.

Mary J. Blige opened her set by keeping the hip-hop flavor going by way of “I Can Love You,” which featured Lil Kim on the original track. Along with a trio of background dancers that sparingly came and went, she did her signature bop and stomp across the stage. As usual, fans encouraged her with

Bambara, and the like,” said Gerald Early, Merle Kling professor of Modern Letters and director of the Department of African-American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, as well as noted author and cultural critic. “She transcended the black gender wars of the time. I thought she created some of the most complex and compelling black male characters of the period.”

Her novels included “Beloved,” “The Bluest Eye,” “Sula,” “Song of Solomon,” “Tar Baby,” “Jazz,” “Paradise,” “Gold Help the Child,” “Home,” “A Mercy” and “Love.”

“She taught us no one was more divine than a black man and a black woman,” Redmond said. “She was what we call a living ancestor – That’s an African moniker that means that you are so emmeshed, so imbued with and so one with the living, the dead, and yet to be born, and with your tradition.”

Anthony. After high school, she moved east to attend Howard University, where she met her future husband, Harold Morrison, a Jamaican architect. She was pregnant with the second of their two sons when she filed for divorce in 1964.

The next year, she began her career at Random House – and became a published author less than a decade later.

“She was the greatest of the cohort of black women writers who emerged in the 1970s and early 1980s – folks like Gayle Jones, Gloria Naylor, Alice Walker, Michelle Wallace, Toni Cade

a “Go Mary, Go Mary” and she matched their energy as she bounced, kicked and dropped across the stage. She kept the pace and energy at a maximum through “Real Love,” “You Remind Me,” “Enough Crying” and “Love Is All We Need” – a 1997 duet with Nas that he surprisingly didn’t return to the stage to perform with her. Although the tour pays tribute to the “My Life” milestone, Blige gave fans every bit of nearly all of her 13 studio albums in a set that felt sizably longer than Nas’ portion of the show.

Blige jam-packed her set with something for fans of every Mary J. Blige phase over the course of her roster that included roughly two dozen

Tef Poe

Continued from C1

ing justice – and stayed.

Poe ended up being one of the frontline protestors who demonstrated nonstop for several months.

“I think it was really a collective consciousness – the collective conscious of this generation all moved at the same time because we were all seeing the same thing happen at the same time,” Poe said.

In the two weeks prior to Brown’s death, two unarmed black men had been killed by police in Ohio and New York City. But there was a different energy with Brown’s passing.

“Originally, I didn’t think it was going to become what it became, but when I got there, I could tell that it was different,” Poe said. “That people had reached a tipping point.”

He described the experience as a heightened sense of connectivity.

“We all knew what time it was – what happened, and it didn’t need any explanation,” Poe said. “None of us can take credit for organizing that response from the community. His blood organized the response – his blood pouring out onto the pavement was what brought people out.”

When asked for reflections as the region observes the five year anniversary of the Ferguson unrest, Poe asked that the community not lose sight of the inciting tragedy.

“We can’t talk about these five years or reflect without giving sincere condolences to his parents,” Poe said. “We covered it with the word ‘Ferguson,’ but they actually lost a son.” It’s less about Ferguson and more about their actual son, Mike Brown, being

Barack Obama.

“Toni Morrison’s prose brings us that kind of moral and emotional intensity that few writers ever attempt,” Obama said during the Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony. “She believes that language, ‘arcs toward the place where meaning might lie.’ The rest of us are lucky to be following along for the ride.”

She often used her writing to explore the dark side of human behavior.

“The danger that can consume many writers – and sometime take them out – she went right into it,” Redmond said. “And by danger, I mean there’s a self-exposure that comes through the exposure of her characters. As one psychiatrist, Otto Rank, said, ‘Whatever you write is in you.’”

Morrison wrote the unthinkable, the unspeakable and the unwritable.

She returned to academia at Princeton University in 1989 – where she held her post as the Robert F. Goheen chair in the Humanities until retiring in 2006.

In 1993, she became the first African American woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

“What a life!” Redmond exclaimed. “Morrison stands alone. I loved her and she taught me so much. There just won’t be another.”

In addition to winning the Nobel and Pulitzer prizes, Morrison was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor, in 2012 from President

selections. She looked phenomenal. She sounded like herself –and, as usual, made up for any vocal range limits with overwhelming passion, power and emotion that drew fans into every single moment. The audience sang along to every word of “My Life” and she chimed in occasionally as fans beat her to the punch with their own unprompted chorale performance of “I’m Going Down.”

She put in overtime to make her performance palpable –and even included a dramatic collapse as she crouched down pouring herself into a raw emotional portion of the show that included “Not Gon’ Cry” and “No More Drama.”

She took about four minutes total over the course of her

gone.”

He feels proud to have been a part of the movement that took place in Brown’s memory.

“I kind of feel like my role in the Ferguson uprising was a person that was going to be there to tell the whole story,” Poe said. “Not trying to lead or trying to give myself a soapbox moment – but to be in the position to one day say, ‘I saw this happen from start to finish, and this is what I saw happen. With no finesse added to it, just, ‘this is how it is.’”

As a rapper, the storytellers of the hip-hop generation, he felt it to be his responsibility.

“You know how you have old orators in the village that say, ‘We saw this back in the day and this is how it happened’,” Poe said. “Somebody has to live to tell the children. That’s what it was for me.”

The experience changed him and how he approaches his art.

“It matured me a lot – It gave me a different view of the city than what a lot of people may have from their perspective of being artists,” Poe said.

“It kind of erased the space in my music where I would kinda just make stuff up for the sake of entertainment. It was too much going on for me to be wasting my time with fiction.”

While he admitted that a he suffered from depression after it was decided that Wilson wouldn’t be indicted, he went on to tell the true story of Ferguson to the world.

“The city itself has been through a lot,” Poe said. “It’s sad the way that I’ve seen the media, institutions and political people in general take advantage of the grief.”

‘A different kind of Fellow’

In 2015 Poe applied for a fellowship through the Charles

“Baldwin used to talk about things being unspeakable,” Redmond said. “Morrison might not have spoken it, but she wrote it. And she always had an answer for every cruel thing that happened in her work.” Redmond believes that her legacy will be that she encouraged future generations to develop a love for comprehensive reading and critical thinking.

“This is a Facebook civilization – and Twitter with its 140 characters,” said Redmond. “You cannot read Toni Morrison and have that mindset. Each sentence of Morrison’s is like a mini Picasso. Each sentence is a mini-sculpture.”

90-plus minute set to talk to the fans. Perched on a stool she delivered relationship advice and told fans that they themselves were royalty for making it to the other side of whatever personal drama they may have experienced in their own lives.

“After we done cried or damn near died over somebody that didn’t like us or somebody who didn’t want us, at the end of the day – and you can take it from me – I guarantee you that everything is going to be just fine,” Blige said. The words signaled the song of the same name and picked up the pace just in time for her “Family Affair” finale, which saw Nas return to the stage for a lyrical interlude as they closed out a regal evening for rap and R&B.

Warren Center at Harvard University. The lead of the program to which he was applying, Walter Johnson, told him that he stood a good chance of being accepted for the program.

Johnson brought Poe to Harvard to do a talk. Soon after, he was sent an offer letter.

“I was a different kind of fellow for them,” Poe said of the fellowship that focused on politics and social activism.

“It’s a post-doctoral fellowship, and I don’t have a high school diploma.” After successfully completely the year-long fellowship, he moved over to Harvard’s W.E.B. DuBois Research Center called the Nasir Jones Fellowship – named after rapper Nas – which focused on music and black history.

“When I got out of the car [on campus], the first sign I saw said, “What does God have for you at Harvard?” Poe said. “When I saw that, I took it as a real sign as to this is the moment when we are going to see if you are just waiting for the first big opportunity to switch up.”

On the music side, Poe landed a deal with major label Tommy Boy in 2018. The label recommended that he apply to become a United States Cultural Ambassador. He was selected. On Sunday, he just returned from a three-week trip to Jordan as part of his duties.

“I’ve been on a fellowship at Harvard for the last three years pretty much doing the same thing I did over there which is connecting people that have a certain understanding of hip hop to a broader view of what hip-hop is capable of,” Poe said. “Also – just representing my city in a very dignified way.”

Authors Eugene B. Redmond and Toni Morrison, who passed away after a brief illness on Monday, August 5.

Celebrations

Ms. Missouri Senior

On July 14, 2019, Ms. Linda Stewart was crowned Second Runner-Up of the Ms. Missouri Senior America Pageant. Ms. Stewart has 20 years of experience as a communication professional. She started her career as a corporate trainer for Lord and Taylor stores in New York City and retired from Lutheran Hour Ministries in St. Louis. Linda has been adjunct English faculty at St. Louis Community College since 1994, teaching writing courses and Freshman English Composition. Linda is a world traveler who served as a Peace Corp volunteer in Ethiopia. For Linda’s talent she sang “Route 66”.

Reunions

Beaumont High School Class Of 1969 will celebrate its 50 year reunion Sept 20-22, 2019 at Embassy Suites St. Charles.. Come join us as we celebrate these golden years, “Living Life Like It’s Golden.” For more information contact Dennis Hayden 314 276-6188 or

beaumontclassof1969@yahoo. com or send your questions to P.O. Box 155, Florissant, MO 63032.

Beaumont High School Class of 1979 is planning its 40 year reunion. All activities are scheduled for the weekend of September 27-29. The location is The Airport Marriot at 10700 Pear Tree Drive, St. Louis 63134. For more information, contact Milton Jackson at 314-2764392 or Yolanda Lockhart at lockhartyo08@gmail.com.

Central All-Class Reunion Weekend will be held August 9-11 2019. Meet and Greet - Friday - Midtown Bar and Grille 5:00pm, Redwing Dance

- Saturday - 7:00 pm, Alumni Picnic - Sunday - All Class Picture at 3616 Garrison 9:00am. Picnic following picture at St. Louis Place Park/Rauschenbach Park/ For more info: Contact Harri-o Jackson at 314-226-6332 or Phill Berry at 314-243-1927, St.louisheat52@yahoo.com.

Cole School Alumni Fourth Annual Cute and Casual Dinner Dance “An Old Fashioned Big Show Reunion” Featuring: The Pure Image Band with songstress Carolyn Munson. Date: Sunday August 25, 2019, 3:00--7:00 p.m at Infinite Occasions Conference and Banquet Center, 3515 North Lindbergh (across from

Birthdays

Happy Birthday wishes to our mother, grandmother great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother, Marguerite Hightower She celebrates her 90th birthday on August 9!

Northwest Plaza, St. Ann, MO 63074

Kinloch Class of 1969 is planning its 50th year reunion on August 21, 22 and 23. Dinner dance at Orlandos, 2050 Dorsett Village Plaza. For information call Ruben at 314-239-5202 or Ophelia at 314-280-6596. Classmates please respond by April 2019.

Northwest Class of 1979 is planning on cruising for our 40th class reunion and would love for you to join us! Date to sail is set for July 20, 2019 and you can feel free to contact: Duane Daniels at 314-568-2057 or Howard Day at 414-698-4261 for further information. Please don’t miss

Jordan Eason turns 6 on August 6! Happy Magical Birthday, Jordan Jr. You make our lives magical each day that you share your intelligence and spirit with us. We love you! Mommy and Daddy and Aspen

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

St. Louis

Soldan is having its 14th All-Class Alumni Picnic, August 17, 2019, at Tiemeyer Park, 3311 Ashby Rd., St. Ann, MO 63074 from 10 am-6 pm. Bring your own basket or grill out there. Food trucks will be present. T-Shirts are $15—get your grad year on your t-shirt before August 3, 2019. For more information call: (314) 413-9088.

Soldan Class of 1974 Alumni Association is planning its 45-year reunion. Please get your contact information to dhblackjack@charter.net or call 314-749-3803.

We prefer that notices be

to us! However, notices may also be sent by mail to: Kate

2315

63103 Deadline is 10 a.m. on Friday. If you’d like your class to be featured in a reunion profile, email or mail photos to us. Our email address is: reunions@stlamerican.com

Religion

James Washington publishes first book of spiritual columns

‘Spiritually Speaking: Reflections for and from a New Christian’ available now

By Stacy M. Brown For The NNPA

Sometimes words alone cannot convey meaning and feelings the way we’d like them to, Dallas Weekly

Publisher James Washington wrote in one of his popular “Spiritually Speaking” Columns for BlackPressUSA. com.

“Trust for example. The reference point for my meaning is ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all things acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight,’ Washington wrote, citing a passage from the book of Proverbs (chapter 3, verses 5-6).

for delivering simple straightforward advice is tailor-made for a book. And now, Washington has obliged, penning the new book, “Spiritually Speaking: Reflections for and from a New Christian,” available on Amazon.com.

The 258-page book is written to give spiritual insight to the new Christian, Washington said. It is not based on doctrine but rather unquestioned faith, the kind that answers the question, “Why me?” and understands the answer is and always has been “Why not you?” he said.

As he has become wellknown for, Washington provided his readers with a thorough explanation – one that likely encouraged and built up many.

“Trust is such a complex thing. Have you ever been betrayed by someone in whom you had total trust? Have you been able to totally trust another person since? You can see how easily misplaced trust puts you in a terribly vulnerable place. It’s uncomfortable. It’s abnormal. It ain’t fun,” Washington said.

Many argue that James Washington’s style of journalism and talent

“Spiritually Speaking: Reflections for and from a New Christian,” is a collection of some of the columns Washington has written under the heading, “Spiritually Speaking.”

Each week, millions of readers find that they can easily relate to Washington’s prose, which is as thought-provoking as it is rich in spiritual wisdom. “This week allow me to talk about freedom,” one of Washington’s columns began.

“The freedom I’m talking about is the freedom afforded you when you come to Christ. There is something quite liberating when you know or realize that you’ve been, as they say, ‘set free.’”

Even though he writes regularly for the printed

and digital press, writing a book hadn’t always been on Washington’s radar. “It was a suggestion from a very good friend who reads the column regularly,” Washington said.

“I know it was not something that ever occurred to me, and then I asked a few people who

wholeheartedly agreed that it was a good thing,” he said. “I never knew how much support [the book] had until I began receiving emails for markets around the country who read the columns in National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA)

“Spiritually Speaking: Reflections for and from a New Christian” by James Washington is available on Amazon.com.

newspapers,” Washington said. The NNPA is the trade organization that represents African American-owned newspapers and media companies throughout the country, providing authors like Washington the opportunity to reach all 47 million people

of African descent in the United States — along with the millions of others that read NNPA member content online and in print each week. In addition to his family and supporters, Washington drew inspiration from a host of other people and places. “Inspiration comes from a myriad of sources, some from the pulpit, some from Bible study, but mostly from life situations,” he said.

“Many columns have come from simple meditation, prayer and my Bible’s concordance,” Washington said.

When asked whether there’s a primary or underlying message to be taken from his columns and book, Washington said it’s a difficult question because he doesn’t view himself as a minister.

“I am just a sinner who has come to grips with the blessing of being able to write. I began this journey to publicly declare this talent as a gift from God,” Washington said.

“The result is personal and public evidence that God is indeed in charge. Anything that results from this declaration is His doing, including my first book. I’m just doing what I am led to do. It is truly humbling to see how folks are responding. I am overwhelmed at times,” he said.

To order your copy of Spiritually Speaking: Reflections for and from a New Christian,” visit https://tinyurl. com/y6cnsl5q.

James Washington

SECURITY OFFICER

Saint Louis Art Museum. Full-Time Security Officer . Apply at http://www.slam.org/careers

POLICE OFFICER

The City of Olivette is accepting applications for the position of Police Officer. Salary range $56,732$73,542 w/excellent benefit package. Applicants must be POST certified at time of appointment, have a valid driver’s license, be a high school graduate or equivalent, Associate’s Degree or a minimum of 64 hours of college credit preferred, must be 21 years of age. Duties include, but are not limited to, Patrol, Traffic Enforcement, Enforcement of State and local laws and providing police services to the community. Application packets are available through the City’s website at www.olivettemo.com (Careers section), in person at the Olivette City Center, 1140 Dielman Rd. Olivette, MO 63132, or by contacting Human Resources at dmandle@olivettemo. com. Application deadline is Friday, August 23, 2019 at 2:00 pm. For additional information contact the Human Resources office at 314-983-5231 or dmandle@olivettemo.com THE CITY OF OLIVETTE IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.

PATROL OFFICER

CHILD CARE ASSISTANT

Position available immediately In Ferguson 314-736-0105

DIRECTOR, RESIDENTIAL SERVICES

Responsible for the devel- opment, coordination and oversight of Covenant House Missouri Residential Services and to ensure the residential program provides youth with sanctuary and an immediate response to their needs which reflects respect, honesty, and a warm, empathetic welcome to facilitate their transition to independenceself-sufficiency.and

To apply, visit our website at www.covenanthousemo.org

The City of Brentwood seeks a Patrol Officer to join our current Police Force.

is

and goals within guidelines established by the Sergeant/Corporal. Starting rate of pay is $57,084. Minimum qualifications are as follows:

• High school diploma or equivalent

• Current P.O.S.T. (Peace Office Standard Training) Certification as a police officer of a first class county in the State of Missouri through Police Academy training.

• Valid Missouri Driver’s license without record of suspension, revocation or felony convictions in any state

• Must be 21 years of age and US citizen at time of employment

This position will close on Friday, August 30th, 2019 at 4 PM. For more information regarding this position, please visit our website at www.brentwoodmo.org/jobs

EOE A/M/F/D/V

COORDINATORFINANCEACCOUNTING

As a member of a self-directed work team, this position shares responsibility reviewing, analyzing, and reporting policy transactions related to Primary Worker’s Compensation policies, as well as reporting coverage for Commercial Auto vehicles insured by Safety National. To apply, please visit: www.safetynational.com/https://

BUSINESS SYSTEMS ANALYST

Responsibility for the collection, preparation, documentation and communication of IS requirements, both business and technical Demonstrates clear and working knowledge and concepts of Business Analysis and Information Technology Is capable of working independently, but may be assigned to work under the guidance of a Senior Business Systems Analyst when engaged in larger, more complex projects

To apply, please visit: https://www. safetynational.com/careers-page/

AAS degree or higher in Social Work, Human Services, Family Studies, or a related field. Minimum of nine (9) college credit hours in early childhood related courses; or current CDA credential a plus. Please reply to Center Manager Linda Davis at (314) 679-5440.

CASE MANAGER

Urban Strategies is looking for a Case Manager at Preservation Square. To apply go to https://urbanstrategiesinc.org/ and visit our Careers Page.

The Missouri Historical Society has position openings for the following:

• Early Childhood and Family Programs Educator

• Resource Protection Officer

Please visit www.mohistory.org under the “Current Openings” tab for position details and to apply.

Equal Opportunity Employer

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Jewish Family & Children’s Service is looking to add to our dynamic staff! Visit our job board at www.jfcsapply.com to view our exciting opportunities!

Washington University in St. Louis offers rewarding opportunities in various fields at all levels, with positions in engineering, nursing and health care, research, administration, technology, security and more.

Assistant Director, Accounts Receivable ManagementAnesthesiology - 42798

POSITION SUMMARY:

In support of the Billing Director for the Department the position ensures that Anesthesiology has a robust process for charge capture, coding and follow up for its fee for service billing generating optimal revenue from our payers. Will support the Billing Director in managing more than 35 billing staff. Responsible for ensuring compliance and productivity standards are met. For the right candidate this role will be a succession planning opportunity for the Director of Billing position.

Manager, Cost Analysis -Accounting Services – 4549

POSITION SUMMARY:

Responsible for planning and preparation of the Facilities and Administrative cost proposal and negotiation with federal government representatives of the rate used for the recovery of F&A costs. Research and interpret F&A issues impacting the rate proposal. Planner II - Operations & Facilities Management - 44917

This position plans, analyzes, estimates and completes conceptual and detailed work products in support of the strategic efforts for facilities projects, ensuring efficiency within the budget. This position serves as an ambassador of the Operations & Facilities Management Department. Consults and communicates with WUSM departments regarding planning and project advancement. Zz

Expedited Review Specialist - Human Research Protection Office – 42414

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the FDA regulations mandate that institutions receiving federal research funds maintain an Institutional Review Board (IRB) to review all human subject research proposals so as to “protect the rights and welfare of human subjects.” The Washington University (WU) IRB, Human Research Protection Office (HRPO), reviews and monitors all research involving human subjects. This position is an IRB committee member.

Senior News Director, Social Sciences - Public Affairs – 44954

POSITION SUMMARY:

Promote the University’s reputation as a leader in the social sciences and related fields through proactive PR storytelling and other outreach, focused on story lines developed primarily within the School of Arts & Sciences and related and/or various centers, institutes and programs.

Clinical Administrator – OB/Gyn 44060

POSITION SUMMARY:

Position is responsible for administrating clinical business and operational affairs with emphasis on analysis and maximization of clinical revenues, implementing effective practices and control procedures.

POSITION SUMMARY:

Prepares, monitors, analyzes and manages budgets and promotes cost effective practices for department. Plans the utilization of space and facilities for clinics consistent with requirements of organizational efficiency and available facilities and funds. Bachelor’s degree; progressive management experience required; 5 to 7 years of experience in an academic health center, hospital, or healthcare industry setting. An equivalent of nine years of education and experience may substitute for a Bachelor’s degree and 5 to 7 years of experience.

For a full description of these positions and other career opportunities, please visit https://jobs.wustl.edu/ to apply. Click search jobs and enter the job ID number. We seek people from diverse backgrounds to join us in a supportive environment that encourages boldness, inclusion and creativity. EO/AA/VET/Disability Employer

LETTING #8700

2020 CAPITAL MAIN REPLACEMENT PROGRAM

SIX

(6)

INCH MAIN IN MAURY AVENUE

CITY OF ST. LOUIS –WATER DIVISION

Sealed proposals will be received by the Board of Public Service in Room 208 City Hall, 1200 Market Street, St. Louis, Mo. Until 1:45 PM, CT, on August 20, 2019, then publicly opened and read. Plans and Specifications may be examined on the Board of Public Service website http://www.stl-bps.org (BPS On Line Plan Room) and may be purchased directly through the BPS website from INDOX Services at cost plus shipping. No refunds will be made. Bidders shall comply with all applicable City, State and Federal laws (including MBE/WBE policies).

All bidders must regard Federal Executive Order 11246, “Notice of Requirement for Affirmative Action to Ensure Equal Employment Opportunity”, the “Equal Opportunity Clause” and the “Standard Federal Equal Employment Specifications” set forth within and referenced at www.stl-bps.org (Announcements).

IPR Great Lakes

ITB MINORITY SUB QUOTES (MBE/WBE) CITY OF ST. LOUIS, MO

The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District BIDS 9/5/19

PROJECT NAME:

Gravois Trunk (Whitecliff To RDP) Sanitary Rehabilitation (Fannie Ave To Pardee Lane) QUOTES RETURNED: 8/30/19 - COB

SCOPES NEEDED:

Large Diameter pipe CCTV/Cleaning (36-60” Dia), Bypass pumping, Precast manhole supply, Precast manhole installation, Manhole rehabilitation (cementitious), Manhole chimney seals, Site clearing & grubbing, Erosion Control, Site grassing, top soil, restoration, Rock lining, Rock toe protection, Aggregate supplier, Trash/ Dumpster rental, Project scheduling, Project communication, printing services

Contact Sherrie Sommerville for Specs/Plans 832-948-4541

ADVERTISE YOUR BID

ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

St. Louis Community College will receive separate sealed bids for Contract No. F 20 201, Evaporative Cooler Replacement, St. Louis Community College at Corporate College, until 2:00 p.m. local time, Tuesday, August 27, 2019. Bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at the office of the Manager of Engineering and Design, 5464 Highland Park Drive (Plan Room). Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from the Manager’s office, at the above address or by calling (314) 644-9770.

Mandatory PREBID MEETING: 11:00AM August 13, 2019Evaporative Cooler Replacement, Meet in The Front Lobby at Corporate College 3221 McKelvey Road, Bridgeton, MO 63044

An Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Spiniello Companies is requesting Quotations from Qualified MBE/ WBE Subcontractors/Vendors for: The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District RE-BID Gravois Trunk (Whitecliff to RDP) Sanitary Rehabilitation (Fannie Ave to Pardee Lane) Letting No. 10496015.1. Bid Date 9/5/2019. We are requesting quotes for the following areas (but not limited to) Manhole Rehabilitation, CCTV/Cleaning and By-Pass Pumping. Contact Spiniello Companies General Inquiries: Marlena Lawrence 973-808-8383 Email: estimating@spinielloco.com Fax: 973-251-9713

SEALED BIDS

forCamp ClarkBuilding 430, DiningFacility Addition,Camp ClarkTraining Site, Nevada,Missouri, ProjectNo. T1716-02, willbereceived byFMDC, Stateof MO, UNTIL1:30 PM,9/5/2019. For specificproject informationand orderingplans,go to:http://oa.mo. gov/ facilities

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Sealed bids are requested from Licensed HVAC Contractors for: Riverview Gardens School District RFP 227 Roof Top Unit Replacement St. Louis, Missouri

Qualifications and sealed bids will be received by the Riverview Gardens School District Board of Education at the Riverview Gardens School District Central Office, 1370 Northumberland Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63137, until August 28, 2019, 2:00 p.m., CDT. Bid proposals will be publicly opened and read aloud by the school administrative staff. Late bids will not be accepted and will be returned to the sender, unopened. Bids submitted via facsimile machine will not be accepted. A 10% Bid Security will be required with each proposal. Bid Proposals will be firm for sixty (60) calendar days. The buildings will be made available for inspection during the mandatory pre-bid meeting. A mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on August 19, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. CDT. The pre-bid meeting will begin at the Riverview Gardens High School located at 1218 Shepley Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63137. Interested Contractors may obtain plans and specifications by visiting Riverview Gardens School Distict website www.rgsd.k12.mo.us The Board of Education reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, any part of a proposal, to waive informalities and technicalities and to make the award in the best interest of the district.

LETTING #8701

MEP IMPROVEMENTS TO 12TH & PARK AND WOHL REC CENTERS

Sealed proposals will be received by the Board of Public Service in Room 208 City Hall, 1200 Market Street, St. Louis, Mo. Until 1:45 PM, CT, on SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 then publicly opened and read. Plans and Specifications may be examined on the Board of Public Service website http:// www.stl-bps.org/planroom.aspx (BPS On Line Plan Room) and may be purchased directly through the BPS website from INDOX Services at cost plus shipping. No refunds will be made.

A pre-bid conference for all contractors bidding on this project will be held on AUGUST 6, 2019 at 1:30 P.M. in Room 325, City Hall, 1200 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103. All bidders are encouraged to attend.

Bidders shall comply with all applicable City, State and Federal laws (including MBE/WBE policies).

All bidders must regard Federal Executive Order 11246, “Notice of Requirement for Affirmative Action to Ensure Equal Employment Opportunity”, the “Equal Opportunity Clause” and the “Standard Federal Equal Employment Specifications” set forth within and referenced at www.stl-bps.org (Announcements).

SEALED BIDS

for

Company Headquarters& Administra tion Building,Macon Training Site, Macon,Missouri, ProjectNo. T1833-02 willbereceived byFMDC, Stateof MO,UNTIL 1:30PM, 9/5/2019.For specificproject informationand orderingplans,go to:http://oa.mo. gov/ facilities

SEALED BIDS

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District will receive sealed bids in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103-2555 until 10:00am September 20, 2019 for: STAIR FABRICATION AND INSTALLATION

Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from www.stlmsd.com - click on “MSD At Work”, then “Bidding on Projects”. The bid document will be 10117 RFQ. If you do not have access to the internet, call (314) 768-6314 to request a copy of this bid.

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

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District will receive RFQ’s in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103-2555 until 11:00 a.m. on September 10, 2019 to contract with a company for: FILTERS – LIGHT/ MEDIUM/HEAVY DUTY/OFF HIGHWAY EQUIPMENT/INDUSTRIAL (RE-BID).

Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from www.stlmsd.com, click on the “MSD AT WORK” link, (bid opportunities). The bid document will be identified as 10116 RFQ. If you do not have access to the internet, call 314-768-6254 to request a copy of this bid.

SEALED BIDS

for Upgrade/ Improve Electrical, Swine Pavilion, Missouri StateFairgrounds Sedalia,MO, Project No.F1904-01will bereceivedby FMDC,Stateof MO,UNTIL 1:30PM, September5, 2019.Forspecific projectinformationandordering plans, goto:http:// oa.mo. gov/facilities

SEALED BIDS

for Company Headquarters& Administra tion Building,Camp CrowderTraining Site,Neosho ,Missouri,Project No.T1833-01 willbe receivedby FMDC,Stateof MO,UNTIL 1:30PM, 9/5/2019. Forspecific project informationand orderingplans,go to:http://oa.mo. gov/ facilities

SEALED BIDS

for RepairstoCCC Thunderbird Lodge, WashingtonState Park,DeSoto, Missouri,Project No. X1802-01 willbereceived ONLINEat https:// missouribuys. mo.govUNTIL 1:30PM, 9/5/2019. Forspecific project informationand orderingplans,go to:http://oa.mo. gov/ facilities

MBE/WBE/SDVE/ DBE/VBE SOLICITING

K&S Associates, Inc. is soliciting for the following projects during the months of August and September MU Columbia, Lafferee Hall Lab Fit-Out and MU Columbia, Allton Bldg Special Pharmacy 2 Plans and Specs can be viewed at www.ksgcstl.com Submit Bids to estimating@ksgcstl.com or Fax 314-647-5302 Contact Dennis Dyes @ 314-647-3535 with questions

BIDS

Great Rivers Greenway is seeking qualifications for a sole provider to fabricate trail signage. Check https://greatriversgreenway.org/ jobs-bids/ and submit by September 4, 2019.

forCamp ClarkBuilding 465,Chapel Renovation, CampClark Training Site,Nevada, Missouri,Project No.T1719-02 willbe receivedby FMDC, StateofMO, UNTIL 1:30PM, 9/5/2019. Forspecific project informationand orderingplans,go to:http://oa.mo. gov/ facilities

Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer

ADVERTISEMENT FOR PROPOSAL

Sealed Requests for Proposal regarding 19-177 Transportation Assistance Services to provide transportation assistance services to low and moderate income households (80% AMI) in St. Peters, Missouri are being solicited by the St. Peters Office of Community Services. The organization should have the capacity to provide round-trip transportation within St. Charles County and outside the County for medical purposes. Transportation should be provided to any person without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin.

Proposals will be received by the City of St. Peters, City Hall, One St. Peters Centre Blvd., P.O. Box 9, St. Peters, Missouri 63376 until 2:00 PM local time, Monday, August 19, 2019. This will be a non-public opening.

Proposal documents will be available on Wednesday, August 7, 2019 and may be obtained from the City of St. Peters, One St. Peters Centre Boulevard, St. Peters, MO 63376 or requested in writing to Bids@stpetersmo.net under the subject line “RFP 19-177; Transportation Assistance Services”.

All questions regarding this project shall be submitted to the City of St. Peters Purchasing Department in writing to Bids@stpetersmo.net under the subject line “RFP 19-177; Transportation Assistance Services” or by mail to City of St. Peters Purchasing Department, One St. Peters Centre Boulevard, P.O. Box 9, St. Peters, MO 63376 before noon local time, Wednesday, August 14, 2019.

The City reserves the right to waive any informality, and to accept the proposal most advantageous to the City.

MWBE PreBid Meeting Notice

The

RE-BID Gravois Trunk (Whitecliff to RDP) Sanitary Rehabilitation (Fannie Ave to Pardee Lane) Contract Letting No. 10496-015.1

This meeting is being held on behalf of the following SITE contractor member: SAK Construction 864 Hoff Rd., O’Fallon, MO 63366 636/385-1000

The meeting will take place at 10:00 a.m. August 15, 2019 SITE Improvement Association Office, 2071 Exchange Drive St. Charles, MO 63303

Project plans are available from MSD. For questions regarding this prebid meeting, Contact the SITE Improvement Association office at 314/966-2950.

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice

District is proposing a single source procurement in order to fulfill this program. Any inquiries should be sent to strenz@stlmsd.com.

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

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure: REPAIR OF HIDROSTAL PUMP. The District is proposing single source procurement for these repair/parts because VANDEVANTER ENGINEERING is the only known available source for the repair/ parts. Any inquiries should be sent to gjamison@stlmsd.com.

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

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure: ACE 3600 RTU. The District is proposing single source procurement to Electric Controls Company, Inc for this equipment. Any inquiries should be sent to ameyer@stlmsd.com.

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

BID PROPOSALS

L. Keeley Construction Co., 500 S. Ewing Ave, Suite G, St. Louis, MO 63103, 314-421-5933 is seeking MoDOT certified disadvantaged businesses for the Sullivan Special Road District Bridge No. 34600081 On Spring Bluff Road Over Spring Creek. Scope of work includes removal of the existing bridge, construction of a new 68’ single span bridge, bridge approach slabs and approach roadway construction including pavement construction, pavement striping, traffic control, etc. All disadvantaged businesses should contact Nick Timmermann, to discuss the subcontracting opportunities. Proposals are due to LKC by close of business Monday, August 12th, 2019.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The Housing Partnership, Inc. (“HP”) solicits proposals to perform a petroleum contamination risk assessment; remove, dispose, and replace an approximately 3-foot layer of soil to alleviate lead contamination; and develop a remedial action plan for the above in accordance with all MODNR and EPA requirements. The project is located at 9901-05 South Broadway in the Lemay community of south St. Louis County.

To be considered, proposals must be received no later than 3:00 PM CST on Thursday, August 29, 2019. Proposals should be sent by email kate@thehousingpartnershipstl.org or to The Housing Partnership, Inc., ATTN: Kate Reese, P.O. Box 16356, St. Louis, Missouri 63125. DBE, MBE, and WBE consultants are encouraged to bid, and a five percent bid preference may be available to certified MBE firms.

The complete Request for Proposals may be obtained upon request or at http://www.thehousingpartnershipstl.org. HP reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive informalities therein. Any questions should be directed to Kate Reese at kate@thehousingpartnershipstl.org.

BIDS

Curtiss-Manes-Schulte, Inc. is soliciting bids from MBE/WBE/ SDVE/DBE subcontractors and suppliers for work on the Lafferre Hall 3rd Floor Lab & Cleanroom Shell Space Fitout, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO. Bids are due Thursday, August 22, 2019 by 1:00 pm and can be faxed to (573) 392-4527 or emailed to bbrown@ cms-gc.com. For more information, call Bob @ (573) 392-6553.

Curtiss-Manes-Schulte, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure: EVOQUA FINAL TANKS COLLECTOR AND DRIVE EQUIPMENT. The District is proposing single source procurement for this equipment because EVOQUA WATER TECHNOLOGIES LLC is the only known available source for the equipment. Any inquiries should be sent to gjamison@stlmsd.com.

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

Remembering Mike Brown. I thought I would kick off this week by taking a moment to offer my sincere condolences to the family of Michael Brown as the region reflects on the five years since his death compelled a community to rise up – and the entire world to take notice. People will be gathering to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Ferguson uprising through a host of programming in the coming days. And while we certainly should be proud of the people who took action to shed light on systemic injustice, let us be mindful that at the root of the unrest was a family that lost their son. Rest in peace Mike Brown. We will keep you and your family in our prayers.

Mary and Nas have the Midas touch. Listen, I went into Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre Wednesday with every expectation to get my whole entire life from Mary J. Blige and Nas from their Royalty Tour. And yet, those two still managed to blow me away. They played no games and brought that smoke as they paired up to celebrate the 25th Anniversary milestones for “Illmatic” and “My Life.” Before we get into the actual show, can we talk about how good they both looked. Nas has not aged since before “Oochie Wally” and Mary’s post-Kendu revenge body gave her every license and green light to be on that stage almost nekkid (yes, nekkid). If anybody else had been wearing that little black unit that looked like she bought it from the King of Diamond’s boutique, I would cry midlife crisis. But she was so snatched that I couldn’t help but co-sign. And those boots – hammercy!! She had me looking like a zombie Thursday morning, because I was on PoshMark.com all night looking for gently used discount designer replicas. Okay, now let’s get on with the show. I wish Nas had spent another night here so he could school a couple of the acts on the Decent Exposure tour on the art of performing without backing vocal tracks. What? It’s true. Decked out in a Sammy Davis Jr., tuxedo Nasir Jones gave us all the hits. I was trying to remember the last time (or if at all) I saw him in St. Louis – and gave up. Either way, I won’t forget the Royalty Tour experience because of the memorable performances. Was it me, or did Mary’s set feel twice as long? Oh well, she gave us everything we could have asked for and the dramatic death drop that we didn’t know we needed until she sprawled herself across those stage stairs. The only thing that was missing to keep her

By Delores Shante dshante@stlamerican.com

from giving us every single thing she has ever done onstage in her career was a Kendu bashing session. But she’s clearly taking that frustration out in the gym. Did anybody else look at those two Wednesday and think, “Perhaps I haven’t been taking care myself over the years as I thought I had.” Mary and Nas looked like they bounced right out of the television screen following a “New York Undercover” musical guest performance.

Smoked out with Wiz Khalifa and the crew. Twenty-four hours after turning up with Mary and Nas, I was right back at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre Thursday night for the Decent Exposure Tour starring Wiz Khalifa and featuring DJ Drama, Chevy Woods, Moneybagg Yo and French Montana. This show brought smoke as well, but the kind that has your boss looking at you sideways and considering administering random drug tests because you were too lazy to wash your hair after the concert. Listen, you couldn’t split that cloud of weed smoke with an atomic bomb, thanks to Wiz and ‘nem. I thoroughly enjoyed Wiz. And it wasn’t just because he had the nerve to get thick! Even if he didn’t have those recently debuted pecs, arms and abs, I would have gotten a kick out of his charm and energy – which he always delivers onstage. I also enjoyed his fellow Taylor Gang member Chevy Woods. And while some will probably think I’m shading him the next item down, I have to say Moneybagg Yo did much better than I expected him to on such a large stage as he rapped along to those tracks. At least they were his tracks – which is more than I can say for French Montana. Frenchie’s set was cute the first

couple of songs, but blah after that. I had planned to read him, but I’ll go ahead and devote as much energy to it as he did his stage presence. The end.

Moneybagg Yo was a Mood at the Marquee. It’s one thing to get so turnt in your tear-the-club-up mode that you take your shirt off and spin it around like a helicopter (get into this Petey Pablo reference). But to come up in the club topless off the rip, that’s a level of lit I had not seen before Thursday night. Do y’all know how long I’ve been in these streets for Partyline? And before Moneybagg Yo did it the other night, I had never, ever, ever seen a man – celebrity or not – come in the door with absolutely nothing on top. Keep in mind that includes pool parties! Perhaps Moneybagg Yo has been up in the Marquee so many times that he feels comfortable enough to treat the club like it’s his living room. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next time he came through and hooked up a PlayStation 4 and started playing a game of NBA 2K19 right in the middle of the VIP booth. Nobody seemed to mind the exposed chest meat but me. As per usual the club was packed – even on a Thursday. I don’t mind him much, but I don’t see what all the fuss is about with Moneybagg Yo. Don’t get me wrong, he has some cute club hits, but I just don’t deem him worthy of having men all but elbow little groupies just to get close enough to give him some dap. Perhaps its his Yo Gotti affiliation and our penchant for Memphis trap music.

A perfect 10 for Katarra and Tonina. The granola hipsters and the black to the basics were together in perfect harmony Friday as FarFetched presented Katarra Parson and Tonina live in concert at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation. The show was absolutely everything from start to finish. I really got my life because these two talented sisters showed the broad scope of St. Louis music in their music that stretched from R&B and soul to Latin jazz. They both had impeccable sets. Other than the fact that I didn’t necessarily agree with Tonina’s rearrangement of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” the show would have been utterly flawless. I still give you points though for taking that kind of risk, girl. These ladies are two examples of the amazing talent pool in our city -and don’t let anyone tell you differently about what our city has to offer with respect to artistry.

Rap star Wiz Khalifa ripped the stage as the headliner for the Decent Exposure Tour that also featured DJ Drama, Chevy Woods, Moneybagg Yo and French Montana.

Jeanne Roberts Johnson and Jay Johnson got a healthy heap of hip-hop from Wiz Khalifa’s Decent Exposure Tour Thursday @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre.

Apple and Vonda met the dress code requirements for Floral Fresh last Friday @ Blank Space.

Tiffany J. made the Mary J. Blige & Nas show a birthday celebration, and her girls were on hand to help her kick it Tuesday night @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre.

Hot 104.1 FM’s Meagan O and rapper MC were among the tastemakers who attended a special benefit for Tony J. Tuesday night @ The LaRose Room.

Rashanda and her auntie Tia were front and center to check out the Mary J. Blige and Nas Royalty Tour Wednesday night @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre.

Chanet and LaDonna still looked fantastic after partying to the music of Mary J. Blige & Nas Tuesday night @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre.

Tonya and Chelsy on their way to catch a rap king and the queen of hip-hop soul Wednesday night @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

Lay, Donya and Theron enjoyed the breeze just before Mary J. Blige & Nas hit the stage for their joint Royalty Tour Wednesday @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheater.

Mama Jackie and Young Dip showed their support for former radio personality Tony J. at a fundraiser in his honor Tuesday night @ The LaRose Room.

Pork, Bethany and DJ Domo hit the dance floor @ Floral Fresh last Friday @ Blank Space.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

BACK SCHOOLto

Sponsored by

Seven steps to get back to school smoothly

Page 5 WGU makes going back to school easy

Page 3

AUGUST 8 – 14, 2019

Why preschoolers should play with blocks

Page 7

WGU Missouri makes going back to school easy and affordable

As the back-to-school season shifts into full gear, now is the perfect time for working adults around the area to think about furthering their education.

For those wanting to advance their careers – or perhaps find a new one entirely – earning a bachelor’s or master’s degree is often the best way to achieve success.

Local university WGU Missouri is committed to providing high-quality, career-boosting education to working adults who want to further their education. It was created in 2013 by Gov. Jay Nixon as a state affiliate of Western Governors University to expand access to affordable, higher education for residents across the state. WGU is Missouri’s only nonprofit, accredited, online university.

While enrolling in a degree program can seem intimidating – especially for those who have been out of school for many years or are working fulltime while raising families – WGU offers non-traditional programs for students who need a flexible, affordable option in higher education.

See WGU, page 13

As the back-toschool season shifts into full gear, now is the perfect time for working adults around the area to think about furthering their education.

Two SLPS schools to launch Consortium Partnership Network

This will be a new kind of school year for teachers, students, parents and community partners of Ashland (3921 Newstead, 63115) and Meramec (2745 Meramec, 63118) elementary schools in the Saint Louis Public School District as they pilot a new education model. Teachers are back early to continue powering up year one of a three-year pilot (August 2019-2021) of the new Consortium Partnership Network (CPN), a model that empowers school teams with the autonomy to make decisions that are in the best interests of the students and families they serve.

According to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kelvin Adams, this new approach will take a concerted effort by the District and its partners. “It is important to remember CPN schools are still SLPS schools,” Adams said. “They are now part of our growing portfolio of schools – complementing Magnet, Choice and Neighborhood school offerings. CPN schools, however, are unique in that they have the flexibility to design new strategies with a singular mission of

See SLPS, page 14

St. Louis Public Schools

Superintendent

Kelvin Adams looked over the day’s lesson with 4th grader

Ronnie Gomiller during the first day of class last year on August 14, 2018 at Lexington Elementary School.

Seven steps to get back to school smoothly

Back-to-school season can be emotional for parents and children. Some children complain of summer boredom and look forward to school shopping and seeing friends. Others dread challenging academics and difficult social situations. Likewise, some parents mourn the end of more relaxed summer schedules, while others eagerly anticipate the consistency of school days. Whatever your state of mind, here are some strategies for easing back to school:

1) Organize your home and family. Traditions and rituals can help kids prepare for the change. Begin to talk about expectations and fears for the school year, showing that worries are a normal part of new experiences. When you help your children express thoughts and emotions, you help them problem solve and reassure them they can manage tricky situations.

2) One to two weeks before school starts, gradually start moving to school bedtimes and wake-up times. Shifting wake times gradually earlier each morning should create earlier evening fatigue, making earlier bedtimes smoother. Making sure children get the required hours of sleep each night during the school year helps improve concentration, focus, and emotional regulation.

3) Family can also help prepare kids. Back-to-school shopping days,

family calendars with a countdown to the first day of school, and special meals signal to children that schedules are changing. Help children organize their desks or workspaces for homework.

4) The key to helping children who may be particularly sensitive about change is to familiarize them with their worries. Practicing new routines can ease discomfort. Visiting the classroom and meeting the teacher, checking out the playground and cafeteria and school bus can boost confidence.

5) Play dates can be helpful for children with a shy temperament, social anxiety, or for children entering a new school. If possible, obtain the class list and help your child make social connections before school starts. Spotting a familiar face on the first day of school can ease worries about finding a lunch or playground buddy.

6) Be more available at the beginning of the year. Find time to talk with your child about concerns and difficulties early in the year so that small problems don’t escalate into big ones. And focus on the positives, i.e., “What was your favorite part of the day?”

7) Finally, relax! Remember, children take their emotional cues from you. Modeling a calm disposition will help your child approach it with a sense of anticipation and confidence.

Taking your teacher home with you

Home Works builds relationships and gets academics out of the classroom

By Francene Bethune

For The St. Louis American

When Karen Kalish learned that students spend only 14 percent of their time in school, she realized a need for a program that made sure they did some of their academic learning at home.

“We need them to engage in their academics at home, because there are so many children in the St. Louis region and across Missouri who have very little reading and talking going on at home,” Kalish said. “And when they go to school they are a year or two behind, then it is nearly impossible for them to catch up, which can result in remedial attention, school failure, incarceration and lifetime of hardships.”

To address this need, more than a decade ago she founded Home Works, a teacher home visitation program with the purpose to create positive parentteacher relationships that promote educational practices that will help students’ overall wellbeing. The program trains and supports teachers in lowperforming schools and then pays them to visit the homes of students who are underperforming in school. It also fosters

a parent-teacher learning team meetings, where the teacher explains to the parents what the student is learning in class. During the meetings, the teacher helps parents set academic goals for students.

Along with home visits and team meetings, families are invited to the school for dinner at the school to promote further engagement between the parents and teachers.

“Our goal was with the dinner was to create an environment outside of parentteacher conference where the parents and teachers engage and talk comfortably,” Kalish said.

The program currently works with students in Saint Louis Public Schools, the Hazelwood School District, and some charter schools like Confluence Academy, though it aims to grow. In the 2017-18 school year, the program conducted 27,000 visits and reached 1,889 students and their families within 27 early childhood centers, elementary, middle, and high schools.

“A positive relationship is key to supporting students on both academic and social-emotional levels, and there is no better way to build a relationship than taking the time to visit a family outside of the course of the normal school day,” said Colby Heckendorn, principal of Patrick Henry Downtown Academy, which has incorporated the program for the past four years.

He said the program has benefited the school community in many ways.

Three reasons preschoolers should play with building blocks

Playtime is important to a child’s development. Offering many social and emotional benefits, it helps lay the foundation for children’s future success and prepares them for school. One classic toy -- building blocks -- should be incorporated into every child’s playtime. Here are three reasons why:

• Building blocks build skills: Playing with building blocks hones hand-eye coordination, while helping to strengthen hands and grip, skills that will be needed in the classroom, when playing sports and beyond. Additionally, building blocks encourage kids to be creative and to learn how to problem solve. When working together with a friend or caregiver, they also offer opportunities for cooperation, which can foster language development and communication skills. Be sure to talk to your kids about what they are building!

• Building blocks are getting smarter: Like so many household items, building blocks are getting smarter and more

See BLOCKS, page 14

Building blocks are useful throughout a child’s various stages of development.

Include immunizations on back to school checklist

Special vaccination clinics being offered in St. Louis city

The first day of the 2019-20 schoolyear is right around the corner. Children will soon be gathering in classrooms. The City of St. Louis Department of Health is advising parents and guardians that now is time to make sure their children are up to date on all their vaccinations. Public health officials recommend back to school checklists include vaccinations. School vaccinations are as important as new backpacks, lunchboxes, pencils and notebooks.

“Vaccines are the most effective means of protection against preventable diseases and preventing the spread of disease,” said Dr. Fredrick Echols, director of health for the City of St. Louis. “Vaccinations are important to protect individuals but are also important for the protection of our community.”

The Department of Health wants the community to know that Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers are designated

See VACCINATION, page 10

The City of St. Louis Department of Health is advising parents and guardians that now is time to make sure their children are up to date on all their vaccinations.

Children get school supplies from Back to School! Store

The National Council of Jewish Women St. Louis (NCJWSTL) held its 19th annual Back to School! Store at Congregation Temple Israel on Sunday, July 21. The Back to School! Store is a one-day shopping event that provides brand new back packs, school supplies, clothes, shoes, coats, accessories and books to help kids get ready for the first day of school with confidence and excited to learn. This year, more than 1,500 children entering grades kindergarten through fifth were served at the Back to School! Store. NCJWSTL works with more than 60 agencies and churches through St. Louis City and County to register the children.

“NCJW cares about empowering the kids so each child is paired with a volunteer personal shopper that helps them select their own items throughout the store. It is a worthwhile experience for both the kids and our volunteers,” said Susan Katzman, NCJW president.

While the kids shopped, families and

guardians explored the Family Resource Room that featured 13 organizations providing valuable information and resources. This year’s Family Resource Room exhibitors included CHADS Coalition for Mental Health, CHIPS Health and Wellness, Gateway to Hope, Girls in the Know, Give Kids A Smile, Health works! Kids Museum, KidSight Vision, League of Women Voters, Missouri Historical Society, Operation Food Search, St. Louis Period Alliance and Women’s Voices Raised for Social Justice.

More than 700 volunteers participated at this year’s Back to School! Store and they all agree that the best part of the day is seeing the smiles on the children’s faces.

NCJW is a nonprofit organization that will be celebrating its 125th Anniversary in St. Louis in 2020. NCJW is dedicated to advancing social and economic justice for women, children and families in our community.

Vaccination

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Vaccines For Children (VFC) sites. This means uninsured and underinsured children can receive vaccinations at a significantly reduced rate. The VFC program is a federally funded program administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

People’s Health Centers’ Delmar location, 5701 Delmar Blvd., offers vaccination services Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (closed from 11:30 p.m. until 1:00 p.m. for lunch)

City of St. Louis Department of Health will be partnering with People’s Health Centers to offer special back-to-school immunization clinics at People’s Delmar location, on Saturday, August 3 and Saturday, August 10 from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

“Our health centers want to join the City of St. Louis Department of Health in making sure children are up to date on recommended vaccines and protected from serious diseases,” said Dwayne Butler, president & CEO of Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers. ” Data shows that vaccines have reduced disease, disability and death from numerous infectious diseases.”

There’s no question about it, certain infectious diseases are preventable and vaccines offer protection from those diseases, So don’t for get to add vaccinations to your back to school checklist.

For additional information Peoples vaccination services, call 314-367-7848 or go online to https://phcenters.org/services/immunizations.

Learn more about the safety and importance of vaccines at https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/index. html.

“Vaccines

are the most effective means of protection against preventable diseases and preventing the spread of disease,” said Dr. Fredrick Echols, director of health for the City of St. Louis.

Home Works

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Students in the St. Louis community face many challenges that are hard to deal with, which teachers can see first-hand during home visits.

“This program builds empathy in our team and helps teachers suspend judgment when working with a student who is struggling to be successful,” said Heckendorn. “In addition, when we see that a family is in need of a specific resource, our friends at Home Works go out of their way to connect our families with resources that they desperately need.”

In 2017 study of over 1000 students funded by a grant from the United States Department of Education, students who were at higher risk (chronically absent or with disciplinary referrals) had better outcomes academically if they participated in Home Works than students who did not participate in the program.

Cassie Boeckman, a teacher at Roosevelt High School, recalled her home visit with a student that resulted in continuous engagement from both parent and student.

“When we had a parent-teacher conference in the fall, I received a drop-in visit from two of the families with whom I had done home visits,” said Boeckman. “Out of all my students, those were the only two who came to visit me. They were happy to see a familiar face and check out my classroom.”

For more information, visit https://www. teacherhomevisit.org or call 314-325-9901.

Blocks

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innovative, and this means more opportunities for both fun and learning. In fact, LeapFrog’s first-ever line of smart building blocks – LeapBuilders – was just introduced. Combining technology and interactive, curriculum-based content, these playsets feature an electronic Smart Star cube and double-sided learning blocks that respond with fun sounds and educational songs on topics such as colors, animals, numbers, letters and more. Among those in the new line-up is the ABC Smart House, an interactive 61-piece house-themed block set that enhances building play with learning content for a unique, engaging experience. A fun way to familiarize kids with their ABCs, kids can also use the learning blocks from other sets in the interactive Smart Star to unlock additional respons-

es. Recommended for ages 2 and up, LeapBuilders is available at major retailers. For more information, visit leapfrog. com/leapbuilders.

• Building blocks grow with a child: Unlike many toys that children outgrow, building blocks will grow with your child through various stages of development, and you will likely notice your children interact with building blocks differently as they acquire new skills and knowledge. For example, at a younger age, kids may use building blocks to test the concept of gravity. Later, they will use building blocks to create larger complicated structures.

Preparing a preschooler for school success can be fun, especially when you put an emphasis on playtime. When seeking out toys that help children reach developmental milestones, be sure to include building blocks, especially those that take learning a step further.

Pattonville parents must re-enroll students through Parent Portal

Parents of returning students in the Pattonville School District must re-enroll their children by logging into their Parent Portal account. Parents were sent an email on July 5 with step-bystep instructions for completing this process. Parents must re-enroll their children in order for them to receive a middle or high school schedule or be added to a class list at the elementary level.

For parents/guardians who need to complete an affidavit of residency or custodial waiver will need to do so before re-registering their child.

The deadline to complete online registration was Aug. 5 for middle and high schools and Aug. 9 for elementary schools and Remington Traditional School.

For questions, please contact the student services department hotline at (314) 213-8004.

WGU

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The university pioneered the use of the competency-based education model in an online environment, which allows students to leverage previous education, training and work experience to earn their degrees faster. Students complete their programs by studying on schedules that fit their lives, advancing as soon as they demonstrated they’ve mastered the subject matter.

WGU also offers affordable, flat-rate tuition of about $3,500 each six-month term, allowing students to take as many courses as possible each term without any added costs. Additionally, the university has awarded more than $1.5 million in scholarships to Missourians and will be awarding another $500,000 to new students this year.

WGU faculty members work one-on-one with students as mentors, offering guidance, support and individualized instruction. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the growing, high-demand fields of business, K-12 teacher education, information technology and health professions, including nursing. And, enrollment takes place at the beginning of each month based on what works with each student’s schedule. So, although fall classes are set to begin at traditional universities, it’s not too late for students to enroll in a degree program that fits their needs.

WGU graduates see a difference in their lives as doors open to more career opportunities, with many earning an average of $21,200 more within four years of graduation. To learn more about the university, its programs or scholarships, visit Missouri.WGU.edu.

Volunteers needed for St. Louis Neighborhood Net for SLPS students Bus stop safety

Better Family Life and St. Louis Public Schools are reaching out to men ages 18 and older to volunteer for the SLPS Neighborhood Net Team to secure safe passage to young students during the first week of school. SLPS and BFL are looking for men to provide a strong presence at neighborhood bus stops to help ensure that students get safely on the correct bus each morning.

Volunteers will be background checked and trained in advance of the first week of school, which is August 13, 14, 15 and 16.

Recruitment and information sessions will be held August 5 and August 6 at Sweetie Pie’s Upper Crust, located at 3643 Delmar Blvd. in St. Louis (63108) from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information about volunteering, contact Better Family Life Community Outreach at 314-381-8200.

SLPS

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creating better outcomes for students.”

The CPN and its Board of Directors operate independently of the District, but are accountable to the Board of Education of the City of St. Louis (BOE). The CPN Board includes the superintendent, a parent representative (Vivian Carbin) and appointees from the Board of Education (Susan Jones), St. Louis City Board of Aldermen (Dr. Priscilla Dowden-White) and the Office of the Mayor (Marcus Robinson).

Vivian Carbin, a parent at Ashland, said, “I am excited to be a voice for the parents of the CPN initiative. We are starting with a blank slate, and we are being given the autonomy help rebuild our educational programs based on exactly what’s needed and what is essential to meet the needs of students at these two schools.”

“The CPN model represents a significant investment in education strategy,” Adams said. “In addition to qualifying for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s comprehensive school funding for lower-performing schools, the launch is supported by the St. Louis Public Schools Foundation. Our key partner in the CPN is SkipNV, a system design organization that works to create educational equity,

which has provided design and launch support for the initiative.”

Executive Director of SkipNV, Dr. Saras Chung explained, “SkipNV is honored to serve as a design partner with Saint Louis Public Schools to develop a promising school model that puts decision-making in the hands of educators who are most attuned to student needs. We hope that this model can foster healthy school climates to best serve children and their families.”

In preparation for this launch, Adams said District leadership spent the better part of last school year investigating models and examining data. “We believe the timing is right,” said Adams. “Our recent performance in core subject areas is encouraging, and SLPS is in a good position to build on that momentum. However, in order to achieve real breakthroughs, schools must have more autonomy. Principals, teachers, students and parents need the freedom to make decisions relative to their schools. ”

“The schools will continue to receive a proportional share of the District budget, but will be able to determine the best way to apply those funds in order to ensure that every child has what he or she needs to succeed,” said Dr. Adams.

n “Principals, teachers, students and parents need the freedom to make decisions relative to their schools.”

– Dr. Kelvin Adams, SLPS superintendent

District teams have worked hard over the past 10 years to reclaim full accreditation in 2017, but as Dr. Adams acknowledges, with 17 SLPS schools targeted by the state as underperforming, there is still a long way to go. “Ashland and Meramec are led by progressive principals and teacher-leaders who opted in for this new experience and who, I believe, can be counted on to ensure the best possible start and outcomes for our students,” he said.

to dedicate extra time to a full needs assessment, said Hartman. They followed up with a three-year strategic plan and professional development outline. That preparation led to one of their first key decisions, the adoption of new ELA curricula. Ashland Principal Dr. Paula Boddie explained, “We vetted a variety of options and ultimately voted to adopt a program from Amplify called Core Knowledge. It’s both a knowledge-based and skill-based process that is vertically aligned from pre-k to fifth grade. The knowledge-based units, in particular, lend themselves to more effective learning opportunities outside the classroom.”

Dr. Adams said, “We are optimistic the CPN pilots will succeed and provide the data we need to decide how, where and when to extend the model in order to impact more SLPS students and families.”

The CPN-style formula has been piloted successfully in large school districts across the country and is favored by State and Federal policies of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This individualized approach, SLPS leaders believe, will also help to support equity in resources.

One of the CPN’s first decisions was the June hiring of CPN Executive Director Jay Hartman, whom Dr. Adams describes as an educator with a proven track record of teaching and leading in both high- and low- performing urban schools. Hartman said, “I am excited to be part of this process. The District’s CPN is a unique opportunity to take what I have learned and apply it in a different context in service to our students and their families. We are re-envisioning what community school success looks like.”

Teams started meeting last semester

For more information on the District’s new CPN, visit www.slps.org/CPN. Saint Louis Public Schools has been preparing students for a bright future since 1838. The District serves approximately 22,000 children in pre-kindergarten through grade 12. With more than 70 schools and academic programs, including Magnet and Choice schools, SLPS has a school to fit every child’s needs. For more information about SLPS, visit the District’s website at www.slps. org and follow the District on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.