August 8th, 2013 edition

Searching for a new stage

See Page A11

St. Louis honors Tuskegee Airmen

By Bridjes O’Neil Of the St. Louis American

Early childhood center plan in works

Crowds for SLPS learning

By Rebecca S. Rivas

“Eric Lee, our senior class president, has made an effort both privately and publically to reach out to the students and say, ‘We want you to enhance the culture at our school,’” Wedlock said. “And I’ve heard the same thing from our staff here.”

Better Family Life holds Crime Summit

By Andrew Fowler For the St. Louis American

Photo by Wiley Price

Photo by Wiley Price

Photo by Wiley Price

Kalila Jackson, attorney

Tameka seeks custody hearing after Usher V nearly drowns

Tameka Raymond lost primary custody of her two sons with Usher last summer, but TMZ is reporting that after Usher V’s near drowning in the family pool this week Tameka is seeking to have the ruling reversed.

Usher V was in the care of an aunt when his arm got stuck in the pool drain and had to be rushed to the hospital after being saved by workmen at Usher’s house.

“The child was playing in the pool with his aunt and saw a toy in the drain,” TMZ reported. “He dove down to get the toy and his arm got stuck in the drain. The aunt immediately dove in to rescue him but couldn’t get his hand out. The maid then dove in and tried but was also unsuccessful. Two men working in the house came out, dove in and freed the boy. He was given CPR immediately and rushed

to the hospital. Usher arrived and drove in the ambulance with his son.”

According to TMZ, doctors have run tests and the boy is expected to be fine.

The celebrity news and gossip site also says that Tameka, who lost her 11-year-old son Kile Glover to a tragic jet ski accident last summer, filed for an emergency hearing on the grounds that Usher is creating a dangerous environment by allowing unqualified people to care for their two sons.

Is Chris Brown bowing out of the music business?

Singer Chris Brown says he’s tired of being judged and infamous, so his next album with probably be his last.

“Don’t worry mainstream America, after this X Album it will probably be my last album,” he tweeted. “Being famous is amazing when it’s for your talent and music. I’m tired of being famous for a mistake I made when I was 18. I’m cool & over it.”

He took to Twitter to say so earlier this week – after he had turned himself in for booking at the Van Nuys jail for his hit and run charge. He was charged with failing

to provide accurate insurance information after a car accident and released after 45 minutes. His next hearing is set for August 15.

Shaunie explains why Tami Roman stayed put on BBW

The first four seasons of Basketball Wives caught a lot of heat from critics for violent nature of the show with Tami Roman one of the main ones always losing control. So why did Roman get to come back for another season but Jennifer Williams, Royce Reed, Kenya Bell, Kesha Nichols and Meeka Claxton had to go?

Executive producer Shaunie O’Neal broke it down to Sister2Sister Magazine.

“Well, Tami’s personality is …it’s incredible. You love her, hate her, whatever. You can’t live without some part of Tami on ‘Basketball Wives,’” O’Neal said.

“She just brings so much to the show… There’s still something about her that drives you to watching.”

Raptress claims married Jay-Z tried to get in her mix

Over the weekend an up and coming rapper named Liv claimed Jay-Z was eager to hook up with her while he

was married to Beyoncé.

“For the most part, Jay hit me on some, ‘I’ll hit you when I’m in town’,” Liv told PNC Radio. “For me, I’m not that chick. I could do a lot of things but [I choose not to.] I have a lot of respect for Beyoncé – as an artist, as a woman, as a wife. I could do a lot of grimy things, so I could get in a position, but I would have to look at myself in the mirror...Why not just work for it? I’m not even on that. I’m not trying to compromise for this game.” In her song, “The Invasion

Tameka Raymond

Princeton is her ‘Destiny’

Crockett is first Clyde Miller grad to attend Ivy League school

By Peter Baugh For The St. Louis American

Destiny Crockett is quick to point out that her goals in life are not about making money, they are about helping the community around her.

Crockett, a Clyde C. Miller Career Academy 2013 graduate, will attend Princeton University this fall and major in English.

“I just want to use my education for social activism,” Crockett said. “I want to use my education to help people, to make things better for people, whether that means I make a lot of money or not.”

Crockett will be the first graduate of Clyde C. Miller, in the St. Louis Public School District, to attend an Ivy League University. She hopes that her story will help inspire other students with similar goals.

“I hope that someone else reads it and is like, ‘Maybe I can do that,’” Crockett said.

Latoya Mickens, Crockett’s mother, appreciates her daughter’s independent nature and determination.

“The thing that most makes me proud is not just her reaching her goals and succeeding with her goals, but the way she uses her own mind and how she makes her own rules and she does things according to her own plan,” Mickens said.

Crockett excelled in many areas during high school. She

Destiny Crockett, a 2013 graduate of Clyde C. Miller Career Academy in the St. Louis Public School District, will attend Princeton University this fall and major in English.

Trayvon Martin and unconscious racism

By Eric E. Vickers For The St. Louis American

“Unconscious racism”

was what came to mind as I watched a hidden igure answer the TV journalist’s basic question of how she reached the verdict that Trayvon Martin was intent on killing George Zimmerman.

the alive killer with the death of an unarmed black kid.

The most telling symptom of unconscious racism is the denial that race is an issue. Fingers and focus are aimed at a faulty prosecutor, faulty witness or faulty law, all evading the overriding question of whether these jurors were really any different than the white juries that set white men free for killing blacks like Medgar Evers and Emmett Till.

was her school’s valedictorian and was involved in extracurricular activities, most notably speech and debate. Crockett led her school’s debate team to its first top finish at the Urban Debate League competition and qualified for the national tournament in policy debate. Along with debate, Crockett attended creative writing camps in high school, which she says were enjoyable and helpful. She did community service as well, volunteering for the Urban League, the Women’s Safe House, Head Start and the Missouri History Museum.

are false. It’s not true what people think, that children who live north of Delmar are just intrinsically dumb and aren’t meant to be able to read or add and subtract on grade level,” she said.

“That’s something that is unfair because I think it hurts

n “I want to use my education to help people, to make things better

for people.”

– Destiny Crockett

the community, not just the people stereotyped but our entire city.”

Crockett feels that these stereotypes hurt everyone by spreading pre-conceived notions about people from different backgrounds.

“Our discourse shapes our reality,” she said.

Crockett’s success story may help diminish stereotypes in the St. Louis community.

“Sometimes stereotypes

“The way we talk about things and the way we think about things and the way we think about policies and the children that the policies are

made to hurt or help, that effects the way you make these policies. That effects the way teachers teach in classrooms.”

Though she says she is not very nervous about going off to college, Crockett will face some changes in her academic surroundings.

In 2011, St. Louis Public Schools were made up of about 80 percent AfricanAmerican students. At Princeton, however, the class of 2016 (one year ahead of Crockett) is made up of only seven percent African Americans.

Even though changes are coming, Crockett is excited about her life’s next journey. Mickens is thrilled for her daughter and feels that others can learn from Crockett about achieving their goals.

“To get to where she got to, you have to sacrifice and you have to decide what really is important,” Mickens said. “Destiny decided what was really important to her, and that’s how she got there.”

When he coined the phrase “unconscious racism,” federal judge Clyde S. Cahill Jr. made history by opposing the federal laws that resulted in blacks being incarcerated by the thousands for possessing and selling crack, while whites sold and shot cocaine with no similar criminalization. He boldly issued an unprecedented and controversial ruling that the drug laws were unlawful because they were rooted in and based on “unconscious racism.”

What remains unacknowledged by most white Americans is that deeply engrained in their culture –and thus intrinsically part of their individual psyches – are stereotyped views and notions about black people. If one has ever witnessed whites undergo what is commonly called sensitivity awareness training, then one has seen them come to grips with the racial prejudice stamped into their subconscious behavior.

Listening to the juror, it was evident that she had little empathy for the black victim as compared to her effusive empathy for his killer. When asked directly whether she felt sorry for Trayvon Martin, she said she felt sorry for both of them, thus equating the trial and tribulation that has beset

Any discussion with whites of whether race is at the heart of any act by a white that harms a black is like tossing kryptonite at Superman. The subject is resisted with every conceivable argument. Unconscious racism, however, infects the entire American culture. For while America has eradicated the raw race prejudice the Civil Rights Movement conquered, it has not drained from the culture the core racial prejudice it now politely calls proiling.

Many vehemently deny that race was a factor in the Trayvon Martin case, and equally vehemently deny that the present inferior social and economic condition of its former slave population is due to racism. It is as though when the civil rights laws of the sixties were thrust upon the nation, the books were closed on racism in America. This was the lesson taught both to white children and to black children – racism is over in America.

Time will tell how those fed this teaching will reconcile a nation having a black president, and a man walking free after murdering a black boy.

Eric C. Vikers

Editorial /CommEntary

Will the state bail out unaccredited schools?

On Tuesday night, community members, advocates and educators gathered at the Missouri History Museum to talk about the school transfer issue. How did it start? And what do we do now?

Normandy Superintendent Ty McNichols told the audience that only 25 percent of Normandy’s 4,200 students opted to leave for other schools, and hundreds of those 1,100 transfer students had never stepped foot in a Normandy school. The tuition costs – not the transportation costs – are what’s really hurting the district, he said. And by the end of this fiscal year, Normandy will be out of money, said Commissioner of Education Chris Nicastro in an Aug. 5 letter to state legislators. Riverview Gardens School District will only be able to pay its bills through next year, Nicastro said.

Despite the chaos of the school transfer process, McNichols believes there’s hope. His team vows to move at lightning speed to earn back the district’s accreditation, starting from the first day of class. McNichols, who has only been in his position for about a month, believes his team and the community can achieve that goal. We believe that the state legislature should not turn its back on the students of Normandy and Riverview Gardens and give the new administrators a chance to revive their struggling districts.

We also believe that rather than offering obfuscating reasons for their uncooperative positions, the Mehlville and Kirkwood school districts – along with Clayton and all other districts – should welcome transfer students with the same grace that Francis Howell schools have. The state law is clear that all school districts must accept all transferring students, said attorney Kalila Jackson in this week’s news article. The ACLU sent letters to the Mehlville and Kirkwood superintendents urging them to reconsider their decisions to cap enrollment and refuse students. Naturally, the letters implied legal action. We, too, strongly urge these school districts to open their doors – and not to rake this region through more pain and legal fees. The law states that every student has a right to an education. There should be no exceptions.

Speaking of the courts and education, we want to join many others in offering heartiest congratulations to Judge Jimmie Edwards for being named recipient of the 2013 William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence for the National Council of State Courts. This prestigious and highly coveted annual award is given to a state court judge who exemplifies the highest level of judicial excellence, integrity, fairness and professional ethics. Many of us are anxious to be in Washington D.C. on November 21 to see the Chief Justice of the United States,

TyMcNichols,superintendentofNormandy School Districts, tells audience at an Aug. 6 Missouri History Museum forum that the district will focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) instruction this school year. Photo by Wiley Price

John G. Roberts Sr., present the award to Judge Edwards at a ceremony at the U.S. Supreme Court.

NCSL President Mary McQueen said, “Judge Edwards has dedicated his career to keeping students in school and out of the courtroom… Judge Edwards is accomplishing this by giving at-risk children dreams and helping them to achieve their dreams.”

While too many have written many of our young people off as born criminals and social misfits, Judge Edwards, who has served on the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court for over 20 years, started the Innovative Concept Academy in 2009 to change the lives of these troubled children. The nationally recognized school is the first in the nation to be overseen by a judge.

In a nomination letter, Missouri Supreme Court Justice Richard Teitelman and State Court Administrator Gregory Linhares wrote, “Judge Edwards has demonstrated outstanding qualities of judicial excellence, implemented innovative judicial projects into the state courts and taken bold steps to achieve positive results for issues affecting his local community.”

This remarkable tribute to Judge Edwards for his hard work and commitment to some of our most neglected and ignored young people is an extraordinary honor and deserves the community’s praise, respect and appreciation.

Commentary

The party of (nutty) ideas

It’s not your imagination.

The Republican Party really does seem to have taken leave of its senses.

The House GOP majority has decided that its final act before the summer recess will be to take its 40th vote to repeal all or part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. This time, Republicans will vote to prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from playing any role in implementing the law, which would effectively gut the measure – in some parallel universe.

Like all the previous votes to kill Obamacare, this one has zero chance of success in the reality that we inhabit. The inelegantly named Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act of 2013 could never make it through the Senate. If somehow it did, President Obama would whip out the veto pen faster than you can say “pre-existing conditions.”

Amazingly, this pointless exercise in the House makes more sense than what Republicans are doing in the Senate. There, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and his tea partybacked allies -- are threatening to shut down the whole government in order to strip Obamacare of all funding.

Cruz and his fellow chief insurrectionist, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, want the

Senate to refuse to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government operating beyond Sept. 30, when the current fiscal year ends. The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service issued a report last Monday stating that implementation of Obamacare would continue even in the event of a shutdown. But mere facts cannot begin to penetrate Cruz’s carapace of certainty. Republicans who oppose Cruz’s nutty idea recall what happens when the party throws a tantrum and refuses to fund the normal and necessary functioning of the government. Cruz contends it is mere “cocktail-chatter wisdom” that the party was damaged by Newt Gingrich’s 1995-96 shutdowns; he claims, incredibly, that the episode was good for the GOP. Veteran Republican legislators who bear scars from that battle – including House Speaker John Boehner – would beg to disagree. The shut-it-all-down initiative has the support of Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Rand Paul of Kentucky, both of whom are thought likely to seek the party’s 2016 presidential nomination, as is Cruz. I think someone should sign them all up for a reality show called Tea Party “Frenemies.” I’d watch. Absent strong leadership from mature adults, the GOP is drifting past “party of no” territory into an uncharted realm where the object seems to be to make the nation ungovernable. Unable to control his unruly majority, Boehner has essentially given up; judge the House not on

Trayvon Martin: the reading list

When President Obama surprised the White House press corps with personal, insightful context on responses to the George Zimmerman verdict, he brought the resources of the most powerful office in the land to public education. The lesson was simple: AfricanAmerican young men in this country have been systematically “Other-ed.”

Our boys have been so utterly marginalized that the U.S. Attorney General had to sit down and warn his son that he will be profiled. So much space exists between the everyday citizen and the average African-American male that at least one of six jurors found it easier to identify with an adult killer than a slain youth. Young black boys in this region have been considered “the Other” at such a level that thousands have mobilized in St. Charles and Mehlville to keep them out of their schools.

My three sons are “The Other,” and they will be treated as such in this nation.

Any culture that marginalizes a group of its citizens misses out on the gifts and graces of a category of fully expressed humanity. So this culture must change, and cultures change by learning to overcome adaptive challenges. Ronald Heifetz, in Leadership

Without Easy Answers, defines an adaptive challenge as a “particular kind of problem where the gap cannot be closed by the application of current technical know-how or routine behavior.”

In this case, the old repertoire of public gatherings and calls for dialogue will not transform values that cause the “Othering” of AfricanAmerican youth. Indeed these activities have never worked to move St. Louis beyond its most intractable issues. This work will require thoughtful, innovative leadership and a rigorous communal learning agenda.

To black parents and teens trying to navigate public dialogue that objectifies African-American youth, I recommend The Black Male Handbook: A Blueprint for Life by Kevin Powell. The essays within, targeted for young black men but good for all, provide solid counsel on everything from job readiness to how to act when you’re pulled over by the police.

Youth development professionals and all those who nurture youth must enter into the fearless dialogue created by the new book by Gregory Ellison III, Cut Dead

But Still Alive: Caring for African American Young Men Ellison’s research, informed at the intersection of service to youth in-risk and Ivy League preparation to serve the community through the church, invites life-giving affirmation of the identity of young black men.

Educators and school

Letters to the editor

CORRECTIONS

A story in our Diversity edition referred to New York City as Bank of America’s headquarters. Actually, the bank is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. Also, the word “vestiture” was used in two instances where “divestiture” was intended.

Also, a the story of Lynn Beckwith referred to his late wife as Gwen Beckwith. However, his late wife is Patricia Beckwith. We apologize for these errors.

how many laws it passes, he said recently, but how many it repeals. Even by that standard, of course, this Congress is strikingly unproductive, since all those votes to repeal Obamacare have done nothing.

At this point, Republicans won’t even support their own ideas. For years, the party has complained that corporate tax rates are so high that they discourage job creation. So what was the reaction when Obama proposed lowering those corporate tax rates? House leaders were not interested.

Boehner does seem to be standing firm, at least for now, against the idea of a government shutdown over Obamacare. He has a powerful self-interest in the matter:

While Democrats face an uphill struggle to reclaim control of the House in next year’s election, the task becomes easier if voters are angry with Republicans for cutting off government services.

If we get past the shutdown threat, the next opportunity for mayhem will be a GOP threat yet again to grievously wound the economy by refusing to raise the statutory debt ceiling. Chances that Republicans will actually let Congress do anything constructive seem dimmer than ever.

Obama can use his executive powers, but those only go so far. Next year voters will have to decide whether elected officials who do not believe in government should perhaps find another line of work.

Eugene Robinson’s email address is eugenerobinson@ washpost.com.

Hate to think about health issues

I was present at the announcement that the Carter Carburetor site would be finally cleaned up. Whereas I was happy to hear that this was being done, I disagreed that this would be done with no cost to the taxpayer.

I happen to live nearby, and I hate to think about the health issues myself and others have and will experience as a result of breathing the toxins and other environmental hazards that have not been disclosed to us but will impact us far into the future. It gets worse when considering that we have a boys and girls club right next door to this disaster.

I would like to see the environmental impact studies that were done but probably not fully revealed to us. And just think, wait until they start digging and throwing stuff around in the coming months.

Lee

Evans, St. Louis

Protect our kids!

Republicans claim they are not the party of the rich. Now I receive a letter from U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt regarding student loans. He is co-sponsoring S.1241, the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act, which will increase interest rates of student loans. Does he want to protect taxpayers from increased deficits caused by students?

No, his quote is: “The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this bill would

administrators (in the Francis Howell, Mehlville, Normandy and Riverview Garden districts, specifically) must quickly bone up on Beverly Daniel Tatum’s Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? While this will help you prepare for the realities you now face, it is a productive read to all who want to help St. Louis get over its issues with race and racialized policy. It is also clear that AfricanAmerican community leaders in St. Louis need to read Robert Franklin’s 2007 book, Crisis in the Village: Restoring Hope in African American Communities His suggestion for churches directly engaging incarcerated brothers re-entering the community would go far in overcoming the “Othering” of poor black men by their middle-class counterparts. Finally, for elected officials, judges and legal advocates who believe the structural barriers to social mobility have been removed from the law, please study The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. The work we still must do to afford access to full citizenship for all will be made clear.

In a problem as complex as a crisis of culture, leadership is not talking or immediately acting, but extending the learning agenda. Don’t let the six-week rule for news apply in this case. Let’s extend this teachable moment.

Rev. Starsky D. Wilson is president & CEO of Deaconess Foundation and pastor of Saint John’s United Church of Christ.

All letters are edited for length and style.

reduce the deficit by $1 billion over 10 years.” At a time when we need educated workers, Sen. Blunt wants to make a profit off our college students. Remember a year ago? These same Republicans wanted to continue having student loans go through banks – at additional cost of $87 billion over 10 years? They want to have taxpayers support banks, and have students pay for it! We are also discussing increased immigration. If we make it harder for Americans to get needed education, we will either have to increase immigration or lose more jobs to other countries. Tell Sen. Blunt we want to protect good-paying American jobs for our future.

Protect our kids!

Martin Walsh, Glendale, MO

Comprehensive immigration reform

A person should be able to serve those less fortunate without the threat of being deported. Nevertheless, Naomi Carranza, a 16-year-old who has lived in St. Louis since she was a child, learned that this somehow isn’t common sense to everyone.

Two years ago, she wanted to attend a service trip to help people with disabilities, but the program required a social security number, which she didn’t have. Because she entered the country without documentation – a decision made by her parents – she couldn’t volunteer. Under the recent executive order, Naomi now gets certain privileges (like a temporary social security number) and can’t be deported for two years. Even though she’s free from the embarrassment and disappointment she felt when trying to volunteer, she’s still not absolved from the pulsing fear of deportation.

It’s ridiculous that Naomi should be treated like an other when she is already part of us She’s just one of 11 million aspiring citizens who deserve comprehensive immigration reform, and it’s time they have the chance to make ongoing contributions to this country.

To join the movement, visit www.mira-mo.org.

Haley Millner, legislative intern American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri St. Louis

Columnist Eugene Robinson

Judge Jimmie Edwards

Scholarship deadline:

Sept. 13

The Professional Organization of Women (P.O.W.) is accepting applications for the Professional Organization of Women Scholarship in honor of Frankie Muse Freeman. The scholarship will be awarded in the amount of $5,000 beginning January 2014.

Scholarship funds will be provided directly to the school in four installments and can be used for tuition and applicable fees associated with your school expenses. Each recipient must maintain a grade point average at minimum of 2.5 and provide transcripts to P.O.W. upon the completion of each semester. Recipients must allow P.O.W. to use your name and image as a scholarship recipient. Applications must be received by Friday, September 13. Scholarship applications can be accessed at www.powincstl.org. For additional information please email us at www.empower@powinc.org or call 314-963-5287.

Northside centerhosts gala

Northside Youth And Senior Service Center, Inc. will host a 40th Anniversary Black Tie Gala Eventat the Norwood Hills Country Club on August 16. The gala will feature live jazz, dinner and dance. All proceeds will benefit Northside Youth And Senior Services Center, Inc. The center was established to promote healthy aging through nutrition and medical transportation programs. The youth programs provide quality after school care and school based mental health programming to enable students to become successful learners. For more information, contact Florence Coleman at314531-4161 or snorman@nsyssc.com.

Painted faces

Children could have their faces painted at the Toy Gun Exchange Day held Saturday,July 13 at North County and O’Fallon Park recreation complexes and the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center.

Garden seeks VolunteerInstructors

The Missouri Botanical Garden is seeking Volunteer Instructors. Volunteer Instructors are asked to make a commitment of four hours – one day a week – from September through December and February through May. Instructors typically teach classes as a team, leading groups of approximately 10 students each.

Instructor training will take place at the Missouri Botanical Garden on Monday, Aug. 19 through Friday, Aug.23 from 9a.m. to 3p.m. Volunteers will learn inquiry-based outdoor teaching strategies and have many opportunities to observe school groups and practice teaching before being assigned to lead a group.

For more information, contact Jackie Juras, volunteer program manager, at 314-577-5187 or jackie.juras@mobot.org. For a complete list of volunteer opportunities currently available, visit www.mobot.org/volunteer.

Olderadults needed as tutors

The Pattonville School District is seeking older adult volunteers who can spend up to one hour a week tutoring a student in kindergarten, first, second or third grade through Pattonville’s OASIS tutoring program. Tutors help children with language skills.

Afree, 12-hour training session is required. Pattonville will offer training on Sept. 12 and 13. To volunteer, contact Kelly Gordon in the Pattonville school-community relations office at 314213-8025 or kgordon@psdr3.org.

Needed: activist attorneys

By Barbara R.Arnwine Lawyer Committee for Civil Rights

Among my sheroes is Medgar Evers’widow Myrlie Evers-Williams, who has valiantly upheld their shared ideals since his murder. The Lawyers’Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law fully supports Myrlie’s efforts to build a memorial for her late husband at Alcon State University in Mississippi. More information about the memorial is available at http://mememorial.org/.

After becoming the first field secretary of the NAACP in Mississippi, Medgar Evers organized and participated in voter registration efforts, demonstrations, and economic boycotts of companies that practiced discrimination. He also worked to investigate crimes perpetrated against African Americans.

Evers’many contributions to the Civil Rights Movement, along with his untimely death, were both factors in the creation of the national Lawyers’ Committee, which I have been honored to lead for the last 24 years.

Today the Lawyers’Committee and our partners remain vigilant on civil rights issues. We are currently fighting for stronger tenant laws in New Orleans. We are fighting to protect voters from voter suppression laws. We also strive to break the School to Prison Pipeline through helping students who have fallen subject to the juvenile justice systems reenter into school to complete their education and educating teachers and parents.

In our efforts to uphold the legacies of civil rights activists, and encourage new activists to emerge, we have also implemented the Young Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights initiative. The goal of this initiative is to encourage lawyers in the first 10 years of their career who are interested or actively engaged in the work of the Lawyers’Committee to join us in the fight.

With our Young Lawyers Initiative, we are assisting the next generation to answer the call to action and become more knowledgeable about pressing racial and social justice issues by getting involved and connected with the civil rights issues nationally.

Leaders like Medgar Evers blazed a trail for generations to come; it is now up to us to continue fighting for justice. Let not the work of Mr. Evers be done in vain, but let it be a reminder of how far the Civil Rights Movement has come and how much work remains.

Barbara R. Arnwine is president and executive director of the Lawyers’Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. The Lawyers’Committee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to enlist the private bar’s leadership and resources in combating racial discrimination and the resulting inequality of opportunity - work that continues to be vital today. For more information, visit http://www.lawyerscommittee.org/

Barbara R. Arnwine

Photo by Wiley Price

As of the Aug. 1 enrollment deadline, 143 high-school students living in the Normandy district had enrolled in one of Francis Howell’s three high schools. In total, 475 students living in the Normandy School District enrolled into Francis Howell schools, where Normandy will provide transportation for the transferring students.

This fall, the unaccredited Normandy and Riverview Gardens school districts will pay tuition and some transportation costs for 2,640 students to attend 22 other schools, according to numbers the Cooperating School Districts released Monday. The two districts’ costs are an estimated $35 million. That is enough to wipe out Normandy and Riverview financially by next year.

On Monday, Commissioner of Education Chris Nicastro sent a letter to state legislators stating, “It appears that Normandy will not have enough resources to meet these obligations through this fiscal year; Riverview will likely get through this year, but not next.” In June, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld a 1993 state law that gives students living in unaccredited school districts the option to transfer to neighboring districts – and the failing districts must pay for students’ tuition and transportation costs. For both Normandy and Riverview Gardens, about 25 percent of their student populations chose to transfer out of the districts.

But who will pay for the transferring students’ tuitions when Normandy and Riverview school districts run out of money? And what will happen to the students if the districts go bankrupt?

No one has those answers yet, said Sarah Potter, communications coordinator for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

“The department will request appropriations from the General Assembly once we know when Normandy will run out of funds,” Potter said. “There is

no guarantee that the legislature will cover the costs, though.”

Normandy Superintendent Ty McNichols said once the district has its final enrollment counts at the end of September, it will start making cuts to its $50 million budget. For McNichols, this is an opportunity for the district to justify working even faster to regain accreditation. But in the meantime, the district will be looking to the state legislature for financial support. “I can’t predict if we are going to be bankrupt or not,” McNichols said. “If we end up

SUMMIT

Continued from A1

our country faces. According to data from the St. Louis City Police Department, crime in the metropolitan area has decreased over the past several years. Compared to last year’s reported crimes from January to July, there have been about 1,000 fewer index crimes this year – and that includes most violent crimes. From 2005 to 2012, crime has dropped overall. However, St. Louis still maintains its violent reputation, being listed at no. 2 on Forbes’ 10 Most Dangerous U.S. Cities list in 2012.

Clinging to the bottom-left corner of a car bumper parked just outside the BFL Center was a sticker that read, “It’s

at the worse possible scenario, I’m hoping the legislature would have made some decisions. If not else, we will have to pursue a potential legal approach to dealing with this.”

More potential lawsuits

Normandy and Riverview must also pay transportation costs to at least one school district. Normandy chose Francis Howell, and Riverview Gardens chose Mehlville and Kirkwood school districts.

not them kill’n us. It’s us kill’n us. Stop the senseless kill’n.” That same sentiment of frustration with gun violence in St. Louis communities was an issue reiterated by several in the crowd and on the panel at the crime summit.

“Rather than being an external issue, we have to look at what we do to each other,” said Malik Ahmed, CEO of Better Family Life. “If citizens get involved, we can stop the crime in our community.”

Better Family Life pushed for individuals, businesses, churches and organizations to join them on the front lines in the fight against crime through their Neighborhood Alliance Outreach Model. Along with community service, a town hall series in some communities and their Put Down the Pistol campaign, BFL asked the audience to give some of their time on Saturday mornings. Their plan is to target specific neighborhoods to give out information to families about resources, from prenatal care to community networks for seniors.

Clark said this struggle is not the same struggle as the fight for civil rights. He suggested a need for a new strategy.

“We don’t need another march,” Clark said, “Last time we sang ‘We Shall Overcome,’ now we’re saying, ‘we’re coming over with resources.’”

Mayor Slay echoed the need for more people to get involved in the process of trying to fight crime. Slay addressed the

Missouri law clearly states that Francis Howell, Mehlville and Kirkwood must accept those transferring students, said Kalila Jackson, an attorney partnering with the Children’s Education Alliance to address parents’ concerns.

Francis Howell, a district with 17,200 K-12 students, has accepted all 475 students who wanted to enroll in the district. However, Kirkwood, a district with about 5,300 students, said it could only take in 175 of the 263 students that applied to its district. And Mehlville, a district of 10,700 students, also refused to accept all of the 514 student transfer applications it received.

Several legal advocacy entities jumped to defend parents. On Friday, the ACLU of Eastern Missouri sent letters to Mehlville and Kirkwood superintendents saying their actions were unconstitutional.

“School districts cannot arbitrarily refuse to accept students, as Kirkwood and Mehlville have done,” said Tony Rothert, legal director of the ACLUEM. “We are available to help people enforce the law and look forward to hearing from families who want to see this happen.”

The ACLU letter implied that they will take legal action if necessary, but no one wants to go through another lengthy legal battle, Jackson said.

“Litigation is a time consuming process,” Jackson said. “It’s best if you can come to a resolution early. Hopefully Mehlville and Kirkwood will get the message that we are concerned about their policies and reverse course.”

After the court ruling, DESE sent out guidelines to

audience saying that the police, the criminal justice system and organizations like Better Family Life cannot stop crime alone.

“By your presence here you are acknowledging that addressing crime is a collective effort,” Slay said.

Along with providing local residents with information about resources, Clark also stressed the work they do to provide young people with tools that can propel them toward success. BFL volunteer

Kenneth McClain spoke at the meeting, presenting himself as an example of the benefits of

n Last time we sang ‘We Shall Overcome,’ now we’re saying, ‘we’re coming over with resources.’”

– James Clark, Better Family Life VP

the work Better Family Life is doing.

“When I first met [Kenneth] he had a 9-millimeter, crackcocaine in his pocket and tattoos from his neck to his navel,” Clark said.

On Monday, McClain appeared before the audience donned in a suit and tie, offering encouraging words to young people who may be in a similar situation.

help school districts navigate the state law. In them, DESE suggested that school districts publish their class-size policy by Aug. 1, but the guidelines did not say that school districts could cap their enrollment. Clayton School District was another district that limited enrollment. The district received 187 enrollment requests, but it only has 72 available spaces, said Clayton Superintendent Sharmon Wilkinson. At Francis Howell, the new Normandy students are evenly spread throughout 18 district schools – adding 10 to 38 students in the elementary and middle schools. The high schools range between 44 and 54 new students.

Francis Howell High School’s front door overlooks miles of trees in the Weldon Spring conservation area, which begins right across the street. For the Normandy students who start classes there today, their new view is starkly different than the vista that students see from Normandy High School’s front gates – a 60-foot junkyard wall with a studentpainted mural.

Normandy mother Rhonda Hamilton said she’s excited her children will have a change of scenery. On Tuesday, she dropped off her freshman daughter at Transition Day, and she has two other children transferring to the district.

“I heard people say, ‘We want don’t gangs out here,’” she said. “But we have gangs in everyone’s culture. We have different races of drug dealers. We have problems everywhere. I know if we work together, this thing can really work.”

“I had my first shootout at 15,” McClain said. “That life leads you two places, dead or in jail. I’m not proud of it, but I say it to empower those others who did it. You have to make a conscious choice to say ‘I’m not going to be like that.’” McClain recently graduated from the St. Louis Community College-Forest Park and is currently interning with the St. Louis City Health Department. He also said he works with the Department of Justice Office to reach out to other young men who have had similar life struggles.

Rachel Smith, a representative from Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce’s office, said changing the tightlipped community culture could help lower crime rates in the metropolitan area. She said people need to cooperate with the criminal investigations.

“The number one reason criminals are on our streets; it is because the witnesses and the victims didn’t say anything,” Smith said. When the floor opened for community members to speak, other solutions were offered. A consistent theme was the need for people to be more involved with their neighborhoods and to know and care about the people that live nearby.

Next month Better Family Life will have two training days to get new volunteers equipped to join the Neighborhood Alliance Outreach. For more information or to volunteer call 314-381-8200.

Edward Jones Diversity Career Fair

Network with hiring leaders and discover career opportunities at our headquarters and branches.

When: Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013 4:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Where: Edward Jones Headquarters 12555 Manchester Road St. Louis, MO 63131

Unable to attend the event? Submit your résumé to STLCareers@edwardjones.com and indicate your area of interest.

Robin Witherspoon, a principal in the Ferguson-Florissant School District, gives a mother’s perspective on school transfer issue at the Missouri History Museum forum on Aug. 6. Community activists Curtis Faulkner and Arthelda Busch sit on either side. Photo by Wiley Price.

BFL’s Malik Ahmed and James Clark welcome Kenneth McClain to speak about how young people can turn their lives around. Photo by Wiley Price

Continued from A1

to the integration of the military in 1948.

The convention culminated with a gala at the Union Station Doubletree Hotel. One of the attendants, Brigadier General Stayce D. Harris, of Alexandria, Va., was the first African-American female pilot to become a general in the U.S. Air Force.

“Everything I’ve done in my career has been to make the Tuskegee Airmen proud because they paved the way for me to even possibly be here,” Harris said. “The whole time I was going through pilot training I always thought, ‘I don’t have it half as tough as the Airmen did.”

This year, there were four nominees for the Brigadier General Noel F. Parrish award, the highest honor bestowed upon an individual by Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. The award went to (Ret.) Jerry Burton, public relations officer for the Eastern region Coast Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. chapter.

“This year’s theme of ‘Bridge to the Past – Gateway to the Future’ is not merely a set of words we placed on a t-shirt,” said Marv Abrams, central region president of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. and

gala host, “but it’s hopefully a continuation of our goals and objectives for the future.”

Among the 250 gala attendees included Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. President Leon A. Johnson, Documented Original Tuskegee Airmen, widows and family members. R&B singer and songwriter Lenny Williams provided entertainment.

Earlier that day, the convention hosted its youth program for more than 100 youth, ages 11 to 17, to gain exposure to aviation and aerospace careers. The program’s highlights included

he returned to his alma mater where he taught mathematics –becoming the youngest certified teacher in the state.

Continued from A1

the St. Louis American Foundation’s 2013 Stellar Performer in Education award at the Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship and Awards Gala at the America’s Center Ballroom.

In July 2011, McCoy became the first AfricanAmerican superintendent of the Ferguson-Florissant School District and the youngest superintendent in the state at age 33. Before that, McCoy served as an administrator in St. Charles, Pattonville, Rockwood and Ferguson-Florissant.

McCoy takes seriously his role of ensuring that students have the knowledge and life skills they need to be successful. As the district’s leader, McCoy has raised more than $7 million in seven years from grants and donations.

In February, FergusonFlorissant received $289,800 from Harvard’s Pathways to Prosperity Innovative High Schools Initiative to offer students the opportunity to participate in an apprenticeship program and earn college credits.

“That’s important to me because that’s how I got my start,” he said. After his early graduation from Lafayette High School in the Rockwood School District at 17, he entered Harris-Stowe State University with about 60 college credit hours. He married, at the same early age, his high school sweetheart, Belinda, which he said was “the best decision he’s ever made in his life.” After earning his bachelor’s degree in secondary education and mathematics,

“I remember being a teacher at 19 and having five students in my class that were older than me,” he said. He received his master’s and doctorate in education from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Although his image can be seen along interstate billboards promoting the value of an UMSL education, he prefers for the limelight to shine upon his students and their parents. He boasts of the district’s full accreditation status, its 90 percent graduation rate, and the district’s total of eight Bill and Melinda Gates Scholars, seven of which came from McCluer High School.

The district is also leading the region in its school-security systems. The mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut accentuated the need for increased school security, he said.

“It reminds me of scenes that I saw after the bombing of the church in Birmingham when the little girls’ faces were shown on nationwide television to say, ‘That we have turned a page and something must change.’”

The district invested in equipment that allows administrators to access surveillance footage from mobile devices. Surrounding police departments can also access that footage. McCoy surveyed his staff of 2,000 to determine who among them had prior police and military experience. He then began the process of establishing Action Teams, or A-Teams inspired by the movie starring “Mr. T.”

“We have three to five people who are ready to take

a tour of Boeing and a youth luncheon featuring guest speaker St. Louis-native Tyrell Rhodes, a 19-year-old licensed pilot. Rhodes spoke of the medical challenges he has faced in his life as a child with cerebral palsy. Last month, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. His dream has always been to become a fighter pilot but is now studying to be an air traffic controller.

At the gala, Rhodes again stood at the podium expressing his gratitude for the Tuskegee Airmen paved the way. A silent auction was held, and three

action,” he said, “who have experience in combat situations, licenses to carry arms and ready to respond during the first ten minutes.”

He is a member of Grace Apostolic Family Worship Center in Florissant founded by his parents – Suffragan Bishop Art J. McCoy Sr. and co-pastor Norma McCoy. McCoy is active in various civic organizations including the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri School Board Association, Missouri Association of School Administrators and the Urban Superintendents of America Association. He is president and founder of Serving

framed prints autographed by documented original Tuskegee Airmen raised $2,200 to benefit the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. Scholarship Foundation and the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. Youth Program.

“What I love most about the airmen is that it’s not about them,” Harris said, “It’s about the youth. It’s about laying the foundation for the youth and letting them know that they can be anything they want to become and that the airmen and everyone that supports the Tuskegee Airmen are behind our youth.”

the Achievement Gap in the Education of Students (SAGES). He serves as adjunct professor and College of Education Leadership Council member at UMSL. The 2013 Salute to Excellence in Education will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, September 13 at the America’s Center Ballroom, following a reception at 6 p.m. Tickets are on sale now. Individual tickets are $85 each/$850 table, and VIP/Corporate tickets are $1,500 table. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.stlamerican. com and click on Salute to Excellence, or call 314-5338000.

Intent to apply deadline is August 23

The U.S. Department of Education has finalized the application for the 2013 Race to the Top-District competition, which will provide nearly $120 million to support bold, locally directed improvements in learning and teaching that will directly improve student achievement and educator effectiveness.

Race to the Top, launched in 2009, has inspired dramatic education reform nationwide, leading 46 states and the District of Columbia to pursue higher college- and career-ready standards, data-driven decision making, greater support for teachers and leaders, and turnaround interventions in low performing schools.

In 2012, the Department rolled out Race to the TopDistrict. The program sets a high bar to fund those districts that have a track record of success, clear vision for reform, and innovative plans to transform the learning environment and accelerate student achievement.

The Department awarded approximately $383 million to 16 Race to the TopDistrict grantees representing 55 local educational agencies (LEAs), with grants ranging from $10 to $40 million.

This year’s competition invites applicants to

demonstrate how they can personalize education for all students and is aimed squarely at classrooms and the all-important relationship between teachers and students.

Applicants from all districts are invited to apply. These 4-year awards will range from $4 million to $30 million, depending on the population of students served through the plan.

Grantees will be selected based on their vision and capacity for reform as well as a strong plan that provides educators with resources to accelerate student achievement and prepare students for college and their careers. Plans will focus on transforming the learning environment so that it meets all students’ learning abilities, making equity and access to high-quality education a priority. The program also offers competitive preference to applicants that form partnerships with public and private organizations to offer services that help meet students’ academic, social, and emotional needs, outside of the classroom. More information, including the application for the Race to the Top-District competition, can be found at: www.ed.gov/programs/ racetothetop-district. The Department is requesting interested districts to submit their intent to apply by August 23. Applications are due Oct. 3, 2013 with awards being announced no later than Dec. 31, 2013.

The 42nd national convention of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. was held last week at the St. Louis Union Station DoubleTree Hotel. Twelve Tuskegee Airmen and the family of Wendell Pruitt, along with NGA Director Letitia A. Long, the NGA workforce and local St. Louis oficials dedicated a room at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in Pruitt’s honor. Photo by Wiley Price

Hazelwood hosts Assessment Literacy events

More than 600 teachers, administrators and other educators recently attended the three-day Hazelwood School District Summer Institute on Assessment Literacy.

“I am very pleased with the staff turnout at our Summer Institute,” said Grayling Tobias, superintendent. “I look forward to witnessing how this professional development will positively impact our students and improve academic achievement.”

Assessment for learning, or Assessment Literacy, seeks to inform students about themselves and their own learning. This process helps students

discover exactly where they are in relation to the learning targets set by their teachers.

With the support of teachers, assessment for learning helps students know what steps to take next in reaching the learning targets.

National training experts from the Assessment Training Institute, including Tom Schimmer, Jan Chappuis, Janet Malone and Carol Commodore, led the professional development.

“Not only were we afforded the opportunity to hear from nationally recognized speakers, but we were able to reflect and process with our peers,

Fifty years ago, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. prepared to march on Washington, D.C. and deliver his historic “I Have a Dream” speech to over 300,000 black E. St. Louis protestors were engaged in their own showdown for jobs and justice.

We’ve often heard of the legendary St. Louis Jefferson Bank & Trust demonstrations, which lasted two months.

However, the inspiration for that protest was birthed in the bowels of black E. St. Louis, back in July 1963, when over 200 African-Americans marched on ESL City Hall, demanding jobs.

who are a wonderful sources of knowledge,” said Kristina Arbetter, instructional specialist at Lusher Elementary School.

In addition, more than 750 parents and students participated in an informational session on Assessment Literacy.

“I was overwhelmed by the turnout for the parent information meeting,” Tobias said. “It is clear to me that our parents are interested in learning more about what we are doing in our classrooms and interested in supporting their children’s education.”

Celebrating Marcus Garvey

Aug. 17 at Gateway Classic

The Universal African Peoples Organization will host its annual program commemorating the life and legacy of Marcus “Mosiah” Garvey. at 1 p.m. Saturday, August 17 at the St. Louis Gateway Sports Foundation, 2012 Martin Luther King Dr. The theme for the program is “Blueprint For Youth Empowerment In The 21st Century.”

Highlighting the program will be South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool and James Peterson, director of Africana Studies at Lehigh University in Ohio and

contributor to MSNBC and CNN news. Along with their presentations, there will be a natural hair contest, an audience African Fashion Walk, cultural entertainment and attendance prize giveaways. Tickets are available at Afro World, 7276 Natural Bridge, and Napp Salon, 6267 Delmar. For more information, call 314477-4629

ESL blacks inspired STL protests

And that was just the beginning of a series of “lie-ins”, “pray-ins” and other acts of civil disobedience, which would disrupt and disturb the ESL power structure during the long hot summer of 1963. At that time black unemployment in ESL was triple that of white residents (about 30 percent) and race relations were still badly damaged as the result of the race massacre of July 1917 in which blacks were savagely beaten and murdered. So, in August 1963, black ESL protestors targeted downtown banking institutions which, at the time, employed

less than ten percent blacks, with those jobs being mainly custodial positions.

The initial focus, on August 12, 1963, was the First National Bank where approximately 50 protestors locked arms and marched inside the lobby, blocking the tellers’ counter.

After refusing to disperse, ESL Police Chief George Dowling ordered officers to arrest the protestors. Forty seven were arrested and then released without having to post bond. Soon, thereafter,

nineteen protestors returned to the bank, only to be rearrested. As a compromise, bank executives offered 20 part-time “training jobs” at nine banks. The protestors demanded 50 full-time positions.

The result was a standoff, with First National Bank president Oliver Breidecker refusing to bend and NAACP field representative James Peake turning up the heat.

On August 14, protestors conducted “prayins” outside ESL banks and on

August 15 over 200 protestors entered First National Bank, this time laying down while chanting and singing “We shall not be moved”.

This prompted ESL police to commandeer Bi-State buses for use as makeshift paddy wagons to haul protestors to jail, with teen protestors being transported to the local National Guard armory.

Then, on August 16, after a court injunction against protestors and negotiations with City Hall, Rex Carr, the banks’ attorney, and the NAACP announced a deal to give 7 fulltime and 13 part-time clerical

jobs to blacks. The protests then moved to their next targets: the Illinois Power Company and ESL supermarkets. That inspired protests across the Mississippi River, with blacks picketing the Jefferson Bank on August 30, 1963. And a half century later, somehow, the ESL victory rings somewhat bittersweet as, within the next decade following those historic events, white flight and economic decline decimated ESL’s infrastructure and population taking it from a thriving city of 82,000 to one of barely 30,000 today.

James Ingram

Hazelwood School District Social Workers Lisa Johnson Haire and Heidi Walker-Morris.

Post plays chancellor like serial killer

When the EYE saw the front page of the Post-Dispatch last Thursday, we were aghast.

There was a map with dots, the sort of infograph used to denote crime scenes. There was a negative headline, ALL IN CAPS, bigger and bolder than the Post’s big, bold banner of its own publication name. The story was addressed in a package, with two stories screaming down both sides of the Post’s front page and extending below the fold.

A total of four reporters from the Post’s depleted newsroom worked on the story package, which ranged longer than 2,000 words, roughly four-times the length of a typical news report in a daily paper.

The EYE was certain someone was dead – rather, that some people were dead – that some people had, in fact, been murdered – and buried all over the metropolitan area, and no doubt been dug up at the four red dots on that regional map that connected the two stories on the front page.

But, no. It’s just that someone had lost her job. Well, not even quite that. Someone with one year on her contract had not received a contract extension.

That was the big story behind the banner headline as tall as a nice slab of bacon

is thick, compiled by four reporters in two stories that dominate two-thirds of the front page of a daily newspaper. There must be more to it –and indeed, there is. The person whose contract has not renewed is an AfricanAmerican executive, namely, St. Louis Community College Chancellor Myrtle E.B. Dorsey. That fat all-cap headline reads “DORSEY’S DOWNFALL,” and there is absolutely nothing, apparently, that the Post, a self-proclaimed bastion progressive politics likes to feast on more than the downfall of a black person who wields authority over white people.

The Post ran a photograph of Dorsey, but did not otherwise identify her or anyone else in the story by race. Only racially sensitive watchers of Post coverage over the long haul, from Freeman Bosley Jr. and Virvus Jones to Sherman George and Robin WrightJones and beyond, would understand the racial subtext that this is a black executive who has been toppled by some angry white people (actually one of the two AfricanAmerican women on the board voted against the contract extension), and jubilant white journalism is now dancing on her grave.

There is a real (alleged) violent incident in this story, and – God forbid – it could have ended in murder, if the allegations are true. According to the alleged victim, whose identity need not be dragged through the mire again, she was set upon in a woman’s restroom on the Meramec campus by an attacker who, she said, intended to kill her. This ugly incident was mismanaged badly and already cost the campus president, George Wasson, his job. The Post’s reporting reveals terrible

performance under pressure by administrators subordinate to Dorsey, though it’s not made clear that Dorsey did anything wrong. The EYE sees more heads beneath Dorsey that should have rolled, based on their actions (and inaction), but if the board trustees who did not renew her contract hold her at fault for not cleaning house after the Meramec incident, that’s not pointed out anywhere in these 2,000-plus words.

The EYE sees an obvious racial subtext here. The alleged attacker is a young black man. The alleged victim – who seems actually to have been a victim, but with criminal charges now pending, the “alleged” is in order – is a young white woman. Their races are not identified in this story, but most Post readers would know their racial identities from past coverage. Also, their names (he is named Jevon, she is named Blythe) are more or less dead giveways.

Both of the two long Post stories revisit this incident at length, although the details have been reported in detail previously and a brief recap in one story would have sufficed in delivering the news about her contract. The Post’s sensational headline was not justified by this reporting, but this confirms suspicion that they are willing to stir resentment intentionally too.

Faculty uprising

There is another gripe held against Dorsey in one of the stories, a faculty uprising, which most administrators endure at one point or another.

The Post sources five faculty members – John Messmer, Mary Luebke, Carol Berger, Doug Hurst, Cindy Campbell – without identifying any by race, which is appropriate, by journalistic standards, provided that their race is not pertinent to the story. Since all five faculty members are white and the chancellor they opposed is black, their race might be pertinent. The Post has no black editor who would have seen this copy or discussed how the story would be played, and all four reporters who worked on the story package are white. Does this imply that the five faculty members are racists and the Post missed that story?

Emphatically, no. The faculty all testify to being (justifiably) incensed over a mandatory professional development day where they were treated with apparent indignity. But the Post’s failure to acknowledge any of the racial undertones in this story package is further evidence of the blind spots at the paper due to its appalling lack of diversity in a news organization covering a diverse region with many racially charged issues.

Above all, the biggest role of race in this reporting is the overblown presentation, designed to shame Dorsey in relentless detail, mostly by rehashing at length incidents previously covered in great depth. If a white executive had lost the faith of white faculty members and been in command when a racially charged alleged assault was mismanaged badly on campus, the EYE is certain, it would not have been reported and played in a rabid manner more appropriate to the grisly crimes of

Bryson as civil rights (ha, ha) enforcer

You may have forgotten, but after he was reelected Mayor Francis G. Slay gave a grand speech where he said his door was open and he wanted to work with everyone in the city from now on, even (presumably) black people. A new day had dawned, we were told. His door is open now. Even (the hint was clear) to black people. And now we are told – not in a news release, but by someone on the street – that Slay has appointed Charles Bryson as the new director of the Civil Rights Enforcement Agency. (A Slay staffer then confirmed the word from the street.)

You read that right. Charles Bryson – the black Slay flunky promoted to director of Public Safety for the sole express purpose of enforcing a threat to demote the city’s first black fire chief – is now in charge of enforcing civil rights in the city. The EYE is not sure whether to laugh or weep.

It does show rare courage from Slay, though. Such a blatant, unapologetic insult is impressive in its own way. Not that many people will look right in the face of the black community and insult the role of civil rights enforcement quite so blatantly. Slay’s door may be open to black people, but Charles Bryson is standing at the door in jockey knickers, smiling, holding a brass ring.

You would like to buy or refinance a home. If you qualify, almost any lender can help you. But if you don’t qualify, it may seem that no one can help you. Either way, you should give Terrence a call. He’ll quickly tell you whether you qualify. If so, he can help you get the loan that works best for you. If not, he’ll tell you what you need to do to improve your credit score and qualify. To learn more, give Terrence a call at 314-678-2340 or visit trogers carrolltonbanking.com

In happier times, St. Louis Community College Chancellor Myrtle E.B. Dorsey visited with St. Louis County Division of Workforce Development Executive Director Gene Gorden and Better Family Life’s COO Carolyn Seward.

Photo by Wiley Price

Upcoming Memorial

With the recent passing of St. Louis’ own homegrown, modern-era comedic talent

Rahn Ramey; the Funny Bone Westport will host a memorial tribute in his honor on Sunday, August 11, 2013 from 2-5 pm.

Mistresses of Ceremony will be Rahn’s friends and radio personalities Ms. Sheila Reed and Robin Boyce.

Harry C. Casey Jr.

April 17, 1925—June 8, 2013

Harry was born April 27, 1925 in St. Louis, MO to Ora Baines and Harry C. Casey Sr.

He was the third born of seven children. Both parents and five of his siblings preceded him in death. Harry grew up in the Ville neighborhood and was educated in the St. Louis Public School System. After attending Marshall Cerade School, he was forevermore proud to be a “Sumnerite.” While being a “Bulldog,” he excelled in football and was a record setting track star.

After faithfully serving in the United States Army during World War II, he began working for the Government. Then is when he met and married Carroll Winfred Brandon of East Orange, New Jersey. To this union was born

three sons: Harry Charles III, Glenn Arthur, and Kelvin Bernard Casey. Carroll also preceded him in death.

Harry also worked in various positions, for the United States Postal Services as a supervisor, President of the National Alliance and EEO Compliance officer. After his retirement from the postal services, he worked briefly for the St. Louis Municipal Courts. Harry was a Christian, who

was baptized in the Catholic faith. He was a member of Holy Rosary, before the inception of St. Elizabeth Mother of John the Baptist Catholic Church, where he continued to be a faithful and dedicated worker. There he met and married the love of his life, Christine Clark. He promised her five years of marriage. She demanded ten; whereas God blessed them with eighteen loving and wonderful years. Their family became unique with four sons and one daughter.

Harry was a people person and never met a stranger. He enjoyed music, dancing and entertaining family and friends. He was a compassionate deep thinker, firm in his belief and a “CNN Junky.”

After a long and tiring illness, Harry completed life’s journey peacefully on Saturday, June 8, 2013.

He leaves to mourn his passing, a loving and dedicated wife, Christine Casey; four

sons, Harry Charles III (Deborah), Glenn Arthur (LaDonna), Kelvin Bernard, H. Eric Clark (Anjanette); one daughter, Dr. Ingrid Clark-Jackson (Stan); one sister Anna M. Perkins, one Goddaughter, Faye Shipp; thirteen grandchildren, Brandon A., Brandon H., Brennan, Cameron, Carol Nicole, Chaillé, Christian, Christina, Erin, Glenn, K. Bernard, Megan, and Michael; a host a great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and friends who loved him dearly.

Ptah Ra

Ptah was born August 2, 1944 in St. Louis Missouri to James and Viola Moll. Both parents and 5 siblings, Mary Johnson, Frank Moll, William N. Moll, Sr., Theodore Moll and Marveline Statton, preceded him in death. He attended St. Louis Public Schools, graduated from

Hadley Technical High School in January 1963 with a concentration in the area of printing, was Class President and titled most likely to succeed. He later earned a BS in Industrial Education at UM-Columbia and lifetime teachers’ certification in Industrial Arts. Ptah was also a student, teacher and advocate of Fahamme teachings and attained the title and leadership role of High Priest. Ptah was a successful entrepreneur and owned several businesses, one of which he was most proud “HemSet Printing” on Martin Luther King Drive. He taught printing at O’Fallon Technical High School from 1974 until 1985. He also served as NEA board member in St. Louis, MO. He moved his family to Decatur, IL for a period, then Houston, Texas in 1989 where he worked as Uni-Serve Director for the National Education Association and later as an insurance agent for Horace Mann until his retirement in 2007. He was a successful and admired bowler (with three 300 game rings) in many leagues and bowling competitions in Missouri and Texas.

Ptah departed this earthly world Saturday, July 20, 2013 with his family by his side. He leaves to cherish his memory, a devoted wife Maimoona (Mary Causey); two daughters Ayesha Ra-Wilburn and Saffiyah Ra; two sons Haroon A-Rashid Ra and Jamiel Amid Ra; five grandchildren; one great-grand child; two brothers Robert Moll and Amen Ra; three sisters Cordelia Fisher, Leora Austin and Julia Hooks; two sistersin-law Beatrice Moll and Gladys Moll; 10 nieces, five nephews, a host of great nieces and nephews; Khalid Omar a devoted student of many years who was just like a son in St Louis, MO; and Terry Gordon of Houston, TX.

Harry C. Casey Jr.

Ptah Ra

Searching for a stage

Black Rep leaves Grandel Theatre after 20 years

By Kenya Vaughn

Of The St. Louis American

“What I want people to know more than anything is that we will have a 37th season,” said Ron Himes, Founder and Producing Director of The St. Louis Black Repertory Company. “Losing that space is not the end of The Black Rep.”

Irony is the only way to fittingly describe the timing of news that the theatre company would have to search for a new home.

They are on the cusp of a season that paid homage to having Grand Center’s Grandel Theatre as its home for the past 20 years.

“Needless to say it was a shock and a devastating blow this close to that celebration to be homeless,” Himes said.

Grand Center said that The Black Rep shouldn’t be surprised, because knew about the organization’s intent to sell the building since last season.

“Well, over the years there have been talks from time to time about the theatre being sold,” Himes said. “Sometimes they were talking about selling; sometimes they would talk about raising money to fix it up. So for them to say a year ago that they said they were going to sell it, they never sent us any official correspondence saying, ‘this is your last season and we are ready to put this building on the market.’”

Michelle Stevens, marketing director for Grand Center, said members of its board, Ken Kranzberg, board chairman, and Juanita Hinshaw, met in person with representatives of the Black Rep board over a year ago, and informed them that they intended to sell the building and that The Black Rep should plan on 2013 being their last season in the Grandel.

“At no point did we ever get an official notification saying that ‘we’re selling the theatre and that this is your last day,’” Himes said. “I think we deserved that. We could have prepared for this had we known in advance. I’m not questioning their right to sell the theatre or how they handle the business as far as how they deal with the real estate that they own.

I’m merely talking about what has been – or supposed to have been – a 20 year partnership.”

Himes says the relationship between the two organizations

began when Grand Center approached the Black Rep about becoming the resident theatre company for the Grandel.

“For ten years we were on 23rd and St. Louis Avenue,” Himes said. “And Richard Gaddes of Grand Center came down to North St. Louis and invited us to move to the arts and entertainment district. I told him that we couldn’t afford to move to Grand Center – that, ‘we aren’t paying rent where we are.’ And his comment was, ‘you don’t have to worry about that. Grand Center will do fundraising and we will subsidize your existence in Grand Center.’”

So they moved to the Grandel in October of 1992.

“During the time that Richard Gaddes was in leadership in Grand Center we had a pretty mutually beneficial relationship,” Himes said.

“When he left, the relationship has changed drastically. We were partners in developing a new venue. We were partners in pioneering the arts and entertainment district – because in 1992, a lot of different organizations didn’t want to come to Grand Center and a lot of patrons were leery of coming to the district in 1992. The relationship went from a partnership to a landlord-tenant relationship. And over the years there have been times when the relationship was good, and there have been times when the relationship was not so good.”

Where do they go from here?

“We are proud to have the Black Rep as part of the Grand Center arts community and are willing to work with them to find other space within the District,” Stevens said.

“Currently, Grand Center has capacity in other venues, including the Kranzberg Arts Center and the Sun Theater will be open in February 2014.”

Himes thanked Grand Center for 20 years of providing a space, but said the relocation options that Grand Center has presented are not viable for The Black Rep.

“The Sun Theatre is now being developed for the Grand Center Performing Arts Academy. Grand Center has offered that to us as an

option. But if the Grand Center Performing Arts Academy is building a theatre, it’s because they need a theatre,” Himes said. “When I said that to Grand Center, they said ‘Well, oh you can use it in the summer.’ Well, we don’t produce over the summer.”

The Kranzberg only seats 80, which would be too small for The Black Rep’s subscription base.

They need a venue to produce their upcoming season – which typically begins in January – so they feel that they are being forced to look outside of Grand Center.

“I also think that the Black Rep is the only major African American institution that performs in Grand Center,” Himes said. “I would’ve thought that the arts district –of all places – would be some place where we would want diversity and the diversity of cultural experience and performance experiences. So now that the Black Rep is basically out of Grand Center –and that seems to not be of any concern to Grand Center.”

The Black Rep has met with Washington University (which hosts their annual fall production), St. Louis Community College, The Missouri Historical Society and several others to discuss interim options.

“We were homeless before we moved to St. Louis Avenue,” Himes said. “And we won’t be homeless for long. We’ve been getting plenty of calls every day about potential spaces.”

The Black Rep will be opening their fall production in September at Wash U.’s Hoetchner Theatre and their hope is to have secured other venues and be able to announce the full season during the run of that show.

“At this point our plan is to produce a five-play subscription series – just as we’ve done for the past 20 years,” Himes said. “And we feel confident that our audience will follow us around and we’ll prepare the most luscious, movable feast that we can for them.

I’m hoping that the next home will be a space that we own or a home that we are able to sign a long term lease – well beyond my years and tenure.”

BUSINESS

– 14, 2013

Managing

‘strategic investment’

Desiree Coleman joins Wells Fargo Advisors as civic relationship manager

By Rebecca S.Rivas

Of The St.Louis American

St. Louis native Desiree Coleman recently landed a highly visible role at Wells Fargo Advisors, working closely with the president and CEO Danny Ludeman.

As the company’s new civic relationship manager, Coleman connects with the community and shares her thoughts with Ludeman on how Wells Fargo can make an impact in the community through charitable gifts. She also works with Ludeman on his personal civic involvement.

“Desiree’s deep knowledge of our community and its needs will play an important role in helping us to sustain and strengthen our civic involvement.”

– Danny Ludeman,CEO

“He is sincere about wanting to support the community,” Coleman said of Ludeman. “Not just a little money, but making a strategic investment.”

This is not the first time Ludeman and Coleman have teamed up on philanthropic strategy. Coleman was previously an associate for major gift giving at the United Way of Greater St. Louis. In 2011, Ludeman chaired the agency’s fundraising campaign.

“Desiree’s deep knowledge of our community and its needs will play an important role in helping us to sustain and strengthen our civic involvement,” Ludeman said.

When Coleman was working on the other side of the philanthropic exchange at United Way, she saw how Wells Fargo always

See COLEMAN, B2

Pastoras medical school diversity dean

Dr. Wesley Robinson-McNeese of SIU Medicine is an ESLnative and Vietnam vet

PEOPLEON THE MOVE

Craig Fowler has joined the Board of Directors for the Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation, which assists faithbased and private schools in providing quality, affordable and accessible educational opportunities for any economically disadvantaged family within the St. Louis region by generating financial assistance in the form of scholarships from local and national funding sources. Fowler is managing director of BAMLCapital Access Funds.

Lydia Ivory has been named one of 13 Hospitality Super Heroes in the St. Louis region by St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission, which honors “front line workers who best exemplify the region’s ongoing commitment to great service.” Ivory is assistant housekeeping supervisor at Holiday Inn St. Louis Forest Park. Nominations were solicited from management of hospitality industry companies and judged by a panel of customer service experts.

Rance Thomas was awarded the Elijah P. Lovejoy’s HumanRights Award at the Annual Lovejoy Dinner at Lewis & Clark Community College. Thomas is president ofNorth County Churches Uniting for Racial Harmony and Justice, the first professor emeritus at Lewis and Clark Community College and past president of the board of the Lovejoy Memorial, honoring the first abolitionist who was slain by a pro-slavery mob due to his opposition to slavery.

Aline Phillips has founded Next Chapter Educational Consulting LLC and is its CEO. Its focus is “to provide parents with support and resources to ensure they are the first educational advocates for their children.” Phillips’immediate past experience of 24 years was with the Ferguson-Florissant School District in the following capacities: elementary school principal, grant administrator, classroom teacher and gifted education instructor.

BUSINESS BRIEFS

U.S. Bank, city provide $1.2M tax credits to early childhood center

U.S. Bank is partnering with St. Louis Development Corporation to provide $1.2 million of New Markets Tax Credit equity to help SouthSide Early Childhood Center build a new learning center, serving 140 children, in the Fox Park neighborhood. Construction of the 19,000 square foot development is underway and will be completed by spring 2014. The new center will allow SouthSide to increase its enrollment from 98 to 140 children. The organization gives priority to working families at restricted income levels, with low-income children at a minimum of two-thirds of total enrollment.

Reserve fund at $40M, credit ratings in Arange

By Comptroller Darlene Green

For The St.Louis American

Recently, there are those who have compared our city to Detroit in terms of demographics, crime and finances.

On July 18, the City of Detroit filed bankruptcy in an effort to seek protection from all its creditors. This week, the Chapter 9 petition was challenged but nothing will change for the next six months.

Detroit is the largest American city ever to file for bankruptcy. Its long-term debts are estimated at more than $18 billion, which averages out to $27,000 worth of debt for each resident. On the surface, St. Louis and Detroit have some similar problems. But in terms of money, there is a big difference.

I have worked hard on the city’s finances

See GREEN, B2

By Chris King Of The St.Louis American

Dr. Wesley Robinson-McNeese, executive assistant to the dean for diversity, multicultural and minority affairs at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and associate professor of internal medicine and medical humanities, recently earned a Healthcare Executive Diversity and Inclusion Certificate from Georgetown University and the American Association of Medical Colleges, both in Washington, D.C. The Certificate in Diversity Leadership is an academic program of diversity education designed to develop the competencies leaders need to drive diversity as a core component of excellence in health care. Dr. Robinson-McNeese’s individual project consisted of developing new culturally specific questions to be added to the patient medical history portion of the physical exam.

dency in emergency medicine at Northwestern University School of Medicine in Evanston in 1990. He earned his medical degree at SIU in 1986.

Dr. McNeese served in Vietnam (196869) and later became a paramedic with the U.S. Air Force (197780). Anative of East St. Louis, he was editor of The Crusader in his hometown before attending college (1970-76). He is a licensed minister in the Church of God and is pastor of the New Mission Church of God in Springfield.

The American asked him about his new training in diversity leadership and his background as an East St. Louis native and pastor.

St. Louis American: What are the demographics for the medical school: numbers and percentages of AfricanAmerican students and faculty?

SLPS and teachers union get $130K early childhood grant

St. Louis Public Schools and American Federation of Teachers(AFT) St. Louis Local 420 have been awarded a three-year, $130,000 grant from the AFTInnovation Fund for early childhood education. The grant will help the district develop a research-based,district-wide professional development program for pre-K teachers and paraprofessionals, among other early childhood initiatives, in partnership with the University of Michigan and Professor Barbara Bowman of the Erikson Institute.

Missouri OlderWorkerof the Yearcontest deadline Aug. 23

Dr. Robinson-McNeese, who is boardcertified in emergency medicine, joined the SIU faculty in 2001. He completed his resi-

Dr. Wesley Robinson-McNeese: In the 2013 academic year (last year), 35 AfricanAmerican students were enrolled, about 12 percent of total students.Ten faculty

See McNEESE, B6

MERS/Goodwill is hosting the 23rd annual Missouri Older Worker of the Year contest, which seeks to honor Missouri residents who are at least 65 years of age and gainfully employed at a Missouri job site for an average of 20 or more hours per week. There will be 10 winners from all over Missouri. Nomination forms are available on MERS/Goodwill’s website, http://www.mersgoodwill.org/mersgoodwill-seeks-outstanding-olderworker-of-2013/.Completed forms are due by August 23.

Craig Fowler

Lydia Ivory

Aline Phillips

Rance Thomas

Desiree Coleman is the new civic relationship manager for Wells Fargo Advisors,working closely with the president and CEO Danny Ludeman.

Wesley RobinsonMcNeese,M.D.

Photo by Wiley Price

Comptroller Darlene Green

By Jason Alderman

If you feel frustrated or intimidated whenever you take your car in for repairs, you’re not alone. According to the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau, auto repair fraud consistently ranks among the top consumer complaints they receive.

Although most auto repair shops are legitimate, some unscrupulous operators will rip off inexperienced car owners by performing unnecessary or unauthorized repairs, substituting counterfeit or used replacement parts, or even doing such shoddy work that lives are endangered. Here are tips for becoming a more informed consumer and a few common scams to avoid:

Steerclearof auto repairscams

Try to have a trusted repair shop already lined up before you need one. Ask friends or your auto insurance company for recommendations, or search the Better Business Bureau’s website (www.bbb.org) for accredited businesses. Also:

ï Ask the state Attorney General’s office (www.naag.org) whether any complaints have been filed against prospective mechanics.

ï Look for mechanics currently certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (www.ase.com) or who belong to your insurer’s authorized repair network.

ï If your car’s warranty is still in force, you may be required to use only authorized dealerships.

If your car needs major work, gather several estimates for comparison. Once you’ve chosen a shop, ask for a detailed estimate (with no sections left blank) before you authorize repairs. Specify that you must be called to grant permission before additional repairs. Make sure the work order clearly specifies:

ï Repairs to be done.

ï All fees, including parts, labor, storage, loaner car, etc.

ï Whether new, reconditioned, or used parts will be used.

ï Acceptable payment methods.

ï Completion date.

ï Diagnostic or reassembly charges if you decide to get a second opinion or have the work done elsewhere.

Make sure the final repair

bill contains itemizes all work completed and parts used. (Ask them to show you the work done and replaced parts.) Also have the bill spell out any guaranteed items (including exclusions), in case problems occur later and you need contractual proof. Watch out for these common scams:

ï They give you a verbal estimate then charge a higher price. Always get it in writing.

ï Ashop lures you in with low-cost specials (oil change, brake inspection, etc.), then pads the work order with other repairs you don’t want or need. If in doubt, have the initial work done and get a second opinion on the rest, unless there’s an immediate safety issue.

ï Charging for services

that are covered under the car’s warranty. (Always read your warranty carefully.)

ï Dishonest mechanics have been known to inflict intentional damage during an inspection in order to boost needed repairs.

ï They don’t want to return replaced parts to you, which could mean the work wasn’t actually done, or they used inferior parts. (Keep in mind that there could be discarded parts lying around that they could pass off as yours.)

ï Going against your car manufacturer’s recommendations. If your manual recommends getting an oil change every 10,000 miles but the mechanic says every 3,000, make sure there’s a good reason.

ï Offers to waive the deductible – for example,

offering to install a used part and bill your insurance company for a new one. This insurance fraud could land you in a world of hurt. ï High-pressure sales tactics.

Just because you don’t completely understand what goes on under the hood doesn’t mean you can’t protect yourself against auto repair scams. To learn more, visit the FTC’s comprehensive Auto Repair Basics site at www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0211-auto-repair-basics.

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

Treasurermoves payroll to direct deposit

Move saves city money and forces unbanked to open new accounts

By Chris King Of The St.Louis American

St. Louis Treasurer

Tishaura O. Jones has been working to transfer all city employees to direct deposit. Direct deposit extends the safety and convenience of electronic payments to city employees and reduces the administrative costs of issuing paper checks, Jones said. She said the change will save the city over $100,000 a year and reduce the staff hours needed to process payroll.

The Treasurer’s Office is the city’s chief custodian and investor of funds, processes payroll for all city employees, and distributes funds for the city’s retirement systems.

Newly enrolled employees are estimated to save up to $1,200 each year instead of using non-traditional check cashing institutions that charge enormous fees, she said.

In May and June, the

“This is just one of many ways the office plans to reduce spending and address the plight of the unbanked and ‘underbanked.’”

– Treasurer Tishaura O.Jones

Treasurer’s Office held a series of bank fairs to offer employees the opportunity to choose a traditional bank or credit union. More than 20 financial institutions participated in the bank fairs and enrolled over 1,500 employees for new accounts or electronic paycards.

“We’re hoping our city employees who have been paying exorbitant check-cashing fees will now have extra money in their pocket and access to credit, which is critical to today’s economy,” said

L. Jared Boyd, her chief of staff and St. Louis American 2013 Young Leader.

According to the FDIC, 32 percent of African-American households in St. Louis are unbanked and 20 percent are underbanked. St. Louis has the third largest percentage of unbanked African Americans in the country, according to the FDIC.

“This is just one of many ways the office plans to reduce spending and address the plight of the unbanked and ‘underbanked,’who use predatory financial services,” Jones said.

City employees without bank accounts will be provided with paycards that function like debit cards. These paycards provide free access to over 260 Allpoint ATMs within the St. Louis area. The paycards provide overdraft protections, allow employees to write checks and pay bills online, Jones said.

In May and June,the St.Louis Treasurer’s Office held a series of bank fairs.More than 20 financial institutions participated in the bank fairs and enrolled over 1,500 employees for new accounts or electronic paycards.

COLEMAN

Continued from B1

brought high energy to the campaign season.

“Our support for United Way is bar none,” Coleman said of Wells Fargo Advisors.

“I remember being at the United Way thinking, ‘They are going to get this done.’”

One of Wells Fargo’s community partnerships is close to her heart – the tutoring program with the St. Louis Public Schools. Coleman oversees the program where employees meet with students each week to tutor in reading and math. Coleman also facilitates several education initiatives for the company.

She feels her position allows her to utilize her youth development background.

From 2006 to 2011, Coleman was a senior manager at the Washington, D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Service.

“I did a lot of policy, partnership and programming to help kids get reconnected to school,” she said.

Her team provided wraparound services to students –

GREEN

Continued from B1

for more than 17 years to protect taxpayer’s dollars. I have implemented policies that support strong fiscal management. While St. Louis has its challenges, our city is on solid financial footing. Our conservative debt profile is moderately high, yet manageable. In St. Louis, 21 percent of our city’s families incomes fall below the poverty line, in

from making sure they had the necessary school credits to getting them in job training.

To help her understand how to support change in education, Coleman earned several certificates from prestigious education training programs. One of them was titled “Redesigning

To help her understand how to support change in education, Coleman earned several certificates from prestigious education training programs.One of them was titled “Redesigning High Schools,”which she received from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

High Schools,” which she received from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

At Wells Fargo, she has been amazed at the infrastructure already in place to support

The City of St.Louis’ reserves now total more than $40 million, compared with just $1.5 million 20 years ago.

Detroit, that figure is 31 percent. St. Louis has a positive financial outlook. Our credit rating is Aa3 from Moody’s, A-plus from Standard &

students, along with the high employee participation across the firm.

“This is not a photo opportunity,” she said. “It’s a partnership, and we have a multiyear commitment.”

Coleman has always made a strong commitment to her own education as well. She received bachelor’s degrees in business administration and international relations from University of Missouri at Columbia. She holds a masters degree in public administration from Syracuse University and an executive certificate of nonprofit management from Georgetown University. Coleman is also fluent in Spanish.

Coleman said she shares all of her success with her husband, Rasheen, who recently took a position as the assistant director of development at City Garden Montessori, a charter school. They have two daughters.

“Community engagement is such an important part of our commitment to the St. Louis region,” Ludeman said, “and we’re delighted to have Desiree on board to help us make an even greater impact.”

Poor’s and AA- with a stable outlook from Fitch Ratings. Since 1995, I have invested the city’s money wisely. Additionally, I have implemented five-year budget forecasting, have kept a close eye on debt and have built up solid reserve funds. The city’s reserves now total more than $40 million, compared with just $1.5 million 20 years ago. It is safe to say that the City of St. Louis is financially stable.

--- Philadelphia Eagles

LeSean McCoy’s reaction to Riley Cooper’s racial slurs

Sports

Inside Sports

With Earl Austin Jr.

STL represents at Junior Olympics

Area stars shine at AAU track and field meets

By Earl Austin Jr. Of the St. Louis American

It was a tremendous week of activity for the athletes from the St. Louis area who competed in the Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympics in Detroit, MI. Area athletes won a total of 13 national championships in addition to the other countless number of medals earned in age groups from eight years old to high school. Cardinal Ritter College Prep star Charles Jones and youngster Brandon Miller were the big winners as each brought home three gold medals. Running for the St. Louis Express, Jones won the national title in the 800- and 1,500-meter runs, plus he ran a leg on the first-place 4x800-meter relay team. Jones also won the national title in the 800 at the USA Track and Field Junior Olympics in Greensboro, N.C. in the previous week.

Jones turned in a winning time of 1 minute

50.8 seconds in the 800, then came back to win the 1,500 in a time of 4:03.29. Jones then joined Nicholas Stewart, Marcus Davis and James Williams to win the 4x800 in a meet record of 7:39.04. The quartet finished nearly 30 seconds ahead of their nearest competitor. Miller, who runs for the Ultimate Speed Academy, dominated the distance events in the 11-year old division as he won the 800, 1,500 and 3,000-meter runs. The talented youngster also set two new meet records in the process. Miller was a three-time national champion at last year’s AAU Junior Olympics.

Jerrick Powell of the St. Louis Storm won the national title in the boys’ decathlon in the 15-16 division. Powell scored 5,622 points to capture the gold medal. Cecilya Johnson of Throwing and Growing won the girls discus in the 15-16 division with a throw of 137 feet 9 inches.

Shayn Jackson of the Blues Track Club won the 2000-meter steeplechase in the boys’ 15-16 division in a time of 6:29.40. Nia Lyles of the Ultimate Speed Academy won the shot put in the girls’ 11-12 division with a throw of 42 feet 2 inches. Reece Goddard (unattached) won the discus in the boys’ 13-14 division with a throw of 178-1.

Mason Brock (unattached) won the javelin in the boys’ 9-10 division. Keshon Campbell of the Ultimate Speed Academy won the Outdoor Pentathlon in the boys’ 11-12 division. Corey Hunn, Jr. of the St. Louis Storm won the shot put in the boys’ 9-10 division. There were two more area national championships from the recent USATF Junior Olympics in North Carolina. McCluer High’s Shaelyn Grant won the gold medal in the 400-meter

hurdles in the girls’ 17-18 division. Grant turned in a winning time of 58.91. Jazzmine Poole won the gold medal in the discus in the girls’ 13-14 division. Poole will be a freshman at Belleville East in the fall.

Here is a list of the other medalists from the AAU Junior Olympics by their age group: Girls (8): Sydney Burdine (Herbert Hoover) fifth in

800; Herbert Hoover, eighth in 4x400; Boys (8): Jeremiah Cook (STL PAL), second in shot put; Robert Battle (U City Xplosion), fifth in shot put; Deion Brown (U City Xplosion) eighth in shot put; Carl Summers, Jr. (U City Xplosion) fourth in javelin; Girls (9-10): Emmie Marshall (STL Edge), second in triathlon, seventh in shot put,

Rams’Fan Fest a success

By Palmer L. Alexander III

The St. Louis Rams continued building the buzz with its fan base that has endured losing season after losing season. Optimism slowly started to rise only finishing one game under .500 which no person foresaw for the Rams in 2012. The Rams followed up with a few risky, yet shrewd free agent moves, plus said goodbye to two of Sam Bradford’s most reliable targets in Steven Jackson and Danny Amendola. General Manager Les Snead made a bold trade in the draft to acquire Tavon Austin and then traded back into the first round and snatched Alex Ogletree.

At the Fan Fest this past Saturday you could see Les Snead with his

Palmer Alexander III

And speaking of the fans, they got a look at some of the new weapons on offense. They didn’t disappoint. The offense looks promising and wide-out Austin Pettis made a few nice catches and is starting to develop into a solid receiver. He’s improved his route running and the crowd thoroughly enjoyed his one hand catch in the end zone. Tavon Austin drew some of the biggest cheers whenever he touched the ball. Running backs Zac Stacy and Isaiah Pead ripped off a couple of nice runs. Pead ran so much better this year in the scrimmage than he did last year. Brian Quick sometimes looked Rams Roundup With Palmer Alexander III

sun visor and some gray sweats as he greeted the large crowd of 15,000 spectators inside the Edwards Jones Dome. He has this down to earth personality and doesn’t look past you when he’s talking to you. He greeted me and Ishmael Sistrunk on the sideline and was really thrilled with the turnout just for a scrimmage. Snead is still keeping with the same message of growing together like a family and that included the fans.

ROUNDUP, B4

Claib’s Call

What to do with Riley Cooper?

By Mike Claiborne Special

to the American

With Mike Claiborne Mike Claiborne

Most of you had never heard of Riley Cooper before last week unless you had him on your fantasy football team; and if you did you rarely played him. For the record, he is a wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles. Now, the question should be should he play at all. Riley Cooper is guilty of a lot of things right now. Here are his three strikes. Strike one: Women and alcohol sometimes do not mix. Cooper was at a Kenny Chesney concert and was by several accounts over served. I get that. It happens. In this case he was with friends, including a few women and he wanted to be “big time” by showing everyone he could get back stage. His crew also thought it was a good idea. There was one problem. The security guard (who was Black) who was in charge did not as Cooper had no credentials that allowed him access. Upon being denied, Cooper (as my mother used to say) decided he was going to show out. Words were exchanged and he dropped the magic words... “I’ll fight every N-word here tonight.” Obviously, the alcohol gave him the courage. After all he was at a Kenny Chesney concert, not Snoop Dog. That is a real tough guy. Cooper was restrained and escorted off by friends, but the damage had been done. Someone recorded it. Cooper had a problem.

Strike two. Cooper was cool with going on about his night and life until that day late in July when he was confronted about it. At that point he had no control but to step forward and own it. He apologized to everyone and everything that owned

Cardinal Ritter’s Charles Jones won the 800-meter run at both the AAU Junior Olympics in Michigan and USATF Junior Olympics in North Carolina in a span of two weeks.

See CLAIBS, B4

See INSIDE, B5

Earl Austin Jr

Tavon Austin drew some of the biggest cheers whenever he touched the ball at Fan Fest this past Saturday. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

Riley Cooper

Jordan Barnett commits to Texas

By Earl Austin Jr.

Of the St. Louis American

Standout basketball

player

Jordan Barnett of CBC gave a verbal commitment to attend the University of Texas next season.

The 6’8” Barnett is the top returning senior in the state of Missouri. He chose the Longhorns over schools such as Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa, Butler, Florida and several others.

Barnett is ranked among the Top 100 players in the country by several national recruiting outlets. Rivals.com has Barnett rated as the No. 85 player in the Class of 2014 nationally while ESPN.com has Barnett rated at No. 86. The talented small forward spent the summer playing for the St. Louis Eagles 17U team that qualified for the Nike Peach Jam last July. Barnett led the Eagles in scoring and rebounding in the Peach Jam

ROUNDUP

Continued from B3

like he was lacking a little concentration, but was totally focused when he was talking with former St. Louis Rams wide-out Isaac Bruce on the sidelines during a live tackling drill. Isaac Bruce wasn’t the only former Rams player from that 1999 Super Bowl Championship team. Safety Keith Lyle, and defensive tackle D’Marco Farr were there and the stories were flying around about how much better this would have been for them instead of being in Macomb, Illinois during there playing days.

But that’s what this event was for. It was for the fans. The fans are getting to see the new Rams of 2013, while getting a chance to see up close the former greats of this franchise great history in St. Louis. And even though no score was kept, I felt like the Rams won, Les Snead won and, this weekend, the fans won.

CLAIBS

Continued from B3

and in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League. In EYBL play, Barnett averaged 13.3 points and 5.2 rebounds. He was also selected to play in the Nike Global Challenge in Washington, D.C. in late July

As a junior, Barnett averaged 17.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. He shot 50 percent from the field and connected on 41 3-pointers in leading the Cadets to a 20-9 record.

a set of ears on the planet in hopes of saving his hide. Here is the problem. Cooper came forward at the end of July. The incident took place in June, which meant Cooper was content on going on with things as if he had gotten away with it. If Cooper had not been confronted, do you really think he would have said anything to anyone, especially his African American teammates on the Philadelphia Eagles? While some of his teammates have welcomed him back, I wonder if the rest of the National Football League feels the same way? Had Cooper acknowledged to his African American teammates right after the event that he messed up, perhaps things could have been different. Instead, he moved on with his life as if it was just another night with the boys or should I say “good old boys” In his apology, Cooper said he was not raised that way and that is really not him. I do not know Riley Cooper but if first impressions have anything to do with it, he has gotten off to a bad start, but you already knew that. Strike three. The N-word is used way too much in

our society. You have some African-American morons who condone it and embrace it when it is said to and about each other and yet want to hold a protest and march when the word is used by someone outside of the race. In Cooper’s case, there is plenty of blame to go around. Cooper, for one, used the word in anger to get attention about his dissatisfaction about a matter and wanted to single out a race of people to prove a point. It does not get any worse that. I have not been surprised by many of my colleagues (both white and black) who have gone from “What else do you want?” to “What can you say?”

The easiest answer in the world is that Riley Cooper should not have the privilege of wearing a uniform in the NFL. However, banning him is not the solution. Cooper and the likes of him should have to learn first-hand the severity of his misdeed. Cooper should have to be in an environment to learn more about the impact that word has and the community it comes from. He should have to learn it and live it for a while. He should have to see its impact first-hand both socially, and economically. Cooper should have to see how we got to where we are today.

To fine Riley Cooper an “undisclosed amount” of money does no one any good here. Where does the money go? Who does it really help?

Oh yeah, a charity. This is bigger than any one charity and a photo op where everyone walks away feeling good about themselves.

As for my colleagues, there is a lesson to be learned here for both black and white. For

the few who exist who are black, make yourselves more accountable. Spare me with the “it’s not a sports story or I do not have all the facts” line. Be objective, be part of the solution and not the continued problem that exist in our community. I include myself in this process as we have become an after the fact society whereas someone else will fix it. No sale here. For my white colleagues, can we dispense from the classic and traditional lines of “what more do you want? He said he was sorry” or “if they said that about a white guy’... or the one that always takes the cake “you guys say it among yourselves.”

It is really time to get out of the excuse business here and action should be taken on all fronts. Riley Cooper has a lot of work to do as does the NFL. For those who want to forgive and move on, what are you proving? For those who are black who want to move on what are you thinking? A second chance has become a fail-safe in our society and most should be entitled to it provided they have learned from their prior transgression. While I would expect someone from the African American side of this among players to call time out on this matter and demand more than a couple of weeks of sensitivity training, I certainly expect their white teammates to speak even louder as they have the responsibility of understanding the impact of the slur has and should not condone it by their own. Then again, we hear about the so-called brotherhood in sports so why not have a good old family sit down here.

Tavon Austin Photo by Bill Grennblatt/UPI

Photo by Wiley Price Jordan Barnett

fifth in high jump; Adrianna Toran (STL PAL), seventh in triathlon, third in shot put; Eve Shelton (Blues) third in 1,500-meter race walk; Amani Henderson, third in 1,500meter race walk; Karlie Wooten (Ultimate Speed) seventh in 800, sixth in long jump; Raven Moore, third in long jump; Blues Track Club, second in 4x100; Boys (9-10): Valonz Powell (U City Explosion), sixth in triathlon; seventh in shot put, eighth in long jump; Larry Minner, Jr (Blues), second in shot put; Jakailin Johnson (Herbert Hoover) seventh in 400; George Blanco (STL PAL) eighth in 800; Jordan Lumpkins (Ultimate Speed) fourth in long jump; Myles Norwood (STL Storm) seventh in high jump, eighth in long jump; Girls (11-12): Shauniece Pierce (Ultimate Speed Academy), fifth in 1,500-meter race walk; Scout Regular (STL Lightning), fifth in outdoor pentathlon; Michelle Owens (Ultimate Speed), sixth in outdoor pentathlon; Armira Mitchell (STL PAL), fifth in shot put; Chloe May (Ultimate Speed), second in 1,500; Nia Lyles (Ultimate Speed) third in discus; Andrianna Miner (unattached) fourth in discus, sixth in shot put; McKinlee Morris (Blues) fifth in discus, fifth in shot put; Ultimate Speed, second in 4x800; Blues, third in 4x800; Alona Williams (Herbert Hoover) sixth in 100; Teriona Gurlly (Blues), eighth in 200; Herbert Hoover, seventh in 4x100; Blues, seventh in 4x400; Boys (11-12): Aaron Holmes (Blues), third in outdoor pentathlon; Isaiah Williams (STL Storm), fourth in outdoor pentathlon; Larry Williams (Herbert Hoover), sixth in 80-meter hurdles; seventh in high jump; Jalen Head (U City Xplosion) second in shot put; Hasani Barr (Herbert Hoover) second in 400, third in 800; Jamerson Williams (Herbert Hoover) third in 400; Jaylen Burdine (Herbert Hoover) seventh in 1500, seventh in 800; Keshon Campbell (Ultimate Speed) second in 80-meter hurdles; Girls (13-14): Elaina Verges (Ultimate Speed), third in 3000-meter race walk; Royce Yates (STL Express), eighth in 3000-meter race walk; Rokelle Stanley (East St. Louis), fifth in 200-meter hurdles; Jamie Tabron (STL PAL) fourth in discus, second in shot put; Samantha Cary (St. Charles)

Brandon Miller, who runs for the Ultimate Speed Academy, dominated the distance events in the 11-year old division as he won the 800, 1,500 and 3,000-meter runs at the AAU Junior Olympics.

fourth in 1,500; Alexcia Ayers (East St. Louis) seventh in 100-meter hurdles; Kameron Barnes (Webster Groves) sixth in javelin; Boys (13-14): Dyllan Conway (Blues), fifth in 100meter hurdles, third in outdoor pentathlon; Johnathan Campbell, fifth in 3000-meter race walk; Darius Morrison (Missouri Elite), eighth in 200-meter hurdles; Daniel Still (Webster Groves), eighth in javelin, seventh in discus; Eathan Cadenhead (Webster Groves) seventh in triple jump, fifth in high jump; Girls (15-16): Ja’Nia McNeil (U City Xplosion) third in javelin; Jasmine Barge (Blues) seventh in 400-meter hurdles; Hannah Pierson (Missouri Elite) fourth in 1,500, second in 3000; East St. Louis Community, sixth in 4x800; Blues, eighth in 4x100; Blues, eighth in 4x400; Boys (15-16): Jaryn

Blackshear (U City Xplosion), eight in decathlon; James Smith (Cahokia), fourth in triple jump; Jerrick Powell (STL Storm) eighth in long jump, fifth in high jump; Girls (17-18): Aiesha IrvinMuhammad (Blues), eighth in 100, third in 200; Janelle Johnson, seventh in 800-meter run; Kijuana Brimer, sixth in 800; Blues, fourth in 4x100; Blues, second in 4x400; Blues “B”, eighth in 4x400. Boys (17-18): Marcus Davis (STL Express) sixth in 800; Nicholas Stewart (STL Express), third in 1500, second in 3000; John Esswein, seventh in 1500; Blues, third in 4x800; STL Express “B,” third in 4x800; East St. Louis Greyhounds, fifth in 4x800; Michael Wells (STL PAL), third in 100, third in 200; St. Louis PAL, seventh in 4x100; STL Express, second in 4x400; Samantha Cary (St. Charles), third in 3000.

SW Ill Jets finish 11th at AAU Nationals

(back row, left to right) Koby Klaus, Michael Sanders, Jr., Brenden Gilmore, Karrington Davis, Brett Williams, Kaleb Adams. (front row, left to right) Preston Buchanan, Dominic Mitchell, Carteare

Hunter

The

are coached by Troy Griffin.

Justin

Prostate cancer walk August 10

Men partners with Missouri Black Expo

The 100 Black Men of Metropolitan St. Louis in partnership with the Missouri Black Expo is gearing up to host its 11th annual Prostate Cancer Survivors & Awareness Run/Walk on Saturday, August 10 at the Chaifetz Arena in an effort to build awareness of prostate cancer and raise funds for

This film

educational research and services.

Thousands of runners and walkers, survivors and supporters will gather before the Chaifetz Arena for a twomile walk/run ending at the Missouri Black Expo.

After the walk, participants will rally to gain information on the potentially fatal disease in an open forum as subject experts dispel myths and educate the community on the facts about prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is the number two leading cause of male cancer deaths and

affects African-American men at a higher rate than any other ethnic group in the United States. The American Cancer Society estimates in 2013, over 200,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed and over 10 percent will not survive. Potential race participants and sponsors are encouraged to register online at www.100blackmenstl.com

For more information, contact the 100 Black Men of St. Louis at (314) 367-7778.

The Southwest Illinois Jets 13U boys team finished in 11th place at the recent Amateur Athletic Union National Tournament in Memphis, TN. The Jets won several tournaments during the season, including some in the 14U division. The team members are:

Gordon,

Mathews-Williams,

Johnson.

Jets

McNEESE

Continued from B1

members are employed at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine or 3 percent of total faculty.We have made good progress toward a diversified student body, and we are continuing our efforts for a diversified faculty and staff.

St. Louis American: In brief, what did you learn from this certificate program that you will be able to implement as an administrator?

Dr. Robinson-McNeese: I learned to be proactive with diversity initiatives and insights, and not just react to diversity issues at the school but to set the agenda.

St. Louis American: What new cultural questions did you decide need to be added to the patient medical history portion of the physical exam. Why?

Dr. Robinson-McNeese: There were so many possibilities, but I settled on: 1. What is your ethnic identity?; 2. What religious, sexual or other beliefs impact your medical care?; and, 3. Are there language, reading, hearing or other communication difficulties that effect your treatment? I chose these three because they set the tone for getting a good conversation started about the patient’s culture.

St. Louis American: Quite a move for you from ER doc to diversity dean. Why the switch?

Dr. Robinson-McNeese: You have to remember that I started medicine as a second career and already was the oldest student in my class. With the passage of time I noticed my reflexes were not as robust; plus, I was destined to be an administrator – that’s my gift. For me, this was the right move at the right time.

St. Louis American: What dynamism do you feel between your work at the university and your pastoral work?

Dr. Robinson-McNeese: There’s very little tension at all. The two are actually synergistic to one another. Pastoral work calls for you to love and care for the people. Diversity work is no different.

St. Louis American: Do you see your folks in ESLmuch? How did growing up there start you on your path?

Akande hosts leadership retreat

Dr. Robinson-McNeese: No, most of my folks have moved out of ESL, except for a few cousins here and there, and I don’t see them much. Anyone who can fight through and survive East St. Louis can fight through and survive most anything. ESLgave me drive and perseverance to see my way through. On Saturday July 20,Benjamin Ola.Akande,dean of the George Herbert Walker School of Business at Webster University,hosted and facilitated a day-long professional leadership retreat for the first cohort of Consortium for Leadership Development, which is made possible by the African American Black Leadership Council in cooperation with Harris Stowe State University. The retreat followed 10 consecutive months of focused training workshops conducted by corporate leadership experts David Price (CEO of Birdet Price) and Sharilyn Franklin (executive director of CLD).For more information about the program,visit www.consortiumforleadershipdevelopment.com

POTPOURRI WITH DANA G. RANDOLPH

Baby love for mom-to-be

Elaine Dubose Paula Bush

Desiree Speed and Tiffany Hayes hosted a grand baby shower for daughter, sister, sister-in-law and BFF, respectively, Diana Dubose Redden, on Saturday July 20. The joyous affair was held at C.J.Muggs eatery in Clayton. The mom-to-be was showered with many useful gifts, everything that a baby could want including many adorable outfits that will make him the best-dressed baby of 2013. Among the gifts that were received were two beautifully designed quilts, one of which was created by Joann McElroy. Her

Dana G. Randolph

multi-colored quilt followed a toy theme and was personalized with the baby’s name, Daniel Joseph Redden Charles Wilson designed the second blue and white sailboat quilt. Hostesses and guests enjoyed a few of the baby games we all look forward to at showers. Lunch was scrumptious, and a luscious baby animal-themed cake was provided by McArthur’s Bakery. Guests received designer cookies in a variety of animal shapes baked by Colleen’s Cookies as party favors. Guests also received adorable thankyou scrolls from baby Daniel Baby lovers at the shower included

STL designer invited to NY Fashion Week

Joni Marie Ross is adding sexy to her signature classy, tasteful style

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

“Building my brand outside of St. Louis has been one of my biggest obstacles, and that’s why I’m superduper excited about New York Fashion Week,” Joni Marie Ross said.

Next month, when the world’s style icons converge on New York to display the hot looks for the fall season, the designs of a resident St. Louis fashionista will be ripping the runway on September 7.

Ross was randomly checking her e-mail when she saw an invitation to showcase as a part of the Putz show at New York Fashion Week.

“I was at a loss for words,” Ross said. “It’s still kind of dreamy. I guess it will truly hit me when I get there.”

Ross said her design aesthetic and the fact that she is self-taught played a role in her being selected. Her mother taught her the basics of sewing in high school, then Ross introduced herself to the world as a fashion designer with her one-of-a-kind gown for junior prom.

“That’s pretty much where it all began,” Ross said. “It’s been a lot of trial and error – and a lot of prayer and belief that God is not going to put me in a place that I’m not supposed to be.”

Black filmmakers win awards

Kamau Bilal and Denise WardBrown both ‘Best’ in local showcase

Tough truth for single ladies trying to

By Minister Joyce A. Nash

For The St. Louis American

Why is it so mind-boggling, surprising and shocking when those women in the church want to have sex?

n Being in ministry doesn’t eliminate you from being a woman!

The reason some skip around corners after service, eyeing the Deacon, dress provocativly while they are shouting to “Give Myself Away” (even though their version maybe different) is because we need to be real with ourselves. It is my purpose to help someone be real –instead of masquerading and hiding behind pulpits, seminars and flying across the country to conferences, only to leave sexually on fire and come back the same. Why the struggle? Because we have this hypocrisy that we have learned in church called “pretend,” but if we tell God the truth, He can calm us down.

Being a woman minister, there are standards and requirements that come with the package. You are always being judged for something you do. If you preached right, judged. Preached wrong, judged. If you wear your dress ankle-length, judged. To your knee, judged. And

Proud mom-to-be Diana Dubose Redden

Photo by Beverly Moore

A scene from Denise WardBrown’s new documentary film Jim Crow to Barack Obama

St. Louis designer Joni Marie Ross will show her hot looks for the fall season at New York Fashion Week on September 7.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant See FASHION, C4

How to place a calendar listing

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

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

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

concerts

Sun., Aug. 11, 7 p.m., Super Jam 2013 Starring Lil Wayne with special guests T.I. and Two Chainz, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. For more information, visit www.ticketmaster.com

Fri., Aug. 16, 7 p.m., My Testimony Tourstarring Marvin Sapp & James Fortune with FIYAand guests Daughters of Zion and 1 Praise Community Choir, Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church, 5515 Dr. Martin Luther King Dr. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com or call (314) 534-1111.

Tues., Aug. 20, 7 p.m. Bone Thugs & Harmony, The Mad Magician,5625 Manchester Ave. St. Louis MO, 63110

Fri., Sep. 13, 8 p.m. Fox Concerts presents Fantasia with special guest Musiq Soulchild, Fox Theatre. For more information, call (314) 534-1111 or visit www.MetroTix.com, by calling 314-534-1111.

Sept. 19, Fox Concerts presents What Dreams May Come Tourstarring J. Cole and featuring Wale, The Fox Theatre. For more information, call (314) 534-1111 or visit www.metrotix.com.

Sept. 25 – Sept. 28, Jazz St. Louis presents The Yellowjackets, Jazz at the Bistro, 3536 Washington. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com or call (314) 534-1111.

local gigs

Sat., Aug. 10, 8 p.m. (7 p.m. doors) Le Syndicate presents InVigorate, an elegant soiree featuring a performance by KC “The 4th Son,” Mac’s Banquet Room, 315 Belle, Alton IL 62002. For Tickets Call: Corey

at 618.381.2829; Erica at 314.669.1702; Miguel at 314.732.9955.

Sundays, 6:30 p.m. (6 p.m. doors) Jazz @ Eventide, featuring Black and White Trio Sip N Savor, 286 DeBaliviere, 1/2 block north of the Forest park Metro link. For more information, call (314)3612116.

special events

Fri., Aug 9 & Fri., Aug 23, 8pm. Meeting In The Ladies Room Presents...Candid Conversations. Open, honest and no holds barred dialogue amongst women pertaining to men and relationships. St. Louis Room inside the Blueberry Hill, 6504 Delmar Blvd, 63130. Only 13 seats per session and tickets will not be sold at the door. For $10 ticket purchase visit www.mitlr.net or (618) 670-9648.

Fri., Aug. 9, 8:30 p.m., The 3KNGZ presents theirofficial meet and greet and video release party fortheirnew single FIRE, The Halo Bar, 6161 Delmar. For more information, call (314) 348-8363 or e-mail 3kngzbooking@gmail.com.

Through Sat., Aug. 10, Kohl’s Safety Street, St. Clair county Fair, 200 S. Belt East, Belleville, IL.

Sat., Aug. 10, 10 a.m., State Representative Rochelle Walton, Lay Organization and Young People’s Children Department of Christ Our RedeemerChurch presents A Community Jobs and Back to School Fair, Christ Our Redeemer AME Church, 13820 Old Jamestown Rd. For more information, call (314) 741-4222.

Sat., Aug. 10 – Sun., Aug. 11, Missouri Black Expo presents The 22nd Annual

CALENDAR

Missouri Black Expo featuring Joe and Kelly Price, Chaifetz Arena. For more information, visit www.missouriblackexpo.com

Sat., Aug. 10 and Sun., Aug. 11, The Craig Shields Foundation presents Craig Blac’s 12th Annual Community Cuts forKids Saturday, August 10th at the Lessie Bates Family Development Center in East St. Louis,Il from 10a-2p and Sunday August 11th at the O’Fallon Park Recreation Complex (YMCA) in St Louis from 2-6 p.m. For more information, visit www.thecraigshieldsfoundation.org

Sun., Aug. 11, 2 p.m. – 6 p.m., Haven House City of Refuge Celebrates Back to School Community Outreach Event, school supplies, hair cuts/styles (hair must be washed), food and drinks. Donations of school uniforms, school supplies, hotdogs, buns, drinks are welcomed. Tanglewood Park. 1180 Chambers Road, 1 block East of Coburg Lands Dr., Bellefountaine, MO 63137. Please contact the church’s business office for further details 314-299-1641 or www.havenhousecor@prodigy.net

Thurs., Aug. 15, 4 p.m., 23RD Annual Celebrity

www.moonlightramble.com or call 314-613-7966.

The 22nd Annual Missouri Black Expo featuring Joe and Kelly Price. See SPECIAL EVENTS for details.

Waitresses & Waiters’Night, Plaza Frontenac, 1701 South Lindbergh Blvd., 63131, Brio’s Tuscan Grille (314) 432-4410, Canyon Café (314) 872-3443, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse (314) 567-7610. Proceeds benefit Saint Louis Crisis Nursery.

Sat., Aug. 17, 2 p.m., St. Louis Symphony InUnison Chorus Auditions, For more information, call (314) 2864108 or visit www.stlsymphony.org/inunisonchorus/auditions

Sat., Aug. 17, 7a.m.-7 p.m., St. Louis ConnectCare Auxiliary will conduct its 4th Neighborhood Flea Market fundraiser at Belt & Delmar. Proceeds are donated to ConnectCare’s patient equipment fund. Call (314) 8796494 for more information.

Sat., Aug. 17, 11:45 p.m., The 50th Annual UMSLJubilee Moonlight Ramble, the world’s original nighttime bike ride, the Moonlight Ramble includes a leisurely bike ride under the light of the moon through the streets of St. Louis, a vendor area, entertainment, a glow-in-the-dark commemorative event t-shirt, and a family-friendly after-ride party with snacks and drinks.The starting point this year is located just south of Busch Stadium at the corner of 8th & Cerre Street.To register, log onto

Sat., Aug. 17, 2 p.m., African Pride HairCare in conjunction with Sunshine’s Natural & Loving It! Present Ultimate Beauty Social National Tourin St. Louis, Nico Restaurant, 6525 Delmar Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63130.

Sun. Aug. 18, 5 p.m., St Louis Got Talent Show, Hosted By Louis Conphliction, Legacy Books& Café 5249, Delmar Blvd. For more information, call (314) 537-0785.

Aug. 18 – Aug. 19, The Jack Buck Golf Classic, benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the exclusive Country Club of St. Albans. The Golf Classic is the longest-running charity golf tournament west of the Mississippi. More information and tickets to both events are available online at http://gateway.cff.org/jackbuck or by calling the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at 314.733.1241.

Sat., Aug. 24, 10 a.m., The 26th Annual Equality Day Brunch, which celebrates the 93rd anniversary of women getting the vote, Crowne Plaza Hotel, 7750 Carondelet, Clayton, MO. For more information, contact Diane Ludwig, at 573.642.464 or DBLudwig22@aol.com , for details.

Sat., Aug. 24 – Sun. Aug. 25, 10 a.m., Festival of Nations, Amultiethnic celebration featuring dance, music, food, cultural and educational exhibits, folk art demonstrations, and craft market. Presented by the International Institute and 125 community organizations, Tower Grove Park on the City’s South Side. The event will take place nearest S. Grand and Arsenal. A free shuttle service will be available throughout the Park.

Sun., Aug. 25, 4 p.m.(show begins at 7 p.m.), Maatology Productions presents the 5th Annual Mista Couture Charity Style Contest, LaPerla Dining Hall, 312 N 8th Street St Louis, Mo 63106. For more information, call 314.243.9728 or e-mail snaphoney2011@gmail.com

Through Sept. 3, Missouri History Museum presents Gridiron Glory; The Best of the Pro Football of Fame Exhibit. The exhibit will also include spectacular footage from NFLFilms’unparalleled

archives. 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, call (314) 746-4599 or visit www.mohistory.org

Sat., Sept. 7, 6:30 p.m., Chocolate, Wine and All That Jazz, Tri County Division of United Way campaign kickoff featuring the Bosman Twins, Yacht Club of St. Louis, 105 Lake Village Drive, St. Charles, MO 63301. Purchase tickets online or call 636-939-3300.

Fri., Sept. 13, 6 p.m., The St. Louis American Foundation 26th Annual Salute to Excellence in Education, America’s Center Ballroom. For more information, call (314) 533-8000 or visit www.stlamerican.com

Sept. 21, 12 noon, Old Neighborhood Reunion, 2700 Block of Howard. For more information call (314) 382-2038, (314) 534-2282 or (314) 727-5328.

Sept. 25, 6 p.m., The 2013 Signature Chefs Auction, Sample unique and delicious culinary creations by dozens of our town’s top chefs and enjoy the live auction with fabulous items up for bid! More than 600 guests are expected to attend the annual event that raises more than $250,000 for the Missouri Chapter of March of Dimes. Contact Missy Tillman, 314-513-995, to make your reservation or visit: www.marchofdimes.com/missouri

Thursdays, 7 p.m. (6 p.m. practice), The Cultural Bop Society Of St. Louis Continuing the Bop with Style (CBS) (BOPthe official Dance of St. Louis, Free Bop Lessons and Bop Set Every Thursday Night, 7555 Olive Blvd. in UCity, St. Louis, MO 63130.

literary

Thurs., Sept. 19,7 p.m., As part of Alzheimer’s Awareness month, authorDr. Roberts will be reading from his new book, “Mama Is Still Here!” Dr. Roberts will be discussing the book and signing copies. University City Library, 6701 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO 63130. The New African Paradigm Study Group will meet every 3rd Sunday forbook study. Sabayet, 4000 Maffitt. They are starting a new book, “The first Americans Were Africans: Documented Evidence,” by

David Imhotep, Ph.D.

comedy

Sat., Aug. 10, 7 p.m. (6 p.m. doors) HumorforHire presents The Clean Comedy Series: Family Funny, hosted by DeAndre Whitner, A clean comedy show for all ages. Featuring national and local comedians sure to keep you laughing! Plush. For more information please visit www.deandrewhitner.com.

Aug. 20, 8 p.m. Comedy at Cuetopia II hosted by Frank L, 11824 W. Florissant Ave Florissant, MO 63033(314)482-7564

Sun., Sept. 1, 7 p.m. & 10 p.m., Jokes and Jazz presents Earthquake and Friends, Ameristar Casino’s Discovery Ballroom. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com or call (314) 534-1111.

theatre

Sat., Aug. 10 and Sun., Aug. 11, 2 p.m., The Black Rep SummerPerforming Arts Program presents ALeague of Our Own: Monologues and Scenes, Lee Auditorium, Missouri History Museum. 5700 Lindell. For information call: 314-534-3810

Aug. 11, 8 p.m., Gregory Carr’s AColored Funeral, Southhampton Presbyterian Church Theatre, 4716 Macklind Ave. St. Louis, MO 63109. For more information, call 314) 968-8070 or email: gcarr26@earthlink.net

Aug. 31, 7 p.m. (6 p.m. doors), Kingdom Vision Ministries presents The gospel stage play How Did I Get Here? Written/Directed By Kanoi Clark AStory about a church girl was always a good girl until she gets distracted by men and success! Ivory Theater, 7620 Michigan Ave. Tickets available at Transformation Christian Book Store, 4071 Page. For more

information, call 314-535-0555

Sep. 19-Sep. 21, 8 p.m.

Shakespeare in the Streets, Shopkeepers and artists are just a few of the Grove and Forest Park Southeast residents who will appear alongside professional actors in a play artfully adapted from William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, as part of the second annual, wildly popular event.

arts

The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (CAM) and Gateway Foundation are pleased to announce a call to artists for the sixth edition of Great Rivers Biennial. To be eligible for participation, artists must reside in the metro area, including St. Louis City and the counties of St. Louis, Jefferson, and St. Charles in Missouri or St. Clair, Madison, and Monroe counties in Illinois, for at least one year prior to the application deadline of August 26, 2013.

Artists meeting the eligibility requirements are invited to apply. For more information, visit camstl.org/grb

Through Sept. 30, The Griot Museum of Black History presents, Crowning Glory, This exhibitexplores four main themes with more than 50 hats and head-coverings and other artifacts from The Griot’s collections and private citizens. The exhibit is curated by Lois D. Conley, Founding Executive Director and James A.Vincent, historian.The Griot Museum of Black History, 2505 St. Louis Ave., St. Louis, MO 63106. For more information, call (314) 241-7057 or visit http://www.thegriotmuseum.co m

lectures

Sat., Aug. 10, 12 noon, The New African Paradigm Study Group Presents Anthony Browder, author of “Nile Valley Contributions to the

entitled ANGER: THE FIRE WITHIN. This uplifting and empowering workshop addresses the heated energy of anger, exploring the potential to transform this ‘fire within’into a source for creative solutions. Open to all women. Pre-registration is required, space is limited. Call by August 14. 314-6454848.

health

Fri. Aug 9, Sat. Aug 10, 7:30 p.m., The Bright Side of Life, annual student musical revue forJDRF, Pillsbury Chapel and Dale Williams Fine Arts Center, Missouri Baptist University, One College Park Drive, St. Louis,63141. For more information on this free event, visit www.archcitytheatertroupe.org.

World” for a Meet and Greet and book signing (at Afro World). Lecture will follow at Better Family Life, 5415 Page Blvd at 4 p.m. Tickets are available at Afro World, Sabayet, Inc., and Napps. Contact James Steward at (618) 977-8191 or Greg Harris at (314) 877-9252 for more information.

Tues., Aug. 13, 6 p.m., Creating Allies Safety Training will be offered for free, The workshop is for the community to learn how to best support victims, encourage safe choices and identify ‘red flags’of potential lethal escalation. All who seek effective tools to help victims will find new ways to respond and understand the experience of domestic violence are encouraged to attend. Woman’s Place, 8300 Morganford Rd. Pre-registration is required. Please call 314-645-4848.

Sat., Aug. 17, 9:30 a.m., Woman’s Place will offer a free workshop for all women

Sat. Aug. 10, 8 a.m., 11th Annual Prostate Cancer Survivors Awareness Run/Walk, Chaifetz Arena, 1 S. Compton Ave., St. Louis (63103). $20 registration fee. For more information, call 314-367-7778 or visit www.100blackmenstl.com.

Aug. 17, 9 a.m., The Just Lose It Weight Loss Challenge, A12-week weight loss challenge where participants take charge of their health and make those lifestyle changes. The challenge is limited to the first 450 people, so make sure to call early. No walk-ins will be accepted. CH Atrium. Bring $10 for your registration fee in cash or a check made out to Christian Hospital. Call 314-747WELL(9355) or 1-877-747WELLto get registered for the kick off on Aug. 17.

Sat., Aug. 24, 10 a.m., Operation Food Search and Faith Communities Joined forHealth present a Free Culinary Workshop, Calvary MB Church, 2822 Dr. Martin Luther King Dr. For more information or to RSVP, all (314) 286-0095 or

e-mail fcjh2013@gmail.com

Sat., Aug. 31, The Alzheimer’s Association’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s, Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Start or join a team today, at alz.org/stl or by calling 800.272.3900.

Sep. 7, 9 a.m., Cancer Treatment Centers of America Free CancerLay Ministry Training “Our Journey of Hope” outreach ministry, Emmanuel Temple Church of God Health Ministry, 4935 N. Union Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63115. For registration, contact, 314606-4131.

Through Sun., Aug. 25,(Sundays, 8:30 a.m.) Washington Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church presents Dillie Slaughter& FosterTripp Lecture Series: The 50th Anniversary Of The March On Washington featuring Dr. Gwendolyn Packnett (Aug. 11), Mr. Evan Krause (Aug. 18) and Rev. Dr. Lerone Martin (Aug. 25), Washington Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, 3200 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63103. For more information, call (314) 5338763 or e-mail washtabernacle@att.net

Sat., Aug. 10, 9 a.m., Community Women Against Hardship (CWAH) PrayerBreakfast with guest speakerDr. Rosalynn Nichols, St. Alphonsus “The Rock” Church, 1118 N. Grand. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.cwah.org or call (314) 289-7523.

Sun., Aug. 18, 10:30 am., True Light Missionary Baptist Church will celebrate Its Please join TLMBC at 2838 James “Cool Papa” Bell Ave., St. Louis, MO63106. For more info, please call the church at 314.531.1801

Bone Thugs & Harmony at The Mad Magician.See CONCERTS for information.

The history lessons it offers on the legacy of segregation and the long struggle for civil rights are important, but the subjects that the film tackles remain regrettably timely, as the verdict in the Trayvon Martin case forcefully demonstrates.”

Andrew Wyatt, a film critic and blogger who chaired the jury that picked the winners, said it was “challenging” to choose the best film longer than 20 minutes (an unusual award category, necessitated by the fact that few local filmmakers submit fulllength features and have them accepted).

“One of the aspects of Jim Crow to Barack Obama that ultimately impressed the jury most was the ambition of its documentary objectives, and the serious and uncluttered manner with which it tackled those aims,” Wyatt said.

“The film put us in mind of folk history projects such as StoryCorps and cinematic landmarks such as Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah. Director Denise Ward-Brown and the other filmmakers behind Jim Crow have tackled a formidable task: shining sunlight on facets of the American experience that are very much alive but all too frequently forgotten, sidelined or glibly glossed over.”

Froehlich said Cinema St. Louis plans to offer Jim Crow to Barack Obama as part of its annual Cinema for Students program during the St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF) in November.

“We hope that schools across the metro area – whatever their racial composition – will embrace it,” Froehlich said.

In an interview on St. Louis Public Radio, WardBrown (who is an associate professor of art at Washington University) said she is writing a curriculum to help facilitate her film being taught in a

classroom setting. What Kind of Man and Jim Crow to Barack Obama were among the films in the local showcase invited by Cinema St. Louis to screen at SLIFF in November, where they will appear alongside major national and international films. Froehlich said Cinema St. Louis also invited several other showcase films that touch on the black experience to screen at the more prestigious SLIFF. “We’ve invited the short documentary The Come

n “We’d like to see more films made by local African Americans, featuring them and addressing subjects that engage with the black experience.”

– Cliff Froehlich Cinema St. Louis

Up, about hip-hop artist Tef Poe, and Go South for Animal Index, with features a story thread that strongly references African culture, to screen during the St. Louis International Film Festival in November,” Froehlich said. “We’ve also invited the impressive narrative short Good Night Trina to play at SLIFF; although its story doesn’t deal with black issues,

writer-director Lynelle White is African-American.”

In addition, several narrative shorts in the showcase co-starred AfricanAmerican actors. For example, the Black Rep’s Ron Himes appeared in The Painter, a film that obliquely but thoughtfully addresses racial prejudice. Finally, the showcase’s opening show, Pentimento: The St. Louis Storymapping Project, which screened for free, featured short documentaries on local subjects made primarily by African-American high-school students.

Though Cinema St. Louis screens – and awards – a diverse range of local filmmakers, Froehlich encourages even more participation by black filmmakers, actors and audience members.

“As filmmaking becomes increasingly less expensive and access to video equipment and editing software expands, we hope that the diversity of the films submitted to the showcase will grow,” Froehlich said, “but there’s no doubt that we’d like to see more films made by local African Americans, featuring them and addressing subjects that engage with the black experience.”

SLIFF screens November 14-24 at various venues. For more information, visit http:// www.cinemastlouis.org/sliff2013 or email Froehlich at cliff@cinemastlouis.org.

POTPOURRI

Continued from C1

America’s Center Ballroom. The 2013 Lifetime Achiever in Education is Lynn Beckwith Jr., Ed.D, E. Desmond Lee Endowed Professor of Urban Education, UMSL. Two of the Excellence in Education Awardees will be Clara Collins Coleman, Curator of Interpretation, Laumeier Sculpture Park, and Nathalie D. Means, Ed.S., Principal, SLPS Jefferson Elementary School.

Events begin with a reception at 6 p.m. The Gala and Awards Program follows from 7-10 p.m. The evening ends with live entertainment at the after parties beginning at 10 p.m. As always, this promises to be a memorable affair. Call Robin Britt or Kate Daniel to reserve your table now: 314533-8000.

St. Louis fashion aficionados had a grand time Sunday July 28 at Michael Jones’ Rip the Runway Fashion Show held at the City Museum. The celebrated fashion choreographer of Stella Loisir Productions hosted a stylish, well-attended event. A portion of the proceeds benefited the American Cancer Society Maxine Harris was the MC for this exciting event. Designers offering the

FASHION

Continued from C1

The Chicago native came to the area to attend Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and never left.

“I actually have my degree in business management but my passion for fashion design is something that has taken over,” Ross said. “Doing office work was not something that made me happy every day. I feel fulfilled now.”

With the constant stream of support from her husband she was able to leave her 9 to 5 in July of 2011. She’s done several shows in the St. Louis area and was planning for another when she got the invitation from New York.

Ross is preparing to display 20-25 looks as a part of her Fashion Week presentation.

“I will be showing fall pieces that can be layered, and

SINGLE

Continued from C1

God forbid if you wear it just right: scandalous.

But with all that God has called us to be, we are women who have affections, desires and needs.

The greatest liberation we can receive in our walk with Christ is to be real with ourselves and drop the entire pretense as if we are on this spiritual voyage that nothing moves us, turns us on or we don’t want a man.

With all of our spirituality, you can’t go into denial of your passions and desires (and some are intense moments).

God Almighty has to intervene – because some of us are contemplating things in our mind and how we can be out there without losing our roles. Did I tell you this was for women who can only be real?

Citizens for the Honorable Tishaura O. Jones, our St. Louis City Treasurer, will host her inaugural Golf Tournament on September 4 at Forest Park.

latest in fashions included Jon Enrickque of A and M Clothing, Adagio Catland Freeze Gary Destin, G Destin Collection, VaujeJewels. In addition to the fabulous designers clothing was provided by Daddy’s Girl Boutique Jos A. Banks and King David Fashions A few of the models ripping the runway included The Healthcare Professionals

separates that people can work into their everyday,” Ross said.

“It will also be staying true to what I love to do – making dresses and extravagant, girly frilly pieces.”

She describes her signature style as classy with a sexy spin.

“I wouldn’t say I’m demure because I like things formfitting. But I also like to leave something to the imagination,” Ross said. “Now that I’m 29

I’m kind of finding my sexy side, so I’m putting a little bit more of that into my clothes –but still keeping it my signature classy, tasteful style.”

Perhaps it’s her roots in prom dress designs, but she has a penchant for formal wear.

“I love feeling special when I have on clothes,” Ross said.

“If I don’t, what’s the point?

And what’s the point of making something that they can go buy at Neiman or Forever 21?”

The biggest reward won’t come as nods from the New York fashionistas, but from the women who wear her designs.

To my sistahs, being in ministry doesn’t eliminate you from being a woman!

What happened? Now that you are the “called,” you took that scripture that says “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” out of context. We are still women, and God did not deaden your sexuality when you said “yes” to Him!

Saved, sanctified, filled with the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues, running around the church, falling out with cloths hanging all over you, you are still a woman!

No matter how anointed we are and the great title we may carry, you are still a woman! We need help to be contained before, during and after services (it has gotten that bad), and the truth of our sexuality needs to be addressed and some of our sexuality need to be arrested.

How can we be reached on

(Monica Cross Nicki Cliff Jayne

, Dorothy Vrame and Amy Flakes) and Cambria Adams Jeremi Farrar, Paige Moultrie, Sheena Mohammed, Kennedy Profaizer Henry Evans, Angel Brown, Adie Love, Chanel Coleman and Raven Luckett Creations in Styles Hair Salon’s Sabastian and Chantel coordinated the latest hair styles with fashions. Nicole Powell provided the icing: make-up. The evening began with a VIP reception and performance by Jordan Jones. Music for the evening was provided by Matt Pogue. Several fashionistas in the house included; Annette Glover Penelope Jones Kiria Verchele, David Christopher and Greg Williams Citizens for the Honorable Tishaura O. Jones, our St. Louis City Treasurer, will host her inaugural Golf Tournament on September 4 at the Courses at Forest Park. The FourPerson Scramble is being co-chaired by Virvus Jones and Tony Thompson. This promises to be a chic afternoon on the links. A donation of $250 includes golf, lunch and dinner. Please call 314-3574033 for additional information or register online www. tishaura4treasurer.com/golf Blessings! Dana Grace: dgrandolph@live.com.

“Making dresses that make people feel beautiful feels so good, especially when you have someone like myself – who is plus-sized and might not be able to fit into certain things in the store,” Ross said.

“It’s wonderful to make someone look amazing in something that fits perfectly because it was made just for them.”

In the meantime she has kept her nose to the sewing machine, putting the finishing touches on her fall/winter collection for New York.

“The grandeur hasn’t sunken in, but the work has,” Ross said. “It’s been a process – but it’s been a loving process. Right now it’s just work, work, work and just pacing myself, so I don’t get overwhelmed and burned out. I will enjoy it after my last my model leaves the runway.”

Visit http://www. jonimarieross.com to see more of her signature designs.

the inside, especially the ones that are half-way losing their minds wearing a clergy collar?

We carry such a façade about ourselves that we can barely reach the women in the church, let alone the ones in the streets.

We have women who don’t want to keep falling down and can’t get up, but who is going to reach them when some of us are falling down and won’t get up? We have learned how to be churchy so tough, that we appear to be holy when we are not. The truth starts with us, when we are real with ourselves and say, “I am a woman and I have needs!” We have to stop the pretense and teach sex right. Let the sisters know that sex was created by God, but for marriage. Let them know that it is “normal” to have sexual urges and tendencies, but it is God’s will for them to be shared with someone who loves with an “I do.”

Denise Ward-Brown Kamau Bilal

Miller

NSBE awards academic excellence

Kalen Armstead of Hazelwood

East is honored

American staff

The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) recently presented the academic commitment and excellence award to Kalen Armstead, senior at Hazelwood East High School, during its annual scholar awards reception on the campus of Washington University in the school of engineering.

“Hazelwood School

District students have participated in previous NSBE’s pre-college initiative programs and have received college scholarships and other awards,” said Hazelwood School District Superintendent Grayling Tobias. “As a result, several of them are now in college engineering programs.”

NSBE’s reception theme was Honoring Our Past, Driving Our Community Forward. The keynote speaker was Lt. Gen. Darren W. McDew, commander of the 18th Air Force, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.

NSBE is one of the area’s premier organizations that engage young AfricanAmerican students interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in positive and creative outlets.

“This leading organization works with students who are serious about pursuing

a career in STEM,” Sharon Anhalt, Hazelwood School District home school coordinator and NSBE volunteer, said of NSBE.

“There were nearly 250 individuals who attended this year’s scholar’s awards reception. It was outstanding to see the number of STEM professionals, elected officials and community members who donate their knowledge, time and personal resources to students.”

Tobias attended this year’s scholar awards reception, in support of Armstead and for the respected work that NSBE is doing in the community. Among other guests were Ajora Logwood and Edgar Pullen, HEHS seniors. Also in attendance were HEHS alumni and former NSBE scholarship recipients, Nicholas Bolden and Brian Kelly.

St. Louis Desegregation III

St. Louis seems to be going through desegregation time machines.

Jamala Rogers

In a recent New York Times article, the writer picked up on the racial sentiments reminiscent of forced bussing in the Confederate states after the landmark case Brown vs. Board of Education. It felt like an ugly time warp when I heard the views of parents, politicians and school officials from the receiving districts. The issue is one of complexities but not impossible to work through if stakeholders have the political and moral will to do so. I wonder why a couple of generations since the St. Louis desegregation case that officials are still stuck on stupid. Missouri Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro claims that the current situation is “uncharted territory.” No, it’s not. History is repeating itself and it’s going to be another hot mess. There has been no preparation on the home district’s part to let their students understand what awaits them in these mostly hostile districts. Neither have receiving districts to prepared their staff, students and parents on how to create an environment of fairness and inclusion.

In a recent Missouri Supreme Court ruling now allows transfers of students from unaccredited school districts to accredited school districts with home districts footing the bills. Just days before the start of school, parents in Normandy and Riverview Garden School

districts scurried around to find appropriate schools for their children.

Normandy school officials chose Frances Howell District; Riverview selected Mehlville and Kirkwood districts. What this means is that these are the only schools that the home districts will reimburse; if parents chose other districts, they’re on their own. And while no district can refuse transfer students, some are already raising the bar for exclusion. Pattonville says transfer students are quite welcome to come to the district. One small detail: transfer students will have to pay their tuition in advance--$14,400 a year.

There’s been a law on the

n History is repeating itself and it’s going to be another hot mess.

books since 1993 that was supposed to scare failing districts into doing better. Kind of like the law that triggered sequestration when Congress couldn’t agree on spending cuts, it was never supposed to have to be enforced.

Lawmakers, school officials and the justices have been throwing the flaming football to one another at least since 2007 when parents in the then unaccredited St. Louis Public School district filed a law suit to force the first ruling of the State’s High Court. Lawmakers could have been proactive and helped to set some guidelines but instead they held out to see what the courts would say. The Supreme Court punted back to the St. Louis County Circuit Court where the law was struck down only to be upheld by

the Supreme Court again. I felt like black children were literally been kicked about— unwanted.

During the St. Louis deseg program, I was part of a team that had to do damage control in the mainly white school districts--holding sensitivity trainings, setting up student mediation programs, etc. I saw first-hand the lack of foresight by all involved and black kids mainly being the collateral damage.

In the period since deseg, I’ve talked to hundreds of black students who survived but were traumatized by their experience (I’m talking real post traumatic stress syndrome.) No one— not even their parents—could understand what it meant to be bussed into schools were you were unwanted, enduring covert and open acts of racism from teachers and administrators. Many students, now grown, would tell me they had no language to describe to others what was happening to them (of course not, they’re kids!). Others would say they couldn’t tell their parents because it was them who sent them into the lion’s den under the naïve guise of getting a “better” education. A few even expressed bitterness still towards their parents for their negative experiences. There are geographical, racial, cultural and socioeconomic realities that are being ignored once again. What we’ll see when these school cultures collide is more fights, more suspensions/expulsions, more marginalization, more tracking, more of all that’s not good for black, working class students. African American children deserve better. When we will give them a fighting chance at school success?

Prostate cancer walk August 10

100 Black Men partners with Missouri Black Expo

The 100 Black Men of Metropolitan St. Louis in partnership with the Missouri Black Expo is gearing up to host its 11th annual Prostate Cancer Survivors & Awareness Run/Walk on Saturday, August 10 at the Chaifetz Arena in an

effort to build awareness of prostate cancer and raise funds for educational research and services.

Thousands of runners and walkers, survivors and supporters will gather before the Chaifetz Arena for a twomile walk/run ending at the Missouri Black Expo.

After the walk, participants will rally to gain information on the potentially fatal disease in an open forum as subject experts dispel myths and educate the community on the facts about prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the

number two leading cause of male cancer deaths and affects African-American men at a higher rate than any other ethnic group in the United States. The American Cancer Society estimates in 2013, over 200,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed and over 10 percent will not survive.

Potential race participants and sponsors are encouraged to register online at www.100blackmenstl.com. For more information, contact the 100 Black Men of St. Louis at (314) 367-7778.

Lt. Gen. Darren W. McDew, Kalen Armstead, her father John Armstead and Hazelwood Superintendent Grayling Tobias

14 years of marriage

Wendy and Antoine Anderson celebrate 14 years of marriage on August 8. “To my wife, I thank you for all the challenges you have given me as well as all the support. I endure with all strength and I adore you with every step, to any length and with all breath. I love you. Happy 14th Anniversary to us.”

Happy 17th Birthday Andrew C. Davis Jr on August 8! From your proud parents, Andrew Sr. and Yoruba, little sister Laquita and your sweetheart Shameeka. We love ya!

Reunions

reunion announcements can be viewed

Beaumont Classes of 1965, 1966 and 1967 join us for dinner and dancing at the Embassy Suites Hotel (St. Louis Airport) on October 12, 2013 from 7:30pm to 12:30am. Hosted by Beaumont Class of 1966. For further information contact: Jacque’Hughes-Hayes 314-971-7012 orJosh Beeks 314-303-0791.

~ CELEBRATIONS ~

Engaged

RaSheena Dailies, a St. Louis native currently living in Houston, TX, is engaged to Jonathon Miller of Port Arthur, TX. RaSheena is employed at MD Anderson Cancer Center and is a nursing student at Prairie View A&M University. Jonathon is an electrical supervisor at Chevron Phillips with plans to open an electrical consulting company. The couple will wed in late summer on a yacht cruising the Gulf Coast with family and friends.

Beaumont Class of 1979 will be meeting to discuss our 35th reunion plans. Please join us at 1pm on at the St. Louis County Library below level auditorium room, 195 New Florissant Road, 63031: on August 24. For additional information, please contact Scarlett McWell at 314-4587782 or send email to msscarletto@yahoo.com or Sandra Hooker at ayaina612@sbcglobal.net

Beaumont High School Class of 1983, Save the Date! Please prepare for our 30 year Class Reunionon October 4, 5, and 6.Please send emails with home address to bhsco1983@gmail

East St. Louis High School calling all members of the ‘74-

‘85 Eastside High XC teams! AXC Reunion of runners will be held September 6-8, 2013 at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville,IL.Several activities are scheduled. If you have not contacted Coach Wilson please do so ASAP, and spread the word to other runners. The deadline to register and make payment is Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013. For more information or to register call Coach Wilson 618-467-1486 or email: roewilson@charter.net

East St. Louis SeniorHigh Class of 1974:The Steering Committee is diligently planning our special 40-year reunion in June 2014.Contact dyj54@yahoo.com to be added to the class Facebook page to stay informed.For additional

Newly married

Congratulations to Patrice D. Washington of Kansans City, MO and Daniel E. Goines of St. Louis, MO. The couple married on Saturday, June 22, 2013 at Centennial United Methodist Church in Kansas City, MO.

Birthdays

Donovan Howard (9)— August 4

Vicki Shelton Brown— August 6

Paulette McDaniels— August 6

information, contact:314-4065354 or 618-580-2006.

3rd Annual Riddick School and Evans reunion will be held on Saturday, September 7, 9 am-9 pm at the corner of Evans and Whittier. Grab your family, friends, picnic baskets, chairs, water, etc and come on out for a great time. For more info call 314-389-0956.

Soldan High School Class of 1961 will celebrate its 52nd Anniversary High School Class Reunion, September 6-8, 2013. To register or obtain additional information, please contact Ellen Vernor, 314-3611535 or e-mail Lynn Steele, steelelynn@aol.com.

SumnerClass of 1974, planning has started for our 40th

Mekale Sims (7)— August 9

Rhonda L. Butler— August 12

Thomas Butler— August 13

class reunion. We are looking for our classmates. Monthly meetings 3rd Saturday of month at New Beginnings Missionary Baptist Church 4055 Edmundson Rd. St. Louis, MO 63134. Please contact Marsha D. RobertsMoore 314-367-3159, email sumnerclassof1974@outlook.com, or Joyce BushCruesoe 314-484-1552, email cruesoe2195@att.net

SumnerClass of 1978 will host its 35th reunion on October 18-20, 2013 at the Sheraton Clayton Plaza Hotel St. Louis. Please pass the word on to others who are out of town. Contact our Class of ’78 voicemail at 314-7351083 for more information and someone will get back to you.

Do you have a celebration you’re proud of? If so we would like to share your good news with our readers. Whether it’s a birth, graduation, wedding, engagement announcement, anniversary, retirement or birthday, send your photos and a brief announcement (50 words or less) to us and we may include it in our paper and website – AT NO COST – as space is available Photos will not be returned. Send your announcements to: kdaniel@stlamerican. com or mail to: St. Louis American Celebrations c/o Kate Daniel 4242 Lindell Ave St. Louis, MO 63108 FREE OF CHARGE

Reunion notices are free of charge and based on space availability. We prefer that notices be emailed to us! However, notices may also be sent by mail to:

Kate Daniel, 4242 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63108. 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

Hazelwood school leaders meet with clergy

District, preachers agree students need more male presence

American staff

Recently, more than 70 individuals attended the Hazelwood School District (HSD) Clergy Breakfast. The group included Board of Education members, HSD administrators and other staff, local pastors and clergy, who represented more than 40 different churches and other community members.

“We invited clergy leaders from different denominations to come together and explore ways to help our children to succeed, in school and at home. Our goal is to reaffirm and re-establish relationships with our local clergy who have been actively involved in supporting our schools,” said Superintendent Dr. Grayling Tobias.

“HSD’s Clergy Coalition began in 2011, in an effort to form partnerships with our faith-based organizations. Because of pre-existing relationships with students, parents, and educators, the church family can be a natural place for our schools to seek support. In addition, church members can exercise their faith through volunteering or helping our schools. The main goal of the clergy coalition is to share information and resources.”

The district renewed its relationships with several faith-based organizations during its winter session on parent and community involvement. This session was used to update community leaders on HSD’s response to the tornado that struck the Hazelwood community in April. The meeting also served as a working session to brainstorm ideas on how to increase the male presence in schools.

“We realize that many of our students are facing challenges at home and in their communities, which may create barriers to learning. One barrier is the lack of positive male-role models in their lives,” said Kimberly McKenzie, HSD community relations and communications specialist.

“According to a Journal of Crime and Delinquency report, ‘there are over 20

million children in the U.S. being raised in fatherless households. An alarming percentage of these kids have no contact with their father whatsoever.’ Many are raised by mothers who take on the task of raising sons and daughters while working full-time jobs.”

During the meeting, the Rev. Charles Pennington, Bethel-Providence Christian Church pastor, facilitated the brainstorming session. He opened the session by reminding the group of the overall meeting goal to increase the male presence in schools.

“I am not saying that all children who come from fatherless homes are destined to fail. I am asking us all to commit to doing what we can to ensure more, if not all, of our children will have the support of a father-figure in their lives,” he said.

Tobias said he was pleased to hear about new strategies to help children and the district forward.

“As educators, parents, community leaders and taxpayers, we all want to help our students, their families and ultimately our communities to succeed,” Tobias said.

“I firmly believe that by working together to increase the male presence in

our schools, we are headed in the right direction.”

Nuns pray for radioactive cleanup

The Franciscan Sisters of Mary held a prayer vigil for the public on July 31 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the date that the first truckload of radioactive wastes was dumped at the West Lake Landfill, as reported by an Atomic Energy Commission investigation in 1974.

The sisters have joined the local push for a federal cleanup of the radioactive materials at the West Lake Landfill. They are advocating that radioactive waste be removed from St. Louis County through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program while the program is still active.

The congregation of sisters, who founded and sponsor SSM Health Care System, relocated their administrative offices in December 2011 to Bridgeton, near the landfill.

Scripture states that Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, a Pharisee, a leading member of the Sanhedrin Council, as well as a popular, intelligent and wealthy man, came to question Jesus the Christ – under the cover of night – concerning his desire to understand what is required for salvation.

Christ answered this intellectual scholar with these words, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

mercy and forgiveness must come from God. Only the Spirit of God can draw us into obedience to Him. God’s man can put us on a path to salvation but only the Holy Spirit can save.

How ironic it is that today, over 2000 years since God described, plainly, what is necessary to be a partaker of His plan of salvation, that many theological scholars still don’t have a clue as to what is required to be saved.

First, you must repent!

You must become godly sorry for past thoughts, deeds and actions. You must become so humbled and broken up about your rebellion against the living, holy God that you turn to Him in real sorrow and plead” for His mercy and forgiveness. To repent means to “cry out” for His mercy and help, to overcome our evil natures and to develop His righteous character. The desire and the humility required to plead and cry out to God for His

Second, after the new birth, there must be an outward display of what happened inwardly. Baptism is the outward demonstration of the inward rejuvenation of the heart. Complete immersion in water to symbolize the total death and washing away of sin and the resurrection into new life. And last, and not least, born again converters must be taught how to develop the mind of God and to incorporate the principles and practices of righteousness into their daily living.

True repentance is of the heart.

Receiving God’s mercy is the only way to obtain the unearned pardon of sins.

“Verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”

Issac Huddleston

Attendees of the Hazelwood School District Clergy Breakfast gathered in front of the Learning Center following a recent meeting. The group included Board of Education members, HSD administrators and staff, local pastors and clergy, who represented interdenominational churches that reside in the district, along with other community members.

Celebrity Swagger Snap of the Week

St. Louis’ own Cedric The Entertainer made a trip back in the Lou and stopped by 1st Fridays at Soho to unwind for the weekend. He mixed and mingled with guests and was more than happy to pose with fellow Nupe Will Ross.

Nelly’s winning weekend. Nelly has been having the best two weeks ever… well at least in his old stomping grounds of The STL. Last week he had Home on lean. This week he tore the roof off the sucka at the Pageant for a special Vatterott College Benefit Concert and then almost had the fire marshal involved because of the capacity crowd at EXO. And this past Tuesday was Nelly day at Busch Stadium. But first things first – let’s talk about the show. There were yellow signs plastered up and down Delmar that essentially said “Now you know this show is sold out, so don’t bother going to the box office.” And it was wall to wall! Opening act Karmin was giving me a Dollar Tree No Doubt– even though the girl Amy can sing Gwen Stefani under the table. They were cute enough and the folks didn’t seem to mind them much. After MUCH delay, Nelly and the St. Lunatics hit the stage and the crowd went crazy. And between Ali and Trife’s new bodies, and City Spud’s muscle shirt, I had a whole new group of lust options! Anyway, the show reminded everybody why Nelly is a star – and his capacity to reach across genres. And as a dear friend eloquently put it, “and if they didn’t know, he reminded them with his moment of brag.” Yes, he did. “I’m the only artist to play on five formats of radio.” You better toot that horn, boo! But it didn’t make me love the show any less. I especially adore how he gives the ‘Tics shine EVERY TIME. I can’t say that I got life from all the others he gave features to, but it was still a classic Nelly the pop star performance. Nelly and the Lou Flicks. I know this feels like the Nelly edition of Partyline, but he turned STL up, so it’s only right for me to hip y’all to it. After his soldout show at the Pageant, he was hosting the Lou Flicks 3 year anniversary at EXO. And yep, you guessed it…the club was leaning from front to back – and top to bottom. Seeing all of those people pleading their case to get up in the VIP was hee-larious! You should have seen the “Yo, it’s me” and “oh, so now you don’t know me” faces and body language being served at the bottom of the steps. The whole evening gave me life – mostly because of how Charlie Chan Soprano SERVED on the tables – and partly because of all of the power players who showed up and showed out. The lovely Tae Heckard was in the building too. That girl is absolutely flawless. But enough thinly-veiled subliminal tea…I really hope that the same folks that were saying Nelly was their cousin, uncle, business partner etc. trying to get put in VIP helps Nelly put on by purchasing his album when it drops Sept. 30.

Celeb style 1st Fridays. First Fridays has been in full effect the past few months and the August edition was no different as they took over Soho. Pretty people and St. Louis were deep in the building! Cedric The Entertainer even made his way down there to get his mingle on. I must say that last week’s 1st Friday was an incredible look for the team.

What’chu talkin’ bout Webbie? After Soho I headed over to the Loft Friday night to get my sip of Dirty South Trap music by way of Louisiana rapper Lil Webbie. I know you instantly thought to yourself, ‘Oh Lawd, I bet a fight broke out before the show got good and started.” You were right, but in all fairness to the folks throwing ‘bows, if you play Lil Webbie chopped and screwed you can hear the subliminal messages in his music – which direct the trap stars and traptresses to swing on the person standing next to them. Okay, maybe not. I’m sad to say that the scuffle preshow was more entertaining than Webbie’s concert. He was trying to rap over backing vocals, but he couldn’t quite get in sync with the music. So, you know how in Kung Fu movies the sound and the actors don’t quite find a happy medium? That was the story of Webbie’s struggle in the STL –except for it was double the sound and half the pleasure. I couldn’t make out any of it. I still had a good time and realized that I’m quietly obsessed with T. Marley. His little stalling antics gave me more life than Webbie’s main attraction.

A funny Sunday circus. I closed my weekend out by making my way to the Duck Room of Blueberry Hill to show love to Arvin Mitchell’s monthly Funny First Sundays set. I was expecting to chuckle a little bit, recite a few jokes for y’all to cackle at and go on about my business. I.HAD.NO.IDEA. I was forced to bear witness to an elderly lady with salt-and-pepper Soul Glo hair swag snatching her false teeth out of her mouth and waving them at Arvin. She then proceeded to threaten him with sexual advances before Longhorn had to act as security to keep her from rushing the stage to rub up against him in retaliation to who knows what. Help. Please keep your granny in the house if she can’t hold her beverage intake! Though Granny Grand Woman of Gums was a tough act to follow, I think Jovan Bibbs did the stage justice – especially when he broke down how Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” video was the most gangsta video in the history of videos. After hearing his evidence “Smooth Criminal” made “Straight Outta Compton” look like a lighthearted Broadway Musical. But just when I got through the trauma of the seductive Moms Mabley in the audience, here comes comedian Matt Collins serving up a fashion tribute to my Aunt Niecey’s legendary burgundy leather sectional sofa. Yes, he clearly turned my aunt’s leather couch into some pants that he draped his legs with in the dead of summer. I mean, I didn’t even need any more jokes to get my comedy life up in there. But Willie Lynch, Jr. gave me a second helping with his take on the Paula Deen employees. I’m sad that I missed the whole show. Black Expo at Chaifetz. I’ve been anxious all week (in a good way) to see how The Missouri Black Expo experience is going to go down at Chaifetz Arena THIS WEEKEND (August 10-11). But more than anything I’m thrilled that $20 I used to spend on parking can go towards more earrings and body oils. But seriously they have a great lineup for year 22 – including Joe, Kelly Price and Glenn Lewis – and y’all should check it out.

DJ Epic and Dee Flat Major chatted it up Friday night @ Lola

Jovan Bibbs, Tameka, Terrell, Princeton, Vanessa Fraction and Arvin Mitchell were thrilled at all of the chuckles as Funny First Sunday returned to Blueberry Hill’s Duck Room

They both rocked the stage for the Vatterott College Benefit Concert earlier Saturday night and Murphy Lee and Seviin Li couldn’t help but celebrate afterwards @ EXO

Beautiful actress Tae Heckard posed with fan Aziza @ LouFlicks 3rd Anniversary Party Saturday night @ EXO

King Yella, LooseCannon SLIM and rapper Webbie were standing by waiting for Webbie to rip the stage Friday night @ The Loft

Dashyon, Akilah, Mykel came out to help Ernesha bring in her 21st birthday with a bang Saturday night @ The Coliseum

St. Lunatic Kyjuan stepped in the booth with Hot 104.1’s DJ Charlie Chan Soprano as he set the party off for LouFlicks 3rd Anniversary Party Saturday night @ EXO

Nelly was in

Dabriona, Ravena and Teionna were among the lovely ladies in the building for 1st Fridays @ Soho

Solution DJs Kase One came to show love to Needles’ Tribe Called Kast Mixtape Release Party Friday night @ 2720

Photos by Lawrence Bryant

T. LOUIS AMERICAN

Cuban Academic Exchange program underway at SIU

Plus, new certificate program at SLCC and new degree programs at WUSTL

American staff

This summer, four students and three faculty members from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville gained an enriching cultural experience in Cuba. The students who traveled to Cuba took coursework in Cuban History and Culture, and interacted with an additional 17 students who are taking a tandem online course.

The trip provided first steps for SIUE faculty and students to take part in the Cuban Academic Exchange program, which was established between University of Havana and SIU in late September 2012.

The four students who attended the trip were an undergraduate geography major; Allys Diaz, an undergraduate special education major; Dean Gunderson, a geography graduate student; and Roberto Saenz, an undergraduate historical studies major.

In Havana, these students were led by Larry LaFond and Wendy Shaw, who are instructors for the course. LaFond is the associate dean for student development and general education in the College of Arts and Sciences. Shaw is the associate dean for academic programs and faculty development in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Andrew Theising, political science associate professor and director of the Institute for Urban Research, also attended the trip to enrich his own cultural experience.

Unidos (CEHSEU) of the University of Havana.Back row from left to right:Roberto Saenz,undergraduate student in Art and Design;Dean Gunderson,graduate student in geography;and Andrew Theising,faculty participant in political science.Front row from left to right:Larry LaFond,co-instructor in English Language and Literature; Wendy Shaw,co-instructor in geography;Allys Diaz,undergraduate student in special education;Raul Rodriguez,director at CEHSEU University of Havana.

In Havana, the group visited sites of key importance such as the Museum of the Revolution and the Morro Fortress.In addition to field-work in Havana, students were able to visit the Che Guevara Mausoleum near Santa Clara, as well as the city of Matanzas and the Bay of Pigs. They also attended lectures and meetings at the University of Havana.

“This was the special kind

of experience that travel study makes possible, and it is that kind of interaction that can lead to deep, memorable learning that goes far beyond the traditional classroom,” said LaFond.

The object of the trip was to gain a view of the political and economic culture of Havana,

which the students and faculty gained from both their scheduled activities and the interactions they were able to have with Cuban people. The people in Havana were very open to their questions and willing to provide a more detailed glimpse into Cuban culture.

Some of the topics students

studied while on the trip were agriculture, architecture and education.

Saenz, who visited Havana with an interest in architecture, is working on a paper about the restoration of buildings in Old Havana.

“The more we travel, the more we interact with people around the world,” Saenz said. “The more interaction we experience, the more understanding we gain, and with this understanding between cultures, we can really benefit from each other.”

Pharmacy Technician Certificate Program

Registration now is under way for St. Louis Community College’s new pharmacy technician certificate program. Classes for this short-term allied health program begin Aug. 19.

The program consists of 165 contact hours, during which students will be in the classroom for 105 hours learning the fundamentals of working as a pharmacy technician. This class prepares graduates for the PTCB and ExCPTcertification exams. Students also will have the opportunity to complete a 60-hour externship in a retail or hospital pharmacy setting.

“It’s very important for health care professionals to get much needed hands-on training before entering the work force,” said Bree Abbas, student relations adviser with MK Education, a consulting company that specializes in health career training and curriculum.

“Employers are looking for individuals to come in with basic knowledge of real-life activities that would happen in a pharmacy setting.This program is developed with employer-requested qualifications in mind.” The $2,100 tuition includes books, materials, lab fees and externships.

Prospective students may register through the Office of Continuing Education at the Forest Park campus, 5600 Oakland Ave. For more information, contact Diane Sterett at 314-5395754 or visit www.stlcc.edu/ce.

Three new degree programs

University College, the adult, evening and continuing education division in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has developed three new degree programs, including a master of science in statistics— the only one offered in the St. Louis area. The other two new degree programs are a bachelor of science in communications and a bachelor of science in journalism. University College will offer the three degree programs this fall semester, which begins Aug. 27.

For those interested in learning more about the three new degree programs or other University College programs, a fall Preview Night is being held at 7 p.m. Aug. 8 in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall, on the Danforth Campus. The master of science in statistics prepares students for an information-rich, data-driven workforce that requires both general and specialized skills in statistical analysis. The bachelor of science in communications focuses on theories and applications of communications — organizational, interpersonal, cultural, political and social — while the bachelor of science in journalism provides an academic and experiential foundation to help launch a career in print, broadcast and Web-based journalism and other news media fields.

For more information, visit http://ucollege.wustl.edu. RSVPfor Preview Night at (314) 935-6700.

The travel group standing at theCentro de Estudios Hemisféricos y sobre Estados