December 15th, 2022 edition

SThet. LouiS AmericAn

Robert Tracy named city Police Chief

A historic hiring

By Alvin A. Reid St. Louis American

Robert Tracy, who will officially become chief of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department on Jan. 9, 2023, is the first person to hold the title that was not promoted from within the same department. Tracy could say, “Been there, done that,” because he was also the first person to become Wilmington, Delaware Police Chief in the city’s 250-year history that did not come from that force. If you didn’t know whether he hailed from St. Louis, his thick East Coast accent could give him away.

Smiles were in style

The annual Winterize Kids Coat Giveaway was held on Dec. 6, 2022, at the Berkeley Fire Department and more than 700 new coats, which were purchased by SPIRE, were distributed. The event was hosted by ‘BJ the DJ Holiday’/iHeartMedia St. Louis and The Spreading Our Love [SOL] Foundation.

St. Louis Mayor TIshaura O. Jones and Dr. Dan Isom, Director of St. Louis Public Safety, listen as former Wilmington, Delaware Chief of Police Robert Tracy makes his remarks after being appointed to head the St. Louis Metropolitian Polce Department.

Healing ‘the scar’ has begun

By Sylvester Brown Jr.

The St. Louis American

Gary Willis has lived in the 21st Ward since the age of nine. He and his family have owned and operated New Carrie’s Corner Market at Athlone and Rosalee Avenues in the ward since 1992.

Willis said he was saddened by the downfall of three prominent aldermen, John Collins-Muhammad (D-21st ward), Jeffrey Boyd (D-22nd Ward) and Lewis Reed, president of the board of aldermen. All three were recently convicted and sentenced for accepting cash bribes from a local businessman in

n “No longer can we have a process where the alderperson has ultimate veto authority.”

–Mayor Tishaura Jones

exchange for supporting more favorable property tax assessments

“Anytime something happens or when someone fails, it’s a disappointment,” Willis explained. “Maybe there’s an opportunity to assist and help each other or prevent something like that from ever happening again.” Boyd was sentenced to three years in prison while Reed and Collins-Muhammad received that much time plus an additional nine months. The federal Judge, Stephen R.

Clark, who sentenced the politicians defined their crimes as “a scar that will long be on the city of St. Louis.” Willis didn’t quite agree with the judge’s interpretation.

“I’m not sure about the “scar” part,” Willis said, adding: “Anything can hurt us [Blacks] especially when we try to act like them (whites). But maybe it will serve as a wake-up call for us to do better.”

Collins-Muhammad, Reed, and Boyd were involved with local businessman Mohammed Almuttan, who operates several gas stations and convenience stores in north St. Louis and north St. Louis County.

Almuttan was already facing federal charges and was among several people charged in 2017 in connection with a cigarette and synthetic marijuana trafficking sting. Through

Bill to ease school supply burdens

Would help families and teachers

St. Louis American staff

Congresswoman Cori Bush is a co-sponsor of the Access to School Supplies Act of 2022 with Jamaal Bowman of New York, and Jahana Hayes of Connecticut.

The proposed bill would increase federal investment in public schools by implementing a $500 million pilot program to provide students, teachers, librarians, and support staff with school supplies at no cost.

This legislation would focus on “high-poverty schools” to ensure the resources are directed toward our students most in need. On average, families spend more than $860 on school supplies, with teachers spending around $750 each year to buy supplies out-of-pocket.

“As a single parent of two, I remember struggling to afford all the school supplies my children needed when they were in school. I remember feeling more financially strained and stressed when it came time

See BILL, A7

Wrongful conviction case continues

Others say they committed murder

By Rebecca Rivas Missouri Independent

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner has waited more than three years for the chance to argue the innocence of Lamar Johnson, who was convicted of murder in 1995.

She finally got the hearing to set aside Johnson’s murder conviction on Monday, day one of a trial expected to last all week.

“This is a rather historic moment in this court,” said Special Assistant Circuit Attorney Charlie Weiss in his opening statement Monday. “It’s the first time in the 22nd Circuit Court the court is hearing an actual innocence claim filed by the prosecuting attorney.”

The case began in 2019 when Gardner filed a motion for a new trial for Johnson, the first

Kenneth Nixon, the founder of the Organization of Exonerees was released after doing sixteen years speaking Mon. Dec. 12, 2022 in front of the circuit attorney’s office in support of the release of Lamar Johnson.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Photo by Bill Greenblatt / St. Louis American

Photo by Craig Currie

Patti LaBelle evacuates Milwaukee theater after bomb threat

A Patti LaBelle show was cut short on Saturday December 10, 2022 after a bomb threat posed a danger at Riverside Theater in Milwaukee. LaBelle and the near-capacity crowd were forced to evacuate the theater.

“Regarding the bomb threat in the 100 block of W. Wisconsin, all patrons have been safely evacuated,” Milwaukee Police Capt. Warren E. Allen Jr. said in an email statement Saturday night around 10:30 p.m. “Police are clearing the facility at this time. The investiga tion is fluid and ongoing.”

In an additional state ment provided at 1:13 a.m Sunday, Allen wrote:

“The building was searched by K9 units. No explosive devices were dis covered. There is no threat to the public at this time.”

In a video captured by a fan, LaBelle is shown speaking with a guest who was

celebrating her 70th birthday. LaBelle then receives a bouquet of flowers from another fan in the front row, when security guards abruptly approach her at the microphone, and escort her off the stage.

Relationship Guru Derrick Jaxn, wife Da’Naia Jackson file for divorce

Relationship Guru and author Derrick Jaxn, and his wife, Da’Naia Jackson, have filed for divorce.

Derrick revealed in a social media post that after marriage counseling and finding other ways to save their marriage, the pair have instead decided to part ways.

“Over the past several months, my family and I have gone through many changes,” Derrick wrote. “Some of you have speculated while others of you have reached out to offer support as we privately established this new normal for ourselves and our beautiful children.”

“From falling in love as just teenagers, to becoming spouses and now coparents, I’m grateful for the years we’ve spent together and wouldn’t trade them for anything. I was blessed to have such an amazing person in my life and will forever be thankful for all she’s meant to our They have been married for four

years. Just three weeks ago, Da’Naia cursed people for speaking ill of her relationship.

In the clip, she says, “May the mercies of God be withdrawn from you. May your husbands and wives become widows. Let your children become fatherless. Let your seeds become vagabonds on the earth. Let the words of your mouth and the words of your hands be returned back to you. Let it go down your throat and choke you slowly until your days become few on the earth. The word of God says touch, not my anointed, and do my profits no harm. You’ve been warned.”

The couple was faced with public scrutiny last year after Derrick was exposed in a cheating scandal by a woman named Candice De Medeiros.

Tina Turner’s son, Ronnie Turner. dies at 62

Tina Turner’s son, Ronnie Turner. has died. He was 62.

“Ronnie, you left the world far too early,” Tina wrote on her Instagram. “In sorrow I close my eyes and think of you, my beloved son.”

Ronnie’s wife, French vocalist Afida Turner, honored her late husband on social media, referring to him as a “true angel” and her “best friend.”

“I did the best to the end this time I was [not] able to save you,” she wrote on Instagram, indicating Ronnie is now with his brother Craig and father, Ike Turner. “Rest in paradise. So unfair.”

Ronnie was the youngest of Tina’s four

sons and made an appearance in his mother’s 1993 biopic, “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” starring Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne as Tina and Ike Turner.

Diddy welcomes baby girl, Love Sean Combs, to the world

Diddy’s family has grown. Last week, he welcomed a baby girl into the world, Love Sean Combs.

“I’m so blessed to welcome my baby girl Love Sean Combs to the world. Mama Combs, Quincy, Justin, Christian, Chance, D’Lila, Jessie and myself all love you so much! God is the Greatest!” he tweeted.

The mother’s identity hasn’t been disclosed. Diddy is also the father to six children with three women. His oldest son is Quincy Brown, 31, whom he adopted from his longtime relationship with the late Kim Porter During Diddy and Kim’s relationship, they went on to have three other children Christian Combs, 24, and 15-year-old twins D’Lila Star and Jessie James Combs. He is the

Take that to the bank

By Ashley Winters

The St. Louis American

While the debate on Direct Cash Assistance program continued through the fall, Kim Harris was counting her blessings - after counting her cash.

Harris, a $500 recipient during the first round of the program, said “As a single parent, this direct cash assistance helped me provide for my infant son, pay utility bills, and invest back in my community.”

“I think all cities should invest back into our communities and invest in our neighbors.”

Board Bill 116 was passed by the St. Louis Board of Alderman on Tuesday implementing the pilot program for a second installment. The Direct Cash Assistance program has helped nearly 10,000 citizens of St. Louis City, according to a Missouri Jobs with Justice report that examined the impact the program had on the St. Louis economy and some of its residents.

“We are glad the city invested directly in people who had experienced these economic disruptions during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Richard von Glahn, Missouri Jobs with Justice policy director.

The report shows that 54% of folks who applied for the Direct Cash Assistance program were experiencing job loss, and others applied for funds because of the inability to work due to of the increased rates in childcare.

He said so many workers are caught in places of economic peril, lacking the economic security necessary to invest in job training, further their education, or perhaps strike out on their own as an entrepreneur.

His organization suggests people should have a guaranteed basic income that would help relieve stress so that folks can focus more on their future instead of their day-to-day struggle.

According to von Glahn, working in an economically precarious environment reinforces the structural power of employers over their employees. The GBI would give workers the freedom to challenge injustice and exploitation.

However, the program was met with plenty of skepticism from folks on the other side of the aisle. Unfortunately, during the pandemic many Americans were left without adequate funds to pay their rent, utility bills, or even their medical bills. The American Rescue Plan Act was passed by Congress and provided people with aid to assist them with everyday needs. Programs like Direct Cash Assistance helped folks who needed a little extra push.

“These are the things that we know happened in our communities, to no fault of any single individual,” said the policy director.

He says the skepticism is an underlying bias in the St. Louis region toward the impoverished and people of color. He believes that folks shouldn’t be told how to spend their money but

instead trusted they can make the best decisions for their household.

“There is a long history of structural racism in our economy where you see poverty concentrated in north city. The pandemic had a dramatic impact on the Black residents in this city,” said von Glahn.

n 9,300 people received funds from the Direct Cash Assistance program. 80% of the recipients identify as Black or African American and 72% identify as a woman. 71% of the recipients fall in the 0 to 30% of the area median income.

He says those communities are the ones that are overlooked. Von Glahn questions the city’s moral compass in terms of why some public policies are treated with skepticism when it involves underserved communities of color.

“We don’t do that to the rich or middle class. I think it’s a real double standard,” said the policy director.

According to von Glahn, the report shows some recipients used the money to pay for groceries, health care, and transportation.

In the report, the graph shows a survey of what the recipients would spend their funds on if they received it versus what they spent it on and according to von Glahn the graphs are parallel. He says that the community was being honest about how they would spend the money.

“The fact that this program could deliver funds and support directly to those in the communities is a major success,” said von Glahn.

9,300 people received funds from the Direct Cash Assistance program. 80% of the recipients identify as Black or African American and 72% identify as women. 71% of the recipients fall in the 0 to 30% of the area median income.

von Glahn is proud the program is addressing poverty in our city however, he is frustrated that so many people were in that type of need. He says “Our city should not have the level of

poverty that we do.

99.3% of the folks who received funding said the city should have a program like that again.

“People asked for help and we provided it. It’s a direct investment in Black residents of this city, women of this city, and the lower income communities of this city,” said von Glahn. According to the policy director, almost half of the folks who received funding were working at the time. He says they were living under the poverty level and he points to the fact that our economy isn’t working for regular people.

Missouri was the first state to reject federal money for enhanced unemployment benefits. “Our governor made a bad situation worse, by cutting a giant hole in the safety net that did exist for the people,” said von Glahn. However, the summary of the report shows that investing in all communities works. “This report shows that we are supporting our community and that we trust them,” said the policy director.

We’re working hard to help even more customers get connected to the energy assistance they need. That’s why we offer multiple programs and services, including several with expanded eligibility criteria.

Our team of dedicated customer support specialists is here to help guide you to options that best meet your household’s unique needs.

Ward 17 Alderwoman Tina “Sweet T” Pihl, left, speaks to Ward 8 Alderwoman Annie Rice on Tuesday during a meeting of the Board of Aldermen in downtown

St. Louis.

Photo by Brian Munoz

Editorial/Commentary

Guest Editorial

“Democracy is the political enactment of a spiritual idea: that each of us carries within us a divine spark. It is a political system that is rooted in the belief that each of us has value, that if we have value we have a voice, and that our voice is our vote.”

Warnock’s win a victory for America

By Ben Jealous

If you haven’t watched Sen. Raphael Warnock’s speech on the night of his reelection in Georgia on December 6, stop everything you’re doing, and watch it now. Then tell your kids to watch it. And your neighbors.

What you’ll see is 20 minutes that will leave you with a deep feeling of inspiration and gratitude, and a question: why was this so hard? How is it that Warnock was so clearly the best candidate and had to prove it four times, in the last two years?

Let’s take the question first.

The surprise victories by Sen. Warnock and Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2021 were triumphs over systemic racism and a vicious misinformation and disinformation campaign by far-right forces. Immediately after they won, Georgia became ground zero for a state voter suppression effort that included harsh crackdowns on early and mail-in voting. The runoff system that Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker were forced into was itself a relic of 1960s white supremacy. It was created by a Georgia segregationist who hoped it would stop Black candidates from winning in a crowded field where white votes were split.

and still believes it can be achieved through representative democracy. Democracy, he said, is the political enactment of a spiritual idea: that each of us carries within us a divine spark. It is a political system that is rooted in the belief that each of us has value, that if we have value we have a voice, and that our voice is our vote. I’m paraphrasing here, and words on the page don’t do justice to Sen. Warnock’s oratory skills. Again, I hope you’ll watch the speech.

Meanwhile, Walker’s entire campaign was a far-right ploy to split Black votes while giving white Republicans plausible deniability about their party’s racism. Most Black voters saw right through it. But the GOP mustered enormous political firepower and financial resources for their scheme. That made the race close when it never should have been close. It made Sen. Warnock’s road, which was always going to be hard, even harder.

On the night of his reelection, Sen. Warnock addressed all of this with his usual dignity. He gave the credit to Georgians for electing the state’s first Black and first Jewish senators at a time when the Far Right was trying to divide the country. He took on the conservative pundits claiming his victory was proof that there was no voter suppression in Georgia. Just because Georgia voters endured long lines in the rain doesn’t mean there is no suppression, he said. It means Georgians refused to have their voices silenced. The rest of his address showed that Georgia has reelected a senator who values social justice

Letter to the editor

We want to hear from you

As the region’s leading media source for the African-American community, at The St. Louis American we want to hear from you.

To send a Letter to the Editor, please send to: editor@stlamerican.com. To submit a free People on the Move listing in our Business section, please send photo and write up to: kjones@ stlamerican.com.

Hearing these words at a time when democracy is doubted and under attack is a restorative experience. Hearing Sen. Warnock pledge to work in a bipartisan spirit on behalf of all Americans feels like coming home, to an America where public servants used to believe that was possible. Hearing him say that he will fight for criminal justice reform because he believes we can have both justice and safety struck a personal chord with me. I believe that too, in my bones. My organization, People For the American Way, has dedicated itself to advancing that goal. There are so many solutions we can and should explore that will save lives.

This moment shows us something else, too, which is that a way forward to a better America now runs through the Deep South. Stacey Abrams’s visionary work to organize voters made Georgia a swing state, and others can follow. Almost a decade ago, I worked on a study that showed that registering just 30 percent of unregistered voters of color could change the political landscape in heavily Black southern states. There are still plenty of challenges, but we’re seeing that prediction come true. I will close with one other phrase of Sen. Warnock’s from his reelection speech, one that I think serves us well in all the work we do for social justice. This is America, he said, where we “always have a path to make our country greater.” I know there are times when those paths seem impossible, and optimism seems more like naivete. We need more Raphael Warnocks in the world to tell us there is always a way. Right now, I’m deeply grateful that the one we do have will spend six more years in the U.S. Senate.

Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way

All letters are edited for length and style

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As I See It - A Forum for Community Issues Trump trashed the presidency like no other

By Marc H. Morial

“The exorbitant rates charged to the Secret Service and agents’ frequent stays at Trump-owned properties raise significant concerns about the former President’s self-dealing and may have resulted in a taxpayer-funded windfall for former President Trump’s struggling businesses.” House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney.

It’s not clear whether the opportunity to funnel taxpayer funds into his personal business was Donald Trump’s primary motivation for seeking the presidency. What is crystal clear, however, is that he took every opportunity to do just that – and lied about it along the way.

The House Oversight Committee revealed that the Trump Organization charged the Secret Service up to $1,185 per night for hotel rooms used by agents protecting Trump family members. That’s five times the government rate and 24 times the $50-a-night rate the Trump Org claimed to be charging.

Trump visited his own properties more than 500 times during his presidency, and the Trump Organization has continued to bill the Secret Service since he left office and began living in his properties full-time.

The records released by the Oversight Committee, which cover more than $1.4 million in self-dealing, are merely the tip of Trump’s iceberg of graft. The cost to the taxpayer of tax dodges, deceit, and self-dealing by Trump’s family and compa-

nies reaches into the hundreds of millions.

A Washington Post investigation found that Trump’s company raked in at least $2.5 million in taxpayer money and $5.6 million in campaign funds during his presidency, — an incomplete accounting, as several federal agencies refused to turn over records to the Post. The Trumps’ illicit taxpayer-funded windfall included exorbitant overcharges like $2,600 per night for a house at Mar-a-Lago, $50 per palm for decorative palm trees, $7,700 for a catered dinner for 30 – more than $250 a plate — and more than $1,000 in liquor for a White House staff meeting.

Eric Trump, Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization, falsely claimed the business was required by law to charge the federal government, and that government employees were charged only “like 50 bucks” per night for hotel rooms.

But Trump’s fleecing of the American taxpayer did not begin with his presidency. According to The New York Times:

“He and his siblings set up a sham corporation to disguise millions of dollars in gifts from their parents, records,

and interviews show. Records indicate that Mr. Trump helped his father take improper tax deductions worth millions more. He also helped formulate a strategy to undervalue his parents’ real estate holdings by hundreds of millions of dollars on tax returns, sharply reducing the tax bill when those properties were transferred to him and his siblings.”

Ironically, the fortune Trump inherited – and squandered –was built on taxpayer-funded subsidies and loans of the kind he sought to eliminate as president. Shortly after President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Federal Housing Administration in 1934, Trump’s father, Fred Trump, used FHA loans to build apartment buildings. During World War II, he built more than 1,000 apartments for the Navy at taxpayer expense. The elder Trump’s taxpayer-bolstered wealth backed the major real-estate project that launched Donald Trump’s own career. As president, Trump proposed the largest retrenchment of federal housing aid since the U.S. Housing Act was enacted in 1937. Trump has not been accused of breaking any laws with the brazen bilking of the taxpayers revealed this week. But presidents – even ex-presidents — should be held to a higher standard than “technically legal” and the House Oversight Committee’s work should result in safeguards to prevent future presidents from abusing the power of the office for personal gain.

On Further Reflection

By Mike Jones

I wrote my first opinion column for the St. Louis American in August of 2014, when then managing editor Chris King, asked me to write a reaction piece to the killing of Michael Brown by former Ferguson police officer Darren Walker. After my retirement from St. Louis County government in January of 2015, and at Dr. Suggs’ invitation, I became a member of the American’s editorial board and a regular contributor to the paper’s Editorial Page. From 2015 to 2021, I averaged about 24-26 columns a year. The last column I wrote for the St. Louis American was December 1, 2021, to be exact.

After seven years of regularly writing a political column, it felt to me that I was repeating myself. Commenting on the Black experience in America had become a Groundhog Day movie, where the same things happen, for the same reasons, all the time. If I was going to continue to write in the St. Louis American- to continue to be a Black writer, on a Black platform, writing for a Black audience, I needed to find some new perspective, or at least a deeper insight. I didn’t know what I had to say that I hadn’t already said. Dr. Suggs disagreed. He said I had a lot more to say, and there was a whole lot more that needed to be said. But he did what he has done consistently over our 50 plus years of friendship; he gave me the room to figure it out.

Columnist Mike Jones

I’m not a fan of America’s current political commentariattoo many people, who know too little, with too much to say, and with too many opportunities to say it! I really think political writers and pundits, especially those who write opinion columns in newspapers, should follow the guidance of serious jazz musicians regarding improvised solos. If you have nothing to say, then don’t play anything; if you’ve said it before, why

are you saying it again? No one has expressed this better than Thelonious Monk, “Don’t play everything (or every time); let some things go by… The same is true for political writing. With Monk’s advice in mind, I took a page from another seminal jazz icon, Sonny Rollins, and took a sabbatical from writing the column. In 1959, at the top of his game, Rollins stopped performing, and spent the next 2 years practicing 1214 hours a day on the Williamsburg Bridge in lower Manhattan (so he wouldn’t disturb his neighbors). Why did he do it? “What made me withdraw and go to the bridge was how I felt about my own playing…I knew I was dissatisfied,” he said. I know the feeling. So, like Sonny Rollins, I took a sabbatical, and like him I didn’t go on vacation, I worked on my game. My approach to writing was a function of my understanding (or misunderstanding) of how I supposed any artistpainter, sculptor, or serious musician, approached their work. I presumed the reaction of the audience to the work has no relationship to the vision of the artist that produces it. I would have said the work is about the artist’s vision, how the audience responds is not germane to why the work exists. But I was wrong (or at least not totally right), as much as an artist is compelled to say it, the reason for the work to exist, is there’s an audience that needs to hear it, see it and read it. What did I learn on “the bridge?”

You can’t separate what you wrote or played then from what you’re writing or playing now.

Your past informs your present. You make a lot of records, you write a lot of columns, the public can’t remember everything you’ve done. The question is how do you integrate what you’ve done with what you’re doing, to make your body of work a coherent whole and not a collection of random, episodic political observations. I learned the difference between repetition and redundancy. There are only 12 notes in Western music. Whether you are Beethoven or Ellington, Mozart, or Monk, 12 notes are all you got to work with. But those 12 notes are repeated an infinite number of times, in an infinite number of patterns, to create an infinite amount of new music. The same is true in political or social theory. There are only so many ideas. I came to realize writing a political column is like the improvised jazz solo. It’s of this moment, it’s not always original, but it doesn’t have to be redundant. The space in The American that my columns and that of other writers have occupied may be captioned “As I See It,” which is most appropriate for an occasional op-ed opinion piece. But as I thought about what I had written over the last seven years, and why I wrote it, I concluded I wasn’t writing an occasional op-ed opinion column, responding to a political or cultural event of the moment. Reflection has two meanings in the dictionary. The first, throwing back by a body or surface light, heat, or sound without absorbing it. The second is serious thought and consideration. What I was attempting to do was discern if events of the moment had any larger implications or significant historical connection. So that you’ll always know what you’re reading is not some casual opinion. With permission of The American, my future columns will be called “On Further Reflection.

Columnist Marc H. Morial

Columnist Ben Jealous

Julius Anthony, founder and president of the St. Louis Black Authors of Children’s Literature, and Nicole Williams, St. Louis Public Schools interim superintendent, helped celebrate the opening of the district’s first Believe Projects Literacy Lab. Located in Froebel Literacy Academy, the lab opened Dec. 6, 2022.

Froebel Academy ‘Believes’ in books, reading skills

St. Louis American staff

SLPS elementary school The Froebel Literacy Academy, is the newest home to a “Believe Project” Literacy Lab, a St. Louis Black Authors of Children’s Literature [STLBACL] initiative designed to improve reading proficiency for kindergarten through third grade students.

It provides access to 1,000 books reflecting the images and experiences of the young readers, according to Julius B. Anthony, STLBACL president.

“Our goal is simple,” he said.

“We want to encourage children to fall in love with literacy through experiences they feel a connection with, that build confidence, and give them joy. It is to ensure all children become successful readers by the end of third grade.”

According to the US department of Education, students who are not strong readers in third grade are four

times more likely to drop out of school. The Believe Project lab works to keep students engaged and connected to the worlds they read about while improving literacy skills.

The lab includes a wall mural produced by local artists that features books by local authors.

Jim Triplett, principal of Froebel Literacy Academy, says, “It is important for Froebel students to have access to culturally relevant text to help increase reading proficiency and a love for reading.”

“We are excited about bringing the literacy lab to Froebel because our students need it and deserve it”

Funding from YouthBridge Community Foundation of Greater St. Louis helped to make the project possible. The Believe 8 literacy lab is also supported by Nine PBS, The Noble Neighbor, and Ready Readers.

For additional information, contact St. Louis Black Authors of Children’s Literature at stlblackauthors@ gmail.com.

By Marian Wright Edelman

Dr. Kristia Abernathy is accepting new patients at our N. Florissant location.

When I was a child, my father kept an editorial cartoon pinned up in the vestibule of our church that made a deep impression on me I have never forgotten. It was a black and white drawing by the Pulitzer Prize-winning artist Herblock that was originally published in The Washington Post in October 1947. The picture shows well-dressed, happy people sitting at a banquet table overflowing with place settings, goblets, and so much food — a roast, gravy boats, bread, and butter, covered dishes, heaping platters of sides — the table cannot hold any more.

Hovering behind them and filling the rest of the image is a crowd of gaunt, wide-eyed hungry children dressed in rags. Back at the table, one of the dinner guests is speaking cheerfully to his smiling companions. The caption reads: “Shall we say grace?”

During the holiday season, many Americans are blessed and deeply grateful to gather with family and friends and say grace around a table that looks a little like the one in the cartoon. But many others are outside watching quietly with no place at America’s table of plenty.

For families who couldn’t gather with loved ones during the pandemic, celebrating around full tables seemed especially joyful in 2022. But there are millions of Americans for whom trying to put a holiday meal on the table — or just making sure everyone has enough to eat every day — became even more difficult this year. The Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) expansions enacted during the pandemic in the American Rescue Plan helped millions of working people and families with children afford food and other basics.

On Nov. 30, the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee released a report again showing the expanded CTC’s dramatic success in helping child poverty fall to its lowest rate on record in 2021. But when Congress let those expansions expire in December 2021, many adults and parents couldn’t fill the gap. Research now shows food insufficiency rates among households with children increased 25% in 2022 after the monthly CTC payments ended. Some are hungrier now than when the pandemic began. The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), a leading national nonprofit working to eradicate poverty-related hunger and undernutrition, and a coalition of more than 550 national, state, and community-based organizations, sent a letter to Congressional leadership urging them to reinstate the expanded CTC and EITC in any end of the year tax package.

“With the expiration of these two programs, organizations like ours know full well how tens of millions of families are experiencing higher levels of food insufficiency, and racial disparities are only deepening,” a section of the letter read.

“Failure to reinstate the extended CTC and EITC will only fuel hunger by increasing the income, educational, health, and racial disparities that are pervasive in our country.”

Research confirmed buying food was the most common use of the expanded CTC payments across all income levels, and the CTC increased families’ ability to afford and eat more fruit, protein, and balanced meals. If in place for another year it would support more than 500,000 private-sector jobs. More than 130 economists recently called for restarting the monthly CTC payments to offset inflation.

As this Congress tends to its last two weeks of unfinished business, it has important choices to make. Making sure fewer children, families, and workers don’t go hungry should be an easy one. There is no excuse for ignoring the deep needs all around us in a nation that has more than enough to spare and share for all.

Marian Wright Edelman is founder and president emerita of the Children’s Defense Fund. Don’t

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Marian Wright Edelman

Continued from A1

federal surveillance, the three aldermen were caught arranging and accepting bribes in exchange for tax breaks and a cut rate on a city-owned property.

Other than being caught on tape arranging and accepting bribes in cash, cars and services, Collins-Muhammad, Reed, and Boyd’s actions weren’t that far outside the typical political playbook.

For decades, city aldermen have exercised and benefitted from what’s known as “aldermanic courtesy.” To get an alderman’s blessing and support for developments in specific wards, street repair, speed bumps, rezoning requests and much more, it’s not unusual to get “perks” such as campaign donations in exchange for their influence and support.

In short, aldermanic courtesy that can fuel corruption can also give local politicians a tremendous amount of power. An example of this influence was evident when visiting a used furniture shop on MLK Blvd in former Alderman Boyd’s 22nd Ward.

Two elderly Black men playing chess inside the shop seemed eager to share their

Tracy

Continued from A1

“To the people who live and work in St. Louis, I want to tell each of you that I will work tirelessly to bring safety to your neighborhoods,” Tracy said during a Wednesday press conference at Mayor Tishaura Jones’ City Hall office.

“Police is a noble profession. It is my calling.

opinions until the proprietor walked in and heard the topic discussed.

“We don’t have nothing to say about any aldermen,” the owner said matter-of-factly.

A few blocks west, just across the city/county border on the Wellston side of town, a business-owner and customer were willing to talk about aldermanic power although they were hesitant to give their full names.

The owner of the barbeque restaurant accused the convicted aldermen of “holding Black people back from buying property and owning businesses.”

“They are taking bribes from people with more money than us,” the man insisted, adding: “[Others] come in with their own money; they don’t need loans. While we’re struggling to get a foothold in our own neighborhood, they give a foreign person a loan before they give black folks in the trenches of St. Louis a foothold.”

The entrepreneur insisted that “it’s always been illegal activity,” but some politicians are just “more cautious than others.” The man’s customer insisted that it’s less a matter of aldermanic courtesy than an issue of tolerance from other politicians.

“Other aldermen don’t call out their colleagues,” the cus-

“I will work tirelessly to bring safety to your neighborhoods. But I need your help too. Safer communities don’t just happen. It’s a mutual obligation we all have, and it can only happen when we work together.”

He began his career as a New York Police Department officer and rose to the rank of commander. He then left police work for the private sector before returning to law enforcement with the Chicago Police Department. He was hired in Wilmington in 2017 and during his first year the city had a 56% drop in shootings and a 41% drop in homicides. From 2011 through 2015, his five years in Chicago as Crime Control Strategist, the city experienced the lowest homicide rate in 50 years and the lowest overall crime rate since 1972. Chief Tracy began his career in the New York

tomer stated. “They all know what’s going on. You have politicians who’ve been there for life and want to get their own piece of the pie. They tolerate it, they’re like; ‘I’m going to go with everyone else.’”

Newly elected Board of Aldermen President Megan Green spoke of trust issues.

“I think there is diminished trust in the Board of Aldermen and city government in general. Courtesy has traditionally meant that many folks will just go along to get along and not rock the boat in order to get things done. This can fuel deliberation and debate and make it easier for corruption to

Police Department, rising through the ranks to serve as Commander of a newly created Firearms Suppression Division and the Firearms Investigation Unit.

“When I got to Wilmington, it was dubbed Murder Town USA by Newsweek magazine. A year later it was called ‘Turn Around Town.’”

Jones said she was impressed with Tracy’s “proven record of reducing crime.”

“Leaders from across the nation spoke of his strength, character and dedication to building community trust,” she said.

“He will be a visible,

take hold.”

Some aldermen, like Cara Spencer (20th Ward), have called out the pitfalls of aldermanic courtesy. In a public letter in June calling for Reed’s resignation, Spencer addressed the practice:

“For far too long, the political culture of city politics has concentrated power in the hands of the members of the Board of Aldermen — from approving the sale of city-owned LRA properties, controlling capital improvements through the disbursement of ward-funding, and issuing tax abatements all the way down to putting in stop signs and speed humps. These

accessible chief. I believe he is the right leader for the St. Louis Police Department.”

In November 2021, the Wilmington City Council passed a “Vote of no Confidence” in Tracy, citing a lack of diversity and transparency.

He said, “It is not an issue now,” and it is only coming up at this time because he was seeking the St. Louis position. He said he always had a “very diverse” command staff, and that 80% of the last recruit class were people of color.

The Ethical Society of Police, which is comprised mostly of Black officers and staff, said in a release it “aspires to work diligently

‘aldermanic courtesies' must end,” Spencer wrote.

Mayor Tishaura Jones has publicly stated that the problem with aldermanic courtesywhich she said has been at the board “for a long time”- runs much deeper than just the recently convicted aldermen.

In July she told St. Louis Public Radio that she wants to “standardize practices and processes so that land sales are based on objective criteria, not the subjective whims of elected officials and bureaucrats bowing to aldermanic pressure tactics.

“No longer can we have a process where the alderperson

with the new chief towards making the agency equitable and fair for our officers and to develop better community policing for all.”

“We have long called for more transparency and input. That starts with our plans to meet with the new chief in the immediate future to discuss our priorities, concerns, and perspective.

“We will hold him to high standards as we have previous chiefs and do everything we can to work together and support progress.”

When asked about the perceived contentious relationship between city police and Prosecuting Attorney Kim Gardner, Tracy said being new

has ultimate veto authority,” Jones said. If Judge Clark is correct that Collins-Muhammad, Reed, and Boyd’s crimes represents “a scar” on St. Louis politics, the next logical question is “how does a community repair the scar?”

Megan Green insists it can be fixed with good, open and honest governance.

“We can lead by example; showing that we are willing to work with aldermen who have different viewpoints on construction and good legislation that meets everyone’s goals, ‘’ Green said.

“We can also address it by being more transparent in our deliberations, and the information and data that we give to members of the public. This is something that I’m working on.”

Willis, the owner of the convenience store in the 21st Ward isn’t convinced there’s a permanent blemish on St. Louis politics. He considers the indictment and sentencing of the three aldermen as an opportunity for change.

“I don’t want this to be the end for us in politics. Rather than seeing this as an attack on all politicians; I see it as a reason for us to do better.” Willis said, adding:

“After all, scars can heal.”

to the city will help change the dynamic.

“I’m coming in with a clean slate. Being from the outside and coming in could be a great thing. We don’t have a relationship. There might be conflicts. I’m going to meet with her and talk about them.”

He said like any police chief “I would like more officers,” but added he will develop a comprehensive crime fighting plan to address all needs. Tracy said he also does not oppose any civilian oversight board.

“If there is one, we will see that it is done fairly. I am a fair man.”

Gary Willis, owner of New Carrie’s Corner Market in the 21st Ward.

Photo by Sylvester Brown, Jr. / St. Louis American

Conviction

Continued from A1

exoneration case for her conviction-integrity unit.

The effort was squashed when the Missouri Supreme Court ruled in March 2021 that prosecutors didn’t have the right to ask for a new trial in cases of innocence or wrongful prosecution.

A few months later, state legislators passed a law giving prosecutors a pathway to file motions to vacate sentences.

So in August, Gardner filed a 59-page motion recounting the details of Oct. 30, 1994, when Marcus Boyd was shot and killed on his front porch. She argued it was Phillip Campbell and James Howard who killed Boyd, and not Johnson.

On Monday, Gardner’s team walked Circuit Judge David Mason through those details and called their first witness — Howard, who confessed to killing Boyd.

“Me and Phillip Campbell killed him on his front porch,” Howard said Monday.

Mason asked Howard repeated questions about the murder, particularly about his motive.

The judge also had many questions for Greg Elking, the only eyewitness who also testified Monday. Elking said police detectives and the prosecutor “pressured” and “bullied” him into identifying Johnson from a lineup.

In 2019, Gardner’s investigators found old files in the Circuit Attorney’s office where Elking was allegedly paid more than $4,000 after he picked Johnson out of a line up. However, the documentation for these payments was never provided to the defense, even though Johnson’s lawyers requested it repeatedly over the years.

Mason asked why those payments didn’t get into the trial.

“Isn’t it something the prosecutor would have known about?” Mason asked.

“Yes, your honor,” Weiss replied.

Gardner’s investigator will testify about finding the payments in the prosecutor’s old records, Weiss told Mason.

Miranda Loesch, arguing the case on behalf of the Attorney General’s Office, said the former circuit assistant who prosecuted the case and the police detective who investigated it followed all the appropriate procedures.

And Howard’s testimony — that he killed Boyd instead of Johnson — is not credible. Johnson, Loesch argued, is guilty of murder.

“He’s a convicted murderer,” she said of Howard. “What does he have to lose from coming in here and talking?”

Under the 2021 state law, if a prosecutor files a motion to vacate or set aside a judgment, the attorney general’s office could appear, question witnesses and make arguments at the hearing.

But the attorney general is not a party in the case.

If Gardner wins, then that’s the end of the attorney general’s involvement. Gardner will likely not call for a new trial, and Johnson will go free.

But if the prosecutor loses, they could file an appeal and the attorney general could file a motion to intervene or dismiss

Bill

Continued from A1 for Back-to-School shopping than I ever did shopping during the holidays—and I know I was not alone,” Bush said in a release.

“Each school year, millions of students, families, and teachers struggle to afford basic school supplies needed for students to succeed in school. The legislation would help provide free school supplies to students and teachers, starting with those with the greatest need.

Bowman, who holds a degree in education, said “Not every public school district can afford to equip their students and teachers with the school supplies they need, especially Black, brown, and low-income school districts.

the appeal.

The murder

Boyd was sitting on the front porch of his apartment with his co-worker Elking, who had come to purchase some drugs.

Two black men wearing ski masks — who Gardner is now confident were Campbell and Howard — ran up from the side of the house without warning.

The men shot and killed Boyd, but Elking escaped and ran home.

At the time of the crime, Weiss said Johnson and his girlfriend were at their friend’s apartment located at 3907 Lafayette in St. Louis, at least 10 minutes by car from the scene at 3910 Louisiana.

In his opening argument, Weiss said that Elking was pressured to identify Johnson as the killer so he could have protection from potential retribution and to receive support to move to a safer home.

Elking later wrote a letter to his pastor that confessed to knowing what he did was wrong and trying to atone for his sins. This letter was included in Gardner’s August motion.

The late Phillip Campbell pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and received a sentence of 7 years, which he served.

Days after Johnson was convicted, Weiss said Campbell wrote letters to Johnson saying that he was sorry and that he knew he was innocent.

Before Johnson was sentenced, the prosecutor called for a search warrant to seize those letters.

“That’s how we got them, they were in the prosecutor’s records,” Weiss said.

It wasn’t Howard’s plan to kill Boyd that night, Howard said in his testimony Monday. He simply meant to rob Boyd, as a favor to his then-

“For far too long teachers have spent their own salary on school supplies and families have struggled to afford them. When students have access to the supplies they need, they are better able to engage fully in their academic environments and a wide-range of holistic learning opportunities that are essential for academic growth, socio-emotional learning, and community building. “As school budgets continue to shrink, educators and families are faced with the impossible decision of figuring out how to provide basic school supplies. I know firsthand how a student’s educational experience can be compromised because of a lack of resources,” said Hayes. “The Access to School Supplies Act would help to provide school supplies so that students and teachers can focus on learning. I look forward to working with Reps. Bush and Bowman on these efforts to make education more accessible for all.”

best friend Sirone Spate, who was Boyd’s partner in selling crack cocaine. That night, he was hanging out with Spate at Howard’s mother’s house, which was on the same block as Boyd’s house.

Spate had been complaining that Boyd was cheating him out of money, and he learned Boyd was at his house. Howard, who was 17 at the time, and Campbell put on a ninja-style black mask and black clothing and went down the alley to Boyd’s house to try and rob Boyd’s safe box, Howard testified.

When they got there, they tried to get Boyd to go into the

house, but Boyd resisted. In the heat of the moment, Campbell shot Boyd in his side and Howard shot him in the back of the head, he said, then they ran back to his mother’s house.

He didn’t come forward once he learned Johnson was arrested and charged with the murder.

“I didn’t think they’d convict him because he had nothing to do with it,” Howard said.

Howard hasn’t seen Johnson for 17 years, and he’s tried to avoid him because it made him feel bad.

“Just seeing him doing time for something he didn’t do, it bothered me,” he said.

Testifying Monday was a way to “right his wrongs,” he said.

In her cross examination, Loesch asked if Johnson had been in his same gang, and Howard said “yes.”

Loesch pulled out affidavits Howard had signed previously, where there were discrepancies in the route Howard and Campbell took to get to Boyd’s house and when they left the scene of the crime.

“So you lied?” Loesch said.

Howard replied he didn’t write the affidavits, and he didn’t proofread them.

“What I can tell you is that I shot him,” Howard said. “The

very hard stuff I can recall for you. The tiny details, this was 30 years ago, I can’t give you that.”

Greg Elking’s testimony

Greg Elking lived blocks away from Marcus Boyd in South St. Louis, and they also worked together at a printing company and sometimes carpooled. On night of the murder, Elking testified that he was trying to buy drugs from Boyd when the two gunman came up to the porch with their guns drawn.

In a matter of seconds, the gunmen were wrestling with Boyd and then one of them shot him in the back of the head.

Elking told police that he couldn’t identify the killers because they had masks on. When the detective, Nickerson, showed him photos of potential suspects, he said, “I don’t know what these photos would be good for.”

Elking agreed to participate in a line up because he wanted to help, he said, and the detectives talked to him like they were confident they knew who the killers were. Also, he said some detectives insinuated that he could be an accessory to murder if he didn’t help them identify someone.

“I’d just seen a guy murdered,” Elkins said, also noting that Boyd was a friend. “Not only was I being bullied, I wanted to help. I hate it and I’ve been living with it for 28 years. I just wish I could change time.”

He and his wife were behind on rent and all their bills, and the detectives said they could provide safe housing outside of the city. After he picked Johnson out of a lineup, he was provided money for rent until he testified in the trial. This story was originally published by the Missouri Independent, part of States Newsroom, a network of news outlets supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence.

Lavar Johnson listens to testimony during his wrongful conviction hearing on Tuesday, Dec. 15. After serving 27 years in prison, Johnson could be freed by Judge David Mason.

Photo by David Carson

The search for St. Louis City’s new police chief has taken yet another series of plot twists, with one candidate withdrawing his application over the weekend, another announcing his rejection this week, and the decision being made ahead of the expected deadline of December 31.

First, Columbia, South Carolina, Deputy Police Chief Melron Kelly, who appeared virtually during last week’s town hall, announced his withdrawal with a predictable excuse on Sunday “after consultation with his family and trusted advisors.”

causes. Further, he says that “if people are telling you how tough they are and how scared you should be, they care more about keeping you scared than keeping you safe.” He confirms the view of local elected officials who feel that real public safety needs real alternatives.

But we have a feeling the withdrawal may have more to do with Kelly’s performance at the town hall, where he was asked by moderator Dr. LJ Punch whether removing “from society” the people who commit crimes actually reduced violence.

“Those people,” Kelly said, “unfortunately have to be incarcerated, or should be incarcerated, for a period of time in order to bring justice to society and their victims.”

Kelly’s pro-incarceration stance does not align with the values of St. Louis voters (nor has that approach worked) who have continued to elect representatives who favor alternatives to long prison sentences, especially for non-violent offenders. Most recently, aldermanic board president Megan Green candidate wide race against pro-incarceration former prosecutor and alderman Jack Coatar resounding victory followed voters overwhelming choice of pro-police reform candidate Tishaura O. Jones pro-status quo opponent, alder woman Cara Spencer 20). When provided with the choice between a candidate who recognizes the failures of over incarceration and a can didate who believes in repeat ing the same past failures, St. Louis voters in recent years have shown their preference for the candidates with the more realistic view about over incar ceration. An opinion essay in the N.Y. Times Gott, a Yale professor who is a leader of a non-profit organiza tion that focuses on making policing less racist, less deadly and less pervasive, this week maintains that insufficient punishment is not the root cause of violence and challenges a prevailing narrative about crime that posits that bad people are the problem and toughness in the form of police and prisons are the solution. He says policies like this have little, if any, effect on violent crime because they don’t address the real

On Tuesday, SLMPD Lt. Col. Michael Sack, the interim police chief, announced that he was not selected to lead the department.

The remaining candidates on Wednesday morning were Chief Larry Boone of Norfolk, Virginia, and Chief Robert Tracy of Wilmington, Delaware. Tracy was ultimately chosen as SLMPD’s next police chief.

Tracy brings more than 30 years of experience between the New York Police Department and Chicago Police Department, and most importantly - no strings tied to the St. Louis Police Officers Association that would otherwise trip up his ability to lead. By the way - has anyone heard from SLPOA since they started negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement?

• • • Mayor Jones’ office continues to receive blame for a trash

work,” Teamsters president Glen Boyer said in November 1978. “The equipment cost will be too high, the maintenance cost will be too high, and, if there are mechanical problems, you won’t have the men to collect the trash manually.”

Despite the very predictable problem of using a proprietary pick-up system with a specially-designed dumpster that only one type of truck can pick up, Schoemehl expanded the use of the new trucks across the rest of the city by the end of the 1980s. His administration proudly touted cutting 90 jobs - nearly half - from the Refuse Department.

cles and not, you know, picked up the phone and had an adult conversation about her grievances.

Only one company in the U.S. has been identified as the manufacturer of “special” trucks used by the St. Louis City Department of Refuse: the International Truck and Engine Company, now known as Navistar. These trucks were proprietary to International, meaning that only their trucks were capable of latching, lifting, and dumping the special dumpsters that the city also was forced to buy. Too bad MEC records don’t go that far back - the EYE would love to see whose coffers were filled after that lucrative deal.

Learning that history and context is important to understand St. Louis’ current trash crisis. This is not a Mayor Jones problem, this isn’t even a former mayor Lyda Krewson or Francis Slay problem. Let’s place responsibility where it is due, Schoemehl exchanged good paying jobs for city residents for a mechanized trash pick-up system with problems that persist decades later. If you’re looking for someone to blame, you start with the people responsible for buying proprietary trash trucks that no other refuse company can lift and empty.

Data point: Alderwoman Sharon Tyus (Ward 2) has recently attacked Mayor Jones’ office through newspaper arti-

Tyus - who has served as the aldermanic chairwoman for the Streets, Traffic, & Refuse Committee for far too longhas refused to pass a budget for St. Louis Works for two years, negatively impacting the fund that fixes sidewalks, repairs roads, provides equipment upgrades, and covers some salaries for city employees. Without any proof, Tyus claimed the Mayor’s Office did not communicate with her; the Mayor’s Office in turn provided copies of all of their attempts to contact Tyus.

Tyus never returned those calls or emails, so maybe we should go ahead and identify the alderwoman as a major source of “government dysfunction” here.

Instead, the Northside alderwoman has turned to gaslighting St. Louis residents, refusing to acknowledge her behavior, and all the while expecting her constituents to keep her in office in four months. Despite being the sole person responsible for moving the St. Louis Works budget, Tyus nevertheless has sought to place blame on the Mayor’s Office. We also can’t ignore the behavior of former city director of operations Todd Waelterman who appointed himself as refuse commissioner in May 2021, after he realized that then-incoming Mayor Jones would replace him. Waelterman, who has worked for the city since 1989, was escorted from City Hall in July of this year after the Civilians’ Service Bureau received 1,800 trash-related complaints the month before. It was Waelterman who led the Refuse Division when it began throwing out recycled material

with trash. This is the inside view that Tyus doesn’t want St. Louis residents to see - the history of self-appointments, self-dealing, and selfish interests. But this has been the history of St. Louis, and we have to expose that behavior so it can’t continue.

• • •

Proposed development for a new QuikTrip gas station in 7th Ward’s Tiffany neighborhood, just south of SLU Hospital at Grand and Lafayette, has received overwhelming community rejection after years of trying to force the project. Readers may remember that in 2016, the Board of Aldermen established a redevelopment corporation controlled by SLU Hospital and SSM Health. The newly-created St. Louis Midtown Redevelopment Corp. was directed to “facilitate signature development” at the corner at Grand and Lafayette. Saint Louis University even said in a press release announcing its “strategic plan” that called for the university to become “a leader in just land use and responsible urban design.”

A new gas station was apparently the best “just land use” they could do for “signature development.” Fast forward to Summer 2021, when the Midtown Redevelopment Corp. publicly announced its preliminary plans to sell the tract of land to QuikTrip. As a redevelopment corporation, the SLU-controlled quasi-public entity has the ability to offer property tax abatement -- without the Board of Aldermen’s or Mayor’s approval. Not surprisingly, the Midtown Redevelopment Corp. submitted its letter of approval for the QuikTrip location a year before the public knew of it being considered - and in contradiction to the redevelopment corporation’s own stated goals.

from the fact that refuse is now picked up by a one-man crew, a driver-operator, rather than a three-man crew with two men emptying cans by hand.”

rent trash problem was born out of a poorly thought out deal amidst a labor dispute in the 1970s -- and we’re still being impacted today.

The former Tiffany Community Association president, aldermanic candidate Jon-Pierre Mitchom, wrote a 2019 letter supporting the QuikTrip construction - also before the public knew of the potential project and without support from the residents of the neighborhood.

The planned footprint to build the QuikTrip on, as it turns out, went beyond its original boundaries, forcing developers to seek quietly to purchase the homes immediately adjacent to the tract. Because the residential properties fall outside of the Redevelopment Corp.’s geographical boundaries, any demolition plans would have to go before the City’s Preservation Board; as of the date of our publishing, no demolition permits have been applied for these homes.

On Wednesday, the Planning Commission held its hearing on the proposed zoning changes for the tract of land, amid community backlash and a flood of written testimony opposing the construction of a QuikTrip.

“What does this project accomplish and add that isn’t already here?” asked 7th Ward aldermanic candidate Alisha Sonnier, who currently sits on the St. Louis Public Schools Board of Education. “This land was purchased by SLU with the assurances that it would be a community development. What community service does another gas station offer?”

Perhaps most telling is the fact that the surrounding neighborhoods have not been approached by the Midtown Redevelopment Corp. about projects and residents have been denied their opportunity to share their concerns about this controversial project in a meaningful way. Moreover, Midtown Redevelopment Corp. already has a fairly storied history of development projects suspected of misusing the public tax incentive process. Interestingly, many Midtown Redevelopment Corp. projects are located on the site of the historic Black neighborhood, Mill Creek Valley.

Dr. LJ Punch

Melron Kelly

Todd Waelterman

A boost for death penalty abolition movement

Occasionally, a wicked system of oppression unwittingly lifts the movement for racial justice. The system is rigidly entrenched in racism, patriarchy, homophobia, and religious intolerance. The execution of Kevin Johnson has created new soldiers in the fight for the abolition of the death penalty. The execution moved a U.S. Supreme Court Justice to write historic words. Johnson was shamelessly executed by the State of Missouri at the behest of its governor, Mike Parsons. A groundswell of support led to media saturation of the case. It spurred participation of groups and individuals not counted as “the usual suspects.” The momentum took the case to the benches of both the Missouri Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

KJ’s was not a case of wrongful conviction; he took full responsibility for his actions on July 5, 2005. He responded in uncontrollable rage at the alleged negligence of Kirkwood police officers while his young brother was in cardiac distress. Kevin took his anger out on Sgt. William McEntee. For taking McIntee’s life, KJ had to pay with his own. No police officer has been held accountable for the death of Joseph “Bam Bam” Long. A chilling feature of Johnson’s case is the direct hand of notorious Bob McCulloch, the prosecutor at

the time. He has often been accused of being judicially heavy-handed against defendants accused of killing police officers. McCulloch’s father, a St. Louis police officer, was killed in the line of duty by a Black man.

Many a light has been shone on the openly racist and biased practices of McCulloch. It was a motion to investigate his brand of racial discrimination that made its way to the Missouri Supreme Court. Johnson’s legal team and a special prosecutor appointed by a circuit judge both motioned for a stay of execution.

n Many a light has been shone on the openly racist and biased practices of McCulloch. It was a motion to investigate his brand of racial discrimination that made its way to the Missouri Supreme Court.

Surprisingly, the state’s high court agreed to hear oral arguments at the 11th hour. Special prosecutor Edward Keenan found evidence that McCulloch treated Johnson and other Black defendants accused of killing police officers differently than a white defendant accused of the same crime. McCulloch never sought the death penalty in the case Trenton Forster. Instead, Forster received life without the possibility of parole--exactly what we were asking for KJ.

Keenan also alleged that the McCulloch team deliberately struck African Americans for Johnson’s jury pool. Again, similar allegations were made for years while McCulloch was county prosecutor.

Neither court lost time in denying the stay but something very curious happened the day after Kevin’s execution— something I’ve never seen happen in all the years of advocacy work. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued an explanation for her minority dissent, an action unprecedented and unnecessary by a justice. Jackson, an African American, is the newest justice on SCOTUS.

When I first read the 4-page dissent by Justice Jackson, I thought I was misunderstanding the legalese language. I read it several times until the criticism of the Missouri Supreme Court finally came into focus. She noticed that the state refused to follow its own law that gives prosecutors a post-conviction process to review the legality of a conviction.

Justice Jackson stated Missouri, “turned this straightforward procedural statute on its head.”

If the hearing were held, “new evidence relating to the trial prosecutor’s racially biased practices and racially insensitive remarks” could have been revealed. In short, she called out Missouri’s racist court practices.

Thanks, Justice Jackson, for your precious gift to the Missouri death penalty abolition movement. With this legal boost and new, enthusiastic supporters, there is renewed commitment to end the barbaric practice of executions in our state.

Holidays

are not joyful times for everyone.

Our families are struggling with financial stress, loss of loved ones, drug & alcohol abuse, mental health disorders, domestic violence, chronic medical issues and COVID-19.

SO...

Show some patience, some understanding and lots of love.

Share some quality time, some humor and lots of hugs.

But when all of the above is not enough, it’s okay to seek professional services...

. Help 24/7.

Columnist Jamala Rogers

“Taking Care of You”

Sickle Cell Disease patients face fertility complications

Systemic racism plays a role

By Farah Yousry Kaiser Health News

Teonna Woolford has always wanted six kids. Why six?

“I don’t know where that number came from. I just felt like four wasn’t enough,” said Woolford, a Baltimore resident. “Six is a good number.” Woolford, 31, was born with sickle cell

By David Ford

Two-time cancer survivor,

of

and

n If I’d gotten my colonoscopy, a screening for colon cancer, when it was recommended, it’s possible that I could’ve avoided surgery, treatment, and the emotional toll I put on my family.

Physicians and researchers said the disease is a stark example of the health inequities that pervade the U.S. health system. A poignant expression of this, patient advocates said, is the silence around the impact that sickle cell

disease. The genetic disorder causes blood cells to become misshapen, which makes it harder for blood to carry oxygen and flow throughout the body. This can lead to strokes, organ damage, and frequent bouts of excruciating pain. Sickle cell disease affects an estimated 100,000 people in the U.S., and the vast majority of them are Black. Federal and charitable dollars dedicated to fighting sickle cell disease pale in comparison to what is spent to combat other, less common diseases that mostly affect white patients.

The holidays are a time to gather with friends and family for food, fun, and great conversations. But imagine those conversations not going as planned and the joy of being with your loved ones overshadowed by someone sharing that they have cancer. You may not have been ready to have that discussion, yet it was happening. And you may not be prepared to talk about screenings with your loved ones, but it’s necessary. As someone who has had two different cancers in my life, I cannot stress enough the importance of getting screened. It was 2015 when I first heard those earth-shattering words, “it’s cancer.” I thought back to a conversation with my doctor just a few months earlier when they recommended a routine colonoscopy screening. Instead of getting it done right away, I kept putting it off. My life was busy. I had a family and was amid a successful career. It just wasn’t a priority for me, and all the while, I was unknowingly putting myself at risk. Then flash-forward to a critical moment with my doctor. It was too late; surgery was needed to treat my cancer. If I’d gotten my colonoscopy, a screening for colon cancer, when it was recommended, it’s possible that I could’ve avoided surgery, treatment, and the emotional toll I put on my family. Even though the treatments saved me, I had to learn the hard way not to take unnecessary risks with my life. So, three years later, when my doctor recommended screening for prostate cancer, I

Missouri’s number of uninsured children could surge next year

End of public health emergency nearing

By Clara Bates Missouri Independent

The rate of uninsured children in Missouri stabilized during the COVID-19 pandemic, reversing a years-long trend that saw an increasing number of children losing coverage, according to a report released Wednesday by Georgetown University.

But the researchers warn the end of the federal public health emergency, which will likely occur next year and require states to redetermine eligibility for all Medicaid recipients, will put children at risk of inappropriately losing healthcare coverage. Missouri was previously identified as one of six states where children are at the highest risk of losing coverage once

n “According to federal data, Missouri’s rate of children lacking insurance coverage rose from 4.8% in 2016 to 6.5% in 2019. The state also had a higher prevalence of uninsured children than the national average in both years.”

Missouri is one of six states where children face the highest risk of losing health care coverage through Medicaid next year when the federal public health emergency comes to an end. This would have a disproportionate impact on Black youths, like many other health issues.

Teonna Woolford in Owings Mills, Maryland hoped to have a biological child, but when the side effects of sickle cell disease treatments threatened that possibility, fertility preservation care was out of her reach financially.

Photo by Rosem Morton / NPR

Photo courtesy of Blackdic.com

David Ford

“Taking Care of You”

Sickle Cell

Continued from A12

disease has on fertility and the lack of reproductive and sexual health care for the young people living with the complex disease.

Woolford’s sickle cell complications have run the gamut. By the time she was 15, her hip joints had become so damaged that she had to have both hips replaced. She depended on frequent blood transfusions to reduce pain episodes and vascular damage, and her liver was failing.

“So many complications, infections, hospitalizations, and so by the time I graduated high school, I just felt defeated [and] depressed,” said Woolford, speaking from a hospital bed in Baltimore. She had experienced a sickle cell pain crisis a few days earlier and was receiving pain medication and intravenous fluids.

In her late teens, Woolford sought out a bone marrow transplant, a treatment that enables the sickle-shaped cells in the patient’s body to be replaced with healthy cells from a stem cell donor. The procedure comes with risks, and not everyone is eligible. It also relies on finding a compatible donor. But if it works, it can free a person from sickle cell disease forever.

Woolford couldn’t find a perfect match, so she enrolled in a clinical trial in which doctors could use a “half-matched” donor. As part of the bone marrow transplant, patients first receive chemotherapy, which can impair or eliminate fertility. Woolford hesitated. Her ideal family included six children.

When she told her doctor about her worry, his response crushed her: “This doctor, he looked at me, and he was like,

Uninsured

Continued from A12

majority of states from 2019 to 2021 saw a decline or stability in their child uninsured population, in large part due to federal restrictions on states barring them from removing Medicaid recipients from their Medicaid rolls during the public health emergency.

Missouri’s rate of uninsured children was 6.5% in 2019 and declined to 5.9% in 2021, according to U.S. Census data. The Georgetown University report analyzed 2019 and 2021 federal data, as 2020 data was not made available.

Missouri had a higher prevalence of uninsured children than the national average in both years. Approximately 86,000 Missouri children were uninsured in 2021.

In the three years leading up to the pandemic, rates of uninsured children had gone up nationally for the “first time in recent memory,” a Georgetown press release noted. This was also the case in Missouri: According to federal data, Missouri’s rate of children lacking insurance coverage rose from 4.8% in 2016 to 6.5% in 2019.

‘Procedural disenrollments’

Missouri’s social service

Ford

Continued from A12

did not wait. I completed the screening immediately, and we were able to find and treat my second cancer at an early stage. Now, I am once again cancer free and sharing my story to help others understand why they should be getting screened. According to the American Cancer Society, 1 in 2 men and

‘Well, I’ll be honest, with all the complications you’ve already had from sickle cell, I don’t know why you’re even worried about this process making you infertile because you’re probably already infertile.’”

Even if patients don’t have the transplant, sickle cell disease can damage their bodies in ways that can affect their ability to have children according to Dr. Leena Nahata, a pediatric endocrinologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio.

For women, chronic inflammation, and the sickling of blood cells in the ovaries can make getting pregnant harder. For men, sickled blood can jam inside the blood vessels of the penis, causing painful, unwanted erections that last for hours. This condition, called priapism, can damage sexual function, and decrease sperm count.

And it’s not just the disease. Researchers are evaluating how some widely used treatments may affect fertility — for example, by decreasing sperm count

“It remains unclear how that translates directly to fertility outcomes but at least raises the concern that this may be an issue,” Nahata said. Even more concerning to Nahata were the results of a small study, which she co-authored, that showed some patients were unaware of the many fertility risks related to sickle cell disease.

Woolford said she was 19 and shocked when her doctor told her she was probably already infertile. But no one could be sure, so she held out hope that she might still undergo a procedure to preserve her fertility before having the chemotherapy required for the bone marrow transplant.

From extensive research, she learned that egg freezing could cost more than $10,000 and that her insurance wouldn’t

department came under criticism in 2019 for significant Medicaid enrollment declines, after they adopted a new renewal process and information system.

Missouri Budget Project that year found that families were often kicked off Medicaid despite being eligible for coverage because of challenges with the renewal process, including that they did not receive the proper paperwork or submitted the paperwork only for it to be lost or not processed.

There were also hours-long waits for the Medicaid call centers at the time.

Advocates worry that once the public health emergency ends, Missouri could return to a situation in which the renewal process strips eligible Medicaid recipients of coverage due to administrative barriers.

In a study earlier this year, Georgetown researchers estimated 6.7 million children across the country are at risk of losing coverage when the public health emergency ends. The federal government predicted nearly three-quarters of children who are removed from the Medicaid rolls after the public health emergency ends will remain eligible but be dropped due to procedural issues.

“We often hear that procedural disenrollments occur when enrollees ‘fail’ to renew,” noted a Center for Children and Families post in August, “But

1 in 3 women will face a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime, yet the discussion of cancer screening remains taboo in our community. Now is the time to start having conversations about cancer screening and having it often. Be an example for your friends and family. It’s okay to say, “Hey, as your buddy, I want us to be together 20 years from now. Make sure you’re taking care of yourself. That includes going to the doctor and getting screened for cancer.” It may be

cover it. She couldn’t afford to do it on her own. Woolford wondered whether she could find another way to pay for egg freezing. “So, I started looking into financial resources,” she said. “And I saw all these foundations [that] give away grants. But you had to have a diagnosis of cancer.”

In the end, Woolford had the transplant without freezing her eggs. She said she felt that being cured would “be a fair trade-off to give up my dream of biological children.”

Unfortunately, the partial-match transplant did not work. Woolford’s body rejected it.

“So, here I am,” she said. “I am 30, still have sickle cell disease, and I’m infertile.”

A grim thought sometimes pops into Woolford’s mind: If she had cancer instead of sickle cell disease, her dreams of having biological children might still come true.

The first description of

it’s often a ‘system failure.’”

When children become uninsured, they’re more likely to experience worsening chronic conditions, miss well-child check-ups, and their families can receive high medical bills and even go into medical debt, Joan Alker, director of Georgetown’s Center for Children and Families and the lead author of Wednesday’s study, said on a press call Wednesday.

Missouri children are particularly at risk, Georgetown’s earlier report noted, because the state does not have a policy to provide 12-month continuous Medicaid coverage to children and also administers Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in a way that could lead to coverage gaps, including by charging families premiums for CHIP.

Alker said by email that Missouri has a “history of red tape losses for children,” referring to bureaucratic hurdles which create coverage gaps for eligible children. She credited the continuous coverage provision during the public health emergency with helping tamp that down.

The report’s finding that rates of uninsured children nationally declined slightly over the pandemic is “welcome news for America’s children,” Alker said in Wednesday’s press call but it “may be shortlived.”

Nationally, “millions of

a tough conversation to have, but you may be the one that could make a lifesaving difference.

Cancer wasn’t something I was prepared to factor into my life. But through my experience, I learned some tough lessons. It is important to listen to my doctor. I need to take the time to share with others, so they don’t make the same mistake. It’s necessary to go to the doctor on a timely basis. It’s okay to have scary conversations about health with loved

sickle cell disease in medical literature was published over a century ago. Because most sickle cell patients in the U.S. were Black, it quickly became labeled as a “Black disease.”

And with that came a legacy of systemic racism that still affects patients today.

Black patients tend to have less social capital and fewer resources, said Dr. Lydia Pecker, a sickle cell disease researcher and an assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University.

Pecker said that for fertility treatment, the resources available to cancer patients differ starkly from those available to sickle cell patients. “There are any number of foundations, large and small, that help support and pay for fertility preservation for people with cancer,” Pecker said. “Those foundations actually work with fertility preservation centers to negotiate lower rates for affected people.”

eligible children will likely fall through the cracks and become uninsured in states that are inattentive or ill-intentioned when the federal continuous coverage protection expires,” Alker continued.

The federal government has not yet announced when the PHE will end, but will give 60 days notice, and once it does end, states have up to 14 months to determine eligibility of all Medicaid enrollees.

Missouri’s social service department has told the MO HealthNet oversight committee it plans to take one year to complete all renewals.

Missouri’s social service department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In July, the state adopted several federal flexibilities designed to reduce their Medicaid application backlog in advance of needing to renew the entire caseload of Medicaid participants once the public health emergency ends.

Those flexibilities will be in place until the end of the public health emergency unwinding period, and could ease verification hurdles. One measure, which focuses on applications received through the federal marketplace, allows the state to accept the federal information rather than needing to re-verify it.

Missouri social services officials have also said the agency is working to ensure it

ones. And if a doctor recommends cancer screening, get screened.

I serve as Southern California Edison senior government relations manager and through my work with the American Cancer Society, I have seen that cancer doesn’t discriminate. It’s not just older people getting cancer, anyone can be at risk.

This is the reason it is so important for you to talk to a doctor about the type of health care and screening you may

When Teonna Woolford, who has sickle cell disease, researched getting help to freeze her eggs before receiving a treatment that can affect fertility, she was disappointed to find ready funding and support for people with cancer, but not for patients with sickle cell disease.

Clear clinical guidelines state that children who have cancer and are going through chemotherapy should be referred for fertility preservation.

Children with sickle cell disease going through transplants are exposed to chemotherapy, too, “but we don’t really have guidelines like that yet for people with sickle cell disease,” Pecker said.

It’s not a perfect comparison, she added, because the kinds of chemotherapy drugs used in pediatric cancer are different from the chemotherapies used in sickle cell treatment. But fertility preservation can be crucial when there is any risk of treatment-associated fertility impairment, Pecker said. Without clear and widely adopted clinical guidelines, sickle cell patients may not be referred to appropriate care.

Pecker said current medical practice forces sickle cell patients to make a difficult

has updated address information for participants so it can reach them when the public health emergency ends and renewals begin again.

At an August MO HealthNet meeting, director of Family Support Division, Kim Evans, said the state is working with managed care providers to update patients’ information in their eligibility system if they have moved. They are also doing social media blasts to remind participants to update their contact information and working to shift to an electronic notification system, Evans said. Most adults in Medicaidenrolled families nationally are not aware their services will be renewed again soon, an Urban Institute study last month found, posing challenges to states to reliably communicate the coming shift.

Unlike 35 other states, Missouri has not yet publicly provided its plan for the public health emergency unwind or a plan summary, according to Georgetown’s unwinding tracker.

Enrollment challenges

Missouri is working to replace outdated technology, Robert Knodell, director of the department of social services, explained at a press briefing in August. There have been long-

need. You can’t play around with your life. It’s more than just a cancer screening, it’s a way to help ensure that we will be around for our families. The longer we are around, the more opportunities we must live our dreams and to see our loved ones achieve their goals.

As we gather for the holidays, whether it’s a large gathering or with immediate family, I encourage you to have a conversation with your loved ones about regular cancer screening. I hope that you take

choice. “You can have treatment, or you can have fertility,” she said. But in cancer care, she said, the thought is: You can have treatment and you can have fertility.

In the U.S., health insurance coverage for fertility preservation and treatment is not guaranteed and varies from state to state. Only 12 states have laws that mandate fertility preservation coverage for patients who undergo treatments that could imperil their ability to have biological children — usually referred to as iatrogenic treatments — like chemotherapy or radiation.

After Woolford’s transplant failed, the disease continued its assault on her body. And Woolford has had to come to terms with the impossibility of ever having a biological child. She launched a nonprofit, the Sickle Cell Reproductive Health Education Directive, to raise awareness of fertility issues at medical conferences and among patients. A future goal is to provide financial grants to sickle cell patients struggling to pay for fertility preservation and treatments. Most days, Woolford finds the work empowering. On other days, she admitted, it reminds her of the bleak reality that she will probably never conceive a child.

“It’s really hard because I don’t think a lot of people realize that I’m fighting for something that I didn’t have access to,” she said.

At this point, she said, it’s no longer a medical justice fight. It’s a reproductive justice one.

Reporting for this story was supported by the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s Impact Fund for Reporting on Health Equity and Health Systems. It was produced in partnership with Side Effects Public Media WFYI and KHN

standing tech problems within Missouri’s social services department, which have left many processes manual — relying on paper forms — and burdened participants.

A 2020 report from the Missouri Department of Social Services and the nonprofit Civilla on enrollment challenges for benefits programs concluded that for participants, “the system feels like a secret and no one has the answer.” For staff, the report concluded, they feel “like an assembly line rather than connected to the people they serve,” and the work feels “siloed.” Children in states who “have not kept pace with modernizing their eligibility system” are at greater risk of inappropriately losing coverage, Alker said Wednesday. Deborah Greenhouse, a pediatrician in South Carolina and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Federal Government Affairs, said at the press briefing Wednesday that ongoing surges in pediatric respiratory illnesses and the child mental health crisis make continued coverage for children especially necessary.

“Any disruptions in coverage,” Greenhouse said, “would add another layer of crisis to an already dire situation.”

the steps yourself to schedule an appointment to get screened. If you need cancer screening recommendations, resources, as well as tips to start the conversation visit cancer.org/getscreened. A small discussion can make a lifesaving difference, so please don’t wait.

David Ford is a two-time cancer survivor, and member of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Board of Directors

Photo by Rosem Morton / NPR

Dining Out.

PRESENT:

What Is ASize?Serving

GRAINS Keep ‘em Whole!

The Smart Way!

Staying

Active (Naturally) DuringSummer!the Smart Summer Eating!

Warm Up & Cool Down

First Day of Spring!

Do This. Not That!

Exercise Game

Follow The Leader!

Smart Choices

reasons.

Tech-Neck

Nutrition Challenge:

When we’re lucky enough to have a chance to go out for dinner, there are a few ways to stay healthy with our food

Nutrition Challenge:

We each need at least 3 servings per day of whole grains. But what does that mean? How can we know what foods contain whole grains?

Once you’re out of school, many of you may have a lot of extra time on your hands to be snacking. Resist the urge to eat sweet, salty, fried and high-calorie non-nutritious snacks this summer.

See if the restaurant will let you “share” a meal. Many meals are two, three or more times an actual serving size.

smart during these fun but

Once again, most holidays this year have had to change, including December celebrations. Let’s

Look at the ingredients list of a package of food you are about to eat. If the word “whole” is used, then there is most likely a whole grain ingredient. A few items that don’t use the word whole

As soon as you’ve divided your plate into the right size servings, ask your server for a to-go box. Go ahead and box up what you don’t need to eat right away. You can enjoy

In our “Super-Size” world, we can easily lose track of what an actual serving size means. When reading labels on a food or drink product, you can determine the nutrients, sodium, fiber, sugar and calories of a serving size. But be careful; just because it looks like one small bottle

Healthy Kids

Healthy Kids

Healthy Kids

Healthy Kids

Healthy Kids

Careers

those leftovers for lunch the next day!

vegetables.

are popcorn, wheatberries, brown rice and wild rice.

> Ask the server how the different menu items are prepared. Fried, sautéed, and

Create a Smart Summer Eating plan with your parents. Ask their help in finding nutritious snacks and meals for the

before the big meal or when attending an event - this way you won’t be tempted to overdo it.

lifestyle. You can do this by forming new habits. For example, if you decide to eliminate sugary drinks completely, it only takes a few weeks until this becomes what you’re used to. Here are the steps to making a healthy permanent change. We‘ll use the sugary drink change as an example.

Getting plenty of whole grains in your diet can improve your health and reduce your chance for some chronic illnesses such as stroke, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. Visit wholegrainscouncil.com for more information.

> Remember to fill ½ of your plate with fruits/

Let’s make a game out of exercise!

> Decide you’re going to switch from soda to water.

Cocoa Puffers Cereal

Healthcare Careers

As the weather gets warmer, there are many ways that we can enjoy ourselves outdoors and stay healthy over the summer. Some naturally active things you can do include:

First, locate either a deck of cards or two dice.

summer. Delicious juicy, ripe fruits are all around and are healthy for you too! Make it your goal to come back to school in the fall healthier and happier!

> If you want to try a special treat, just keep it to a taste.

> Start by substituting one drink per day to water.

> Avoid gravies, cheese sauces and other kinds of toppings that often just add fat and calories.

> Be sure to drink plenty of water!

Melissa Douglass, MSW

Weekly Newspaper in Education Program

Weekly Newspaper in Education Program

Latoya Woods, DNP, APRN, FNP-C

Deborah Edwards, School Nurse

Yonniece Rose, Registered Nurse

work?

> After 3-4 weeks, this change will become a habit.

Review: What are some nutrition tips you learned by following The St. Louis American’s Healthy Kids page this school year? Send your answers to nie@stlamerican.com.

> Every few days increase the amount of water and decrease your soda intake.

of soda — it may not be considered one serving size. For example, a 20-oz bottle contains 2.5 servings. So if the bottle states “110 calories per serving,” that means the entire bottle contains a total of 275 calories! Remember to watch those serving sizes and you’ll have better control over what you’re eating and drinking.

> Stick with water to drink. Not only will you save money, but you won’t be adding in extra calories from a sugarfilled drink.

> What are other ways to eat healthy during the holidays?

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 5, NH 1, NH 5

Learning Standards: HPE 2,

— BONUS — Healthy eating helps your body fight off winter colds and other sickness.

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 5, NH 1, NH 3, NH 5

When you automatically reach for water instead of soda, it has now become a lifestyle change!

even simmered can all mean, “cooked in oil.” Instead, choose baked or grilled options.

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 3, HPE 5, NH 1, NH 5

Learning Standards: HPE 1, HPE 2, HPE 5, NH 1, NH 5

Where do you work? I am a family nurse practitioner for BJC Medical Group.

Where do you work? I am a school nurse at Monroe Elementary School.

Staying active, getting your heart rate up and opening your lungs will help you start off next school year happier and healthier!

Where do you work? I am a school nurse with St. Louis Public Schools.

I am an EMT – B at Abbott EMS in Belleville, Illinois.

> What are other ways to stay healthy while dining out? Learning Standards: HPE 1, HPE 2, HPE 5, NH 1, NH 5

Where did you go to school? I graduated from Lindbergh High School. I then attended the University of Arkansas in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where I studied biology.

As spring approaches, warmer weather allows us all to get more outdoor exercise. Here are some ways to become a more active person.

> Wash your parent’s car.

> Help with yard work: planting, weeding, etc.

> Walking to the store when possible.

March 20, 2021, is the first day of spring. With spring comes warmer weather and longer days (later sunset). Make it a habit to spend as much time playing outside as the weather allows.

Secondly, when you are finished with any kind of strenuous (very active) exercise, take some time to cool down. You can slowly stretch your arms and

It’s important that before you embark on any kind of exercise to remember two things: warm up and cool down. Start with some slow stretches and movement (like walking) to increase your heart rate a little. Warm up for a good five minutes before increasing your heart rate.

Instead of watching TV — ride your bike with friends.

legs again, and continue with reduced speed movements until your heart rate begins to slow down.

Review: What are some exercise tips you learned by following The St. Louis American’s Healthy Kids page this school year? Send your answers to nie@ stlamerican.com.

Where did you go to school? I graduated from McCluer North High School. I earned an Associate of Applied Science in Nursing from Meramec College in Kirkwood and completing my bachelor’s degree at Webster University in Webster Groves.

Instead of playing video games — play baseball, football, badminton, or some other active game.

> Play, play, play outside as much as you can!

Choose one leader from your group of friends. Everyone should line up behind the leader and follow him or her throughout the house, yard or playground. The leader will do a variety of actions using their arms and legs: jumping,

Some fun outdoor games to play include tag, kickball, basketball, Frisbee, and bicycling. Choose activities that increase your heart rate

Instead of surfing the ‘Net — go for a brisk walk around the neighborhood.

Next you’ll need to make a list of different types of exercise: jumping jacks, sit-ups, lunges, etc. Write each exercise item on a small piece of paper or index

> NEVER walk on a “frozen” pond, lake, river or any other body of water. Just because it looks frozen does not mean it is safe.

Break into small groups and define what it means to be a bully. Share your ideas with the class. Did you have the same things listed (as the other groups) that you would consider as bullying behavior?

card and fold into a small square. Put these squares into a bowl. Take turns rolling the dice (or drawing a card) and selecting an exercise from the bowl. The total number on the dice or card tells you how many of the exercise you must do. Face cards (king,

NEVER, ever play with any kind of gun. Even if you think the gun isn’t loaded, or maybe it looks like a toy — it isn’t worth taking a chance. Immediately

skipping, clapping, etc. Do what the leader does until they change to a new action. Take turns being

How much time do you spend each day looking down at a phone, laptop or video game?

the leader and creating more difficult, interesting and fun activities along the way.

and breathing. You want to have fun, but it’s also a great way to help keep your heart, lungs and body healthy. Make a list of your favorite 10 activities to do outdoors. Compare your list with your classmates and create a chart to see what are the most popular.

Can you think of other ways to be more active? Going outside and staying active not only increases your heart rate and burns calories, but it also helps you build friendships!

Learning Standards: HPE 1, HPE 2, HPE 5, NH 1, NH 5

This warm-up and recovery period is important for your heart health. It also helps to reduce the amount of muscle pulls and strains.

Where did you go to school? I graduated from McCluer High School. I then earned a Bachelor of Nursing and a Master of Nursing Practice from the University of Missouri – St. Louis. And finally, I earned a Doctorate of Nursing Practice from Maryville University.

Following the leader is a great way to stay active, increase your heart rate and burn calories throughout the day. Have fun!

Learning Standards: HPE1, HPE 2, HPE 5, NH 1, NH 5

Over the last 35 weeks we have discussed many smart choices that you can make to help you stay safe and healthy. Break into small groups and list as many Smart Choices that your group remembers. Now individually, choose one that you think is very important. Describe in your own words what that smart choice is, and how you can remember to make the right choice in the future. Name a new “smart choice“ that you will make this summer.

queen or jack) should all count as the number 10. Aces are “wild” and you can do as many as you want! To really challenge yourself, have one person roll the dice and the second can select the exercise. See who can complete the exercise challenge first!

Learning

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 5, NH 1

Learning Standards: HPE 1, HPE 2,

tell an adult if you find a gun. And remember that many kids are killed each year by a gun that they thought was unloaded.

> What to do if you see someone else bullied.

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 4, HPE 5, NH 1

Where do you work? I am the founder and distance counselor for Goal Driven Counseling, LLC. Where did you go to school? I graduated from Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago, IL: same as former first lady Mrs. Michelle Obama. I then earned a Bachelor of Science in Social Work, and a Master of Social Work from the University of Missouri – St. Louis. I also completed two more years of supervision and exams to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Missouri.

Now back in your groups, create a newspaper ad that includes at least two of the following:

A BMI (Body Mass Index) is a generic way to calculate where your weight falls into categories (thin, average, overweight, obese). However, it’s a good idea to remember that a BMI may not take into consideration many things such as athleticism (how athletic you are), your bone density and other factors. Discuss your BMI with your

> What to do if YOU are the bully.

> If you are with someone that falls through the ice, first run (or call) for help. Do not try to go out onto the ice to help your friend. You can fall through the ice too.

> How bullying hurts others.

> What to do if you are bullied.

Learning Standards: HPE 5, NH 5

Learning Standards: HPE 1, HPE 2, HPE 5, NH 1, NH5, NH 7

> When walking on icecovered roadways or sidewalks, take baby steps. Walk carefully and slowly.

Chiropractors around the country see young patients every day suffering from back, neck and head-aches resulting from the extra strain you put on your body when you look down for long periods of time. A couple of quick tips that will reduce that strain on your neck are:

doctor if you have any questions. The formula to calculate your BMI is 703 X weight (lbs) ÷ height (in inches/squared) or search “BMI Calculator” to find an easy fill-in chart online. If your number is high, what are some ways to lower your BMI?

Look through the newspaper for examples of ad layouts and design. Discuss the words “compassion,” “empathy” and “sympathy.” How do they each play into your response to bullying at your school?

> Also — remember to look up! Icicles injure numerous people every year. If you see large icicles forming over your front steps, ask your parents to use a broom handle to knock them off to the side before they break loose from your gutters.

1. Most importantly — take breaks! Have a goal of a 3 minute break every 15-20 minutes. Move around, stretch your neck and relax, without looking down!

> What other ice hazards are there?

Learning Standards:

Learning Standards:

2. Set your tech device in a holder to keep it at eye level, reducing the need to look down.

Learning Standards: HPE 1, HPE 2, NH 1, NH 5

Cracker-wiches

Easy

Salsa-Guac

Ingredients: 8 Saltine crackers 4

Frozen Yogurt Blueberry Bites

Hummus Dip Ingredients:

1 15-Oz Can Garbanzo beans

1 Garlic clove, crushed

Ingredients: 1 cup blueberries 1 cup non-fat Greek Yogurt

Directions: Smash the avocados and combine with the salsa, cilantro, lime juice and salt. Use as a dip for baked tortilla chips.

2 Tsp Cumin, 1 Tsp Olive oil, ½ Tsp Salt Directions: Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Enjoy with baked tortilla chips or raw vegetables.

Directions: Blend all ingredients until Smooth. Makes 2 yummy smoothies!

Directions: Spread peanut butter on four of the crackers and top with sliced strawberries. Drizzle with honey and top with the other crackers to make four cracker-wiches.

What does an EMT do? My day-to-day includes helping others when they aren’t feeling their best. I also assist getting them to the hospital when they can’t take themselves.

What does a Licensed Clinical Social Worker do?

What does a family nurse practitioner do? Each day I have office visits with patients to help treat new health conditions and/or manage established health conditions. I perform physical examinations on patients, order labs, read x-rays results, and more.

Directions: Drop each blueberry into the yogurt. Using a spoon, swirl around to coat and place each blueberry on a cookie sheet topped with parchment paper. Freeze for at least an hour.

Where did you go to school? I graduated from Sumner High School. I then earned Associate Degree in Nursing from Forest Park College and a BS in Business Administration from Columbia College.

What does a school nurse do? I assess the concerns of students who are ill, injured or experiencing alterations in their normal health. Nurses screen daily staff, students and visitors for safety. Monroe School is a pilot school for Covid-19 test sites in partnership with the city.

What does a school nurse do? I love giving students medications, so they’re able to focus on learning. I clean and bandage wounds. I use medical equipment like a stethoscope, for example, to evaluate whether or not my asthmatics are breathing well. Moreover, I teach and promote healthy habits to my students.

I use technology to help teens and young adults explore their emotions, better understand their feelings, work through relationships, and address common challenges completely online through a computer, tablet, or smart phone. Similar to a Facetime call, I support and guide my clients from the comfort of their home or private location where they are comfortable

Where do you work? I am a Clinical Nurse Manager at Barnes- Jewish Hospital. Where did you go to school? I graduated from Proviso West High School in Hillside, Illinois, and then earned a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture and a Master of Science-Horticulture from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, an Associate Degree of Nursing from Carl Sanburg College, Galesburg, Illinois, a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Phoenix, Phoenix, Arizona, and a Doctor of Nursing PracticeLeadership from Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois. What does a clinical nurse manager do? I meet with doctors every day to make a plan of care for patients. I talk with patients and/or their families when there are any questions or concerns. I review employee files to make sure everyone stays up to date with any education and requirements for their licenses.

Why did you choose this career? I chose this career to help improve the health of my community.

Why did you choose this career? I chose nursing because it allows me to help people get better by using science; plus, I can work all over the world because nurses are needed everywhere. I also get to be a nurse in the Army, and that is a nice adventure.

Why did you choose this career? I love nursing because there are many opportunities in hospitals, schools, clinics and offices, insurance, legal and research. My passion is working in the schools with students, parents, staff and community partners.

Why did you choose this career? I chose this career because I enjoy helping others problem solve. Also, I have twin stepsons, one who wants to be a police officer, and the other who wants to be a doctor. I thought that being an EMT helped me to meet them both in the middle. And, back in 2018, I had my own medical emergency and was transported by ambulance to a hospital. The paramedic that took care of me was so comforting and assuring that I realized that becoming an EMT is an honorable career. I now work with that same paramedic, at the same company.

Why did you choose this career? I am a St. Louis native, and was an asthmatic child who experienced frequent hospitalizations. Besides having the influence of nurses in my family, the local nurses who helped take care of me were my “angels” and always managed to nurse me back to health, thus sparking my interest.

Why did you choose this career? I chose this career because I enjoy being a support to teens and young adults in a very challenging phase of life that can be overwhelming. I enjoy teaching them how to best take care of themselves so they can live healthy and fulfilling lives.

What is your favorite part of the job you have? Many chronic health conditions (diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure) are preventable, and early detection is key. Thus my favorite part of the job is partnering with patients to establish and manage a plan to help them each live a long and healthy life.

What is your favorite part of the job you have? I like that I am able to hire and train nurses to be the best they can be for the patients. In addition, I like that I can make decisions on policies and procedures that determine how hospitals take care of patients.

What is your favorite part of the job you have?

What is your favorite part of the job you have? I enjoy meeting and learning about new people and cultures every day. I also like the adrenaline of driving fast with sirens going to get to an emergency quickly.

What is your favorite part of the job you have? I enjoy when a child tells you, “I want to be a nurse.” And best of all, I love the smiles, hugs and “thank-yous”.

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

My childhood health challenges have given me sensitivity to children suffering with illness. After being given a new lease on life, I consider it an honor to be in a position to promote health to the children of my community, in whatever capacity I serve – in turn, being their “angel.”

What is your favorite part of the have? I love that my job makes talking about mental health not as scary and even makes it kind of cool. I love that I get to build valuable relationships with so many people that trust me to be there for them. I love that no matter where my clients are, we can simply connect with a video call and I can not only support them through hard times, but lots of good times as well.

“Questions or comments? Contact Cathy Sewell csewell@stlamerican.com or 618-910-9551

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

Learning Standards: HPE 6, NH 3

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

“Questions or comments? Contact Cathy Sewell csewell@stlamerican.com or 314-289-5422

“Questions or comments? Contact Cathy Sewell csewell@stlamerican.com or 314-289-5422

“Questions or comments? Contact Cathy Sewell csewell@stlamerican.com or 314-289-5422

Mychell Zepeda, ADN, MSN, DNP

Banana PB Smoothie Ingredients:

Vanilla Greek yogurt, 3 Tbsp Natural peanut butter, 1 Ripe banana (sliced and frozen), Splash of vanilla (optional) 6 Ice cubes

Marnay

The St. Louis American’s award winning NIE program provides newspapers and resources to more than 7,000 teachers and students each week throughout the school year, at no charge.

Questions or comments? Contact Cathy Sewell csewell@stlamerican.com or 618-910-9551

Fourth-grade students

Khalil Isom, Brandon Chambers, and Ka’liyah White, in Ms. Rhonda Stovall’s class at Gateway Elementary School, are exploring how animals receive information through their senses.

Photo by Rhonda Stovall

SCIENCE CORNER

CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT SCIENCE STARS

African-American Civil Engineer Derrick Pitts

The atmosphere is a thick layer of air that protects us from the sun’s radiation, falling meteors, and toxic gas. The atmosphere consists of five layers: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, ionosphere and exosphere. The layer closest to the earth is the troposphere. It is 11 miles thick and it controls our weather. The next layer is the stratosphere, which is 30 miles high and contains the ozone layer, which protects us from the sun. Next, is the mesosphere (about 50 miles from Earth), which is -180 degrees

SCIENCE INVESTIGATION

Background Information:

In this activity, you will build a device to measure the air pressure.

Materials Needed:

Fahrenheit. 430 miles above the earth is the ionosphere, which is considered outer space. Ions in the ionosphere create an electrical layer used to transmit radio waves. Extending more than 6,000 miles is the final layer, the exosphere. The atmosphere is approximately 75% nitrogen and 25% oxygen.

For more information, visit: http:// www.kidsgeo. com/geographyfor-kids/0040introduction-to-ouratmosphere.php.

Learning Standards: I can read nonfiction text for main idea and supporting details.

Build a Barometer!

• Large Jar (such as a jar for spaghetti sauce or jelly) • 2 Straws • Balloon • Tape • Small Triangle (cut out of poster board or construction paper) • Rubber Bands • Ruler

• Paper Process:

q Cut the neck off of the balloon, stretch the balloon over the opening of the jar, and secure it with a rubber band.

w Tape the two straws together.

e Tape one end of the straws to the top of the balloon stretched over the opening of the jar. (The straws should stick out about 8 inches perpendicularly from the jar.)

r Tape the small triangle to the end of the straws to make a pointer for your barometer.

t To make a scale, cut a piece of paper so it measures 30 by 6 centimeters.

y Starting at the bottom of the paper, mark 21 lines that are one centimeter apart all the way up the paper and label the lines from 1 to 21, starting with 1 at the bottom.

u Hang the scale on the wall. Put the barometer next to it, with the pointer lined up with the 11 line on the scale. i To record your data, make a chart that has columns labeled Date, Barometric Reading, Weather Today. Each day, look at where the pointer of the barometer is pointing to. Then, on your chart, write down the number along with the date and the weather. Soon you’ll see a pattern.

Analyze/Draw Conclusions: What do you notice about the weather when the air pressure is high? What do you notice about the weather when the air pressure is low?

Learning Standards: I can follow sequential directions for an experiment. I can analyze and draw conclusions. I can make text-to-world connections.

Weather Word Problems

Solve these weather word problems. Remember to look for clue words and check your answer.

z A hurricane has wind speeds as low as 75 miles per hour (mph). If the wind is blowing 87 mph, how many fewer mph until it is no longer considered a hurricane? ________

x Sixteen inches of rainfall fell last year. Twelve inches fell this year. What is the total number of inches of

rainfall over the past two years? ________ What is the average of the two numbers? ________

c The temperature in New York City is 43 degrees. In San Francisco it is 70 degrees. What is the difference in temperature between New York and San Francisco? ________

v If a cloud is 18 feet long, how many inches long is it? ________ If snow is falling at a rate of ¾ inch per hour, how much snow would you have in 5 hours? ________

Learning Standards: I can read word problems to determine clue words. I can add, subtract multiply, and divide to solve a problem.

DID YOU KNOW?

Derrick Pitts was born in Philadelphia on January 22, 1955. As a young child, he was fascinated with outer space, stars, and rockets. That interest would serve him well in his future career. After graduating from Germantown Academy,

he earned a geology degree from St. Lawrence University. In 2011, he received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from LaSalle University.

In 1978, Pitts began working at Franklin Institute as the chief astronomer. In this career, he was in charge of educational programs and exhibits. He wanted to make his love of space come alive in his astronomy exhibits. Pitts was often labeled as an excellent teacher and soon became the planetarium director for the Franklin Institute. In 2002, he was in charge of the renovation and he has made improvements and updates to the observatory. Pitts is also the president of the Philadelphia chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.

He has made numerous television appearances, including shows such as The Colbert Report, The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS Morning News, The Late Late Show, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell, and The Ed Show. Pitts co-hosts a weekly radio program called Skytalk on WHYY-FM. In 2009, he served as the United States spokesperson for the International Year of Astronomy. Two years later, he was named a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solar System Ambassador. Pitts has been named as one of the 50 most important African Americans in research science and has received many awards and honors, including the Liberty Bell Award, the George Washington Carver Scientist of the Year Award, the David Rittenhouse Award, and he is a 2004 inductee into the Germantown Historical Society’s Hall of Fame.

Discuss: Pitts loved space as a child. His childhood interests became his career. What are your interests? How can you use these interests in your future career? Pitts was known as an excellent teacher. When you think of excellent teachers, what qualities or traits come to mind? Why is it important to have excellent teachers?

Learning Standards: I can read a biography about a person who has made a contribution in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.

MAP CORNER

Enjoy these activities that help you get to know your St. Louis American newspaper.

Activity One —

Tense: Locate a newspaper the present tense and clip it out of the paper. Underline all the verbs and then rewrite the article in the past tense.

Activity Two —

Apartment for Rent: Select three apartments listed in the classified ads for rent. Calculate the total rent for a year for the apartments you have chosen and determine the average monthly rent based on the three apartments you have chosen. Which of the three apartments is the best choice? Why?

Learning Standards: I can use the newspaper to locate information. I can identify verb tense. I can add, subtract, multiply, and divide to solve a problem. I can make text-toworld connections.

Teachers, if you

Layers of the Atmosphere

UMB Bank makes $300,000 gift to the Urban League

Will support Restoring Hope Capital Campaign

North Kingshighway and gifted the organization with $300,000 to support the Restoring Hope Capital Campaign.

St. Louis American staff

The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis is one major gift closer to reaching its $40 million Restoring Hope Capital Campaign goal thanks to a generous contribution from UMB Bank.

Peter Blumeyer, UMB Bank St. Louis president, and D’Wayne Sargent, Jr., UMB community mortgage banker, recently toured the Urban League regional headquarters and presented Urban League President and CEO Michael McMillan with a check for $300,000 to support the campaign.

The Restoring Hope project is transforming the former Sears Department Store at 14008 North Kingshighway, into a one-stop hub providing critical safety net services to nearly 200,000 clients each year.

n “At UMB we want to be good stewards of the communities in which we live and work.”

– Peter Blumeyer, UMB Bank St. Louis president

“We are incredibly grateful to UMB Bank for this historic partnership being launched for the benefit of our Restoring Hope Capital Campaign supporting our new regional headquarters,” McMillan said.

“Their infusion of resources is going to immediately give us the ability to expand the scope, the depth, and the work we are doing here

to create the crown jewel of North St. Louis. We are very grateful to the staff, the board and everyone else who made this possible and we look forward to a long and productive relationship serving the St. Louis community.”

“At UMB we want to be good stewards of the communities in which we live and work,” Blumeyer said. “Understanding the mission of the Urban League and the organization being so important to the growth and continued prosperity of St. Louis, we couldn’t be more pleased to support them in this important initiative.”

The Restoring Hope Campaign will raise $35 million for renovations of the old Sears building, which is now the Urban League’s Regional Headquarters, and $5 million for an endowment to help maintain the facility.

See UMB BANK, B2

PeoPle on the Move

Guardian Angel hires Reona Wise

Reona Wise has been selected as the new president & CEO of Guardian Angel Settlement Association. Wise previously served as the executive director of Almost Home. She brings over 18 years of executive management experience and is an enterprising leader with an impressive history of building programs that the community values, driving advocacy initiatives that work, developing messages that inspire, and delivering communications that breakthrough. Wise holds a BS degree in business administration and a master’s degree in public administration and public policy from SIUE.

During its annual celebration and awards dinner, MOKAN Construction Contactors Assistance Center (MOKAN CCAC) named Neal Richardson the Public Sector Executive of the Year. Richardson serves as executive director, St. Louis Development Corporation. Richardson is a member of the FOCUS St. Louis Board of Directors, Artspace Board of Directors, and an advisory member in the development of the Equitable Economic Development Strategic Framework. He was the recipient of LaunchCode Dreamers award in 2020. Richardson is also the President of Dream Builders 4 Equity, which hires

Lincoln U names April Robinson as HR director

Following a nationwide search, Lincoln University of Missouri has hired April Robinson as executive director of human resources. Robinson earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Jones College in Jacksonville, Florida. She holds a dual-degree master of science in health care and project management from Kaplan University. Professional affiliations include the Society for Human Resource Management and the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. She has previously served in human resources positions in higher education, non-profit and Fortune 500 companies.

Former star a VP of Business Operations

The XFL today announced that they have appointed St. Louis

and

receiver, Brandon Williams, as the

President of Business and Event Operations for the St. Louis Battlehawks. Williams, 38, becomes one of the youngest sports executives in the region and will “oversee the team’s business performance and activations to elevate awareness, drive fan and community engagement, and execute gameday experiences based on the League’s strategic plans,” according to the Battlehawks. He joins the XFL franchise after serving as Anheuser-Busch InBev Associate, Innovations Machine- Beyond Beer. He was part of a six-person Innovations Marketing team and helped lead product development in the Beyond Beer category. This included the Flavored Malt Beverage [FMB] portfolio of products. The brands he worked on generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, according to a See WILLIAMS, B2

Brandon Williams has been named Vice President of Business and Event Operations for the St. Louis Battlehawks XFL franchise. He becomes one of the youngest sports executives in the region.

The University of Missouri–St. Louis will confer more than 900 degrees on Saturday as it celebrates fall 2022 commencement in the Mark Twain Athletic Center. In addition to recognizing new graduates, the university will also present an honorary doctorate to former Jazz St. Louis President and CEO Gene Dobbs Bradford, now the executive director of the Savannah Music Festival. Dobbs Bradford to receive honorary degree

D’Wayne Sargent, Jr., UMB community mortgage banker, Mike McMillan, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis president and CEO, and Peter Blumeyer, UMB Bank St. Louis president, recently toured the Urban League Regional Headquarters on

Reona Wise

April Robinson

Photo courtesy of Urban League

Photo courtesy of University of Wisconsin

Williams

Continued from B1

release.

“I’m incredibly thankful for this opportunity,” said Williams.

“Growing up, playing, and working in sports media in St. Louis, I understand how important football is to the fabric of our community.

“Having witnessed firsthand the passion and support for the game and Battlehawks, I am excited to build upon that success as we continue with a fan-first approach and even more ideas for the 2023 season.”

A two-time Second Team All-State selection in football for Hazelwood East, Williams continued his education at the University of Wisconsin. Among his accolades, Williams set a freshman record with 52 receptions and school mark of 32 kick-off returns and 670 yards. He ended his career with the most catches (202) and second in all-purpose yards (5852) in Badger history.

Drafted by San Francisco in the third round (#84 overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft, Williams played two seasons with the 49ers before signing with the then-St. Louis Rams. He finished his playing career with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009.

After attending NFL Broadcast Boot Camp, Williams worked as a studio analyst and radio host for the Big 10 Network, ESPN and contributed to St. Louis area media outlets for nine seasons.

During this time, he also worked as a certified financial planner and published “Millionaire Mindset: Seven Principles Athletes Need for Financial Freedom” before earning his M.B.A. at Lindenwood University.

Williams also served as the first president of the St. Louis Former NFL Players Chapter.

Under Armour to outfit XFL teams

Under Armour has been selected as provider of all on-field uniforms, including jerseys, base layer, sideline, and training apparel, for all XFL teams.

Each team’s interview made its debut last week and are designed to match individual team identities.

The Battlehawks will sport a “Deep Sky” blue uniform at home and a “Jet Gray” light uniform on the road. The helmets are gray, different from the 2020 franchise, and feature the wings of the club’s logo on the sides.

“Something to get excited about,” head coach Anthony Becht said during the uniform unveiling on Twitter.

“Players are going to love it. I love it. By far, it’s gotta be one of the better jerseys in the league.”

The font for the numbers pays homage to St. Louis’ past as a manufacturer of military jet aircraft.

The two-year design process

was a collaboration between XFL ownership, marketing, and Under Armour teams. Each jersey features a “Blood, Sweat, Respect” mantra – a personalized message from ownership to players, which is sublimated on the interior collars of all team uniforms.

Additional design details include embroidered team wordmarks and branding at the base of the neckline, UA’s ArmourGrid nameplates with twill lettering, and all uniforms will be branded with XFL, Under Armour, and Project Rock Brahma Bull patches.

“We have built an incredibly strong relationship with Under Armour over the years as our trusted partner with Project Rock,” said XFL Owner Dwayne Johnson.

“We have become industry leaders in game-changing, innovative products, specifically designed and evaluated for premium performance, which made them the perfect partners for our XFL brand.

“Now it’s time for our players to gear up and ball out XFL style for the 2023 season.”

UMB Bank

Continued from B1

The funds will be used to establish an essential community resource: a spacious, accessible hub for critical programs and services that foster continual self-improvement, vibrant neighborhoods, and equitable opportunity for all, according to McMillan.

In addition to the headquarters building, the Urban League is also developing nearby parcels along Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and Aubert Avenue creating an entire campus.

A hydroponic urban farm is also included in the project. Fresh produce grown by Vested Urban Farms and Fresh Harvest 365, will be distributed free at the Panera Pantry, and offered for sale at local markets.

The Restoring Hope project not only anchors the historic Academy and Kingsway neighborhoods, but it also anchors the hopes and dreams of the people who turn to the Urban League seeking utility assistance, jobs, skills training, home purchases, financial literacy, and more.

The 205,000-square-foot Sears building houses the Urban League’s executive and program offices, the Panera Food Pantry, The Urban League St. Louis Empowerment Center, medical and dental offices, retail space and a daycare center. The building will be anchored by a state-of-the-art African American history and culture center on the main level. The center, supported by the Regional Arts Commission, will feature interactive displays with video content documenting local African American history provided through a historic partnership with Nine PBS.

“When complete, we will have a modern, efficient campus that will allow us to increase capacity to serve clients, provide a public cultural arts space, expand meeting and classroom space, and add services including free health and legal clinics, a food pantry, and a minority business incubator,” McMillan said.

The Urban League Restoring Hope Campaign will raise $35 million for renovations of the old Sears building, which is now the Urban League’s Regional Headquarters, and $5 million for an endowment to help maintain the facility.

St. Louis native Brandon Williams will soon be marketing the 2023 version the St. Louis Battlehawks jerseys. Under Armour was selected to design the uniforms, and the Battlehawks will sport a “Deep Sky” blue uniform at home and a “Jet Gray” light uniform on the road.

Photo courtesy of the St. Louis Battlehawks

Photo courtesy of Urban League

The high school basketball season is already off to a fast break.

Sports

DECEMBER 15 – 21, 2022

InSIdE SportS

By Earl Austin Jr.

Court is in session

Area prep hoop teams are off and running

As the season gets serious, the St. Louis American looks at some of the top boys’ players to watch around the area.

Nassir Binion (CBC): The 6’4” junior guard was named the MVP of the Webster Classic after leading the Cadets to the championship last weekend.

Marcus Coleman (MICDS): A 6’2” senior guard who returns after helping lead the Rams to a Class 4 district championship last season.

Zyree Collins (St. Mary’s): A 6’0” sophomore guard who is currently averaging nearly 30 points a game for the Dragons.

Kennard Davis Jr (Vashon): A 6’6” senior forward who led the Wolverines to the Class 4 state championship last season. He has signed with Southern Illinois University.

Justin Duff (DeSmet): A 6’4” senior sharpshooter who is averaging 24 points a game. He led the Spartans to the championship of the Arvest Classic in Springfield last weekend.

Amari Foluke (Metro): A 6’1” senior guard who returns after leading the St. Louis metro area in scoring last season.

Clayton Jackson (Cardinal Ritter): A 6’2” junior guard who returns to lead a talented Ritter team that finished third in Class 5 last season.

Tyler King (Parkway West): A 6’3” senior guard who averaged 15 points a game in leading the Longhorns to a 23-victory season last year.

Charles Nelson (Miller Career Academy): A 6’0’ senior guard who was an All-Public High League selection after averaging 18 points a game last season.

Jayden Nicholson (Belleville East): A 6’5” senior guard who averaged 11 points a game for the Class 4 state champions.

Stephen Okoro (Principia): A 6’9” senior forward who is currently averaging 12 points and 14 rebounds a game for the 6-0 Panthers.

Jordan Pickett (Belleville West): A 6’2” senior guard who returns after averaging 19 points a game last season. He has signed with SIUE.

Iziah Purvey (Webster Groves): A 6’4” junior forward who averaged 13 points a game in helping the Statesmen to the Class 5 state championship.

Trevor Reed (John Burroughs): A 6’6’ senior forward who is currently averaging 21 points a game for the Bombers.

Macalaeb Rich (East St. Louis): The 6’6” 245-pound senior is the top returning player in the St. Louis area. The Kansas State recruit

averaged 20 points a game as a junior.

Aaron Walker Jr. (SLUH): A 5’10” senior point guard who returns after helping lead the Jr. Billikens to a district championship last season.

Luke Walsh (Vianney): A 6’1” sophomore guard who is one of the best shooters in the area. He made more than 100 3-pointers during his freshman season.

B.J. Ward (Chaminade): A 6’0” senior point guard who led the Red Devils to a berth in the Class 6 Final Four last season. He has signed with SEMO.

Jordan Williams (Whitfield): A 6’0” lefty point guard who returns after averaging 12 points a game last season. He is a four-year

starter. Kobi Williams (Westminster): A 6’4” senior guard who led the Wildcats to a 27-2 record last season. He has signed with Truman State.

Viz Tourney this weekend

The Visitation Christmas Tournament is annually one of the top holiday girls’ basketball tournaments in the Midwest region. The 16-team tournament begins on Saturday this with eight first round games.

The No. 1 seed is Incarnate Word Academy, also the No. 1 ranked team in the country by Max Preps, just returned from winning a tournament in Hawaii. (Yes, you read that correctly).

John Burroughs received the No. 1 seed, followed by Eureka at No. 3 and Pattonville at

SportS EyE

With Alvin A. Reid

No. 4. Saturday’s schedule of first round games is as follows: 2) John Burroughs vs. 15) Nernix Hall, 10 a.m.; 7) Whitfield vs. 10)Parkway South, 11:30 a.m.; 6)Visitation vs. 11) Lift for Life, 1 p.m.; 3)Eureka vs. 14)Parkway West, 2:30 p.m.; 4) Pattonville vs. 13) Westminster, 4 p.m.; 5) Civic Memorial vs. 12) Edwardsville, 5:30 p.m.; 8) Cardinal Ritter vs. 9) Cor Jesu, 7 p.m.; 1) Incarnate Word vs. 16) Webster Groves, 8:30 p.m. The tournament will resume on Monday, December 26 with the quarterfinals, followed by the semifinals on Tuesday, December 27. The championship game will be held on Wednesday, December 28 at 8:30 p.m.

Mike Claiborne’s MAC honor is well deserved

Alvin A. Reid

KMOX broadcaster Mike Claiborne is the definition of a professional. He’s always prepared, knows his stuff, and presents in a calm, fact-based way. There are only a few Black people playing major roles with Major League Baseball broadcasts like Claiborne does with the St. Louis Cardinals. He just completed his 16th season as a part of the Cardinals broadcast team with John Rooney and Ricky Horton. It was his first without his friend Mike Shannon who retired after the 2021 season. He has penned a column for the St. Louis American, along with covering seven St. Louis Cardinals World Series (1982, 1985, 1987, 2004, 2006, 2011, 2013) in addition to championship boxing, the NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals.

If there is a sport in St.

Louis, he has mot likely covered it. He has been a color analyst for Saint Louis University basketball and Missouri-St. Louis basketball, a studio host for St. Louis Blues hockey and St. Louis Rams and a contributor for Fox Sports Midwest.

He was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2021, and last weekend he was bestowed with the distinguished Bob Burnes/Bob Broeg Award during the annual Jack Buck Awards at the Missouri Athletic Club.

I think Claiborne’s best moment on the air is when he contested the late Bob Feller’s ridiculous views on Latino baseball players.

“A lot of the players coming from the Caribbean, they don’t even know the rules.” Feller said during a KFNS interview. Claiborne offered Feller repeated chances to explain his comment, which obviously irritated the guest. “If you don’t be quiet, I’m going to cut this off,” Feller bellowed.

“You can cut it off right now

as far as I’m concerned, you racist,” Claiborne said. Feller hung up, and later Claiborne called him a not-topleasant name other than racist. Claiborne said he regretted the word choice, but not standing up to Feller.

“When he says the Caribbean players don’t even know the rules, that raises a flag. So, I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He didn’t want to address it. I tried to politely ask him; I wasn’t trying to

hang him out to dry. I’ve been doing this for 25 years. That’s not how I do business. He got offended by it, but I said what I said, and I stand by it.” Great job, Mike. Now find the Cardinals some starting pitchers.

The Reid Roundup

I wonder what Missouri men’s basketball coach Dennis Gates thinks of his fan base now that he got a real look at

it during KU’s 95-67 beat down of the host Tigers last Saturday?…Among those hurling insults during the blowout was Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz. Embarrassing…Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts now has my vote for NFL MVP vote over Kansas City signal-caller Patrick Mahomes.I don’t have a vote, by the way… Joel Embiid scored 53 points Philadelphia’s 131-113 win over Charlotte last Sunday. It was his second 50-plus point game as a 76er, and only two other players have at least two games in which they topped 50 points for the franchise. They are Wilt Chamberlain and Alan Iverson Steve Wilks was named interim head coach of the Carolina Panthers after Matt Rhule was fired eight games ago. Since Wilks took over. his team has gone 4-3 and is one game out of first place in the mediocre NFC South Division. After last Sunday’s upset win over

host Seattle, Wilks praised his players and put his franchise on notice. “With everything that we’ve gone through, with the different coaching changes, getting rid of players, the organization trying to tank it.” I doubt Wilks will be back next season…A rarity: two Black coaches will square off next week in Charlotte. Wilks and Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin Sylvester Croom became the Southeastern Conference’s first Black head football coach with Mississippi State in 2004. Eighteen seasons later, there been just four others. Currently there are no Black head football coaches in the 14-team SEC. “There’s definitely not enough progress. It’s almost 20 years now, and the fact that we still have to have these conversations is disappointing and it’s frustrating.” … Sixteen major college football vacancies have been filled, and only one job has been landed by a Black man: Deion Sanders at Colorado…

Earl Austin Jr.

Vashon’s Kennard Davis Jr. dashes past St. Rita’s Jordyn Richard (21) during the Vashon Winter Classic basketball tournament last January. Kennard returns to lead the Wolverines, who have won back-to-back Missouri Class 4 state championships.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Mike Claiborne is the recipient of the Missouri Athletic Club’s 2022 Bob Burnes/ Bob Broeg Award.

Photo by Bill Greenblatt / St. Louis American

Midwest BankCentre hosts Black Community Appreciation Event

Midwest BankCentre’s Chairman and CEO, Orvin T. Kimbrough, recently hosted an event at his home to celebrate Midwest BankCentre’s deep relationships with those within the Black community. More than 90 individuals from the local African-American community joined Kimbrough, one of the nation’s only diverse CEOs of a major bank, to build relationships and connections. Attendees networked and heard remarks from Midwest BankCentre’s board members, David Mason, president and CEO of David Mason +

First place awardee Kacie Starr Long, CEO of Sew Hope Community Sewing Room won $10,000 (funded by PNC)

Associates, Cheryl Walker, attorney at Walker Commercial Group and Wes Burns, executive vice president of community and economic development for Midwest BankCentre. Midwest BankCentre has leveraged its Network for Good to help build connections and capacity within multicultural communities, particularly those who have historically been denied access to capital, to start and scale businesses, purchase homes, and fund education. “We have to think differently about how we grow our region,” said

St. Louis County Port Authority (Port Authority) announced that it is awarding $2,630,663 from the St. Louis County Port Authority Community Investment Fund to 21 non-profit community groups in St. Louis County.

For the fourth consecutive year, Spire has again been named one of “America’s Most Responsible Companies” by Newsweek, recognizing the company for a strong perfor-

Kimbrough. “Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and minority-owned businesses and those who have curiosity and capacity to start businesses, in particular, are an untapped resource in our region.” Kimbrough also noted that for many Black entrepreneurs, acquiring capital from lenders or private investors is their biggest hurdle in running a successful business. This has made it harder for Black business owners to start and scale their businesses. In 2021, Midwest BankCentre announced a com-

mitment to lend $200 million over a five-year period to the people, nonprofits, faith-based institutions, community development projects, and small businesses residing in or benefiting historically divested communities. Midwest BankCentre invests a considerable amount of time and resources working through the challenges that, unfortunately, aren’t just surface-level complexities. They are deeply rooted, systemically rooted, with the result being the exclusion of individuals and communities from accessing reasonably priced capital.

Harris-Stowe celebrates 27 entrepreneurs

The Minority Entrepreneurship Collaborative Center for Advancement (MECCA) at Harris-Stowe State University (HSSU) recently held events to celebrate 27 entrepreneurs in its two Fall 2022 Entrepreneurship

Port Authority awards

The Port Authority established the Community Investment Fund to endow economic and community development projects that create new jobs, foster economic opportunity and support community investment and redevelopment.

Accelerator cohorts. MECCA held a Scale-Up pitch competition and a Start-Up graduation ceremony. These events are part of E3 powered by PNC, an initiative designed to help HSSU deliver entrepreneurship and economic empowerment

$2.6M

The investment fund supports economic and community development projects that advance or align with one or more investment priorities in the following areas: Business Retention and Expansion; Neighborhood Economic and Community

resources to Black and Brown students and business founders in Greater St. Louis. Arch Grants and Bank of America also provided sponsorship support. MECCA’s Scale-Up cohort, comprised of eight (8) entrepre-

to community groups

Development; Entrepreneurship programs; Real Estate Development/Redevelopment; and targeted Industry Sector Support.

The 2022 Community Investment Fund awardees will use their grants to fund a

wide variety of economic and community development projects, ranging from job training in targeted industry sectors to support for entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses to community investments that improve neighborhoods. Here

Spire again named one of ‘Most Responsible Companies’

mance in three areas — environment, social responsibilities and corporate governance.

In new rankings released Dec. 7 by Newsweek, Spire is listed among the top 500 com-

panies across 14 industries in the United States.

“Our employees show drive, collaboration and compassion each day to deliver reliable and affordable energy to our

customers, while making a positive impact on the planet and the communities we serve” said Suzanne Sitherwood, Spire president and chief executive officer.

The Newsweek annual rankings are selected based on publicly available key performance indicators derived from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability

neurs, participated in a 8-week program, where they further developed their entrepreneurial skills and prepared for the pitch competition. The business owners had five minutes each to pitch their business ideas to the esteemed panel of judges.

are some of the 21 groups that received awards: Arch Grants, Employment Connections, Justine Peterson, Legal Services of Eastern MO, Operation Food Search and Urban Land Institute.

reports. An independent survey was conducted to evaluate companies’ reputations by asking consumers about their perception of activities related to corporate social responsibility.

Pat Coleman, CEO of Behavioral Health Response, Orvin Kimbrough, Midwest BankCentre’s Chairman & CEO, Edmond Brown, President ELB Enterprises. Photo by Catalyst Communications.

Living It

Praise through the pain Book mark

Gospel singer Jai finds healing, comfort following her divorce

By Danielle Brown St. Louis American

Discovering infidelity in a marriage that lasted almost 20 years with a person you’ve known since you were 11 and share a child with can be devastating. What makes it even more painful is when everything those two people built from friendship, love, and ministry comes to an end and results in a divorce.

This is Jai’s story, a gospel singer, songwriter and recent divorcee. She discovered during her healing journey there aren’t many people who are honest and transparent about divorce.

“I found there were very few people I could reference that could help me in how I was feel-

ing,” she said. “I asked the question ‘Why aren’t there more people being honest about this stuff?’ People often tell their story after they’ve been through it.” Jai is doing the opposite. Instead of keeping

n “I want music, podcasts and tv shows I’m part of to be as transparent as possible because I have the opportunity to reach more people and help more people consistently.”

-Jai

her story private, she’s chosen to share it publicly both in her music (she released her single “Ghost,” in October) and on Joyce Meyer’s “Talk It Out,” podcast, where she co-hosts with

Evangelist Meyer, Ginger Stache, and Erin Culey.

“I want music, podcasts and tv shows I’m part of to be as transparent as possible because I have the opportunity to reach more people and help more people consistently,” Jai said.

Outside of her strong stance about gospel music needing to be real and authentic, Jai also believes the genre is nonlinear and should have a space amongst other categories including rock, pop, hip-hop and R&B.

“Gospel artists can represent every genre and shouldn’t have to have a certain style just because of the content we’re talking about,” she said. Jai comes from a long line of clergymen (her father is a pastor) and singers. Her aunts and uncles The Searights founded the Grammywinning chorus God’s Property, and they have collaborated on multiple occasions with Kirk Franklin. One of their most popular hits is

See Jai, C8

Noir Bookshop brings Black culture, more to its patrons

By Ashley Winters The St. Louis American

Noir Bookshop owner Ymani Wince says she wants her business to offer a chance to experience a taste of Black culture.

“My purpose is to put books in the community by any means necessary,” said Wince According to Wince, there are over 2,000 independently owned bookstores across the nation and only 125 are Black-owned. She urges people to support local bookstores, according to Wince, Amazon is projected to take over independent bookstores by 2025. She hopes the Noir Book Shop can be a source of wealth in knowledge, like a Black library.

After her grand opening in May, Wince says that her business had a great summer, and she is excited to see what the rest of the year has to offer.

The people she serves have shown her the importance of her bookstore, its significance in the community, and how far it can go. She is grateful for all the love and support.

In her opinion, all parts of American history of this country should be talked about, studied, and the perspective of Black people should also be shared.

n “My place in the industry is to shed light on Black authors and forthcoming titles, but also to keep pushing what’s already there.”

A Christmas Carol runs through Dec. 30 at The Rep

By Danielle Brown

St. Louis American

Curmudgeon and miser Ebenezer Scrooge in

“A Christmas Carol ‘’ is usually portrayed by an older white man. You can turn the page on that version during The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’ rendition of the classic Charles Dickens’ novella. Adapted by Michael Wilson, The Rep shifts norms with a BIPOC cast featuring Guieseppe Jones as Scrooge. The Rep’s Loretto-Hilton Center mainstage is transformed into a 1840s Victorian neighborhood in London through Dec. 30. For two hours and 15 minutes, Jones’ depiction of the miserable, grumpy, old Scrooge keeps the audience’s eyes glued to his moving performance.

Scrooge is pessimistic and bitter. He especially dislikes Christmas time before learning

its value, importance and true meaning.

He receives a rude awakening by his late business partner Jacob Marley, (played by Michael James Reed). Marley’s ghost appears in powdery white makeup and clothing. He emphasizes to Scrooge that if he doesn’t clean up his act, his life could be cut short.

Three other ghosts join Scrooge to revisit his childhood, showcase his present and what his future could be. Of course, they are the Ghost of Christmas Past, Ghost of Christmas Present, and Ghost of Christmas Future.

Ghost of Christmas Past (played by Lakaan

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’ adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” is smooth and actors provide crisp performances.

Photo by T Charles Erickson©

McHardy) steps out of a large box in a gorgeous ball gown and tiara and begins showing Scrooge his past, causing hurtful memories. Those memories include his childhood and relationship with his father (whom he felt didn’t love him), the death of his sister, and his attitude, which sends Scrooge off to a boarding school.

The colorful character of Christmas Present played by Paul Aguirre shows up as a dramatic in-your-face spirit dressed in a busy floral print

- Ymani Wince

“We’ve had critical Black thinkers since the beginning of time. Those books are published and out on the streets, and need to stay in circulation,” she said. Wince welcomes all readers to her store, those who are new to the culture, familiar, or simply want to expand their horizons. She encourages folks to read books on the ban list, especially books by Black authors. She says that list is filled overwhelmingly with Black authors.

In a story by Education Week, Since January 2021 42 states have passed laws or policies that restrict teaching critical race theory or have restraints on how teachers can talk about racism, sexism, and gender identity. States like Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi all have passed legislation regarding the teaching of critical race theory.

“This industry doesn’t value Black authors,” said Wince.

Wince’s store is also pushing back against book bans.

“My place in the industry is to shed light on Black authors and forthcoming titles, but also to keep pushing what’s already there,” she said. Her bookstore operates in concepts, she selects books based on what she wants the community to learn, timeless books, and what the community is interested in reading.

Referencing authors like James Baldwin and Toni Morrison, Wince believes that their books, poems, and essays are just as important today as they were back then. She says with the second coming of the Civil Rights movement with the killing of Trayvon Martin, she imagines her store as a hangout for the Black

Photo by Jamar ‘Church’ Pinkston

Jai is a singer, songwriter, podcaster, speaker and leadership coach who has worked with gospel artists Mary Mary, Kierra Sheard-Kelly, Lecrae, This'l and more.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Ymani Wince owner of The Noir Bookshop on Cherokee Street in the city’s Benton Park neighborhood.

Jesse and Edith Johnson

By Andrew Wanko Missouri Historical Society

We often see famous musicians depicted as stand-alone figures—“lone geniuses” with towering talents and a laserfocused vision of self-propelled success. While ability and determination are rightfully praised, it’s easy to miss how even the greatest musicians are surrounded by people, places, and experiences that helped to hone their musical expression in ways both small and large. In the early worlds of blues and jazz in St. Louis, two of the most important forces that shaped the city’s sound were the husband-and-wife team of Jesse and Edith Johnson. At various times promoters, managers, booking agents, business owners, record scouts, show producers, and mentors, they shaped the city’s music, whether you were making it, buying it, or listening to it live. Born in Clarksville, Tennessee, in 1883, Jesse Johnson came with his family to St. Louis in the first years of the 20th century. By 1915 he was working as a dance instructor, but soon after he would use his business skills to open up a new nightlife option for Black St. Louisans. At the time, St. Louis’s fleet of excursion boats were filled with some of the greatest Black musicians of the era, but the boats were strictly segregated. In 1916, Jesse Johnson worked out a deal to get Monday nights set aside for Black audiences to take excursions on the small steamer Grey Eagle. By 1920, the Monday night excursions for Black patrons had expanded to multiple boats, and the economic pressure of Johnson’s success finally forced the Streckfus Steamer Line—the largest and most dominant of the excursion boat companies—to do the same. Throughout the 1920s, Monday nights on the enormous Streckfus boat St. Paul became a celebration.

Quickly becoming one of St. Louis’s most influential promoters, Johnson opened the DeLuxe Music Shoppe at 2234 Market Street in 1919. Sitting next door to Charles Turpin’s Booker T. Washington Theater, the city’s largest venue for Black St. Louisans, it became ground zero for aspiring blues

and jazz musicians in St. Louis. Jesse worked as a talent scout, using his extensive record label connections to get dozens of local musicians set up with jobs and record deals. Sometimes record executives simply hung around the store—in 1929, QRS Records scout Arthur Satherly discovered Jesse’s brother James “Stump” Johnson playing piano at the DeLuxe. Soon after, Stump Johnson made his first recording, “The Duck’s Yas Yas Yas,” a double entendre–filled, raunchy bestseller.

In the mid-1920s, Jesse Johnson married St. Louis native Edith North. With a lively and expressive voice, Edith North Johnson was an aspiring blues singer herself, and by the end of the 1920s she had cut dozens of songs. Edith stepped in as co-manager of the DeLuxe, keeping an eye out for local talent and helping to hone the skills of those who stopped by the shop. When singers came into the store to audition, it was often Edith who decided whether they were passed along. One of them was young Victoria Spivey, who had taken a 500-mile train ride from Texas to St. Louis to try to make a hit record. She introduced herself to Edith, sat down at the store’s piano, and

belted out her chilling original song, “Black Snake Blues.” Five days later, the record was being pressed in New York. It would sell 150,000 copies in its first year.

Outside of the DeLuxe, Jesse and Edith Johnson used their business prowess to bring national acts to St. Louis, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Thomas “Fats” Waller, and Claude Hopkins. The shows drew thousands:

A Johnson-produced show of Calloway’s at the Arena in 1933 drew more than 18,000 people, and a St. Paul riverboat appearance by Armstrong was so crowded that the captain refused to leave the dock for fear the boat would sink.

The Johnsons expanded their DeLuxe brand to include the DeLuxe Cafe, the DeLuxe Taxi Cab Company, and the DeLuxe Hotel at Enright and Walton. Edith continued to run the restaurant and taxi service after Jesse’s death in 1946, eventually devoting her life to social work. In the 1960s, she recorded one last time and was interviewed by music researcher Paul Oliver for his 1964 book Conversations with the Blues. She passed away in St. Louis in 1988.

Saint Louis Art Museum celebrates Kwanzaa: Teseto Yalew–Young, Gifted, and Black

The Saint Louis Art Museum is proud to bring back an in-person Kwanzaa celebration in partnership with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., St. Louis Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter. Kwanzaa is a celebration of family, culture, and community. This African American holiday is based on seven principles that promote unity, self-determination, cooperation, community, and faith. Originally created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa is now celebrated by millions of people and is recognized as a significant winter holiday. On Saturday, December 31, the Saint Louis Art Museum will host its annual Kwanzaa Celebration with a day of art making, performance, and a self-guided tour and scavenger hunt. This year’s theme is Teseto Yalew–Young, Gifted, and Black.

Each year, the Saint Louis Art Museum hosts one of the city’s largest Kwanzaa celebrations. The Museum-wide event incorporates the Kwanzaa principle of the day and engages visitors to a variety of African and African American cultural traditions. In addition to the day’s events, scavenger hunts will be available at the Museum’s information centers starting on December 26 through January 1, including the day of the Kwanzaa Celebration on December 31.

This year, the Museum’s celebration occurs on the sixth day of Kwanzaa and the principle of the day is Kuumba, the Swahili word for creativity. Kuumba is the commitment to being creative within the context of community and leaving our community more beneficial and beautiful than we inherited it. Jeanice Baker, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., St. Louis Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter President said, “Because Kwanzaa is a time of celebration, reflection and affirmation, the principle of Kuumba allows for self-expression to be revealed.”

At the Saint Louis Art Museum, we feel creativity is important to our community because it brings ideas and

2022 Kwanzaa Celebration: Teseto Yalew–Young, Gifted, and Black Saturday, December 31, 2022.

Kwanzaa Celebration:

Teseto Yalew–Young, Gifted, and Black Saturday, December 31 10 am-2 pm Saint Louis Art Museum FREE

people together in new ways.

Come celebrate your creativity by making your own beaded crown inspired by works of art in the Museum’s collection beginning at 10 AM. The Museum’s Kwanzaa performance includes African dancing and drumming by

Spirit of Angela West African Dance & Drum and presentations by members of Delta Sigma

Inc., St Louis Metropolitan

Chapter. Visitors wishing to attend the performance in The Farrell Auditorium can acquire tickets at the Museum visitor information centers on site only starting at 10 am on December 31. Tickets are limited and will be distributed while quantities last. There is a limit of six tickets per person. For more information about the Museum’s annual Kwanzaa Celebration and other events, visit slam.org. This program is supported by the Dana Brown Endowed Fund for Education and Community Programs.

Theta Sorority,

Alumnae

St. Louis Sound is open until January

By Barry Draper

Show Your Civic Pride

the region, sharing practical information for their stay while inspiring them to make the most of their time here.

St. Louis is brimming with must-see sites, including worldclass attractions and historic landmarks. Plus, it boasts a vibrant arts scene, talented local makers and diverse – and delicious – restaurants, coffee shops, bars, breweries and distilleries. By guiding visitors to local establishments, you will contribute to the growing St. Louis economy, help create a more positive perception of the region and delight small business owners and prominent institutions alike.

Pivotal interactions with visitors take place at our Visitor Center locations, including St. Louis Lambert International Airport, Kiener Plaza and Forest Park. That said, we also

need volunteers to greet convention delegates at America’s Center Convention Complex and to work partner events such as the Salute to Visitors at Busch Stadium and the Great Forest Park Balloon Glow and Race in Forest Park. We also have a Welcome Ambassador Program, which offers public speaking opportunities. When groups of tour-

ists arrive to the region, you’ll be their first point of contact, ready to answer their questions and give them ideas for the best things to see and do in St. Louis, from paddling down the Mighty Mississippi with Big Muddy Adventures to seeing a Broadway show at The Fabulous Fox to exploring the wacky world of the City Museum.

Volunteering for Explore St. Louis and the St. Louis Civic Pride Foundation is an unbeatable, exciting opportunity to become an ambassador for St. Louis. Plus, it’s fun! Are you ready to dive into the action? Visit explorestlouis. com/volunteer or contact Rob Gatz at rgatz@explorestlouis. com for more information.

Guest Columnist

Barry Draper

The City Museum

James Casey puts ‘Funk” in Christmas to raise cancer awareness

His sax spreads “Joy to the World

Multiinstrumentalist James Casey has two goals of establishing a musical legacy and spreading cancer awareness.

Using his experience battling colon cancer and dealing with chemotherapy, the saxophonist and vocalist is encouraging others to test early and regularly to prevent what he experienced. Casey recently released a Christmas EP, A Little Something For Everyone, on 12-23 Records, a nonprofit label of the Nancy Langhorne Foundation, to bring musical joy with its mix of funk, jazz, gospel, and R&B as well as use it as an opportunity to raise funds and awareness about colon cancer.

James Casey’s battle against colon cancer inspired him to release “A Little Something For Everyone.” Spiritually Speaking…

I have two words for you today; confidence and discipline. Both of which, when viewed spiritually, exude Godly principles. Put this on the Holy Spirit, but discipline is an amazing thing. When applied to faith, be it natural or supernatural, the result is spiritual confidence. Spiritual confidence and discipline, without ego or arrogance, gives you an attitude of awareness and knowledge and dare I say power? The example I’d like

to use is of those saints in the Upper Room, when the Holy Spirit came upon them on the day of Pentecost and instilled everyone there with it as well, confidence and discipline. These people ultimately came to demonstrate a level of faith that was used via the power and grace of God to spread the Word of God all over the world. If you look at the before and after of this Pentecostal happening, you’ll begin to see my point. Prior to this,

While performing with Billy & the Kids in July 2021 at Red Rocks, Casey sensed some-

the faithful were huddled in secrecy, being faithful to the belief that what Jesus had told them, was indeed true. God would send another. That ‘Other” turned out to be the Holy Spirit, who imbued them with more of what they already had. Now their confidence in the truth of Jesus, coupled with their discipline to spread that word, manifested itself in their ability to communicate the gospel to the world. The world has not been the same since. The question then becomes, in what is your confidence and discipline based? Where do you get the necessary power to have your gifts fortified? Does your faith give you the strength to

thing was physically wrong.

Upon his return to New York, several hospital visits finally

determined that he had Stage 3 colon cancer at age 38 and needed emergency surgery to remove a tumor that was blocking his colon. That and a preventative round of chemotherapy temporarily halted his music career.

Casey, who is a member of the Trey Anastasio Band, has also performed, recorded, produced, and written with The Roots, Anderson .Paak, Maceo Parker, Dave Matthews Band, Chaka Khan, John Legend, Soulive, Lettuce, Carly Rae Jepsen, and in his own project, Animus Rexx.

“The thing about colon cancer, at least in the Black community, is that it’s hereditary, and it hits us 20% more than anybody else,” Casey explained. “And once we get diagnosed, we have a 30% more chance of dying.”

As part of the Colorectal Cancer Alliance (CCA) #TheyDidntSay campaign, he aims to raise awareness for colon cancer in general and change the narrative of

how Black Americans discuss medical histories within their families.

The initial vinyl pressing of A Little Something For Everyone, which includes the original tune, “Christmasfunk,” sold out in under 12 hours and raised $6,000 for colon cancer charities.

A second run on white vinyl is available for pre-order through Dec. 25 and will ship in 4-5 months due to production timelines. It features an exclusive instrumental saxophone version of “Joy To The World.”

All proceeds from vinyl sales will be split between the HOPES Clinic and CCA with an additional 15 percent of all sales from his merch store benefiting CCA.

With a positive personality that outstrips his 17 months of adversity, Casey sums up his 2022 and view of the future, “I just hope next year is as good of a year as this year ended up being.”

acquire the discipline necessary to know what you should be doing in the Lord’s name and then do it? I believe the result is the power to know that you can do anything through Christ Jesus, provided you were called to do it. I also believe scripture illustrates to us that without spiritually based discipline, it is practically impossible to stand up to the trials and tribulations of life, but also impossible to withstand the temptations that seek to control our sometimes out of control behavior. The good news here is that wherever the Holy Spirit resides, change will occur, the right kind of change. Of those anointed in the Upper Room, many were faced with

the opportunity to make their lives easier, if they would simply maintain the secrecy of their faith. Spiritually based faith and confidence gave each the power to boldly speak the truth. Remember Peter denied Christ three times without confidence. Some would call that cowardice. After Pentecost, he was buoyed by confidence and discipline. Power is the Word that comes to mind here. You remember Paul at Ephesus? “When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.” Acts 19:6. Here, these twelve men were already baptized but knew nothing of the Holy Spirit. After, we are told, they began to preach the gospel. Can’t you see the power gained and their growing confidence? There is nothing restrictive about this kind of discipline. It is in fact quite liberating. They knew that they knew the same way we know that we know. It’s that change thing again. It’s called being set apart and not having to apologize or keep it a secret. I believe it lets us stand up as Christians in the face of criticism, adversity and temptation. We may still fall, but we will not fail because our infrastructure has been fortified. Let me be clear. I believe that discipline coupled with confidence invites the Holy Spirit to take up permanent residence in your soul. It’s what I’m looking for and what I’m praying for, for me and for you. And look out world when that happens. Like someone once said to me, I’m a different kind of soldier. Believe it or not, so are we. May God bless and keep you always.

Photo courtesy of jambands.com

SLDC IS EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

The St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) is eagerly seeking candidates to join our team as we endeavor to bring economic justice to St. Louis City residents and communities that were disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

There are multiple 2-4-year limited term positions available, term of employment will vary for each position.

These positions will assist in the administration and implementation of various Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) Programs targeted for households, small businesses and communities adversely impacted by the pandemic.

All positions will be funded in whole or in part through an allocation of Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) from the US Department of the Treasury and the City of St. Louis’ Community Development Administration.

To see the full job description of positions available and to apply online go to: http:// www.stlouis-mo.gov/sldc/ and click on “Careers at SLDC.” SLDC is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity.

ATTORNEY – FAMILY COURTJUVENILE DIVISION

The Juvenile

Court must commit to serve on various Family Court (Juvenile) cases on an as needed basis for a monthly retainer to be paid by public funds. The current retainer is in the amount of

per month. Payments for time expended in adoption, guardianship of minor, and termination of parental rights matters may be made over and above the retainer fee by outside agencies including but not limited to Children’s Division.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Graduation from an accredited law school, possession of a current license to practice law in the State of Missouri, up to three (3) years of trial experience preferred; preferably in juvenile or family law (additional years of trial experience and guardian ad litem experience are highly preferred), and completion of necessary guardian ad litem training as required by the Supreme Court of Missouri. Note: This position is subject to continued availability of funding.

To apply, please send a current resume, along with a cover letter, to SLCCourtJobs@courts.mo.gov or to the following address: Family Court of St. Louis County, Attn: Human Resources Department, 105 S. Central Ave., Clayton, MO 63105. EOE. The deadline for submitting applications is January 15, 2023. Please contact the Human Resources Department at 615-4471 (voice) or RelayMo 711 or 800-735-2966 if you need any accommodations in the application process, or if you would like this posting in an alternative form.

BOOKMOBILE DRIVER

The St. Louis County Library is seeking qualified applicants to fill the position of full-time Bookmobile Driver. The position is responsible for driving the bookmobile to assigned location to provide quality Library service to customers and also performs clerical duties assigned with this position.

A High School diploma or GED required. Must be able drive a truck and trailer. Must have a valid driver’s license with a good driving record. Salary - $34,320 plus paid benefits. Apply online at https://www.slcl.org/ content/employment

Equal Opportunity Employer.

FINANCIAL REPORTING ACCOUNTANT

Responsible for preparing and recording various monthly journal entries accurately and in a timely manner and preparing supporting account reconciliations. This role assists with the preparation of regulatory required quarterly/ annual statements, which includes various supporting workpapers, schedules, footnotes and disclosures.

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

CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER DIRECTOR

Responsible for the overall operation of a state licensed and accredited child development center for children ages six (6) weeks to twelve (12) years, with a licensed capacity of sixty (60) children; ensures a comprehensive developmental program for all enrolled children. Please send resume and cover letter with contact information to info@hopehousestl.com.

COORDINATOR –HUMAN RESOURCES – TALENT MANAGEMENT

Mid-level staff position which provides administrative and logistical support, contributing to the efficient operation of Safety National’s talent management initiatives of the Human Resources Department, under the supervision of the Assistant Vice President of Learning and Development.

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

TREATY REINSURANCE – OPERATIONS ANALYST

Provide skilled and experienced technical support to Treaty Reinsurance (TRe) underwriters. Responsible for day-to-day operational needs, to include: booking premium-related transactions, maintaining systems data and business reports, handling contract wording approval processes, and adhering to daily and seasonal SOX compliance processes. To apply, please visit: https://www. safetynational.com/ careers-page/

PROJECT DIRECTOR, FREEDOM SCHOOLS

Deaconess Foundation will sponsor a network of Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools® programs this summer. The six-week program provides summer enrichment for children and families. The Project Director manages operations for the CDF Freedom Schools® program. The position’s primary responsibility is to recruit, supervise and manage adequate staff to operate multiple program sites and ensure overall quality as outlined by the standards of the CDF Freedom Schools® program. The Project Director will serve as liaison between Deaconess Foundation and the four program sites, maintain the safety of all staff and students, organize parent engagement meetings, ensure that the CDF Freedom Schools® Integrated Reading Curriculum is implemented with fidelity, and ensure that appropriate program staff inputs data in CDF’s reporting system. Starting salary range is $26.00 to $29.00 per hour. To apply for this position, submit cover letter, resume and references, all as one document, at: https://deaconess.org/joinus

MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Mid-level professional, responsible for assisting the reinsurance placement and analysis in concert with the Treaty Committee. All job duties and responsibilities must be carried out in compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements. To apply, please visit: https://www.safetynational. com/careers-page/

POSITIONS AVAILABLE

St. LouiS american Bids & Public Notices St.

ADVERTISEMENT FOR RFP

SUPPORT SERVICES

The City of St. Louis Department of Health seeks proposals from organizations that can demonstrate expertise and capacity to provide dental health care services, including outpatient diagnosis, prevention, and therapy to persons living with HIV (PLWH). These funds are available through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009, Part A. Request for Proposals may be obtained beginning Friday, December 09, 2022, by downloading from the City of St. Louis website at https://www. stlouis-mo.gov/government/ departments/health/documents/ fiscal-documents/ psychosocial-supportservices-part-a-rfp.cfm. Contact: Sylvia JacksonBell for questions @ DOHGA @stlouis-mo.gov, or (314) 657-1581 (email preferred).

The deadline for submitting proposals is Monday, January 23, 2023, by 4:00 pm via email at DOHGA @stlouis-mo. gov. The Department of Health reserves the right to reject any and all responses with or without cause.

ADVERTISEMENT FOR RFP MENSTRUAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS

The City of St. Louis Department of Health seeks proposals from organizations to provide and/ or facilitate access to menstrual hygiene products and social support for persons living with HIV (PLWH). These funds are available through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009, Part A. Request for Proposals may be obtained beginning Friday, December 09, 2022, by downloading from the City of St. Louis website at https://www. stlouis-mo.gov/government/ departments/health/documents/ fiscal-documents/menstrualhygiene-products-part-a-rfp.cfm

Contact: Sylvia JacksonBell for questions @ DOHGA @stlouis-mo.gov, or (314) 657-1581 (email preferred).

The deadline for submitting proposals is Monday, January 23, 2023, by 4:00 pm via email at DOHGA @stlouis-mo. gov. The Department of Health reserves the right to reject any and all responses with or without cause.

ADVERTISEMENT FOR RFP ORAL HEALTH CARE SERVICES

ADVERTISEMENT FOR RFP MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

The City of St. Louis Department of Health seeks proposals from organizations that can demonstrate expertise and capacity to provide dental health care services, including outpatient diagnosis, prevention, and therapy to persons living with HIV (PLWH). These funds are available through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009, Part A. Request for Proposals may be obtained beginning Friday, December 09, 2022, by downloading from the City of St. Louis website at https://www. stlouis-mo.gov/government/ departments/health/documents/ fiscal-documents/oral-health-careservices-part-a-rfp.cfm. Contact: Sylvia JacksonBell for questions @ DOHGA @stlouis-mo.gov, or (314) 657-1581 (email preferred).

The deadline for submitting proposals is Monday, January 23, 2023, by 4:00 pm via email at DOHGA @stlouis-mo. gov. The Department of Health reserves the right to reject any and all responses with or without cause.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for Jennings Station Road (North) ARS Resurfacing, St. Louis County Project No. AR-1604, Federal Project No. STP-5608(606), will be received electronically thru the County’s Vendor Self Service portal at https://stlouiscountymovendors. munisselfservice.com/Vendors/ default.aspx, until 2:00 p.m. on January 25, 2023

Plans and specifications will be available on December 12, 2022, from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouiscountymo.gov) or by contacting Cross Rhodes Print & Technologies, 2731 South Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63118 (314) 678-0087.

DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES ST. LOUIS, COUNTY

ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

St. Louis Community College will receive separate sealed bids for CONTRACT NO. F 23 201, Suite 295 - Chancellor’s Suite at St. Louis Community College at Corporate College Campus, until 2:00 p.m. local time Thursday January 5, 2023. Bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at the office of the Manager of Engineering and Design, 5464 Highland Park, St. Louis, MO 631101314. Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from the Manager’s office, at the above address or by calling (314) 644-9770. Drawings, Specifications, bid forms and other related contract information may be obtained at ePlan, the documents will also be at The Builders Association and at the Mid-States Minority Supplier Development Council. Electronic bid sets are available and may be printed by the plan holders and in Bonfire at https://stlcc.bonfirehub. com . Questions regarding the scope of work should be directed to Jodi Caticchio, jcaticchio@ arcturis.com. A voluntary pre-bid meeting will be held on Monday, December 19, 2022, at 9:00 am at Corporate College, Suite 295Chancellor’s Suite will be the meeting point. A walk-through of the project will follow the meeting. You may be scheduled visits by contacting John Duarte at JDuarte@stlcc.edu

The College has the proposed minority goals

MBE 15% and WBE 12%

Individuals with special needs as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act may contact: 314-644-9039

The City of St. Louis Department of Health seeks proposals from organizations that can demonstrate expertise and capacity to provide psychological and/or psychiatric services to persons living with HIV (PLWH). These funds are available through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009, Part A. Request for Proposals may be obtained beginning Friday, December 09, 2022, by downloading from the City of St. Louis website at https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/ government/departments/health/ documents/fiscaldocuments/mental-health-careservices-part-a-rfp.cfm. Contact: Sylvia JacksonBell for questions @ DOHGA @stlouis-mo.gov, or (314) 657-1581 (email preferred). The deadline for submitting proposals is Monday, January 23, 2023, by 4:00 pm via email at DOHGA @stlouis-mo. gov. The Department of Health reserves the right to reject any and all responses with or without cause.

SEALED BIDS

Bids for Upgrade HVAC and BAS, Community Supervision Center St. Joseph, MO, Project No. C2011-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 1/10/23. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

SEALED BIDS

Bids for Elevator Replacement at Governor’s Mansion, Project No. O2036-01, will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 1/10/2023 via MissouriBUYS. Bidders must be registered to bid. Project information available at http://oa.mo.gov/ facilities

INVITATION TO BID:

E.M. Harris Construction Company (EMH) seeks bids for Arbor Hills Apartments located at 133 Grape Avenue, Maryland Heights, MO 63043. Scope of work involves construction of twelve new 2-story apartment buildings and one new clubhouse, including, but not limited to, demolition, sitework, concrete, metal fabrications, carpentry, thermal/moisture protection, roofing, siding, masonry, windows, MEP, finishes, and specialties. Certified Minority and Women Business Enterprises and Section 3 Businesses are strongly encouraged to bid. All workers must be OSHA 10 certified and legally authorized to work in the U.S. EMH is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Project plans & specifications are available for viewing online through an invitation to bid and at:

• MOKAN Plan Room, 4666 Natural Bridge, St. Louis, MO 63115

• EMH Plan Room, 2600 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63103

All bids due to EMH office by 5 pm, Thursday, January 5, 2023. Project contact: Vic Hoffmeister vhoffmeister@emharris.com or fax 314-436–6691.

INVITATION TO BID

DBES HEAVY CIVIL CONSTRUCTION

Massman-Traylor, Chester Joint Venture is soliciting proposals from MoDOT and IDOT approved Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) for the Chester Bridge, design-build project (MoDOT Project J9P3857, J9P3857B, J9P3857C) in Chester, IL (Perry County, MO and Randolph County, IL). The MassmanTraylor team is a joint venture of Massman Construction Co. and Traylor Brothers, Inc. with HNTB as design partner. All proposals must be submitted to Massman-Traylor by January 16, 2023

Project includes bridges, roadway, earthwork and utilities. For the scope of work and any other inquiries on this project, please contact: Donald Nunez, Massman Construction Co., 4400 W 109th St, 3rd Floor, Overland Park, KS 66211 (913)291-2618; dnunez@massman.net. The DBE requirements established for this project are 6% Construction and 12% Professional Services. We actively encourage MoDOT and IDOT certified DBEs to submit proposals for a wide range of opportunities and welcome their participation on the Chester Bridge project. Non-disclosure agreements are required prior to providing information to bidders.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District Requests for Quotes, Bids and Proposals are posted online for public download. Please navigate to www.msdprojectclear.org > Doing Business With Us > View Non-Capital Bids (commodities and services) or >Visit Planroom (capital construction bids)

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

SOLICITING BID

Reinhardt Construction LLC is Soliciting Bids from MBE/ WBE/DBE/Veteran/SDVE for the following: CP220811 University of Missouri Lowry Hall –Renovate First Floor.

Contact: Mike Murray ; mikem@ reinhardtconstructionllc.com Phone: 573-682-5505

RFP INVITATION

DECEMBER 2022ATHLETIC FIELD MAINTENANCE

Scope of Work:

The Webster Groves School District is requesting proposals for maintenance of district athletic fields primarily at Webster Groves High School and Hixson Middle School.

https://www.webster.k12. mo.us/site/Default.aspx? PageID=3025

2023 VISITOR MAP BROCHURE RFP 2022

The Saint Louis Zoo seeks bids from qualified firms to submit proposals for 2023 Visitor Map Brochure RFP 2022. Bid documents are available as of 12/14/22 on the Saint Louis Zoo website: stlzoo.org/vendor

ADVERTISEMENT FOR RFP EMERGENCY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCEPRESCRIPTION EYEGLASSES

The City of St. Louis Department of Health seeks proposals from organizations that can demonstrate expertise and capacity to provide and/ or facilitate access to prescription eyeglasses and eye examinations for persons living with HIV/AIDS. These funds are available through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009, Part A. Request for Proposals may be obtained beginning Friday, December 09, 2022, by downloading from the City of St. Louis website at https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/ government/departments/health/ documents/fiscal-documents/ emergency-financial-assistanceprescription-eyeglasses-part-a-rfp. cfm. Contact: Sylvia JacksonBell for questions @ DOHGA @stlouis-mo. gov, or (314) 657-1581 (email preferred). The deadline for submitting proposals is Monday, January 23, 2023, by 4:00 pm via email at DOHGA @stlouis-mo.gov. The Department of Health reserves the right to reject any and all responses with or without cause.

To request a RFP: AJ Rodgers, rodgers.aj@wgmail.org www.stlamerican.com

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS

BSI Constructors Inc., 6767 Southwest Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63143 (314-781-7820), is Construction Manager on St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Powell Hall Expansion and Renovation and is interested in receiving subcontract bids and/or material quotations from qualified subcontractors and qualifying Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises on any or all portions of the contractual work scopes.

Scopes of work include: Selective Demolition, Concrete, Masonry, Structural Steel, Deck, & Metal Fabrications, Waterproofing, Air Barrier, Spray-Applied Acoustic Insulation, Membrane Roofing, Fireproofing, Interior Storefront, Windows, & Glass, Skylights, Plaster & EIFS, Drywall, Tiling, Acoustical Ceilings, Resilient & Carpet Flooring, Wood Flooring, Terrazzo Flooring & Precast Terrazzo, Polished Concrete Flooring, Acoustic Treatment & Stretched Fabric Wall Systems, Painting & Wallcovering, Food Service Equipment, Theatrical Equipment, Theatre Seating, Elevators, Earthwork, Termite Control, Asphalt Paving, Landscape & Irrigation, Sanitary & Storm Sewers, Traffic Signal Rework, and Temporary Construction Fencing. The Carpentry General Works package consists of Carpentry Labor & Rough Carpentry Material, Decorative Metals, Custom Precast Concrete, Architectural Woodwork Material, Solid Surface & Quartz Countertops, Joint Sealants, Expansion Control, Doors, Frames, & Hardware, Overhead Doors, Fire Doors, Aluminum-Clad Wood Storefront & Doors, Toilet Partitions, Toilet Accessories, Fire Protection Specialties, Wall Protection, Lockers, Mobile Storage Shelving, Wire Mesh Partitions & Security Gate, Roof Fall Protection, Loading Dock Equipment, Curtains & Drapes, Window Treatment, Upholstery, Site Furnishings. It is the intent of BSI and the Owner to encourage qualified Minority and Women owned firms to participate in the execution of the work. Please contact BSI Constructors for access to bidding documents.

Pre-bid Meeting: December 14 @ 9AM

Other walk throughs: Tuesday, December 20 & Wednesday, January 4 @ 7:30AM

Project Name

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

Powell Hall Expansion and Renovation 718 North Grand Blvd

St. Louis, MO 63103

Requested Bid Date & Time

Gen Works due Tuesday, January 10@ 10am

Others due Thursday, January 12 @ 4pm

Architect: Christner Architects (St. Louis, MO)

Snohetta (New York, NY) BSI

Phone: 314-781-7820

Fax: 314-781-1354

St. LouiS american Bids & Public Notices

UMSL WILLIAM L. CLAY CENTER FOR NANO SCIENCE ROOF REPLACEMENT

Color Art Construction, a general contractor is seeking competitive bids for a roof replacement project at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The project scope includes but is not limited to demolition, tuck pointing, flashing, roof railings, rough carpentry, roofing, sky lights and lightning protection. A bid walk is scheduled for Thursday December 8th at 10:00am. Bids should be emailed to Color Art Construction Thursday December 22th by noon. Please email your bid or any questions to bidrequestsCAC@color-art.com.

INVITATION TO BID

Fairway Construction is seeking bids from subs, Suppliers, and MBE/WBE businesses covered under the HUD Act of 1968. Minority Owned and Women Owned Businesses are encouraged to apply for the construction of Aurora Estates, a 46 unit, 52,203 Sq Ft. multifamily living complex, located at Lisa Lane and Indian Warpath Dr, Pacific, Missouri 63069. Any firm requiring certification assistance should contact the FWC office at 404-935-0077. Proposals for all work divisions accepted. Bids are due by 01/12/2022 at 5pm EST. Requests to receive bid documents must be sent to Denny Crosby at dcrosby@fairwayconstruction.net Fairway Construction, 3290 Northside Pkwy, Suite 310, Atlanta, GA 30327, (404) 935-0077.

FWC reserves all rights to waive any bid informalities and is an AA/EOE Employer.

REQUEST FOR SEALED PROPOSALS

The City of University City is seeking sealed proposals for a consultant to develop housing and revitalization strategies for the city’s third ward.

Proposals are due by January 17, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. For more information and to view a copy of the RFP, please visit our website at http://www. ucitymo.org/bids.aspx? bidID=399

ADVERTISEMENT FOR REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Request for Proposals for Investment Services/Portfolio Management Services of the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority are available at www.stlrsa.org

INVITATION TO BID

Fairway Construction is seeking bids from subs, Suppliers, and MBE/WBE businesses covered under the HUD Act of 1968. Minority Owned and Women Owned Businesses are encouraged to apply for the construction of the Spartan Pointe, a 48 unit, 50,000+ Sq Ft. Multifamily living complex, located at SE Corner of Battle Avenue and Spartan Drive, Columbia, MO 65202. Any firm requiring certification assistance should contact the FWC office at 404-935-0077. Proposals for all work divisions accepted. Bids are due by 01/12/2022 at 5pm EST. Requests to receive bid documents must be sent to Denny Crosby at dcrosby@fairwayconstruction.net Fairway Construction, 3290 Northside Pkwy, Suite 310, Atlanta, GA 30327, (404) 935-0077.

FWC reserves all rights to waive any bid informalities and is an AA/EOE Employer.

Reinhardt Construction LLC is Soliciting Bids from MBE/WBE/DBE/Veteran/SDVE for the following:

Patient Care Tower – Radiology Expansion (CP221611)

Contact: Mike Murray ; mikem@reinhardtconstructionllc.com Phone: 573-682-5505

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (District), the Owner, will receive sealed bids for Bissell - Coldwater - Missouri - Meramec Public I/I Reduction (2023) Contract D under Letting No. 12586-015.1, at its office, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103, until 2:00 PM, local time, on Thursday, December 22, 2022. All bids are to be deposited in the bid box located on the first floor of the District’s Headquarters prior to the 2:00 p.m. deadline. Bids may, however, be withdrawn prior to the opening of the first bid. BIDS WILL BE PUBLICLY OPENED AND READ IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE BID DUE DATE/TIME AT 2350 MARKET STREET.

The Work to be performed under these Contract Documents consists of: The work to be done under this contract consists of the rehabilitation of approximately 58,329 lineal feet of sanitary sewers, varying in size from 6-inches to 30-inches in diameter, utilizing cured-in-place-pipe (CIPP) methods, 59 manholes, 808 service connections, and 23 point repairs. The project is with in the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District Boundaries, inside the city(ies) of Ballwin, Fenton, and Sunset Hills, in the State of Missouri. The work will be per formed in various quantities at various sites.

All prospective bidders must prequalify in the Cured-In-Place Pipe (CIPP) category, and be certified prior to the Bid Opening. Prequalification forms for obtaining said certification may be obtained from the Owner at the above mentioned address. All bidders must obtain drawings and specifications in the name of the entity submitting the bid.

This project will be financed through the Missouri State Revolving Fund, established by the sale of Missouri Water Pollution Control bonds and Federal Capitalization Grants to Missouri. Neither the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, its divisions, nor its employees will be party to the contract at any tier. Any Bidder whose firm or affiliate is listed on the GSA publication titled “List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement or Non-Procurement Programs” is prohibited from the bidding process; bids received from a listed party will be deemed non-responsive. Refer to Instructions to Bidders B-27 for more information regarding debarment and suspension.

Nondiscrimination in Employment: Bidders on this work will be required to comply with the President’s Executive Order 11246. Requirements for bidders and contractors under this order are explained in the specifications.

Plans and Specifications are available from free electronic download. Please go to MSD’s website and look for a link to “ELECTRONIC PLANROOM.” Plans and Specifications are also available for viewing or purchase at Cross Rhodes Reprographics located at 2731 S. Jefferson Ave St Louis, MO 63118. The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer and invites the submission of bids from Women and Minority Business Enterprises.

Panthers. A place where ideas about empowerment can come to fruition, strategies for breaking systemic racism. A space that celebrates and honors but also a place to just chill and hang out.

The decor of the Noir Bookshop is designed to be just that, it’s so welcoming and warm. It’s like walking into Big Mama’s house, Black art hanging on the wall, a picture of the Last Supper, dim lighting, and the bronze-colored cake pans adorn the wall just above the bookshelves.

The bookstore is a quiet rec-

ognition of the Black culture that Black people feel when they visit her shop. “This is for St. Louis USA, I work for the community, I care about what’s going on in this city,” said Wince. But with the good comes the bad or even ugly and the bookstore owner has received the ugly of being a Black-owned business. Folks have called her shop a racist bookstore, but her response to that is, “I don’t have to ask anyone if I could pursue my dreams.”

She says that she is saying that with her chest, she means every word of that. And that people will just have to deal with her store being there and being Black. Wince hopes to one day partner with Harris Stowe State

University or Wash U, she would like to be an extension to their African-American studies courses. She said, “I hope in my old age the universities take over my bookshop but still keep it for the people.” She wants to make her bookshop the people’s museum, her mission is to educate.

She sees a Noir Gala in the future, and she has aspirations to give out Noir Bookshop scholarships and honor those in the community. “I want to carry out the work our people have done. I know I haven’t done a ton of things in my lifetime, but I can push the ball down the field,” said Wince.

To learn more visit Noir Bookshop.com or visit her at 2317 Cherokee St

Jai

Continued from C1

“Stomp,” which changed the trajectory of gospel music, intersecting hip-hop culture into the track and video.

Naturally being a preacher’s kid she developed an interest in involvement at her family church through singing, playing the piano, and worship leading. She would also sing around the city at other churches.

However, music wasn’t something she sought out as a career. Hearing The Searights’ industry stories drew her away from going into the business. Plus, she viewed singing only as a side gig since her career aspirations were to do marketing and publicity for nonprofit organizations (she has her undergraduate and masters degrees in media communications).

was like this exists? Cause I’ve always been a person that wanted gospel music and Christian music to stretch beyond the genre.”

Her friendship with Orlando led to her first official footing in the industry from singing on his “Life by Stereo,” album.

She sang on other songs and developed a working relationship with gospel rappers Lecrae, Trip Lee, and This’l who were also associated with Orlando. In return, Orlando helped Jai with her “Focus EP.”

Jai said she has either sang or written over 40 songs in Christian hip-hop including “God Is Enough,” which was one of Lecrae’s first songs played on Christian radio. He performed it at The Dove Awards.

back to St. Louis and Jai began working at Meyer’s St. Louis Dream Center (a church and outreach organization) as a worship pastor. Outside of pastoring Jai helped the ministry with planning conferences and oversaw the music department’s creative direction. She did that for several years before becoming Faith Church’s global worship pastor, where she oversaw all things worship at the campus and helped with the church’s firing and hiring processes, set design, and more.

Then she became co-host of “Talk It Out,” in 2020, during the time when she learned about her ex-husband’s extramarital affairs.

and lots of glitter. His role is to talk about selflessness and camaraderie, while spotlighting the lives of Scrooge’s nephew Fred (Peterson Townsend), his employee Bob Cratchit (Armando McClain) and Mr. Smythe, a lending house client who needs help with finances for his wife’s funeral. Eric Dean White’s character Christmas Future is a futur-

istic figure who keeps it real with Scrooge that if he doesn’t change he’ll be closer to death than he thinks. The conclusion is on Christmas Day and Scrooge is enveloped with joy. This catches many around him by surprise, but everyone manages to adapt and be satisfied with the new and improved Scrooge. The Rep’s second annual tradition in showing “A Christmas Carol” is smooth and actors provide crisp performances. The intricate choreography done by Kirven Douthit-Boyd is outstanding in partnership

with the fun and catchy musical direction by Tre’Von Griffith. The musical is directed by The Rep’s own Hana Sharif, and she delivers a show for the family that accurately portrays what redemption and forgiveness can look like if you embrace the present and be open to change.

For tickets and more information about A Christmas Carol, visit repstl.org/events/ detail/a-christmas-carol-2022.

“I was really trying to do more things for nonprofit organizations cause my dad’s church is a small church,” she said. “I wanted to focus a lot of my energy on raising funds for small ministries and nonprofit organizations. But then I was like I gotta make some money so I started venturing off into marketing.”

While she wasn’t initially interested in pursuing music professionally, she found therapy in songwriting after having her daughter. She spiraled into postpartum depression and music was the coping mechanism that helped her during that time.

She soon joined a group called Soul Company with Christ Community Temple Church members. That is how she met Courtney Orlando (formerly J.R.), who she closely collaborated with throughout the years including on her debut album 2011’s “Culture Shock, which he mostly produced.”

“I thought he (Orlando) was so cool, he reminded me of Lenny Kravitz if he sang Christian music,” she said. “I

Her big break came after singing one of the songs she and Orlando created at a St. Louis church. While there she met Asaph Ward, an awardwinning gospel producer who was in the audience that day. Ward, from Kansas City, has worked with The Clark Sisters, Kim Burrell, and more.

“He connected with me that night and was like ‘have you ever thought about doing background vocals,” she said. “I gave him my number and that same week he called me asking if I could sing behind Mary Mary at Gospel Fest because one of their background singers was unavailable.”

Jai agreed and sang background for the sisters for many years. It opened the door for her to sing for Donnie McClurkin, on a campaign trail and in Madison Square Garden. In 2009-2013 Jai was in her prime, touring across the country with various gospel greats, networking with non-gospel artists, worship leading, pastoring, and consulting at different churches.

She also had various record deals coming her way left and right during that time, but she turned them down instead to focus on her family and ministry. Eventually the family relocated to Chicago to start a church there then they moved

“When I started the show with Joyce I thought I was happily married,” Jai said. “When I got on the podcast I thought I was going to be talking about struggles of being married young, ministry, church hurt, being a pastor’s kid. I didn’t know I was going to be defending and representing people who have gone through a divorce.”

Jai is now in a better mental space since her divorce and has done a lot of intentional healing and self work. She’s open to writing for others and has also released “It’s You,” a song she wrote and is featured on for Shekinah Glory’s compilation EP “The Artist Project, Vol. 2.” She released the Christmas song “By Myself,” on Dec. 18. She said she classifies herself as a follower of Jesus rather than calling herself a Christian.

“Christian has such a negative connotation now so many things connected to negative experiences with Christianity,” she said. “We miss out on a lot of people because we refuse to show our humanity. We don’t talk about our issues, it’s perceived as a sign of weakness.”

Jai’s full name is Jai Williams, but she prefers to go by the latter mononymous.

Jai’s music is available on all streaming platforms. Learn more about Jai, here: https://