December 1st, 2022 edition

SThet. LouiS AmericAn

Those bully days are over

By Alvin A. Reid St. Louis American

After being sworn in as the first woman president of the city Board of Aldermen and its 22nd in history, Megan Ellyia Green told fellow members of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment Mayor Tishaura Jones and Comptroller Darlene Green, “I promise a good heart and an open mind.”

“I will not be a rubber stamp, but I will also not be a roadblock bought by lobbyists and special interests. The only agenda I’ll bring to E&A is the people’s agenda. And I know you share it.” Green was officially sworn in on Monday morning in the City Hall rotunda, although she had presided over a Board of Alderman meeting

Megan Green was sworn in as President of the Board of Aldermen Monday, Nov. 28, 2022, making history as the first woman to hold the position. Comptroller Darlene Green, Megan Green and Mayor Tishaura Jones, now comprise the Board of Estimate and Apportionment.

Johnson executed on Tuesday night

“I am unconditionally sorry”

By Alvin A. Reid

St. Louis American

Kevin Johnson was executed on Tuesday night for the July 5, 2005, murder of Kirkwood Police Sgt. Robert McEntee.

‘What I am so afraid of is leaving people behind,” Johnson wrote early Monday. “I am unconditionally sorry for my actions.”

n On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court denied Mr. Johnson’s stay of execution. Justices Sotomayor and Jackson dissented and would have granted him a stay. By a 5-2 vote, the Missouri Supreme Court denied a stay of execution for Johnson on Monday night.

Rev. Darryl Gray Kevin said Johnson “was surrounded by beloved community.

“We read scripture and had a word of prayer,” Gray said.

“He apologized again. He apologized to the victim’s family. He apologized to his family.

He said he was looking forward to seeing his baby brother. And he said he was ready.

“Kevin will never be forgotten.”

Michelle Smith of Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty said, “Kevin Johnson will always be a light.

“He will always inspire, he was very intelligent. I just want you to take this with you. Continue this fight. This is what he wants, he has given us a lot to fight for.”

On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court denied Mr. Johnson’s stay of execution. Justices Sotomayor and Jackson dissented and would have granted him a stay.

By a 5-2 vote, the Missouri Supreme Court denied a stay of execution for Johnson on Monday night.

Attorney Shawn Nolan said the state of Missouri killed “an amazing father to his daughter Khorry, and a completely rehabilitated man.”

“Make no mistake about it, Missouri capitally prosecuted, sentenced to death, and killed

Black Greeks raise over $350K St. Louis American staff

The United Way of Greater St. Louis’ Charmaine Chapman Leadership Society [CCS] raised over $350,000 through its Divine 9 Challenge, a fundraising competition between historically Black Fraternities and Sororities in the St. Louis region. CCS members give an annual donation of $1,000 or more to United Way of Greater St. Louis.

“We are so happy to bring back the Divine 9 Challenge and Soiree this year as an opportunity to give the members of these fraternities and sororities a way to get involved and make a difference through one gift to United Way,” said Michelle Tucker, president and CEO of United Way of Greater St. Louis.

n “CCS has been integral to United Way’s efforts to uplift our community and we are so grateful for its members and their leadership. They’ve set a very high standard for Black giving and in helping build a stronger St. Louis community for all.”

– Michelle Tucker

“CCS has been integral to United Way’s efforts to uplift our community and we are so grateful for its members and their leadership. They’ve set a very high standard for Black giving and in helping build a stronger St. Louis community for all.” CCS also hosted its annual Divine 9 Soiree on Nov. 3, 2022, to celebrate the challenge and raised additional dollars for United Way’s campaign.

More than 125 members of local National PanHellenic Council fraternities and sororities attended the event at Three Degree Glass Factory, and featured food from Pure Catering, music from DJ Quinn and a 360-degree photobooth.

The CCS campaign is a national leader among

See DIVINE 9 , A6

See GREEN, A6

Kevin because he is Black. Although the current prosecutor appointed by the court found

Francella Jackson, Michelle Tucker and Arica Harris joined Black Greeks celebrating the United Way of Greater St. Louis Charmaine Chapman Society Divine 9 campaign on Nov. 3 at The Three Degree Glass Factory. Jackson and Harris were 2022 co-chairs and Tucker is United Way president and CEO.

Louis County District Attorney’s Office, the Governor and the Supreme Court of Missouri

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Kirkwood resident Alvin Miller launches a balloon in honor of former resident Kevin Johnson in Meacham Park Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022. Johnson shot and killed Kirkwood Police Sgt. Bill McEntee in 2005. Supporters held out hope for life without parole.

Photo courtesy of United Way of Greater St. Louis

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Actress Irene Cara, known for her roles in “Sparkle,” and “Fame” has died

Actress Irene Cara has died. An official statement released on her website says she died at her home in Florida. The cause of death is unknown. She was 63.

“It is with profound sadness that on behalf of her family I announce the passing of Irene Cara,” the note, from her publicist, Judith Moose, reads. “Irene’s family has requested privacy as they process their grief. She was a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films.”

Cara, the youngest of five children, was born in New York. She started her career in her youth from recording music in Spanish and English before starring in numerous Broadway productions.

In 1980, she starred as Coco Hernandez in the movie “Fame”, and sang the film’s title track. She earned a Golden Globe Awards Best Actress nomination for her performance.

She co-wrote and sang vocals for “What A Feeling,” for the 1983 film “Flashdance.” She won a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

She also starred in the 1976 musical “Spar-

kle,” inspired by The Supremes.

Porsha Williams and Simon Guobadia tie the knot!

The happy couple married over the weekend in two separate ceremonies.

Friday, they tied the knot in a traditional Nigerian ceremony. Saturday, they wed with an American celebration.

Their Saturday nuptials happened at a Methodist church with 350 guests including Williams’ former Real Housewives of Atlanta peers NeNe Leakes Kandi Burruss, and Cynthia Bailey Williams walked down the aisle in a white lace Frida ball gown accompanied by her brother Hosea Williams III. Gospel singer

Tasha Cobbs Leonard

“For Every Mountain” alongside a gospel choir and 40-piece orchestra.

“I definitely want the Lord to be in the place,” Williams told PEOPLE before her nuptials. “I want the Holy Spirit to usher us into being a husband and wife. I’m from the south, so I love being in church.

I’ve never been married in a church, and Simon’s never been married in a church, so it’s going to be

a new experience for both of us.”

They waited to exchange wedding bands until they met at the altar on Saturday.

“We call each other ‘hubby’ and ‘wifey’ all the time, but now it’s going to be official, so I think I’m going to cry,” Williams said. “Simon says he’s not going to cry, but he’s cried at home when we just talk about our relationship, so I think he’s going to cry. I think we have a silent bet.”

Blaire Underwood proposes to longtime friend, Josie Hart

Can’t put a time limit on love. After 41 years of friendship actors Blair Underwood and Josie Hart are officially engaged.

He announced the news on Instagram and the pair appeared on the red carpet together as a couple for the first time.

“The most amazing, brilliant, beautiful, hilarious, thought provoking & insightful person I know who continuously lives life out-loud,” Underwood wrote. “The future is crazybright Girl!”

He also said their romantic companionship was unexpected, but Hart has been in his corner before his launch to stardom.

“She’s had my back since before I even became an actor,” Underwood wrote. “When a 41-year friendship

slaps you in the back of the head & blossoms into romance, you stand up, pay attention & step forward in gratitude.”

Underwood was previously married to Desiree DaCosta. Last year, they filed for divorce after 27 years of marriage. The estranged spouses share three adult children together Paris, 25, Blake, 21, and Brielle, 23.

EST Gee developing cataract, losing eyesight in left eye three years since video shoot incident

Louisville, Kentucky rapper EST Gee’s eyesight is declining in one of his eyes. While he’s not completely blind, he believes his condition is worsening.

The 28-year-old CMG music signee asked his followers on his Instagram Stories for a solution.

“How can I stop this grey part from spreading? I use to could see a lil bit but its getting worse I’m starting to see less,” Gee wrote. Many advised him to go see an ophthalmologist to better help him and his health crisis. Gee’s eye condition comes three years after he was shot in the eye in 2019 while filming a video with Sada Baby. He was shot four times in the stomach and a bullet hit his left eye.

Sources: KSDK, PEOPLE, B. Scott, Page Six, Instagram

A Bolden approach

By Ashley Winters

St. Louis American

Koran Bolden jumped back into the swing of things, touring local schools, and bringing his boisterous energy during his motivational speeches. He encourages youths to reach the highest start, and then go beyond that, to make a difference in their communities.

But Bolden noticed something very off during his time chatting with the students. Some of the teachers’ expressions showed weariness, tiredness, and simply frustration. That spark they once had filled with hopefulness had faded away.

Bolden says after talking with many of the teachers he felt something needed to be done to show them that someone cared, and how much the St. Louis community appreciated them.

n “If the

The reactions from the teachers and coaches Bolden says were worth all the hard work to put this event together.

“It was an amazing time and an amazing event,” said Bolden.

He says many of the teachers that he had become friends with over the years say they feel so unappreciated, they need a lot of support he says that is causing teachers are leaving the field at an alarming rate.

- Koran Bolden

He partnered with Danielle Harper, an employee at the Coach store in Frontenac Plaza. The two decided it would be a nice gesture to have an appreciation day for teachers and coaches at the Coach store just a couple of weeks before the holiday shopping rush. Teachers had the experience of getting first dibs on discounted items set to the side just for them and an award ceremony simply saying ‘thank you for all your hard work’.

According to a report by Adopt A Classroom, 13% of teachers are considering leaving the profession before the 20222023 school year. Adopt A Classroom surveyed 4,103 PreK-12 teachers at public, private and charter schools representing all 50 states, including Washington D.C. to learn more about current challenges in teaching nationwide.

85% of the teachers who responded described their school as high-needs, where 50% or more of students receive free or reduced-price lunches.

80% of teachers who are considering leaving the classroom are because they are experiencing burnout. 64% say there is not enough support staff to help teachers.

With urgency in his voice, Bolden said, “If the teachers are quitting, what happens to our students?”

Other frustrations teachers face is

making the wrong choice that could have life-changing consequences.

“We can’t afford to lose another teacher or coach, our kids’ lives are depending on it,” said Bolden. Matthews said, “ Some students’ parents don’t care about their kids’ grades, and when they attend a parentteacher conference the parents are yelling at the teacher because their kid is getting bad grades, instead of working with the teacher, they blame them.” For Bolden, his heartstrings are really tugged at by teachers who work in underserved neighborhoods, because they have to deal with so much. Many of his teacher friends are the counselor, mom, or dad. They provide much-needed materials that are outside the classroom like coasts or clothes with their own money. “It’s so many fires they have to put out daily,” said Bolden.

Along with the sentiments of Bolden, Williams said, “ Education is beyond just paper and pencil, it is heart work. We are the cheerleaders, the coach, the nurse, the tech consultant, and even an extended family for so many of our students we encounter every year.”

the pay, many feel they need to make a liveable wage, and for many, they take on second jobs just to make ends meet.

The report also shows that 63% of the teachers say their pay is too low, and 62% say they spend too much of their money on classroom materials.

The self-proclaimed advocate for teachers believes that teachers want to make a difference in the lives of their students, but can’t because they have to focus on more than just teaching.

Jaritia Williams, Assistant Principal at Westview Middle School in Riverview Gardens School District attended the event and said she was excited about Koran’s teacher appreciation event. She felt her hard work as a teacher was being acknowledged.

“Events like this not only remind you of your why but continue to keep you focused on your why,” said Williams.

Bolden’s event donated two Coach purses and gave out a handful of $100 gift cards to teachers and coaches who attended the event. Also, 25 teachers and coaches received appreciation

awards at the event. Bolden would like the St. Louis community to take what his event did and on some level appreciate teachers daily.

However, not all advocates for teachers come in adult form, 15-yearold Matkayla Matthews a freshman at Fort Zumwalt East High School says, she sees why some teachers are frustrated, it’s stressful trying to get 20 or more students to listen, to pay attention to something that will help them in their future. To put some much time and energy into something for someone to treat it like it doesn’t matter. Williams says that she is constantly thinking about what is best for her students and that dictates the way she leads her classroom and makes every effort to make decisions that will benefit all of her students.

As a motivational speaker for 6thgrade students through 12th, Bolden understands how tough it can be to reach young impressionable minds. It takes a lot to keep them encouraged and focused on making the right decisions when there is easy access to

A gateway to better primary care

“ I believe that school districts can learn to remember that adults in education need to know they are valued in the same way students need to be valued as well. Support can come in the form of actually listening to teacher feedback and putting overall wellness at the forefront of all agendas,” said Williams.

The Adopt A Classroom data shows that 91% of teachers say that a pay increase would help encourage them to stay in the classroom, and 77% say providing more supplies and resources for the classroom would also help them want to stay in the field of teaching. Bolden hopes his event will spark something in the St. Louis region to get everyone involved to show our appreciation for teachers and coaches, he says this is a community effort.

“ If we all come together right now, I think we can make one of the biggest changes in education ever,” said Bolden.

With urgency in his voice, Bolden said, “If the teachers are quitting, what happens to our students?”

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Koran Bolden inspired an audience crowd during the ‘Greatest Year Ever’ book event at Washington University’s Knight Hall in 2020. Bolden is now focused on bringing teacher appreciation to the forefront.

Editorial/Commentary

Dear elected officials: Stop the infighting and do your jobs

By Janice Ellis

There are many takeaways one can glean from the recent midterm elections. But one that should be getting more attention is that the public is sick and tired of bitter bickering and obsession with false issues at the expense of the real ones that need fixing.

As Congress and state legislatures around the country reconvene in January, there are many issues whose solutions need collaboration and compromise.

Yet despite running on fixing some of those areas, many elected officials seem to have already forgotten what they promised voters and instead are preparing to continue the destructive partisan discord.

For example, before taking office in January, key incoming members of Congress after claiming if elected they would work on certain issues — reduce inflation, fight crime, address the border crisis — are now saying their top priority will be investigating and demonizing the opposing party.

Enough of revenge politics.

What about getting ready to govern?

We do not have to look far and wide to know what the Congress and state legislatures need to work on.

Let’s begin with the need to finally pass sweeping legislation to increase the paltry $7.25 per hour federal minimum wage. Efforts to increase the minimum wage still linger in Congressional dysfunction.

While Missouri’s minimum wage is $11.15 per hour, it is still inadequate, and many employers are not required to pay it.

Too many children are caught in a catch-22 when it comes to poverty in states across the country.

What are state legislatures and Congress doing to reduce poverty among the most vulnerable and most dependent among us?

Then there is the proverbial unfair income tax system. The struggle to enact tax reform that will ensure that there are fair taxation policies, where everyone just pay their fair share, seem to always get defeated.

In the meantime, the rich continue to get richer, and big corporations still evade paying their fair share or any taxes at all.

Most Americans want the rich and corporations to pay their fair share of taxes.

But the list of issues and problems that we need our legislators to focus on is long that impact the lives of millions of Americans every day.

In addition to enduring working for unlivable wages, wading through poverty and carrying the burden of paying unfair taxes, too many of our fellow Americans are still falling victim to gun violence, can’t find affordable housing, linger in homelessness, lack access to needed healthcare services and can’t access an affordable college education.

There are other contentious and consequential issues, where the public has expressed its desires, like whether to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, or continue our support of Ukraine.

But who is paying attention to the people’s needs and wishes?

We should not continue to let our elected officials focus on their private agendas, personal vendettas, or created and fake issues at the expense of working on real ones that need solutions.

As voters, our work has only begun.

Influencing the courts that influence our lives

By Ben Jealous

As I write this, the final few races are being called in the midterm elections that were held weeks ago. It’s clear that that the House will be closely divided, with Republicans holding a small majority. History shows that in midterm elections, the party that doesn’t hold the presidency typically gains a lot of seats in Congress – oftentimes in a wipeout of the party in power. Republicans’ gains were comparatively tiny this year – but they probably should have been even tinier.

The reason is the far-right Supreme Court, and two rulings that hurt Black voters this cycle.

Two Deep South states, Alabama, and Louisiana redrew congressional maps months before the midterms. Incredibly, given the high proportion of Black voters in those states, the maps allowed for only one majority-Black congressional district in each state. That is almost certainly a violation of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits states from packing minority voters into fewer districts in a way that reduces their power. And you don’t have to take my word for it; federal courts said the same thing and ordered both states to redraw their maps.

ultraconservative justices to make a supermajority.

I know that the inner workings of the courts, especially the Supreme Court, can seem remote in our day-to-day lives.

Most people don’t know any judges, and if they meet one in court it’s probably happening on a very unpleasant day. In fact, my guess is that a lot of people would rather not think much about the courts at all.

But we must.

Lawmakers can see the need to increase their own wages while many Americans can barely earn enough to sustain a decent living for their families let alone battle rising food and gas prices.

Increasing the minimum wage could help many Americans keep up with the cost of living and deal with inflation.

What about rampant poverty in front of our very eyes?

There have been so-called wars on poverty from time to time, yet the poverty rate is still unacceptable in a country that flaunts that it is among the riches and strongest in the world.

Poverty has a devastating effect on our children.

In Missouri alone it was recently reported that nearly 350,000 children continue to languish in the crevices of poverty because they are in families with incomes that are too low for them to receive child tax credit benefits.

The family is too poor to receive help that other families do who are not caught in the poverty nexus. Does that make any sense?

The latest data show the national child poverty rate is 16.9%, significantly higher than the overall poverty rate of 12.8%.

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.

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We need to be thinking of the most effective ways to hold elected officials accountable.

Democracy is a family affair. We must be invested and remain engaged to ensure needs are being met. We also can’t forget that keeping our domestic house in order is what has the greatest power we can use abroad to maintain our influence as a world leader.

Voters have made it clear they want America to do what is in the country’s best interest at home and abroad.

Some bickering and disagreements are natural. Real and warranted investigations can and should be launched and brought to their factual conclusions. But neither should be allowed to be all-consuming at the expense of getting needed things done.

Coming together to do the jobs they are elected to do should be the priority. Beginning with new the new year, we should accept nothing less. What can we do to ensure that?

Janice Ellis has lived and worked in Missouri for more than three decades, analyzing educational, political, social and economic issues across race, ethnicity, age and socio-economic status.

But state officials opposed to Black voting power fought back. And in both instances, the Supreme Court allowed them to go ahead with this year’s midterm elections with maps that just happened to preserve “safe” Republican seats.

It’s infuriating. And those are only two of the infuriating decisions that have come out of this Court since Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell succeeded in stacking it with enough

We need to pay attention to who sits on our courts and how they get there, because there is such an enormous impact on our lives whether we realize it or not. The Supreme Court’s impact on the House majority is just one example. Those actions by the Court will affect what business gets done in Congress and what laws get passed – or not passed – that impact how we live and what rights we have. Judges get their seats in separate ways, especially at the state level. If you live in a place where state-level judges are elected, it’s critically important to get informed and vote in those judicial elections. When it comes to federal judges, the Senate decides who will be confirmed. So, every time you cast a vote for a senator, it should be for the candidate who will vote to confirm fair-minded judges with a commitment to civil rights. The Biden administration has been doing a particularly excellent job nominating

diverse, highly qualified judges who have this commitment. I believe in supporting senators who have voted to confirm these judges and withholding support from those who haven’t.

The same goes for the presidential election, which we will face again in less than two years. In 2016, Donald Trump ran on a platform to name far-right judges to the Supreme Court who would ultimately overturn Roe v. Wade. That’s exactly what happened when he won, and now the Court is moving on to do other damage, too – like denying Black voters’ fair representation in Congress. So, what do we do? We get informed, we organize, and we vote in the next election – the same thing we do to confront so many issues this country faces. Next election seems too far away? There is something you can do in the meantime. Call your senators and tell them to confirm the federal judicial nominees that are still waiting for a Senate vote between now and the end of the year. There are literally dozens of nominees picked by President Biden, including many people of color and nominees with strong civil rights backgrounds, just waiting for Senate action to take their seats on the courts. We can show we care by calling our senators and telling them to confirm these nominees now. Courts are going to keep showing us how much of an impact they have on our lives. We need to exercise every option we have to impact who sits on them.

Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way

As I See It - A Forum for Community Issues

Making

a case

By Fedrick C. Ingram

The last two years have been hard for everyone.

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Every sector of our society was impacted as we fought to protect our most vulnerable institutions from a once-ina-century pandemic. Retail, entertainment, healthcare—everything felt the hit. Higher education was no exception, with admissions dropping 3.2% since 2020.

Interestingly, historically Black colleges and universities not only weathered the storm but saw admissions jump 2.5%.

The New York Times reported this summer that applications to HBCUs rose 30% between 2018 and 2021, and 40,000 applications are expected to be submitted this year — four times that of 2016.

Why is that? What makes HBCUs, a network of schools nearly 200 years old that emerged to serve African American students when most schools would not, uniquely resilient?

My answer is personal.

In 1991, I was a smart kid and pretty good musician about to graduate from high school in southern Florida. Even though I had no political dog in the fight or any military background, I had all but decided my future was in the Army, playing in the military band.

Chance had it that my high school band director was a graduate from Xavier University of Louisiana, an HBCU. He suggested I think about college, specifically a Black college, instead of the military. This one conversation changed the trajectory of my life.

Ultimately, I chose Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach — making me the first in my family to attend and graduate from college. You can imagine that I was not particularly prepared for the

for resilient HBCUs

experience. I recall a phone conversation I had with my mother shortly after meeting my campus band director, Dr. Harold Bray.

“Yeah, he’s a doctor, too. I guess he teaches and then works in a hospital to deliver babies,” I told my mom on the phone, astonished.

I laugh now, but 18-yearold me had never met a Black Ph.D. before — I had no frame of reference of what the fruits of academic labor looked like. I had never seen so many Black people and students my age all wanting to be better. They had ambition and dreams.

I thought, “If these people can do it, so can I.”

What I didn’t quite appreciate at the moment but am grateful for now is that BethuneCookman was giving me models of success I had never seen before. I was witnessing ambition in real time as my fellow students booked it to class and camped out in libraries. I was seeing the results of that ambition in my teachers and professors.

I’m not here to say that every Black child must attend a Bethune-Cookman, Hampton or Howard, or that predominantly white institutions are somehow subpar. But I do feel that foundational pride and excellence is a unique gift given only by the halls and campuses of HBCUs. That sense of camaraderie and purpose may explain why, even though HBCUs only account for 9% of Black college graduates, they excel at graduating the best and brightest. They act as an incubator

for people determined to make the world more equitable. Half of our country’s Black doctors, lawyers and teachers turn their tassels at an HBCU, and I can’t help but think it’s because those schools offer something more than a good curriculum. However, despite their renewed strength, HBCUs need our help. The United Negro College Fund released a study showing that the federal funding gap between HBCUs and predominantly white institutions quadrupled between 2003 and 2015, from $400 to $1,600 per student. And while we know Black folks have always had to make dimes out of nickels, there’s no excuse for this targeted inequity.

That’s why educators and students were elated to see the Biden-Harris administration fund HBCUs to the tune of nearly $6 billion in federal funding starting last year — a welcome sign from a government that seems to understand the value of Black education. Education has proven to be one of the most reliable tools in Black America’s quest for equality in this country. As a leader, a teacher and a father, I encourage anyone who can to apply, matriculate and graduate — you don’t need me to recite the numbers showing the financial advantages it can bring. But as a graduate from my beloved Bethune-Cookman University, I ask you to consider joining the legacy of those like Vice President Kamala Harris, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, W. E. B. Du Bois and Toni Morrison to swell the ever-expanding ranks of Black excellence that has already left an indelible mark on American history.

Fedrick C. Ingram is the Secretary-Treasurer of the American Federation of Teachers

Columnist Ben Jealous

Guest Columnist Janice Ellis

Guest Columnist Fedrick C. Ingram

U.S. Navy Culinary Specialist Seaman Jacobi Nichols, a St. Louis native, prepares a Thanksgiving meal aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. Nimitz was in port at Bremerton, Washington conducting routine operations.

Deltas’ Breakfast with Santa set for Dec. 10 return

The St. Louis Alumnae Chapter (SLA) of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., has announced the cheerful return of its Annual Breakfast with Santa event from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022, at Carr Lane Visual Performing Arts Middle School, 1004 N. Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 63106.

Breakfast with Santa is the chapter’s annual toy giveaway, and the event has included a pancake breakfast, but the tradition was put on hold because of the pandemic.

“We’ll be giving out breakfast sandwiches instead of pancakes due to COVID,” said Renee Taylor, chair of the Breakfast with Santa committee.

“While the experience may be a little different without our signature pancakes, which we know the kids really enjoyed, we’re looking forward to welcoming families into a warm facility after doing a drivethrough version of the event in 2021.”

“We chose Carr Lane because we wanted to be in the City of St. Louis and accessible to those who might benefit most from the program.”

Also, making a comeback this year is the opportunity for kids to win a bike.

“We realize that many families are taking a huge financial hit this year with the rising costs of goods and services,” said SLA President Bernadette White.

“The goal of Delta’s service projects is to offer some relief to our area’s most under-resourced communities is high on our list of priorities in all our programming efforts. The kids enjoy attending our event as much as we love hosting it.”

An adult must accompany children. Each child will get a meal, one toy, a book, and a chance to win a bike, while supplies last. For individuals or organizations wanting to donate new unwrapped toys, books, or bikes, please call (314) 325-9830.

Our voting responsibilities are not finished

By E. Faye Williams

Our obligation to the ancestors requires us to engage in one more election this season. We must vote — with either our ballots or our contributions. I most certainly won’t tell you who to vote for. I won’t even directly recommend a candidate to you.

The only thing I will ask is that you vote. I have given reasons for voting more times than I can remember, but I will add one more time that too many people, figuratively and literally, gave their lives for us to attain that right.

I will present the facts about the candidates as I know and believe them to be. Any voting decision you make will be determined by your critical assessment of the information I present and the synthesis of that information with other information you may have received from other media sources.

Some will ask, “Why are you bringing up voting now after the elections are over?” My response is, “We have one more election to go before we are finished. Although the Senate majority has been determined, the outcome of this election will exemplify the type and quality of leadership we expect and demand for the next six years.”

Of course, I am referring to the Georgia runoff election between incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker

In a time when politics was more civil and the candidates we elected “generally” put national interests ahead of local interests and political parties, there was less of an imperative to assert that we all have a vested interest in out-of-state political races.

With the current acrimony between Republicans and Democrats, the warfarestyle, mortal enemy attitude between the parties, and the “always say never!” position to opposing viewpoints, we must intelligently and actively consider the outcome of every election to protect the positions that are near and dear to us.

That’s a clear reason that we see an increase in the nationwide solicitation of campaign contributions.

It has been suggested that most voters choose candidates who most closely match their character, philosophy, interests, and aspirations. Logic informs us that anyone running for public office would want to present the most complimentary image of her/himself as possible. For some, this means telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Others must embellish the truth to present themselves as more qualified or worthy. The rest must lie to cover a myriad of indiscretions, lapses in judgment, hypocrisies, moral failures, unsavory associates, or criminal intent.

Can we run the risk of electing a known liar or of lies being told when circumstances might impact our safety and security? The candidate who willingly lies to you once is telling you that he/she will lie again, and we know to believe a person who tells us who they are the first time.

If you are willing to accept factual reversals, suspicious “spinning,” blatant lies, and misrepresentations of facts in the face of opposing credible evidence, then this election offers you your candidate of choice. Those are the characterizations that have been verified by a family member of one of the candidates.

Temperamental instability and demonstration of violence are traits of character that are unsuitable for a candidate and/or a sitting senator. Documented facts show this type of behavior to be true of one of the candidates.

A candidate who would accept special consideration for him/herself while holding constituents to a rigid and dogmatic standard of conduct is unsuitable for election. Again, one candidate in Georgia offers you that choice.

Attorney E. Faye Williams is a United Nations Peace Ambassador and former president and CEO of the National Congress of Black women

Photo by Hannah Kantner, US NAVY

E. Faye Williams

Sea food sailor

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last week.

To her former aldermen colleagues, she said, “I promise an end to the toxic culture in the chamber of the past few years.”

“Enthusiasm won’t be punished, and experience won’t be ignored.”

Green, who was endorsed by Mayor Jones, won a primary election over Jack Coatar in September, then topped him again in a Nov. 8 contest. She is fulfilling the term of Lewis Reed, who has pleaded guilty to numerous corruption charges and is awaiting sentence by a federal judge.

Green will face another election in just five months. Coatar has announced he is not seeking re-election for his board seat and will not run again against Green. Alderwoman Cara Spencer said last week she will run for the board’s new 8th Ward seat, ending speculation she would challenge Green.

Jones, the first Black woman to serve as mayor, said Green is “breaking the mold and starting a new path.”

“There are some that did not want her or her bold ideas at the table. She will have a powerful leadership role. No dollars will be spent without the approval of three powerful women.”

Jones, who did not endorse Green when she sought the Board of Aldermen presidency in 2019, admitted that they “have not always seen eye-toeye.”

“Frankly, we did not speak for several months.”

During a five-hour car trip to Iowa during the primary season

Divine 9

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of 2020 “we talked it out.’

“We found a way to disagree without being disagreeable,” Jones said.

The Board of E&A and Board of Aldermen will face a full agenda during Green’s five months before another election.

“There is no shortage of work to be done. For sure, our city’s legislative body has our jobs cut out for us,” Green said.

According to the BOA president the challenges include:

Beginning the work of reducing the size of the Board of Aldermen from 28 seats to

African American philanthropic giving groups. It is comprised of more than 600 members and, since the group’s inception in 1994, members have raised nearly $60 million for the St. Louis region. The 2022 CCS campaign co-chairs are Adrian and

14. Appropriating ARPA funds and infrastructure funds and beginning the process of determining the best use of the Rams settlement funds.

Rebuilding the city workforce to provide quality services “in every corner of our city.” This would include providing compensation and benefits, like childcare, home buying assistance, and student loan assistance.

Tax incentive reform “that will ensure that our schools and city coffers benefit from new development from day one.”

“We must increase the

Vernon Vito Bracy. The 2022 Divine 9 Challenge was co-chaired by Francella Jackson, with Village of Cahokia, and Arica Harris, with Edward Jones.

The organizations raised the

availability of affordable housing, pursue efforts to prevent the need for evictions, ensure the right to form unions, and ensure that public benefits are attached to publicly-subsidized projects,” Green said.

“We must make sure that public health is funded and supported, including reproductive healthcare; we must ensure that we are investing in training our students for the jobs of today and tomorrow.

“We must pursue public safety strategies that address the root causes of crime, while also enacting police accountability measures that will restore trust in our police.”

following amounts:

Sororities

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.: $107,857; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.: $78,363; Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.:

She added that the city “must finish the job of decriminalizing marijuana, from updating hiring policies to changing zoning regulations to accommodate recreational marijuana facilities.”

“And we must send a marijuana tax to the ballot to allow the wider community to benefit from the new law. “

Comptroller Green, the first woman to hold that office in St. Louis, said she looked forward to working with the new Board of Aldermen president, “to make transformative changes.”

“We will work to make our city, neighborhoods, and

$12,500; Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.: $9,208

Megan Green was sworn in as the President of the Board of Aldermen today Monday Nov. 28, 2022. making history as the first woman to hold the position. On another first, the three-member Board of Estimate and Apportionment is made up entirely of women. Mayor Tishaura Jones, Comptroller Darlene Green, and now, Megan Green. Green’s term is only for five months, she will then have to run again for the seat.

streets safer – to build back a better St. Louis city,” she said.

As the board’s new president, Green promised to city residents “to put your children and your grandparents first.”

“I don’t say that rhetorically. I mean it the same way that [Congresswoman Cori Bush] does. If you want something from me between now and April, your proposal had better include your arguments about how this will benefit our youth and our seniors immediately.

“It is time to get to work. It is time to set aside our differences. It is time to build, together, a city that works for everyone.”

Fraternities Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.: $53, 273; Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.: $43,932; Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.: $29,083; Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.: $20,000 Individuals can

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Johnson

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extinguished the special prosecutor’s pursuit of racial justice and allowed Kevin to be executed anyway,” Nolan said.

“The law is supposed to punish people for what they do, not who they are. Yet, Missouri killed Kevin because of the color of his skin. Shame on all of them.”

Nolan said Johnson accepted responsibility for what he did and “has repeatedly asked for the forgiveness of Sergeant McEntee’s family.”

In a statement released Wednesday morning, the ACLU condemned Johnson’s execution and the actions of former St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch.

“In an unprecedented move, a prosecuting attorney acting on behalf of the St. Louis Prosecutor’s Office filed a motion to vacate Mr. Johnson’s conviction, concluding race played a decisive and unconstitutional factor at every stage of Mr. Johnson’s prosecution — including then-prosecutor Robert McCulloch’s decision to pursue the death penalty and in the prosecution’s jury selection that intentionally removed Black jurors,” the organization said in a release.

Anthony Rothert, director of integrated advocacy, ACLU of Missouri, said “the stain of the ex-prosecutor’s documented history of racial discrimination when it came to death-penalty eligible cases is made permanent now that Missouri imposed an arbitrary expiration on an individual’s life.”

“Missouri’s refusal to allow an investigation into the systemic racism — that its own special prosecutor recognized as the cause of this death sentence — delays an overdue reckoning with how Missouri’s justice system perpetuates white supremacy.”

Cassandra Stubbs, director of the ACLU’s Capital Punishment Project said “Our thoughts are with Mr. Johnson’s family and loved ones, especially his daughter, Khorry.

“The state has taken Mr. Johnson’s life without fully

hearing and deliberating a prosecutor’s conclusions that racial bias played a decisive and illegal role in his conviction and sentence.

“The prosecutor’s conclusions about Mr. Johnson’s case are consistent with decades of research showing the death penalty is a racist punishment, where a Black person charged with the death of a white victim is far more likely to be sentenced to death. Mr. Johnson should have had the opportunity to show this constitutional violation in court.

“Missouri officials have a duty to uphold the Constitution, and our Constitution bars racial

discrimination. Punishment and vengeance overpowered the pursuit of fairness, equal protection and justice.”

Johnson’s attorneys, members of Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, state NAACP Director Nimrod Chapel and others had gathered at a rally in Jefferson City to persuade the state Supreme Court to at least delay the execution. It was to no avail.

A vigil was held at 3 p.m. Tuesday at St. Louis City Circuit Court at Market and

Tucker, a group then traveled to Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center Prison in Bonne Terre, MO, where the execution took place.

About 30 people awaited the announcement outside the prison that Johnson had been killed. that news came before 9 p.m. Tuesday.

Gov. Mike Parson said Monday afternoon that clemency would not be granted.

“Mr. Johnson has received every protection afforded by the Missouri and United

States Constitutions, and Mr. Johnson’s conviction and sentence remain for his horrendous and callous crime. The State of Missouri will carry out Mr. Johnson’s sentence according to the Court’s order and deliver justice,” Governor Parson said in a release.

“The violent murder of any citizen, let alone a Missouri law enforcement officer, should be met only with the fullest punishment state law allows. Through Mr. Johnson’s own heinous actions, he stole the life of Sergeant McEntee and left a family grieving, a wife widowed, and children fatherless. Clemency will not be granted.” Johnson admitted shooting Kirkwood Police Sgt. Robert McEntee multiple times and killing him on July 5, 2005. Johnson said he felt police were responsible for the death of his brother earlier that day. During his trial, Johnson’s life of abuse and poverty were also part of extensive testimony.

“Rest in peace, Kevin. Our thoughts are with his daughter and family,” Nolam said.

Janet Solecki Elliott with Eliot Unitarian Chapel in Kirkwood and Mary Pagano light candles before the start of a prayer service in Meacham Park Tuesday night Nov. 29, 2022 to pray for the life of former Kirkwood resident Kevin Johnson (37). Johnson shot and killed Kirkwood Police officer Sgt. Bill McEntee in 2005. The execution was carried out at 7:40 p.m. at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, Missouri.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

When words weren’t enough

The execution of Kevin Johnson

By Sylvester Brown, Jr.

The St. Louis American

On Tuesday, November 29, 2022 at 7:40 p.m., convicted murderer Kevin Johnson was executed by the State of Missouri.

Johnson and I never met. Yet, as the clock ticked closer to the time of his scheduled execution, I felt closer to him than ever.

I started writing about Johnson in 2005, just days after the 19-year-old shot and killed Kirkwood Police Sgt. William McEntee. I was a St. Louis PostDispatch columnist and was drawn to the unusual aspects of the story.

what they thought led to Bam Bam’s death. The boy had a heart attack at his grandmother’s house while police were outside the house.

Johnson’s brother, Joseph “Bam Bam” Long, age 12, had died a few hours before the murder. Why would a teenager kill a police officer hours after losing his brother? I needed to know.

The police and newspaper’s account; that McEntee’s murder was not related to Bam Bam’s death, made no sense. That curiosity led me to Johnson’s Meacham Park neighborhood, to his family and, ultimately,

When they were alerted of the boy’s condition, the family said police searched the house first for Johnson before seeking aid for Bam Bam. Johnson, watching things unfold from a relative’s window next door, testified that he saw police step over his brother’s body and saw McEntee forcefully keep his mother from her dying son. This is what led Johnson’s tortured, fragile young mind to track down and kill McEntee. Were his actions justified? No, not according to Johnson’s great-grandfather, Anderson Kimble, who answered that question thusly: “Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord.”

Seven days after the murder; I attended Bam Bam’s funeral at Forever Oak Hill Funeral Home in Kirkwood. I described the video that chronicled the boy’s life with its accompanying song, “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” by Boyz

II Men.

I’d hoped my words would highlight the mutual tragedy of murder and death and be considered during Johnson’s trial. But my words, Johnson’s lawyer’s words nor the words of witnesses who spoke of his fractured childhood had any sway. A jury and a judge found him guilty and recommended death, respectively.

To be honest, in the 17 years since the murder, I hadn’t thought much about Johnson. Then I read in August that the Missouri Supreme Court had set a November 29 execution date for Johnson. This newspaper allowed me to write a series about the case and looming execution. My goal with the series was

to write about the racism and prosecutorial injustices involved with the case. I did my best to humanize Johnson; to detail his abusive childhood, his lifetime of neglect, and show how he was not in the proper state of mind when he learned of his younger brother’s death.

Through the “Kevin Johnson Clemency” video posted on the Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty’s (Madpmo) website, I was moved by the words of Johnson’s flawed parents, his big brother, his daughter, former teachers, principals, a football coach, and others.

Johnson’s elementary school principal, Pamela Stanfield, told me about the books she helped him write while in prison. The

first was about his troubled childhood. The other focused on growing up in prison. She said Johnson was trying to finish a third book that was tentatively titled, “The Journey to the Gurney.”

Although I write “Johnson,” I find myself saying “Kevin.” It’s as if my words about him formed an intimate, invisible bond between us.

I’d naively hoped Kevin would receive a last minute, Hollywood movie-like Hail Mary when the Missouri Supreme Court agreed to hear oral arguments just one day before his execution was set to take place. On Monday, the courts rejected that appeal for clemency as did Republican Gov. Mike

Parson who declined to stop the execution. Kevin was executed at 7:40 p.m. Tuesday night. Words offer no calm in the face of a cruel, flawed, biased system of legalized murder. Condemning a Bible Belt state with many pompous, selfproclaimed “Christians” who arrogantly relish anti-Jesus, eye-for-an-eye justice does little good. If only words mattered. If only those with the power to intercede had heard or reflected on the words of Kevin’s greatgrandfather, Anderson Kimble: “Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord.”

Columnist Sylvester Brown Jr.

Photo courtesy of KC Defender

Over 100 people solemnly stood outside ERDCC Prison in Bonne Terre, Missouri on Tuesday night awaiting word that the state of Missouri had executed Kevin Johnson. The grim news came at 7:40 p.m.

On Tuesday, the State of Missouri executed Kevin Johnson

Johnson’s execution comes after a harrowing, 11th hour 5-2 vote by the Missouri Supreme Court, where Justices Patricia Breckenridge of Vernon County and George Draper, III, of St. Louis County, were the only voices calling for a stay of Johnson’s execution. The remaining justices voted for death. Johnson declined to give a final statement. The U.S. Supreme Court decided not to intervene, although Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown-Jackson wrote that they would have granted the stay of execution.

But the state Supreme Court’s decision comes with heavier implications beyond Johnson’s state-sponsored murder. By affirming Johnson’s death warrant this week, the court effectively ended statewide efforts to establish county “conviction integrity review units,” or CIRU, which scrutinize wrongful convictions obtained by previous administrations. The court also determined that Missouri’s new wrongful conviction law - in effect for barely a year - does not require a hearing when a prosecutor presents evidence to the court of misconduct or unconstitutionality. However, Judge Breckenridge wrote in her dissent that the 2021 law was “unambiguous” and that the special prosecutor, E.E. Keenan from Kansas City, had demonstrated his ability to prove racial prejudice in the jury’s decision to sentence Johnson to death.

This ruling will undoubtedly have devastating consequences for persons wrongfully convicted and on death row - five members of the Missouri Supreme Court have decided that the rule of law no longer applies when the Attorney General demands his pound of flesh.

Johnson’s daughter Khorry Ramey was blocked by the courts from watching her father’s execution. Apparently in Missouri, 19 is old enough to be executed but not old enough to witness an execution. Missouri continues to strive to be one of the most merciless states in the union. There are only 36 days between Johnson’s state-sponsored murder and the next-scheduled execution. On January 3, the state of Missouri will execute Amber McLaughlin, who will be the first woman executed in the state of Missouri since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Since the jury could not agree on a death sentence, Judge Steven Goldman of St. Louis County unilaterally decided to sentence McLaughlin to death. Missouri state law currently allows for “judicial override,” when a jury either declines to apply the death penalty or is deadlocked in its decision.

St. Louis County is the sixth most excecuting county in the nation - and its infamous former prosecuting attorney Robert McCulloch is largely responsible for that damming statistic. McCulloch was ousted from office in 2018, when then-Ferguson city councilman Wesley Bell defeated the longtime prosecutor. McCulloch’s legacy is marred by prosecutorial misconduct, fallible death sentences, and blatant racial discrimination.

•••

Earlier this week, St. Louis inaugurated Megan Green as its first woman aldermanic president. She defeated her colleague on the board, Jack Coatar (who has already said that he will not seek re-election in the spring election) dispite the huge disparity in financial resources. Her $262,771 raised and $215,947 spent was paltry compared to the $871,618 raised and $855,924 spent by her opponent. Importantly Green was the beneficiary of a key endorsement of Mayor Tishaura Jones. Next week, her predecessor Lewis Reed is being sentenced for a series of federal white collar crimes. The times, they are a-changin’ in St. Louis politics. If you don’t believe it, ask Mi-

chael Kelley, Coatar’s political advisor and major fundraiser. Reed’s sentencing, along with former aldermen Jeffrey Boyd and John Collins Muhammad, follows the recent appeal filed by Muhammad Almuttan, a northside business owner publicly identified as the FBI informant who bribed at least four known government officials. In his appeal, Almuttan sought to reduce his 4-year incarceration sentence in consideration of his cooperation with prosecutors throughout their more than 2-year investigation. Almuttan also was one of the owners of the notorious “Shoot ‘em Up” Shell gas station on West Florissant that was recently shuttered by the City after years of neighborhood complaints.

reflective of restorative justice for the true victims here - the children of St. Louis.

•••

Meanwhile, Reed and Collins Muhammad have filed separate motions, asking that they not be ordered to pay restitution as part of their December 6 sentencing. Both former aldermen are relying on the Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982 and have argued that the FBI is not a “victim” entitled to restitution for the bribes they accepted from Almuttan on several occasions.

The EYE sees that Reed and Collins Muhammad have apparently forgotten about the six-figure tax abatements that they funneled to Almuttan and others, resulting in a direct loss of those funds to St. Louis Public School students. We think that amount, instead of incarceration, would be more

In the meantime, the current 28-member Board has less than five months to leave its impact before their membership is reduced by half. Since Reed’s resignation in June, the Board of Aldermen has been able to pass landmark legislation, including strengthening the Civilian Oversight Board and establishing the Reproductive Equity Fund, A Tenants’ Bill of Rights has been making its way through the Board, to help rein in slumlords and decaying housing stock across the city.

Ald. Shameem Clark Hubbard (Ward 26), unopposed at the time of publishing, introduced legislation to establish a pilot universal basic income (UBI) program. Resolutions supporting unionization efforts of Union Station Hotel employees and opposing gas cost increases by Spire Missouri have been passed.

Undoubtedly, these peoplecentered programs would have never seen daylight under President Reed. With a progressive slate of candidates rising to challenge current alderpersons during “Aldergeddon,” the future of St. Louis couldn’t be more exciting.

At the time of publishing, a handful of young leaders have already filed to run, including current SLPS Board of Educa-

tion member Alisha Sonnier in the 7th Ward; St. Louis Young Democrats’outreach director Michael Browning in the 9th Ward; publicist Daniela Velaquez in the 6th Ward; and Katie Bellis in the 2nd Ward. Even Board Bully Alderwoman Sharon Tyus (Ward 1) has a newcomer challenging her and current Alderpersons Dwinderlin Evans (Ward 4) and Jesse Todd (Ward 18) for the new Ward 12.

“St. Louisans deserve great leaders who build stronger, safer and vibrant communities across the city,” Tashaura Earl, businessowner and president of the Revitalization of Baden Association, told the EYE. “Now is the time to elect new and qualified leaders who will work together for the betterment of society.”

Earl’s challenge to Tyus’ long-time reign at the Board follows the senior lawmaker’s recent sexist attacks against newly-inaugurated Board President Green. During Green’s first day as aldermanic leader, Tyus hurled a number of aggressive proposed rule changes that, for some inexplicable reason, she never raised under former president Reed or interim president Joe Vollmer (Ward 10).

Such changes included the removal of power from the Board President to determine committee assignments - an issue Tyus previously did not raise under male leadership -and Tyus also attempted to gaslight her colleagues about the turmoil left behind by Reed.

“This is a transformative and pivotal time in our city,”

Sonnier told the EYE. “We can be a national model of what it looks like to have peoplecentered policy despite being in a repressive state IF we select leaders who are audacious, open minded, and who will put people over profit and progress over pettiness. Lives and our city’s trajectory are on the line.”

Browning echoed Sonnier’s sentiments about leadership at the Board, adding that “St. Louis needs full-time, devoted, thoughtful leaders whose first and only priority is the communities they are elected to represent.”

The young leaders who are stepping up to run, Browning added, are ready to turn this progressive momentum into real sustainable progress.

“Taking Care of You”

‘The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey’ delves into dementia

Samuel

L. Jackson’s series airs on AppleTV

By Ronda Racha Penrice Atlanta Voice

For Samuel L. Jackson, his Apple TV+ limited series “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” is very personal. Adapted from Walter Mosley’s 2010 book of the same title, the series centers on 91-year-old Ptolemy Grey who suffers from dementia. Generally written off by his family, save

for his nephew Reggie, played by Omar Benson Miller, Ptolemy is largely a hermit who lives in squalor. When Reggie stops coming by, Robyn, the teenage daughter of his niece’s friend, who has passed away, and needs a place to stay, steps in and up, cleaning Ptolemy’s apartment and becoming his caretaker. The focus on dementia and Alzheimer’s is something that hits home for Jackson.

“I’m from a family where I felt like I was surrounded by Alzheimer’s. My grandfather, my uncle, my aunt, my mom, there are people on my father’s side who have Alzheimer’s, and I watched them change, deteriorate, and become different people over the years,” he shared with journalists during the 2022 Television Critics Association tour.

By Dr. Jerry Abraham

Thanksgiving has just passed, and Christmas is around the corner. The holiday season has officially arrived. Now that the updated booster authorized for individuals as young as five, we’re even closer to ensuring the whole family is protected during fall and winter when the spread of respiratory viruses is at its peak. The booster has been updated to strengthen protection against the original coronavirus strain while also targeting the dominant Omicron subvariants that have recently spread widely and continue to infect many. We all need to get boosted, and there are groups we need to ensure are protected – children five years and older, older adults and those most at risk for serious infection.

n The booster has been updated to strengthen protection against the original coronavirus strain while also targeting the dominant Omicron subvariants that have recently spread widely and continue to infect many.

As for our older adults, your risk of getting very sick from COVID-19 goes up as you age, and COVID-19 booster doses can help lower the risk of severe illness, long-term effects, hospitalization and death. This means less strain on our hospitals, less risk to our most vulnerable populations and less worry for you and your loved ones this holiday season. . The life expectancy for African Americans declined the most from 2019 – by 2.7 years, to 72 years – its lowest level since 2001, according to research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.

That’s why older adults are encouraged to prioritize vaccination to stay safer from severe outcomes and achieve your highest level of health and well-being. And for parents, I know many of you are feeling fear and uncertainty around getting

Respiratory viruses slam St. Louis as holiday season opens

Kids’ cases surging

By Sarah Fentem St. Louis Public Radio

As people gathered for Thanksgiving, hospital workers in St. Louis were on high alert and they remain so. Emergency rooms are crowded with people sick with respiratory illnesses, and doctors are worried that more people will get sick as people mix during the holidays. The St. Louis region, along with the rest of the country, is experiencing an early, gnarly flu season. Childhood respiratory illnesses are also on the rise. The increase in patients is coming as more health care employees leave their jobs, putting more strain on the workforce that remains.

Dr. Jessica Ericson is a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia. She said the 2022-2023 RSV season seems to have started very early, with cases showing up in August and

n The St. Louis region, along with the rest of the country, is experiencing an early, gnarly flu season. Childhood respiratory illnesses are also on the rise. The increase in patients is coming as more health care employees leave their jobs, putting more strain on the workforce that remains.

September.

“Also, what’s really different is the number of children who have these viruses and who are sick enough to be admitted to the hospital,” she said in a Penn State news release. These are “children who need oxygen and need to be admitted to the intensive care unit,” Ericson explained. It’s most probably a “backlog” of sorts happening: Kids who normally would

Kids who normally would have contracted RSV over the past two seasons have worn masks and distanced themselves when they left home. Many of these children are encountering RSV and other viruses for the first time.

Samuel L. Jackson portrays a 91-year-old who suffers from dementia after a stirring life in the AppleTV series “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey.”

Photo courtesy of AppleTV

Photo courtesy of BlackDoctor.org

Dr. Jerry Abraham

Viruses

Continued from A12

have contracted RSV over the past two seasons instead were sequestered at home and told to wear masks and distance themselves if they did mingle.

“Now that we’ve stopped doing that, those children are now encountering RSV and other viruses for the first time,” Ericson noted.

While RSV has hit children hard across the country this fall, there is evidence older adults are catching the respiratory virus at a higher rate than normal.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said about six out of every 100,000 seniors has been hospitalized with RSV.

It’s a much lower rate than in children, but for seniors it is about 10 times higher than in years before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier this year, the CDC introduced new metrics to measure the spread of the coronavirus. The federal agency reports St. Louis and St. Louis County have a “medium” COVID-19 risk. The agency takes case numbers and hospitalizations into account to calculate this measurement.

However, the CDC also reports the level of community transmission in the region is high. That means even if people aren’t hospitalized, the virus is being spread widely. Doctors say people in the region should take both metrics into account before visiting elderly or immunocompromised family members for the holidays.

According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, about 250 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in the region’s hospitals last week. That’s fewer than at this time in 2021 and 2020.

During last year’s omicron variant-fueled surge in late December, there were nearly 1,500 people in the hospital with COVID-19. However, the region did not see a dramatic rise in such cases until after Thanksgiving, indicating that holiday gatherings fueled the

Dementia

Continued from A12

According to the Alzheimer’s Association’s annual report, Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, from 2021, “one in nine people age 65 and older (11.3%) has Alzheimer’s dementia,” accounting for 6 million Americans and “older Black Americans are about twice as likely to have Alzheimer’s or other dementias as older whites.” Jackson is helping to raise awareness by putting a Black face to the disease. Still, for Jackson, it’s just personal.

“Being able to tell their story or listening to them and understanding that things in their past are more their present than what’s going on in their everyday life and understanding how to convey that to people” is more the motivator than representation.

With “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey,” Jackson also wanted to ensure that those who love folks struggling with dementia and Alzheimer’s, as well as the caregivers and the sufferers themselves, felt

Booster

Continued from A12

your children vaccinated and boosted because you want to be sure you make the best choice for your children’s health and futures. Misinformation that is largely spread online and on social media amplifies apprehension and confusion about vaccines.

“Taking Care of You”

huge spike.

During the first two years of the pandemic, the public lost a certain amount of immunity, said Dr. Howie Mell, an emergency physician at HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in O’Fallon, Illinois. People weren’t going into work as much, and kids weren’t in school.

For example, he said, most kids get RSV when they’re young. But now, many children of many ages are contracting it at the same time, because for the past few years, there wasn’t much opportunity to catch it.

“We’re absolutely crushed,”

seen. “Giving an audience an opportunity to know that they aren’t the only people who watch their loved ones deteriorate that way, who need an outlet to look at someone else dealing with those particular things, and having a young person like Robyn, played by Dominique (Fishback), to come in and access this person and to look at that person like they were worthwhile, that the memories that they have aren’t a place that they should abandon. That it’s OK to have that, that it’s OK to remember. It’s OK to live in a place, and that you are still a worthwhile individual even though a lot of people discard you.”

Alzheimer’s and dementia have become more common, with a projection that 12.7 million Americans, more than double the number now, will suffer with the disease by 2050. It has also become more deadly.

According to the report, “between 2000 and 2019, the number of deaths from Alzheimer’s disease as recorded on death certificates has more than doubled, increasing 145.2%, while the number of deaths from the number one

But the facts speak for themselves: vaccines and boosters have undeniable benefits. These tools are what is best for your children as we continue to fight against COVID-19. To prevent severe outcomes, including long COVID, I strongly recommend all parents consider getting their children vaccinated and boosted. If you remain uncertain, don’t hesitate to speak with your child’s doctor

he said. “And I think the general consensus is that this is three years all brought into one, right? Because we for so long had social distancing, we had masking, we had all of these things, which protected kids from being affected.”

If trends continue, patients could overwhelm workers, Lawrence said.

“If this continues to increase at the rate that we’re seeing for another, say two, three, four weeks, that could really put some hospitals in a more serious situation of having that strain and capacity of the ER being full, or having

hospital beds that are filling up,” he said. “We are watching carefully and certainly keeping our fingers crossed that it doesn’t continue at this pace.”

Hospitals dealing with more patients already were facing a lot of health workers leaving the profession.

Earlier this year, the Missouri Hospital Association reported that nearly 20% of nursing positions in the state’s hospital were vacant, the highest since the survey began and up from 12% in 2021.

Staff turnover for other positions, including respiratory therapists, also is high, the

cause of death (heart disease) decreased 7.3%.” On top of that, “among people age 70, 61% of those with Alzheimer’s dementia are expected to die before the age of 80 compared with 30% of people without

and get the facts from someone you trust.

Everyone five and older is eligible to get the updated booster at least two months following their last dose, whether that was their primary series or following a booster dose. Getting vaccinated and boosted lowers the risk of contracting spreading and getting severely ill from COVID-19.

The updated boosters will

Alzheimer’s — a rate twice as high.”

When asked how he copes with aging, Jackson, who is 73, replied “exercise, diet, understanding how to take care of yourself. I finally — once I

help children’s and older adults’ immune systems fight off a wider variety of variants that we most likely will see during the flu season. The booster is similar to flu vaccines, where the components of the flu vaccine are updated to help protect against the specific flu viruses circulating that year. Similarly, COVID19 boosters are updated to protect us against the newest variants of COVID-19.

report found.

Health workers have dealt with an increased workload since the pandemic started, said Sarah Dewilde, a nurse at St. Louis University Hospital who is a steward for the nurse’s union there. Many workers feel they weren’t getting paid enough to keep them at such a demanding job, she said.

“Nurses have finally given their notice,” she said. “They’re like, ‘Look, we’re not willing to put up with this. We deserve to make more money for what we’re doing.’ Because in every job, if you were to take on more responsibilities, you

would take on more money, right?”

Staff members who haven’t left are absorbing this year’s big increase in patients with respiratory illnesses.

“If something doesn’t get done … it’s inevitably put onto the nurse, because the nurse is the one that has to ensure that it gets done,” DeWilde said. “So we’re getting calls from doctors asking ‘Hey, why isn’t this done?’ It’s like, ‘We know there’s no lab techs this evening. I can’t draw labs on five patients, as well as take care and clean all of them up.’”

Samuel L. Jackson says his mom, a grandfather, uncle, and aunt, and relatives on his father’s side of the family have faced Alzheimer’s.

sobered up (alluding to his past challenges with addiction), I discovered the value of sleep. I used to sleep like three hours a night. But sleep is so valuable, and I treasure it now. And people say I’m blessed because

If you are under-vaccinated or unvaccinated, the risk of complications and death increases. Get vaccinated and boosted to protect older loved ones, young children, immunocompromised friends, family and neighbors. Wearing a mask in public indoor spaces also helps slow the spread of many different respiratory viruses including RSV, flu and COVID-19. Everyday preventative actions

“Reading, making sure that I keep my mind active, giving myself an opportunity to exercise my mental capacity the same way people will exercise their bodies…There are a lot of different things. And, fortunately, I made enough money,” he laughed, “to get people to massage me and I discovered acupuncture, all these things that hopefully will keep me vital for at least another 20 years.”

A lot of these strategies also come highly recommended from the National Institute on Aging. Ultimately, Jackson believes

“The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” is “an honest and, hopefully, endearing assessment of the deterioration of life that a lot of us face, feel in a personal way with someone who’s in our family or maybe people who feel themselves slipping and need to see and find a way to pull themselves back.”

“The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” is streaming on Apple TV+ now.

Ronda Racha Penrice is a reporter for the Atlanta Voice which originally published this article

like staying home when you feel sick, frequent handwashing, covering your cough, avoiding close contact with sick people, wearing a mask in public indoor spaces and getting vaccinated or boosted can help protect you and your family, especially as we head into the colder months.

Dr. Jerry P Abraham is the director of Kedren Vaccines in South Los Angeles I can sit down and just go to sleep and wake up in 15 minutes and do something.”

There is evidence older adults are catching the respiratory virus at a higher rate than normal. The CDC said about six out of every 100,000 seniors has been hospitalized with RSV, a much lower rate than in children, but about 10 times higher than in years before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Photo courtesy of the Tennessee Tribune

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

PRESENT:

PRESENT:

PRESENT:

Dining Out.

GRAINS Keep ‘em Whole!

What Is ASize?Serving

The Smart Way!

Fun with fallen leaves

Do This. Not That!

Staying Active (Naturally) DuringSummer!the Smart Summer Eating!

Warm Up & Cool Down

Exercise Game

First Day of Spring!

Smart Choices

Helping Others

Tech-Neck

for several different reasons.

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

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.

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?

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

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

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

Cola

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

Healthy Kids

Healthy Kids

Healthy Kids

Healthy Kids

Healthy Kids

If we divide the word, “breakfast” into two words we have BREAK & FAST. To “fast” means to go for a long period of time without eating. By the time morning comes, most of us haven’t eaten for sometimes ten hours or more! Our body needs

those leftovers for lunch the next day!

are popcorn, wheatberries, brown rice and wild rice.

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

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

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.

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

breakfast to start the new day. Kids who eat a healthy breakfast are better able to focus at school, tend to eat better (healthier) throughout the day and will have

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.

Exercise Challenge:

Let’s make a game out of exercise!

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!

Cocoa Puffers Cereal

INGREDIENTS:

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.

Many yards are filled with dead leaves this time of year. While raking them for leaf pick-up by the city, why not have some active outdoor fun at the same time? Here are just a few ideas:

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

> Walking to the store when possible.

> Wash your parent’s car.

more energy. Try including whole grains, fruits and proteins into your breakfast for a nice healthy start to your day!

> 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.

Try This:

Melissa Douglass, MSW

Weekly Newspaper in Education Program

Weekly Newspaper in Education Program

Latoya Woods, DNP, APRN, FNP-C

Deborah Edwards, School Nurse

Ayanna Williams, BSN, MSN

Where do you 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.

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.

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

Make your own healthy granola bars or small baggies of trail mix. Many recipes can be found online and having them ready-to-go will make mornings easier!

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

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

Learning Standards:

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

> What are other ways to stay healthy while dining out?

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.

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

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.

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

Where do you work? I am an occupational health nurse and certified case manager for Union Pacific Railroad.

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

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

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

• After raking the leaves into a pile, create lines, corners and dead ends to build a maze using rows of leaves. Challenge your friends to see who can make it through the maze the fastest.

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

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

Instead of watching TV — ride your bike with friends.

• Use the leaves to “build” the outline of a building in your neighborhood. See if others can guess what you created.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Let’s think of some ways to spread holiday cheer to others this year!

> 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.

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,

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

• And finally, before bagging up those leaves… your reward for all of your hard work is to take turns stacking up the leaves and jumping in for fun!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Learning Standards: HPE 1, HPE 2, HPE 5, HPE 6, NH 1, NH 3, NH 5

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.

Learning Standards: HPE1, HPE 2, HPE

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

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.

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.

Where did you go to school? I graduated from Venice High School and then earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, and a Master of Science in Nursing from Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri.

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.

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

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

> Safely bake healthy holiday snacks and deliver them to someone who serves the community and has to work on Christmas day (police, firemen, nurses, doctors, etc.)

> What to do if you see someone else bullied.

> Make some holiday decorations or cards that could be donated to a local nursing home.

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

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

Cracker-wiches

> What to do if YOU are the bully.

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.

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 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.

What does a Licensed Clinical Social Worker do?

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.

What does an occupational health nurse do? I perform federal regulatory testing on employees that include checking their hearing using a hearing booth, checking their vision for distance and color-blindness along with checking their breathing by using a respirator machine and filter mask.

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.

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

Why did you choose this career? I chose to become a nurse because I enjoy helping people. My mother’s sister is a nurse also and growing up I would listen to her tell stories about patients and how taking care of them made them feel better.

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.

doctor if you have any questions. The formula to calculate your BMI is 703 X weight (lbs) ÷ height (in inches/squared) or search

> Collect canned goods for local families to have plenty of food over the holidays.

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

> 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 about a coat collection at school? Many families cannot afford new winter coats this season.

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

> How bullying hurts others.

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 bullied.

“BMI Calculator” to find an easy fill-in chart online. If your number is high, what are some ways to lower your BMI?

> 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!

Ingredients:

Easy Hummus Dip

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

Ingredients:

Frozen Yogurt Blueberry Bites

> What are some other things you could do to make a difference in the lives of others this holiday season?

1 15-Oz Can Garbanzo beans

Ingredients: 1 cup blueberries

> What other ice hazards are there?

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?

A couple of quick tips that will reduce that strain on your neck are:

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

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

Learning Standards: HPE 2, NH 2, NH 8

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 5, NH 4

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

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

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

Ingredients: 1/2 Cp Vanilla Greek yogurt, 3 Tbsp Natural peanut butter, 1 Ripe banana (sliced and frozen), Splash of vanilla (optional) 6 Ice cubes

1 cup non-fat Greek Yogurt

1 Garlic clove, crushed

Directions: Slice stale bagel into thin

Brush lightly with

with cinnamon

and

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!

10-15 minutes in a 325 degree oven, until crisp.

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.

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.

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? My favorite part of my job is interacting with the employees. I am the nurse for over 300 people and each day brings a different situation that I have to manage and help to assist employees.

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?

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 job you 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

Bagel Crisps

Banana PB Smoothie

Marnay Howard, EMT - B

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

Fourth-grade students

Arion Hall, Knico Turner, and Jaronn Jones in Ms. Rhonda Stovall’s class at Gateway Elementary School are using microscopes to observe the internal and external structures of microorganisms.

Photo by Rhonda Stovall

British-Nigerian Doctor and Emergency Helicopter Pilot Olamide Orekunrin

Olamide Orekunrin was born in London. Her parents were Nigerian and they chose her name based on its meaning.

An entrepreneur is a person who creates and organizes a business. Famous entrepreneurs include Oprah Winfrey, who created O Magazine, Harpo productions, Oxygen Network TV, and much more. Debbi Fields created Mrs. Fields cookies which are sold in malls and supermarkets. Henry Ford was the entrepreneur who created the assembly line and Ford Motor Company. Madame C. J. Walker was the first African-American female entrepreneur who became a millionaire in 1905 when she invented products

SCIENCE INVESTIGATION

Background Information:

to soften and smooth AfricanAmerican hair.

In this experiment, you will apply problem solving skills to try to move an object (or a person) across a bare floor without carrying it.

Materials Needed:

• Piece of Plywood • Marbles • Rope • Balloons

• Tape • Straws • Newspaper Process:

q Try to move an object, without carrying it, across a room with a bare floor.

16 ounces (oz) = 1 pound 2,000 pounds = 1 ton z Which weighs more 3 pounds of butter or 45 ounces of butter?

x If you have a 5-pound bag of flour, how many ounces of flour do you have? ________

c An average car weighs 4,000 pounds. How many tons does an average car weigh? ________

DID YOU KNOW?

In honor of Olamide

Entrepreneurs need to be critical thinkers and problem solvers. They need to be able to work well with others. Entrepreneurs need to be creative, but they also need to be able to read and write well so that they can present their ideas and communicate with others. Finally, entrepreneurs need to be patient and persistent as they work to develop their product.

Learning Standards: I can read nonfiction text for main idea and supporting detail. I can make text-to-world and textto-text connections.

w You are only able to use the materials listed here…

e Develop a plan and try to move your object. Revise your plan as needed.

Extension: Try to move your object across a carpeted floor. How did you need to change your strategy?

Learning Standards: I can use trial and error to complete an experiment. I can make observations, analyze results, and draw conclusions.

“Ola” means “wealth” in the Nigerian language. She attended the Hull York Medical School in London, where she graduated at the young age of 21 as a medical doctor. While she was studying medicine, she was also earning her helicopter pilot license, with a specialty in aviation medicine. She earned the Japanese MEXT scholarship which allowed her to continue her studies in Tokyo, Japan.

Unfortunately, Orekunrin’s sister died due to lack of prompt medical attention. Orekunrin put her training together to form the Flying Doctors Nigeria (FDN) Limited in 2007. This was the first air ambulance service offered in West Africa. FDN offers medical evacuation services, remote site clinic management, first-aid training and other medical solutions. It saves hundreds of lives each year, especially for those working in the oil and gas industry.

She is a member of the American Academy of Aesthetic Surgeons and the British Medical Association. She is also a member of the American College of Emergency Physicians. In 2012, she received the This Day Award. One year later, she was one of the “Young Global Leaders” listed by the World Economic Forum. She has also received the Mouldbreaker’s Award, the Vanguard WOW Award, and the New Generation Leader for Africa. Orekunrin has published two medical textbooks and several medical journals and is also a TED Fellow. Orekunrin believes in charity and helping others. She works with leaders to help improve health care in Africa. She is one of the most successful business women in Lagos, Nigeria.

For more information, including links to Olamide’s blog and videos, visit: www.lionessesofafrica.com/lioness-ola-orekunrin

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

v You can buy candy for $5.00 a pound or for 25 cents per ounce. Which is cheaper?

b Convert your weight to ounces. ________

Learning Standards: I can add, subtract, multiply, and divide to solve a problem. I can convert units of weight.

MAP CORNER

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

Activity One —

Descriptive Words:

Make a list of at least 15 descriptive words you find in the advertisements.

Compile a list; write two paragraphs describing something. Use as many of the words as you can.

Activity Two —

Family Entertainment Planning: Plan a family event using information from the newspaper. Maybe there is an article about an exhibit in town, or a new restaurant, or a play or movie. Use at least 3 details from the newspaper in your plan.

Learning Standards: I can use the newspaper to locate information. I can write for a specific purpose and audience. I can make text to self connections.

The St. Louis American’s award winning NIE program provides newspapers and resources to more than 8,000 teachers and students each week throughout the school year, at no charge.

Bread winners

Lincoln, Wash U to study assets of yeasts, predicting yields

Yinjie Tang, [in jacket] a professor of energy, environmental & chemical engineering at Washington University and principal investigator on the project, visited Lincoln University earlier this year.

St. Louis American staff

Lincoln University, an HBCU, and Washington University are partnering to say, “it’s the yeast you can do.’

The school will team to investigate the biomanufacturing assets of yeast and develop an artificial intelligence model that can predict the yield of product from the yeasts.

n The school will team to investigate the biomanufacturing assets of yeast and develop an artificial intelligence model that can predict the yield of product from the yeasts.

Funded by a National Science Foundation grant, the project includes summer research programs for Lincoln students who will work in Washington University laboratories as the investigators build AI-enhanced biomanufacturing for natural products and fuels.

Molecular biologist Keesoo Lee, a professor of microbiology at Lincoln, is a co-principal

investigator on the project, contributing her expertise in genetic engineering and microbial cultivation as well as advising and supervising the LU students involved in the research.

The partnership will help develop a diverse workforce well-trained in key aspects of the emerging bioeconomy: artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, and synthetic biology.

Led by principal investigator Yinjie Tang, a professor of energy, environmental & chemical engineering at Washington University, the research team will focus on a metabolic

See YEAST, B2

PeoPle on the Move

Dr. Will Ross honored with national award

The American College of Physicians has recognized Will R. Ross, MD with a national award honoring excellence and distinguished contributions to internal medicine. Dr. Ross, the Alumni Endowed Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology, received the Oscar E. Edwards Memorial Award for Volunteerism and Community Service. This award recognizes an outstanding commitment to volunteer service. Ross also serves as the associate dean for diversity and the principal officer for community partnerships at Washington University.

Brandi Smith promoted to VP at ARCHS

Brandi Smith has been promoted to vice president of human resouces and administrative services for Area Resources for Community and Human Services (ARCHS). She has served ARCHS for more than a decade in a variety of roles including events specialist and executive assistant. She graduated from Harris Stowe State University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management, and from Lindenwood University with a master’s in business administration.

Goldfarb’s Dr. Michael Ward honored

American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association, presented its highest honor, The Margretta Madden Styles President’s Award, to Dr. Michael Ward, vice dean for student affairs and diversity for Goldfarb School of Nursing at BarnesJewish College. Dr. Ward received the prestigious award on October 13 at the 2022 ANCC National Magnet and Pathway to Excellence Conferences in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where nearly 11,000 nurses participated. According to ANCC, this was a record number of conference attendees for the organization.

Trina Perry honored with UMSL Hero Award

Delta participates in 51st Annual Legislative Conference of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation

From Delta Airlines Black Caucus For The St. Louis American

Delta continued to elevate the conversation on equity by convening a panel of our partners during the recent 51st Annual Legislative Conference (ALC) of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. in Washington, D.C. The first time Delta has participated in this esteemed gathering of policy experts, community leaders and Members of Congress, the panel featured leaders from Goal Setter, OneTen, Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ) and the Organization of Black Aviation Professionals (OBAP).

“It was a uniquely intentional conversation with partners we are working with to disrupt inequitable systems,” said Ashley Black, Managing Director of Equity Strategies in the Office of Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “We were honored to host this conversation with an audience of influential and action-focused conference attendees to invite them to join us, and each of our partners, in this work to connect people to equitable outcomes.”

Delta’s “Equity is the Motive: Corporate Partnerships Driving Outcomes with Impact” See MERGERS, B2

Trina Perry, a mail carrier in UMSL Mail Services, recently received an UMSL Hero Award in November. Ask Perry about virtually anyone on campus, and she will probably know what department and building they work in. As a 20-year veteran employee in Mail Services at UMSL, she’s practically a real-life campus directory. Through long drives, early mornings and unusual deliveries, Perry has maintained a bright attitude that shines through her work. That’s a big part of the reason she was nominated for an UMSL Hero Award. One of the most interesting and funny parts of Perry’s job has been delivering animals to the biology department.

Brandi Smith

Dr. Will Ross

From left, Ashley Black, Managing Director of Equity Strategies – Delta Air Lines, Maurice Jones, CEO – OneTen, Justin Biassou, Board of Directors – Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, Tanya Van Court, CEO – Goal Setter, Ashley Furst, Senior Program Manager – Responsible Business Initiative for Justice.

Dr. Michael Ward

Trina Perry

Photo courtesy of Lincoln University

Mergers

Continued from B1

panel featured: Justin Biassou, Board of Directors – Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, Ashley Black, Managing Director of Equity Strategies –Delta Air Lines, Ashley Furst, Senior Program Manager –Responsible Business Initiative for Justice, Maurice Jones, CEO – OneTen, Tanya Van Court, CEO – Goal Setter.

Delta is actively engaged with each organization to accelerate measurable change in the way they do business — from reimagining their talent strategies and hiring practices to inspiring the next generation of aviation professionals — and they are influencing other corporations and organizations to do the same.

Taylor Collins, Delta Board Council representative for Reservations and Customer Care and Eric Hendrick, Director, Pilot Outreach, Recruitment and Selection also participated in the conference engaging with key government and other stakeholders.

During Delta’s panel, Biassou put it simply that “without OBAP, and support from Delta, I wouldn’t be here.”

A little over 20 years ago, Biassou participated in a “Dream Flight” with the

Yeast

Continued from B1

model to engineer oleaginous, or oily, yeasts Yarrowa Iipolytica, Lipomyces starkeyi and Rhodosporidium toruloides to produce the biofuel butanol and beneficial therapeutics such as flavonoids.

Yeasts are versatile tools in the production of food and beverages, biopharmaceuticals, industrial biocatalysts, and biofuels. Next-generation production processes will tap into yeast’s “cell factory” traits to produce a range of bioproducts. Lee says the team of researchers and students will build a database for use in training machine-learning models to predict productivity and guide yeast strain development for biofuels and other fermentation products with high commercial value.

Tang and Lee will collaborate with computer engineer Yixin Chen at Washington University and chemical engineer Mattheos Koffas at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on the three-year, $940,000 grant.

The U.S. Department of Energy is contributing another $200,000 for collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington. Lincoln students in the project will conduct research at Washington University, study a custom curriculum, gain valuable experience and access to opportunities in biomanufacturing, entrepreneurship and data science.

“Through collaborative research, we will build a novel yeast fermentation process, implement the workforce development for HBCU students, and train students with advanced data science and AI skills for next-generation biomanufacturing,” Lee says.

“Leveraging this project, WashU and LU are going to build a fast lane so that LU stu-

ACE Academy in Atlanta where students with an interest in aviation flew Delta to Washington, D.C. to explore the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum. At the age of 12, his journey to the cockpit had begun. He earned his private pilot’s license at 17 going on to become a multi-engine instrument rated pilot. Now a Member of the Board of Directors for OBAP, he noted that “the mentorship, training and career mapping was simply not going to happen for me if not for OBAP and we have to keep changing that, expanding this industry, for more young people.”

Tanya Van Court made her point about the critical need for financial literacy with a jaw-dropping recount of stock options she once received early in her career plummeting from close to $1 million in value to $20,000 within months, and the fact that she had no idea how or why that happened.

“You don’t know what you don’t know,” she said about then realizing that even with her education and credentials, she was woefully ill-equipped to understand let alone harness financial opportunities beyond a salary. “I was determined to not let that be so for my children, and for so many other children growing up without access to the knowledge necessary to identify and overcome inequity that prevents building generational wealth.”

Tanya, a former executive at Nickelodeon, went on to found Goal Setter, an education-based financial services app focused on a “whole family” approach to teaching saving and investment principles. Last year, Goal Setter launched “One Stock. One Future,” an initiative to invite Fortune 1000 companies to make one million Black and Hispanic and Latino youth shareholders. Delta provided 1,000 shares of stock last October. ALC is CBCF’s leading public policy meeting on issues impacting African Americans and the global black community. This year’s event returned to an in-person gathering, after being virtual for two years, in Washington, D.C., and featured more than 100 policy sessions and special events hosted by the CBCF, Members of Congress and sponsors.

“Our inaugural sponsorship with the CBCF was an honor and we will continue to find the best forums to tell the Delta equity story through our partners,” said Cherie Wilson – Vice President, Government Affairs - Sustainability and chief organizer of the event. “But to be clear, Delta is committed to more than conversation. We are making tangible investments that drive outcomes with measurable impact on the workforce and within communities. We want to do the real work.”

dents can enter M.S. and Ph.D. programs.”

Originally from South Korea, Lee has worked at Lincoln University since 2005.

Her specialty is in molecular genetics of bacteria and humans.

Law enforcement training scholarships

Lincoln University of Missouri is set to welcome recipients of a new scholarship program for police academy students.

The $1 million Missouri Blue Scholarship Fund is designed to attract more Missourians to law enforcement careers and address officer shortages across the state. Each scholarship pays $5,000 toward

the cost of a Missouri resident attending a law enforcement academy in the state. Funds are paid directly to the academy after students complete eight weeks of training.

Students at Lincoln University Law Enforcement Training Academy (LULETA) are eligible for Missouri Blue Scholarships.

Lincoln is the first and only historically Black college and university (HBCU) to house its own police academy. Launched in 2021, LULETA has graduated four classes of law enforcement professionals from its semester-long program and boasts a 98% placement rate. The program has garnered praise and national recognition for its focus on recruiting and training officers of minority descent.

“Graduates from LULETA are ready to meet the needs of our communities,” said Chief Gary Hill.

“We take pride in assuring they have confidence in their training to be community-oriented police officers who can handle the biggest issues facing law enforcement officers today.” Missouri Blue Scholarships are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and Missouri residents currently attending or planning to attend a law enforcement academy by June 1, 2023. Find out more about Missouri Blue Scholarships or apply online by visiting the Peace Officer Standards and Training website at dps. mo.gov and click on “Missouri Blue Scholarship” under Popular Links. For questions, call 573-526-2765.

Photo courtesy of Lincoln University

The fourth Lincoln University Law Enforcement Academy graduated on May 26, 2022, on the HBCU campus. The new officers are (Left, from front) Madison James, Benjamin Ofori, Bradley Richter, and Saleh Lakjem. (Right, from front) Denisha Taylor, Keon Woodall, Miguel Barton, and Marcellis Blackwell. The academy boasts a 98% placement rate since it launched in 2021. Missourians in the academy are eligible for Missouri Blue Scholarships.

Sports

InSIdE SportS

By Earl Austin Jr.

Winning state of mind

East St. Louis, CBC bring home football championships

‘Tis the season to play state championship football in the St. Louis metropolitan area. East St. Louis and CBC capped dominant seasons by winning respective Illinois and Missouri state championships on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022. In addition, four area schools have title games on Dec. 3 East St. Louis had little difficulty dispatching Prairie Ridge 57-7 to win the IHSA Class 6A state championship at the University of Illinois in Champaign. It was the 10th state title in the storied history of the Flyers’ program. The 57 points scored were also a new Class 6A championship game record. CBC’s 35-28 victory over Lee’s Summit North in the Missouri Class 6 state championship game provided a little more drama. The Cadets were taken into overtime by the Broncos before surviving to win a third state title in five years.

East St. Louis, which ended its season at 12-2, trailed 7-0 after giving up a touchdown to Prairie Ridge on its opening drive. The Flyers’ proceeded to score 57 unanswered points.

It was also the fourth state championship for head coach Darren Sunkett. He also won a state championship at Riverview Gardens in 1998.

We set this goal last year after losing the state championship, and the guys came out from January working their butts off,” Sunkett told the Chicago Sun-Times. “We had great leadership, and those guys knew what it took to get back here.”

TaRyan Martin had 17 carries for 175 yards and three touchdowns for the Flyers, and quarterback Robert “Pops” Battle was 10-for-12 passing for 207 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for a TD.

Standout linebacker Antwon Hayden put a bow on the Flyers’ victory by rushing for a 69-yard touchdown run to close the scoring. Hayden, an All-State performer, will be playing his college football at the University of Illinois next season.

CBC prevailed behind the offensive exploits of senior running back Jeremiyah Love, a stout defensive effort in the second half, and a dramatic blocked field goal at the end of regulation that told the story.

Love, a Notre Dame recruit, was magnificent as he rushed for 211 yards and caught three passes for 103 yards and scored five touchdowns. He scored on an 80-yard run on the Cadets’ first play from scrimmage in the first quarter. He closed the scoring with a 30-yard run in overtime, which was the winning touchdown.

The Cadets went into the locker room

While the National Football League and Miami Dolphins remain co-defendants in a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by former Dolphins coach Brian Flores, the league has shown some improvement in its diversity effort, according to the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport

Alvin

A. Reid

[TIDES] Racial and Gender Report Card. TIDES, which is centered at the University of Central Florida, gave the NFL

a B+ for racial hiring practices and a B for gender hiring practices. The NFL earned a combined grade of a B, however the NFL’s score for race decreased to 85% percent, 3.5 percentage points lower than last year’s score of 88.5%. The score for gender increased significantly to 81.4%, 6.4 percentage points

trailing 28-20 as Lee’s Summit North rolled up more than 400 yards of total offense. However, the Cadets’ defense came to the forefront as they shut out Lee’s Summit North. And with the scored tied at 28-28, the Cadets blocked a potential game-winning field goal at the final play of regulation to force the overtime period.

AAA Weekend at Mizzou

The Archdiocesan Athletic Association made history last season as St. Mary’s won the Class 3 state championship and Lutheran-St. Charles won the Class 2 state title. The AAA

is back in full force this weekend with three teams playing for state titles at the University of Missouri. The Class 4 state championship game will be an All-AAA affair as top-ranked St. Mary’s will take on St. Dominic on Friday at 11 a.m. St. Mary’s rallied from a halftime deficit to defeat defending Class 4 state champion Smithville 37-23 last week. St. Dominic defeated visiting West Plains 42-14 to punch its ticket to the state finals. The third

SportS EyE

With Alvin A. Reid

NFL’s diversity effort improves but remains far from goal line

higher than last year’s score of 75%. The NFL’s overall grade increased from 81.8% in 2021 to 83.2% in 2022.

Based on data from the NFL, TIDES compiled the grades using the gender breakdown of head coaches, assistant coaches, general managers, executive leadership, senior management, senior administration, and professional staff within the NFL League office and at the club level.

Richard Lapchick, TIDES director and the primary author of the study, said part of the decline is related to the adjustment of grading scale to reflect the 2020 census.

“However, the NFL has continued to make progress in the hiring practices within the League Office. In contrast, there is still room for improvement in the disparities in the racial and gender hiring practices between the NFL League Office and the 32 teams,” Lapchick wrote in the report.

“At the start of the 2022

season, there were eight people of color holding general manager positions, representing 25% of all general managers. That was up from five in 2021 and two in 2020 and represented was an increase of 9.4 percentage points from 2021, earning the NFL a Bfor 2022.”

Lapchick said the NFL had improved “in all but a few areas”

This year the NFL reached multiple “all-time highs” including eight people of color as general managers, 27 people of color and five women as game officials, six women of color in coaching positions, three women as club presidents, and six people of color as club

presidents.

At the beginning of the 2022 season, the NFL had 15 women in coaching roles which is the most ever in any professional men’s league covered in the Racial and Gender Report Card series. “There were two first-time head coaches of color hired in 2021, Robert Saleh (NYJ) and David Culley (HOU). This year the NFL has a total of seven head coaches of color which is just one less than the highest recorded number of eight in 2011, 2017, and 2018,” Lapchick said.

The Miami Dolphins hired multi-racial coach Mike McDaniel to replace Flores, and Steve Wilkes was named interim coach to replace the fired

Matt Rhule in Carolina. The NFL’s worst grade, and it could not do worse, is an F in ownership. Just 3.1% of majority owners are people of color. Shad Khan, a Pakistaniborn American businessman and the principal owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined NFL ownership in 2012. Kim Pegula, an Asian American woman, holds a major interest in the Buffalo Bills. She joined NFL ownership in 2014. There are seven women in the NFL as principal owners. There are several potential ownership groups led by Black men that are reportedly interested in buying the Washington Commanders should beleaguered owner Daniel Snyder put the franchise up for sale.

FORBES values the franchise at $5.6 billion

The Reid Roundup

With fellow St. Louisan Jayson Tatum nursing an ankle injury and not playing for Boston, the Washington

Wizards guard Bradley Beal stole the show with a 30-point, five rebound, four assist effort against the Celtics on Sunday. Tatum watched his Celtics move to an NBA-leading 16 wins with a 130-121 win… Kelvin Sampson has his Houston Cougars atop the AP Top 25 College Basketball poll for the first time since 1983 after No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels lost two games over the weekend…St. Louis native Caleb Love had 34 points, nine rebounds,

Earl Austin Jr.

CBC senior running back Jeremiyah Love (4) scored five times, including this 25-yard run in overtime to lead the Cadets to a 35-28 victory over Lee’s Summit North to win the Missouri Class 6 State Football Championship.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

New York Jets Head Coach Robert Saleh

courtesy of JetNation.com

Armstrong Teasdale recognizes Steven Cousins with Groundbreaker Award

Armstrong Teasdale celebrated its annual Inclusion Week from Nov. 14-18 across its U.S. offices. Hosted by the firm’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Department and more than 35 lawyers and staff firmwide who serve on the Inclusion Week committee, the week involves a robust schedule of programming and activities designed to immerse lawyers and staff in the importance of inclusion as a shared value firmwide. The 2022 award program

portion introduced a new recognition – the Groundbreaker Award – presented to Armstrong Teasdale alumnus Steve Cousins, who retired from the firm in 2018 after a storied 38-year career. Cousins now provides consulting services as president and CEO of Cousins Allied Strategic Advisors, LLC. Cousins dedicated his entire career to the firm, contributing tremendously to its history and success, as well as to the broader St. Louis community

through his extensive civic and charitable service. Cousins was the first AfricanAmerican lawyer at Armstrong Teasdale in 1980; the first associate to lead a department at Armstrong Teasdale when he created the Financial Restructuring, Reorganization and Bankruptcy practice area in 1984; the first African-American to serve on

the firm’s Executive Committee, a position he held for 15 years; and among the first African-Americans in Missouri to be named to The Best Lawyers in America® for his work in bankruptcy and creditor-debtor rights law, where he’s been ranked consecutively for over 20 years. He received a number of additional national awards including rec-

ognition from Black Enterprise Magazine as one of the top five African-American corporate bankruptcy lawyers in the country, and was considered a significant rainmaker and mentor while at the firm.

Cousins also recently earned the 2022 National Service to Youth Award from the Boys and Girls Club of Greater St. Louis for more than 20 years of dedication to the St. Louis Internship Program (SLIP).

Cousins and Armstrong Teasdale were also recognized

with the Capture the Vision Award for their longstanding contributions to SLIP.

“I thank Armstrong Teasdale for this recognition and its partners and leaders for their trust in me throughout my time at the firm,” said Cousins. “The tribute really goes to Armstrong Teasdale. They had the foresight to hire a young AfricanAmerican lawyer and provide me, as an associate, with many advancement opportunities. I’m honored to be an alumnus of the firm.”

Ascension Charity Classic raises $1 million for North St. Louis County

Tournament Officials announced that the second playing of the Ascension Charity Classic presented by Emerson, concluded September 11, 2022, raised more than $1 million for charitable organizations in North St. Louis County and beyond. The total includes $225,000 for each of the tournament’s primary beneficiaries, Marygrove, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis, and Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis.

“Our goal from the beginning has always been to make this the most charitable event

on the PGA TOUR Champions schedule and with the help of our amazing corporate partners and the St. Louis fans who’ve come out to support this event from day one, we’re exceeding all expectations,” said Nick Ragone, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Ascension. In 2021 the Ascension Charity Classic donated more than $800,000 in support of North St. Louis County communities, bringing the official PGA TOUR Champions event’s total charitable donations to

more than $2 million.

Along with providing substantial philanthropic benefits to the region, Ascension is also helping grow the game of golf through the area’s first APGA Tour event, the Ascension Classic presented by Daugherty Business Solutions at Glen Echo Country Club.

Established in 2010, the APGA Tour is a non-profit organization with the mission to prepare African American and other underrepresented golfers to compete at the highest level of professional golf, both on tour and in the golf industry.

SLATE 2nd Annual Holly Jolly Holiday Hiring Fair Dec 8 and 16

This year, to meet the need of filling vacancies throughout various companies and organizations, the event has numerous returning employers and a plethora of new employers. This hiring event will take

SLATE Missouri Job Center announces the dates of its 2nd Annual Holly Jolly Holiday Hiring Fair. The event aims to bridge the gap between job seekers and businesses looking to hiring new talent during the holiday season for both seasonal and permanent employment opportunities.

place in the first-floor conference rooms at 1520 Market Street on December 8th, and 16th, from 9 am to 12 pm. There is absolutely no cost for participants! Participants will have an opportunity to meet and interview with various companies for entry level,

mid-career, and professional positions for in-demand industries such as healthcare, IT, manufacturing, transportation and logistics, hospitality, customer services, and many others. Most employers will be hiring workers on-the-spot to fill immediate openings.

SLATE staff will also be present to provide information on the various employment and training opportunities provided at the agency.

For a complete list of participating businesses and available positions, please visit www. stlworks.com Recommended parking is at Kiel Center Garage, situated immediately behind our building, at the corner of Clark & 16th. We ask that all candidates attending the Job Fair bring their résumé and dress for success.

Steven Cousins

Living It

Character ‘Devotion’ Joy to STL, the world

Jonathan Majors shines in historical military drama

By Kenya Vaughn

The St. Louis American

Director J.D. Dillard owes actor Jonathan Majors a debt of gratitude for his portrayal of real-life Korean War hero Jesse L. Brown in Devotion. The intention, grace, grit with which Majors commits to honoring the man he portrays speaks to an additional level of devotion separate from the film’s title– which is homage to the relationship between Brown and his wingman Thomas J. Hudner Jr. Majors is unwavering in his embodiment of Brown’s iron will as he represents the highest caliber of his race and paves the way for other Black navigators and aviators. The film – inspired by the Adam Makos book Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice– opened in theaters nationwide on November 23 and is astonishingly only the second big screen leading man performance for Majors. From the moment he broke through alongside

Clear Waters

Zeus Rebel Waters remakes his look, sound while serving community

By Ashley Winters St. Louis American

Byron Waters, now known as Zeus Rebel Waters and formerly Rukka Puff, has changed over the years. His music, style, and even physical appearance have changed. The nearly 400-pound rapper had crowds “getting crunk” back in the early 2000s. As Rukka Puff he sported a Mohawk and was the ‘Bone Crusher.’ He would stand on tables bopping to Lil Jon and The Eastside Boyz, ripping his shirt off, to get everyone hyped.

After a few years of what he calls “laying low” and losing nearly 200 pounds, Rukka Puff is now Zeus Rebel Waters. The Mohawk has been replaced with a clean-shaven head and a blue beard.

His style of rap has even changed. The hard bass beats inspired by rappers from the South are now a mixture of genres that he likes to call hood-pop. The table-hopping musician is now a more laid-back version of himself, and he says that all comes from changing his way of thinking and growing into his version of manhood.

Jimmie Fails and Danny Glover in the 2019 film

The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Majors has been a force to be reckoned with on the big and small screen. The buzz from his stun-

n Majors is built for the heavy lifting that Devotion requires – and makes up for a large portion of the film’s shortcomings with his portrayal.

ning supporting performance in the acclaimed independent feature was still in full swing when he caught the attention of mainstream entertainment thanks to his leading role in Misha Green’s television masterpiece Lovecraft Country. It is almost inconceivable that Majors has only been making movies for five years. A 2016 graduate,

he is among the recent stream of Black actors who have come straight out of the Yale School of Drama and quickly established themselves in Hollywood. They include Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Bryan Tyree Henry, Yahya Abdul Mateen II, Aja Naomi King and St. Louis’ own Marcus Henderson.

Majors is built for the heavy lifting that Devotion requires – and makes up for a large portion of the film’s shortcomings with his portrayal. Less than a decade after President Truman integrated the United States military, all eyes were on Brown as a pioneer within the Fighter Squadrons for the U.S. Navy. Brown faced the enemy of racism while simultaneously fighting to ensure the continued freedoms for a country that will not allow him to fully possess them. Brown has an ally in Hudner – portrayed by Glen Powell – and the pair forge a bond that proves stronger than death.

Devotion falls victim to the traps and tropes

Zeus Rebel Waters sat with The St. Louis American to talk about all things new with him, including his donut business Sweets By Sweetwater Donuts, his non-profit, and the literacy program he recently started.

“I feel like if your music is organically changing and your life changes and everything around you changes, then your name has to change with it,” said Waters. The local rapper says his mind isn’t what it was back then. He’s been researching his African American history “re-learning his heritage as a Black man.”

Zeus Rebel Waters performs “Luv” at the second annual STL Fest last Sunday, May, 22 at The Big Top in Grand Center.

SLSO holiday celebrations begin with Samara Joy, Big Band Tour

By Danielle Brown St. Louis American

“There’s a little something for everyone,” said Kevin McBeth, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s IN UNISON Chorus music director and conductor.

“I think this year, more so than anything, there’s something for the diehard classical enthusiasts, we’ve got gospel, jazz and soulful music covered, and wonderful films for movie enthusiasts.”

As for his latest name, the rapper said, “The name feels like power, Zeus is a god, and I am a god within myself, so why not be Zeus.” However, with change comes criticism. Some music fans do not accept that rap is changing; not only who raps the lyrics but the style of the music. Waters says his music “pushes the envelope of the trend of today’s rap.” He adds rock, house music, and, electronic.

SLSO is decorating the region with holiday concerts and events for Black families, especially the Big Band Holidays Tour with The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra featuring Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Samara Joy, A Gospel Christmas with Grammy-nominated singer and actress Sheléa, and Mercy Holiday Celebration at Lindenwood University featuring Byron Stripling. McBeth became familiar with Joy after hearing numerous people praise her talent, including chorus members.

n “It’s going to be meaningful because I’ll be performing some holiday classics and music from my ‘Don’t Wanna Wait ‘til Christmas’ EP,” she said.

-Singer and actress Sheléa

“Was just listening to her recently do a few Nancy Wilson standards,” he said.

“It’s just really exciting to hear that music back on the rise and also just from someone who is just so talented. Her voice is almost like putting a warm blanket around you. It’s just an incredible instrument. I know that the crowd is really gonna eat it up.”

Victor Goines, Jazz St. Louis president and CEO, will lead the Big Band Holidays show as music director. McBeth said he is excited about the collaboration.

“It will be a great sound, I think it’s certainly going to be something different for the regular classical symphony goer and for the jazz lovers,” he said.

In a phone interview with The St. Louis American, Sheléa said her holiday visit will be special.

“It’s going to be meaningful because I’ll be performing some holiday classics and music from my ‘Don’t Wanna Wait ‘til Christmas’ EP,” she said.

“My favorite song to sing is “The Christmas

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Jonathan Majors delivers a stellar performance as Jesse L. Brown in J.D. Dillard’s ‘Devotion.’ The film opened in theaters nationwide on November 23.

Photo courtesy of SLSO

Grammy-nominated singer and actress Sheléa performs with St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and IN UNISON Chorus for A Gospel Christmas on Dec. 15 at Powell Symphony Hall.

See Film, C8

Photo by Taylor McIntosh | St. Louis American

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.

Visit St. Louis Sound at the Missouri History Museum, presented by JSM Charitable Trust, to explore these stories and more.

Create Musical Memories this Holiday Season

St. Louis Sound is open until January 22, 2023.

Religion

‘The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni’ takes prose to higher level

By Brenda Siler Washington Informer

Giovanni was thick in the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater. After all, she is a legend who has written over 30 volumes of poetry and prose, including several children’s books. For this performance, Giovanni is coming from a unique perspective. She collaborated with saxophonist, composer, and educator Javon

Jackson on the album “The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni.” It is a collection of Giovanni’s favorite faith music except for “Night Song,” which is a sweet song recorded by Giovanni’s friend Nina Simone. Here’s the kicker. Giovanni sang some of the songs performed with Jackson, his trio and jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon. We know the author is not known for singing, and she admits she is not. That did not matter because we heard Giovanni’s whole heart in “Night Song.” She

Javon Jackson and Nikki Giovanni in the recording studio for the album “The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni” (Courtesy of Shaban R. Athuman/Kennedy Center

admitted nervousness as her voice quivered. To show us her vulnerable soul gave new meaning to spirituals many of us grew up with.

Giovanni’s banter between songs led her to talk about the importance of jazz to our culture. That was the connection working with

Jackson. His bandmates, pianist Jeremy Manasia, bassist David Williams, and drummer McClenty Hunter, put a jazz slant on the selected spirituals.

With the addition of Freelon, the strength of the words hit the audience just right.

Giovanni ended the performance by reciting “Ego Tripping,” one of her bestloved poems. That brought the house down!

A group of 20-something women talked after the show and expressed joy over seeing Giovanni. For Rache’l Oatis, it was her second time seeing Giovanni.

“It was so great to see her.

I felt connected, and I felt empowered,” said the Silver Spring resident. “Given the holiday season, it felt like Black holiday time.”

Taylor Thompson was seeing Giovanni for the first time.

She was one of two friends with Oatis.

“It was amazing to see someone live whose work you

have read,” Thompson said.

“To see her so present admitting she was nervous and vulnerable, she was giving us permission as Black women to be nervous and to express ourselves.”

Breon Gaines felt Giovanni’s intent performance.

“I had a feeling of a spiritual connection,” said Gaines. “The combination of the music and her poems was such a beautiful connection.”

Giovanni and Jackson met the audience after the show to sign CDs and books. Summing up the process of creating this new piece of work, Giovanni spoke about the collaboration with Jackson in a one-on-one interview.

“It was wonderful to do this,” Giovanni said. “Javon has been in front of everything. I was happy when they said, let’s do it.”

Brenda Siler is an awardwinning journalist and contributing writer for the Washington Informer

By Sheila P. Spencer

Do not neglect to extend hospitality to strangers [especially among the family of believers— being friendly, cordial, and gracious, sharing the comforts of your home and doing your part generously], for by this some have entertained angels and energy. My living room consisted of a rectangular banquet table and folding chairs … like the ones from the church fellowship hall. (Now that I think about it, I probably got it from the church — smile). My living room stayed like that for quite a while. But that’s not what I remembered.

tality isn’t about having the perfect space with everything in perfect place. It’s about opening up your space to make someone feel at home. It is giving someone the gift of presence and intentional space to be. When I reflect on the gatherings, I don’t

it takes me all over the world. It takes me to sacred experiences and places where I truly learned what the heart of hospitality is. It is opening up your heart so that people feel at home.

Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, people never forget how you time when you really space. They may have

If you really needed someone to talk to, I guarantee that you didn’t focus on the unwashed clothes or dishes or dust. You focused on the fact that you were heard, seen and loved. That person may have had no idea how much you needed that space and place. Hospitality is when someone feels at home in your presence. Hospitality can happen in a fully furnished and spotless home. It can happen with a full-course meal. It can happen with Peanut butter and crackers with a folding chair and table. It can happen on the floor with a pizza or leftovers. It doesn’t matter. Hospitality isn’t about waiting until you have everything perfectly arranged in your spot. Does that matter to someone who just needs your presence and time? Probably not. As we enter into the holiday season, think of creative ways to give others the present of your presence. These past few years have taught us how to connect creatively in person and virtually. We need each other … Hospitality is just opening up your home the same way you open up your heart. Even with a rectangular table and folding chairs. (Smile.) Blessed to be a blessing to you, Rev Sheila P Spencer Rev. Sheila P. Spencer is an author, poet, teacher and preacher.

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.

MAPLEWOOD POLICE DEPARTMENT

Hiring for police officer position Must be POST Class A certified.

$62,290 – Six year top $85,952 www.cityofmaplewood.com

CHILDREN’S SERVICES PROJECT DIRECTOR

The St. Louis Mental Health Board (MHB) is seeking qualified candidates for a full-time Children’s Services Project Director with a starting salary of $65K and a highly competitive benefit package. For the full job posting visit www.stlmhb.com/ about-us/careers.

VETERANS EDUCATION AND TRAINING ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

The state of Missouri is accepting applications for an Assistant Director with Veterans Education and Training in the St Louis area. Application deadline is December 12, 2022. Starting salary is $47,736. View job description and application instructions at https://mocareers.mo.gov/ hiretrue/ce3/job-board/ 5effe9b2-4b89-494b-ac76c45e25190768/48f16fdd-d91641a8-820f-14916fbff1eb?jb=true

ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT – CLAIMS COMPLIANCE

Broad responsibility for the overall management of the claims compliance function. Accountable for the development, direction and oversight of claims-related compliance activity for the company inclusive of regulatory change management, state and third party claim administrator (TPA) audits, claims reporting and data calls, claim penalty payments, claims-related research and consumer complaints for all applicable lines of business. To apply, please visit: https://www.safetynational.com/ careers-page/

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/

PUBLIC WORKS LABORER

The City of Richmond Heights is accepting applications for the position of Public Works Laborer $37,996 - 40,765 . To apply go to https://richmondheights. applicantpro.com/jobs/

DATA SCIENTIST I

Writes software utilizing analytics and machine learning to the achieve business goals and objectives of the company under immediate supervision. Demonstrates clear and working knowledge and concepts of software development, data science and learning algorithms. Responsible for the internal application programming and analysis of requirements using various technologies.

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

COORDINATOR – ACCOUNT SERVICES – INSURANCE OPERATIONS

Mid-level non-exempt position responsible for providing client/customer support for the department’s operational functions. Performs a variety of routine and non-routine tasks for our business and in the issuance of our insurance policies. Work performed adheres to established process procedures, guidelines and customer standards set by the organization.

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

PLAN REVIEWER/BUILDING INSPECTOR

The City of Richmond Heights is accepting applications for the position of Plan Reviewer/ Building Inspector $64,193 - $71,337 To apply go to https://richmondheights.applicantpro.com/jobs/ .

St. LouiS american Bids & Public Notices

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.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

America’s Center is seeking RFP’s from qualified companies to provide TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INTERNET, DATA AND WIFI SERVICES for America’s Center. Bid packages available Monday, December 5th, 2022, at 9am at the Administrative Office at 701 Convention Plaza, or by visiting: https://explorestlouis.com/ meetings-conventions/americascenter/communications-rfp/ Interested bidders must attend a mandatory pre-bid conference & walk thru Monday, December 19th10am CST at America’s Center Facilities Office Conference Room B. Contact Jeanice Baker at 314-992-0631 with any questions. The facility reserves the right to reject any or all bids. EOE.

REQUEST FOR SEALED BIDS

Hanley Hills is requesting sealed bids for a street overlay within the Village. Bid deadline: December 13, 2022 4:30 pm Bid package available at Hanley Hills City Hall, 7713 Utica Drive, Hanley Hills, MO 63133 and on Hanley Hills’ website

CITY OF ST. LOUIS OFFICE OF VIOLENCE PREVENTION REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS –SUPPORTIVE REENTRY SERVICES

The City of St. Louis Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) has $520,319 available annually to award for supportive reentry services for individuals returning to the community from the criminal legal system. “Reentry” is a process that starts from the moment an individual is initially incarcerated and continues throughout their transition from incarceration to reintegration into the community. Supportive reentry services provide an array of supports to increase stabilization and decrease the likelihood of continued criminal legal system involvement.

The RFP may be found online through the following link: https:// www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/ departments/public-safety/ violence-prevention/documents/ rfp-supportive-reentry.cfm

Please direct all communications to violence-prevention@stlouis-mo.gov, 314-622-4075. Submissions are highly encouraged prior to December 12, 2022 but will be accepted on a rolling basis until all funding is allocated.

SOLICITING BID

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

General Site – Research Commons Thermal Plant (CP200001), General Site –Utility Infrastructure for USDA Facility (CP220771), and Laboratory Animal Center –Building Demolition (CP229011).

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

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.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Great Rivers Greenway is requesting proposals for Merchandising Services. Go to www.greatriversgreenway.org/ jobs-bids for details and submit by December 16, 2022.

BIDS

Pine Lawn City is seeking Audit Bids

Due Wed Nov 7, 2022

To 6250 Steve Marre Ave

Pine Lawn, MO 63121

Also Pine Lawn seeks Bids for Website Update due Friday Dec 9, 2022 @ address noted above (314) 261-5500

ATTENTION DBE

SUBCONTRACTORS/ SUPPLIERS

Lunda Construction is bidding the MoDOT Chester Bridge Design Build Project, and we want your quote!

Quotes due: 01/13/2023

A Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) is required before we can share plans with you.

Please call 651-437-9666 to request the NDA.

SEALED BIDS

Bids for Horn Branch Reclamation Project, Henry County, Project No. Y2204-01, 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

SEALED BIDS

Bids for Replace Emergency Generator, Infrastructure, St. Louis Forensic Treatment Center - South, Project No. M1908-01 REBID, will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 1/12/2023 via MissouriBUYS. Bidders must be registered to bid. Project information available at: http://oa.mo.gov/ facilities

SEALED BIDS

Bids for RENOVATE

SUB (ACID) LAB, MO Geological Survey (DNR) Rolla, MO Project No. W2001-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 12/29/22. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

SEALED BIDS

Bids for LAN Room-Fire Suppression System Replacement, Lottery Headquarters Bldg. Jefferson City, MO Project No. N2201-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 12/22/22. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

SOLICITING BID

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

Patient Care Tower – Radiology Expansion (CP221611)

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

AUCTION NOTICE

The following People are in debt to Gateway Storage Mall .The Contents of their storage unit(s) will be sold at auction to compensate all or part of their debt.

Auction at the Gateway Storage, Columbia, IL location will be held online with www.storageauctions com and will end at 10:00am, December 6th, 2022. A cash deposit will be required for all winning bids.

Unit 1- Sue Mason, Unit 23- Lisa Tate, Unit 58- Gregory Arras, Unit 107- Krystal Bostic, Unit 203- Tami Setzer, Unit 6174- Scott Schifferdecker

For all rules, regulations, and bidding process, please contact www. storageauctionscom. For all other questions, please call (618) 744-1588 or mail: 300 Rueck Rd, Columbia IL, 62236

submit only one application per grant cycle. The original and two copies of the application, along with one copy of the required attachments, must be received no later than 4:30 p.m. on Friday, February 3, 2023, at the SLPO office located at 20 South Sarah Street, St. Louis, MO 63108. Please ensure that the required number of copies (total of three) and all attachments are included. Applications will not be accepted by email or fax. They may be delivered to the SLPO office by U.S. mail or hand delivered. Postmarked applications will not be considered for funding.

The application form, along with instructions for completion and required attachments, are available under the Grants tab on the SLPO’s website at www.stlphilanthropic.org and on the SLPO Capacity Building website at https://slpocapacitybuilding.org. Agencies may also request that a copy of the application and instructions be emailed to them by contacting the SLPO office at (314) 534-4452 or support@ stlphilanthropic.org. SLPO office hours are Mondays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday mornings from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. On Wednesday, December 14th at 10:00 a.m., the SLPO Board will host a Grantwriting workshop aimed at assisting agencies in their preparation of the 2023 Responsive Grants application. Organizations interested in submitting an application are highly encouraged to attend the workshop. Please register in advance on the SLPO main website listed above.

The SLPO Board is pleased and excited to partner again with Mosaic Beginnings to provide the capacity building workshops for area nonprofit organizations. Mosaic Beginnings is a management consulting firm with a diverse team of consultants with over 100 years of combined experience committed to increasing organizational capacity for organizations, helping them achieve and, often, exceed their goals. The capacity building workshops will be available at no cost to agencies. In addition to grantwriting, workshops in the areas of Change Management and Human Resources will be offered in the Spring of 2023. Please see the SLPO website for more information and registration.

WASHINGTON STATE PARK, DE SOTO, MISSOURI MISSOURI CONCESSION CONTRACT BID OPPORTUNITY IFB22002529

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Division of State Parks is seeking bid applications for the concession operation at Washington State Park in De Soto, Missouri. The concession opportunity includes the operation of lodging, including 11 cabins, watercraft rental and floats, swimming pool and swimming pool concession with visitation of more than 300,000 annually.

Interested parties need to register on the official offeror list by contacting Mike Zielinski at (573) 751-6758 or email mike.zielinski@dnr.mo.gov. Registrations can be completed online at https:// missouribuys.mo.gov/

NORMANDY SCHOOLS COLLABORATIVE PUBLIC NOTICE SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION

The terms of current Normandy Schools Collaborative (NSC) Joint Executive Governing Board (JEGB) members William Humphrey and Anthony Neal are set to expire on June 30, 2023, and an election will be held to fill their positions. The newly elected members will join the JEGB at the April 2023 board meeting.

The public will vote for candidates for the JEGB on the April 4, 2023, ballot. Individuals who wish to run as a candidate must apply within the next three weeks. Per state statute § 162.083, RSMo, the filing period for the April election begins Tuesday, December 6, 2022, and closes on Tuesday, December 27, 2022. Candidates must be residents of the Normandy Schools Collaborative geographic footprint. Per the Missouri School Board Association, school board candidates must meet the following requirements:

• A U.S. citizen.

• A resident taxpayer of a district or voters of the district in urban districts.

• A resident of Missouri for at least one year.

• At least 24 years old.

For residents who would like to run for one of the two seats on the JEGB, please contact the JEGB Secretary Alexandria Barnett at 314-493-0400 or by email, albarnett@normandysc.org. Information is also available at www.normandysc.org

St. LouiS american Bids & Public Notices St. LouiS american

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.

SEALED BIDS

Bids for Closure of Multiple Lagoons and Wells, Central Missouri Correctional Facility, Project No. C1919-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, December 15, 2022. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

BID PROPOSALS

Alberici Constructors, Kwame Building Group and the Saint Louis Zoo seek bids from qualified firms to submit propos als for a project at the Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Park. The project consists of earthwork, roadways, utilities, and fencing for 10 barns. To request bid documents, please send an E-mail to stlzoobids@alberici.com

INVITATION FOR BID – CALIFORNIA GARDENS SECURITY FENCE & STAIR REPAIRS

The St. Louis Housing Authority (SLHA) seeks bids to perform the following project:

The General Scope of Work for this project will consist of, but may not be limited to, demolition of an existing masonry wall and metal fence system, including foundations; removal and installation of exterior doors; demolition of existing concrete stairs; construction of new wood/composite and concrete stairs; installation of site lighting, electronic access controls and security cameras; and related construction. All work is at the existing California Gardens Apartments building at 2910-26 California Ave., St. Louis, MO 63118.

Bid information will be available at https://www.slha.org/ partner-with-slha/ on November 7, 2022

Pre-Bid Meeting is November 17, 2022 at 10:00 AM (CDT) at the project site, 2910-26 California Ave., St. Louis, MO 63118.

Sealed bids are due December 6, 2022 at 3:00 PM (CDT) via QuestCDN or delivered personally at SLHA Offices at 3520 Page Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63106.

Fran Bruce Acting Contracting Officer

SLSO

Continued from C1

Song.” I love the chorus on that one. I have a brand new single debuting with SLSO called “Mothers and Shepherds.” I’m really excited to perform it. It came out Thanksgiving Day weekend and it’s already doing really well. It’s currently on four Spotify playlists.``

The Mercy Holiday Celebration has taken place annually (except for 2020) for many years and is a staple of our holiday season. It’s not necessarily in partnership with various community organizations, although we

have presented this program at Lindenwood University the past two years in addition to Powell Hall.

“Byron Stripling is a kick, I’ve had the chance to work with him; he’s performed with IN Unison chorus and the orchestra in the past,” McBeth said. “It’s another fun show.”

He added that tickets to the holiday shows make great Christmas activities for anyone looking for events to attend during December, “I have told multiple people that if they’re at a loss for what to do for their family for Christmas, how about buying some tickets to a concert at

Powell Hall. It would make a great stocking stuffer, a wonderful present.”

Joy and The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will perform at Powell Hall on Monday, Dec. 5.

SLSO and IN UNISON Chorus’ annual A Gospel Christmas led by McBeth featuring Sheléa is Thursday, Dec. 15 at Powell Hall.

SLSO hosts five Mercy Holiday Celebration concerts at Powell Hall Dec. 16-18 and at Lindenwood Dec. 20-21.

For tickets and more information about the holiday shows, visit https://www.slso. org/.

“The pressure of being an artist in our community, I feel like many of us want [artists] to fit the status quo,” he said.

“Individuality in our neighborhoods is not celebrated, younger kids aren’t taught to honor their individuality, and most fall into the trap of following trends that are non-productive. And most of the time those trends are violent.”

He says that way of thinking “is destroying our communities.”

He contends that Black people created Rock and, from his perspective, it doesn’t make sense for Black artists to not make rock-n-roll music.

n “I just want to do my part

in society.”

-Zeus

that are common with wellmeaning historical dramas that attempt to take on the complexity of racism and discrimination –including the “white savior” and “racism in moderation” formulas. But thanks partly to Dillard and mostly to Majors, the true intention of the film is not lost.

Technical elements within the film’s combat scenes make up for the lulls during the bulky classroom training scenes and

anticlimactic confrontations that make the film seem even longer than its more than twohour screen time. Devotion takes full advantage of technology to make audiences feel as if they are mid-combat as the computer-generated bullets fly from every direction and give context to the dangers of war that can be initiated at the blink of an eye.

Anchored by Majors, the performances are the bright spot of Devotion. From the opening scene, Powell gives him the necessary space to establish Brown’s laser focus and rigidity as he attempts to fly while carrying the weight

of his race on his shoulders. He leaves the rough exterior on base and instantly softens when engaging with his wife Daisy and young daughter Pam. Christina Jackson and Majors as Jesse and Daisy demonstrate Black love at its best. The pair illustrate how the covenant of unwavering support and understanding can provide the fortitude to overcome nearly any obstacle.

Devotion opened in theaters nationwide on November 23. The film is rated PG-13 with a running time of 138 minutes.

It bothers him “when Black people call rock music ‘white people music.’”

Waters wants to curate music that features all genres of music from a variety of cultures too. Not just for the sake of music but for our young people he wants to introduce them to music they otherwise wouldn’t hear. He wants to give them things other privileged kids have access to, and in his startup non-profit organization he plans to do just that.

Starrs In The Skyy Foundation and his literacy initiative Reading With Rappers have given him the opportunity to partner with Wendy’s, he is hoping he can help young Black and brown boys be a part of something more productive that will provide mentorship.

His partnership with several Wendy’s franchises, including in Illinois, is part of a mission to close the literacy gap between young Black and brown readers and white students.

He remembers his mom telling him about how her grandmother couldn’t read or write and that people would take advantage of her.

Reading became a very important skill in his family, and his other grandmother was a reading specialist for Normandy School District for

nearly 30 years.

Starting in December, the rapper will visit elementary schools in the Jennings School District reading to the students. They will discuss mental health, play educational games, and listen to positive music.

“We must keep pushing the literacy agenda amongst our kids,” said Waters.

He hopes to take his local initiative further and form it into a national campaign.

Waters wants to use his platform positively and give these young Black and brown boys a positive role model to look up to.

“I just want to do my part in society,” he said.

But how does a rapper turned non-profit organizer get into the donut business?

Well, while on tour the rapper would allow himself to have one cheat day, that cheat day would be any mom-andpop donut shop in whatever town or city he was in.

He was in Grand Island, Nebraska doing a show and came across a little donut shop owned by an older couple. He was impressed with the creativity behind how they made donuts. At that moment he

decided it was something he would like to try. Sweets By Sweetwaters was born. A favorite is his “St. Lunatics donut” which comes with a vanilla or chocolate glaze and crushed Red Hot Riplets chips. The Rukka Puff donut comes with vanilla or chocolate glaze with Cocoa Puff cereal.

The entrepreneur has partnered with local donut shop owners to learn all that he needs to know about the donut business. Right now the donut business owner doesn’t have his brick-and-mortar, but says he is working day and night to get one up.

However, Sweets By SweetWaters makes deliveries and says anyone looking to try his donuts can reach him by texting donuts to 314-3743307. He calls it ‘Donut Dash’. The rapper, entrepreneur, and philanthropist says he is willing to go the extra mile to make his dreams come true. But also help fulfill dreams of the most vulnerable, “our kids.”

Ashley Winters is a Report for America reporter for the St. Louis American

Rebel Waters

Photo courtesy of Zeus Rebel Waters