St. LouiS AmericAn
Thompson engineers remarkable career, company
The
Building Group founder and CEO Tony Thompson is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the business. He met with his staff Monday, Dec. 20, 2021 in their downtown office.
By Alvin A. Reid
The St. Louis American
When Anthony “Tony” Thompson founded Kwame Building Group in 1991, the nation was in an economic recession.
Undeterred, the young, first-time business owner forged ahead and crafted his business into what would become a force in the construction industry. While some business leaders belittle the area’s progress and some civic leaders fret about its future, Thompson has remained a steadfast champion for an economic future that embraces diversity and inclusion, knowing they are essential for the region to economically
prosper. As some businesses depart the city of St. Louis for other areas in the region and beyond, the head office for Thompson’s KBG remains downtown, just where it has been for three decades. For his perseverance, community outreach, philanthropy, and overall effort to create educational and economic opportunities for young St. Louisans, Thompson has been named The St. Louis American 2021 Person of the Year.
After graduation from University City High School in 1978, Thompson headed west for pragmatic reasons to the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.
See THOMPSON, A7
A Christmas gift of life
Local basketball coach receives new kidney in time for the holidays
By JoAnne Weaver
Highland (Illinois) High School boys’ basketball coach Deryl Cunningham received the best gift of all this Christmas: a kidney from his cousin, Tanya Woods, of Chicago.
“It was tough…I was in bad shape,” he said. “It seems like it was a very close call because I wasn’t doing well with COVID-19, but by God’s grace, I made it through.” Cunningham fought COVID-19 towards the end of 2020, in addition to battling kidney disease, which has been ongoing for the last 10 years since he has an APOL1 gene from each of his parents. According to the National Library of Medicine, the gene is strongly associated with chronic kidney disease in African Americans. Fighting both COVID-19 and kidney disease landed
See KIDNEY, A6
Jubilee Day celebration launches new year
Reynaldo Anderson will be honored
By Dana Rieck
The
As St. Louis celebrates the new year, a local organization is working to educate people of the significance Jan. 1 holds for African Americans.
Reynaldo Anderson
Jubilee Day is Independence Day for African Americans. It commemorates Jan. 1, 1863, the day President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, the document that led to the passage of the 13th Amendment, freeing all enslaved people in the north and south Dec. 6, 1865. “I think it has some kind of contemporary resonance, as most people don’t realize that declaration didn’t actually really free anybody because it only dealt with people that were in the Confederate states, not the ones in the north,” Reynaldo Anderson told The St. Louis American. “And so, that’s an example of why that day is more important to reflect on, how it then resonates with some of the things going on now around this idea of critical race theory and voting rights.” Anderson holds a doctorate of philoso-
n Thompson has remained a steadfast champion for an economic future that embraces diversity and inclusion, knowing they are essential for the region to economically prosper.
Group reverses course, says Prop R redistricting process to start in 2030
Proposition on April special election ballot
By Dana Rieck The St. Louis American
The organization behind Proposition R announced they would no longer push for a rushed enforcement of the proposition’s redistricting provisions in this cycle, marking a complete reversal of their earlier intentions. In September, the Reform St. Louis coalition turned in 38,000 petition signatures and successfully triggered a special election April 5 for city residents to cast their vote on the charter amendment. The most significant reform in the proposition shifts the redistricting task from the Board of Aldermen to an independent citizen redistricting commission. Up until this week, Prop R coalition members remained adamant the formation of a citizen commission would give them time to redraw the boundaries for the 2023 election. Still, Aldermanic President Lewis Reed disagreed because the board was required by law to approve a new ward map by the end of this year. Earlier this month, the board did finalize
See PROP R, A6
Kwame
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
See JUBILEE, A6
The St. Louis American
Coach Deryl Cunningham just a few days before his kidney transplant with his Highland High School boys’ basketball team.
Photo courtesy of Deryl Cunningham
St. Louis American’s 2021 Person of the Year
Social media influencer Ari Fletcher jokes about gun being pulled on her
Social media influencer Ari Fletcher (aka Ari The Don) and rapper Moneybagg Yo’s relationship continues to flourish as they’ve been dating since December 2019.
She appeared in a recent interview on the “Don’t Call Me White Girl” podcast and told the host that her and Yo’s relationship differs from her past ones because of their maturity and effective communication.
“We like [to] hash it out. Like, we don’t have a toxic thing where we like – we like, go talk about it,” she said. “Like, ok – I’m mad, this why I’m mad, and this what needs to happen moving forward so this don’t make me mad anymore. We’re like, real adults [and] it’s weird. I’ve never been like this before.”
She revealed their relationship hasn’t always been smooth, but they’ve never been toxic.
“He’s trying to make me grow up,” she said “He makes me feel like, ‘b****h how old are you? Like, grow the f*ck up!’”
She jokingly talked about having a gun pulled on her.
“Like, pull your gun out and show me like, ‘b****h leave. I wish you would walk out the
door,’” she said. She learned she no longer desires that level of reassurance and instead chooses to want better for her and her son.
“Now he just calls me childish and I feel stupid and I be like, ‘ok.’”
Tina Lawson launches Facebook Watch series, “Talk With Mama Tina”
Fans and supporters have kept up with Tina Knowles-Lawson for years when it comes to her and her famous daughters, Beyoncé and Solange. Now, they can watch her in a completely different light with her Facebook Watch series, “Talk with Mama Tina.”
Lawson will sit down with various celebrities and celeb moms in six episodes and a special finale episode. Guests include Kelly Rowland, Tiffany Haddish, Marsai Martin, and more. It aired on Dec. 23.
Read her announcement about the show below:
“I’m so excited to announce the launch of my new @wetheculture @Facebookwatch show “Talks With Mama Tina” where I’ve invited some of my favorite people over to my home and have a talk with me. I loved filming this show and sitting down with so many amazing people because we got to have such honest heartfelt conversations and I got to make them my famous GUMBO! Be sure to tune in starting on THIS Wednesday 12/23. At 5 pm PCT To view, you can visit my Facebook page. Facebook.com/MsTinaKnowlesLawson Thank you to my baby @beyonce and my
beautiful grandbabies for making this special theme song for the show. Are you guys ready to watch?”
Dr. Dre will pay his ex-wife $100 million in property settlement
An agreement has finally been made in the long divorce battle surrounding Dr. Dre and his ex-wife Nicole Young According to TMZ, Young will walk away from their 24-year marriage with $100 million from their property settlement agreement.
TMZ also reports Dre is “delighted” Young will only receive a small percentage of his estate. Dre has agreed to pay the agreement which will be split up in $50 million now and the rest a year later. His estimated net worth is $820 million.
The Shade Room reports indi cated Young and Dre had a prenup, which is why she didn’t receive half and, in response, requested the agreement.
Dre wants to walk away from the divorce with the seven properties they owned, including a Los Angeles property worth $100 million.
He also has the full rights to his master recordings, trademarks, partnerships, and trusts. Their Apple Stocks remain with
him, including the proceeds from his company Beats by Dre. Young is responsible for paying her own legal fees, which equals millions of dollars.
Diddy buys his Sean John clothing brand out of bankruptcy
Don’t call it a comeback!
Good news is in the air for Sean “Diddy” Combs, who has regained ownership of his former clothing brand Sean John, which previously went bankrupt.
TMZ reports he bought out the brand from bankruptcy with $7.5 million in cash. A bidding war happened between him and four others. “I launched Sean John in 1998 with the goal of building a premium brand that shattered tradition and introduced Hip Hop to high-fashion on a global scale,” he told TMZ “Seeing how streetwear has evolved to rewrite the rules of fashion and impact culture across categories, I’m ready to reclaim ownership of the brand, build a team of visionary designers and global partners to write the next chapter of Sean John’s legacy.”
Sources: thejasminebrand.com, icecreamconvos.com, theshaderoom.com, xxlmag.com
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Lawmakers demand answers from Amazon after warehouse collapse
By Sophie Hurwitz
The St. Louis American
Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) sent a letter to Amazon’s Executive Chairman, Jeff Bezos, and its President and CEO, Andy Jassy, demanding answers about the circumstances that led to the death of six employees in a tornado earlier this month.
Those deaths include two from St. Louis, after an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois collapsed during a Dec. 10 tornado. The letter, signed by 23 lawmakers, stated that the deaths in Edwardsville were part of a larger pattern: “Amazon puts worker safety at risk in everyday situations and emergencies alike.”
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) has also launched an investigation into Amazon’s Edwardsville warehouse facility, which will be completed in the next six months.
As the tornado hit the warehouse, six employees were killed: Austin J. McEwen, 26, of Edwardsville, Illinois; Kevin D. Dickey, 62, of Carlyle, Illi-
nois; Clayton Lynn Cope, 29, of Alton, Illinois; Larry E. Virden, 46, of Collinsville, Illinois; Deandre S. Morrow, 28, of St. Louis, and Etheria S. Hebb, 24, also from St. Louis.
The National Weather Service issued warnings for potential tornados in the area 36 hours before the collapse and tracked the storm cells as they moved towards the area.
Though tornado warnings were broadcast on every form of local media and sirens wailed while the tornado made its way towards Edwardsville, the Amazon workers were not allowed to leave the warehouse, where they were working overtime hours in the pre-christmas rush. Instead, they were directed to shelter in place near the warehouse restrooms.
The site received tornado warnings between 8:06 p.m. and 8:16 p.m. before the tornado struck the building at 8:27 p.m., the company said in a statement.
The building directly impacted by the storm was a delivery station that had opened in July 2020, according to Amazon, and was approximately 1.1 million square feet with approximately 190 employees across multiple shifts. Amazon operates three
facilities out of Edwardsville: the delivery station hit by the tornado, a fulfillment center, and a sorting station.
Some Amazon drivers, as Bloomberg News reported, were told explicitly by company representatives not to seek shelter: instead, they were told they had to finish their delivery routes.
The tornado has led to public outcry about Amazon’s safety practices, as workers and activ-
ists assert this could have been avoided had Amazon allowed cell phone use in their warehouses or had the company been less aggressively crushing towards union organizing attempts. Amazon has loosened its rules around cell phones on the warehouse floor during the COVID-19 pandemic, and after the Edwardsville collapse stated cell phones will continue to be allowed until further notice.
Congresswoman Cori Bush
of St. Louis is among the legislators who are now demanding clear answers from the company about their workplace-safety practices.
“People are not dispensable. People are worth more than profits. People are why this company even had the resources to build this center in the first place,” Bush said. “My heart shattered when I saw the news that St. Louis lost two of our brightest lights in these horrific storms as well as
colleagues. Amazon’s profits should never come at
of our community’s lives, health, and safety. This cannot become the cost of doing business in America.”
Amazon, which reported $386 billion in revenue last year, has said it will be donating $1 million towards community relief efforts in Edwardsville. Two days after the tornado, workers returned to the two undamaged Amazon facilities in Edwardsville and began their shifts.
If you test positive for COVID-19, you
Bishop Geoffrey V. Dudley, Sr., senior pastor of New Life in Christ Church delivers DeAndre Morrow’s eulogy entitled “What If,” which focused on Morrow’s current and future life plans. Morrow was among six people killed after an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois collapsed during a Dec. 10 tornado.
Photo by Daphne J. Dorsey
Guest Editorial
Commentary
Society pays for politicians’ personal greed
By Janice Ellis
Guest Editorial This is a special time of year
By John E. Warren
Whether driven to hang on to power, have access to money, or intoxicated by fame, when politicians do things that hurt people for personal gain it is greed of the most grievous kind.
This time of year reminds each of us why we have and celebrate Christmas.
Furthermore, politicians are spending taxpayers’ money going to court to promote measures that will harm taxpayers’ health and wellbeing rather than protect it. It is happening in Missouri and in other states across the nation.
This country, and many of our lives, were founded upon Christian principles that are at the very essence of this season. The fact that those of different faiths are allowed to exercise their religious beliefs does not negate that which many of us profess.
issues or succumbs to a moment of rage, the paramount question is: How did he/she get access to a gun?
These same politicians see hospitals and healthcare workers unable to adequately care for unvaccinated COVID-19 infected patients crowding emergency rooms and hallways. They see and hear families recounting the pain of losing loved ones.
Neither do we require others to acknowledge or share in our beliefs. This is the beauty of the Freedom of Religion clause in our constitution. But the differences in faith do not stop the Spirit of Christmas and here is the reason.
Greed has many faces and is manifested in many ways. It fosters and protects selfish interests, no matter what principles and laws are bent or broken.
A pattern of reckless greed is in the halls of Congress and in state capitols across America.
The Gospel of John, recorded in the Bible at 3:16, states that: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
What else explains the utter and unmistakable harm, even death, which continues to occur in two areas so critical to the health and safety of the American public:
• Getting the coronavirus under control; and
• Stopping preventable carnage and deaths by guns
For those politicians who persist in fighting data-driven science and good public health measures, what is the end game? Simply to get reelected, to save their political careers.
The operative word is “gave.” It is the gift of Jesus that is responsible for the desire we all have to “give” gifts. With the gift of Jesus to humanity came the Spirit of giving which is released each time we celebrate His birth.
The angel of the Lord that appeared to the shepherds that night over Bethlehem made a pronouncement that we still feel each Christmas. The angel said: “Glory to God in the highest, on Earth peace, good will toward men.”
How many more people need to suffer and die because of misguided legislative measures, or the absence of passing meaningful legislation?
When did politicians gain the required knowledge to overrule what scientific and medical communities have determined to be the best measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus?
Other than selfish political interests, what could motivate politicians to work against people wearing masks, getting vaccinated and practicing social distancing— even in the face of increasing rates of infection and death? What audacity! What hubris! What dereliction of duty!
The people need to demand that politicians fighting what is in the best interest of public health stay in their lane. Do you see scientists and medical professionals challenging or
n How many more people need to suffer and die because of misguided legislative measures, or the absence of passing meaningful legislation?
After the Sandy Hook, Massachusetts school shooting nearly 10 years ago, many thought the killing of 20 6-year-olds would finally get politicians to pass meaningful gun control measures. The Columbine, Colorado carnage more than a decade earlier had failed to do so.
Since those horrendous incidents, school shootings are more frequent, according to a Security.org study.
Consider that Christmas Day is the only time about everything shuts down. It is the one time of the year that we see an outpouring of kindness. That kindness is the “good will” toward men that the angel spoke of. It is also responsible for the peace on Earth which caused soldiers fighting each other during World War I to stop warring on Christmas Eve and sing Christmas songs. While many of us do not have the shelter, food, or comfort that so many others have, we are blessed with health or family or the meeting of our basic needs, if not our wants.
The most recent at a high school in Michigan. It exposed loopholes in responsible gun ownership, and the presence of mental illness. It is a toxic and deadly mix.
Random gun violence is also perpetrated on shoppers in malls, grocery stores, and worshippers in churches, synagogues, and mosques.
Yet some politicians persist in using the Second Amendment to muddle the issue. They embrace and perpetuate campaigns to misinform and fuel public fears.
Our families might have their personal problems, or many of us have an empty chair at the table this season due to the pandemic or other tragedies, yet we are still blessed. Let us remember those who lost so much during the tornadoes in the Midwest and South. Let us seek ways to be of help to others and by doing so help ourselves. We give thanks for those among us seeking to help and feed and shelter so many others. Let us commit to seeking what each of us can do to make a difference in the lives of others and by doing so participate in the gift that keeps on living.
May God bless and keep you, regardless of your circumstances.
John E. Warren is publisher of The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint.
trying to undo state laws and the Constitution?
Then there is what seems to be the never-ending nightmare of random gun violence, where innocent unsuspecting victims are wounded or killed just going about their daily lives.
What is wrong with passing legislation that would regulate and enforce responsible gun ownership and usage nationwide? Other civilized and industrial nation have, and they do not have the same gun violence carnage as we do in America.
There are more guns in circulation, legally and illegally, than there are people in the United States, according to a Gallup survey.
Defending a Democracy in flames
By Ben Jealous
One would have thought the all-too-frequent school shootings, where children are massacred by another child who gained access to a semiautomatic gun, would be a call to action. Whether the shooter has underlying mental health
Janice Ellis is a Missouri Independent columnist who has lived and worked in Missouri for more than three decades, analyzing educational, political, social and economic issues across race, ethnicity, and age.
Democracy at risk without filibuster reform
FCC should empower minorityowned media businesses
By Marc H. Morial
Whenever I have had the responsibility during the past six decades to weigh in on a vital civil rights issue on behalf of Black America and other communities of color throughout the United States, I have not hesitated to speak out.
Now is the time to publicly address the urgent issue of equal access, diversity, equity, and inclusion of Black-owned media in our nation’s communications industry.
In this era of the global digitalization of media and other high technological innovations in the communications industry, Black-owned and other minority-owned media cannot afford to be denied access to the rapidly evolving industry innovations.
“If Congress fails to pass the Freedom to Vote Act, American democracy will be at critical risk … Defenders of democracy in America still have a slim window of opportunity to act. But time is ticking away, and midnight is approaching. To lose our democracy but preserve the filibuster in its current form—in which a minority can block popular legislation without even having to hold the floor—would be a short-sighted blunder that future historians will forever puzzle over.” — “Statement in Support of the Freedom to Vote Act,” an open letter signed by more than 150 scholars of U.S. democracy
The Biden administration recently convened 111 world leaders in a virtual meeting dubbed the Summit for Democracy.
The issue today is Blackowned radio stations and other minority-owned media businesses should be permitted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to compete fairly and equitably with large television and cable stations that geotarget audiences across America.
The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) has a strategic alliance with the National Organization of BlackOwned Broadcasters (NABOB) and with the Multicultural Media, Telecom & Internet Council (MMTC). We are all working together to ensure the FCC will approve a rulemaking change that will enable minority-owned radio stations to engage in geotargeting of content to their audiences. This change is necessary because the FCC’s antiquated rules, written 40 years ago, don’t give radio stations the chance to compete in the current media environment.
Focused on three vital areas — defending democracy against authoritarianism, the fight against corruption, and respect for human rights — the summit will be followed by a “year of action.” In the United States, this “action” is to include new initiatives for supporting free media, combatting corruption, democratic reforms, civic technology, and electoral integrity. Unless reform of the filibuster is among these initiatives, all the others are likely to fail. American democracy is at a tipping point, and only filibuster reform can save it. This is not a partisan observation. Last month, for the first time, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance added the United States to its list of “backsliding” democracies.
The FCC has as its mission to regulate “interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories.” The proposed rulemaking change will substantially increase the access
IDEA defines democracy based on five core attributes: Representative Government, Fundamental Rights, Checks on Government, Impartial Administration and Participatory Engagement.
to geotargeting by minorityowned radio stations and other minority-owned businesses that are vital and effective in today’s global and national media marketplace.
This is another crucial national civil rights issue. This is an issue of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Last month, I wrote to the FCC to stress this point.
As long as the filibuster can be used to block legislation to protect voting rights and reverse states’ efforts to overturn and undermine free and fair elections, the United States cannot guarantee democracy.
“I have spent much of my career as a civil rights leader focused on ensuring that technological developments like the one at issue in this proceeding, lift all of America, and not just some of us,” I emphasized.
“Too often, I have seen the benefits of technological development accrue to the privileged, with little or no benefit to disadvantaged communities, including some with which I work on a daily basis.”
According to IDEA’s report, “Unlike outright authoritarian regimes or even hybrid regimes, backsliding democracies use parliamentary majorities, obtained by initially free and fair elections and high levels of electoral support, to gradually dismantle checks on government, freedom of expression, a free media and minority rights from within the democratic system.”
In the letter to the FCC, I concluded:
Though this process “is often gradual,” the report called Donald Trump’s baseless attack on the 2020 election results a “historic turning point” that “undermined fundamental trust in the electoral process.”
Our nation faces an existential choice between an arcane and outdated procedural Senate rule and democracy itself. The Freedom to Vote Act expands voting opportunities, thwarts voter suppression, limits partisan gerrymandering, prevents
“Geotargeting technology would give minority-owned broadcasters an enhanced ability to compete with the larger station groups…The technology would enable them to better serve their communities with localized content. In addition, for those broadcasters that choose to use this technology, since it is voluntary, they can give minority-owned businesses an affordable outlet for their messages. In short, I now believe that this technology is beneficial to minority communities, including radio broadcasters, small businesses, and the public they serve.”
Letters to the editor
We recall President Joe Biden announced, “On my first day in office, I signed Executive Order 13985 (Advancing Racial Equity
election sabotage, and promotes election security.
and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government), which established that affirmatively advancing equity, civil rights, racial justice, and equal opportunity is the responsibility of the whole of our Government.”
The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would restore a requirement in the Voting Rights Act that jurisdictions with recent histories of discrimination secure federal “preclearance” before altering their voting laws and allow the bill the U.S. Department of Justice and other stakeholders to more effectively challenge discriminatory voting laws.
Very simply, American democracy cannot survive if these measures are not enacted, and these measures cannot be enacted as long as the filibuster exists in its current form.
We commend the BidenHarris Administration thus far in its first year striving to move the nation forward on equity and diversity matters even during the persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the epidemic of partisan politicization of issues and supporting public policies that will improve and enhance the quality for life of all Americans. On this issue of media reform, we hope and resolutely call for the FCC in 2022 to be aligned fully with the official stated commitments of the Biden-Harris Administration to ensure fairness, equity and diversity.
Currently, there are more than160 exemptions from the filibuster for issues ranging from foreign policy and defense to judicial confirmations and health care. Unless we create an exemption for voting rights, none of the other exceptions will matter. The extended minority rule that will result from the Senate’s failure will endanger not only democracy but our economic stability and national security.
The proposed FCC rulemaking change is also supported overwhelmingly by all of the major national civil rights organizations, including the NAACP, National Urban League, National Action Network, National Council of Negro Women, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, National Congress of Black Women, Hispanic Federation, National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators, U.S Black Chambers, and many more.
As International IDEA Secretary General wrote, “This is about more than safeguarding abstract principles or winning geopolitical battles—it is about protecting the dignity of real human beings, which democracy does better than any other political arrangement. Every democratic reversal is not a geopolitical battle lost—it is a constellation of lives that goes dark.”
Marc Morial is president and CEO of the National Urban League.
The time for the FCC to act and approve the proposed rulemaking change submitted is now because it will help to empower all minority-owned radio and other media businesses. Millions of Americans, particularly from underserved communities, deserve and have a fundamental civil right to have access and to be included.
Benjamin F. Chavis Jr, is president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and executive producer/host of The Chavis Chronicles on PBS.
All letters are edited for length and style.
I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on freedom and how we can preserve it. Our freedom is threatened. We all need to pay attention and prepare to take action next year. Look, I know Christmas and New Years are here, and millions of us are looking forward to time off work and time spent with loved ones. I can just hear people saying, “Ben, the last thing I want to think about right now is politics.” Well, let’s think bigger than that, and let’s think about freedom.
Mark Meadows multiple times after the election. Republican members of Congress were briefed on the claims on the eve of the insurrection.
As I See It - A Forum for Community Issues
Impressions of schooling
By Patrick Jones II
My mother is a fierce warrior for education. She is not a teacher or principal. She has never worked in the State House or an authorizer’s office. She has never sold curriculum or owned a tutoring company. What she has done is been a parent.
The freedom to vote has been under attack in dozens of states all year long. In 2020, many states made voting more accessible in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. That was a good thing. We had record voter participation in 2020. But because millions of those voters rejected former President Donald Trump, Republican legislators are rolling back access to the ballot box and imposing new restrictions on voting. And sad to say, new voter suppression laws are not the only threat to our freedom. Donald Trump’s henchmen have some other schemes up their sleeve. They’re getting themselves in positions to oversee elections at the local and state levels. They’re creating ways for legislators and election officials to count the votes they want to and ignore the ones they disagree with.
To combat this onslaught of voter suppression and election
subversion measures, Congress and the White House need to get new federal voting rights laws passed, signed and implemented before next year’s elections. And that’s not all. In the year since the violent attempt to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election, Trump and his allies have done everything possible to deny what happened. But the truth is coming out anyway. We can be grateful for good investigative reporting and thankful for the determination of Speaker of the House
She was the type of parent who showed up for every PTA activity, participated in every bake sale and poked her head in classrooms to check on her three Black sons. I remember one meeting where she literally forced officials at my school to test me for gifted education. You would’ve thought the great John Lewis was in the school office staging a sit-in with the conviction she showed that day. She was abolishing institutional racism in one blow in that school lobby. She knew that if I was in the gifted program, I would receive a better education. Another thing my mother knew was that school could not support me beyond math and English. In fact, my parents believed that school could be harmful and detrimental to my blackness if not done correctly. This is why my mother stocked our bookshelves with books by Alex Haley and W.E.B. Dubois and told us about her family’s history in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This is why my father told us stories about growing up in segregated Galveston, Texas, where they have always celebrated Juneteenth.
Nancy Pelosi and the bipartisan House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. We now know multiple lawyers working for Trump helped him pressure former Vice President Mike Pence to block congressional certification of Biden’s win. We know that a PowerPoint presentation circulated among Trump’s inner circle claiming foreign powers compromised the election and Trump could declare a national security emergency to stay in power. It has been reported the author of that memo, a retired army colonel, met with former White House Chief of Staff
Columnist Patrick Jones II
Given that so many of Trump’s allies were willing to ignore the Constitution and overturn the will of the voters, it’s not exactly surprising they are also willing to defy legal efforts to get at the truth.
One after another, Trump’s political strategists and former aides have been stonewalling the Jan. 6 committee. Meadows and right-wing political operative Steve Bannon have simply refused to comply with legal subpoenas to testify and now face charges of criminal contempt of Congress.
Letters to the editor
In response to ‘School districts keep mask mandates despite Schmitt’s orders:’ Kirkwood is removing the mask mandate after break…the “leadership” is weak in the face of the bully AG.
there were many who never did masks last year either and did just fine.
Shane Gray
A Christmas message to all
Libby Eversgerd
Continue the masks! Keep the students, teachers and their families safe.
Felicia C. Harris
Here is the brutal bottom line: Trump has never accepted his loss. He and his allies are showing us that they are more committed to getting and keeping power in their hands than they are accepting the voters’ will. They are ready to sacrifice democracy on the altar of rightwing authoritarianism.
That is not a pleasant thought at Christmas time—or any time. We don’t have the luxury of looking away. We have to face these threats and what it will take from all of us to defeat them in the months and years ahead.
In this season of gift-giving, think of the time and energy you spend defending democracy as a gift to your family and friends—a future of freedom.
parents feel like school is designed to facilitate the assimilation of their Black children to whiteness, this stamp analogy becomes more complex and concerning. Even more fraught is the choice parents have in front of them regarding schools. Many parents feel like they need to choose between a school that affirms their child’s identity and a school that prepares them academically. This dichotomy literally brings tears to my eyes as it is an all-too-real experience in my own household. As I search for high-quality high schools for my own children, I am forced to divorce the need for identity affirmation as an African American and the idea of academic excellence. It is almost like we live in a world where the two ideas are exclusive when we should see Blackness and excellence as synonymous. We need a school that stamps a world where we understand that mathematics is in Black blood and the world’s oldest mathematical instrument, the Ishango bone, was found in Africa. We need a school that stamps excellence in writing and science, not just performative science but actual proficiency that moves our children into foundational scientific careers at Fortune 500 companies and propels them into spaces where they create for themselves.
Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way.
There were TONS of schools in Missouri who had no mask mandate this year. The article made it seem otherwise but that isn’t true at all. In fact,
Yes, they shouldn’t have to “mandate” it at this point. We should just put one on. It’s not hard and they come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, colors. You can be fashionable, silly, etc.
RickandNic Vaughn
The AG doesn’t have authority over school districts. Just grand-standing. He is running for senate.
Sally Fay Aebel
Taking this time to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with joy and happiness. May we bond together in love and caring and keep the stars adjoined in the glow of a peaceful outcome for the problems faced in this world. The battle of life is difficult and peace hard to find, but each of us can take that moment to feel the joy of peace and love, if only in our hearts. Who knows, one day we may all join together with the wisdom, strength, and grace to be a part of a lasting and eternal peace. I know that looking at the world as it is now it is hard to imagine. Keep the heart of love always present and find the joy that is there within you. Perhaps one day the hate and violence will be a thing of the past. We must look forward to a future filled with beauty and love. If we do not do this, we become the embittered remnants of all those who have been the catalysts for all things evil in this world. Love is the promise, God is the
To understand what my parents thought of school, it is important to understand the concept of the school as analogous to a stamp. A stamp, in this context, is meant to impress upon. This means that schools as stamps are meant to make impressions upon our children. If we consider that children benefit from the wisdom and care of adults, this makes perfect sense. Impressions made by school staff can be a beautiful benefit to children. However, when we consider that many Black
A world like this can only happen when we design our own education. This happens when we run our own schools and dare ourselves to be great, not simply accept educational mediocrity. These will be schools where we honor the idea of selfdetermination and understand that it exists in a space where our children perform exceptionally academically in spaces built by us and for us — without excuses for our children and without excuses for ourselves.
Patrick Jones II is senior vice president of leadership and equity at The Mind Trust in Indianapolis.
Columnist
Marc H. Morial
Guest Columnist
Janice Ellis
Guest Columnist
Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr.
Columnist Ben Jealous
Guest Columnist John E. Warren
Wentzville’s Dr. Curtis Cain finalist for Superintendent of year
St. Louis American staff
Wentzville School District Superintendent Dr. Curtis Cain is one of four finalists for the 2022 American School Superintendents Association (AASA) National Superintendent of the Year award.
“This distinction honors school system leaders throughout the country who are making a positive difference in the lives of the students they serve, in addition to ensuring the safety and wellness of their school communities,” according to an AASA release.
Cain, who was named the 2022 Missouri Superintendent of the Year in November, has served as superintendent since 2013. He is responsible for the educational performance of over 17,300 students and 2,600 staff members. Wentzville’s performance on the state’s Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) is in the top 12% of the 518 school districts in Missouri.
Cain completed his B.S. degree in education at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, an HBCU school, and then his M.S. and Ph.D. at Iowa State University.
“We’ve purposefully brought diverse opinions to the
table. I have a Superintendent’s Roundtable which brings PreK-12 parent representatives from each school as well as community members to the table to converse with and inform me on critical issues in our school and the greater community,” Cain said.
He said he works with faith-based partners to meet student needs and collaborates with first responders on community projects.
Co-sponsored by AASA, AIG Retirement Services and First Student, the 2022 National Superintendent of the Year will be announced during AASA’s National Conference on Education, Feb. 17, 2022, in Nashville.
“Educating our children remains a top priority for the country so we need our schools to be a source of both inspiration and stability, and these four exceptional individuals are leading the way, said Rob Scheinerman, chief executive officer, AIG Retirement Services.
“We thank [the finalists] for their dedication to students, school employees and community [and] commend them for their commitment to equity, innovation and improvement.”
Reparations movement gaining momentum
The Honorable John Conyers, who represented Detroit in Congress from 1965 until 2017, introduced HR 40 every congressional session from 1989. He worked to get cosponsors for the legislation for nearly 30 years, but not even the entire Congressional Black Caucus would cosponsor.
Upon his retirement from Congress, he passed the baton to Houston Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Thanks to her efforts and those of reparations organizations, including the National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC) and the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA), the number of cosponsors approaches 200 members of Congress. With 218, the legislation could pass in Congress. Full disclosure. I serve as a NAARC commissioner, as does Kamm Howard, the co-chair of N’COBRA.
With a Senate dominated by conservative Democrats and obstructionist Republicans, when HR 40 passes in Congress, it is unlikely to pass in the Senate. However, it is essential to acknowledge the enormous progress the reparations movement has experienced since Conyers first introduced HR 40. Then, if you mentioned reparations in some circles, including those dominated by African Americans, you’d be rewarded with an eye roll and a “reality” check. Movements don’t happen overnight, though, and the reparations movement is rising, thanks to the tireless work of committed activists, who have persistently raised the issue.
Robin Rue Simmons, a former Evanston, Illinois alderman, shepherded reparations legislation in that city and helped design a program that will use money from legal cannabis sales to fund reparations. The program emerges from documentation of the ways local legislation widened the wealth gap between 1919 and 1969 and explicitly targets Evanston residents and their descendants for the initial round of reparations. Within the next several weeks, 16 families will get $25,000 checks to put a down payment on a home, reduce a mortgage balance, or do repairs that increase the value of their homes. While these modest payments do little to reduce the wealth gap, they improve the wealth position of these families. Evanston has taken a small but revolutionary step in the right direction. She chose not to run for reelection, although she would have faced only token opposition if she had. Instead, she has been working full-time on the issue of local reparations, founding First Repair (firstrepair.org), an organization focused on helping state and local governments shape reparations initiatives. First Repair most recently (December 9-11) co-convened a symposium (along with NAARC) with state and local reparations leaders. Sixty people from 25 cities, including Boston, Asheville, North Carolina, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, gathered to discuss their efforts to implement local reparations. The activist Danny Glover spoke at a town hall meeting that included a telephone address by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
The fact that so many cities and states are considering reparations initiatives and appointing reparations commissions is invigorating and encouraging. Our nation is culpable for the exploitation of enslaved people and their descendants. We have gotten little more than a tepid apology. Our country must do more.
While HR 40 calls for the establishment of a commission to make reparations suggestions, if President Biden really wanted to have our backs, as he so often says, he could, through executive order, establish such a commission now. I had hoped that President Obama might have done so, but that issue was such a hot potato for our then-President that he would not even consider it. The more talk there is about reparations, the more information is disseminated. President Biden, Vice-President Harris, can you take this step in the right direction?
Dr. Julianne Malveaux is an economist, author, and Dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at Cal State LA.
Photo courtesy of Wentzville School District
(From left) Wentzville School District Superintendent Dr. Curtis Cain, state Education Commissioner
Margie Vandeven and Project Lead the Way President & CEO Dr. Vince Bertram. Cain, the 2022 Missouri Superintendent of the Year, is a finalist for American School Superintendents Association National Superintendent of the Year award.
Juliane Malveaux
a 14-ward map with an almost unanimous vote.
Proposition R also includes a host of other reforms, such as decreasing the influence of big money by stopping aldermanic conflicts of interest; preventing the Board of Aldermen from overriding the will of voters; and ensuring the public knows if an alderman has a personal conflict of interest in something they are voting on.
“Passing Prop R in April will immediately improve ethics at the Board of Aldermen by prohibiting alderpersons from taking official action on legislation where they have a personal or financial conflict of interest,” Reform St. Louis wrote in a statement. “We believe that it is in the best interest of our city to reform the city charter to ensure that future redistricting efforts are truly independent, transparent, citizen-driven and equitable and that the Board of [Aldermen] is held to a higher standard of ethics.”
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him in the hospital with a catheter in his chest as his family prepared for the worst-case scenario.
“With my kidneys, it was a really tough situation because I was coaching and working daily,” he said. “It seemed like things went downhill fast once I had COVID.”
After a week in the hospital,
Jubilee
n “Passing Prop R in April will immediately improve ethics at the Board of Aldermen by prohibiting alderpersons from taking official action on legislation where they have a personal or financial conflict of interest.”
— Reform St. Louis
Proposition R has been endorsed by several local organizations including League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis, Show Me Integrity, Women’s Voices Raised for Social Justice, St. Louis Association of Community Organizations, Missouri Faith Voices Missouri Health Care for All, Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis, RepresentUs, MaTovu, Serve America Movement, Rev. Darryl Gray, Yinka Faleti, Alderwoman Christine Ingrassia, Alderman Bill Stephens and Alderwoman Anne Schweitzer. City voters passed the ward reduction in a 2012 election, which stipulated the new 14 wards (down from the current 28) would be redrawn after the 2020 census. It laid out a plan for the first election in the newly drawn wards to be held in 2023 for all wards and aldermanic president. Odd-numbered wards would start with twoyear terms, to stay in line with the election schedule set by the city’s charter in 1915. The Board president and even-numbered wards would run during that initial election for a full four-year term. Reform St. Louis is an organization established by Show Me Integrity, which last year campaigned in support of the city’s new nonpartisan approval voting system.
Cunningham’s kidney health improved enough to where he could go on dialysis.
“I was very weak after COVID, but I have a family, so I got up and went to work and continued to coach the basketball team; it’s like everything goes right when I’m out there coaching,” he said.
“I started using some plant oils, and my situation started rapidly turning in the right direction. When I got out of the hospital, I went from
Continued from A1 phy in communication studies and said the proclamation can be looked at as a political move by Lincoln to damage the Confederacy’s economy by disrupting their free labor force. Eventually, Lincoln also relented and allowed Black soldiers into the army, bolstering the north’s troops by 200,000 and turned the tides of the Civil
‘this guy who we don’t know is going to make it’ to ‘hey, this guy is doing pretty good,’ which was due to my dialysis as well.”
Cunningham was eventually placed on the waitlist for a new kidney at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital.
“Have you ever seen the dream team play basketball for the USA back in the day with Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley?” he asked. “My experience at SLU Hospital was that. They really were the
War. Anderson is a former associate professor of communication and chair of the humanities department at Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis and recently became the graduate director and associ-
dream team.”
Dr. Chintalapati Varma and Dr. Mustafa Nazzal performed successful surgeries on “Coach DC” and his cousin Tanya Wednesday, Dec. 1.
“We ran a few tests and found out that Tanya’s kidney was a perfect match,” Varma said.
“Mr. Cunningham was a bit apprehensive at first because it is a big operation, and there are a lot of risks, but I think he was brave enough to go through all of the tests and the surgery .”
ate professor of Africology and African American studies at Temple University in Philadelphia.
He is set to be honored Saturday at a Jubilee Day Luncheon put on by Africans Rising Together 2063 (ART
By Dec. 5, Cunningham was up walking around on his own and after 13 long months, the catheter in his chest that kept him alive was removed. He was discharged home to Edwardsville, Ill. the following day.
“He has a really good family of advocates who really pushed for him,” Varma said.
“It’s normally five years of waiting time to receive a kidney transplant, having a living donation makes the process run faster.”
2063). Ollie Stewart, founder and executive director of Southside Wellness Center, will also receive special recognition for dedicating nearly 50 years of her life as an activist to improve St. Louis residents’ social, economic, and political conditions.
ART 2063 is a nonprofit organization aiming to educate people of African descent concerning the true historical significance of their experience, culture and contributions to the world.
“[Anderson] is a scholar, and he’s a professional who continues to work for the struggle to make things better in this world,” James Tucker said.
“Not just the United States but the world, he’s recognized internationally, too.”
Tucker serves as the president of the international board of directors for and told The St. Louis American this is a part of history not taught in schools or known more broadly in the community. That’s why the organization is hosting a luncheon for residents to learn about the history of the country often left out of textbooks and lesson plans.
Anderson agreed, noting the last several generations in America weren’t really taught civics, and they don’t necessarily understand the Bill of Rights.
He said when he reflects on the reason for the luncheon, he recalls his memories of the Ferguson uprising a few years
According to a hospital representative, Cunningham recently went back to SLU Hospital for outpatient surgery to remove fluid from around his kidney, but otherwise, he is recovering well.
“You learn to adapt to your new lifestyle,” Cunningham said. “I look back now when it was happening last year, as being the head coach, we went from last place to third place while all of this was going on. There are a lot of positives to look at as well.”
ago.
“I remember Mike Brown’s uncle being in my class that August, when a lot of this stuff was happening, and a lot of my students participated in that protest, and I participated with them on occasion,” he said.
“… The generation that started the protests in 2014, they don’t understand very basic things related to the law sometimes— and history. And so that’s where I think some of that spirit around this stuff really resonates in terms of the need to really reassess American history.”
Tucker says while there is a need for the public to develop a deeper understanding of this history, he feels optimistic for the future of St. Louis with its first Black female mayor, Tishaura Jones. She’s appointed a record number of Black people to leadership positions.
“These days, or the observation of these days, just remind us of the importance of our political empowerment and how it is tied into the Constitution, and its flaws sometimes, and why this is one of those things … required for continued vigilance around those forces and society that would want to take away or harm our ability to participate in it,” Anderson said. The luncheon will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 1 at 5015 Westminster Place in St. Louis. Tickets are $100 and can be purchased online at https://bit.ly/3pAxaZX
Activist and former candidate for Missouri Secretary of State, Yinka Faleti, spoke to supporters Sept. 20, outside the St. Louis Board of Elections office prior to Reform St. Louis turning in over 38,000 petition signatures in support of a proposition that would reform the Board of Aldermen and the ward redistricting process.
Photo by Bill Greenblatt / St. Louis American
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“KU had the best architectural program in the area and was one of only a handful that provided Architectural Engineering,” Thompson, 62, explained.
“I also paid in-state fees due to a reciprocity program with Missouri’s dental school.”
Unlike many other Black college graduates, Thompson returned immediately to St. Louis because of “family ties.”
Thompson said his family has always been everything to him and is the key factor behind his success.
“My family is what drives me and had it not been for the support of my wife Kim, son Mike and daughter Kristin, I would not be able to accomplish the things I have accomplished,” he said.
Thompson’s mother, civic and political icon Betty Thompson passed away in July. Her guidance, along with the wisdom of his father, Jack Thompson, were instrumental in his life and career.
“I had a balance in my life. My mother loved and tried to help everyone. Her compassion was unparalleled. She would give away her last dollar to help someone,” he said.
“My dad has a work ethic and knowledge about so many different things that it still amazes me that he did not finish college until I got my master’s and my brother completed law school.”
Thompson received a MSc in Civil Engineering from Washington University, and an MBA in Finance from Webster University after earning respective Architectural Engineering and Environmental Design degrees at KU.
Before founding Kwame Building Group, Thompson worked as a project, mechanical and construction engineer at Anheuser-Busch Companies, Monsanto Chemical Company, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, respectively.
In 1990, Thompson felt prepared to create his own business.
“I always wanted to have my own business. I just didn’t know if it would be design or construction. Therefore, I did a little of both, and decided on the construction management route after working for the world’s largest brewery for nearly 10 years,” he said.
It did not take another decade for Thompson’s firm to become respected locally and on a national level. KBG manages construction projects valued at more than $250 million annually and is a trendsetter in public and private sector projects including educational facilities, major airports, light-rail systems, hospitals, wastewater treatment facilities and government buildings.
Outside of the St. Louis headquarters, there are division offices in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans,
Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, and Seattle.
He calls the firm’s work on the Southwest Airlines Lambert International Airport East Terminal and the Northshore Connector Light Rail in Pittsburgh as “the big break” projects for Kwame.
While his business is solid, Thompson said every day of his 30 years at the helm has not been perfect. When things get tough, his advice is to “keep your head down and shoulder to the wheel.”
“I was able to attract some really smart and talented people in the early years. I was fortunate to have very little turnover over the past 30 years, which is both a blessing and a curse. Those individuals have retired, are close to retirement or passed away,” Thompson said.
“Many of my majority firm counterparts have made successful transitions or succession
over a couple generations.
“This is new for minority firms. It has been tough. I have had more turnover in the last year than in the last 25 years. The good news is this is a great time to plan for the next 30 years. New hires can see a pathway of upward mobility. Failure should test you, not defeat you.”
Throughout the company’s life, Thompson has insisted his staff be diverse and inclusive.
“Tony challenges all because he says, ‘if I can find diverse personnel, why can’t everybody,’” Kathy Osborne, Regional Business Council president said in Kwame’s 30th anniversary publication.
Kwame board member Stuart Block said Thompson’s firm “is very involved in the Black community. Whether it is done through the business of volunteerism, Tony is always looking to help mentor the
youth.”
Education is vital to meeting challenges in business or any profession, which is why Thompson generously supports Webster University, Maryville University, and Harris-Stowe State University through scholarships.
“For decades, Webster has been the beneficiary of Tony Thompson’s generous and compassionate leadership as a trustee, scholarship donor, mentor and advocate for Webster’s long-standing commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Elizabeth J. Stroble, Webster University chancellor.
Thompson calls education “the true equalizer when it comes to racial disparity.”
“For minorities to have a true chance at the American dream, we need to be educated. Life is tough, even tougher if you’re stupid,” he said.
Since 2003, the Kwame Foundation has endowed more than $1.5 million in scholarships and grants at over 12 different universities. The foundation serves students of all races, with a focus on minority students “who are bright, talented, high-achieving individuals but might not otherwise have an opportunity for higher education,” according to Thompson.
In an interview with The American, Thompson reflected on what’s needed for future success, for St. Louis and its residents:
Q: If you could snap your fingers and improve St. Louis, what would you like to see?
A: A reformed police force and improved educational system that has the same high expectation as all students across the state.
Q: What is a piece of advice you would share with aspiring young Black people?
A: Never let the fear of failure prevent action, and keep expectations high.
Q: Your annual golf tournament raises thousands of dollars for scholarships. When did you learn to play?
A: I learned to play while working at a corporation and really took a liking once I got into the business world. Not only is it challenging, but I go out alone often to get away from everything and everyone to think and strategize. It has gotten me through the death of my brother [Tyrone Thompson], a nephew and mother’s death. I can have an ugly cry out loud.
Q: Closing thoughts?
A: What I would like people to know is your life was your parents’ gift to you. What you do with it is your gift to them. None of us have made it until all of us have made it, and you can’t accumulate too many enemies at one time.
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
Tony Thompson, president & CEO of Kwame Building Group, Inc. looks over airport designs for Lambert’s East Terminal with Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge, director of airports at Lambert St. Louis International Airport.
Kirkwood family alleges district mishandled racist incidents
CAIR-Missouri calling for investigation
By Dana Rieck
St. Louis American
The
A Kirkwood father is calling on Nipher Middle School officials to investigate and take disciplinary actions after his 12-year-old son was allegedly harassed several times since October.
Munawar Kbashi, a Black Muslim immigrant, said his son Hakeem has told him about rac-
ist bullying by other students. During one of those incidents, the 12-year-old himself was suspended for 10 days for holding a piece of plastic.
“The school considered that a knife. He was suspended for 10 days, even though it was not. It was a piece of plastic, but according to the policy of the school, it was considered a knife, even though it was not,” Council on American-Islamic
n “[I] just encourage anybody, not just our community members, to report any type of harassment or any misbehavior that is going on in school because students should feel safe at school to receive the education they need and they deserve.”
Hameed
Marwan
—
Relations (CAIR-Missouri)
associate executive director
Marwan Hameed told The St. Louis American. Kbashi went to CAIR-Missouri about the alleged harass-
ment, and the organization issued a statement calling for a fair and transparent investigation process.
According to the CAIR-Missouri, the first incident involved
a teacher who said, “I can’t [expletive] do this.” The teacher then allegedly grabbed the student, threw him out of class and threw the student’s backpack over him in the hallway.
Advocates said Kbashi filed a complaint about the incident to the principal but claimed the school did not resolve the case.
Then, in October, Hakeem was on his way home on the school bus when he was allegedly assaulted by a seventh grader who started making fun of him, calling him names, including the antiquated racial slur “porch monkey.” Again, the organization alleges the school did not take any disciplinary measures.
On Dec. 8, the organization said an eighth grader assaulted Hakeem and directed the same racial slur at him again. Hakeem reportedly sought medical treatment for a swollen lip.
CAIR-Missouri said a portion of this incident was captured on video by another student, which showed Hakeem defending himself rather than starting the fight himself.
“We call on Kirkwood School District officials to immediately launch an independent and transparent investigation of the incidents of alleged racist harassment and assault targeting the Muslim student,” Hameed wrote in a statement.
“Students of all backgrounds must be provided a safe and welcoming learning environment.”
Steph Deidrick, chief communications officer for the Kirkwood School District, wrote to The St. Louis American in an email the district is legally required to protect student and
staff privacy and so they are unable to discuss the details of these allegations.
“The Kirkwood School District takes these allegations seriously and is following our established processes to thoroughly investigate any claims of harassment or discrimination,” she wrote.
Both Deidrick and Hameed confirmed CAIR-Missouri and the school have discussed the matter directly.
Hameed said he spoke with Matthew Bailey, assistant superintendent of student services. Hameed said Bailey told him they investigated and disciplined the students involved but would not release additional details, and they did not discuss the alleged incident involving the teacher.
Kbashi said his son isn’t doing well and doesn’t want to go to school. The father would like to see the school hold everyone accountable to the same rules and policies.
“I tell him no, you have to go to school, and we have to stop what they’re doing ... they make fun of him, what that means is funny is racist. And just, he feels—he feels awful,” Kbashi said.
CAIR-Missouri is a chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization.
“[I] just encourage anybody, not just our community members, to report any type of harassment or any misbehavior that is going on in school because students should feel safe at school to receive the education they need and they deserve,” Hameed said.
“Taking Care of You”
Normandy maintains its mask mandates
COVID cases continue to surge
By Sylvester Brown Jr.
The St. Louis American
Sharifah Sims-Williams, director of communications for the Normandy Schools Collaborative, just doesn’t get it. According to recent data released by the county, the number of students with COVID-19 in St. Louis County schools has doubled, with the number of infected staff almost tripling. As of Dec. 11, Normandy had 82 confirmed cases of COVID among students and 22 among staff members. Yet, with signs the Omicron variant is surging through North County and the region, Simms-Williams is perplexed with the push-
n “It really floors me how people have made a public health crisis political.”
– Sharifah Sims-Williams, director of communications, Normandy Schools Collaborative
back from parents and politicians opposed to mask mandates.
St. Louis County parents have staged protests demanding their mask-less students be allowed in public schools. In late November, a Missouri judge ruled local health orders
I thought I was careful, cautious and abided by COVID precautions. But it got me anyway.
By Sylvester Brown Jr.
American
The St. Louis
“You have a POSITIVE COVID19 Test Result.”
I can’t explain why those words from CVS Pharmacy were so alien to me. Somewhere inside, I knew something wasn’t right. For about four days, I felt crappy. Days earlier, my younger brother mentioned in passing that he, too,
wasn’t feeling well.
“Must be a cold or the flu,” he said. I told him about my usual emergency regimen of Emergen-C Flavored Fizzy Drink Mix, cod liver and black seed oil pills, B-12 complex and some other vitamins. In two or three days tops, I’m back to normal. Usually. Not this time. Four days later, and I still had symptoms – body aches, chills, dry cough, night sweats – but,
imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the state are illegal and should be lifted. Since that ruling, multiple county school districts are considering ways to scale back COVID19 mitigation policies. Lindbergh, Rockwood, Francis Howell, Parkway, and the Mehlville school have all adopted resolutions to make masks mandates optional.
Sims-Williams, a mother with twins in the Hazelwood School District, said she finds the resistance to mask mandates “unnerving.”
“It really floors me how people have made a public health crisis political,” she said. “Children are subject to what their parents want, and there are parents who don’t want to vaccinate their children. I understand that,
By JoAnn Weaver The St. Louis American
A local African American psychiatrist
released a free online app to help people cope with the emotional stresses of the pandemic in healthy ways, such as getting vaccinated and following mitigation procedures.
Dr. Dale Anderson
“In talking to people in the community who haven’t been vaccinated or don’t take mask-wearing seriously, it’s so clear how many are misinformed, and how badly more accurate persuasive information and imagery is needed to change hearts, minds and behavior,” Dr. Dale Anderson said.
The CoPow app, an abbreviation of “cognition power,” uses optical illusions and video effects combined with interactive cognitive therapy skills training. It is presented in a game-like format to engage viewers to replace self-defeating thoughts in their minds with more healthy, constructive ideas to solve pandemic problems, according to Anderson
n “In talking to people in the community who haven’t been vaccinated or don’t take mask-wearing seriously, it’s so clear, how many are misinformed, and how badly, more accurate persuasive information and imagery is needed to change hearts, minds and behavior.”
– Dr. Dale Anderson
“My main goals for the app were for people to learn and recognize mistakes that we all make in our thoughts,” he said. “To deal with any kind of challenge, we need to think logically … so we can make good decisions for good health. I think that it could be particularly helpful with respect to the pandemic because the decisions people make about if they want to get vaccinated are life and death decisions where I’ve seen people lose loved ones because of it.”
The CoPow app offers a choice of 12 topics, ranging from conquering fear of vaccines and procrastination about getting vaccinated to anger about masks, sadness from being cooped
Sylvester Brown Jr.
thankfully, no fever.
Could it be? Maybe?
On Wednesday, three days before Christmas, I set about trying to
schedule a COVID test. To my utter frustration, I couldn’t find an at-home testing kit at any local pharmacy. With the Omicron variant spreading and the holidays approaching, I wasn’t surprised that at-home tests were of short supply.
So, I went the route of finding a testing site online. It was equally frustrating not being able to find one in the city. Affinia Healthcare has a site but was only testing on Tuesday between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Other clinics had specific testing days or required an appointment. Some who asked me to leave my number never returned the call.
CVS has an online listing of its pharmacies that offer the “SARSCOV-2 Rapid Result Antigen Test.”
I couldn’t find one in the city or in a
32-mile radius for the life of me. And, when I clicked on those sites, all said there were no available appointments that day.
“Try again.”
Finally, at 4 a.m. Thursday morning, I was able to schedule a test. The pharmacy was in Ballwin, more than 30 minutes from my home in Old North.
The search for a location brought back bitter 2020 memories of how testing sites were offered in majority-white St. Louis neighborhoods first before slowly coming to the darker demographics of the region. As I searched for a nearby site, I wondered how poor people without cars or access to the Internet found crucial
(From left) Normandy Schools Collaborative administrators Sheila G. Williams, Normandy Joint Executive Governing Board vice president, Sharifah Sims-Williams, director of communications, Marcus C. Robinson, superintendent, and William Humphrey, JEGB President, meet Dec. 22. The district will not change its mask policy when second semester begins in January.
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
Photo courtesy of TEDxGatewayArch
HIV/AIDS clinic director encourages prevention during awareness month
FDA approves first injectable
By JoAnn Weaver
The St. Louis American
National HIV/AIDS Awareness Month is celebrated in December, and as it ends the campaign to increase awareness of the virus, reduce stigmas and curtail the number of people contracting and living with HIV/AIDS will continue.
There is news on two fronts.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated its guidelines to encourage doctors to talk to everyone sexually active about PrEP to prevent HIV, and the Federal Drug Administration approved the first injectable treatment for HIV pre-exposure prevention, Apretude, on Dec. 20. “[This] approval adds an
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Continued from A10
somewhat, but the numbers of those infected are children, and we don’t know the long-term effects of COVID. There are a lot of questions and a lot of controversy over things that should not be controversial.”
Yet, controversy abounds over mask mandates, even as rates of infection soar in the county. Christopher Ave, health department spokesman for the St. Louis County Health Department, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the county’s overall, weekly diagnosed pediatric COVID-19 cases hit 551 during the week ending Dec. 4, the highest number since November 2020.
State Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican running
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help at crucial times.
My appointment at the Ballwin CVS was quick. A technician informed me the cotton swab I had inserted and swiveled in both nostrils would yield results within a half hour.
He said I’d receive a text and an email with the results. After battling rush hour traffic to get back to the city, my phone pinged, and I read the results: “Positive.”
important tool in the effort to end the HIV epidemic by providing the first option to prevent HIV that does not involve taking a daily pill,” Dr. Debra Birnkrant, director of the Division of Antivirals in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. “This injection, given every two months, will be critical to addressing the HIV epidemic in the U.S., including helping high-risk individuals and certain groups where adherence to daily medication has been a major challenge or not a realistic option.”
It is approved for at-risk adults and adolescents for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce the risk of sexually acquired HIV.
for U.S. Senate in 2022, has warned school districts they are in violation of the Cole County circuit court judge’s ruling if they enforce mask mandates. Schmitt even took to Twitter to solicit parents to turn in school districts that enforce mask mandates and quarantines. “This is incredibly dangerous and occurs while numbers are rising dramatically,” Dr. Sam Page, St. Louis County executive director, wrote in his weekly newsletter. “We have more info about the rise (of COVID) in schools in particular – and as the new Omicron variant gains a foothold.”
The county executive called parents who are not taking COVID-19 seriously “a menace to society,” and their beliefs “carnival quackery” as a pandemic continues.
Thankfully, Sims-Williams said, Normandy can still
n “I thought I was careful, cautious, and abided by COVID precautions, but it got me anyway.”
The confirmation in black and white kicked off a strange psychological reaction in me. Realizing I did not have a cold or the flu introduced the reality that a mysterious, possibly deadly invader was in my body. As the Deaconess Fellow with The St. Louis American, I have
Mental
Continued from A10
up at home, parenting problems, drinking excessively to cope, death of a loved one due to COVID-19, and more.
“I’ve shown the app to over 90 professionals including local physicians, mental health professionals, healthcare administrators, and among them was the former Director of the Pandemic Task Force of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area of Missouri, Dr. Alex Garza,
written about the ravages of the pandemic. I know what it’s done and what it can do to the body, mind, and spirit. But it was always disconnected…it wasn’t me. Now it is. For me, the COVID diagnosis was like a dangerous question mark in my body. I’d researched and written enough about the illness to freak myself out. For example, I know that COVID can critically damage tissues in the lungs and other vital organs like the heart, kidney, liver, brain, and gastrointestinal tract. Armed with the confirmation of an infection, my imagination kicked into overdrive. Was my rib cage sore from just coughing, or were my lungs collapsing? Was the stuffiness in my head signs of a brain tumor? Was I having aches in my lower back, or was I on the
and their responses were overwhelmingly positive,” he said.
“This is my way to help, and it’s free to the public.”
According to Anderson, he developed a cognitive therapy app over the past 10 years.
“I have found cognitive therapy useful, so I have incorporated it into my practice. It started with a PowerPoint presentation to teach people how to use it, then gradually it grew into an app,” he said. “When the pandemic hit, I decided to address it.”
A north St. Louis native, Anderson completed both his
“We all know that sexual activity is a part of everyone’s life, and we have to make a choice as a society to limit transmissions,” Dr. Alex Lacasse, infectious disease physician and director of the Infectious Disease Clinic at St. Mary’s Hospital, said.
Until this time, it had been approved for HIV treatment on a monthly basis, according to Lacasse.
“These medicines have been very effective with minimal side effects,” Lacasse said.
“We want preventive medicine because this is the only way to grasp HIV and stop its spread so that we are all protected.”
Opened in March 2020, the Ryan White-funded multidisciplinary clinic treats individuals with HIV/AIDS as well as those seeking pre- or post-exposure prophylaxis. In addition to treating HIVpositive individuals, the ID Clinic also provides counseling and information to patients at high risk of contracting HIV, either due to high-risk sexual behaviors or IV drug use.
“Our clinic is mainly focused on HIV individuals, and there is a federally funded program called Ryan White, that reserves funds for HIV treatment since those medica-
n “We’ve had more than 800,000 people die from COVID. That’s a lot of people,” she said. “As adults, as parents, we have to do the right thing. We have to look out for kids.”
– Sharifah Sims-Williams, director of communications / Normandy School District
employ mask mandates and other safety measures despite the Cole County judges ruling.
“Now that we’ve had time to review the ruling, we see it applies mostly to public health, not schools. So, we still have the right to implement rules to keep us safe,” she said.
Unlike other county schools, Sims-Williams said Normandy has never had contentious school board meetings or widespread pushback against COVID safety measures. Demographics, she said, are a
major factor.
“Like most low-income communities, many of our children have health issues, or they live with families with health issues,” she said. “We have a lot of families who have older people in the home or are grandparents raising kids.”
To illustrate her point, SimsWilliams shared a story about a mother who came to a school board meeting who was undergoing chemotherapy treatments for cancer. The mother told the board, ‘I can’t afford to have
road to kidney or liver dysfunction? Should I be preparing for something? Is it foolish to just hope for the best?
By the time you read this, I will be on day 14 of this ordeal. My plan is to have been re-tested and hopefully cleared
medical training and his psychiatric residency at Washington University School of Medicine, and an additional two-year Associate Fellow program at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center with special emphasis on stress management.
He has been in private practice since 1985, has taught principles of psychiatric diagnosis and treatment at Washington University, and has served as Phototherapy Program for Seasonal Depression medical director at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center.
of COVID. I’ve had both shots, which is probably why my symptoms were relatively mild, but I had been dragging my feet on the booster. Not anymore. It’s the first thing on my “surviving COVID” to-do list. I have no idea of the long-
In June 2020, Anderson launched a smaller version of the app to help the public learn more about it and introduced it to his 800 patients he could not see regularly.
“There was a young African American man who told me he was afraid to get the [COVID-19] vaccine because he didn’t want the virus in his body,” he said.
“He didn’t have a clear understanding of what the vaccine actually is.”
According to the CDC, the mRNA vaccine does not contain virus cells, but it does
tions are extremely expensive for patients who don’t have medical coverage,” Lacasse said.
According to Lacasse, this is the first clinic with this funding in SSM Health; only a couple of other clinics have this funding to offer this kind of accessibility.
“In HIV care, what we have realized over the years is that the whole picture is important,” Lacasse said.
“We have patients who don’t know what HIV is or that they have it and we have other patients who don’t have a good social or family support system, so we provide that for them.”
The Infectious Disease (ID) Clinic at SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital - St. Louis
my child come home and give me COVID.’”
Normandy instituted a hybrid educational system last year with at-home and in-person classes. Sims-Williams said only about 30% of the district’s students participated in in-person instructions. Parents who were still concerned about the contagious virus weren’t exactly thrilled about sending their kids to school this year.
COVID-19, Sims-Williams stressed, hit North County hard, especially majority-Black communities like Normandy. So, for many families in her district, she added, the pandemic is personal.
“We’re in a small community,” she said. “People infected with COVID weren’t just something you read about in the paper. Our families know people who have died from COVID. They have first-hand
Sylvester Brown Jr., St. Louis American inaugural Deaconess Fellow, learned he had contracted COVID-19 three days before Christmas. Brown, who is vaccinated, first conquered the ordeal of finding a location to be tested after experiencing symptoms and then received news that he was positive.
provides patients with HIV/ AIDS life-saving medical care and suppresses the number of new cases through an active pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) clinic.
“The goal of this is that they realize and get involved in their own health and for them to do this ultimately means to limit their transmissions, which involves taking medication,” Lacasse said. “ The ID Clinic is located within the Internal Medicine (IM) Clinic at St. Mary’s Hospital. The IM Clinic is a medical home providing comprehensive and holistic primary care. The clinic currently serves approximately 85 at-risk patients.
experience and aren’t willing to turn their backs on what they knew.” As the Omicron variant spreads, hospitals here and around the country are sounding the alarm, the county executive told The St. Louis American last week. Normandy students and staff are on holiday break. Sims-Williams, who fears what students may bring back to schools in January, said she has trouble reconciling efforts to beat back mitigation policies in these desperate times.
“We’ve had more than 800,000 people die from COVID. That’s a lot of people,” she said. “As adults, as parents, we have to do the right thing. We have to look out for kids.”
Sylvester Brown Jr. is The St. Louis American’s inaugural Deaconess Fellow.
term damage, if any, but I’m ecstatic to wake up breathing, happy to write another day. I am even more concerned about the poor in the wake of this pandemic, but I’m also very grateful for people like Kendra Holmes of Affinia HealthCare,
contain material from the virus that causes COVID-19 that gives our cells instructions for how to make a harmless protein that is unique to the virus.
“The vaccine has protein building blocks … to essentially give our bodies a way to build our defenses,” he said. “In the app, I analogize this to when you give a hunting dog a sniff of the hair of a predator to track it and get rid of it.”
In the app, there is a four-minute introduction, and a few examples of top-
City Health Director, Dr. Matifadza Hlatshwayo Davis, and other healthcare professionals committed to equitable healthcare during this time of great crisis. This has been a sobering, eye-opening experience. I hope it adds something to my future writings on the virus. I want to be that “if it can happen to him, it can happen to me” guy for readers. I thought I was careful, cautious, and I abided by COVID precautions. But it got me anyway. Thus are the wishes of a COVID writer who contracted COVID. Let us not relent. Let us keep our guards up until this pandemic is assigned to the annals of history. Let us not just think about ourselves but others. And please, please get vaccinated, which includes boosters. Let’s try like hell to get through this, wake up breathing, and enjoy another day.
Sylvester Brown Jr. is The St. Louis American’s inaugural Deaconess Fellow.
ics, including “Fear of the Vaccine” and “Anger about Stay-at-Home Orders/Social Distance.”
“I thought about the patients that I’ve been seeing when the pandemic began because I saw people who were fearful about catching it, and their anxiety levels also rose because of it,” he said. “They weren’t thinking of how they could prevent it, but rather focusing on their fear of getting it. And so, I chose these topics because people needed more education about COVID-19.”
Dr. Alex Lacasse
Photo courtesy of Left Bank Books
Black communities could benefit from JobsNeighborhood Investment Act
Nigerian-born Wally Adeyemo, the first Black person to serve as Deputy Treasury Secretary, said investment in Black-owned business and underserved communities is not charity and “makes sense from an economic standpoint.”
VP Harris touts virtues at Freedmen’s Forum
St. Louis American staff
St. Louis area Black-owned businesses could soon access a share of billions of dollars through banking institutions.
Vice President Kamala Harris announced Dec. 14, 2021, during the annual Freedman’s Bank Forum at the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, D.C.
The Grio reported Harris and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said financial institutions servicing minority and underserved small business owners would receive $8.7 billion in funding.
That sum is part of the $12 billion Jobs and Neighborhood Investment Act Harris and Democratic Sens. Cory Booker, Chuck Schumer and Mark Warner, and U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, pushed through Congress in 2021.
n According to a U.S. House Small Business Committee report, Blackowned businesses suffered a 41% drop in ownership between February and April 2020, the largest rate of any racial group.
“In America today, deep racial disparities continue to hold people back from achieving all they can,” Harris said in her remarks at the forum. “Today, the wealth gap persists. Today, the homeownership gap persists … access to capital is unequal. Black entrepreneurs are three times more likely to report that a lack of access to capital negatively affects their profit margins. I believe that the actions we are taking, and must
take, to address these disparities will define our nation’s strength and economic strength in the 21st century.”
Harris said the resources are intended to address the significant loss of Black-owned businesses and unemployment during the pandemic.
According to a U.S. House Small Business Committee report, Black-owned businesses suffered a 41% drop in ownership between February and April 2020, the largest rate of any racial group.
Black-owned businesses are 20% less likely than White-owned businesses to obtain a loan from a large bank, the report states.
“People think about this as charity or donations when it’s not,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, the first Black person to serve in the role, said. “It’s economics. Investing in these communities makes sense from an economic
A conversation with Jada Reese of Enterprise Bank & Trust
What is your professional background?
As an Inroads alumni, a local non-profit organization that creates career opportunities for diverse high school and college students, I began planning my engineering career as a sophomore in high school. I landed an internship with Nestle Purina, and spent the first 14 years of my professional career in the automotive and consumer products industries. After leaving an engineering position at Anheuser Busch, I made my career crossover when I went back to Inroads to lead the St. Louis office. During my time there, I managed the high school and college internship and development training programs. I later was recruited back to Anheuser Busch to start my first corporate Human Resources job—and the rest is history.
Why were you drawn to Enterprise Bank & Trust? I was really impressed with Enterprise’s growth strategy, the integrity of its leadership, as well as its social media presence which highlighted inclusion and diversity. I got a feel for who Enterprise was and who the company wanted to be and, as a person of color, this company was inviting to me because I saw the intentional-
ity of their inclusion and community commitment.
Describe your current position?
As the senior vice president of human resources, I spend a lot of time thinking about people: what attracts them to an organization and what makes them remain longterm. At Enterprise, we want everyone to have a sense of belonging. My goal is to make sure every single person finds their niche where they can really identify with their contributions to our mission. I want every associate’s personal journey to align with their career journey.
What has been your greatest accomplishment at Enterprise?
We had two acquisitions during my first year and my greatest accomplishment has been the
ability to integrate more than 200 new associates into operational systems. It has been incredibly impactful leading the people aspect of these acquisitions. We continue to focus on growing our culture to ensure our newest associates have a sense of belonging here at Enterprise.
In what ways does Enterprise prioritize diversity?
Diversity is one of our guiding principles. We have three pillars of diversity that we focus on: culture, workforce and community engagement. Inclusion, also, is cemented into our company’s mission for everyone to read and see. When I arrived at Enterprise, we were re-launching the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Leadership Council. It’s a really important group for us. The team consists of Enterprise associates throughout our regions of different nationalities and orientations. It’s a really nice representation of who we are and watching the committee work is inspiring. We also launched our first business resource group, which happens to be an African American resource group, called the Black Heritage Connection. The team is rocking it and we look
PeoPle on the Move
Dr. Akintola-Ogunremi new medical staff chief
AkintolaOgunremi
Christian Hospital recently announced that Olaronke AkintolaOgunremi, MD, has been elected chief of the medical staff for 2022. Dr. AkintolaOgunremi, a pathologist, is the first woman and African American to hold this position. She is board certified by the American Board of Pathology in Anatomic Pathology and Clinical Pathology with a subspecialty in Cytopathology. Dr. AkintolaOgunremi is a graduate of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Busey Bank hires Willie Mayberry
Mayberry has taken on the role of executive vice president and president of regional banking at Busey Bank. Mayberry joins Busey Bank from PNC, where he served as executive vice president and director of strategy and planning for the commercial bank. In that role he focused on strategies to enhance growth, profitability and innovation to meet client needs and expand the bank’s product offerings. Also, at PNC, Mayberry was the market manager for Georgia and Alabama for business banking. At Chase, Mayberry had numerous roles over 22 years, included serving as a regional executive managing the Midwest region.
Williams joins Weber Shandwick
Jasmine Williams has joined Weber Shandwick as an associate. Weber Shandwick is one of the world’s leading global public relations firms with offices in major media, business and government capitals around the world, including St. Louis. Williams was previously a marketing assistant at Live Nation. She is also a gymnastics coach at GT Performance and is a professional USA Gymnastics member. She received her bachelor’s degree in mass communications/media studies at Southeast State Missouri University.
West Community Mortgage, a division of West Community Credit Union, announced the promotion of Caitlin Schrier to mortgage loan officer. In her new role, Schrier will provide personalized loan guidance for borrowers purchasing a new home. “Caitlin is very deserving of this promotion.” said Lisa Boaz, Mortgage Lending Manager. “As a Member Services Consultant for nearly five years, Caitlin has demonstrated her commitment to our members’ overall financial wellbeing.”
Promotion, board appointment, new hire, award... please submit your People on the Move item (including photo) to kjones@stlamerican.com
Willie
Dr.
Willie Mayberry
Jasmine
Photo courtesy of refinedng.org
Jasmine Williams
Schrier promoted to mortgage loan officer
Caitlin Schrier
Jada Reese, SVP of Human Resources Enterprise Bank & Trust
Mary Thatch, longtime publisher of Wilmington Journal, passes at 78
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire
Mary Alice Jervay Thatch, who often told the story of how as a baby, she used her diaper to clean the floor of the Wilmington Journal and who went on to become the editor and publisher of the historic newspaper, has died at the age of 78.
A teacher and educated wordsmith, Thatch had an unsurpassed commitment to providing a voice to African Americans.
She took over the Journal in 1996 following her father, former National Newspaper Publishers Association chair Thomas C. Jervay, Sr., and grandfather, R.S. Jervay.
The latter founded the newspaper in 1927, while her father ultimately took over as publisher.
R.S. Jervay moved from Columbus County to Wilmington and found that the area lacked a Black-owned newspaper for three decades because of the race riots that destroyed the Daily Record, which had served all African American residents of North Carolina.
The elder Jervay founded the Cape Fear Journal, and the paper later changed its name to the Wilmington Journal. Thatch once recalled the early days of the Journal.
“My father used to say he had printer’s ink in his nostrils because he grew up at the paper,” Thatch once remarked. “He was the first carrier for the paper. He became editor after he graduated college.”
As a child, Thatch and her family lived on the second floor of the building housing the Wilmington Journal.
“Growing up at the paper, it was a daily thing for the family. We had family chores and Journal chores.”
During the struggle for civil rights, Thatch proved herself a champion for freedom and
Reese
Continued from B1 forward to adding more business resource groups in the near future.
What are the challenges facing the banking industry and how is Enterprise countering these challenges?
Jobs Act
Continued from B1 standpoint.”
Adeyemo said the challenge now is “scale,” which will rely on establishing a technology and data infrastructure to help support financial institutions as they provide funding to generate economic growth for Black and minority-owned enterprises.
Sarah Rosen Wartell, president of the Urban Institute,
equality.
On February 6, 1971, a white-owned grocery store was firebombed, and as they responded, emergency workers were fired upon by snipers.
Ten community activists, including Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., were falsely accused of the firebombing and convicted in 1972 of arson and other offenses.
The Jervay family were among the few to boldly and publicly support the activists known as The Wilmington Ten. After spending nearly 10 years in prison, the state released Chavis and the others.
But Thatch kept up the fight to clear their names.
In 2011, she organized the Wilmington Ten Pardons of Innocence Project and continued to push for a declaration of innocence for the group.
After a successful petition that garnered more than 150,000 signatures and with Thatch helping to uncover critical evidence, on December 31, 2012, Gov. Beverly Perdue
issued pardons of innocence for each member of the Wilmington Ten.
“The NNPA today learned of the passing of one of our leading publishers, the renowned Mary Alice Jervay Thatch, publisher of the Wilmington Journal in Wilmington, North Carolina,” Chavis, NNPA president and CEO said.
He noted that the Jervay family represents four generations of African American publishers in North Carolina and praised Mary Alice’s father and grandfather. Just as Thatch continued her father’s legacy, her daughters are current Journal staffers, and her grandchildren reportedly have also played a part in producing the paper in recent years.
“A family-owned newspaper is really part of the community,” Thatch previously told her biographer Amanda K. Lee.
“This is not just my paper; it is the community’s paper. The community is family.”
One of the most challenging aspects in any industry is finding talent that’s trained and ready for the rapidly changing world of work. The pandemic has introduced a new way of working which has created a major shift in how associates and leadership operate. Organizations that have the best culture will ultimately win the talent, but the challenge is creating a work culture that’s engaging but also remote. Enterprise is focused on retention and enhancing our recruitment process. We want to reinforce and grow our great culture to all of our new associates, leadership and communities.
said her organization released a report Dec. 14 “that highlights challenges beyond simply providing capital such as capital deployment, particularly capital from private and philanthropic sectors.”
“Being capital ready is a huge issue for the businesses, the families, the firms [and] neighborhoods,” she said.
“Too little of our attention as a country in the last decade has been focused on that infrastructure so that we can get to the financing programs. Regulatory programs oftentimes do not disaggregate
To learn more about how we work to help the communities we serve thrive, visit enterprisebank.com/impact.
the data about the race of the communities that are being served.”
The Freedman Forum takes its name from The Freedman’s Saving and Trust Company which Congress launched in 1865 to serve as a private savings bank that collected deposits from newly emancipated communities.
According to the National Archives, The Freedman’s Bank had 37 branches across 17 states with a total of $3.7 million in assets, equivalent to $80 million today after inflation.
The Missouri Historical Society has documents containing signatures and personal identification data about depositors in the St. Louis branch of the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company.
National Archives collections explain, “Internal mismanagement, external political manipulation, racial discrimination by state governments and the white financial community, and the Panic of 1873 all quickly drove the Bank into a precarious state.”
During the bank’s final year in 1864, publisher and statesman Frederick Douglass became its president, and he invested $10,000 in the institution. Neither Douglass’s reputation nor his money was enough to save the bank. It carried so much debt that most of its more than 60,000 depositors never recovered their deposits.
Mary Alice Jervay Thatch
InSIdE SportS
By Earl Austin Jr.
Showing up, showing out
Area prep teams excelled in unusual sports year
It was a tremendous year for high school sports in the St. Louis metropolitan area, with teams and individual athletes overcoming obstacles on their way to success.
Greater St. Louis showed up and showed out in 2021, and here is a roundup of The St. Louis American’s Best in Prep Sports in 2021.
V Gets Ready to Roll: The Vashon Wolverines were the class of Missouri Class 4 in boys’ basketball, rolling to a state championship. The Wolverines dominated the field with stellar guards and smothering defense, capturing the title with a series of blowout wins. The squad was led by Division I recruits Nicholas Kern (VCU) and Keshon Gilbert (UNLV), along with fellow senior guards Tre’Von Love and Recko Bailey.
IWA Dynasty Continues: Incarnate Word Academy added another state championship to its trophy case in girls’ basketball, winning the Missouri Class 6 state championship with a victory over Webster Groves. The Red Knights were a loaded young team led by junior point guard Saniah Tyler and talented sophomore forward Natalie Potts.
Whitfield Makes History: The Whitfield girls’ basketball team had been knocking on the door of a state championship for five seasons after reaching the Final Four of those respective state tournaments. The Warriors finally broke through last season by winning the Class 5 state championship. It was the first state title for the program, which is led by Michael Slater. The Warriors featured a slew of young talented players led by senior point guard Kelsey Blakemore.
Ritter goes Back-to-Back: After winning the Class 3 state championship in 2020, the Cardinal Ritter Lions were moved up to Class 5 in boys’ basketball for the 2021 season. Undaunted, the Lions repeated as state champions after staging a series of dramatic comebacks during the state playoffs. Facing large deficits against University City, DeSmet, and Van Horn, the Lions rallied before defeating Bolivar for the state title.
Trinity Goes Out in Style: With Trinity Catholic scheduled to close its doors at the end of this school year, its girls’ track and field team left a parting gift by winning the Class 4 state championship in Jefferson City.
The Titans were dominant on the track and in the field in winning another state title.
Elise Butler
Vashon’s Keshon Gilbert (10), who now plays for UNLV, fires up a jump shot during the boys class 4 basketball championships Sat. Mar. 20, 2021. Vashon would win the championship 55-46 on the campus of Missouri State University.
South-Berkeley, track and field excellence is part of the school. That continued in 2021 as STEAM Academy’s girls ran away with the Class 2 state championship in Jefferson City. The senior twin duo of Cheyenne and Chelby Melvin led the Bulldogs.
Ritter Girls Roll: Cardinal Ritter College Prep ruled the scene in Class 5 girls track as the Lions won the first state championship in school history. The young and talented group was led by freshman sprinter Aniyah Brown, who won state titles in the 100- and 200-meter dashes.
CBC is Back on Top: The CBC Cadets returned to the top of the mountain in Class 6 football by winning the state championship last month in Columbia. After staging a big rally to defeat Lee’s Summit North in the semifinals, the Cadets throttled Liberty North 48-21 in the Show-Me Bowl to win their third state title in five years.
Dragons Slay the Field: The St. Mary’s Dragons left no doubt who the top football program was in Class 3 this season, winning the state championship in overwhelming fashion. In the title game, the Dragons defeated Kansas City St. Pius X 56-0 to complete an impressive postseason run of one-sided affairs. The first football title in school history closed the career of one of the city’s all-time great players, senior Kevin Coleman Jr. A brilliant talent.
Lutheran-St. Charles Legacy: Lutheran St. Charles’ football program made history by winning the Class 2 state championship last month in Columbia. The Cougars did it in dramatic style by defeating perennial state power Lamar 32-26. Star running back Arlen Harris Jr. scored the winning touchdown with six seconds left.
The Luther Show: Football fans from the area and around the nation got a chance to watch the tremendous exploits of East St. Louis senior wide receiver Luther Burden III on a weekly basis during the fall. “Touchdown Luther” delivered show-stopping performances, then thrilled Missouri Tigers fans when he announced he will play for coach Eliah Drinkwitz.
Saying goodbye to ‘Hammering Hank,’ Black sports stars in 2021
As the year draws to a close, the death of home run king, civil rights leader, and highest class of gentleman Henry Aaron January 22, 2021, still leaves me a bit sad. He died at 86, but his name will live forever, and his 755 home runs remain the Major League Baseball career record, in my opinion. Aaron would have supported MLB’s decision to move the All-Star Game out of Atlanta after the Georgia state legislature passed a series of laws designed to strip Black voters of their right to vote. He also would have cheered for his Atlanta Braves as they won the 2021 World Series over the Houston Astros. We lost other Black athletic legends in 2021, including St. Louis’ own Leon Spinks. He died Feb. 5, 10 days before the 43rd anniversary of the night he shocked the boxing world
by defeating heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. He died at 67 after a lengthy battle with advanced prostate cancer. Basketball legend, as a player and coach, Ron Coleman died on Christmas Eve at 76. Coleman was the head coach at Vashon in 1971 and went on to become the head coach at Saint Louis University during the 1978 season. He spent most of his career at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, where he was the head basketball coach and athletic director from 1980 to 1991.
Another renowned boxer, maybe the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing history, left us on March 13 at 66. Former middleweight champion “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler closed his career with a 62-3-2 record. He defended his title 12 times in the 1980s. Regardless of the judge’s ridiculous scoring, I will never accept that
Hagler lost to Ray Leonard in 1987. Hagler won that fight. Period. I never saw Elgin Baylor play in person, but he was the first “sky walker.” He was Julius “Dr. J” Erving when NBA players were not allowed to dunk the basketball. He played before there were huge television audiences and multi-million-dollar contracts. But his legend lives on, which is a testament to how skilled a player he was – and how flashy his game must have been. Baylor passed away March 22 at 86. Had the PGA not been flatout racist and refused to allow Black players on its national
tour, Lee Elder would not be as famous as he was. But the PGA dropped its white golfers-only policy in the 1960s. Then the Masters updated its eligibility rules to allow any golfer who wins a tournament the previous year to play. Elder became the first African American to play at the Masters in 1975 after winning the Monsanto Open in June 1974. He won four PGA tournaments and became the first Black member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team. He was an honorary starter at Augusta last April and died Nov. 28 at 87. I’ll bet you didn’t know there is an honorary club called
the “Black Aces.” It includes the 15 Black pitchers that have recorded 20 wins or more in a season. The charter member is Jim “Mudcat” Grant, a two-time All-Star who became the first Black pitcher to win 20 games in a season. In 1965, he also became the first Black pitcher to win a game for the American League in the World Series. He pitched two complete-game wins in that World Series and hit a three-run home run in Game 6. He died June 11 at 85. I made a point to see Jerome Rodney “J.R.” Richard pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals during the late 1970s. He was tall, powerful and could sometimes throw the baseball 100 miles per hour, and that was a rarity during his playing days. At 6-foot-8 he was menacing on the mound. His career was cut short in 1980 after he suffered a stroke, and he was homeless for part of his life. But he rebounded and was one of the Astros’ biggest
legends and fan favorites until his death Aug. 5 at 71. Former Temple coach John Chaney didn’t take any crap from anybody. He was among the first coaches to have his team up at 5 a.m. for practice and he demanded his players, most of who were Black, never miss a class. The world remembers him for charging the podium to get at then UMass coach John Calipari after a hardfought game. Chaney, who led his Owls to 17 NCAA tournament appearances in the 1980s and ’90s, died Jan. 28, eight days after his 89th birthday. Jerry Harkness was in St. Louis during the Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball tournament, where Loyola-Chicago began its magical run to the Final Four in 2018. Harkness was captain of the 1963 Loyola basketball team that broke barriers by winning the NCAA championship with four Black starters. He died Aug. 24 at 81.
SportS EyE
With
Alvin A. Reid
Earl Austin Jr.
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
Leon Spinks
Construction set to begin on Kingsway Development
Kingsway Development, LLC, a community-based company whose focus is on Urban Redevelopment, is planning to redevelop the former 30,480 square feet Union Sarah Economic Development building into an innovative event office building created to inspire and elevate. Construction is slated to begin in January.
Elevation will provide an intellectually stimulating environment that will fuel the minds of both startup entrepreneurs and experienced professionals seeking an innovative new work environment. Located in the heart of the Kingsway District, Elevation Business Center will serve as a beacon for business development by featuring an array of educational, motivational and technological tools crucial to the reinvestment in underserved communities.
Rendering of Elevation, the first project in the Kingsway Development
STL.works is hosting virtual hiring event Jan. 14
Open positions do not require a four-year degree but some may require training, experience or credentials
STL.works, a workforce development initiative of the Regional Business Council, is hosting a virtual hiring event from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 14, to help fill positions among major area employers that do not require a four-year degree, though some may require some training, experience or credentials.
Applicants must register prior to Wednesdsay, Jan.
5. Once candidates have registered, STL.works will forward all applications to the hiring managers at the companies of their interest. Participating employers include Mercy, AT&T, Boeing, BJC, Enterprise Holdings, Edward Jones, World Wide Technology, SSM Health, Commerce Bank, Legacy Pharma Solutions, St. Louis University, Webster University,
University of MissouriSt. Louis and Washington University in St. Louis. The companies will reach out to applicants between Jan. 6 –13 to set up virtual meetings on Jan. 14. Questions regarding the application process can be directed to Tina Haberberger (thaberberger@stlrbc.org) or Stefani Weeden-Smith (sweeden-smith@umsl.edu).
Vir Biotechnology to expand in St. Louis
The Cortex Innovation Community, Washington University in St. Louis and Saint Louis University recently announced that Vir Biotechnology Inc., a San Francisco-based immunology research company focused on treating and preventing serious infectious diseases, is expanding its presence in the growing St. Louis bioscience community.
Vir’s new innovation lab and offices in Cortex will support the company’s research into the interactions between infectious organisms and the people they infect. In
coming to St. Louis, Vir joins a vibrant immunobiology and microbiology research community, which includes world leaders in the study of alternatives to antibiotics for bacterial infections; infections and inflammation in the brain; and the wide-ranging influence of the microbiome on health and disease. Cortex offers access to established and startup biotechnology companies, university technology transfer, entrepreneurial programming, proximity to partners at Washington University School of
Medicine, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, the BioGenerator Accelerator Labs, and BioSTL, the region’s hub of biotechnology activity.
“Cortex is thrilled to welcome Vir Biotechnology to the district. Vir’s touchpoints in St. Louis, including with institutions Washington University and Saint Louis University, and Vir’s interest in attracting and developing a diverse workforce mesh perfectly with Cortex’s strategic direction,” said Sam Fiorello, president and CEO of Cortex Innovation Community.
It
The stars whose light moved to the heavens in 2021
Notables include Cicely Tyson, Melvin Van Peebles
January
3 Eric Jerome Dickey, a best-selling novelist who blended crime and romance in ”Sister, Sister,” “Waking With Enemies” and dozens of other stories about contemporary Black life, died at 59.
28 - Cicely Tyson, the award-winning actor who only took roles depicting strong Black women, died at 96. Her work included “Sounder” (1972), “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” (1974), “Roots” (1977), “The Marva Collins Story” (1981), “The Women of Brewster Place” (1989), and “The Help” (2011). In 2013, Tyson told CBS “This Morning,” playing the role of Jane Pittman “was the most important” in her career. “I wanted to address certain issues, and I chose to use my career as my platform.” She said she accomplished that goal by “simply ruling out what I wouldn’t do.”
February
8 - Mary Wilson, an original member of the Supremes, a Detroit-based vocal trio that topped the charts in the 1960s with a dozen No. 1 hits for the Motown label, died at 76. She would later write a best-selling memoir about her experiences in the group.
9 - Chick Corea, jazz composer, performer, and a member of Miles Davis’ band in the 1960s, died at 79.
March
2 - Bunny Wailer, a reggae luminary who was the last surviving founding member of the legendary group The Wailers, died at 73.
15 – Yaphet Kotto, the commanding actor who brought stately gravitas to films, including the James Bond movie “Live and Let Die” and “Alien,” died at 81. He became a star in the Black classic “Across 110th Street,” and the CBS movie “Report to the Commissioner.” Later, he would play a lead role on NBC’s “Homicide: Life in the Street.”
From Capitol Hill to first-time author
April
9 – DMX, a chart-topping rapper with hit songs including “Party Up (Up in Here)” and “X Gon’ Give It to Ya,” died at 50. He also emerged as a star of action films and crime thrillers.
22 – Gregory Edward Jacobs, known professionally as “Shock G,” and his alter ego “Humpty Hump,” died at 57. He was the lead vocalist of the hip hop group Digital Underground and responsible for its international hit, “The Humpty Dance.”
May
3 – Lloyd Price, the singer-songwriter who was an early rock ‘n’ roll star whose hits included such up-tempo favorites as “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” “Personality,” and “Stagger Lee,” died at 88.
16 - Pervis Staples, a founding member of the Staple Singers, died at 85. Staples managed the Hutchinson Sunbeams, who later became the Emotions.
19 - Paul Mooney, an American comedian, writer, social critic and actor, died at 79. He is best known for his collaborations with Redd Foxx, Eddie Murphy and Dave Chappelle. Mooney also played singer Sam Cooke in “The Buddy Holly Story” (1978), Junebug in Spike Lee’s satirical film “Bamboozled” (2000), and Negrodamus on “Chappelle’s Show.”
June
4 - Clarence Williams III, who played Linc Hayes in the groundbreaking series “The Mod Squad,” died at 81. He began his career in “Dark of the Moon” and appeared on Broadway in “The Great Outdoors.” His performance in “Slow Dance on the Killing Ground” won him a Theatre World Award and a Tony nomination. Williams also starred in several shows and movies, including: “52 Pick-Up,” “Against the Wall,” “Reindeer Games,” “Purple Rain,” “The General’s Daughter,” “American Gangster,” “Half Baked” and “Lee Daniels’ The Butler.”
By Danielle Brown The St. Louis American
perceived
go to college, so I just picked a school,” she said. “I used to be embarrassed by sharing that because many of my counterparts graduated from Harvard and all these amazing schools.
Raven Martin’s book “Lessons From My 20s,” explains the everyday challenges she and other 20-somethings can relate to with the complexities of adulthood involving life, love, and careers.
Photo courtesy of Imagine You Media
Meanwhile, I graduated from smaller schools in St. Louis. I know so many people who feel small in that regard and say, ‘I didn’t go to college. I didn’t go to the best school. I didn’t have the best opportunities, or I missed out.’ It’s just a testament that it doesn’t really matter. It’s truly about your mindset, your ability to fail forward and make intentional steps toward progress even when things don’t look the best or when life isn’t the most ideal.”
“Lessons From My 20s,” is split into three sections: responsibilities, relationships, and realities; there are subsections within each section. She said the relationship aspect touches on love, relationships, friendships, and the relationship one has with oneself.
“I dive into how 20-somethings [and young adults] approach relationships and can make their time and love life better,” she said. “It’s about being honest about what you want so you don’t look back on your life and say I should’ve committed to somebody sooner.”
She said she wrote the book in that sequence because a person’s
Eric Jerome Dickey
Paul Mooney
Mary Wilson
Be a Tourist in Your Own Town
Events in the dome at America’s Center
By Barry Draper
The Dome at America’s Center has hosted numerous major conventions, trade shows and exhibitions as well as events as varied as rock concerts, motocross races and monster truck rallies. With so much space and opportunity, you are going to have to strap in for these upcoming events at The Dome in the New Year!
It’s time to start your engines and gear up for the future at the 2022 St. Louis Auto Show from January 14th through 17th. Whether you consider yourself a car enthusiast or not, this event has something for everyone. As the largest automobile event in the St. Louis area, the Saint Louis Auto Show features more than 500 new cars, pickup trucks and SUVs from over 25 manufacturers all under one roof. The 2022 St. Louis Auto Show lets you preview the latest models, learn about new safety technology and preview some of the world’s most expensive vehicles, all without the pressure of making a vehicle purchase.
will stream live at 8 pm ET exclusively on Peacock in the United States and WWE Network everywhere else. The event will be headlined by two 30-men and 30-women Royal Rumble matches, with the winners of both receiving a Championship match opportunity at WrestleMania in Dallas.
Need more adrenaline? Monster Jam is the go-to place for jaw dropping displays and gravity defying feats that promises to always leave fans entertained. Monster Jam features some of the most recognizable trucks in the world including Grave Digger, Max D, El Toro Loco and many more. Starting January 22nd –January 23rd, world class drivers push perfectly engineered Monster Jam trucks to their limits in Freestyle, 2 Wheel Skills and Racing competitions that will put you on the edge of your seat and leave you craving more of this unexpected, unscripted and unforgettable event.
Next, check out WWE’s Royal Rumble, taking place on Saturday, January 29, 2022, marking the largest venue to host the event in its illustrious 30+ year history. Royal Rumble
In its 44th year, STL RV Travel Show is the place to shop for a new 2022 RV, trade up to your dream RV, or just learn about the joys of traveling RV-style. Presented by the Midwest Gateway RV Dealers Association, the STL RV Travel Show is designed to introduce the public to the freedom, flexibility and fun of the RV lifestyle. Attendees will see over 300 RVs highlighting the latest in state-of-the-art RV technology, streamline designs, RV parts, accessories, and services, as well as travel destinations, including campgrounds. Nearly every style of recreational vehicles will be featured. Motorhomes, 5th wheels, travel trailers, sport utility trailers, van campers, and folding camping trailers will all be on display and for sale from February 4th through February 6th.
Looking ahead to March 3rd – March 6th, The Annual Builders St. Louis Home & Garden Show is THE place to see, learn about and buy the latest home products and services under one roof. Hundreds of local companies and countless experts will be on hand to answer questions, share ideas and provide inspiration to help you with all of your home and garden projects and improvements.
For a full list of events happening in The Dome at America’s Center, check out our calendar at explorestlouis.com. Also, be sure to share your photos of your St. Louis adventure using the hashtag #ExploreStLouis.
The Saint Louis Art Museum invites you to view the annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Celebration: Joy as an Act of Resistance. This virtual celebration will feature local Black artists performing their original music, dance, and spoken word presentations in response to photographs by Moneta Sleet Jr. in the Museum’s collection.
Sleet was an accomplished photojournalist who is best known for his documentation of the Civil Rights Movement. The Art Museum is honored to have more than 100 of his photographs in its collection. Sleet’s career began as a sportswriter for Amsterdam News before being hired at Our World magazine, where he worked for five years. When Our World closed in 1955, Sleet became a staff photographer for Johnson Publishing, home of Ebony and Jet magazines. Sleet’s first assignment was to photograph the Montgomery Bus Boycott. During his career, Sleet earned a Pulitzer Prize for the outstanding quality of his work, in addition to awards from the National Urban League and the National Association of Black Journalists. For the Art Museum’s virtual event, each performing artist has selected one of Sleet’s iconic photographs from the Museum’s collection for their unique and inspirational performances. Jacqueline Thompson serves as the moderator and director of the Joy as an Act of Resistance program. Thompson is a St. Louis-based actor, director, and associate professor of theatre at the
University of Missouri-St. Louis. A few of her local acting and directing credits include the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Black Rep, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Metro Theater Company, and New Jewish Theatre. Three local performing artists will honor Dr. King through song, dance, and spoken word. Singer, dancer, actor, and choreographer, Robert Crenshaw teaches dance at several local organizations, including Sumner High School and COCA. Alicia Revé is an actor, singer, and songwriter. She is currently the host of the St. Louis Symphony
Orchestra’s video series SLSO SoundLab and co-host of the St. Louis Symphony Saturday live broadcast on St. Louis Public Radio Freeman Word is a teacher, mentor, and poet. Government, life, freedom, divinity, and untold history are the subjects of Word’s poetry. Each of the artists’ performances will be featured in
Photo courtesy of stlouisautoshow.com
The 2022 St. Louis Auto Show runs from January 14th through 17th.
Guest Columnist Barry Draper
Freedom fighter, Nobel Prize winner Desmond Tutu passes at 90
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire
Long before Nelson Mandela won his freedom from 27 years of imprisonment fighting apartheid in South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu earned the moniker “the nation’s conscience.”
White and Black residents of the African nation lauded the bishop for his relentless fight to unite races and end the racist system of apartheid. South Africa’s leading advocate for change and reconciliation under a Black majority rule and the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Bishop Tutu died in Cape Town Dec. 26 at the age of 90.
South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa first confirmed the bishop’s passing.
“He was a leader of principle and pragmatism who gave meaning to the biblical insight that faith without
works is dead,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation said Bishop Tutu succumbed to cancer after a decades-long battle with the disease. Bishop Tutu reportedly had been hospitalized several times in the years since his 1997 diagnosis but continued his work. His demands for freedom and advocating justice be accomplished in a nonviolent manner helped earn Bishop Tutu the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.
Born on Oct. 7, 1931, in Klerksdorp, South Africa, Bishop Tutu’s mother, Aletha, was a domestic worker, and his father, Zacharia, was a teacher. According to his official biography, Bishop Tutu was baptized a Methodist, but his family would later join the Anglican Church. When he was 12, his family moved to Johannesburg.
Bishop Tutu often spoke of Rev. Trevor Huddleston, a white preacher
Spiritually Speaking Focus on faith
By Brandy S. Peoples
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).”
As a young woman who has grown up in church, I’ve heard this scripture more times than I can count. In fact, this verse has been etched in my mind in such a way that whenever I feel doubtful, without hesitation I quietly say it to myself. I wish that I could tell you when faced with a challenge I easily mustered up my “now faith.” No, that would be a lie. There have been
times when I focused on my faith and things still stayed the same. I’m sure others can relate, and unfortunately, this is the reality of the world we live in. Sometimes, bad things happen despite our hope and belief. But don’t let this upset you, because although it may not make sense to us, God can use the bad situations in life and work them out in such a way that makes us better (Romans 8:28). That’s right. So, think about all the challenges that you’ve faced – divorce, unemployment, rejection, whatever your negative experience is, at the time of
simple gesture: Rev. Huddleston tipped his hat to Tutu’s mother.
its inception God was strategically working behind the scenes and orchestrating things in such a way that when it was all over, you were better. For one, God might have used unemployment so they could tap into their talents and start their own business. For someone else, God might have used rejection to help them understand that no matter who leaves, He will always be by their side. I know this might not alleviate the pain that you feel in the moment but take comfort in knowing that God uses bad situations so you can see how good He is because if things were perfect, you would never know how much you need Him.
Desmond Tutu studied at the Pretoria Bantu Normal College and earned a degree in teaching from the University of South Africa. He taught for three years but resigned after South Africa enacted the Bantu Education Act, lowering Black students’ education standards. He married Nomalizo Shenxane, and the couple remained together for more than 66 years until Bishop Tutu’s death.
They have four children, Trevor, Theresa, Naomi, and Mpho.
“Archbishop Desmond Tutu was a mentor, a friend, and a moral compass for me and so many others,” former U.S. President Barack Obama said in a statement. “A universal spirit, Archbishop Tutu was grounded in the struggle for liberation and justice in his own country, but also concerned with injustice everywhere. He never lost his playful sense of humor and willingness to find humanity in his adversaries, and Michelle and I will
In fact, I’d like to think that God uses life’s hardships to build our faith. According to Romans 12:3, God has
miss him dearly.”
England’s Royal Family tweeted condolences from Queen Elizabeth.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali also tweeted out his sympathies.
“I join other world leaders in expressing my sadness at the passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who has been the embodiment of the struggle for liberation,” Prime Minister Ali wrote. “Ethiopia sends its condolences to the people and the government of South Africa.”
Officials at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Atlanta also released a statement of sadness.
“Our hearts go out to his family.
Archbishop Tutu was a global human rights activist and a compassionate, bold, consistent voice on behalf of the ostracized and oppressed,” the King Center officials wrote. “May we carry his love forward.”
given every believer “a measure of faith.” Now I don’t know what metric God uses, but faith can start off as small as a mustard seed, and the Word of God helps it to grow (Matthew 17:20; Romans 10:17). So once again, reflect on that negative situation. Although you may not have experienced any outward changes or success, God was growing your faith inwardly. We all start off as spiritually immature, and the challenges of life make us strive for only what God can give us, which is faith in the midst of the problem. Even when things don’t seemingly go the way you plan, be at peace and have faith that God has the final say over the script of your life. Don’t worry about repetitiously saying inspirational quotes in hopes that you can magically
transform what you’re going through. When you’re faced with a trial, take a deep dive into God’s Word, and soak up all His love and compassion. Yes, it may feel as though you’re limping through, and you may barely be able to turn the pages, but God is the crutch. That’s what faith is all about. I don’t have to see it all to believe, and things don’t have to change for me to continue hoping. I’m better because of the good and bad things that I went through, and I trust that God will use all of my challenges coupled with the water of His Word, to grow my faith from a seed into a sprawling forest of trees. No, I don’t perfectly understand this process, but I trust God who does, and that’s all that matters.
Dr. Brandy S. Peoples is a psychologist, minister, and author who recently self-published her first book, “A Journey Toward Purpose and Promise.”
who opposed apartheid. Rev. Huddleston earned the young Tutu’s admiration because of a
Guest Columnist Brandy S. Peoples
Desmond Tutu
PUBLIC NOTICE
AND MODERNIZATION
Sealed proposals will be received by the Board of Public Service until 1:45 PM, CT, on January 18, 2022, through Bid Express online portal then publicly opened and read. Plans and Specifications may be examined on the Board of Public website http://www.stl-bps.org/planroom.aspx (BPS Online Plan Room) and may be purchased directly through the BPS website INDOX Services at cost, plus shipping. No refunds will be made.
A pre-bid conference for all contractors bidding on this project will be held on December 21, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Louis City Hall, 1200 Market Street, Room 325, St. Louis, MO 63103 or virtually using the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7355702554.
Bidders shall comply with all applicable City, state, and Federal Laws (including MBE/WBE policies).
All bidders must regard Federal Executive Order 11246, “Notice of Requirement for Affirmative Action to Ensure Equal Opportunity”, the “Equal Opportunity Clause” and the “Standard Federal Equal Employment Specifications”, set forth with and referenced at www.bps.org (Announcements)
SEALED BIDS
Bids for Replace HVAC Dining Hall & Barracks Camp Derricotte, Cuivre River
S t a t e P a r k , P r o j e c t N o .
X2115-01 will
b e r e c e i v e d b y F M D C , State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, January 6, 2022. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http:// oa.mo.gov/ facilities
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.
CITY OF ST. LOUIS ST. LOUIS COUNTY JOINT REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS— DISPARITY STUDIES
Date of Issuance: November 23, 2021
Proposal Due: January 11, 2022 at 2:00 pm CST
On November 23, 2021, the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County jointly issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to provide disparity studies for the City’s Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) Program under Ordinance 70767 and St. Louis County’s M/WBE program. This RFP may be found at https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/counselor/ index.cfm under “Procurement”, on the City’s procurement page (https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/procurement/), by emailing Nancy Walsh at walshn@stlouis-mo.gov. The deadline for questions regarding the RFP is Tuesday, January 4, 2022. The deadline for submitting sealed proposals is 2:00 pm on Tuesday, January 11, 2022. Sealed proposals must be submitted in strict compliance with the instructions in the RFP. The City reserves the right to reject all proposals. Minority and Women-Owned Businesses are encouraged to apply.
BID NOTICE
Alberici Constructors and the Saint Louis Zoo seek bids from qualified construction firms to submit proposals for a project at the Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Park. The projects consists of the construction of a wood framed barn with metal roofing and siding. To request bid documents, please send an E-mail to stlzoobids@alberici.com
LETTING #8739
JEFFERSON AVE / 22ND ST CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENTS FEDERAL PROJECT NO’S. CMAQ-5417(604) & STP-5417(605)
Sealed proposals will be received by the Board of Public Service in Room 301 City Hall, 1200 Market Street, St. Louis, Mo. Until 1:45 PM, CT, on JANUARY 18, 2022, then publicly opened and read. Plans and Specifications may be examined on the Board of Public Service website http://www.stl-bps.org (BPS On Line Plan Room) and may be purchased directly through the BPS website from INDOX Services at cost plus shipping. No refunds will be made.
A pre-bid conference for all contractors bidding on this project will be held December 21, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. The pre-bid conference will be held in 1520 Market Street, Suite 2000, Boardroom #278, St. Louis, Missouri 63103. Masks are required to enter the building.
Bidders shall comply with all applicable City, State and Federal laws (including MBE/WBE policies).
All bidders must regard Federal Executive Order 11246, “Notice of Requirement for Affirmative Action to Ensure Equal Employment Opportunity”, the “Equal Opportunity Clause” and the “Standard Federal Equal Employment Specifications” set forth within and referenced at www.stl-bps.org (Announcements).
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
> ARGYLE GARAGE WALL SCONCE REPLACEMENTS
> Proposals will be received by City of St. Louis Treasurer UNTIL 3:00PM 1/10/2022
> For specific project information, go to
> https://www.stltreasurer.org/ Request for Proposals/
Sealed proposals will be received by the Board of Public Service in Room 301 City Hall, 1200 Market Street, St. Louis, Mo. Until 1:45 PM, CT, on February 08, 2022, then publicly opened and read. Plans and Specifications may be examined on the Board of Public Service website http://www.stl-bps.org (BPS On Line Plan Room) and may be purchased directly through the BPS website from INDOX Services at cost plus shipping. No refunds will be made.
Bidders shall comply with all applicable City, State and Federal laws (including MBE/WBE policies). All bidders must regard Federal Executive Order 11246, “Notice of Requirement for Affirmative Action to Ensure Equal Employment Opportunity”, the “Equal Opportunity Clause” and the “Standard Federal Equal Employment Specifications” set forth within and referenced at www.stl-bps.org (Announcements).
LETTING #8737
CERVANTES CONVENTION CENTER EXPANSION AND MODERNIZATIONPROJECT 1 ST. LOUIS,
MISSOURI
PROPOSALS will be received by the Board of Public Service until 1:45 pm, CT, on March 1, 2022, through the Bid Express online portal then publicly opened and read. Plans and Specifications may be examined on the Board of Public Service website http://www.stl-bps.org (BPS on line plan room) and may be purchased directly through the BPS website from INDOX Services at cost plus shipping. No refunds will be made.
A pre-bid conference for all contractors bidding on this project will be held on January 13, 2022 at 10:00 am at the America’s Center. Interested bidders are to enter through the security office at the southeast corner of the 9th St./Cole St. intersection and will be directed to the meeting room. All bidders are encouraged to attend.
Bidders shall comply with all applicable City, Sate, and Federal laws (including MBE/WBE policies.)
All bidders must regard Federal Executive Order 11246, “Notice of Requirement for Affirmative Action to Ensure Equal Employment Opportunity”, the “Equal Opportunity Clause” and the “Standard Federal Equal Employment Specifications” set forth within and referenced at www.stl-bps.org (Announcements.)
Cahills Construction, Inc. seeks subcontract proposals from Minority Business Enterprise/Women Business Enterprise/Disadvantaged Business Enterprise/and or Veteran Supplier Diversity, with Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business for:
Project: #RC000503 Parker Hall Restroom Improvements AND #RC000488 Kummar Foundation Executive Boardroom Phase II
Both projects are located at 300 W. 13th St. Rolla, MO 65401
• Plans and Specifications are on: http://www.adsplanroom.net or
• View at our Rolla, MO office: 1704 E 10th St. Ste. D Rolla, MO 65401
• Please email or call bids@cahillsconstruction.com or 573-426-5305 for a link to plans and specifications.
Bids are due:
RC000503 Parker Hall Restroom Improvements: December 20, 2021 5 p.m.
RC000488 Kummar Foundation Executive
Boardroom Phase II: January 4, 2022 5 p.m.
Email bids@cahillsconstruction.com or faxed to 573-362-3562
If you have any questions: 573-426-5305
NOTICE OF GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION
In accordance with the state law and ordinances of the City of Berkeley, notice is given that a General Municipal (non-partisan) Election shall be held in the City of Berkeley, Missouri on Tuesday, April 5, 2022 for the duly qualified electors of the City to select the following positions for Council positions four-year terms of office: At-Large, Ward I, Ward III, and Ward V.
Candidates for At-Large must have resided in city limits 2 years immediately prior to the election. Candidates for Ward 1, Ward III, and Ward V Councilperson must have resided in their respective wards 2 years immediately prior to the election.
• Proof of residency and Photo Identification is required.
• No person may be a candidate for election to public office in this city unless her/she is at least eighteen years of age, a citizen of the United States, who at the time that they file their statement of candidacy, shall be delinquent in any tax, fee, fine, penalty, charge or any other financial obligation or liability of any kind or nature to the city.
• Candidates for any public office cannot have been found guilty or pled guilty to a felony under U.S. law, a felony under Missouri law, or an offense in another state that would be considered a felony in Missouri. RSMo 115.306.1
• Candidates for any public office cannot be delinquent in payment of taxes (No Exceptions). State income taxes, Personal property taxes, Municipal taxes, Real property taxes on the place of residence, nor the Person is a past or present officer of a fee office that owes any taxes to the state. RSMo 115.306.2
• Filing for said offices shall open at 8am on Tue 12-07-21, at which time the City Clerk shall receive Declarations of Candidacy, 8425 Airport Road, Berkeley MO 63134. Thereafter declarations will be received by the City Clerk during normal business hours (excluding observed holidays) until filing closes at 5pm Tue 12-28-21.
Deanna Jones, City Clerk 314-400-3756
ST LOUIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Responses for St. Louis Community College on IFB
B0004170 for Hylex Flex Room Supplies #2 will be received until 3:00 PM (CST) on January 7, 2022. Go to https:// stlcc.bonfirehub.com for bid document and submission.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Altman-Charter Co., requests subcontractor/supplier proposals for Francie’s Place Apartment Renovations. This is the Renovation/Remodel of 3 separate apartment buildings with a total of 23 units. The addresses are 3600 South Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, MO 63118; 4334-4338 Chouteau Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110; and 3851-3853 Shenandoah Ave., St. Louis, MO 63118. Proposals are due at the office of Altman-Charter Co., 315 Consort Dr., St. Louis, MO 63011 on or before Thur., January 20, 2022 at 3:00 PM (CT). Qualified Minority, Section 3, and Women owned businesses are encouraged to submit proposals. Plans can be viewed at FW Dodge, Construct Connect, SIBA, MOKAN, Cross Rhodes Reprographics, and the Altman-Charter plan room in St. Louis. Bidders should contact Mr. James Geerling with any questions or to submit a proposal at jamesg@altman-charter.com. Our telephone # is (636) 207-8670, and our fax # is (636) 207-8671.
KELLER CONSTRUCTION INC.
Requests subcontractor and or material supplier quotations from Certified subcontractors, suppliers, and CMS/BEP Certified W/MBE firms for the 4th Street Improvements Project at America’s Central Port in Granite City, Illinois. Interested parties should contact Keller Construction at (618) 656-0033. All quotations must be submitted by 7:00 AM Mon. Jan. 3, 2022. Keller Construction is an equal opportunity employer.
SAINT LOUIS MHB
Accepting applications from qualified organizations with experience providing behavioral health and prevention services for St. Louis city children (birth to age 18), Jan. 3 – 28, 2022. Details available 1/3/22 at www.stlmhb.com
BIDS REQUESTED
New Construction Section 3 / MBE /WBE Encouraged 40 Units Multi Family 1 Clubhouse– Fredericktown, MO For Bid Information: 636-931-4244 or zventura@vendev.cc Double Diamond Construction 1000 A Truman Blvd. Crystal City, MO 63019
SEALED BIDS
Bids for Renovate R e s t r o o m s , M i
Survey, Project No. W1902-01, will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 1/27/2022 via MissouriBUYS. Bidders must be registered to bid. For specific project information, go to: http://oa.mo.gov/ facilities
SEALED BIDS
Bids for Replace HVAC System & C o n
Center, Project No. M2002-01, will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 1/27/2022 via MissouriBUYS. Bidders must be registered to bid. For specific project information, go to: http://oa.mo.gov/ facilities
NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS
Sealed bids for the 2021 CRS Collector Overlay, Area B, St. Louis County Project No. CR-1830, will be received electronically thru the County’s Vendor Self Service portal at https://stlouisco.munisselfservice. com/Vendors/default.aspx, until 2:00 p.m. on January 19, 2022
Plans and specifications will be available on December 20, 2021 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouiscountymo.gov) or by contacting Cross Rhodes Print & Technologies, 2731 South Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63118 (314) 678-0087.
DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES ST. LOUIS, COUNTY
REQUEST FOR BIDS
Curtiss-Manes-Schulte, Inc. is soliciting bids from MBE/WBE/ SDVE/DBE subcontractors and suppliers for work on the Strickland Hall Renovate Space for Counseling Center, University of Missouri-Columbia. Bids are due Tuesday, January 11th, 2022 by 1:00 pm and can be faxed to (573) 392-4527 or emailed to shawn@cms-gc.com. For more information, call Shawn @ (573) 392-6553. CurtissManes-Schulte, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
The City of Creve Coeur will be receiving responses to a Request for Qualifications on January 11, 2022 for design services related to a Needs Assessment and Architectural Plans for Renovation of the Creve Coeur Government Center. To view the RFQ, please access the bid page on the city’s website at www.crevecoeurmo.gov
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Great Rivers Greenway is soliciting Bids for the Mississippi Greenway: Old Chain of Rocks Bridge Steel Repairs in St. Louis, Missouri. Go to www.greatriversgreenway. org/jobs-bids and submit by January 19, 2022.
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
The St. Louis Economic Development Partnership (the “Partnership”) has issued multiple open Request for Qualifications (“RFQ”) from a wide variety of professional services/consulting firms for various projects initiated in 2022, including a separate RFQ for MWBE firms. These are “Open” RFQs to which the Partnership may refer as projects become available. The RFQs shall not obligate the Partnership to issue a contract. The Partnership will accept submissions throughout 2022. The RFQs may be obtained at https://stlpartnership.com/rfp-rfq/, and submissions and questions should be emailed to Dana Cook at dcook@stlpartnership.com St. Louis Economic Development Partnership Equal Opportunity Employer
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
The City of Crestwood is accepting bid proposals for Mowing Services. Submittal deadline is 10:00 AM, January 4, 2022. Bid specifications can be obtained from the city website www. cityofcrestwood.org/bids.aspx Bids should be submitted to the Crestwood Community Center, 9245 Whitecliff Park Lane, Crestwood, MO 63126.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
> Kiel Garage Stairwell Repairs
> Will be received by City of St. Louis Treasurer UNTIL 3:00PM 1/3/2022
> For specific project information, go to > https://www.stltreasurer.org/ Request for Proposals/
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
> Kiel Garage Drain Repairs
> Will be received by City of St. Louis Treasurer UNTIL 3:00PM 1/3/2022
> For specific project information, go to > https://www.stltreasurer.org/ Request for Proposals/
THE THE St. LouiS american Career Center St. LouiS american
SENIOR BUILDING INSPECTOR
The City of Richmond Heights is accepting applications for the position of Senior Building Inspector, $ $46,347 - 57,237 DOQ . To apply go to https://richmondheights. applicantpro.com/jobs/ . Applications will be accepted from December 12, 2021 until filled.
MANAGING
DIRECTOR CLAIMS
Responsible for handling of assigned claims from initial assignment to closure as well as supervising Claims Managers/Analysts within the Primary LCWC LOB. Also, will provide assistance in various administrative functions associated with the LOB and will liaison with client engagement, underwriting and risk management departments, as needed.
To apply, please visit: https://www.safetynational. com/careers-page/
COMMUNICATIONS POSITION
The
LARGE CASUALTY WORKS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS MANAGER (2 OPENINGS)
Responsible for handling assigned claims from initial assignment to closure, as well as provide assistance in various administrative functions associated with the primary WC LOB. To apply, please visit: https://www.safetynational.com/ careers-page/
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Deaconess Foundation will sponsor a network of Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools® programs this summer. The seven-week program provides summer enrichment for children and families. The Project Director manages operations for the CDF Freedom Schools® program. The position’s primary responsibility is to recruit, supervise and manage adequate staff to operate multiple program sites and ensure overall quality as outlined by the standards of the CDF Freedom Schools® program. The Project Director will serve as liaison between Deaconess Foundation and the four program sites, maintain the safety of all staff and students, organize parent engagement meetings, ensure that the CDF Freedom Schools® Integrated Reading Curriculum is implemented with fidelity, and ensure that appropriate program staff inputs data in CDF’s reporting system.
To apply for this position, submit cover letter, resume and references at: https://deaconess.org/joinus
COORDINATOR –CLAIMS – MEDICAL MANAGEMENT
Responsible for triaging and documenting incoming bills, referrals, and assisting the Medical Cost Manager.
To apply, please visit: https://www.safetynational.com/careers-page/
MECHANIC & MECHANIC FOREMAN
The City of Clayton is hiring for full-time Mechanic & Mechanic Foreman positions for Public Works. Apply by 01/14/22: https://bit.ly/3wKAFyj EOE
VP & SENIOR PRICING ACTUARY
– TREATY REINSURANCE
Responsible for providing Pricing Analyses and Technical Support for Treaty Reinsurance with a focus on casualty lines including Workers’ Compensation and Professional Liability.
To apply, please visit: https:// www.safetynational.com/ careers-page/
LOSS PORTFOLIO TRANSFER MANAGING DIRECTOR
Responsible for managing LPT product aspects of the Claim Department.
To apply, please visit: https://www. safetynational.com/ careers-page/
ACCOUNTING CLERK
The City of Richmond Heights is accepting applications for the position of Accounting Clerk Advanced $ $46,347 - 49,725 DOQ . To apply go to https:// richmondheights.applicantpro. com/jobs/ . Applications will be accepted from December 22, 2021 until filled.
SITE COORDINATOR
Deaconess Foundation will sponsor a network of Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools® programs this summer. The seven-week program provides summer enrichment for children and families. The Site Coordinator manages the day-to-day operations and supervises staff of one CDF Freedom Schools® site. The position’s primary responsibility is to ensure the proper implementation of the CDF Freedom Schools® program model by managing daily site activities. The Site Coordinator will train and manage staff, maintain the safety of all staff and students, coordinate afternoon activities, field trips, family engagement initiatives and volunteer responsibilities and ensure that the CDF Freedom Schools® Integrated Reading Curriculum is implemented with fidelity.
To apply for this position, submit cover letter, resume and references at: https://deaconess.org/joinus
If you want to make a difference in the lives of young people, join our team at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri! We have a variety of open positions available - check them out at www.bbbsemo.org/ careers. If you’re interested in attending our Virtual Job Fair on 1/13/21 at 5:30PM, please RSVP to hr@bbbsemo.org.
July
16 - Biz Markie, a rapper nicknamed The Clown Prince of HipHop, was best known for the 1989 hit single “Just A Friend.”
7 - Dennis Thomas, one of the founding members of 1970s and 80s soul-funk band Kool & the Gang, died at 70. The band’s career was split into two distinct halves. In the early ‘70s, they scored hits with funk songs like “Jungle Boogie” and “Hollywood Swinging.” They morphed into a hitmaking R&B band in the ‘80s.
selves, their history, and their hopes in the pages of their picture books, died at 92.
9 - Chucky Thompson, the hip hop and R&B record producer best known for his work as a part of Bad Boy Records’ “Hitmen” production team, died at 53.
8 - Eloise Greenfield whose dozens of works helped broaden children’s literature so that young African Americans could see them-
Author Continued from C1
20s is a complex era of their lives, and she wanted to break down what those years of life look like transitioning from adolescence to adulthood.
“When you’re in your 20s, you have responsibilities to take care of and also have to manage the person you want to be personally and professionally,” she said. “What kind of human do you wanna be? How
September
5 – Carmen Balthrop legendary American soprano and longtime University of Maryland Professor of Voice, died at 73. She performed with many of the world’s prominent opera companies and symphonies, including the Metropolitan Opera, Washington Opera, Deutsche Oper (Berlin), and the New York Philharmonic.
6 - Michael K. Williams was found dead at 54 after an apparent drug overdose. Williams was remembered for his respective roles as Omar Little on HBO’s “The Wire” and Chalky White on “Boardwalk
do you wanna contribute to the world? You have to make conscious decisions if you wanna start a family. The book compartmentalizes the facades of people.”
She said the reality section discusses health and wellness, coming to terms with expiration on this earth, ourselves and loved ones included, and spirituality, choosing to connect with a higher being. Like many 20-somethings, Martin said she admits the life she has now wasn’t always the life she envisioned for herself. She said part of that is because she’s always committed herself to not
Empire.” Williams made his feature film debut in the 1996 movie “Bullet,” playing High Top. Williams went on to play roles in movies such as Martin Scorsese’s “Bringing Out the Dead” and others, including “The Road,” “Gone Baby Gone,” “Life During Wartime,” “I Think I Love My Wife,” and “Wonderful World.”
November
22 - Melvin Van Peebles the groundbreaking filmmaker, playwright, and musician whose work ushered in the “Blaxploitation” wave of the 1970s and influenced filmmakers, died at 89. He was best known for “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song,” one of the most influential movies of its time. The low-budget, arthouse film he wrote, produced, directed, starred in, and scored, was the frenzied, hyper-sexual and violent tale of a Black street hustler on the run from police after killing white officers who were beating a Black revolutionary.
28 - Artist, designer, and DJ Virgil Abloh died after privately battling a rare cardiac cancer. He served as the artistic creative director of Louis Vuitton menswear until his passing, releasing multiple collaborations with brands including Nike and Ikea.
December
15 - bell hooks, the prolific and trailblazing author, poet, feminist, cultural critic and professor, died at 69. The author of more than three dozen wideranging books, hooks published her first title, the poetry collection “And There We Wept,” in 1978. Her influential book “Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism” followed in 1981. Three years later, her “Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center” explored and criticized the feminist movement’s propensity to center and privilege white women’s experiences.
Wanda Young, a member of the Motown group The Marvelettes, died at 78. She performed on Motown’s first No. 1 hit, “Please Mr. Postman,” as well Marvelettes’ classics, including “Playboy,” “Don’t Mess With Bill, and “Beechwood 4-5789.”
27 - Paul Carter Harrison, an African-American playwright and professor, died at 85. As a playwright and theater theorist, his work has been published and produced in Europe and the
failing.
“In my early 20s, I always made a conscious decision that failing and being unsuccessful is not an option for me,” she said. “Everything I did from that point early on was about not failing. In the book, I talk about a term coined by occupational therapist Dr. Brittany Conners, which talks about failing forward. That’s how I generally describe it to 20-somethings who ask questions about their evolution and progress. It’s about making intentional steps toward your future and being okay with failing forward not left, right and then stepping
Vashon High School Graduate
Now on view, Oliver Lee Jackson is known for creating complex and layered images in which figurative elements emerge from abstract fields of vibrant color.
The 12 paintings, drawings, and prints created from the mid-1960s through 2020, demonstrated his significance as a highly experimental artist.
Jackson was associated with the Black Artists Group, which was founded in St. Louis in 1968, and a close friend of co-member and jazz saxophonist Julius Hemphill. Many of the works on view are loans from Donald M. Suggs, a local collector and close friend of Jackson’s.
back.”
She said this next phase of her 20s is about continuing and evolving to become the person she’s destined to be.
“I’m proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish, and I don’t mean just monetarily; I mean actualizing who I am, diving into who I’ve become and who I’m going to become,” she said.
“I’ve made real investments in making sure that my future self can look back and be proud of what I see and the foundation I’ve set for myself.”
She said the biggest lesson she wants readers to take away from the book is that a deci-
sion is still a decision even with indecisiveness.
“I’ve seen so many 20-somethings and young adults get crippled with anxiety a lot of times, and it prevents them from being decisive on what they want and how they want to pursue things in their lives,” she said. “You don’t have to be afraid of responsibility. Just go ahead and make a decision because a decision will be made on your behalf whether or not you make it yourself.”
In addition to the book, Martin has a cultural curation brand, “Twenty-Somethings With Raven,” composed of
different mediums related to her mission of promoting daily struggles 20-somethings can relate to and grow from. The brand includes her book, Twenty Somethings with Raven Podcast on Apple Music and Spotify, and a fitness venture she plans to launch next year.
“Lessons From My 20s” can be purchased at www.barnesandnoble.com and Amazon. She will host a book discussion and mixer on Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. at Urb Arts.
United States. Harrison taught theater at Howard University from 1968 to 1970, and his students included Phylicia Rashad, Debbie Allen and Linda Goss. While teaching at California State University (1970–1972), Harrison conceived and directed Melvin Van Peebles’ “Ain’t Supposed To Die a Natural Death” prior to its Broadway production. His play, “Great Macdaddy,” won an Obie Award and “Tabernacle” won the Audelco Award for Best Creative Musical.
Biz Markie
Michael K. Williams
bell hooks
Virgil Abloh
Paul Carter Harrison
2021:A Year In Review 2
JANUARY
6—Pro-Trump rioters storm the U.S. Capitol as Congress begins the process of certifying the Electoral College votes for Joe Biden’s win in the presidential election.
7—U.S. Rep. Cori Bush is sworn into office, becoming Missouri’s first Black Congresswoman.
7—Georgia Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff win the state’s Senate runoff election, giving Democrats control of the Senate.
7—St. Louis’ mayoral primary ballot is finalized with four candidates—Alderwoman Cara Spencer, Aldermanic President Lewis Reed, business executive Andrew Jones Jr. and St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones.
14—The St. Louis Public Schools Board votes to close seven schools, but the decision to close Sumner High School is tabled until March.
14—Calls intensify throughout the state for Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, to resign after he was the first senator to object to certifying the Electoral College win for President-Elect Joe Biden and was photographed giving protesters a fist pump in the air before the Capitol riots.
14—U.S. House of Representatives votes 232-197 to impeach President Donald Trump a week before his term expires.
14—A St. Louis County police dispatcher, who is Chief Mary Barton’s brother-inlaw, is heard using a racial slur over the radio and temporarily relieved of duty pending an investigation.
21—Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, while Kamala Harris becomes the first woman, first Black person and first South Asian person to take the oath of office as vice president.
21—Missouri House of Representatives votes overwhelmingly to censure Rep. Wiley Price IV after an investigation into claims he had sex with a state house intern in January 2020.
21—ArchCity Defenders releases a report with a list of at least 179 people who were killed by police or died in jail custody.
Pro-Trump rioters storm the U.S. Capitol as Congress begins the process of certifying the Electoral College votes for Joe Biden’s win in the presidential election.
between 2009 and 2019 in the St. Louis region, alongside the names of 80 police officers involved in those deaths.
28—St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson vetoes a bill that would have put an amendment on the April 6 ballot to reconsider the decision St. Louisans made in 2012 to reduce the city’s 28 wards to 14—a process set to begin in 2023.
28—St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell disqualifies Judge Dean P. Waldemer from all future proceedings after the judge was one of multiple email recipients to a longer, unedited version of a letter criticizing Bell that was published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
28—President Joe Biden releases his plan to combat the pandemic, which includes a vaccination campaign and higher public health standards.
28—Approximately 500 school bus drivers and monitors working for three St. Louis County districts are told they must return all the money they received over the summer during the pandemic to the government.
FEBRUARY
04—Mayoral candidate Alderwoman Cara Spencer leads her rivals in campaign fundraising.
04—U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, moves her congressional office after she said she and her staff were berated in the hallway by U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia.
04—The St. Louis Board of Aldermen passes a bill that puts a question about closing the Workhouse on the April ballot, even though the deadline to file ballot items has passed.
04—St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page comes through on his promise to open the county’s first mass COVID-19 vaccination site in north county, which will be located at St. Louis Community College Florissant Valley in Ferguson.
04—Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s budget funds Missouri Medicaid expansion without cuts to other needs, as approximately 275,000 low-income adults are expected
to enroll for medical coverage.
11—Over 100 inmates take over the majority of the St. Louis City Justice Center’s fourth floor for several hours, lighting fires and throwing objects through broken windows in protest of the jail conditions.
11—The St. Louis Public Schools Board unanimously passes a moratorium on constructing new schools in the city.
11—Lt. Col. Troy Doyle sues St. Louis County for discrimination after being passed over for a promotion to chief of police.
11—St. Louis County works to convince Black communities to take the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to them.
18—St. Louis officials deny advocacy organizations access to the City Justice Center jail after the Feb. 6 inmate uprising.
Photo courtesy of wikipedia.com
18—The Jennings School District Board of Education gives unanimous approval to Paula D. Knight to serve as the north St. Louis County district’s next superintendent.
18—American Airlines announces plans to furlough nearly 1,200 employees at St. Louis Lambert International Airport in early April upon federal aid expiring.
18—Local leaders announce a commitment from the state to provide St. Louis County with 3,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses per week.
25—Roland Martin, veteran journalist, political analyst and host of the #RolandMartinUnfiltered Daily Digital Show travels to St. Louis to host a town hall and canvas with Tishaura Jones ahead of the March primary.
25—After spending 1,252 days in sanctuary in Christ Church UCC in Maplewood, Alex Garcia was able to go home Feb. 24 thanks to President Joe Biden’s new immigration policies.
25—Mayoral candidates file their last campaign finance reports before the March primary, where Aldermanic President Lewis Reed takes the lead in overall funding and St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones outraises all three of her opponents in the fundraising cycle.
25—ACLU of Missouri employees join a growing movement of nonprofit workers in announcing they have unionized.
MARCH
4—St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones and Alderwoman Cara Spencer clinch the top two runoff spots in the March primary, the first election in which approval voting will be implemented.
4—City officials approve a $1.5 million allocation to fix cell locks at the City Justice Center in downtown St. Louis after the inmate uprising Feb. 6.
4—City and school officials symbolically break ground on an $80 Million restoration project in the Ville.
4—Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose COVID-19 vaccine gets approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
2021:A Year In Review 3
Inmates at the City Justice Center in downtown St. Louis stand at windows they smashed yelling to supporters late Easter Sunday night, April 4, 2021. It’ the second uprising at the Justice Center in less than two months.
25—St. Louis expects to receive over $500 million in federal COVID-19 funding, with the first wave of funds being disbursed in May.
APRIL
1—Mayoral candidates Tishaura Jones and Cara Spencer take the stage in the last televised debate before the general election.
1—Jury finds one officer not guilty and come back with mistrials for the other two officers in the beating of undercover detective Luther Hall.
1—Mayoral candidates Tishaura Jones and Cara Spencer file their final finance reports before election, with Jones in the lead in terms of fundraising.
1—A group of North County community leaders demand the resignation of Normandy Schools Collaborative Superintendent Marcus Robinson
1—The Missouri Vaccine Navigator launched after many local public health departments and hospital systems already developed systems of their own, leading to low utilization by those looking to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
11—The St. Louis Public Schools Board of Education unanimously pass a motion to re-conceptualize Sumner High School as an “arts and activism” focused institution.
11—U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, is appointed as vice chair of the House Committee on the Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security.
11—The Missouri Supreme Court denies Lamar Johnson a new trial, arguing there is no state law that allows prosecutors the authority to seek a new trial so long after a case is adjudicated.
11—COVID-19 continues to affect Black Missourians at a disproportionate rate, while only 5.2% of Black residents have received their first vaccine.
18—Mayoral candidates Tishaura Jones and Cara Spencer announce their proposed plans for $500 million in federal funds allocated to the city through the American Rescue Plan Act.
18—The task force established by St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson to investi-
gate the city’s jail conditions releases a list of over 60 recommendations for improvements—including 13 that are considered urgent matters.
18—St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner appears on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” to discuss her pursuit to end injustice in the city’s policing and legal system.
18—St. Louis County eases COVID-19 restrictions as positive cases continue to drop in the area.
25—Mayoral candidates Tishaura Jones and Cara Spencer take the stage in the first televised debate since the primary election.
25—The Center for Policing Equity releases a report showing racial disparities in St. Louis County persist.
25—The criminal trial against former St. Louis Police officers in the beating of undercover detective Luther Hall continues, with five police officers testifying against their former colleagues.
8—St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones becomes the first Black woman to be elected mayor in St. Louis, receiving just over 2,000 votes more than her opponent, Alderwoman Cara Spencer.
8—St. Louis voters pass all seven propositions on the April ballot, including Proposition E—which sought to keep the city’s 1% earning tax.
8—Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner partners with Vera Institute of Justice to reduce racial disparities in the criminal legal system by 20%.
8—Three of four “flip the board” aldermanic candidates win their races, bringing a more explicitly progressive leaning to the Board of Aldermen.
8—CJC inmates stage a second uprising by overtaking the third floor of the facility on Easter Sunday and throwing various debris down to the street.
15—St. Louis County Council declares no confidence in St. Louis County Police
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
Chief Mary Barton in a 4-3 vote—a move that came shortly after ESOP’s board declared no confidence in the embattled police chief.
15—The Missouri Senate holds the fate of the state’s Medicaid expansion funding in its hands after the Missouri House removes the expansion’s funding out of the state’s general budget bill.
15—Mayor-elect Tishaura Jones announces her transition team and public input website.
22—Mayor-elect Tishaura Jones appoints Dan Isom as public safety director, retired Sgt. Heather Taylor as his advisor and Adam Layne as the city’s next Treasurer.
22—St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones is inaugurated as the city’s first Black female mayor.
22—Former Minneapolis police officer Dereke Chauvin is found guilty on three counts in the death of George Floyd, which sparked weeks of unrest nationally in the summer of 2020.
22—ArchCity Defenders received a $1 million grant from Bank of America, which will be distributed to Black and Latino-led startups in the region.
29—Mayor Tishaura Jones, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner and U.S. Rep Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, tour both of the city’s jails—the Workhouse and City Justice Center—and later call the conditions deplorable and disgusting.
29—Mayor Tishaura Jones’ proposed city budget zeroes out funding for the Workhouse, a step to close the jail within the first 100 days of her administration.
2021:A Year In Review
Tishaura Jones is serenaded by her sorority sisters at a watch party, after clinching the win as St. Louis Mayor, in St. Louis on April 6, 2021. Jones, the current City Treasurer, makes history by becoming the first black woman to become St. Louis Mayor.
against paying to expand the state’s Medicaid program, scheduled to roll out July 1.
13—St. Louis Corrections Commissioner Dale Glass resigns, effective June 1.
13—FDA approves COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 12-15.
13—The Missouri State Legislature passes a bill making an HIV post-exposure drug available in pharmacies without a prescription from a doctor.
13—SLCPA survey results show most officers have low morale and feel internal department transfers are used as retaliation.
20—The state legislature passes first police reform bill since Michael Brown’s death, implementing a whole list of police reforms
20—Missouri Gov. Mike Parson formally withdrew the state from its plan to expand Medicaid coverage, setting up an inevitable court battle.
29—World Wide Technology is the only company with headquarters in St. Louis to make the first-ever TIME100 Most Influential Companies.
29—Kwofe Coleman becomes the first Black president of the Muny, an outdoor theater founded 103 years ago.
MAY
6—St. Louis County Police Chief Mary Barton reflects on her first full year as chief, noting the department’s racial di-
vide is her highest priority.
6—County Executive Sam Page and St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones announce a joint executive order on the continued reopening of businesses in the St. Louis region.
6—Rebecca Rivas investigates why St. Louis didn’t see a single substantive victory for police reform after the Ferguson uprising, and finds it’s in large part due to a police apparatus that stymies accountability.
6—A court battle is likely in the state’s future after the Missouri Senate votes
20—The 111th annual Annie Malone May Day Parade made $102,000 in donations for the Annie Malone Children and Family Service Center.
20—St. Louis County and city governments rescinded their mask and social distancing ordinances for fully vaccinated people, in accordance with new CDC guidelines.
27—Judge Robin Ransom becomes the first Black woman to be appointed to the Missouri Supreme Court.
27—Leaders in St. Louis County and city
Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
accept federal funds to ensure residents struggling to pay their mortgage or rent receive financial help.
27—Alisha Sonnier is appointed to the SLPS Board of Education by Mayor Tishaura Jones to fill the opening left by newly appointed Treasure Adam Layne.
27—Alderwoman Annie Rice reintroduced Board Bill 31, which would create public oversight over new police surveillance technology.
27—Coming as no surprise, attorneys file suit on behalf of three plaintiffs seeking to compel Missouri to implement Medicaid expansion July 1, as passed by voters in August 2020.
JUNE
3—Capt. David Dorn is honored one year after he was shot and killed during a pawn shop burglary June 2, 2020.
3—Local leaders and activists condemn a judge’s decision to sentence Cameron Swoboda, a 26-year-old white man, to probation for possessing explosive devices and planning a targeted attack on Black Lives Matter protesters.
3—Three men file a lawsuit against the city and several corrections staff, alleging they were excessively pepper sprayed and deprived of water at the City Justice Center.
3—As the nation reflected on the 100th anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa massacre, President Joe Biden went to Tulsa to “come to fill the silence” about one of the nation’s darkest—and long suppressed— moments of racial violence.
3—A lawsuit seeking to compel Missouri to expand Missouri on July 1 is fast tracked in court—with the trial to begin June 18 and a verdict returned before July 1.
10—An all-white jury is seated for a second time to decide the fate of white St. Louis police officers accused of assaulting Black colleague Luther Hall, who was working undercover as a protester in 2017.
10—Neal Richardson is appointed by
2021:A Year In Review 5
Interim St. Louis Public Safety Director Dr. Dan Isom addressing the problems at the City Justice Center downtown during a Sunday Aug. 1, 2021 press conference in front of the facility. At left is Deputy Public Safety Director Heather Taylor and on the right is Interim Department of Corrections Commissioner Jeff Carson.
for the shuttered Jamestown Mall—effectively halting the project in its tracks.
24—St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones joins a group of U.S. mayors trying to spur Congress to act on reparations for descendants of U.S. enslaved people.
JULY
1—Medicaid expansion heads to the Supreme Court of Missouri, while the state’s House and Senate pass a clean Federal Reimbursement Allowance bill to fund the state’s Medicaid program in a special session.
1—St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner and St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell say the judge “got it right” in Derek Chavin’s sentencing.
1—ESOP and faith leaders demand St. Louis County Police Chief Mary Barton terminate civilian employee Joseph Nickerson for his role in the Lamar Johnson case.
Mayor Tishaura Jones as the next executive director of the St Louis Development Corporation.
10—Harris-Stowe State University president Corey Bradford leaves his post just over a year after leaving Prairie View A&M University to accept the position in St. Louis.
10—U.S. Rep Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, introduces legislation that would establish a framework to democratize utilities, reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels and ban disconnections for nonpayment.
10—Webster University professors Vincent C. Flewellen and Marshaun Warren launch an eight-week online course for K-12 educators, called “Social Justice and Inclusive Learning.”
17— New report shows that even as landlords accept millions in federal loans, they continue to move on evictions of tenants also hurt by the economic crisis.
17— Ruth Christopher and Miles Ashe, two St. Louis Public Schools seniors, are headed to The Juilliard School in New York City this fall to continue their professional journeys in the arts.
17— St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones an-
nounces plans to spend the first $80 million in federal relief money, with the bulk of it allocated to “direct, urgent relief” for housing and utility assistance.
17— Community members honor Dorothy Jackson-Johnson’s legacy by renaming a street where she lived for more than 40 years.
17— The St. Louis Metropolitan Task Force ends its weekly livestreamed briefings, citing falling coronavirus cases and hospitalizations of patients with COVID-19.
24—Leaders of St. Louis Art Museum name Min Jung Kim, a seasoned museum professional, as the organization’s next director.
24—In another blow for proponents of Medicaid expansion, Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem strikes down an effort to expand Medicaid.
24—St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page join forces to file suit in Cole County Circuit Court, asking for a judgment that declares a new state gun law unconstitutional.
24—Councilwoman Shalonda Webb publicly opposes the development plans
1—Adrian Bracy retires after 11 years as YWCA of Metro St. Louis CEO and is honored during a June 22 reception.
1—Leaders announce they intend to demolish Jamestown Mall, which has sat empty since it closed in 2014, so that the site can be used for a more community-minded development.
8—Jerryl Christmas’ family sues the city over officers killing the Black grandfather in a ‘no knock’ SWAT raid.
8—Dr. Kendra Holmes is named Stellar Performer by The St. Louis American Foundation’s 21st Annual Salute to Excellence in Health Care Awards.
8—Dr. Roy Jerome Williams, Jr. is honored with Lifetime Achiever in Health Care by The St. Louis American in Foundation’s 21st Annual Salute to Excellence in Health Care Awards.
8—County officials express concerns about vaccination rates in majority or largely Black populated ZIP codes in Missouri as the state leads the nation with the highest rate of new COVID-19 infections.
15—Missouri is ranked least-safe state in terms of coronavirus pandemic and has the second-highest positive COVID-19
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
testing rate and death rate in the country.
15—As St. Louis Public Schools Board of Education members met to discuss the district’s reopening plans, activists protested to save the historic Paul Lawrence Dunbar Elementary School from becoming online-only.
15—The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis is awarded The St. Louis American Foundation Salute to Excellence “Health Advocacy Organization of the Year” award.
15—Dr. Daniel Mamah, director of the Washington Early Recognition Center, receives the Dr. John M. Anderson Excellence in Mental Health Award, which is presented by the Children’s Service Fund in partnership with The St. Louis American Foundation.
22—Study finds Black millennials in St. Louis County with a bachelor’s degree on average earned about $23,000 less than their non-Black local counterparts in 2019.
22—Four health care professionals are honored with The St. Louis American Foundation Excellence in Healthcare awards: Damon Clines, MD; Blottie Ussery, RN; Carlita Vasser, MA, BSN, RN, CCN; and Dara Webb
22—Fast-food workers in St. Louis joined others nationally in striking for a $15 minimum wage and union representation.
22—Gov. Mike Parson signs into law a bill of police reforms, the first of its kind in the state since Michael Brown’s death.
22—Mercy Clinic Primary Care and Women’s Health facility opens in Ferguson.
29— St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page and St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones’ mask mandate faces considerable resistance from the St. Louis County Council and Eric Schmitt, attorney general of Missouri.
29—In an unusually fast turnaround, the Missouri Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling reversing a lower court’s decision that found the effort to expand Medicaid in the state was unconstitutional.
29—Lawmakers from Missouri’s Joint
2021:A Year In Review
A blessing and ribbon cutting marked the official opening of the Mercy Clinic Primary Care and Women’s Health in Ferguson. The clinic is part of the Health & Homes WestFlo District. The new 5,500-square-foot space will serve families of Ferguson and the surrounding communities with adult, pediatric and women’s health services. The first day of patient care will be July 26.
Committee on Education heard testimony regarding the teaching of critical race theory in schools from invited presenters, none of whom were Black.
29—Iconic rapper Juvenile’s remix of his 1998 hit “Back That Thang Up,” a pro-vaccination anthem called “VAX That Thing Up,” was dubbed “the song of the summer,” by many music insiders.
29—Geospatial Moonshot Labs is opened in the T-Rex center, housed in 12,000 square feet on the building’s third floor.
AUGUST
5—Community holds memorial service at the Dr. Henry Givens. Jr. Administration Building Main Auditorium on the very campus the St. Louis icon transformed.
5—Dozens of inmates are transferred to the Workhouse annex following two uprisings at the City Justice Center, six weeks after St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones fulfilled her campaign promise to close the facility.
5—The St. Louis American Foundation’s 21st Annual Salute to Excellence in Health Care Awards airs a free virtual event.
5—Nearly 100 St. Louis County residents facing imminent eviction likely got a reprieve when the Biden administration extended a moratorium until early October.
5—Dr. Faisal Khan discusses the racist harassment and assault he said he experienced during a St. Louis County Council meeting regarding a mask mandate that was reinstated in the wake of the Delta variant.
5—Amid multiple uprisings at the City Justice Center and detainee complaints of excessive use of pepper spray by jailers, the city put in one order totaling over $17,000—or as much pepper spray as they had purchased in the previous six years combined.
12—The St. Louis Board of Aldermen finally passes its $168 million pandemic aid bill after weeks of contentious debate raged on over whether a portion of the bill meets federal guidelines.
12—The Urban League holds a ground-breaking ceremony for a senior apartment complex and community center on West Florissant in Dellwood.
12—A small crowd gathers at the place in Canfield Green Apartments where Michael Brown’s life ended seven years ago, and the Black Lives Matter movement began.
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
2021:A Year In Review
Michael Brown being embraced Monday Aug. 9, 2021 at the 7th year anniversary of his son’s death by Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson in 2014 in the Canfield Gardens Apartments.
lost their federal benefits in June.
26—The Ultimate Cosmetology and Barber Academy opens, offering cosmetology, barbering, manicure training and esthetician training.
SEPTEMBER
2—St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones announces she’s hired Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah to become the city’s next corrections commissioner.
2—As the eviction moratorium expires, advocates fear there will be a “flood of evictions” as the state of Missouri has not yet distributed most of its federal rental aid money.
2—St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones announces appointment of the city’s new health director, Dr. Matifadza Hlatshwayo Davis.
2—The St. Louis County Council votes to support a mask mandate enacted through a public health order after five weeks of contentious debate and at least two votes against the mandate.
the use of Homer G. Phillips’ name on a new clinic bearing that name in north St. Louis during a panel discussion at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine.
16—Members of the St. Louis Schools Collaborative—composed of St. Louis Public Schools, plus most major charter schools and networks in the City—released a statement reaffirming their commitment to COVID safety in schools.
16—A North St. Louis deacon says Alderman Joe Vaccaro, Ward 23, harassed him multiple times while the deacon was outside the Hampton Schnucks collecting petition signatures for Proposition R.
16—NAF—a national nonprofit that works with local business leaders to establish career-readiness programs in schools —is expanding its national network for the 2021-2022 school year with 50 new academies in cities across America, including St. Louis.
23—Attorney Sheena Hamilton makes history in her new role as city counselor, becoming the first Black woman ever to do so in St. Louis.
12—St. Louis Public Schools holds a back-to-school fair, funded by a grant from the national American Federation of Teachers.
12—State Rep. Rasheen Aldridge (D078th District) demands that Gov. Mike Parson call a special legislative session to provide funding to nearly 300,000 Missourians who are now covered under Medicaid.
19—A Black contractor on Aug. 5 found a noose hanging from a tree branch in the backyard of the Benton Park house she’d been hired to rehab.
19—Jewish leaders condemn antisemitic comments made by people protesting a mask mandate during the public comment portion of the Aug. 10 St. Louis County Council meeting.
19—After facing criticism for voting against a mask mandate, Council Chair Rita Heard Days and Councilwoman Shalonda Webb announce a proposal to use $50 million in COVID-19 relief funds for North St. Louis County.
19—St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones enacts a spending plan for the first $135 million dollars of the $498 million in federal pandemic aid, while also vetoing $33 million in lie items.
19—St. Louis leaders announce they are working together to welcome at least 1,000 Afghan citizens.
26—Two emergency rental assistance clinics open inside the St. Louis city limits and while the federal eviction moratorium was extended until Oct. 3, the legal portion of eviction proceedings can continue unabated.
26—St. Louis Public Schools institutes a vaccine mandate for all faculty and staff.
26—The St. Louis Afghan community prepares to welcome a wave of refugees and organizes a rally advocating for peace in the country.
26—Missouri Jobs with Justice sues the state and Gov. Mike Parson to reinstate the federal programs and retroactively pay the estimated 147,890 Missourians who
2—An $80 million long-term investment in North St. Louis from Ponce Health Sciences University aims to prepare physicians to work in underserved communities and address chronic health care disparities.
9—St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden announces his retirement after approximately four years as chief.
9—State Rep. Shamed Dogan, R-98, says he is running for the Republican nomination for the office of County Executive.
9—Rung for Women, Maryville University and Greater St. Louis, Inc. launch a training program designed to increase the chances women, especially women of color, snag high-paying geospatial jobs.
9—Lt. Arrethie Williams of the St. Louis County Police Department’s Community Outreach Division faces allegations of stalking, harassment and violent behavior from several people.
16—Former nurses and a physician blast
23—Creve Coeur park is renamed in honor of pioneering Black opthamologist H. Phillip Venable, who was forced out of the neighborhood.
23—Reform St. Louis turns in over 38,000 petition signatures in support of a proposition that would shift that responsibility to an independent citizen redistricting commission.
23—The ACLU of Missouri sues the St. Louis City Department of Corrections for not complying with a request for records pertaining to pepper spray incidents at the St. Louis City Justice Center
30—A portrait of Dr. Aubrey Morrison, the Washington University School of Medicine’s first full-time Black professor, is unveiled.
30—Approximately 1,000 students walk out at Parkway Central High School in the wake of another incident of racism at the school, this time graffiti covering the walls of a bathroom.
30—Calls grow louder for three white Woodson Terrace officers to be fired and
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
2021:A Year In Review
A group of demonstrators led by Missouri Rep. Rasheen Aldridge (left) chanted “change the name” and “justice for Homer” Saturday morning Nov. 13, 2021 outside the new Homer G. Phillips Hospital on the site of NGA West at Jefferson and Cass Avenue. Former Homer G. Phillips nurse Zenobia Thompson (center) speaks at the press event and rally with social activist Walle Amusa holding the sign. Aldridge said he and others think the name disrespects the hospital’s legacy and they will continue to protest the name of the new facility.
facility named after Homer G. Phillips.
21— The Bail Project’s St. Louis city office is closed after almost four years of providing free bail assistance and pretrial support but will remain active in St. Louis County and St. Charles County.
21—James Avant Elementary School announced as recipient of the Bayer School of Excellence Award, to be present at The St. Louis American Foundation’s Salute to Excellence in Education virtual gala.
28—Five educators are recognized by The St. Louis American Foundation’s 2021 Excellence in Education Awardees.
28—The Board of Aldermen passes a resolution prohibiting construction of new schools in the city of St. Louis.
28—SLU rededicates its amphitheater in memory of Jonathan C. Smith, the university’s inaugural vice president for diversity and community engagement.
28—Developer Paul McKee did not accept a personal invitation to discuss the public outrage at his insistence on naming his new three-bed clinic after Homer G. Phillips Hospital.
charged after they let a police K-9 dog attack a Black man for more than a minute while attempting to arrest him.
30—Cathy “Mama Cat” Daniels moves to Jacksonville, Florida, to retire and her close friend Theo Welling hosts a talk and a photo viewing featuring the well-known activist at the May Gallery of Webster University.
30—The St. Louis County Department of Public Health issues a face mask order as emergency rooms fill with COVID-19 patients.
OCTOBER
07— Four libraries in the St. Louis area will be providing a new service: face-toface meetings with members of U.S. Rep. Cori Bush’s staff.
07—Residents in the ”highly distressed” neighborhoods near the $1.7 billion under-construction facility for the National
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency will be polled about what type of ancillary development will best serve their needs.
07—The state of Missouri begins processing Medicaid applications for those newly eligible under the program’s expansion.
07—Community leaders gathered at the Southside Wellness Center to protect the cherished Homer G. Phillips name.
07—The Deaconess Foundation is accepting proposals for up to $600,000 in community investment funding through its mission-related investments initiative.
14—ESL Schools Superintendent Arthur R.Culver named 2021 Lifetime Achiever in Education.
14—St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones holds a townhall input session about the new police chief search via Zoom with St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden and Dr. Sean Joe with the Brown School at Wash-
ington University and Homegrown STL.
14—The city’s new corrections commissioner, Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah, tells The St. Louis American she’s focusing on several issues facing the city’s jail.
14—State Rep. Kevin Windham, D-85th District, speaks out against the state’s discriminatory scholarship system.
18 — Colin Powell, the first Black U.S. secretary of state and former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff died in Bethes-da, Maryland, from complications from COVID-19
21—Jeanette Culpepper, a St. Louisan who championed for families of crime victims and became a tireless advocate for violence prevention, dies of Lymphoma at the age of 73.
21—Community demands Paul McKee attend meeting to discuss ongoing community concerns about the new medical
NOVEMBER
04—City legislators released the first draft of a proposed district map, cutting the 28 wards down to 14.
04—Dr. Matifadza Hlatshwayo-Davis begins her new role as the city’s health director and takes time to listen to city health employees and the community to understand their needs and perspectives.
04—At least four gunshots were fired just blocks away as St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas spoke about gun violence prevention outside the Cure Violence center in Dutchtown.
04—Yolanda Curry, a counselor at St. Charles West High School, is honored at The St. Louis American’s Salute to Excellence in Education.
04—The St. Louis Anchor Action Net-
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
2021:A Year In Review
Washington University School of Medicine’s Dr. Will Ross, making his address on “An American Dilemma: Asserting a Moral Imperative in Our Quest For Health Equity” after being installed as the new Alumni Endowed Professor Of Medicine Thurs. Nov. 11, 2021, at the Eric P. Newman Education Center Auditorium.
joins President Joe Biden in Washington D.C. for the signing of the historic $1.75 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.
25—Kim Gardner speaks about formidable challenges as St. Louis circuit attorney in an interview with Bonita Cornute at Harris-Stowe State University.
25—More than 190,000 residents in St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Clair County, Illinois, live in neighborhoods without easy access to fresh food, or victims of “food apartheid,” as activists call it.
25—Kyle Rittenhouse is acquitted on all five counts against him for fatally shooting Anthony Huber, 26, and Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and shooting Gaige Grosskreutz who was left paralyzed.
25—Alderwoman Sharon Tyus, 1st Ward, and other members of the Board of Aldermen introduce a resolution to deem the naming of a new medical facility ‘Homer G. Phillips Hospital’ as “inappropriate, cultural appropriation.”
02—St. Louis County Executive Sam Page tears into a Missouri judge who declared public mask mandates in the state were “invalid,” calling his ruling dangerous.
09—The St. Louis Board of Aldermen adopts a resolution declaring the city a “sexual and reproductive health care safe zone.”
09—SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital partners with PHI Air Medical and SSM Health Cardinal Glennon to provide air medical transport to patients across Missouri.
09—State and local officials continue to weigh in on a new medical facility that bears the “Homer G. Phillips Hospital” name in North St. Louis.
09—St. Louis leaders challenged a new Missouri law that expands the rights of police officers and mandates local governments provide their legal defense in court regarding their actions while off duty.
work, an 11-person coalition seeking to boost hiring and spending in low-income areas, is formed.
11—St. Louis City officials and the community continue to push back against Paul McKee’s insistence that Homer G. Phillips’ name will not be removed from a new medical facility.
11— During the Veteran’s Day Parade, members of Tom Powell Post #77 of the American Legion, proudly gathered to accept and give recognition for the sacrifices made by soldiers of America’s wars.
11— A group of St. Louis residents and activists express concerns about the redistricting process less than two weeks after legislators released the first draft of a new ward map, which cuts the number of wards from 28 to 14.
11—The St. Louis County Reapportionment Commission has until Nov. 28 to redraw the seven districts based on the 2020 census numbers released this year.
11—Workers at Blue Circle Rehab and Nursing and associated facilities strike
to protest months of alleged health and safety violations.
18— Health equity trailblazer Dr. Will Ross honored with endowed professorship at Washington University School of Medicine.
18—Justin King’s family demands answers and justice after a white man shot and killed the 28-year-old Black man Nov. 3 in Bourbon, Missouri.
18—U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, former state Rep. Jamilah Nasheed and St. Louis Treasurer Adam Layne support a petition drive seeking signatures from neighborhood residents who also oppose developer Paul McKee’s insistence on using the Homer G. Phillips’ name.
18—Two years into the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency campus construction project, St. Louis-based McCarthy and Falls Church, Va.-based HITT are about halfway to their voluntary goal of awarding 25% of subcontracting dollars to minority-business enterprises.
18—St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones
25—St. Louis County is awarded a $18.2 million federal grant to improve 1.5 miles of West Florissant Avenue from Stein Road to Ferguson Avenue, through the towns of Ferguson and Dellwood.
DECEMBER
02—St. Louis native Josephine Baker is admitted into the Pantheon, a decision made by French President Emmanuel Macron, who said there was no greater French woman than Baker.
02—Activists plan more protests against developer Paul McKee as the battle to force a name change for a medical facility carrying the name, Homer G. Phillips Hospital, continues
02—Director of Human Services Yusef Scoggin releases a plan for unhoused services for the winter, including the launch of the city’s warming bus system and 598 permanent shelter beds.
02—Environmentalists accuse Spire Inc. of fearmongering after the company sent an email warning customers their natural gas service might be shut off this winter if a major pipeline is shut down Dec. 13.
09—After an almost hour-long debate about a coin toss, the city’s aldermen confirmed the numbers of the 14 new wards and perfected the map.
16—The St. Louis Board of Aldermen pases a resolution emphatically taking a stand against developer Paul McKee and his refusal to remove the name Homer G. Phillips from a three-bed medical facility.
16—St. Louis County and Jackson County file a motion to appeal the Cole County ruling to preserve the regulations allowing local public health authorities to address all matters of public health, not just COVID-19.
16—With an almost unanimous vote, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen finalizes a historic new ward map cutting the number of the city’s wards in half from 28 to 14.
16—TPD Pharmacy’s Dr. Jensine Chacko and Dr. Tracy Reed bring their much-needed products and knowledge to a new location in the city’s Walnut Park West neighborhood.
16—The Urban League of Metropolitan Saint Louis announces a partnership with Simmons Bank that will establish a full-service bank branch in the league’s headquarters in North City.
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
Civic icons, political stalwarts among those to leave us in 2021
JANUARY
8 – Sam Hutchinson, founder and chairman of Interface Construction Corporation, died at age 77. He graduated from Charles H. Sumner High School where he was later inducted into its Hall of Fame. He then earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from St. Louis University. After founding Interface in 1978 with his life savings, Hutchinson’s firm became one of the Midwest’s largest Black-owned construction firms.
12 - Lee M. Blount, Jr., MD, died at age 88. A graduate of Vashon High School, he earned his undergraduate degree at St. Louis University and then excelled at the Howard University College of Medicine in Washington D.C. He returned to St. Louis for a surgical residency at Homer G. Phillips Hospital. He was affiliated with Deaconess Hospital as well as Homer G. Phillips when he retired from his practice.
Dr. Blount was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on Aug. 14, 1932, the second oldest of five children, but grew up in Carr Square Village in segregated St. Louis. Blount was outstanding in track at Vashon High School and later in life became a marathon runner and award winning tennis player. He was known as a fierce, tireless and courageous civil rights activist who “knew how important our institutions are. We didn’t really understand it at the time, but we grew up with leading figures in civil rights at our home because of our dad,” daughter Renee Blount said. Dr. Blount’s family was the first Black family to integrate the community of Ladue. At the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr., he marched alongside Robert Kennedy. He also had a passion for the arts, languages, books and music.
fectionately known as Mrs. E., Elliott was a sounding board, champion and second mother to generations of Ervin scholars, long after her retirement in 2002.
Charles R. Willis, local attorney and professional cowboy, died following a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He graduated with a BS in Business Administration and earned his JD from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis. He maintained a private law practice for over 40 years and served as a president of the Mound City Bar Association.
30- Johnetta Randolph Haley, one of the first four Black teachers in the Kirkwood School District and lifelong educator, died at age 97. In 1972, she became an assistant professor in the SIU-Edwardsville Department of Music. She became an associate professor in 1978 and professor in 1984. Haley served as the executive director of the SIUE East St. Louis Center from 1984-1993 and was named professor emeritus in 1993 by the SIUE Music Department upon her retirement.
APRIL
12 - Noted gospel radio personality Darrel “Easy” Eason died at 57. Eason was named program director for Praise 95.1-FM in 2017 and hosted “The Morning Praise.” He previously programmed crosstown Gospel KATZ-AM (Hallelujah 1600) and KMJM-FM (Majic 104.9)/St. Louis. Eason has also been a staple on the airwaves in St. Louis since November 1989.
JUNE
we were at an especially bad fire. Middle of the night, heavy fire, multiple people trapped. Rodney was how he always was - calm, focused, ready. The dude was always in position.” Heard’s son, Roderic, is also a city firefighter.
effort to establish benchmarks for racial minorities and women to be a part of county construction projects.
Washington University, died
was 84. Af-
15 – St. Louis began learning the inspirational story of St. Louis Fire Department firefighter Rodney Heard after his gallant fight against COVID-19. His former partner Gregg Favre called Heard a “rock-solid partner” and “hell of a fireman. In 2009,
19 - Jonathan Smith, St. Louis University vice president for diversity and community engagement, died on Juneteenth at 61, following a stroke 11 days earlier. Smith earned his bachelor’s degree at Princeton University and went on to get his master’s and Ph.D. at Washington University in St. Louis. He got his start at St. Louis University in 2002 as an assistant professor of American Studies. A commemorative plaque at the amphitheater and Clock Tower of St. Louis University honoring Smith and his legacy was unveiled Oct. 25, 2021.
20 - Nationally renowned evangelist Rachel Hankerson passed away at 47. She and her husband Bishop Elijah H. Hankerson founded Life Center International Church at 8500 Halls Ferry in June 1998. Evangelist Hankerson, who was known as “First Lady,” carried a message of encouragement to women to “live as ladies of destiny, dignity and purpose.”
JULY
2 - Hazel Erby, the first Black woman elected to the St. Louis County Council, died at 75. Erby represented the council’s first district and from 2004 to 2019 and served as council chair for several years. She had been the University Township Democratic committeewoman and was a founder in 2014 of the Fannie Lou Hamer Democratic Coalition, a group of Black elected officials in the county. Erby, a graduate of Vashon High School, attended Lincoln University and Harris-Stowe State University. She succeeded Charlie Dooley in 2004 after he was elected St. Louis County executive and played a major role in key policy debates — most notably an
11 - Betty Thompson, whose life was defined by public and community service, died of complications from diabetes at 81. Thompson was a community fixture in University City and began her political career as a councilwoman. She served on the council for 18 years. She was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in a special election in 1997, representing part of St. Louis County in the 72nd District. She won elections for two-year terms to the House in 1998, 2000 and 2002. Thompson was a member of the NAACP and nonprofit Better Family Life. She was a past president of Women in Municipal Government and host of a radio program on KATZ and KIRL for more than 25 years. As she was launching her political career 12 years after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Thompson started the Martin Luther King Jr. St. Louis Support Group, made up of students from across the metro area. “I know I’m not alone when I say she inspired multiple generations of leaders, legislators, activists and community-minded individuals who will carry on her legacy of lifting up the least of all of us,” Mayor Tishaura Jones, the city’s first Black woman mayor, said.
20 - Henry Givens Jr., the former longtime president of Harris-Stowe State University, which he is credited with saving, died at 90. He grew up in St. Louis’ storied Ville neighborhood, 10 minutes from the small teaching college he would lead for 32 years. “When he arrived in 1979, many thought the school was on the brink of extinction. Givens had other ideas,” Gloria Ross wrote in Givens’ obituary. During his tenure, Harris-Stowe’s student enrollment tripled, the single building then on campus grew into seven, and the single elementary education degree it offered grew to 14 baccalaureate programs. In 1954, Givens
24 –Dorothy Elliott, founding assistant director of the John B. Ervin Scholars Program at
at her home in St. Louis. She
Lee Blount Jr.
Darrel “Easy” Eason
Henry Givens Jr.
Jonathan Smith
graduated from Lincoln University in Jefferson City and began teaching fifth and sixth grade and physical education at Douglass School in Webster Groves. He was the school’s only male teacher. To integrate Douglass, administrators wanted a program “unlike anything in the nation” to attract white students. He designed the program and successfully introduced his concept to the community. Douglass was fully integrated with a two-year waiting list and top national achievement levels when Givens became principal in 1967 and subsequently assistant to the superintendent of schools. He earned a master’s degree in education at the University of Illinois-Urbana and a doctorate in urban education and school administration at St. Louis University. He later did postdoctoral work in higher education administration at Harvard University. Dr. Givens’ remarkable achievements make him an iconic St. Louis leader,” Donald M. Suggs, St. Louis American publisher. said. “He was an innovative educator and administrator, a visionary whose legendary determination and hard work helped lead to his remarkable successes that included global projects. But it was his unde-
2021:A Year In Review
terred dedication to Harris-Stowe and its mission to provide greater opportunity for thousands of the underserved that places him high in the pantheon of extraordinary St. Louisans.”
AUGUST
12 – Belma E. Givens, a St. Louis native, a product of the St. Louis Public Schools and honored educator, died at 85. She earned her baccalaureate degree (cum laude) in Business Education from Lincoln University and earned her teaching certification at Harris Teachers College. Givens received a master’s degree from Webster University, where she majored in Education and Reading. She received an honorary doctorate from Harris-Stowe State University in 2018. Givens’ SLPS career began
as a teacher, then as a reading specialist, and concluded as an administrator. She retired, with honor, in 1999 after 34 years of service. She was the wife of longtime Harris-Stowe State University president and civic icon Dr. Henry Givens, who preceded her in death July 20.
OCTOBER
17 - Jeanette Culpepper, a St. Louisan who championed for families of crime victims and became a tireless advocate for violence prevention, died of lymphoma at the age of 73. After losing her 22-year-old son, Curtis Johnson Jr., to gun violence in 1991, Culpepper teamed up with Williams Temple Church of God In Christ and for decades after his death, she held a candlelight vigil every New Year’s Eve at the sanctuary to pay homage to individuals lost to violence that particular year. The 2021 service will mark the event’s 30th anniversary.
NOVEMBER
21 – Donna Wilkinson, entrepreneur, philanthropist and beloved friend of many in the St. Louis area, died at 72. She launched her nonprofit consulting business in 1995 and helped organizations across the region raise millions of dollars to support their missions. She also continued to share her expertise on a volunteer basis and served in a leadership capacity with the Regional Arts Commission, Missouri History Museum, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL), and St. Louis Science Center, and as a board member for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Radio Arts Foundation, Grand Center, Inc., the American Red Cross, Girls, Inc., the National Children’s Cancer Society, the Sheldon Arts Foundation, and the United Way, among many others.
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