December 4th, 2014 Edition

Chales Barkley voiced his support of the grand jury’s decision not to indict former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson for killing Mike Brown.

Ferguson Community demands to be heard

Ferguson Commission meeting taken over by grieving, angry public

By Rebecca Rivas and Kenya Vaughn

Protest leaders meet with Obama

‘This is a movement that cannot be ignored’

By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American

A group of protest leaders told President Barack Obama on Monday, December 1 that setting up a taskforce to study community policing and asking Congress to fund 50,000 body-worn cameras for police is a start to addressing police brutality in America – but it’s only the beginning of working toward systemic change.

n “We are sick and tired of our lives not mattering, and our organized movement will not relent until we see justice.” – Ashley Yates, Millennial Activists United

Rams hands up

Obama invited into the Oval Office seven black and Latino organizers who have been on the frontlines of protest actions in Ferguson and nationwide for more than 115 days since Michael Brown Jr.’s shooting death.

Primarily led by young people of color, protestors have shut down highways, disrupted Black Friday sales – which saw a $7-billion decline from last year’s sales – and walked out of schools and workplaces. The organizers – who led actions in New York City; Columbus, Ohio; Miami and St. Louis – told the President that people are not just fighting against the St. Louis County grand jury’s failure to indict now former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in Brown’s death. They want a stronger accountability system for police at both the local and federal level.

“The President requested this meeting because this is a movement that cannot be ignored,” said Ashley Yates, a co-founder of the St. Louis-based organization Millennial Activists United. “We have two sets of laws in America – one for young black and brown people, and one for the police. We are sick and tired of our lives not mattering, and our organized movement will not relent until we see justice.”

The young leaders told their personal accounts of St. Louis police “terrorizing,” they said, peaceful protesters with pointed guns, rubber bullets, chemical agents, bean bags and menacing threats. They also spoke of the routine harassment and violence that many police departments inflict on communities of color.

See OBAMA, A7

Students, faculty walk out, ‘die in’

Ferguson movement draws support from universities and high schools

By Bridjes O’Neil Of The St. Louis American

A small group of students and faculty members at Saint Louis University joined others at the University of MissouriSt. Louis, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, and Clayton High School in a nationwide mass walk out on Monday, December 1. At 12:01 CST on Monday – a day marking nearly 60 years since Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a segregated

– people simultaneously walked out of schools and places of

or temporarily shut down businesses. They stood in solidarity with Ferguson and communities across the country affected by police violence. Protestors took to streets declaring that “Black Lives Matter” after a St. Louis County grand jury decided not to

Photo by Wiley Price

Of The St. Louis American

resident Dale Taylor. Blackmon

first public meeting on Dec. 1.

Bailey, Tavon Austin, Jared Cook,

the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday, November 30 with their hands upraised,

movement

its “Hands up, don’t shoot!” mantra.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Toni Braxton suing ex for back child support

Toni Braxton is reportedly taking ex-husband Kerri Lewis to court after he falls behind on his child support payments. According to legal docs dug up by The Jasmine Brand, Toni Braxton is asking the court to hold her ex-husband in contempt after falling behind on his $2k a-month child support payments for their two sons Denim Cole Braxton-Lewis and Diezel Ky BraxtonLewis.

Was Porsha forced to sell her Rolls?

Atlanta” told TMZ she’s been getting ridiculously expensive gifts — like the Rolls — from a mystery sugar daddy. “But we’re told the dude (who’s married) got fed up with her posting pics of the swag, and cut her off,” TMZ reported.

According to the sources, Porsha has decided to sell the Rolls to make some quick cash

“It’s not that she’s broke — she’s still pulling in 6-figures from ‘RHOA’ — but since the BF cash flow has dried up … she’s suddenly gotta pay for more stuff … like meals,” TMZ reported.

Porsha Williams has reportedly been cut off by her sugar daddy, and must now unload her $300,000 Rolls Royce is she wants to maintain her current extravagant lifestyle, according to TMZ.

“Sources close to the “Real Housewives of

sour. Apparently Fifty never paid the judgment so a judge gave the go-ahead for Sleek to garnish 50’s bank accounts.

Sources tell TMZ only 50’s personal accounts are affected but none of his business accounts.

Janay Rice speaks

Back in September former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice knocked his future wife, unconscious in an Atlantic City casino elevator.

Porsha has her own spin on having to sell her car.

“I’m trading up with the new year coming up,” she says.

Janay Rice speaks on being in the spotlight for domestic violence

Rapper 50 Cent’s bank accounts frozen after he fails to pay up after losing a judgment in a lawsuit

Last year he was ordered to pay $17 million to Sleek Audio after they sued him for stealing their headphone technology and their contact lists after a business deal between them went

In her first interview since Ray was reinstated to the league after appealing a second suspension for his actions, Janay says she believes God choose her and Ray to bring awareness to domestic violence issues.

“I feel like God chose me and Ray for a reason, and it was definitely to bring awareness to what people are going through every day,” Janay told “The Today Show’s” Matt Lauer. “Even though it’s not what I am going through every day, but it’s definitely brought this topic to the forefront... and we are OK with that.

Barkley sides with Darren Wilson

Former NBA star Charles Barkley went on Philadelphia’s 97.5 Fanatic radio (WPEN-FM) where he spoke about the decision not to indict former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown

“The true story came out from the grand jury testimony,” Barkley said. “We have to be really careful with the cops man, because if it wasn’t for the cops we would be living in the Wild, Wild West in our neighborhoods,” he continued.

“We can’t pick out certain incidentals that don’t go our way and act like the cops are all bad. “Do you know how bad some of these neighborhoods would be if it wasn’t for the cops?” Barkley asked.

“I can’t believe anything I hear on television anymore,” Barkley said later. “That’s why I don’t like talking about race issues with the media, because they love this stuff.”

Riot police disrupt St. Louis City Hall protest

Protestors chant, ‘Whose building? Our building’

By Rebecca Rivas

Of The St. Louis American

St. Louis Metropolitan police arrested and deployed pepper spray on several people at St. Louis City Hall, who were protesting against police brutality and the Ferguson grand jury decision. The protestors had stopped at City Hall as part of their march around the downtown area, which started at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, November 26.

After being denied entrance into the building, protestors sat down on the steps and chanted, “No justice, no peace.” Ten minutes later, law enforcement from the Sheriff’s Office and St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department formed a semicircle around the protest site.

start arresting people. Laney was there with his 9-year-old daughter and immediately got her out of range.

“It was another example of over-policing of people who were peacefully assembling to show their outrage at the grand jury’s decision,” he said.

After forming a line, a SWAT officer stepped forward and yelled in a hoarse voice that they had one minute to disperse. By then, the protestors were on their feet and several started to leave. One young black woman yelled at him, “Whose building? Our building.”

n Activist DeRay Mckesson walked up to a National Guardsman and said, “Protect us from them,” pointing to the police.

Three protestors were arrested for Failure to Disperse. One protestor was additionally charged with Assault 3rd on a Law Enforcement Officer.

Shortly after, SWAT police in riot gear marched across the street from the St. Louis police building. They then formed a line on the street in front of City Hall. Snow fell as several people yelled, “We are not unlawful.”

The group of about 100 people included elders, infants and young children.

Derek Laney, organizer with Missourians for Reform and Empowerment (MORE), said when he saw the circle form, he knew they were going to

After seeing the riot police marching up, MORE executive director Jeff Ordower called Mayor Francis Slay’s office in attempts to de-escalate the situation. He was told not to worry – that the police’s actions would “play out slowly.”

However, they did not.

After arriving, the SWAT team only gave the one-minute warning before advancing on the group. Ordower said in the 20-something years that he has

been organizing non-violent protests in the city, he had never seen anything like it.

“I have never seen riot cops called out for protestors doing nothing than trying to get into a public building,” he said. “It was deplorable. There’s only one reason why the mayor (Slay) is reacting this way. This is a protest about race.”

When the St. Louis American asked why police took action on the group so quickly, police spokeswoman Leah Freeman said, “Officers did not give

multiple warnings to disperse and used pepper spray only after the gathering became unlawful and crimes were committed, such as the assault on a city marshal outside of City Hall.”

Video evidence reveals protestors shoving the marshal stationed at the entrance to City Hall.

As the group left City Hall, activist DeRay Mckesson walked up to a National Guardsman and said, “Protect us from them,” pointing to the

police. Several other protestors were just as shaken by the police’s aggressive action towards a peaceful group. Many compared the SWAT team’s behavior to a “police state.”

Earlier at the Old Courthouse, the group had held a mock trial for St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert P. McCulloch and Darren Wilson, the Ferguson police officer who shot and killed unarmed Michael Brown Jr., 18, on Aug. 9. The mock judge

found Wilson guilty of murder. They also found the Unified Command law enforcement team guilty of excessive force, attempted murder and tampering with evidence. After the mock trial, the group marched on Market Street and shut down the intersection of Market and Tucker Boulevard for 4.5 minutes, representing the 4.5 hours that Brown’s body lay dead in Canfield Drive before police removed it.

St. Louis Metropolitan police arrested three protestors at St. Louis City Hall on Wednesday, November 26. All were charged with Failure to Disperse. One protestor was additionally charged with Assault 3rd on a Law Enforcement Officer. Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Editorial /CommEntary

Fighting for our lives

The St. Louis County grand jury, seemingly following the lead of St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch, has decided there is no probable cause to charge Darren Wilson with misconduct of any kind in the killing of Michael Brown Jr. on August 9. McCulloch’s decision was an abdication of his role as a prosecutor in a highly controversial homicide. Although legal experts felt there was little likelihood of a guilty verdict, the fact is Wilson did not have to face a public trial, ensuring continued community distrust.

The family of Michael Brown Jr., and much of the community, remains aggrieved and enraged. If we may address the family more personally, let us say we are proud of your son and deeply regret the loss of your son, who was struck down at such an early age. His life and death will not be completely in vain if police reform in America becomes his enduring legacy.

A growing number of supporters, here and across the country, march on to further a movement that started with the unwarranted loss of this young man’s life. This peaceful protest movement has our strong support. We praise these protestors’ dedication, spirit and tirelessness, but reserve the right to offer them guidance, at times, knowing that you will go your own way regardless.

To the mothers and fathers and aunts and uncles who have stood with these young people, who are standing up for their and their community’s future, who shielded them from police overreaction and their own understandable outrage, who sometimes screamed alongside them for the beatings and killings our people have endured, we too scream alongside you.

By State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed For The St. Louis American

I have long been on the opposing side of prosecutor Bob McCulloch on the Michael Brown Jr. grand jury case. I even started a petition, which received approximately 117,000 signatures, calling for his removal from the case. The prosecutor has a history with the African-American community in this city, leading me and many of my colleagues to believe he would not be able to remain unbiased on this case, even though it has been made clear that the outcome of this case could very possibly lead to further unrest and public suspicion of our local law enforcement.

I won’t stand by and say that I’m not frustrated or

Governor Nixon’s appointed Ferguson Commission started its public meetings on Monday. The fact that it was interrupted by the community, rather than protested outright, is a good sign that at least some of the commissioners enjoy the community’s trust. Since specific action is needed, much more than all of this talking we have been doing, we urge Nixon and others to fight for needed policy changes and funding when this commission begins its reports to the public.

Others are not waiting. Some supporters of Ferguson protestors applauded a bill prefiled by state Senator Eric Schmitt that would reform municipal courts significantly, forcing municipalities to move their police force off the backs of the public in generating lucrative nuisance citations. A Republican state senator from St. Louis County in the super-majority party, Schmitt is in position to play a leadership role in reforming dysfunctional, inefficient county government, and we are greatly encouraged by this prompt show of positive leadership.

n We hope the Ferguson movement will ultimately lead to change in the “pattern and practice” of police work and the prosecution of police shootings in Ferguson, St. Louis and throughout America.

To the community of conscience that got off the couch and out of their safe neighborhoods to support these young protestors, to bring them food and water and bail money, to pray with them and shield them with your privilege, we praise and respect you for your service. To the righteous clergy and courageous students, the daredevil activists and all-night attorneys, the revolutionary artists and sign-holding archivists, the gonzo legislators and rebel professors, and the everyday people who believe in an equal opportunity to live, we thank you. We thank you for getting sick and tired of “race-based disparities” becoming accepted mumbo jumbo rather than a moral outrage, just like Jim Crow and chattel slavery, that should spark a moral rebellion.

For the spouses and girlfriends and boyfriends who stood up because the ones you love deserve to feel protected by the police, rather than terrorized by them, we honor and support that love and that you are not ashamed to acknowledge that love. This very physical dimension, along with empathy, are powerful forces that bind this movement.

The powers that be are slowly rolling into motion, now that the arsons and lootings in Ferguson have passed. President Obama visited personally with protestors at the White House, appointed a task force, issued new police guidelines and will ask a Congress that opposes his every move to approve funding to implement them. While we are heartened that he has become personally engaged, we think he could be more positive in his comments about the protestors. His outgoing Attorney General, Eric Holder, stood in the pulpit made famous by MLK to promise a new racial profiling initiative. Obama and Holder know that they have a legacy initiative around Ferguson and police misconduct reminiscent of the Civil Rights Movement that made their ascendant careers possible. The eyes of the world are watching the responses and judging the actions of these powerful men.

State Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal and others will move forward on legislation to mandate a special prosecutor for police shootings – something we expect for Obama’s task force also to recommend. We expect her to lead a review of state legislation that has the effect of completely removing the current legal restraints on the use of lethal force by law enforcement. At the end of the day, it all comes down to a prosecutor’s behavior and what the law allows them in bringing charges to a jury.

We hope the Ferguson movement will ultimately lead to change in the “pattern and practice” (as the Department of Justice so succinctly puts it) of police work and the prosecution of police shootings in Ferguson, St. Louis and throughout America. We hope it will change the predation of municipal courts on the poor in St. Louis County. But this will take years, not weeks, and will require struggle every step of the way – and, often, disruptive protests. This struggle is being waged, in particular, on behalf of young black people – we understand that none of them are angels, as no human being is – so this movement tests how seriously people actually take the protection and the well being of young black people, and especially young black men.

Because the world has taken notice of Ferguson and St. Louis, we all have a special responsibility to act decisively and productively. Not everyone will, can or wants to protest in the streets or even actively support people protesting in the streets. But there is something we all should be compelled to do as individuals, and in our social, civic and religious organizations, to help move St. Louis past its entrenched racial divisions and race-based disparities.

We can show up to neighborhood meetings, get involved in our public school districts, engage with mentoring projects and pressure our legislators to enact greater transparency and needed changes in the conduct of police, prosecutor and municipal courts. Those who are most fortunate and enjoy the most advantages – the best-educated and most-successful – are especially obliged to do and give more. This most certainly includes our corporate and civic leaders, who have an opportunity to respond to this historic challenge and help lead the way to a more equitable, just and safe St. Louis. The eyes of the world are watching us in Ferguson and St. Louis. We are called upon to decide whether or not we think black lives matter and whether we will hold those who commit violence against black people accountable for their actions.

disappointed with the actions of November 24. It is okay to be angry and hurt by, or even protest because of, what has happened with the grand jury. However, it is not okay to destroy our communities or hold our neighbors hostage in their homes. With this decision comes the opportunity to begin the healing process. We must come together as citizens of this diverse community and we must raise our voices for peace. Let us now continue down the path to a healing place for the St. Louis region. There are no more words to describe this tragic situation that have not already been said. My very heart goes out to Michael Brown’s family.

But what we need to recognize on this day is that, no matter the outcome of this grand jury indictment, we, those who have stood for justice since the beginning, will continue to reshape our communities by our positive actions and our strength.

As a legislator, one of my roles is to restructure our city

Letters to the editor

We dare not be divided

Violence targeting religious communities for what they believe or preach, like the suspected arson at the Flood Christian Church, does more than terrorize one community; it jeopardizes the very core of the American promise and, indeed, threatens us all.

While the relationship between law enforcement and the community in the St. Louis area remains dangerously divided, I hope that this tragic event will be investigated swiftly and thoroughly. My prayers are with the family and friends of Michael Brown Jr. as they continue to mourn, and with the community in Ferguson that continues to seek a peaceful and just way forward.

The specifics of this attack are particularly chilling because they recall some of the darkest moments in American history. Throughout the twentieth century black churches were burned and brutalized as a means of silencing the prophetic voice of African-American religious communities who demanded civil rights and equality. In the twenty-first century all Americans must stand with those religious communities who are victimized for their beliefs and declare that we will not be silenced. We dare not be divided or allow others to divide us into black churches or white churches, synagogues or mosques in this matter. Religious freedom is only safe if it protects us all.

Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy president Interfaith Alliance

Special

prosecutor

The St. Louis County circuit court has the authority to seek and appoint a special prosecutor to represent Officer Darren Wilson’s case to a new grand jury, and should do so.

Mae Quinn Washington University School of Law

Rage, vengeance, and injustice

You are fast losing people who care about genuine civil rights, equality, and justice. It’s unconscionable how scapegoating continues, blaming the wrong people for what others choose to say

through policy. As we get closer to the beginning of the next legislative session, I will continue to work on bills that will help our city heal. I will be sponsoring a few pieces of legislation that will work toward that goal.

One would dissolve all the villages that exist currently in St. Louis County and place the governance of those villages under the authority of unincorporated St. Louis County.

The second would tighten current statute regarding the use of deadly force by a law enforcement officer.

Yet another, calls for a special prosecutor to be named in the event of a lawenforcement-officer-involved shooting.

We stand at a turning point in history. How we move forward is up to us. United we stand, divided we fall. Let’s work together to make our future a better and brighter place.

Jamilah Nasheed represents Missouri’s 5th State Senatorial District.

or do. Condoning violence, refusing to recognize either the law or the legal process, though perhaps imperfect due to human flaws, that protects many unjustifiably accused of crimes, only contributes to the lawlessness we are experiencing. It’s as if all common sense and decency have gone out the window. I am disappointed in so many of the media who are so biased in their reporting and editorializing. This isn’t about justice. This is about anger, rage, vengeance and injustice.

Helen Louise Herndon Via email

Violence will not help

We witnessed a travesty of justice when a St. Louis County grand jury issued a no true bill against Police Officer Darren Wilson for the senseless killing of Michael Brown Jr. While most of us disagree with the decision, we must follow the dictates of our President Barack Obama who called for peaceful demonstrations against this verdict so the killing of Michael Brown Jr. will not be in vain. Our voices need to be heard, and violence will not

help our cause. The violence observed in Ferguson after the verdict was announced cannot be condoned and must stop. I sincerely hope that none of the members of our Prince Hall Masonic Family are involved in this violence and disturbance. We need to keep a level head in the coming days due to the trying times in the St. Louis area.

M.W. Lawrence A. Jones Jr. Grand Master of Missouri Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Missouri

Persistence and bravery in Ferguson

The persistence and bravery of the youth organizers in Ferguson, sustained now for more than 100 days, along with solidarity protests nationwide, continue to call our nation to account. Together, we must work to end the criminalization of communities of color, and promote policies that ensure all people are free to live into their full and sacred potential.

Rev. Laura Markle, Downton National Religious Campaign Against Torture

Guest Columnist Sen. Jamilah Nasheed

Black Souljahz led a protest at the St. Louis Police Officers Association on Tuesday, December 2. Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Sister keeps it simple

Justice, healing and Ferguson

By Cecilia Nadal For The St. Louis American

Many of us are in the business of healing through our work as nurses, doctors, social workers, artists, teachers and clergy. We have an instinctive and readily available sense of when what we are doing eases the physical pain for someone, lessons the pressure one feels through economic hardship or alleviates the hardship of caring for an elderly parent. Healing in all of its various applications suggests relief and help occurring where it is needed most.

Since the death of Michael Brown many in the St. Louis region and with justification have used the word “healing” often. There is an almost universal desire that through the use of the word the anger and pain that many feel will go away. The truth is that most pain whether physical, emotional or social does not disappear simply through words. Some intervention may be necessary to truly allow the ailing person (or people) to heal.

Such is the case in St. Louis here and now.

Those who want healing can no longer conjure up the word as if it has powers that will alleviate the pain. The huge miscalculation is that words can work at a time when the injustices stack up so high and over such a long time that they still have a placebo effect.

For many in our community, words no longer work. Promises have often been broken and by those close as well as distant. Fairness, equity, evenhandedness, honesty and righteousness have now become the lie detectors for the so-called “healers” or those who conjure up the word like an expected magic potion. Buyers beware! Those who speak of healing may not see justice as the vehicle to healing.

Each of us must begin to ask ourselves: What are the hard questions we must ask to bring about real healing and justice in St. Louis? Do we know where the pain is located? Do we even recognize that pain manifests itself in many ways, including destruction to property or peaceful protests or even self-destruction? How long has injustice been there, and are we willing to be a part of the solution rather than a part of the problem?

Many of us are so open to the possibility that St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert P. McCulloch is sincere when he says that we can now move towards healing, or that Mayor Francis Slay and Governor Jay Nixon really mean that they want healing also. The proof of their sincerity lies not in the words but in the concrete actions they will take to change the dynamics of justice and equity in St. Louis. This cannot be successfully achieved by a commission alone but must be the obsession of every citizen, major institution and corporation in our region.

If healing is to be achieved, the light workers must represent power, ability and diversity and, yes, some of the wounded. It should include a cross-cultural “dream team” of people whose ideas represent different worldviews, experiences and abilities. Teachers, lawyers, clergy, black, white, immigrant, scientists, members of Civic Progress and more.

This is the opportunity to step forward in the clear light of day when the festering boil of denial about inequity in this region has ruptured during our 250-year anniversary. The Gateway Arch is one of the most powerful images in our region, but when we see the Old Courthouse centered in the middle of the Arch from a distance it provides a prophetic statement: that justice and growth go hand in hand.

Our location in the middle of this country with major rivers crossing through our path physically places us in the heart of the country. Could it be that St. Louis has been given an assignment to come from the heart with strategies that are unlike anything that has ever been done? Are we assigned to bring together the healers from business, science, the arts, education and clergy to promote substantive healing that is fueled by a commitment to equity and justice?

If we do this here it will happen everywhere. We have been given a world stage to create a model of growth that is equitable. Now it is up to us to embrace the gift. Out of crisis there is opportunity. Cecilia Nadal is the founder and Executive Director of Gitana Productions.

A peaceful protestor called attention to the basics of the Ferguson protest movement during a non-violent demonstration in downtown St. Louis on Wednesday, November 26.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Cecilia Nadal

FERGUSON

Continued from A1

said he hopes to represent the voice of young people and push forward real systematic change.

“We’re tired of the same old talks,” he said through a video. “Hopefully I can provide some insight.”

Aldridge and fellow Commissioner Brittany Packnett, executive director of Teach For America St. Louis, were in Washington, D.C. meeting with President Obama regarding the Ferguson movement.

Each commissioner had an opportunity to share why they were on the commission and what they hoped the group would accomplish together.

“I’ve been living these issues my entire life,” Pastor Traci deVon Blackmon said. “I am here because I have two black sons.”

The pastors gave fervent calls for justice, while the other commissioners brought in their professional and personal experiences of why they wanted to help rebuild the community.

“I come to this work personally because of the progressive call of my son – a 9-year-old who every time he hears about Michael Brown his stomach starts to hurt,” said Ferguson Commission co-chair Rev. Starsky Wilson. “He does not know that that’s a manifestation of trauma that our entire community has gone through.”

The audience listened intently to topics ranging from Sunshine Law logistics to intentions, actions and practices they plan to see implemented as Rebeccah Bennett facilitated.

Guests were encouraged to anonymously post their hopes and concerns regarding the commission in two separate stations for post-it notes on the walls.

“I hope that police shoot to injure instead of shoot to kill,” one note read. “At one end we are moving away from capital punishment, and on the other end even before a fair

assessment human beings are being killed.”

“My concern is The Ferguson Commission does not look like the community of Ferguson,” another note read. “I would like to see people under 30 years old to have a say and make decisions – someone who makes minimum wage and does not have gray hair.”

But not long after the group returned from a short break, there was a shift in the atmosphere.

“I would like to say that it’s 3:30 and this meeting is supposed to be over at five and a lot of us here have something to say,” a woman yelled out. “I understand this is about the commission, but this also is about the community.”

Her remark opened the floodgates of frustration, anger and tension that have become synonymous with Ferguson. It was 15 minutes

before the floor was scheduled to be opened to the public, but there was no turning back.

“Most of y’all are not from Ferguson – and half of y’all haven’t even been to Ferguson,” said Anthony Levine, a Ferguson resident who has been on the front line of protests since day one. “This is a bunch of bull crap because you haven’t even spoke to the citizens.”

“That’s what we came here to do.”

n “I’ve been living these issues my entire life. I am here because I have two black sons.”

– Pastor Traci deVon Blackmon

The woman who kicked off the public outcries added, “We are asking you to do what no one ever does – and that’s include the people you are always talking about.”

“We’ve never had a chance to say how we feel about what’s going on in our community,” said Dell Taylor, another Ferguson resident.

Rev.

Wilson, co-chair of the Ferguson Commission, listened intently to Charles Wade, who has been active in the Ferguson protest movement, during the commission’s irst public meeting on Monday, December 1.

“People are tired of meeting to meet,” said Charles Wade, an activist from Austin, Texas who has been a key supporter of the movement. “And you’re going to see people keep coming to meeting after meeting and having public temper tantrums if you don’t address them.”

One business owner spoke of the trauma of their community’s being collateral damage in the unrest following St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert P. McCulloch’s announcement that a grand jury would not indict Wilson for Brown’s death.

“I put all I had into my business,” said Janiece Andrews, owner of Hidden

Treasures Antique shop, which burned to the ground on November 24. “They are telling us to get loans, but I already had to get a loan after business slowed to a stop in August. My husband invested in my business. My sons invested in my business – and we lost everything.”

Angela Gordon, a nurse in the psychiatric ward of St. Anthony’s Hospital, was the first one to arrive at the meeting. She wanted to make sure she had an opportunity to read a statement she was compelled to write.

“When I went to work, me and my team had to work from a place of courage and bravery and not fear,” Gordon said. She talked about working with mentally ill men and being charged with the task of subduing large men when they were out of control.

“Sometimes the men were as big as 400 pounds, but it was a part of my training,”

Gordon said. “Police officers need to preserve life at all cost – and not just their own.”

The members of commission listened intently as residents voiced their concerns. Each member present stayed until the very last person interested in offering thoughts, inquiries or solutions had a chance to voice their opinion. Some came into the crowd and sat with the audience.

“They are gunning down our babies – and disrespecting us,” Taylor said. She was so overcome with emotion that Blackmon came to console her.

“We are hurting,” Taylor said. “Just let us talk and tell you – and then we can work together and help y’all fix it.”

The next Ferguson Commission Meeting will be held Monday, December 8. Time and location are presently TBA.

The

Starsky

Photo by Wiley Price

Protests continue

All photos by Lawrence Bryant

All photos by Lawrence Bryant

Guest Commentaries

Let’s talk about race

By the Post-Dispatch Editorial Board

Let’s talk about race. We know it’s going to be awkward, no matter how well-intentioned.

We know it makes both blacks and whites uncomfortable. We know that it’s fraught with 238 years of history, most of it a sad, sorry legacy of aggression, domination and persecution by whites against a people who — it must never be forgotten — originally were brought to the new country to be put in bondage and servitude.

Not much of a welcome. Emancipation was declared in 1863, but it wasn’t accompanied by any kind of economic justice. Too many Americans believed that the black race was inherently inferior. Vestiges of that attitude remain. So does the problem of economic justice.

Of course there has been progress. In 1959, 4 percent of Americans approved of interracial marriage. That number is now 87 percent (the breakdown is 96 percent of blacks; 84 percent of whites). Over the centuries, whites grudgingly allowed blacks to move into “their” neighborhoods, but then either fled or found subtle but effective ways to marginalize where they could live in those communities.

Whites stopped letting corporations like U.S. Steel have young black men be arrested on the trumped-up charge of vagrancy so they

could be put in the company’s custody to finish out their sentences as free laborers.

More than a century after Emancipation, whites allowed blacks to eat at the same lunch counters, drink from the same water fountains, swim in the same municipal pools, go to the same schools and use the same toilets. It took an act of Congress 50 years ago to guarantee the right to vote — a right that the current Supreme Court has watered down.

Progress occurred grudgingly, and then because of courts, federal intervention and activists who would not go away, either via intimidation or coercion. Some of them were murdered for their beliefs. In 2008, progress was manifested in the election of a black president.

What didn’t happen was economic equality. Not even close. The 2011 census tells us that the net worth of the average black household in the United States was $6,314, compared with $110,500 for the average white household.

The wealth gap by race in the United States is roughly 40 percent greater today that it was in 1967. It is greater than the gap that existed in South Africa during apartheid, when whites owned about 15 times as much as blacks. Today, whites in America own almost 18 times what blacks own.

What didn’t happen was equality in the criminal justice system. Crime is a function of poverty. ProPublica, the

online investigative journalism enterprise, issued a report last month showing that young black men are 21 times more likely to be shot and killed by police than young white men.

From 2010 to 2012, black teens ages 15 to 19 were killed at a rate of 31.17 per million, while whites of those ages were killed at a rate of 1.47 per million. Blacks account for 13 percent of the U.S. population; for 60 percent of those in prison. A black man has a

28 percent chance of going to prison during his lifetime; a white man has a 4 percent chance.

America’s prisons are full of men and women who have received disparate sentences for similar crimes because of the color of their skin.

All of this makes the race conversation difficult. So does this: Human beings are tribal by nature. We identify with those who look like us. Nearly 20 years ago, many blacks

cheered the jury acquittal of O.J. Simpson in the murder of his wife and her friend, while whites were aghast.

The response to the Simpson verdict was complex. While many African Americans did not think Mr. Simpson was innocent, they viewed the jury’s verdict as a rebuke to the nation’s history of racial crimes. Payback of a kind.

Further evidence that our views are still tribal: In 1995, 68 percent of whites thought Simpson was guilty of the double murder; 60 percent of blacks thought he was innocent. A recent CNN poll showed that 77 percent of whites did not think Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson

should be charged with murder in the death of Michael Brown; 54 percent of nonwhites (blacks, Latinos and Asians) thought he should. White guilt and good intentions are not enough to erase the history. Black anger and protest aren’t either. For that matter, neither is a conversation about race. But it’s a start. We must begin to know our neighbors. If you talk to someone, share your goals and thoughts and hopes, it’s harder for him to hate you. It’s more difficult to be prejudiced against someone you know. Excerpted and reprinted with permission from stltoday. com.

Officer Wilson’s resignation dismissed

Sekou: it ‘will do nothing to soothe the hurt, anger, insult’

The Rev. Osagyefo Sekou Of The Fellowship of Reconciliation

News of Darren Wilson’s resignation will do nothing to soothe the hurt, anger and insult heaped on this community. The hundreds of solidarity actions that took place in every corner of the country and across the world over recent days merely reinforce that the egregiously racist, corrupt and violent treatment black and brown communities face every day will not be dulled by whisking one man away following Wilson’s 100-plus days of taxpayer-funded vacation.

Columnist

Darren Wilson was already fired from the Jennings Police Department, a body so racist and dysfunctional the Jennings City Council was forced to completely disband it in 2011. Darren Wilson has had all the machinery of a heavily armed police state, every level of legislators and Bob McCulloch in his corner since day one. His supporters have raised more than half a million dollars that we know about, and the Police Association and Fraternal Order of Police will “protect and

serve” him for the rest of his life. As we await a decision from the grand jury following the murder of Eric Garner in New York, as we watch with dismay at the attempted character assassination of 12-year-old Tamir Rice – killed by police while playing on a swing set – as we watch the continued cover up into the police shooting deaths of Kajieme Powell and VonDerrit Myers Jr., we stand strong in the knowledge that we have already won. If it wasn’t for the bravery, courage and tenacity of the Ferguson community, this would have been just another of our babies shot and killed in the “line of duty.” This determined fight back against the forces of institutional racism and often lethal racial bias can be traced from Emmett Till to Amadou Diallo to Oscar Grant to Aiyana Jones to Akai Gurley and on and on and on. Darren Wilson should have been treated as any other accused of a violent crime committed in front of dozens of witnesses. He should have been arrested, charged and taken to trial. It has always been abundantly clear to us that the grand jury process was rigged. Now that the documents have been released, it is clear to all. As father of six Eric Garner said moments before the life was choked out of by members of the New York Police Department while paramedics stood by and watched, “This stops today.”

A protestor talks to St. Louis County Police Lt. Jerry Lohr on the front line at the Ferguson Police Department on Tuesday, November 25. Photo by Lawrence Bryant

What does justice look like?

By Tishaura O. Jones

For The St. Louis

American

On November 24, St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert P. McCulloch announced that the grand jury voted not to indict Ferguson Police Office Darren Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown Jr. While the decision was surprising to some, to me it was not.

While people close to the investigation told me that there wasn’t enough evidence to indict, I prayed for a glimmer of hope, that maybe the grand jury would see that there was probable cause (which is a low burden of proof) to indict. But, as we all know, police officers are held to a different standard when being investigated for cases that involve excessive force.

According to Missouri Law section 563, officers are allowed to use deadly force “in effecting arrest or in preventing an escape from custody.”

Simply put, it’s nearly impossible to indict a police officer, and there was never a chance in hell that Officer Wilson would have faced any criminal charges.

Justice is not simply the indictment of Darren Wilson. Justice is more than that.

Even if he were indicted, our community would have been subject to several additional

months of trial proceedings, further pouring salt on our already open wound of racism and discrimination. The quest for justice does not end here.

Justice is dismantling and changing the systems that brought us to this moment. Justice is taking a serious look at the dysfunctional municipal court system that is funded on the backs of the poor, as revealed by the recent reports published by Arch City Defenders and Better Together Justice is putting some teeth in the existing racial profiling law to hold police departments accountable for their years of dismal performance as revealed in the Missouri Attorney General’s annual report.

Many municipal courts are the face of a government that many citizens no longer have faith in. State laws capping the amount of revenue municipal courts can bring into cities at 30 percent have been ignored.

Justice is decreasing this to 10 percent and closing municipal courts that fail to respect citizens’ constitutional rights.

Justice is wiping the slate clean for those who are victims of our municipal court system by forgiving the existing warrants and cases for misdemeanors that either cause people to lose their jobs or prevent them from seeking future employment. Outside of municipal courts, we must also seek to improve the relationship between the police and all citizens. Justice is creating Civilian Review Boards that have power to hold police departments accountable to the citizens that they serve

and protect. Justice is the possibility of bad officers losing their police certification for bad behavior, instead of allowing them to jump from one department to the next.

Justice is setting minimum standards for the existence of a municipality.

But justice should also be sought outside of the criminal justice system in our region.

Justice is paying workers a living wage. Justice is safe and affordable housing. Justice is combining all 22 school districts into a single regional district so all children are given the same opportunity to succeed. Justice is a new Metrolink line that connects residents in North and South Counties to the urban core.

Justice is driving economic development to blighted areas north of Delmar. Justice is creating opportunities for families to build assets to save for the future of their children instead of turning to predatory loan practices.

These are the things that we must tackle today in order to keep history from repeating itself. These are the conditions that led to the unrest we have experienced since the tragic death of Michael Brown Jr. Are we ready to change them?

Tishaura O. Jones is Treasurer of the City of St. Louis, former Assistant Minority Floor Leader in the Missouri House of Representatives, and a founding member of Young Citizens Council of St. Louis.

East Boogie’s police lesson for Ferguson

As America stared on, in the aftermath of St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch’s announcement of the grand jury’s failure to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the killing of unarmed black teen Mike Brown, outrage was rampant throughout America and the world.

James Ingram

A split-screen image showed President Barack Obama calling for peace while outraged looters and rioters concurrently burned police cars, looted and torched businesses and created bedlam in Ferguson, while police looked on with frustration and the appearance of helplessness.

All of this occurred despite three months of riot training and drills, an announced State of Emergency by Governor Jay Nixon, and the presence of the Missouri National Guard.

Subsequent protests and rioting quickly spread to surrounding communities (and the nation), but in East St. Louis a clinic in how to suppress rioting and looting was on display.

On the night of McCulloch’s announcement ESL was peaceful, with the exception of a late night smash-and-grab burglary at the DTLR Clothing Store at 25th and State Street, which caught ESLPD by surprise, according to Chief Michael Floore.

Night two of regional protesting was a different matter in East Boogie.

While Ferguson continued to smolder and experience other disruptions, East St. Louis said “enough” and implemented a joint policing of the strip mall corridor of 25th and State as well as implemented a curfew, for anyone 17 and under, from 6 p.m. until sunrise.

East St. Louis police were joined by Illinois State Troopers, the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, Brooklyn police and The Nation of Islam in allowing peaceful protest, while suppressing opportunistic looting, rioting and destruction. With tow trucks at the ready,

police systematically blocked all access to the parking lots of strip malls and adjoining businesses, only allowing traffic to flow through but not linger.

Protestors were assigned a strip of sidewalk to conduct their protests, but were sternly warned that if they impeded traffic they would be arrested.

Concurrently the Nation of Islam (Mosque 28B), led by Minister Ralph Muhammad, patrolled in a more or less public relations capacity, commanding the respect and cooperation of the crowd and admonishing them to be peaceful.

Even the local McDonald’s owner, Jimmy Williams (a native of ESL), made it a point to be present at his restaurant and in communication with the locals.

And when things were leaning in the wrong direction, the ESLPD acted swiftly. For instance, upon discovering that the local gas station was selling alcohol to protestors, Chief Floore immediately closed that establishment.

Then, when some protestors,

n Even the local McDonald’s owner, Jimmy Williams, made it a point to be present at his restaurant and in communication with the locals.

mockingly, began to chant “Hands up, loot, loot,” I overheard one officer tell the group, “This ain’t Ferguson, folks. We don’t stand down, and we don’t use bean bags either. Don’t even think about it.” Needless to say, those chants stopped immediately.

This was the stark contrast between a Ferguson, parts of which burned to the ground, and East St. Louis, which was spared the same result, while allowing and respecting peaceful protest.

East Boogie should be commended for how efficiently and professionally their police, along with supporting police

forces and the Nation of Islam, combined to manage a potentially explosive situation.

Perhaps Governor Jay Nixon should have called ESL Police Chief Floore and Min. Ralph Muhammad. Who knows?

Maybe Ferguson could have averted much of the looting, arson and destruction of that community.

Email: jtingram_1960@ yahoo.com; Twitter@ JamesTIngram.

Guest Columnist

Tishaura O. Jones

CHIPS Health and Wellness Center honors healthcare leaders

Community Health In Partnership Services (CHIPS) recently held its Night at the Savoy Beneit Gala and Charity Auction at the Hilton St. Louis Frontenac.

“Bridging the Gap in Healthcare” awards were presented to Dwayne Bulter, CEO of Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers and Michael Holmes, President and CEO of Rx Outreach. Sr. Mary Roch Rocklage, RSM, past President, Sisters of Mercy Health System, received the Legends in Healthcare award. The proceeds from the event support the healthcare for the uninsured and underserved cared for at CHIPS Health and Wellness Center.

Always remember to recycle or upcycle your plastic jugs. Never throw away your empty orange juice, milk, or laundry detergent bottles. Many of them, if you take a closer look at their handle, can be turned into functional tools. If the handle is located on a corner then you can cut a portion out to become a Garden Spade, useful for digging up dirt. This tool can also be used for scooping dog food or bird seed. If the handle is located on a side of the plastic jug then it can be upcycled as a Garden Shovel or Dust Pan. You could even use this flat spade as an Ice or Snow Scraper this winter. Typically half gallon milks and juices become Spades. Meanwhile, large orange juice and detergent bottles turn into Shovels. Simply use scissors and follow the cut lines shown above and below.

PAN or GARDEN SHOVEL

Bridging the Gap in Healthcare awardee Michael R. Holmes Dr. Nathaniel Murdock, Sandra Murdock, Judy Bentley and Ida Goodwin Woolfolk

Bridging the Gap in Healthcare awardee Dwayne Butler Awardees Michael R. Holmes and Dwayne Butler

Victoria Buck and Judi Sims

Ida Goodwin Woolfolk, Judy Bentley and Centene’s Keith Williamson

Ken Joyce accepted the Legend in Healthcare Award for Sr. Mary Roch Rocklage

Dr. Nathaniel Murdock and Dr. William Fogarty CLUB CHIPS performed at the event.

Obituaries

Michael Byron Calvin

Michael Byron Calvin was born to Lincoln Byron Calvin, Sr. and Thelma Vashti

Satterwhite on February 16, 1951 in Nashville, TN. Lincoln and Thelma moved to St. Louis, MO in 1953, and spent much of their lives in North St. Louis City. Michael was the oldest of three children. He was very active as a youth. He was a Boy Scout leader at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, on the wrestling team, and ran cross country. Michael spent his life in St. Louis, MO, attending Beaumont High School, and after graduating in 1968, he went to Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. In 1972, he graduated with his Bachelor of Arts in History and Government. After graduating from Monmouth, he went on to further his studies, attending St. Louis University School of Law from 1972 to 1975 and received his Juris Doctorate degree. From 1988 to 2008, Michael served as a Circuit Judge, of the 22nd Judicial Circuit in St. Louis. He also served as a presiding judge from 1997 to 1999, and associate circuit judge from 1979 to 1988. Michael was the first African American to serve as presiding judge in the state of Missouri.

Prior to being appointed, Michael was in private practice from 1976 to 1979. Michael has received certificates from the National College of State Judiciary and the Missouri Judicial College. He has also sat by designation on the Supreme Court on three occasions at the requests of Presiding Justices Price, Wolff and White. Michael served as the attorney for the board

of elections for three years running. From July 2008 to November 2014, he served as Attorney at Law with Spencer Fane Britt & Browne. He was a member of the firm’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group, where he concentrated his practice in the areas of mediation, arbitration and litigation through USA&M. Michael was a member of the Legislative Steering Committee, Supreme Court Advisory Committee, Circuit Court Budget Committee, Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, Lawyers Association, Mound City Bar Association, Missouri Bar, Mediator Panel for USA&M, ADR Advisor Committee-US District CourtEastern District, and served on the Judicial Commission of the

22nd Circuit. He was Senior Warden in the All Saints Episcopal Church Vestry.

After battling complications from surgery, God called Michael home on the evening of Saturday, November 29, 2014 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

He leaves to mourn his beloved wife and companion of 27 years Vanessa GarnerCalvin; two sons Michael (Leila) and Justin; daughter Patrice; brother Lincoln (Karynn); sister Robin (Kyle); loving cousins, nieces, nephews, numerous colleagues, and a wealth of friends. He was well known, loved, and respected by everyone. He touched the hearts of so many lives, and will truly be missed. Services will be held on Saturday, December 6, 2014 at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, 5010 Terry Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63115, (314) 367-2314;

visitation: 11 am – 1 pm, funeral service: 1 pm – 2 pm.

Beverly Cross

Sunrise: September 26, 1954

Sunset: November 14, 2014

Ms. Beverly Cross, 60, of St. Louis, MO. passed away Friday, November 14, 2014 at BarnesJewish Hospital. She was the youngest of nine children. She attended and graduated from Normandy Senior High School in 1974. She was a member of Greater Fairfax Missionary Baptist Church where she served as choir director and leader of the GFMBC inspirational Choir.

She was retired from US Bank in 2006. During Beverly’s later years, her health began to decline severely, but she continued to stay strong in her belief that God would hear her prayers as she sang “When I See Jesus” for last time, as her family surrounded her in love and prayer. Beverly loved her family and facilitated loving relationships, support and encouragement for all who knew her. Preceding her in death were her mother, Mrs.

Sylvester Cross; brothers, Hubert and Odell Cross;

Beverly loved everyone so much and was loved by so many.

be

one sister, Mrs. Janice Jones; and her loving companion dog Chi-Chi on August 15, 2014. Beverly leaves a plethora of family and friends to celebrate her life, which include her brothers, John Marque, Eddie, Herbert and James Cross; one sister, Dianne Logan-Parr and a host of nieces, nephews, family and friends.

She will

missed!

Michael Calvin

Beverly Cross

PRESENT:

Healthy Kids Kids

Healthcare Careers

Liquid Candy?

Be A Team Player!

Why do they call it “Liquid Candy?”

Sugared soft drinks are one of the highest contributors to childhood obesity. “An extra soft drink a day gives a child a 60% greater chance of becoming obese,” according to a recent study published in Lancet. The average sugared soft drink contains 10 teaspoons of sugar

Another fun way to increase your physical activity is to become part of a sports

One very good character trait to have is Integrity. Someone who shows integrity is honest, trustworthy and moral. Look in today’s newspaper to locate a person, or group of people that show integrity. Explain in writing why you chose this person. What has s/he done to show integrity? As a class, discuss the importance of integrity.

Learning Standards: CA 2, 3, 1.5, 1.6, 3.5

— and that’s just a small, 12-ounce can! How much sugar is in one of those huge, 64-ounce drink cups from the convenient store? It’s easy to cut back on the amount of sugar in your diet — replace those cans of soda with ice-cold water!

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

team. This teaches you sportsmanship, cooperation, commitment and discipline. Find a sport you

enjoy and practice enough to try out for the team! What team sports are available in your area? Possible options are baseball, soccer, football and basketball. Being a part of a formal team keeps you regularly active. And as a bonus — you’ll make new friends along the way!

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

Healthy Snacks

Turkey Salad Spread

Ingredients: ½ cup shredded leftover turkey, 1 Tbsp low-fat mayo, pickle slices, salt and pepper, crackers

Directions: Mix the turkey, mayo and salt/pepper. Spread on crackers and top with pickle slice.

Charlene B. Swift, MD, PhD, Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Fellow

Where do you work? I work at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Where did you go to school? I graduated from Topeka High School. I received my BA in chemistry from Fisk University and my MD and PhD from Duke University.

What does a cardiothoracic anesthesiologist do? I talk to patients before their big heart or lung surgery, then I use medicines to put them to sleep. I then use a machine to breathe for them, add a special “camera” to look at their heart, and monitor their lung, heart, brain and kidney function, all while giving them medicines to keep them safe and comfortable (and asleep!) throughout the entire surgery.

Why did you choose this career? Cardiothoracic anesthesiology (big heart and lung cases like “open heart surgery,” heart transplants and lung transplants) is very hands on and moves quickly, so I am never bored. It is also challenging because these are very sick people coming for major surgery.

What is your favorite part of the job you have?

Using cool technology to monitor a patient’s heart, making a heart beat from a box we control and inflating only one lung at a time is awesome. More importantly, having the knowledge and ability to quickly and calmly give what’s needed saves patients’ lives in the operating room.

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT

Fairview Elementary 5th grade teacher Ms. Yamika Forrest works with Virginia Thronton and Demetrion Simmons on a math problem using the newspaper. Fairview Elementary is in the Jennings School District.

Price/ St. Louis American

Dr. Ovbiagele studied the brain and strokes. What does it mean to have a stroke?

Arteries and veins carry blood throughout the body. The blood delivers oxygen to all the cells in the body. When someone has a stroke, the blood doesn’t flow the way it should. Sometimes, it is because a blood vessel is clogged, and sometimes a blood vessel bursts and sends a rush of blood to the brain. During a stroke, brain cells die because they don’t get the oxygen they need.

SCIENCE EXPERIMENT

Background Information:

With the help of research from doctors, such as Dr. Ovbiagele, people know the warning signs of a stroke and can seek treatment faster and have much less permanent damage. Patients can recovery from strokes with surgery, medicine and therapy to “relearn” things forgotten from the damaged brain cells.

To Learn More About Strokes, Visit: http://kidshealth.org/kid/grownup/conditions/stroke.html#.

To Learn More About the Brain, Visit: http://www.sciencebob.com/research/brain.php.

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

Are You Left or Right Sided?

There is a theory that brain function determines whether you prefer your right or left side. In this experiment, you will gather data to draw results.

Materials Needed: • Paper • Pen or Pencil • Scissors • Ball • Stairs • Coin • Paper Towel Tube or Toilet Paper Tube • Sea Shell • Volunteers (at least 5)

Procedure:

q Select 5 volunteers to observe one at a time. You will be testing hand, foot, eye, and mouth dominance. Label a piece of paper with the following chart to analyze results.

w Test hand dominance by asking your volunteers to write their name on a piece of paper, cut a piece of paper, and throw a ball. Record which hand they used—left or right.

e Test foot dominance by asking your volunteers to kick a ball, walk up a flight of steps, and step on a coin placed on the floor. Record which foot the volunteers used first in each event.

r Test eye dominance by having volunteers look through a paper towel tube, and then look through a hole you cut into a piece of paper. Hold up your index finger near your volunteer’s face. Ask them to close one eye to “follow” you. Record which eye they kept open.

MATH CONNECTION

Boost your brain power with these math problems that promote critical thinking!

z Amaya bought a used drum kit for $320. She received a 10% discount because she was a band member. Her mom gave her 50% of the remaining balance. How much did Amaya pay for the drums? ________

t Test ear dominance last. Tell your volunteer you will whisper to them. Ask them to cup an ear to listen. Which ear do they cup? Give your volunteer a sea shell, which ear do they use to listen? Ask your volunteer to listen through a wall. Which ear do they place against the wall?

Analyze Your Results: How many volunteers were right hand dominant? Left hand dominant? Left or right foot dominant? Right or left ear dominant? And left or right eye dominant?

Learning Standards: I can follow sequential directions to complete an experiment. I can make observations and analyze results.

Usesscissors

Throwaball

Kickaball

Stepupachair

Stepontoacoin

Lookintoatube

Lookinahole

Lookatafinger

Cuptheirear

Listentoashell

Listenthrough thewall

x Isiah’s mom is buying meat to cook for the holidays. She bought 23 pounds of turkey at $1.06/pound, she bought 5 pounds of beef roast for $4.99/pound, and she bought 3 pounds of steak at $7.99/ pound. Which of the items cost the most?

DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know that approximately 20% of the blood pumped from the heart goes to the brain? 8-10 seconds after you lose blood supply to the brain, you will be unconscious.

SCIENCE STARS

AFRICAN AMERICAN NEUROLOGIST AND STROKE RESEARCHER EDUCATOR: Bruce Ovbiagele, MD, MSc, MAS

Bruce Ovbiagele was born in Nigeria, and came to the U.S in 1995. He was interested in learning more about strokes because they are the most deadly neurological (which means brain related) disease and the number two killer of Africans. He earned his medical degree from the University of Lagos and was awarded his MSc in Clinical Research from UCLA, and a Master of Advanced Studies from the University of California at San Diego. His research has been published in many journals.

Ovbiagele directs the UCLA PROTECT program which provides stroke treatment. He speaks on behalf of the American Heart Foundation and the American Stroke Association’s “Power to End Stroke” campaign. He serves on various committees on the local, state, and national level, striving to raise awareness about strokes and their warning signs and prevention. Ovbiagele is also passionate about researching improved stroke imaging (where doctors can use machines to see what happens in the brain during and after a stroke) and stroke treatment. He has published over 60 articles in medical research journals. He plans to take his expertise back to Nigeria, training doctors and educating the public about prevention.

To Hear Dr. Ovbiagele Speak, Visit: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=gDPEZdZS-Cc.

Learning Standards: I can read about a person who has made contributions in the fields of science, technology, or mathematics.

Use the newspaper to complete the following activities.

Activity

One — Point of View: First person point of view uses pronouns such as I, me, and my. Second person point of view uses the pronoun you and is often used for giving directions. Third person point of view uses pronouns, such as he, she, and they. Select a newspaper article and determine from which point of view it has been written. Rewrite the story from a

c 170 children are in line at the ice skating rink. If 30 children can skate at a time, how many skating sessions will it take for all of the children to have a turn? ________ Carla ran 5/8 of a mile and swam 3/5 of a mile. How much farther did Carla run than swim? ________ Learning Standards: : I can add, subtract, multiply, and divide to solve a problem.

human brain is approximately 75% water. Therefore, drinking plenty of water improves brain function.

Activity Two Healthy Living: Use the newspaper to find five examples of healthy living. This can include food/ nutrition, exercise, and social/ emotional health. Explain why each of your five pictures promotes healthy living.

Learning Standards: I can use the newspaper to locate information. I can identify point of view and healthy lifestyle factors.

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

MAP CORNER

Photo by Wiley

Ferguson and white rage

Two weeks in a row! Two weeks in a row Political EYE – so accustomed to being a lonely voice willing to say “what it is, it ain’t” while most everybody else is trying to act like “what it is, it is” – has found somebody else telling it like it is. Which is, of course, what it ain’t.

Carol Anderson – an associate professor of African American studies and history at Emory University, public voices fellow with the Op-Ed Project and author of “Bourgeois Radicals: The NAACP and the Struggle for Colonial Liberation, 19411960” – published a piece in the Washington Post arguing that Ferguson only seems to be about black rage against the police. Really, she argues, it’s about white rage against progress. Let’s hear her out.

Carol Anderson writes: When we look back on what happened in Ferguson, Mo., during the summer of 2014, it will be easy to think of it as yet one more episode of black rage ignited by yet another police killing of an unarmed AfricanAmerican male. But that has it precisely backward. What we’ve actually seen is the latest outbreak of white rage. Sure, it is cloaked in the niceties of law and order, but it is rage nonetheless.

Protests and looting naturally capture attention. But the real

rage smolders in meetings where officials redraw precincts to dilute African-American voting strength or seek to slash the government payrolls that have long served as sources of black employment. It goes virtually unnoticed, however, because white rage doesn’t have to take to the streets and face rubber bullets to be heard. Instead, white rage carries an aura of respectability and has access to the courts, police, legislatures and governors, who cast its efforts as noble, though they are actually driven by the most ignoble motivations. White rage recurs in American history. It exploded after the Civil War, erupted again to undermine the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision and took on its latest incarnation with Barack Obama’s ascent to the White House. For every action of African-American advancement, there’s a reaction, a backlash.

The North’s victory in the Civil War did not bring peace. Instead, emancipation brought white resentment that the good ol’ days of black subjugation were over. Legislatures

throughout the South scrambled to reinscribe white supremacy and restore the aura of legitimacy that the anti-slavery campaign had tarnished. Lawmakers in several states created the Black Codes, which effectively criminalized blackness, sanctioned forced labor and undermined every tenet of democracy. Even the federal authorities’ promise of 40 acres — land seized from traitors who had tried to destroy the United States of America — crumbled like dust.

Influential white legislators such as Rep. Thaddeus Stevens (R-Pa.) and Sen. Charles Sumner (R-Mass.) tried to make this nation live its creed, but they were no match for the swelling resentment that neutralized the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments, and welcomed the Supreme Court’s 1876 United States vs. Cruikshank decision, which undercut a law aimed at stopping the terror of the Ku Klux Klan.

Nearly 80years later, Brown v. Board of Education seemed like another moment of triumph — with the ruling

on the unconstitutionality of separate public schools for black and white students affirming African Americans’ rights as citizens. But black children, hungry for quality education, ran headlong into more white rage. Bricks and mobs at school doors were only the most obvious signs. In March 1956, 101members of Congress issued the Southern Manifesto, declaring war on the Brown decision. Governors in Virginia, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia and elsewhere then launched “massive resistance.” They created a legal doctrine, interposition, that supposedly nullified any federal law or court decision with which a state disagreed. They passed legislation to withhold public funding from any school that abided by Brown. They shut down public school systems and used tax dollars to ensure that whites could continue their education at racially exclusive private academies. Black children were left to rot with no viable option.

A little more than half a century after Brown, the election of Obama gave hope to

the country and the world that a new racial climate had emerged in America, or that it would. But such audacious hopes would be short-lived. A rash of voter-suppression legislation, a series of unfathomable Supreme Court decisions, the rise of stand-your-ground laws and continuing police brutality make clear that Obama’s election and reelection have unleashed yet another wave of fear and anger. It’s more subtle — less overtly racist — than in 1865 or even 1954. It’s a remake of the Southern Strategy, crafted in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement to exploit white resentment against African Americans, and deployed with precision by Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan

As Reagan’s key political strategist, Lee Atwater, explained in a 1981 interview: “You start out in 1954 by saying, ‘N-----, n-----, n-----.’

By 1968 you can’t say ‘n----’ — that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like ‘forced busing,’ ‘states’ rights’ and all that stuff. You’re getting so abstract now you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things, and a byproduct of them is blacks get hurt worse than whites. And subconsciously maybe that is part of it. I’m not saying that.”

(The interview was originally published anonymously, and only years later did it emerge that Atwater was the subject.)

Now, under the guise of protecting the sanctity of the ballot box, conservatives have devised measures — such as photo ID requirements — to block African Americans’ access to the polls. A joint report by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the NAACP emphasized that the ID requirements would adversely affect more than 6 million African American voters. (Twenty-five percent of black Americans lack a government-issued photo ID, the report noted, compared with only 8 percent of white Americans.)

The Supreme Court sanctioned this discrimination in Shelby County v. Holder , which gutted the Voting Rights Act and opened the door to 21st-century versions of 19th-century literacy tests and poll taxes.

The economic devastation of the Great Recession also shows African Americans under siege. The foreclosure crisis hit black Americans harder than any other group in

A St. Louis police officer seemed to gasp for air while responding to Ferguson protestors who rushed St. Louis City Hall on Wednesday, November 26.

the United States. A 2013report by researchers at Brandeis University calculated that “half the collective wealth of African-American families was stripped away during the Great Recession,” in large part because of the impact on home equity.

In the process, the wealth gap between blacks and whites grew: Right before the recession, white Americans had four times more wealth than black Americans, on average; by 2010, the gap had increased to six times. This was a targeted hit. Communities of color were far more likely to have riskier, higher-interest-rate loans than white communities, with good credit scores often making no difference.

Add to this the tea party movement’s assault on so-called Big Government, which despite the sanitized language of fiscal responsibility constitutes an attack on African American jobs. Public-sector employment, where there is less discrimination in hiring and pay, has traditionally been an important venue for creating a black middle class. So when you think of Ferguson, don’t just think of black resentment at a criminal justice system that allows a white police officer to put six bullets into an unarmed black teen. Consider the economic dislocation of black America. Remember a Florida judge instructing a jury to focus only on the moment when George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin interacted, thus transforming a 17-year-old, unarmed kid into a big, scary black guy, while the grown man who stalked him through the neighborhood with a loaded gun becomes a victim.

Remember the assault on the Voting Rights Act.

Look at Connick v. Thompson, a partisan 5-4 Supreme Court decision in 2011 that ruled it was legal for a city prosecutor’s staff to hide evidence that exonerated a black man who was rotting on death row for 14years. And think of a recent study by Stanford University psychology researchers concluding that, when white people were told that black Americans are incarcerated in numbers far beyond their proportion of the population, “they reported being more afraid of crime and more likely to support the kinds of punitive policies that exacerbate the racial disparities,” such as three-strikes or stop-and-frisk laws. Only then does Ferguson make sense. It’s about white rage.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Carol Anderson

Business

‘These guys are ready to come back’

Dellwood Mayor calls for help in rebuilding torched business district

By Stephanie Lecci

Of St. Louis Public Radio

Echoing the mayor of neighboring city Ferguson, the mayor of Dellwood is adding his voice to the criticism of Gov. Jay Nixon and demanding answers in the aftermath of the riots on Monday, November 24.

Mayor Reggie Jones said Dellwood was promised its business district would be protected by National Guard troopers, but he said “they failed to arrive.”

n “We made a promise to them that they would be protected and as you see, they were not.”

– Dellwood Mayor Reggie Jones

While Ferguson has “gotten more attention,” Jones said, his city saw the most damage and he wants to make sure his city also gets the resources it needs to recover. Jones said he had assured local business owners at a meeting last week that all would be fine.

“That’s why I’m so frustrated,” he told St. Louis Public Radio after a press conference Friday. “We made a promise to them that they would be protected and as you see, they were not.”

Nixon had called up the National Guard to assist local police in providing security, in anticipation of possible unrest following the announcement of the grand jury decision in the Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson case.

Jones said he hasn’t spoken to Nixon, but said he did call the

governor’s office Monday night to request more National Guard troops for his city once violent protests broke out. The extra Guard troopers helped keep the situation calmer on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, Jones said, but he still holds the governor responsible for Monday night’s destruction. In addition to five looted stores, 13 Dellwood businesses - about 10 percent of the city’s business corridor – were set on fire. That included the women’s clothing store Fashions R Boutique. The burned out shell of the building was marked with a “BA,”

Protestors ‘Black Out’ Black Friday

Activists shut down three area malls, stage ‘die in’

By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American

Police ordered Galleria storeowners to gate their doors and told security guards to turn away customers at the mall’s main entrances, after protestors held a mass die-in supporting Michael Brown Jr. for “Black out Black Friday.” About 1,000 protestors came to the Galleria, one of the St. Louis area’s most popular malls, which was completely shut down for at least 30 minutes.

“We are not supporting businesses that do not support the community that they are in,” said activist Johnetta Elzie, who participated in the direct action.

“I’m glad that the St. Louis police actually participated in the protest by shutting the mall down for us.

That’s great.”

Similar to a flash mob, the “Carolers of the Mike Brown Movement” met up at the large Christmas tree in the mall’s center, attempting to blend with shoppers. Then at 12:30 p.m., they put on Santa hats and sang out of their red “Caroling for Justice Song Book”

think it’s over we suppose … and every mother’s child wonders why, black children in this country have to die.” About 30 police officers

surrounded the choir but did not intervene as they sang their five carols. Several shoppers stopped and joined the singing, reading off the songbooks. However, many others walked by in disgust. Once the choir finished, the participants “dropped dead” in the middle of the floor and held silence for 4.5 minutes, representing the 4.5 hours that Michael Brown lay dead on the street on Aug. 9.

Determined shoppers stepped through the bodies, but most people stopped and watched or took photos on their phones.

After the silence, the group stood up and shouted, “Not one dime” and encouraged shoppers not to support businesses on Black Friday that did not support the movement. One woman said she returned her purchases after seeing the group and joined them.

Not long after they stood up, another group came marching through the mall shouting, “No Justice, no peace!” The group had heard about the action, which was organized by the Tribe X activist group, on social media. Several other individuals said

Jan Hess joined the Board of Directors for Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri. She is Vice President at St. Luke’s Hospital, heads 13 departments at the Chesterfield location. She oversees everything from quality improvement and regulatory compliance to marketing and continuing medical education. She started with the hospital in 1976 as assistant director of medical records and became part of the hospital’s leadership team in an administrative role in 1989.

Sean Bond joined Commerce Bank as Natural Bridge Banking Center Manager. He is responsible for business development and customer service related to the bank’s consumer banking, lending and small business services. He has four years of banking and lending experience in the St. Louis area. Bond earned a bachelor of science in psychology from University of Central Missouri and master of arts, HR management from Webster University.

Betty Suggs was named an Ageless Remarkable St. Louisan by St. Andrew’s Resources for Seniors System. She is a career teacher who has taught elementary school, been a Head Start volunteer and trained future teachers at the college level. She donated her time to the Silver Haired Legislature, Habitat for Humanity, the Northside Action Association and a handful of political campaigns.

Eric Johnson Sr. was recognized as a 2014 Emerging Scholar by St. Louis Community CollegeFlorissant Valley. He was recognized as Emerging Scholar of the Year. He is one semester away from earning an associate degree in business management and plans to transfer to UMSL and pursue a bachelor’s degree in the subject. He is a member of the Accounting Club and serves as director of public relations. He is a pastor in the Pine Lawn area.

Elsie Freeman was named an Ageless Remarkable St. Louisan by St. Andrew’s Resources for Seniors System. She serves as program coordinator for the Meals on Wheels program of the St. Louis Area Agency on Aging. She directs eight drivers who deliver an average of 300 meals to North St. Louis seniors each weekday. She also works with the homeless in the Hospitality Committee at Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church.

Marquis Crape was recognized as a 2014 Emerging Scholar by St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley. He received the Merit Scholar Award. He is pursuing an associate degree in music. He hopes to transfer to Webster University and earn a bachelor’s degree in music. He is vice president of the Chess Club and member of Phi Theta Kappa. He volunteers for Salvation Army, Beyond Housing and the Annie Malone Children’s Home. On the move? Congratulations! Send your good professional news and a color headshot to cking@stlamerican. com.

Sean Bond

Betty Suggs

Eric Johnson Sr.

Elsie Freeman

See MAYOR, B2

Jan Hess

See MALLS, B2

Marquis Crape

In addition to five looted stores, 13 Dellwood businesses - about 10 percent of the city’s business corridor – were set on fire.

Photo by Wiley Price

About 1,000 protestors came to the Galleria, one of the St. Louis area’s most popular malls, which was completely shut down for at least 30 minutes.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Smart tax moves to consider before New Year’s Eve

By Jason Alderman

The flurry of activity during the last weeks of December can make it difficult to pay attention to finances. If you want to save on your tax bill come April, now’s the time to make some critical moves.

If you have a tax advisor or financial planner, it’s wise to run these ideas by them first. Here are some suggestions to investigate by year-end with follow-up in the new year:

1. Accelerate your deductions and defer your income. To keep your 2014 tax bill low, try to defer bonuses, consulting income or self-employment income until 2015 while taking as many deductions as you legally can in 2014.

Resources for businesses affected by arson, vandalism

3. Make last-minute withholding adjustments. If you’ve started making more money later in the year, make sure your withholding or estimated tax payments are adjusted before Dec. 31 so you don’t face underpayment penalties later.

4. Evaluate your traditional and Roth IRA holdings. Many people who expect their tax rate to go up in retirement convert traditional IRAs to Roth accounts in advance.

Those who don’t do so keep their traditional accounts as-is. No matter how close you’re getting to retirement, it’s a good idea to take inventory of

2. Bunch non-urgent medical expenses this year or move them to 2015. If you have non-emergency medical procedures coming up, it’s a good idea to pack them into the same year so people under age 65 can exceed the 10 percent adjusted gross income (AGI) minimum for medical expenses. For those over age 65, the AGI minimum is 7.5 percent.

MALLS

Continued from B1

Cop cars blocked the entrances to the mall, so people could not enter the parking lots. National Guard vehicles also surrounded the parking lots.

Alisha Sonnier, a Tribe X leader, said they told their participants to leave the mall even before the stores started closing. Sonnier said she got word from people coming to the mall that police were putting on riot gear outside of the Dillard’s entrance. When one woman was

your IRA investments to make sure they’re accessible.

5. Contribute as much to retirement accounts as possible. Putting money away for retirement is always a good idea – for your tax bill and for your future. For tax year 2014, individual 401(k) (http:// www.practicalmoneyskills. com/401k) contribution limits are $17,500 and $5,500 for an IRA (not including catch-up contributions for taxpayers 50 or over).

6. Consider HSAs and FSAs. High-deductible insurance plans may offer a health savings account (HSA) option that allows you to deposit pretax dollars to pay for medical expenses high-deductible plans don’t cover. Flexible Spending Accounts (http://www. practicalmoneyskills.com/ fsa) also allow pre-tax dollars to pay for dental care, vision checkups and glasses and over-

asked her reaction, she said, “I’m scared. What if they start looting?”

Sonnier, an engineering student at Saint Louis University, said she hopes those fearful people saw that looting was not the group’s intention.

the-counter drugs.

7. Gather state and local sales tax receipts. If you itemize your deductions, consider whether to deduct state and local sales taxes instead of state and local income taxes.

8. Consider a gift. Individuals can give up to $14,000 a year per beneficiary to as many people as they’d like during 2014 free of gift or estate tax. That amount goes up to $28,000 per beneficiary per year for spouses (both individual and spousal numbers will stay the same in 2015).

9. Make a last-minute charitable deduction. If you itemize, you can deduct for charitable contributions – but do some homework first. GuideStar.org lists every IRS-registered nonprofit organization.

n “The only weapon was people using their rights. The weapon of words and awareness.”

– Alisha Sonnier, Tribe X

“The only weapon was people using their rights,” she said. “The weapon of words and awareness – that was the only thing that was present that could have been seen as a

Governor Nixon’s administration partnered with the St. Louis Regional Chamber, the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, North County Inc., and local lending institutions to create the Small Business Relief Program: http://ded.mo.gov/fergusonbusinessresources.aspx, or (314) 206-3235, RecoverySTL@stlregionalchamber.com.

The Missouri Department of Insurance will assist impacted businesses navigate the insurance claim process: 800-726-7390.

Missourians who lost their job due to the unrest in Ferguson and the surrounding area may be eligible for unemployment benefits: moclaim.mo.gov or http://labor. mo.gov/DES/Claims.

The City of St. Louis announced a Small Business relief program for businesses vandalized on South Grand: call the Economic Development Partnership at 314-615-8153.

Alaska Airlines adds daily non-stop service from STL to Portland, OR

Alaska Airlines announced new non-stop service between Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (STL) and Portland International Airport (PDX) that will begin July 1, 2015. The daily flights will be served on new 76-seat Embraer E-175 jets operated by Sky West Airlines. The new daily service will depart PDX at 10:15 a.m. and arrive in STL at 3:55 p.m. The flight will then depart STL at 4:35 p.m., arriving in PDX at 6:45 p.m. Introductory fares

Continued from B1 they got the message to “Head to the Galleria,” and drove over. The crowd of at least 300 people circled the mall’s three levels until police finally ordered the stores to close down. Store workers watched from behind the gates, trying to explain to upset customers why they couldn’t open. At the mall entrances, security guards told customers that they could not enter because the mall was closed – but they didn’t explain why. Security guards then started ushering people out of the mall.

threat to what was going on.”

At the end of the die-in, Sonnier made a statement about the burning and looting in Ferguson on Monday, November 24, which she said she does not agree with.

“Right now when you watch CNN, when you watch MSNBC, you’re seeing burning buildings, you see stealing and robbing and people are like, “Why are these people doing this?’” she told

MAYOR

which St. Louis County Police say means bomb and arson investigators had been through.

The boutique’s owner Juanita Morris said she could never have imagined the situation would get so bad. She said she didn’t know her business, which has been located in Dellwood for 10 years, was in flames until she received a phone call from a friend. Still, she thought the fire department would save her store.

Police said firefighters were prevented from putting out the fires along West Florissant because of heavy gunfire. Morris, like the mayor, said she doesn’t blame St. Louis County Police or the fire department for not being able to save her store.

“I understand why they didn’t come, because someone was shooting,” she said. “I don’t want anyone to lose their life.”

But seeing her building

the audience. “But I want to let you know that people have been burning, stealing and looting from St. Louis for a long time.”

The crowd cheered. She said if they don’t believe her, she challenged them to look at the school systems that are failing and not performing at academic level.

“And if that’s not enough, I’m going to challenge you to look at the school system to jail pipeline,” she said.

She said the next time they think about burning, she wants them to look at the people in power who “don’t have to burn down a building” to destroy these struggling communities.

burn to the ground on the news and knowing nothing could be salvaged was understandably hard, she said.

“You can’t explain that feeling of 28 years of hard work to just go up in two to three hours,” she said. “It’s a feeling of devastation. You don’t really believe what you’re seeing.”

Still Morris said she will rebuild in Dellwood because she loves the area and “the people of Ferguson and Dellwood have supported me.” In the meantime, she said she has plans to open up a temporary shop in a nearby vacant space.

“I just believe, I have faith in God that this will pass, too,” she said. “Something good will come from this.”

But Morris and other business owners will need funding to help rebuild, Jones said. During Friday’s press conference, he said he is going to cut red tape and will be “begging for money” from everyone from state officials to the federal government.

“We don’t want forgivable loans, we want some funds to

“They are taking away communities,” she said. “They are taking away futures. A lot of people’s lives are determined before they’re even born.”

She believes their group started with 200 to 500 and then grew after people learned about the action over social media. More than 100 cities participated in the Black Friday shutdown. Locally, protestors also disrupted shopping at West County and Chesterfield malls.

speed up the process because these guys are ready to come back,” Jones said. “They love being in this community. They’ve all said they want to come back and rebuild, so we just want to get them back on track.”

Other local leaders weighed in on Dellwood’s next steps. Like Jones, Ferguson Township Democratic committeewoman Patricia Bynes also said she had not heard from the governor. Bynes, who said she has shopped at Morris’ boutique, called the local businesses “the bedrock of the community” that needs support. State Sen. Gina Walsh, who represents part of North St. Louis County, said the area has much to offer and she was saddened to see the destruction of the business corridor, which she said represented residents’ livelihoods.

“We have strong business owners; they are resilient; they will come back,” she said.

Reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.

The lineup has been set for the Eighth Annual Midwest Showdown Shootout, which will be held on Saturday, Dec. 13 at Vashon High. The seven-game event is once again presented by Terrell Ramey of Rameybasketball.com. It will feature teams from Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas and Indiana. Here is the lineup for the Midwest Showdown Shootout:

Riverview Gardens vs. Whitfield, 11 a.m. – Whitfield returns guard Bryce Berry from last year’s Class 3 district championship team. The Warriors also have one of the area’s top freshmen in 6’4” guard Torrence Watson. Riverview Gardens features 6’5” junior Zeke Moore, who is one of the area’s top prospects in the Class of 2016.

Northwest Academy vs. St. Charles, 1 p.m. – St. Charles returns its stellar backcourt of 6’2” senior Casey Teson (Eastern Illinois signee) and 5’11” Chase Morefeld from last year’s Class 4 district-championship team. Northwest will led by 6’4” senior forward Demarkis Gary, who is one of the area’s top returning inside players.

By Cedric Williams

For The St. Louis American

Ask most people around here, and they’ll tell you they’re favorite annual STL sporting event is probably Cards’ Opening Day. Some people might say the Rams’ Dome opener and some others might say, the Mizzou-Illinois Border War game right before Christmas. But for me, the best annual sporting event our area ever puts on is the MSHSAA ShowMe Bowl down at the Dome. I love it! I get chills every year when it comes around and I get sad every year when

NBA Hall of Fame power forward Charles Barkley once quipped, “I was a Republican until they lost their minds.” Sir Charles might be ready to go full Tea Party, because it seems that he has followed suit. Unlike many current athletes, the socially conservative Barkley has never shied away from politics or social issues. Now might be a good time for him to start. While serving as a guest on a Philadelphia radio show, Barkley voiced his support of the grand jury’s decision not to indict former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson for killing Mike Brown.

“The true story came out from the grand jury testimo-

n The showdown between the Cadets and the Hawklets lived up to the hype and then some.

it’s over.

Six games in two days in the cozy comfort of the Edward Jones Dome, featuring the 12 best high school football teams in the state, all battling for that coveted state championship.

It really is the best weekend of the year for a football junkie like me, and I was so glad to have a chance to cover it again this year.

ny,” Barkley stated. He added “Three or four witnesses, who were black, said exactly what the cop [Wilson] said.” Barkley is not from St. Louis and has likely only casually followed what’s gone on in Ferguson and St. Louis County. It’s still sad that Barkley ate up the drivel defense prosecuting attorney Bob McCulloch laid out in his shameful speech announcing the grand jury’s decision. It’s disgraceful that a black kid who grew up just outside of Birmingham would be so quick to disregard the accounts of numerous black (and white) witnesses that conflicted with the shady, secretive and ever-changing police narrative of what happened.

two STL-area teams

it to the Dome this year, with John Burroughs losing the championship game again (that’s four state title losses in five years for the Bombers), and CBC – perhaps the area’s preeminent private school athletic program with 38 state titles in a wide range of sports – claiming

and blamed the media for the public cries of injustice.

Alton (Ill) vs. Memphis Overton, 2:30 p.m. – Alton will be one of the top teams in the Metro East this season, led by 6’5” SIUEsignee Carlos Anderson, 6’7” Mizzou baseball recruit Bryan Hudson and guard Darrius Edwards. Memphis Overton is led by 6’6” senior Malik Smith, who is one of the top players in that city’s basketball hotbed.

Cardinal Ritter vs. Gary Roosevelt (IN), 4 p.m. – Ritter returns a strong nucleus from last year’s Class 3 state championship team, including senior guard Jahmourie Robinson, senior guard Jah-Kobe Womack and junior forward Brandon Jackson. Roosevelt is led by 6’8” junior Tevin Farris, who is one of the top

It’s no surprise that Charles Barkley would sign off on the killing of an unarmed black teenager. Last year, he gave a pass to George Zimmerman for killing Trayvon Martin.

“I can’t believe anything I hear on television anymore,” Barkley said. “And that’s why

I don’t like talking about race issues with the media anymore, because [the media] love this stuff, and lead people to jump to conclusions. They don’t jump to conclusions when black people kill each other.” Of course Fox News, Tea Party Republicans and other right-wing organizations praised Barkley for speaking the “truth.” He pretty much hit every conservative, subject-changing talking point (looting, bias media, black-onblack crime) during his interview. It’s interesting how the conversation of white-on-white crime, which occurs at 84% according to the FBI, is never brought up when white children are gunned down. Instead we talk about the tragedy of the situation, as we should.

Photo by Wiley Price

Claib’s Call

With Mike Claiborne

Rams hands up – don’t shoot!

I have been very good at not writing much about the Rams this season because of how ownership has conducted business not to mention how the NFL runs their railroad. With that said, I could not overlook the actions of a few players who took it upon themselves to show their support to the awareness of what has taken place in Ferguson, Missouri.

Mike Claiborne

Little did they know what an impact they would have, as they now have others upset on the other side of that fence. So upset that the local police union wants action and punishment to those who they felt were showing them up. They also want action from the NFL on putting their players in place. This is a fuse that when lit could make things very tricky for a lot of people, as this will be a thin wire for some to walk on. It is good to see a pro athlete take a stand, whether you agree with them or not. Too often pro athletes avoid political issues in their community. It is easy for them to say it is not their problem, roll up the windows and head for their secluded neighborhoods to protect their potentially lucrative off-field opportunities. Most athletes stick their head in the sand and hop no one asks them what they think.

These Rams players took a stand. A stand that will not go over well to with the supporters of Darren Wilson and those who think he was right for

his actions. I wonder if those players understand what they have done. If they do, welcome to the struggle. If they don’t, welcome to being part of the

problem of not even knowing how to carry the water in this case. While I cannot speak for either side here, I get the feeling that the players were

not trying to disrespect an entire police department.

Yes, emotions are still running high. The question that comes into play here is when do you express your personal and political feelings and is the job the best place for it?

When you think back to athletes who wanted to “express” themselves, I hearken back to Olympian John Carlos who along with Tommy Smith raised a black-gloved fist on the podium during the awards ceremony at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City to show their support for the Civil Rights Movement and the atrocities that were taking place in this country. The Olympic Committee promptly removed them from the podium and banned them for life from the Olympics. It was costly to their futures, as they were scorned by many for what they felt strongly about.

While most sports leagues tolerate celebrations and fun stuff that surrounds the game, seldom have they had to deal with politicized players in this country. Middle ground was even found for former NBA player Chris Jackson, also known as Mahmood AbdulRauf, when he refused to stand for the national anthem as he objected to things that were taking place in the country. Adbul-Rauf used the time to pray and that was not a big hit. It cost him, as many teams would not touch him despite the fact that he could score.

As for the police union demanding these players be punished, this will be very

tricky as they basically have thrown down the gauntlet that there will be no professional courtesy extended to them, nor the likes of them. For too many years pro teams and their athletes have had a cozy relationship with law enforcement. In some cases, if a player gets into a jam, some police departments will work with the individual and team to make it go away. The police

If the police unions can band together and throw this in the lap of the NFL and seek punishment, then all hell will break loose.

departments in NFL cities have officers who also work for the team as part of their security or as consultants.

When it comes to respect, this has not been the best of seasons for some police departments in light of the communication breakdowns, image problems and the highlighting of some bad –fatally bad – cops. Many officers find themselves trying to earn the respect of the public because of the bad actions of a few.

Some protestors have taken the liberty to verbally assault the police with little repercussion to prevent a more volatile situation. Some men in blue – regardless of what got us here – have had enough of being disrespected. They are mad as hell and will not take

it anymore, and the actions of the Rams players may have lit the fuse.

The NFL has enough problems with their players and their conduct as it is. They will issue the usual statement loving everyone, but more may be needed from the league to satisfy the police and those who support them. If the police unions can band together and throw this in the lap of the NFL and seek punishment then all hell will break loose, as the players’ union will weigh in and its back to court or arbitration again.

Cooler heads should prevail here. Everyone needs a seat at the table, and a conversation needs to take place. The NFL and the police department do not need to butt heads, they need to talk. As a matter of fact, with the exception of criminals, the police could step back from the head-butting contest.

Citizens who are leery of the police and the police who want respect need to take a deep breath and understand they need to find a way to work together. They need to communicate and understand the impact they both have in the community. There is no place for a vendetta here, although that has been put on the table by the union in the tone of their press release. It’s time for the pros on both sides to figure out what should happen next, as they will provide the next the next example of how we address our problems while the world is watching.

St. Louis Rams linebacker Darren Bates raises his hands in the “hands up don’t shoot” pose during the Rams game against Oakland on Sunday.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

PREP

Continued from B3

I’m sure anybody that made it down to the Dome last weekend would agree. And for those that couldn’t get downtown last Friday or Saturday, here’s a quick recap of what went down at the 47th MSHSAA Show-Me Bowl State Football Championships.

Meet The New Champs:

Class 1 – Valle Catholic Warriors (15-0);

Class 2 – Lamar Tigers (14-1);

Class 3 – Oak Grove Panthers (13-2);

Class 4 – Webb City Cardinals (15-0);

Class 5 – Battle Spartans (114);

Class 6 – CBC Cadets (14-0).

First Time Champs: Oak Grove won its first title by defeating John Burroughs 49-27; Battle held on for a thrilling 25-22 victory over Nixa; and CBC won an absolute slugfest 31-24 over Rockhurst.

Repeat Champs: Valle Catholic won its second title in a row (13th overall and fourth in the last five years); Lamar claimed its fourth title in a row; and Webb City made it five in a row (13th overall as well) to once again prove it has the best prep football program in the state. The little tykes begin playing flag football at age 5 in Webb City and their youth

league teams, which all run the same plays as the high school varsity team does, begin at age 7.

It really should be no surprise that the Webbies are the best team every year. By the time they get to varsity, those kids have been running those plays, the same way and with the same terminology, for 10 years. It’s just incredible what coach John Rodrique has built with that football program out there.

Best Game: The Class 6 thriller between CBC and Rockhurst

It was billed as the marquee game of the weekend, and the showdown between the Cadets and the Hawklets lived up to the hype and then some, with both teams landing big blows throughout the night the probably would’ve put lesser teams down for the count.

Instead though, CBC and Rockhurst kept answering the bell and one-upping each other to set up a sensational fourth quarter, which began with the score tied at 24.

In the end though, it was CBC QB Blake Charlton who delivered the knockout blow, when he found teammate Kameron Curtis for an 11-yard touchdown with 5:43 remaining to put the Cadets up for good. Rockhurst tried to rally, but the Hawklets’ final drive stalled out, which allowed the CBC fans, who are used to celebrating hockey, soccer, and basketball championships, to experience their first football title ever.

Best Performance:

Aaron Graham – RB,

Oak Grove

Folks around this area may have thought that Burroughs’ John Moten, a player whose headed to Northwestern next year and might be the STL’s Offensive Player of the Year when award season begins later this month, was the man to watch in Friday’s Class 3 title game against Oak Grove, but it was Oak Grove’s sensational senior RB who stole the show.

Graham came in to last Friday’s title game with over 2,600 rushing yards and 37 touchdowns and the weight of an entire town’s hopes for a championship on his back. And things began slow for the Panthers, who fell behind 21-7 early in the second quarter. But that was when young Mr. Graham got going. And once he started up, nobody could stop him from putting on an unbelievable show, with 39 carries for 266 yards and four touchdowns. Graham probably could’ve had more, but he shared some of the spotlight with junior teammate Landon Cairer, who had 75 yards and two touchdowns of his own.

Best Performance

(Local Player):

Michael Jones – OLB, CBC

With all due respect to the Moten kid from Burroughs, who did have 187 yards and a TD in the losing effort to Oak Grove, we just loved what the CBC LB did for his Cadets on Saturday.

Jones is not the star of CBC’s team. He’s probably not even the best player on their defense, but he was absolutely tremendous in the state title game. The 5’10,

185-pound senior had eight tackles, two massive big hits, and three quarterback sacks, which helped turn Rockhurst’s passing game on its ear.

CBC finished with seven sacks and teammate Clayton Stalling had three sacks of his own, including one late in the fourth that brought the whole stadium to its feet, to help the Cadets finally put the Hawklets away.

Best Moment: CBC Locker Room after the game

Media members weren’t allowed into the locker rooms following the game, but just standing outside the doors once all the Cadets were inside, you could hear the jubilation as they were finally able to let go and get TURNT UP for their first state football title in school history. It was clear those young men (and their coaches too) were having fun and it was pretty exciting just standing outside the door listening to them have that fun.

Best Team: Webb City Five titles in a row and there’s absolutely no reason to believe the Webbies are slowing down. Coach Rodrique just seems to reshuffle his deck every year and every year Webb City is still the best team in the state. I don’t normally believe that even the best Class 4 team could really beat the big boys from Class 5 or 6, but this year’s Webb City team is different.

They walloped Class 6 runner-up Rockhurst back during the regular season and I happen to believe they’d do the same to any and every other team in the state. It might

Rams sponsors Urban League turkey giveaway

HOOPS

Continued from B3 players in the Hoosier State.

CBC vs. Memphis Hamilton, 7 p.m. – CBC returns one of the state’s top backcourts in juniors Jordan Barnes and Christian Willis from their Class 5 statechampionship team. The Cadets also picked up 6’9” transfer Kenny Lesley from Elsberry. Hamilton is led by brothers 6’8” Dedric Lawson and 6’7”

CLUTCH

Continued from B3

It’s really no surprise that Barkley would sign off on the killing of an unarmed black teenager. Last year, in a series of interviews, he gave a pass to George Zimmerman for killing Trayvon Martin. Barkley agreed that Zimmerman racially profiled Martin and felt he was overly aggressive in his pursuit of the teen. Still, rather than holding the man with the gun accountable, Barkley once again blamed the dead victim –and the media. While Barkley certainly has the right to his opinion, it’s interesting that a person with a reputation for fighting on and off the court (and the arrest records to go with it) would be so willing to issue death sentences to young black men. How can Barkley, a guy who once tossed a man through a plate glass window in a bar fight, suggest that these killings

Keelon Lawson, who are both headed to the University of Memphis.

St. Louis Christian vs. SW Ark Christian Academy, 8:30 p.m. – St. Louis Christian fields another talented roster led by 6’7” senior forward Anthony Pratt and 7’0” Mamadou Lamine. SW Ark Christian is led by 6’4” junior Marquell Fraser. Admission for the event is $10 for all day access and $8 for students with a valid ID, also for all day access.

are justified?

Considering that he works in the media, Barkley is essentially blaming himself for the looting, outrage and outcry surrounding Ferguson. Luckily for him, he’s not a resident of Ferguson. I have a feeling McCulloch would have zero problems finding a way to indict Barkley for something. Though Barkley’s size and hue might suggest he might not survive an arrest. Just to be safe, I’d suggest he put a proverbial sock in it and invoke his right to remain silent.

Roorda’s shameful attempt to bully the Rams falls flat

Moving from one bully to another, St. Louis Police Officers Association Business Manager Jeff Roorda released a ridiculous statement calling for the St. Louis Rams and the NFL to discipline Stedman Bailey, Tavon Austin, Jared Cook, Chris Givens, and Kenny Britt for coming out of the tunnel displaying the “Hands

Early season tournament action

CBC and McCluer North emerged as the champions at the St. Francis Borgia Thanksgiving Tournament.

CBC defeated host Borgia 67-66 in the championship of the Gold Division while McCluer North defeated Pacific 64-58 in the championship of the Blue Division.

Alton High opened the season by winning its own Tip-Off Classic with four victories last week. Bethalto Civic Memorial defeated host

Up” symbol that has become synonymous with the Ferguson protests.

In his statement, Roorda called the gesture “tasteless, offensive and inflammatory.” Personally, I find it tasteless, offensive and inflammatory, that an individual would take such offense to a symbol that literally stands for “please don’t shoot me.”

Let it not go unnoticed that the man threatening a boycott of the NFL was terminated (for falsifying reports) from being a police officer in a place where the county prosecutor is known for giving a free pass to policemen. The only people who should be offended by the “Hands Up” gesture are those with a desire to shoot unarmed black children. Luckily the Rams scoffed at his silly request. Maybe he and Barkley can become bar buddies, find a seat and long sip of silence.

Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @ IshmaelSistrunk

only ever be one year in 20 that the best team in the state comes from a smaller class, but this year is that one in 20.

Webb City is the best team in Missouri this year and after seeing them in person, I don’t think there’s anyone that could dispute that.

What It All Means:

Usually we find that the best talent in the state is either on one side or the other. Some years the boys from KC are dominant and other years, it’s our boys from here in the STL. But what I believe we found out this year is that the talent is spread out all over the state.

The team with the best quarterback in the state (Drew Lock from Lee’s Summit) didn’t even make the playoffs. The team with the best running back (Marquise Doherty from Winnetonka) got knocked out in the first round. And the team with the best combo of speed, size, and athleticism (Hazelwood Central) got knocked out early too.

So that tells me there’s talent everywhere. There’s good coaching everywhere. There’s good players

everywhere. And that means next year could produce state champions from anywhere. You don’t have to be from a big school or a big city to win it all, you just have to be that team that’s ready on every Friday night or Saturday afternoon to execute the best. That’s what our six champions of 2014 did this season and it really could be anybody that does the same next season. We know teams like Hazelwood Central, CBC, Kirkwood, Francis Howell, Webster Groves, Lutheran North, and my favorite underdogs from Jennings will be back at the top of the polls next year. And you know East St. Louis, Edwardsville, and the Belleville schools will be reppin’ the Ill-side too. Every year seems like a good year for STL high school football, and I’ve already set my sights on next year, which if it turns out to be anything like what this year was, will be beyond tremendous.

All I know is I feel like Bart Scott talking to Sal Pauloantonio ... CAN’T WAIT!

Granite City 49-48 to win the championship of the Stove Top Stuffing Tournament last weekend.

Althoff and Carbondale were both 4-0 at the Highland Thanksgiving Tournament. They did not play each other, but Carbondale took home the first-place trophy by winning a points tiebreaker.

On Tuesday, November 26, the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis hosted a Turkey Giveaway in partnership with the St. Louis Rams and Schnucks Markets in its outreach centers throughout the St. Louis area. This year, the Rams players raised over $35,000 to distribute 2,000 turkey dinners to area needy families. In addition, National Urban League President Marc Morial was in town to assist with the giveaway.

Financial Focus

By Aaron Ezell, financial advisor

Warren Buffet, the “Oracle from Omaha,” is considered one of the most successful investors in history. Yet while the investment world may seem complex, Mr. Buffet’s advice is actually pretty simple. Here are a few Buffet quotes, along with some suggestions on putting them to use: “Whether we’re talking about socks or stocks, I like buying quality merchandise when it is marked down.” Essentially, this means you should look for good investment vehicles whose price may have dropped. A “bear” market tends to drag down many stocks — even those with strong fundamentals and favorable prospects. These stocks might then be considered “bargains.” One way to determine whether a stock is “expensive” or “cheap” is by looking at its price-to-earnings ratio (P/E). For example, if Company “A” has a share price of $20 and earnings per share of $4, then it has a P/E of 5. On the other hand, if Company “B” has the same share price of $20, but has earnings per share of $2, its P/E would be 10. So it would be considered more expensive than Company “A.” Be aware, though, that the P/E ratio works better as a measure of

What can you learn from the ‘Oracle of Omaha’? cost when you are comparing two companies in the same industry.

“Time is the friend of the wonderful business, the enemy of the mediocre.”

Be prepared to own quality stocks for the long term; over time, your confidence may be rewarded. On the other hand, if an investment is not of high quality, its flaws will be revealed over the years.

“If

Napoli night with Naretha

considers St. Louis

was just named

Dr. Danielle Lee lands on Ebony’s Power 100 list

By Jami Ballentine Dolby

For The St. Louis American

St. Louis Crisis Nursery hosted their annual Napoli Night fundraiser focused at young professionals and the way they ran out of appetizers before 7pm you know the event was a success. They have become one of my favorite organizations to support and mainly because Val Joyner keeps me engaged in all things Crisis Nursery. While everyone was networking and making connections someone brought me a hot a cup of tea.

One of their board members, Naretha Hopson who was celebrating her birthday, would end the night celebrating her engagement because her longtime partner Charles Brown had prepared to pop the question. Her parents, siblings and close family and friends were all on there waiting to congratulate her as she exited the private room where Brown got on bended knee. First to congratulate her out the door was Gina Cheatham – yes, from “BAPS,” but don’t put a label on Ms. Gina because she is doing much more than Lifetime cared to tell. Kira Van Niel, Alice Prince, Daffney Moore and Ebony Marshall were just a few of the ladies who came straight from work to Bar Napoli looking fabulous.

Speed Dating to the Altar. They met speed dating in 2009 and the deal was signed in 2014 when Eric Thurman II, son of Eric and Sharon Thurman, married Christina Furr, daughter of Stephen Furr Sr. and Wilette Furr-McGee at the Bear Creek Club earlier this month. The ceremony and reception were absolutely beautiful and filled with the beautiful bridal party including the bride’s sisters Tiffany and Kimberly Furr (Side note: Kim rocks a short cut like no other.)

Christina who works in marketing within the healthcare industry and her groom Eric, a senior technical recruiter, exchanged vows in front of close family and friends including their aunts and uncles, Johnny and Minga Furr / Pat and Solomon Thurman – who own one of my favorites, 10th Street Gallery in downtown. Mr. and Mrs. Thurman both come from wellconnected families in St. Louis so, I’m predicting these two follow suit to become one of our future

Black family ties

Digital Diaspora Family Reunion Roadshow builds community through photos

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

“There is this missing part of the American narrative from the Emancipation Proclamation to the end of the civil rights era of stories that are not being told,” said Deborah Nelson Linck. “They are being told in our home, but it’s not told to the general public.”

Linck was referring to the family portraits and images that black families have held dear since the 19th century – images she shared as curator for the Hands On Black History

‘Raisin’

Iconic black drama debuts at The Black Rep

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

With its presentation of Lorraine

Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun,” The Black Rep is once again using its stage productions to personify the racial tensions that have proven especially relevant as the unrest in Ferguson continues to unfold.

“The crazy thing is, we picked these shows months before Michael Brown was killed,” Ron Himes, founder and producing director of The Black Rep, said as he was set to kick off Season 38.

On the heels of “Purlie,” Ossie Davis’ musical about a racial uprising from an oppressed community of sharecroppers, The Black Rep has chosen a timeless piece that reinforces pride and determination in the face of insurmountable odds.

Many may be shocked to know that this is the first time “A Raisin in the Sun” has been staged in the company’s nearly 40-year history.

They have tackled the musical version “Raisin” more than once over the years –most recently in 2005.

First produced more than 55 years ago, Hansberry’s black theatre classic – the first play by an African-American woman to appear on Broadway – underscores residential

Museum exhibit “As If We Weren’t There” hosted by Christ Church Cathedral last February. It was a notion also realized by acclaimed filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris halfway through the 10-year journey of research for his latest work “Through A Lens Darkly,” which screened at the St. Louis International Film Festival two weeks ago. Upon recognizing this dilemma, Harris developed the Digital Diaspora Family Reunion Roadshow. Guests are asked to

in the Ferguson

racial divides and the struggles of workingclass black family life still present today.

More than a few households in present day Ferguson bear a striking resemblance to the fictional Younger family that Hansberry highlights in her play. Three generations

Getting out alive

By Jessica Hentoff For The St. Louis American

“It got to a point where it was like, y’know, I’ll die young. I don’t care. You’re just waiting. I feel like being in St. Louis , you’re constantly waiting just sitting there waiting to see when am I gonna get shot? When am I going to go to jail?” Those are the words of Melvin Diggs in the soundtrack

Jami Ballentine Dolby

Dr. Danielle Lee, who

her second hometown,

one of Ebony Magazine’s Power 100 honorees.

are crammed into a dilapidated apartment building on the South Side of Chicago. Their existence with one of few opportunities and even fewer resources.

Filmaker Thomas Allen Harris

See RAISIN, C4

The Black Rep’s production of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun continues through December 21 at Harris-Stowe State University’s Emerson Performance Center.

How to place a calendar listing

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

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

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

holiday haps

Dec. 3 – 27, Chase Park Plaza presents The Annual Holiday Extravaganza. A month-long event featuring Christmas carolers, cookie decorating, a gingerbread house, elves, a Hanukkah Celebration, a special Kwanzaa display, and free photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus. The festivities begin with the outdoor arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus by a Holiday-themed horse drawn carriage as Caroling St. Louis, dressed in period costumes, perform in the hotel lobby. The evening also includes complimentary cookies, hot chocolate and hot cider. Tour the Chase’s elegant lobby as it is transformed into a magical Winter Wonderland. 212 N. Kingshighway Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.chaseparkplaza.com.

Thur., Dec. 4, 7 p.m., The River Front Times Holiday Spirits Party. The night will feature an array of 15+ distilleries from St. Louis and beyond. Guests will also receive a commemorative tasting glass, spirit samplings, plus complimentary hors d’oeuvres. Third Degree Glass Factory, 5200 Delmar Blvd., 63108. For more information, call (314) 754-5921 or email sarah.cochran@riverfronttimes. com.

Thur., Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m., Sterling Bank presents Brian Owens: A Motown Christmas. Brian rings in the holiday season with his soulful interpretations of holiday favorites. 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Fri., Dec. 5, 6 p.m., 13th Annual Maplewood Christmas Tree Walk. Best described as Small Business Saturday meets Charles Dickens’A Christmas Carol! From costumed carolers to the grand tree lighting in the center of town, the event

radiates holiday spirit. Visitors will enjoy free carriage rides and sip hot chocolate while strolling throughout merchant open houses. Business storefronts are decked out for the season and featuring live entertainment, complimentary refreshments and special discounts for the evening. Downtown Maplewood. For more information, call (314) 781-8588 or email info@ maplewood-chamber.com.

Sat., Dec. 6, 7 p.m., Bratton Center Inc., presents “Snow Days, Christmas Concert.” Featuring the Town & Country Symphony Orchestra with special guest, Broadway singer John Leggette. A community event to beneit low-income housing building efforts. America’s Center, 701 Convention Plz., 63101. For more information, call (800) 745-3000 or visit www. brownpapertickets.com.

Sun., Dec. 7, 10 a.m., Holiday Bazaar on the Plaza. Shop, sip, and snack with over 20 local vendors. Come out for a day of gift giveaways, free Kaldi’s Coffee, Woodchuck Cider tasting and specials, spirits of St. Louis tasting, traditional gluhwein, hot chocolate bar, pastries and sweet treats from Crepes Etc. Stroll Maryland Plaza & enjoy the Central West End’s Window Walk while listening to the William Lenihan Jazz Trio. 50 Maryland Plaza, 63108. For more information, visit www.holidaybazaarmp. splashthat.com.

Sun., Dec. 7, 3 p.m., UMSL presents Jazz for the Holiday. This annual production showcases holiday classics with a jazzy flair. The performance features such classics as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “The Christmas Song,” “Jingle Bells” and selections from A Charlie Brown Christmas. Jazz for the Holidays features the combined sound of the UMSL Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Jim Widner,

Vocal Point conducted by Dr. Jim Henry and the University Orchestra conducted by Dr. James Richards. The entire St. Louis community is invited to this campus celebration, an annual favorite. Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, 1 University Dr., 63121. For more information, call (314) 516-4949 or visit www.touhill.org/events.

Dec. 6 – 7, 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m., Lindenwood University Theatre presents A Christmas Carol. J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts, Lindenwood University, 2300 West Clay St., 63301. For more information, call (636) 949-4433 or visit www.lindenwood.edu/center.

Fri., Dec. 12, 8:30 p.m., The Kranzberg Arts Center presents Javier Mendoza’s Christmas Concert. 501 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. javiermendoza.com.

Dec. 12 – 14, The Fox Theatre presents A Christmas Carol. When Charles Dickens wrote his “ghostly little tale” in 1843, he couldn’t know that it was destined to become one of the most beloved holiday traditions of all time. By telling this fable illustrating the unfairness of the Industrial Revolution and the necessity for brotherhood and unselishness, Dickens gave the world one of its most enduring Christmas stories. 527 N Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. fabulousfox.com.

Sat., Dec. 13, 7 p.m., The Platinum Group presents Networking Christmas Party. Polish Heritage Center, 1413 N. 20th St., 63106. For more information, call (314) 660-9610 or email platinumgroup02@gmail.com.

Sat., Dec. 13, 8 p.m., The Sheldon Concert Hall presents Blind Boys of Alabama with Kelly Hunt and Ruthie Foster. The Blind Boys of Alabama have spread the spirit and energy of pure soul gospel music for over 60 years, ever since the original group formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in 1939. Back by popular demand, the Blind Boys return with their soulful, uplifting Christmas celebration. 3648 Washington Blvd., Sun., Dec. 14, 8:30 p.m., The Magic House hosts Breakfast with Santa. Parents and their little short stacks are sure to “lip” over this breakfast. Families can make their morning (or evening) sizzle with a yummy pancake breakfast cooked by a pancake lipper extraordinaire. This isn’t any normal pancake breakfast, as kids will catch

In Unison Chorus and the St. Louis Symphony present A Gospel Christmas with Oleta Adams. For more information, see HOLIDAY HAPS.

their pancakes as they are tossed through the air by Chris Cakes Catering’s master chef. The kids can also have a special photo taken with Santa, enjoy playtime in the museum and even have the opportunity to make a fun holiday craft to take home. Reservations are required. 516 S. Kirkwood Rd., 63122. For more information, visit www.magichouse.org.

Sun., Dec. 14, 10 a.m., Lafayette Square Restoration Committee presents The Holiday Parlor Tour. The restoration committee seeks to facilitate the preservation and redevelopment of Lafayette Square, respecting its special historic character and enhancing its overall livability. Lafayette Square was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and has been named one of the “prettiest painted places in America.” Visitors will enjoy the sights, sounds, and scents of a Victorian wonderland as they tour ten decorated homes. The tour will also feature carriage rides around Lafayette Park, trolley rides to tour destinations, holiday caroling, and live music.1917 Park Ave, Saint Louis, MO 63104. For more information, visit www. lafayettesquare.org.

Sun., Dec. 14, 12 noon, Holiday Soul Food Buffet at the New Northside Conference Center, 5939 Goodfellow. Blvd., St. Louis, MO. 63147. Come Enjoy delicious food, fellowship and Christmas Cheer with us on Sunday, December 14, 2014 from 12 pm- 5 pm. Adult dinner $12.95, Children ages 4 to 10 - $9.95 and children under 3 are FREE.

Tues., Dec. 16, 6 p.m., The EBR Writer’s Club presents Annual Pre-Kwanza Cultural Expo: Kuumba (creativity) and Umoja (unity) for Peace. A celebration of family, community, and culture featuring exhibits, dancers, “poetrees,” and drums. Presenters include Darlene Roy, Roscoe Crenshaw, Jaye P. Willis, Charlois Lumpkin, Treasure Shields Redmond, “Ackurate,” Sunshine’s ensemble, Theo Jamison, Reginald Petty, and Eugene B. Redmond. East St. Louis Higher Education Center, 601 James R. Thompson Blvd., East St. Louis, IL. 62201. For more information, call (618) 650-3991 or email eredmon@ siue.edu.

Dec. 16 – Jan. 4, The Fox Theatre presents A Christmas Story. With songs both funny and heartfelt, and a faithful yet inventive book, A Christmas Story captures holiday wonder with such deliciously wicked

wit that it is sure to delight children and grown-ups alike. It’s the Christmas present that you’ll cherish all holiday long. 527 N Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. fabulousfox.com.

Wednesdays, Through Dec. 17, 12 p.m., Historic Holiday Concert Series at the Old Courthouse. Bring your lunch and enjoy this free midweek performance of traditional holiday music. 11 N. 4th St., 63102. For more information, visit www.gatewayarch.com.

Thur., Dec. 18, 7:30 p.m., A Gospel Christmas with Oleta Adams. Oleta Adams joins the STL Symphony and IN UNISON Chorus led by director Kevin McBeth for a night of soul-stirring Gospel music to celebrate the most joyous of seasons. Powell Symphony Hall, 718 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, call (314) 534-1700 or visit www. stlsymphony.org.

Dec. 19 – 20, 5:30 p.m., The St. Louis Ballet presents Nutcracker Dinner. Enjoy a three-course dinner (with kid-friendly options) in the festively decorated Lee Theatre in advance of two selected Nutcracker performances at 7 p.m. Children will receive a signed, commemorative photo of the cast and have an opportunity to visit with a special guest – Santa Claus. Tickets for performances are sold separately. Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, UMSL, 1 University Blvd., 63121. For more information, visit www.touhill. org.

Mon., Dec 22 –Tues., Dec. 23, Jazz St. Louis Presents Ellington’s Nutcracker. Ferring Jazz Bistro, 3536 Washington Ave. For more information, visit www. jazzstl.org.

Tues., Dec. 23, 7:30 p.m., Powell Symphony Hall presents Bach Society of St. Louis Christmas Candlelight Concert. Capture the spirit of Christmas with Handel’s Messiah. The well-known selections will highlight solos by soprano Jane Jennings, mezzo soprano Debra Hillabrand and tenor Don Frazure. Then, experience the much-anticipated candlelight procession, a cornerstone of this concert since 1951, with the Bach Society Chorus and special guests The St. Louis Children’s Choirs processing throughout the hall. Favorite carols of the season and an audience sing-along promise to make this the perfect holiday family tradition. 718 N Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. bachsociety.org.

Fri., Dec. 26, 8 p.m., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Gamma Omega Chapter presents End of the Year Jam The Machinists Hall, 12365 St. Charles Rock Rd., 63044. For more information, call (314) 973-9801 or (314) 303-4082.

Mon., Dec. 29, 12 p.m., The Botanical Garden hosts Kwanzaa: The Festival of the First Fruits. Kwanzaa is a Swahili term that means “irst fruits,” and this contemporary African-American holiday centers on the feast table of the harvest. A Kwanzaa ceremony highlights a day of storytelling, craft and jewelry displays, and authentic African drumming and musical performances. 4344 Shaw Blvd., 63110. For more information, visit www. missouribotanicalgarden.org.

Wed., Dec. 31, 9:30 p.m., Gateway Arch Riverboat New Year’s Eve Cruise. Ring in the New Year on a 19th century replica steamboat, cruising down the Mississippi. Enjoy a 3 1/2 hour cruise featuring beef medallions, shrimp, potatoes, vegetable medley, salad and the chef’s special dessert. The cruise also includes an open house bar, DJ, party favors and a champagne toast at midnight. Leonor K. Sullivan Blvd., 63102. For more information, visit www. gatewayarch.com.

Through Jan. 1, Tilles Park hosts Winter Wonder Land Park Carriage Rides. Winter Wonderland is open

for vehicular trafic Sunday through Friday from 5:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Saturdays are closed to vehicular trafic and reserved for carriage rides only. Horse drawn carriage rides are available every night except Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Advanced reservations are required for all carriage rides. 9551 Litzinger Rd., 63124. For more information, call (314) 615-5000 or for tickets visit www.metrotix.com.

Thur. – Sun. through Jan. 4, 6 p.m., Anheuser Busch Brewery Christmas Lights Experience. The towering, Germanic-style red-brick buildings adorned with thousands of lights can be enjoyed up-close through a self-guided walking tour. Guests aged 21 and older can sample complimentary beers along the walking tour route, get comfy and cozy around warm ire pits to roast s’mores, and pose for a souvenir photo in a themed snow globe or with a Budweiser Clydesdale. Drive-through tours are welcome on Monday and Wednesday evenings. 12th & Lynch St., 63118. For more information, visit www. budweisertours.com

concerts

Fri., Dec. 5, 7 p.m., Roscoe Mitchell and Craig Taborn at The Stage at KDHX, 3524 Washington Ave. 63103. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AT: NEWMUSICCIRCLE.ORG. Roscoe Mitchell will partake in an artist talk and Q+A on Thursday, December 4th at Tavern Of Fine Arts (313 Belt Ave). This interview will be moderated by radio announcer Dennis Owsley (KWMU -/ Jazz Unlimited/) and musician, writer, and Washington University music professor Paul Steinbeck. Wed., Dec. 17 – Sat., Dec. 20, Jazz St. Louis welcomes The Roy Hargrove Quintet, Ferring Jazz Bistro, Harold and Thelma Steward Center for Jazz, 3536 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www.jazzstl. org.

Dec. 26 & 27, Jazz at the Bistro in Grand Center presents Good 4 the Soul. This explosive four-piece outfit, led by John King on bass, with Adaron “Pops” Jackson on keys, James Jackson on drums, and Shaun Robinson on guitar, draws upon jazz, funk, fusion, gospel, and R&B repertoires to deliver a powerful and unapologetic sound that excites and thrills audiences. When this band hits the stage, there are no boundaries. The only guarantee is a night of world-class music that is Good 4 the Soul. 3536 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. jazzstl.org.

local gigs

Wednesdays, 6-10 p.m., Lexus Len’s “Winedown Wednesdays,” Live Band featuring: Cheryl Brown, Jeremiah Allen, Jeff Taylor, Gerald Warren & Amos Brewer, The Loft, 3112 Olive.

Sat., Dec. 13, 9 p.m., Troy’s Jazz Gallery presents Ladies Sing the Blu’zz Masterpieces. Come experience the smooth and sultry vocal styles of Mary Dyson & Diane Vaughn. 4519 Olive St., 63108. For more information, call (314) 9231120.

special events

Fri., Dec. 5, 7 p.m., Hope for the Holidays Gala beneitting Stray Rescue of St. Louis. Come join us for an unforgettable evening of delectable food, drink and entertainment to beneit Stray Rescue of St. Louis. Celebrity guests include cast members from the ABC hit series “Castle.” Also in attendance is St. Louis Blues great Brett Hull and other favorite alumni players. The exclusive celebration includes gourmet

food, open bar, live music as

well as silent and live auctions. Chase Park Plaza, 232 N. Kingshighway, 63108. For more information, call (314) 771-6121 or email jenn@ strayrescue.org.

Tues., Dec. 9, 6 p.m., Ozzie Smith’s Sports Academy Basketball Clinic. Inviting ages 6 – 14 to join us for a slam dunk of a holiday basketball clinic. Collegiate athletes from the Ozzie Smith’s Sports Academy will teach the “Big 5 Skills” of basketball - dribbling, passing, shooting, rebounding and defense. The instructors make their best shot, assuring that you will have fun learning basketball skills. Please bring your own age appropriate basketball. Brentwood High School Small Gym, 2221 High School Dr., 63144. For more information, call (314) 963-8689 or visit www. brentwoodmo.org/parks.

Fri., Dec. 12, 7:45 p.m., The Pageant hosts Kurt Warner’s Night with Champions. Kurt and Brenda Warner host this event, along with special guests from the 1999 Super Bowl winning Rams: Head Coach Dick Vermeil, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, and Orlando Pace. This will be an evening of entertainment as Kurt Warner and the panel of guests relive the excitement of that fairytale season. All proceeds beneit the St. Louis outreach of the Kurt Warner First Things First Foundation. 6161 Delmar Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. thepageant.com.

Sat., Jan. 3, 7 p.m., The Scottrade Center presents Harlem Globetrotters Fans Rule World Tour. The world famous Harlem Globetrotters have been thrilling families and millions of fans for 88 years, all the while innovating the game in exciting new ways. Last year, the Globetrotters did something unparalleled in the history of sports and entertainment, letting fans vote on new rules to be used in actual games. It was so much fun, we are doing it again, and there are cool new rules to choose from: Hot

Hand Jersey, Make or Miss, or Trick Shot Challenge Take your kids to www. harlemglobetrotters.com/rule to vote for their favorite, craziest rule. Then, get your tickets to the game, where you will see the winning rules put into live action. 1401 Clark Ave., 63103. For more information, call (314) 622-5400 or visit www.scottradecenter.com.

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

comedy

Through Dec. 13, Satori presents STL Up Late. This is an interactive late night talk show featuring the most talented & engaging guests that St. Louis has to offer. STL Up Late takes all of the best elements of your favorite televised late night talk shows, like live music & famous personalities, and adds interactive audience games, sketch comedy, and a spontaneity that you can’t ind on FCC regulated TV shows. 3003 Locust St., 63103. For more information, visit www. stluplate.com.

theatre

Fri., Dec. 5, 6 p.m., The Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation presents Kids Night at the Fox. For this special day the Fox will offer adults the opportunity to purchase a ticket and receive a kid’s ticket free to attend a fun-filled performance of ANNIE. Area restaurants will offer a free or discounted kid’s entreé with the purchase of an adult entreé. Prior to the show, the Fox Theatre lobby will be filled with lots of kid-friendly, interactive activities. Each kid will also receive a free souvenir to remember this special day. 527 N Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. foxpacf.org.

Dec. 10 – 14, The Peabody Opera House presents Pippin. Come experience one young man’s journey to be extraordinary in this high-flying, death-defying hit musical. 1400 Market St., 63103. For more information, call (314) 499-7600 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Through Dec. 21, The Black Rep presents A Raisin in the Sun. Emerson Performance Center, Harris-Stowe State University, 3026 Laclede Ave., 63103. For more information, call (314) 534-3807 or visit www.theblackrep.org.

Jazz St. Louis welcomes The Roy Hargrove Quintet. See CONCERTS for details.

arts

Featured event: The Alliance of Black Art Galleries presents Hands Up, Don’t Shoot: Artists Respond

Fridays & Saturdays

Through Dec. 20, 10:30 a.m.,

The Alliance of Black Art Galleries presents Hands Up, Don’t Shoot: Artists Respond Exhibiting artists include: Lenard Hinds, Bill Murphy, Lola Ogbara, Eva Sutton, Jacquelyn Williams, (St. Louis), Edna PattersonPetty (East St. Louis), Sean Starowitz & Lauren Tweedie (Kansas City), Teamworks Unlimited (New York). The Griot Museum of Black History, 2505 St. Louis Ave., 63106. For more information, call (314) 241-7057.

Through Jan. 4, St. Louis Art Museum presents Atua: Sacred Gods from Polynesia Explore, in unprecedented depth, the relationship between art objects and Polynesian concepts of atua—gods, ancestors, and spirit beings that are fundamental to the Polynesian cosmos. Organized geographically, Atua leads

visitors across the vast span of Polynesian islands. With the arrival of missionaries, artworks associated with atua often were destroyed or exported to the West as souvenirs of conversion and colonialism. Among those sculptures that did survive this period, the most powerful and celebrated objects are presented in this exhibit. One Fine Arts Dr., 63110. For more information, call (314) 7210072 or visit www.slam.org/ atua.

lectures

Dec. 5 – 6, The St. Louis Science Center presents Brain Works: Your Mind on Life. Understand life and the human brain like never before. In a unique convergence of science and theater brought to you by Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University Physicians, Brain Works takes you inside the minds of two individuals as they experience the moments that shape all of our lives. Join leading neurosurgeonscientists Albert Kim and Eric Leuthardt as they reveal the secrets behind life’s milestone moments and the fear of a life-threatening medical diagnosis. With a professional ensemble, moving music, and gripping visuals, Brain Works is a compelling and emotional story of the mind, and what makes us human. 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Sat., Dec. 13, 11 a.m., Circle of Inluence hosts Mock Interview Workshop. This workshop will provide an interactive experience with participants by helping them to practice their interviewing skills. Participants will gain an understanding of what is expected of them as well as the kinds of questions that they should expect from an interviewer. Participants will also receive tips on business etiquette and resume writing. Please dress professionally and bring your resume.

Mid-County Branch, St. Louis County Library, 7821 Maryland Ave., 63105. For more information, visit www. circleoinluence.us.

Sat., Dec. 13, 10:00 a.m., St. Louis Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Economic Development Committee presents An Innovative Entrepreneurship Workshop. Panelists of minority business owners will speak on how they started their own business. Participating business areas include: daycares, catering, construction, real estate, healthcare, and education. There will also be refreshments, prizes, giveaways, and more. RSVPs must be received no later than Nov. 22. O’Fallon Park Recreation Complex, 4343 West Florissant Ave., 63115. For more information, call (314) 790-1243.

Sat. Dec. 6, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., Free Mammograms at the Health Resource Center, Victor Roberts Building, 1408 Kingshighway in St. Louis; for female patients age 40 and older. Free flu shots, physical therapy evaluations, health screenings, family counseling and social work consultations are also availablet. To schedule a mammogram or for more information, call 314-389-0008. Sat., Dec. 20, 9:30 a.m., Health Protection and Education Services presents Free Health Screenings and Physician Referrals. Health Protection and Education Services, a health organization operating in University City offers free health screenings and referrals for people who are under-insured. They employ volunteer doctors, nurses and medical and nursing students to screen people for ailments. Referrals are made to the People’s Health Center. University City Public Library, 6701 Delmar Blvd., 63130. For more information, call (314) 448-7373.

bring family photos to a public setting and share the pictures and family stories.

“We share these images – these treasures – with someone that we know or a family member, but we never share them publicly,” Harris said. “By sharing those images and stories of people who have passed, we are celebrating our ancestors and introducing them to new people.”

Harris presents the event as he tours his film across the nation. The St. Louis stop was co-presented by the Nine Network as a compliment to the film’s SLIFF screening the following Sunday afternoon.

“Each of the Digital Diaspora Roadshows is kind of spontaneous – kind of like jazz,” Harris said. “So if you have a story and an image that connects with one of the stories you just heard on stage today, feel free to raise your hand and come on up.” Even before the program started, the value in taking part in the experience was evident. People came clutching photo albums, digital copies of photos, eager to share their family’s contribution to American history.

“My mother was a missionary in Haiti and lived there for five years,” Linck said. “When Mary McLeod Bethune visited Haiti, my mom was her interpreter.”

Many of the guests sat eagerly awaiting an opportunity to create a connection with the audience. The stories ranged from inspirational to heartbreaking – and even hilarious.

“She came to St. Louis with 30 cents in her pocket and two children and after a couple of years, she looked like this,” Andrea Hughes said of her grandmother while holding up a painting she had created from her favorite image. “She would go to

work as a domestic with high heels and a gardenia in her hair. She would wear high heels in the snow.”

Andrea’s mother Cleora Hughes stood next to her on stage and talked about her grandmother as well. She spoke of how taking typing as a favor to her changed the course of Cleora’s life.

“I worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for 43 years and my girlfriend and I – she has since passed on – were the first women of color that were hired to be something other than a cleaning lady,” Cleora said.

She also spoke of her grandmother’s loss and determination to rebuild her family.

“Her mother died in childbirth and her father gave the children away,” Cleora said. “She spent her life looking for them. She also loved parakeets. And every time she would get a parakeet she would name them Rose because that was the one sibling she never found.”

Gilberto Pinela, Cecilia Nadal and The American’s own Wiley Price – who spoke on his “Lift Every Voice and Sing” portrait book featuring 100 esteemed African Americans from St. Louis – were among the more recognizable faces in the roadshow.

Images were scanned and projected so the entire audience could see, and shared via social media with the 1World1Family hashtag.

“This is my great aunt Hannah Alice Bomar, who graduated from Lane College in 1888,” said Keith Tyrone Williams. He said he believed the picture was taken in 1889.

“When I was going through grad school recently and dealing with a lot of the challenges, I looked at her picture for inspiration,” Williams said. “I thought, ‘If she could graduate college in 1889, then I can certainly make it through this.’ We need to know our legacy. It is a strength that can carry us through life.”

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power couples. Ebony Power 100 includes UMSL Alum. Dr. Danielle Lee, who considers St. Louis her second “hometown,” was just named one of Ebony Magazine’s Power 100 honorees. Lee is a post-doctoral research associate at Cornell University but while in St. Louis she was a very busy and dedicated member of the

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But as they barely stay afloat, the Youngers cling to optimism, thanks to an opportunity that grew from tragedy.

And even when racism, classism, prejudice, personal and systematic setbacks threaten to stomp them out, they attempt stay true to their family’s legacy of making things better for the next generation.

The Black Rep debuted the production as their season’s second show just days after St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch announced that the grand jury would not

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to an acrobatic act he does with fellow St. Louisan, Sidney Iking Bateman, in a show called “Cuisine and Confessions.”

“Cuisine and Confessions” is a contemporary circus show, a theatrical piece that uses circus elements. It is the newest creation from a worldrenowned Canadian company known as Les 7 Doights de la Main (7 Fingers of the Hand).

young professional community. From the Urban League Young Professionals and Big Brothers Big Sisters it’s a wonder how Danielle ever found the time to win several blog awards for her dynamic blog “The Urban Scientist.” She’s dedicated to engaging more young African Americans in science.

Dr. Danielle Lee received her Ph.D. from University of Missouri St. Louis in 2010 and has been making moves ever since. Congratulations, Dr. Lee, and I continue to enjoy your strong support of science on

convict now former Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown Jr.

Yet the response to their presentation of “A Raisin in the Sun” has been overwhelming. The opening night production was completely sold out. Only limited seating was available for the entire first weekend of the show’s threeweek run.

A diverse group of patrons nearly filled the Harris-Stowe State University’s Emerson Performance Center for the Sunday afternoon matinee to watch director Ed Smith lead Ronald Connor, Thayis Walsh, Sharisa Whatley and Andrea Frye into the roles that for many laid the foundation for an African-American narrative

The show opened in Montreal in October and is about to start a two-year international tour.

“Cuisine and Confessions” is a deeply personal show that explores the blood memories that come from our associations with food. Performers share their stories by speaking directly into a microphone or through recorded interviews.

The act that Sidney and Melvin do together is based on the ancient Chinese skill of hoop diving. Their act was created as their graduation performance from the prestigious Ecole Nationale de Cirque, the National Circus School of Montreal.

The story behind the act is the two of them helping each other through doorways (square hoops) and ultimately escaping the lives they had known. It is about getting out of St. Louis.

Sidney and Melvin first learned circus arts through Circus Harmony, the circus school located on the third floor of City Museum. Sidney was brought there by a mentor; Melvin had an internship that

social media, often teaching me along the way. Giving while enjoying Jazz In Pink. Community Women Against Hardship is an organization that prior to this event I didn’t know enough about. I was aware they did great things in the community and for hundreds of families, but hearing the stories from Co-Chair Mavis Thompson and founder Gloria Taylor made me truly aware that this is exactly what our community needs. And it is an honor to know that The American is a

within mainstream theatre.

Through the story, audiences will see that the grievances expressed nationwide since that sweltering day in August when Michael Brown was gunned down have been constant since before most of them were born.

The unrest, frustration and racial tension in Ferguson are shared by this fictional 1950s family in Chicago. But the play also eloquently expresses the willful determination of African Americans to rise from the ashes.

“A Raisin in the Sun” has continued to resonate with audiences – through stage, film and television productions –thanks to the parting thought of staying focused on the promise of tomorrow in spite of what one might see or suffer through

placed him in the circus snack bar. Neither boy had planned to join the circus. Sidney loved basketball and had NBA aspirations; Melvin was already working on becoming a rap artist.

Sidney was raised by his grandmother, Melvin by his single mom. Sidney attended Beaumont High School until a school fight got him sent to Innovative Concept Academy. Melvin went to Construction Career Center. At Circus Harmony, both learned a variety of circus skills but excelled in acrobatics. In fact, Sidney was the first student at the school to ever do a double back somersault on the ground. Melvin served as the base of just about every acrobatic trick and pyramid the students presented.

“You’re going to cry.”

That is what everyone told me when I went to Montreal for the opening of “Cuisine and Confessions.” I am the director of Circus Harmony. Sidney and Melvin were my long-time students, and we went through

member of their Supportive Circle. Their annual fundraiser was filled with seasoned leaders in the community who couldn’t help but enjoy the allfemale band Jazz In Pink. Had the pleasure of meeting of Keith Williamson, general counsel for the Centene Corporation – who shared with me he is a fan of Partyline! The fact that I snagged a full-length mink coat from their silent auction following the concert is all the reason I need to support this event every year.

today. It’s a message that needs to be resounded as a community attempts to come together and move beyond the tragedy that thrust St. Louis’ problems into an international spotlight.

“Part of our mission is to speak to the African-American experience,” Himes said, “and use the theatre to create conversations from those experiences that can hopefully facilitate change.”

The Black Rep’s presentation of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun continues through December 21 at Harris-Stowe State University’s Emerson Performance Center. For more information, visit www.theblackrep.org or call (314) 534-3810.

a lot over the many years we worked together. They were hired by 7 Fingers to be part of the company’s new show, right after finishing at the National Circus School. The creation process included in-depth interviews with the performers starting in early summer. This was before the fatal shooting of Michael Brown Jr. and its aftermath revealed to the world a hard fact in the life a young black male in St. Louis: the probability of getting shot. Prophetically, perhaps, Melvin’s interview – which became the beginning soundtrack of the hoop diving act – was about how growing up in North St. Louis meant waiting for when it would be your turn to get shot. It’s echoed at the end by his acrobatic partner. Near the end of their acrobatic act soundtrack, Sidney says, “These things are normal, and I was just next in line to be like my brother or my uncle – and I got out of that.”

December Family Sundays sparkle with Winter celebrations

Sunday Family Programs

Noon to 4:00 pm

December 7: Feast of our Lady of Guadalupe

December 14: Hanukkah: The Jewish Festival of Lights

December 21: Christmas Celebrations

December 28: Kwanzaa: Honoring our Past; Strengthening our Future

The Saint Louis Art Museum invites you to join us each Sunday in December for our festival of Winter Celebrations. Just as the Art Museum presents art from around the world, Winter Celebrations gives our visitors an opportunity to learn and appreciate cultural traditions of people around the world. Sharing cultural traditions is one way for children and adults of all ages to learn to honor our similarities, respect our differences, and celebrate our diversity.

On Sunday, December 7, the Museum kicks off its Winter Celebrations with a family day dedicated to Mexican culture and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Beginning at noon, you can participate in hands-on art activities inspired by traditional Mexican art techniques, complete a fun scavenger hunt through the Museum’s galleries, stop by demonstration tables to get an up-close look at authentic artisans’ works from Mexico, or snap a picture wearing traditional Mexican accessories at one of the dress-up tables. This special family day is presented in collaboration with the Mexican Cultural Society of St. Louis.

The Feast of Our Lady of Gaudulupe concludes at 2:00 pm in the Farrell Auditorium

with a lively and interactive ballet folklorico featuring dances from across Mexico. The performance is free, but a ticket is required for entry to auditorium. Tickets can be reserved in person at the Museum’s Information Centers or through MetroTix (314.534.1111). Tickets reserved through MetroTix incur a $3 per ticket service charge; the charge is waived for tickets reserved at the Museum.

The Museum’s winter celebrations continues on Sunday, December 14 as Family Sundays highlights Hanukkah: The Jewish Festival of Lights. Visitors can enjoy storytelling, music and many other special activities throughout the afternoon. We will celebrate Christmas on December 21 with an afternoon showing of the Disney hit movie, Frozen; a visit from the Snowlake Lady; and a performance of classic Christmas carols.

Saint Louis Art Museum’s Winter Celebrations will conclude with our annual Kwanzaa extravaganza. This year’s theme is Honoring our Past; Strengthening our Present featuring traditional African dance, an art activity where families will make their own zawadi (gift), and scavenger hunt with clues that teach about the seven principles of Kwanzaa. The Museum’s Kwanzaa program is sponsored in collaboration with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., St. Louis Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter.

We hope that you will join us every Sunday in December for our free Family Programs: Winter Celebrations. Visitors of all ages will enjoy exploring a different winter cultural celebrations each week with art activities, performances and refreshments. For more information please visit www.slam.org.

Family Sundays are sponsored by Wells Fargo Advisors.

By Melanie Adams

Telling ‘riot’ from wrong

History Museum screening puts Ferguson in international context

As the St. Louis region struggles to deal with the tragic aftermath of the Michael Brown Jr. shooting, the Missouri History Museum is proud to continue to serve as a safe space for dialogue on difficult community issues.

Over the past four months, the Museum has hosted speakers, documentaries, and discussion groups in partnership with diverse community organizations. From the YWCA to the Anti-Defamation League to the Urban League Young Professions, the museum welcomes groups as they take an honest look at the region’s issues and work towards crafting solutions.

On Sunday, December 7 at 3pm, the Missouri History Museum adds the Organization for Black Struggle and the Coalition for Human Rights to this impressive list of partners by hosting their US premier of Riot to Wrong Riot from Wrong, a film made by the youth steering group of the not-for-profit media organization Fully Focused Community, documents the August 2011 England riots from within the communities in which they occurred, and, crucially, from the perspective of young people. The idea for the film, produced by 19 young Londoners, was born four days into the riots, when a group of youngsters and two youth workers, frustrated with the police and media misconceptions about the shooting of Mark Duggan in Tottenham, picked up their cameras and started filming. The end product was this acclaimed documentary.

Unfortunately, the story of civil unrest fueled by an unjust legal system is not unique to the United States. While this documentary is from London, it could have easily been filmed by young people in any country that is frustrated by the lack justice they witness on a daily basis. This frustration grows with each unlawful stop, with each unwarranted ticket, with each unarmed shooting to the point where the only action left is to take to the streets with hands and voices raised high. This documentary places the situation in Ferguson in an international context along with

n This documentary places the situation in Ferguson in an international context along with other racial riots of the 21st century.

other racial riots of the 21st century and in a historical context of the race riots of the 1960’s in Newark, Detroit, and Watts.

Following the one hour screening of the documentary will be a panel that includes the producer, Teddy Nygh, and four of the young people featured in the documentary. To help put the documentary in a local context, the panel will also include Thomas Harvey of the Arch City Defenders, one of the first people to call attention to the inequalities in the legal system in North County. The following Sunday, December 14t at 3pm the Museum will be screening, Lee Daniel’s The Butler, the story of a White House butler who served eight American presidents throughout three decades. The film traces the dramatic changes that swept American society during this time, from the civil rights movement to Vietnam and beyond, and how those changes affected this man’s life and family. A mix of fiction and fact, the film serves as a primer on the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s exploring both why African Americans were fighting for change and how they achieved it.

While two very different films, both Riot to Wrong and Lee Daniels The Butler examine issues of race and inequality, one from a historic perspective and one from this decade. They also both look at the conflicts through the eyes of young people and reflect on their reactions to situations they must navigate even though they did not create them. In a world where Ferguson is just the latest place to be added to the map of social injustices, these documentaries serve as a reminder of our past and unfortunately a prediction of the future if we continue to sustain inequalities based on race.

Riot from Wrong screening and panel discussion Sunday, December 7 3:00pm to 5:00pm Lee Auditorium • FREE

Lee Daniel’s The Butler Rated PG-13 Sunday, December 14 3:00pm to 5:30pm Lee Auditorium • FREE

Volunteer recognition

The National Alliance of Faith and Justice (NAFJ) presented FergusonFlorissant administrators and students with the President’s Volunteer Service Award for their ongoing work with students and the community of Ferguson. The President’s Volunteer Service Award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to serve their fellow citizens. Pictured, left to right: Ferguson-Florissant School District Chief Learning Officer Dr. Gwendolyn Diggs, McCluer SouthBerkeley High School sophomore Charlene Davis, McCluer SouthBerkeley High School Principal Mr. Steven Lawler and McCluer South-Berkeley High School sophomore Walter Shannon

Beaumont High Class of 1970 is looking for team members to plan its’ 45th year reunion. Interested? Please email Beatrice Palmer (Vanzant-Smith) at bvanzantsmith@yahoo.com or bsmithrealtor@att.net.

Beaumont High Class of 1984 can stay updated via our Facebook page “Beaumont

Class of 1984”. We meet the last Friday of every month. Contact Rochelle Williams at rochellewilliams001@yahoo. com.

Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri District 3 would like to invite you to an Alumni Event. We are looking for anyone who worked in or was a member of Girl Scouts in St. Louis City. If you would like to participate, please contact Essie Harrison at essie.harrison@att.net or call (314) 400-4602 with your name, address, phone number, and email address.

Soldan Class of “75” Planning Committee is hosting a Holiday Extravaganza, Saturday, December 13, 2014, 6pm. Gents Social Club,

Celebrations

Anniversaries

John and Portia Simpson will celebrate 50 years of marriage on December 12. They are the proud parents of two sons; John Anthony and Paul Jason; and two granddaughters, Cassandra and Alexandria. They plan on enjoying many more happy years together.

On December 7, Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Yeager Sr. will celebrate 47 years of marriage. They started as high school sweethearts and remain the best of friends. May God continue to bless you through many more years!

Engaged

John Shepherd is pleased to announce the engagement of his daughter, Gertrude Johnette Bush, to LaVerle DeAndre Davis Sr., son of Jennifer Davis of St. Louis, Mo. The couple will wed in St. Louis, Mo. The wedding date will be announced once arrangements are made.

2707 N. Taylor. Celebrate the holiday with us. Prizes, Music , and Lots of Fun. Contact: Roslyn (Cookie) Williams (314) 616 4892, Arvell Roberts (314) 640 0380, or email us at soldanclass75@gmail.com . Thank You So Much For Your Service...

Sumner High School Class of 1965 is planning a 50th year reunion for June 12-14. 2015. Please join us via Facebook: Class of ‘65 Sumner High School St. Louis, MO. St. Louis Community College needs your help identifying STLCC alumni. Alumni are encouraged to visit the website: www.stlcc.edu/foundation/, to become members or update information. For more

information, contact Ashley Budde, coordinator of alumni relations, at abudde6@stlcc. edu, or 314-539-5145.

Sumner High Class of 1965 is planning its 50th Reunion on the second and fourth Mondays at 7 p.m. at the Lower Level of Ronald L. Jones Funeral Chapel. For updates and/or to leave your contact info--visit our Facebook group Sumner Class of ‘65.

Sumner High Class of 1975 has started planning its 40th reunion. Please provide contact information to sumnerclassof75@gmail.com or C. Jackson 314-477-6785 for more information.

Sumner Class of ‘76 Annual

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

Party, Friday, December 19, 2014, 6 pm at Deja Vu II Cafe, 2805 Target Dr, St. Louis, MO 63136. Two for one drinks (5:30 - 8 p.m.), food available to buy from kitchen, free parking, no cover charge. Please RSVPASAP with B. Louis at 314-385-9843.

Upward Bound (Webster University ) Class of ‘66 thru ‘70 of Kinloch, Beaumont, Vashon, Summer, Central, Soldan, Northwest, McKinney and Laboure, we are the process of planning a reunion around June/ July 2015. Please respond by contacting via email or Facebook Lawrence (Larry) Lewis: lewis3936@gm.com or Kenneth W. McClendon irisingridarlene@aol.com.

2315 Pine St., St. Louis, MO 63103

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

What would Jesus have me do?

A clergy supporter of Ferguson protestors reflects on his role

By Dean Mike Kinman

Of Christ Church Cathedral

I read an excellent piece from a Baptist pastor, the Rev. Jeff Hood, called “The Violence of Demanding Peaceful Protest: The Missteps of Clergy in Ferguson.” He says in part:

“The work that I do is to ensure that acts of civil disobedience remain nonviolent, not that they remain nonexistent. We must not forget that civil disobedience is an unpeaceful act. Civil disobedience is not intended to create situations of calm. Civil disobedience escalates situations to a point where people have to pay attention to injustice...

nonviolence. I believe it is by far the most effective and moral way to confront injustice. I am not for the violence of clergycontrolled protests in a space where people have every right to exercise their anger.”

This resonates with me. I also realize the learning curve I have been and continue to be on over the past three months to get to this point.

The first times I was out with demonstrators, I was so much like the clergy the writer talks about – wanting people to calm down.

“I don’t think you can have an honest conversation about race in our nation when you are always telling people to calm down. If peaceful protest is about controlling people’s emotions, then I believe it to be violently taking away the agency of people who have every right to be angry and engaged in resistance. I am for

I talked about it being my belief in neighbor love, but I realize now that, for me, a big part of it was my own uncomfortability with the anger and my own fear at its power. But the anger is the natural result of injustice and it must be expressed. White people like me must not only allow it, we must, as I preached on Sunday, allow it to cut us to the core and shake our foundations. We must feel the anger and let it change us. My job as clergy on the

street is to make sure the civil disobedience is nonviolent, not nonexistent. I am always opposed to any physical violence. I believe it is counter to Christ and sets back any movement for change for justice. I will always oppose violence. But I need to guard the space for the anger to be expressed.

The tricky part for me and where I continue to struggle the most is violent words. Specifically, “F#$% the police.”

Jesus tells me to love my neighbor, and when I stand with people who yell “F^&* the police” it makes me cringe and breaks my heart. It’s not so much my uncomfortability with anger (I’m making my peace with that) but with the fact that I know for many officers those words are experienced as violence directed toward them. They are experienced by the officer’s family and friends that way, too. I have seen the words

DECEMBER 18

Thursday aT 7:30pm

Kevin mcBeth, conductor Oleta adams, vocalist

st. Louis symphony IN uNIsON® Chorus

Oleta adams joins the sTL symphony and IN uNIsON® Chorus led by director Kevin mcBeth for a night of soul-stirring Gospel music to celebrate the most joyous of seasons. suppOrTEd By

opportunity before them – and that is to hear the terrible words directed at them and let those words touch their hearts, not as blows directed at them personally, but as pain being expressed – and to let those wonderful compassionate hearts that I have seen in my friends who are police hear that pain and maybe even love the feelers of it.

And what is my role? What would Jesus have me do when the young people begin to yell, “F#$% the police”? As I am still struggling with that, all I can say is here’s where I am now.

create the same hardness of heart and desire to respond in kind that physical violence does – even as the words themselves are often a response from the young people to the times they have been told “Get the #$&* out of the street” by police.

I cringe and my heart breaks because I want the cycle of verbal violence to end, too. But that is not most of my struggle. Most of my struggle is I have friends and people I care about deeply who are police officers, families of police officers and friends of police officers. I struggle because not only do I see them as human beings and beloved images of God but because they have let me get to know them, I have seen what good people they are and I have been privileged to call them friends – some for a long time – and I truly love them. And when I stand with someone yelling “F#$& the police” it is like standing with someone yelling “F#$& you” at my friend. And I know that they at least sometimes experience it as me standing there yelling “F#$& you” to them, too. And they are confused and angry with me. And I don’t blame them.

I am grateful for my struggle and hope it doesn’t go away. The struggle is rooted in my ability to see the police as individual human beings and children of God, to know and to love them the same way I have been so blessed and transformed by getting to know and love some of the young women and men who are the leaders of the demonstrations as individual human beings and children of God. I pray I never slip into seeing either “side” merely as “police” or “demonstrator” but strive always to see the humanity of each individual because that is Jesus’ call.

I want the demonstrators to see the police that I know. And I want the police and their family and friends to see the demonstrators I know. I want them to see each other’s humanity and beauty. I want them to see each other as I see them. And I want it to happen right now because it hurts so much that they can’t. I want it to happen right now because it hurts so bad. And I hate the pain. I want it to happen right now because I want the pain to stop. And that’s where I need to

take a deep breath and trust.

Trust that some day this will happen. But it will not be right now. It will not be tomorrow. It will not be for a long time. This is healing from deep trauma and my spiritual guides, the women of Magdalene, have taught me that healing from trauma takes a long, long time and that getting the anger out is an indispensable part of the healing.

I need to remember that I can have the love and friendship I have with police officers and their friends and family because I have the privilege of a different relationship with them. I have never felt the police as my oppressor, yet for these women and men growing up black in urban America that has been their relationship with the police their whole lives.

For these demonstrators, the police are not the only sign of how our society has discarded and criminalized these young women and men, but as a body they are the most visible sign and have become the symbol of that oppression. To them, the police are not individuals worthy of being treated as God’s image and they are not yet ready to see them as that. They will be someday, but mostly they are not now. They are not now, because they have not experienced that treatment as beloved from the police ... or anyone else in power.

And after the stories I have heard of how people have been treated, I have to say screaming “F#$% you” seems not only honest and healthy but downright reasonable.

Is it fair that individual police officers who may have wonderful hearts and are putting themselves in harm’s way daily and are just trying to make a living have to bear the brunt of the abuse and anger directed toward those officers who are brutally racist police and, indeed, toward a “whole damn system that is guilty as hell?” No. But fair went out the window a long time ago.

The truth is the anger coming off the streets directed at the police must be expressed or we will never get to the place where healing is possible. Yes, I understand the police have their own anger, but the truth is as wonderful, as they might be individually, as a group they are the symbol of the oppressive power.

It’s not fair, but it also means they have a transformational

My role is to stand with the nonviolent young women and men who are leading this movement, even when they are shouting “F#$& the police,” knowing that their anger is righteous and if we are ever going to get to a place of reconciliation and healing, it must be expressed. Knowing that Christ bids us to stand with those who are oppressed, with those who are “the least of these,” knowing that in the Kingdom of God, the last will be first.

My role is trying to do the slow, work of translation –even as I am growing in my own understanding – to try to help police and indeed all white people ask the powerful question of “Why?” when we hear these young people yell “F$#% the police” and not be satisfied with simple answers that just reinforce our prejudices and stereotypes. My role is receiving the confusion, anger and hurt from the wonderful people I have built friendships with over the years who are now seeing me as “anti-cop” and bearing that as part of my own penance and praying our friendships ultimately are strong enough to bear it, but recognizing they may not be.

My role is recognizing that, as a part of that system that privileges white people like me, I have to share in the guilt, and every time I hear “F#$^ the police” I have to hear “F#$& you, Mike Kinman” because I am part of that system, too. I literally have to make that translation in my head and in my heart and try to have compassion on the voices saying it ... because I am a part of that system, too. My role, as is ours, is to continue to set my eyes on Jesus and try with the rest of you to walk in his steps. To try not to shy away from pain but feel it fully knowing it can be redemptive. To listen deeply to and stand with those who are oppressed and be their shield. To love without counting the cost knowing that the cost of love is often high. And, because I am not Jesus, to do this incredibly imperfectly and rely on the grace and forgiveness of God and others.

I have been invited to stand in my Elmer-Fuddish orange vest in front of the Ferguson Police Department and do these things. Unless I am called elsewhere, I will be there with my dear sister Rebecca Ragland and others. I do not go there lightly. I go there to try imperfectly to do this work. I bid your prayers ... and I bid you find your role in this work as well.

Dean Mike Kinman is pastor of Christ Church Cathedral, a Cathedral for the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri and a heart of mission, ministry and reconciliation for downtown St. Louis.

Rage at the police resulted in the attempted burning of a Ferguson police cruiser after a protest at Ferguson Police Department on Tuesday, November 25. The night before it was revealed that Officer Darren Wilson would not face charges for the fatal shooting of Michael Brown Jr. Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Guest Columnist

Dean Mike Kinman

BEYOND HOUSING REQUESTFOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ), FOR SITE CONTROLDISCUSSIONS WITH OWNERS OFSELECT DEVELOPMENTSITES ON NATURAL

BRIDGE ROAD, BETWEEN INTERSTATE 170 AND KIENLEN/JENNINGS STATION

ROAD. Statements of Qualifications due by 5:00 P.M., Central Time, on MONDAY, DECEMBER 8th, 2014, at Beyond Housing, 1318 Leroy Avenue, Pagedale, MO 63133, Attn, Elliot Liebson, Economic Development Specialist. RFQ may be obtained at 1318 Leroy or online at www.beyondhousing.org , or by calling Elliot Liebson at 314 219-9924. MBE/WBE firms encouraged to apply.

The

Bids & Notices

BIDS/PROPOSALS WANTED

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Notice is hereby given that The Metropolitan St. Louis SewerDistrict (District), the Owner, will receive sealed bids for Bissell - ColdwaterMissouri - Meramec Public I/I Reduction (2015) Contract G under Letting No. 11926-015.1, at its office, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103, until 2:00 PM local time, onThursday, January 08, 2015 All bids are to be deposited in the bid box located on the first floor of the District’s Headquarters prior to the 2:00 p.m. deadline. Bids may however, be withdrawn prior to the opening of the first bid. BIDS WILL BE PUBLICLYOPENED AND READ IMMEDIATELYAFTER THE BID DUE DATE/TIME AT2350 MARKETSTREET, ATAPLACE DESIGNATED.

The Work to be performed under these Contract Documents consists of:

The work to be done underthis contract consists of the rehabilitation of approximately 69,624 lineal feet of sewers, varying in size from 6-inch to 42-inch diameterusing cured-in-place (CIPP) methods, 305 manholes and 1,125 service connections. The project is within the Metropolitan St. Louis SewerDistrict Boundaries, inside the city(ies) of Berkeley, Breckenridge Hills, Edmunson, Florissant, Hazelwood, Overland, St. Ann St. John, Woodson Terrace and Unicorporated St. Louis County in the State of Missouri. The work will be performed in various quantities at various sites.

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

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

Nondiscrimination in Employment: Bidders on this work will be required to comply with the President’s Executive Order11246. Requirements forbidders and contractors underthis orderare explained in the specifications.

like to find out more detailed information on this project, please contact Evan Chiles 636-561-9544 or emchiles@paric.com PARIC CORPORATION IS AN EQUALOPPORTUNITYEMPLOYER

Plans and Specifications are available from free electronic download. Please go to MSD’s website and look for a link to “ELECTRONIC PLANROOM.” Plans and Specifications are also available for viewing or purchase at Cross Rhodes Reprographics located at 1710 Macklind Avenue, St. Louis MO 63110. All bidders must obtain a set of plans and specifications in order to submit a bid in the name of the entity submitting the bid. The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE:

Advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair

Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, imitation, or discrimination because of race,color,religion, sex,

familial\status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination .“Wewill not knowingly

A solid Black Friday shindig for Liquid Assets. Based on the $7 billion sales dip for Black Friday weekend – and the proclamations to do so on social media – plenty of y’all took part in the #BlackOutBlackFriday protests and stayed away from the malls. But that clearly meant that you had more time to tear the club up. Because y’all were out there in those streets, do you hear me?! Especially on Friday – and I’m not the least bit mad about it either. My first stop the Liquid Assets all-black party at the current resident urban club hotspot, The Marquee. Man, it was so packed up in there, you would’ve thought Phil and ‘nem were handing out 32 inch LED Smart TVs for $50 or PS4s for $99. I know he had some kind of “free entry for folks wearing all black” or something for part of the night, and whatever it was the folks got a piece of that no cover charge Black Friday deal action and ran with it! Locust and 19th was looking like the Washington Avenue strip the way traffic was backed all up too. It was a good look. I’m now hopeful of what folks could possibly be serving up for New Year’s Eve after having spirits dashed by the ghoulishly underwhelming Halloween party scene (with Mo Spoon and a few others being the exception).

Masks and a Foxx. Envy and Tiffany Foxx really do go hand in hand. Just think about all the years us girls have seethed with jealousy about her magnificent shape. Oh, so I’m the only one? Yeah right. Well, she gave us even more reason to take advantage of the YMCA’s “no membership dues until 2015” promotion by flaunting dangerously killer curves in her get up for her all black/masquerade party at Club Envy Friday night. She took “lift and separate” to an entirely new level Friday night, y’all. Don’t believe me, peep the Partyline Gallery pics on our site. But anyway, I had a great time watching her and her pretty girl partners in crime. DT/Scar Ladon or whatever she is calling herself these days was a bronze beauty Egyptian export. She was an Elizabeth Taylor wig away from full Cleopatra regalia. And she looked as if she had raided the closet of Leah (from Easley Done Salon) for that mask glorious gold mask. It was everything. In the past Ms. Foxx has enlisted some world-renowned bad chicks to join her in the fun – like Trina and Lil Kim. But this year’s event wasn’t short on STL stars, even if there was no national celebrity attached. Plus, Envy would have had to open up the patio in order to accommodate the crowd for any celebrity higher in rank than a video model, based on the number of folks who had showed up simply for Tiffany. And she would have had to change the party to a Ski Masquerade party so that folks could keep warm.

Poor Grace. I’ve been a faithful attendee of Close to Famous’ Grace for about as long as they’ve been putting it on. And for the eighth annual “Thanksgiving Eve” party, I was sure to show up and show my support. This year, it was held at … you know where ... The Marquee. I’m guessing the girls spent Wednesday night prepping their side chick signature Stove Top stuffing and Velveeta mac and cheese spreads, because Grace was as thin as my first (and final) attempt at making homemade chicken stock up in there. In all fairness, the party is poppin’ nearly every year. And this year it took place a mere two days after the grand jury decision not to indict Darren Wilson had the masses feeling some kind of way. It was just too fresh. I know I didn’t feel like being around folks in a celebratory manner by any means and had to force myself to go just so I could serve up something for y’all. With that in mind, I’ll give them a pass and even go so far as to say I’m willing to bet that next year Grace will return to its original glory.

DELUX and Dwele for the Holidays. That’s right, DELUX Magazine is bringing your favorite sleepy voice laidback soul singer to the STL for an intimate show that will most certainly be a relaxing escape from the hectic stress that the holiday season brings. I’ve seen Dwele more than a few times, and while he’s mellower than my taste when it comes to male crooners, he still puts on a good show. He just happens to sing using his “inside voice,” which is not what I’m used to. It’s going down NEXT Sunday (Dec. 14) at the Rustic Goat (2617 Washington Ave.) According to my invite, the show starts at 5 pm. So that means there is no excuse for the folks who would rather not stay out late when they have to head to work in the morning.

Prince and Needles. Do I really need to say anything else to get one to come check it out? Well, I probably need to give you the when and where – which I will. But first, I have to let you know how hard Nappy DJ Needles goes when with his “That Purple Stuff.” In case you were wondering, it’s a spin session ode to Prince. For those of you who are curious, I haven’t seen anyone wearing lace, a pixie cut press-n-curl or kitten heels yet (I’m keeping my fingers crossed). But they bust a move on his behalf … all.night.long. Even if you aren’t the biggest Prince fan, you’ll have a new appreciation for him by heading to the Blank Space (2847 Cherokee) tomorrow night. Not only is he prolific enough to have enough music for one to groove to for an entire evening, but he switched his style up so much over the years that you never get a chance to get bored. If you ever want to be in a safe space – where you can cut a rug without the fear of jeopardizing your swag –be sure to make your way over. The party starts at 9 p.m.

95.5

The

Feleg and Jojo spent their first weekend of the holiday season@ Be Thankful Sat @ Soho

LanTany and Caressa came out to the Say Thanks We Giving Celebration @ Envy Saturday

Auriel and Jamal celebrated their holiday weekend with the sounds of Will Robinson and Company Friday @ Soho

Sisters Candice and Denise came out to socialize with friends on Black Friday @ Soho

Onnie and Jamal came out to the 2 Live Crew and Liquid Assets All Black Party Friday @ the Marquee

Jinai and Stephanie got their holiday weekend started @ Rustic Goat Friday

The stunning Tiffany Foxx and Scar la don showed off their masquerade masks during Tiffany’s birthday celebration and Masquerade ball Friday @ Envy

Will Robinson, Rayna Blackshire and Carl Little took some time to relax during Black Friday Family Reunion @ Soho Friday

Tynika and Mary J stepped out after their holiday meal to partake in Thanksgiving Thursday @ Harry’s

Staci Static of Old School

FM was happy to pose with the cast of the Broadway tour of Motown the Musical Tuesday night at The Rustic Goat.

group spent their night off unwinding at the popular restaurant/ club, but also performed an impromptu tribute to St. Louis and Ferguson in the wake of the grand jury decision.

Photos by Lawrence Bryant & John Scott

Probably the saddest part of my job is witnessing the slow progressive decline of one of my patients. The joy of Family Medicine comes from years of intimate conversations regarding not only various health conditions but also the ups and downs of life in general. My patients and I share more than just their systolic and diastolic blood pressures. We engage in meaningful, thought-provoking discussions within our 15-20 minute time allotments.

Therefore when I hear that one of my patients has recently had a stroke and is now in a long term care facility and is no longer able to communicate, it simply devastates me. I wrestle with that information for hours at a time wondering what else could have been done to prevent such a situation. What additional measures could have been in place to avoid destruction to their brain?

Cerebral vascular accidents or strokes as they are commonly known are basically blood flow interruptions in the brain. These brain attacks can either be ischemic (not enough blood transfusion due to a clot) or hemorrhagic (bleeding in the brain from a leaky blood vessel or a ruptured aneurysm).The sequelae from these vascular events depend upon the location of the affected vessels and how extensive of an area has been involved.

Brain attacks

87% of the strokes that occur are ischemic in nature. Hypertension is the number one risk factor for these types of strokes. When a blood clot or plaque forms somewhere in the body such as the heart, it can travel to the brain and cause blockages in the vessels there. This is known as an embolic stroke. Roughly 15% of people with irregular heart rhythms known as atrial fibrillation, have embolic strokes. Basically the left atrium of the heart does not have normal contractility and that causes blood to pool, eventually forming clots which then travel to the brain.

Denise Hooks Anderson, M.D.

Clots can also originate in the vessels supplying blood to the brain. These are known as thrombotic strokes and are a result of atherosclerosis-plaque build-up. People with high cholesterol experience these types of strokes.

In contrast, the hemorrhagic strokes result from conditions such as high blood pressure, over treatment with blood thinners like Coumadin, and aneurysms. Another less common cause of bleeding in the brain is the rupture of an arteriovenous malformation, an abnormal tangle

of vessels that were present at birth.

The brain makes up only about 2 percent of human body weight but requires about 15-20 percent of the body’s blood supply. Red blood cells are important for carrying not only oxygen to the brain but carbohydrates, amino acids, fats, hormones, and vitamins. If a disruption occurs in that supply, brain cells will immediately start to die resulting in permanent brain damage.

Occasionally, mini-strokes (transient ischemic attack - TIA) occur in which brief episodes of decreased blood flow causes symptoms similar to those in strokes. TIAs do not leave permanent damage like those seen in cerebral vascular accidents since the vessel blockages are temporary. However, TIAs are warning signs that more ominous problems are looming and full blown strokes are likely in the future.

There are numerous risk factors for strokes, many of whom are modifiable. For example, heavy drinking, being overweight or obese, the use of illicit drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamines or physical inactivity are all risk factors that are mostly self-induced but possess potential for change. On the other hand, family history also contributes to future stroke risk. Controlling blood pressure, managing high cholesterol appropriately, and maintaining regular check-ups with your primary care provider are all recom-

mendations for reducing stroke risks. Chest pressure with radiation to the left arm is synonymous with a heart attack and public campaigns have done an excellent job of educating people to seek help immediately when symptoms occur. Brain attacks deserve the same level of urgency as well. The quicker your symptoms can be assessed and your brain is imaged, the greater likelihood of slowing the progression of your stroke. Although heart attacks cause a certain degree of morbidity, brain attacks affect your ability to perform everyday tasks such as putting on your clothes or feeding yourself. I have seen too often how patients lose their independence from a single stroke.

Arm or leg weakness, facial drooping, and speech problems are a few of the more common symptoms exhibited by stroke victims. I have had family members of my patients report how their loved ones were engaging in normal conversation when all of a sudden their speech became incoherent. Unfortunately, patients make the sometimes fatal error of deciding to just wait and see if the symptoms resolve spontaneously instead of proceeding directly to the emergency room. The window of opportunity to improve stroke outcomes is within three hours. Therefore, there is little time to waste during a brain attack.

Yours in Service, Denise Hooks-Anderson, M.D. Assistant Professor SLUCare Family Medicine yourhealthmatters@stlamerican.com

Your Health Matters

A bi-monthly special supplement of the St. Louis American December 4, 2014

Your Health Matters provides up-to-date information, from an African-American perspective, about one of the most important subjects in evryone’s life – their personal health.

Donald M. Suggs, President and Publisher

Kevin Jones, Senior Vice President, COO

Dina M. Suggs, Senior Vice President

Chris King, Editorial Director

Denise Hooks Anderson, M.D., Medical Accuracy Editor

Sandra Jordan, Health Reporter

Debbie Chase, Director of Health Strategy & Outreach

Onye Hollomon, Barb Sills, Pamela Simmons, Sales

Michael Terhaar, Art/Production Manager

Angelita Jackson, Cover Design

Wiley Price, Photojournalist

the

Coaching for healthier, happier lifestyles

By Sandra Jordan

Of The St. Louis American

Most people have some idea of what they generally need to do to for better wellness, whether it is losing weight, eating more nutritiously or eliminating unhealthy behaviors. Taking the steps and making the sacrifices to implement healthier behaviors is where persons with great health intentions can misstep.

That’s where lifestyle coaching has a niche, to encourage you and others to act on your own behalf.

The YMCA has a Diabetes Prevention Program that is based on the Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health’s program of the same name. The program has trained health coaches who use evidence-based strategies to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. And for persons with prediabetes, that means engaging in regular physical activity and modest weight loss - reducing body weight by 7 percent.

“Everyone thinks, ‘I’m not that big and I can do it on my own,’” said Melody McClellan, who for the last 14 years has worked in diabetes and hypertension as a pharmaceutical representative.

McClellan founded UnWrap You Health and Wellness, LLC in O’Fallon, Illinois to assist others in tackling the big three – health, exercise and nutrition. McClellan recently earned certification from the American Association of Drugless Practitioners after taking online nutrition training. McClellan said hers is a holistic group approach to “unwrapping” healthier, happier lifestyles.

“I know firsthand how it works, the mechanism behind it and really what needs to be done; people watching what they are eating, exercising, but it’s not just that easy,” McClellan said. “It’s more to it than that, but that is the key to suc-

cess.”

Stephanie Scurlark-Belt looked into health coaching to bring order to her fastpaced lifestyle.

“I was trying to watch what I was eating and wanted to learn how to eat healthier on-the-go,” Scurlark-Belt said. “Trying to monitor, trying to watch calories just wasn’t working.”

Cahokia, Illinois resident ScurlarkBelt attended a six-session coaching workshop, where she learned that for her personality, rather than compartmentalizing, she needed was an overall lifestyle

Lifestyle coaching (above) helped Stephanie Scurlark-Belt (right) incorporate healthier choices in nutrition, specifically eating healthier on-the-go.

HealtH Briefs

Pedal the Cause Presents $2.76 million to Siteman Cancer Center, St. Louis Children’s Hospital

Pedal the Cause presented its largest-ever donation — $2.76 million — to Siteman Cancer Center and St. Louis Children’s Hospital at the Pedal the Cause 2014 Check Presentation Celebration held Nov. 20 at Ballpark Village. Pedal the Cause is the only St. Louis event that gives 100 percent of participant donations to the two facilities to accelerate lifesaving cancer research. After only five events, Pedal the Cause has donated an astounding $9.36 million to advance groundbreaking cancer research.

“Pedal the Cause has seen extraordinary growth in five years,” said Jay Indovino, executive director of Pedal the Cause. “It’s truly a testament to the remarkable support of our sponsors allowing us to host a firstclass event and all the Pedal the Cause participants who are determined to find a cure for cancer.”

“With government research dollars stretched thin, the majority of what gets funded at the national level are projects that are well established – projects that don’t take the risks that may be associated with new ideas,” said Ravi Uppaluri, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Otolaryngology and surgical oncologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “Funds from Pedal the Cause fill this void, supporting the newest and most innovative projects that are not yet eligible for federal funding.”

Nine SSM Health Care Hospitals earn ‘Top Performer’ recognition from The Joint Commission

SSM Health Care has nine hospitals recognized as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in the United States. The hospitals were listed in The Joint Commission’s 2014 annual report “America’s Hospitals: Improving Quality and Safety,” for attaining and sustaining excellence in accountability measure performance. SSM’s nine hospitals join 1,215 others in the United States to achieve the Top Performer distinction. Top Performer SSM hospitals in Missouri include DePaul Health Center, Bridgeton; St. Clare Health Center, Fenton; St. Joseph Health Center, St. Charles; St. Mary’s Health Center, Richmond Heights/ Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center, St. Louis (Recognized Jointly); St. Mary’s Hospital, Jefferson City and St. Francis Hospital, Maryville. Two SSM hospitals in Oklahoma and

one hospital in Wisconsin also made the Top Performer list.

The Top Performer program recognizes hospitals for evidence-based clinical processes that are shown to be the best treatments for certain conditions, including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care, children’s asthma, inpatient psychiatric services, stroke, venous thromboembolism, and immunization.

“Delivering compassionate, high quality, and affordable care is at the core of everything we do,” said William P. Thompson, President/CEO of SSM Health Care. “I’m proud of the advances our care teams have made to improve patient outcomes. Being recognized as a Top Performer is a testament to that continued dedication.”

For more information about the Top Performer program, visit http://www. jointcommission.org/accreditation/top_ performers.aspx.

Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital earns ‘Top recognition from The Joint Commission

Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital was recognized as a 2013 Top Performer on Key Quality Measures by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in the United States.

“What matters most to us at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital is the quality and safety of the care we provide to patients,” said Douglas Black, president of Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital. “That is why we have made it a top priority to improve positive patient outcomes through evidence-based care processes. We are proud to be named a Top Performer as it recognizes the knowledge, teamwork and dedication of our staff and physicians in surgery and of our entire hospital team.”

To be a 2013 Top Performer, hospitals had to meet three performance criteria based on 2013 accountability measure data, including:

• Achieving cumulative performance of 95 percent or above across all reported accountability measures;

• Achieving performance of 95 percent or above on each and every reported accountability measure where there were at least 30 denominator cases; and

• Having at least one core measure set that had a composite rate of 95 percent or above, and (within that measure set) all applicable individual accountability measures had a performance rate of 95 percent or above.

For more information, visit http://www.jointcommission.org/accreditation/top_performers.aspx.

COACHING

Continued from page 3

change.

“I had to get it in my mind that I have to change a lot of things acrossthe board,” Scurlark-Belt said. “What I discovered, you can’t say you want to do something and not totally commit to it, otherwise you’ll just fall off.”

Scurlark-Belt said she no longer takes on tasks if they don’t fit into her schedule and eating healthy is seven days a week – no weekend free-for-alls.

n Lifestyle coaching gave me some good pointers that I have implemented into my daily routine now, like portion control and giving up sodas, which are empty calories and giving up my potato chips, which is my weakness.”

– Glenda Washington

“I pretty much have to be consistent through the week and the weekends. I can’t pick and choose,” she said.

Glenda Washington of Florissant, Missouri found out about lifestyle coaching through a friend and now she has changed her eating habits.

“It gave me some good pointers that I have implemented into my daily routine now, like portion control and giving up sodas, which are empty calories and giving up my potato chips, which is my weakness,” Washington said. “I haven’t given them up completely but after that [workshop] I gave them up for 21 days to get it out of my system. Now I eat them in moderation. I don’t even crave them like I used too. And I eat the small bag when I eat them.”

She started baking more food and eating more fish.

With the use of a “FitBit,” Washington is also stepping into shape to shed unwanted pounds.

“I’m at 835,000 steps since August 1,” Washington said two weeks ago. “It’s really helping me because it’s motivation. I’m trying to do a million steps by January. I haven’t lost a lot of weight, but I’ve lost a lot of inches, which is important to me..

Find out more about Unwrap You at www.unwrapyou.com.

Contact the YMCA Prediabetes Prevention Program at 314-436-1177 or email jhoth@ymcastlouis.org.

HealtHy Q & a

Does Medicare pay for shingles vaccine?

A: The answer comes, in part, from the Medicare.gov website.

First a primer on shingles: Shingles is a painful disorder that causes an outbreak of a painful, blistery red rash that usually shows up on one side of the body. Shingles come from the herpes zoster virus, the same virus that causes chicken pox. If you had chicken pox as a child, you still have the dormant virus in the nerves your body. The one-time vaccine is recommended for persons age 60 and older to prevent shingles, whether they remember having chicken pox or not. The vaccine will not treat an active case of shingles, other forms for herpes or shingles-related residual nerve pain after the shingles rash has cleared. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states the older a person is, the more severe the effects of shingles present itself. Even if you have had shingles, the CDC reports you can still receive the shingles vaccine to help prevent future occurrences of the disease.

Shingles vaccine is available at doctor’s offices, clinics and pharmacies.

While Medicare part A, Medicare part B does not pay for the shingles vaccine, Medicare Part D drug supplemental plans do pay for it, as well as some private health plans. Check with your prescription drug coverage provider to see if it is a covered vaccine.

The cost of shingle vaccine at the St. Louis County Department of Health is $159.

For more information, visit medicare.gov.

Don’t let vision get blindsided by diabetes

While people with diabetes are more likely to develop blinding eye diseases, recent studies have revealed low awareness of the issue among ethnicities at higher risk for diabetes and low uptake of preventive eye exams among affected Medicare beneficiaries.

Although Hispanics and AfricanAmericans are more likely to have diabetes than most other ethnicities, a recent poll commissioned by the Alliance for Eye and Vision Research has revealed that only 27 and 32 percent (respectively) report to know about diabetic eye disease. In addition, the American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends that people with diabetes have a dilated eye exam

every year. A study recently published in the journal Ophthalmology found that, among Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma or diabetes – all conditions that require an annual eye exams – three-quarters of those who did not have an exam in five years were those living with diabetes.

“It’s alarming that so many people with diabetes or at risk for diabetes may be unaware of the damage their condition can do to their eyes and may not be getting exams to check for it,” said Raj K. Maturi, M.D., ophthalmologist and clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. “Outside of maintaining good blood glucose levels,

having an annual dilated eye exam is the best first line defense against vision loss from diabetic eye disease.”

The term “diabetic eye disease” encompasses a number of diseases and conditions that can cause blindness if left untreated. These include diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, and glaucoma.Diabetic Retinopathy occurs when the small blood vessels in the eye change by swelling, leaking fluid or closing off completely, blocking blood flow from reaching the retina. A cataract occurs when the eye’s lens becomes cloudy, causing vision to become blurry, cloudy or dim. While this happens in many people as they age, those with diabetes are more likely to

develop cataracts than their peers without diabetes. Glaucoma is a disease that damages the optic nerve and peripheral vision. The damage to the optic nerve is usually caused by elevated pressure in the eye. Glaucoma can be treated with medication such as prescription eye drops or with surgery, but will result in blindness if left untreated.

The Academy recommends that those with those with type 2 diabetes should get a dilated eye exam at the time of diagnosis and every year following. Those with type 1 diabetes should start receiving annual eye exams five years after their initial diagnosis.

Calendar

Fri., Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m., Brain Works: Your Mind on Life, The Sheldon Concert Hall by Barnes-Jewish Hospital/ Washington University in St. Louis; tickets $17.50. For more information, visit Metrotix.com.

Sat. Dec. 6, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., Free Mammograms at the Health Resource Center, Victor Roberts Building, 1408 Kingshighway in St. Louis; for female patients age 40 and older in conjunction with Mercy St. Louis Breast Center mobile mammogram van. Free flu shots, physical therapy evaluations, health screenings and info, family counseling and social work consultations are also available at this event. To schedule a mammogram or for more information, call 314-389-0008.

Mon. Dec. 15, 4 p.m. – 7 p.m., Alive and Well STL community event at Missouri History Museum, AT&T Foundation Room, 5700 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis. For more information, email at rtakeyama@stlrhc.org and RSVP online at http://bit.ly/1ypnrT7.

Wed. Dec. 17, 12 Noon – 4 p.m.,

Northwest HealthCare Blood Drive, Entrance A, Community Room (lower level), 1225 Graham Rd. Register by emailing mlm7458@bjc.org or using the sponsor code “northwesthealthcare” at www.redcrossblood.org.

Sat. Feb. 7, 2015, Doorways Gala, Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis, For more information, vist www.doorwaysred.org.

Sundays, 10 a.m. – Alcoholics Anonymous Group 109 meets in the 11th floor conference room at Christian Hospital, 11133 Dunn Road at I-270/Hwy. 367. This is an open meeting for alcoholics, drug addicts and their family and friends.

Mondays, 7 p.m. – “Tobacco Free for Life” support group – free weekly meetings at St. Peters Mo. City Hall. Supported by SSM Cancer Care; RSVP initial participation to 636-947-5304.

Tuesdays, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. – Alcohol and Drug Informational meeting, Christian Hospital, Professional Office Building 2, Suite 401. For information, call 314-8393171.

Asthma

Free asthma and allergy clinic by Saint Louis University students at the HRC, every other Wednesday afternoon 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. by appointment with SLU physician Dr. Raymond Slavin. The clinic offers allergy skin tests, pulmonary function tests and asthma and allergy education. It is located in the Victor Roberts Building, 1408 N. Kingshighway, between Martin Luther King Drive and Page Blvd. For more information, call 314-720-1522.

Behavioral

Christian Hospital offers free and confidential psychiatric and chemical dependency evaluations at the Christian Hospital Center for Mental Health. For more information, call 314-839-3171.

Christian Hospital Key Program offers support and education to patients with chronic mental illness to prevent increased severity of symptoms and to reduce the need for inpatient re-hospitalization. Call confidentially to 314-8393171 or 1-800-447-4301.

Crime Victim Advocacy Center pro-

HealtH ResouRces

vides no cost support for persons affected by criminal acts. Email peggy@supportvictims.org, visit or call the 24-hour hotline 314-OK-BE-MAD (652-3673) or visit www.supportvictims.org.

Bike helmet safety

The St. Louis County Health Department provides free bicycle helmets to St. Louis County residents between ages 1 and 17 by appointment only. Proof of residency is required. For the location nearest you, visit www. tinyurl.freebikehelmets.

Breast Cancer

Gateway to Hope offers no-charge medical and reconstructive treatment for uninsured breast cancer patients in Missouri. Contact 314-569-1113.

Dental

Free Dental Hygiene Clinic - No charge dental exams, x-rays, cleanings and other dental services for children and adults provided by dental students at Missouri College. Patients needing more extensive dental work (fillings, crowns, etc.) will be referred to local dentists. For information, call 314-768-7899.

Diabetes

CHIPS Diabetes Support Group is open to anyone and meets on Wednesday evenings from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. For more information, call 314-652-9231.

SSM St. Mary’s Health Center provides free, Diabetes Support Group sessions the second Tuesday of every month from 6 – 7 p.m. to address health management issues. It’s located at Meeting Room 1 on the second floor, 6420 Clayton Rd. in St. Louis. To register, call toll free 866-SSM-DOCS (866-776-3627).

Fresh Food Coop

Community Helpings Coop sells fresh fruits, vegetables and other foods at wholesale prices in locations throughout the St. Louis area and Metro-East. For more information, visit www.communityhelpingscoop.com.

Health Partnerships

The Center for Community Health and Partnerships: Building Bridges for Healthy Communities works to develop and support beneficial community-academic partnerships to address the health needs of the St. Louis. For more information, email publichealth@wustl.edu; phone 314-747-9212 or visit publichealth. wustl.edu.

Information

Missouri 2-1-1 offers referral and information on a wide range of social service and helpful resources. Call 2-1-1.

Lupus

A Lupus Support Group in North St. Louis County meets the third Thursday of the month from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Community Room #1 at Northwest Health Care, 1225 Graham Rd. in Hazelwood. RSVP to the Lupus Foundation of America at 314-644-2222 or email info@lfaheartland.org.

Medical

CHIPS Health & Wellness Center

offers no cost medical, dental, psychiatric, chiropractic health care for uninsured children and adults by appointment only. $25 annual fee requested. For more information, call 314-652-9231 or visit www. chipsstl.org.

Boys & Girls Clubs Dental & Vision Clinic at Herbert Hoover Club, 2901 N. Grand, St. Louis. Open year-round for members at no additional fee by appointment only. Teeth cleaning, braces, x-rays, root canals, some extractions; vision mobile unit, comprehensive exam and glasses, if required. Make an appointment by calling 314-355-8122.

Salam Free Saturday Clinic, 10 a.m. –2 p.m. at the Isom Community Center at

Lane Tabernacle CME Church, 916 N. Newstead, St. Louis, Mo. for those who are uninsured. For more information, call 314-533-0534.

Nutrition

Food Outreach provides food, meals and nutritional education/ counseling to eligible persons living with HIV/AIDS or cancer in St. Louis. For more information, call 314-652-3663 or visit www. foodoutreach.org.

St. Louis Milk Depot - SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital is a breast milk depot for the Indiana Mother’s Milk Bank. Milk Depot staff will store and ship your milk to IMMB. For more information, call (314) 242-5912.

Prostate Cancer

The Cancer Center of The Empowerment Network at 6000 W. Florissant in St. Louis provides information on prostate and other types of cancer, and services and support. For more information, call 314-385-0998.

Prescription Cost Help

Schnucks Pharmacies – now offers certain prescription prenatal vitamins for free and offers no-cost generic prescription antibiotics at select locations.

Wal-Mart Pharmacies – offer select prescriptions for $4 or less for a 30-day supply or $10 for a 90-day supply. View the list at www.walmart.com/pharmacy.

Respiratory Health

Free lung function screening - Christian Hospital Breathing Center at Northwest HealthCare, 1225 Graham Rd. For more information, call 314-953-6040. Free flu shots for patients being treated for an illness or injury at Downtown Urgent Care (314-436-9300), North City Urgent Care (314-932-1213), Creve Coeur Urgent Care (314-548-6550) and Eureka Urgent Care (636-549-2100).

Sexual Health

St. Louis County Health Department offers free, confidential testing, counseling and treatment at the North Central Community Health Center, 4000 Jennings Station Road, St. Louis, MO 63121. For more information, call 314679-7800.

The SPOT offers private, reproductive, mental and behavioral health services at no charge to youth ages 13-24, Monday – Friday, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. at 4169 Laclede Ave. For more information, call 314-535-0413 or visit http://thespot. wustl.edu.

STI testing and treatment at North City Urgent Care and Downtown Urgent Care. For more information, call 314-436-9300.

Profiling PeoPle in HealtH

Charles Olagbegi, MD

Position/Where: Gastroenterologist at BJC Specialists of North County and Medical Director, GI Endoscopy Lab at Christian Hospital

Career Highlights:

Served in private practice in North St Louis for 14 years before joining BJC Medical Group in January 2013

On staff at Christian Hospital since 1998

My current medical practice include colon cancer screening, general digestive and liver diseases services

Certifications:

Board certified in gastroenterology and internal medicine

Education:

Graduated from Medical School at University of Ilorin, Nigeria in 1985

Completed residency in internal medicine in 1995 followed by a fellowship in digestive diseases in 1997 at University Hospital, Brooklyn, New York

Personal:

Speaks English and Yoruban

Married to Dr. Adeola Adedokun (Chiropractor)

Blessed with three children I love tennis.

I am a Christian, and attend Faith Chapel, an Assembly of God church.

St. Louis Connection:

Moved to St Louis in 1998 and have remained in North County ever since.

I moved to St Louis because I thought it was a beautiful city and ideal to raise a family.

Your journey to success?

Born into a royal family in Owo, Nigeria in 1962, I immigrated to the United States in 1990 for post-graduate training and opportunities. Starting out was tough, but just like all things in life, my faith, hard work and perseverance were key to my success.

My ambition is to fulfill my calling, which is to serve the community and improve the health of our community.

Baked Sweet Potatoes and Apples

Courtesy: American Heart Association

Serves 8; 1/2 cup per serving

Ingredients

• Cooking spray

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices

• 2 medium sweet apples, such as Rome Beauty or Gala, peeled, each sliced into 10 wedges

• 3 tablespoons light tub margarine

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 1 1/2-quart glass casserole dish with cooking spray.

2. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon.

3. In the casserole dish, layer in order half each of the sweet potatoes, apples, and cinnamon-sugar. Dot with about half the margarine. Repeat.

4. Bake, covered, for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes and apples are soft.

Nutrition Facts

•

•

• Calories 101

•

•

•

Dietary Exchanges: 1 starch, 1/2 fruit

Home Cooking is a main ingredient in a healthier diet

People who frequently cook meals at home eat healthier and consume fewer calories than those who cook less, according to new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research that was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute..

“When people cook most of their meals at home, they consume fewer carbohydrates, less sugar and less fat than those who cook less or not at all – even if they are not trying to lose weight,” said Julia A. Wolfson, MPP, a PhD candidate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and lead author of the study.

The findings also suggest that those who frequently cooked at home – sixto-seven nights a week – also consumed fewer calories on the occasions when they ate out.

The study will be published online in the journal Public Health Nutrition.

Wolfson and co-author Sara N. Bleich, PhD, an associate professor

in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Bloomberg School, analyzed data from the 20072010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from more than 9,000 participants aged 20 and older. The survey asked detailed questions about what participants ate during a 24-hour period as well as other eating behaviors such as fast food in the past 30 days.

Eight percent of adults cooked dinner once or less a week and this group consumed, on an average day, 2,301 total calories, 84 grams of fat and 135 grams of sugar. Forty-eight percent of participants cooked dinner six to seven times a week and they consumed 2,164 calories, 81 grams of fat and 119 grams of sugar on an average day. The researchers also found that those who cook at home more

often rely less frequently on frozen foods and are less likely to choose fast foods on the occasions when they eat out.

The research found blacks are more likely to live in households where cooking occurs less frequently than whites; and individuals who work more than 35 hours a week outside the home also cook less often.

Obesity is an escalating public health problem that contributes to other serious health issues, including diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease,” said Wolfson, who added there may not be a one-size-fits-all solution to getting people to cook more. “Time and financial constraints are important barriers to healthy cooking and frequent cooking may not be feasible for everyone. But people who cook infrequently may benefit from cooking classes, menu preparation, coaching or even lessons in how to navigate the grocery store or read calorie counts on menus in restaurants.”

More progress. Less cancer.

Dr. Sanders Thompson studies cancer health disparities, where a group of people within a population gets or dies from cancer more often when compared with other groups. In the St. Louis region, some groups of people are more likely to die from breast, colorectal, prostate, lung, and cervical cancers compared to the general population. This includes

African Americans, people who have low income, and people with less than a high school education. The reasons are complex, and the Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities (PECaD) is committed to finding ways to reduce this cancer burden for St. Louis communities.

Good news – the latest research shows improvement. More people are getting cancer screening tests, which find cancer

early when it is most treatable. Cancer screening tests include mammograms (breast cancer), colonoscopies (colorectal cancer), and PSA blood tests (prostate cancer). Your health care provider can help you determine which tests are right for you and when you should start getting them.

Even more good news – there are things you can do every day to lower

your risk of developing certain cancers. The 8 Ways to Stay Healthy and Prevent Cancer outline research-proven healthy behaviors that go a long way toward keeping you healthy. Choose one way to start, like maintaining a healthy weight or being physically active, and then start planning what it would like to build the other ways into your life.