February 6th, 2020 Edition

‘I became a voice’

Boys Hope Girls Hope helped African immigrant succeed in St. Louis

By Sophie Hurwitz

For The St. Louis American

When Seth Akakpo-Lado began the 6th grade at Herzog Elementary School, he had just immigrated from Togo, West Africa and spoke no English, so he was put into the third grade instead. His teachers quickly realized that he was a fast learner, though, especially when he started finishing all his work early, despite not having learned English fluently.

“I would breeze through my assignments and then go to the library or just walk around the school,” Akakpo-Lado said. “And they couldn’t really tell me not to, because then I would pretend that I didn’t understand them!”

He became close to office staff members and helped them out with various tasks. Soon, AkakpoLado’s teachers redirected some of his energy

See BOYS GIRLS, A6

n “Although Boys Hope Girls Hope kind of disrupts the traditional family environment, they try vehemently to maintain a sense of normalcy for the scholars.”

– Seth Akakpo-Lado

Janitors will vote on offer this week

By Sophie Hurwitz For The St. Louis American

Three days after 17 janitors and allies were arrested in a downtown protest, the SEIU Local 1 union representing 2,100 janitors in the St. Louis area voted “overwhelmingly” to strike if they were not able to win a $15/

See JANITORS, A7 hour wage through negotiation. By the end of that day, they reached a tentative agreement with the janitorial company Clean-Tech, which they have been in protracted negotiations with since October. Union members will vote on the agreement this week.

Janitors and allies protested in downtown St. Louis on Monday, January 27 in support of a $15 an hour wage for the city’s janitorial workers, who at the moment are generally receiving around $10 an hour.

‘We don’t want this Workhouse fully funded’

Board of Aldermen move to starve notorious city jail of funding

By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American

Alderman Dan Guenther is not urging the St. Louis Board of Aldermen to “lock themselves to the door” of the Medium Security Institute (MSI), also known as the Workhouse, in order to get the jail closed down, Guenther said at the January 29 aldermanic public safety committee.

“We are saying, ‘Let’s start coming up with a transition plan,’” said Guenther, who represents the 9th Ward. “We don’t want this Workhouse fully funded.”

On January 17, Guenther introduced a resolution “advising” the Board of Estimate and Apportionment (E&A) — which includes the mayor, comptroller and president of the Board of Aldermen — that aldermen will not approve a budget for fiscal year 2020-2021 that includes full funding to the Workhouse. It also asks the Board of E&A to come up with a plan to close the Workhouse and direct the approximately $16

By K. Michael Jones Of The St. Louis American

A diverse group of 20 accomplished African-American professionals under age 40 has been selected as the St. Louis American Foundation’s 2020 class of Salute to Young Leader award recipients. Nominated by colleagues, friends and family, they will be profiled in the February 20 edition of The St. Louis American and will be honored at the St. Louis American Foundation’s 10th annual

Seth Akakpo-Lado, a former resident at Boys Hope Girls Hope house in Richmond Heights, tutored current resident scholar Michael Gaven, 13, in math on January 27.

Photo by Wiley Price

Photo by Wiley Price

Jay-Z denies making a political statement at the Super Bowl

Jay-Z insists that him and wife Beyoncé remaining seated during Demi Lovato’s National Anthem performance during the Super Bowl on Sunday had nothing to do with politics.

According to Page Six, Jay-Z was asked about the backlash during a lecture series Q&A at Columbia University this week, and said: “It actually wasn’t [a political statement] - sorry.”

“What happened was, we got there, we were sitting, and now the show’s about to start. My wife was with me and so she says to me, ‘I know this feeling right here,’” Jay-Z continued.

“Like, she’s super nervous because she’s performed at Super Bowls before. I haven’t. So, we get there, and we immediately jump into artist mode... now I’m really just looking at the show. Did the mic start? Was it too low to start...?

“I had to explain to them [that] as an artist, if you don’t feel the music, you can’t really reach that level.” He insisted he didn’t even realize the couple hadn’t stood until his phone rang after Lovato had finished singing.

Mo’Nique slams Oprah Winfrey, implies mogul attacks accused black men

In an open letter on Instagram, comedian and actress Mo’Nique made the accusation that there is a “disparity” between the way Oprah Winfrey treats black and white men who, ‘were accused of the same crimes.”

“[You] did an interview on the CBS Morning Show and were asked about Harvey Weinstein by Norah O’Donnell, and you said as it pertained to him that you “always try to look at the rainbow in the clouds, whatever is the “silver lining,” Mo’Nique writes. “You also said ‘if we make this all about Harvey Weinstein then we have lost the moment.’

When you either are or were going to be a part of documentary on Russell Simmons. How is that not making it all about them?”

Mo’Nique also said that Jackson was acquitted and is deceased and implied that he should be “off limits.”

“Russell and Harvey are accused of the same thing so in fairness how do you not “support” the accusers of both as you said you did with R.S. or you look for the silver lining for both like you said you did for H.W. “The only difference between the two is there skin color and doesn’t H.W. have way more accusers? (sic)”

Mo’Nique and Winfrey’s feud stems back to when

they worked together on ‘Precious’ in 2009, with Mo’Nique previously explaining she had refused to do any additional campaigning for the film as she wasn’t offered extra pay, and she referenced the drama when relating her own “personal experience” with Winfrey.

“And, how are you for black women when you hear Tyler on audio saying I was right, and he was going to speak up but you or him still haven’t said a word?”

“When I was sixteen and I met you at your local show in Baltimore, I told you I wanted to be just like you when I grew up. You responded, “you have to work really really hard.”

“My sixteen-year-old self didn’t know that you in your silence in the face of wrongdoing, would make my life ‘harder’(sic).”

Mo’Nique then urged Oprah to choose carefully who she “stands by.”

“Lastly, please consider standing by the people who are right and not just the “right

Two new Tyler Perry shows headed to BET

Last year, Tyler Perry signed a content deal with BET. According to reports, Perry will revive “House of Payne” and debut a new show called “Tyler Perry’s Assisted Living” this

CELEBRATING ST. LOUIS BLACK HISTORY

We are honored to celebrate Black History and a few of our local trailblazers. By celebrating their accomplishments, we recognize the strength in a diverse, equitable and inclusive community.

summer. The “House of Payne” revival is said to pick up five years in the future, with most of the original cast returning. The new series will reportedly star comedians Na’im Lynn Jay Anthony Brown and David and Tamala Mann as partners in a rundown assisted living home. Both series are said to be set to premier in summer 2020.

Future’s eldest son said to be facing up to twenty years in prison

According to Bossip.com, rap star Future’s oldest son has been implicated in a massive gang roundup and is now facing gun charges and major prison time.

The celebrity news and gossip site said Jakobi Wilburn, 17, was arrested late last month on charges including criminal gang activity, criminal trespass and the altered ID of a firearm, according to court papers obtained by BOSSIP.

The “altered ID of a firearm” charge is because Wilburn was allegedly found in possession of a gun with the serial numbers scratched off. Although he is still a teenager, state law considers 17-year-olds as adults, and if he’s convicted, he faces five to 20 in prison on the gang activity charge alone, according to Georgia statutes.

Wilburn doesn’t have a new court date yet, court records show, according to Bossip.com

Sources: Instagram, Celebretainment.com, Bossip.com, BET.com, PageSix.com

MILES

Lindenwood University opens Center for Diversity & Inclusion

Jen Spellazza is coordinator

American staff

Lindenwood University’s new Center for Diversity & Inclusion (CDI) officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on January 21 at Evans Commons Room 3110 on the St. Charles campus. Jen Spellazza was announced as the coordinator for the center, which will execute, organize, and serve as a central hub for diversity, equity, and inclusion events and programs, including Safe Zone, Safe Zone 2.0, and Implicit Bias training, as well future training programs.

“I like that you can walk into the room and see what diversity and inclusion is all about,” university President John R. Porter said. “At Lindenwood, we want to reflect the community and the region

we serve. Make sure you are a part of this and use it.”

The event also included remarks by the university’s Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Engagement Terry Whittum and Associate Vice President for Student Life and Diversity Shane Williamson.

“The mission of the Center for Diversity & Inclusion is to support Lindenwood University’s core value of community and foster

n “The CDI is dedicated to enhancing the intersectional identities of first-generation, gender, international, LGBTQ+, and multicultural experiences on campus.”

– Associate Vice President for Student Life and Diversity Shane Williamson

a welcoming culture by serving as a resource and liaison for students, staff, and faculty on issues of equity through advocacy, outreach, collaboration, training, and education,” said Williamson, who is also the university’s chief diversity officer.

“The CDI is dedicated to enhancing the intersectional identities of first-generation, gender, international, LGBTQ+, and multicultural experiences on campus.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 is hosting a Public Availability Session for the Carter Carburetor Superfund Site in St. Louis, Missouri. This session will be held to provide updated site information and answer questions. Community members are encouraged to attend. The session will be held:

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020

6 to 8 p.m. Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club 2901 N. Grand Blvd. St. Louis, Missouri

EPA is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. For reasonable accommodations at the Public Availability Session, please contact Jonathan Cooper at cooper.jonathan@epa.gov

EPA has assessed the ability of the public to access site information through an internet-based repository and has determined that the local community has this ability. Site information, including the Administrative Record, is available online for anyone with an internet connection and also at the Divoll Public Library via the internet. Please visit the following EPA website: https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/cscdocument.cfm?id=0702611

Questions may be submitted to:

Pamela Houston

U.S. EPA Community Involvement Coordinator Email: houston.pamela@epa.gov

Region

0425

Lindenwood University President John R. Porter addresses the audience prior to the ribbon cutting of the university’s new Center for Diversity & Inclusion on January 21 on the St. Charles campus.

Seeing red over the impeachment hearings

Political leaders who trade in falsification and distortions seem to ignore the fact that lying to the people they serve or deceiving others is wrong. So I wonder why U.S. Senators Roy Blunt and Joshua Hawley (R-Missouri) are so vigorously defending President Donald J. Trump despite the overwhelming evidence against him in the current impeachment trial.

Blunt is up for re-election in 2022 and Hawley in 2024, and I am almost certain that both have a list of black churches and other African-American organizations to visit during their re-election campaigns, and some of us will fall for the lies and false promises they will make.

St. Louis has a unique track record. Most politicians in this area have a grasp of the community, and realize they will not be punished for any wrong doing or lack of doing. It is ironic that local citizens are still complaining about the lack of health care yet allowing both city hospitals and the county hospital to close and then reelect the persons who closed them or those who reneged on their promise to reopen them. Do you remember?

Also included in the program was the presentation of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Service Awards by faculty member Melissa Elmes, of the university’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force. Award winners included student Gabriela Rodriguez Trejos, staff member Jesus Lopez, and faculty member Heather Brown-Hudson.

Four student speakers were included in the ceremony, including Rodgriguez Trejos, vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Lindenwood Student Government Association; Shayla Wilson, president of the Black Student Union; Leigh Manzer, of the Lindenwood Gender and Sexualities Alliance; and Guadalupe Medina, of Alpha Psi Lambda, a Latino student organization.

The center is also home of the university’s new Little Free Pantry, which provides food and personal care items to students in need.

Do you remember Homer G. Phillips Hospital?

You must remember that U.S. Senator “Kit Bond (R- Missouri) who, along with his Republican colleague John Ashcroft, interfered with the Senate hearing for Justice Ronnie White. And do not forget his performance on that year’s Election Day. He is the one who alleged massive voter fraud in our community and called for an investigation of voting practices in the St. Louis area.

Why do Blunt and Hawley so strongly and energetically support Trump? Nowhere is this hypocrisy more apparent than in the current Senate hearings, where these so-called lawmakers seem pathetic because they and many of these Republican senators were elected to establish and uphold the very regulations they are now abusing.

In politics, hypocrisy and lying are instruments used for personal gain, and I believe that these politicians often conceal their true views. They will visit our churches, schools, places of business, social and civic organizations and attempt to sell us another version of the Missouri Compromise, where Missouri will again become a slave state.

During these Senate impeachment hearings, our political system is showing serious signs of trauma and our individual liberty weakened. Yet these Missouri senators will not support a fair hearing, while enabling a president who is exploiting the democratic process to undermine civil liberties and keeping us in darkness.

Missouri is not only a red state, but a state that harasses St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner and is targeting St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, so when they visit you with big bright smiles and pockets full of promises, please make them remember the parts they played in the Impeachment of Donald J. Trump.

Please watch the Bernie Hayes TV program Saturday night at 10 p.m. and Sunday evenings at 5:30 p.m. on NLEC-TV Ch. 24.2. I can be e-mail at berhay@swbell.net or on Twitter @berhay.

Bernie Hayes

Editorial /CommEntary

Mayor supports out-state takeover of St. Louis criminal justice

If St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, Missouri

Attorney General Eric Schmitt and the Republican-dominated Missouri Legislature get their way on two bills before the Legislature, the following scenario would become commonplace in a system nominally called criminal “justice” in the City of St. Louis – a city that is, at least officially, a self-governed entity.

A white St. Louis police officer, new to the streets of St. Louis who has never lived there and never will live there, apprehends a suspect. If you look at St. Louis police data, there is a high probability the suspect will be a black male who lives in the city. This white police officer who will never live in the city does not take his probable cause statement to the black woman elected by city voters to prosecute criminal cases in the city, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner. Because the white Republicandominated Missouri Legislature – none of those white Republicans being residents of the city – passed a law making this possible, he takes his case to Schmitt, a white Republican who has never lived in the city and works in Jefferson City, 130 miles and six counties away. If Schmitt takes the case (that, presumably, the prosecutor elected by city voters would have dismissed), then there would be a brief detour through something almost approaching local control. House Bill 1900, which would give Schmitt the authority to prosecute this city case, would at least require Schmitt to prosecute the case in the county where the alleged crime was committed, the City of St. Louis (rather than Cole County, where Schmitt works, or St. Louis County, where he lives). This hypothetical black male city resident defendant would be tried before a jury of his peers, per the U.S. Constitution, and a judge – who was, by the way, not elected by city voters either but rather appointed by the governor, according to the Missouri Non-Partisan Court Plan (though, if the judge had been around beyond one term,

then he or she would have been retained by city voters).

After that brief detour through something almost resembling criminal justice in an electoral democracy, our defendant, if convicted, would be transferred out of the city to an out-state prison. Arrested and prosecuted by people who have never lived in his city, he will now be counted as a resident of another city and county while he is behind bars. He will be counted there in the U.S. Census, enriching this outstate city and county at the expense of his home City of St. Louis.

State Rep. Nick Schroer, who filed HB 1900, is a white Republican from O’Fallon in St. Charles County. Another white Republican from St. Charles County, state Rep. Ron Hicks, filed House Bill 1604, which would make it possible for people who don’t live in the City of St. Louis to get jobs in the police department (or any other city department) without first living in the city for seven years. This out-state control of criminal justice in the City of St. Louis is being brought to you by white men from St. Charles County. It is being loudly promoted by Jeff Roorda, the notorious business agent for the St. Louis Police Officers Association, a white man from Jefferson County. Where is Mayor Krewson in all of these moves made by people who don’t live in the city to erode city control over city services?

Just as in the Better Together proposal, where she had agreed to let Steve Stenger preside over a city where he had never lived or been elected, she is in full support. Although officially a progressive Democrat, the mayor has increasingly responded to racially resentful whites who have driven her closer to Republicans in St. Charles than an increasingly progressive St. Louis. It makes us wonder why Krewson wanted to be the mayor of a city that she does not want to lead – or see led by anyone else who lives in the city or was elected in the city.

As I See It - A Forum for Community Issues

Algorithms won’t solve racism in the bail system

By Mike Milton For The St.

Louis American

I must have been 14 years old when I was arrested for shoplifting in the St. Louis Galleria Mall. I was a young boy from North St. Louis, we were poor and I wanted to have what other kids had. The encounter with police was terrifying, but what I remember most clearly are the judge’s words: “I see hundreds of young men like you every year and they grow up as terrible people. You are on a fast track to being just like them.” He looked at that 14-year-old boy and, based on one mistake and his assumptions about “young men” like me, thought he could predict my future. Turns out his prediction wasn’t just racist, it was wrong. I was fortunate that my local community church intervened, looked at me as a whole individual rather than just a criminal charge or a statistic, and loved me in a way that transformed the way I interacted with the world. In my work as a community organizer and site manager of The Bail Project – St. Louis, I see stories like this play out every day, with judicial determinations that rob people of meaningful interventions and doom them to fail and cycle through the criminal legal system for the rest of their lives. Nowhere is this more clear than when cash bail is set without regard for a person’s ability to pay and with the goal of holding them in jail even while they’re presumed innocent under the law. People’s lives are destabilized, exacerbating the very conditions that might

have brought them into the system in the first place. Thankfully, over the past two years, bail reform has acquired a new sense of urgency in St. Louis politics. But while cash bail seems to be on its way out, other harmful approaches are creeping in. Chief among them is the growing trend of using algorithms when making decisions about a person’s liberty before trial. These “actuarial risk assessments,” as they are called, take criminal justice data that is riddled with racial and economic disparities and use a series of factors, including age, to try to predict what a person might do. Missouri recently ordered the implementation of these algorithmic tools in pretrial proceedings, and they are currently being piloted in St. Louis city and county courts. Many criminal justice experts have expressed extreme hesitation about these algorithms due to the potential to codify racial bias into “risk scores” that appear objective on the surface.

In 2016, ProPublica released a study of one algorithmic tool and concluded that “the formula was particularly likely to flag black defendants as future criminals, wrongly labeling them this way at almost twice the rate as white defendants.”

And just last summer, data and law experts from MIT, Harvard, and other universities

Legislators should respect voters and redistricting process

By Louise Wilkerson and John Bowman Of The St. Louis American

In the last election, voters in every state senate district approved Amendment 1 – also known as Clean Missouri – to increase fairness, accountability, integrity and transparency in Missouri politics. Thanks to Clean Missouri, our state constitution now includes nonpartisan redistricting reforms that create fair legislative district maps and a fair redistricting process that will ensure our elected officials listen to their voters –not just lobbyists and partisan operatives.

Clean Missouri enshrined the Voting Rights Act in the Missouri Constitution and added strong language protecting the voting power of communities of color.

The Brennan Center for Justice, St. Louis County NAACP, Missouri NAACP State Conference, Action St. Louis, Organization for Black Struggle, League of Women Voters, and many other groups supported Amendment 1 because it made racial fairness central to the drawing of legislative districts.

The St. Louis County NAACP, Missouri NAACP State Conference and League of Women Voters of Missouri reviewed Amendment 1

carefully before endorsing it.

Our members said they wanted fair maps drawn after each census where every vote would count.

Sadly, some politicians and lobbyists in Jefferson City do not want fair district maps and believe that only certain people should count. Resolutions have been fasttracked in both chambers of our state legislature to replace Amendment 1’s reforms with a less transparent process that would allow extreme partisan gerrymandering and would weaken the strong protections for voters of color that are in our constitution now.

sent a letter to the Missouri Supreme Court task force and St. Louis’ presiding judges, expressing their concerns about these tools and warning about the “fundamental flaws” of this approach and the fact that “the technical problems cannot readily be resolved.”

There is a better way: treat people like individuals rather than statistical “risk scores” and focus on disrupting the cycles of poverty and vulnerability that keep so many trapped in the revolving door of mass incarceration. This requires offering pretrial support that is needs-based and communityled, like we have done at The Bail Project – St. Louis for more than 2,500 St. Louis residents to date.

It also requires investment in the things that actually make us safe and prosperous: affordable housing, healthcare, education, economic opportunities. The Close the Workhouse campaign, of which we’re a core partner, has released a detailed blueprint for how to get this done with the same taxpayer dollars that are currently being spent to keep the Workhouse open: $16 million a year.

St. Louis has an opportunity to truly lead when it comes to bail reform. We can end cash bail, close the Workhouse, and invest in the things that really matter to help our communities thrive. Or we can repeat our shameful history using algorithms.

Let’s not miss our chance to do the right thing.

Mike Milton is the site manager of The Bail Project’s St. Louis office and a long-time community organizer.

These dangerous new schemes would also eliminate the independence and transparency added to the constitution by voters, give state political parties new powers to rig maps in the future, and take away our rights to challenge unfair maps in court. It gets worse. The gerrymandering plans moving in the legislature would open the door to not counting everyone in future maps, cutting out children and non-citizens from the state’s population for purposes of redistricting. This is part of a devious long-term national strategy to further divide our country and undermine the principles of representative democracy. As the gerrymandering mastermind Thomas B. Hofeller wrote to his funders a few years ago, using this method for redistricting “would be advantageous to Republicans and non-Hispanic whites.”

Letters to the editor

Corrections

We misstated some facts in our report on RussianGhanaian artist Liz Johnson Artur. Her first solo show was at the Brooklyn Museum, not Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, and the CAM show was curated by CAM’s Chief Curator Wassan Al-Khudhairi, not Drew Sawyer of the Brooklyn Museum. We regret the errors.

Also, our report on Nicole Galloway’s response to the State of the State address included our reporting from 2019 that should have been updated. Legal Services of Missouri said that Missouri’s enrollment decline for children on Medicaid is now five times the national average, not nine, as it was in February 2019. Also, the agency has now heard from exactly one child dropped from Medicaid in Missouri who was no longer eligible, rather than none.

Vote for Medicaid expansion

So Republican Governor Parson, whom I am sure has excellent health care for himself and his family, while showing no empathy

for Missouri children whose Medicaid coverage has been cut off, wants to have valet parking for Missouri lawmakers and to give General Motors $50 million in incentives for its Wentzville midsize-truck plant?

Now 100,000 children in Missouri have lost their Medicaid coverage, more than in any other state in the nation.

I urge anyone reading this letter who has children, grandchildren, nieces, or nephews to vote for Medicaid expansion in Missouri in the November 2020 election.

Linda Caravelli Florissant

Continue Rosa Parks’ legacy

Thanks to The St. Louis American for its recent coverage of Martin Luther King Jr. Day activities here.

As your readers know, Rev. King came to national attention for the campaign for equal access to public buses in Montgomery, Alabama launched in December 1955. A key leader in that campaign was Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat to a white man. Thanks to campaigns like the Montgomery Bus Boycott,

But here’s the good news: the bipartisan statewide coalition and 1.4 million voters who supported Clean Missouri in 2018 are watching, and we will be working to make sure these gerrymandering schemes never become law. We must have fair maps to protect Missouri voters and make sure each vote counts. Let’s defend the will of voters and stop the Jefferson City gerrymandering plans. Louise Wilkerson is co-president of the League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis. John Bowman is president of the St. Louis County NAACP.

All letters are edited for length and style.

public transit buses are no longer segregated. Today’s challenges are different. Diesel transit buses emit dangerous particulate air pollution that sickens people along the route. Bus service is infrequent, making it difficult for transitdependent riders to get to work, to school, to the grocery store and the doctor. Carbon pollution from tailpipe emissions causes climate change, which means more deadly heat waves in St. Louis. That is why the Sierra Club supports national Transit Equity Day, which took place on Tuesday, February 4. This date was chosen since it is Rosa Parks’ birthday, and so recognizes the long history of civil rights engagement on public transit issues. The Sierra Club is committed to work with our partners to make progress on the public transit issues of today. A recent victory was Metro’s decision to buy 14 more electric buses, which will mean that all the buses on the busy Grand route will be electric by 2021. Let’s do our part to continue Rosa Parks’ legacy.

John Hickey Missouri Sierra Club St. Louis

Guest Columnist Louise Wilkerson

Guest Columnist John Bowman

Guest Columnist Mike Milton

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson

Is Dr. King’s dream being denied or deferred?

By Charlene Crowell

For The St. Louis American

In 2020, much of the hard-won rights championed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. are under attack by the very governments charged to enforce both laws and regulations. Especially for Black America, rollbacks of much-needed programs jeopardize access to basic life needs such as nutrition, safe water, legal justice, and housing itself.

The irony is that the enactment of the historic 1968 Fair Housing Act followed less than a week after Dr. King’s assassination in Memphis. Hence, as we honor Dr. King, we are also called to continue progressive efforts to better include all of the Americans who historically have been locked out or left out when it comes to housing: people of color, women, families, people with physical challenges.

As homeless Americans now number more than 560,000, Congresswoman

Maxine Waters, chair of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee (HFSC), has added homelessness and homeless prevention to her committee’s

2020 priorities.

“When I speak to families in my district who are dealing with homelessness, I see the toll this housing insecurity is taking on them, including their children, who can’t concentrate in school because they’re sleeping in a car at night,” Waters said.

“We need to do more if we are going to address the rental housing and homelessness crisis: we need to preserve the affordable housing that we have, and we need to increase investments in programs that develop new housing or provide rental aid.”

While lawmakers debate the appropriate federal commitment to affordable housing, consumers are increasingly financially challenged to keep a roof over their heads.

For the past 30 years, the National Low Income Housing Coalition has annually published “Out of Reach,” which tracks the cost of rental housing across the nation.

According to its 2019 report, the average monthly fair market rent for a two-bedroom or one-bedroom rental home is $1,194 and $970 for a onebedroom unit. An average

renter must work 52 hours per week to afford a modest twobedroom apartment. Consumers seeking to transition from renters to homeowners face another daunting challenge. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median existinghome price for all housing types in October was $271,300, up 5.4 percent ($257,400) from November 2018, as prices rose in all regions. That means a 10 percent down payment for a median-priced home would require $27,130. Moreover, a 20 percent down payment, which would remove the added cost of private mortgage insurance would be double in cost –$54,260.

income, the number of saving years expands to 21 and 17 years respectively to amass a 10 percent down payment on that same-priced home.

“When the president asks, what do African Americans and minorities have to lose? How about affordable, quality housing and a shot at the American dream?”

According to calculations by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), nationwide it would take 14 years for a prospective homebuyer earning the national median income to save a 10 percent down payment for a median-priced home. But for black and Latino households earning the median

U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver said in a January 9 Politico article. A new report released days before the 2020 King holiday, “States with the Most Racial Progress” by WalletHub.com names and ranks states with the best and worst disparities in housing segregation, as well as wealth and employment. This research found that D.C. (District of Columbia), Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin were each among the 10 states with the worst housing segregation. When wealth and employment were ranked by state, these same states along with Minnesota were also among the worst-ranked of the nation.

“Volumes of research have shown that when people from diverse backgrounds are together in school, neighborhoods, or workplaces everybody wins,” said Meera E. Deo, a law professor with Thomas Jefferson School of Law and one of the report’s authors.

“Thanks to this opportunity to get to know people who are unlike us, research has shown reduced prejudice, stereotypes, or negative attitudes across people of different ethnic or cultural background,” said co-author Kelln Li, assistant professor of sociology at California State University’s Dominguez Hills campus.

Comments by the St. Louis Fed Center for Household Financial Stability would appear to have reached similar conclusions through its independent findings as well.

“We find that families who are thriving tend to be white, college-educated and/or older,” reported the St. Louis Fed. “We find that families who are struggling tend to have one or more of these characteristics: black or Hispanic; no fouryear college degree; and/or younger.”

For these reasons and

others, it does not make sense for the Trump Administration to suspend rules and data mapping tools that alert communities to potential fair housing violations. Yet on January 6, HUD proposed suspending its Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule that provides HUD program participants with a planning framework and data tools to enable them to take meaningful actions to overcome historic patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from discrimination.

“Low-income communities and communities of color now more than ever need the government to provide them with critical tools to combat discrimination in housing and the insidious harms that result,” said Nikitra Bailey, an EVP with the Center for Responsible Lending. “Instead we have seen HUD, under the current administration, do the opposite.”

Charlene Crowell is the Center for Responsible Lending’s communications deputy director. She can be reached at charlene.crowell@ responsiblelending.org.

RAC awards 10 Artist Fellowships

The Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis awarded $20,000 to each of 10 local artists – including post-disciplinary artist Basil Kinkaid and designer and interdisciplinary artist – Kevin McCoy – as part of its annual Artist Fellowship program. The fellowships recognize artistic excellence and honor the work of seasoned artists, advance the work of mid-career artists and nurture the work of developing artists. The 10 winners were selected from 140 applicants by 20 discipline readers, a community advisory committee and RAC’s Board of Commissioners. For more information, visit: racstl.org/grant/2020-artist-fellows/.

Charlene Crowell

towards holding a French tutoring workshop for the other students in the afternoons.

The principal of Herzog Elementary had a sister who volunteered with Boys Hope Girls Hope, a nonprofit that for 42 years has provided a residential educational program for students from economically challenged backgrounds.

Akakpo-Lado, the principal at Herzog knew, would benefit from the faster-paced living environment that Boys Hope Girls Hope would provide.

Within two years, AkakpoLado had moved in to the Boys Hope Girls Hope house in Richmond Heights, where he would live as part of a cohort of 10 boys and 10 girls for the next seven years. He studied in Incarnate Word Parish schools in Chesterfield before and then at Washington University.

Today, Akakpo-Lado is still heavily involved at Boys Hope Girls Hope. He serves as a tutor, mostly in math, and also gives the students life advice about topics like religion.

“It’s been a fun and winding road, but now I’ve come back,” he said. “I stop by once a week, usually on Thursdays, to tutor in various subjects and just to kind of still be present as a mentor if they need someone to chat with who’s been through

Leaders

Continued from A1

lion company, a technical sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, an assistant circuit attorney, and the executive director of the Ferguson Youth Initiative. While their career paths are diverse, they have one thing in common. They are all high-performing, young African-American professionals who have already received significant success in their respective professional fields, while also working in service

the experience.” He often advises them on what it’s like to be a child from a Protestant background going to Catholic school, as most of the children at Boys Hope Girls Hope are. Boys Hope Girls Hope sends students to DeSmet, St. Joseph’s Academy, Loyola Academy, SLU High, and other Catholic schools, along with its local school district, MaplewoodRichmond Heights. “For a lot of these kids, that’s not their background, so they struggle with that,” he said.

As Boys Hope Girls Hope requires students to spend most of their time away from their families starting as early as fourth grade, maintaining a familial atmosphere is critical to the program’s success, Akakpo-Lado said.

“Although Boys Hope Girls Hope kind of disrupts the traditional family environment, they try vehemently to maintain a sense of normalcy for the scholars,” he said. “They’ll have an established time when all of the boys and all of the girls will come and eat dinner together and share about their days. They’ll have that kind of established routine.”

The boys all live in one house, and the girls in another. Each student shares a room and bathroom with one roommate, making use of spacious common areas. “The boys I lived with, they became my

to the community. “A critical element of sustainable progress and success in any community is able, committed leadership,” said Donald M. Suggs, president of the St. Louis American Foundation. “These young people represent an essential component necessary to achieve a more inclusive and equitable future for our community.”

The 2020 Class of Young Leaders, in alphabetical order, are:

• Doneisha Bohannon, MPH, senior strategist, Missouri Foundation for Health

brothers,” Akakpo-Lado said.

Boys Hope Girls Hope tries to keep the students’ connection with their families strong. Students go home for a weekend every month, as well as for holidays, and there is no limit on parents visiting the school. Akakpo-Lado said he visits his two younger siblings “at least every week,” as they follow in his footsteps at Boys Hope Girls Hope. Some parents visit every few days for dinner.

“I admire our parents,”

Executive Director Cassandra Sissom said. “It’s a sacrifice. Trusting us to take the lead on some things and not see your

• Johnnica Bolden, chief operating officer, iJustOrder; CEO, J Star Construction

• Portia J. Britt, assistant prosecuting attorney, St. Louis County Prosecutor’s Office

• Brittae Gray-Ross, application developer, Washington University School of Medicine

• Aaron M. Harris, executive director, Ferguson Youth Initiative

• Candace Harris, human resources generalist, Spire

• Dasha Kennedy, owner and creator, The Broke Black Girl & The Girlpreneur Expo

• George Ladd, financial

child every day, and trust that we’re going to protect them and love them and care for them – that’s an amazing feat.”

Once students leave Boys Hope Girls Hope for college – 100 percent of its scholars pursue some kind of postsecondary education – the program continues to provide them support. There are currently 32 alumni in college, according to Sissom.

Akakpo-Lado credited Boys Hope Girls Hope with his preparedness to take on the challenge of four years at Washington University.

“We learn routines about

consultant, Hussmann Corporation

• Andrea Lewis, manager of Housing & Client Services, Employment Connection

• Stephanie McCloud, flight attendant, Delta Air Lines; technical sergeant, Aviation Resource manager, USAF; founder, Take Flight Girls

• Aunyã McElroy, M.Ed., school counselor, Jury Elementary School, Hazelwood School District

• Ashley O’Neal, senior vice president – retail market manager, Midwest BankCentre

sharing space, the kind of things that you have to learn, especially when it comes to college, where you have to work around a roommate and come up with an agreement about how to live together in a civil way,” he said.

“I went into college already knowing how to do a lot of the things that college required of me, to the point where I was helping my fellow college students because they were still pretty new to it.”

Now, Akakpo-Lado works as a patient experience specialist at an ocular surgery clinic. “My role specifically is

• Nicola Charlottie Phillips, senior project manager, Bayer Crop Science

• Neal Richardson, vice president, director of Business Impact, U.S. Bank Community Development Corporation

• Marcel Scaife, manager of Safe and Thriving Communities, Ready By 21 St. Louis

• Christan E. Shelton, Esq., instructional coach, Riverview Gardens School District

• Danielle Smith, Esq., assistant circuit attorney, St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office

• Blake A. Strode,

to build a connection with all of our patients, and to make them feel at ease about their surgical process,” he said. He learned these skills at Boys Hope Girls Hope. He had been “bouncing around these three cultural groups” – white, AfricanAmerican and African – “and being the one person that never really belonged anywhere,” he said, when “Boys Hope Girls Hope kind of taught me the value of embracing that.” This helps him at work with patients at the ocular clinic –and in the community.

“I became a voice. I became an advocate for the various groups I was a part of. I became an advocate to Africans about a lot of African-American and white communities. I became an advocate for African Americans,” Akakpo-Lado said.

“A lot of the kids in West County, they didn’t know what life in North County and Ferguson was like and had some vast misunderstandings. I became an advocate for white people sometimes, where I’d be the kid who went to DeSmet around my North County or African friends. I never belonged, but that became the one thing that pushed me to be a voice.” For more information, email mbiscan@bhgh.org or visit https://boyshopegirlshopestl. org.

executive director, ArchCity Defenders

• Deanna Taylor, Compliance lead, Edward Jones

• Mikel D. Whittier, MHA, strategist – Justice and Health Equity, St. Louis Integrated Health Network.

Tickets for the Salute to Young Leaders Networking Awards Reception, to be held at the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, February 20, are $35 and can be purchased online at stlamerican.com or by emailing rbritt@stlamerican.com or calling 314-533-8000.

Seth Akakpo-Lado, a former resident at Boys Hope Girls Hope house in Richmond Heights, explained a math concept to resident scholar Zion Murphy, 15, at the house on January 27. Akakpo-Lado went on to graduate from Washington University and now works as a patient experience specialist at an ocular surgery clinic.

Photo by Wiley Price

million in savings to things such as victim and pretrial services.

According to the resolution, the St. Louis Justice Center, located at 200 S. Tucker, has a capacity of 860 detainees, and the Workhouse at 7600 Hall St. has a capacity of 1138, for a total of 1998 detainees.

The city currently spends approximately $16 million a year to operate MSI and $24 million a year to operate the Justice Center for a total of $40 million.

As of last week, the Workhouse was housing 238 detainees, Guenther said, which is about 20 percent of the facility’s capacity. The mayor’s chief of staff Steve Conway later argued that it was not operating at 20 percent capacity because the Workhouse’s second floor and other parts have been shut down.

The resolution is largely fueled by the fact that the city’s jail population drastically decreased, Guenther said, and Guenther gives credit to several nonprofits and organizations who have been working for years towards this goal. In 2013 the city jails housed 1,450 people, and last week there were about 930, Guenther said, citing the mayor’s data.

“That’s a 40 percent reduction in the population of our jails,” he said.

Alderwoman Annie Rice (D-Ward 8) spoke about how the recent reforms in the criminal justice system — including federal courtmandated bail reforms — has helped to decrease the city’s jail population. The Missouri Supreme Court also has issued

Janitors

Continued from A1

In a press conference outside the Old Courthouse on Thursday, January 30, a group of about two dozen janitors, faith leaders, and allies declared their intention to escalate beyond their ongoing rallies and direct actions and go on strike if Clean-Tech did not meet their demands.

Michelle McNeal, who works as a Clean-Tech janitor at 1010 Market St., said that her $10/hour wage is not enough to feed her family. Just as recently as last week, McNeal, her children, and her six-year-old grandchild had been homeless. “We are worth $15 an hour,” she said. “Stand in our shoes and work $10 an hour. It’s not enough.” McNeal said that she was “10 toes down” in the effort for a $15 wage and was willing to do whatever is necessary to get it, even if that meant striking and losing the only income source her family has. But she and the other janitors were not without support. John Stiffler, executive secretary-treasurer of the St. Louis Building and Construction Trades Council, pledged his union’s alliance with SEIU Local 1.

new rules about holding people on bail who can’t afford it.

“Our judges and prosecutors understand that there is a better way to do this,” Rice said. “This reduction in numbers is not going to go up because we are doing criminal justice differently.”

Blake Strode, the executive director of ArchCity Defenders, had a representative read his statement at the hearing.

n “This is the new form of segregation for black people. We should close it down as soon as possible, and we should be unapologetic.”

– Alderman Jesse Todd

ArchCity Defenders sued the City of St. Louis in federal court for keeping people in jail without allowing them to go before a judge for a proper bail hearing. The federal court granted them an injunction, which was active for five or six days. During that time, the city courts provided new bail hearings to approximately 173 people, and 118 of those people were released as a result, according to ArchCity Defenders.

“This was the result of the same judges actually considering individual circumstances and ability to pay,” Strode said in a statement that was read at the hearing.

“I am here representing 20,000 members to lend the janitors support for their fight,” Stiffler said. He recalled how the anti-union Right to Work amendment was overwhelmingly defeated in Missouri through solidarity between multiple groups of workers.

“We won that fight with the help of all workers,” Stiffler said. “We can win this one too.”

Many St. Louis faith leaders are also throwing their support behind the janitors. Reverend Darryl Gray expressed his willingness to provide financial support to any striking janitors and urged other clergy to do the same.

“Obviously, as a faith community, we have to be in prayer, but prayer without works means absolutely nothing,” Gray said. “If we’re talking about 2,100 people affected by this, then that’s 2,100 families — most of those are black families, and members of our congregations. So we’ve got to be prepared to give something back.”

Both the City Board of Aldermen and County Council passed resolutions in January supporting the janitors in their fight for a $15 wage. The janitors have also garnered significant attention from

was a deadlock in the budget negotiations and the Board of E&A refused, then the city would end up implementing the mayor’s budget by default.

“And all the things we fought for, like more money for cutting grass, would be lost,” Vaccaro said.

Guenther responded that they would likely have two of the three Board of E&A members on their side.

President of the Board of Aldermen Lewis Reed has always been a strong advocate for the aldermen, Guenther said, and Comptroller Darlene Green has come out in support of the resolution.

Indeed, last April Green published a column in The American calling for the Workhouse to be closed and arguing for the feasibility of doing so in a short period of time. “Closing the Workhouse is the right thing to do,” Green wrote. “It is within reach and can be completed in a matter of months, not years, with focus from the administration.

“If we have two members of the E&A supporting this resolution,” Guenther told Vaccaro, “then I think that your concern that all of a sudden everything is at deadlock is mute.”

Alderman Jesse Todd (D-Ward 18), who is not a committee member, spoke in favor of the bill.

“The takeaway: if we stopped relying on unconstitutional pretrial detention policies, our jail population would continue to decrease significantly.”

The response from aldermen at the January 29 public safety committee hearing was a mix of skeptical and supportive. Alderman Joe Vaccaro (D-Ward 23) said he was concerned that if there

n “The vast majority of the 2,100 people that we’re talking about are African-American.”

– Rev. Darryl Gray

politicians and media over the past week, including a statement in support of their cause from presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

The janitors’ threat of a strike came at a time when various groups in both St. Louis city and county are exerting pressure for higher wages—and, in some cases, getting those wages. On January 17, Mayor Lyda Krewson ordered a $15 minimum wage for all city

employees. Then on January 30—the same day the janitors vowed to strike—St. Louis County Executive Sam Page announced that the minimum wage for county employees would be raised to $13 this year and to $15 by 2022.

“I appreciate Dr. Page for standing with St. Louis County working families by putting County workers, including contracted ones like me, on a path to $15,” said SEIU Local 1 CleanTech janitor Geraldine

said that he shared the goal to decrease the jail population and applauded the organizations’ efforts.

Conway told the committee that the mayor is committed to closing the workhouse. He also said that the jail does not mistreat individuals and that no one is currently being held because they can’t pay bail.

The resolution was initially announced at a January 14 press conference with the organizers of the Close the Workhouse campaign, showcasing their new report “Close the Workhouse: A Plan and a Vision.”

By the time the aldermen got to public comments, all but three of the aldermen on the committee had left the meeting.

Kayla Reed, of Action STL, said that it was disheartening that the aldermen stayed to hear from all the city officials — including Glass and the mayor’s chief of staff Steve Conway — but that they would not be hearing from the organizations that have led the effort to decrease the jail population. Those organizations include the Bail Project, Action STL, ArchCity Defenders and the Advancement Project.

“We are talking about racism,” Todd said. “This is the new form of segregation for black people. We should close it down as soon as possible, and we should be unapologetic.”

Corrections Commissioner Dale Glass said that they had to consider that all the 860 beds at the Justice Center are not available. Some are solely dedicated to women and keeping some inmates isolated from others. However, he

Spencer, who cleans the St. Louis County Government Center. “This will go a long way towards helping working families pay the bills and strengthening communities across the region.”

For non-governmental employees in both the city and county, however, minimum wage remains at $9.45 an hour—which, SEIU Local 1 members said, is both inadequate to raise a family on and helps to perpetuate income inequalities along racial lines.

“If we are going through this process, we have to actually embrace democracy,” Reed said. “I think it’s unfair to the campaign, to constituents and voters to have sat there since 11 a.m., and when we finally get the opportunity to speak, the folks who are responsible for listening to us have already walked out. It is a biased response to only listen to those employed by the city.”

Guenther said he plans to work with the committee chair, Vaccaro, to organize an evening meeting to accommodate residents’ working schedules. As of press time, the meeting had not been scheduled.

Nearly all of the SEIU Local 1 members at the press conference were AfricanAmerican. According to Gray, that is reflective of the racial composition of the union as a whole.

“The vast majority of the 2,100 people that we’re talking about are African-American,” Gray said. “That’s not a coincidence. We need people to look at black poverty the same way they look at white poverty and make it a priority.”

One of those 2,100 janitors is Keosha Gowan, who works for Clean-Tech at Express Scripts in North County. With a $15 wage, she said, she would be able to start saving up for her four-year-old daughter’s college education. “I don’t want her to be struggling just like I am right now,” Gowan said. “I’m doing this for her.”

“If we stopped relying on unconstitutional pretrial detention policies, our jail population would continue to decrease significantly,” said Blake Strode, executive director of ArchCity Defenders, seen here at a March 2019 discussion of the “Close the Workhouse” report.

Photo by Wiley Price

Statement by Adolphus M. Pruitt, II, President St. Louis City NAACP Regarding Airport Privatization

Over two-decades ago a FOCUS St. Louis Task Force concluded:

§ Unequivocally that the economic playing field is still not a level one for people of color, particularly African Americans.

§ If a child is poor, he or she will most likely live in a low-income, segregated neighborhood which limits access to good schooling, social mobility and economic opportunity.

§ The issue has not been a regional priority commanding the attention, resources and problem solving skills of people from every sector of the St. Louis region.

Fast forward to 2020 and you’ll find that the conditions in North St. Louis City are worse.

North St. Louis City is home to 4.5 million square feet of publicly-owned vacant buildings and 28.5 million square feet of publicly-owned vacant lots…ironically, at any given period of time roughly 30% of the children attending St. Louis Public Schools are homeless.

According to a recent report by the Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic at Washington University School of Law and the Environmental Justice Roundtable titled Environmental Racism in St. Louis:

§ Many of the negative health impacts cited in the report relate to the proximity to vacant properties and industrial sites.

§ More than 90% of the city’s vacant properties are located in majority-black neighborhoods, according to an analysis of figures maintained by STL Vacancy Collaborative.

In addition, a Washington University study has shown that more than a dozen north St. Louis neighborhoods have high rates of childhood asthma.

The Center for Economic Studies in a 2018 Report titled The Opportunity Atlas – Mapping the Childhood Roots of Social Mobility supports the fact that a child growing up in the current conditions in North St. Louis is a predictor of the adverse outcomes for that child as an adult.

It will take a substantial amount of unencumbered resources to abate these conditions in North St. Louis City; resources that can potentially be derived from a public-private-partnership leasing and managing St. Louis Lambert International Airport. Thus, we welcome the opportunity to partner with the St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council to ensure all potential efforts with respect to transforming our airport (especially those that can generate resources for North St. Louis City) received a fair and impartial airing and consideration by the citizens of St. Louis City…because a vibrant North St. Louis City offers the greatest benefits for our City and Region.

How Charlton Tandy integrated St. Louis streetcars

By Sarah Sims

For The St. Louis American

Quick: Think of a civil rights leader whose brave and intentional actions led to the racial integration of public transportation.

Did you immediately envision Rosa Parks? Although she played a huge role in the integration of public buses in the 20th century, segregation existed in America’s public transportation systems well before that, back when people took streetcars pulled by horses. One St. Louisan refused to accept this discrimination nearly a century before Parks took a stand by sitting down.

Charlton Tandy was an African-American man born to free parents in Kentucky in 1836. His family was involved in the Underground Railroad, and Tandy helped enslaved people cross the Ohio River to find freedom in Ohio. When Tandy came to St. Louis in 1857, he found a city that enforced segregation in many public accommodations and services— including schools, neighborhoods, and public transportation—by custom rather than law.

In the case of the city’s streetcars, white riders could sit down inside the trolley, but AfricanAmerican passengers had to ride while hanging on from the outside. This created a particularly dangerous situation because the horse-drawn streetcars were moving along bumpy, muddy roads paved with rough cobblestones. Black riders were often injured and sometimes even killed, simply because they were barred from taking a safer seat inside the trolley.

Some African-American passengers and their families pursued justice via the city’s courts, which led to an 1868 injunction prohibiting streetcar segregation. Yet the unfair practice persisted, a fact that didn’t sit well with Tandy, who added a new arsenal of tactics to the fight.

First, he organized boycotts in 1870, urging African Americans to not use—and therefore not pay for—streetcars in their daily commutes. Then he turned to direct action, using his own body and knowledge of horses to physically stop a trolley by grabbing its horse’s reins and holding on until the black passengers were allowed a seat inside. After a great deal of time, effort, and strategy, Tandy and others were largely successful in integrating St. Louis streetcars. Tandy went on to help advance equality for African Americans in other sectors of society. He organized the Colored Refugee Relief Board, which gave aid to African Americans who migrated west during the “Exodust” after Reconstruction ended. He was also very involved in the fight for education, authoring the first bill in Missouri that provided for the education of black students and lobbying for safer locations for black schools. He recruited an African-American state militia, called Tandy’s St. Louis Guard, during the Civil War. After the war, he helped members of the 62nd Colored Infantry establish Lincoln Institute (now Lincoln University), one of Missouri’s historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

What I love most about Tandy’s story

is that it challenges the dominant narrative many Americans learn about the Civil Rights Movement. Yes, many of the most iconic images come from the South in the 1950s and 1960s. But people fought hard for their rights all over the country long before the dawn of what we might traditionally refer to as the civil rights era.

And, yes, there are stand-out leaders of the Civil Rights Movement whom we honor more formally as a nation, such as Martin Luther King Jr. His contributions and ability to rally and unite people to a shared cause are of course valuable, but fighting for civil rights actually takes all the actions (big and small) of lots of people building upon each other, just like Tandy was able to build on the lawsuits that other AfricanAmerican riders filed against the streetcar companies.

Sometimes it can be easy to look to one event or year and say, “That’s when everything changed,” like the signing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Yet, in reality, the fight for inclusion and equality is a long road. The story of Charlton Tandy and the integration of St. Louis’s streetcars challenge us to remember just how much work it takes.

On Saturday, February 8, at 11 a.m., learn more about the Lincoln Institute at the Soldiers Memorial Military Museum. Dr. Miller W. Boyd III will highlight the efforts of the 62nd Colored Infantry and how their military service shaped the evolving ideas about liberty, freedom, and citizenship.

This article originally appeared as a blog post on historyhappenshere.org.

Sarah Sims is director of K-12 education programs at the Missouri Historical Society.

Let’s Talk Film, Art, and History

Film: Black Is the Color (2017) Friday, February 7, 7:00 pm Saint Louis Art Museum, The Farrell Auditorium, Free ticket required This film is not rated; 52 minutes; shown with open captions

Join the Saint Louis Art Museum for the second of two free films that explore key moments in the history of African American visual art. Black Is the Color surveys great works by African American artists whose contributions

were neglected by the mainstream art world for far too long. This film, which will be screened at 7 pm on Friday, February 7, features art historians and gallery owners placing works by Black artists in context, juxtaposing these works with racist images of African Americans, and discussing African American artists in the larger social contexts in American history.

Free tickets may be purchased in person at the Museum’s Information Centers or through MetroTix at metrotix.com or 314.534.1111. All tickets reserved through MetroTix incur a service charge; the service charge is waived for tickets reserved at the Museum.

SAVE THE DATE: February 21, 2020

7 pm, The Farrell Auditorium, Saint Louis Art Museum, $5/Free for Members

Talking Abstraction: An Evening with Artists

Join Rehema C. Barber, Chief Curator, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts with artists Nanette Carter, Bill Hutson and James Little.

Missouri Historical Society Collections

Charlton Tandy

Ferguson still dragging its feet on DOJ consent decree

Ferguson resident Felicia Pulliam approached the microphone at the January 14 Ferguson City Council meeting, and she began her public comment with just two words: Jeffrey Blume

The audience — a packed house — quietly laughed. But it was a sad laugh, like the joke about their interim city manager, Jeffrey Blume, was on them.

“So I know everyone is confused about the little charade that Jeffrey Blume and Mayor Knowles — who we now know was his co-conspirator — pulled at the D.O.J. status hearing,” said Pulliam, who was a Ferguson Commission member. “I’m here to explain to you what that little show was all about.” Pulliam’s explanation was one part of an incredible fourpart takedown by women residents. Here’s some background.

Earlier in January, Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III and Interim City Manager Jeffrey Blume had a status hearing with a federal judge about the consent decree. The City of Ferguson went kicking and screaming into the consent decree agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice in March 2016, after the D.O.J. concluded that the city was misusing the police and courts to increase city revenue. At the recent hearing to talk about the city’s progress, Blume explained to the judge that Ferguson “could face eventual dissolution unless serious financial threats can be resolved,” according to the Associated Press.

After the hearing, Knowles told an AP reporter that the cost of the consent decree has forced Ferguson to cut back

in nearly every area other than policing. Knowles also said dissolution should eventually be on the table if the city can’t afford even basic services like snow removal, pothole repair and maintaining parks, according to the AP report.

“When you get to that level, you have to ask: Why exist?” Knowles told the AP. Blume told the reporter that the Census is concerning because Ferguson’s population is declining. The town had

about 29,000 residents in the mid-1970s, and now has about 21,000. If the 2020 Census shows a 5 percent population loss, Blume told the reporter, Ferguson would lose nearly $400,000 in federal money. He also said that two class-action lawsuits, both citing the same issues raised by the consent agreement, could cost the city more than $10 million if Ferguson loses. And the city’s insurance would not cover the loss.

The AP article incited worry and anger from Ferguson residents. So before the January 14 meeting began, Knowles addressed the article, saying that it was “blown out of proportion” by the reporter and the headline writer. He claimed that the lawsuits and Census were concerns, but that the city had financial reserves.

However, Knowles’ comments seemed to offer little reassurance to the audience. One woman questioned Knowles’ claim to the press that the police department’s budget has not been cut, even though the number of officers has gone from 56 to 45.

“It’s a cut,” she said. “The mayor made a false statement. He lied.”

Women vs. Blume

Back to the Blume takedown during the City Council meeting.

First, resident Cassandra Butler got up. She pointed out that it’s been almost a year since Blume was appointed interim city manager — despite the council’s promise a year ago to find a permanent replacement quickly. Blume, who became finance director in 2008 and held the position during the Ferguson unrest, was cited multiple times by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in legal documents.

Butler said that an interim city manager has made several important hires. And though they are supposed to be making changes for the consent decree, Blume has “essentially become a supervisor of his former

items that have not yet been completed, she said.

“Ms. Mildred just told us that (Blume) is the architect of the black body ATM,” Pulliam said. “The D.O.J. came in here, the citizens of this region came in and shut down your black body ATM. You cannot fill any more budget deficits that you have known about — the structural deficit that you cured by harassing, threatening, harming, destroying the lives of black and brown people. Guess what? It ain’t going to happen. You can keep on whining. And how much money do you have to spend? I hope you spend every penny that you stole out of children’s mouths, shoes off their feet, car payments, rent. I hope you spend every dime of it and do not benefit from the unconstitutional policing that you have practiced against the people.”

Then resident Emily Davis stepped up to the microphone and connected the dots. Despite Blume being mentioned in the D.O.J.’s investigation more than 10 times for abuses, she said Knowles still promoted him to interim city manager.

“After the investigation, Blume repeatedly ramped up the scare tactics, just as he’s doing now with the dissolution talk,” Davis said, “by jacking up the potential cost estimates outrageously every time he was asked, in an attempt to keep the city from signing the agreement with the federal government.”

work.”

Resident Mildred Clines then got up and explained what that former work was. She dedicated the three minutes that she was allowed to reading from the D.O.J.’s findings on Blume — though Knowles attempted to stop her. In a complaint filed against the City of Ferguson on February 10, 2016, the D.O.J. cited several emails written from Blume to then-police chief Thomas Jackson. One stated that “unless ticket writing ramps up significantly before the end of the year, it will be hard to significantly raise collections next year.” In another email, Blume recommended an “I-270 traffic enforcement initiative” in order to “begin to fill the revenue pipeline.”

“Mr. Blume, you are not the person to lead this city,” Clines said. “Any City Council members who support him becoming the permanent city manager, we’re going to look at you. And we’re going to judge you.”

That’s when Pulliam approached the podium and told the audience what was really happening at the status hearing.

“What Blume and Knowles were trying to do was to whine to the judge, make her feel like the city was impossibly burdened and did not have the financial capability nor the human capability to implement the D.O.J. consent decree,” Pulliam said. “We are in year four.”

The Ferguson Collaborative, a group that works with the city and consent decree monitor, has identified 40-plus pages of

Because of these estimates, the City Council didn’t sign it, she said, then got sued by the federal government, and finally voted again to sign it.

“From that moment on, the City of Ferguson has drug its collective feet to keep from implementing the measures required by the decree,” Davis said.

The decree expires when the city fulfills its obligations and maintains them for two years. Dragging their feet has simply drug out the costs of implementation, she said.

“Jeffrey Blume as finance director got us into this mess; Jeffrey Blume as city manager isn’t going to get us out of it,” Davis said. “It’s time to open up applications for a permanent city manager and finally move forward before Blume burns it down and walks away from the ashes with his retirement package intact.”

Note from the monitor

The independent monitor for the consent decree, Natashia Tidwell, will host a community event 6-7 p.m. Wednesday, February 12 at the Ferguson Community Center, Room 3, 1050 Smith Ave. This event will provide an opportunity for people to hear about the Winter 2020 Status Report and Year Four Workplan, which were filed with the court on January 31, and will serve as an introduction to the Monitoring Team’s newest subject matter expert, Leigh R. Anderson

Photo by Wiley Price

Ferguson resident and former Ferguson Commission member Felicia Pulliam spoke her mind at a Ferguson City Council meeting in 2016. Four years later, she is no less exasperated as Jeffrey Blume – cited multiple times for abuses by the DOJ in legal documents – lingers on as interim city manager.

“TakingCareofYou”

‘The most important impact of race on health is racism’

co-principal investigator for Vanderbilt’s Institute of Clinical and Translational

Dr. Wilkins named co-principal investigator for Institute for Clinical and Translational Science

By Sandra Jordan

Of The St. Louis American

Just a year after becoming vice president of Health Equity and associate dean of Health Equity at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, Consuelo Wilkins, M.D., was recently named as a second principal investigator for Vanderbilt’s Institute for Clinical Translational Science Award (CTSA). There she will promote health equity initiatives, community engagement and recruiting those who have not been well represented in medical research – including disadvantaged and minority populations.

According to the National Institutes of

n “We need to think about disparities at the beginning.”

– Consuelo Wilkins, M.D.

Health, the CTSA Program supports highquality translational science and clinical research locally, regionally and nationally; fosters scientific and operational innovation to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of clinical translational research; and creates, provides and disseminates domain-

specific translational science training and workforce development.

Wilkins said there are very few CTSAs that focus on health disparities and that have minorities as principal investigators. She said while having more diverse research participants is important, there needs to be a paradigm shift in the way one thinks of research.

“We have to focus on getting more minority researchers, more individuals who understand diverse backgrounds and come from communities that have been impacted by poor health outcomes, and then we also

By Denise Hooks-Anderson, M.D. Of The St. Louis American

Lately, I’ve noticed a lot of patients who have recently been seen at urgent care, diagnosed with a viral upper respiratory infection and prescribed antibiotics. When I review their paperwork and confirm what they have shared with me, I am perplexed about why antibiotics were even used. Viruses are not treated with antibiotics. You may be asking yourself, “What is the big deal about taking antibiotics when I’m sick? Isn’t that when we should use them?” I have even heard patients say that when they are prescribed antibiotics they only take the pills until they feel better and not necessarily the duration recommended by their provider. They use the leftover meds at their discretion.

n If we continue to use antibiotics inappropriately, we will have infections that will eventually not respond to the medications.

Antibiotic resistance is caused by the inappropriate use of antibiotics. Annually in the United States, during outpatient medical visits, antibiotics are prescribed approximately 13 percent of those encounters. However, per the annual National Ambulatory Survey, 25 percent of those prescriptions were inappropriate and 18 percent lacked an indication for the prescription. If we continue to use antibiotics inappropriately, we will have infections that will eventually not respond to the medications. Therefore, simple infections like urinary tract infections could be fatal.

Antibiotics will not make viral infections better. Antibiotics can cause side effects such as nausea, vomiting, bloating, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Furthermore, mild sinus and ear infections may get better without any antibiotics at all. Occasionally, it is appropriate to do watchful waiting or delayed prescribing. Upper respiratory infections (common colds) are generally caused by viruses and symptoms can last 7-10 days.

Providers also need education. Many clinicians erroneously believe that patients seek antibiotics when they are sick. Studies have shown that though providers understand the recommendations for antimicrobials,

New coronavirus sparks concern

Influenza viruses pose more immediate local threats, say experts

By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American

If you are wondering how to guard against the new coronavirus strain that is circulating around the world right now that first appeared in Wuhan, China, it may be as simple as keeping your hands washed and clean – and out of your face, covering coughs and avoiding coughing from others – which is what you should do to avoid picking up or sharing cold and flu germs.

“Unless the people from St. Louis are traveling to an area where there is a novel coronavirus disease, they would not otherwise have to worry about becoming infected, unless they are exposed to someone who traveled there and brought it back,” said infectious disease specialist Sharon Frey, M.D., clinical director of the Saint Louis University Center for

n “I think people can relax. I think they should be more concerned about influenza.”

– Sharon Frey, M.D.

Vaccine Development. “The other thing to know about coronavirus is that most coronaviruses that humans get infected with, they just cause cold-like symptoms.”

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention said coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in many

See CORONAVIRUS, A13

The World Health Organization’s emergency committee on the new coronavirus met January 30 and declared the 2019-nCoV outbreak to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, requiring a potentially international coordinated response, yet local experts said people in St. Louis should be more concerned about influenza.

Consuelo Wilkins, M.D., is vice president of Health Equity and associate dean for Health Equity at Vanderbilt University. She recently became

Science.

Denise HooksAnderson, MD

Photo courtesy of Vanderbilt University

“TakingCareofYou”

Wilkins

Continued from A12

have to shift the way we think about research,” Wilkins said. “A lot of what happens in research enterprise does not start to think about disparities until the end – when we need to think about disparities at the beginning.”

Wilkins said that most of the time, researchers are not necessarily spending a lot of time thinking about the differences of genetics, ancestry and race. She said ancestry is tied more to genetics – whereas race is really a social construct. Although there is a lot of overlap, Wilkins said there are important differences.

“The most important impact of race on health is actually racism,” Wilkins said.

“How you experience life as a person who is a racial or ethnic minority with the discrimination, structural barriers to getting care, the stress of having to deal with big issues, like obvious racism, but also micro-aggression, lack of access to food in the communities – all of those things are not biological. They are social, political, cultural things, but they have a huge impact on your health.”

Before moving to Nashville to lead the VanderbiltMeharry Alliance, Wilkins, a nationally recognized expert in stakeholder engagement and former medical accuracy editor for The American, was an associate professor in the Department of at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. She served as founding director of the Center for Community Health and Partnerships in the Institute for Public Health, co-director of the Center for Community Engaged Research in the CTSA, and director of “Our Community, Our Health,” a collaborative program with Saint Louis University to disseminate culturally relevant health information and facilitate community-academic partnerships to address health disparities.

“I’m thrilled to join the CTSA leadership and consider it a privilege to work with a team that has distinguished

Coronavirus

Continued from A12

different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can infect people and then spread between people such as with MERS and SARS. That’s exactly what happened with the novel Wuhan China coronavirus, referred to in the medical community as 2019-nCoV. It evolved enough to jump species from animal to human infection.

Frey said this coronavirus causes pneumonia, which can be deadly.

“This one mostly causes fever and just not feeling well,” Frey said. “It can cause a cough; it can cause pneumonia – and those are the cases, developing severe pneumonia, where people die.”

Infectious disease experts say people can spread this coronavirus can spread before they show symptoms of the disease.

And while the CDC considers this to be a very

Anderson

Continued from A12 they still fail to adhere to the guidelines. A few reasons given for non-adherence include patient satisfaction and fear of complications. In addition, inappropriate diagnostic testing can also lead

As

Vanderbilt as one of the preeminent clinical and translational research programs in the country,” Wilkins said.

An $8 million a year federal grant award supports Vanderbilt’s CTSA Institute, which since 2007 has fostered innovation development, such as the BioVU DNA repository, an online national volunteer recruitment registry known as ResearchMatch, and a webbased research management application REDCap, which is used worldwide.

“We are well positioned to expand our work to address

serious public health threat, based on current information, the immediate health risk from 2019-nCoV to the general American public is considered low at this time. There have only been a few confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in the U.S., and on January 30, the first case of Wuhan coronavirus spread from person-to-person contact is a case in the Chicago area. That 2019-nCoV patient has no history of travel to Wuhan, but shares a household with the patient diagnosed with new coronavirus infection on January 21. Both patients are said to be in stable condition. CDC is working closely with Illinois health officials and other local partners. A CDC team has been on the ground since the first 2019-nCoVpositive case was identified and is supporting an ongoing investigation to determine whether further spread with this virus has occurred. Previously, the virus in the U.S. was limited to persons who were associated with travel to Wuhan, China.

“Given what we’ve seen in China and other countries with

to inappropriate antibiotic prescribing.

Leaders within organizations can provide education for providers on a regular basis. Another recommendation is the requirement of continuing medical education credits on antibiotic resistance.

Some electronic health records (EHR) also have

n

“We have to focus on getting more minority researchers, more individuals who understand diverse backgrounds and come from communities that have been impacted by poor health outcomes.”

– Consuelo Wilkins, M.D.

inequities in health outcomes and develop novel approaches to some of the most complex health conditions,” she said. Wilkins will also oversee development of methods

the novel coronavirus, CDC experts have expected some person-to-person spread in the U.S.,” said CDC Director Robert R. Redfield, M.D. “We understand that this may be concerning, but based on what we know now, we still believe the immediate risk to the American public is low.”

The CDC said limited person-to-person spread with 2019-nCoV has been seen among close contacts of infected travelers in other countries where imported cases from China have been detected. Whoever, the full picture of how easily and sustainably the 2019-nCoV spreads is still unclear.

The World Health Organization’s emergency committee on the new coronavirus met January 30 and declared the 2019-nCoV outbreak to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), requiring a potentially international coordinated response.

While precautions against the 2019-nCoV are being taken in locations around the globe, like what happened during SARS and MERS outbreaks in

an antimicrobial clinical workflow. For example, conditions such as urinary tract infections, would prompt the provider to order certain antibiotics or not. EHR systems could also require clinicians to justify the use of antibiotics whenever prescribed.

Comparing providers to their peers has been shown to be an effective tool in

for disseminating results to persons who are participants in research.

“With the addition of Dr. Wilkins in a stronger leadership role we are even

previous years, Frey said the new coronavirus currently does not pose as big a threat here as influenza viruses circulating in the U.S.

“I think people can relax. I think they should be more concerned about influenza,” Frey said. “There have already been at least 15 million cases of influenza this season; there’s been 14,000 hospitalizations and 8,200 deaths – 54 of which were children.”

The H1N1 and Influenza B strains are the ones she said have been most prevalent this season.

CDC weekly surveillance has flu estimates even higher from October 1, 2019 to January 18: 15 million to 21 million cases of influenza; 7 million to 10 million medical visits; 140,000 to 250,000 hospitalizations; and 8,200 to 20,000 flu deaths. Frey said that it is not too late to get a flu shot.

“We have a few more months of flu season,” she said. “People forget – as long as flu is circulating like it is, people should get flu shots.”

While the free flu clinics took place in the area last

modifying physician behavior. With this method, the provider’s prescribing habits are observed and recorded. This information would be broken down into easy-toread graphs that would later be shared with the provider. The report could then be linked to specific modules that would help provide additional education if needed.

more poised to do just that, and to actually serve as a trailblazer in the vital goal of improving health equity,” said Gordon Bernard, M.D., principal investigator of the Vanderbilt CTSA since its inception in 2007. Bernard is the Melinda Owen Bass Professor of Medicine and executive vice president for Research at VUMC.

Until a successor is named, Wilkins will remain executive director of the MeharryVanderbilt Alliance and will continue to work closely with Vanderbilt and Meharry

fall, clinics, doctor’s offices and pharmacy clinics have influenza vaccines.

The CDC said is likely there will be more cases of 2019nCoV reported in the U.S. in the coming days and weeks, including more person-toperson spread, and the best way to prevent infection is to avoid being exposed to this virus.

Right now, 2019-nCoV has not been found to be spreading widely in the United States, so the CDC deems the immediate risk from this virus to the general public to be low. However, risk is dependent on exposure, and people who are in contact with people with 2019-nCoV are likely to be at greater risk of infection and should take the precautions outlined in CDC’s guidance for preventing spread in homes and communities.

For the general public, no additional precautions are recommended at this time beyond the simple daily precautions that everyone should always take. It is currently flu and respiratory disease season, and CDC recommends getting vaccinated, taking everyday

Medical College to ensure their investigators have access to expert faculty collaborators, core resources and services to catalyze innovative research. Wilkins said she intends to use her new position to move from research to action:

“I’m hoping we will begin to shift thinking early on as to why there are differences and how we can understand the differences in a way we can actually act on them, as opposed to saying, ‘Oh, these communities are just impacted by poor health.’”

preventive actions to stop the spread of germs, and taking flu antivirals if prescribed.

“Wash your hands frequently. People should cover their face into their elbow when they cough or sneeze. Wash your hands. Keep your hands out of your face, because what do you do with your hands and face? You’re rubbing your eyes; you’re rubbing your mouth – people rubbing their noses. These are good ways to get flu,” Frey said.

“And, if people are sick, they should not expose other people to them. If they are sick, they should not expose the elderly, pregnant women, those at high risk for flu disease and mortality, the very, very young, people who are immune-compromised – stay away from them.”

Right now, CDC recommends travelers avoid all nonessential travel to China.

“Hygiene is everything,” she said. “Respiratory hygiene and just good handwashing –those are the big, big things.” For more information, visit https://www.cdc.gov/ coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/.

In summary, antibiotic stewardship is not just for one individual. Changing patient and provider behaviors and expectations will take concerted efforts from multiple parties. We talk a lot about saving our planet from global warming but I challenge us to also consider cultivating a healthier future for our children and grandchildren by not overprescribing antibiotics.

Denise Hooks-Anderson, M.D., FAAFP, is associate professor at SLUCare Family Medicine and medical accuracy editor of The St. Louis American. Email: yourhealthmatters@ stlamerican.com.

At Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, Consuelo Wilkins is helping to promote health equity initiatives and community engagement while recruiting those who have not been well represented in medical research – including disadvantaged and minority populations.

Photo courtesy of Vanderbilt University

Healthy Kids Kids

Healthcare Careers

Savvy Shopping!

Nutrition Challenge:

When shopping, it takes a pretty good “Food Detective” to know what is really good for you; don’t just read the front of food product packaging. Food

Stretching

Stranger Danger

GRANOLA Cereal

companies are quite clever when thinking of creative ways to make you believe that something is healthy.

INGREDIENTS: Whole Grain Wheat, Sugar, Corn Bran, Wheat Bran, Inulin, Gylcerin, Whole Grain Rolled Oats, Crispy Rice-Oat Bits (Rice & Oat Flour, Sugar, Malt Extract, Salt, BHT), Corn Syrup, Brown Sugar, Barley Malt Extract, Salt, Toasted Oats (Whole Grain Rolled Oats, Sugar, Glucose-Fructose, Soybean Oil, Honey, Molasses), Golden Syrup, Wheat Bits (Whole Wheat Flour, Corn Starch, Corn Flour, Sugar, Salt, TrisodiumPhosphate, Baking Soda, Annatto and Caramel Color), Malt Syrup, Honey, Calcium

Stretching is an important part of any healthy exercise plan. Slowly extend your fingers, hands, and arms until you feel the muscles stretching. Do the same for your toes, feet and legs. Then slowly bend over to stretch the muscles in your back. Do each stretch for 10-30 seconds, and don’t stretch to the point of pain.

If an adult (or much older child) offers you a ride, or asks you to help him/ her locate a lost puppy (or kitten, or a lost child), do not get close to the

Just because a product says, “Healthy, Organic, Natural” or even “Good For You!” doesn’t mean

Stretching helps your muscles warm up and increases your flexibility, range of motion and blood flow to the muscles.

Stretching can prepare your body for exercise and prevent injuries to your muscles.

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 5, NH 1

stranger or his/her car. This is one of the most common ways that children are kidnapped every single day. And if an adult offers you a ride or asks for your help, immediately run to a trusted adult and tell him or her what just happened!

Learning Standards: HPE 5, NH 5

that it is a healthy choice. As we’ve discussed in previous weeks, always read the labels to see if the food product really is a smart food for you to eat.

As a class, discuss some of the ways to read a label. What are some of the things to look for in an ingredient list? How can you know if a food really is healthy? Hint: Refer to previous Healthy Kids pages for ideas.

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

Open Face Banana Sandwich

Ingredients:

1 Large Banana, 2 Tbsp Peanut butter, 1 Tbsp Honey

Toppings: Dried fruit, nuts, seeds, coconut, etc.

Directions: Stir peanut butter and honey until smooth. Slice banana lengthwise and spread both cut sides with peanut butter. Sprinkle toppings on the peanut butter.

Tonia Williams, Sterile Processing Manager

Where do you work? I am the sterile processing manager for St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Where did you go to school? I graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Suffolk, Virginia. I then earned a bachelor’s degree in health care administration at the University of Phoenix, an associate’s degree from the Metropolitan Community College, Kansas City, Missouri, and I am a certified sterile processing technician.

What does a sterile processing manager do? On a daily basis, we have to be ready for anything. We see the simplest of surgeries to complex cases like heart transplants and gunshot wounds. It’s pretty amazing to be a part of a department that literally aids in the healing success of a patient.

Why did you choose this career? I was introduced to sterile processing in 2008, due to downsizing in our department. I was asked if I would like to switch careers and learn a new skill; so I feel like this career chose me and I am very grateful for that. Honestly for me, it has been a very rewarding career and has allowed me to climb the successful ladder to management.

What is your favorite part of the job you have? My favorite part is training someone to be the best and take pride in what they do. Successful patient outcomes mean everything to me. Indirectly, we provide the most critical aspect of the surgery; without us doing our job properly, the whole process would fail.

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

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

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

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

Jamestown Elementary School 4th grade teacher Alana Huddleston shows students Michael

Keiasha

Louis American’s NIE program and would like to nominate your class for a Classroom Spotlight, please email: nie@stlamerican.com.

SCIENCE CORNER

CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT SCIENCE STARS

African-American Neurosurgeon Dr. Keith Lanier Black

Brain tumors are a mass of cells that have grown abnormally. These tumors can put pressure on different parts of the brain and can affect the way your body functions. Although the exact cause of brain tumors is not known, research has shown that they are caused from either genetics (passed down from family members), or environment. Some tumors are cancerous, which means they can travel to other parts of the body. Some tumors are not cancerous. These are called benign tumors. Doctors can treat tumors with surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation.

Brain Tumors

quickly it grows. They use the information to categorize the tumors. There are three categories. Low Grade/High Grade - Low grade tumors are slow growing and high grade tumors are fast growing. Localized/InvasiveLocalized tumors are in one area and are usually easier to remove, invasive have spread to other areas and are more difficult to remove.

Primary/Secondary - Primary tumors start in the brain, secondary tumors start elsewhere in the body and spread to the brain.

Keith Black was born in 1957 in Tuskegee, Alabama. His mom was a school teacher and his father was a school principal. They taught their children that education was very important and that they could achieve their goals with hard work. Black enjoyed biology as a young child and dissected a frog. To encourage his interest in biology, Black’s father bought a cow heart for him to dissect. At age 10, Black’s family moved to Ohio. As a teen, he joined a program at Case Western Reserve Hospital to learn laboratory skills. These skills allowed him to get a part time job at Cleveland’s St. Luke’s Hospital as a teenager. While there, he learned how to perform transplant surgeries and heart valve replacements on laboratory dogs. Black noticed that patients with heart valve replacements had damage to their blood cells. He wrote a research paper about this at age 17. This paper won the Westinghouse Science Award.

Doctors use CT scans or MRI imaging to diagnose tumors. They look at the location, types of cells involved, and how

SCIENCE INVESTIGATION

Have you ever wondered why some foods taste better than others? Do you know how the brain affects the ability to distinguish between flavors?

Materials Needed:

• A small piece of sliced potato

• A small piece of sliced apple

• Volunteer Procedure:

q Be sure the apple and potato slices are the same shape and size.

CONNECTION

Put your brain to work and develop your critical thinking skills with these word problems.

z In a given school, there are 280 boys and 230 girls.

a) What is the ratio of the number of girls to the number of boys?

b) What is the ratio of the number of boys to the total

DID YOU KNOW?

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

Taste Testing Without Smell!

w Ask your volunteer to close their eyes and hold their nose.

e Give the volunteer the potato and then the apple.

r Can they identify the food?

Analyze: How does smell and sight affect your brain’s ability to tell the difference between foods?

Learning Standards: I can follow sequential directions for an experiment. I can draw conclusions and analyze results.

Brain Builders!

number of pupils in the school?

x If Tim and his family had lunch at $30.50 and he gave a 15% tip, how much did they spend? ______

c If a car gets 26 miles per gallon of gasoline, how many gallons of gasoline would be needed to travel 150 miles? ______

v If gas cost $3.25 per gallon, how much would it cost

to fill a car that holds 18 gallons?

b The exchange rate for U.S. dollars to euros is $1.10 to 1 euro. How many euros is $150 U.S. dollars worth?

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

After graduating from Shaker Heights High School, Black attended the University of Michigan. He was chosen to be part of an accelerated program that allowed him to earn his undergraduate and medical degree in only six years. Black developed a strong interest in the brain and began to study neurosurgery (surgery of the brain) at age 24. In 1987, Black moved to UCLA to teach neurosurgery. In 1994, he patented a method to open brain capillaries to deliver chemotherapy directly to the brain tumor. He also created vaccines to boost the immune system of patients.

In 2007, Black opened a brain tumor research center named the Cochran Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Institute. He is the director of the Neurosurgical Institute there, as well. Black preforms an average of 200 brain surgeries per year, which is twice the average of other neurosurgeons. He has even successfully performed surgeries on patients who were told their brain tumor was inoperable. In 2009, he published his autobiography titled, “Brain Surgeon.”

Learning Standards: person who has made contributions in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

MAP CORNER

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

Activities —

First Amendment

Freedoms: One of the five freedoms listed in the First Amendment is the Right to Assembly. That is the right of people to peacefully gather together. Use the newspaper to find examples of events in your city. Categorize these events as: political, religious, sports, education, or community.

Advertisement Estimations: A family member wants a new television and thinks a reasonable price is less than $300. Using the advertisements, locate three televisions (include brand, price, size, etc.) Compare the prices. Is $300 a reasonable estimate?

Learning Standards:

I can use the newspaper to locate information. I can classify information. I can make text-to-self connections.

Banks,

Maxey, Mariyah Green and Dallas Palmer how to find STEM lessons using the newspaper’s education page.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Doneisha

Helping homeless youth find jobs – and homes

Covenant House Missouri offers career services along with shelter

By Sophie Hurwitz

For The St. Louis American

Jessica Erfling, CEO of Covenant House Missouri, estimates that there are between 600 and 1,000 young people sleeping on the streets every night in the St. Louis area. She would know: Covenant House is nearing its 20th year of work to bring that number to zero.

Covenant House Missouri, an affiliate of Covenant House International, was established in 2001. It offers 24/7 crisis housing for young people between the ages of 16 and 24, along with additional emergency shelter whenever the temperature is above 90 degrees or below 30. It also has a more long-term housing program, the Transitional Living Floor, which can house young people for up to 24 months, though this

n “A lot of what I run into is just stereotypes that they’re homeless youth and therefore they need jobs at, you know, fast food places.”

program only has 20 spots due to limited space. Its population hovers around 75 percent AfricanAmerican.

Covenant House also offers several services that help young people to get and retain their own housing through stable jobs and good emotional and physical health.

One of the young people taking advantage of those services is Joe Robinson, who is 22. He has been living in Covenant House’s Transitional Living Program since September and recently landed an internship at LaunchCode, which trains people in coding and helps them get a job in tech.

Orvin T. Kimbrough was elected chairman of Midwest BankCentre by the Midwest BankCentre Board of Directors. He became CEO of Midwest BankCentre in January 2019 after serving as president and CEO of United Way of Greater St. Louis. He succeeds James A. “Jim” Watson as chairman. Watson continues as vice chairman of the board of Midwest BankCentre and the bank’s holding company, Midwest BankCentre, Inc.

Shanika Jones was promoted to vice president –Internal Auditor and Operations Manager at St. Johns Bank recently. She has been with the bank since 2002, when she joined the bank as a teller. She has been a branch operations officer, branch manager and internal auditor. In addition to managing internal audits and operations, she will serve on the Managers Roundtable, the IT Committee and the Asset/Liability Management Committee.

Phil Woodmore was named music director for Muny Kids. He has taught choral music for the FergusonFlorissant School District and is now in his 12th year at Crestview Middle School in the Rockwood School District. He also serves as the director of the Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department Choir. In May 2020, he will graduate with a PhD in music education from the University of Missouri-Columbia. His original works include “Antigone in Ferguson” and “The Drum Major Instinct” (both premiered internationally in Athens, Greece).

He is one of three young people who have landed jobs through Covenant House’s career services recently – two through LaunchCode and one as a sterile processor with BJC HealthCare.

Robinson was connected to LaunchCode through Covenant House CEO Jessica Erfling. He asked for a meeting with her shortly after arriving at Covenant House, he said.

“I didn’t want it to be just sitting down and us talking. I had to think of something to do,”

See COVENANT, B2

County executive announces minimum wage increase

By Chris King Of The St.

St.

will be requesting that the

Commission raise all wages for

employees to at least $13/hour

– Patricia O’Brien County workers will make at least $13/hour ‘as soon as practicable,’ $15/hour by 2022

n “It is my duty to ensure that the people we rely on every day are compensated fairly for their work.”

– St. Louis County Executive Sam Page

“as soon as practicable,” according to an announcement on Thursday, January 30, with incremental raises each year to reach a minimum wage of $15/hour by 2022. The new minimum wage will apply to “all non-seasonal, full-time employees and contracted employees,” according to the announcement.

An incremental approach will allow the county to identify other cost savings that can be implemented to offset the increased out-of-pocket cost of a higher minimum wage, according to the announcement. Employee salaries that are not considered part of the low-wage category are also being evaluated, the announcement stated. Directors will convene a working

group to determine which employees have not received raises in recent years. They will be tasked to define a fair raise for each category of employees who have not received more than a nominal raise, identify the financial costs associated with those raises, and propose possible funding mechanisms to support them, the announcement stated.

“It is my duty to ensure that the people

Jazell Thomas was named the 20192020 St. Louis Suburban School Counselor Association Advocate of the Year. As Social Work lead for the Hazelwood School District, she is responsible for overseeing the district’s 94 school counselors, social workers, and home school communicators. She has been instrumental in improving the scope of social work in the district by establishing training opportunities for staff, serving on committees and leading professional development.

Marty Joe Murray Jr. won the Project Management Institute’s award for emerging leaders. He was recognized based on his ability to implement analytical and technological solutions for multiple Fortune 500 healthcare companies. Working at Express Scripts he joined the Retail Network Operations team as a project manager. In this role he works to develop products and programs that help lower the cost of prescription drugs for millions of Americans.

Muriel Smith was invited to join St. Louis Business Journal Leadership Trust, an exclusive community for influential business leaders, executives and entrepreneurs in the St. Louis area. She is executive director of De La Salle, Inc., a non-profit dedicated to supporting La Salle Middle School and enhancing the educational experience of its students. She is responsible for overseeing day-to-day activities, improving performance, developing organizational culture, supervising heads of departments, reporting on revenue, and directing organizational strategy.

Jessica Erfling, CEO of Covenant House Missouri, connects with Joe Robinson, 22, a resident in Covenant House’s Transitional Living Program who learned computer coding through LaunchCode using the agency’s career support services.

St. Louis County Executive Sam Page

Photo by Wiley Price

Robinson said. “I said, ‘I just found a chess board. Do you play chess?’ And she said no, so I said ‘We can meet, and I’ll teach you!’” At that first meeting, he told Erfling he wanted to be a programmer, and she connected him with LaunchCode leadership through Covenant House’s career support services.

Now, Robinson and Erfling are engaged in an ongoing chess competition, though by Robinson’s account he still usually wins.

“I was kicked out of the house the day after Christmas,” Robinson said. “It was a little bit messed up. I was couchsurfing for a little bit. I was 19, 20, 21 – just trying to find my way. And then finally, once I ran out of options of places to go, I stopped being stubborn and came to this place. I was accepting help, accepting that I’m not in the position that I’d like to be in, and the longer I wait to do something about it, the harder it’ll get.” When he came to Covenant house, Robinson said, he was struck by the familial atmosphere. “It makes a lot of people feel safe,” he said.

Covenant House employs two full-time career support professionals. One of those people is Patricia O’Brien. For her, youth homelessness is personal – at one point in her life, she, like many of the young people spending time at Covenant House, was unhoused because her full-time minimum wage work was not enough to pay for all of her necessities. In addition, as a transgender woman, she feels a special affinity for the 40 percent of homeless youth who are members of the LGBTQ community.

“There was a young woman who came out to her parents as transgender,” O’Brien said.

“I knew her from a support group in the community. She got kicked out of her house for

being transgender, so that to me was just something that really hit home and was really personal.”

O’Brien splits her time between helping young people prepare resumes and get ready for interviews, and developing relationships with potential employers.

“A lot of what I run into is just stereotypes that they’re homeless youth and therefore they need jobs at, you know, fast food places,” O’Brien said. “So the big challenge is to show people that these are very competent people who can handle the good jobs – getting people to stop seeing them as people who are perpetually poor and see them as people who can get that living-wage job, just like

n “I stopped being stubborn and came to this place. I was accepting help, accepting that I’m not in the position that I’d like to be in, and the longer I wait to do something about it, the harder it’ll get.”

– Joe Robinson

you and me.”

Fundraising programs like Covenant House’s sleep-outs, in which people spend a night outside in solidarity with homeless youth and listen to Covenant House residents speak about their experiences, help provide connections between the nonprofit and employers for young people.

Last November’s Executive Sleep Out, in which 68 executives slept outside in the

Covenant House courtyard in the rain, raised over $385,000, Erfling said. The next sleep-out will target young professionals and will be held on Friday, March 20. “It’s a really experiential fundraising opportunity,” Erfling said.

Ramona Curtis, Communications specialist for Covenant House, said that they are still recruiting young professionals for this sleep-

out – and for its Young Professionals Board.

“So, contact us if you’re interested in helping us build out our young professional board,” Curtis said.

Covenant House is also consistently seeking volunteers.

“There are a lot of folks out there who want to help homeless youth, they just don’t know how,” Curtis said. “So part of what we do is we connect with them, and we let them know.”

For more information, call 314-533-2241 or visit https://www. covenanthousemo.org/.

awards $25K to 24:1 for security cameras

Ameren has awarded the 24:1 Municipal Partnership $25,000 to fund a Ring home security camera and community lighting safety initiative for the 24:1 Community.

Beyond Housing and the 24:1 Municipal Partnership will be working with local police departments – including Bel-Ridge, Normandy, Northwoods, Pagedale and the North County Police Cooperative – to coordinate the distribution of the cameras by prioritizing areas based on crime data and citizen input.

To complement the cameras, Ameren will also have another resident light bulb distribution and conduct streetlight replacement within priority areas.

“Placing additional Ring cameras throughout the neighborhoods will be a strong crime deterrent,” North County Cooperative Police Chief John Buchannan said in a statement.

we rely on every day are compensated fairly for their work,” Page stated.

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson ordered a raise to a $15 per hour minimum wage for all city civil service employees on January 17, to be effective mid-February. St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones raised the

March 10 deadline for new United Way Safety Net funding

Funding priorities determined from new Community Needs Assessment

By Chris King Of The St. Louis American

The United Way of Greater St. Louis encourages area nonprofits to apply for Safety Net funding by March 10. Organizations selected will receive a three-year renewable grant for general operating support.

The grants will support nonprofits that serve people in its 16-county service area through five impact areas: provide food and shelter, establish financial stability, foster learning, improve health and strengthen communities.

The new grant opportunity comes after United Way’s volunteer board spent the past three years re-evaluating the organization’s funding model. That process resulted in a region-wide Community Needs Assessment, which will help guide the organization’s future investments.

United Way will invest in organizations that provide direct services to people in its 16-county service area to meet at least one of the 24 needs identified in the Community Needs Assessment. These needs are crisis intervention, food security

Minimum Wage continued from page B1 The Missouri Office of Administration launched MoCareers, a new website, mocareers.mo.gov, to make applying for a job with any of the State of Missouri’s 16 executive departments easier. “In the past, talented candidates might overlook a position because they could not easily search for and find an opening,” Office of Administration Commissioner Sarah Steelman said in a statement. “Or they might become frustrated by completing the same paperwork multiple times for different positions. MoCareers cuts through all that by allowing applicants to apply for more than one position at the same time.” For more information on how to apply, please visit mocareers.mo.gov.

n “With this evolved strategy, we will focus on aligning our funding with the community’s needs and desired outcomes.”

– Michelle Tucker, United Way of Greater St. Louis

housing security, legal assistance, transportation, debt, financial education, financial safety net, income, jobs, child welfare, early childhood education, K-12 education and out-of-school time, postsecondary education, access to healthcare, behavioral health and substance abuse, physical health, aging and senior support, built environment, community building, disaster preparedness and response, justice system, safety, services for individuals with disabilities.

“With this evolved strategy, we will focus on aligning our funding with the community’s needs and desired outcomes,” Michelle Tucker, president and CEO of United Way of Greater St. Louis, said in a statement.

United Way’s service area covers Calhoun, Clinton, Greene, Jersey Macoupin,

Madison, Monroe, Randolph and St. Clair Counties in Illinois and Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, St. Louis and Warren Counties and St. Louis City in Missouri.

United Way will continue to utilize trained community volunteers as part of its funding decision process and is currently recruiting volunteers from across the region to participate in reviewing and scoring applications. Anyone interested should visit STLVolunteer.org/ CommunityInvestment. To view the Community Needs Assessment, visit HelpingPeople.org/ CommunityNeeds-Report. For more information and to apply for grants, visit HelpingPeople.org/AgencyHQ.

Joe Robinson, 22, a resident in Covenant House’s Transitional Living Program, relaxes by working on a painting. He appreciates Covenant House’s familial atmosphere. “It makes a lot of people feel safe,” he

Photo by Wiley Price

n “We were soft.”

— Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons, after a blowout loss to

Sports

and shootouts

It has been a tremendous year for the boys’ basketball team for the Goldbugs of McKinley Classical Leadership Academy.

The Goldbugs are currently 17-2 and are coming off a championship-winning performance at the Bruce Thomas Tournament at Herculaneum High in Jefferson County last week. After defeating a good Festus St. Pius team 57-71 in the semifinals, MCL scored a dramatic 66-64 victory over Hancock to win the championship. A last-second tip-in by senior guard Tyler Jones gave the Goldbugs the championship.

The senior duo of Jones and Aaric Norman has been the key figures in McKinley’s stellar season. Jones is averaging 15 points and 5.3 rebounds while the 6’4” Norman is averaging 14.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and 5.1 blocks a game. Jones scored 26 points in the victory over St. Pius in the semifinals while Norman had 18 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks in the championship game.

averages four points a game.

Bank of O’Fallon Shootout this Weekend

The big event of the weekend is the Bank of O’Fallon Shootout, a two-day basketball showcase that is held at the Panther Dome at O’Fallon High on the Illinois side. Here is the schedule for the Shootout: Friday, February 7: Mascoutah vs. Springfield Southeast, 5:30 p.m.; O’Fallon vs. Belleville West, 7 p.m.; Pinckneyville vs. Bloomington Central Catholic, 8:30 p.m. Saturday, February 8: Mehlville vs. Chicago Curie, 4 p.m.; O’Fallon vs. Chaminade, 5:30 p.m.; Marion (AR) vs. Chicago Whitney Young, 7 p.m.; Collinsville vs. Chicago Simeon, 8:30 p.m.

Whitfield Girls are on a Roll

The Whitfield Warriors are currently 18-3 and ranked No. 1 in the latest Class 3 Missouri Basketball Coaches Association State poll. Earl Austin Jr.

McKinley gets more senior production from the duo of JaDun Byrd, who averages 9.3 points, and Haiden Williams, who is averaging 7.6 points. Sophomore Derryl Howard is averaging 8.1 points while freshman Domon Rice

during game-action Sat., Feb. 1, at Vashon. The Wolverines of Vashon would fall to Curie’s Condors 64-58.

Mahomes showed us he’s more than ‘showtime’ in gritty

the 34-15 Boston Celtics.

Last season, NBA AllStar Weekend seemed like a glimpse of the future for STL basketball fans. St. Louis natives Bradley Beal and Jayson Tatum both had impactful performances during the weekend’s events. Beal, making his second-consecutive All-Star appearance, scored 11 points to help Team LeBron defeat Team Giannis 178-164 in the All-Star Game. Meanwhile, Tatum won the Skills Challenge with a dramatic half-court shot.

Eastern Conference coaches need to put some respect on Beal’s name Bradley Beal was snubbed from the All-Star game despite a current scoring average of 29.2 points per game. Jayson Tatum earned his first AllStar nod after putting up 21.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists for the Celtics. Both

We all suspected that it wouldn’t be long before these two graced the All-Star stage together. It looks like it will take a little longer than expected. Last Thursday, the NBA announced the full All-Star rosters. Tatum earned a well-deserved selection as a first-time All-Star. The third-year forward is averaging 21.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists for

“I was surprised,” Tatum told Taylor Snow of Celtics. com. “I wanted to cry. I didn’t cry. I might cry later, though. But I’m just so grateful. It’s something I’m not going to take for granted. There’s only 24 guys who make the AllStar team, so I’m super thankful and I’m going to enjoy the opportunity of the moment.” What about Beal you ask? All Beal earned was a slap in the face by the collective hand of the Eastern Conference coaches. Beal was passed over as an All-Star reserve despite boasting current averages of 29.2 points, 6.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds.

Beal’s scoring average is fourth-best in the NBA. It is also the highest scoring average of any All-Star snub in history. Why did the Eastern Conference coaches (who vote for All-Star reserves) pass over Beal in their

Sistrunk

Clark

Saiveon Williams (4) and Phillip Berryhill (15)

Photo by Wiley Price

Photo via NBA.com

SportS EyE

Alvin A. Reid

With

Mahomes showed us he’s more than ‘Showtime’ in gritty Super Bowl triumph

Down 20-10 midway through the fourth quarter to the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl, the Kansas City Chiefs still had the faith. His team, his fans and most of America still believed in Patrick Mahomes. Nevermind that he was struggling; had thrown two interceptions and no touchdown passes.

We still believed. Mahomes, most importantly, still believed in himself. In less than seven minutes, Mahomes turned that 10-point deficit into an 11-point lead.

“We have heart,” Mahomes said.

“We never give up and those guys around us, the leaders on the team, have that mindset that we never give up.”

Head coach Andy Reid never gave up on his young superstar.

“I told him to ‘keep firing,’ Reid said.

After trailing 24-0 to the Houston Texans in a Divisional Playoff game and 17-7 to the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship game, then winning by double digits in both, the world knew what Mahomes is capable of.

But this was the Super Bowl. This was slugfest. This was the time that all that say a black quarterback can’t overcome adversity in a big game was eager to celebrate.

Game, set and match to Mahomes and his Chiefs.

“We never lost faith,” Mahomes said on the field following the game. “That’s the biggest thing. Everybody on this team, no one had their head down. We believed in each other. That’s what we preached all year long.”

With all the skill and all the personality that Mahomes carries to the field, he would have faced blistering criticism had his team went down after he played poorly throughout the game. As big as his arm and his intelligence are – he said he and his team have something even more dynamic.

“The guys around him just believed in him. It was just – we all did, all the coaches, likewise. And then our defense had a couple of great stands in there. We knew it would be a close game, and it felt that way. We knew there would be challenges to battle through, and nobody lost their poise, they just kept rolling, so I was proud of everybody there.”

With his team seemingly in control, even 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan was concerned that some Mahomes’ magic was still possible.

“We were up 10, but the lead was with about six minutes to go and we knew Pat would have two possessions.”

Shanahan was wrong. Mahomes got three possessions and his team scored touchdowns on each of them.

Named the game’s Most Valuable Player, Mahomes proved himself to be a bit of a prophet too.

On February 6, 2013 he said via Twitter, “I bet it feels amazing to be the quarterback who says ‘I’m going to Disney World’ after winning the Super Bowl.”

Seven years later he said those exact words. Again, it’s that ol’ Mahomes’ Magic. And I have enjoyed every minute of it.

America’s top athlete

In my humble opinion, Mahomes is now America’s top athlete and in the Top 10 in the world.

But let’s stick with the United States, for now.

LeBron James held that title until last Sunday.

The tragic deaths of Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven other people a week before the Super Bowl led to James’ emotional and outstanding speech last week before a game at the Staples Center.

James remains a force in more than basketball. Should his Lakers win the NBA title, he will certainly be right there with Mahomes.

But for the moment, it’s Mahomes.

Super Bowl TV ratings soared after declining for four years. It was the most watched Super Bowl in Canadian TV history.

Mahomes is the man – and the NFL knows it. He is director of the new “Showtime,” just as Magic Johnson was in the 1980s with the Lakers. Magic, former face of the NBA, meet Magic, new face of the NFL.

“There are several guys that could be the face of the NFL,” Mahomes said during his visit to Disney World.

“With the NFL and how good the play is, the quarterback play, guys can come in year-in and year-out and go out there and play great football. Lamar (Jackson) was the unanimous MVP last night, and he had one of the best seasons of all-time at the quarterback position. There are guys like that it seems every single year, a lot of young quarterbacks, and still a lot of veteran guys

Patrick Mahomes was named the Super Bowl MVP Sunday after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers.

that are playing at a very high level.

“So, I just try to be the best Patrick Mahomes I can be and try to win football games with the guys that I have around me.”

He wasn’t at his best for most of the Super Bowl. But he was best when he and his team needed it most. America loves that – and in these tough times – most of America loves him.

Celebrating a worthy 100!

With Kansas City still in a frenzy following the Chiefs 31-20 Super Bowl win over the San Francisco 49ers, the celebration can continue during events that will be 100 years in the making.

While they lasted just 40 years, the various independent black teams and leagues that would be known as the Negro Leagues paved the way for Jackie Robinson to break the color barrier and change baseball in America forever.

On February 13, 1920, Andrew “Rube” Foster and seven other owners of black teams met in the Paseo YMCA in Kansas City and established “the Negro National League, the first successful, organized professional black baseball League that provided a playing field for African-American and Hispanic baseball players to showcase their world-class baseball abilities,” according to the Negro League Baseball Museum.

The museum, which appropriately is in Kansas City, will be headquarters for Major League Baseball’s season-log celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Negro Leagues.

The first event is Thursday, Feb. 13 when the Centennial Art Exhibition featuring works by renowned artist Greg Kreindler opens at the museum. The exhibit includes more than 200 portraits of Negro League stars and rare pieces of memorabilia from the personal collection of Jay Caldwell, owner of Dreams Fulfilled in Seattle.

“What Rube Foster accomplished in establishing the Negro Leagues against the backdrop of American segregation is monumental and richly deserves to be more than just a footnote in baseball history,” said Bob Kendrick, NLBM president.

“The Negro Leagues would change the game and America too. This milestone anniversary creates a platform for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum to educate the public about this powerful story of triumph over adversity while using the many relevant life-lessons to inspire a nation to embrace diversity and inclusion,” Kendrick said. The centennial season will also include the opening of the Buck O’Neil Education and Research Center, the launch of a fundraising initiative in support of the museum and numerous other programs and events including concerts and a fashion show, according to Kendrick.

The museum will also induct a retired Major League Player into its Hall of Fame on June 14.

“We choose a Major League player who represents the spirit of the Negro Leagues,” Kendrick said.

“That’s not necessarily a person of color, but someone who was inclusive and respectful of the game.”

The celebration will conclude on Nov. 14 – the late O’Neil’s birthday and the date slated for the O’Neil center’s dedication.

Nearing its completion, the center is on the site of the Negro Leagues birthplace – the Paseo YMCA. It will include a sports science center, a public research facility and Negro Leagues archival material.

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is located in the historic 18th & Vine District in Kansas City and stands as “the world’s only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich history of African-American baseball and its impact on the social advancement of America.”

Heads up

In addition to commissioning the Negro League portraits, Caldwell partnered with the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame in creation of the Kickstarter Campaign – a Negro Leagues Centennial Bobble head team which features 30 of the greatest black and Cuban players from 18951947.

A Satchel Page bobblehead introduced the series last year and others are being released monthly. A James “Cool Papa” Bell bobblehead is among those recently released, and he is adorned in a St. Louis Stars uniform.

Originally called the St. Louis Giants, the independent franchise operated from 1906 to 1919 before becoming a member of the Negro League established in Kansas City. The team would change owners and take the name Stars in 1922. It would win three pennants in four years from 1928-31.

Bell, an outfielder and feared left-handed pitcher, would be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. Shortstop Willie Wells, who like Bell played most of his career with the Stars, would join him in the Hall in 1997. Three other Hall of Famers who wore a Stars jersey are center fielder Oscar Charleston (1997), first baseman Mules Suttles (2006) and catcher Biz Mackey (2006). The Reid Roundup I’ve got no problem with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs visiting the White House. It would be something if he passed on the invitation, though… I got asked a lot this week why I didn’t write about Kobe Bryant last week. I tried- I just couldn’t add anything that had not already been said. Just a true tragedy… Congratulations to Dusty Baker for being named Houston Astros manager. Cheating scandal or not, he is now in charge of a damned good baseball team… St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty was named one of MLB’s Top 10 pitchers on the MLB Network… The St. Louis Battlehawks, guided by head coach Johnathon Hayes kick off their inaugural XFL season at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Dallas Renegades. The game is on ESPN… SLU is still on the outside looking in when it comes to an NCAA Tournament bid…Cuonzo Martin’s tenure as Missouri head coach will come down to next season – hopefully… Former Vashon basketball star Mario McKinney went from indefinitely suspended from Missouri’s basketball team, to announcing his transfer to joining the John A. Logan junior college team in less than 10 days… Did you play, “Count the black people,” in Super Bowl commercials? There weren’t a lot… Lastly, the Kansas City Chiefs play in Missouri, not Kansas!!!

Alvin A. Reid

inSide SPorTS

With Earl Austin Jr.

NFL Fame of Fame for Atwater, Bruce Jayson

It was a tremendous week for athletes from the St. Louis area in terms of special recognition for their achievements.

It all started when CBC basketball standout Caleb Love was selected to participate in the McDonald’s All-American basketball game, which will be held on April 1 in Houston.

The 6’3” Love is a five-star guard who is currently averaging 27 points a game for the Cadets. The next St. Louisan to receive special recognition was former Chaminade College Prep All-American Jayson Tatum, who was selected to play in the NBA All-Star Game for the first time. In his third year with the Boston Celtics, Tatum is currently averaging 21.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists while shooting 44 percent from the field and 39

Clutch

Continued from B3 Rui Hachimura has missed 23 games due to a groin injury. The rest of the roster is filled with players whose names are ripe for Trivial Pursuit questions.

Has anybody seen a Jordan McRae jersey out in these streets? Davis Bertans? Troy Brown Jr.? Mortiz Wagner? The Wizards have a roster of G-Leaguers and basket weavers and the coaches are punishing Beal for his team’s lack of success – incredible!

“I’m a little pissed off about it,” Beal stated in a TV interview last Thursday. “I was kind of expecting it, honestly. It’s disrespectful.” According to Candace Buckner of the Washington Post, Beal’s agent Mark Bartelstein took it even further.

“It’s unprecedented for a player to have the type of season that Brad is having to not be in the all-star game. And I think the Eastern Conference coaches, I think they’ve sent a horrible message. I think the Eastern Conference coaches

Hoops

Continued from B3

Whitfield won the Queen of Hearts Tournament at Villa Duchesne last weekend, defeating Metro in the championship game 50-40.

Coach Mike Slater has a talented and well-balanced team that is primed for a deep run in the upcoming Class 3 state playoffs. They are led by 5’8” junior point guard Kelsey Blakemore, who is averaging 14.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.5 steals. Senior guard Jade Moore is a 5’6” sharpshooter who is averaging 11.3 points while shooting 45 percent from 3-point range and making 58 from long distance.

A pair of very talented freshmen has stepped right in to make a big impact on the season. The first is 6’0” forward Brooklyn Rhodes, who is averaging 10.5 points and 11.2 rebounds a game. The second is 5’9” guard Tkiyah Nelson, who is averaging 8.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.0 steals. Senior forward Zaria Daniels is also averaging six points a game. Whitfield has a big showdown coming next week when it will host perennial power Incarnate Word Academy on Tuesday, February 11. Incarnate Word is currently ranked No. 1 in the Class 4 state polls.

have become robotic in thinking they just have to reward players that are on the winningest teams.” Bartelstein is absolutely correct. The Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young is the only AllStar from a team with a losing record and he was voted in as a starter by the fans. Beal deserves to be an All-Star as well.

There is still an outside chance that Beal could earn his third All-Star appearance as an injury replacement. Should any of the current All-Star starters or reserves get injured before the game, Commissioner Adam Silver would responsible for choosing a replacement. If that doesn’t happen, St. Louis will have to wait at least another year to see the Chaminade grads rep the 314 together in All-Star style.

Trade deadline frenzy

The NBA trade deadline is again upon us. While the actual deadline (Thursday, February 6 at 2 p.m. CST) will not come until after this edition of The St. Louis American is already at newsstands, the Houston Rockets showed they know how to get a deadline party

Big Games this Weekend

A pair of big matchups on the docket this weekend will be Chaminade at DeSmet in a big Metro Catholic Conference showdown on Friday night at 6 p.m. The big game on Saturday will be Vashon vs. Trinity, which will be held at Meramec Community College at 4 p.m. The Webster Winter Girls Classic will be held this weekend at Webster Groves. The top two seeds are Incarnate Word Academy and Columbia Rock Bridge. The championship game is set for Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

Collegiate Standouts

Former MICDS girls’ standout Rachel Thompson is having a big senior year at Colgate University. The 5’10” senior guard is averaging 17.1 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.1 steals while shooting 52 percent from the field and 83 percent from the free throw line. Thompson was an AllPatriot League selection as a junior last season.

• Former Parkway North girls’ standout Alecia “Sug” Sutton recently scored her 1,000th career point during her stellar run at the University of Texas. An All-Big XII selection as a junior, Sutton is currently averaging 11.0 points, four assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals for the 14-7 Longhorns.

Tatum among NBA All-Stars

percent from 3-point range. He is having the best season of his early NBA career by far. The NBA All-Star Game will be held on Sunday, February 16 in Chicago.

The biggest honor of the week came last Saturday when former Lutheran North High star Steve Atwater was

started.

Earl Austin Jr.

Tuesday night, the Rockets put together a four-team, 12-player deal revolving around center Clint Capela Here are the details of one of the biggest trades in NBA history.

Houston receives: Robert Covington and Jordan Bell from the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Golden State Warriors’ 2024 second-round pick.

Atlanta receives: Clint Capela and Nene from the Rockets.

Minnesota receives: Malik Beasley Juancho Hernangomez and Jarred Vanderbilt from the Denver Nuggets; Evan Turner from Atlanta; and Atlanta’s first-round draft pick via the Brooklyn Nets.

Denver receives: Shabazz Napier Noah Vonleh and Keita Bates-Diop from Minnesota; Gerald Green from Houston; and Houston’s first-round draft pick.

The Rockets’ decision to move on from Capela is an interesting one as the team appears to move forward without a traditional starting center. The Rockets have gone 10-1 when Capela was not in

• Former East St. Louis standout Deshawn Munson is having a monster season at Harris-Stowe State College. The 6’3” Munson has been a stat-sheet stuffer of the highest degree as he averages 27.6 points, 12.1 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 2.9 steals a game while shooting 65 percent from the field. He has been named the American Midwest Conference Player of the Week several times. Munson is currently the top scorer among National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics schools. He is also second in steals, second in assists and second in rebounds in the NAIA.

• A trio of area players is having excellent success in leading the Saint Louis Billikens to a 17-5 record. Former Althoff star Jordan Goodwin is aveaging 14.8 points and 10.5 rebounds a game. Goodwin scored his 1,000th career point last week in a victory at LaSalle. Former Miller Career Academy standout Javonte Perkins was named the Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Week. Perkins scored a careerhigh 33 points in a victory over St. Joseph’s last week. Former St. Mary’s standout Yuri Collins recently broke the SLU freshman record for most assists in a season. He is averaging nearly six assists a game.

he ST. LouiS AmericAn PreP AThLeTe of The Week Keisha Watkins Northwest Academy – Girls Basketball

The senior guard had a big week in leading the Hornets to three impressive victories. The 5’8” Watkins had 20 points, three rebounds and seven steals in a 65-62 victory over Principia. She had 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 steals in a victory over Cleveland

and 17 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and eight steals in a victory over McKinley. For the season, Watkins is averaging 26.6 point, 6.2 rebounds and 6.9 steals a game, which is first in the St. Louis metro area.

voted for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Atwater spent the bulk of his NFL career with the Denver Broncos, where he was one of the hardest hitting safeties in the history of the league. In 10 seasons with the Broncos, Atwater was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, a

two-time First Team All-Pro selection and a member of the NFL’s 1990 All-Decade Team. Atwater was also a big contributor to the Broncos two Super Bowl championship teams in 1997 and 1998. A big tip of the cap goes to Isaac Bruce, the former St. Louis Rams’ star wide receiver who also received the nod to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Isaac Bruce was

the lineup. Apparently that convinced GM Darryl Morey to roll the dice on sending an athletic, 6-foot-10 rebounding and shot blocking specialist out the door in favor of a 6-foot-7 three-and-D guy. I’m not exactly sure what Houston expects to do if it

faces the likes of Anthony Davis, Rudy Golbert and/or Nikola Jokic in the playoffs. Obviously, the Rockets believe they have enough three-point shooting to overcome the team’s lack of size.

All I know is they better not miss. With the lineup they now

one of the focal points of the Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf” offense that set records and netted the franchise two trips to the Super Bowl, including the world championship in 1999-00. It was Bruce who caught the game winning touchdown pass from Kurt Warner in the final two minutes of Super Bowl XXXIV to give the Rams a 23-16 over the Tennessee Titans.

possess, there won’t be many stops or rebounds in Houston. Let’s see what other crazy deals the trade deadline brings. I can’t wait.

Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch online at stlamerican. com and on Twitter @ishcreates.

Clint Capela blocks a dunk attempt from Rudy Gobert. The Houston Rockets dealt away Capela in a fourteam, 12-player deal that leaves them without a traditional starting center.

Aldermen want city to train city residents for city jobs

By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American

St. Louis aldermen are standing against Mayor Lyda Krewson’s move to advocate in Jefferson City to override the City Charter’s residency requirement for city employees.

Some aldermen argue that the city’s unemployment rate for African Americans is high — and the city has about 1,000 vacant jobs to fill.

“We have people that need jobs,” said Alderwoman Annie Rice (D-Ward 8) in a statement on January 28. “We should do everything in our power to see to it that we use these positions and the training capacity of SLATE to fill these positions with people already in the city.”

Krewson has been fervently supporting a Missouri House bill that would end the requirement that police officers live in the City of St. Louis for seven years. That bill was recently expanded to remove the residency requirement for all city employees.

On Friday, January 31, the Board of Aldermen passed a resolution stating that the board does not support the mayor going to the state Legislature in attempt to render the Board of Aldermen powerless and to push through her agenda.

Krewson pushed back against the criticism of her support of removing the residency requirement.

“The Board of Aldermen had multiple opportunities, and still do, to allow the public to have a vote on the matter,” said Jacob Long, Krewson’s spokesman. “They denied the public that opportunity.

Mayor Krewson is supportive of state legislation to remove the residency requirements that began at the state level by the attorney general, and not this office.”

The City of St. Louis has a 3.5 percent unemployment rate,

according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the rate for the city’s black population likely mirrors the national rate of 5.9 percent.

Rice is calling on Krewson to direct the St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE) and the city’s Personnel Department to “jointly undertake an initiative” to fill all currently vacant city positions with current residents, she said in a statement.

“These are both city agencies,” Rice said. “One has almost 1,000 vacant jobs to fill counting the seasonal jobs that will soon be open, and SLATE is the city’s own training department. The mayor should connect the dots and fill these open positions with (city residents) who could be trained with the required skills.”

Long said that the two city departments “regularly” work together to fill open positions, but some rules set forth in the City Charter and by the Civil Service Commission create barriers.

SLATE’s Executive Director Howard Hayes explained that it is a grantdriven agency, and because of this, the majority of its clients must meet very specific eligibility requirements.

“To adhere to the performance measures of our grants, the agency primarily serves as a bridge to prosperity for populations that have historically been underserved,” Hayes said. “Although we consider many of our clients to be future city employees, often they are in need of completing high school or state equivalency degree programs.”

The office also works with justice-involved youth who are in need of a second chance, Hayes said, and need help to remove employment barriers.

SLATE has partnered with the Department of Personnel to recruit employees for the Forestry Department at

recruitment fairs across the city, Hayes said. It also has provided vouchers to customers to pay for background checks for city jobs.

Alice Prince, who served as SLATE’s executive director before Hayes, said she thinks Rice’s statement is “spot on.”

“City government has to break down silos, build capacity and help the community,” Prince said.

“Although the unemployment rate is low, it is not low for people of color. Add in the impact of incarceration, and there is chronic unemployment and poverty in the city. It is important to be intentional, aggressive, and impactful.”

Prince said when she was the executive director, the department had a more handson approach in helping people fill out city applications. She also opened an office in the city courts and the Circuit Attorney’s Office and held longer hours.

“I believe the alderwoman is correct,” Prince said. “I know the two departments working together will be better for our community.”

Rice said that many of the open jobs are entry-level positions, which offer limited pay – about $32,000 per year. But the full-time positions come with health insurance, paid vacation, paid holidays, a retirement program and other benefits.

“These are life-changing jobs for unemployed and untrained workers in the city,” Rice said. “Let’s meet these intersecting needs and show our residents we believe in them.”

Long confirmed that there are about 680 vacancies, and 300 more that will be seasonal work. He noted that about 130 of the vacancies are for police officers. Krewson believes that allowing officers to live where they want will help with recruitment for police.

Luh Kel gives back

‘Love is grown folks’ business’

As he sat in a basement recreation room at Covenant House on North Kingshighway, Turran Coleman was quiet, shy even, as he talked about his rise in music by way of becoming a viral Instagram and Tik Tok sensation. He was the typical reserved teen, slow to talk about his accomplishments through his music career. He has the attention of millions as singer/ songwriter Luh Kel.

“It’s different from the normal, but I’ve kinda gotten used to it,” Kel said. “It’s just extra attention.”

Between the social channels of YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, Kel has upwards of three million followers.

Rising R&B star, U. City senior holds coat drive at Covenant House

“Wrong” that enjoyed 112 million streams and 60 million views on YouTube. He has nearly 3.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify and is being hailed as the next big

thing in R&B by the likes of XXL.com and HipHopDX.

And while becoming a rising music star, he is still a student at University City High School – where he will graduate this spring.

The week before, he had a nearly sold-out crowd singing along to every word of his songs at Fubar.

“That’s a whole different feeling,” Kel said. “It’s knowing that you are influencing people. Just looking at everybody’s faces and seeing everybody singing your songs – it shows that hard work really pays off.”

Two Fridays ago, he was giving back.

“It feels good to know that I’m helping people out,” Kel said. “I just like helping people. I don’t like being selfish. You can have one thing at one moment. And in the next moment, you can lose everything and have nothing.”

Kel and his team took the coats down to

A race towards the right path

MTC’s ‘Ghost’ lends space to urban black male adolescent experience

When he was 15, he started uploading clips of himself singing the songs he wrote to his Instagram followers. At 16, a Tik Tok challenge for his song “Wrong” exploded. Now at 17, he has released a Billboard Top 200 debut album, a top 40 hit in See Kel, C4 Metro Theater Company’s production of “Ghost” continues through March 1 at the Grandel Theatre.

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

With Idris Goodwin’s adaptation of newly appointed National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Jason Reynold’s award-winning book, “Ghost,” Metro Theater Company (MTC) serves high impact theater requiring a level of stamina rarely seen in a stage production.

David Blake’s well-crafted scenic design that resembles an outdoor track field will give them an idea of what’s in store, but the blurring of lines between sport and drama within this production must be seen to be fully grasped. Thanks in part to director Jacqueline Thompson and choreographer Heather Beal, the cast meets the physical and emotional demands of the “Ghost” head on. “Ghost,” which opened Sunday and continues through March 1 at The Grandel Theatre, will give the audience a stunning appreciation for the synchronized athleticism and movement that literally races through a moment in the life of title character – inspired by a real life friend from Reynolds’ youth.

Rev. Run and Justine Simmons discuss their marriage, family and faith in new book

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

As part of the legendary rap group Run-DMC, he has played before tens of thousands. But when hip-hop pioneer-turned-reality-television starturned-author Joseph “Rev. Run” Simmons and his wife Justine Simmons took the stage Saturday to talk about their book, “Old School Love: And Why It Works,” he was stunned by the size of the 600plus in the audience of the St. Louis County Library Headquarters.

“Wow. It’s so many people,” Rev. Run said. “We’re so happy,” Justine followed up.

“We’ve been to a few book signings, but there’s nothing like ‘The Lou,’ I’ll tell you,” Rev. Run said. They were so excited that early in the conversation with veteran media personality Tammie Holland, there was a moment where Justine showed off her impressive rhyme skills with Rev. Run handling a steady beatbox to back her up.

They then quickly dove in to telling the serendipitous love story of their nearly 26-year marriage, which they detail in the book. The talk served as the first of many events that will take place as part of the St. Louis County Library’s 2020 Black History Month programming.

The start of their love story precedes RunDMC. Justine was 15 years old when she joined two girlfriends at a Kurtis Blow concert. Rev. Run, a teen himself, was billed as “The Son of Kurtis Blow.”

n Beside the biblical scriptures they lay out in “Old School Love,” Rev. Run cites selflessness as their secret to their success.

“After the show, I said, ‘Can I have the autograph of the guy who is with Kurtis Blow –not Kurtis Blow?’” Justine said. The trio of teen girls went backstage and were given an autograph and a little something extra to remember him by – an open mouth kiss. The three girls lined up with Justine in the back of the line.

“I know some of y’all think I probably wasn’t having that after he kissed my two girlfriends,” Justine said. “But I took the kiss as well. They seemed to be over it once it happened. I wasn’t.”

She went to the lady who worked the concession stand and handed her a flyer with her phone number written on it. “I say to her, ‘Can you please leave this with the guy who was with Kurtis Blow –not Kurtis Blow?’” Justine said.

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

Photo by A. Lin

St. Louis native and rising R&B star Luh Kel took some time to give back two weeks ago, when he held at coat drive at Covenant House, a residential facility that serves youth ages 16-24 that face homelessness.

How to place a calendar listing

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

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

black history

Thur., Feb. 6, 6:30 p.m.,

400 Plus Years of Fortitude: African American Contributions Since 1619. Maplewood Public Library, 7550 Lohmeyer, 63143. For more information, visit www. maplewoodpubliclibrary.com.

Sat., Feb. 8, 1 p.m., League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis presents The Road to Vote. Learn about the history of Black voting rights in St. Louis. Buder Library, 4401 Hampton Ave., 63109. For more information, visit www.slpl.com.

Mon., Feb. 10, 5:30 p.m., Panel Discussion: Truths and Reckonings. The panel explores the role of art and art institutions in bearing witness to legacies of historical racial violence. Kemper Art Museum, Washington University, 1 Brookings Dr., 63130. For more information, visit www.kemperartmuseum. wustl.edu/events.

Wed., Feb. 12, 10 a.m., St. Louis Public Library presents Rhythms and Folklore of Africa. Kenya Ajanaku highlights cultural diversity through stories and music and illustrates African culture in an entertaining way. Julia Davis Library, 4415 Natural Bridge Ave., 63115. For more information, visit www.slpl. com.

Wed., Feb. 12, 10:30 a.m., Underground Railroad. Lecture on Missouri’s Laws on Slavery and the Underground Railroad. Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

Sun., Feb. 16, 10 a.m., Black History Month Unity Mass Bishop Fernand Cheri is the Auxiliary Bishop of New Orleans. St. Alphonsus Liguori ‘Rock’ Church, 1118 North Grand Blvd., 63106. For

more information, visit www. stalphonsusrock.org.

Sun., Feb. 16, 9 a.m., Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church invites you to a Black History Production. Support our youth as they take on a blast from the past. 2854 Abner Pl., 63120. For more information, call (314) 3898204.

Thur., Feb. 20, 6:30 p.m., St. Louis and the Integration of Baseball. Maplewood Public Library, 7550 Lohmeyer, 63143. For more information, visit www. maplewoodpubliclibrary.com.

Fri., Feb. 21, 7:30 p.m., St. Louis Symphony Orchestra presents Lift Every Voice: Black History Month Celebration. An evening of music that celebrates the music of African-American and African cultures. 718 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www.slso. org.

Sat., Feb. 22, 3 p.m., Do You Know Your Black History Trivia Event. Union Memorial United Methodist Church, 1141 Belt Ave., 63112. For more information, visit www. unionmemorialstl.org.

Sat., Feb. 22, 3 p.m., The Legend Singers Choral Ensemble presents the Annual Festival of African-American Spirituals. Workshop will be Feb. 21 – 22 – learn vocal style, performance practice and ensemble techniques. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sat., Feb. 29, 10 a.m., Black History Month – The Story of Black St. Louis Bus Tour. The tour introduces participants to the rich African American history of St. Louis since its founding in 1764. Griot Museum of Black History, 2505 St. Louis Ave., 63106. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Sat., Feb. 29, 2:30 p.m.,

The Guide

Kenya Vaughn recommends Lindenwood University presents The Isley Brothers at J. Scheidegger Center. See CONCERTS for more information.

Better Family Life’s 7th

Annual Jr. Unity Ball. Enjoy the 5th Annual America Scores Poetry Slam, awards ceremony, art activities, special guests, and more. 5415 Page Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. bflyouth.org/jrunityball.html.

concerts

Fri., Feb. 7 – Sun., Feb. 9, The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Stéphane Denève are celebrating the 250th birthday of groundbreaking composer Ludwig van Beethoven with performances of his final symphony, Symphony No. 9, with a cast of soloists, including “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” Star Davone Tines, and the St. Louis Symphony Chorus. Powell Symphony Hall. For more information, visit www.slso.org

Sat., Feb. 8, 7 p.m., The Sheldon Rhythm & Jazz Series presents Christian Sands’ High Wire Trio Remembering Erroll Garner. 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com.

Sun., Feb. 9, 6:30 p.m., Fox

Theatre presents Who Is Jill Scott? 20th Anniversary Tour. 527 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com.

Fri., Feb. 14, 7:30 p.m., Chaifetz Arena presents the St. Louis Music Festival feat. Teddy Riley with Blackstreet, Bobby Brown, Jagged Edge, SWV, El DeBarge, and special host Doug E. Fresh. 1 S. Compton Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. ticketmaster.com.

Fri., Feb. 14, 8 p.m., Whitaker World Music Concerts presents Angelique Kidjo. Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com.

Sat., Feb. 15, 8 p.m., Lindenwood University presents The Isley Brothers. J. Scheidegger Center, 2300 W. Clay St., 63301. For more information, visit www. lindenwood.edu.

Wed., Feb. 19, 8 p.m., The Pageant presents Raphael Saadiq – Jimmy Lee Tour. 6161 Delmar Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. ticketmaster.com.

Sat., Feb. 22, 8 p.m., A Night to Remember with Melba

Moore and Howard Hewett Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

local gigs

Sun., Feb. 9, 5 p.m., Soul Stage Sundays. A platform for local artists, singers, musicians, and poets to share their talents. Privilege Lounge, 129 Flower Valley Shopping Center, 63033. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Thur., Feb. 20, 8 p.m., The Ready Room presents Tarrus Riley. 4295 Manchester Ave., 63110. For more information, visit www.thereadyroom.com.

Sun., Feb. 23, 5 p.m. (4 p.m. doors) Chuck Flowers and Acoustic Soul, BBs Jazz Blues and Soups, 700 S. Broadway. For more information, visit www.artistecard.com/cflowers

special events

Sat., Feb. 8, 2 p.m., 2DEF Initiative is seeking help with Domestic Violence Women Shelter Love Packages. Items needed include soap, socks, razors, feminine hygiene products, and valentine cards. O’Fallon Park Rec Complex, 4343 W. Florissant Ave., 63115. For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

Feb. 11 – 12, Chase Park Plaza Job Fair. Bring resume, as hiring will happen on the spot. 212 Kingshighway Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.chaseparkplaza. com.

Sat., Feb. 15, 9 a.m., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Saint Louis Alumni Chapter presents Teen Summit: Squad Goals. Middle school age to high school age students are invited to learn about making money, staying fit, being your authentic self and more. University City High School, 7401 Balson Ave., 63130. For

more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sat., Feb. 15, 11 a.m., Phyllis Wheatley YWCA Committee on Administration presents the 50th Annual Alberta E. Gantt Fashion Show: 5 Decades of Fashion. Marriott Airport, 10700 Pear Tree Ln., 63134. For more information, www.ywcastl.org/event/ fashion.

Sat., Feb. 15, 7 p.m., Mardi Gras Prom Fleurissant Style. Prizes, live music, raffles, king and queen, and the chance to relive or create prom memories. 1 James J. Eagan Dr., 63033. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sat., Feb. 15, 7:30 p.m., Ashleyliane Dance Company presents Love Spell: An Evening of Dance, Hair, and Fashion.. .Zack, 3224 Locust St., 63103. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Sat., Feb. 15, 8 p.m., The St. Louis Cultural Flamenco Society invites you to Valentine’s a la Flamenca: ¡Solo Flamenco! Experience Andalucía through the passion of flamenco. Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com.

Sat., Feb. 15, 8 p.m., NPHC Unity Party. Omega Center, 3900 Goodfellow Blvd., 63120. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Feb. 15 – 16, 11 a.m., Taste of Soulard. Sample the many Cajun flavors Soulard has to offer on this self-guided tasting and pub crawl. Soulard Neighborhood, 63104. For more information, visit www. stlmardigras.org.

Sun., Feb. 16, 5:30 p.m., The Twisted Poet’s Evening With the Stars. Performances by comedian Jason Nelson, poets Dawn Michel and Poet Lightning, violinist Bell Darris, and more. The Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry Rd., 63136. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Thur., Feb. 20, 8:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m., Norwegian Cruise Line Job Fair. We are hiring for waiters, cooks, laundry personnel, housekeeping, and more. Marriott St. Louis Grand, 800 Washington Ave., 63101. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Thur., Feb. 20, 5:30 p.m., The St. Louis American Foundation invites you to the 10th Annual Salute to Young Leaders. Four Seasons, 999 N. 2nd St., 63102. For more information, call (314) 5338000 or visit www.stlamerican. com.

Fri., Feb. 21, 7 p.m., Best Dance and Talent Center 3rd Annual Trivia Night Fundraiser. Heman Park Community Center, 975 Pennsylvania Ave., 63130. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sat., Feb. 22, 3 p.m., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., St. Louis Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter invites you to their 2020 Jabberwock: My Purpose Is Evolving. Missouri Athletic Club, 405 Washington Ave., 63102. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Tues., Feb. 25, 9 a.m., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Presents: 2020 AKA Day at the Capitol Missouri. The day will include the bus ride to Jefferson City State Capitol with a panel discussion and luncheon at Lincoln University. Bus leaves at 6 a.m. For more information, call (314) 5410378.

Thur., Feb. 27, 5:30 p.m., 7th Annual Whitney M. Young Society Reception. Anheuser-Busch Biergarten, 1127 Pestalozzi, 63118. For more information, visit www. ulstl.com.

Saturdays, 8 a.m., The Ferguson Farmers Market Plaza at 501, 501 S. Florissant Rd., 63135. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

comedy

Feb. 8 – 9, Valentine’s Expression of Love. Feb. 8: Comedy Show feat. Comedian Lady Re. Feb. 9: Musical Showcase feat. Joshua Williams. Art, comedy, poetry, and giveaways. .Zack, 3224 Locust St., 63103. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Fri., Feb. 21, 8 p.m., Hilarryous Productions & SWCX present But Baby I Love You part 6 feat. Larry Greene, Libbie Higgins, Rick Royal, Charlie Winfrey, and Nick Nichols. Sun Theatre, 3625 Grandel Sq., 63108. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Kenya Vaughn recommends

literary

Sat., Feb. 8., 8 p.m., Saint Louis University Music Program and the Nu-Art Series presents Jazz and Tongues: The Art of Music and Poetry, starring JD Parrin, K. Curtis Lyle, George Sams, Darrell Mixon and more, Saint Louis University Theatre in Xavier Hall, 3733 West Pine Mall.

Tues., Feb. 11, 7 p.m., St. Louis County Library hosts author Gabriel Bump, author of Everywhere You Don’t Belong. Library Headquarters. 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd., 63131. For more information, visit www.slcl.org.

Thur., Feb. 13, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books hosts author Candacy Taylor, author of Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America. 300 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www. left-bank.com.

art

Fri., Feb. 7, 7 p.m., St. Louis Art Museum presents Black is the Color. A highlight of key moments in the history of African American visual art. 1 Fine Arts Dr., 63110. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Fri., Feb. 14, 7 p.m., City Museum After Dark: Tunnel of Love. Art show and sale, tarot readings, airbrush artists, photo booth, and more. 750 N 16th St., 63103. For more information, visit www. citymuseum.org/events.

Sun., Feb. 9, 1 p.m., Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., Zeta Sigma Chapter presents The 50th Annual African American Art Festival.

Experience the exploration of Black Migration through art, words, music, and dance. Il Monastero, St. Louis University, 3050 Olive St., 63103. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Sat., Feb. 15, 3 p.m., Black Votes Count: Then & Now, Juried Art Show. A multimedia juried visual art exhibition that is open to artists 18+ living in the St. Louis region. Schlafly Library, 225 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, visitwww.slpl.com.

theatre

Feb. 7 – 8, Washington University presents Lunar New Year Festival 2020: Emerge. An annual studentrun production to showcase the diversity of individual Asian cultures through acts such as Lion Dance, Korean Fan, and Tinikling. Edison Theatre, 6465 Forsyth Blvd., 63105. For more information, visit www.lnyf.wustl.edu.

Feb. 19 – Mar. 8, The Black Rep presents Ntozake Shange’s “Spell #7,” AE Hotchner Studio Theatre inside Washington University’s Edison Theatre, 6445 Forsyth. Tickets are available at www. theblackrep.org/, or by calling the box office at 314-5343807.

Feb. 21 – 23, Fox Theatre presents RENT. 527 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Through March 1, Metro Theater Company presents Ghost, Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. For more information, visit www. metroplays.org

Chaifetz Arena presents the St. Louis Music Festival feat. Teddy Riley with Blackstreet, Bobby Brown, Jagged Edge, SWV, El DeBarge, and special host Doug E. Fresh. See CONCERTS for details.

lectures and workshops

Tues., Feb. 11, 10 a.m., Clean Missouri Panel. Discuss what Clean Missouri promised and why some legislators want to change it. SSB Auditorium, St. Charles Community College, 4601 Mid Rivers Mall Dr., 63376. For more information, visit www.stchas.edu/events.

Mon., Feb. 17, 12 p.m., Women’s Voices Raised for Social Justice invites you to a Lunch & Learn in Reverse: A Conversation with Dr. Laurie Punch. Dr. Punch is the newly appointed member of the St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners. The T STL, 5874 Delmar Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Mon., Feb. 17, 7 p.m.,

Michael Smerconish presents Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right: American Life in Columns. Playhouse at Westport Plaza, 635 West Port Plaza, 63146. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com.

Wed., Feb. 26, 6:30 p.m., Decision-Making: Using Award Letters to Assess Affordability. Students will understand college financial aid award letters, compare financial aid packages, and determine next steps as they prepare to attend college. The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis, 6825 Clayton Ave., 63139. For more information, visit www.sfstl.org.

health

Thur., Feb. 6, 7:30 a.m., Force Leadership Series Panel presents Healthcare and Its Professions: Women Leading the

Way. Panelists include Tracie McGhee, Candace Jennings, Christin Candio, and Dr. Michelle Jenkins-Unterberg. Nine Network, 3655 Olive St., 63108. For more information, visit www.maryville.edu.

Fri., Feb. 7, 6 p.m., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Metropolitan St. Louis Chapters invite you to Pink Goes Red Slide & Zumba Dance Event. In support of stroke and heart disease awareness. Normandy Senior High, 6701 St. Charles Rock Rd., 63133. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

spiritual

Feb. 14 – 15, The Transformed Marriages Ministry hosts 2020 Marriage Event: Love & Respect. 4140 Page Blvd., 63113. For more information, visit www.Transformation Christianchurch.org.

Doug E. Fresh

touched upon infidelity, trust, blended families and faith as they candidly broke down what has kept their marriage and family bond strong.

The next day her mother told her there was someone named Joe on the phone for her. She lived in Long Island. He lived in Hollis, Queens (which would become famous for being the birthplace of Run-DMC). They talked on the phone. They wrote letters. In one of them

Joe said he was going to marry Justine one day. But they were essentially in a long-distance relationship as young teens, so they drifted apart.

Years later, well after his rap career exploded, his cousin was bragging about being “Run’s cousin” while working security at a Long Island High school. Her sister attended the high school and bragged about dating Run back when he was “Son of Kurtis Blow.” His cousin asked him if it was true. He confirmed and asked him to get Justine’s number. In 1994, he fulfilled the promise he made to her in his letters as a teen.

“I got her number. We went to church together. We developed a relationship,” Rev. Run said. “And the next thing you know we are here signing books.” In between that time, the world fell in love with Rev. Run and Justine as a couple – and their family – in the hit MTV reality television series “Run’s House.”

A hip-hop happily ever after

The hour-long

“‘Old School Love’ the book is about old school principles,” Rev. Run said. “I run into some people in my life that say that the principles that worked then can’t work now. They say, ‘We’re in a new world.’ I’m saying that the new world that is not governed by scripture and by old school principles is the reason the divorce rate is so high.”

Holland pointed out – down to the page- one of the topics that she was happy to see in the book.

“On page 18, you broke it down in bold letters,” said Holland. “You said, ‘Do not cheat on your partner.’”

“It’s very simple. If you want to cheat, don’t get a partner,” Rev. Run said. “If you want to be in a relationship, don’t cheat. If you want to cheat, don’t be in a relationship.”

Holland also gave the couple props for the seamless blend of their family – and that many marriages fail because of the inability to bring children together and forge a single familial unit. On “Run’s House,” their family was so thoroughly blended that at first it wasn’t apparently clear which were biological children and which were bonus children between them.

“When you blend these families and you bring this child into this family and this other partner doesn’t like your child – or doesn’t treat your child right – You have to look at that. That’s a red flag,” Justine said. “If somebody doesn’t treat your child with love and respect, they can’t love you. There is no way. How you

feel about yourself is really important in how a relationship works. And sometimes if you don’t feel very good about yourself, then we will accept things that we shouldn’t.”

Beside the biblical scriptures they lay out in “Old School Love,” Rev. Run cites selflessness as their secret to their success.

“If you are a selfish person, you are not supposed to be in a relationship. Period.” Rev. Run said. “We are not on the defense, but on the offense, of trying to make each other happy. Years later we are still like, ‘What can I do to make you happy? ‘Old school Love is grown folks’ business. It’s responsible love. It’s not so much about looking in each other’s eyes, but looking in the same direction.”

“As a brotherhood you all have colored our atmosphere and shown us excellence in art, music, fashion and business,” Monica Tyson said to Rev. Run, giving praise to him and his brothers Russell and Danny Simmons for their contributions to black culture before asking about the blending of and boundaries for business and marital relationships when they opened the floor for questions.

“If you neglect too much of your grass, it’s going to turn brown,” Rev. Run said. “You will make all of that money just to use it in divorce court.”

Up next on the St. Louis County Library calendar is the Frankie Muse Freeman Black History Month Keynote Address, which will be provided by President Barack Obama Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett on Friday, February 7 at 7 p.m. at St. Louis County Library Headquarters, 1640 Lindbergh. For more information, visit www.slcl.org or call (314) 9943300.

dynamics, is rooted in a traumatic experience.

Ghost is inherently good, but disruptive. He is born and raised on the wrong side of the city and his peers refuse to let him forget it. He handles the conflicts that come his way as best he can – but makes poor decisions as a reaction of how the odds are stacked against him.

Even after finding a kindred spirit in his coach, Ghost is faced with difficult choices–and doesn’t always make the right ones – as he attempts to mesh with his teammates. But through the bond he develops with his coach, Ghost sees the bigger picture and develops a new sense of personal responsibility through a man willing to nurture and support him through the gaps in his life.

A co-commissioned play with Nashville Children’s Theatre that is part of an 18-month rolling world premiere, Metro Theater Company’s staging of “Ghost” adds context to the young black male experience without being exploitative. And the play simultaneously displays the power of mentorship, community and the profound impact the combination of the two can have on a young person struggling through their circumstances. There is care and intention given to showing how a life of crime often begins with young people who are victims of their circumstances.

The core of actors make it look easy as they push their bodies and emotions to the limits with the production – that still manages to be light enough for young audiences despite the heavy subject matter.

Jarris L. Williams as Ghost and Carl Overly Jr. as the

Kel

Continued from C1

a basement recreation room to be distributed to residents of Covenant House, a multi-service residential facility providing housing and crisis services and transitional programs for young people age 16-24 who are facing homelessness. They were then met by Covenant House staff for a brief tour before the coat giveaway.

“I was just watching you on YouTube, that’s crazy,” a resident of Covenant House said as she waited in the lobby for her ride.

“I would come down there for the coat drive, but my birthday is tomorrow. I have to work tomorrow, so I’m turning up today.”

“Tomorrow is your birthday

A scene from Metro Theater Company’s production of “Ghost.”

coach showcase the powerful, and sometimes instant bond that grows out of sports participation. Lessons of camaraderie and discipline, that are naturally infused into other parts of young people’s lives when a mentor who cares as much about the individual as their athletic inclination steps in, is the recurring theme in “Ghost.”

Alicia Reve Like is compassionate and authentic as Ghost’s mother – who works during the day and studies all evening in the hopes of securing a better life for herself and

for real?” Kel asked the young woman, who appeared to be in her late teens.

“Yep?”

He said something to a member of the crew who had come along with him to the coat drive. The entourage member reached into his pocket and handed Kel a large wad of money. Kel handed the money to the young woman.

“Oh my God, thank you,” she said, while stretching out the money that appeared to be mostly 10- and 20-dollar bills.

“You don’t get a blessing like this every day.”

Kel and the crew moved on with the rest of the tour. She picked her phone back up.

“Girl, Luh Kel just gave me all the money out his pocket for my birthday. That’s so lit. I’m for real. Yes, the real Luh Kel.

We ‘bout to turn up!”

Kel didn’t dwell on the moment, or hold his phone up to capture it for the social

her son by way of a nursing degree. Joe Hanrahan, Rae Davis, Jaz Tucker and Ernest Emmanuel Peoples create a well-meshed presence onstage as Ghost’s teammates and other roles as needed – each fully embodying the character they are charged with portraying at any given time. Metro Theater Company’s production of “Ghost” continues through March 1 at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. For more information, visit www.metroplays.org.

media community he influences. He just moved on with the rest of the tour.

When they arrived back down in the basement, a few of the residents were using the room. One young man was playing the piano. Kel casually walked over to him. “Man, I wish I could play like that.”

The resident gave him an impromptu lesson that culminated with notes Kel played on one hand blending harmoniously with the chords that his pop-up instructor played simultaneously.

“That’s tight,” Kel exclaimed.

Word had spread that Kel was at Covenant House.

“Aye, you Luh Kel,” one young man said.

“Yeah,” Kel said.

“You tight,” the man said in response.

“I appreciate you,” Kel said as a follow up.

Another young man came with a Bluetooth speaker playing some of his original music. Kel nodded along, giving the young man fist bumps as he played the song.

The vibe felt nothing like a celebrity helping those less fortunate. Kel was kicking it with some new friends.

“Now that I have things, I just want to help people,” Kel said. “I still move the same way.”

His next career moves include a remix to his hit “Wrong” and dropping the next single from his album “Mixed Emotions,” which was released in November. All the while, he’s counting down the days until he walks across the stage at U. City High.

“It’s rough, I ain’t going to lie,” Kel said. “And I will be so happy when I’m finished.”

He admitted that balancing a music career and high school can be exhausting, but says it’s worth it for the sake of setting an example.

“Education is always key,” Kel said. “Even if you have dreams and you pursue your dreams, you still need something to fall back on. I’ve always been taught that, so it’s good to show the youth that as well that it’s possible to do education and do big things at the same time.” For more information on Luh Kel, https://luhkel.com/ He can also be found on the social channels of Twitter and Instagram through the handle @lifewluhkel and as Luh Kel on Facebook and YouTube.

Photo by A. Lin

Photo by Vincent Lang

Tammie

Celebrations

Double Celebrations

Happy 12th Birthday, Simone! We are constantly in awe of your creativity, strength and kindness. You have an incredible gift for capturing beauty with your camera and are such a fierce athlete, among your many, many talents. We love you so much, Your big fam – the Van de Sandes, Rivas clan, Cusicks, Harlows and Paganos

Happy Birthday and congratulations to

Reunions

Beaumont Class of 1970 has scheduled its 50-year reunion celebration for the weekend of 10/16/20-10/18/20. The banquet will be held at The Embassy Suites (downtown), 610 N. 7th St. We are currently working on finalizing plans to make this our best reunion yet! Please forward

your current contact info to: beaumontclassof1970@gmail. com, so that we can keep you informed.

Central High School Class of 1970 is in the process of planning its 50-year reunion in 2020. We are trying to locate former classmates. If you would like to receive additional information as we plan this momentous occasion, please provide your contact information to either Lillian McKinney at mamajoyce314@ icloud.com or (314) 335-9760, Eric Armstrong at elarmstr@ yahoo.com or (918) 650-

3385, Sabra Morris-Pernod at Saboots@centurytel.net or (314) 703-0812.

L’Ouverture School Class of June 1962 will host an event celebrating our historic L’Ouverture Elementary School. For organization and planning, please meet with us at 3245 Geyer Ave, 63104, Saturday, February 1, 2020, 2 pm. For information, contact: Valerie at (314) 664-6270, email: valeriemiller06179@ att.net; or Evelyn at (314) 7738702.

Soldan Class of 1975 Reunion

Committee is currently seeking all classmates to celebrate our 45-year reunion in September 2020. Additional details to follow. Please submit your current contact information to Committee members Ms. AnnieSue Preston (314) 6065618, Mr. Arvell Roberts, (314) 319-4937, or send info to SOLDANCLASS1975@ GMAIL.COM.

Vashon High School Class of 1974 is planning its next reunion. We are in the process of rounding up all classmates. To provide or update your contact information, please

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, 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 –

email ljbady@gmail.com or contact: Joe Verrie Johnson 314-640-5842, Jordan Perry 314-724-4563, or LaVerne James-Bady 314-382-0890.

Vashon High School Class of 1975 is planning for its 45-year reunion. We are in process of getting all classmates to provide or update your contact information. Please email Millicent, centbyme1@aol.com or Elvis, elvishopson@att.net. You can also send information by mail: Vashon High Class of 1975, P.O. box 8735, St. Louis Mo. 63101. Keep this date open: August 7-9, 2020.

Happy 55th Wedding Anniversary to Mr. Jerry and Rev. Dr. Doris Graham, who enjoyed their special day on January 31 with well wishes and a celebration at The Choice Restaurant. Jerry is a retired executive chef and Doris is a retired administrator with St. Louis Public Schools. Also, Happy 81st Birthday to Jerry on February 11!

Florence Pack—she celebrated her 100th birthday on February 1, 2020!

Armon Reed-Wynne and his bride, Bridgette Marie ReedWynne, owners of Prime Protection STL and both Federal employees have so much to celebrate. Bridgette recently received her Master’s Degree from Webster University and Armon’s 34th birthday is February 12.

Praise 365 streams contemporary urban gospel

Sean ‘Scooda’ Thomas launches online station to fill local void

American staff

Sean “Scooda” Thomas has launched a contemporary urban gospel radio station. The station is called Praise 365 and can be heard online through various platforms, including Live365, Online, Alexa Enabled Devices and Simple Radio/Streema.

The format will feature urban gospel contemporary hits throughout the day with artists such as Travis Greene, Tamela Mann, Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary, Marvin Sapp, and Koryn Hawthorne. There will also be spotlights and programs that will feature local talent and give them an opportunity to share their talents on a radio platform.

The station is programmed by Thomas, a young black man from St. Louis who hosts “The Scooda Radio Show” and has held several positions and produced/engineered various talk show programs on Hallelujah 1600 AM, Praise 95.1 FM and 1260 AM.

“I bring a hip, hype and motivational program to the listeners,” Thomas told The American when he brought “The Scooda Radio Show” to KATZ Hallelujah 1600AM. “I’m looking to bring a young audience to the station.”

Praise 365 will also carry a select group of local and national Christian teaching programs, with the addition of “The Scooda Radio Show,” “The CBC Radio Show” and a national syndicated radio program by Sheryl Underwood, “Spiritual Nourishment Radio.”

“I believe that with the loss of our first urban gospel station, Praise 95.1FM, we had a thirst for more radio that caters to

inspiring and encouraging the public,”

Thomas said.

“That’s why I feel led to bring Praise 365 Radio to the masses. Based on conversations with many in the St. Louis area, the community has been waiting to enjoy gospel and are ready to support.”

Thomas identifies as “a husband, father, radio personality, graphic designer, recording artist, public speaker but most importantly a Christian.” He has been in radio and music for 10 years and has shared stages with Tamela Mann, LeCrae, Kel Mitchell, Trip Lee and Willie Moore Jr. He said that God has placed him on several platforms and he is not done sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ

wherever he goes – whether by rapping, talking on the radio or doing his day-to-day work with Scooda Ink: Graphics & More. He considers himself a living testimony to using what you have and using no excuses to get things done.

“I simply want to help lead people to Christ and show them that life is more than just what social media and the world views in regards to being negative,” Thomas said. “Life should be valued and appreciated, because you only get one.”

Praise 365 is a media partner with The St. Louis American Listen to Praise 365 at www. praise365radio.com. For more information on Thomas, visit https://www.iamscooda. com/.

The Message

Salvation is found in no one else

Sometimes I have the audacity to think that I know just what it takes to guarantee salvation, only to discover with minimal soul searching how wrong I really have been. Time and time again I’m reminded that I had nothing to do with my own salvation. No matter how hard I try, I cannot earn my way into heaven. Hell is a different story

The more I read and the more I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, the more I understand that I just need to get over it. Scripture reinforces the fact that I need to stop fooling myself into believing that I’ve got it like that, when in fact I really don’t. I am powerless in this regard. I am naked and clearly vulnerable when it comes to realizing that Christ is the way the truth and the light of my salvation.

That may sound trite to some of you, but my struggle is not to read anything into this simply fact. God has given all of us, not just me, the only guarantee possible to secure eternal life. His name is Jesus. We can come up with all kinds of scenarios about works and lifestyle and love and various other points of reference because the Bible is full of examples, along with the importance of each. However, in the final analysis, the answer is still Jesus.

The question is: Can you accept that? Can you internalize His crucifixion as absolution for sin? Do you believe He is coming back with a purpose?

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12. The entire Bible rests on this one set of principles that should guide us in the development and maturing of our faith. As such, my focus must change from trying to earn the right to enter eternity to rejoicing in a job well done by Jesus. He definitely did what I couldn’t and you can’t. It makes sense then to honor God by honoring His child. I can do that by expressing thanks and sincere appreciation for the ultimate sacrifice on my behalf. That expression of appreciation can, and indeed should, manifest itself in an attempt to copy His style, emulate His ways, live according to His Word, never questioning His motive, His intent or His authenticity. This is not hard to understand. This is the gospel. The question is: Can you handle it? The answer to that question is not as simple as it seems. The answer requires a relationship between you and the God you claim to serve. He knows what is deep down inside and so do you. For me, it can often be a struggle, one that I am certainly willing to undertake. I must. I have to. “However I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Acts 20:24.

Columnist James Washington

Sean “Scooda” Thomas has launched Praise 365, a contemporary urban gospel radio station that can be heard online through various platforms, including Live365, Online, Alexa Enabled Devices and Simple Radio/ Streema.

DIRECTOR, FAMILY SUPPORT INITIATIVES

FIREFIGHTER/ PARAMEDIC

City of Alton, IL

Accepting applications

ONLINE UNTIL 5pm March 20th

For Requirements and Application visit:

www.cityofaltonil.com/careers

Testing for this position will be held on April 4, 2020 for those that qualify

Area Resources for Community and Human Services (ARCHS), an innovative funding agency, is seeking a detailed, results-oriented, Director, Family Support Initiatives. This position manages all grant and related contract activities to achieve grant objectives. Duties include developing, implementing and administering grant funds for a Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) initiative, procuring sub-recipient agencies to deliver services and ensuring programmatic and fiscal oversight. This position requires a strong foundation in managing federal grants and knowledge of human service programs. Experience with VOCA is beneficial. Knowledge of contract compliance, documentation/results reporting, and assessment/evaluation is necessary, as are strong meeting facilitation, community relations, and project management skills. Candidates should possess a Bachelor’s in Business, Education, Sociology, Social Work, or related fields (Masters a plus), excellent writing and presentation skills, and strong competence in database management and Microsoft® Office. Email letter of application, resume and salary history by February 28, 2020 to careers@stlarchs.org or Fax to HR, 314-289-5670. NO phone calls please.

MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY

JOB OPENINGS!

The Missouri Historical Society has position openings for the following:

• Curator of Clothing and Textiles

• Production Technician

• Registrar

• Resource Protection Officers (Various shifts available)

• Volunteer Coordinator

Please visit www.mohistory.org under the “Current Openings” tab for position details and to apply.

An Equal Opportunity Employer

MANAGER - BUSINESS ANALYSIS

Leads, manages, and mentors a team of business analysis (BA) professionals. Works with the project leadership team to understand resource needs and need-by dates. Ensures proper staffing levels within assigned BA team to meet planned project workload. Works with department leadership and other stakeholders to improve BA methodologies, procedures and policies. To apply, please visit: https:// www.safetynational.com/ careers-page/

Using exp w/Electromagnetic design concepts & permanent magnet motor design, apply theoretical & practical skills in electromagnetic motor design and development for precision motor brushless DC motor drive systems. Reqs: Bach’s or frgn equiv in EE. Send CV to Nicholas.Emas@nidec-motor. com. Please reference code: LL-01

PROJECT MANAGER & ASST. PROJECT MANAGER

Great Rivers Greenway is seeking a Project Manager and Asst. Project Manager. Go to www.greatriversgreenway. org/jobs-bids/ and submit by February 20, 2020.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for 2020 CRS Pavement Rehabilitation, Area A, St. Louis County Project No.CR-1803, will be received at the Office of the Director of Procurement for the County of St. Louis, County Government Center Administration Building, 41 South Central Avenue, 8th Floor, Clayton, MO 63105, until 11:00 a.m. on February 26, 2020

Plans and specifications will be available on January 27, 2020 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouisco.com), or by contacting Cross Rhodes Print & Technologies, 2731 South Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63118

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is accepting proposals in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103-2555 until 10:00 a.m. on March 5th, 2020 to contract with a company for: Maintenance Paving Services.

Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from www.stlmsd.com, click on the “MSD AT WORK” link, (bid opportunities). The bid document will be identified as 10290 RFQ. If you do not have access to the internet, call 314.768.2735 to request a copy of this bid.

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

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The St. Louis Center for International Relations d/b/a World Trade CenterSt. Louis requests proposals from qualified service providers with banquet facilities to host an annual regional forum of approximately 700 international business leaders to occur in September 2020. A five percent bid preference may be available to certified MBE firms. A copy of the RFP is available on the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership’s web site at https://stlpartnership.com/rfp-rfq/. Proposals must be received no later than 3:00 PM on Friday, February 28, 2020.

St. Louis Economic Development Partnership Equal Opportunity Employer

ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

St. Louis Community College will receive separate sealed bids for Contract No. F 20 503, Renovation for Nursing Simulation Lab, St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley, until 2:00 p.m. local time, Tuesday, February 18, 2020. Bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at the office of the Manager of Engineering and Design, 5464 Highland Park Drive (Plan Room). Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from the Manager’s office, at the above address or by calling (314) 644-9770.

Voluntary Pre-bid Meeting: 10:00AM, February 7, 2020, Florissant Valley, Renovation for Nursing Simulation Lab, Engineering Building, Room E161 An Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

America’s Center is seeking RFP’s from qualified companies to provide MANAGEMENT OF FOOD SERVICES for America’s Center. Bid packages available Monday, February 10th, 9am CST thru Friday February 21st 5pm CST at the Administrative Office at 701 Convention Plaza, or by visiting:

https://explorestlouis.com/ food-and-beverage-operations-rfp/

Interested bidders must attend a mandatory pre-bid conference & walk thru Monday, February 24th, 10am CST at America’s Center Facilities Office Conference Room B. Contact Julie Repp at 314-342-5188 with any questions. The facility reserves the right to reject any or all bids. EOE

LETTING NO. #8715

2020 Capital Main Replacement Program – Twenty (20) Inch Main in Lindenwood Pl.

Sealed proposals will be received by the Board of Public Service in Room 208 City Hall, 1200 Market Street, St. Louis, Mo. Until 1:45 PM, CT, on March 3, 2020, then publicly opened and read. Plans and Specifications may be examined on the Board of Public Service website http:// www.stl-bps.org (BPS On Line Plan Room) and may be purchased directly through the BPS website from INDOX Services at cost plus shipping. No refunds will be made.

Bidders shall comply with all applicable City, State and Federal laws (including MBE/WBE policies).

All bidders must regard Federal Executive Order 11246, “Notice of Requirement for Affirmative Action to Ensure Equal Employment Opportunity”, the “Equal Opportunity Clause” and the “Standard Federal Equal Employment Specifications” set forth within and referenced at www.stl-bps.org (Announcements).

LETTING #8716

PARKS ADMINISTRATION BUILDING RENOVATIONS

Sealed proposals will be received by the Board of Public Service in Room 208 City Hall, 1200 Market Street, St. Louis, Mo. Until 1:45 PM, CT, on March 3rd, 2020, then publicly opened and read. Plans and Specifications may be examined on the Board of Public Service website http://www.stl-bps.org/ planroom.aspx (BPS On Line Plan Room) and may be purchased directly through the BPS website from INDOX Services at cost plus shipping. No refunds will be made.

A mandatory pre-bid walk thru for all contractors bidding on this project will be held at PARKS ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, 5600 CLAYTON AVENUE, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI 63110, FEBRUARY 18, 2020 at 10:00 A.M. All bidders are encouraged to attend.

Bidders shall comply with all applicable City, State and Federal laws (including MBE/WBE policies). All bidders must regard Federal Executive Order 11246, “Notice of Requirement for Affirmative Action to Ensure Equal Employment Opportunity”, the “Equal Opportunity Clause” and the “Standard Federal Equal Employment Specifications” set forth within and referenced at www.stl-bps.org (Announcements).

WEBSTER GROVES SCHOOL DISTRICT

is seeking a General Contractor for the Webster Groves School District; Safety/Security and Accessibility Improvement Projects.

Sealed bids are requested from qualified contractors for additions and alterations to multiple buildings as part of the project referenced above. A mandatory pre bid presentation will be conducted on Friday March 6th, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. at the District Service Center Building with building site visits on March 13th and March 16th. Bids will be received by Mr. Robert Steuber, WGSD Construction Project Manager, on Tuesday March 31st 2020 at 2:00 p.m., at the District Service Center Building, 3232 South Brentwood Blvd, Webster Groves Mo 63119. Public bid opening will follow immediately thereafter. Instructions to Bidders will be available online @ www.webster. k12.mo.us, (under RFP heading) Tuesday February 25th, 2020. The owner reserves the right to reject any and or all proposals

ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

St. Louis Community College will receive separate sealed bids for Contract No. F 20 301, Renovation of 3rd Floor Areas for Nursing Program, St. Louis Community College at Wildwood, until 2:00 p.m. local time, Thursday, February 27, 2020. Bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at the office of the Manager of Engineering and Design, 5464 Highland Park Drive (Plan Room). Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from the Manager’s office, at the above address or by calling (314) 644-9770. Voluntary Pre-bid Meeting: 10:30 AM, February 12, 2020, Wildwood, Renovation of 3rd Floor Areas for Nursing Program, Wildwood, 3rd Floor Elevator Lobby An Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer

ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

St. Louis Community College will receive separate sealed bids for CONTRACT NO. F 20 406, Classroom Renovation in L-024 at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park Campus, until 2:00 p.m. local time February 20, 2020. Bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at the office of the Manager of Engineering and Design, 5464 Highland Park, St. Louis, MO 63110-1314. Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from the Manager’s office, at the above address or by calling (314) 644-9770.

Voluntary PREBID MEETING: February 10, 2020 1:00pm, Forest Park, Library 1st Floor Entrance

An Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer

NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) to be received by Forest Park Forever (FPF), located at 5595 Grand Dr. in Forest Park, St. Louis, MO. 63112 until Feb. 7, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. for the World’s Fair Pavilion Comfort Station Renovation Project. RFP docs are available in PDF format at www. forestparkforever.org/bids or for review of hardcopies at FPF during office hours.

Equal opportunity bidding event. Women and Minority in Business are encouraged to participate.

SEALED BIDS

Bids for Replace Roof Including Sky Light, Administration Bldg. & Housing Unit 5, Missouri EasternCorrectional Center, Pacific, Missouri, Project No. C1916-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 2/27/2020 v i a MissouriBUYS . Bidders must be registered to bid. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo.gov/ facilities

REQUESTS FOR BIDS

Great Rivers Greenway is requesting Bids for Riverfront Vendors - St. Louis City Riverfront Go to www.greatriversgreenway. org/jobs-bids/ and submit by February 28, 2020.

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District will receive sealed bids in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 631032555 until 10:00am March 2, 2020 for: NEW HVAC SYSTEMS Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from www.stlmsd.com - click on “MSD AT WORK”, then “Bidding on Projects”. The bid document will be 10294 RFQ. If you do not have access to the internet, call (314) 768-6314 to request a copy of this bid.

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

Public Notice of

Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure: Oracle Enterprise PBCS Software Hosting & Support. The District is proposing single source procurement to Mythics for this service. Any inquiries should be sent to swassler@stlmsd.com.

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

REQUESTS FOR BIDS

Great Rivers Greenway is requesting proposals for: Seasonal Native Garden and Greenway Care. Go to www. greatriversgreenway.org/jobs-bids/ and submit by February 21, 2020.

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing an agreement with Ideal Landscape Group for additional work at the Ashland Combined Sewer (IR) project location. The District is proposing a single source procurement for this service. Any inquiries should be sent to ltreat@stlmsd.com.

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

SEALED BIDS

, SAINTJOSEPH, MISSOURI, Project No.T1905-01will bereceivedby FMDC,Stateof MO, UNTIL1:30PM, February27,2020 via MissouriBUYS. Biddersmustbe registeredtobid. Forspecificproject informationand orderingplans,go to:http://oa.mo. gov/ facilities

SEALED BIDS

Bidsfor RENOVATE

CENTER, LEXINGTON, MISSOURI,Project No.T1906-01will bereceivedby FMDC,Stateof MO, UNTIL1:30PM, February27, 2020viaMissouri BUYS.Bidders mustberegistered tobid.Forspecific projectinformation andorderingplans, goto:http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

Notice To Small (SBE), Disadvantaged (DBE), Minority (MBE), Women’s (WBE), Service Disabled Veteran Owned (SDVOB) & Veteran Owned (VOB) Businesses Advertisement River City Construction, L.L.C., 6640 American Setter Drive, Ashland, Missouri 65010, (573) 657-7380 (Phone) (573) 657-7381 (Fax) Is Seeking Qualified Small, Disadvantaged, Minority, Women’s, Service Disabled Veteran Owned & Veteran Owned Businesses For The University of Missouri Cp181391 - Sinclair School Of Nursing – Construct New Building Cp200511 - Sinclair School Of Nursing – Water Line Replacement, Columbia, Missouri: for subcontracting opportunities in the following areas: earthwork, site clearing, demolition, paving, utilities, concrete, masonry, metals, rough carpentry, roofing, doors, glazing, painting, drywall, flooring, specialties, furnishings, conveying systems, fire suppression, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, electronic security. All interested and qualified SBE, DBE, WBE, SDVOB, AND VOB businesses should contact, in writing, (certified letter, return receipt requested) Josh Sanders or Joe Seymour to discuss the subcontracting opportunities. All negotiations must be completed prior to the bid opening date 2/27/2020@ 1:30 PM. Proposals will be evaluated in order on the basis of low responsive bid received. CERTIFICATION OF DBE/WBE/MBE/SDVOB/VOB STATUS MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH BID. BID DOCUMENTS MAY BE OBTAINED BY:

1) Email your company name, contact name and phone number, as well as the project you are interested in to bid@rccllc.com 2) You will then receive an email invitation for that project with a link to our SmartBidNet system.

NOTICE OF OPEN-HOUSE PUBLIC HEARING ON DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF PAVEMENT, BRIDGE, AND SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENTS ON I-270 FROM JAMES S. MCDONNELL BOULEVARD TO BELLEFONTAINE ROAD IN ST LOUIS COUNTY

Notice is hereby given to all interested persons that a public hearing will be held at the Student Center Multi-purpose Room of St. Louis Community College – Florissant Valley, 3400 Pershall Road, St. Louis, MO 63135, on Thursday March 12, 2020, between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., Daylight Savings Time. Parking at the meeting is available in lots P3, P4, P6 and P7. Access for people with disabilities is available. All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard concerning their views on the design and construction of I-270, St. Louis County, with reference to the economic and social effects of such design, its impact on the environment, and its consistency with the goals and objectives of the community. An open-house format will be used, and persons may discuss the project and offer comments at any time between the prescribed hours. The presently contemplated improvement is as follows:

The I-270 North project runs along I-270 from James S. McDonnell Boulevard to Bellefontaine Road. It will replace aging infrastructure, link communities, improve accessibility for bicyclists and pedestrians, and enhance traffic operations and safety throughout the corridor. At $278 million, this is the largest project that MoDOT has undertaken in the last decade. The total length of the improvements is 8.619 miles. Right of way and easements will be acquired for this project.

Maps, plats, and other detail information prepared by the Missouri Department of Transportation, or interested agency, will be available for public inspection and copying at the office of the District Engineer of the Missouri Department of Transportation,1590 Woodlake Drive, Chesterfield, Missouri, 63017. Written statements and exhibits as well as oral statements will be received at the hearing. Written statements and exhibits will be made a part of the public hearing transcript if received within ten working days after the date of the hearing. Comments will be accepted in the form of writing or providing a recorded statement. In addition, a virtual public hearing will be available online at: http://www.i270north.org/ from March 12 to March 23.

Tentative schedules for right of way acquisition and construction will be discussed at the hearing. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2020, with a December 2023 completion date.

People with disabilities who require special services at the public hearing should notify Project Communications Coordinator Nina Thompson by March 5, 2020 at (314) 370-4187 so arrangements for those services can be made.

MISSOURI HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION

BY: Thomas Blair, District Engineer

REQUEST FOR BIDS

Sealed bids for the 2019 Accessible Ramp Improvements (2019-PW02) will be received by the City of Chesterfield Department of Public Works, 690 Chesterfield Parkway W, Chesterfield, Missouri 630170760, until 10:30 a.m. (prevailing central time) on Tuesday, February 18, 2020 and will thereafter be publicly opened and read aloud.

This activity is funded in whole or in part with Community Development Block Grant funds pursuant to Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended. All applicable federal regulations shall be in full force and effect.

Plans and specifications for this project will be available after 12:00 noon on Tuesday, February 4, 2020 on the City of Chesterfield’s website: https://www.chesterfield. mo.us/request-for-proposals.html.

TO ADVERTISE YOUR PUBLIC NOTICES OR BIDS PLEASE EMAIL ANGELITA AT ahouston@stlamerican.com

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Notice

BIDS

Great Rivers Greenway is seeking Bids for Resetting Tree Pit Pavers at Gateway Arch National Park. Go to www.greatriversgreenway.org/ jobs-bids/ and submit by February 24, 2020.

REQUESTS FOR QUALIFICATIONS

Great Rivers Greenway is seeking qualifications for Bond Counsel. Go to www. greatriversgreenway.org/ jobs-bids/ and submit by February 14, 2020

Presenting the Young Leaders class of 2020. The wait is over. And I feel like a proud parent as I prepare to present the latest cohort of honorees to be celebrated at the St. Louis American Foundation’s 10th Annual Salute to Young Leaders Awards and Networking Reception in just over two weeks from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 20 at The Four Seasons. Because I need every word of this entry for the list of names from this point forward, I will say bring your best corporate realness swag when you come through and prepare to connect! Okay, let me get on with the names: Doneisha Bohannon, MPH, Johnnica Bolden, Portia J. Britt, Brittae Gray-Ross, Candace Harris, Aaron M. Harris, Dasha Kennedy, George Ladd, Andrea Lewis, Stephanie McCloud, Aunyã McElroy, M.Ed., Ashley O’Neal, Nicola Charlottie Phillips, Neal Richardson, Marcel Scaife, Christan E. Shelton, Esq., Danielle Smith, Esq, Blake A. Strode, Deanna Taylor and Mikel D. Whittier, MHA. Visit stlamerican.com or call (314) 533-8000 to get your Young Leaders tickets.

A local music tribute to two icons. My weekend kicked off with a Michael Jackson and Prince Tribute at Klymaxx in the Ambassador. While I appreciated the intention and the energy, the wig inspired by “Tyler Perry’s A Fall From Grace” tainted the MJ experience a bit for me. Everybody else seemed into it though. I must give Wildmann props for his bass performance. It was life. And they pulled nice sized crowd. I really hate that I couldn’t stay for the Prince portion because I had to scoot over to Café Soul.

New host, same soul. I got down to the House of Soul just in time for the second half of Café Soul to kick off Friday night. They have found a new host in Lydia Caesar, and I’m not the least bit mad about what I saw her deliver. After a lengthy hiatus as Nichol Stevenson worked on bringing us the House of Soul venue, they are building back up. I will say that considering how the monthly open mic series poured into our nightlife experience at its height, we should encourage people to return to support it in droves. It gave birth to a whole generation of soul singers – several who went on to national acclaim. I’m hoping that the rising singers get familiar and show up to hone their craft while being backed by such a sickeningly good live band.

STL County Library was Run’s House. I really hope when I come out with my yet-to-be authored book (working title: “There’s A Right and A Wrong Way to Read Somebody”) that I get the support that y’all gave Rev. Run and Justine Simmons when they stopped through St. Louis County Library on Saturday to discuss their new book “Old School Love: And Why It Works” on Saturday. Rev Run just finished playing for thousands – alongside St. Louis’ own Charlie Chan Soprano – at the Grammys. But he was straight up shook by how y’all showed up and showed out. Oh, and I also want Tammie Holland to moderate the book discussion, because she slayed with curating the conversation with Rev. Run and Justine. I saw too many folks to name, but just know the African-American influencers and tastemakers were deep up in there. And they delivered a talk that made me feel good about finding love for a change.

A slam dunk from the S.L.U.M.Fest Awards. Listen, I arrived at the 10th Annual S.L.U.M.fest Awards bright and early, and it didn’t matter. The venue was packed to the point where the only people getting through the door at the Atomic Cowboy Bootleg Saturday night were performers and nominees. It was so hot up in there that I took more than one cooldown break on the cigarette patio! As y’all go into the second glorious decade of giving shine to the St. Louis hip-hop community, I’m hoping that y’all move from the Bootleg to the designer original Atomic Cowboy so folks can stretch out a bit. Because, we were neck to neck up in that piece from 9-12.Go ‘head Rob Boo and the crew! I want to send a shoutout to all the nominees, winners. I would need a whole page to list all the winners, but just a few were Brock Seals, Corey Black, Katarra, NandoSTL, DJ HoodBunny, Gritz Hoffa, T-Dubb-O, KVtheWriter. I really had a ball watching the rising stars, established veterans and pioneers of St. Louis hip-hop occupy the same space at the same time – and was particularly inspired by the parting words of the Hip-Hop Pioneer recipient Luqman a.k.a. “Mr. Peabody” as he accepted his award. He said, “When you leave the game of hip-hop, ask yourself did you leave it in better shape? IF you didn’t leave nothing with the game, you wasted your time and the general public. You should come to the game to help improve something. If you’re one of them ‘when I get done rapping, I’m leaving,’ you corny. The culture needs support.” Amen, Mr. Peabody.

A Superbowl Party for the ages. When I tell you that Tommy Wilder did not come to play when he hosted his Super Bowl party, let me break it down just how serious he was. The best way to describe it is to jack a line from Mr. Kendrick “K. Dot” Lamar and say, “It’s levels to it. Four levels to be exact. Tommy had folks from the attic to the basement up in their kicking as the Chiefs won the Superbowl for our great state of Kansas. Sorry 45, I had to troll you for that one. But anyway, the street parking for Tommy’s party almost did cross state lines. But that didn’t matter, because guess what? He had a shuttle cart driving folks to and from their cars. I knew I was in for an experience before I even arrived on the strength of that alone. On the inside, it didn’t disappoint. My only letdown is that I didn’t keep in mind that the all the way grown folks show up on time, so there was not a seat to be had. On the main level, at least. In the basement, the game was being projected comparable to a 200-inch screen television. Upstairs I was standing in the line of sight for one guest. He said, “Excuse me miss, but I can’t see.” Another guest said, “Just look at that TV.” Tommy had TVs going in both directions. Okay, now that I’ve set up the scene that pretty much had anybody who is somebody over the age of 45 up in there, I can now talk about the spread. Since I’m already stealing lines, I might as well reference Evangelist Shirley Caesar and say he had “beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes, lamb, rams, hogs, dogs…chicken, turkeys, rabbit…you name it.” I mean, for real, everything but the dogs and the rabbit were on the

and my diet was officially ruined. His Superbowl party was as big a victory as the

game win.

menu,

Kansas City Chiefs actual

Nowhere, which includes Sir Eddie C, Teacup Dragon and Zado, went home with the S.L.U.M.Fest award for Hip-Hop Group/ Duo Saturday night @ The Bootleg

Kappa Alpha Si John, TaDarius and Rodney welcomed guests to their KappaTailgate Party @ The Machinist Hall Saturday evening

Mary KStyles and Tasha watched the Kansas City Chiefs become Champions @ Blue Dine Lounge Sunday

Raven celebrated her birthday with her crew during Dress Code @ Dos Salas

It was nothing but grown folks having as Lori, Roz, Angela and Carol hung with the Kappas Saturday @ The Machinist Hall

Tommy Wilder hosted a full house including George and Brenda during his invite only Superbowl Sunday Shindig

Tricia and LaQuinta heard Sophies was the place to be for the Dilladay Edition of HeyLuv so they rolled up to check the scene Saturday night

Nicky Nicole and Wynono Williams @ The Ambassador for the Michael Jackson and Prince Tribute Friday night

Tyrone and Denise stepped to the stage for a little Friday night fun and sang as the Café Soul band played the tracks @ House of Soul

Jason and Junica Bailey @ STL County Library as they waited to have their book signed by Rev Run and Justine Simmons on Saturday

Kenyotta Griffin was one of several hundred who lined up to get a book signed and pose for a photo with hip-hop pioneer Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons and his lovely wife Justine Simmons. The couple held a lively discussion about their co-authored debut “Old School Love: And Why It Works” facilitated by Tammie Holland at St. Louis County Library Headquarters Saturday Evening.

Photos by V. Lang

Celebrating Black History

D1 • FEBRUARY 6 - 12 • THE ST. LOUIS AMERICAN

MLK, Lamar Johnson and Eric Schmitt Looking back on more than

By Mike Jones Of The St. Louis American

By Nimrod Chapel Jr.

For The St. Louis American

The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is much more than the articles we read and the speeches we listen to now. As we commemorate the legacy of Dr. King, it is important to recognize that he was a voice of courage and dignity. His voice continues to inspire millions upon millions in this country and around the world.

The idea that all life has dignity is something that lives in not only the hearts of men, but also the heart of every community, yet it is an idea

In Dr. King’s name, we should fight to free the wrongfully incarcerated

that has not been totally realized. In fact, if we could just grasp that simple point, that all life has dignity, we might do better than so many that

have come before us. Every human being ought to have the capacity to earn a living that provides housing and healthcare and opportunities for education. In America, where human beings were turned into capital, tools to be used by other human beings to produce wealth, we see the multi-faceted effect the denial of full participation has in the workplace. There are those among us who are wrongfully incarcerated – some for speaking their faith to action, such as Dr. King was, and others

See MLK, D4

I began my governmental career in March 1977 when then St. Louis Mayor John Poelker appointed me to the Community Development Agency Commission. I was 28 years old. My governmental service officially ended January 27, 2020 when Missouri Governor Mike Parson appointed Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge to replace me as a member of the Missouri State of Education, representing the 1st Congressional District. I would like to commend Parson on an excellent choice and state Senator Brian Williams for recommending her to the governor and to offer my sincere thanks to Pamela for her willingness to bring her experience and exceptional skills to this most essential of public responsibilities. There is a long naval tradition that when an officer is retiring he requests permission to leave the ship for the last time. This is

See JONES, D4

President Obama at the MLK Memorial Dedication

‘We’ve got to keep pushing for what ought to be’

By Nikki Sutton Obama White House Archives

Nearly half a century after Martin Luther King Jr. led the historic March on Washington for equality, tens of thousands came to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Dedication on October 16, 2011. The memorial to Dr. King had been open since August, but the dedication was delayed due to Hurricane Irene. As President Obama said, though delayed, “this is a day that would not be denied.”

President Obama, joined by the First Family, toured the memorial and then spoke at the dedication ceremony in honor of Dr. King’s work to make his dream a reality for all. During his speech, President Obama reminded us that the progress towards Dr. King’s vision has not come easily and there is still more to do to expand opportunity and make our nation more just.

n “That is why we honor this man –because he had faith in us. And that is why he belongs on this Mall – because he saw what we might become.”

that did so much for this country, let us draw strength from those earlier struggles. First and foremost, let us remember that change has never been quick. Change has never been simple, or without controversy. Change depends on persistence. Change requires determination. It took a full decade before the moral guidance of Brown v. Board of Education was translated into the enforcement measures of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, but those 10 long years did not lead Dr. King to give up. He kept on pushing, he kept on speaking, he kept on marching until change finally came,” Obama said.

– Barack Obama

“And then when, even after the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act passed, African Americans still found themselves trapped in pockets of poverty across the country, Dr. King didn’t say those laws were a failure; he didn’t say this is too hard; he didn’t say, let’s settle for what we got and go home.

“Our work is not done. And so on this day, in which we celebrate a man and a movement

Presenting sPonsors

See OBAMA, D4

Photo by Wiley Price

Mike Jones with St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley in 2010 when he was Dooley’s senior policy advisor.

Photo by Wiley Price

Color Of Change and Organization for Black Struggle organized a group of about 25 community leaders and residents to demonstrate outside of Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office on Tuesday, December 10 to demand that he stop trying to block a new trial for Lamar Johnson.

Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, daughters Sasha and Malia, and Marian Robinson tour the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial before the dedication ceremony in Washington, D.C., Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011.

who were imprisoned by a system that congratulated overzealous prosecutors and immoral police officers. This is a system where judges were seen wringing their hands and, as it is now, attorneys general rely on procedural limitations and arguments even when innocence is at hand.

Lamar Johnson is one such individual. He has been in jail since 1995, even though prosecutors nationwide say there is evidence of innocence. In the years since his conviction, the only significant witness against him recanted, and two other men confessed that they alone were responsible for the crime. St. Louis prosecutors say the case was marred by perjury and prosecutorial misconduct.

Over a month ago, I met with members of the Organization for Black Struggle, Color of Change, and many others to deliver more than 20,000 signatures on a petition for Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, asking him to end his opposition to Lamar Johnson’s request for a new trial.

While incarcerated, Johnson, like recently exonerated Ricky Kidd, prepared themselves for the outside world. It is a world they will have the ability to come back and change, and we need them to do it while they still can.

We delivered more than 20,000 signatures on a petition for Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, asking him to end his opposition to Lamar Johnson’s request for a new trial.

Ricky Kidd reminds me of freed people who were once enslaved who return to society and embrace the fullness of their humanity and the dignity of all by turning directly to the source of the problem and addressing it wherever they could. When you hear him speak, he speaks not only for himself but for the incredible souls who cannot speak for themselves, for the huddled masses that have been denied justice and relief in the face of injustice.

Listen to his message, and act for those who still wear

the chains and cannot act for themselves: Lamar Johnson – wrongly incarcerated for more than 20 years; Marcellus Williams – an innocent black man on Missouri’s death row; Bobby Bostic – sentenced to 421 years at 16 years old for armed robbery; and the list could go on and on.

Dr. King was a man of action who put his life on the line for what he believed. If they were one other concept to embrace, it is this: we should, as human beings, with conscience and intellect, decide what we believe in. For people of faith, that will include and must include the dignity of every life, compassion, and forgiveness.

In Dr. King, we commemorate a man who is not only a minister, but also a moral civilian, blending traditions from across the world into a movement that allowed former slaves to better enjoy the privileges of citizenship, even if those rights under the Constitution were still incomplete, violated routinely, and in some cases not respected at all.

We celebrate Dr. King’s legacy by living courageously in our belief and demonstrating it every day. Join organizations that can support you in this work and support you in living your morality. This could be a first, second, or third step, but we can do more when we face injustices together.

Nimrod Chapel Jr. is president of the Missouri State Conference of the NAACP.

JONES

Continued from D1

really a changing of the guard ceremony that also includes a review of his service. Consider this commentary a review of my service record and a final log entry on my formal governmental service. I also hope to provide perspective for the emerging generation of black leaders.

In four decades of government service I have been a member of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, the executive director of the St. Louis Housing Authority, chief of staff and deputy mayor for Development for St. Louis Mayor Clarence Harmon, executive director of the St. Louis Regional Empowerment Zone, and senior policy advisor to St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley.

I would like to express my profound gratitude to the people who voted for me or hired me and to the black community whose confidence in me and support of me made my career possible. During that entire period I was always clear about my mission: to represent and advance the political interest of the black community. That didn’t mean I ignored the interest of the region’s general population, just that I endeavored to ensure that the region’s interest included the interest of the black community.

Given the institutional and cultural nature of St. Louis, representing the interest of the black community was a struggle you had to be willing and able to engage every day. When you’re fighting every day, that’s called war. I was okay with going to war every day. In fact, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. I also understood and accepted the

OBAMA

Continued from D1

Instead he said, let’s take those victories and broaden our mission to achieve not just civil and political equality but also economic justice; let’s fight for a living wage and better schools and jobs for all who are willing to work. In other words, when met with hardship, when confronting disappointment, Dr. King refused to accept what he called the ‘isness’ of today. He kept pushing towards the ‘oughtness’ of tomorrow,” Obama said.

“And so, as we think about all the work that we must do –- rebuilding an economy that can compete on a global stage, and fixing our schools so that every child – not just some, but every child – gets a world-class education, and making sure that our health care system is affordable and accessible to all, and that our economic system is one in which everybody gets a fair shake and everybody does their fair share, let us not be trapped by what is. We can’t be discouraged by what is. We’ve got to keep pushing for what ought to be, the America we ought to leave to our children, mindful that the hardships we face are nothing compared to those Dr. King and his fellow marchers faced 50 years ago, and that if we maintain our faith, in ourselves and in the possibilities of this nation, there is no challenge we cannot surmount.”

Obama addressed some of the issues that continued to challenge our country and how Dr. King’s “constant insistence

rules of engagement: you have what you can take; you keep what you can hold.

When you’re at war, people fall into two categories: they’re either allies or adversaries. If you’re a black politician, all your allies aren’t necessarily African-American and all your adversaries aren’t necessarily white. You learn that the answer to a black question is not necessarily AfricanAmerican, and you would are well advised to take former Congressman Bill Clay’s advice – “no permanent friends, no permanent enemies” – to heart.

As I reflect on those 40-plus years, I can truthfully say I have no regrets. I got the opportunity to do with my life exactly what I wanted. But no regrets is not the same thing as no disappointments.

I think of politics as a team sport, and I consider a professional politician like a professional athlete in a team sport. In professional team sports, no matter how stellar the career of any individual player, all players are ultimately judged by the success of their team. This is especially true of star players. It’s difficult to proclaim your greatness as a player when the teams on which you play are chronically losing.

When you’re a professional politician, it means you are a professional leader. That fact makes you the star of the team you on which you play, which means the success of the team rests primarily on your shoulders.

When I look at the condition of the black community at the beginning of my political career and compare it to the condition of the black community as I clear out my locker, I feel like Ezekiel looking at a valley of dry bones. Like him, I can’t answer the question: will these bones live? There are no championship banners hanging

on the oneness of man” encourages us to see through each other’s eyes as we face disagreement.

“If he were alive today, I believe he would remind us that the unemployed worker can rightly challenge the excesses of Wall Street without demonizing all who work there; that the businessman can enter tough negotiations with his company’s union without vilifying the right to collectively bargain,” Obama said.

“He would want us to know we can argue fiercely about the proper size and role of government without questioning each other’s love for this country – with the knowledge that in this democracy, government is no distant object but is rather an expression of our common commitments to one another. He would call on us to assume the best in each other rather than the worst, and challenge one another in ways that ultimately heal rather than wound.”

Looking towards the future, President Obama spoke to the inspiration Dr. King instills in us to this day to continue his legacy.

“He would not give up, no matter how long it took, because in the smallest hamlets and the darkest slums, he had witnessed the highest reaches of the human spirit; because in those moments when the struggle seemed most hopeless, he had seen men and women and children conquer their fear; because he had seen hills and mountains made low and rough places made plain, and the crooked places made straight and God make a way out of no

from our rafters. Simply put, by my standards, I failed you. I could say in my defense that I did my job. Look at my record. I fought the good fight, I kept the faith, I tried to make a difference. To that excuse, I’m reminded of Yoda’s instruction to a young Luke Skywalker in the first Star Wars: “do or do not, there is no try.” What lessons did I learn on this journey that I would offer to those who would choose this road?

First, you will always have enemies. Your enemies will be dangerous and relentless. So remember the last instruction the referee gives to fighters: “protect yourself at all times.”

Secondly, when fighting for justice stay ever mindful of Thucydides‘ admonishment in The Melian Dialogue: “right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.” Stay strong. And from Niccolo Machiavelli: “All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it’s impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer.”

Finally, know who came before you and what we did, because in that history we will leave you our most valuable lessons: not our accomplishments but our failures. Study what we did, what we got wrong and why we got it wrong. In studying our mistakes, you will increase the chances for your success.

As Yoda told a much older, wiser and more chastened Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi “Failure is the true teacher.”

Permission to go ashore.

way,” Obama said.

“And that is why we honor this man –- because he had faith in us. And that is why he belongs on this Mall -– because he saw what we might become. That is why Dr. King was so quintessentially American – because for all the hardships we’ve endured, for all our sometimes tragic history, ours is a story of optimism and achievement and constant striving that is unique upon this Earth. And that is why the rest of the world still looks to us to lead. This is a country where ordinary people find in their hearts the courage to do extraordinary things; the courage to stand up in the face of the fiercest resistance and despair and say this is wrong, and this is right; we will not settle for what the cynics tell us we have to accept and we will reach again and again, no matter the odds, for what we know is possible,” Obama said.

“That is the conviction we must carry now in our hearts. As tough as times may be, I know we will overcome. I know there are better days ahead. I know this because of the man towering over us. I know this because all he and his generation endured – we are here today in a country that dedicated a monument to that legacy,” Obama said.

“And so with our eyes on the horizon and our faith squarely placed in one another, let us keep striving; let us keep struggling; let us keep climbing toward that promised land of a nation and a world that is more fair, and more just, and more equal for every single child of God.”

2020 Black History MontH celeBrations

wThurs., Feb. 6 4, 4 p.m., I Can Vote! Listen to “Lillian’s Right to Vote: A Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by Jonah Winter, St. Louis Public Library –Carondelet Branch, 6800 Michigan Ave. For more information, visit www.slpl.org.

Thurs., Feb. 6, 4 p.m., Road to the Vote: Doing My Part, St. Louis Public Library – Machacek Branch, 6424 Scanlan Ave, St. Louis, MO 63139. For more information, visit www.slpl.org.

Thurs., Feb. 6, 5:30 p.m., Rock the Vote!, St. Louis Public Library – Schlafly Branch, 225 N. Euclid. For more information, visit www. slpl.org.

Thur., Feb. 6, 6:30 p.m., 400 Plus Years of Fortitude: African-American Contributions Since 1619. Explore the family’s contributions before and after The Dred Scott Decision of 1857 from descendant Lynne Jackson. Maplewood Public Library, 7550 Lohmeyer, 63143. For more information, visit www. maplewoodpubliclibrary.com.

Fri., Feb. 7, 7 p.m., St. Louis Art Museum presents Black is the Color. A highlight of key moments in the history of African American visual art from Edmonia Lewis’ 1867 sculpture Forever Free to JeanMichel Basquiat. 1 Fine Arts Dr., 63110. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com.

Fri., Feb. 7, 7 p.m., St. Louis County Library Black History Month Keynote

Address, with Valerie Jarrett author of, “Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward,” Health Advocate Valeda Keys will receive the Frankie Freeman Inspirational Award during the program. St. Louis County Library Headquarters, 1640 Lindbergh Blvd. For more information, visit https://www. slcl.org/black-history-celebration

Sat., Feb. 8, 11 a.m., 2020 African Americans and the Vote – The City of Bellefontaine Neighbors Black History Month Celebration with guest speaker St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell and Dr. John A. Wright, Bellefontaine Neighbors Recreational Center, 9669 Bellefontaine Rd. St. Louis, MO 63137.

Sat., Feb. 8, 1 p.m., Controlling a Man’s Mind: The Genius of Carter G. Woodson performed by Gregory S. Carr, St. Louis Public Library – Julia Davis Branch, 4415 Natural Bridge Ave. For more information, email rudolphc@wustl.edu.

Sat., Feb. 8, 1 p.m., League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis presents The Road to Vote. Learn about the history of Black voting rights in St. Louis. Buder Library, 4401 Hampton Ave., 63109. For more information, visit www. slpl.com.

Sat., Feb. 8, 7 p.m. Maryville University hosts An Evening of Art & Jazz, sponsored by the Association of Black Collegians, Gander Dining Hall, Maryville University, 650

Friday Frbruary 7 St. Louis County Library will host the Black History Month Keynote Address, with Valerie Jarrett author of ‘Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward.’

Maryville University Drive, St. Louis, MO 63141. For more information, e-mail: mreyes@ maryville.edu

Sun., Feb. 9, 10 a.m., Black History Observance, Solomon Temple Missionary Baptist Church, 4859 St. Louis Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63115.

Sun., Feb. 9, 1 p.m., Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., Zeta Sigma Chapter presents The 50th Annual African American Art Festival. Experience the exploration of Black Migration through

art, words, music, and dance.

Il Monastero, St. Louis University, 3050 Olive St., 63103. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Mon., Feb. 10, 7 p.m., Jerry Mitchell, author of “Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era,” St. Louis County Library Headquarters, 1640 Lindbergh Blvd. For more information, visit https://www. slcl.org/black-history-celebration

Tues., Feb. 11, 7 p.m. St. Louis County Library welcomes Gabriel Bump, author of “Everywhere You Don’t Belong.” St. Louis County Library Headquarters, 1640 Lindbergh Blvd. For more information, visit https://www. slcl.org/black-history-celebration

Wed., Feb. 12, 10:30 a.m., Underground Railroad. Lecture on Missouri’s Laws on Slavery and the Underground Railroad. Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

Wed., Feb. 12, 4 p.m., Campaign for a Cause, St. Louis Public Library – Cabanne Branch, 1106 Union Blvd. For more information, visit www. slpl.org.

Thurs., Feb. 13, 4 p.m., Road to the Vote: Doing My Part, St. Louis Public Library –Buder Branch, 4401 Hampton Ave. For more information, visit www.slpl.org.

Thurs., Feb. 13, 5 p.m., Game Night: 15th Amendment, St. Louis Public Library – Schlafly Branch, 225 N. Euclid. For more information, visit www. slpl.org.

Thurs., Feb. 13, 6 p.m., Association of Black Collegians Trivia Night, Buder Commons, 650 Maryville University Drive, St. Louis, MO 63141. For more information, e-mail: mreyes@ maryville.edu

Thur., Feb. 13, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books hosts author Candacy Taylor, author of “Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America.” 300 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www. left-bank.com.

Sat. Feb. 15, 3 p.m., Black Votes Count: Then & Now, Juried Art Show Reception, St. Louis Public Library –Schlafly Branch, 225 N. Euclid. For more information, visit www.slpl.org.

Continued on D6

presents

BLACK HISTORY

How Their Life Changed Yours Haleta Belai

Black History Month

Haleta Belai was born in Los Angeles, California. She received her Bachelor of Arts at Columbia University in New York. Furthering her education, Belai then earned a Master of Business Administration from the Marshall

School of Business at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.

During her years spent in college, Belai interned at a hospital and volunteered her time at an emergency resource help desk. Service and hard work taught her much about the various career paths available in the health field. It was at this time in Belai's life that she became interested in the many factors that affect people's health.

How Her Life Changed Yours

Belai now serves as the Sr. Director of Social Determinants of Health Innovation at Centene. This role involves thinking about the many factors that affect people's health including the places where they play, live, and work.

Belai's work uses research partnerships to help

people get access to things like fresh food, housing, education, and transportation - all of which contribute to a healthy life.

Centene Corporation

Her Life

2020 Black History MontH celeBrations

Sun., Feb. 16, 9 a.m., Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church invites you to a Black History Production. Support our youth as they take on a blast from the past. 2854 Abner Pl., 63120. For more information, call (314) 389-8204.

Sun., Feb. 16, 10 a.m., Black History Month Unity Mass Bishop Fernand Cheri is the Auxiliary Bishop of New Orleans. St. Alphonsus Liguori ‘Rock’ Church, 1118 North Grand Blvd., 63106. For more information, visit www.stalphonsusrock.org.

Sun., Feb. 16, 10 a.m., Black History Observance, Solomon Temple Missionary Baptist Church, 4859 St. Louis Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63115.

Sun., Feb. 16., 3 p.m., Joys of Glory Black History Month Program, Solomon Temple Missionary Baptist Church, 4859 St. Louis Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63115.

Mon., Feb. 17, 12 p.m., Women’s Voices Raised for Social Justice presents a Lunch & Learn in Reverse: A Conversation with Dr. Laurie Punch. Dr. Punch is the newly appointed member of the St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners. The T STL, 5874 Delmar Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Wed., Feb. 19, 4 p.m., Saint Louis University African American Studies Keynote Lecture. Guest speaker is Dr. Christian Greer, Fordham

University professor of Political Science, and MSNBC contributor. Busch Student Center, Saint Louis University, 20 N. Grand Blvd., 63108. For more information, call (314) 9772242.

Thurs., Feb. 20, 4 p.m., Game Night: Political Warfare, St. Louis Public Library – Julia Davis Branch, 4415 Natural Bridge Ave. For more information, visit www.slpl.org.

Thurs., Feb. 20, 4 p.m., Road to the Vote: Doing My Part, St. Louis Public Library – Carondelet Branch, 6800 Michigan Ave. For more information, visit www.slpl.org.

Thur., Feb. 20, 6:30 p.m., St. Louis and the Integration of Baseball. Maplewood Public Library, 7550 Lohmeyer, 63143. For more information, visit www.maplewoodpubliclibrary.com.

Thur., Feb. 20, 5:30 p.m., The St. Louis American Foundation invites you to the 10th Annual Salute to Young Leaders. Four Seasons, 999 N. 2nd St., 63102. For more information, call (314) 533-8000 or visit www.stlamerican.com.

Fri., Feb. 21, 7 p.m., Set The Night to Music featuring Love Jones The Band, St. Louis County Library – Florissant Valley Branch, 195 New Florissant Rd., S. For more information, visit https:// www.slcl.org/black-historycelebration

Fri., Feb. 21, 7 p.m., Best

Dance and Talent Center 3rd Annual Trivia Night Fundraiser. Heman Park Community Center, 975 Pennsylvania Ave., 63130. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Fri., Feb. 21, 7:30 p.m., St. Louis Symphony Orchestra presents Lift Every Voice: Black History Month Celebration. An evening of music that celebrates the music of African American and African cultures. 718 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more infor-

mation, visit www.slso.org.

Sat., Feb. 22, 3 p.m., The Legend Singers Choral Ensemble presents the Annual Festival of African American Spirituals. Workshop will be Feb. 21 – 22 – learn vocal style, performance practice and ensemble techniques. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Sat., Feb. 22, 3 p.m., Do You Know Your Black History Trivia Event. Union Memorial United Methodist Church, 1141 Belt Ave., 63112. For more information, visit www.unionmemorialstl.org.

Sat., Feb. 22, 3 p.m., Do You Know Your Black History Trivia Event. Union Memorial United Methodist Church, 1141 Belt Ave., 63112. For more information, visit www.unionmemorialstl.org.

Sat., Feb. 22, 3 p.m., The Importance of Voting: A Panel Discussion featuring Tishaura O. Jones, Treasurer, City of St. Louis; Michael Butler, Recorder of Deeds and Vital Records Registrar, City of St. Louis; Gena Gunn McClendon, Director, Voter Access and Engagement and Financial Capability, Center for Social Development, Washington University; Carol Strawbridge, League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis, A meet and greet with the panelists will follow immediately after the discussion. St. Louis Public Library – Central Branch, 1301 Olive. For more information, visit www.slpl.org.

Sun., Feb. 23, 10 a.m.,

Black History Observance, Solomon Temple Missionary Baptist Church, 4859 St. Louis Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63115.

Wed., Feb. 26, 6 pm., Association of Black Collegians Family Dinner, Buder Commons, 650 Maryville University Drive, St. Louis, MO 63141. For more information, e-mail: mreyes@ maryville.edu

Sat., Feb. 29, 10 a.m., Black History Month – The Story of Black St. Louis Bus Tour. The tour introduces participants to the rich African-American history of St. Louis since its founding in 1764. Griot Museum of Black History, 2505 St. Louis Ave., 63106. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Sat., Feb. 29, 1 p.m., The Gift of Gospel featuring emcee Pastor Shaun Williams, gospel music artist Jean Vann and additional performances by Christ Pilgrim Rest Children’s Choir, violinist Andrea Bell Darris and others. St. Louis County Library – Florissant Valley Branch, 195 New Florissant Rd., S. For more information, visit https://www. slcl.org/black-history-celebration

Sat., Feb. 29, 2:30 p.m., Better Family Life’s 7th Annual Jr. Unity Ball. Enjoy the 5th Annual America Scores Poetry Slam, awards ceremony, art activities, special guests, and more. 5415 Page Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www.bflyouth.org/jrunityball.html.

Thursday February 13 at Left Bank Books hosts author

Candacy Taylor, author of ‘Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America.’