January 4th, 2018 Edition

John Hayden picked for St. Louis police chief

Said at forum he wants independent investigations of police shootings, anti-racism training

By Rebecca Rivas

Of The St. Louis American

For the first time in more than 150 years, St. Louis had the chance to pick a police chief from outside of its own department. But after a nationwide search, a 30-year veteran of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department – who was born and raised in St. Louis – came out on top. Major John Hayden, who is African American, has been chosen as the city’s next police chief, Mayor Lyda Krewson and Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards announced on Thursday, December 28.

Since September 2015, Hayden had been commanding the North Patrol Division, which patrols “the most dangerous streets in the city,” he said at the December 14 community forum with the police chief finalists. He has held several administrative positions,

See HAYDEN, A7

Damonie Brown and Demarion Brown sat quietly as they remembered their uncle Ivory Newbern, who was found dead on the riverfront on July 4. The sisters attended Families Advocating Safe Streets’ 26th annual New Year’s Eve Candlelight Service to remember local homicide victims at Williams Temple Church of God in Christ.

John Hayden was chosen as the next police chief of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

Naming the victims

Candlelight service commemorates more than 200 killed in 2017

By Jessica Karins

n “We’re going to curb violence in this city. That is the least I can do for you.”

– Police Chief John Hayden

Every year for 26 years, the organization Families Advocating Safe Streets (FASS) has hosted a candlelight service commemorating the year’s victims of murder in St. Louis. On New Year’s Eve 2017, with a homicide toll in St. Louis city and county that surpassed 200 for the year, the pain of those losses was especially sharp, as were the calls for change. The service at Williams Temple Church of God in Christ (COGIC) was hosted by COGIC bishop Lawrence Wooten and attended by St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards and newly appointed Police Chief John Hayden, who received a warm reception from those in attendance. Many of the others assembled were family members of

See VICTIMS, A7

Kimburly Brown held a portrait of her son, Jacques Combs, at Families Advocating Safe Streets’ 26th annual New Year’s Eve Candlelight Service to remember local homicide victims at Williams Temple Church of God in Christ. Combs was shot and killed on December 2 at age 25.

‘People

person’ pursues human resources

Jovan McBride is Suggs Scholar at Webster University

By Sophie Hurwitz

For The St. Louis American

Jovan McBride was within a week of graduating from Hazelwood Central High School when he found out that he had been awarded a $75,000 Dr. Donald M. Suggs Scholarship at Webster University, facilitated by the St. Louis American Foundation.

n “I love to talk to people. I love to see what’s wrong, how can I help.”

– Jovan McBride

“I was jumping up and down with my dad,” he said. “I was like, ‘Oh my god, I got the scholarship, and now I’m going to graduate. Everything’s working out. Yay!’” He said his family’s support is vital to everything he has achieved. It was his mother who encouraged him to apply to Webster University.

“I loved the study abroad program they have, and how they make it affordable for students to actually study abroad if they want to,” McBride said. Right now, he is considering studying abroad in either London, Vienna, or Thailand.

Moving from Hazelwood Central to college has been a difficult adjustment for McBride, but he has learned to function in his new environment.

By Hannah Davison Of Cultural Leadership

n Sophie Hurwitz said Cultural Leadership gave her the confidence to take herself seriously at such a young age, comfortably talk to a wide variety of people, and listen to other perspectives.

This past summer, Cultural Leadership alumnae Sophie Hurwitz and Mariah Doze championed a historical alliance between blacks and Jews that inspired Karen Kalish to found the social justice program in 2004. For almost seven months now, Hurwitz –a young Jewish woman – has reported for the black community’s leading newspaper, The St. Louis American. And Doze, a young AfricanAmerican woman, interned at the Jewish Community Relations Council as part of Cultural Leadership’s College Internship

CULTURAL,

See McBRIDE, A6

Photo by Wiley Price

Photo by Wiley Price

Whitney Houston’s nephew claims that Pat Houston is the ultimate evil stepmother

Over the holidays, Whitney Houston’s nephew, Johnathan Houston, wrote a scathing open letter about his stepmother, Pat Houston, on his Facebook page.

In a post he titled, “The Grinch Who Stole Krissi (Bobbi Kristina Brown); Obsession, Jealousy and Greed, An Open Letter to The Houston Family,” Jonathan goes on an epic rant against Pat Houston that reveals shocking claims.

An excerpt from the note read as follows:

“I’ve been mulling years now. Asking myself “Why? Am I tripping...overthinking perhaps?,” I decided to move on, until Christmas Day 2017. I, with clarity heard my Step-Mother, Pat Houston speaking of herself in such an astronomically unparalleled (based on worldly fact) egotistical regard, on my lovely 20-year old sister Rayah’s Instagram live Christmas Day feed. As I continued to listen to the conversation that Pat was having

with her cousin, I became shocked to hear the negative tone in which she was speaking of my transitioned Aunt Whitney (Tia) and cousin, Krissi; of who’s fortune and name she continues to enjoy, boast and profit from.”

In the note, Jonathan also claims that Pat Houston regularly defame Whitney’s character and work ethic.

“She continued to note how, ‘Whitney is lazy and thinks the world owes her something’ with disgust,” Jonathan said. “I don’t believe Pat loved Krissi enough to fight to keep her alive or even attempt to keep her healthy.”

“I am sorry for Tia, this isn’t the love she sang about or represented,” Jonathan continued. “Again, Bobbi Kristina Brown never hurt anyone, ever. I am sorry for my Grandmother Cissy, who is aging and has been manipulated. And [I am sorry] to the Brown Family, who tried to tell the world about this lady.”

Keyshia Cole ordered to pay accuser $100K

In 2014, R&B singer Keyshia Cole allegedly attacked a woman who was said to have been caught at the Beverly Hills condo of her thenboyfriend, Bryan “Birdman” Williams, at 3 a.m.

According to reports, Cole must her accuser more than $100,000.

“Sabrina Mercadel had sued Cole for the 2014 incident, where she had gone to Birdman’s West L.A. condo in the middle of the night and accused the Cash Money CEO of cheating on her,” TMZ.com said. “Mercadel, who was in the unit, was on the receiving end of Cole’s rage. She said Cole punched her in the face, yanked her hair and clawed her face and mouth with her nails.”

The celebrity news and gossip site says Mercadel claims she lost the use of a finger because of the attack. She subsequently filed a lawsuit against Cole, which ended with a default judgment against Cole last week because the singer was a no-show in Mercadel was awarded $100,635. She reportedly had been originally seeking nearly $4M.

Did Gilbert Arenas drag Laura Govan into Vince and Tamar divorce drama?

Over the New Year’s holiday, Tamar Braxton implied her

former friend, Laura Govan, was pregnant by her estranged husband, Vincent Herbert. Govan denies the claims – and told TMZ. com that the reason people think Herbert cheated on Braxton with her is of because of her children’s father Gilbert Arenas.

“He reached out to Tamar recently and told her Herbert was cheating with Laura,” TMZ said. “Laura claims that her being pregnant by Vince is completely false – and it is just a new way for Gilbert to attack her ... and Braxton fell for it.

Laura also says Gilbert needs to stop spreading lies and focus on child support – which she said he hasn’t paid since September.”

Meanwhile, Braxton dismissed rumors that she had reconciled with Herbert before shutting down her Instagram account altogether on Tuesday.

“Nope! Sorry! Not together,” Braxton said via Instagram. Soon after she sent the message, Braxton appears to have deleted her Instagram account. Sources:

A gym of its own

Lift for Life Academy raising funds to build its own gymnasium

By Sophie Hurwitz

For The St. Louis American

Though Lift for Life Academy, a charter school in Soulard, has been open for 17 years, its students have never played a basketball game on their home court, and never had a school dance in their school building.

That’s because, as of yet, the school doesn’t have its own gym. Instead, students must commute to other locations for P.E. classes and athletic team practices, and the scale of events the school can host has been limited.

All that might change soon, as the school embarks on a fundraising campaign to build a gymnasium of its own.

Marshall Cohen, executive director of Lift for Life, said that one of the problems with not having a gym is it wastes precious school time on

transportation.

“We lose a lot of academic time driving the students to rented facilities like 12th and Park and the Salvation Army,” he said. “Kids have to get on the bus, then drive 10 or 15 minutes to a location, have their P.E. class, which takes time, and then they have to get on the bus and drive back.”

The necessity of saving time, however, isn’t the only reason for the new gym. It will also help students with morale and school pride, Cohen said.

“It’s important for a lot of the students that we serve to participate in sports,” Cohen said. “It kind of keeps them committed to having good attendance and better grades. But they’ve never had a home game, and we always have to go to other schools to play.”

On top of that, he said, the lack of a

raised $60,000, according to Cohen.

In a promotional video, Lift for Life senior and varsity basketball captain

Cornell Dabney explains why having a gym at his school is important to him.

“The first week or two that I started here, I was so quiet that you wouldn’t even know that I was in the room,” Dabney said. But being in the Lift for Life environment, and working with his basketball team, has made him a leader.

“Being a part of a team helped me realize that being a leader not only means improving yourself, but also improving the people around you,” Dabney said.

“Our team here isn’t just a team, it’s a part of my family. For my last year on this team, my goal is to be able to play a game on my own home court. Thinking of that feeling of being the home team, having that feeling of school pride in the crowd as I play one of my last games as a Hawk, I get chills thinking about it.”

gym can limit parents’ ability to watch their children compete: “It’s difficult also for the parents to come see their kids, because some have to rely on Metro and public transportation.” So far, Cohen said, the school has raised enough money for the “shell” of the gym – the brick and mortar,

along with the basics like windows, air conditioning, and electricity. Now, they just need the things that make a gym a gym, like wood flooring, basketball hoops, bleachers, and a scoreboard. To that end, the school has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise the final $175,000. To date, they have

Lift For Life Academy, which opened in 2000 as the first independent charter school in the City of St. Louis, serves students in grades 6-12 from throughout the city. It is supported by state and federal funds, as well as through fundraising.

To provide support, visit LiftforLifeAcademy.org. For more information, call 314-640-5211.

Trip to Hardee’s sends Kelvin Ellis back to the big house

Fast food mascots are as memorable as the products they represent. Over the years they have become household names. Taco Bell had their Chihuahua, KFC has Colonel Sanders, Burger King has The King, and one of McDonald’s most infamous mascots is the Hamburglar.

Now it appears that former East St. Louis director of regulatory affairs, Kelvin Ellis, is vying for that distinction for the Hardee’s fast food chain. Remember Kelvin? He was last

sentenced to federal prison back in 2005 on corruption charges, including, election fraud, pimping women from ESL City Hall and attempting to have one of them killed. He was previously convicted of extortion and incarcerated in 1990. Well, just 19 days shy of completing the terms of his supervised release, the 67-year-old career “political parasite” (as one judge referred to him) concocted a grand scheme to return to the convict life that he so adores.

Columnist James Ingram

Ellis, despite knowing that he was to have no interaction with known felons, threw caution to the wind and decided to meet his buddy, former ESL Township Supervisor Oliver Hamilton, at a Caseyville Hardee’s restaurant.

At the time Hamilton, a newly convicted felon (he stole $40,000 from the ESL Township) awaiting

incarceration, should have been off-limits to Kelvin. But the lure of a juicy Thick Burger and a side of fries overwhelmed the taste buds and common sense of Ellis and made the day of the FBI agent who capturing a photo of the ravenous duo.

Either Ellis’ timing and judgment are just impeccably awful or the FBI agent was the most incredibly lucky guy in the world, telling U.S. District Chief Judge Michael Reagan that he was totally unaware that Ellis and Hamilton would even be there when we went to the restaurant for lunch. Consequently, Judge Reagan sentenced Ellis to a four-month, allexpense-paid, return trip to Club Fed,

on three counts of violating supervised release, to be served concurrently. So while Kelvin is away for his winter “vacation” he’ll have a lot of idle time on his hands to create a pitch for Hardee’s as their new mascot. I can just see the new spot now. “Hardee’s Thick Burger: So tasty it’s worth going back to big house” or “Hardee’s: If eating my Thick Burger is a crime, then lock me up and throw away the key.”

Just don’t forget a brother when the Hardee’s deal greets you in your jail cell, Kelvin.

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

Jalien Douglas, Desmond Anderson, Cornell Dabney and Chauncy Gibson are teammates at Lift for Life Academy, a charter school in Soulard raising funds to build its own gymnasium. Marshall Cohen, executive director of the school, said students lose a lot of academic time in transit to rented facilities for P.E. and athletics.

Editorial /CommEntary

Retention of O’Toole raises questions about city leadership

On June 21, then-Major John Hayden stood up next to thenInterim Police Chief Lawrence O’Toole when O’Toole told the media that a black off-duty police officer in civilian clothes was shot by a white uniformed on-duty St. Louis police officer “during the exchange of gunfire.” That was not true. In fact, Police Officer Milton Green was shot by a white cop when approaching an active crime scene near his home in an effort to help out while offduty. He was mistaken for a suspect by a white colleague, who shot him.

The Ethical Society of Police told The American that O’Toole was in possession of the facts, like many other people in the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, at the time he made this counter-factual claim. They told us O’Toole lied, and many people in the department knew he lied, in an effort to make the shooting appear more justified. And, perhaps, to absolve the shooter of implicit bias for assuming the black man approaching him at an active crime scene was a criminal, not an off-duty colleague who lives in the neighborhood and had his back.

The American asked Mayor Lyda Krewson (at an unrelated press conference on July 19) if she knew that O’Toole was lying when he claimed that Green was injured in an exchange of gunfire, not by a cop who shot at him. She said she did not believe the interim chief knowingly lied. Asked if she would dismiss O’Toole if she learned that he had lied, she

said she would. On Thursday, December 28, when Hayden was announced as the department’s new chief – promoted over O’Toole, who also was a finalist, along with four others – Hayden acknowledged to The American that he knew the facts of that shooting when he stood beside O’Toole. Given that O’Toole was then above Hayden in the chain of command, it’s not plausible that O’Toole did not also know the facts. That means O’Toole lied to the public about a white police officer shooting an off-duty black police officer. According to the mayor, that means she should fire him for lying to the public about such a crucial matter for public safety.

Police sources also told The American that Hayden later confronted O’Toole about his decision to make a false public statement. But at the press conference announcing his being promoted over O’Toole, Hayden said that he did not, in fact, confront O’Toole. If Hayden did confront O’Toole, as we believe he did, he should own up to it and sit down with the mayor and have a candid discussion about O’Toole and his reliability, credibility and fitness to serve. If Hayden did not confront O’Toole at the time, then now is the time to do so, in the presence of the mayor, as he seeks to establish his independence from his new assistant chief and his intention to radically remake the department that O’Toole mismanaged and blessed. It’s an outrage and disgrace

that O’Toole was retained as an assistant chief. His leadership of the department during the Stockley verdict protests brought the city a federal injunction demanding that the police department obey the U.S. Constitution and the law, and a civil rights investigation by the Department of Justice. Not to mention his storm trooper boast that the police “owned the night” the night of the brutal kettling arrests at a downtown protest. Not to mention his recent promotion of a white cop who is being federally

investigated for allegedly brutalizing an undercover black cop while policing that protest. Not to mention his lying to the public to absolve a white cop of bias and blame in the shooting of an off duty black cop. However, O’Toole was retained as Hayden’s assistant chief. The mayor’s spokesman Koran Addo said Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards offered O’Toole a $7,000 raise as a “retention bonus.” Can you figure that one out? Krewson offered O’Toole money to stay, rather than forcing his early

Then-Interim Police

Chief Lawrence O’Toole speaking at a press conference on December 22.

Photo by Wiley Price

retirement – which she already has done with one police chief. Further, the fingerprints of two black men – Edwards, via Addo – are put on this deal that surely was made above the head of Edwards. Krewson needs to own up to making this arrangement with O’Toole and offer a candid explanation to the public why his services are so valued, given his public record of lying to the public and boastfully praising brutal, unconstitutional police work.

In fact, we believe the mayor – like most mayors before her – is afraid to confront the police department, and Edwards is helping her calm the rank-and-file by keeping a police leader who condones and excuses their worst behavior near the top of the chain of command. The St. Louis Police Officers Association’s gushing praise of Hayden’s promotion over O’Toole reveals their conviction that there will be no housecleaning in the department or radical remaking of St. Louis police culture. This is why we (and many others) called for the mayor to bring in new leadership from outside this police department and this city.

Instead, we have what looks alarmingly like the status quo, but now with two black men – Edwards and Hayden – on the hook for it. If Edwards and Hayden really will lead the Department of Public Safety and police department, then they need to show us that this is not O’Toole’s department, not the police association’s department. The retention bonus to keep O’Toole –rather than confront him for lying to the public and badly mismanaging protest policing, then force his retirement – leaves the leadership of Krewson, Edwards and Hayden suspect. Precisely when the public is demanding new, bold leadership to rebuild the shattered trust between the police and a very restless community, we see what looks like a bad deal that bolsters a very bad status quo. We know that social justice and racial equity stalwarts will be outraged. But other elements of our civic leadership – other elements of our status quo – should be unsettled at this missed opportunity to transform this police department and rebuild its relationship with a community that is suffering. Setting aside one’s convictions about public accountability, bias in policing, and racial equity, our city’s homicide statistics – compared to other, larger cities that are seeing declines in violent crime –show that what our police department is doing is not working. It must change if St. Louis is to heal, evolve and grow.

Slow down, stop shouting, start talking to Korea

Commentary

My hope for the new year is that the United States doesn’t bluster and blunder its way into a tragic, needless war.

My fear is that the Trump administration is capable of doing just that. I confess to having paid less attention than I should to the increasingly apocalyptic rhetoric from the administration about the nuclear threat from North Korea. I’m not talking about President Trump’s juvenile tweets calling Kim Jong Un “Little Rocket Man” and making fun of his weight. I mean statements by officials such as H.R. McMaster, Trump’s national security adviser, who unlike the president is not known for meaningless blather. The potential for war with

Democrats should support Democrats

I am the Democratic committeewoman from the 24th Ward and am responding to your editorial regarding the process of selecting a new alderman for the 8th Ward. While there were a number of Annie Rice supporters at the meeting of the Democratic Central Committee, I am acquainted with many of those visitors and they do not all reside in the 8th Ward. Recently, many of those same Annie Rice supporters complained over the 28th Ward committeepeople nominating a new alderman after Lyda Krewson became mayor and vacated her position on the Board of Aldermen. Those people wanted a voice in what happens in other parts of the city. Now those same people are complaining because the entire Central Committee membership has had a voice in selecting the Democratic candidate for alderman. I am confused to how the same people can show two contradictory positions in a

North Korea “is increasing every day,” McMaster said at a defense forum. “Time is running out” for a peaceful solution, he declared in another public appearance. “I don’t think we can tolerate that risk” of a nuclear-armed North Korea with advanced ballistic missiles, he told CBS in an interview.

What is alarming is that the situation McMaster describes as intolerable is the situation that exists today. And while he warns that time is running out for a peaceful end to the standoff, he has also said that “there can’t be negotiations under these current conditions.”

I worry that with such absolutist rhetoric, the United States is ruling out the realistic options for peace.

No amount of threatening is likely to make Kim surrender his nuclear weapons, because he sees them as an insurance policy. The North Koreans watched as Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi and Iraq’s Saddam Hussein gave up their nuclear ambitions – and ended up being deposed and killed.

North Korea conducted its first nuclear weapons test while George W. Bush was president, four more while Barack Obama was president and another under Trump. U.S. policy throughout has been remarkably consistent – warnings, sanctions, more warnings, more sanctions, attempts at multiparty talks –and remarkably futile. What good does it do for

All letters are edited for length and style.

matter of months.

Central Committee bylaws stipulate that in case of the resignation or death of an alderman, the committeeman and committeewoman from that ward select the new Democratic alderman. Because both committeepeople from the 8th Ward expressed an interest in being the new alderman, the entire Central Committee was compelled to vote for a new Democratic candidate for alderman. This was never an issue until a group decided they want to change the rules to suit their situational desire. Never mind a need for ethical, consistent, mature behavior.

Annie Race is quite a talented campaigner. However, petitions from within her ward have not been reviewed, nor is the method of obtaining those signatures clear. I maintain that Annie, who has sought a statewide leadership role with the Democratic party, would be well suited on the state level.

Paul Fehler, also a seasoned progressive, passionate advocate for doing away with the Delmar Divide, has demonstrated his willingness and ability to work well with others to achieve a greater

good. The Democratic Central Committee and the state Democratic director have made clear to the committeepeople of St. Louis that we are to be Democrats, to support the Democratic Party and Democratic candidates. We have also been advised that we are not to support Independent candidates or candidates from other political parties. Whether or not Annie Rice chooses to continue to support Democratic candidates or run against the Democratic candidate in the 8th Ward as an Independent is her choice, with her value system and ethics on display for all.

Teri Powers, St. Louis

Lone Ranger can’t fix police dysfunction

The Lone Ranger used silver bullets to suppress crime and evil in America’s Old West. St. Louis officials sought a contemporary Masked Man in

McMaster to say the United States cannot tolerate what it is presently tolerating? North Korea has nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles; it may or may not be able to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile and fire it accurately. If the United States launches an attack to try to destroy those weapons or take them away, the North Korean regime almost surely would be able to fire off a response that kills many thousands or even millions.

I understand why no U.S. administration wants to be the one to accept the fact that North Korea has joined the exclusive club of nations with nuclear arsenals. But this is, indeed, a fact. Trump and his advisers need to deal with

reality as it is.

McMaster and others should frame the North Korea situation as a threat to be ameliorated and stop speaking in terms that should be reserved for a fullblown crisis. A threat can be dealt with over time. A crisis, however, requires urgent action – and at present there are no good options.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, to his credit, has been trying to cool things down. He even offered to begin talks with the North Koreans with no preconditions, though this overture was quickly nixed by the White House. Tillerson’s instinct is the right one: Slow down, stop shouting, start talking.

The obvious solution is some sort of negotiated deal that freezes the North Korean nuclear and missile programs at certain levels. That would mean accepting what the

their quest to hire a new police chief. But the new chief will be no silver bullet with regard to changing the police culture and the department’s operational procedures.

To those perusing the department’s Police Manual and the plethora of other rules, regulations and guidelines, it would appear that the department is a well-oiled machine. But realistically, the department is a conglomeration of parts that operate independently of each other and often independently of the host organization. A go-along-toget-along chief won’t change this dysfunction.

So, how would the Lone Ranger mold a new police department? First, he would fire a silver bullet at the personnel department and end the whodo-you-know hiring process within the department. That would be a great start, but don’t hold your breath waiting for the Lone Ranger to save St. Louis.

Michael K. Broughton Green Park

administration now describes as unacceptable, but it would avoid the unthinkable: a bloodbath that could leave not just Pyongyang but much of Seoul, and perhaps Tokyo, in smoking ruins. Someone should remind Trump that he campaigned on a pledge to end the nation’s role as the world’s policeman. Since taking office, he has mostly allowed himself to be guided by the generals who surround him – McMaster, chief of staff John Kelly, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. On balance, this has been a good thing. But I’m increasingly worried by the way the generals talk about North Korea. And someone should remind Congress of its constitutional responsibility. Congress, not the president, is given the power to declare war – and, by extension, to prevent it.

Columnist

Eugene Robinson

Untapped Scholars give back

Graduates of Metro High School who played basketball together and went on to successful careers after graduating from college have formed a group called Untapped Scholars. For its first project, it funded Christmas gifts for four families. The Untapped Scholars are Charonn D. Woods, M.D., physician, who attended Bradley University and Saint Louis University School of Medicine; Darryl Wells Jr., project manager in the oil and gas field, who attended Oklahoma State University; Christian Owens, project engineer and energy consulting, who attended Tuffs University; and Joshua Johnon, process engineer in supply chain, who attended Purdue University.

Chouteau Greenway Design Competition underway

Four final teams have been chosen in the Great Rivers Greenway’s Chouteau Greenway Design Competition, a contest to design plans to connect Forest Park and Washington University with Downtown St. Louis and the Gateway Arch. The teams will begin work on their concepts in early January and the final designs will be presented in April. Members of the teams include citizens of the U.S., Canada, Italy, Hong Kong and China, but all four also include St. Louis locals. For more information, visit https://greatriversgreenway.org/chouteau.

Sexual violence victims should keep coming forward

By Jamala Rogers

I’m hoping that the (slim) defeat of accused child sexual predator Ray Moore in the race for U.S. Senate in Alabama is not a damper on the exposes of the culture of sexual violence so pervasive in this country. I’m hoping that every man who’s ever grabbed, groped, felt, fondled, pushed, pulled, patted or rubbed a woman’s body part without her permission and gotten away with it is still sweating bullets every day he wakes up. For a while, there were almost announcements about powerful men being knocked off their proverbial thrones by accusations of sexual crimes. There may be some who think the snow-balling effect of women exposing the sexual aggression of men in the workplace is an overkill. The women who have suffered in pain and silence certainly don’t think so.

While much of the spotlight is on the entertainment industry and political arena, this offensive patriarchal behavior is not relegated to power players Russell Simmons or Congressman John Conyers. Keep coming down the ladder and you get to the academic and banking fields. Keep going and you get to the supposedly sacred spaces in the churches, synagogues and parishes. Keep moving and you uncover the sexist abuses in the fast food and health care industries where you find low-wage working women. Keep going and you run into the likes of Uncle George or Grandpa Willie right inside your own home.

In the African-American community, the silent nature of sexual violence is real. The stats are alarming. Studies cite 40-60 percent black women report being subjected to forced sexual contact by age 18. Yet we are less likely to report incidents than white women. Legitimate distrust of the system and fears of betrayal mute the voices of victims, but not the trauma.

Sexual violence is so ingrained and commonplace in our society and particularly in communities of color that we often have a hard time acknowledging that any wrongdoing has occurred. If a victim so much as thinks about calling out a perpetrator, she often faces retaliation, isolation and rejection. You gotta be one strong, courageous sistah to step out of the shadows and name your violator.

There have been some phenomenal black women who have given their best to take issues of incest, rape and sexual harassment out of the dark. Women like Loretta Ross who helped to found the first rape crisis center in Washington, D.C. Women like Aisha Simmons, a rape victim herself, who produced “No! The Rape Documentary.” Women like Robin D. Stone, author of “No Secrets, No Lies: How Black Families Can Heal From Sexual Abuse.”

Brothers have also stepped out. Filmmaker Byron Hurt’s documentary “HIPHOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes” broke new ground in exposing and exploring the sexual violence in the genre that reinforced negative behaviors in our relationships and communities. Advocacy groups have emerged with black men taking the lead in supporting women while giving men the tools and education they need for transformation.

As someone who has long fought the culture of violence against women in whatever form that violence takes, I would love for the women who survived the sexual actions of these men to get the justice they deserve. Just as imperative is their coming out of the shadows and joining with the voices of their survivors-sistahs (and brothers) to take a stand.

Victims should be inspired to come forward and collectively shed their shame and take back their power. This is the main way that change will be made – and be permanent.

Sexual abuse will not stay in the news cycle even though the Groper-in-Charge occupies the White House. It will be up to the rest of us to do the more important, less glorified work not captured for the evening news camera. Let’s intensify and expand the discussion about the pervasive culture of sexual violence in this country. Let’s push for more and different ways for women to report these atrocities and get the support they deserve.

Jamala Rogers

Photo by Leon Algee

Continued from A1

Program.

Both young women expressed gratitude for the opportunity to build relationships with amazing people they never would have met if they stayed within the comfort zones of their own communities, and they attribute Cultural Leadership’s programming to their success.

After hearing about The St. Louis American during Ferguson protests, Hurwitz followed her passion for social justice and writing and applied to intern at the newspaper.

While Sophie’s interview subjects may have been surprised that an 18-year-old white woman was covering their story, they never seemed to doubt her capability or intentions. She wrote with awareness and intent, holding fast to the mantra: “The stories aren’t about me – the stories are about them.”

Meanwhile, her classmate began interning at a Jewish organization. Doze, a pre-law student majoring in economics and sociology at Emory University, is passionate about educational and economic inequity. She applied for the Cultural Leadership College Internship Program to learn about social justice and

McBRIDE

Continued from A1

“I was so used to being in a high school setting, and I was used to going to class and having a strict schedule,” McBride said. “So when I got to college and things were changing – I didn’t have to go to class all the time, I had these big gaps – I didn’t know what to do with myself. Then I made some friends, and we decided to go to the library and study in between times, so that’s how I adjusted.”

were

passionate about social justice.

advocacy are manifested in the workplace. Hoping to be placed at a prominent organization focusing on the AfricanAmerican community, she was initially concerned about her assignment to the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC).

Though the JCRC engages in social justice initiatives, it is primarily a Jewish organization. Working at the JCRC and being the only employee of color certainly took her out of her comfort zone. However, as the internship

McBride said that thinking about one of his favorite Bible verses, Jude 24-25, helped him through the hard times in his first semester: “To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence flawless and with great joy …”

“I was stressed, and then I read that scripture and I was like, ‘All right, I got this. Just breathe, relax.’ That’s something that’s kept me going.”

He is also inspired by memories of his grandmother and great-grandmother, both of whom told him he was

progressed, Doze began to embrace the challenge. She remembers fondly helping the JCRC and wider Jewish community implement an Iftar celebration for St. Louis’ Muslim community. This event created a multicultural space to break the Ramadan fast, encouraging socializing between the St. Louis’ Muslim and Jewish populations.

Hurwitz and Doze both credited Cultural Leadership for their successful internship experiences. Hurwitz said the program gave her the confidence to take herself

going to do great things. His grandmother, who passed away right before he got his scholarship, always encouraged him, and he paid tribute to her in his senior portrait.

“Her favorite color is purple,” he said, “so I decided for my senior picture to wear a black suit with a purple shirt, to honor her.”

His parents’ struggles have also been an inspiration for McBride. Five years ago, his mother suffered a stroke, and seeing her work towards recovery changed McBride’s life.

“I had to take her to the

seriously at such a young age, comfortably talk to a wide variety of people, and listen to other perspectives. Doze credited the internship for her newfound network of contacts in the Jewish community and said she is grateful to Cultural Leadership for fostering her greater cultural awareness and giving her the courage to navigate unfamiliar territories.

Hurwitz participated in Cultural Leadership’s High School Program while a student at John Burroughs School; she has just completed her first term at Wellesly College. This

hospital sometimes for therapy and for doctor’s visits,” he said. “From that, I was able to see her point of view as a stroke survivor, and also from the doctor’s point of view. That kind of taught me how to look at perspectives. To see her keep pushing, and going forward, that really encourages me to keep going in school.”

The ability to look at things from other people’s perspectives, which he learned while helping his mother recover from her stroke, also led McBride to his chosen career field. He is studying

year-long program recruits a diverse cohort of students passionate about social justice. Participants attend monthly meetings and three weekendlong retreats, learn leadership and facilitation skills, explore African-American and Jewish history and culture, and discover the pervasiveness of privilege and oppression.

Students also participate in a School Swap to witness education inequity, a Holiday Swap to learn about other cultures and religions, and a three-week Transformational Journey to 15 U.S. cities

management with an emphasis on human resources.

“I wanted to go somewhere on a people route, because I didn’t want to be at my desk all the time.” He said. “So once I decided on that route, I was talking to my parents, and my mom said, ‘Why don’t you try human resources?’ So that’s how I’ve gotten here.”

McBride says his love for people will guide his career. “I really enjoy people,” he said. “I’m a people person. I love to talk to people. I love to see what’s wrong, how can I help.”

significant to the Civil Rights Movement. On this trip, they will meet with local and national leaders like Supreme Court justices, members of Congress and media figures. To apply, students must currently be either a freshman or sophomore in high school.

Those interested in the High School Program are encouraged to attend an information session. Three are offered: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, February 8 at Congregation B’nai Amoona (324 S. Mason Road in Creve Couer), 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 20 at University City High School (7401 Balson Ave.) or a date in March yet to be finalized at Faith Miracle Temple Church (870 Pershall Rd. in Riverview). Apply for the High School Program online at CulturalLeadership. org or email apply@ culturalleadership.org for a copy of the application form. For middle schoolers, there is Camp Cultural Leadership, a three-week summer camp that gives younger individuals a taste of the Cultural Leadership way. At the end of camp, campers take a weekend trip to either Nashville or Chicago. To register for Camp Cultural Leadership, email apply@ culturalleadership.org.

Hannah Davison is program manager for Cultural Leadership.

Jovan McBride, a Suggs Scholar at Webster University, with university President Beth Stroble.

Sophie Hurwitz (standing, far right) and Mariah Doze (kneeling, second from left) with their Cultural Leadership cohort in 2015. They

the 11th class to go through the year-long program for diverse students who are

HAYDEN

Continued from A1

including commander over Internal Affairs from 2007 to 2013 and executive aide to former chief Joe Mokwa from 2001 to 2007.

“He has a great track record building trust in the communities in which he’s served,” Krewson said in a statement.

Edwards said the police department must “change from within” in order to earn city residents’ support.

“He treats all people, whether law enforcement or the accused, with respect,” Edwards said in a statement. “I believe that his informed concern for our city will be a great asset in closing the trust gap between the police and citizens.”

Hayden’s new salary is $153,000 a year. Effective immediately, he will be in charge of a department of 1,300 sworn officers, 400 civilian employees, and a yearly budget of $170 million. Hayden was picked over internal candidates Captain Mary Edwards-Fears and Interim Chief Lawrence O’Toole, whose inclusion in the finalist list for police chief caused outrage among many in the community.

In his acceptance speech, Hayden thanked O’Toole for serving “honorably” as interim chief, despite the handful of lawsuits that have been filed against the department – stemming from incidents when officers ultimately under O’Toole’s command brutally handled nonviolent protestors, members of the media, an

VICTIMS

Continued from A1 homicide victims.

Krewson addressed the family members with an empathetic, apolitical message.

“I know that you are in a lot of pain, today and every day, and I know how difficult that is,” Krewson said. “I just want to say to you that you are in my thought and in my prayers, and I know everyone else’s here. Hang on to those good memories that you have so that you can get through today, and tomorrow, and the next day.”

In 1995, Krewson lost her husband Jeff Krewson to gun violence in front of their home in the Central West End.

Community leaders, including Krewson, read the names of more than 200 recorded victims of murders in 2017. The vast majority of those killed were black men, mostly in incidents of gun violence.

As the names were read, the mothers of victims were invited to the front of the church. Lit by candles held up by observers, the mothers stood, many of them with photos of their sons, shoulder to shoulder.

Hayden, whose appointment as police chief was announced just three days before the

undercover officer and even neighbors (one of them a U.S. Air Force officer) out for a walk. O’Toole later boasted that police “owned the night.”

O’Toole will again serve as assistant chief, and his salary went from $108,450 to $115,000, said the mayor’s spokesman Koran Addo.

“The public safety director gave him a $7,000 raise as a retention,” Addo said. “To keep him in the department so he can finish certain projects he’s working on.”

The other three finalists were Police Chief Patrick Melvin of Port Arthur, Texas; Major Stephen “Max” Geron of Dallas; and Police Chief Keith Humphrey of Norman, Okla.

Hayden was the topranking candidate based on his scores in the interviews and management-assessment test. He was also the top pick for the Ethical Society of Police, which advocates for racial equity in the department. Its board members unanimously voted on December 19 to back Hayden as chief.

“His track record shows that he has a background of disciplining officers fairly and a history of doing what’s right,” said Sgt. Heather Taylor, president of the Ethical Society of Police. “He’s probably punished more officers for doing wrong than any other on our department, justifiably. That is the one thing our community is calling for – accountability.”

Although the organization wanted an outside candidate originally, she said Hayden was the clear choice out of the finalists.

Hayden earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Washington

service, offered a strong message about what St. Louisans could expect during his tenure – a safer city with lower homicide rates.

“We know where a lot of violence happens,” Hayden said. “We’ve pinpointed that. We’re going to be putting all types of resources up there. We’re going to curb violence in this city. That is the least I can do for you.”

Hayden was followed by St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar, who spoke about the 56 murders in his jurisdiction, the most recent committed earlier that same day. The range of victims, he said, spanned from age nine to age 80.

“I say this every year, but their lives were stolen,” Belmar said. “They were stolen from them and they were stolen from us, and they deserve no less than to be remembered. They deserve no less than for us to work together to ensure no additional names are added to this room.”

Lewis Reed, president of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, spoke about the murder of his own brother, saying the most important thing family members could do was hold onto their positive memories of their loved ones. He also said part of the solution to violence in St. Louis would be less vacant buildings, greater police

University and a master’s degree in management from Fontbonne College. He played tight end for the Wash. U. Bears from 1981 to 1983. He’s been married for 28 years and has three daughters.

“I love this city,” Hayden said. “I’ve never left. I’ve been here the whole time.”

Fairness and equity

During the December 14 community forum, the police chief candidates were asked questions about community relations, accountability and racism. When asked what he would do to rebuild the community’s trust in the police department, Hayden said that he would first “encourage” officers in all ranks to get out into the community more.

“Healing the broken relationship is going to come one way,” he said, “by spending some more quality time with the people we serve.”

As commander, he sometimes sets up his office on

presence and more jobs.

Comptroller Darlene Green called on politicians to put their differences aside and focus on better allocating the city’s resources. She directed that message of willingness to work together specifically at Reed, a sometime political foe.

“We can come together and work together,” Green said. “We’ve got to put this politics aside, we’ve got to do the right things about curing this evil that is lurking around and causing these young people to kill.”

Green’s message received hearty applause from the mostly black crowd in attendance.

Some speakers at the event offered another solution to the problem of homicides, and in particular unsolved homicides. They called on members of the black community to come forward with information they knew about crimes and talk to police officers.

Jimmie Edwards, the new Public Safety director who spent many years as a circuit court judge, said he had overseen many murder trials and there was a consistent theme.

“Witnesses never showed up,” Edwards said. “They never showed up to my courtroom to help prosecute those that needed to be prosecuted. So we have to resolve today that

a street corner where there is heavy drug trafficking, he said. Community members are more likely to engage with him, and it also interferes with drug sales – giving the people some relief, he said.

“I never ask people to do things that I don’t do,” Hayden said. “I would be honored to have the chief’s mobile office in various neighborhoods.”

When asked how he would institutionalize anti-racism within the department, he pointed to his recent experience attending a two-day antiracism, anti-bias seminar.

“What was so impactful about it was that we’ve already had implicit-bias training, and it really didn’t get to the origins of white supremacy and historical trauma,” he said.

The seminar instigated some dialogue that people in the room appreciated, he said, and it’s “meatier” than the officers’ current training.

“One thing I would do as chief is we would start at the top and work our way down for

we’re going to be brave. When things happen in our communities, we’re going to call the police, and we’re going to participate, and we’re going to come to the courtroom. That takes some bravery.”

Edwards said no matter

that type of training,” he said.

Hayden supports the idea of outside agencies conducting independent investigations into the police department.

“I know currently we don’t have that,” Hayden said. “I know the Ferguson Commission talked about the Highway Patrol leading some of those investigations. And in the interim, there is nothing that prevents us.”

While the department is establishing a policy for independent investigations, Hayden said that the department could possibly collaborate with St. Louis County Police to create a task force that “mimics the idea of what potentially the Highway Patrol would do.”

Hayden was asked how he would bridge the racial divide in the police department, as well as between the Ethical Society of Police and St. Louis Police Officers Association, the bargaining unit for police, which has a majority-white membership. Hayden said he has been a member of both for 30 years.

His role as an instructor in the St. Louis Police Academy for five years, where he taught about 500 officers, has helped him to develop close relationships with many officers on the force.

“I have the largest sphere of influence to make change when it comes to race relations,” Hayden said. “A lot of them still consider me a mentor.”

His reputation in both the Ethical Society and SLPOA is about fairness and equity, he said.

Hayden publicly backed O’Toole on lie

On June 21, Hayden stood up next to Interim Police Chief Lawrence O’Toole when he told the media that a black off-duty police officer was shot “during the exchange of gunfire.” However, the truth was that Officer Milton Green was shot by a white city cop when approaching a crime scene near his home in an effort to help out.

The Ethical Society alleges that O’Toole lied in his statement to the public in attempt to cover up the situation. At the news conference announcing that Hayden had been selected as chief of police, Hayden acknowledged he had been aware that the black cop had been shot by a white cop when O’Toole had made his statement that night –ultimately acknowledging that it was indeed a false statement.

Police sources said that Hayden later confronted O’Toole about his decision to make a false public statement. But at today’s press conference, Hayden said that he did not confront O’Toole. Hayden told the community on December 14, “You deserve accountability. You’ll have accountability through me.”

The Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression released a statement after Hayden was selected.

“John Hayden knows the city and the players,” the coalition stated. “That can be a blessing and a curse. We will be challenging him to imagine and create a new type of police department for St. Louis rather than continuing the one he’s been immersed in.”

the quality of the police department, it cannot effectively do its job without cooperation from the public.

According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, 74 of the homicide cases opened in 2017 have been closed, while

129 are still open. According to statistics reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, St. Louis’ homicide clearance rate (that is, its rate of referring a murder suspect for prosecution) over the past 10 years is 53 percent.

John Hayden, seen here speaking at a December 14 community forum with police chief finalists, was chosen as the next police chief of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. He had been a major who commanded the North Patrol Division.

Photo by Wiley Price

Scholarship Foundation accepting applications for interest-free student loans

The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis is now accepting applications for its interest-free, fee-free student loan program through April 16. Qualified postsecondary students of any age can be awarded a renewable, interest-free loan of up to $11,000 annually. Those interested must meet the following requirements: be pursuing a first certificate or degree at an accredited, nonprofit college, university, or technical/ trade school; demonstrate financial need; have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher or have earned a GED; be a permanent resident of the St. Louis metropolitan area, for at least two years prior to application. Students from the following areas are eligible to apply: St. Louis City and St. Louis County; the Missouri counties of Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, and Warren; and the Illinois counties of Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Jersey, Madison, Macoupin, Monroe, and St. Clair. Applicants are selected on the basis of academic potential, personal character, and financial need. Students can apply for funding by completing an online general application on the St. Louis Graduates’ Scholarship Central website (myscholarshipcentral.org). Upon

completion of the general application, applicants can then apply for The Scholarship Foundation’s interest-free loan. St. Louis Graduates’ Scholarship Central website contains over 60 scholarship opportunities for the 2018-2019 academic

Coalition for Human Rights awards essay contest winners

The St. Louis Coalition for Human Rights celebrated its 21st annual program by recognizing area high school contest winners and unsung sheroes and heroes.

Malaika Pedzayi-Ferguson, a student at Crossroads College Prep, was first place winner in the High School Expressions Category. Damen Alexander, from Saint Louis University High School, placed first in the High School Essay Category. Both received $150 for their submissions, which were read at the celebration.

Other winners in the Essay Category were Azura Fondren and Terrance Sullivan. Second and third place winners in the Expressions Category were Devin Gordon and Teandra Wilkins. Tajonai Putman and Greg Tomlin received Honorable Mention. All received cash prizes.

Panelists Rev. Dietra Wise Baker and high school counselor Naomi Warren spoke powerfully on this year’s theme,

Felipe Martinez, immigrant student advisor at The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis; Jasmine Carter, student and Helen E. Nash Scholar; Lauren Nash Ming, treasurer, Board of Directors at The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis.

year with various application deadlines. For more information or for application assistance, please contact The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis at 314-725-7990, info@sfstl.org, or visit www.sfstl.org.

“Criminalizing Students: How are Human Rights Being Violated in Schools.”

The St. Louis Coalition for Human Rights, in conjunction with the Missouri History Museum, sponsors the human rights program each year on December 10, when the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The goal of the coalition is to educate people about the universal principles and how they apply to our daily lives.

No respect for Soul

We should remember that African-American music played an important role in the Civil Rights Movement. Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna’ Come” and Curtis Mayfield’s “Keep on Pushing,” “We’re a Winner” and “People Get Ready” were songs that were labeled “Soul.” Motown, Stax, Atlantic, Hi and other labels created a musical tradition that grew more valuable and exceptional with time. It started what is now referred to as “Southern Soul.” Subsequently, in the mid-1980s, the music industry was shaken up with the birth of gangster rap. The late C. Delores Tucker, founder/chair of the National Political Congress of Black Women, conducted a passionate national campaign against obscenities in rap music, in 1993 calling it “pornographic filth” and saying it was demeaning and offensive to black women.

Tucker passed out leaflets with lyrics from gangsta rap CDs and urged people to read them aloud, picketed stores that sold the music, handed out petitions and demanded congressional hearings.

Can you imagine that today many record companies that target the “Southern Soul” or African-American market will not accept some recordings unless they are filled with lewd or suggestive lyrics?

Soul music led to Hip-Hop, R&B and Old School, so why must it be disrespectful? Disrespect can exhibit itself in all sorts of ways in the music business, and to disrespect an entire genre is to act in an insulting way toward the African-American community.

When you denigrate people, you think very little of them. Disregard is all about not showing respect. Actually, it’s about showing the opposite of respect, by acting rude, impolite, offensive and even racist.

The companies that demand the indecent lyrics should know that respect is a characteristic of love, and it means honoring the worth of your listeners and buyers. We deserve respect, and we do not have to earn it.

I am sad to report that these companies are making millions, selling music to African-American men and women who will not demand better. We get what we allow.

Please watch the Bernie Hayes TV program Saturday at 10 p.m. and Sunday at 5:30 p.m. on KNLC-TV Ch. 24. I can be reached by fax at (314) 837-3369 or e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net. Or on Twitter @berhay.

Bernie Hayes

Damen Alexander

Malaika PedzayiFerguson

New Year’s resolutions for political players

It’s time to write those New Year’s resolutions for political players that they won’t write for themselves, but need to hear and really mean, despite what they might be saying. Happy New Year! Unless you’re a racist, white supremacist, xenophobic, misogynist, treasonous, Constitution-hating mutant. In which case, maybe a not-so-happy New Year for you would be better for us.

President Donald J. Trump: I resolve to drop my phone into the toilet mid-tweet and dive in head-first after it. I further resolve, when taken into custody by federal marshals, to remind them how to handle suspects – no kid gloves!

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill: I resolve to come in from outstate Missouri once in a while and say something in places where Democrats actually vote for Democrats – something that might make them want to actually get out and vote – maybe even for me. Remember the lessons of Alabama’s senate race.

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt: I resolve to face Judgement Day along with all of the other cowardly, hollow “Christians” who enabled the immoral Trump presidency and its disruption of the country.

Governor Eric Greitens: I resolve to give people –never mind who – the best government dark money can buy. I further resolve to keep showing my regular dudeness by wearing cowboy boots with my suits. I further resolve to continue to insult the people in my putative party who lead the state Legislature so they spend more time bickering with me than passing more inhumane, pro-gun legislation.

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley: Because I am not a career politician, I resolve to keep my promise not use my position as attorney general to seek higher office. Oh, never mind. Further, because I “reside” in Jefferson City but voted in Boone County, I resolve to arrest myself for voter fraud.

Missouri Secretary of State

Jay Ashcroft: I resolve to bring back the paper bag test, but for voting. Too black? – get back!

Missouri Treasurer Eric Schmitt: I resolve to remember my vocal public support for the billionaires’ boondoggle Republican tax reform that offers little or nothing to the middle class as the rich get much richer and the poor whom I allegedly care about get even poorer. As for the middle class, hey! It was fun to have them while they still existed.

Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway: I resolve to keep auditing our miserably inept and shortsighted governing officials and the agencies they run in Missouri and reporting the results transparently, even though the attorney general and governor who could do something about it are opaque frauds.

U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay: I resolve to spend more time back home in the hardesthit neighborhoods I have represented so long that have benefitted so little, even as I continue my commendable and fearless inside game resisting Trump and fighting for change in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner: I resolve to attend a town hall meeting – finally – and say some hideously stupid thing that gives my Democratic challenger just what they need to take my seat.

County Executive Steve Stenger: I resolve to give people – well, the paying customers; you know who you are – the best government money can buy.

St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch: I resolve to squeeze even more favors out of little Stevie Stenger for getting him elected with that hilarious b.s. about Charlie Dooley being “corrupt” when, of course, had he been corrupt I would have been compelled to charge him with crimes, not just film hot dog campaign commercials for little Stevie.

Mayor Lyda Krewson: I

resolve to dismiss Assistant Police Chief Lawrence O’Toole as unfit to serve after his leadership of the unconstitutional policing of Stockley verdict protests, his sinister boast that police “owned the night” after a brutal mass kettling arrest, his lying to the public about the white cop who shot the off-duty black cop. Need I go on? Oh, also, the homeless thing. I further resolve to do something –anything – about the homeless thing.

Aldermanic President Lewis Reed: I resolve to improve upon my current legislative agenda of obstructing anything Alderwoman Megan Ellyria Green wants to accomplish.

Comptroller Darlene Green: I resolve to keep counting the beans and telling all these people sold-out to developers that we can’t afford to give away any more public money or bonding capacity for things like professional sports facilities.

Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner: I resolve to stabilize

the office and get the trains running on time so I can develop a truly progressive framework for criminal prosecution in a crime-ridden city. I further resolve to keep an eye on my senior staffer former judge Robert Dierker to see how he treats other women, including those who seek to empower women, whom he has called “femifascists.” I further resolve to stop asking for the death penalty (cf. “a truly progressive framework for criminal prosecution”).

Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones: I resolve to stay unbowed and unbought until the next opportunity to unite the

fractured left to elect a change candidate emerges. I further resolve to keep [expletive] smacking the vindictive PostDispatch editorial board and a spiteful Jeffrey Boyd every time they have it coming.

Assessor Steve Conway: I resolve to think kindly of Lyda every time those heavy pension checks roll in for the rest of my life. Ch-ching!

Alderman Joe Vaccaro: I resolve to keep reminding Lyda: “I scratched your back, but still got my itch. Hook me up. That pension needs to be a little heavier. We helped take care of that thing for you. You know. Conway got his. Give me mine.”

Alderman Jeffrey Boyd: I resolve to continue my career as a nuisance candidate and a complicit opponent of whatever Tishaura is trying to accomplish.

Democratic committeepeople of St. Louis: We resolve to encourage more progressive pushes from the grassroots and kowtow less to the party line status quo that rejects Independents even when they are better than Democrats.

The Political EYE has composed a New Year’s resolution for the 45th president that might solve his tweeting habit.

Racial and ethnic disparities show up in NICU care

Safe sex is the best sex

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

Human nature is pretty simple at times. We tend to respond to dramatic events, loud situations, or anything that catches our attention in a grand fashion. However, small, incremental differences can sometimes be ignored or thought to be non-important. Stable circumstances can often give a false sense of security.

Hypertension is an excellent medical example of this theory. Although the individual with elevated blood pressure may feel fine, microvascular damage is occurring within their bodies.

Another more frightening example of false security is AIDS.

During the peak of the AIDS epidemic, people were terrified. The emaciated faces and bodies of AIDS patients were the hallmark signs at that time. Cities with large gay populations, such as San Francisco and New York, were hit hard. At that time, death was the usual outcome of the disease.

Currently there are approximately 13,000 deaths from AIDS per year as compared to roughly 50,000 back in the early 1990s. The medical advances as they relate to AIDS are beyond remarkable. AIDS, if treated early and appropriately, is no longer an automatic death sentence. The face of an AIDS patient is no longer easily identifiable. In fact, I invite you to look in the mirror. Your face would be a perfect example of the face of someone with AIDS.

Because people with AIDS like Magic Johnson are living longer, I personally believe the community has become lax regarding the importance of HIV prevention. HIV, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is the virus that causes AIDS. The virus attacks the cells that fight off infections and causes individuals to be susceptible to illnesses that would generally not be deadly.

n Engaging in unprotected sexual behaviors still places you at risk of being infected with a deadly virus and progressing to full-blown AIDS.

‘We must find better ways to engage all families in our care,’ lead researcher concludes

By Erin Digitale

Of Stanford University

Babies’ racial and ethnic identities influence the quality of medical care they receive in neonatal intensive care units, new research in California suggests.

The study examined medical care of more than 18,000 of the state’s smallest babies at neonatal intensive care units (NICU) in 134 California hospitals and found that, “for many of these infants, their time in the NICU sets them on track for their entire life.” The disparities were not uniform: At some California hospitals, infants from vulnerable populations received worse care than white infants, while at others, they received better care than whites.

In general, however, the hospitals with the best outcomes for their patients also delivered better care to white infants. In addition, the study found that black and Hispanic infants were more likely than white infants to receive

Babies’ racial and ethnic identities influence the quality of medical care they receive in neonatal intensive care units, according to new research led by Stanford University School of Medicine’s Perinatal Epidemiology and Health Outcomes Research Unit. See NICU, A11

We have known for quite some time that HIV is found in seminal or vaginal fluids, amniotic fluids, or blood. Yet, in a 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Study, 43 percent of teens who had been sexually active within the past three months did not use protection during intercourse. Risky behavior, however, was not limited to just adolescents. Seventy percent of men over 50 did not use a condom when they engaged in sexual intercourse with a stranger. This trend also extends into the nursing homes, where condoms are not being used as universally as they should.

In my opinion and the opinion of many other concerned providers, there are many reasons for this casual attitude toward universal STD precautions. First and foremost, it is hard for people to fear something that they cannot feel, see, or touch. Secondly, as adult women age and periods stop, the sexual apprehension they experienced in the past vanishes. Thirdly, there are numerous false beliefs regarding sexual behavior. For instance, many girls falsely believe that if they have not participated in intercourse but have only engaged in oral sex, then they are protected from getting an STD.

So as we begin the new year, let’s get the record straight: Engaging in unprotected sexual behaviors places you at risk of being

See ANDERSON, A11

Denise HooksAnderson, MD

Some dietary supplement claims are hard to swallow

By Colleen Tressler

Of the Federal Trade Commission

Yay me! (I think.) I now belong to a new demographic group … women of a certain age. And let me tell you, the marketers know it.

I’ve been getting ads and promotional mailings touting the benefits of all sorts of pills, potions and lotions. Some promote the wonders of certain dietary supplements for whatever ails you, from obesity and arthritis to cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. While some supplements have proven benefits, others don’t. Unlike drugs, dietary supplements aren’t evaluated or reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for

n Unlike drugs, dietary supplements aren’t evaluated or reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for safety and effectiveness.

safety and effectiveness. Even “natural” supplements can be risky depending on the medicines you take or the medical conditions you have. Are you – or someone you know – thinking about using a dietary supplement? Be skeptical about amazing health claims

Dietary supplements aren’t meant to treat, prevent or cure diseases, so avoid any product that says it can. Talk to a health professional before you take a new supplement, and ask questions. What are the side effects? How will it interact with my other medications?

And while you’re asking all the right questions, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state authorities are looking out for you, too.

In fact, the FTC and the

State of Maine recently announced a proposed settlement with Health Research Laboratories, LLC, a health products company, and its owner and president,

Kramer

The FTC and Maine allege the defendants deceived consumers with promises that their products could treat everything from arthritis to memory loss. The

BJC HealthCare donates

$100K to Parents

BJC HealthCare donated $100,000 to Parents as Teachers National Center to establish the Susan and Steven Lipstein Show Me Strong Families Fund. The gift will establish a fund in perpetuity to improve the health, academic achievement, and overall well-being of children in St. Louis, whose lives are impacted by economic uncertainty and other stressors. It was made on behalf of Susan and Steven Lipstein to honor Mr. Lipstein’s retirement as chief executive officer of BJC HealthCare and to honor Mrs. Lipstein’s service as a certified Parents as Teachers

NICU

Continued from A10

care in poor-quality NICUs.

“There’s a long history of disparity in health care delivery, and our study shows that the NICU is really no different,” said the study’s senior author, Jochen Profit, MD, MPH, an associate professor of pediatrics at Stanford University.

“Unconscious social biases that we all have can make their way into the NICU. We would like to encourage NICU caregivers to think about how these disparities play out in their own units and how they can be reduced.

The study used data from the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative, which has collected information on 95 percent of premature births in the state. The study included 18,616 babies whose birth weights were less than 3.3 pounds, a category known as very low birth weight, and who were born between the beginning of 2010 and the end 2014. The research excluded infants born extremely premature (before 24 weeks of pregnancy), those who died before 12 hours of age and those with severe congenital abnormalities.

Dr. Profit and his colleagues used an index they had previously developed and validated to measure NICU care. To use the index, called Baby-MONITOR, each infant’s

Dietary supplements aren’t meant to treat, prevent or cure diseases, so avoid any product that says it can.

proposed federal court order would stop these claims and would also bar the defendants from engaging in a wide range of other business practices that have caused financial injury to

as

Teachers

n “Susan and I have always believed that when we support parents, they are better able to raise healthy children who are ready and prepared to learn.”

– Steven Lipstein

Parent Educator in the Clayton School District.

“Home visiting has equipped so many families with critical resources that have allowed them to be successful parents,” said Steven Lipstein.

“Susan and I have always believed that when we support parents, they are better able to

raise healthy children who are ready and prepared to learn.”

Each year, the Show Me Strong Families program at Parents as Teachers reaches 225 families with monthly home visits, including 150 teen parent families; screens 600 children for health and developmental delays so that

they can be connected early with vital support services in the community; and engages 240 parents in “group connections” – organized sessions where parents come together to form a peer support network.

Parents as Teachers, headquartered in St. Louis, matches families with trained parent educators during a child’s earliest years in life.

Parent educators conduct home visits, host parent meetings, and screen children for health and developmental delays. For more information, visit parentsasteachers.org.

medical records are evaluated and scored on nine yes-or-no questions, all of which have been shown in prior research to reflect the quality of medical care.

Some questions assess whether patients received aspects of NICU care that are in keeping with standard medical practices for premature babies, such as being examined for an eye disease called retinopathy of prematurity, or receiving steroids before birth to help mature their lungs. Other questions assess specific medical outcomes, such as experiencing a hospitalacquired infection or growing at a healthy rate. All questions are worded such that better outcomes produce higher scores. The analysis then adjusts scores to account for the length

of the mother’s pregnancy, whether the mother received prenatal care, whether the baby was from a single or multiple birth, the baby’s 5-minute Apgar score (a quick assessment of the infant’s physical health at birth) and whether delivery was by cesarean section. Scores were also statistically adjusted to reflect the fact that some hospitals cared for sicker babies, on average, than others. The final score for each hospital, and for each group of patients within a hospital, reflects whether the hospital did the same, better, or worse than would be expected in addressing their patients’ medical problems. Scores were calculated separately for white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and “other” infants and referenced for each subgroup against

When researchers analyzed the population of very low birth weight infants in their study, Hispanic infants and those with “other” ethnicity had lower BabyMONITOR scores than white infants, while black and Asian infants did not have significantly different scores than whites.

whites.

When researchers analyzed the population of very low birth weight infants in their study, Hispanic infants and those with “other” ethnicity had lower Baby-MONITOR scores than white infants, while black and Asian infants did not have significantly different scores than whites. However, across the state, white infants scored higher on measures of whether standard medical practices were being followed.

For instance, 89 percent of white infants and 88 percent or Asian infants in the study received steroids before birth to mature their lungs, while 87 percent of Hispanic infants and 85 percent of black infants got the same treatment. The difference remained statistically significant after adjusting for possible confounding factors.

Black infants had lower rates than white infants of receiving any human milk at discharge – an indicator of worse outcomes – but also had better outcomes in some areas, including faster growth rates and lower rates of chronic lung disease and collapsed lung. Hispanic infants did worse than whites on all components of the score except collapsed-lung rates.

Across NICUs, those that provided the poorest quality of care tended to have the smallest disparities between ethnicities; in some, blacks fared better than white infants. As quality scores rose across hospitals, white infants tended to do better.

The researchers also found that although racial and ethnic differences in NICU care were fairly small when examined across California as a whole, some individual hospitals had large gaps in how they cared for infants from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Addressing the disparities will require a nuanced approach, Dr. Profit said. “It’s really important for NICUs to individualize care to the patient population they see,” he said.

The next step, Profit says, is to help California’s NICUs identify ways in which they can each make progress in treating all infants more equitably.

“Our goal is to develop a dashboard of disparity measures for NICUs throughout California so that each can see how they’re performing for infants of different races and ethnicities

in comparison to their peers,” he said. The researchers are also working with the Vermont Oxford Network, a sister organization that monitors NICUs across the country to provide similar feedback to hospitals nationwide.

“We need to continue to identify vulnerable populations,” Dr. Profit said, “make sure they get their needs met, and find better ways to engage all families in our care.” The study appears in the journal Pediatrics.

Continued from A10

infected with a deadly virus and progressing to full-blown AIDS. Though the new antiviral medications can improve the lives of those infected with HIV, they are not miracle drugs and must be taken daily. HIV has not been eradicated. It is still very much present and can result in death if not properly treated. Therefore, please abide by the most important rule: Safe sex is the best sex.

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

Duhon.

consumers.

Colleen Tressler is a consumer education specialist for the FTC.

Susan and Steven Lipstein

NEWSPAPER IN EDUCATION

Resolve to Eat Right!

Nutrition Challenge:

This time of year many people make New Year’s resolutions. A resolution is simply a promise you make to yourself of ways that you would like to improve your life in the new year. So for 2018, why not make a resolution to eat healthier? Try adding a healthy new habit every few weeks or so. Here

PRESENT:

Healthy Kids Kids

are a few ideas (from past Healthy Kids features) to get you started. What are some other tips you’ve learned?

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 5, NH 1, NH 5 NewYear’sResolutions1. ofDrinkatleast8glasses wateraday. 2.Eatmorefreshfruitsand foodsvegetablesandlessfried andsweetsnacks.3.Eatslowlyandstopas soonasyoufeelfull.

NewYear, NewYou!

Another healthy change you can make for yourself with the new year is to be more active. Staying active not only helps keep your heart healthy, but it burns calories, improves your brain functioning and helps you feel better — the more you do!

Some reminders:

Fresh Start!

> Try to have at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day that increases your heart rate (60 minutes is even better).

The new year brings a fresh start. Plan on making 2018 your best year yet! Try letting go of the problems you may have faced last year and look forward to a new year with excitement and hope. Here are a few ways to stay positive.

> Make a list of all of the good things that happened for you in 2017.

> What are some goals you’d like to achieve in 2018?

> Warm up, stretch and cool down before and after exercising.

> Start off slowly and increase time, distance, and speed as

> Select one or two of those goals and make a list of specific steps you can take to accomplish your new year goals.

> Always remember — you can’t change others, you can only change yourself and how you react. So focus on yourself and how you can have a happy 2018!

Learning Standards: HPE 6, NH 3

you feel stronger.

> Check with your doctor before starting a brand new exercise program.

> Drink lots of water when you’re working out.

Discuss some of the ways you can keep active during the cold winter months.

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

Healthcare Careers

Anissa F. Washington, FNP

Where do you work? I work for TeamHealth.

Where did you go to school? I graduated from Cleveland NJROTC. I then earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Benedict College, Columbia, South Carolina, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from St. Louis University, St. Louis, and a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Missouri, St. Louis. What does a nurse practitioner do? I work in the emergency department of a hospital. I tell people what is wrong with them and prescribe medicine to people who may have injured themselves falling or playing sports. I also treat people who have cold symptoms, sore throat, rash, fever or who are not feeling well.

Why did you choose this career? I chose to be a nurse practitioner because I like to talk to people about their health and how they can eat the right foods and exercise and play safe so that they won’t end up sick in the emergency department. I also like to figure out why people are sick, and then help them to get better.

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

What is your favorite part of the job you have? I meet different kinds of people every day. I enjoy making them feel safe to share their problems with me so I can help them get better. I also use cool equipment like an otoscope (to look into the ears) and a stethoscope (to listen to lung and heart sounds).

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

The Saint Louis Zoo is currently accepting applications for Zoo ALIVE, our teen volunteer program. High school students 15 and older may apply. As a Zoo ALIVE volunteer, you can share your love of animals with our diverse audiences by helping at classes, camps, overnights, birthday parties, and special events. Volunteers can also participate in group conservation activities, camping trips, and more. This is a year-round program for dedicated and responsible teens. For more information, visit stlzoo.org/education.

CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT

SCIENCE CORNER

What Is Gravity?

Gravity, also known as gravitational forces (g-force), is the force of attraction. Gravity attracts all objects toward each other. It is the pull that keeps you walking on earth, instead of floating into space. Every person has a mass, or gravitational pull, which places a force on every other mass. The bigger an item is, and the closer you are to it, the stronger the gravitational pull.

Not only does gravity keep things grounded, it also affects the ways things fall. Another important

SCIENCE INVESTIGATION

Materials Needed:

Drinking Glass • Cardboard • Water

Procedure:

q Fill the glass with water.

w Put the cardboard over the mouth of the glass, making sure that no air bubbles enter the glass as you hold onto the cardboard.

e Turn the glass upside down (over a sink or outside until you have practiced a few times).

r Take away your hand holding the cardboard.

MATH CONNECTION

“G” force is the amount of gravitational force your body feels. When you are on a roller coaster, your body will experience a strong g-force. Aircraft pilots and astronauts also experience high g-forces. If you experience 3 Gs, you experience three times your weight in gravitational pull. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds and experience 3 Gs, it is equivalent to 450 pounds.

Calculate the following problems:

q If you weigh 180 pounds and experience, 2.2 Gs, what weight do you feel in a gravitational pull? _______

w If you weigh 100 pounds and experience 3.5 Gs, what weight do you feel as a gravitational pull?

SCIENCE STARS

AFRICAN AMERICAN PHYSICIST & MATHEMATICIAN: Katherine C.G. Johnson

factor in falling is acceleration. Earth always produces the same acceleration on each item. This means that if you dropped an apple or a piano, then they would fall at the same rate due to gravity, and acceleration.

For More Information: Visit http:// idahoptv.org/sciencetrek/topics/ gravity/

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

Reflect: What happens? Does the water fall from the

Does

Considering what you know about gravity, why does this happen? Learning Standards: I can follow directions to complete an experiment. I can make observations.

e If you weigh 120 pounds and feel the gravitational pull of 240 pounds, how many Gs are you experiencing?

r If you weigh 115 pounds and you feel the gravitational pull of 253 pounds, how many Gs are you experiencing?

t If you experience 4 Gs at your current weight, what is the gravitational pull? ________

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

Katherine C. G. Johnson was born on August 26, 1918, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Her father was a farmer and janitor, and her mother was a teacher. Because she was African American and many local schools were not available to her, Johnson had to attend West Virginia State High School 125 miles from home. Johnson developed a love for math at an early age and could solve problems that were even difficult for her teachers. Due to her advanced intellectual abilities, Johnson graduated from high school at the age of fourteen. She went to West Virginia State College and earned a bachelor’s degree in French and mathematics at the age of eighteen. Dr. W.W. Schiefflin Claytor, the third African American to earn a PhD in mathematics, was her mentor and created an analytical geometry course specifically for her.

After college, Johnson taught in elementary and high schools for seventeen years. Then, she began working at Langley Research Center (LaRC) as a research mathematician for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which later became NASA. In 1953, Johnson began her work with an all-male flight team. She was accepted because of her knowledge and confidence. Next, Johnson worked at the Spacecraft Controls Branch, calculating flight trajectory for Alan Shepard (the first American to go into space, in 1959). Also, Johnson verified the math behind John Glenn’s orbit around Earth in 1962, and calculated the flight trajectory for Apollo 11’s flight to the moon in 1969. She retired in 1986. Johnson has co-authored more than 26 scientific papers, and has received an Honorary Doctor of Laws and an Honorary Doctor of Science. In 1999, she was named as the Outstanding Alumnus of the Year by West Virginia State College. Johnson was also the recipient of NASA’s Lunar Spacecraft and Operation’s Group Achievement Award. Johnson’s impact at NASA was portrayed in the recent movie “Hidden Figures.”

Discuss:

q What is the most interesting thing you learned about Dr. Johnson?

w Dr. Johnson was the sole female among male colleagues on her flight research team. Have you ever felt like the odd person out? How did it make you feel? How did you overcome it? How can you learn from Dr. Johnson’s story?

Learning Standards: I can read a biography to learn about an individual who has made contributions in math, science, and technology.

MAP PREP

Use the newspaper to complete these activities:

Activity One —

Editorial Cartoons: Editorial cartoons are a powerful medium for expressing ideas. Find an editorial cartoon in an online newspaper. Who is the intended audience? What is the message? What is the theme or tone of the cartoon? What symbolism is being used? Has the author chosen an effective way to present the idea? What would you do differently?

Activity Two —

Newspaper Headlines: Locate and read several newspaper headlines. Discuss how the headlines sum up the article while catching the reader’s interest. Compare headlines to story titles. Next, write a headline for a familiar fairy tale. Share the headlines with a classmate, and have them guess the fairy tale.

Learning Standards: I can use the newspaper to locate information. I can write an effective headline. I can analyze a political cartoon.

Photo: Wiley Price / St.

Photo courtesy of National Visionary Leadership Project

What has Governor Greitens got against affordable housing?

On December 19, Governor Eric “Geronimo” Greitens metaphorically rappelled into a meeting of the Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) and spearheaded a commission vote to eliminate approximately $150 million of state low-income housing tax credits for 2018. (The EYE is, of course, alluding to Governor Geronimo’s recent stunt whereby he rappelled into a rodeo, generating a clip that went viral – mostly to mockery.)

Instead of continuing the obsolete public housing system that gave us unmanageable and poorly designed towers like Pruitt-Igoe and Darst-Webbe that became blighted within a few decades and had to be torn down, the state low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program leverages private investment and market discipline to efficiently inject capital into affordable housing construction. (Without

The accidental curator

Missouri Governor Eric Greitens recently got tough on the state’s lowincome housing tax credit, which incentivizes the construction of badly-needed affordable housing. Why? Why now?

Ed Hightower is among the eligible candidates for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2018. A Southern Illinois University Edwardsville alumnus, he was a nationally recognized, awardwinning NCAA basketball official for 36 years until retiring after the 2013-14 season. He refereed 12 NCAA Division 1 Final Fours. He also was the first AfricanAmerican superintendent of the Edwardsville School District.

Grishondra Branch-Mays, DDS, MS, joined the staff of A.T. Still UniversityMissouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health as vice dean, academic affairs. With experience in private practice and teaching, she has held leadership positions at the University of Maryland, Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, the Department of Surgical Sciences at East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine, and the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry.

Internal

the National

Jacqueline Dace of the National Blues Museum first worked in a museum as a receptionist

By Andria Harris Of Academy Journalism

job in a museum was as a security guard/ receptionist at the Missouri History Museum, not a curator. She first left the St. Louis area for Chicago to work at the DuSable Museum of African American History. She attended Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, and later Webster University, after

n “I love the fact that it is bringing together multiple generations of people to learn to appreciate the blues.”

– Jacqueline Dace, National Blues Museum

she graduated from Cahokia High school.

She was only 11 when her mother died and 19 when her father died.

“It’s difficult, and I used to think that my pain was more intense than others because I was so young,” she said. “As I’ve matured, I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter how old you are when your parents die, it’s a loss that you’ll never forget and that you have to learn to live with.”

The National Blues Museum, according to its website, “is the only museum dedicated exclusively to preserving and honoring the

national and international story of the blues and its impact on American culture in the United States.”

Dace oversees the museum’s permanent and temporary exhibitions and its education department.

She said, “I love the energy of this space. I love the fact that it is bringing together multiple generations of people to learn to appreciate the blues.”

It is located at 615 Washington Ave. Its hours are 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday and Monday. Admission costs $15 for adults, $12 for people older than 65, $10 for children ages 5-17. For more information, call 314-925-0016 or visit www. nationalbluesmuseum.org.

Academy Journalism is a partnership between The St. Louis American and St. Louis Public Schools founded by DaMaris White, principal of Pierre Laclede Junior Career Academy, where Megan M. O’Brien runs the program with a staff of volunteers organized by The American.

Michael P. McMillan will be Webster University’s 2018 Commencement Speaker. He is the president and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, where he oversees the largest and highestrated Urban League affiliate in the country. The agency annually provides services to nearly 100,000 residents through 30 programs with 225 staff in 12 locations.

Arielle Weaver was a facilitator with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Sister Circle Program, which received the 2017 Outstanding Project Award from the Great Lakes Association of College and University Housing Officers. The award is given to a member institution that has implemented an innovative approach to enhancing diversity awareness, understanding and education. The program provides a connection for female students of color to university professionals and peers as a line of support.

Steven Hill opened a FASTSIGNS location at 3949 Lindell Blvd. He said he is the only African-American FASTSIGNS owner in Missouri and his location is the only one in the City of St. Louis. FASTSIGNS provides custom signage and graphics. Hill serves on the Board of Directors of Diversity Awareness Partnership St. Louis.

LaTonya Williams

Michael P. McMillan

LaTonya Williams

Steven Hill

Grishondra BranchMays

Arielle Weaver

Jacqueline Dace, the director of

Affairs at

Blues Museum, being interviewed by the Academy Journalism program at Pierre Laclede Junior Career Academy.

See GREITENS, B2

Andria Harris

State Board of Education approves revised personal finance standards

First review of

state standards since 2006

American staff

This past September the State Board of Education approved revised personal finance standards for Missouri public schools. Missouri is one of only 17 states that require personal finance coursework in high school. This was the first review of the state’s personal finance standards since 2006. “Financial literacy is a vital component in the education of Missouri students,” said thenCommissioner of Education Margie Vandeven. “We are committed to ensuring all high school graduates are prepared for life, and personal finance courses can help them reach that goal.” Vandeven was since dismissed after Gov. Eric Greitens made a series of appointments to the state board seeking a board majority that would vote to remove her.

n The movement toward personal finance courses in Missouri public schools began as a grassroots effort by financial leaders around the state.

The State Board authorized the personal finance work group in June 2016, and the group met for the first time in December that year. The group consisted of classroom personal finance teachers, school administrators; representatives from higher education, financial institutions, and small business; the Federal Reserve Bank, parents and other interested individuals. “Everyone was so enthusiastic and ready to share that it was obvious from the first meeting that the group would be dynamic,” said Patricia Palmer, a curriculum consultant in the Office of Financial Literary at the University of Missouri Kansas City, who chaired the standards work group. “It has been quite a journey and worthy of every minute for the sake of our youth.” The standards specify levels of attainment for high

GREITENS

continued from page B1

government incentives, private developers would build profitable housing for highincome buyers, not affordable housing for working-class folks.)

Greitens, who didn’t bother attending a single MHDC meeting all year until November, seemed entirely uninterested in MHDC’s mission of creating affordable housing until he had the chance to eviscerate the agency’s largest program, the LIHTC.

school students in the areas of financial decision making, earning income, buying goods and services, saving, using credit, protecting and insuring, and financial investing. Each area builds on the previous

Then, after appointing several cronies with scant knowledge of affordable housing but an abundance of blind loyalty, he rappelled down to squash the hopes of people seeking affordable housing. Why now?

Missouri was a pioneer in the affordable housing

areas as students move through the course.

The movement toward personal finance courses in Missouri public schools began as a grassroots effort by financial leaders around the

world, starting a state LIHTC in the early 1990s to match the federal LIHTC program that has benefited from strong bipartisan support in Washington since its inception in 1986. The program has long helped seniors, veterans, struggling families, and people with special needs access decent affordable housing. Missouri’s LIHTC has helped tens of thousands of families find decent, quality homes. And the need for affordable housing has never been greater. Currently, 23,151 households sit on the St. Louis City Housing Authority’s waitlist. The list has been closed for over two years; the last time it opened, 28,000 households applied for assistance … in just one week. Waitlists in St. Louis County and Kansas City are similarly large, and even lists in smaller counties often approach 1,000. Most county waitlists are so full that they are closed to new applicants. One recent study counted 16,000 homeless children enrolled in K-12 public schools.

Then why is Greitens going after the LIHTC program now?

Like most things about this governor’s administration to date, it’s much more about his personal politics than policy. During his primary, he received the support of very few establishment Republicans. A few former elected officials, however, did gravitate towards his campaign, including former state Senator Jason Crowell (R-Cape Girardeau). But that support was likely predicated on Greitens becoming a vessel for Crowell’s longtime

state to ensure that Missourians have a better understanding of their personal finances. A halfcredit of personal finance is required for Missouri students to graduate.

Missouri school districts will develop their own curriculum to teach the revised standards, which will be implemented in the 2018-19 school year. Assessments on the standards will begin in the 2019-20 school year.

ambition to slash state tax credits programs like LIHTC and the historic preservation tax credit.

And become a vessel, he did. First, he appointed Crowell to a special committee appointed to review state tax credits, a committee whose recommendations echoed those Crowell often made to deaf ears in the Senate. Then he appointed Crowell to an interim seat on the Missouri Housing Development Commission, which awards LIHTCs, an appointment that Crowell has used in much the same way that Reaganappointed Clarence Thomas once used his leadership of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission – to completely gut the agency’s mission.

Finally, he became a veritable ventriloquist for Crowell’s clichéd and warped rhetoric about “greedy developers” wearing “Gucci suits and alligator shoes.” The fact is that in St. Louis, most LIHTC units are built by nonprofit community development organizations like Northside Community Housing, Desales Housing, and Lemay Housing Partnership, often with the technical assistance of Rise Community Development.

Greitens and his lackeys on MHDC would like to convert the LIHTC program to a state loan. That would likely be a disaster. Currently, private investors incur 100 percent of the risk for LIHTC projects, but a state loan would mean that taxpayers incur 100 percent of the risk. Since over one-third of approved projects are never built or fall out of compliance, taxpayers, as opposed to private investors, would be on the hook.

Fortunately, the Legislature can resuscitate the program. As with Congress, the Missouri Legislature has generally provided bipartisan support for the LIHTC program, with a few notable exceptions (such as former state Senator Crowell.” The EYE hopes and expects that come January –after it has rejected Crowell’s nomination to a permanent seat on MHDC – cooler legislative heads will prevail and pass LIHTC program reforms that – instead of gutting the critical program – will make it even more successful in meeting the state’s pressing affordable needs.

Like its popular older cousin, Political EYE, EYE on Business – which debuts this week – is a team-written editorial column of The St. Louis American. We seek to bring our perspective to important business and policy decisions and greater transparency to the power brokers who make them.

Rise’s longtime CEO Stephen Acree has helped transfer his substantial knowledge of affordable housing development to protégés like Jessica Eiland, whom Acree mentored during her time at Northside and has now brought in -house. Conflating lifelong do-gooders like this are “greedy developers in Gucci suits” is wrongheaded, unfair and destructive. What’s next?

n “It was a special night for me.”

— Isaiah Thomas, on his debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night

Sports

InsIde sports

It was an exciting year of high school sports in the St. Louis metro area in 2017. As we move into the New Year, here is a look back at some of the exciting moments in prep sports from 2017.

• Webster Groves powered its way to the Class 5 state championship in boys’ basketball with a dominating victory over Lee’s Summit West in the state finals behind the dynamic duo of Courtney Ramey and Carte’are Gordon.

• The Vashon Wolverines returned to the winner’s circle again as they repeated as the Class 4 state champions in boys’ basketball.

• Northwest Academy made history in boys’ basketball as they won the Class 3 state championship, which was the first in the school’s history.

• Kirkwood won its first state championship in girls’ basketball with a thrilling double overtime victory over Rock Bridge in the semifinals and Lee’s Summit in the Class 5 state championship game.

• Incarnate Word returned to its place of dominance in girls’ basketball by winning the Class 4 state championship, which was its fourth in five years.

• The CBC duo of Malik Johnson and D. J. Shannon were Class 4 individual state champions at the Class 4 state wrestling meet. Johnson was a three-time state champion while Shannon was 48-0 last season.

See INSIDE, B4

ESL’s Thomas has Hurricane of a year; NFL coaching carousel begins

~ See ‘Sports Eye’ page B4 ~

Prep Year in Review

Prep champions of 2017

In the ClutCh

With Ishmael H. Sistrunk

Rev. Ike has a prayer

Former Rams great named Hall of Fame finialist

There aren’t many sports where a player can finish his or her career in the top two of a major statistical category and have a tough time being elected into the Hall of Fame. That’s exactly what has happened to Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams great Isaac Bruce

In his third year of eligibility, Bruce has finally been named as one of the 15 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Bruce’s impressive career resume should make him a shoe-in to be fitted for a gold jacket. Unfortunately for Bruce, hall of fame voters hate wide receivers are unsure what to do with wide receivers. Bruce finds himself up against some stiff competition to land one of the five available inductee spots. However, the man who was lovingly referred to as “Reverend Ike” has a prayer that he could slide into the top five the same way he slid behind defensive backs and

Ishmael H. Sistrunk

linebackers throughout his stellar 16-year career. Other finalists include Ray Lewis Randy Moss Terrell Owens Brian Dawkins Brian Urlacher, John Lynch, Alan Faneca and others. When Bruce retired from the NFL following the 2009 season, he ranked second all-time in receiving yards with 15,208, fifth in catches with 1,024 and eighth in touchdowns with 91. Even now, nearly eight years after his retirement, Bruce still sits in the top five in receptions. The Rams great has been passed by Owens (15,934), Larry Fitzgerald (15,545) and Moss (15,292). Being on the same ticket with Moss and Owens provides Bruce with both challenge and opportunity. First of all, let me state that both Owens and Moss unequivocally deserve to have their busts on display in Canton. Going by the numbers, both amassed more career yards, receptions and touch-

Earl Austin Jr.

See CLUTCH, B5

Former Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams great Isaac Bruce has been named a finalist for this year’s Hall of Fame Class. Bruce’s 15,208 receiving yards ranks fifth alltime.

Photo by Wiley Price

Webster Groves powered its way to the Class 5 state championship in boys’ basketball with a dominating victory over Lee’s Summit West in the state finals behind the dynamic duo of Courtney Ramey and Carte’are Gordon.

SportS EyE

With Alvin A. Reid

ESL’s Thomas has Hurricane of a year; NFL coaching carousel begins

It seems that you are either a LeBron James fan or not. I was not.

But that’s a me thing, not a James thing.

I’m warming to James not because of his once-in-alifetime basketball skills, but because of his off-the-court interests and his willingness to comment on affairs that impact black Americans.

He supported Hillary Clinton’s run for president and has not coward in fear of the guy who won the office.

More black athletes should take definitive stands for – and against – people and policies.

James, along with Sports Illustrated and Maverick Carter, was instrumental in producing “89 Blocks,” a documentary that followed the East St. Louis football team from its strike-shortened season in 2015 to its 26-13 state championship victory over Plainfield North in 2016.

televised Saturday night game against Miami.

Thomas’ season was among the team’s biggest stories.

Thomas caught 17 passes for 374 yards and two touchdowns. He was also the team’s leading kickoff returner, taking 32 of them for 691 yards. In the Hurricanes’ 24-19 win over North Carolina, Thomas recorded season highs in receptions (3) and yards (101). His 78-yard touchdown reception propelled his team to the victory in a season that saw the Hurricanes finish 10-3.

A week earlier, he recorded his first TD of the season against Syracuse, part of a twocatch 61-yard performance.

In the landmark win against Notre Dame he had two catches for 24 yards and he caught one pass for 24 yards in the Orange Bowl loss to Wisconsin last Saturday.

The award-winning film, which aired on FOX in November, featured receiver Jeff Thomas, a four-star talent who found himself as a father at age 17 and struggling with his fate.

He left the team at mid-season and missed two games, but was allowed to return after a vote by team seniors.

Coach Mark Richt of the Miami Hurricanes didn’t let the season of distraction deter him from offering Thomas a scholarship, Thomas rewarded him and the Hurricanes with one of the top seasons for true-freshmen receivers in the nation.

The Hurricanes became a national story when the defense introduced “The Turnover Chain” and its domination over Notre Dame in a nationally

After arriving in Miami, he told HurricaneSports.com his experience has “been wonderful.”

“I’m trying to help the team as best I can. I’m a team player.”

He said he chose Miami over football powers including Alabama, Michigan and Oregon for “the football tradition, the wideouts.”

“I’m trying to be part of that tradition. It means a lot. I wearing No. 4, and I have a chip on my shoulder to help me get to where I want to be.”

He called his first experience of running on the field with the Hurricanes before a game against Bethune-Cookman “a dream come true.”

As for his speed, he said it might have come from a unique situation.

“My mom had run track while she was pregnant. I guess that’s where I got my speed

from,” he said. Thomas’ future is certainly bright, but the responsibility of being a young father that hails from a proud community which also has many challenges will be daunting. This past year was good to Thomas. May the coming years at Miami help him get to that place he wants to be.

Jim Caldwell canned

A contract extension before the season started did not save Jim Caldwell from being fired by the Detroit Lions on Monday.

Caldwell was 36-28 in four seasons with the Lions, including a 9-7 mark this year. He was 0-2 in two postseasons and the team did not reach the playoffs in 2017. Including three years with the Indianapolis Colts, Caldwell is 62-50 and 2-4 in the playoffs with one Super Bowl appearance. The NFL season with six black head coaches. One is now gone; two others could follow.

However, the Associated Press reported that Detroit defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, who is also black, interviewed for the Lions job Tuesday. Austin has interviewed with several NFL teams during the last three offseasons. Caldwell should not be unemployed long, according to Tanya Ray Fox, who covers the Arizona Cardinals for USA

TODAY.

With Bruce Arians retiring on Monday, Caldwell becomes “by far the most attractive coach on the market for a team like the Cardinals, who are far too good to be without an experienced, proven skipper.”

“The team that hires Caldwell will be getting the best head coach in free agency, and he deserves to go somewhere that already has talent he can work with. The Cardinals have that in droves.”

While he had not been dismissed, nor had he resigned as of Tuesday morning, Marvin Lewis’ days with the Cincinnati Bengals appear to be over.

The Chicago Bears fired John Fox and Indianapolis parted ways with Chuck Pagano Jack del Rio got stabbed in the back by Oakland because the franchise is chasing after former coach and current announcer Jon Gruden

While it was reported by Adam Schefter that Vance Joseph would be fired after one season with Denver, he will return in 2018. Six of his assistant coaches were fired though, including special teams coach and all-time Charlie Tuna favorite Brock Olivo

Hue Jackson, who went 0-16, was still employed by Cleveland after Black Monday – but that could change at any moment regardless of pledges that he will return by the Browns owner.

Anthony Lynn saw his San Diego Chargers lose their first four games of the season, then finish just one game out of the playoffs with a 9-7 record. The turnaround leaves him on solid ground. As Caldwell can attest, a contract extension does not guarantee long-term employment, but Todd Bowles of the New York Jets received one after turning in a 5-11 season. The Jets were competitive in most games after some pundits said they would go winless. The Jets also might have been playing with a hand behind their back during the late season to ensure a higher draft pick. Meanwhile, Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers are primed to take on the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game if they prevail in their divisional playoff game the weekend of Jan. 13. The aforementioned Austin could be a candidate for any of the openings. Another black candidate is Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator George Edwards, who crafted the NFL’s top defense during the 2017 season.

The Fritz Pollard Alliance, which recommends black candidates for college and pro coaching positions, has Edwards at the top of its list.

According to GM Rick Spielman and head coach Mike Zimmer, Edwards moved into a position where he’s very, very much involved in the game-day operation of calling the plays and runs the defense room,” Fritz Pollard Alliance chairman John Wooten told the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

“We think the Vikings have done a heck of a job of moving forward, and we think (Edwards) deserves the opportunity.’’

Alvin A. Reid was honored as the 2017 “Best Sports Columnist – Weeklies” in the Missouri Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest. He is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook, is a weekly contributor to “The Charlie Tuna Show” on KFNS and can also be heard on Frank Cusumano’s “The Press Box.” His Twitter handle is #aareid1.

Alvin A. Reid

Jeff Thomas, a star wide receiver at the University of Miami, was a four-star talent at East St. Louis High School who found himself as a father at age 17 and struggling with his fate.

PreP BasketBall NoteBook

With Earl Austin Jr.

High school hoops at Highland Shootout Jan. 6

The 2018 portion of the high school basketball schedule begins with a tremendous event in the Highland Shootout. The seven-game showcase takes place on Saturday at Highland High School. It features top programs from all across the state of Missouri and Illinois. Here is a look at the seven matchups.

Highland vs. Lebanon (girls), 10 a.m. – Highland is paced by an excellent backcourt in 5’6” sophomore Ellie Brown and 5’6” senior Rece Portell. Undefeated Lebanon is led by 5’5” senior Kendra Bass, 5’9” junior Emily Reinneck and 6’1” senior Madison Schoenfeld.

scorers in the St. Louis metro area. Carbondale has a potent tandem in 6’3” guard Darius Beane (SIU signee) and 6’5” Kani Acree (Ball State signee).

Highland vs. Columbia, 3:30 p.m. – The host Bulldogs are one of the best teams in the Mississippi Valley Conference, led by 6’4” junior Sam Laporta and 6’3” junior Jake Kruse. Columbia has one of the top guards in the metro east in 6’1” senior Jordan Holmes.

Edwardsville vs. Kansas City Rockhurst, 11:30 a.m.

– Edwardsville has one of the top scoring threats in the metro area in senior guard Jack Marinko, who is averaging 27 points game. Rockhurst is one of the top teams in the Kansas City area. The Hawklets are led by smooth 6’2” senior guard Xavier Rhodes.

Whitfield vs. Carbondale, 1 p.m. – Whitfield features 6’5” guard Torrence Watson, the University of Missouri signee, who is one of the top

CLUTCH

Continued from B3

their proverbial place.

The demographics for NFL owners, fans and Hall of Fame voters are similar: mostly white men. That doesn’t mean that black athletes can’t get a fair shake. Clearly, the Hall of Fame is littered with spectacular African American players. However, when it comes to the political component of voting for players, please believe that those demographics play a role.

Owens’ “attitude” has been described as the main reason that has not yet been inducted into the Hall of Fame. One would imagine that Moss, who was also labeled as a “malcontent” during his career, would receive the same treatment.

Bruce first became eligible in 2014. Owens’ first year of eligibility was 2016. This year is Moss’ first year on the ballot. The last time a receiver entered the Hall on the first try was in 2010 when the GOAT Jerry Rice received the call. Typically, players must play the waiting game, especially

Belleville West vs. Poplar Bluff, 4:45 p.m. – Belleville West is coming off winning the championship of the Centralia Tournament. The Maroons are led by 6’7” junior forward E.J. Liddell, who is one of the top players in the state of Illinois. Senior guard Malachi Smith is a Wright State signee who is very talented. Poplar Bluff just won its own Poplar Bluff Showdown with an upset victory over Jonesboro, Arkansas. in the finals. The Mules are led by bullish 6’3” junior forward Dominique Hardimon.

Chaminade vs. Chicago Morgan Park, 6:30 p.m. – A tremendous matchup featuring a top team from St. Louis against a Chicago area powerhouse program. Chaminade

Together Isaac Bruce and Marshall Faulk helped guide the Rams during the Greatest Show on Turf. Faulk, Kurt Warner and Orlando Pace have already received the call to Canton. Now it’s Bruce’s turn.

is a talented unit led by 6’7” senior Jericole Hellems, who has signed with North Carolina State. Morgan Park is led by 6’3” senior guard Ayo

receivers. Nevermind how silly the waiting game is for receivers, it’s reality. Though Bruce doesn’t have the same gaudy touchdown numbers as Moss (156) and Owens (153), he also doesn’t have the same attitude-related baggage. Though he was a fierce competitor on the field, Bruce was never considered a distraction. He was never called a cancer. All he did was make plays, and boy did he make a lot of them. Whether it was the 1,781 yards receiving he amassed in 1995 or the 73-yard TD scamper he made in Super Bowl XXXIV, Bruce cemented himself as one of the best and most-consistent receivers in the

• The CBC Cadets won the Class 6 state championship in football by defeating Blue Springs. It was the second state

Continued from B3

• John Burroughs School won the Class 3 state championship in boys track with an excellent team effort, led by All-American freshman Brandon Miller in the 800meter run.

• Rockwood Summit won the Class 4 state championship in boys track behind a stellar effort from senior jumper Rayvon Allen.

• Cleveland Naval Jr. ROTC raced to another Class 2 state championship in boys track and field, its third in six years.

• McCluer South-Berkeley won the Class 3 state championship in girls’ track and field behind the dynamic duo of Raheema Westfall and Octavia Cato.

• The Southwestern Conference dominated the Illinois Class 3 boys’ state track and field championships as Edwardsville won the state title and East St. Louis finished as state runners-up.

game. When discussing whether his resume is HOF-worthy, Bruce doesn’t shy away from his credentials.

“I don’t know what the criteria is or if it’s just based solely on numbers, or if other aspects of the game…,” Bruce told Lakisha Jackson of NFL. com. “But when you look from a numbers standpoint, when I retired, I was the second person ever to hit 15,000 yards receiving. If you remove the top guy, I’m the No. 1 wide receiver in the history of the league as far as receiving is concerned.

Bruce was blessed to be able to catch passes from 2017 Hall of Fame inductee Kurt Warner during what

championship in the past four years for the Cadets.

• Junior Hunter Grannum

PreP athlete of the Week

E.J. Liddell

Belleville West – Boys Basketball

The outstanding junior forward was named the Most Valuable Player of the Centralia Holiday Tournament after leading the Maroons to the championship.

The 6’7” Liddell averaged 21.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and four blocks in the Maroons’ four victories. He had 22 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in a 62-61 victory over Champaign Central in the championship game. He had 22 points, nine rebounds

and eight blocks in West’s 72-53 victory over Alton in the semifinals. In the quarterfinals, Liddell had 26 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks in a 65-63 victory over Confluence Academy. For the season, Liddell is averaging 22.6 points, 8.4 rebounds while shooting 61 percent from the field in leading Belleville West to a 12-1 record. Liddell has already received 12 scholarship offers from Division I programs.

Dosunmu, who has signed with the University of Illinois. The 6’4” Dosunmu has already posted games of 61 and 50 points this season.

was essentially a three-anda-half year run from 19992002. However, he spent also excelled with guys like Marc Bulger Tony Banks Chris Miller and Chris Chandler serving as signal callers.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Isaac Bruce belongs in the Hall of Fame. The question is, whether he’ll be voted in this year, or be forced to wait a few more years like Chris Carter who was voted in on his sixth year of eligibility.

Though I have essentially washed my hands of all things NFL after the Rams skipped town and the owners blackballed Colin Kaepernick, I’m still rooting for Bruce to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Warner, Marshall Faulk and Orlando Pace have already made their way to Canton. Now it’s time for Bruce to join his teammates.

“If it’s stats, longevity, performing in the biggest of games, I think I check every box,” Bruce stated. Indeed you do, Ike. Good luck.

Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @ IshmaelSistrunk

of MICDS was an individual state champion in diving at the Missouri Class 1 Swimming and Diving Championships.

Vashon vs. Champaign Central, 8:15 p.m. – The twotime Class 4 state champions are a young and talented team that is paced by dynamic 6’1”

Trinity Titans win MICDS Tournament

Congratulations to the Trinity Titans on winning the championship of the MICDS Holiday Tournament for the first time. The Titans finished a perfect 4-0 tournament with a 60-39 victory over Duchesne in the championship game. The members of the team are (in alphabetical order) Isiah Dockett, Austin Franklin, Rashaud Johnson, Zachary Nobles, Ryan Kalkbrenner, Terrell Rush, Jaron Thames, Marcus Washington, Rashad Weekly, Isiah Williams, Dajuan Young. The Titans are coached by Jeffrey McCaw.

junior guard Mario McKinney and 6’5” sophomore guard Cam’ron Fletcher. Champaign Central is led by 6’5” senior guard Tim Finke.

the st. louis americaN college athletes of the Week

Javonte Perkins

The freshman forward from Miller Career Academy has enjoyed an excellent first season in the junior college ranks. For the season, the 6’7” Perkins is averaging 21.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting 62 percent from the field, 43 percent from the 3-point line and 75

percent from the free throw line. Perkins has posted some big games early in the season, including 26 points and six rebounds against Three Rivers Community College, 23 points and seven rebounds against Lakeland College and 19 points and seven rebounds against Indiana Elite.

Shawnta Johnson

UMSL – Women’s Basketball

The senior forward from Lawton, Oklahoma was selected the Great Lakes Valley Player of the Week. The 5’10” Johnson had 11 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the Tritons’ 74-69 victory over Lindenwood. She

Southwestern Illinois College – Basketball also had 21 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in a 96-54 victory over Oakland City. For the season, Johnson is averaging 12.6 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 49 percent from the field in leading UMSL to a 7-3 record.

Earl Austin Jr.

Truck driver training at community college now a Registered Apprenticeship

A new truck driver training and apprenticeship program being offered at St. Louis Community College has been officially recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor as a Registered Apprenticeship. The program was developed to address regional and national workforce shortages in the freight and trucking industries, while also promoting meaningful career and employment opportunities.

According to the American Trucking Association, there will be a shortage of 55,000 truck drivers by the end of 2017, which will grow to a shortfall of 175,000 drivers by 2026. More than 70 percent of the nation’s freight is moved on U.S. highways, and locally, more than 42 percent of freight moving in and out of the St. Louis region is by truck.

the U.S. Department of Labor, Hogan Transportation, Schneider and Vega Transport. Funding for the program comes from U.S. Department of Labor funds administered by SLATE and St. Louis Community College scholarship funds.

n “I never thought about pursuing a career in trucking until I first learned about this apprenticeship.”

– Javon Quinn

There are five students in the program’s inaugural class, which began on December 4. After five weeks of technical coursework, the students will start their new careers with Hogan Transportation. During their paid apprenticeships, these students will receive more than 2,000 hours of on-the-job training.

“I never thought about pursuing a career in trucking until I first learned about this apprenticeship,” said Javon Quinn, one of the program’s inaugural students. “This is a great growth opportunity for me.”

The truck driving training and apprenticeship program was developed through a public-private partnership between St. Louis Regional Freightway, St. Louis Community College, St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE),

UP Companies buys scaffolding system with workplace safety grant

For program eligibility requirements, contact Rene Dulle at 314-539-5296 or email her at rdulle4@stlcc.edu.

To learn more about the St. Louis Regional Freightway, visit thefreightway.com.

The UP Companies (Power UP Electrical Contractors + Square UP Builders) was one of 37 Missouri businesses awarded safety grants from Missouri Employers Mutual (MEM), a provider of workers compensation insurance. The $7,875 grant funded the purchase of equipment advancing workplace safety. The UP Companies used the grant money to purchase a ReechCraft PowerPole power scaffolding system. The system will help reduce fall hazards by eliminating the need for workers to climb up on a roof to tie off a pole, or remove it. The new scaffolding system also features stabilizing technology to further protect workers.

The UP Companies is one of the region’s largest full-service MBE-certified contracting companies. For more information, visit www. theupcompanies.com or call 314-865-3888.

YMCA to host Winter Career Fair at multiple locations

The Gateway Region YMCA will host a job fair on Saturday, January 6 from 12-3 p.m. at most locations. Full and part-time positions are available in Child Care, Membership,

Before & After Care, Summer Camp, Health & Wellness, Aquatics, Management, Sports, Maintenance and Gymnastics. The following branch locations will not hold a Career Fair on Saturday, January 6: Clinton County YMCA, Randolph County YMCA, Marion County YMCA, Jefferson County Family YMCA, Downtown St. Louis YMCA at the MX, Tri-City YMCA, Mid-County Family YMCA, O’Fallon Park Rec Complex, and YMCA Community Development. All others will. Pre-registration is encouraged by visiting www. gwrymca.org/careers. For more information, please visit www. gwrymca.org or call 314-4361177.

Faculty and students in St. Louis Community College’s truck driver training and apprenticeship program: Matt Albrecht, instructor; Terry Dorsey, apprentice; Javon Quinn, apprentice; Scotty Phillips, apprentice; Darren Truman, apprentice; Mario Pearson, apprentice; Seth Owens, lead instructor.

Must see black cinema

Rapping up 2017

The “Black Panther” release is a month away on February 16.

African Americans set to represent on the big screen in 2018

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

Only a few days into the new year and it’s already clear that 2018 is going to be a good year to be black and into movies.

Thanks to some high-profile releases – coming to cinema as soon as next week –the African American viewing audience is rightfully on the edge of their seats waiting eagerly to see what the big screen serves up. This year will pick up where 2017 left off with respect to strong

Lil Wayne teamed up with Migos in helping St. Louis hip-hop fans end the year with a bang thanks to LooseCannon Ent.’s The ResoLOUtion concert Friday night at Chaifetz Arena. Local acts Doughboy, Buddy Love and KiDsGoalsS were also featured artists for the show that was presented along with iHeart Media’s Z 107.7 and 100.3 The Beat.

Walking with Dr. King, and sharing his message

Bernie Hayes and the late Dick Gregory will be honored alongside State Rep Bruce Franks Jr. and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity Eta Boulé St. Louis at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. State Celebration Commission’s 32nd MLK Kickoff Ceremony Saturday, January 6 at HarrisStowe State University. CNN’s Bakari Sellers will keynote this year’s event.

Dick Gregory and Bernie Hayes among honorees for 32nd MLK kickoff celebration

By Kenya Vaughn Of The

St. Louis American

Six years after he delivered the keynote address and received The Chairman’s Award at the 26th Annual MLK Statewide Kickoff for Missouri, comedy pioneer and civil rights legend Dick Gregory will posthumously receive the receive the Dr. Henry Givens Jr. Legacy Award. Gregory, who passed away August 19, 2017 at the age of 84, will be honored for his lifelong commitment to civil rights and equality at the 32nd Annual Celebration on Saturday (January 6) at Harris-Stowe State University’s Main Auditorium.

Holiday concert lifts spirits of incarcerated youth

Symphony delivers songs of the season to STL County Juvenile Detention Center

By Morgan Bradley For The St. Louis American

This holiday season, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra gathered four string musicians and vocalist Brian Owens to perform an evening concert at the St. Louis County Juvenile Detention Center in Clayton. The facility’s gymnasium was turned into an impromptu concert hall where about thirty juveniles ranging in ages from 13-17 years old were assembled.

“My job is to bring musicians from the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra into the community to perform for people who don’t have easy access to hear live concerts performed at Powell Hall by musicians of the Orchestra,” said Maureen Byrne, director of diversity and community affairs for the St. Louis Symphony, in her opening remarks. “My friends Ann Fink, Wendy Rosen, Leonid Gotman and Alvin McCall are here to play for you. You might like the music they play, or you might think it’s the

Detention Center.

lamest thing you’ve ever heard. You have the freedom to decide for yourself. Regardless of what you think, you’ll have this experience –and nobody can take that away from you.”

She then read a few remarks from Ron Boyer, a former prisoner who was introduced to the St.

Louis Symphony through a similar program at Missouri Eastern Correctional Center 15 years ago. In his remarks, Boyer said he couldn’t

“It was Dick Gregory that went with us around to the bars and pool halls – along with Martin Luther King,” Andrew Young, a civil rights icon in his own right, said about Gregory during Why We Laugh, a television program that documented the history of African American comedy.

n An author, former radio personality, television personality and St. Louis American columnist, Hayes has nearly 55 years of experience in St. Louis media – and the stories to prove it.

“He was there to help people to realize that the only way this movement could be defeated is if people lost their cool and got angry.”

Born and bred in St. Louis, Dick Gregory forfeited his comedy career and committed his life to fighting for freedom, equality and justice.

“I get a call from Dr. King,” Gregory told The American about his transition for funny man to freedom fighter back in 2012. “That was interesting because that’s where my spirit changed.”

Dick Gregory will be recognized alongside Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity Eta Boulé St. Louis (Distinguished Community Service Award) State Representative Bruce Franks Jr. (Distinguished Social Action Award) and Bernie Hayes (Distinguished Drum Major Award). CNN analyst, attorney and former State Representative Bakari Sellers will provide this year’s keynote address.

“He just paved the way for a whole lot of people coming behind him,” Ron Gregory said of his older brother. “And in 1976 they named a street

See MLK, C4

Photos by Kenneth Hibbler

Singer Brian Owens and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra musicians Ann Fink, Wendy Rosen, Alvin McCall and Leonid Gotman performed a pop up holiday concert for incarcerated youth at the STL County Juvenile

The 47-year-old multiplatform brand that caters to black women was acquired from Time Inc. by Essence Ventures, which was formed and is chaired by Richelieu Dennis, founder of Shea Moisture.

Photos by Lawrence Bryant

The Migos Lil Wayne

KiDsGoalsS

How to place a calendar listing

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

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

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

MLK day activities

Sat., Jan. 6, 6:30 p.m., 32nd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Missouri Statewide Celebration Kickoff. With keynote speaker Bakari Sellers. Harris Stowe State University, 3026 Laclede Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Mon., Jan. 8 – Sat., Jan. 13, Microsoft Store is honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a series of events focused on the community, youth and Dr. King’s Dream. Field trips slots are available 10a-12p, 1p-3p and 4p-6p while they last. Contact Arika Parr at Arika.Parr@Microsoft. com to reserve your space. Field trips are open to all grade levels.

Jan. 11 – 14, JPEK CreativeWorks Theatre presents The Meeting Stage Play. A depiction of a supposed meeting of Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as they debate their varying approaches to social problems. .Zack, 3224 Locust St., 63103. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Fri., Jan. 12, 11:30 a.m., Christian Hospital presents the First Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Luncheon. Proceeds help support Christian Hospital Foundation’s community health and patient care initiatives. 11133 Dunn Rd., 63136. For more information, visit www.christianhospital. org.

Jan. 13 & 15, 10 a.m., Missouri History Museum presents the MLK Family Celebration. Kids 14 and under can take part in Youth Activism and Engagement Workshops, create peaceinspired art projects, and dive into St. Louis history. 5700

Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. mohistory.org.

Mon., Jan. 15, 9 a.m., The Novel Neighbor presents St. Louis Civil Rights MiniCamp. Children in 3rd – 5th grade will dig in to the hidden history all around us through fun, interactive activities and games. 7905 Big Bend Blvd., 63119. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Mon. Jan. 15, 5:30 p.m., Coalition of Black Trade Unionists St. Louis Metro Chapter presents The 40th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Awards Banquet. Sheet Metal Workers Hall Local 36, 2319 Chouteau Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. cbtustl.com.

Fri., Jan. 19, 7 p.m., Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom Celebration – 1960Now: Social Justice Movements, Past and Present. Sheila Pree Bright’s #1960Now, depicts photographs linking today’s protest movements to those of the 1960s. St. Louis Art Museum, 1 Fine Arts Dr., 63110. For more information, visit www.slam.org.

concerts

Tues., Jan. 16, Steve Litman presents Lalah Hathaway, The Pageant, 6161 Delmar. For more information, visit www.thepageant.com.

Sat., Jan. 20, 7 p.m. The All Stars of Hip-Hop featuring DMX, E-40, Scarface, MC Lyte, Young Bloodz, Murphy Lee & Kyjuan, Tela, Chaifetz Arena. For more information, visit www.chaifetzarena.com.

Sat., Jan. 27, 7:30 p.m., Delmar Hall presents Kahsan 6133 Delmar Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. ticketmaster.com.

Kenya Vaughn recommends

local gigs

Fri., Jan. 5, 9 p.m., TLT Productions presents Drea Vocalz Album Release Concert. With Lyrique and Domino Effect. .Zack 3224 Locust St., 63103. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Sat., Jan. 6, 8 p.m., The St. Louis Underground Hip Hop Tournament, Round 1. Fubar, 3108 Locust St., 63103. For more information, visit www. ticketfly.com.

Sat., Jan. 6, 9 p.m., Agitate the Airwaves presents the St. Louis Local Hip Hop Showcase. Featuring 9 artists and a special guest. Way Out Club, 2525 S. Jefferson Ave., 63104. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Sat., Jan. 6, 10 p.m., Mo E Trio feat. Paige Alyssa: Late Night Grooves. Dark Room at The Grandel, 3610 Grandel Sq., 63103. For more information, visit www. thedarkroomstl.com.

Wed., Jan. 10, 5 p.m., Kranzberg Arts Foundation presents Wednesday Night Jazz Crawl in Grand Center.

Free, family-friendly, and open to jazz lovers of all ages. Grand and Washington Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

Fri., Jan. 12, 9:30 p.m., Late Night with Anita Jackson. Dark Room at the Grandel, 3610 Grandel Sq., 63108. For more information, visit www. thedarkroomstl.com.

Sat., Jan. 13, 7:30 p.m., Blue Bayou – The Music of Linda Ronstadt & Legends Grandel, 3610 Grandel Sq., 63108. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com.

special events

Sat., Jan. 6, 9:30 a.m., Chouteau Greenway Project at Community Day. Local performers will show off their skills, door prizes will be given out, and participants will be able to create a mural. Harris-Stowe State University, William L. Clay Professional Development Center, 3026 Laclede Ave, 63103. For more information, visit www. chouteaugreenway.org.

Ashleyliane Dance Company Winter Workshop. Four intermediate-advanced classes in hip-hop, contemporary and jazz funk. The Grandel, 3610 Grandel Sq., 63103. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Thur., Jan. 11, 11 a.m., National Career Fair presents the St. Louis Career Fair Live Hiring Event. DoubleTree at Westport, 1973 Craigshire Rd., 63146. For more information, visit www. nationalcareerfairs.com.

Thur., Jan. 11, 6 p.m., New City School Open House. Hear from the Head of School and more. 5209 Waterman Blvd., 63108. For more information or to RSVP, visit www.newcityschool.org/ winter-oh.

Fri., Jan. 12, 11 p.m., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., St. Louis Alumnae Chapter invites you to our Ole Skool Stake Groove. Coachlite Skate Center, 3754 Pennridge Center, 63044. For more information, visit www.dst-slanews.org.

Sat., Jan. 6, 12 p.m., Back 2 the Books 2018. There will be free school supplies, giveaways and a spotlight on some St. Louis’ own kid entrepreneurs. St Vincent Community Center, 7335 St. Charles Rock Rd., 63133. For more information, visit www. totes4tomorrow.org.

Sat., Jan. 6, 12 p.m., Gateway Region YMCA Winter Career Fair. Meet with our hiring managers for on-the-spot interviews and to learn more about our great benefits. To find a location near you and register for the career fair please visit www. gwrymca.org/careers.

Sat., Jan. 6, 8 p.m., The St. Louis Underground Hip Hop Tournament, Round 1. Fubar, 3108 Locust St., 63103. For more information, visit www. ticketfly.com.

Sat., Jan. 6, 9 p.m., Agitate the Airwaves presents the St. Louis Local Hip Hop Showcase. Featuring 9 artists and a special guest. Way Out Club, 2525 S. Jefferson Ave., 63104. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Sat., Jan. 6, 10 p.m., Afro City: St. Louis’ Most Diverse Party Series. Hiro Asian Kitchen, 1405 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sun., Jan. 7, 9 a.m.,

Sat., Jan. 13, 10 a.m., Winter Homeless Outreach. We are asking for donations of coats, blankets, scarves, socks, etc. We are also asking for personal hygiene products and book bags. Thomas Dunn Learning Center, 3113 Gasconade St., 63118. For more information, call (314) 353-3050.

Sat., Jan. 13, 6 p.m., A Conscious STL presents Black Girl Heal: A Night of Sharing, Story Telling, and Sisterhood. Mindful Movements, 1400 N. Market St., 63106. For more information, visit www. consciousfest.net.

Jan. 13 – 14, 2018 St. Louis Motorcycle Show. America’s Center, 701 Convention Plaza, 63101. For more information, visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Jan. 13 – 14, 11 a.m., St. Louis Bride & Groom Magazine presents The Wedding Show. Over 200 exhibit booths, a runway show, prize drawings, wedding food samples, and more. America’s Center, 701 Convention Plaza, 63101. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Sat., Jan. 20, 11 a.m., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., St. Louis Alumnae Chapter’s Founders’ Day. The RitzCarlton, 100 Carondelet Plaza, 63105. For more information, visit www.DST-SLA.org.

Sat., Jan. 20, 5 p.m., 6th Annual An Evening with the Cardinals. Join featured guests Whitey Herzog, Willie McGee and Keith Hernandez

The 32nd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Missouri Statewide Celebration Kickoff with keynote speaker Bakari Sellers. For more information, see MLK DAY ACTIVITIES.

as they reminisce about the 1982 World Series. St. Louis Union Station Hotel, 1820 Market St., 63103. For more information, visit www. thenccs.org/cardinals.

Jan. 26 – 28, COCA presents Momentum. A mix of cutting-edge hip-hop and contemporary dance across a broad range of styles brings members of COCAdance and the COCA Hip-Hop Crew together. 524 Trinity Ave., 63130. For more information, visit www.cocastl.org.

Sat., Jan. 27, 4 p.m., The Organization for Black Struggle & the Youth Council for Positive Development present their 38th Anniversary Celebration. The theme for this year is “Organizing Black Voters into a Radical Electoral Strategy.” The Omega Center, 3900 Goodfellow Blvd., 63120. For more information, visit www.obs-stl.org.

literary

Thur., Jan. 11, 7 p.m., The Saint Louis Poetry Slam. All poets are welcome to compete. Urb Arts, 2600 N. 14th St., 63106. For more information, visit www. urbarts.org.

Fri., Jan. 12, 3 p.m., St. Louis Office of Financial Empowerment hosts author John Hope Bryant, author of The Memo: Five Rules for your Economic Liberation. St. Louis Public Library – Central Branch, 1301 Olive St., 63103. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

comedy

Jan. 11 – 13, Helium Comedy Club presents Preacher Lawson! 1151 St. Louis Galleria St., 63117. For more information, visit www.heliumcomedy.com.

Fri., Jan. 26, 7 p.m. & 10 p.m., Steve Litman presents #SheReady Tour starring Tiffany Haddish, The Pageant, 6161 Delmar. For more information, visit thepageant.com.

art

Fri., Jan. 5, 5 p.m., Opening Reception for Shabez Jamal: A Free Space between Intersections. The exhibit celebrates queer Black men at the intersection of race and equality, contrasted against the backdrop of desertion and abandonment. Erica Popp Studios + Gallery, 3271 Roger Pl., 63116. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Sat., Jan. 13, 7 p.m., Opening reception for Portfolio Gallery’s presentation of All Colors Visual Arts Invitational & Juried Exhibition, the exhibition runs through February 28 and features the work of invited AfricanAmerican and juried artists from across the country.

Kenya Vaughn recommends

St. Louis Artists’ Guild, 12 North Jackson Ave., 63105. For more information, visit www.stlouisartistsguild.org.

Through Feb. 4, National Blues Museum presents The Blues in Black and White –The Blues Photography of Kirk West. 615 Washington Ave., 63101. For more information, visit www. nationalbluesmuseum.org.

lectures and workshops

Sat., Jan. 6, 9:30 a.m., St. Louis Office of Financial Empowerment presents Credit and Money Management Workshop. Learn about establishing and increasing your credit score, creating a budget, and more. LaunchCode, 4811 Delmar Blvd., 63108. For more information, www.stlofe.org/ events.

Sat., Jan. 6, 10 a.m., Painefree Coaching & Consulting presents The Power of Vision: A Vision Board Event. An event featuring networking, inspirational testimonials, a guided workshop, and more. CIC@CET, 20 S. Sarah St., 63108. For more information, visit www.visionboardevent. com.

Mon., Jan. 8, 5:30 p.m., SCORE St. Louis presents The Importance of a Business Plan. AnheuserBusch Hall, Fontbonne University, 6800 Wydown Blvd., 63105. For more information, visit www. stlouis.score.org/localworkshops-seminars.

Mon., Jan. 8, 6 p.m., SCORE St. Louis presents Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights. Kirk Damman,

Lewis Rice, LLC, will discuss all of these topics and why they matter. AnheuserBusch Hall, Fontbonne University.

Tues., Jan. 9, 7:15 a.m., Olin Business School presents 6 Executives. 60 Ideas. 60 Minutes. Knight Hall, Washington University, 1 Brookings Dr., 63130. For more information, call (314) 935-3622.

Tues., Jan. 9, 12:30 p.m., St. Louis Office of Financial Empowerment presents Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Learn how to apply, reduce monthly payments, and receive tax-free forgiveness on student loans. 1200 Market St., 63103. For more information, visit www. stlofe.org/events.

Wed., Jan. 10, 1 p.m., Grace Hill Women’s Business Center presents Office Hours with a Banker. Take time to meet with a banker, to discuss commercial lending, financing, credit or options of loans. 2125 Bissell St., 63107. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Thur., Jan. 18, 6 p.m., Aligning our Work with Action: Communicating During Unrest and Uncertainty. A free panel discussion for nonprofit agencies to learn to deliver appropriate messages during civil unrest. Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www.csprc.org/events.

Sat., Jan. 20, 9 a.m., JLW Sr. District invites you to a Tax Law, Fundraising, and Tax Law Seminar. Open to Pastors, Church Leaders, and Trustees. Green Memorial Church of God in Christ, 113 Clayton Ave., Sikeston, MO

63801. For more information, call (314) 805-3480.

Sat., Jan. 13, Second Saturday Divorce Workshop with Laura Boedges, Financial Advisor, HighTower St. Louis (Magna Place Building), 1401 S. Brentwood Blvd., Ste. 550 St. Louis, MO 63144. For more information, call 314598-4068 or e-mail lboedges@ hightoweradvisors.com.

Mon., Jan. 22, 6 p.m., SCORE St. Louis presents Developing Financial Projections for External Financing. Business owners and entrepreneurs will learn to raise funds from external lenders to finance their business operations. AnheuserBusch Hall, Fontbonne University.

theatre

Jan. 16 – 28, The Fabulous Fox Theatre presents School of Rock The Musical. 527 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. fabulousfox.com.

Through January 21, The Black Rep presents Fences by August Wilson starring Ron Himes and Linda Kennedy, Edison Theater, Washington University, 6465 Forsyth Blvd., 63105. For more information, visit www.edison.wustl.edu.

Sat., Jan. 6, 10:30 a.m., Inspired Overflow Ministries presents the 2018 Prophetic Declaration Prayer Breakfast. Hilton Garden Inn St. Louis Airport, 4450 Evans Pl., 63134. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sun., Jan. 7, 3 p.m., The Center of Life Christian Church 3rd Anniversary. 2208 McKelvey Rd., 63043. For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

Jan. 12 – 13, R.E.S.E.T. 2018: Redeeming the Times. Join us for worship, fellowship, and wisdom to reset your life and restore God’s power and authority. Pentecostal Power Church of Lebanon, 208 N. Madison St., Lebanon, IL. 62254. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Jan. 5, Molly’s Game starring Idris Elba opens in theatres nationwide.

Mon., Jan. 8, 6:30 p.m., Angst: Raising Awareness Around Anxiety Film Screening. Those ages 10 and older are invited to view this film which examines the causes and effects of anxiety in children. The J, 2 Millstone Campus Dr., 63146. For more information, visit www.jccstl. com.

Fri., Jan. 12, Proud Mary starring Taraji P. Henson opens in theatres nationwide. Mon., Jan. 15, 7 p.m., The First Congregational Church of Webster Groves, United Church of Christ hosts a screening of Paris Noir: African Americans in the City of Light. 470 E. Lockwood Ave., 63119. For more information, call (314) 962-0475 or visit www. facebook.com.

The All Stars of Hip-Hop featuring DMX (above), E-40, Scarface, MC Lyte, Young Bloodz, Murphy Lee & Kyjuan and Tela. See CONCERTS for details.

Continued from C1

African American presence both in front of the camera and behind the scenes on the big screen – and history will be made in the process.

Proud Mary – Next week (January 12) the woman we’ve come to know and love as Cookie Lyons will be toting guns and taking names in the title role of “Proud Mary” which also stars Danny Glover and Margaret Avery. It’s hard to say from the previews – and lack of reviews – if Babak Najafi’s film about the a hitwoman in Boston. But Henson consistently delivers. And if her portrayal of hired gun Sharice Watters in 2007’s “Smoking Aces” is any indicator, fans should prepare to be delighted.

Black Panther –The internet and social media have yet to recover from the release of Marvel’s official trailers for “Black Panther” last fall. The release is now a month away (February 16) and the anticipation has been more than a notion. Who can blame black movie goers for threatening to call off from work and organizing group visits to the theater for a film with an allblack cast, black director and black superhero. Chadwick

Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Angela Bassett, Forrest Whitaker and “Get Out” star Daniel Kaluuya are just a few of the names of the first all-black film based on comic book characters from a major studio. In the film, T’Challa, who was introduced to Marvel audiences in “Captain America: Civil War,” seeks to protect his people from evil forces led by Erik “Killmonger” Stevens. Boseman and Jordan face off as T’Challa and Stevens. Director Ryan Coogler has yet to get it wrong, and I have a feeling that his wining streak of quality films will continue when “Black Panther” comes

to theatres and will be more than worth the wait.

A Wrinkle in Time – With the March 9 release of the film adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle novel “A Wrinkle in Time,” Ava DuVernay will become the first black woman to direct a live-action film with a budget of over $100 million. In “A Wrinkle in Time” the film tells the story of a young girl who time-hops in the efforts to save her astrophysicist father being held captive on a distant planet. The diverse cast includes Oprah Winfrey, Storm Reid, Mindy Kaling, Reese Witherspoon, Michael Pena and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

If Beale Street Could Talk – In late summer or early fall (release date is TBA) Barry Jenkins will follow up his Academy Award-winning film “Moonlight” with an adaptation of James Baldwin’s 1974 novel “If Beale Street Could

Talk.” The crime thriller that has a wrongly convicted black man’s pregnant fiancée fighting for his freedom by any means necessary and stars Regina King, Coleman Domingo, Bryan Tyree Harris (“Atlanta”) and Teyonah Parris (“Chi-Raq,” “Mad Men”).

Black Klansman – Spike Lee and “Get Out” Director Jordan Peele will pair up for “Black Klansman.” Lee will direct, and Peele will serve as one of the producers for the movie adaptation of the book that details Ron Stallworth’s stranger than fiction account as an African American detective who infiltrated a Colorado Springs chapter of the Ku Klux Klan – and ultimately became head of the chapter. “Black Klansman” stars John David Washington, son of Denzel and star of the HBO series “Ballers.” The film is expected to hit theatres in the fall of 2018.

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in his honor and it intersects with Dr. Martin Luther King –the way his life did.”

A voice for the ages

Saturday’s festivities will also see local media legend Bernie Hayes bestowed with the Distinguished Drum Major for Justice Award.

According to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. State Celebration Commission, the Distinguished Drum Major Award recognizes a person or organization that “continues the beat of justice in honoring Dr. King’s dream.”

“We honor you for keeping the legacy of Dr. King, and for your tireless efforts to exemplify Dr. King’s ideals and commitments,” Dwaun J. Warmack, Ed.D, president of Harris-Stowe State University and chairman of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. State Celebration Commission, said of Hayes in the announcement that he would be the 2018 recipient of the award.

Hayes is living, breathing, walking history when it comes

CONCERT

Continued from C1

believe that such talented musicians would take the time to play for a bunch of offenders in prison – and that the performance really had an impact on him. One of the musicians present to play for them also visited him while he was incarcerated. They connected after the performance and developed a friendship that they still maintain today.

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra musicians have a history of visiting prisons and playing for offenders, but this concert marks their first year preforming at the Juvenile Detention Facility. The idea was sparked by Don Roth, a long-term volunteer of the center. Last spring Roth got in touch with Byrne.

“He told me about all of the work he’s been doing for decades and asked if the SLSO could help,” Byrne said. “He said to me, ‘These kids just grow up so differently, they don’t have these kinds of experiences, so would we come and play for them?’ I thought, ‘You know we have experience going into prisons, but I never thought about juvenile detention centers.’

to black entertainment and media in St. Louis. An author, former radio personality, television personality and St. Louis American columnist, Hayes has nearly 55 years of experience in St. Louis media – and the stories to prove it.

After introducing their music to St. Louis on his radio program the year before, Hayes brought a then unknown children’s band from Gary, Indiana that consisted of five brothers (with a 7-year-old Michael Jackson as their lead singer) to the region for the first time in 1967 to perform at the London House East. Immediately afterward, he had to front their father Joseph Jackson the gas money to get back home. It was classic Bernie Hayes.

In April of 2017, Hayes was appointed director of the Wolff Jazz Institute at Harris-Stowe State University. He is also a media professor at Webster University and founder of the National Black Radio Hall of Fame. He is still a treasured voice thanks to his long-running television program that was most recently featured on KNLCTV and his columns for The American Hayes regularly references the teachings and legacy of Dr. King within his commentary,

Roth began volunteering at the center about 27 years ago. “I was in my 60s. I’ll be 90 in March,” Roth said. “I didn’t know what all I could do but, I would just go in and interact with the kids. It was a rewarding experience for me. I wanted to expose them to all of these experiences they’ve been denied access too.”

Kellie Landaker, assistant director of Programming for the center said they wanted to provide the experience of hearing the symphony to “to see what would turn lightbulbs on in their heads.”

“I think a lot of people have misconceptions about the detention center,” said Landaker. “We do different programs throughout the year, and some daily. A lot of times the children come to detention and they think no one cares about them. If you think nobody cares, why behave?

[Through the programming] I really hope that they can just see how much people do care.”

The concert began with the young viewers slumped in a slightly uninterested posture. As the performance continued, there was a visible change in their body language.

As they heard the testimony from Ron Boyer, they perked up. When Owens sang – and the orchestra performed songs

particularly to pay homage near the national holiday that commemorates his birth. He reflected on the significance of King’s dream and what he felt would have been the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s best birthday – as an 80 yearold watching the first African American President of the United States being sworn into office. This past January, his column served as a reminder of King’s legacy – and the fact that it is often misconstrued.

“Everyone in the United States knows about Dr. Martin Luther King. He is a symbol of national pride. They know the myths, the legends, and even some of the facts,” Hayes wrote in his column last year entitled How Would Dr. King Celebrate his 88th Birthday? “Much of the truth is obscured by the romanticized mythology surrounding him. But the fact is that he was an amazing leader.”

Harris-Stowe State University will host the 2018 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. State Celebration Commission of Missouri Kick-off Program on Saturday, January 6 at 6:30 p.m. in the Main Auditorium, 3026 Laclede. For more information, visit www.hssu.edu.

that they are familiar with – they began to show more interest in the concert. They clapped, snapped and sang along to the point where there was visible excitement on their faces. The applause grew louder at the end of each score.

A 16-year-old resident of detention center remarks about how much he enjoyed the performance. He says his favorite part was the performance of “Silent Night” and that seeing Brian Owens was one of his favorite parts.

“By bringing in Brian Owens and Alvin McCall, men of color, it helps the kids to see in to see what they can possibly accomplish,” said St. Louis Symphony Public Relations Manager Anthony Kiekow. St. Louis County Juvenile Detention Center’s Director Cheryl Campbell says there is a need for more people from the community to engage with the young people in the facility. Byrne hopes that the Symphony’s performance will set an example and motivate others to get involved.

“Maybe other individuals who have something they can share with these children can go in and inspire them,” Byrne said. “You never know. We still have a chance to inspire these kids and not write them off.”

Celebrations

Stellar Grad

Micayla Dominique Collins graduated from Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a Concentration Certificate in Law Enforcement. She completed her studies on a full athletic scholarship for Track & Field. Her signature events were Long Jump and Triple Jump, where she received collegiate recognition from ESPN and broke New Mexico Junior College’s triple jump record, which stood for 20 years.

Reunions

Beaumont Class of 1968 will celebrate its 50-year reunion June 8-10,2018. Yes, Class ‘68 will begin Milestone celebration 6th month on 8th day. Our 2018 meetings in preparation will be held at STL County library located

7606 Natural Bridge at 1:00 p.m.. Dates are (Saturdays) January 13, February 17, March 17, April 21, May 19 and June 2. For more information call (314) 8698312 or email bhsco1968@ att.net. Pass the word and lets celebrate!

Homer G. Phillips and St. Louis Municipal School of Nursing is planning an all class reunion in June 2018. Please send your name, address and telephone number to: Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni, Inc., P.O. Box 8033 St. Louis, Missouri 63156.

McKinley Class of 1978

will celebrate its 40-year reunion July 27-29, 2018 at the Embassy Suites-Airport. For more information please contact Barbara Lindsey, Barbara_Lindsey@icloud.com or Marvin Woods, mwoods@ projectcontrolsgroup.com , (314) 647-0707.

Northwest High Class of 1978 is planning its 40-year reunion for next year. If you have any questions please contact Sly at (314) 397-0311 or email us at northwestbluedevils@78gmail. com. Check us out on Facebook Northwest High School-Class of 1978.

Soldan Class of 1978 is

planning their 40th class reunion. The dates are June 1, 2 and 3. For more information: call (314) 413-9088.

Sumner Class of 1976

Annual Christmas Party Saturday, December 23, 2017, 7 pm at DEJAVU II Cafe, 2805 Target Dr. 2 for 1 drink specials (5:30 - 7:30pm), free parking, No cover charge but $5 (40-Yr Class Reunion Attendees & Guest) or $10 for all others for the Catered Food. Limited Reserved Seating AVAILABLE until 10pm. (Doors open 5pm/closes 1am) For more info, call B. Louis at 314.385.9843.

University City Class of 1978 will hold its 40th reunion May 25-27, 2018. For more information please email ucityhs1978@gmail.com

Vashon High School will celebrate its 90th anniversary October 5-7, 2017 for alumni, students and community activities to celebrate educational commitment and tradition. For additional information, go to Vashonhigh. org or contact Elvis Hopson, elvishopson@att.net, (314) 535-0243, Pearl Lake, lakep6@ aol.com, (314) 388-0743 or Cozy W. Marks, Jr., jr3810@ sbcglobal.net, (314) 383-5682.

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 – as space is available Photos will not be returned. Send your announcements to: kdaniel@stlamerican. com or mail to: St. Louis American Celebrations c/o Kate Daniel 2315 Pine St. St. Louis, MO 63103 FREE OF CHARGE

Reunion notices are free of charge and based on space availability. We prefer that notices be emailed to us! However, notices may also be sent by mail to: Kate Daniel, 2315 Pine St., St. Louis, MO 63103 Deadline is 10 a.m. on Friday. If you’d like your class to be featured in a reunion profile, email or mail photos to us. Our email address is: reunions@ stlamerican.com

Wedding Announcement

Marion Lavon Houston and Angelita Felicia Jackson will tie the knot in June 2018 in Columbia, Illinois. Every Love Story is beautiful but OURS is our favorite.

Birthday Girl

Wishing my oldest, MacKenzie Mansaray, a Happy 10th Birthday on January 9. Love, Mommy Vivian

New Year’s Day @UrbArts

Swag Snap of the Week

The final categories of the 2017 awards. I know it’s 2018, but have to start things off by closing out the 2017 awards. I’ll make it quick. The “Don’t Call It A Comeback Even Though That’s Exactly What It Is” award goes to two separate recurring parties that jumped back in a major way. Ironically, they were both at Ballpark Village. It was a tie between the Ballpark Village edition of Arts, Beats and Lyrics. And the Labor Day Edition of Eat.Drink.Chill. Both of those sets brought everybody and their mama –I literally saw parents and children kicking it at ABL. Luckily for them I’ll keep their names to myself. I would have liked to see the art more prominently placed, but I understand they had to accommodate all of those folks. But anyway, both parties had that huge space at capacity and I was shocked but not surprised to see Teddy BFree bring the masses to BPV. But an honorable mention goes to Teese for that lovely set in the common outdoor area next to the Nine Network. You know your party is life when it causes traffic jams on adjacent streets! The “I Came For A Good Time, So Why Do I feel Like I’m In The Twilight Zone?” award goes to Timothy Bloom’s “performance” at The Grandel. I’m confident that I will never again in life go to a neo-soul show where the headliner decides to do psychic readings instead of singing. “My Favorite Things” Award. There were few experiences that gave me life abundantly. Most of them were concerts. Tank and Da Bangas at The Old Rock House, SZA, John Legend, MetroBoomin and Big Sean Janet’s snapback buns of steel show and Mary J. Blige’s musical roast of ex Kendu were among my most memorable highlights.

Weezy opens the Resolution. The size of the crowd was light – okay, really light – but it was still lit for LooseCannon and iHeart’s ResoLOUtion concert Friday night at Chaifetz Arena. With that said, I got the shock of my life when Lil Wayne was the first to hit the stage of the main attractions. I don’t care how the folks argue that the Migos are the hot group right now, I will never be able to wrap my mind around him as an opener. Period. He didn’t pull a Mase and only give a taste of his music because he felt like he should have been billed at the top. Actually, he gave a solid set – almost as solid as that new body of his. You can get buff like that from skateboarding? I can’t say that I ever imagined I would lust after him. Yet, once I got past him being a blonde, I was like “those pecs, abs and arms are quite nice.” Okay, on with the show. The gag was that the Migos did an abbreviated opening act performance to close the show. And he might not think he got left off of “Bad and Boujee,” but Takeoff left himself off of the majority of the performance. Quavo the one shaped like a pair of high waist jeans did all the work, but at least Offset tried. Takeoff was wandering back and forth acting like he didn’t know his microphone was on and his left leg kept falling asleep. What? It’s true. The kids seemed thrilled with it though, especially the crew of the kids wearing those awful white 60s movie starlet oval framed shades Takeoff is known for plopping on is face. I can see why they flipped the set order. If the Migos had gone first, the crowd would have been disappointed and hit it without even catching Wayne – and getting a taste of how a well-rounded rap show is supposed to go.

Chill and chuckling into 2018. When I say chilling, I don’t mean kicking back. I mean literally feeling like I was walking through a deep freezer as I trotted to the Scottrade so Mike Epps and Katt Williams could help me make my final memory of that dreadful 2017 one of laughter. I can’t say I was sprawled all out hollering, but I lowkey didn’t expect to. I had a good time and got a “kee kee” or two in before I shivered through these streets as y’all rang in 2018. My favorite joke from Mike Epps was when he talked about his daughter’s boyfriend filling his prescription – if you get my drift – and how his own grandmother doesn’t think he’s that funny. It was a cool and casual set. And I wasn’t mad at any of them, including St. Louis’ own G. Thang. When I spotted fellow STL native Guy Torry on the side of the stage, I was hoping he was going to do a brief set. He didn’t, but just as I was settling into being disappointed, Katt Williams scooted out with Eskimo realness thanks to a full-length mink coat and matching hat. Leave it to Katt Williams to get some box braids and use corn silk Cabbage Patch Kid Hair for extensions. I suppose he has to have some process to his hair no matter what. His set was abbreviated, but I can’t say that I was really mad about it. I got some chuckles – and had plenty of St. Louis pride when he showed all kinds of love to the city.

New Year’s Freeze. I can’t say that it was a total bust, but that hawk kept New Year’s Eve from being great. Dos Salas had a cool, sexy crowd and Marquee was a good look too. Mood’s little silent party wasn’t empty but it wasn’t packed either. Obar takes the crown for most turned up in the name of New Year’s Eve. How could it not be with Mike Epps in the building? By the time I escaped that hotbox of a club, I embraced the bitter wind – at least for a few moments. But back to the parties. I was shocked that a party not even on my radar took the runner up for New Year’s Eve turnup. It went to whoever was throwing that party at Las Palmas – the Mexican restaurant on the corner of Washington and 20th. I was on my way to Dos Salas and poked my head up in there before I made it back to my car. Mainly because it was so lit, but partly to catch some of that body heat. It was soulful, that’s for sure. But I kicked it. Nothing warms your soul like seeing a member of the savage community in a sombrero turning up in the name of 2018.

Pamela and Meredith were just two of the many AKAs in the house for their official End of The Year Jam Friday night @ The Machinist Hall

Richard and Jarmarco were just two of the 17 Therapeutics who performed in front of a full house

KD and Bossie kicked backed for a few minutes before the Louisiana rap star stepped into the stage @ The Ambassador Saturday night

Kappas Greg, John and Robert Kapa Alpha stepped into the Machinist Hall to Party with the AKAs for the sorority’s End of the Year Jam

Jaylan and Kiera were relaxing @ 4 Hours Live as they reserved energy for the NYE @ Mystic

Jerome and Maxine Bray danced the night away with ZAPP and DJ KUT for New Year’s Eve @ The Ambassador

Jeff and Tiffany welcomed in 2018 @ Dos Salas NYE

Tia and Mario were all smiles as they celebrated his birthday and New Year’s Eve @ Shi Sha Sunday night

Kisha and Tony dared started their new year in in classic threads @ The Marquee

LooseCannon S.L.I.M. and the Migos before the rap trio closed out

The ResoLOUtion rap concert presented by LooseCannon Ent. and iHeart Radio Friday night at Chaifetz Arena. The show also featured rap star Lil Wayne along with local artists Buddy Love, Doughboy and KiDGoalsS.

Photos by V. Lang

Lisa and Sterling Moody soaked in the moment as the countdown to 2018 began @ The Jewel

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST

The City of Jennings is accepting applications for an Economic Development Specialist. This position will work directly under the Director of Housing and Economic Development. Duties include administering a wide range of business development activities, related to economic development, under limited supervision, which includes representing the City in meetings, preparing agendas and minutes for City held meetings, communicating with various city contacts and stakeholders, creating plans and programs.

Three years of previous administrative experience and working with the public is preferred. Starting annual salary $39,390. Applications available at Jennings City Hall, 2120 Hord Ave. or at www.cityofjennings.org.

NO RESUMES ACCEPTED WITHOUT COMPLETION OF OUR APPLICATION!

Completed applications may be mailed to Jennings City Hall, emailed to jobs@ cityofjennings.org or faxed to 314-3883999. Applications accepted until January 19, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. CST.

TEMPORARY DIRECTOR

Webster University is a seeking a Temporary Director in the School of Education. Please apply online at http://webster.peopleadmin.com/ postings/2724 No phone calls please. Webster University provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, ethnicity, age, protected veteran or disabled status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

ALGONQUIN NURSES HOME HEALTH CARE

is looking for Nurses, C.N.A’s and Home Health Aides for full or part time positions to care for elderly and disabled individuals in their home.

Applicants must have reliable transportation with a valid driver license and proof of insurance. Clear background screening, clean drug test need only apply. * Competitive wages /one on one client care /paid holidays medical/dental insurance /paid wkly /referral bonus & much more!

Please call 314-822-8158 or go online to register www.algonquinnurses.com FINANCE

MANAGER, DEACONESS CENTER FOR CHILD WELL-BEING

Position Summary

The primary responsibility of this fulltime position is relationship management and constituency support services for the program activities of Deaconess Center for Child Well-Being to optimize its profile as the regional hub for child-friendly public policy advocacy. The secondary responsibility is managing routine operational processes for Deaconess Center. Duties include prospecting, triaging and aligning potential community convenings; supervising building maintenance and meeting logistics; coordinating hospitality; and assuring proper documentation of use to inform evaluation and compliance standards.

CLERK

POSITION

The Village of Hanley Hills is accepting applications for the position of a full-time Finance Clerk. Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 to 5:00 p.m. Requires financial experience and the ability to multi-task. Experience with Microsoft Office, QuickBooks, and basic office procedures are a must. Background check and drug test is required.

Qualified candidates should have a high school diploma or GED.

Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration or a related field and municipal experience a plus.

Interested candidates can submit application and resume to: Hanley Hills City Hall, 7713 Utica Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63133 or e-mail your resume to clerkhanhills@gmail.com.

Job description available at Hanley Hills City Hall. EOE COORDINATOR, BUILDING MAINTENANCE

Position Summary

The primary responsibility of this full-time position is the maintenance and operation of Deaconess Center for Child Well-Being to keep building and grounds clean and safe. The secondary responsibility is logistical support of meeting rooms and convening spaces. Duties include regular cleaning, operation and preventative maintenance of building systems (mechanical, electrical and plumbing), set-up and transition of meeting rooms and assisting Deaconess Center Manager as needed.

To learn more about this opportunity including responsibilities, qualifications, and how to apply, visit the Deaconess Foundation website: http://www.deaconess.org/coordinator-building-maintenance

POLICE OFFICER

The City of Eureka (population approximately 11,000) is accepting applications for a full-time Police Officer. There is no application deadline, and interviews will be conducted periodically until the position is filled. Application and job description available at Eureka Police Dept., 120 City Hall Dr., Eureka, MO and on the City’s website at www.eureka.mo.us. Starting salary is $50,500.00, plus excellent benefits. For additional information, call 636-938-6600 (Relay Missouri: 1-800-735-2466). The City of Eureka is an EOE/ADA employer.

To learn more about this opportunity including responsibilities, qualifications, and how to apply, visit the Deaconess Foundation website: http://www. deaconess.org/manager-deaconess-center-child-well-being

DIRECTOR OF UMBRELLA CLAIMS

Overall responsibility for runoff operations related to the Umbrella program. Position reports to Senior Vice President - Claims. To apply, please visit: www.safetynational.com and click on the Careers tab.

SERVANT LEADER INTERN

Deaconess Foundation will sponsor a network of Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools® programs for children in grades kindergarten through five in the St. Louis region. The Servant Leader Intern serve as classroom facilitators delivering an Integrated Reading Curriculum to a class of no more than ten students for 7 weeks during the summer. The Servant Leader Intern will lead afternoon enrichment activities, chaperone field trips, and lead parent workshops and community outreach activities.

To apply for this position, visit Deaconess Foundation’s website - http:// deaconess.org/cdf-freedom-schoolsservant-leader-intern.

JOB OPPORTUNITY

Controller

The Housing Authority of St. Louis County (HASLC) has an

opportunity for a Controller position. The HASLC is a quasi-governmental agency that is responsible for administering the Section 8 voucher program in St. Louis County. No governmental or non-profit experience is required.

The controller is responsible for maintaining the general ledger and its subsidiary ledgers. Additional responsibilities include oversight of payroll, grant accounting and reporting to external agencies.

This is a great opportunity for someone with a CPA and an accounting degree from an accredited institution.

Minimum requirements: Bachelor’s degree in accounting from an accredited institution, four or more years of experience Desired requirements: Certified Public Account certificate. Equal opportunity employer, section 3 compliance Send Resume to: job@haslc.com or Controller

Attn: Human Resources PO Box 23886 St. Louis, MO 63121

All resumes/applications must be received by 5:00 PM, December 15, 2017

Home Repair Manager (Full-Time)

The North Newstead Association is seeking a full-time home repair manager to assist with it providing place-based community development services:

Essential Functions:

• Providing minor carpentry, electrical, plumbing or related repairs for eligible low/mod income homeowners and tenants

• Providing pre- and post- repair inspections of other larger home repair projects

• Plan and oversee all home repair activities. Some minor repairs will be performed by the Home Repair Manager, while more significant repairs will be performed by engaged contractors.

Requirements:

• Minimum of 2 years’ experience as a maintenance technician or a related position

• Must have demonstrated proficiency in general carpentry including; painting, drywall, minor electrical and plumbing

• A vehicle and valid state driver’s license

• Must have outstanding interpersonal skills and be dependable and reliable

• Must be willing to work periodically on evenings and week ends Application Process: To apply for this position submit your resume and cover letter to smartinez@sfm-stl.com or mail

SPECIALIST

– PSA PREMIUM AUDIT

The Premium Audit Specialist will work both collaboratively and independently while self-directing their work processes to meet corporate objectives and goals related to the accurate and timely completion of primary premium audits. The specialist will conduct audit processes for applicable excess accounts, substantiating the accuracy of policy classifications, exposure base, exposure information, inclusions/exclusions, status of subcontractors etc. The Specialist will also facilitate the order process for applicable excess accounts. To apply, please visit: www.safetynational.com and click on the Careers tab.

ASSISTANT – PSA POLICY OPERATIONS

Responsible for monitoring and follow through of service related requests for the Policy Operations unit, and tracking all Primary Workers’ Compensation, Commercial Auto, and General Liability transactions to include: New Business, Renewals, Endorsements, Cancellations, Reinstatements and Non-renewals. This position includes the accuracy in which transactions are issued and distributed to our customers. To apply, please visit: www. safetynational.com and click on the Careers tab.

CITY OF ST. LOUIS BOARD OF PUBLIC SERVICE

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS for DESIGN SERVICES FOR DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING DRIVE LIGHTING AND SIGNAL INTERCONNECT – PHASE III, FEDERAL PROJECT

STP-9901(643), ST. LOUIS, MO. Statements of Qualifications due by 5:00 PM, CT, January 5, 2018 at Board of Public Service, 1200 Market, Room 301 City Hall, St. Louis, MO 63103. RFQ may be obtained from website www.stl-bps. org, under On Line Plan Room – Plan Room, or call Board of Public Service at 314-622-3535. 14% DBE participation goal for this project.

CITY OF ST. LOUIS BOARD OF PUBLIC SERVICE

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS for DESIGN SERVICES FOR CLIMATE CONTROL PROJECTS, PACKAGES 2 AND 3, ST. LOUIS

LAMBERT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. Statements of Qualifications due by 5:00 P.M., CT, January 11, 2018 at Board of Public Service, 1200 Market, Room 301 City Hall, St. Louis, MO 63103. RFQ may be obtained from website www.stl-bps.org, under the On Line Plan Room – Plan Room, or call the City of St. Louis, Board of Public Service, at 314-622-3535. 25% MBE and 5% WBE participation goals.

CITY OF ST. LOUIS

BOARD OF PUBLIC SERVICE

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

for Professional Engineering and Field Survey Services for Louisiana Calm Streets, St. Louis, MO, Federal Project

TAP-9901(649). Statements of Qualifications due by 5:00 PM, CT, January 10, 2018 at Board of Public Service, 1200 Market, Room 301 City Hall, St. Louis, MO 63103. RFQ may be obtained from website www.stl-bps.org, under On Line Plan Room – Plan Room, or call Board of Public Service at 314-622-3535. 14% DBE participation goal for this project.

Keller Construction Inc.

Requests subcontractor and or material supplier quotations from Illinois Department of Transportation Certified subcontractors, suppliers and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises for the letting to be held January 19, 2018. Interested parties should contact Keller Construction at (618) 656-0033. All quotations must be submitted by 4:30 PM Wednesday January 17, 2018. Keller Construction is an equal opportunity employer.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for 2017 CRS Collector Overlay Program, St. Louis County Project No.CR-1708, 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, Missouri 63105, until 2:00 p.m. on January 10, 2018

Plans and specifications will be available on December 18, 2017 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouisco.com), or by contacting County Blue Reprographics, Inc., 1449 Strassner Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63144, (314) 961-3800.

DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES ST. LOUIS, COUNTY

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Comprehensive Legal Services

The Great Rivers Greenway District is seeking the services of qualified professionals for Comprehensive Legal Services. Specifications can be found at www.greatriversgreenway. org. Respondents should submit one sealed package marked with “COMPREHENSIVE LEGAL SERVICES” of their proposal by 10:00am, CST, January 17, 2018. Questions or information related to this request should be directed to: Mike Carson, Director of Finance & Administration at 314-4361540 or via email mcarson@grgstl.org

SUBMITTAL LOCATION:

The Great Rivers Greenway District 6178 Delmar Boulevard St. Louis, MO 63112 Great Rivers Greenway reserves the right to reject any or all proposals. EOE

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

The St. Louis Philanthropic Organization (SLPO) invites 501 (c) (3) organizations to submit an application for its 2018 Responsive Grants cycle. Grant requests cannot exceed $10,000 and must be used solely for programs that provide services to St. Louis city residents. Agencies may submit only one application per grant cycle.

The original and two copies of the application, along with one copy of the required attachments, must be received before 4:30 p.m. on Friday, February 9, 2018, at the SLPO office located at 20 South Sarah Street, St. Louis, MO 63108. Please ensure that the required number of copies and all attachments are included. All grant requests must be submitted on the SLPO application form. The application form, along with instructions for completion and required attachments, may be found on the SLPO web site at www.stlphil.org as a fillable PDF and in Microsoft Word. Agencies may also request that a copy of the application and instructions be emailed to them by contacting the SLPO office at stlphil@ sbcglobal.net. SLPO office hours are Mondays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday mornings from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Applications will not be accepted by email or fax. They may be delivered to the SLPO office by U.S. mail or hand delivered.

SLPO will host an Informational Session for Prospective Grantees via conference call on Tuesday, January 16th at 10:00 a.m. Please see the St. Louis Philanthropic Organization website for further information.

INVITATION TO BID

Great Rivers Greenway is soliciting sealed bids for Maline Greenway: Bridges in Bella Fontaine Park in St. Louis County, Missouri. Bids for Project #286 must be submitted electronically via BidExpress.com no later than 10 am CST, January 26, 2018. See https://greatriversgreenway.org/ jobs-bids/ for the full invitation to bid.

GRG reserves the right to reject any or all proposals. EOE

NOTICE TO MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE (MBE) (AFRICAN AMERICAN AND/OR HISPANIC AMERICAN)) ADVERTISEMENT RIVER CITY CONSTRUCTION, L.L.C. AMERICAN SETTER DRIVE, ASHLAND, MISSOURI, 65010, (573) 657-7830 (PHONE) (573-657-7381 (FAX) IS SEEKING QUALIFIED SMALL, DISADVANTAGED, MINORITY, VETERAN OWNED AND WOMEN’S BUSINESSES FOR THE CITY OF ASHLAND WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY- ASHLAND, MISSOURI FOR THE SUBCONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS: EXCAVATION, SITE WORK, LANDSCAPE, CONCRETE, MASONRY, METALS, EQUIPMENT, ROOFING, GLAZING, CARPENTRY, DOORS AND HARDWARE, SPECIALTIES, FINISHES, SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION, CONVEYING SYSTEMS, HVAC, MECHANICAL, PLUMBING, ELECTRICAL. ALL INTERESTED AND QUALIFIED SMALL, DISADVANTAGED, MINORITY, VETERAN OWNED AND WOMEN’S 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 BID DATE OF 1/19/2018 @ 1:00 PM. PROPOSALS WILL BE

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The St. Louis Economic Development Partnership (the “Partnership”) solicits proposals from qualified engineering and planning firms to analyze the existing conditions of Old Olive Street Road in St. Louis County, Missouri, and develop a plan to redesign Old Olive Street Road for mixed use in accordance

Partnership, ATTN: Howl Bean II, 7733 Forsyth Blvd., Suite 2200, St. Louis, Missouri 63105. DBE, MBE, and WBE firms are encouraged to bid. The Request for Proposals may be obtained from the Partnership’s web site at www.stlpartnership.com.

the right to reject any or all proposals

therein. Any questions should

(314) 615-7663 or hbean@stlpartnership.com. St. Louis

Development Partnership Equal Opportunity Employer

NOTICE

Building, 41 South Central Avenue, 8th Floor, Clayton, Missouri 63105, until 2:00 p.m. on January 17, 2018. Plans and specifications will be available on December 25, 2017 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouisco.com), or by contacting County Blue Reprographics, Inc., 1449 Strassner Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63144, (314) 961-3800.

DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES ST. LOUIS, COUNTY

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for 2017 CRS Cape Seal Program, St. Louis County Project No.CR-1758, 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, Missouri 63105, until 2:00 p.m. on January, 10, 2018 Plans and specifications will be available on December 18, 2017 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouisco.com), or by contacting County Blue Reprographics, Inc., 1449 Strassner Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63144, (314) 961-3800.

DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES ST. LOUIS, COUNTY

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR TRAINING SERVICES

East-West Gateway Council of Governments is seeking a qualified consultant to provide EMS Strike Team Leader Training. Funding for this project will be provided by the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services. Proposals due 4:00 p.m. January 31, 2018. Late proposals will be returned. Details can be obtained at www. ewgateway.org or by calling 314-421-4220 ext. 208.

BIDS

Services, Springfield Region, State of Missouri, Project No. ZASIDIQ-8007, will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, Thursday, January 18, 2018. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/ facilities

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure an agreement for submersible pump repairs for KSB pumps. The District is proposing single source procurement for this service because Missouri Machinery & Engineering Company is the only authorized service center for pumps that are manufactured by KSB in the St. Louis Metropolitan area. Any inquiries should be sent to strenz@ stlmsd.com. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

www.stlamerican.com

CITY OF ST. LOUIS

ST. LOUIS LAMBERT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Solicitation For Bids (SFB) for Fleet Maintenance & Auto Body Repair

Bids Wanted

Bid documents may be obtained at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, Airport Properties Division, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., or by calling (314) 426-8184. This SFB may also be obtained by visiting our website at www.flystl.com/ business/contact-opportunites.

Robert Salarano Airport Properties Division Manager

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE:

Advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, imitation, or discrimination because of race,color, religion, sex, handicap, familial\status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference,limitation, or discrimination.“We will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.”

Call Angelita at 314-289-5430 to place your rental/real estate ad today!

January 22nd, 2018 to contract with a company for: SCADA Technical & Application Support 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 9268 RFP. 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.

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan

Public Notice of Single

Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure through an emergency need a Third Party Administrative Services company. The District is proposing single source procurement for this service and has procured Thomas McGee for a six month contract. Any inquiries should be sent to strenz@stlmsd.com.

Metropolitan

NOTICE

is seeking bids for providing security patrol services. A copy of the RFP can be found at downtownstl.org/bids

Religion

D4

Pastor Cole named chair of Coalition of Recovery Support Providers

Rev. Amber Cole was named chair of Missouri Coalition of Recovery Support Providers (MCRSP) Eastern Region. She is pastor of Breath of Life Christian Fellowship Church, 9930 Halls Ferry Rd., and executive director of Pieces of a Dream, Inc. She is also a probation and parole officer with the City of St. Louis. MCRSP is a coalition that strives to identify, unite, mobilize, and empower grassroots recovery support providers that assist individuals in their restoration of self-worth, human dignity, self-respect, life skills, and selfconfidence needed for sustained recovery and effective community living.

Religious exemptions and LGBT elder services

A new report highlights the unique ways in which lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) elders are harmed by a growing number of laws and policies aimed at exempting religious organizations and individuals from following nondiscrimination and civil rights laws and policies.

The Movement Advancement Project (MAP), the Public Rights/Private Conscience Project (PRPCP) at Columbia Law School, and SAGE, the nation’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBT elders, released the report, Dignity Denied: Religious Exemptions and LGBT Elder Services.

By 2050, the number of people older than 65 will double to 83.7 million, and there are currently more than 2.7 million LGBT adults who are 50 years or older living across the country. LGBT elders face unique challenges to successful aging stemming from current and past structural and legal discrimination because of their sexual orientation, their gender identity, their age, and other factors like race. These risk factors are exacerbated by recent efforts at the local, state, and federal levels to allow those with religious or moral objections to be exempt from non-discrimination laws, leaving LGBT older adults vulnerable to increased risk for discrimination and

mistreatment. According to the report, religiously affiliated organizations provide a majority of the services LGBT elders rely on for their most basic needs. LGBT older adults, like many older Americans in the United States, access a network of service providers for health care, community programming and congregate meals, food and income assistance, and housing, ranging from independent living to skilled in-home nursing. Approximately 85 percent of nonprofit continuing-care retirement communities are affiliated with a religion. Religiously affiliated facilities also provide the greatest number of affordable housing units that serve low-income seniors. Finally,

14 percent of hospitals in the United States are religiously affiliated, accounting for 17 percent of all the country’s hospital beds. While many of these facilities provide quality care for millions of older adults, there exists a coordinated nationwide effort to pass religious exemption laws and policies, and file lawsuits that would allow individuals, businesses, and even government contractors and grantees to use religion as a basis for discriminating against a range of communities, including LGBT elders.

Dignity Denied: Religious Exemptions and LGBT Elder Services outlines myriad federal and state efforts to allow individuals, businesses, and organizations to opt out of following nondiscrimination laws as long as they cite a religious objection. While most providers will do the right thing when it comes to serving their clients, some will only do so when required by law. The report concludes that because so many service providers are religiously affiliated, these laws pose a considerable threat to the health and well-being of LGBT older adults.

“This report and the amicus brief SAGE filed in the Masterpiece Cake case clearly demonstrate that personal religious beliefs should never be a license to discriminate against LGBT people or anybody else,” said Michael Adams, CEO of SAGE. “We must not allow the door of a nursing home or other critical care provider to slam in LGBT elders’ faces just because of who they are and whom they love.”

“The many LGBT elders who are adherents of faith-based traditions themselves suffer a special indignity when they are forced to seek care in settings that deny the dignity of both their LGBT identity and their faith-based beliefs,” said Katherine Franke, Sulzbacher Professor of Law, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and faculty director of PRPCP at Columbia University.

“Imagine how much harder it would be to reach out for help if you knew the organizations that were supposed to help you could legally reject you, and the government would back them up,” said Ineke Mushovic, executive director of MAP.

To download the report, visit http://www. lgbtmap.org/dignity-denied-lgbt-olderadults.

The Message Threat to man

I heard Bishop T.D. Jakes of the Potters House in Dallas preach a sermon one night that really caught my attention. He reminded those in the audience that most of the Bible was written from a jail cell. I think his overall message had something to do with his prison outreach ministry.

I was so struck, however, by the reality of God’s Word and direction coming from the deep faith of those imprisoned that the concept has never left me. What is it about being a believer, a walking talking believer, that somehow frightens those in power, so much so, that a jail cell, or worse, is a reasonable solution to the imagined problem?

History suggests that professing one’s belief in Jesus Christ as Lord can literally be a death sentence. The Bible teaches us that eventually our belief will be put to the ultimate test. Have you ever wondered why God’s teachings are so feared by those who believe in other religions?

Now that I’m saved, I guess you could say I know I’m a candidate for assassination. My point, as I was being enlightened by Bishop Jakes’ reference, is that I don’t view myself as a threat to anyone based upon my belief in one God, the Holy Trinity and the truth of Jesus Christ. But the world in which I live does view me in this manner.

I suppose a larger issue ought to then be: Have I done anything or said anything that should land me in jail, if jail is defined as that spiritual place that present-day Sadducees and Pharisees want to send people like me? If I haven’t said or done anything, then maybe I better get going, stir things up. In their day, the apostles, Paul and the others, were indeed looked upon as threats to the establishment. That meant governments and principalities, as well as the church hierarchy. If nothing else, I don’t think anyone would argue that on His worst day, Jesus was the quintessential revolutionary. It still amazes me how such principles of unconditional universal love for humankind got Him killed.

And then it always hits me that this kind of philosophy will ultimately attack and undermine entrenched institutionalized power of all kinds. That’s when I realize that if you are a believer in Christ, you are most certainly a threat to man. Man craves power, and Christianity abdicates all power to Jehovah. We stand as representatives of that truth and stand trial everyday with the world as our judge and jury.

That explains that target on the backs of believers throughout history and should remind us all of the target on our own backs. All I can encourage you to do in the face of all this is to stay the course and know our defense attorney is on the case 24/7. The prosecuting attorney has already lost this case. So when you’re alone in your cell remember, you have already won. The battle is over. The verdict is in. We won.

Columnist James Washington

Rev. Amber Cole