July 29th, 2021 edition

The St. LouiS AmericAn

Mo Supreme Court rules in favor of Medicaid expansion

Decision hailed by proponents

By Dana Rieck

In an unusually fast turnaround, the Missouri Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling on July 22 reversing a lower court’s decision that found the effort to expand Medicaid in the state was unconstitutional.

The initial lawsuit was filed on behalf of three plaintiffs which sought an order for the Department of Social Services to allow all who are newly eligible to enroll and receive the same coverage as current program clients beginning July 1, even though the state legislature and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson failed to include money in the state’s budget to pay for the expansion costs.

Parson also withdrew the state from its plans to expand the program.

Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem in June struck down an effort to expand Medicaid in response to the lawsuit. He argued it was unconstitutional because the 2020 ballot initiative did not include a revenue source to pay for the expansion.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs appealed the ruling.

“Because [the expansion amendment] does not appropriate money and does not remove the General Assembly’s discretion in appropriating money to MO HealthNet, the circuit court erred in declaring [the expan-

n “This marks a significant step toward achieving health equity and ensuring that individuals and families have access to affordable, high-quality health insurance.”

— Dr. Dwayne Proctor, president of the Missouri Foundation for Health

final tribute

Young named Missouri Regional Teacher of the Year

By Sophie Hurwitz

The St. Louis American

James Young, 44, grew up surrounded by music. His father was a drummer in a touring band, Nobody’s Perfect, and Young followed the band on international tours, including stops in the Philippines. Young’s grandmother sang in church, “And we always sang around the house,” he recalled. So, though it “wasn’t plan A to be a music educator,” becoming a musical theatre teacher was a great fit for Young. He has served the Ferguson-Florissant School District for 14 years and is receiving accolades for his teaching ability: first, as the district’s teacher of the year, and now as a Missouri Regional Teacher of the Year. The latter makes Young eligible to become Missouri Teacher of the Year, an award

which will be announced in August.

“I think it was others that called it out of me,” he said, recalling a time as a teen when his great-grandmother looked at him and pronounced, “you’d be a great teacher.”

But he did not immediately follow his great-grandmother’s calling. After spending his teen years growing up in Kinloch, Young enlisted in the Army. Afterwards, he says he drifted.

He started playing guitar in his own local band, but was unsure what he wanted to do beyond that.

“I went back to school for music,” he said. “But my grandmother said, ‘why don’t you consider music education…so you can have a plan B’?”

That Plan B turned into Plan A, as Young discov-

leaders face pushback on reinstated mask mandate

AG files suit, county council votes to end mandate

By Dana Rieck

The St. Louis American

While Monday marked the first day of the reinstated mask mandate in the St. Louis region, one of the first areas in the nation to do so, local leaders faced considerable resistance from the St. Louis County Council and Eric Schmitt, attorney general of Missouri. The mask mandate came as Missouri’s case average reached a six-month high and was the second highest in the country. Schmitt filed suit Monday to strike down the restriction, arguing that it “is unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious, unconstitution-

“Today, my office filed suit against St. Louis city and county for reimposing their mask mandate on the citizens of St. Louis. This continued government overreach is unacceptable and unconstitutional, especially in the face of a widely available vaccine. There is absolutely no scientific reason to continue to force children to wear a mask in school,” Schmitt wrote on his website.

St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page addressed the lawsuit Thursday morning, as well as the fact that the St. Louis County Council voted 5-2 this week to end the public health order and admonish Page for failing to consult them before issuing the mandate, arguing that it’s a requirement under a new state law.

The new Missouri state law was signed by Gov. Mike Parson in mid-June. The law, according to St. Louis Public Radio, states that Missouri counties and towns will only be able to issue public health orders that restrict

Paris Sqiuires (9), granddaughter of former state Rep. Betty Thompson of University City, holds the American flag after funeral services were held at Sumner High School where Thompson once attended school in the Ville neighborhood Sat., July 24.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

The St. Louis American

See MASKS, A7

n “I want to make it clear that a mask mandate remains in place in St. Louis County.”

—St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page

James Young (44), a sixth grade musical theatre teacher at JohnsonWabash Middle School, was recently named the Missouri Regional Teacher of the Year.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Mariah Carey’s daughter honors her in ad campaign

Mariah Carey’s daughter, 10-year-old Monroe Cannon, is starring in her first brand campaign.

She’s featured in a kids’ apparel line ad by OshKosh B’Gosh titled, “Today Is Someday.”

A clip shows Cannon playing a younger version of her mother while wearing an OshKosh B’gosh outfit that hearkens back to Carey’s 1990 “Someday” video.

“Someday it’s going to be different,” Cannon says in the ad.

“The melodies that live in my head, someday they’ll live at the top of the charts. The songs in my heart will touch millions of hearts. Artist of the year, artist of the decade, artist of the millennium. But the meaning is in inspiring generations of little girls to hit their high note. How’s that for a daydream?”

my children visualize and develop the dreams they hold in their own hearts. We did the campaign because we love the message of empowering kids to dream boldly and blaze their own path.”

The “Today Is Someday” campaign also pays homage to the late Muhammad Ali and Outkast’s childhood experiences. The videos feature children acting as influential figures and delivering monologues from each of them.

August Alsina, Tamar Braxton star in revived ‘The Surreal Life’ series

“As a little girl, I was determined to realize my dreams,” Carey said in a statement. “Now as a mother, it brings me so much joy to see

VH1 is reviving the celebrity reality show The Surreal Life for a seventh season. The series returns in the fall after leaving the airwaves in May 2006.

Kim Coles, Tamar Braxton, Dennis Rodman, August Alsina and other celebrities join the cast for a redefined version of the original series.

The various join together in what VH1 calls a “wild, over the top journey that pushes them to reveal different sides of themselves in surprising ways.”

The Surreal Life is known for bringing together some of the biggest names in pop culture and creating many unforgettable moments in reality television,” said Nina L.

Diaz, president of content and chief creative officer at MTV Entertainment Group. “We are excited to see how this stellar celebrity cast will make captivating television for audiences everywhere.”

The modernized Surreal Life will be produced by 51 Minds Entertainment. Its first two seasons aired on the former WB Network (which became The CW) before moving to VH1. It became one of VH1’s most popular franchises, leading to multiple spin-offs including Flavor of Love and I Love New York

Charlamagne Tha God lands Comedy Central talk show

Charlamagne Tha God radio host with The Breakfast Club, has landed a late-night talk show on Comedy Central. Tha God’s Honest Truth Lenard ‘Charlamagne’ McKelvey, a weekly half-hour show, premieres Sept. 17.

The show will focus on Charlamagne’s “culturally fluent take on social issues” and will feature sketches, interviews and “social experiments,” according to Comedy Central.

The show is described as “redemptively comedic, refreshingly unfiltered and unapologetically Black” with nothing “off limits.”

Stephen Colbert, who began his talk show career as a correspondent on The Daily Show on Comedy Central will return to the network as an executive producer for Tha God’s Honest Truth

“My South Carolina brethren Stephen Colbert is the ultimate cosigner in the late night space,” Charlamagne said. “We are going to win an Emmy next year for best lighting direction, I can feel it!!!”

Chris McCarthy, a veteran MTV executive who now supervises Comedy Central in his role as president-CEO of MTV Entertainment Group, is also part of the project.

“This is one of those moments where I can show you better than I can tell you,” Charlamagne said in a statement. “This is the third talk show Chris McCarthy has done with me and those shows prepared me for this opportunity.” Charlamagne had gigs on MTV’s “Guy Court,” “Guy Code,” and hosted the “Charlamagne & Friends” talk show. Sources: GoodMorningAmerica.

EOnline.com

Critical Race Theory supporters shut out of state Education hearing

By Sophie Hurwitz

The St. Louis American

Over a 3 hour and 30 minute hearing last week, lawmakers from Missouri’s Joint Committee on Education heard testimony regarding the teaching of critical race theory in schools. The testimony was invite-only, and aside from an official from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the only people who testified were opponents of critical race theory.

Kansas City Public Schools is the lone district in the state of Missouri that includes critical race theory in its curriculum. Hazelwood Public Schools and University City Public Schools reported that they teach the 1619 project, which frames the history of the country around the history of enslavement.

According to a DESE representative, there is nothing in Missouri’s education standards saying that students in kindergarten through 12th grade are to be taught critical race theory, which is a framework of analysis of America’s legal system exploring ways that race influences our laws and our history. It is most often taught in undergraduate and graduatelevel courses in law and ethnic studies—and, generally speaking, not taught in primary or secondary education.

This, however, did not stop the committee from discussing it as if it were a real and present threat to the white children of Missouri. One Clayton mother, Marlene Kovacs, described teaching students about race as “psychological terrorism” to

her children.

Christopher Tinson, chair of African American Studies at St. Louis University, is baffled by the sudden rise to prominence of what had previously been a relatively niche academic term.

“Most people get critical race theory in graduate school or definitely in undergraduate, but you’d have to be on a particular track, really, to get exposed to it,” he said. “They don’t tend to hit the streets over what’s being taught at the colleges, though. So this is a battle over K through 12.”

Tinson noted that this backlash is similar to the academic battle over multiculturalism in schools that he observed in college in the 90s, and the wars waged over ethnic studies curriculums in California and Arizona in the early 2000s.

“It’s the same kind of echo,” he said. “They’re saying, this is teaching us to hate America, this is teaching us to hate white people, this is teaching us not to appreciate the glory of America. It’s a very cleverly constructed effort to discredit something that people, up to this point, knew very little about, and still don’t care... what it is about and what it helps us to understand.”

Professor Stephanie PowerCarter, who studies race, education and popular discourse at Ohio State University, said that this discussion is ultimately a distraction: “The critical race theory conversation is not what the real issue is about. This is about humanizing people.”

“I have heard a lot in the news about…I don’t want my child to feel bad. But what are

3-hour hearing, but had not been granted the opportunity.

Heather Fleming, founder of the Missouri Equity Education Partnership, expressed her disappointment.

“If I had the opportunity to speak, I would have told them that I was disappointed...as an equity educator, I was disappointed in the way they misrepresented exactly what I do on a daily basis,” Fleming said

“When we are teaching equity, we’re teaching each other how to love one another better. So, to represent that as divisive... what does my work do? It brings people together, it does not divide.”

She also brought up her concern that no Black people were offered the chance to speak at the hearing.

“We talked about the wellbeing of students,” she said.

“We talked about the curriculum. We talked about a lot of things, but all of it was from the perspective of the majority, while ignoring that at least 30% of the students in our state don’t look like them.”

Ashley Bland Manlove, chair of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus, agreed.

you really saying? What you’re really saying is I don’t want my child to feel about Black people,” she added. “So what you do not want your child to feel bad about is the plight of Black people in this country historically.”

Republican state Rep. Doug Richey (R) who was on the committee, said of critical race theory that “this is destructive, this is detrimental, this is harm-

ful and it should not be present in our classrooms.”

Republican state Sen. (R) Cindy O’Laughlin, who heads the committee, said that Monday’s hearing will likely not be the last.

“All of our kids should be taught with respect and I do believe that some of our educational institutions have stepped into an area that is inappropriate,” she said. “Hopefully we

can dial that back some and work together to find common ground.”

The likelihood of future hearings was good news for the members of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus and supporters who assembled for a press conference after the hearing.

Many of those assembled at the press conference had hoped to speak during the previous

“Even though critical race theory is not taught in our state’s elementary, middle, or high schools, their mindless anger is meant to chill educators from even broaching the subject of race in our nation,” she said.

“Right now there is a COVID outbreak, and Missouri is again at the top for Delta variant breakouts. And yet, we are here talking about if history makes you uncomfortable.”

Medicaid

Continued from A1 sion amendment] constitutionally invalid,” the Supreme Court judges wrote in its opinion.

“Unanimous is a cool way to win,” Chuck Hatfield, an attorney for the plaintiffs and former chief of staff to Democratic Attorney General Jay Nixon, tweeted shortly after the opinion was released.

The case will now return to Beetem where he will decide whether those eligible under the expansion may enroll even while the state’s budget does not include the funding needed to provide services to the approximately 275,000 Missourians who will become newly eligible.

Several proponents of

expansion spoke out Thursday afternoon in response to the ruling.

Dr. Dwayne Proctor, president of the Missouri Foundation for Health, said in a statement that his organization looks forward to working with the state’s leaders and committed partners to move ahead with full implementation to ensure that those who are eligible know about expansion, how to enroll and where to access care.

“This marks a significant step toward achieving health equity and ensuring that individuals and families have access to affordable, high-quality health insurance,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, wrote in a statement that this ruling marked a monumental and resounding victory for the country’s democracy.

“The unanimous Missouri

Supreme Court decision to defend the voice of the people is a clear rejection of state Republicans’ attempts to dismantle our democracy and undermine public health,” Bush wrote. “This decision must be respected, and Medicaid expansion must finally and fully be implemented and provided for the almost 300,000 people across the state who will now have health coverage.”

Jessica Pace, executive director of Progress MO, wrote that it was time the governor and Missouri GOP member fulfilled their oath of office by funding the program.

“Missourians have fought for decades to expand eligibility for Medicaid so that our family members, friends, and neighbors can receive the care they deserve without making hard decisions between going to the doctor or putting food on

the table,” she wrote. Amy Blouin, president & CEO, Missouri Budget Project, added: “As a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling, Missourians across the state will finally be able to realize the health and economic benefits of Medicaid expansion. State after state has shown that in addition to providing insurance to those eligible, expansion is a fiscal and economic boon to state economies and budgets.”

“For far too long, we’ve seen the devastating impact on patients — disproportionately women, people of color, and people in rural communities — when they fall into the Medicaid gap,” wrote Yamelsie Rodríguez, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri. “Many delay care or cannot access it altogether. We look forward to jump starting Medicaid enrollment and ensuring every person who qualifies can afford the health care they need and deserve. This is what health equity and justice look like.”

Jason Hall, CEO of Greater St. Louis, Inc. wrote that expanding Medicaid expansion is a pro-growth public policy that supports better health outcomes, creates jobs and promotes racial equity.

“It is hard to overstate the positive impact this decision will have on economic growth across the state of Missouri,” he said. “The state is expected to see a substantial increase of new high-quality jobs. More hard-working families will have access to health care. Our health care sector will be able to expand and hire more people in more places.”

Background

This is just another chapter in the Medicaid expansion saga, which began in April when House Republicans resisted the will of the voters by removing $1.9 billion allocated for the program’s July expansion when crafting the 2022 state budget. The Senate then also voted against funding the program expansion.

Six days after the General Assembly presented Parson with the 2022 budget sans the expansion funding, the governor withdrew the state from its plan to expand Medicaid coverage altogether. Protests across the state were held following the announcement. Shortly after, proponents took the matter to court.

Meanwhile, Parson warned that if the legislature does not

reauthorize the medical provider tax, he could be forced to take a knife to the 202122 budget to fund the state’s Medicaid program. The Medicaid provider tax is collected from hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies and generates $1.6 billion annually. Missouri is then eligible to receive an additional $3 billion in federal funds. Parson called the special session because the legislature did not reauthorize the FRA (medical provider tax), as several GOP members wanted to include language in the bill that bans Medicaid coverage of certain birth control methods and blocks government funding of Planned Parenthood. The tax bill was then passed without the amendments regarding birth control and abortion.

Prior to the expansion, Missouri had one of the most restrictive Medicaid eligibility levels for parents and childless adults in the nation, according to the Missouri Budget Project. As it stood, the program provided coverage for low-wage parents earning no more than $388 per month for a family of three, the lowest level allowed under federal law. Missouri residents passed Medicaid expansion with 53.25% of the vote Aug. 4.

Having a ball

Kirkwood School District to invest in Meacham Park neighborhood

The Kirkwood School District has announced a plan to purchase the J. Milton Turner Building in the Meacham Park neighborhood and move its Administrative Services Center to that location.

“We are very excited for this opportunity to invest in the Meacham Park neighborhood,” said Kirkwood School District Superintendent David Ulrich.

“In addition, this unique public-private approach is a good deal for the district and our taxpayers. It’s another example of the board of education supporting good stewardship of the community’s resources.”

The Turner Building opened in 1925 as the Meacham Park Elementary School. In 1932, the Kirkwood board of education renamed the school after Turner, a former slave and St. Louis native who became a leader in African American education. Elementary school students attended Turner until it was closed in 1976. After being sold in 1980, it was later

converted to office space and several private businesses remain as tenants.

The offices of the superintendent, community relations and development, curriculum and instruction, finance, human resources and student services will be moving into the Turner Building. Those offices will be converted to create eight additional classrooms at North Kirkwood Middle School

The district planned to build a new addition totaling 7,100 square feet at its warehouse facility at a cost of roughly $250 per square foot. The pending purchase of the Turner Building will total $3.5 million, which is equivalent to roughly $91 per square foot. The Prop R funds originally intended for the addition will be redirected to other projects.

The district will rent part of the Turner Building to existing commercial tenants. The income will support the operating costs of the building and pay for the loan on the purchase.

Self-worth is an invaluable commodity

By Wendy Gladney

Have you ever known anyone who measured their self-worth by the size of their bank account or by their physical appearance?

Too many people in this materialistic world we live in do not know the difference between their net worth and their selfworth. The yardstick we measure our worth as a person is a major contributing factor in the decisions we make, the friends we choose, the thoughts we have about love and life, and the way we feel about others and ourselves. We should never confuse our valuables (what we have) with our value (who we are and whose we are).

Too often many of us think who we are depends on what we do or what we have. Our self-worth is actually determined by the level of importance we place on ourselves. Our self-worth controls how we see ourselves. How we think determines what we believe, what we believe determines how we act and how we act is a product of what value we place on ourselves. I know that my self-worth was adversely affected by some of the trauma and drama of my childhood caused by abandonment and abuse.

But, by the grace of God and the extraordinary love of my grandmother, I was able to regain my confidence and develop a love of self which enlightened me to recognize that I was a child of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This realization was instrumental in laying the foundation of my self-worth which I was able to build upon as an adult woman.

One of the ways I was able to build my self-worth and stay strong despite a less than perfect childhood was to forgive those who hurt me, disappointed me, and made me grow up to soon. I knew for me to become the person I wanted to be I could not feel guilty or ashamed of my situations and circumstances.

My grandmother taught me to focus on my strengths and excel in anything I chose to try or participate in. She also taught me to love myself, learn from my mistakes and never let anyone else make me feel less about myself. Never measure and compare your own self-worth to the worth of others.

If we are not careful, we can get caught up in what the world says we should measure our self-worth on, like money, status, possessions, popularity, appearance, who you know, social media followers, and career. Self-worth should be measured by your kindness, compassion, empathy, respect for others, responsiveness to others, caring for others and how well you treat yourself and those around you.

Always remember: Someone will always be prettier and thinner.

Someone will always be smarter and funnier.

Someone will always be younger and healthier.

But they will never be You!

There is only one you on this planet and you cannot be anyone else because everyone else is taken. You are unique, a one-of-akind individual is priceless. You are special and no one can who replace you in this world. Love you some you. When I realized and internalized that I was irreplaceable, I acted and talked like someone who knew their value and valued their self-worth. And so can you!

Wendy Gladney is a columnist for the Los Angeles Sentinel, a NNPA member publication.

Anthony Battle III, a student at Jefferson Elementary School in the Normandy School District, takes a lesson in juggling during the Dellwood Summer Fest for Kids at the Dellwood Community Center July 17.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Wendy Gladney

Editorial

Shameful priorities of No. County Council members

In a swift update from the CDC announcing its new recommendation for addressing COVID19, the agency cited the need for more frequent mask wearing. The shift from its earlier guidelines in May for those already vaccinated was a response to places, like Missouri, that have been the least likely to follow CDC guidelines in the past and consequently have seen a surge in infections among those unvaccinated. This state has been among those that have been ignoring sound medical advice for months on both masks and vaccines.

It emphasized that people who have been vaccinated that live in “an area of substantial or high-transmission” need to follow mask mandates. Again this applies to the state of Missouri where the Delta variant of the virus has been rising dramatically. Yet City and county health officials readily admit that these mandates are no substitute for the most effective weapon to fend off this surging Delta variant, which is vaccination. In response to the advice of local health officials, the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County announced on Monday that they will again require everyone, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or not, to wear face masks in indoor public spaces. This was an appropriate, but measured response (compared to calls across the country to mandate vaccinations) in a state where only 41% of its citizens have been fully vaccinated, making it one of the country’s hardest hit by this highly contagious, sometimes lethal virus.

The Republican party that long sought political advantage by exaggerating the risks of vaccination, endorsing unproven alternative therapies and provoking anti-vaccine voices are now screaming against this modest initiative to mitigate the spread of the Delta variant of the COVID virus. Many of these cynical Republican politicians, who were willing to encourage vaccine skepticism and oppose vaccination urgency to endear them to their Trump-loving base, are now struggling to moderate their message. While offering no immediate alternative way to mitigate the ravages of this pandemic, Republicans proclaimed self-serving destructive health decisions as principled right wing causes. You would think that Republicans couldn’t go any lower in their unprincipled drive to hold power, but we saw them willing to sow doubt about safe, effective vaccines to their gullible voters who now are disproportionately resisting vaccination. A recent Washington Post/ ABC news poll showed that 86% of Democrats

received at least one vaccine dose, but only 45% of Republicans have gotten at least one.

Even before he had read the public health orders, we heard objections from the state’s Republican governor, a sycophant to vaccination hesitancy thinking, as he tweeted that mask mandates “are wrong and erode public trust.” Our ambition-crazed Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt has embarrassed himself repeatedly and made the state a laughing stock around the country with his dubious lawsuits, to curry favor with the Trump crowd. He promptly proclaimed he intended to mount a legal challenge to the St. Louis mask mandates.

Yet we see a different type of opposition at the local level. Shady former St. Louis County police chief Tim Fitch (who has a similar mindset as the state’s other Republicans) voted to end the mask mandate and sought to moderate his objections as simply concern about what he characterizes as policy overreach by County Executive Sam Page who he is likely to challenge in the 2022 election. He was joined by two other Republicans and two Black Democrats on the County Council: Council Chair Rita Heard Days, and Shalonda Webb, whose North County districts are areas with the highest (by far) rate and number of infections. Their rationale seems linked to their desire to settle political scores against Page, the incumbent county executive. This resentment is apparently so strong that they are willing to ignore the larger issue of how to better protect their constituents from suffering the devastating consequences of this highlycontagious disease.

After the St. Louis County Council voted Tuesday to overturn Page’s indoor mask mandate, Page immediately insisted on Wednesday that the mandate will remain in effect despite the 5-2 vote by the Council.

Surely the two Black women on the Council can prioritize a need beyond their personal political grievances that have led them to follow the lead of Republicans council members who are members of a party that opposes the expansion of Medicaid funding, advances voter suppression measures, resists minimum wage increases and is beholden to the current leader of the Republican party, white nationalist leader Donald J. Trump, and his regressive policies that disproportionately harm Black people.

For any elected official to place their narrow personal political concerns above the Black community’s more urgent health care needs is shameful.

Commentary

Confronting the wave of anti-voter legislation

“The 21st century Jim Crow assault is real. It’s unrelenting, and we’re going to challenge it vigorously. While this broad assault against voting rights is not unprecedented, it’s taking on a new and, literally, pernicious forms. It’s no longer just about who gets to vote or making it easier for eligible voters to vote. It’s about who gets to count the vote -- who gets to count whether or not your vote counted at all. It’s the most dangerous threat to voting and the integrity of free and fair elections in our history.”

By Marc Morial

Last week, I had the opportunity to meet with President Biden and Vice President Harris to discuss the appalling attack on democracy that is ongoing in state legislatures across the country, as well as other issues of racial justice.

A few days later, President Biden delivered one of the most impassioned speeches of his presidency, echoing many of the themes we discussed in our meeting. He alluded to our meeting, reminding Americans of our commitment to “stay vigilant and challenge these odious laws in the courts.” I was proud that we pushed the President to address the issue, and we intend to continue pushing.

The National Urban League helped lead the meeting between the White House and a group of leaders from eight legacy Black civil rights organizations. Joining me were Melanie Campbell, President and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation; Dr. Johnnetta Cole, National Chair and President of the National Council of Negro Women; Wade Henderson, Interim President of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Damon Hewitt,

President and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP; and Reverend Al Sharpton, President of the National Action Network.

I was grateful for the opportunity to impress upon the President and Vice President the urgency of confronting the wave of anti-voter legislation that is surging through state legislatures. When we look at what is happening in this nation, we see an effort to impose a system of American apartheid on our grand and glorious multicultural nation. State laws are used to suppress the vote, the filibuster process is used to obstruct Congressional oversight. the courts are used to undercut the Voting Rights Act, all to subvert the democratic process and overturn the will of the people.

Justice cannot, will not be denied Commentary

By Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

The right-wing majority on the Supreme Court just undercut the Voting Rights Act again. Having gutted the section that required pre-approval of state voting laws to protect the rights of minorities to vote in Shelby v. Holder, Republican-appointed justices now have castrated the backup clause — Section 2 — which bans racial discrimination in election practices in Brnovich v. DNC. The result will open the floodgates even further to the wave of partisan laws that Republicans are pushing in states across the country to suppress the votes of African Americans and other people of color. The right-wing justices continue their assault on the meaning and power of the Voting Rights Act, a triumph of the civil rights movement that Justice Elena Kagan, writing in dissent, noted represents the “best in America.” The reaction against the civil rights movement continues.

Every movement for equal justice under the law in this country has been met with a brutal reaction. When reformers tried to limit the spread of slavery into new states coming into the republic, the slave states seceded, launching the Civil War, the deadliest war in American history. After losing the war, when the federal government began reconstruction to free the slaves and guarantee equal political and economic rights to all, the reaction was brutal, with lynching and terrorism — led by the Ku Klux Klan and

others — spreading to suppress the newly freed slaves. In the end, segregation — America’s version of apartheid — spread through the South and the hope of the civil rights amendments was crushed. Now, after the civil rights movement, the Voting Rights Act and the election of Barack Obama, the reaction has been fierce.

Across the country, Republican legislators have sought to make it harder for African Americans and other people of color to vote.

– President Joe Biden

We urged President Biden to put the full moral prestige and the power of the presidency behind voting rights, to help frame the debate for the American people. As a candidate, he talked about the soul of the nation. No issue cuts to the soul of the nation more than voting rights.

I was glad to hear President Biden and Vice President Harris reconfirm their determination to push for passage of the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act – two vital bills that would protect voting rights and the integrity of the elections process.

We also discussed the frustrating delay in securing passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which is currently being negotiated in the Senate. Days after the meeting, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who is leading the negotiations for Senate Republicans, said he hopes a police reform package is approved by the end of this month.

We look forward to continuing the discussion and holding the President and Vice President to their commitments.

Marc Morial is president and CEO of the National Urban League

The long lines that mark innercity voting sites are a graphic demonstration of the success of those efforts, for many people can’t take the hours off from work to cast a ballot. In each era, the lawless reaction — and blatant violations of the Constitution — have been ratified by disgraceful decisions in the Supreme Court. The court ratified segregation in Plessy v. Ferguson, inventing the doctrine of separate but equal — a concept that existed only in the judge’s imaginations, not in the realities of any of the former slave states. Voter suppression following the civil rights movement was ratified in Shelby v. Holder and now in Brnovich vs. the DNC, that have essentially gutted the Voting Rights Act, the crown jewel of the civil rights movement. The so-called “conservative” justices on the Supreme Court are rewriting the laws passed by Congress to serve their own partisan purposes. Now the excuse is to limit voter fraud, even though there is no evidence of such fraud other than in the ravings of partisan politicians. This struggle will continue. Clearly, Republicans across the country have decided that rather than seeking to win the votes of African Americans and other peoples of color, they would rather pass measures to suppress their vote — from discriminatory changes in voting practices, to gerrymandering of districts, to (most dangerously) empowering Republican legislatures to overturn the results of an election. Once more people of conscience must stand up and organize to protect the right to vote and to counter those who would suppress it. Once more, right-wing justices have written another shameful chapter of judicial ignominy that must simply be overturned. Once more Congress must act to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act to counter the brazen efforts of the court’s right wing to neuter it. Once more, those standing in the way of equality under the law will find that the movement for justice will not be deterred.

Letters to the editor

Stand up for our suffering and get vaccinated

Today, 99% of the people dying from COVID-19 are unvaccinated and 97% of those hospitalized are unvaccinated. The vaccine is a reliable pathway out of the COVID 19 pandemic.

The Missouri NAACP Health Committee urges every person who is not yet vaccinated to get vaccinated as soon as you are able to. This not only protects you, but your family, friends, and colleagues. Go to the COVID 19 Vaccination registration site at https://covidvaccine.mo.gov/find/#navigator or 877-435-8411 to register and get the vaccine.

The United States Surgeon General has stated that resistance to the vaccine may be related to fear: Fear of medical offices; phobia of needles; lack of trust in the vaccine; lack of trust in the medical profession; and resistance to government influence.

Please do not let these fears overcome the reality that vaccines work, and have been instrumental in fighting infectious disease since 1796.

The Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr., is one of America’s foremost civil rights, religious and political figures.

Since 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has existed to protect civil rights and stand up against the harmful effects of discrimination, marginalization and suffering. The founders of the NAACP were a group of interracial trailblazers who believed in the best within us all. By getting the COVID vaccination we are standing up against suffering. As a trusted voice, we stand with the vaccine and encourage our neighbors and community to take advantage of this life-saving opportunity: an opportunity that has been saving lives since 1796. Help the NAACP in effort to protect all people, and our right to freedom and liberty.

Dr. Cheryl Avant – NAACP Health Committee Chair, Medical Sociologist Roger Whittler, LPC – Licensed Professional Counselor

Dr. Joe Reuben, M.D., Emergency Room Physician

Julie Allen, Healthcare Advocate Rod Chapel, President – Missouri NAACP

Columnist Rev. Jesse L. Jackson

Columnist Marc H. Morial

Teacher

Continued from A1

ered a great love for the work of teaching young people.

His first years teaching, Young recalled, were challenging. His grandmother, a former Ferguson-Florissant teacher, even came into the classroom sometimes to help him out. And through those years, he learned that teaching was not about him: it was about his students.

“It’s not about what I can do. It’s about what my students can do. It’s about what they can achieve and helping them to see the potential, the worth that they have, the value that they have.”

In particular, Young is focused on culturally respon-

Masks

Continued from A1

access to businesses, churches and schools for 30 days when the governor declares a public health emergency. Without it, they can impose restrictions for 21 days and local officials can only extend those orders if the local legislative body approves.

“I want to make it clear that a mask mandate remains in place in St. Louis County,” Page said Thursday, later addressing the political rhetoric that he believes is intended to undermine prevention strategies.

Despite the vote and lawsuit, Page said the mask mandate should be dealt with in court — where he says previous health orders have prevailed.

“We do have some folks in our country who work very hard to undermine public health efforts with a lot of inflammatory public rhetoric,” he said.

sive teaching — teaching young Black kids who are growing up not far from where he grew up in a way that makes sense given those kids’ culture and life experiences.

“A culturally relevant learning environment, for me, looks like being sensitive and aware of where my students are coming from,” he said. “Using my own background, my own interests…but also keeping my ear to the street a little bit and doing things in a way that lets them know that their strengths and their interests are relevant in the classroom.”

He is rhythmic in his teaching — literally. Young puts concepts to a beat whenever he can and teaches musical concepts like melody and harmony via rhymes.

“Beat is a pulse, rhythm

“I’m not going to engage in that, I am going to focus on relaying the decisions that are made in our public health department.”

Councilwoman Lisa Clancy and Kelli Dunaway were the two council members who voted in favor of continuing the mandate.

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones addressed Schmitt’s lawsuit through a statement from her spokesman “Missourians have sadly become accustomed to the attorney general using their tax dollars to further his own political ambitions at the expense of the public’s health and well being,” Nick Dunne wrote. “We look forward to this frivolous lawsuit failing like so many of his others.” Jones on Tuesday also announced new vaccination incentives for nearly 6,000 city civil service employees including $100 in gift cards and paid time off to go get vaccinated.

is a pattern like planets ‘round the sun, like Jupiter and Saturn,” he claps and chants, and encourages his students to make improvised rhythms with body percussion or bucket drums.

Like everything else, though, Young’s classes had to undergo drastic changes over the past year due to the pandemic. He’d planned on putting on “The Lion King Jr. The Musical,” but instead created a Google site showcase of students’ work in music, dance and art.

Instead of onstage, students performed alone in front of their screens at home—a format that, Young notes, is something some students were more familiar and comfortable with. Thanks to apps like TikTok, students who were “shy and reserved” in in-person school became superstars

“Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 remains the best way for St. Louisans to protect their families and greatly reduce their chance of ending up in the ICU, and we are using many different tools in our toolbox to encourage vaccination,” Jones wrote.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention entered the public dialogue Thursday by updating the agency’s recommendation for fully vaccinated people to wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of “substantial or high transmission.”

The agency also said fully vaccinated people might choose to wear a mask regardless of the level of transmission and suggests fully vaccinated people who have a known exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 be tested 3-5 days after exposure. In addition, universal indoor masking is recommended for all teachers, staff, students, and

when asked to engage in musical theatre through their screens.

“So the aim shifted,” Young said.

“From what we can do live, to how we can produce something in a recorded version.”

“But some things didn’t change: Young’s greatest goal, online or in-person, was to help them cultivate happiness and confidence in themselves.

“I want students to gain a sense of confidence in who they are, and a sense of professionalism, so they can grow and become confident individuals when they leave here,” he said.

“I don’t anticipate everybody growing up to be, you know, a Broadway musical star, but everyone needs to learn. Students need to learn how to present themselves in the best way possible.”

visitors to schools, regardless of vaccination status.

The St. Louis region’s mandate stipulates that all individuals over the age of five wear masks in indoor public settings unless eating or drinking. Some other exceptions do apply.

Jones and Page reinstated the mandate because vaccination rates are not high enough to combat the fast spread of the new Delta variant, creating a flood of new cases that will overwhelm the health care system.

Throughout the state, 41% of the population was fully vaccinated as of Tuesday. This compares to an estimated 45.2% fully vaccinated rate in the county and 35.6% in the city.

The CDC reported that 49.2% of the nation’s population is fully vaccinated and Jones noted that the agency on Monday was considering issuing mask guidance given the variant and vaccination levels.

By Tishaura Jones

When I took office on April 20, nearly 100 days ago, I knew that my election to this office was unprecedented. To be a Black woman, a single mother, a native to the North side who still lives there, I knew St. Louis was not used to a leader like me. I didn’t run for mayor to be somebody. I ran to do something, knowing that there were hundreds of thousands of people in this city who looked

Community Voices

like me, grew up in the same neighborhoods and faced the same struggles as I did. I was lucky to have a father who loved me and grandmother who prayed for me as I overcame those struggles. I ran for mayor because everyone deserves that same support. In my first 100 days as mayor, my administration has taken bold action to shake up the status quo. Budgets are moral documents. My administration’s first budget directs millions of dollars to victim support ser-

vices, resources for our unhoused neighbors and supportive re-entry programs to make sure that those leaving prison don’t end up going right back. It also zeroed out the Medium Security Institution, commonly known as the Workhouse, in line with what I promised the community. This is what I mean when I talk about putting the public back in public safety. I know what it’s like to hear gunshots in my neighborhood, to worry about my son. We cannot arrest and incarcerate our way out of the problems St. Louis faces every single day, and we know communi-

ties with the most resources experience the least crime. Poverty, housing instability, lack of access to mental health and substance abuse services, or even basic necessities like healthy food options and accessible banking, impede the ability of our neighborhoods to take care of themselves and each other. As we move into the days and months ahead, I’m pushing to make the investments in our communities that will yield returns for generations to come. Already, my administration is working to reverse decades of disinvestment by renegotiating tax incentive deals, directing

$1.8 million to affordable housing and investment in North St. Louis. And with $500 million coming from the American Rescue Plan, we have an opportunity to right historic wrongs and bring transformational change to our city. In our initial investment of federal funds, I’m fighting for $500 in direct cash assistance for thousands of St. Louis residents, housing assistance to St. Louis families, jobs and programming for our youth and long-term measures that tackle public safety from the root cause. And there are hundreds of millions of dollars still in the bank to help revitalize our communities and rebuild our infrastructure. Moving forward, I’ll continue to look for community input on the resources and improvements we need to make our neighborhoods safer. The people closest to the problem are closest to the solution, and

I’m ready to work with anyone who has our city’s best interests at heart.

On Wednesday, I broke ground on a memorial honoring the Black people held as slaves who sued for their freedom in St. Louis courts. St. Louis has always been at the forefront in the fight for civil rights, even if we may not get the attention we deserve. And as mayor, I will continue to fight for what I call our Silver Rights -- the right to be financially prosperous, to benefit from the ripple effect of generational wealth and to thrive regardless of your zip code or your skin color. This is my vision for St. Louis. I’m proud to be setting that precedent, in our first 100 days and beyond.

Louis history.

By Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Malone II

There is no question that the future of our community will be tied to the employment opportunities that exist in our area. Especially as we emerge from the traumatic impact the pandemic created for many young men and women across

St. Louis, our focus remains heavily on promoting the right workforce training programs to close the skills gap that will replace the job losses we have seen.

Proposition R, which is on the Aug. 3 ballot, will help close this gap. I am a past member of the Maplewood-Richmond Heights

(MRH) board of education and serving our community in that capacity helped me realize how important investment in youth and community is when it involves educational opportunities that are paramount to long term stability and growth. This has been a personal passion of mine, and we must invest in every opportunity available to make these educational opportunities a priority today and tomorrow.

On Aug. 3, voters in the

City of St. Louis, St. Louis County and portions of Franklin and Jefferson County will have the opportunity to vote yes for Prop. R for St. Louis Community College. The additional funding provided by Prop. R would go toward improving the facilities on STLCC campuses to make sure they are equipped for real-world training programs in nursing, IT, manufacturing and biotech – all industries that are in high-demand but desperately looking for skilled workers.

For more than a half-century, STLCC has provided accessible, affordable educational and job training programs. Now more than ever, these types of programs are needed to provide the right kind of job training opportunities that will help fill the available jobs in our region and lift our community.

Prop. R will allow STLCC to continue expanding and improve its ability to provide educational, job training and community education programs that prepare its students to meet the demands of the rapid changes in today’s workplace. Our investment of just pennies a day, or the equivalent of the cost of lunch, will ensure our community college programs and facilities are up to date to meet the demand for job training and retraining.

When you think about the benefits of this proposal and what it can provide for our community, it is a no brainer to support this effort. I support Prop. R. because it is Good for Our Community, Good for Our Economy, Good for Our Future, and Good for All of us! On Tuesday, Aug. 3, I ask everyone in our community to please VOTE YES for Prop. R!

Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Malone II is the pastor of First Community Baptist Church of Pagedale and member of the 24:1 Initiative, a place-based community development effort led by residents and created to solve the serious challenges facing individuals and families living in the Normandy Schools Collaborative area.

Tishaura Jones is the first Black woman mayor in St.

Columnist

Tishaura

Community Voices

A unique opportunity to invest in County’s future

By Dr. Sam Page

St. Louis County will soon

receive about half of the $193 million it was awarded from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act.

These funds are critical to our ongoing response to the pandemic. Cases are rising at an alarming rate, especially among African Americans, due to the new Delta variant.

The new funds provide an opportunity to make historic investments in building a future where everyone in St. Louis County has access to health, safety and opportunity.

The pandemic has spotlighted the disparities in our community, and we must continue to respond to the pandemic in

an equitable way. When the County received $173.5 million in CARES Act funds last year to respond to the pandemic, my administration used the funds to address the public health, humanitarian, and economic consequences of COVID-19, with special emphasis on addressing the impact the pandemic has had on vulnerable and underserved populations, particularly the African American community and people with chronic medical problems.

I hope the council will have a similar vision. My administration has identified several potential projects consistent with these priorities. They include:

Medicaid expansion ruling halts Republican rantings

By Steven Roberts

Missouri’s highest court has ruled that the voter-led initiative to expand Medicaid is constitutional, correcting a circuit court ruling and rebuking a Republican legislature that has used every tool in its political toolbox to prevent Medicaid expansion.

First, there was no money to fund it. Expansion is projected to cost the state $130 million. However with a 90% federal match, a state surplus that Republicans touted as reason for tax cuts, and additional funding from the American Relief Act, it became increasingly difficult to blame fiscal restrictions.

Some turned to irony; denying health care to Missouri’s most vulnerable amid the backdrop of a pandemic was a pro-life issue However, taxpayer-funded abortions are prohibited at both the state and federal level. Others picked paternalism, protecting the majority of their constituents who voted for it. In the end, they settled on attacking the ballot language itself; the proposal lacked a funding mechanism. Without a funding source, the General Assembly was forced to appropriate money that does not exist – that was their argument, at least. The 101st General Assembly concluded on May 14 without expanding Medicaid. As predicted, the issue found its way to the courts, where the Cole County Circuit Court ruled against three plaintiffs eligible for expansion on the basis that the ballot initiative was unconstitutional because it sought to appropriate money without creating a revenue source to fund it. The problem? That is not what it did. It is the legislative branch that holds the power of the purse. The General Assembly alone appropriated the funding for the Department of Social Services and MO HealthNet, who are then tasked with providing services to the eligible population.

Pre-expansion MO HealthNet participants are protected by statute; the new, post-expansion

• Spending an estimated $36 million to construct a new health center in North County that will increase health services and in-clinic lab capacity, and to build out a state-ofthe-art Substance Abuse Support Center.

• Using an estimated $22 million to expand workforce development programs currently offered at the MET Center in Wellston. My staff began planning for an investment of this magnitude in the spring.

• Setting aside a significant amount of the funds to replace lost tax revenue, to relieve historical budget pressure for future property tax increases. How much exactly is unknown at this time but we will work closely with the budget director to get his input.

act has been Republican efforts to undermine the voices of Missouri citizens.

Republicans successfully spent a decade keeping Medicaid expansion out of Missouri. Missourians made it known in August 2020 that enough was enough; times have changed, but our state’s health care problems have not. Medicaid expansion was not a request, it was a demand.

has the authority to exclude either. The Missouri Supreme Court - with 4 of its 7 members appointed by Republican Governorsunanimously agreed. The decision should not only be viewed as a sigh of relief for the 275,000 Missourians who are expected to fall into a new class of eligibility, but should also send a clear message that, throughout the entire process, the only unconstitutional

A small group of officeholders deciding that they know what is best for Missourians more than Missourians themselves is not democracy, but oligarchy. When voters chose to expand Medicaid, they showed elected officials that the people will do the work themselves. Republican defiance of the Constitution – the supreme law of this state – threatens to create a dangerous Leviathan. How many more times will the Courts be forced to protect the people from those who claim to represent them but choose to undermine them?

State Sen. Steven Roberts (D) represents Missouri’s 5th District.

• Providing pay raises of $2 per hour to Justice Services staff who provide critical services to residents of the jail and make less than their counterparts in other counties.

There remain several unmet needs throughout our community, and I hope the council continues to put the health and safety of our residents first as they deliberate how to use these funds.

The U.S. Department of Treasury requires a spending plan by Aug. 31 so difficult decisions must be made soon. I look forward to working with the council to ensure the best path forward in helping us get through and out of this pandemic.

The purpose of the research study is to determine how well a blood test can detect an Alzheimer’s disease protein. You may qualify if you meet the following study criteria:

1. Participants must be at least 60 years old

2. Participants must not have

(Study to Evaluate Amyloid in Blood and Imaging Related to Dementia)

Dr. Sam Page is St. Louis County Executive

Columnist

Dr. Sam Page

Columnist Steven Roberts

Business owner, cancer survivor urges Black women to create self-care routine

By JoAnn Weaver

The St. Louis American

For the past several years, Black women have been among those growing businesses at the fastest pace in the world of entrepreneurship. But at what cost?

Two illnesses, heart disease and cancer, disproportionately impact Black women. Studies have shown that stress can contribute to heart disease.

Now, some Black women entrepreneurs are urging women not to neglect their health as they strive to boost business.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Black women have a life expectancy that is three years shorter on average than white women. Atherosclerosis, a condition that can be helped with a healthy diet and exercise, is among other causes that contribute to the decrease in life expectancy for Black women.

n Lindsey Walker knows firsthand how stress can impact the mind, body and success of a business. At 27, she was diagnosed with Stage IV Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and endured six months of chemotherapy. Throughout, Lindsey continued to run her business.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Black women’s life expectancy is three years shorter on average than white women. Some of the root causes may be related to stress.

A Midwest publicity powerhouse, who survived stage 4 cancer, Walker is advising Black women business owners to manage their health and busy work schedules.

Lindsey Walker, CEO and lead publicist of Walker and Associates Media Group in St. Louis, has been an entrepreneur for nine years. When Walker returned from college and could not find a job, she started her public relations company.

“The callbacks I got were not a fit for the position I wanted and worked hard for,” Walker said. “After three months, I decided to start my own company, initially named “PR Mentality.”

The Jackson State University alumna found her first three clients through Twitter and LinkedIn. Her client list now includes several high-profile media companies.

“I have worked with the New York Times, Essence, CBS, Black Enterprise, and other notable names,” Walker said.

She knows firsthand how stress can impact the mind, body and success of a business. At 27, she was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and endured six months of chemotherapy. Throughout, Walker continued to run her business.

“I started to feel sick one day,” Walker said. “I called my mom because I was having a hard time breathing. She rushed me to the emergency room, where I found out I had a large mass in front of my heart.”

Publicist Lindsey Walker, owner of Walker and Associates Media Group in St. Louis, is a stage 4 cancer survivor who is advising other Black women business owners to manage their health as aggressively as their busy work schedules.

It took three weeks for doctors to learn the cause of her sickness, and she made repeated visits to the emergency room.

“On July 3, 2018, I was diagnosed with

lymphoma,” Walker said. “I was in Atlanta when I received the news. I had to start

See WALKER, A13

Shoot for the moon

Moonshot Labs is first unclassified innovation lab created by National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

By Karen Robinson-Jacobs

The St. Louis American

Calling diversity an “extremely important,” priority at a unique geospatial lab that opened last week at the T-Rex Innovation Center, State Sen. Brian Williams, D-University City, said he sees the military and private sector collaboration in Downtown St. Louis as an exciting opportunity for the entire region.

”This is an opportunity to not only diversify the workforce but also provide an unprecedented number of people an opportunity to go into a field that they may not have gotten exposure to any other way,” said Williams, one of dozens of guests at a celebration that marked the launch of Moonshot Labs, the first unclassified innovation lab created by The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

“I think it’s going to create opportunities for investment that not only St. Louis has not had, but it clearly desires,” Williams added. Federal, state and local government officials gathered on the fifth floor of the T-Rex center to laud the opening of the labs, which are housed in 12,000 square feet on the building’s third floor.

The space will be used primarily for software development, pairing staff from the NGA -- whose predecessor See MOONSHOT, A13

PeoPle on the Move

Traci Carter goes to Alzheimer’s Assoc.

Traci Carter is the new director of community programs for the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Missouri Chapter. Carter has worked with communities across the region as a connector, collaborator, and thought partner to develop projects that will help transform the health and well-being of individuals and communities most in need. Carter brings with her 10 years of experience from both the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and Mercy Hospital where she grew her passion for health equity work centered on the social determinants of health.

Beck is new director of marketing at The Rep

Ashton Beck joins The Rep as its new director of marketing, overseeing all aspects of marketing. Beck has spent the last eight years at Elasticity, a St. Louis-based marketing and advertising agency, most recently serving as director of social media. He also serves as director of communications for St. Louis LGBT Chamber of Commerce and has held previous social media positions at Sylvan Learning Centers and Charter Communications. Beck holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Missouri - St. Louis and an MBA from Webster University. The Rep is the St. Louis region’s most honored live professional theatre company.

Great Rivers Greenway adds Jaquaylah Taylor

Taylor has been named volunteer coordinator at Great Rivers Greenway. Taylor coordinates the entire volunteer program. She uses her experience as a choir director (and love for music and singing) to make all of the components of the volunteer operations work together. Great Rivers Greenway’s mission is to make the St. Louis region a more vibrant place to live, work and play by developing a regional network of greenways. It is a public agency, created by a vote of the people in St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County in the year 2000 to create a sales tax dedicated to parks and greenways.

Tawanda Story hired at Life Care Center

Tawanda Story has been named executive director at Life Care Center of Bridgeton. Story steps into this role from her position as administrator for Reach Longterm Care in St. Louis. Prior to that appointment, she was administrator for Sava Senior Care in Valdosta, Georgia. She has 20 years of experience working in senior care, including 17 years as a licensed practical nurse. Life Care operates or manages more than 200 skilled nursing, rehabilitation, Alzheimer’s and senior living campuses in 28 states.

Promotion, board appointment, new hire,

Neal Richardson, executive director of the St. Louis Development Corporation, was among the city, state and federal officials who celebrated the launch of Moonshot Labs, the first unclassified innovation space for The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency at the T-Rex center in St. Louis on Friday, July 23.

Traci Carter

Ashton Beck

Tawanda Story

Jaquaylah

Photo courtesy of Walker and Associates

Jaquaylah Taylor

Hodgkin’s

Kay DeBow, U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce co-founder, passes

NNPA

The National Black Chamber of Commerce announced this week the death of its co-founder, Kay DeBow on July 19, 2021. Kay, as she was affectionately known, was named Kayanne at birth on December 12, 1957, to the parents of Charles DeBow Jr. and Aurelia Jane Stuart in Indianapolis, Indiana

Her father, Charles DeBow Jr. was one of the first four

Walker

Continued from A11 treatment the following week in St. Louis.”

Three years later, she is sharing her journey with aspiring and current entrepreneurs.

“A lot of times we wait until it becomes a problem,” Walker said. “The measures you should take are preventative; such as taking your vitamins and exercising.”

The author of “Thriving Through The Storm”, Walker has curated campaigns with over 1 million media impressions. However, her personal mission is to make sure Black women who own businesses take time to manage their health as well.

“Are you drinking enough water or resting?” Walker asked. “These are the things that people are not doing until you are forced to, and it needs to change for our collective health.”

Walker noted that the reason Black women put health on the back burner is because of the “strong Black woman” phenotype that many find themselves in.

“We are often looked at as the ‘strong ones’,” Walker said. “We are looked at as the ones who have a high tolerance for stress levels and pain. Although that may be true, it does not mean that we are supposed to run our bodies into the ground, which is what most of us do.”

Moonshot

Continued from A11

organizations mapped the moon in support of the Apollo missions in the 1960s – with local tech workers, businesses and academicians.

It will be one of about a half-dozen anchor tenants in the eight-story T-Rex space, and will give the agency a head start on collaborative efforts that will expand with NGA’s $1.7 billion under-construction campus in the St. Louis Place neighborhood in north St. Louis. The Next NGA West facility is set to open in 2025, and also will be an unclassified, collaborative workspace. Information on the cost of the Moonshot Labs was not released.

NGA describes itself as a “unique combination of intelligence agency and combat support agency” that delivers “world-class geospatial intelligence that provides a decisive advantage to policymakers, warfighters, intelligence professionals and first responders.”

Having the St. Louis labs operate as unclassified allows agency workers to collaborate face-to-face with “partners throughout the geospatial community,” the agency said in a statement.

“Today is a way for accelerating our pledge to you all — 4 years before the opening of the Next NGA campus here — that we truly want to be part of the St. Louis community,” NGA Director Vice Admiral Robert Sharp said in a statement. Williams said he sees one of the imperatives, for the NGA and its partners in the lab, to “ensure that people of color are involved in the process, women are getting fair and equal opportunities to thrive in this capacity. And most importantly, we’re looking...to do everything we can to attract and retain local talent.” Sharp, in an interview with The St. Louis American, said the lab’s focus on diversity

Tuskegee Airmen, serving in World War II. Kay’s maternal family were the Stuarts, who were entrepreneurs, owning several successful businesses in the greater Indianapolis area. A graduate of Shortridge High School in Indianapolis, she received her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. She began her professional career at Colgate-Palmolive in Detroit, Michigan. It was in Detroit on June 8, 1980, Kay met husband-to-be Harry Cicero

Alford Jr, her fellow NBCC co-founder.

The Alfords made their home in Indianapolis. Kay pursued government work and at the height of that work she became the director of marketing for the Hoosier State Lottery in Indiana.

When Kay DeBow Alford and her husband Harry left Indianapolis, Indiana and moved to Washington, D.C. in 1994, they had already founded the National Black Chamber of Commerce on May 23, 1993.

Photo courtesy of Walker and Associates

It took three weeks for doctors to learn the cause of Lindsey Walker’s sickness, and she made repeated visits to the emergency room. Three years after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Walker is sharing her journey with aspiring entrepreneurs.

According to Walker, a self-care routine should factor healthcare into a work schedule.

“We have to make sure we take those preventative measures, which include marking

would start with the NGA staffers.

“Diverse participation in anything we do is really important because it’s diverse ideas that solve complex problems,” said Sharp, taking a break from a tour of the new lab.

“So we’re pretty passionate about the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in everything we do.

“What we’re looking at as far as diversity is built into our workforce planning, growing the workforce of the future, which includes looking at growing our diversity in every way that that word can be defined throughout the agency, but specifically also with Moonshot,” he said.

Sharp, in a statement, called Moonshot Labs an “all-of-enterprise effort to speed up the delivery of the capabilities necessary to deliver that trusted geospatial intelligence our military, policymakers and first-responders require.”

The agency has forged research and development agreements with St. Louis University and has an educational partnership agreement with Harris-Stowe State

your exercise schedule on your calendar, tracking how much water you drink, factoring in time to rest or take a vacation and prioritize our mental health,” Walker said.

University to build a curriculum that will help strengthen the agency’s talent recruitment pipeline for the future.

Harris-Stowe, an HBCU, has an office adjacent to the Moonshot Labs.

“So you can imagine, if we have a hard problem that we’re working on, we can say, ’you know what, let’s partner with Harris-Stowe on this,” said Christine Woodard, who works as the Ecosystem Engagement Lead, essentially a liaison, for the NGA. “So you would have the students actually sitting in Moonshot Labs right next to our software developers, our analysts, and that way they can all be working together to develop solutions.”

Woodard said the agency also is looking to find ways to get students more excited about STEM classes adding “we’re looking to partner with some of the schools right around where [Next NGA West] is going to be.”

Karen Robinson-Jacobs is The St. Louis American / Type Investigations business reporter and a Report for America corps member.

“Taking Care of You”

Roll up your sleeve

VAX That Thang Up carries same tune of increasing vaccinations

By Sylvester Brown Jr. The St. Louis American

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), less than a quarter of African Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This is a frustrating statistic considering there have been nearly 700,00 new cases in the month of July alone. The Delta variant, which accounts for more than 80% of new U.S. coronavirus cases, adds another layer of immediacy to the clarion call for more people to get vaccinated.

According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, direc-

By Claire Sibonney Kaiser Health News

Miché Aaron has always been a high achiever. The 29-year-old is in her third year of a planetary sciences doctoral program at Johns Hopkins University, where she researches minerals found on Mars. She’s a former NASA space grant scholar and hopes to become an astronaut one day. But last year, Aaron was barely keeping it together — missing classes, late on assignments and struggling to explain that she understood the required material to pass her qualifying exams. Her academic adviser warned that if she didn’t get professional help she would flunk.

“I simply thought I was a lazy student and I needed to try harder,” Aaron said, wiping the tears behind her thick, black-framed glasses. Then she was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] and it all made sense.

For many Black women like Aaron, final-

tor of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, current vaccines are not only effective against the Delta variant, but they are also “imperative” to preventing other mutations. During a recent MSNBC interview, Fauci stressed that 99.5% of COVIDrelated deaths are among the unvaccinated while 0.9% are among the vaccinated. What will it take to convince the “vaccine

n By kindergarten, Black children in the U.S. are 70% less likely to receive an ADHD diagnosis than otherwise similar white children.

ly having that answer comes with both relief and grief after years of suffering and being misunderstood. Already subject to unique discrimination at the intersection of gender and race, Black girls with ADHD often remain undiagnosed because their symptoms are mischaracterized.

Signs of inattentiveness or impulsivity, two main features of the disorder, could be mistaken for laziness or defiance. And the longer these girls aren’t diagnosed and treated, the more their problems are likely to worsen as

hesitant,” particularly African Americans, to process the fear, facts and evidence and get themselves immunized?

Across the country and locally, individuals, agencies and DJs are addressing that question in a multitude of hip, informative and culturally relevant ways.

Iconic rapper Juvenile’s remix of his 1998 hit “Back That Thang Up,” a pro-vaccination anthem, was dubbed “the song of the summer,” by many music insiders.

The New Orleans-based rapper said the

By Dr. Denise Hooks-Anderson

Many in the U.S. would have you believe that individuals should only be concerned with their personal welfare and that of their immediate family. There used to be a time in our history when neighbors knew who lived on their street, when children were disciplined from not only their parents but also the elderly lady in the corner house, and when people rallied together to fight injustice or meet the needs of others. Unfortunately, our current mindset is embodied in the phrase “you do you”. If we look around at our current situation, the “you do you” mindset has caused great harm to everyone. Due to this Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus, mask mandates are being imposed again. It is as if no one remembers how horrible it was when we had the stay-athome order. Businesses closed, children could not attend school in person, and most importantly, many people DIED. There were so many people who died, the morticians could not keep up with the number of dead bodies. Am I the only person who fears we could again be in that dark place if we as a community do not get our act together?

n Due to this Delta-variant of the COVID19 virus, mask mandates are being imposed again. It is as if no one remembers how horrible it was when we had the stayat-home order.

As a concerned provider, I have participated in numerous webinars, spoken to my patients, written articles and created social media content to educate the public. I was even filmed getting my vaccine. I don’t know what else to do. I am now at my wits’ end. I’m sure I speak for my colleagues when I say that WE NEED YOUR HELP! We need every vaccinated person to speak with 1 or 2 people and help them see the benefit of being vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.

See ANDERSON, A15

With hopes of being of being an astronaut someday, Miché Aaron is studying planetary sciences at Johns Hopkins University. She struggled in the doctoral program until she was diagnosed with ADHD but is now thriving academically.

BJ the DJ, assistant program director for iHeartMedia St. Louis, said it is the duty of Black radio stations and hosts to get vital vaccination and health information out to respective audiences.

Photos by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Photo by Will Kirk / Johns Hopkins University

Denise HooksAnderson, MD

“Taking Care of You”

Vaccinations

Continued from A14 re-release was his way of encouraging others to save lives.

“We don’t know what we’re facing right now but we really do all need to be vaccinated so we can continue to do our thing and survive.”

Longtime St. Louis disc jockey, “BJ the DJ,” applauds Juvenile’s effort.

“To be honest, any messaging is effective. There is not always a one size fits all solution. With every message, every individual is going to interpret it a different way. What’s important is getting people vaccinated.”

BJ, the assistant program director for iHeartMedia St. Louis, has been in the radio business for more than 40 years. He spoke with The American days after recording an interview with Gayle Smith, coordinator for the Global COVID Response &

Women

Continued from A14

they grow into adults.

ADHD doesn’t discriminate by gender or race, but white boys are still more likely to be diagnosed and treated for the condition than anyone else. Experts and advocates say this leads to an inequity in care that hurts girls of any background and children of color of any gender. Over the past few decades, mental health experts and researchers have started to understand how ADHD manifests differently depending on gender, as girls with the condition tend to seem more inattentive and forgetful while

Continued from A14

To my unvaccinated brothers and sisters out there, I wanted to share some things for you to think about. For many of you, you honestly believe that your decision not to vaccinate is a personal one and it Anderson

Health Security at the State Department.

He said it is “the duty” of Black radio to get vital information out to its audience.

“The resources are out there, and if we don’t bring them to our listeners then we’re failing the Black community.”

Derrick Greene (AKA “DJ Derrick”), operations manager at WHHL Hot 104.1 and 96.3 The Lou, shared similar thoughts.

“A [radio] station that doesn’t feed information to the community, is not serving the community. There are voices out there, but they don’t necessarily speak the language of our people. The music connects us to our people and it’s our job to honor our community by giving them the information that they need.”

Dr. Fredrick Echols, acting Director for St. Louis’ Department of Health supports pro-vaccination musical messaging but says accuracy is paramount.

“Some individuals need to hear a song or a tune to be

boys tend to seem more hyperactive and disruptive. The reasons Black children and ethnic minorities are overlooked range from racial bias in schools and lack of access to care, to stigma and distrust of educators and health providers based on past discrimination.

Paul Morgan, director of the Center for Educational Disparities Research at Penn State, is the lead author of multiple studies showing that the disparities in school start early. By kindergarten, Black children in the U.S. are 70% less likely to receive an ADHD diagnosis than otherwise similar white children.

A 2016 study found that by 10th grade white children are nearly twice as likely to receive a diagnosis for ADHD

only affects you. However, please let me share a hypothetical situation for you to ponder. Let’s say you are diagnosed with COVID-19. You could experience high fevers, chills, muscle aches, diarrhea, COVID toes, and shortness of breath. Your breathing difficulties could become so severe that you would need to

encouraged to receive the vaccine. We welcome that, but our primary goal is to make sure individuals have accurate information. If a song is providing inaccurate information, then we don’t want that to be shared in our community,” he said.

n “We have to make it a priority to have representatives who look like the community sharing what’s happening within our communities.”

– Dr. Fredrick Echols, acting Director for St. Louis’ Department of Health

Echols said his agency has contracted with local radio stations and is using STL TV, the city’s public information channel, to promote culturally sensitive and accurate messages to the black community.

The “Roll Up Your Sleeve, Get Vaccinated” PSA campaign features high profile individuals such as Echols, Kwofe Coleman, managing director at the Muny, Mayor Tishaura Jones and U.S. Rep. Cori Bush encouraging people to get information from the health

as Black children. Lead author Dr. Tumaini Rucker Coker, head of general pediatrics at Seattle Children’s Hospital and a top researcher at its Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development, said that, while her study didn’t look at underdiagnosis of Black girls, federal Education Department data shows telling signs of racial and gender discrimination in diagnosing ADHD: Black girls are six times as likely to be suspended from school as white girls.

Behavior as common as talking back in class could have wildly different consequences, depending on how it’s interpreted, Coker explained. For Black girls, it’s often viewed as “intimidation” of a teacher.

“When there’s ‘bad behav-

be hospitalized and sent to the Intensive Care Unit. While there, you will need an ICU nurse, an intensivist (specialized doctor for the ICU), a pulmonary specialist, and countless other staff members to care for you. During your stay, you are not able to work and obtain income. Therefore, your family must figure out how they will pay the rent

department and get vaccinated.

“When we see that African Americans continue to account for 50% of COVID19-related deaths and 80% of COVID-19-related cases in the city, we have to make it a priority to have representatives who look like the community sharing what’s happening within our communities,” Echols said.

Listening to Black people is equally as important as talking to them, said Laurna Godwin, president of Vector Communications public relations firm.

Godwin created the marketing material for PrepareSTL’s outreach campaign and oversaw canvassing efforts in marginalized communities to gauge the fears and feelings of residents.

“We started in March 2020,

ior’ and you’re a white girl, you get all the benefit of the doubt,” Coker said. “On the opposite spectrum, you get zero benefit of the doubt as a Black girl.”

René Brooks, who lives outside Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was diagnosed three times — twice as a child, when her school tested her without parental permission. Her mother rejected the idea of her daughter, who is Black, being labeled, distrusting a system she feared wanted to “drug up minority children.”

The third time Brooks was diagnosed, she was 25 and on the brink of losing her job at one of the biggest insurers in the state because she couldn’t keep up with the workload.

After starting medication, 18

or mortgage, car payment, and buy food. Furthermore, you and all the other unvaccinated folks are utilizing all the ICU beds. This means that the motorcyclist who was involved in a severe crash now has no ICU bed for their injuries. Not having the appropriate level of care could be fatal for them. So, hopefully this scenario makes

“DJ Derrick” Greene, operations manager at WHHL Hot 104.1 and 96.3

The Lou, said there are voices giving out important vaccination information, “but they don’t necessarily speak the language of our people.”

because we knew the Black community was going to be hit particularly hard by this pandemic,” Godwin explained.

“We paid health care workers and canvassers to go out into the community to distribute information. When they came back, they had to fill out a form telling us what they heard and what people were concerned about.

“It was like a continuous focus group where we could tailor the message that was most effective to our target audience.”

Tailoring an effective message means addressing the concerns canvassers heard, Godwin added.

The “COVID-19 Vaccines” page on PrepareSTL’s website (https://www.preparestl. com/) lists some of the “valid reasons” communities of color have for “fearing and distrusting the health care community” which include: “Multiple health disparities; More deaths from COVID-19 and “different quality of healthcare.”

Acknowledging ingrained

years after her first diagnosis, she said her brain felt like it “switched on” and she was able to be more productive than she ever imagined possible.

Still, as a Black woman with ADHD, Brooks felt alone.

“It’s very isolating to sit at that intersection because no one’s there, or so we thought,” she said.

She started a blog called “Black Girl, Lost Keys,” which educates and empowers Black women with ADHD, and created Unicorn Squad, Black People of Marginalized Genders With ADHD, a private support group on Facebook with more than 2,200 members who share the feelings that come with the diagnosis.

Aaron said finding the Facebook group and talking

it crystal clear that the notion that “not getting vaccinated” is a personal decision, is really a personal-global decision. Our actions do impact others.

fears up front then backing that up with accurate information makes the PrepareSTL media slogan: “COVID-19 vaccines, the choice is yours,” more effective with communities of color, Godwin said. As much as Black radio stations, health officials and marketing firms are doing to reach the vaccine hesitant in Black communities, DJ Derrick thinks more can be done.

“I’d like to put together a 2021 ‘We are the World’-type campaign. There are enough local celebrities to pull off an effective campaign right now, right here. We just start with the king, Nelly, then go right on down the list,” he said.

Sylvester Brown Jr. is The St. Louis American’s inaugural Deaconess Fellow. For more info on local pro-vaccination campaigns visit: https://www.preparestl. com/ Dr. Echols/“Roll Up Your Sleeve Get Vaccinated” campaign: https://youtu.be/ qY8jqghsnVM

with other Black women with ADHD during the weekly virtual meetings made it easier to accept her diagnosis.

A year and a half after being diagnosed with ADHD, Aaron said the treatment she’s received, including medication, therapy and strategies for learning and organization, has changed her life. She has since found out she also has dyslexia and a language processing disorder, two learning disabilities that commonly occur with ADHD. Far from flunking out, she’s now thriving academically and publishing her research on Martian minerals She wants to help other Black women going through similar struggles, just as Brooks’ Unicorn Squad helped her.

My message is not one of blame. I am only asking for people to make an informed decision utilizing reputable information. Please speak with trusted individuals like your doctor. Allow them to explain the science behind the vaccine. Whether we like it or not, we are all in this together. It is time for us all to be heroes.

Denise Hooks-Anderson, M.D., FAAFP is associate professor an SLUCare Family Medicine interim assistant dean of diversity equity and inclusion.

Photos by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Jerell McKinney’s new single is perfect for summer season

‘Summertime Vibez’ Former Ferguson resident comes home with Hardware

By Danielle Brown The St. Louis American

Some summertime songs have the feel-good energy that make you want to play it at a family cookout, listen to it poolside in your flyest swim attire or ride with the sunroof down as it plays.

Jerell McKinney, 20, who simply goes by ‘Jerell’ as a performer, has released a single called “Summertime Vibez.” It is perfect for the season.

“When I was in the studio, I was just like ‘Summertime love is a fade to chase. I need your love, girl I just need a taste’,” Jerell said. I wanted to play on a summertime fling. It’s just a vibe, something that comes and goes, but you let it go. I thought it would be something nice and carefree to transition from my last release [“Love Me No More”].

Jerell released that single last year, and it is a somber R&B-infused record about a relationship that has run its course and ends with heartbreak.

“I wrote that song because I feel like everybody’s been in that situation,” Jerell said. “Everybody’s been there where you have let go of a love that you thought was once there and it’s not there anymore.”

For an independent artist, the song performed fairly well on the iTunes charts. Jerell said it reached number 121 in the top 200 and he later received distribution through Sony the Orchard and VIP Records. It reached more than 75,000 total streams in about six months.

“One thing I’m learning as an indie artist is that you manage so many different roles,” Jerell said. “You have to be the manager, you have to do your marketing, you have to be your team. I make my cover art on Canva, book my own shows, write my own press releases.”

Those unfamiliar with Jerell’s music may wonder who he is as an artist. He creates soulful, meaningful content with a relatable message. His goal is to always leave the listener with a lasting impression.

“If you felt your fingers wanting to move, if you felt your head wanting to bob, if you felt some form of emotion, I know I’ve done my job cause I’ve tapped into something and that makes me happy.” Jerell said.

There’s no denying the memorable presence of iconic entertainers like Michael Jackson when they stepped on stage or were at an event. Jerell aspires to have his music hold the same significance by having “moments” that showcase what a true artist embodies.

All that Jazz

Jazz St. Louis to note 26th season with Manhattan Transfer

By Danielle Brown

The St. Louis American

Every season at Jazz St. Louis is different, but this year’s is truly special.

After a year-long COVID-19 shutdown, JSL returns with live music from more than 40 showstopping acts for its 26th season.

“I just can’t tell you how glad we are to be welcoming people back into our space,” Gene Dobbs Bradford, JSL president & CEO said. “It’s been too long, and every day I come into the space without music or people [it is] just feeling dead. I’m looking forward to folks coming back and this is going to be a great season.” Bradford said once capacity and other restrictions were lifted, he knew the timing was right to relaunch the season.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do because, as you can imagine, there’s been some projects we’ve put off because we thought we weren’t going to need them at the time.” Bradford said. Bradford is especially looking forward to a performance by Manhattan Transfer, a Grammy Award-winning vocal quartet from New York, celebrating its 50th anniversary.

By Danielle

Representation in comic books and animation features matters for many youths because see characters who might look like them and have similar backgrounds.

Growing up as a child of the 1990s, David Kirkman, 26, became fascinated with the Milestone Media comic book series because of its relatability.

“My music is a moment,” Jerell siad.

“Everything I’m trying to do, I wanna make it into a moment. We used to have pop culture moments with Michael Jackson. When you watched his music videos, you wished you were there or you had to see his next photoshoot. I wanna bring that mystique back to being an art-

Music has always come second nature for Jerell who says he could sing since he learned how to speak. He’s been in a number of com-

See Vibes, B8

“It’s going to be wonderful to see them perform and I don’t think you’re ever going to see the Manhattan Transfer in a venue of our size.” Bradford said.

An abundance of new talent is welcomed this season including Connie Hahn, who Bradford describes as a “sensational” pianist, and Kandace Springs, a jazz singer and pianist from

Nashville who has opened for Prince.

“Kandace Springs is a great vocalist and pianist, she’s really something.” Bradford said. Fans will be reintroduced to favorites including the Ray Brown Tribute Band featuring

Milestone Media, now owned by D.C. Comics, was launched in 1993 by Black storytellers and other creatives to emphasize portrayals of Black superheroes and their diverse backgrounds. One of the company’s most popular comics is the story of Static Shock, also known as Virgil Hawkins. He is a teenager with a high IQ, often subjected to bullying for that and his love of video games. Shock’s accidental exposure to a mutagen gas during a gang fight caused him to gain electromagnetic powers. He uses them to combat crime in the fictional town of Dakota City.

Kirkman wrote, shot and directed his own reallife adaptation of the comic with Static, a 44-minute film released to YouTube, through his production company Woke Nation Studios. It currently has a million views on YouTube, was placed at an Afrofuturism conference in Berlin and screened for a Black History Month event at Netflix headquarters in Silicon Valley. Kirkman spearheaded his own rendition of Icon last year, with the story of an alien who poses as a Black man and fights crimes against his arch nemeses.

n “Part of our mission at Woke Nation and part of my personal mission statement is we have to control the narrative and reclaim Black imagination in how it’s perceived in the media and who’s producing the media.”

- David Kirkman

His pattern of crafting versions of Milestone’s comics continues with his new film, Hardware which was the first comic published by the company.

Hardware is a story of a Black man navigating the corporate system. His intellect helped build a multi-million-dollar company. As a result, he now wants a seat at the table. But what happens when he gets denied? It is what Kirkman calls “reparations on a mini scale.”

He directed the film about nine months ago and recently added new material.

Filming was a challenge during the pandemic with many places being shut down. He also was dealing with racially charged issues and the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.

“Part of our mission at Woke Nation and part of my personal mission statement is we have to control the narrative and reclaim Black imagination in how it’s perceived in the media and who’s producing the media,” Kirkman said.

“It totally speaks to the climate of being Black in corporate America. I think people are gonna have a good time seeing and hearing that content.”

See Hardware, B8

Brown The St. Louis American

n “If you felt your fingers wanting to move, if you felt your head wanting to bob, if you felt some form of emotion, I know I’ve done my job.”

- Jerell McKinney

Photo courtesy of manhattantransfer.net

Manhattan Transfer

A message to our customers about the STL Pipeline: Reliable, affordable energy in jeopardy this winter

This past February, Winter Storm Uri devastated Texas and left millions of residents struggling to survive in freezing temperatures, without power, heat or hot water. As temperatures plummeted and residents across the Midwest tried to stay warm, the demand for heating needs skyrocketed and the system couldn’t keep up. While the disaster unfolded, and supply shortages were felt across the country, the STL Pipeline proved to be critical infrastructure to our region, continuing to deliver reliable, affordable natural gas to eastern Missouri, ensuring that our customers, including vulnerable populations, stayed warm and safe.

But now, a recent court decision could shut down the STL Pipeline, putting customers in the St. Louis region at risk of soaring energy bills and natural gas shortages that could leave as many as 400,000 homes and businesses without natural gas service this winter.

Spire Missouri has been supplying affordable, reliable and clean natural gas to customers in the greater St. Louis region for more than 160 years. In 2015, Spire Missouri identified a critical infrastructure need to ensure reliable, affordable gas service for our customers and the STL Pipeline project was born.

In 2018, the STL Pipeline project was approved, after a two-year rigorous regulatory review process. Since becoming fully operational in 2019, the STL Pipeline has been a critical source of energy for more than 650,000 Missouri homes and businesses. In fact, during Winter Storm Uri, the STL Pipeline ensured the St. Louis region avoided supply disruptions and saved customers up to $300 million over the course of the weather event.

For most of us, the next winter heating season may seem distant, but we’re preparing for it now. Recent legal and regulatory developments could threaten the steady source of energy our customers in greater St. Louis have come to depend on.

On June 22, 2021, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the New Yorkbased Environmental Defense Fund, which challenged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the government agency that regulates pipeline infrastructure.

The court’s ruling vacated STL Pipeline’s approval, striking a serious blow to our community. This means that while Spire Missouri can continue to rely on the STL Pipeline so that you and other customers can heat homes and cook meals today, its future use could be stopped or interrupted in the weeks or months to come.

The reality is if the STL Pipeline is not in service this upcoming winter, Spire Missouri may not be able to meet customer demand and customers could unexpectedly see their heat and hot water unavailable when they need it most. And that could spell disaster for countless customers in the St. Louis region, particularly the most vulnerable like seniors, those with health issues and limitedincome customers who depend upon reliable, affordable energy.

According to the Fourth National Climate Assessment, people who are already vulnerable, including limited-income and other marginalized communities, have more challenges preparing for and coping with extreme weather-related events and are expected to experience greater impacts.

But this doesn’t have to happen. STL Pipeline has already been built and is serving St. Louis customers today. It’s not too late for

regulators to prevent this loss of service for St. Louis families and business owners. There are processes in place for the FERC to quickly evaluate the issues that the DC Circuit Court raised to keep the STL Pipeline in service.

At Spire Missouri, we are committed to doing what’s right for our customers and delivering the essential energy they rely on every winter. The opportunity to serve you and the entire community, to the very best of our abilities, is our commitment and our privilege. And the STL Pipeline is a clear part of that service. That’s why we want you to know that we’re continuing to work with the FERC to keep the STL Pipeline in service and ensure that the St. Louis region has the reliable, affordable energy supply needed to fuel our economy today and for years to come.

Scott Carter President, Spire Missouri

Part-time driver positions start at $17.50 an hour. Health insurance offered following 90 days of employment.

Applicants must be positive, reliable individuals with solid work experience and a clean driving record. Applicants must also pass USDOT physical and drug test, and with ACT assistance, obtain IL CDL B license with air brakes and passenger endorsements.

ACT is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.

Sports

InSIdE SportS

By Earl Austin Jr.

After storied hoops career, Cameron Biedscheid dies victim of gun violence

I was in my hotel room in Indianapolis last Saturday morning when I got an upsetting early phone call. Former Cardinal Ritter College Prep basketball star Cameron Biedscheid had been shot and killed back home in St. Louis County. My heart sank. It is indeed a sad time in our tight-knit St. Louis basketball community as we say good-bye to one of our city’s brightest basketball talents at the way too young age of 27.

I vividly remember my first encounter with Cam back in 2009 at a summer grassroots basketball tournament at McCluer North High. He was a skinny 6’1” kid who was getting buckets. I was intrigued. I had never seen him before, so my interest level was heightened. After the game, I introduced myself and asked him his name and what school he attended.

“I’m Cameron Biedscheid from Cardinal Ritter,” he said. “I was on the JV last year.”

As we shook hands and I started to walk away, he uttered five more words that have always resonated.

“Watch for me, Mr. Austin,” he said.

Even at that stage of his career when he was this pencil-thin junior varsity player, he had a supreme confidence and swagger about himself, and the belief that he was going to be the best player in St. Louis.

The kid turned out to be prophetic because that is exactly what happened. The following season, he had grown three to four inches and was a hot-shooting sixth man on a Cardinal Ritter team that rolled to the Class 3 state championship.

By his senior year, he was 6’7” and developed into one of the great showstopping performers in St. Louis. Cameron Biedscheid had become a full-blown superstar he promised to be at 14. Oh yeah, and it was wise to get to the gym early if you wanted to watch him perform his magical offensive wizardry.

Bradley Beal had just completed an All-American prep career at Chaminade in 2011 and Jayson Tatum was entering

Chaminade in 2013 to begin his legendary high school career. In between those two, there was Biedscheid, who was the Missouri Player of the Year in 2012. He was also on that level. In 2012 Kevin Durant led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the National Basketball Association championship round. Here in St. Louis, Biedscheid was our city’s version of KD; a long, slender jump-shooting maestro with range out to 30 feet. He had a creative set of handles which enabled him to drop off defenders at a moment’s notice. And, as the ball was dropping through the net, he would gladly tell you about it. He was also a great passer with a high basketball IQ. He could do it all.

As a senior at Ritter, Cameron averaged 31.7 points a game to lead the metropolitan area in scoring. He also displayed his all-around talent that season, averaging 9.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.6 blocks. The postseason honors came rolling in afterwards. He was the St. Louis American Player of the Year, Mr. Show-Me Basketball in the state of Missouri, the Gatorade Player of the Year in Missouri and a Parade All-American.

During that season, there was a memorable night in February at Hazelwood Central when he just simply went off the charts. Facing a big halftime deficit against the Hawks, he erupted for 31 points in the second half. It remains one of the most spectacular one-half performances I’ve ever seen. With each pull up 25-footer or slashing drive to the basket, the crowd went crazy. Fans were witnessing something special.

Central ended up winning the game by one point, but it was Biedscheid’s performance that had folks buzzing for the rest of the season. I’ve been watching some old videotape of Cam Biedscheid in action, and it puts a smile on my face. If you get a chance, you might want to do the same. He was a special talent who will be missed in our basketball community.

SportS EyE

With Alvin A. Reid

During his senior season at Cardinal Ritter, Cam Biedscheid was one of the nation’s top basketball talents. He averaged 31.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.6 blocks. He was the St. Louis American Player of the Year, Mr. Show-Me Basketball, the Gatorade Player of the Year in Missouri and a Parade All-American. Biedscheid was shot July 23 in north St. Louis County and later died. He was 27.

Wes Unseld Jr., plans to return championship winning way to Washington

There are two distinct connections between St. Louis and newly hired Washington Wizards coach Wes Unseld, Jr.

First, he is coaching St. Louis native Bradley Beal. Second, he is St. Louis American Sports Editor Earl Austin’s cousin.

After serving as an assistant coach for the Wizards, Golden State Warriors, Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets, Unseld Jr., is now the man in charge of the Washington franchise.

Unseld said he has spoken to both superstar players and likes what he heard.

“I had great conversations with both of those guys, and I felt like I was talking to the same person,” Unseld Jr., said.

“I know my dad’s up there smiling down,” Unseld Jr., said of his father and Austin’s uncle, Wes Unseld, Sr., during his introductory press conference.

A. Reid

“I say that because the message was clear: They want to be coached, they’re looking for accountability, they’re excited for this new opportunity. I think they both know offense is not the issue right now.

“We’ll see as we get into training camp and the preseason, there has to be carryover there.”

Unseld Jr., said both players also shared the desire to be a better defensive team. The Wizards were among the NBA’s defensive worst.

“He’s probably chuckling, thinking, ‘You moron, I told you not to do this.’ So I know he’s extremely proud.”

Wes Unseld Sr., passed on June 2. While the Wizards made the playoff play-in round, the team still fell into the underachiever category. The team posted a losing record even though both Beal and fellow All-Star Russell Westbrook had outstanding seasons.

The Reid Roundup

Unseld Jr. said he “was encouraged by the desire of those two to improve at that end of the floor.”

Austin said his cousin did not attain the head coaching position or the years as a Wizards assistant because of his last name.

“I am so happy to see Wes get this opportunity,” Austin said. “He put in the work for the

past 20 years and he’s ready to take that next step. And to see him get his first head coaching job with a franchise that I’ve loved for the past 53 years makes it even more exciting. Uncle Wes would definitely be proud.”

Austin said he last saw Unseld during an early-season college tournament in Hawaii several years ago.

“I was broadcasting the games for SLU and Wes was there scouting for the Bullets.

I got him on our halftime show and I was amazed by his knowledge. I just knew then he was destined to be a head coach in the NBA someday.”

Someday is now, and Unseld Jr., says he is up to the challenge.

“Becoming a head coach in the NBA is a goal that I have pursued my entire adult life and to have that dream realized by coming full circle back to Washington is truly special,” he said.

St. louis native and Washington Wizards All-Star Bradley Beal could be considering a trade request because he was not consulted in the hiring of Wes Unseld Jr. Fred Katz of The Atlantic reported Monday that Beal was frustrated when his top choice for the job, 76ers assistant coach Sam Cassell, couldn’t land a second interview. Cassell was a Wizards assistant during

Beal’s first two seasons… Beal had known the late Cam Biedscheid since he was in high school. He responded to his shooting death on Twitter, writing “Wish my boy would have lived out his dream the way he planned! Sick world. RIP CAM.” As for social media speculation, Beal added, “Let that man Rest In Peace, all the extras is unnecessary!!! We know the story, but today ain’t the day for it!! …Mike Brey, Biedscheid’s former coach at Notre Dame, wrote on Twitter, “Our program mourns the loss of Cameron Biedscheid - a young man full of potential who was taken away at far too young of an age. Our thoughts and prayers are with Cam’s family and friends and former teammates… St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty was scheduled to pitch in a rehab game for Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday, his first time facing live hitters since suffering an oblique tear on May 31…The NFL will play “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” before all games during the 2021-22 season. The song is recognized as the “Black National Anthem” and was written over 120 years ago by James Weldon Johnson

Alvin

Earl Austin Jr.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Photo courtesy of Washington Wizards

Cardinal Wilton Gregory calls on Congress to help “Dreamers”

St. Louis American staff

Cardinal Wilton Gregory, who served as the bishop of Belleville, Illinois from 2005 to 2019, stood with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, calling for a change in immigration laws last week on the lawn of Congress.

Cardinal Gregory said the 117th Congress “now has an opportunity to be courageous by addressing immigration in a comprehensive and productive way that will provide long-

desired relief for those already living as Americans.”

He asked fellow Americans, “whatever political opinions may divide us,” to support legislation that will keep families together and protect children.”

That would include, he said, legislation that would allow Dreamers, as DACA recipients are known, those covered by Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure, seasonal agriculture workers

“and other undocumented essential workers to integrate as fully recognized members of our society, whether through the enactment of stand-alone legislation or a broader legislative package.”

The cardinal explained that Catholic social teaching “upholds the principle that every person has the right to live in his or her own homeland, in security and dignity with opportunities for work.

However, when the loss of these rights forces individuals to migrate to other lands, we must welcome them, protect them and generously share our abundance with them.”

“All of us have come to this country in various stages of our family life –personally, through our parents, grandparents and beyond. We have built, within the confines

of our nation, an amazing story to tell the world of how such a diverse group of people can come together in one place and make an impact on the world itself,” said Durbin.

“That makes it difficult to understand sometimes why we struggle so much with the issue of immigration. It is so central to who we are, what we’ve done, what we will become.

You may be surprised to know that it’s been almost 36 years since this Congress has passed any meaningful or substantive immigration law.

Gregory was appointed a cardinal by Pope Francis in

October 2020 and immediately addressed inclusion in the Catholic church.

“It isn’t just the African American kids who need to see a Black bishop, it is the White kids that needed to see it. We know that there is systemic racism woven into almost every dimension of the American institution, but I’d like to focus the question of morality on the individual. That is, where is my heart?”

Roughly 4 percent of American Catholics are Black, but they represent fewer than 1 percent of the nation’s 36,500 Catholic priests. Including Archbishop Gregory, just eight of 250 American bishops are African Americans.

Speaking on the lawn of the Capitol, Cardinal Gregory said that “like many of our own family members who made a new life here … we too are called to demonstrate kindness and a spirit of welcome to our migrant and refugee sisters and brothers, who are greatly contributing to our society through work and service.”

With the world in such a tumultuous state, I suppose one could say this is when your faith can and is severely tested. For some, tragic events and nightmarish acts might make

you question the existence of the God we profess to believe in. I sometimes have to remind myself that most of the hell I’ve been through is a direct result of the choices I’ve made.

I truly believe now that some of those choices were because God was never a part of my decisionmaking process. From that point of view, a Christian one, it appears that most of today’s tension in the world should be interpreted from looking at it in terms of radical religious behavior in the name of one God or another. News media tend to generally ignore this and report to us conflicts around oil, land, political power and yes, even money. But, to me, many of those who die are killed by someone of a different faith.

That faith or lack thereof, sanctions terrorists’ attacks, suicide bombers, righteous retaliation and sanctimonious justification. People can claim anything in the name of God. However, the God whom Christians serve, points us in another direction and therefore dictates a different course of action. Jesus taught peace, love and understanding regardless of how trite that might sound to you. As contrived as you think that is, the Man was killed living a very public life predicated on love for fellow human beings and intolerance

of institutionalized persecution, particularly church sanctioned discrimination. We all know the source of His strength in the midst of what He faced. My question to you is what is your source of strength in the midst of what you face in this world everyday? That is not a rhetorical question. I find myself in prayer asking God to give me wisdom to learn from whatever it is that I’m going through, good or bad. It doesn’t matter. Likewise, I’m also asking for wisdom to understand the insanity going on in the world in which we live. The end result is always the same. I’m led to put it all in the Lord’s hands. His divine will certainly supersede my secular understanding, and that is as it

should be. I must admit to you though, that I do think many times that man has forced many of these issues and situations for the same reasons that I still find myself going through an occasional bout with hell; no God imbedded in the decisionmaking process. When you do put God in the process however, peace (as in peace of mind) prevails because the outcome is known. I win based on my faith and acceptance of Jesus as Lord. The world could stand some rigorous training in this truth right about now. In the end, the outcome is already known. God wins and those who believe in Him are the only true victors. May God bless and keep you always.

Columnist James Washington

Cardinal Wilton Gregory

Photo

By Renee Eichelberger, Explore St. Louis

When it’s time for your next family reunion, think St. Louis! As a centrally located destination, St. Louis is the perfect place for families to gather. In addition to the ease of getting here, there are a number of great hotel packages available that make St. Louis an affordable destination for your reunion. Plus, Forest Park and the abundance of free attractions available let everyone enjoy St. Louis without putting a big dent in their budget. To help start planning your long overdue family reunion, follow the steps below to ensure an event that will maximize participation and create memories that everyone will cherish.

1. Organizational ideas - Start a spreadsheet with everyone’s contact information and include two extra fields: special needs and notes. Consider using Facebook to keep everyone informed on the planning and timeline. Facebook is also a great way to share and collect family photos.

2. Set a date and determine how many people might be attending - If you have a relatively small number of people involved, this can be done over the phone. If you have a large group to coordinate, it might be a good idea to send out a survey to get input on these considerations: time of year, type of accommodations, kinds of activities, and budget. Remember, no date is going to be perfect for everyone.

3. Select committees - You may want to create committees that will handle tasks. Not only does this help spread the responsibility, but it also allows people to feel part of the effort. You should consider selecting committees to arrange the following: accommodations, meals, activities, sightseeing, invitations, group T-shirts, memory books, or Sunday services.

4. Determine your budgetDecide what expenses will be paid directly by your attending reunion members and what costs will be incurred by the group. These costs should be divided among the participants. Some reunions charge a ‘registration fee’ to cover these incidentals. Don’t forget to list exactly what is and isn’t included in the registration fee. You will want to set a due date in advance for the fee to be sent in.

5. Select a hotel location - This is best accomplished once you have a potential date, an approximate number of people, your budget for accommodations, and any extras you require, such as a swimming pool, parking, hotel shuttle, etc. St. Louis has many great hotels available from valuepriced to luxury hotels. Depending on the size of your group, you may qualify for a group discount.

6. Plan your itineraryRemember that you want to plan activities that groups can do together but also allow some ‘free’ time for visiting and enjoying St. Louis. Consult the listings of area attractions at ExploreStLouis.com and you’re sure to find something for everyone. A meet and greet is a great way to start off the reunion, which can include games for large groups like softball and volleyball, a kids table (with toys and crafts), a group dinner with presentations, contests, or even a talent show.

8. Notify the group - Once you have decided on an itinerary, it’s time to send out invitations. You’ll want to send a reminder two months before the reunion and again one month out. Include dates, accommodations, a preliminary itinerary, contact person, email all costs and payment and RSVP procedures.

As the event approaches, remember to always be prepared and to have a contingency plan for inclement weather for any outdoor activities. Most importantly, HAVE FUN! Reunions are for everyone to enjoy and now is the time to reconnect with loved ones! Visit ExploreStLouis.com for more tips on how to plan a successful reunion.

Explore St. Louis offers a wealth of services for you to make your planning easy. One of the most valuable complimentary services is the opportunity for you to request bids for hotels and services for your reunion through an RFP (Request for Proposal), that goes to all hotels and venues that can handle your particular type of reunion. All you need to do is provide the information, then sit back and wait for the information to come to you, via e-mail.

Contact Renee M. Eichelberger, CTP, CTIS, CSTP with Explore St. Louis for assistance. She’s been working with family reunions for over 20 years.

800-640-1534

reichelberger@explorestlouis.com

7. Plan the meals - For your banquet, welcome reception, farewell brunch or any group meal function make sure to find out in advance about special dietary requirements for anyone in the group. Keep notes in your spreadsheet. Decide if the meals will be banquet, buffet or reception style; a mixture of these options is usually a good bet.

https://explorestlouis.com/ groups-reunions/groups/rfp/

St. LouiS american Bids & Public Notices St. LouiS

ROANOKE CONSTRUCTION SEEKS BIDS FOR NEW SENIOR HOUSING

Roanoke Construction has been selected to be the General Contractor for the construction of the Scott Manor Phase II Senior Apartments located in St. Louis, MO. The proposed building is 50,651 SF and consists of (50) one and two bedroom units.

The project site work includes but is not limited to site work grading, site utilities, concrete and asphalt paving and landscaping. The building consists of a three story wood frame building with grade beam foundations, masonry, composite siding, hollow metal doors and frames, vinyl windows, TPO roofing, gutters and downspouts, drywall, painting, vinyl and carpet flooring, cabinets, elevators, fire suppression, split HVAC systems, plumbing and electrical packages.

We anticipate that construction of this project will begin in October of this year and will take one year to complete.

This project is NOT tax exempt and does not require prevailing wages.

Minimum of 25% MBE and 5% WBE participation will be required for the project. All questions should be submitted via email to

Jacqueline True

Director of Preconstruction bids@roanoke-construction.com www.roanoke-construction.com

NOTICE OF VIRTUAL PUBLIC HEARINGS

LOUIS COUNTY

AGENCIES: St. Louis County is the “Lead Agency” for the St. Louis County HOME Consortium. The St. Louis County HOME Consortium is a group of contiguous units of local government that have joined together for the purpose of receiving HOME funds and administering a HOME Program as a single grantee. The members of the St. Louis County HOME Consortium include St. Louis County, the City of Florissant, the City of O’Fallon, Jefferson County, and St. Charles County.

ACTION: Notice is hereby given that the 2020 Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report (CAPER), the 2021-2025 Consolidated Plan (Con Plan), and the 2021 Annual Action Plan (AAP) have been drafted by the St. Louis County HOME Consortium. The drafts may receive several updates prior to submission to the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

SUMMARY: The 2020 Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report, the 2021-2025 Consolidated Plan, and the 2021 Annual Action Plan summarize the 2020 accomplishments, the 2021-2025 plans, and the 2021 proposed actions, respectively, of the St. Louis County HOME Consortium. Each of the documents include the following programs funded by HUD: Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME), and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) programs. These documents provide information on how funding received through the CDBG and ESG programs have been/will be spent in St. Louis County as well as information on how HOME funds have been/will be spent in St. Louis County and in the jurisdictions of the members of the St. Louis County HOME Consortium.

AVAILABILITY OF REVIEW MATERIALS: A copy of the St. Louis County Consortium’s 2020 CAPER and the 2021-2025 Consolidated Plan, which includes the 2021 Annual Action Plan, will be available for public review and comment on August 9—13, 2021 at the locations specified in this notice during normal business hours, Monday thru Friday:

St. Louis County Government Centers

• Administration Building, 41 S. Central Avenue, Clayton, MO 63105

• Northwest Crossing, 715 Northwest Plaza Drive, St. Ann, MO 63074

• Department of Public Health, 6121 North Hanley Road, Berkeley, MO 63134

• South County, 4546 Lemay Ferry Road, St. Louis, MO 63129

City of Florissant

• Government Building, 1055 rue St. Francois, Florissant, MO 63031

County of St. Charles

• Administrative Building, 201 N. Second St., St. Charles, MO 63301

Jefferson County

• Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation, 5217 Highway B, Hillsboro, MO 63050

City of O’Fallon

• City Hall, 100 N. Main Street, O’Fallon, MO 63366

St. Louis County Library System

• St. Louis County Library Headquarters, 1640 S Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63131

All documents are also available on the St. Louis County website at: https://stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments/human-services/ community-development/.

PUBLIC HEARING: Two official virtual public hearings will be held on August 11, 2021. A hearing will be held from 5:00 – 5:55 pm for the 2020 CAPER, and one will be held from 6:00 – 7:00 pm for the 2021-2025 Consolidated Plan. Please join the meeting from your computer, tablet, or smartphone from the meeting link: https://stlcoit. webex.com/stlcoit/j.php?MTID=mdeb379fc2a51a243de1f4af0cca3e7c3, or join by using meeting number 180 967 1106 and meeting password jMVJbZPS362. You may also dial in using your phone at 415-655-0001. Persons with disabilities or who otherwise need assistance should contact Sonya Venerable at svenerable@stlouiscountymo.gov 48 hours in advance of the hearing.

COMMENT PERIOD: Comments concerning the documents stated in this notice should be made during the public comment period; the comment period for all documents is August 9—13, 2021. Written comments will be accepted until 5:00 pm on August 13, 2021 and may be submitted via email to aellis@stlouiscountymo.gov or mailed to Amy Ellis, Director, St. Louis County Office of Community Development, 500 Northwest Plaza Drive, Suite 801, St. Ann, MO 63074. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

SEALED BIDS

Bids for Replace E m e r g e n c y G e n e r a t o r MSHP Troop Headquarters, R o l l a , M O , P r o j e c t N o . R2113-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, August 24, 2021. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http:// oa.mo.gov/ facilities

SEALED BIDS

Bids for Repair Parking Lot and Loading Dock Infrastructure, M i s s o u r i Geological Survey, Rolla, MO. Project No. W1901-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, August 26, 2021 For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

ADVERTISE

CITY OF ST. LOUIS ST. LOUIS LAMBERT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

SOLICITATION FOR BID (SFB)

Service: Fuel Systems Maintenance Services

Pre-Bid Meeting Date: August 6, 2021

Meeting will be held via teleconference. See SFB

NOTICE OF ELECTION SPECIAL ELECTION

THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT OF ST. LOUIS, ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI TUESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2021

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Special Election will be held at the designated polling place for each precinct in the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri, on Tuesday, August 3, 2021. The polls will be open between the hours of 6:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M. for the purpose of voting on a proposition to increase the operating tax levy of The Community College District of St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri by $0.08 per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation,

The last day the Board of Election Commissioners can accept an application to vote an absentee ballot by mail in the August 3, 2021, Special Election is 5:00 P.M. on Wednesday, July 21, 2021. Absentee voting in person will conclude at 5:00 P.M. on Monday, August 2, 2021. The office of the Board of Election Commissioners will be open on Saturday, July 31, 2021, from 9:00 A.M. until 1:00 P.M.

THE OFFICIAL BALLOT WILL BE SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE FOLLOWING FORM:

INSTRUCTIONS TO VOTERS: In today’s election, you have your choice of using either an electronic, touch screen voting machine or an optical scan voting machine to cast your ballot.

IF YOU USE THE OPTICAL SCAN VOTING MACHINE to cast your ballot, if you are in favor of the proposition completely darken the oval next to the word “YES.” If you are opposed to the proposition, completely darken the oval next to the word “NO.” Do not try to punch through the ballot. Use only the marking device provided to you. If you tear, deface or make a mistake and incorrectly mark the ballot, return it to the Election Judges and obtain a new ballot.

IF YOU USE THE ELECTRONIC, TOUCH SCREEN VOTING MACHINE to cast your ballot, follow the directions on the screen. If you are in favor of the proposition, touch the box on the screen to the left of the word “YES.” If you are opposed to the proposition, touch the box on the screen next to the word “NO.” If you need help in using the machine, please ask the Election Judges for assistance.

PROPOSITION R

For the purposes of updating career training programs to enable job growth in critical industries including healthcare, information technology, financial services, biotechnology and manufacturing, providing safe and secure learning environments for students and employees, investing in technology and infrastructure needs, constructing and repurposing, removing and eliminating, equipping and furnishing new and existing facilities, and furthering the college’s regional impact, shall the Board of Trustees of The Community College District of St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri be authorized to increase the operating tax levy by $0.08 per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation? If this proposition is approved, the adjusted operating levy of the district is estimated to be $0.2787 per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation.

YES – FOR THE PROPOSITION

NO – AGAINST THE PROPOSITION

YOU HAVE NOW COMPLETED VOTING.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF: The undersigned, comprising the Board of Election Commissioners for the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have caused this notice to be signed and the official seal of the office to be affixed at the office of the Board of Election Commissioners in St. Louis, Missouri, this 1st day of July, 2021.

BOARD OF ELECTION COMMISSIONERS FOR THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS

JERRY M. HUNTER Chairman/Member

GERALDINE M. KRAEMER GENE R. TODD Member Member

(Seal) Attest: JOSEPH A. BARBAGLIA Secretary/Member

SINGLE FEASIBLE SOURCE

PROCUREMENT FOR PROCUREMENT OF THE RAISER’S EDGE NXT FROM BLACKBAUD, INC.

Harris-Stowe State University (HSSU) anticipates procuring the product listed above from Blackbaud, Inc. Blackbaud, Inc., is the sole owner of any and all intellectual property related to The Raiser’s Edge NXT. The anticipated dollar amount of the product is $36,000.00. The award is scheduled to take place on or about August 5, 2021.

The contact for the University is Barbara A. Morrow, Director of Business Services, email address: morrowb@hssu.edu or telephone #: (314) 340-5763.

BID

Great Rivers Greenway is issuing this Request for Proposals to purchase the properties at 1245 – 1251, 1246 and 1300 Lewis Street. Go to www.greatriversgreenway.org/ jobs-bids and submit by August 10, 2021.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Normandy Schools

Collaborative Printing Services RFP available on www.Normandysc.org

Bids Due on 8/19/2021 at 2:00 PM

Normandy Administration Building 3855 Lucas and Hunt Rd. Normandy, MO 63121

Attention: Dr. Teri Green

EMPLOYEE UNIFORMS RFP 2021

The Saint Louis Zoo seeks bids from qualified firms to submit proposals for Employee Uniforms RFP 2021. Bid documents are available as of 7/28/2021 on the Saint Louis Zoo website: stlzoo.org/vendor.

BID

Alberici Constructors and the Saint Louis Zoo seek bids from qualified construction firms to submit proposals for multiple projects at the Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Park. Projects consist of Building Re-Roofing, Building Demolition and Perimeter Fencing & Roadways. To request bid documents, please send an E-mail to stlzoobids@alberici.com

BID NOTICE

Curtiss-Manes-Schulte, Inc. is soliciting bids from MBE/WBE/ SDVE/DBE subcontractors and suppliers for work on the New Indoor Practice Facility, University of Missouri-Columbia. Bids are due Tuesday, August 3rd, 2021 by 1:00 pm and can be faxed to (573) 392-4527 or emailed to shawn@cms-gc.com For more information, call Shawn @ (573) 392-6553. CurtissManes-Schulte, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

WAITLIST OPENING

June 15th thru July 30th, 2021 9AM to 12PM & 2PM to 4PM STUDIO, ONE (1) & TWO (2) BEDROOMS

Our pre-application WAITLIST will be CLOSING on the following date and time:

ST LUKE’S PLAZA APARTMENTS

5602 ENRIGHT AVENUE

ST LOUIS, MO 63112

July 30, 2021 @ 4PM

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Reinhardt-Wilson Joint Venture is requesting bids for Missouri University New Indoor Practice Facility . Bids must be submitted by T uesday, August 3rd, 2021 at 1:30 pm.

Bid Documents will be available at BuildingConnected.com https://app.buildingconnected.com/projects/ 60ef3e1d0f5aca00a2872877/info

You can view the project by logging into the Building Connected site and setting up a free account on their Website.

Alternate Locations: http://operationswebapps.missouri.edu/pdc/adsite/ ad.html

McGraw-Hill Dodge On-Line Services Only - McGraw-Hill Construction/Dodge https://www.construction.com/access-my-account Reinhardt-Wilson is an Equal Opportunity Employer

LETTING NO. 8733

WINDOW REPLACEMENT WEST

CLIMATE CONTROL PLANT

At St. Louis Lambert International Airport

Sealed proposals will be received by the Board of Public Service, in Room 301, City Hall 1200 Market St., St. Louis, MO. Until 1:45 p.m., on Tuesday, August 31, 2021, then publicly opened read. Plans and Specifications may be examined on the Board of Public Service website: https://www.stl-bps.org (BPS online plan room) and may be purchased directly through the BPS website from INDOX Services at cost plus shipping. No refunds will be made.

Bidders shall comply with applicable City, State, and Federal laws, (including MBE/WBE policies). Mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 10, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., in the Ozark Conference Room, 4th Floor of the Airport Office Building, 11495 Navaid Rd., Bridgeton, MO 63044.

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

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.”

place your ads today!

mercials, plays and music

showcases. It wasn’t until his freshman year at Soldan International Studies High School that he decided to take music seriously by releasing his own songs. “Ever since [He was in high

school] then music was the only thing I could stay on,” Jerell said. “I’ve always felt like I do a good job of selling myself—it’s who I am and how I approach branding my music.”

Jerell, a hybrid artist who incorporates Pop and R&B into his vocals and production, is excited about what the future holds.

“I’m excited about all the upcoming music I have,” Jerell said. “I live off of doing music

while I strategize and come up with new content. This has become my life.”

Jerell’s music is available on all streaming platforms. Follow him on Instagram at https:// www.instagram.com/officialjerell/. Like Jerell’s Facebook page:https://www.facebook. com/theofficialjerell/ Follow Jerell on Twitter: https://twitter.com/official_jerell.

NeedALoan?

Hardware

Continued from B1

On July 23-24, Kirkman hosted a two-day red carpet world premiere of the film at the Saint Louis Club in Clayton. Fans saw Hardware’s cool white and black hightech armored suit and heard a Q&A discussion moderated by Kelly Standing, director of innovation, marketing and membership at the Saint Louis Club, with Kirk, crew and cast members.

“The good thing about it that the Saint Louis Club it was empty because they were shut down and weren’t doing anything,” Kirkman said.

“They gave us access to film certain places. I don’t know if we could have filmed there on a regular weekday. That was one positive of COVID for us.”

“David’s request to film at the Club came at the right time, during our mandated COVID closure,” Mike Brady, general manager of Saint Louis Club

Christian McBride, Benny Green and Gregory Hutchinson. Hutchinson pays homage to the late Grammy Awardwinning double bassist Raymond Matthews Brown, who is notable for his work with Oscar Patterson and Ella Fitzgerald. Other favorites include Latin jazz singer Poncho Sánchez, acclaimed vibraphonist Warren Wolf and jazz pianist Kenny Barron. Local acts booked include Be.Be & the Neo-Souls,

said.

“Normally, we host as many as 2,100 events per year, so we wouldn’t have had the space.

This qualifies as something good that came out of COVID.”

Thomas “Tommo”

Scooter Brown and Antonio Foster & Friends.

“We have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to great local talent and we’re very pleased that we get an opportunity to present them,” Bradford said.

Bradford guarantees this season will have “something for everyone” no matter what demographic. He said it all comes down to being openminded.

“Some people don’t like Jazz, but that’s like saying you don’t like color,” Bradford said.

“There’s so many of them, there’s so many styles, there’s so many to choose from. You’re really gonna find

Anderson, a local artist, actor and musician who played villain Commando X, said he appreciates Kirkman’s creation of opportunities.

“David ensures to bring excellent people with him and highlight them in the best way possible,” Anderson said.

“Having the opportunity to step out and do more things on this level is really a blessing and beautiful [I’m glad to be here].” Hardware will be released to YouTube on Aug. 13. Kirkman’s currently in production for his first feature film, Underneath, what he says is his biggest endeavor thus far. We’re just taking everything that we learned with the Milestone films, the good and perfecting it.,” Kirkman said.

“It’s an intersection between Black history and also Black sci-fi, which is something you’ve probably never really seen outside of Black Panther.” Kirkman releases all his work through his company Woke Nation, visit his website for more information https:// www.wokenationstudios.com/.

something that you enjoy. It just takes a little bit of looking around an open mind.” Bradford looks forward to greeting guests who haven’t attended a live show since the pandemic hit the region.

“I know people have gotten used to sitting back and surfing the web or bingeing whatever’s on TV, but I hope that people who may have not gotten out and enjoyed live music will use this as an opportunity to say finally we can enjoy being together and experience music together.” Bradford said. For more information about this season, visit: https://jazzstl. org/.

St. Louis Community College is our community’s resource for training and retraining for good-paying jobs. With an increased demand for high-tech, real-world training programs, as well as dramatic changes in the workforce and education since many of the facilities were built in the 1960s, the College simply can’t keep up.

Prop. R will allow the College to meet the demand and ensure quality job training is available for the unemployed and underemployed in our neighborhoods to get the good-paying jobs that are available now and those that will be available in the future.

Voter turnout is expected to be low on Tuesday, and every

Jazz

Continued from B1

“Hardware” director and Ferguson native David Kirkman.

WE’RE HIRING MATERIAL HANDLERS

$17.51/ hour

1st, 2nd & 3rd Shift

Material Handlers are responsible for performing a variety of routine hazardous and non-hazardous waste tasks in the movement of solids and liquids. Tasks could include all types of manual labor in cleaning and decontamination operations, vacuum projects and handling, packing, re-packing, unloading and loading containers for processing at site or transportation to appropriate facilities. Education/Experience: High School diploma or General Educational Development (GED) Prior work in the hazardous waste or chemical industry and/or forklift experience preferred but not required (We’ll train!)

Apply today, we would love to hear from you! For more information, visit our website at www.veolianorthamerica.com or contact: Darrell Lewis Human Resources Business Partner 618-857-7322 darrell.lewis@veolia.com

OPERATIONS COORDINATORASSIST ED

Operations CoordinatorAssist ED w/ financial management & oversight & manage office operations of statewide environmental org. 32 hours/week, $18-$22/hour, 100% paid health insurance. Email resume to jobs@moenviron.org with subject line Operations Coordinator by 8/16/21. See moenvironment.org/careers for full listing.

FINANCE ASSOCIATE

Justine PETERSEN, a Non-Profit focused on credit building, homeownership, and micro-enterprise lending and training is accepting applications for a Finance Associate. To apply go to justinepetersen.org/getinvolved/job-opportunities/

MEMBERSHIP & VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR

Membership & Volunteer Coordinator-grow the # of members & engage volunteers throughout MO for statewide environmental org. 40 hours/ week, $39-$43K, 100% paid health insurance. Email resume to jobs@moenviron.org with subject line Membership and Volunteer Coordinator by 8/16/21. See moenvironment. org/careers for full listing.

Maintenance Worker

Starting salary $30,684 + excellent benefit package

SEEKING STUDENT REFERRALS

Seeking student referrals for a FREE afterschool Academy college preparation Program in the Fall. For more information or to refer a student visit us at www.bhghstl.org or call 314-280-5465.

ACCOUNTING CLERK

The City of Richmond Heights is accepting applications for the position of Accounting Clerk . To apply go to https://richmondheights. applicantpro.com/jobs/ Applications will be accepted from August 1, 2021 through August 14, 2021.

FOSTER CARE CASE MANAGER

CITY OF ST PETERS, MO CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Join a great team with an Employees First approach that’s helped make St. Peters one of the best places to live in America! Various FT and PT positions with competitive pay at multiple city facilities including St. Peters Rec-Plex, Water’s Edge Banquet Center and St. Peters Golf Club. To view all current openings and to apply, please visit www.stpetersmo.net/Jobs

The maintenance worker performs routine, entry-level duties related to the maintenance of the state’s roadways and facilities. Responsibilities are performed under direct supervision.

Minimum/Required Qualifications:

• High School Diploma or GED

• Valid Driver’s License

• Class B Commercial Driver’s License (Permit) w/tanker endorsement - no air brake restriction

Locations: St. Louis city and county, St. Charles, Franklin and Jefferson County

BENEFITS

• Medical Plan, Dental & Vision

• 13 Paid Holidays

• Paid CDL Class B training

• Life Insurance

• Paid Vacation

• Pension/Retirement

• Vested after 5 years

• Educational Assistance Program

• Cafeteria Plan

• Employee Assistance Program

• Voting Leave Apply: www.modot.mo.gov/careers

Increase Pay Market Adjustment for Winter/Emergency Operations!

MoDOT supports equality and advancement for all people based on their qualifications and actions alone without regard to color, race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, national origin, or disability. EOE/AA/M/F/D/V

This position involves general case management including intake, assessment, education and referral of residents to service providers in the local community. It also includes supportive services and other activities designed to help Public Housing residents attain economic and housing self-sufficiency. The successful candidate will also have the ability to coordinate marketing and outreach activities to maximize program participation of public housing residents including residents that are single parent heads-of-household and at-risk youth and transition age youth (18-21). Min. Requirements – BS Degree in Social Work, Psychology or Counseling is preferable or individuals who have relevant work experience. Starting Salary: $43,094 Annually. Apply via our website www.slha.org. Position will be open until filled. A Drug Free Work Place/EOE.

Saluting excellence in health care

The St. Louis American Foundation shares the goal of all who seek to ensure adequate, affordable health care for all-underserved communities, in particular. As an integral part of its mission, the St. Louis American Foundation has hosted the Salute to Excellence in Health Care for 21 years to honor oustanding individual performers in health care for African-Americans.

Yet, this year is again different, like last year. First, is the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent federal data offers the most comprehensive view of how Black and Latino people have been more likely to contract the virus and if not vaccinated die from it. We are also experiencing a Black Lives Matter movement that has been energized by a new generation of activists after the murder of George Floyd. These historic developments have not only underscored the devastating racial disparities in health care, but also serve as a reminder of the critical and essential role health care workers serve—to our health and wellness, and indeed our very survival. So while this community event (this year a virtual one) is a longstanding tradition for the Foundation, we believe this year’s cele-

bration of our health care heroes and the work they do is more important than ever. This pandemic with the current surge of the Delta variant is a perfect example of why we seek to encourage more young people to pursue growing opportunities in the health care field.

A past detailed report released by the St. Louis Regional Health Commission highlighted the failure of our health care safety net to provide for the region’s medically underserved. In the midst of irrefutable data documenting the system’s operational inefficiencies, perennial underfunding and missed opportunities for collaboration of safety net organizations, the report also identified an oasis of community health organizations and devoted health care providers who are striving to dismantle the systemic and nearly insurmountable barriers to health

care for the indigent and underserved. These tremendously committed and passionate health care leaders have demonstrated an unwavering devotion to the community and share the moral conviction that they cannot afford to stand idle while so many suffer from many preventable illnesses.

Our 2021 Salute to Excellence in

n Please learn more about this year’s awardees on the following pages. But we encourage you to also visit stlamerican.com and watch their individual videos, so that you can feel their dedication and passion to serve, more vididly.

Health Care awardees share these values. Their productive careers exemplify what’s right with health care in St. Louis. They understand that every patient should be treated with dignity and respect and deserves the highest quality of health care possible. Also common among them is a shared belief that community-based programs can have a profound impact on eliminating racial health disparities. They help inspire our youth to pursue careers in science and health

care and offer a compelling view on how a dysfunctional health care system can be reformed.

Since the inaugural Salute to Excellence in Health Care in 2001, we at the St. Louis American Foundation are proud to have honored more than 235 outstanding African-American health care providers at this annual event. We’ve celebrated the longstanding careers of lifetime achievers, while lauding and highlighting the current work being done by our Excellence in Health Care awardees.

We’re also looking toward the future and the likelihood that there will continue to be a shortage of nurses into the next decade, in St. Louis and throughout the nation. We are extremely proud of a collaboration we started nine years ago with the Deaconess Foundation and the Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis, that provides $125,000 worth of scholarships every year for local nursing students. As future caregivers, their work is vital to our community, and we look forward to recognizing some of them as awardees at future Salute to Excellence in Health Care events.

The St. Louis American Foundation’s 21th annual

Salute to Excellence in Health Care Awards Luncheon

HONOREES:

Lifetime Achiever in Health Care

R. Jerome Williams Jr., MD

Stellar Performer in Health Care

Kendra Holmes, Pharm.D., CHCEF

Dr. John M. Anderson Excellence in Mental Health Award

Daniel Mamah, MD, MPE

Health Care Advocacy Organization of the Year Award

Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Inc.

2021 Excellence in Health Care Awardees

Damon C. Clines, MD

Blottie Ussery, RN

Carlita D. Vasser, RN, CCN

Dara M. Webb

LEAD SPONSOR

Dr. John M. Anderson Excellence in Mental Health Award Sponsored by St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund

Dr. Damon Clines of Gateway Digestive and Liver Center

What are your current health care positions; and What are your responsibilities in this position?

I am a gastroenterologist and hepatologist who works for a private practice in the St. Louis City. I specialize in diseases in the gastro-intestinal tract and the liver. I see people with problems like colon cancer, stomach cancer, liver disease, or hepatitis. Anything that has to do with the intestinal tract is my specialty because that is what I deal with.

How do you feel you are able to make a difference in this position?

First, my focus is, as it has always been, to try and impact healthcare disparities. You are not going to do that where health disparities do not exist. If you want to go duck hunting, you must go where the ducks are. There are two areas where healthcare disparities exist: in rural areas and urban areas. I grew up in the St. Louis City. I know what urban life is like and I know what urban areas are like. From the moment I finished my residency, I felt the need to go back to where the void needs to be

n “My focus is, as it has always been, to try and impact healthcare disparities. You are not going to do that where health disparities do not exist.”

2021 Excellence in Health Care Awardee

– Dr. Damon Clines

filled in the city: the urban areas where the health disparities exist to try my best to make an impact. And that is what I have done. A lot of doctors like to be in the suburbs, in north or south county. When you look around, there are not a lot of doctors who want to be in the city. I am one of those rare breeds because many doctors who work in the city work for clinics or healthcare facilities. There are very few who are private practice or have their own practice. This is where

my passion is and where I am going to put everything I have learned to use. I completed his Residency and Fellowship in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at St. Louis University Health and Science Center, where I am currently an Assistant Clinical Professor in the division of Internal Medicine. I am a board-certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology. I enjoy my work and patients. We get patients who are not insured, are underinsured, and some who are fully insured; we run the whole gambit.

Health care is a team sport. Tell us about your team and how they help you succeed.

My team consists of my practice manager, the practice administrator, chief operating officer, and my director of nursing. This team is the real bones of the practice. They orchestrate scheduling, procedures, and referrals; all the things that make the practice run smoothly. I do the “doctoring part” but that is only one

See CLINES, page 10

Dr. Damon Clines of Gateway Digestive and Liver Center

Blottie Ussery of Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital

What are your current health care positions; and What are your responsibilities in this position?

I am a registered nurse at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital. When I visited a hospital as a child, I knew then that I wanted to be a nurse and specifically work with children. I graduated from Florissant Valley Community College as a registered nurse in 1989. At the Bridge Hospital, the philosophy is to teach parents and to bridge the gap from a major hospital. The patients come from there to us to either learn about how to care for their children to get them home. I teach parents nursing care.

How do you feel you are able to make a difference in this position?

It is very rewarding to teach the parents how to take care of their kids. I educate them on respiratory care, like how to set their child up on a ventilator in some cases, on a day-to-day basis. Parents also learn about room care, feeding, and other essential things they

n “It is very rewarding to teach the parents how to take care of their kids. I educate them on respiratory care, like how to set their child up on a ventilator in some cases, on a day-to-day basis.”

2021 Excellence in Health Care Awardee

– Blottie Ussery

need to know about medical needs for their children.

Health care is a team sport. Tell us about your team and how they help you succeed.

Each day, I work with the physician,

nurse practitioner, a person in respiratory therapy, a person in speech therapy, and a person in occupational therapy. We work together to provide the best care to our patients. Physicians will write out the instructions or orders that are needed to take care of the child. As a team, we work together daily to take care of patients. I also cannot forget about the nurse assistants who work with me as well. We come together to do daily care and parent trainings.

COVID continues to disrupt our work and our lives. How has it disrupted your work, and how are you adapting?

Before the pandemic, our visiting policies looked a lot different. There were family policies, but there were less restrictions for visitation. During the pandemic, patients can only have two visitors at a time which limits their interaction. Siblings cannot really come visit under the age of 16. It was more

See USSERY, page 10

Carlita Vasser, director of nursing and CEO of At Home Care

Carlita D. Vasser, RN, CCN is director of nursing / CEO of At Home Care

What is your current health care position? What are your responsibilities in this position?

I am the founder, CEO, and director of nursing at At Home Care. It was founded in 2011. My responsibilities are managing the overall operations of the organization. Our mission is ever-changing. That’s probably everyone’s situation due of COVID. But originally, our biggest focus was on keeping individuals independent in their homes without having the need for a nursing home. We know how difficult it is when an individual is trying to make the determination between going into a nursing home or staying in their own home. So, our goal is to be an asset to the individual.

How do you feel you are able to make a difference in this position?

At Home Care not only provides service to disabled adults. I mean nonmedical services such as light housekeeping, dressing, bathing, and grooming; we also offer disease management and even immediate relief from life issues such as assistance with getting groceries, or

n “We have a coordinated care plan that’s done for each of our clients that’s individualized so collectively, our team works together to meet the needs of the individual holistically.”

2021 Excellence in Health Care Awardee

Meals on Wheels or connecting them to resources that are in the community.

One of the biggest characteristics of At Home Care is not only providing home health care but we also try to bring the resources to the individual from different nonprofit and even some for-profit organizations; accessibility is sometimes a hindrance or even having knowledge of the resources. So, we bring the resources

to them.

Since the beginning of this year, we have become a vaccination clinic. We have been vaccinating pretty much weekly. We don’t have a clinic per se…we have a mobile clinic where we go into different locations in the communities. In St. Louis, we’ve partnered with food pantries and churches, even the bureau of immunization and the national guard. Outside the St. Louis area, the other offices have pretty much done the same in providing vaccines wherever individuals are.

Health care is a team sport. Tell us about your team and how they help you succeed.

We have a coordinated care plan that’s done for each of our clients that’s individualized so collectively, our team works together to meet the needs of the individual holistically. At Home Care has a total of four offices in Missouri. Our main office is here in St. Louis, but we have an office in Hannibal, Springfield,

See VASSER, page 14

Blottie Ussery of Ranken Jordan Pedicatric Bridge Hospital

– Clarita Vasser, RN, CCN

Dara Webb, executive director of quality and care management at Mercy Clinic

What is your current health care position? What are your responsibilities in this position?

I’m the executive director quality and care management at Mercy Clinics. I manage quality, data, care management and social work teams. My responsibilities? In the health care world, it’s all about showing value to patients. A lot of our managed care contracts are value-based. That means from a care management perspective, providing quality to our patients and ensuring they get the best quality of care. From the social work team perspective; it’s asking if you have transportation, food insecurity issues, do you have utility issues…it’s about looking at the patient holistically and meeting all their healthcare needs.

How do you feel you are able to make a difference in this position?

Prior to coming to Mercy, I had a job at a community health center on the south side of Chicago. So, I’ve been working in the community health arena. I’ve also done consulting work. I’ve been everywhere from New York City to New

n “I think having a variety of experiences prior to coming here, I can speak to what it looks like to be a vulnerable patient…Hispanic, Black, no insurance…I understand those populations.”

2021 Excellence in Health Care Awardee

Orleans to Cincinnati to California…so I think having a variety of experiences prior to coming here, I can speak to what it looks like to be a vulnerable patient… Hispanic, Black, no insurance…I understand those populations. I’ve also worked for other large health systems as a consultant, so I bring all those ‘best practices’ to the St. Louis area.

Health care is a team sport. Tell us about your team and how they help you succeed.

I work with a great team of physician leaders as well as a well-respected, high quality RN nurses. I have a social work manager…I capitalize off all their skills because I’m not a nurse. There are people in these types of roles with clinical backgrounds and I don’t. You’re right, it’s a team sport and I like to say I quarterback my team. They are the clinical experts. I just make sure that they have the tools they need to successfully do their work. They’re in the trenches, they understand those nuances of quality metrics, social work and care management criteria. I do the operational part. I do get to do the talking and convincing physicians to do certain things.

COVID-19 has disrupted all of our work and lives. How has it disrupted your work, and how are you adapting? This pandemic taught us that we can’t take things for granted. Surprisingly, I

See WEBB, page 14

Dara M. Webb, executive director of quality and care management at Mercy Clinic

– Dara M. Webb

Clines

Continued from page 5

piece. You must have everything in place for billing, intake, and writing policies. We are unique in the way that I am the only physician in this practice since we are a solo group. We do have a nurse practitioner. Many doctors will look to join groups. Unfortunately, many doctors of color do not get asked to join groups for several reasons. There are not many groups that would welcome the chance to practice where I practice due to different medical insurance levels people have in urban areas.

COVID continues to disrupt our work and our lives. How has it disrupted your work, and how are you adapting?

I do a lot of preventative measures, like screening colonoscopies. When COVID first hit, many hospitals completely shut down elective cases. So, a lot of what I do was completely shut down. This made a big impact on

the office because a lot of people did not want to come to the office for fear of contracting COVID. For a while, we only saw people who had serious problems. We were not completing many of the procedures we did before the pandemic like heart burn or a little bit of belly pain. It impacted us in a big way. Fortunately, we did not have to lay off any employees, although I did miss a few paychecks. I do not look at my team as employees but rather important assets. To adapt to the pandemic, we adopted the CDC guidelines. In our waiting room now, our chairs are spaced out. We spaced out the appointment times and when they come in there are signs before they come in with instructions on what to do if they have a cough or fever. After every patient leaves the building, we wipe everything down and clean their points of contact in every room. Patients love to see it because they know we are prioritizing their health.

Mentors are crucial to the development of a successful professional. Tell us about a mentor and

how that person helped guide you. To be honest, I embarked on this career after being in the education field. I was a special education instructor. Some things happened that got me on a different track. I was not one of these kids who wanted to be a doctor in grade school or high school. It was not even on my radar. Some life events happened, and some things changed. One thing led to another. I was going to school for pre-med classes, then I was in medical school. I really did not have a mentor perse. While in medical school, I had the opportunity to shadow Dr. Michael Railey, who was the former dean of minority affairs at St. Louis University. That was the only time I really looked to someone for guidance or anything. I have kids that shadow me monthly because it is important for African American kids to see people who look like and identify with them. It important for me to tell kids it is not impossible. If you want to do it, you can. Mentoring is an important part of our practice.

Ussery

Continued from page 7

family centered before because siblings were included. Some patients are in the hospital for months or years. Now, patients are going over a year without seeing most of their family members other than the two designated caregivers who can see them. We tell them they can talk on the phone or Facetime, but it is hard for them to not see their loved ones in person. Families are really being pulled apart over this.

Mentors are crucial to the development of a successful professional. Tell us about a mentor and how that person helped guide you. I have been a registered nurse for 32 years. I have been a mentor for many of our new nurses. I do a lot of training for new nurses as they come aboard. One of the ways I help to mentor is by introducing the new nurses to other staff members, families, and anyone important to what is going on during the shift. This is to ensure they know who they are working with and who is there with them. I may do it more than once also, which I get playfully teased for, but it is effective. It helps them to get acclimated and build their confidence.

Do you have a previous position that helped you prepare for this work? If so,

Do you have a previous position that helped you prepare for this work? If so, please share.

I have been practicing medicine for more than 20 years. I am currently an Assistant Clinical Professor in the division of Internal Medicine. I am also an active member of the American College of Gastroenterology and the National Medical Association. I am the CEO/ President of Gateway Digestive & Liver Center, the first freestanding ambulatory surgery center in the state of Missouri that is 100% minority owned.

Is there anything about your personal life that you would like to share with the public celebrating your award?

Other than the fact that I have been blessed to have a wonderful wife and a wonderful family that has supported me through all that we have been through, I am honored to featured and awarded for my work in the healthcare industry. I have been married to Diane Clines, NP for 19 years and we have four children: Taylor, Cory, Dione, and Daryl.

please share.

After graduating college, I joined St. Louis Children’s Hospital as a staff nurse where I got the nursing foundation. There, I cared for kids with cystic fibrosis and asthma. It helped me to work effectively in a team. After a few years there, I wanted to care for kids with more severe medical conditions. I joined Strictly Pediatrics Specialty Center where I cared for medically fragile children in their homes, treating kids living with chronic illnesses. This population of children may live with a g-tube, central lines, ventilators, and other advanced living equipment. In addition to providing care to these children, I also served as a teacher to the parents and teachers of those children, showing them how to care for their kids and equipment. After nearly a decade at Strictly Pediatrics, I joined the Hazelwood School District as a school nurse. While I continued my career in pediatrics, I was eager to re-join a hospital environment where I could provide more advanced patient care.

Is there anything about your personal life that you would like to share with the public celebrating your award?

I am so honored to accept this award, which I was not expecting to receive. After 32 years of nursing, I am grateful to be acknowledged for the work I have done in the community.