June 17th, 2021 edition

The St. LouiS AmericAn

Serving, empowering and advocating for equity in St. Louis

Jumping to Juilliard

COCA graduate Miles Ashe is taking his dance skills to The Juilliard School in New York in the fall. Miles said he had been learning virtually since he was a sophomore, so he was prepared to deal with online instruction. “I need more patience with myself, because I tend to rush myself,” he said.

Two SLPS students taking skills to prestigious school in New York City

By Sophie Hurwitz of the St. Louis American

While most seniors spent their final year of high school adapting to COVID restrictions, quarantines and a senior year landscape that was nothing like they imagined, certain students’ challenges were unique.

Ruth Christopher and Miles Ashe, two St. Louis Public Schools seniors and artists — a double bassist and a dancer, respectively — navigated the challenges of performing their group-based arts from isolation. And they grew through the experience. Both are headed to The Juilliard School in New York City this fall to continue their professional journeys in the arts. Ashe explained that he was “kind of grateful” for the ways that the COVID-19 quarantine allowed him the space and isolation to focus on his art. Though he began to study dance at the age of eight, this moment allowed him to pause from his meteoric trajectory and “think of who I am, as an

n Ashe explained that he was “kind of grateful” for the ways that the COVID-19 quarantine allowed him the space and isolation to focus on his art.

artist, as a dancer.”

“I got to…find more ways to use my body more, [and learn] how to utilize it so it can stay healthy and strong,” Ashe said.

He has been learning virtually since the 10th grade, after he began to study as part of the pre-professional program at COCA, so adaptation to virtual school came relatively easily.

“I learned…I need more patience with myself, because I tend to rush myself.”

Ruth Christopher, a bassist at McKinley High School, found the transition to practicing her art in isolation difficult, due to the energy and inspiration she gets from playing music in a group setting.

“A lot of my inspiration and what I enjoy about playing music comes from other people, and the connections you make with other people when you play with a chamber group. It’s like, a very intimate—you connect with their eyes,

Federal funds ‘just the beginning’ of Jones’ public safety plan

Aldermen must approve spending plan allocations

By Dana Rieck of The St. Louis American

n “We knew these problems existed before, but COVID-19 highlighted how unsustainable the status quo truly is in this city.”

– St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones announced Tuesday how her administration plans to spend the first $80 million in federal relief money from President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act. Jones urged the St. Louis Board of Aldermen to approve the plan by July 1, which is the day the federal CARES Act rental assistance program is set to expire. If approved, most of the money — $58 million — will be allocated to “direct, urgent relief” including housing and utility assistance, support for the unhoused and immediate cash assistance. Another $11.5 million of the money is slated to address the root causes of crime and improve public safety. Jones said her administration plans to do that through

See SPENDING, A6

Landlords bank Feds’ cash, keep filing eviction notices

Housing advocates warn of looming housing crisis

By Karen Robinson-Jacobs of the St. Louis American

Even as local landlords accepted millions in loans from the federal government meant to help covid-impacted businesses pay their workers, some continued eviction proceedings against tenants also hurt by the economic crisis, according to a new local housing report and lending data.

n “We were already subsidizing these particular complexes and for them to also not show mercy upon these tenants, is somewhat unconscionable in a situation like this.”

– Willie Jordan, executive director of the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council

Housing advocates say they see a double standard as the city proposes spending more than $35 million in federal relief funds, in part to blunt a predicted wave of evictions, which could disproportionately harm people of color.

“These large corporations have benefited already from government funding,” said Willie Jordan, executive director of the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council.

“We were already subsidizing these particular complexes and for them to also not show mercy upon these tenants, is somewhat unconscionable in a situation like this.

“They recognize it is an emergency,” he added. “Why wouldn’t they recognize the needs of those tenants as well?”

St. Louis to celebrate Juneteenth

Senate gives OK to historic bill as it nears being national holiday

By Alvin A. Reid of the St. Louis American

Juneteenth celebrations are scheduled throughout the St. Louis area the weekend of June 18-20 and events have even more historical significance in 2021.

On Tuesday, the Senate passed a bill that would make Juneteenth, or June 19th, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

Juneteenth would become the 12th federal holiday, and the bill is expected to easily pass in the House.

Juneteenth commemorates when the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free. While Robert E. and the Confederacy surrendered in April 1865, word did not reach all enslaved Black people until June 19. Union soldiers brought news of the Civil War’s end and true Emancipation to Galveston, Texas, on that day.

See JUNETEENTH, A7

Photo by Judd Demaline

See JUILLIARD, A7

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones outlined a proposal for spending $80 million in stimulus funds Tuesday, June 15.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Halle Berry appreciates rappers’ name dropping Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry’s more than 30-year career has kept her a household name. She’s so recognizable that her name is still mentioned in rap songs.

On June 9, a Twitter user named @rickeviusj asked the actress how she feels about being name-dropped in multiple rap songs. She loves it!

Artists including Hurricane Chris Berry”), Kendrick Lamar (“Money Trees”) and J. Cole (“Higher”) have referenced Berry in songs. In 2018, she understandably became confused when then-L.A.

Rams quarterback Jared Goff used her name during an audible. Her Twitter response was the following: Hold up. @JaredGoff16 @RamsNFL - What is a “Halle Berry”?? [crying laughing emojis]

In a recent appearance on Hot Ones, she commented on her favorite rap song name reference and stated that she couldn’t choose one over another.

“I think of these references, like my children, in a way,” she said. “There’s no way I could pick one. I love all these artists. I’m always flattered when any one of them includes me, and that they still remember me, or even know who I am. So, to pick one would be like picking my daughter over my son. I love them

Bernie Mac biopic to be filmed by John Legend’s “Get Lifted” company

The Hollywood Reporter details that John is working with his production company Get Lifted to develop a full-length film on the late comedian, Bernie

After being reportedly greenlit by Mac’s estate, the project was recently announced during a panel discussion at the 2021 Tribeca Festival.

“We just partnered with Bernie Mac’s estate to cover Bernie Mac’s story,” said Legend’s producing partner Mike Jackson, adding that the

deal was “something that John doesn’t know about yet” as it “just happened today.”

“Look at you breaking news over here,” Legend, who looked visibly surprised, said before mentioning his role in 2008’s Soul Men co-starring Mac and Samuel L. Jackson

He added, “The Soul Men reunion you all wanted to see….his humor was always edgy, but it always had so much heart to it at the same time. You could tell he was a family man. You could tell that he loved the people that he was talking about. He truly just got joy from lighting people’s faces up with laughter.”

Shock G died from accidental overdose

According to the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner, Shock G died in a Tampa hotel room from a deadly mix of alcohol and drugs.

Reportedly, TMZ was told by a rep for the medical examiner’s office that the Digital Underground rapper passed from an accidental overdose of fentanyl, ethanol and methamphetamine.

When TMZ broke the story in April that Shock G was found unresponsive in his hotel room, there were no reported noticeable signs of trauma. He was last seen the day before he died by a hotel manager who found him in the room on April 22.

The manager became concerned after realizing Shock G missed his check-out time and then called 911 immediately.

The medical examiner pronounced him dead

at the scene at 1:20 p.m. (CST).

Pharrell to open private schools for low-income families

Grammy-winning producer, rapper and singer Pharrell Williams plans to open a group of small private schools for students from lowincome families in Norfolk, VA.

The first school will launch this fall in Ghent, a historic neighborhood in Norfolk. It will target grades three through five.

“If the system is fixed and unfair, then it needs to be broken,” Williams said in a news release. “We don’t want lockstep learning where so many kids fall behind; we want bespoke learning designed for each child, where the things that make a child different are the same things that will make a child rise up and take flight.”

Named Yellowhab - yellow after Williams’ nonprofit organization and “hab,’’ after the name of the Mars habitat in the movie “The Martian,” the schools will be tuition-free for at least the first year. Costs of attendance will be managed by charitable efforts.

Curriculum will focus on STEAM — science, technology, engineering, art and math — like the non-profit’s summer programs have. Families can apply online at www.teamyellow.org/yellowhab until July 1. Students will be selected through a lottery system. The new school will open Sept. 7.

Sources: LoveBScott.com, Complex.com,

Freedom Community Center offers alternatives to incarceration

By Sophie Hurwitz of the St. Louis American

When Mike Milton was running the Bail Project, a nonprofit which bails people out of jail who cannot afford to do so themselves, he began to notice something: often, those who called the police on someone — their partner or family member, perhaps — were the same people who would then call the Bail Project to get that person out of jail.

They asked the Bail Project if there were alternatives: was there some way to get this person who had done harm into mental health treatment, or de-escalate the situation in some way, without sending that person to jail? And the Bail Project staffers did the best they could, but realized that there was a need for alternatives to incarceration in cases of interpersonal violence that was not being filled by the criminal justice system in St. Louis city.

“We even had someone call us from the hospital like, this person did this harm to me, I don’t want to call the police, can you get him into inpatient treatment?” Milton recalled.

“So that was the major shift in my thinking towards this.” In light of that — and given the fact that, with recent bail reform laws, the Bail Project had much less work to do than they once did in St. Louis — the Bail Project branch shut down, and Milton and his team moved on to a new project: titled the Freedom Community Center, which is designed to

bring restorative justice to survivors of interpersonal harms in St. Louis and demonstrate an alternative form of justice to incarceration.

“I think that what we often don’t recognize is that those who survive harm, often don’t want what the legal system has to offer,” Milton said. He knows this from personal experience as someone who has spent time in jail. He said that what transformed his manner of interaction with his community away from violence wasn’t jail, but was the restorative justice processes he participated in afterwards.

“I know that incarceration, and jail, and prison…what was normal for me…was not effective in transformation. It wasn’t what caused me to change my course of action,” he said.

The statistics show that survivors of interpersonal harm often find the legal process more harmful than beneficial: per a May 2020 study in the journal Policing and Society, for example, over 50% of sexual assault survivors in particular find participation in the criminal justice process to be retraumatizing.

The Freedom Community Center, which opened in April, takes a survivor-centered approach to ending interpersonal violence. According to Milton, the first thing that happens when a survivor connects with the program is that the Center spends up to $5,000 on whatever their immediate safety needs are. Often, this entails a bus or plane ticket to gain physical distance from

son who harmed them begins an intensive course of therapy: first, restorative-justice circles in which they talk through the harm they have done with 8-10 other people. Survivors are generally included in these circles, or may send a stand-in. Then, the group moves on to PTSD, trauma, and aggression therapy. Then, they move on to an antiviolence curriculum which Milton says they walk through for ‘three to four months.’

The curriculum includes lessons on “What does it mean to choose violence, and why you chose violence. We believe that people who often victimize others are victims themselves, so we help them process what happened to them,” Milton said.

said. “Common justice has been in function for 11 years at this point. I think it’s so critical for us to think about alternative solutions, because we see what incarceration is doing. We see what incarceration is doing to our city.”

Missouri, according to the Sentencing Project, has the 15th-highest rate of incarceration among the 50 states. In order to continue developing FCC’s curriculum and strategy, Milton said, the group has put out a survey which survivors of interpersonal violence in St. Louis can fill out to tell the FCC what they need. The results, he says, have been striking.

whoever hurt them, or perhaps a rent payment to allow them to leave a toxic relationship that involves monetary dependence.

“We’ve replaced locks, security systems, windows,” Milton said. “Whatever they ask for to be safe, we center that safety and try to meet that safety.”

Then, the FCC assigns each survivor a “healing support specialist,” and asks if they want to engage in a restorative justice process with the person who hurt them. Survivors, Milton says, nearly always say yes.

The nonprofit began their work this April, and have worked with two clients — which is to say, two survivors, two families, two communities, two people who did harm — since then. They hope to scale up to 50 survivors by the end of the year, Milton says. Each restorative justice process, under the FCC framework, lasts 15 months: first, the survivor is made safe. Then, they are placed in therapy, partnering with UMSL. Then, with the survivor’s consent, the per-

Once the person who did harm has completed the restorative-justice and therapy phases of FCC’s process, they move on to “graduation” - a moment in which they commit to specific members of their community in order to hold them accountable for hurting others—a neighbor who will come check in on them if they hear the person getting too loud, for example—and finish the program.

The curriculum was developed based on models proven in other cities, such as Common Justice in New York, which is an incarceration-alternative program that has been running for over a decade, as well as similar programs such as Men as Peacemakers in Minnesota, and Men Stopping Violence in Atlanta.

“This is data driven,” Milton

“Oftentimes we don’t consider survivors of harm’s voices when we talk about violence. We mostly consider what the state has to say and what the media has to say. But we don’t really ask survivors what they want. And if we do ask them what they want, we only give them one option, which is incarceration.” On the survey, which is still accepting responses, survivors tell the group what solutions they want to see.

“I’m confident that it works,” Milton said, though he noted the program will not be able to eliminate systemic or interpersonal violence. “This one program isn’t going to undo the system failures of the world. We don’t expect it to go away with an eight or 15 month or two year program, but what we do expect is to help. We know the legal system doesn’t deal with the nuances necessary to break the cycle of violence.”

“We have a real opportunity for change.”

Juneteenth marks history as St. Louis plans its future

By Tishaura Jones

January 1, 1863, marked the first official day that the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, effectively freeing enslaved people from the bonds that considered them property. However, it wasn’t until nearly two and half years later on June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers visited Galveston Bay, Texas, to inform the enslaved people there that they were free. June 19 - known nationwide as Juneteenth - was not simply the celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation, but rather the echoes of freedom finally reaching the ears of the last people whose lives would be monumentally impacted by this news.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Black Americans have been left behind when it comes to new opportunities to succeed, and in the City of St. Louis we are no exception. For decades, we have witnessed the devastating effects of disinvestment from our predominantly Black and Brown communities. Status quo politicians have redirected resources away from North City, taking away jobs, economic development, neighborhood stabilization, and the health and well-being that comes with those resources. As new opportunities arose in predominantly white areas of the City, Black and Brown people were once again left behind.

I’ve said it before, we’re not a poor city. We’re a cheap city. And it’s always communities of color which bear the brunt of the City’s frugality while massive investment goes into the Central Corridor. We have a real opportunity for change.

With President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), we have a once-ina-lifetime opportunity to right some of these historic wrongs. The federal government is sending $517 million in COVID-19 relief for the people of our city – including millions of dollars in urgent, direct relief to support those hit hardest by the pandemic – and my administration is putting in the work to ensure

the funding is spent equitably.

We immediately formed a Stimulus Advisory Board, composed of community leaders from across St. Louis. The SAB worked diligently and intentionally to reach out to the public for input on how we should direct this money, and we received responses from more than 2,500 people. With this feedback, we formed our final proposal for how to invest the initial funds equitably so you can get the support you need – no matter your zip code. From support for the unhoused to small business support, the people of our city made clear the importance of providing direct support for those struggling.

I aim to invest this funding in key areas that will see positive returns for generations; the kinds of investments that will strengthen communities and make our entire city safer. Youth programming gives our babies safe places to have fun, socialize, and build skills for the future. Rental and mortgage assistance keeps families in their homes as an eviction crisis looms on the horizon. Assistance for local businesses will help keep their doors open as they create more jobs for people in their community. And this is just the beginning.

My administration is looking for ways to continue allocating the remaining hundreds of millions of dollars in ARPA funds to ensure our economy recovers in an equitable way so Black and Brown communities are no longer left behind. This will not happen overnight, but we are no stranger to the grit, determination, and faith that has allowed us to survive for so many centuries. This is our chance to thrive.

As we celebrate Juneteenth this year, let us remember that freedom is never guaranteed. We still must fight for it every day. But now, I can confidently say that help is on the way. I think that’s something worth celebrating.

Mayor Tishaura O. Jones is mayor of the City of St. Louis.

Commentary

There is a cover-up underway in America

By Ben Jealous

History is contested because the telling of history is powerful.

President Joe Biden brought eloquent leadership to a national commemoration of the 100th anniversary of a massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, this month. In 1921, hundreds of Black men, women, and children were murdered, and a thriving community was destroyed in a singular racialized mass murder. These murders took place as the Ku Klux Klan was resurgent, energized by the vehemently racist 1915 film Birth of a Nation, which promoted the false pro-Confederacy “Lost Cause” version of the history of slavery and the Civil War. The truth was systematically covered up, deliberately erased from our collective memory, by public officials, news media, and textbooks. It would be tempting to think that a cover-up of this magnitude could never happen today. But we may be on the verge of an even greater historical cover-up. Republican legislators in states like Texas, Iowa, and Ohio, egged on by rightwing cable TV and social media personalities, are trying to outlaw honest teaching about the racial violence in our history and the structural racism that harms Black people and other people of color today. Republicans in Congress are moving to restrict discussions of racism in military and federal government training.

As I See It - A Forum for Community Issues

Educating our children and our people is our responsibility

By Lucius Gantt

Critical race theory (CRT) is an academic movement of civil rights scholars and activists in the United States who seek to critically examine the law as it intersects with issues of race and to challenge mainstream liberal approaches to racial justice. Critical race theory examines social, cultural and legal issues as they relate to race and racism.

Critical race theory originated in the mid-1970s in the writings of several American legal scholars with focus on race. Both critical race theory and critical legal studies are rooted in critical theory, which argues that social problems are influenced and created more by societal structures and cultural assumptions than by individual and psychological factors.

Critical race theory is loosely unified by two common themes: first, that white supremacy, with its societal or structural racism, exists and maintains power through the law; and second, that transforming the relationship between law and racial power, and achieving racial emancipation and antisubordination more broadly, is possible.

Critics of critical race theory argue that it relies on social constructionism, elevates story telling over evidence and reason and rejects the concepts of truth and merit.

Hmmm? Is it possible for white nationalists and Black nationalists to agree on certain aspects of CRT? I think, yes!

They both seem to agree that governments should stay out of the “theory” business.

It’s no secret, racism has always been a part of government and education, public and private.

Don’t get bamboozled by educators, “scholars” and media reporters that you love. School resources, school facilities, school books and school procedures have always been determined by racial motivations.

Tell me, how can you be a Black scholar and feel that anything you teach must be done with the permission of closet klansmen, Trump supporters and Dixiecrats?

Your ancestors were whipped, beaten and killed for merely teaching their enslaved brothers and sisters how to read and write.

No matter what the gov-

n This CRT debate is simple to me; just tell the children and tell the people the TRUTH!

ernments, federal and local, say about CRT, educating our children and our people is our responsibility.

Gantt Report readers hate it when I mention HBCUs (but they don’t care that daddy sent two of his children to Black colleges).

However, who can stop Black colleges or Black professors at white schools from discussing race theories?

This CRT debate is simple to me; just tell the children and tell the people the TRUTH!

Jay-Z and Beyonce, according to news reports, just purchased a $28 million dollar car. I wonder where a Rolls can take you that a Kia or used car

cannot. God willing, I want to set up an independent Journalism academy to teach both youth and adults that are interested in developing professional media skills.

The klan, proud boys, boogaloo brothers, oath keepers, the storm and other racist groups can’t go to sleep and dream about telling me what to teach Black people! (lower case groups get lower case descriptions)

Tell your so-called Black leaders to stop being political and educational puppets. I would love for Black millionaires to join me in funding independent education institutions and stop spending fortunes on toys and trinkets that impress poor people. Wealthy people drive ordinary cars and fly commercial. They don’t buy mansions they need to finance or planes that they could lease.

One of Mexico’s wealthiest businessmen, Carlos Slim, stayed in a three-bedroom house for many years. Warren Buffet can buy any car he wants but drives a Toyota and when he visits Atlanta and needs transportation, he does business with a Black limo company. My kids are all college grads that make their own decisions and follow their own dreams. I only insisted that they learned how to read and write and how to count money. I didn’t totally rely on government, or private schools to educate them. Lucius always told his children the truth, about the important stuff, anyway. My children learned very early about racism and devilish beasts! Teach your children the truth yourself! If you want to, teach them about CRT.

Lucius Gannt is author of the commentary “The Gantt Report” with Black Press USA.

Right-wing alarmism about openly addressing racism is this election cycle’s version of the war on “political correctness” waged by right-wing media and former president Donald Trump. It is a rhetorical strategy with a partisan purpose. It is meant to convince a segment of white voters that they should fear and fight our emerging multiracial and multiethnic democratic society. It is meant to help far-right politicians take and hold power, no matter the cost to our democracy. Throughout American history, political operatives like the promoters of pro-Confederacy revisionism to countless boards of education have understood that controlling the narrative about the past was a key to shaping the future. That is why rightwing forces have fought so hard to dictate the content of textbooks, purging progressive leaders and whitewashing history in order to promote a certain kind of politically advantageous “patriotism” among students. And it is why Republican senators blocked the creation of a commission to examine the truth about the deadly Capitol insurrection, which many rightwing politicians and pundits are now pretending was no big deal.

across the South for decades taught that slave masters were a kindly lot, that the “war for Southern independence” was not about slavery but resisting Northern “tyranny,” and that the KKK was formed to keep the peace by keeping Black people in their place.

It is no coincidence that the right-wing war against history and truth is being waged at the same time that new voter suppression laws are being justified by false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump by Black and brown voters casting fraudulent ballots.

Today’s manipulators of history are pursuing a dangerous strategy. They want to weaponize fear and anger to help them win elections in 2022 and 2024. But once fomented, hatred is difficult to control.

Witness the rise of overt white nationalism and hate crimes that accompanied Trump’s intentionally inflammatory rhetoric.

Letters to the editor

We must support educating children, everywhere

At one point, almost every child on the planet was out of school and every parent was left to figure out a new daily reality. For many, this marked a transition to online or hybrid learning. But for many other children facing poverty, isolation, or pushed to the margins, it has meant no school at all. The education crisis brought on by COVID-19 threatens the historic progress made by communities globally to get millions more children in school. Urgent action is needed so the COVID-19 education crisis does not become a catastrophe for an entire generation. As the only international fund of its kind, the

The online publication The Root recently undertook a fascinating investigation. It tracked down the educational standards and history textbooks that would have been in place when politicians who are now fighting schools’ use of The New York Times’ 1619 Project—a deep inquiry into the role of racism and slavery in US history—were in school themselves. The results are as revealing as they are repugnant. Materials used in public schools

America is on the cusp of something new. We are becoming a democratic society in which no one ethnic or religious group makes up a majority of the country. Some see that as a threat. I see it as an opportunity to fulfill Frederick Douglass’s vision of the destiny of the United States to be “the perfect national illustration of the unity and dignity of the human family.”

We can only get there through honesty about our past, openness about the challenges of the present, and commitment to a future in which “we, the people” means all the people.

Ben Jealous is president of People For the American Way and the former national president and CEO of the NAACP.

and

Global Partnership for Education (GPE) marshals global resources for national education plans. Now, GPE and its partners have a five-year plan to support learning for 175 million more children in lower-income countries, helping recovery from the pandemic. The Biden Administration must do its part with a $1 billion five-year commitment to GPE. At this critical moment in global history, a bold pledge will show that the U.S. is committed to working hand-in-hand with the global community to ensure every child can achieve their dreams and reach their potential.

Amy Morros St. Louis City

Columnist Ben Jealous

Guest Columnist Lucius Gantt

Mariah Jarmon, 3, enjoys a pony ride with handler Hope Saldana during Springfest on June 12. Hosted by the District 5 Community Outreach Program and 26th Ward Alderwoman Shameem Clark Hubbard, the event included a petting zoo, games and refreshments.

Infrastructure improvements start on road to St. Louis region

St. Louis American staff

More than $15.5 million is headed to the St. Louis region through The INVEST in America Act. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives were encouraged to submit projects in their districts for consideration to be included in the bill. Four of U.S. Rep. Cori Bush’s submissions were included in the final text of the bill:

• $10,000,000 for the West Florissant Avenue Great Streets project which would make improvements on West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Dellwood and Jennings

• $708,800 to improve safety by adding signing and striping for wrong way countermeasures at various ramp locations throughout the St. Louis region.

• $2,576,000 for 1-70 Bridge Rehabilitation and Pavement Repairs at various overpasses on I-70 between North Hanley Road and Madison Street in St. Louis City and County.

• $2,500,000 to Upgrade Pedestrian Facilities to Comply with ADA Transition Plan and Pavement Resurfacing and Signal Replacement project on Rte. 61 to Big Bend Blvd, which will include a bridge replacement over Black Creek.

“This much-needed funding will go into tangible infrastructure projects that will foster a safer, more multimodal, and accessible St. Louis,” Bush said.

“These resources will be used to make green spaces, improve highway safety, rehabilitate bridges, ensure ADA compliance, add bike lanes and help with the economic revitalization of our community.”

St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page called West Florissant Avenue, “a vital corridor connecting North County communities.”

“This funding is critical to improving the safety and quality of life for county residents and providing key economic development opportunities for this historically underserved region,” he said.

“These infrastructure investments outlined in the American Jobs Plan would help make our infrastructure safer and more accessible for all,” said St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones.

The funding is contingent on the legislation being passed by Congress.

Bush said, “I will do everything in my power to ensure this legislation is signed into law and that the people of St. Louis have what they need to live a joyous and decent life.”

Paid sick leave is essential to women’s health

By Cecille Joan Avila

Paid family and medical leave is getting all the attention right now, and there is no doubt that the United States needs to catch up to the rest of the world. Offering federal paid benefits to parents or caretakers to assist with new child responsibilities or care for those long-term illnesses can help everyone. But for federal paid family and medical leave to work to its truest potential, we need to start with federal paid sick leave.

Too often women’s health is immediately confined to maternity, sexual, and reproductive health. If they are lucky enough to have family and maternal leave benefits, women are barely allowed to take sick time from work to care for the health of others. While similar, the two types of leave are separate. But what about when women need time to tend to their own health? Viewing women’s health exclusively through the lens of maternity and childbirth excludes women who are not cisgender.

Like paid family and medical leave, paid sick leave is beneficial regardless of gender, but women could benefit from it the most. Our society undervalues women, but “at least” tends to place more value on women if they are mothers. This current recognition is far from enough, and the idea that maternity leave can be classified as a short-term disability is highly problematic. However, it is equally important to break free from the idea that children are the expectation and end goal—or that having children is even possible for everyone.

After all, shouldn’t women be able to take care of their own health so they can decide if motherhood is right for them? And shouldn’t taking care of one’s health be accessible to all women, not just those who make a certain amount of money or women who work in certain industries? Women deserve time to care for themselves unconditionally, regardless of where they work, their level of income, or whether they have dependents.

Evidence shows that individuals with paid sick leave are more likely to access preventative services (i.e., visiting their primary care provider, going to the dentist, getting Pap smears, or influenza vaccines) when compared to those who do not have access to paid sick leave. Without paid sick leave and even with health insurance, people are more likely to skip prescription refills or delay necessary treatments.

But it is likely not a choice anyone wants to make to forego any of these services, and it is telling who must make this “choice.” Those who do not have paid sick leave tend to be younger, low-income workers, part-time workers, and people—especially women—who are not white. Many don’t have the luxury to choose between a day’s wages (“Do I feed myself? Pay rent?”) or being able to take care of their health. Preventative services can promote health, but only if people have the time to access and use them before these problems compound into something extremely costly or potentially deadly.

Those who already have paid sick leave tend to be older, work high-income jobs, and have comprehensive health insurance. As a result, they are less likely to feel the pressure between deciding to take a day off to take care of their health or losing out on money. And they might not even realize that paid sick leave, which is currently determined by employers or the state one resides in, is not a guarantee.

Paid sick leave is essential to women’s health. It addresses those who hold up society but are often invisible. They are women and nonbinary folk, and especially those who either choose not to have children or cannot bear the children they want. They are the women who care for family members in need at home after long days of caring for others in medical facilities.

A woman’s ability to take the time they need to care for their health should never come at the expense of lost income, nor depend on the income they make or the industry they work in.

Cecille Joan Avila is a Boston University School of Public Health policy analyst. A former photojournalist, she now writes about domestic health policy issues.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Cecille Joan Avila

An attorney for the St. Louis Apartment Association countered that some landlords have gone months without rent, while still having to pay regular business overhead.

“For basically over a year, the landlords … had no ability to collect rent from tenants,” said association attorney Michelle White. “A business that has no income is being unfair to their customer that has their obligation to pay rent temporarily suspended? It’s not the landlord’s choice to not be able to evict, which would stop the bleed of somebody owing money.”

Much of the federal money St. Louis may use to help beleaguered renters would go to landlords to bring the rent current, according to a housing council spokesman.

The“Stop Gap” report from the Housing Council showed that many of the ZIP codes with the highest concentrations of eviction requests filed also have the highest concentrations of people of color. They include some areas of the city with the lowest household incomes but Jordan noted that some middle-income tenants of color also are facing potential eviction.

In the St. Louis area, one of the largest residential landlords, which got the largest real estate-related loan locally under the federal Payroll Protection Program, also has been the top landlord in the metropolitan area to file court papers seeking to evict tenants during the pandemic, records show.

Sansone Group, which manages about 8,000 residential units in Missouri and elsewhere

Spending

Continued from A1

increased funding for violence intervention programs, youth

in the Midwest according to its website, topped the list of “bulk filers,” filing court requests for 273 evictions between March 2020 and January 2021, according to a report released last week by the Housing Opportunity Council.

The company did not respond to calls from The St. Louis American seeking comment.

Moratoria imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local governments block landlords from physically removing tenants but don’t forestall the initial court filing phase, which housing advocates say puts a stain on the tenant’s rental record. In April 2020, Sansone Group was approved for a PPP loan of $3.04 million, accord-

programming and jobs for young people. “Poverty, housing instability, lack of access to mental health services, scarce jobs and opportunities for our youth, disinvestment and the like —

ing to the U.S. Small Business Administration which administers the $800 billion-dollar program.

It was listed as the largest loan issued locally to “lessors of other real estate property,” and was more than double the size of any of the local loans in any of the residential real estate leasing categories, according to FederalPay.org, which hosts data from the SBA on loan amounts and recipients.

The loan, issued by the Royal Banks of Missouri, has not yet been fully repaid or forgiven, according to FederalPay. org.

St. Louis-based Kohner Properties received a $509,900 PPP loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration in April, 2020 to help protect 75

these are the real root causes of crime plaguing our city,” Jones said. “This plan uses every tool available in our toolbox to address them and above all else this is a plan to deliver urgent economic relief to the families

jobs, according to FederalPay. org. The loan was repaid or forgiven.

Kohner filed paperwork seeking 93 evictions through January, according to the housing council.

A spokesman for the company could not be reached for comment.

Smart Rentals, listed on FederalPay.org as a Maplewood-based residential property manager, received a paycheck protection loan of $29,400 through Enterprise Bank & Trust to protect two jobs. The loan, which was approved in April 2020, is listed as ongoing.

Smart Rentals sought 51 evictions through January, according to the housing council.

who need it. This is a plan to get more vaccines in the arms of our loved ones. And most importantly, this is a public safety plan, and this funding is just the beginning.”

In addition, the spending

A spokesman for the company could not be reached for comment.

The housing council report also includes information on local landlords who together filed more than 1,000 eviction cases through early 2021.

Barb Westre, co-owner with her husband Brad of BBW Homes, said her firm did not seek PPP funding and only filed for evictions “as a last-ditch effort.”

“We have a lot of people [who are] behind and we hope their assistance comes through,” said Westre, whose company manages 625 units and is listed in the housing council report as filing 168 eviction cases through January. “We don’t jump into filing.”

A federal moratorium on evictions imposed by the CDC is set to expire at the end of this month, as is a separate moratorium from St. Louis County.

That, the housing council said, is going to set off an “evictions crisis,” which the agency also sees as a “fair housing crisis,” because of the potential impact to groups protected under the federal Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, or family status during renting, buying, or selling a home and other housing-related activities.

The law prohibits actions that create barriers to accessing housing due to discriminatory reasons.

In the early days of the pandemic, initial stimulus proposals did not contain specific provisions for rental assistance.

The Emergency Rental Assistance 1 program, enacted

plan allocates $6.75 million in public health infrastructure to encourage more people to get vaccinated through mobile clinics and community canvassing. Jones confirmed on Tuesday that approximately 44,000 people in the city have been vaccinated — about 37 percent of the population. Jones drove home the fact that she believes St. Louis can’t “return to normal” because the status quo before covid-19 resulted in inequitable treatment of St. Louis residents. She said the pandemic exposed the deep fault lines that divide the city along race, class and location.

“We knew these problems existed before, but COVID-19 highlighted how unsustainable the status quo truly is in this city,” she said.

Jones invited Sandra Moore, co-chair of the Stimulus Advisory Board, to speak during the media event.

In late May, Jones announced the members of her Stimulus Advisory Board, created to provide recommendations on how the city should allocate the over $500 million in federal money coming to the city. Many community leaders see this cash infusion as having the potential to alter the direction the city is headed.

On Tuesday, the mayor acknowledged that the proposed plan was an altered version of what the advisory board came up with. Moore said the

on Dec. 27, 2020 provided up to $25 billion under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. A second program, ERA2 provides up to $21.55 billion under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, enacted on March 11, 2021. Now, association attorney White noted, tenants can apply for government assistance.

In addition, White said “our association at least, has offered all sorts of resources, including rent abatement, rent reduction, lease reduction, and lease cancellation without penalty.

“We had law days where we had lawyers on-site, and the tenants could ask lawyers any questions about what the moratorium meant, what their options were for their lease, if there was a way to renegotiate, etc.”

“And we had very few avail themselves to any of these resources.”

Glenn Burleigh, a spokesman for the housing council, said he doesn’t see early lease termination as “a good example of working with tenants,” who may have no where to go.

“The whole point of the eviction moratorium has been to keep people in their homes, not being forced onto the streets into a tight housing market and potentially spreading COVID, while the pandemic has been ongoing,” he said.

White said she has “no way of knowing that there’s going to be a housing crisis based on a failure to pay rent,” adding, “that’s purely speculative.”

T. J. Pearson, an attorney with the housing council, noted that more than 5,000 eviction cases were filed in the first 10 months of the pandemic, adding: “There has not been a stop.”

members of the board put in hundreds of hours identifying key direct relief needs and soliciting input from the public.

“I’m proud of the transparent, data driven and community driven process we ran and we’re proud of the recommendations we’ve made to Mayor Jones,” Moore said. “These recommendations are community informed. They may not be perfect, but they are indeed what the community has told us that they need at this point in time.” Jones said that while the money is a temporary resource for the city, she hopes the funding to continue these programs after the four years will come from an increased revenue stream.

“So, what we hope will happen is that this initial investment will work so well that people will come back to the city, increase our tax revenue, and therefore will be able to keep funding these programs,” Jones said.

The mayor confirmed she has already begun discussing the plan with aldermen, hoping to ensure they approve it before the July 1 deadline. She said the conversations have gone well thus far, and she’s asked what each aldermen’s priority is for the next round of federal money.

“I want to make sure that they are part of this process,” she said.

Juneteenth

Continued from A1

In June 2020, then-Sen. Kamala Harris sponsored a bill making Juneteenth a national holiday, saying “On Juneteenth, we remember the millions who suffered, died, and survived the crushing reality of slavery in America, and recommit ourselves to continuing in the fight for equal justice for all.”

“Without question, it should be recognized with the respect of a federal holiday,” Harris said.

Sens. Edward Markey, D-Massachusetts, Corey Booker, D-New Jersey, were co-sponsors with Harris last year. This year’s bill had 60 co-sponsors.

“We have a long road towards racial justice in the United States and we cannot get there without acknowledging our nation’s original sin of slavery,” Markey said on Twitter.

It is long past time to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.”

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones said of Juneteenth on June 2, “We must recognize and thank those before us who continued to fight in spite of the blatant oppression, and laid the foundation for our liberation, because this is our heritage.”

“Nobody can take that from us,” Jones said while announcing the ART 2063 Juneteenth Caribbean Heritage Walkathon, which begins at 7 a.m. on June 19 in Forest Park.

Last June, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page closed county offices on Juneteenth. In February, Black History Month, Page announced that Juneteenth had been officially added to the county’s holiday calendar,

“It’s important that we all take the opportunity to commemorate the historic gravity of Juneteenth,” Page said.

“It’s a day to appreciate the changes that we have seen since the 19th century while also reflecting upon how we can each play a role in the changes that are yet to come.”

Gerald Early, Washington University African and African American Studies professor, said the holiday should be more than just a celebration of the end of slavery.

“I would hope that people would look at it now, think about slavery, but also think about Black people renewing their hope and wanting to have America live up to its promises and finally that Black people would get the full citizenship that they should have gotten on the day that they learned that they were free,” Early

told St. Louis Public Radio.

“Everyone should use Juneteenth to understand the nation’s legacy of slavery and oppression. We still suffer from inadequate health care, inadequate education.

“Black people’s economic worth, their financial worth, we’re still at the bottom, and so we have suffered from the vestiges of slavery. So having this once again is a good way to remind people not only of the horrors of the past of slavery, but it’s still affecting black people today.”

Juneteenth celebrations. All occur on June 19 unless noted.

• Juneteenth Caribbean Heritage Walkathon– Forest Park, starts at 7 a.m.

• Alton Juneteenth celebration –Killian Park, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

• Juneteenth Freedom Weekend–Marriott St. Louis Grand Hotel, beginning 11:30 a.m. Friday.

• Juneteenth Make Music Weekend–Delmar Loop

• Juneteenth “On Their Shoulders”–12:00 p.m.- 1:30 p.m.

• Al Fresco Juneteenth at the National Blues Museum– 11:30 a.m.8:30 p.m.

• Juneteenth Community Ride –Bike ride starts at 9 a.m.

• Juneteenth Celebration- Northwest High School Alumni– 6 p.m. Friday

• “Show Me” Juneteenth STL–Harris- Stowe State University 10 a.m.

– 5:00 p.m.

• Juneteenth Celebration at the Foundry STL – 12 p.m. – 10 p.m.

• Juneteenth Open House at Black Joy Rest – 10 a.m.- 10 p.m.

• Juneteenth Worship Service –Third Baptist Church 11 a.m. June 20.

• Metro East St. Louis Community Initiative 5K – East St. Louis City Hall at 10 a.m.- 1 p.m.

• Juneteenth Celebration– hosted by Bi-State Development, Illinois bus garage from 11 a.m.- 7 p.m.

• Juneteenth Cookout – Fairground Park at 4 p.m.

• Shelter the Wellston Loop – 1414 Hodiamont form 12:00 pm- 3:00 p.m.

• Juneteenth Celebration at House of Soul – 1204 Washington Ave. 2 p.m.

– 6 p.m.

• Juneteenth Celebration and Resource Fair – 140 14th Street in Old North, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

• Juneteenth CelebrationBellefontaine Recreation Center from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

• Juneteenth Celebration Freedom March- Delmar and Hamilton at 12 p.m.

Juilliard

Continued from A1 you connect with their soul in a way,” she said.

“And that was gone, so I had to learn how to find motivation for myself to keep going and keep practicing.”

Both Christopher and Ashe auditioned for Juilliard during quarantine: Ashe sending in videos he filmed with his pre-professional dance company at COCA, and Christopher with recordings of pieces she played alone, without the groups she was used to performing with.

“I made a recording in November, I sent it, then I didn’t hear back for like, four months,” Christopher recalled.

“I wasn’t expecting to get in, I didn’t know what to think. This

time, they didn’t have any live auditions for double bass. So I just kind of waited.”

Ashe credits several of his instructors at COCA with the inspiration and instruction that led to his admission to Juilliard, while Christopher mentions her private instructors at the Community Music School of Webster University—and, crucially, the SLPS middle school teacher who put the double bass in her hands in the first place. Though she’d been studying violin since the age of three, she never thought about playing bass until her band director, Bob Dorries, realized the jazz ensemble needed a bassist and put the instrument in her hands for the first time.

“He was like ‘okay, you’re going to play bass now, here it is!’ and he made sure I was tall enough to hold it,” she remem-

Ruth Christopher, a bassist at McKinley High School who is now headed to The Juilliard School, found practicing her art in isolation difficult. “A lot of my inspiration and what I enjoy about playing music comes from other people, and the connections you make with other people.”

bered. Now, the two are moving on to New York to continue their pre-professional music and dance education. Ashe’s last performance as a student at COCA, his senior solo during the Triumphant show, was “very emotional,” he said. “It was my last time dancing on the COCA stage as a COCA student, but I will always be with COCA, because COCA is my family.” Both are excited to see what New York City—and Juilliard, in particular—has to offer. “I’m very excited to go into New York City, because New York City is just…a place filled with art. People go there to just look at art, see dance, listen to music,” Ashe said. Christopher agreed. “I’m excited to meet everybody, be in the city, and be around people who love what they do.”

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Black pastor grows environmental awareness through his church

involved.

By Andrea Y. Henderson

St. Louis Public Radio

When the Rev. Rodrick Burton became pastor of New Northside Missionary Baptist Church in north St. Louis in 2013, he looked for ways to cut costs to free up money for other ministries. That led him to install solar panels to reduce the church’s energy bill. He then proposed an environmental bus tour for Black faith leaders to help them become more in tune with the environment, and it will happen in the fall with about 20 pastors

“This will help to connect the dots, to raise, lift things up on the same level,” Burton said.

“Some folks may be thinking, ‘If it’s not dealing with policing or if it’s not dealing with reforming the justice system, it doesn’t require our attention,’ and it could not be further from the truth. It’s all equal.” In 2019, Burton’s church hosted a Green the Church summit. Attendees took a Green Bus Tour to several locations in the region to discuss

A wing and a prayer

By Shewanda Riley

“Chirp, chirp.” The sound was so faint that I thought it was part of a television program I was watching. However, when I turned down the television, I still heard the sound. Was there a bird stuck in my fireplace chimney? I tipped over to my fireplace but did not see anything. As the day continued, I began reading a book and forgot about the chirping. I again heard it but figured that it was just birds outside enjoying

the sunny day.

When I checked for my mail, I noticed that there were many bird droppings on my front door. “How in the world did that get there?” I then looked closely behind my door wreath and was surprised to see a small clump of twigs attached to it. Was that a bird’s nest on my door wreath? I quickly closed my front door and prayed for a strategy to get the wreath - and bird mess - off my front door. As much as I did not want to disturb the nest, it had to be moved.

how to grow food in the community, how congregations can make their church buildings more energy efficient and how they can determine if urban factories are poisoning communities of color. The Nature Conservancy granted Burton $5,000 to host this fall’s bus ride, which is inspired by Green the Church’s bus tour.

My weapons of choice for this battle were household cleaning gloves, a broom and spray bottle filled with a homemade solution of vinegar, water and baking soda. When I gently lifted the wreath from its holder, at least three small birds flew out. I stood back from wreath that now lay on the ground, amazed at the large size of the nest. “How long has that been on my door?”

A little disappointed that the birds had ruined one of my favorite door wreaths, I started to disinfect the door. It took me close to an hour to clean the door, porch and door mat. Perhaps

I was feeling guilty about destroying the nest or maybe I was haunted by visions of Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” but as I was cleaning, I kept looking over my shoulder making sure an army of angry birds wasn’t headed my way. Once my door was clean and I was back inside my house, I heard some very loud chirping outside my front door. I worried about now being on the “Bird Hit List.” Would they get revenge on me by chirping outside of my window at all times of the morning? But secretly, I marveled at their boldness. Those birds built a nest and had

The Black faith community should be at the forefront of environmental work, said Rebecca Weaver, cities program manager for The Nature Conservancy.

“They’re a hub to reach neighbors, to reach community members and people around this issue that affects all of us,” Weaver said.

“I think that there’s a lot of power and opportunity to work directly alongside and support the leadership of pastors and other faith leaders that are leading the charge in this effort.”

Burton hopes his work to better the environment and a Green Bus tour this fall will encourage other Black faith leaders to join the environmental movement.

He plans for the pastors to visit Jubilee Community Church in north St. Louis, where they installed a drainage system on vacant land to divert water to its urban farm. Burton also wants others to see a net-zero energy-efficient home in Dogtown, a neighborhood near Forest Park.

The tour will also stop in areas where people and companies have illegally dumped trash. Environmentalists and other advocates will talk during the ride about how that harms the environment and tarnishes the neighborhood.

birthed baby babies without regard to whether they had permission. They did what came naturally. I think we as Christians must have that same kind of boldness regarding our Godly purpose. Matthew 6:26 reminds us to not worry. It reads “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” Instead of worrying and asking for permission to live in our purpose, we should trust God will take care of us as we follow His purpose for our lives.

Shewanda Riley is a Dallas-based author of “Writing to the Beat of God’s Heart: A Book of Prayers for Writers.”

Guest Columnist Shewanda Riley

New Northside Missionary Baptist Church

Rev. Rodrick Burton

Blacks bridging educational gap in high school graduation, college admission

below

on

By Jennifer Cheeseman Day

America Counts

As quiet as it has been kept, the high school attainment gap between Blacks and the national average is being reduced, according to 2020 Census data.

In 1940, when the U.S. Census Bureau started asking about educational attainment, only 7% of Blacks had a high school education, compared with 24% for the nation as a whole.

In recent years, Black educational attainment has been much closer to the national average. The national average is 90%, while 88% of Blacks/ African Americans have a high school diploma.

This analysis does not include people who categorize themselves as Black in combination with another race. It focuses on those who identify themselves as “Black alone.” College attainment has also increased, though not as dramatically, and the progress of the Black population has been considerable in the context of rising college education overall.

n At the college level, a significant enrollment gap between the Black population and national average has narrowed considerably

In 1940, less than 5% of all adults and only 1% of Blacks had completed four years of college. The persistent gap in rates between Blacks and the national average was 4 percentage points at that time, while Black college completion was onefourth the national rate.

In 2019, both groups had much higher college attainment rates overall, with the national average at 36%, while 26% of Blacks ages 25 and older had attained a bachelor’s degree. Despite the percentage point gap, Black college completion has grown closer to about three-quarters of the national average.

Educational attainment among younger adults ages 25 to 39, which provides a glimpse of future trends, is higher compared with older adults ages 70 and older for both the national average and Black adults. Black and average high school attainment for ages

increased

The

The

and

but

CONGRATULATES THE GRADUATING CLASSES OF 2020 AND 2021!

We celebrate the success of each graduate whose dedication and perseverance in pursuit of a degree or certificate, especially during a pandemic, clearly demonstrates the determination of our graduates. Graduates, we encourage you to continue to learn and build on the foundation you have created at STLCC. Continue to grow. Continue to change the world.

WORKOUT MASKFREE!

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tells Wash U. grads

‘your past is prologue’

Abdul-

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar never accepted that he “is just a basketball player.”

Mind you, he was one of the greatest to ever grace a court. After winning three national championships with UCLA, Jabbar launched a 20-year NBA career that saw him win a record six NBA Most Valuable Player awards, a record 19-time NBA All-Star appearances and six NBA championships. He remains the NBA’s all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points.

But as he once said, “I can do more than stuff a ball through a hoop; my greatest asset is my mind.”

Jabbar reminded Washington

University graduates of the importance of serving more than just themselves as they embark on their respective careers when he delivered the school’s virtual commencement address during ceremonies on May 20-21.

“My retirement from the NBA was also a graduation. As with every graduation, there was that same scary feeling in my stomach of the roller coaster ratcheting slowly higher and higher. But, as with every graduation, I looked forward to the drop into the new challenges ahead,” he said.

“But as I looked forward to my next chapter, I also looked back over my previous chapters. I had accomplished pretty much everything I’d wanted to in basketball, but had I accomplished everything I wanted to in helping my community? Not even close.”

A New York Times bestselling author, Jabbar has written 16 other books, including two memoirs: Becoming Kareem for young readers and Coach Wooden and Me about his 50-year friendship with the famed UCLA coach.

He received the 2012 NAACP award for his children’s book What Color Is My World? The Lost History of African-American Inventors.

In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded Abdul-Jabbar the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. His other awards include the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s presti-

gious Double Helix Medal for his work raising awareness for cancer research and the Lincoln Medal for his commitment to education and equality.

“I started writing books and documentaries to help educate Americans about overlooked Black inventors, scientists, artists, writers, musicians, athletes and war heroes. I also wrote about why they had been overlooked. Believe me, transitioning from basketball to writer was scary,” he said.

“I knew that some people would judge me harshly for daring to be an athlete who also had opinions, especially a Black athlete criticizing the society that had given him success. But to me, how could I call myself a success if I wasn’t helping others have a chance at success?

He then quoted Shakespeare saying, “What’s past is prologue.”

“Yes, the past is done, but it’s not over. History—whether it’s the world’s or your own— can be a roadmap for not only where you want to go, but for who you want to be next. Your past is prologue, but you are the authors of your next chapter and can be whoever and whatever you choose,” he told graduates.

“I hope your story will include a few pages in which you went out into the world and demanded justice, demanded fair play, demanded equality for all people. Now, that’s a successful life.”

Facebook AD and Instagram 1080

Headline: Looking for a Scholarship?

Description: Graduating high school Metro East Illinois use MyScholarshipCentral.com opportunities. Shawn Williams later obtained his doctorate degree. St. Louis City Public Schools. Most explore the site today and develop

By Alvin A. Reid of the St. Louis American

Kareem

Jabbar delivers the 2021 Commencement address on Francis Olympic Field.

Photo by James Byard/ Washington University

Riverview Gardens graduates begin drives into their future

From Riverview Gardens

The 2021 Riverview Gardens High School seniors celebrated in style during its second consecutive campus graduation parade. Due to the pandemic, RGHS eschewed the traditional high school graduation ceremony in lieu of a drive-through style event. While it lacked formal commencement speeches, the ceremony was packed with family members and community pride.

Families of RGHS graduates decorated vehicles with photos, artwork, banners and balloons and proudly drove through the high school’s circle drive. Each graduate was announced and walked across the stage to receive their diploma.

Meanwhile, family and friends cheered and gathered for photos to celebrate the accomplishments of their newly minted graduates.

“For the second year in a row, Riverview Gardens High

School hosted a remarkable event to celebrate our graduates,” said Superintendent Scott Spurgeon.

“The Class of 2021 showed resilience and dedication to persevere through this pandemic. We are proud to see what they were able to accomplish, despite the adversity presented by COVID-19.”

The atmosphere was jubilant as Band Director and DJ Craig Nowden provided the soundtrack.

Graduates beamed with joy, walking across the stage to get their diplomas, in person, after a year dominated by Chromebook screens, webcams and virtual classes. Graduating senior Tyrese Hughes reveled in the event.

“Walking across the stage was a great experience,” Hughes said. “It gave me a feeling of accomplishment.”

The afternoon was particularly special for Hughes. His twin sisters, Lamya and Damya Green, also graduated

and walked across the stage to receive their diplomas together. It was a proud moment for the entire family.

The next step for Hughes is his freshman year at Tennessee State University.

“It reminded me of my high school,” Hughes said of his visit to TSU.

“I had a good time [at Riverview Gardens High School]. All my teachers taught me well and pushed me to be better.

“TSU just felt like a small community where everyone can come together and help each other.”

While Hughes is headed to Tennessee State University to capture the community feel of RGHS, his sisters will remain here. According to Hughes, Lamya and Damya Green will soon become entrepreneurs and open their own cosmetology shop in the area.

Photo courtesy of Riverview Gardens

Tyrese Hughes and his twin sisters, Lamya and Damya Green, donned their robes, walked across the stage to receive their River Gardens High School diplomas and then celebrated with a triumphant graduation parade.

“Taking Care of You”

While COVID-19 cases continue to decline and America continues its slow climb back to normal, the Regional Task Force is reminding people, especially African Americans, to get fully vaccinated.

Task Force says COVID no longer dominates lives

Caution encouraged during final briefing

By Sarah Fentem St. Louis Public Radio

As people in the St. Louis region return to public activities following a year of isolation during the coronavirus pandemic, health officials are warning everyone to continue taking precautions and to seek the COVID-19 vaccine.

Hospital leaders from the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force on Monday ended 14 months of weekly livestreamed briefings, citing falling coronavirus cases and hospitalizations of

patients with COVID-19.

The decision to stop the livestreamed briefings marks a turning point in the coronavirus pandemic, hospital leaders said. Case counts and hospitalizations of patients with COVID-19 have dropped significantly, and hospitals are now able to manage the pandemic effectively.

“Today the war is not completely over, but the battlefield conditions have improved,” said Dr. Alex Garza, task force commander. “We can effectively manage the risks, we can take the virus seriously, but it doesn’t have to dominate our day-to-day lives.”

The task force comprises leaders from the region’s four largest health care systems: St. Luke’s, BJC HealthCare, Mercy and SSM Health.

The briefings included information on the number of COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital daily and stories of how the health systems were handling the burden of the pandemic.

At the height of the pandemic in late fall 2020, the region’s hospitals admitted more than 100 people a day. More than a half-year

By Jaime M. Sanders

n “A theory, known as racebased traumatic stress, indicates that some individuals experience racial prejudice as psychological trauma.”

Migraine is a neurological disease that affects 60 million Americans and is the second leading cause of disability worldwide. It is an underestimated, underdiagnosed, and undertreated disease despite its heavy burden. However, communities of color, which have been historically, socially, and economically disenfranchised from research studies and treatment, are bearing the brunt of this burden. The American healthcare system is riddled with flaws, and headache medicine is no different. The racial inequities in headache diagnosis and patient care have been brought to light by the recent increased focus on systematic racism that impacts health equity. Numerous studies have shown that the rates of migraine diagnosis and treatment vary significantly between Blacks, Hispanics, and whites. Although prevalence of migraine is similar (14.5%, 14.5%, and 15.5% respectively), Blacks and Hispanics utilize healthcare at a disproportionate rate compared to whites. When seeking treatment, Hispanics had a lower total number of visits that result in a migraine diagnosis. Blacks with severe headaches are more likely to get a diagnosis of probable migraine, while whites get a more definitive diagnosis. Because of disparities in the U.S. healthcare system, migraine is more severe and more likely to become chronic among Blacks and African Americans. This is unfortunately linked with increased depression and disability, and a lower quality of life.

Black, indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) experience stress and adverse health outcomes due to the exposure to racism and racial

Diagnosing stark realities of

Essay explores four students’ feelings

By Sylvester Brown Jr.

of The St. Louis American

The coronavirus changed the world as we knew it. Safety protocols, health policies, everyday practices and personal priorities shifted as the deadly pandemic seized the lives of thousands each day around the globe. Institutions including colleges and universities had to quickly adapt in an environment of ever-shifting unknowns.

“I was sort of in an oasis. I was happy, at peace and didn’t have to worry about violence,” said Kennedi Harmon, a St. Louisan who just graduated from Hampton University. She was eager to escape the chaos of her hometown and attend college in Virginia. Everything changed once the university sent students home.

In a combined essay titled, “The Realities of COVID-College,” four 22-year-old college students serving as Campus Policy Fellows with The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis, wrote candidly about how the coronavirus exposed shortcomings on their respective campuses.

“I was quarantined from school, but not quarantined from the life I had escaped through college,” Kennedi recollected.

“I was angry the second I got back to St. Louis. In one year, I lost so many people to either COVID or gun violence.”

Anne Marie Crane, a senior at Truman State University, had her life upended when her school shifted from in-person to virtual classes

Photo courtesy of Washington University

Jessika Cole

See SANDERS, A13

Jaime M. Sanders

Anne Marie Crane

Sabreyna Reese

Kennedi Harmon

“Taking Care of You”

Kidney experts say race should be removed from medical algorithms

Doing so is complicated

By Rae Ellen Bichell and Cara Anthony Kaiser Health News

St. Louisan Alphonso Harried recently came across a newspaper clipping about his grandfather receiving his 1,000th dialysis treatment. His grandfather later died — at a dialysis center — as did his uncle, both from kidney disease. And that comes in my mind, on my weak days: ‘Are you going to pass away just like they did?’” said Harried, 46, who also has the disease. He doesn’t like to dwell on that. He has gigs to play as a musician, a ministry to run with his wife and kids to protect as a school security guard.

Yet he must juggle all that around three trips each week to a dialysis center in Alton, Illinois, about 20 miles from his home in St. Louis, to clean his blood of the impurities his kidneys can no longer flush out. He’s waiting for a transplant, just as his uncle did before him.

“It’s just frustrating,” Harried said. “I’m stuck in the same pattern.” Thousands of other Americans with failing kidneys are also stuck, going to dialysis as they await new kidneys that may never come. That’s especially true of Black patients, like Harried, who are about four times as likely to have kidney failure as white Americans, and who make

COVID

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– then back to a hybrid of both. Early in the pandemic, students were ordered out of their dorms and sent home.

The decision created bedlam for international and low-income students, like Crane.

“They kept saying ‘we’ll keep you posted on when you can come back,’ but it was just so uncoordinated,” she said.

“It’s a three-and-a-halfhour drive from Kirksville (Truman’s location) to St. Louis. It was a hassle trying to get back. I’m a low-income student. It was hard balancing my mental health, work and all the commitments I had at school. I was running on fumes and didn’t feel like I got recharged in the spring.”

The essay describes the “emotional and financial devastation” for college students

Task Force

Continued from A12

later, fewer than 20 people with the virus usually are admitted each day, a success task force members attribute to the COVID-19 vaccines.

“Think back to this weekend, think of one thing you could do this weekend that you were not able to do over the past year,” said Dr. Aamina

up more than 35% of people on dialysis but just 13% of the U.S. population. They’re also less likely to get on the waitlist for a kidney transplant, and less likely to receive a transplant once on the list.

An algorithm doctors use may help perpetuate such disparities. It uses race as a factor in evaluating all stages of kidney disease care: diagnosis, dialysis and transplantation.

It’s a simple metric that uses a blood test, plus the patient’s age and sex and whether they’re Black. It makes Black patients appear to have healthier kidneys than non-Black patients, even when their blood measurements are identical.

“It is as close to stereotyping a particular group of people as it can be,” said Dr. Rajnish Mehrotra, a nephrologist with the University of Washington School of Medicine.

This race coefficient has recently come under fire for being imprecise, leading to potentially worse outcomes for Black patients and less chance of receiving a new kidney. A national task force of kidney experts and patients is studying how to replace it. Some institutions have already stopped using it.

Kidneys filter about 40 gallons of blood a day, like a Brita filter for the body. They keep in the good stuff and send out the bad through urine. But unlike other organs, kidneys don’t easily repair themselves.

Buoyed by activism around

who lost on-campus jobs. They addressed what they defined as “inconsistent and inadequate financial support.”

Colleges differed, they wrote, in how students were informed about the $2.2 trillion allocated by Congress for the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Funding.

Institutions were “inconsistent” in how the funding was dispersed, the young writers claim. While some students easily qualified for funding, others had to jump through hoops to prove their level of financial hardship. Some were still denied.

The writers stressed how the inability to access or receive stimulus checks left some students, mostly low-income, without the ability to meet their “most basic needs.”

“They sent out emails saying funds were available, but you had to show proof in some type of way that you were struggling,” said Sabreyna

Akhtar, chief medical officer at Mercy Hospital South. “That would have not happened a year ago if we had not been vaccinated.”

Task force leaders stressed the importance of continuing to vaccinate people, particularly in Missouri, where about 45% of residents over 18 are fully vaccinated.

Even as doctors were optimistic, they warned against future outbreaks of the coronavirus.

structural racism, those seeking equity in health care have recently been calling out the algorithm as an example of the racism baked into American medicine. Researchers writing in the New England Journal of Medicine last year included kidney equations in a laundry list of race-adjusted algorithms used to evaluate parts of the body — from heart and lungs to bones and breasts. Such equations, they wrote, can “perpetuate or even amplify racebased health inequities.”

In March, ahead of the national task force’s upcom-

Reese, a recent graduate from the University of Central Missouri.

“I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to do that when I was struggling.”

Another point of contention is that some schools were ill-prepared “to provide meaningful education” during the pandemic.

“Instructors, professors, aides and staff who were not tech-savvy struggled to meet the demands of the new online learning experience,” they wrote.

ing formal recommendation, leaders in kidney care said race modifiers should be removed. And Fresenius Medical Care, one of the two largest U.S. dialysis companies, said the race component is “problematic.”

Glenda V. Roberts curbed her kidney disease with a vegan diet and by conducting meetings as an IT executive while walking. But after more than 40 years of slow decline, her kidney function finally reached the cutoff required to get on the transplant waitlist. “It really makes you wonder

es.”

n “I was quarantined from school but not quarantined from the life I had escaped through college.”

“A lot of them didn’t even know how to use Zoom,” Jessika Cole, a senior at University of Missouri-St. Louis added. “It was difficult not being able to go to their offices and say ‘hey, I’m having this issue, can you help me?’ Everybody was put in the middle, and no one knew what to do.”

– Kennedi Harmon, 22, a recent graduate of Hampton University

Contact tracing, safety measures and mental health services to alleviate the effects of the pandemic and existing widespread racism were severely lacking:

what the benefit is of having an equation that will cause people who look like me — Black people — to get referrals later, to have to wait longer before you can get on the transplant list, but then have your disease progress more rapidly,” she said.

Roberts, who is now the director of external relations at the University of Washington’s Kidney Research Institute in Seattle and on the national task force, said a genetic test added to her feeling that a “Black/ non-Black” option in an equation was a charade.

tal effects of COVID,” the students wrote.

Faith Sandler, Scholarship Foundation executive director, said the treatise will be published through the agency’s media channels. They’re considering submitting it to other campus newspapers for maximum impact.

Since no one was prepared for a worldwide pandemic, the students were asked if it’s fair to publicly criticize the institutions they attend.

Poor management of the public health crisis increased student involvement in public affairs, they answered, adding that they’re grateful for the opportunity to speak out.

“We’re paying these institutions a lot of money,” Cole answered.

Alphonso Harried, a school security guard, local musician and minister in St. Louis, spends almost 15 hours each week at a dialysis center about 20 miles from his home in St. Louis. “It’s just frustrating,” says Harried, whose grandfather and uncle also needed dialysis. “I’m stuck in the same pattern.”

Continued from A12

trauma. A theory, known as race-based traumatic stress, indicates that some individuals experience racial prejudice as psychological trauma. This PTSD-like reaction leads to increased severe headaches Sanders

As a

for

and migraine attacks. Research confirms all these inequities – but an ongoing lack of quality research on BIPOC with migraine means there is still much that is unknown or poorly understood. The Coalition for Headache and Migraine Patients (CHAMP) and its partners realized that meaningful change was required. They

“We encountered professors who treated students as if the world had not changed; piling on assignments, and enforcing strict attendance, grading, and other policies for online class-

It’s likely the virus will be present for years, said Dr. Clay Dunagan, BJC HealthCare chief clinical officer. Like other coronaviruses and the flu, it will probably circulate more during colder months.

“There is very good reason to believe that’s the pattern we’ll find ourselves in,” Dunagan said. “COVID19 with all its various manifestations will flourish again in the fall, and many things that we can do right

created the Disparities in Headache Advisory Council that has held numerous training sessions and provided seed-funding for new initiatives that promote diversity and equality in headache medicine. HAMP is one of many patient advocacy organizations participating in National Migraine and

“Those who do not have health insurance, including low-income and first-generation college students, face a greater risk of not getting proper care with the detrimen-

now will prepare us for that likely bump of case rates in the fall.”

Vaccinations are the most effective way to protect against future spikes in cases, he said.

Garza and Dunagan agree that it is unlikely the region will see a huge surge like the one last fall, especially because a large percentage of older and chronically ill residents who are most likely to need hospitalizations have

Headache Awareness Month Every June, we spend the month raising awareness and educating the public via a variety of programs and projects held around the country. The theme for this year is “A New Era of Care,” which reflects the surge of innovation in headache and migraine treatments that are dramatically improving lives.

“A lot of things they think they knew, they didn’t, and this pandemic really woke students up to send a message.”

Crane gave a similar response.

received the vaccine.

The group also used the final briefing to recognize health workers who worked throughout the pandemic.

“In fact, I am not predominantly of African ancestry. I’m 25% Native American. I’m Swedish and English and French,” said Roberts. “But I am also 48% from countries that are on the Africa continent. As researchers debate the math problem and broader societal ones, patients such as Harried, the St. Louis minister and security guard, are still stuck navigating dialysis. “One of things that keeps me going is knowing that soon they may call me for a kidney,” Harried said.

“It’s sort of sad but this pandemic inspired a lot of us to get involved with these issues and use our voices. That’s been an inspiration for me,” she said.

The most important thing for Harmon was the opportunity to get institutions to really listen to student’s concerns and issues.

“A lot of issues we raise can be easily dismissed. Using social media and things like that has really helped us get this message out and hold our institutions accountable.”

Reese said she chose to speak up for future college students and those who didn’t or couldn’t return to school.

“I feel it’s my responsibility to advocate for those who can’t,” she said in hope of preparing schools for another health crisis.

Sylvester Brown Jr. is The St. Louis American’s inaugural Deaconess Fellow.

“These unprecedented challenges called for innovation, courage, selflessness and resilience in the most difficult circumstances,” said Diane Ray, chief nursing officer at St. Luke’s Hospital in Chesterfield. “Teams assembled to outline standards for a disease we had never cared for before. Nurses laminated pictures of themselves to clip on their isolation gowns so patients could see their smiling faces.” During the worst days of the pandemic, health workers were often the only people sitting with patients as they were dying, she said.

June 16 was our first Advocacy Day of Action, supporting a U.S. House Resolution designating June as Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, led by Representative Madeleine Dean (D-PA-4th). This resolution addresses the inequities that BIPOC communities face in health access and quality of care.

“I’ve never been more proud of my profession,” Ray said.

Sarah Fentem is St. Louis Public Radio health reporter

You can show your support by contacting your representative in Congress and asking them to co-sign the resolution. Act by visiting: headachemigraine.org/ policy-partners/.

Jaime M. Sanders is an author and co-lead of the Disparities in Headache Advisory Council.

Photo by Michael B. Thomas for KHN

Don’t Be Surprised

By Orvin T. Kimbrough

When I meet people for the first time and hand them my business card, there is almost always that moment of surprise - that split second when they are creating a scenario in their minds of how I became Chairman and CEO of a highly esteemed community bank. If you are an accomplished Black, brown or female individual, you may have experienced this as well. In my case, they assume that I wasn’t born in St. Louis or, at the very least, that I came from “good stock.” In this context, “good stock” has to do with sorting people out by their family lineage. In my case, it was neither of those. There were no silver spoons in my growing up. They are surprised to learn that I lived in extreme poverty in North St. Louis, was orphaned at eight, lived in foster care until I was 21 and then was on my own to make something of my life. We need to create the

mindset for people to view Black achievement not as an anomaly or an exception, but as the standard. Once people put away their assumptions about me, they come to understand that I was shaped by my experiences, and those experiences are at the core of my purpose today. My purpose is to help more people live their best possible lives through democratized access to capital and opportunity. I grew up from a lineage of slaves and the harsh inequities

NeedALoan?

Columnist Orvin T. Kimbrough

of slavery, including segregation, redlining, injustice and, more generally, economic insecurity and deprivation.

The way I was shaped informs my professional and civic pursuits and gives me a clear line of sight that one powerful path forward for our region and nation is shared prosperity.

100 years ago, recent history tells a similar story. In 2009, the New York Times reported that a large financial institution systematically targeted working-class Black people in Baltimore with subprime mortgages, calling them “ghetto loans.” This phenomenon did not just happen in Baltimore, but in every metropolitan area in our nation. Across the nation, Black homeowners were disproportionately affected by the foreclosure crisis, with more than 240,000 Blacks losing homes they had owned.

And the staggering consequences of this subprime, predatory lending will continue to impact generations to come.

“Shared prosperity” means that wealth creation and generational transfer of wealth are the domain of all people, not just the descendants of those who presided over our country on June 19, 1865, which has become known as Juneteenth. This annual holiday observes the end of slavery in the U.S. and marks the day when news of emancipation reached people in the deepest parts of the former Confederacy in Galveston, Texas.

History tells us that many times, when Black people in aggregate demonstrated initiative and ingenuity to create wealth, there was a scheme to extract it. The Tulsa race massacre burned and destroyed more than 35 square blocks of a neighborhood that, at the time, was the wealthiest Black community in the United States, known as “Black Wall Street.”

While that happened exactly

For a typical Black family, median wealth in 2031 will be almost $98,000 lower than it would have been without the Great Recession of 2008, according to the Social Science Research Council, an independent, international, nonprofit organization.

Current practices perpetuate the growing wealth and income gaps that are well documented. According to The Brookings Institute, at $171,000, the net worth of a typical white family was nearly ten times greater than that of a Black family ($17,150) in 2016. And the gap between Black and white households appears to have widened again in the latter part of 2020, as the pandemic and deep recession took hold, especially hurting Black Americans.

It should come as no surprise that current practices

and policies perpetuate the large and persistent Blackwhite wealth gap that has accumulated from centuries of policies that have systematically impaired Black Americans’ ability to build, maintain and pass on wealth. It should come as no surprise that these practices perpetuate learned helplessness, which occurs when communities continuously face negative, uncontrollable situations, when promises are made but not kept. It should come as no surprise that people stop trying to change their circumstances, even when they are able to do so. They have the ability; what they need is a chance. Last year, I wrote and still wholeheartedly believe, “The way forward is through shared power, through policies that promote justice and through inclusive economic prosperity.” I believe that economic mobility impacts everything – from ideas to business ownership, from justice to education, and from health access to propensity to disease. Economic mobility is most impacted by a more equitable approach to access, both to opportunity and capital. When we realize that exceptionality is not limited by race or gender, we will not be surprised when an inner-city kid, born into poverty and raised in foster care, hands you his or her business card and it says Chairman and CEO.

Orvin T. Kimbrough is chairman and CEO of Midwest BankCentre.

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Family Medicine

Physician Dr. Kanika Turner explains what happens in your body after you get the vaccine.

Two of the COVID-19 vaccines, those from Pfizer and Moderna, are mRNA vaccines. And these mRNA vaccines are actually really safe. The whole purpose of this type of vaccine is to deliver a message to your cells to produce a harmless piece of what is called the “spike protein.” (The spike protein is found on the surface of the virus that causes COVID-19.) This allows your body’s defenses to recognize that protein when it comes into contact with it and mount an immediate immune response. And once that message is sent to your cells, that mRNA gets completely destroyed.

Learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine from Dr. Turner and other Missouri medical professionals at mostopscovid.com.

‘BlackWallStreet314’ a reminder of Black economic power

Farrakhan Shegog (second from right) President and CEO of Young

and the organizing committee for this year’s “BlackWallStreet314” festival in the Wellston Loop on Saturday, June 26, 2021.

Festival to focus on rebuilding communities

By Sylvester Brown Jr. of The St. Louis American

Farrakhan Shegog, 29, resident and CEO of Young Voices with Action, believes that East St. Louis, St. Louis and Tulsa, Oklahoma, have something in common.

“We are connected by the resiliency of the people,” he said.

n “Black Wall Street in St. Louis means Black ownership, Black health, Black education and Black love.”

– Farrakhan Shegog, Coordinator of the blackwallstreet314 Festival

On June 26, Shegog and community partners will host the “BlackWallStreet314” festival in the Wellston Loop area. It’s an area where African Americans once lived, utilized the Wellston Loop Trolley for transport and participated in robust economic activity on the Wellston businesses strip.

With America emerging from one of the worst pandemics in modern history, Shegog said it is time to refocus on our history of resiliency and ingenuity and build our own economic and social futures.

Viewing the durability of Black people through a historic lens reveals a pattern not dissimilar from today’s epidemic.

African Americans had to deal with the twin calamities of a rampaging disease and deadly racial oppression. The influenza outbreak of 1918 was preceded and followed by horrific instances of mass slaughter of Black

people and destruction of their homes, neighborhoods and businesses.

The 1917 “race riots” in East St. Louis occurred shortly before similar atrocities in cities including Washington, D.C., Longview, Texas, Omaha, Nebraska, and Chicago. It became known as the “Red Summer” massacre of 1919.

These incidents were followed by the Tulsa race riots in 1921, when deputized mobs of whites murdered Black residents and destroyed homes and businesses in the Greenwood District. May 31 and June 1 marked the 100th year anniversary of the Tulsa massacre. That event, Shegog said, should serve as a reminder that there is much work to do.

“The time is always ‘right now’ for us to rebuild our communities. I’m keeping that in mind knowing that as we pay homage to our ancestors and the builders of Black Wall Street, now is the time to rebuild, especially as folks across the country are becoming vaccinated and the number of cases is going down. This doesn’t mean we can put our guards down. We’re still

Housing opportunities key segment of city stimulus spending plan

Rent, mortgage assistance programs to receive support

By Karen Robinson-Jacobs of the St. Louis American

n “I do think that allocating those dollars toward getting adequate housing to meet our needs in the city is important and having the stimulus funds to be able to do that is fantastic.”

– Shanna Nieweg, Continuum of Care STL

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones is urging her “fellow elected leaders” to move quickly on a recommended list of stimulus funding priorities that focuses heavily on housing needs. Jones’s desire for rapid approval of recommendations from her Stimulus Advisory Board on how to divvy up the first of the “direct relief” funds recently received under the American Rescue Plan Act hit a snag this week when no action was taken by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. Approval by board and the Board of Aldermen by June 30 is needed to allow the plan to go into effect July 1, when the new fiscal year begins.

“We can see a light at the end of the tunnel of this pandemic, but that doesn’t make the need for direct relief any less urgent,” See HOUSING, B2

PeoPle on the Move

PreventEd hires Courtney Hinton

PreventEd, the organization leading the conversation on alcohol and other drugs, has hired Courtney Hinton as the new community engagement manager. In his new role, Hinton will be responsible for developing and implementing neighborhood stabilizing initiatives as well as strategies that increase PreventEd’s visibility within the community. Hinton will also focus on the development and oversight of alcohol, tobacco and other drug misuse prevention programs with community coalitions in the St. Louis city and St. Louis County areas.

Hughes to lead EB5 international trade panel

M. Hughes, the city’s first female master developer, was recently tapped as a delegate panelist to lead and deliver an informative discussion on EB5 and EB2 international trade and visa opportunities between Africa and other nations. Hughes’ presentation is part of “The Return: St. Louis to St. Louis.” This imperative business event is a collaborative venture between sister cities – St. Louis, Missouri, in North America and St. Louis in Dakar, Senegal, West Africa. Hughes is president and CEO of Fleur De Lis Development Corporation and a Minority Business Development Agency participant.

Morgan & Morgan hire St. Louis attorney Moss

Shamon Moss has been hired as an attorney in the St. Louis office at Morgan & Morgan where she focuses on slip and falls and car accident personal injury cases. She graduated from Lincoln University of Missouri in Jefferson City, Missouri, with a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice with a minor in legal studies. She earned her Juris Doctor from St. Louis University School of Law. She worked as an attorney for the Law Offices of Roderick C. White where she practiced personal injury car accident pre-suit negotiations ad litigation cases.

Kpere-Daibo named partner at St. Louis firm

Sandra Moore, a co-chair of Mayor Tishaura Jones’ Stimulus Advisory Board, called its recommendations community informed. “They may not be perfect, but they are indeed what the community has told us that they need at this point in time.”

Constangy welcomed Dean Kpere-Daibo to the firm’s St. Louis office as a partner. Kpere-Daibo comes to Constangy from the local firm of McMahon Berger P.C. He brings particular experience in traditional labor relations, including providing advice to employers during organizing efforts, counseling in arbitrations and negotiations, and representing clients before the National Labor Relations Board. Kpere-Diabo’s other practice emphases include management training, policy analysis, employment law training, and union avoidance counseling and campaigns.

Voices with Action, with sponsors

Laura

Courtney Hinton

Laura M. Hughes

Dean KpereDaibo

Shamon Moss

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

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Jones said in a recent statement. “I hope my fellow elected leaders recognize the importance of moving quickly to get these funds to city residents.”

Potential finalization of the recommendations comes as a nationwide eviction moratorium ordered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is set to expire June 30, threatening to worsen the region’s homeless problem.

The initial stimulus spending would be the first tangible benefit from $517 million in federal funds allocated to the city under the Rescue Plan act.

Nearly half -- 45% -- of the $68 million in direct relief funds that the city would spend first would be devoted to rent and mortgage assistance and to the needs of the city’s homeless, as outlined in a proposal from the 26-member advisory board.

The board this month hosted a three-hour public zoom meeting to solicit public input on the priorities. While speakers at the marathon session made impassioned pleas for everything from daycare to the arts, the clear priority to emerge in the recommendations was housing.

The proposal lists six immediate spending priorities, identified through a community needs assessment:

1: Critical Health Needs -$9.65 million.

2: Housing Assistance -$17.89 million.

3: Support for Unhoused Neighbors -- $13.09 million.

4: Economic Relief -$14.50 million.

5: Youth Jobs and Programming -- $4.62 million.

6: Expanding Internet Access -- $6 million.

Along with a proposed $2.35 million for administrative costs, the total would be

Festival

Continued from B1

in survivor mode.”

The Greenwood District of Tulsa earned the nickname “Black Wall Street” because of its Black-owned homes and thriving businesses, including grocery stores, banks and libraries. It was one of the most affluent African American communities in the country.

The “BlackWallStreet314” festival’s major purpose, Shegog said, is to draw interest, investments and build excitement around the idea that Blacks can have their own “Black Wall Street” in an area that has suffered from disinvestment and abandonment.

“The festival will emphasis the importance of recirculating our dollars in our own communities,” Shegog stressed.

“It will showcase that it’s possible to increase and recirculate black dollars in poor and distressed neighborhoods.”

Shegog is aware that the call for Black investment and ownership isn’t new.

Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur and orator Marcus Garvey made this clarion call in the early 20th Century. When Blacks were grappling

$68.10 million. Most of the housing assistance funding -- $12.44 million -- would go to the St. Louis Housing Authority for rental and utility assistance, with another $1.5 million slated for mortgage assistance, according to the recommendations.

The funds to assist the homeless would go to a variety of services including “intentional encampments,” safe haven housing and emergency shelters.

Shanna Nieweg is board chair for Continuum of Care STL, a collective of organizations and individuals seeking to end homelessness locally.

She worked with the advisory board’s housing and healthcare committee and is heartened to see a strong focus on housing.

“Housing has not been a focus in the city for a very long time,” said told The St. Louis American. “Not only the city but the state in general. “

Inadequate housing creates broader societal woes, she said, from public safety to health care issues made worse by the pandemic.

“If people are housed, their environment is not controlling them anymore,” she said. “They have control over their environment so I do think that allocating those dollars toward getting adequate housing to meet our needs in the city is important and having the stimulus funds to be able to do that is fantastic.”

One study indicates that the homeless population locally has increased.

An annual “point in time” count of the region’s homeless population tallied 4,319 people in St. Louis city and county last year living either unsheltered or in various types of temporary housing including emergency shelters, safe havens and transitional housing, according to data from the Institute for Community Alliances,

with the influenza outbreak and race riots in 1918 and 1919, Garvey set up UNIAACL, a Black nationalist fraternal organization and the shipping company, Black Star Line.

By 1919, Garvey’s organization had a reported membership of more than four million people, all committed to Black ownership and independence.

Although some Blacks may be skeptical of a call for self-sufficiency that’s been regurgitated for more than 100 years, Shegog believes that now is the time for real action in St. Louis. His belief rests on the young people involved with the “BlackWallStreet314” movement.

“The majority are young men between the ages of 17-to-24. They’re not out there killing, they’re doing something positive,” Shegog said.

“These young men are building homes and buying properties. We’re teaching them how to find the right house, how to find contractors and how to create generational wealth throughout the city and county.”

a non-profit based in Des Moines that helps communities address, among other things, housing instability, homelessness and related issues. The tally was taken in early 2020 before the harshest impacts of the coronavirus pandemic were felt. The 2020 headcount represented a 21% increase from 2016 when the count was 3,567. The count dipped to 4,044 this year, but Niewig said that could be due at least partly to differences in the counting methodology. She worries that some renters who don’t qualify for Covid-inspired government aid, may end up losing their housing when the moratorium is lifted, despite stepped-up efforts such as a local “rapid re-housing” program.

“I do think there’s going to be a small portion that falls through the cracks,” she said, predicting that next year we may see “a small influx of individuals hitting the streets.”

Some residents face housing insecurity due to job cutbacks as businesses trimmed staffing levels during the height of the pandemic.

Under the category of “economic relief,” the advisory board proposes creating a city unemployed worker assistance program to provide one-time $350 to $500 payments to the estimated 10,000 St. Louis city residents who are expected to be impacted by the state’s decision to block federal unemployment payments. At least $5 million would be spent under the recommended City Worker Unemployment Assistance Program.

The 13-page report on the advisory board’s recommendations states that the city needs to look beyond the immediate needs and “lay the foundation for future systems-level interventions needed to build a more resilient St. Louis City.”

Karen Robinson-Jacobs is a 2021-’22 Report for America corps member.

Shegog, who graduated from Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology in Tulsa, also works for the Urban League. He has worn many hats, which include serving with the agency’s “Save-Our-Sons” initiative. It is developing a program aimed at introducing young people to the aerospace industry. He now serves as a community director working with the Federation of Block Units. The “BlackWallStreet314” effort is supported by Mike McMillian, president of the Urban league, the Wellston Community Coalition, several politicians and, most important, residents anxious to own land and properties. Another valuable partner is the nonprofit Easton Development Corporation, which is dedicated to creating affordable housing and community programs for the Wellston community and surrounding neighborhoods. The nonprofit is expected to release its “2021 MLK Mixed Use Development Project” which compliments the festival’s mission. The timing of the “BlackWallStreet314” perfectly coincides with the election of a mayor, Tishaura Jones, who, Shegog said, wants to direct city funds to some of most disenfranchised neighborhoods in the city. He finds additional comfort with Jones’ recent appointment of Neal Richardson as executive director of the St Louis Development Corporation (SLDC). Richardson is also the president and co-founder of “Dream Builders 4 Equity,” a nonprofit that hires minority contractors and students to refurbish dilapidated North City homes. The mayor and Richardson’s call for “economic justice” serve as a reminder that city hall is serious about moving the entire city forward economically and equitably, Shegog said.

African Americans have survived racial, economic and health plagues for centuries and have rebounded courageously. Now is the time to revisit our legacy of resiliency and imagine a post-COVID world where long-tolerated disparities are finally addressed, according to Shegog.

“Black Wall Street means an adjustment in our communities and our thinking. It means we have to hold ourselves accountable. Black Wall Street in St. Louis means Black ownership, Black health, Black education and Black love.”

Sylvester Brown Jr. is The St. Louis American’s

Former John Burroughs track and field star Brandon

Miller concluded a stellar freshman season at Texas

A&M by finishing second in the 800-meter run on June 12 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, OR.

Miller and winner Isaiah Jowett of USC broke away from the pack early in the race and staged a great duel during the final 150 meters. Jowett edged in front with just a few meters remaining to claim the victory.

For Miller, it was an outstanding performance as he posted a personal best time of 1 minute 44.97 seconds.

The runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships adds to Miller’s freshman season in which he won the 800-meter run titles at both the Southeastern Conference Indoor and Outdoor championships.

Next for Miller is the USA Olympic Trials meet, which begins June 18 at Hayward Field in Eugene. The qualifying races for the 800 will be held that afternoon.

Miller graduated from John Burroughs as one of the greatest middle-distance runners in the history of the state. When it came to the 800, he was the best. As a sophomore in 2018, he broke a 31-year-old state record while winning the state

America watched the late former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier almost drown on March 5, 1973, during The Superstars on ABC. The show featured champion athletes competing in various sports and it was a hit. Frazier entered the 50-meter swim event. After lifeguards came to his rescue, Frazier admitted he did not know how to swim. I admit my father and I laughed. But this dangerous decision could have cost Frazier his life. It also perpetuated the stereotype that Black people cannot swim.

ISIdE SportS

With Earl Austin Jr.

Brandon Miller races to U.S. Olympic trials

title in 1 minute 49.55 seconds at the Class 3 state meet.

Martin, Lang All-Americans

Congratulations also go out to former Hillsboro standout Isaiah Martin, who earned Second Team All-American honors after finishing 10th in the men’s decathlon at the NCAA Nationals. A sophomore at Purdue,

Martin scored 7,542 points, which is third all-time in Boilermaker’s history. Martin has compiled three of the top four scoring totals in the decathlon in Purdue track and field history.

Former McCluer North standout Lance Lang also earned All-American honors as a member of the University of Kentucky’s 4x400-meter relay team that finished in eighth place. Lang also earned

NCAA All-American indoor track honors in the respective 4x400 and the 200-meter dash. The Wildcats’ 4x400 relay team also won the championship at the SEC Outdoor Championships.

Althoff girls are state champs Belleville Althoff made history at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston when

SportS EyE

With Alvin A. Reid

Former John Burroughs track and field star Brandon Miller concluded a stellar freshman season at Texas A&M by finishing second in the 800meter run on June 12 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, OR.

it won its first Illinois High School Association Class 1A girls state championship.

Without an individual champion, the Crusaders garnered points in several events, and the team’s 50 points clipped second-place Winnebago’s 49.

Senior Nariah Parks’ tremendous meet included a fifth-place finish in the 100-meter dash, fourth in the 200-meter dash and third

More Black youths should get into the swim of things

supposed to be able to win a gold medal, or I’m not supposed to be able to break records.”

Team USA then won the 2016 Olympic women’s water polo tournament. Goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson became the first U.S. Black woman from the U.S. to win gold in that sport.

Other Black Olympic medalists now include Anthony Ervin, Maritza Correia, Cullen Jones, and Lia Neal.

When Mark Spitz dominated the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, there were no Black members in an aquatic sport on the respective U.S. teams.

Forty years later at the Olympic Games in Rio, Simone Manuel won a gold medal in the 100-yard freestyle, becoming the first Black female swimmer to accomplish the feat. Following her victory, she said “I would like there to be a day where there are more of us, and it’s not Simone, the Black swimmer.”

“The title ‘Black swimmer’ makes it seem like I’m not

At next month’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic swimming and water polo teams will likely include Manuel, Johnson and Paralympian Jamal Hill, who won three medals in swimming at the 2019 Para Pan American Games.

The roster of Black aquatic sports Olympians will always be limited if more Black youths do not learn to swim. According to the USA Swimming Foundation, 64% of African American children surveyed (ages 4-18) had no or low swimming ability, compared to 45% of Hispanic children and 40% of white children.

Only 1% of almost 400,000 swimmers registered with

USA Swimming are African American.

The SWIM ON Foundation has launched its “Learn to Swim” campaign and is reaching out to African American families, particularly in north St. Louis and north St. Louis County, and encouraging them to enroll their children in swim lessons. It is more than just a fun and healthy thing to do – African American youths drown at 5.5 times the rate of other children.

SWIM ON is partnering with preschools, schools, youth centers, churches and other

organizations in the Black community on the campaign that was created by the Kuhl/ Swaine advertising agency and St. Louis artist Cbabi Bayoc.

“Swimming is a healthy, lifelong activity but it is also, like reading, a critical life skill and one that can potentially save lives,” says Lisa McMullin, a SWIM ON co-founder with her husband, Kim.

“Every child needs to know how to swim. Every child has the right to learn to swim.” McMullin acknowledges that “cost and accessibility are

At the Olympic Games in Rio, Simone Manuel won a gold medal in the 100yard freestyle, becoming the first Black female swimmer to accomplish the feat.

significant factors affecting swim lessons in the African American community.”

The Swim On website, www.SwimOnFoundation. org, lists swim lesson providers and shares information about scholarships and free lessons.

in the 400-meter dash. She also anchored the Crusaders’ 4x400 meter relay team to a seventh-place finish, which gave the team the three points needed to win the state team title.

Other Crusaders who earned All-State honors were freshman Alaina Lester, who was second in the 100; junior Caitlin Conrad, who was fifth in the 200 and sophomore Eris Nelson, who finished second in both the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs.

IHSA Boys on state stage

Boys take center stage this weekend in Charleston. East St. Louis and Mascoutah are taking large contingents of athletes to the June 18 Class 2A state meet.

Senior Devonte Ford will lead East Side’s bid to challenge for another state championship. Ford was a sectional champion in the 200-meter dash, the 110-meter high hurdles and the 300-meter intermediate hurdles. He also ran a leg on the Flyers’ 4x400 relay team that also won a sectional championship.

Mascoutah will have four relay teams. The Indians’ 4x100-, 4x200 and 4x800 relay teams were also sectional champions while the 4x200 team finished second behind East St. Louis.

The Edwardsville Tigers are the metro east area’s top entry in the Class 3A state meet, which will be held on June 19.

The Reid Roundup

Kelly Crull of Bally Sports South shared this heartwarming story during the Atlanta Braves game at Miami on June 13. Before leaving on the road trip, Braves pitcher Josh Tomlin stopped at a Dick’s Sporting Goods to purchase a travel bag. He overheard a conversation between a Black mother and her son, Reggie, about the

He left the store and brought back an Acuna bobblehead that was in his truck. He told Reggie that if he loved baseball as much as he says, never give up on the game regardless of how difficult it might become. Reggie said, “yes sir,” and then Tomlin purchased an appropriately sized glove for him, leaving a smile on Reggie’s face and his mom in tears.

In addition, the has guidance on swim gear including swim caps designed for Black hair, flotation devices and safety recommendations for the five layers of protection that canand do - prevent drowning. By the way, I learned to swim when I was seven at the indoor Kirkwood YMCA pool – during a frigid winter with several Saturday lessons occurring when it was below zero outside.

Alvin A. Reid

Earl Austin Jr.

Photo courtesy of Texas A&M

Photo courtesy of insidesports.com

JPMorgan Chase tips a CAP with $150K grant to STL Youth Jobs

St. Louis American staff

JPMorgan Chase has invested $150,000 in the Career Accelerator Pathway (CAP) for a third consecutive summer, bringing its commitment to STL Youth Jobs to $1.1 million.

The funding will help offer 50 young adults with extensive pre-employment training as well as paid professional summer internships with leading corporations, businesses and nonprofits.

Youths enrolled in the program are returning participants on post-secondary or trade education tracks.

“JPMorgan Chase’s investment in STL Youth Jobs has allowed our region’s young people to advance their career trajectory through new opportunities and increased professional networks,” said Hillary Frey, STL Youth Jobs executive director.

“So many youths would not have known about a particular company or would

not have had access to these professional networks without STL Youth Jobs. Youth are able to leverage their career paths as they reach a crucial stage in deciding next steps post-graduation.”

STL Youth Jobs has

n “Between persistent racial injustice, the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic downturn, it’s been a challenging time for families across the country.”

– Craig Horstmann, JPMorgan Chase

provided more than 4,000 youth with paid work experience, job readiness and financial literacy training career and mentoring services.

“Between persistent racial injustice, the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic downturn, it’s been a challenging time for families across the country,” said Craig

Horstmann, JPMorgan Chase market director, commercial banking.

“And especially in under resourced communities, young people are being hit particularly hard. That’s why JPMorgan Chase is working in St. Louis to address this problem by identifying innovative strategies for reconnecting young people to workbased learning experiences.

“Summer jobs provide students with a meaningful learning work-based experience, source of income, chance to build professional networks, and pride in their ability to contribute to their families and communities.”

Frey said JPMorgan Chase’s “generous support” has helped the organization integrate career and skillsbased focus into its summer employment program through an IT training program, a healthcare track, and active connections to career pathways.

Small business success workshop coming to North STL County

North County Incorporated (NCI) has partnered with the Missouri Small Business Development CenterSt. Louis Region and the University of Missouri-St. Louis to launch the North County Small Business Accelerator, a six-week small business workshop designed for retail and restaurant establishments located in the North St. Louis county region. Fifteen small businesses will be selected to participate.

“We are excited about this

partnership. NCI is pleased to be bringing the talent of the SBDC and UMSL team together to advance a hands-on sustainability and growth opportunity for North County businesses, helping our community be economically stronger longterm,” said NCI president and CEO Rebecca Zoll.

One-on-one mentorship, strategic direction assistance and reviewing and updating business plans will be included during the workshop.

“The success of small busi-

nesses in the community is crucial. However, COVID and other disasters have proven how tough small business ownership is as some succumbed during the pandemic,” said Lynette Watson, regional director of MO SBDC-St. Louis Region. The workshop will run August 24-October 8 and weekly attendance is a requirement. The registration deadline is July 24. If interested visit https://northstlouiscounty.com/ accelerator-form/ to apply.

Dianne Reeves, Rhythm Jazz Series highlight Sheldon’s return

Herlin Riley opens season

Nov.

21

By Danielle Brown of the St. Louis American

The Sheldon will lift its curtain in the fall after the stage fell dark for months. While there were concerns, it was decided that the shows must go on and St. Louis can take a bow for quickly backing the 2021-22 season of live music.

“We made a commitment that no matter how many tickets we sold we were going to continue,” said Peter Palermo, The Sheldon executive director.

n Reeves returns to live performances this summer, and her first tour in more than a year includes a show in England in November.

“I think by fall we’ll have a full season and be at full capacity again, that’s the plan.” By the new year, a full audience should greet five-time Grammy Award winner Dianne Reeves when she brings her chilling, angelic vocals to the stage Jan. 22, 2022. Along with her handful of Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammys, Juilliard recently awarded her an honorary doctorate of music and she was named a National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master in 2018. Reeves returns to live performances this summer, and her first tour in more than a year

Adressesing fatherless teens, young adults

Dorothy JacksonJohnson’s legacy includes street in her honor

By Danielle Brown of the St. Louis American

After a person passes away, you often hear people say positive things in remembrance like “they were a good person” or “they were truly an angel on earth.”

After hearing many stories from her children, grandchildren, relatives, friends and community members, those words accurately describe Dorothy Jackson-Johnson, whom many said completed God’s work while living.

On Saturday, June 5, a street renaming ceremony was held in Jackson-Johnson’s honor at the intersection of 4500 Alice Ave., the address

includes a show in England in November. Jazz writer Rob Ryan of the London-based Camden New Journal promises “what is sure to be a masterclass in jazz vocals from Dianne Reeves.” While Reeves is dazzling her English audi-

New

See Sheldon, C6

where she spent more than 40 years feeding the souls of her family and the north St. Louis College Hill community from her Magic Dragon

By Danielle Brown of the St. Louis American

stepfather’s unwavering love and support never provided Jarrod Jones any indication that he wasn’t his biological father. From attending his sporting events to aiding him in his studies to embracing him as an upstanding father figure, he was there.

Jones, C6

“The street renaming is a dream come true for her because she loved this neighborhood,” Debra Austell, Jackson-Johnson’s daughter, said. “She did everything she could for everyone around her. Even despite people’s flaws and shortcomings, she still saw the good in everyone.” Her ambition to launch a business began when she started working as a cook

Jackson, C2 Webster Groves teacher, author pens new book

Palace Chinese and soul food restaurant. The street is now named Dorothy Jackson-Johnson Way.

See

Photo courtesy of C-Dot Visuals

Webster Groves middle school English teacher Jarrod Jones recently released his fictional novel about fatherless teens, “My Invisible Father” through Script & Scribe Publishing.

ence,

Orleans native and jazz drummer Herlin Riley starts the beat of the Sheldon Rhythm & Jazz series Nov. 21.

Photo courtesy of The Juilliard School Dianne Reeves, a five-time Grammy winner who was recently named a National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master, will help St. Louis celebrate its new year with a Jan. 22, 2022 concert at The Sheldon.

St. Louis 21st Ward Alderman John Collins-Muhammad stands with Bobbie Jackson, the son of longtime resident Dorothy Jackson-Johnson, in the city’s O’Fallon neighborhood. Johnson owned the popular Magic Dragon Palace and a street was renamed in her honor.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

took her culinary skill to the Greek Casino Lounge, which was across the street from what would become her restaurant located on Alice Ave.

Her passion for cooking and extensive experience led to creation of The Magic Dragon, a place where her family came for home-cooked Southern meals after a long day of work or school. It also served as a safe haven for the elderly, the disabled, the homeless and even those who struggled with addiction.

Jackson-Johnson opened her doors to people and offered them good food and encouragement for nourishment.

“My grandmother was the rock of our family who kept everyone in check and gave you a good meal all at the same time,” Erica Jackson, granddaughter of Jackson-Johnson, said. “She was a light amongst many people in the community. People from all generations brought their kids to The Magic Dragon Palace, it was a wonderful experience.”

Clarence Johnson, the last of the Jackson-Johnson children, received an inside glimpse into Jackson-Johnson’s hard work and dedication at her restaurant. As a teenager, Johnson was required to work the last weekday shift from 7-10 p.m. and the late weekend shift 7 p.m.-1 a.m. During that time, his mother instilled in him what a good work ethic was, and he learned what a good leader

looks like.

“The work ethic that she instilled in all of us is that work is important and work now, play later,” Johnson said.

Other relatives including Jackson-Johnson’s grandson Derrick “DSmoovee Shabazz” Jackson, who works as a radio personality at the Streetz 105.1 radio station, and with the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis’ Serving Our Streets Initiative echoed the same feelings as his uncle.

He added that his grandmother’s due diligence to her community through cooking and her service at Phillips Memorial Baptist Church is what inspired him and many of his other family members to join the helping profession and become entrepreneurs.

“One thing she left me with is how to leave a legacy, and I love the fact that she embraced her community the way that she did and that she always received that same love she showed in return,” Derrick Jackson said. “When I looked at her every day, I wondered how I could elevate to her status, and one day look at the street I grew up on and have it renamed after me.”

Erica Jackson said the idea for the street renaming came after she and the rest of the family couldn’t celebrate her birthday last year on May 9 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Bobbie Jackson, the third child of her seven children, said the street renaming is long overdue with everything his mother has accomplished in the community.

“It feels like a long time

coming for her recognition, she should’ve been recognized long before,” Bobbie Jackson said. “She cared about everybody and would give everything she had. She was a great mother.”

Dorothy Jackson-Johnson was born on May 9, 1932, in Leland, Miss., to Gussie Spencer, who preceded her in death. For her basic education, she studied in the Leland City School system.

As a single mother, she and her six children lived in the Pruitt-Igoe housing project for several years while she worked for Chah Wah.

She married Lorenzo Johnson on August 14, 1973 and a seventh child was born from their union.

When the restaurant closed, she still had five children in the home and wasn’t old enough to receive retirement, so she had to find new employment.

She thought fast on her feet in efforts to figure out how to feed her family and decided to rent the kitchen in the Greek Casino Lounge. She worked there for two years on a twelvehour workday schedule.

In April 1976, she and her husband purchased the building across the street from the Greek Casino Lounge and converted what was once a bakery into the Magic Dragon Palace Restaurant, located at the corner of Alice and Carter Avenues.

On October 6, 2020, she died at age 88 from diverticulitis, a disease in which small pouches begin to develop that bulge through the colon or the large intestine.

let’s make 2021 count!

It's never been a better time to fulfill your dreams by advancing in your current career or starting something new.

Registration is now open for fall 2021 classes. Get the classes you need and make 2021 count!

Art Museum’s Juneteenth Program honors Black craftspeople

From 1619 to beyond, Black craftspeople, both free and enslaved, worked to produce architecture, handcrafts and decorative arts. It is this creative production history that inspires the Saint Louis Art Museum’s Juneteenth celebration. Specifically, the Museum’s Juneteenth program focuses on a recent acquisition by ceramicist David Drake and a national research project that seeks to identify Black craftspeople’s contributions.

Join us on Saturday, June 19 at 11 am for a virtual presentation by public historian Tiffany Momon, founder and co-director of the Black Craftspeople Digital Archive. In addition to sharing information about the Black Craftspeople project, Momon will talk about David Drake (c.1801–1870s), an enslaved artist who is recognized as one of America’s most important 19th-century ceramicists, as well as highlight Black craftspeople who lived and worked in Missouri.

The Saint Louis Art Museum acquired a ceramic vessel signed and dated by Drake late last year. Drake is known for his skill as a potter and for his ability to read and write at a time when anti-literacy laws were common in states where slavery was legal. He often inscribed ceramics with signatures, dates and even rhyming verses. Today, these inscriptions are seen as defiant expressions of literacy, authorship and creativity in the face of slavery. The ceramic vessel is now on view in Gallery 336, which is devoted to 19th-century American art.

Momon will explore the decorative arts, architecture and handcrafts created by African Americans in the early American South and discuss how scholars, curators and cultural institutions have historically neglected to highlight their stories and accomplishments. She will discuss the methods used to uncover Black craftspeople through examining historical documents, objects and places.

Momon is assistant professor of history and Mellon Fellow at Sewanee, The University of

the South. Her work focuses on exploring African American placemaking throughout the Southeast, documenting cemeteries, churches, schools and lodges. Momon serves as the research lead for South Carolina. This virtual program will take place via Zoom and will include opportunities for par-

ticipants to ask questions with the Q&A feature. Attendees’ mics and cameras will not be activated. This event will have automated closed captions through Zoom. Attendees must register to receive the Zoom link. The capacity for the live program is limited.

David Drake, American, c.1801–after 1870; Jar, June 6, 1857; alkalineglazed stoneware

Art Speaks: Black Craftspeople, Objects and the Southern Landscape with Tiffany Momon founder and co-director of the Black Craftspeople Digital Archive Saturday, June 19 at 11 am Online via Zoom Free, Registration is required to receive the Zoom link.

DEPUTY

St. Louis County Juvenile Office is seeking male Detention Deputy Juvenile Officers (DDJO) to function as the supervisor of juveniles assigned to residential Detention units or to work the control desk. DDJO positions are established with a Bona Fide Occupational Qualification requiring that the candidate be of the same gender as the residential unit. DDJO positions are responsible for maintaining security and control, as well as providing direct supervision to the residents assigned to the unit. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work or a related social/behavioral science; or four years of responsible, paraprofessional social service experience working with juvenile delinquents and/ or their families may be substituted in lieu of college; or any equivalent combination of training and experience. Starting salary is $15.68-$16.68 per hour contingent upon incumbent’s level of education. DDJO positions are eligible for 10% addition to pay. TO APPLY complete an online application at http://agency.governmentjobs.com/ stlouis/default.cfm Posting will remain open until vacancies are filled. EOE. Please contact the Human Resources Department at (314)615-4471 (voice) or (314) 615-5889 (TTY) if you need any accommodations in the application process, or if you would like this posting in an alternative format.

Is accepting applications for 2 positions: AREA EDUCATORFAMILY, CONSUMER & COMMUNITY SCIENCES

Please visit our website at WWW. Lincolnu.edu for details and how to apply. Lincoln University is “An Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action/ADA Employer”

HOME & OFFICE CLEANERS

YOUTH LEADER SPECIALIST

Full time position at the St. Louis City Family Court Juvenile Division includes full benefit package, plus no cost retirement plan detailed info at www.stlcitycircuitcourt.com, click employment opportunities. EOE

LOUIS ARTWORKS: GRANTS MANAGER

The Grants Manager will secure operating funds from public and private entities through a proactive grant-seeking strategy. The Grants Manager will oversee the financials and record-keeping of grants/sponsorships/contracts received. Part-Time, 30 hours/ week, Monday through Friday. Email info@stlartworks.org for full description. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

FAMILY ADVOCATE

FT position responsible for recruiting and enrolling eligible families with children 0-5 years old into the Head Start Program. Also responsible for providing case management and support. BA/BS plus 2 years of related experience required. $14-18/hr. Cover letter/resume to: GASA, 1127 N. Vandeventer Ave., St. Louis, MO 63113, Fax (314) 231-8126, hr@gasastl.org. EOE.

Master’s Degree in Accounting) with a minimum of five years auditing experience, including audit leadership experience. The candidate must possess either CIA, CLGFO or CPA credentials. Interested candidates should send a resume and cover letter to the Chair of the Charter Position Search Committee at CharterPositionSearchComments@ stlouisco.com

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

FOR PANTRY/HELP CENTER RENOVATION Issued by Feed My People Proposals Due By: 3:00 PM on Friday, July 9, 2021

Feed My People ATTN: Karen Lanter 171 Kingston Drive, St. Louis, MO 63125 (314) 631-4900 karenl@fmpstl.org

Introduction

Feed My People is a nonprofit, 501(C)(3) organization that has been helping people overcome hunger for just under 40 years in South St. Louis and Jefferson County.

Consistent

History and experience of the contractor in providing similar renovations in the past;

2. Availability and approach to provide the Services;

3. Approach to minority participation;

4. Cost, after application of any applicable MBE discount, as described above; and

5. Responsiveness to the RFP categories.

Feed My People actively encourages submission of proposals from disadvantaged business enterprises and companies owned by minorities, women, immigrants, and veterans. The Port does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, national origin, disability, or veteran status in consideration of this award. Equal Opportunity Employer.

Terms and Conditions

The following terms and conditions apply to all proposals:

1. Feed My People reserves the right to reject any and all proposals submitted; to select one or more responding parties; to void this RFP and the review process and/or terminate negotiations at any time; to select separate responding parties for various components of the scope of the project; to select a final party/parties from among the proposals received in response to this RFP. Additionally, any and all RFP project elements, requirements and schedules are subject to change and modification. Feed My People also reserves the unqualified right to modify, suspend, or terminate at its sole discretion any and all aspects of this RFP process, to obtain further information from any and all responding parties, and to waive any defects as to form or content of the RFP or any responses by any party.

2. This RFP does not commit Feed My People to award a contract, defray any costs incurred in the preparation of a response to this RFP, or contract for any services. All submitted responses to this RFP become the property of Feed My People. All proposals may be subject to public review, on request, unless exempted as discussed elsewhere in this RFP.

3. By accepting this RFP and/or submitting a proposal in response thereto, each responding party agrees for itself, its successors and assigns, to hold the Feed My People, along with its directors, consultants, attorneys, officers and employees harmless from and against any and all claims and demands of whatever nature or type, which any such responding company, its representatives, agents, contractors, successors or assigns may have against any of them as a result of issuing this RFP, revising this RFP, conducting the selection process and subsequent negotiations, making a final recommendation, selecting a responding party/parties or negotiating or executing an agreement incorporating the commitments of the selected responding party.

4. By submitting responses, each responding party acknowledges having read this RFP in its entirety and agrees to all terms and conditions set out in this RFP.

5. Responses shall be open and valid for a period of ninety (90) days from the due date of this RFP.

Submission of Proposals

To be considered, proposals must be received no later than Friday, July 9, 2021, at 3:00 PM CST. Proposals received after the deadline identified above will not be considered.

Schedule RFP Published Friday, June 18, 2021

Questions Submitted by Friday, June 25, 2021

Questions Answered Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Submission of Proposals by Friday, July 9, 2021

Questions about this RFP should be sent by email to karenl@fmpstl.org. Any answers to questions will be provided to all interested parties and will be released as an addendum to this RFP on Feed My People’s website, https://feed-my-people.

on the date indicated above.

proposals

be sent by email to karenl@fmpstl.org

INVITATION TO BID FERGUSON-FLORISSANT SCHOOL DISTRICT

Ferguson-Florissant School District is requesting bid proposals to furnish, ship and install all materials and equipment for a dish machine until Tuesday June 29, 2021 1:30pm CST. Bid specs must be obtained online at http://new.fergflor.k12.mo.us/ facilities-rfq

Contact/Attention: Matt Furfaro 314.824.2418

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL: SSD 118-21:

OFFICE RENOVATIONS AND BUS CANOPY RENOVATION AT SOUTH TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL

Project Manual and drawings will be available through County Blue on June 10, 2021. A non-mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held at 2:00 PM on June 16, 2021 at South Technical High School, 12721 West Watson Road, St. Louis, MO 63127. Bids are due at 2:00 pm on July 8, 2021 at Special School District Purchasing Department, 12110 Clayton Road, St. Louis, MO 63131.

BID NOTICE

Great Rivers Greenway is seeking bids from qualified firms to provide labor and materials necessary to rekey and master 450 Medeco Cylinders located throughout the Gateway Arch National Park and Old Courthouse (the “Park”) in St. Louis, MO. Go to www. greatriversgreenway.org/jobs-bids and submit by June 18, 2021.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL #

57821167

OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORE

Harris-Stowe State University (HSSU) is requesting sealed proposals for Operation and Management of the University bookstore. A pre-bid conference will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 16, 2021 in the ATT Library Telecommunity Room 108. A tour of the current bookstores will take place at that time.

Interested parties may obtain a copy of the RFP by emailing: morrowb@hssu.edu or calling (314) 340-5763. The RFP is scheduled for release on Wednesday, June 16, 2021.

Proposals will be received until 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 8, 2021 and should be emailed to: morrowb@hssu.edu no later than 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 8, 2021. Proposals will be opened and the names read at 10:15 a.m. by University staff. The link to the virtual bid opening will be emailed out to all interested parties at a later date.

This request does not commit the University to award a contract or to procure or contract for the services. The University reserves the right to accept or reject any, all or any part of proposals received, or to cancel in part or in its entirety this request if it is in the best interest of the University to do so.

NOTICE TO MINORITY & DISADVANTAGED BUSINESSES

Poettker Construction Company is seeking bids from minority and disadvantaged businesses for the MUHC – Missouri Psychiatric Center – Pediatric Assessment Unit at the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO. A Diversity Participation goal of 10% MBE / 10% Combined WBE, DBE, Veteran Owned Business and 3% SDVE has been established for this contract. All interested and certified businesses should contact Zach Lindberg at 618-526-3339 or zlindberg@ poettkerconstruction.com to discuss opportunities. All bids must be received by EOB on Monday, June 28th. Bid documents are available for download through the following link: https://securecc. smartinsight.co/#/PublicBidProject/585583

400 South Germantown Road Breese, IL 62230 Phone: 618-526-7213 Fax: 618-526-7654

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT

ST.

LOUIS, MISSOURI

BISSELL POINT WWTF FOAM SUPPRESSION AND BIOFILTER REHABILITATION (IR)

CONTRACT LETTING NO. 13570-015.1

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS

Notice is hereby given that The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (District) will receive sealed bids for Bissell Point WWTF Foam Suppression and Biofilter Rehabilitation (IR) under Letting No. 13570-015.1, at this office, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103, until 02:00 PM on Wednesday, July 21, 2021. All bids are to be deposited in the bid box located on the First Floor of the District’s Headquarters located at 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, MO 63103, prior to the 2:00 p.m. bid deadline. Bids may also be submitted electronically at stlmsdplanroom.com. Refer to the Contractor’s notice page within the Bid Form for additional information on electronic submission of bids.

A general description of the work to be done under these contract documents is described as follows.

• Demolition and removal of the existing Biofilter system, which includes the blower, humidification chamber, FRP piping, FRP diffusers, and media.

• Replacement of new Biofilter system, including blower, humidification chamber, FRP piping, FRP diffusers, and media.

• Demolition and removal of existing 1” service water piping that is used as sprinkler system for the biofilter system.

• Replacement of new 1” service water piping and sprinklers to be used as sprinkler system for the biofilter system.

• Removal and replacement of the existing 6” drain piping that connects the drainage from the biofilter system to the existing ash lagoon pump station.

• Installation of approximately 450 feet of 4-inch water main as shown on the drawings.

• Installation of a foam suppression system that is comprised of spray nozzles suspended above the flow channel of the final outfall structure. The system will include a backflow preventor and water service line to a City of St. Louis water main.

The Engineer’s Opinion of Probable Cost for this project is $1,141,000.

Bids will be received only from companies that are pre-qualified by the OWNER’S Engineering Department for: Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing or Building Construction.

At St. Louis Lambert International Airport

Sealed proposals will be received by the Board of Public Service in Room 301 City Hall, 1200 Market Street, St. Louis, Mo. Until 1:45 PM, CT, on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, then publicly opened and read in room 325. Plans and Specifications may be examined on the Board of Public Service website http://www.stl-bps. org(BPS On Line Plan Room) and may be purchased directly through the BPS website from INDOX Services at cost plus shipping. No refunds will be made. Bidders shall comply with all applicable City, State and Federal laws (including MBE/WBE policies). Mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, at 1:30 PM via Zoom: To access ZOOM log in information go to: https://www.flystl.com/business/zoom-bid-information

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 (Virtual Plan Room).

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Paric Corporation is seeking proposals for the following project: Missouri Psychiatric CenterPediatric Assessment Unit the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO.

This is the renovation of the Pediatric Assessment Unit with support space. The project consists of approximately 5,762 SF of space and includes but is not limited to demolition, carpentry, architectural woodwork, firestopping, doors/frames/hardware, drywall, tile, acoustical ceilings, flooring, painting, fire sprinklers, plumbing, HVAC and electrical work.

This project has a diversity participation goals of 10% MBE, 10% combined WBE, DBE, Veteran Owned Business and 3% SDVE.

Bids for this project are due on June 28th, at 3:00 p.m. For any questions or would like to find out more detailed information on this opportunity, please contact Evan Chiles at 816-878-6003 or emchiles@paric.com.

All bids should be delivered to Paric via e-mail (bids@paric.com) or fax (816-878-6249).

PARIC CORPORATION IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER INVITATION TO BID

Lift for Life Academy invites mechanical contractors to submit bids for replacement of RTU’s for 1731, 1709 S. Broadway. Interested bidders should contact mcohen@liftforlifeacademy.org. Bids to be completed, signed, scanned, and emailed to Marshall by June 24th at 3:00 pm.

There will be a non-mandatory walk though scheduled for 18th of June @ 10:00 A.M at 1731 S. Broadway, 63104. All bidders are encouraged to attend.

Funding for this project requires all labor wages be paid not less than those established for the local area by the Secretary of Labor. See links below for wage rates that apply. https://www.wdol.gov/ or https://labor.mo.gov/DLS/PrevailingWage

All bidders must comply with the Equal Employment Opportunity Act and shall not unlawfully discriminate against or harass any employee or applicant for employment because of race, religion, color, national origin, sex gender, age or disability or any other protected status or activity.

REQUEST FOR LETTERS OF INTEREST FOR DESIGN-BUILD SERVICES

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is soliciting Letters of Interest from companies interested in providing Design-Build services for the I-70 Cave Springs to Fairgrounds Project in St. Charles County, Missouri. One Design-Build team will be selected to design and construct the project. MoDOT will use a Best Value selection process to evaluate the ability of the Design-Build proposers to meet or exceed the project goals. A virtual informational meeting is scheduled at 1 p.m. on Monday, July 19, 2021. A link to the meeting will be available on the project website at www.i70csfg.com It is anticipated the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) will be released that same day. At the meeting, a presentation will be made on the project, followed by a question and answer period. Firms interested in receiving I-70 Cave Springs to Fairgrounds Design-Build information should send a one-page Letter of Interest to MoDOT via email to i70csfg@modot.mo.gov no later than Wednesday, July 14, 2021, to ensure that you receive all information. The Letters of Interest will allow MoDOT to compile a list of interested companies for notices and any announcements relating to this project.

Address all letters or emails to: Stacey Smith, P.E. I-70 Cave Springs to Fairgrounds Design-Build Project i70csfg@modot.mo.gov

Include in your Letter of Interest the company name and a contact person at your company including, address, phone number, and e-mail. Please indicate if your firm is a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE).

Invitation for Bids for Various Public Housing Renovations & Repairs

The St. Louis Housing Authority (SLHA) seeks bids from qualified vendors and contractors to perform the following:

Issue Date: June 14, 2021

Pre-Bid Meetings: June 29, 2021 10:00 AM – RD 21-13 Badenhaus Site Improvements 1:00 PM – RD 21-14 Lookaway Development Exterior Improvements

Issue Date: June 14, 2021

Pre-Bid

Issue Date: June 28, 2021 Pre-Bid Meetings: July 13, 2021 10:00 AM – RD21-15 California Gardens Fencing and Security 1:00 PM – RD21-09 Hodiamont Unit Renovation and Repairs

Access bid documents, submission criteria & due dates at https://www.slha.org/for-partners/vendors/ after the issue date listed above. Krista S. Peyton Contracting Officer AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

BID NOTICE

Great Rivers Greenway is soliciting bids for St. Vincent Greenway: Trojan Park to Robert L. Powell Place in Wellston, Missouri. Go to www.greatriversgreenway.org/ jobs-bids and submit by July 14, 2021.

PM, 7/1/2021 via MissouriBUYS. Bidders must be registered to bid. For specific project information, go to: http://oa.mo.gov/ facilities

AUCTION NOTICE

The following people are in debt to Gateway Storage Mall of Belleville & Dupo. The contents of their storage unit(s) will be sold at auction to compensate all or part of that debt.

Auction at the Dupo Fallings Springs Road location will be held online with www.storageauctions.com on July 6th, 2021, at 10:00 AM. A cash deposit will be REQUIRED for all winning bids.

75— Waren Tracy, 403 – Roy/Amanda Venus, 412 – Rick Colbert, 416 – Nancy Taylor For all rules, regulations and bidding process, please contact www.storageauctions.com . For questions regarding the Dupo auctions, please call 618-724-5108 or mail: 300 Rueck Road, Columbia, IL 62236.

SEALED BIDS

Normandy Schools Collaborative will be accepting sealed General Contractor Bids for the construction of the Secured Connector Addition at the Normandy High School. The entire bidders package will be available electronically on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 through TR,i Architects, james.russell@ triarchitects.com . A Mandatory Pre-Bid walk through will be held at 2:00pm (CDT)

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

BID NOTICE

Great Rivers Greenway is soliciting bids for Gateway Arch National Park site improvements in St. Louis, Missouri. Go to www.greatriversgreenway.org/ jobs-bids to apply by July 7, 2021.

BID NOTICE

Great Rivers Greenway is hiring for Outreach Specialist. Go to www. greatriversgreenway.org/ jobs-bids to apply by June 30, 2021.

INVITATION TO BID

GATEWAY

of

on Monday, July 12, 2021. Bid packages may be acquired by contacting Harun Cilingir, Operations Manager, at 314-546-0074 or by emailing request t o hcilingir@gsastl.org

Once Jones reached his teen years, he learned the truth and met his biological father. The pair grew close and formed a bond until his death.

“When I met my biological father, I didn’t greet him with a closed fist because I never developed any animosity towards him,” Jones said.

“In the book, the main character does have animosity since his father wants nothing to do with him and the son wants to have him in his life. Fortunately, that’s not how it was with my life, but I know that happens a lot in many others’ lives.”

Jones’ journey with fatherlessness inspired him to write a fictional novel, “My Invisible Father,” which is targeted to teens and young adults. It was published by Script & Scribe Publishing under the pen name, Jaer Armstead-Jones.

His pen name is a combination of his first name abbreviated as Jae, his middle initial R, his late biological father’s last name Armstead and his stepfa-

ther’s last name Jones. The book was be released on Jones’ website, https://jaerarmsteadjones.com/ on June 15. A six-song EP “Invisible,” serves as the book’s soundtrack. The first single “Hott Heat,” was also released to all streaming platforms June 15.

“I decided to write a fictional story about fatherhood because it came from my understanding that even if you don’t have a father, you can meet mentors and father figures that showcase the traits of one,” Jones said. “Having both a father and a stepfather helped shape and form me into the man that I am right now.”

“My Invisible Father” narrates the stories of three teenagers; Black 15-year-olds Jayrin, who never knew his father, Kamree, whose father is in prison, and middle school-aged white teen Aceson, who lives in the same household as a father who doesn’t have anything to do with him.

Jayrin and Kamree are friends who attend the same high school but have different fatherless experiences. Jayrin’s father has no relationship with him, but readers find out he will learn why.

Kamree’s biological father is incarcerated, but she has a stepfather who treats her and

A career that began 40 years ago has seen Riley perform with jazz extraordinaires including pianist Ahmad Jamal and world-renowned trumpeter Wynton Marsaalis. Since releasing new music for Mack Avenue Records, Riley’s “New Direction,” project is called “pleasing to the ear and an experience like no other.”

The season launches Oct. 15 with South Carolina-based

folklore group Ranky Tank, and Dom Flemons, Grammywinning co-founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, performing classic music of The Gullah culture—African Americans who reside in the lower region known to maintain their African language and societal heritage.

“The Southern journey will make us feel like we stepped into the Carolinas for a night,” Palermo said.

“The gullah culture is really interesting to hear about and listening to the music of that culture is great.”

Next up Oct. 21 is Delfeayo

Marsalis, acclaimed trombonist and brother of Wynton Marsalis. The Uptown Jazz Orchestra will be performing with him.

Palermo saw Marsalis live in concert in New York and the atmosphere “felt like a party.”

“His band was having so much fun and they brought such a shot of New Orleans to a little basement club in New York that I just had a ball,” Palermo said.

“It’s gonna be a lot of fun, it’ll feel like New Orleans is in the house that night.”

Three jazz and soul vocal powerhouses will grace the

In 1818, Missouri wanted to join the Union as a Slave State. A compromise was struck, and the horror of Slavery was once again expanded. There was no compromise for Slaves.

Our 2021 virtual event highlights the stories of Black St. Louisans whose lives were intertwined with Missouri’s journey to statehood and the legalization of slavery in the state. Visit MaryMeachum.org to watch this year’s program, complete with re-enactments, local teens learning about the Missouri Compromise and more.

While the event

Learn more about Mary Meachum and

Jarrod Jones’ book

“My Invisible Father,” tells the stories of three teenagers. Black 15-year-olds, Jayrin, who never knew his father; Kamree, whose father is in prison; and middle school-aged white teen Aceson, who lives in a household where his father doesn’t have anything to do with him.

Photo courtesy of C-Dot Visuals

her mother like queens. While she appreciates their relationship, she wants the same thing

stage March 5 when Charenée Wade, Camille Thurman and Tahira Clayton perform. The show will be produced by Grammy-winning Eli Wolf, with arrangements by pianist and musical director Carmen Staff. The performance is associated with the Women in Jazz Organization and will be backed by an all-female band.

“I think hearing women’s voices in jazz, especially Black women’s voices in jazz who have been at the forefront in the artistry and have been less recognized by history, is paramount in putting out an incredible legacy of talent,” Palermo

with her real dad. She resents him for the bad decisions that landed him behind bars.

Aceson may live under the same roof as his dad, but he’s practically absent from his life. He does poorly in school and bullies’ classmates because he lacks his father’s attention. He is suspended from school and forced to reflect on his life.

Jones said there is a plot twist in the book that will unite the three local St. Louis teens.

“Eventually, all three characters come together in a wild plot-twisting way at the end of the book,” Jones said.

“That’s the mystery portion of the book.”

Beginning in the early 1990’s, Jones was involved with a hip-hop group through his church for more than a decade. The group released two albums and performed at local churches and community centers.

That was almost 20 years ago, and Jones had stepped away from the music industry.

With the book’s release, he found it fitting to drop an EP for young people who may not be as enthused with reading.

“I thought it would be cool to include music with the book because music is so powerful for

said.

“It’s good to remind everybody of the incredible singers that have come through the jazz age and still resonate today.”

St. Louis native Anita Jackson will be at The Sheldon for a two-night event April 19-20, making her Coffee Concert series debut. She has performed as a featured vocalist with numerous local Blues, Gospel, R&B and Jazz groups locally. Palermo said The Sheldon’s mission is to provide diversity in music and showcase performers who exude incredible musicianship.

teens and our young people,” Jones said.

“I thought that putting out music that they can relate to and vibe with would help reluctant readers. They may say they like a particular song, then gain interest in reading the book because of it.”

There are many books on parenting, fatherhood and children growing up in impoverished environments, but Jones assures that his book is different.

“Having these characters, two African American teens and one young white male brings race relations to the story and the struggles that we see in our world today. We’re going to see some answers to that as well,” Jones said.

“You’re going to see mentorship by males and females alike. I wanted to put a lot of little nuggets in this book and be able to touch as many people as possible.”

Jones has taught middle school English in the St. Louis area since 2007. He earned his bachelor’s degree in media communications from Webster University and a master’s degree in secondary education from the University of Phoenix.

“What we try to do with The Sheldon is highlight excellent performers and make sure that we are covering as many territories as possible as far as the genres and the music we’re offering,” Palermo said.

“The intent is always to bring virtuosos and real authentic performers that put their whole heart into what they’re doing. That’s what we’re after, we’re not about glitz and show. We’re about musicianship, skill, craft, and heart.” Learn more, here: https:// www.thesheldon.org/.

Sheldon