March 31st, 2016 Edition

St. LouiS AmericAn

St. Louis mourns community leader Ida

Competition bridges cops and community

By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American

About 10 St. Louis city police officers walked out of the Marquette Park Recreation Center, 4025 Minnesota Ave., on Saturday, March 26 dripping with sweat and

By Kenya Vaughn

Of The St. Louis American

The St. Louis region lost a treasure – one of its most brightly polished gems – with the sudden death of Ida Woolfolk on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. She was 72.

“Requesting prayer for strength and comfort,” her daughter Sarah Woolfolk Edwards posted on Facebook. “My BFF, my queen, my mommy Ida Goodwin Woolfolk has passed away suddenly.”

The cause of death was not immediately known, but recently she had experienced congestive heart issues, said her friend, Michael P. McMillan, president and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis.

McMillan said he had rushed to a hospital emergency room to see Ms. Woolfolk on many previous occasions. “She had beaten that kind of stuff so many times,” he said.

One of three daughters born to B.W. and Myrtle Goodwin on November 20, 1943 and raised in the Ville neighborhood, she was baptized and reared in Kennerly Temple Church of God in Christ. She was a lifelong member of the historic church.

Learning about healthy food

Beyond Rx Outreach

“This city will never see another Ida Woolfolk.”

– Michael McMillan

“She was a great ambassador for her church and denomination and the city as well,” said her friend Sherman George, St. Louis’ first black fire chief. After graduating from Sumner High School in 1961, she went on to Stowe Teachers College, where she pledged Delta Sigma Theta. She proudly carried these institutions on her shoulders as she made her way to the top of St. Louis’ civic ladder. She would be inducted into Sumner High School’s Hall of Fame alongside some of the city’s most famous native sons and daughters. She worked for more than four decades in the Saint Louis Public Schools. Her last position was special assistant to the superintendent and director of community engagement and partnerships. She stayed on as a consultant for several years after her retirement. She also served as an adjunct instructor at Harris-Stowe State University, Washington University and Webster University at different points in her career.

The final years of her life were spent sharing her time and talents with a host of community organizations, corporations, initiatives and nonprofits –including The St. Louis American Foundation.

Donald M. Suggs, president of The St. Louis American Foundation and

By Chris King Of The St.

Ida Woolfolk

Patrick Henry Elementary School early childhood students Andrehyiona Autoome, Gavin Bradford, Chaniya Blanks and Jerzy Bailey learned

teacher Kelly Valentine on March 30. Voters

the district’s early education programs

See 28, A8

Photo by Wiley Price

Michael Holmes, founder and board chair at Rx Outreach, hosted U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill at the non-profit pharmacy’s production center, along with his successor as company president, Darryl Munden, on July 31, 2015.

Photo by Wiley Price

to maturate gifts that I wasn’t able to foster without stability.

Toxicity of any kind isn’t healthy for anyone. I’ve been working hard to bring you guys quality movies, music and art. And that’s exactly what will continue to happen. How could you not love a woman who took you in a broken place and allowed you to heal?

Columbus Short set out by

Karrine Steffans

Earlier this week former hip-hop vixen Karrine Steffans announced on social media that her current boyfriend, actor Columbus Short, had been caught cheating and that she was throwing him out of her house.

“Somebody come get his cheating [expletive] and all of his [expletive],”

Steffans said as the caption of a photo on her Instagram account. The picture featured a man who appeared to be Short (his face was obscured with a hood) with clothes and personal items strewn across what looked to be a lobby area.

Short confirmed the news in a series of tweets. An excerpt of them is as follows:

“Just want to say that it’s unfortunate the way things ended up. I felt truly that a woman gave me a home and a place to get my mind right and a place

I’m thankful for the journey. It ain’t the first time I’ve been homeless. But it will definitely be the last.”

Was Tyra not welcome at Chrissy Teigen’s baby shower?

Last year there were rumors that Tyra Banks and expectant Chrissy Teigen were not getting along on the set of their illfated daytime talk show “The Fab

According to Radar Online, the speculation was spot on.

“Tyra was not invited to Chrissy’s baby shower. All the rumors of behind-the-scenes drama are true. Those two absolutely hate each other,” a source told the celebrity news and gossip site. “Tyra

never even looked at Chrissy when they weren’t filming. The vibe on set wasn’t friendly at all. It was tense.”

Arrest warrant issued for Katt Williams following fight with teen

Gainesville, Georgia police are reportedly seeking to arrest embattled comedian Katt Williams on charges of disorderly conduct and a bond violation. The charges stem from the viral video where Williams can be seen punching a teen last week.

Witness Marco Salcido told wbsvtv. com that the incident between Williams and 17-year-old Luke Walsh took place at a Gainesville apartment complex –where Williams unexpectedly dropped by and jumped into a pickup soccer game.

Salcido said Williams not only joined in the game, but was also spreading his wealth by handing out hundreds of dollars in cash.

“He was giving money to kids and everyone,” Villanueva said.

Gospel star Tina Campbell was ‘suicidal’ and ‘homicidal’ following husband’s infidelity

Tina Campbell, who stars with her sister Erica Campbell on the WE TV reality show “Mary Mary,” told The Grio that her husband’s cheating made her feel as if she had nothing else to live for.

“I was just at a terrible, terrible place. I was homicidal and suicidal, but I told God, ‘I know I’m

but I don’t want to be

Campbell explained. “I want to forgive. I want to let this go. I want to

that good people sometimes make bad decisions because they feel

they’re between a rock and a hard place, whatever the case, you want something but you go about it the wrong way.’ I was like, ‘I don’t want to hate the world. I don’t want to be bitter and insecure and angry. If

Witnesses say not long into the game things got ugly between Williams and Walsh, one of the teens who was playing against him.

‘We all gathered in a circle and we’re hearing him say, ‘Get out of my face little boy,’ and they just started fighting,” Salcido said.

Metro expands footprint in North County

New North County Transit Center in Ferguson and new routes added

By Joseph Leahy Of St. Louis Public Radio

On a cold March morning, Cliff Harper stands in the wind, about to board the #35 Earth City at the North Hanley Metro station. His commute to Boeing is changing, as are thousands of others with Metro’s new bus service.

“It’ll make mine easier,” Harper said. “Because there’ll be two different buses going toward where I need to go instead of just one. One runs every 40 minutes; I should be able to catch one every 20 minutes.”

Metro’s expanding service includes nine new or redesigned routes, longer late-night and weekend hours, and more direct lines to destinations like Clayton and downtown St. Louis.

Metro is also expanding its service to more neighborhoods like Spanish Lake and includes the new #79 Ferguson line, which starts at North Hanley Station and ends at the North County Transit Center in Ferguson.

The $10.3 million facility has been part of Metro’s plan since 2009 and the final hub of Metro’s current hub-and-spoke system. It features 10 bus bays, an indoor waiting area, public restrooms and free parking. Metro is also planning for concessions vendor to set up shop at the center by this summer.

Most importantly, the center allows for faster connections, and faster trip times, said Metro’s Chief of Planning and System Development Jessica MeffordMiller.

“It will make transit more competitive,” she said, “and the transit center’s going to allow us to link residential communities

with important destinations like job centers, health care and education institutions faster.”

The new center and system redesign are part of Metro’s efforts to meet growing demand in North St. Louis County, which accounts for 19 percent of Metro’s bus and train ridership.

employment centers,” she said, “and for many large employment centers we’re working with them directly so that we can time our service to their trip times and shift times.” She said that 75 percent of Metro riders take transit to get to work.

During a ribbon cutting

n Metro’s expanding service includes nine new or redesigned routes, longer late-night and weekend hours, and more direct lines to destinations like Clayton and downtown St. Louis.

The upgrades are a large component of restoring service that Metro cut by nearly one-third in 2009 due to budget shortfalls.

In addition to hosting numerous community outreach events, the transit group worked with census data to configure the most optimal routes, MeffordMiller said.

“We also looked at major destinations, like schools and

ceremony March 10, Metro

President and CEO John Nations said the new transit center, located at 3140 Pershall Road, is North St. Louis County’s biggest investment in transit infrastructure since MetroLink opened in 1993.

The center’s cost has also been welcome news: federal grants paid for roughly 80 percent of the facility’s construction. About half

of the additional $5 million in operating expenses for the center and new services will be covered by federal grants – at least, for the next three years.

The funding is crucial as Metro works to increase service and infrastructure without leaning on local taxpayers for more money. Mefford-Miller said Metro set aside funds for several years to offset some of the added costs.

“We also expect that ridership will grow in response to this new service,” Mefford-Miller said. “And we give that three-year timeline for ridership to grow and stabilize.”

But increasing ridership won’t likely make up for the federal government’s portion down the road, said Mefford-Miller, because bus fares pay for only about 20 percent of the system’s total costs. So, eventually, more funding will be needed to sustain the system as it is now.

Follow Joseph on Twitter: @ joemikeleahy. Reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.

East Boogie and Cuba

By James T. Ingram For the St.

Louis American

As I watched President Obama and the first family descend the steps of Air Force One to Havana Cuba, I reflected on the symbolism and the potential to end over five decades of a ridiculous, antiquated and failed embargo. I also reflected on the parallels between Cuba and my own home town of East St. Louis.

We know the story of Cuba – economically decimated by a 55-year-old American embargo following Fidel Castro’s coup and dictatorship of the Caribbean nation.

East Boogie began its economic decline during that same period, the result of white flight when white people, their businesses and their finances headed for the hills of Belleville, Fairview Heights, O’Fallon and Shiloh, Illinois.

The result for Cuba: financial catastrophe, crumbling infrastructure, corroded plumbing and Third World status in terms of technology and many of the luxuries that Americans take for granted.

East St. Louis similarly suffers in terms of outdated sewers, crumbling streets, abandoned houses and a dearth of business, jobs and economic opportunities.

Both have the benefit of prime locations. Cuba has the most beautiful, yet undeveloped, beaches in the Caribbean just 90 miles from America. East Boogie has an undeveloped riverfront facing downtown St. Louis, a developer’s dream location for townhouses, hotels and infinite development opportunities.

Yet both suffer economically because of a lack of infusion of capital and partnerships with those entities with the wherewithal to convert their potential into profit.

Another important thing that they share is their resilience. Castro and Cuba have survived assassination attempts, economic embargos and 10 U.S. presidents. East Boogie has endured, despite a mass exodus of industry, jobs, financial resources and corrupt, plantation “poli-tricks.”

Both are home to people of color and of Africandescent, and are rich with unique cultures and the will to survive in spite of the odds.

And at the end of the day, the solution for the plight of both is similar: for the powerful to remove the economic bolder from the backs of the people, to invest in the rebuilding of their infrastructure and the provision of economic opportunity.

That is the commonality and that is the challenge that I pray will become a reality for both, God wiling.

Columnist

James Ingram

Dozens of Metro bus drivers are tracing new routes through North St. Louis County. The service changes stem from the new North County Transit Center that opened Monday in Ferguson to serve one of the area’s fastest-growing markets.

Editorial /CommEntary

St. Louis American endorses on April 5 ballot issues

On Tuesday, April 5, polls will be open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. for municipal elections. Coming just after a presidential preference primary, and with primary and general elections still ahead this year, we expect many voters to be frustrated and fatigued at the prospect of getting out to vote again. However, especially in the City of St. Louis, it is very important that they do so. And here is how we urge you to vote.

YES ON PROPOSITION E. Proposition E asks voters to extend the 1 percent earnings tax for another five years. Though the campaign to defeat this measure, funded by Rex Sinquefield, makes some good points, including the competitive disadvantage this tax gives the City of St. Louis in attracting businesses, the reality is that now is not the time to start the clock ticking on tax phase-outs that would eventually cut the city’s current revenue stream by one-third, risking financial ruin for the city or more regressive sales taxes for citizens. For the foreseeable future, we need an earnings tax collected from city residents andthose who work in the city.

YES ON PROPOSITION F. Proposition F is a $25 million general obligation bond that would fund badly needed equipment and repairs for the St. Louis Fire Department, with additional funds earmarked for other reasonable infrastructure needs. Citizens won’t see higher real estate taxes, capital improvements can be made, and firefighters can receive essential equipment. We should issue these bonds.

YES ON PROPOSITION 1. As we argued at length last week, it is critical that Saint Louis Public Schools Superintendent Kelvin Adams and his district get a major boost of confidence and support – with needed funding – from the community in the form of this modest tax levy – the first in 25 years. For a small citywide increase in property taxes, the district can maintain its early education programs, attract and retain better teachers, offer more alternative education options and improve security. This is a sound investment in the future of the city and its most precious resource, our children.

NO ON PROPOSITION Y. One way or another, the Metropolitan Sewer District will get money from users to implement its consent decree with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Missouri Coalition for the Environment. This $900 million bond issue for wastewater improvement projects is a reasonable way to raise those funds. However, we agree with minority inclusion advocates that MSD has not been sufficiently faithful to the Community Benefits Agreement and should make good on that agreement before voters approve the funds for more work. Come back to us on this one, MSD.

YES ON PROPOSITION S. Proposition S

By Rev. Starsky Wilson and Rich McClure Guest columnists

While our duties as co-chairs of the Ferguson Commission sunsetted along with the commission at the end of 2015, the alarming conclusions of the March 1 report of the Municipal Division Work Group to the Supreme Court of Missouri compels us to speak up on behalf of the 3,000plus citizens whose voices are represented in the Ferguson Commission report. The Missouri Supreme Court is the body with the constitutional supervisory power – and the responsibility – to consolidate the municipal courts in the 21st Judicial Circuit. If the Supreme Court does not act, we call for the Department of Justice, in line with its letter regarding unconstitutional court practices sent to chief justices and court administrators across the country on March 14, to again intervene on behalf of the people of St. Louis County. Racial equity is the cornerstone of the Ferguson Commission report’s findings on what can have the most impact toward a healthy and thriving St. Louis region. The report of the Municipal Division Work Group stated, “The complete elimination of actual racism is well beyond the power of legislatures and courts.” Our history tells us that discriminatory laws created by legislation and upheld in courts for hundreds of years are at the root of the disparate outcomes we see today. Those laws used the social construct of race as a tool to systemically award and deny economic opportunity.

would revamp the stormwater tax structure to make fees more uniform. Some users would pay more than now, and some less, but it makes sense to make the payment structure more standard.

In St. Louis County, the sample ballot runs for 71 pages, owing to the counter-productive fragmentation of the county into an absurd number of often tiny municipalities. Among many other things, this makes it all but impossible for local media with their limited staff to responsibly cover all of these elections or make credible endorsements in them.

However, we do feel strongly about one candidate for trustee for Subdistrict 1 on the St. Louis Community College board. This subdistrict encompasses the school districts of Clayton, Ferguson-Florissant, Hazelwood, Jennings, Ladue, Normandy, Pattonville, Ritenour, Riverview Gardens and University City. Derek Novel is the incumbent, having been appointed by the rest of the board to fill a seat emptied by a resignation (the person who resigned is running again against Novel, but that is another story). Novel is a veteran educator who has served ably on the board thus far with the solid goals of fiscal responsibility, expanded outreach, increased programming options, and recruiting and retaining quality faculty and staff. We strongly endorse DEREK NOVEL FOR ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRUSTEE, SUBDISTRICT 1

By Jason Q. Purnell, Robert Fruend Jr. and Wendy Orson Guest columnists

We all deal with stress every day. Finances, work schedules, and family commitments are just a part of a long list of worries we carry around with us. At its most basic level, stress is simply the feeling of being overwhelmed by life’s demands. But it turns out that the worry that may seem to be “all in our heads” impacts the rest of our bodies, our relationships with our children and families, and even the strength of our communities.

That is the conclusion increasingly reached by scientists who study high and persistent levels of stress called “toxic stress.” This type of stress is particularly pernicious in the development of young children, and it is often brought on by trauma.

The conditions in our environment that are often the causes of stress are not equally distributed throughout the St. Louis region. For the past three years a project called “For the Sake of All” has been chronicling the very different burdens of disease and death borne by people living in various parts of our region.

Among its findings from a 2014 report is an 18-year gap in life expectancy between 63106 in North St. Louis and 63105, less than 10 miles away in Clayton. Compared to 63105, 63106 has a quarter of the median income, six times the unemployment rate, and more than seven times the

poverty rate. We know that when children experience the stresses that accompany poverty, it can have impacts on everything from the development of their brains to their ability to regulate emotion and learn in school.

And when most families in a neighborhood are under such pressures, it has an impact on the quality of life for entire communities. The emotional toll is still considerable.

There are things we can do to address these problems.

Through an initiative called “Alive and Well STL,” the Regional Health Commission and its partners (including the St. Louis American) have been raising awareness, training organizations, and mobilizing the community to address toxic stress and trauma throughout the St. Louis region. Solving the problems associated with toxic stress, especially among our youngest and most vulnerable, starts with strong, healthy relationships with adults and caregivers.

Those adults often need support themselves – in terms of parenting skills, professional development and social support to increase their own capacity to cope – while also attending to the emotional needs of children and youth.

As we increase investment in programs and systems that offer this support, we must also

Letters to the editor

Remember Mayor Spann

Beverly Hills Mayor Myrtle Spann passed away unexpectedly on March 20. Beverly Hills is a small African-American city off, of and just north of Natural Bridge, just east of Lucas and Hunt.

The testimony and experiences of the poor and mostly black people whose lives are impacted by the disparate outcomes of our municipal courts tell us that the system those laws created is still very much alive. Bold actions by both the courts and the legislature that created our current system are critical to making it right today. The same history reminds us that the courts are called to offer relief and remedies – from Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, KS in 1954 to Liddell v. Board of Education of St. Louis, MO in 1972 – toward equitable citizenship in the face of institutional racism. Recognizing the racialized nature of the structure and operations of our municipal courts, the Missouri Supreme Court choosing not to act is akin to ignoring both Brown and Liddell and reaching back into our state’s sordid legal legacy marked by Dred Scott v. Sanford. Originating in Missouri, the 1857 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court determined that African Americans had no standing in the courts. Failure to act, now, would reinforce this decision.

At the structural level, the Missouri court system’s circuit court hierarchy is unmanageable in the 21st Judicial Circuit. With 81 courts, the presiding judge is responsible for oversight of over three times the number of courts in the next largest circuit (the 4th Judicial Circuit with 25 courts). In this climate of documented injustice, mistrust and the damaged reputation of the municipal court system, no amount of municipal level reform – even the steps contained in Senate Bill 5 – has teeth without consolidation bringing realistically manageable oversight, enforcement and accountability.

The system is broken and has been breaking people, families and trust in the courts for decades. The Missouri Supreme Court must use its power to fix the system it oversees. If not the Supreme Court of Missouri, then who? If the Supreme Court does not act in accordance with the call to consolidate the municipal courts of the 21st Judicial Circuit, it abdicates its responsibility to assure that all who come before courts receive equal justice under the law, and accepts responsibility for the ongoing significant damage to the reputation of the system of courts in Missouri.

The state and the court’s reputation are at stake. More importantly, people’s lives and livelihood are at stake. We call on the Missouri Supreme Court to step out of the game of “Pass The Buck” and step up on behalf of the people of Missouri.

Rev. Starsky Wilson and Rich McClure were co-chairs of the Ferguson Commission.

Mayor Myrtle Spann was a very hard-working sister who really tackled some tough issues in her city and straightened out some problems. She could have sat back and enjoyed being a mom and grandmom, but she stepped up to serve. She believed in taking care of business for her city, and she did it well. I know the stress she was under, especially given the attacks on small municipalities in North County the last few years. My understanding is that she had a stroke or heart attack.

Very few folks understand what it takes to manage a city of any size. The stress, the sacrifices one makes being away from the family and skipping the fun stuff and the relaxation to tackle the daily grind of delivering services to deserving, tax-paying residents.

Mayors of these small, black cities have faces. They have lives and feelings. They are loved by their families and residents, who see how hard they work for the people. Perhaps among all the negative stories written about our small, black cities, you all can mention that real people, good people, work their butts off to serve every day in a lowto no-paying public service labor of love. Mayor Spann was a gem and, in essence, gave her life in service to her community. Folks need to remember that.

Monica Huddleston Greendale

Condemning anti-Muslim rhetoric

We, the Cabinet of Interfaith Partnership, condemn the rise of rhetoric which sharply contrasts with our ideals as Americans and as people of faith. We speak with clarity of heart against the troubling rise of Islamophobia and anti-immigration sentiments

address larger social forces that overload families, like violence, inadequate educational resources, unemployment, and lack of affordable housing.

“For the Sake of All” and “Alive and Well STL” are joining forces to highlight the strategies we need to employ in order to improve the emotional well-being of all in St. Louis. On Thursday, April 7, we will co-host (along with our partners at the Behavioral Health Network of Greater St. Louis and FOCUS St. Louis) a Community Action Forum at the St. Louis Science Center with Integrated Health Network CEO Bethany Johnson-Javois as keynote speaker. Her talk will be followed by small groups using the Discussion Guide and Action Toolkit we have developed to explore the various ways in which community members can be involved in positive activities to support emotional health. Several organizations and agencies will be on hand to share specific opportunities to take action. If the science tells us anything, it’s that it takes relationships between individuals and across communities to effectively manage stress. We have an opportunity in St. Louis to invest in a healthier, more resilient region for our children, our families and our future. Together we can make St. Louis alive and well for the sake of all.

Register for the upcoming Community Action Forum on April 7 at forthesakeofall.org/ events.

in our city and our country.

In particular, we oppose any language that seeks to dehumanize and misrepresents the human dignity of persons in the Muslim community.

We have a wholly different view of our Muslim and immigrant friends than is being portrayed by this type of hateful speech. St. Louis is home to more than 90,000 Muslims, whose clergy and lay leaders are an integral part of our movement of interfaith solidarity. We exist in reciprocal and authentic relationship. We learn together; we pray together; we stand up together against hate.

In November 2015, the first leaders to speak at our prayer service after the Paris attacks were Muslim imams.

In January 2016, the Islamic Foundation of St. Louis opened their doors to a packed auditorium to offer hospitality, dialogue and mutual learning. Together, we continually strive to work for peace and the common good.

Unfortunately, our Muslim sisters and brothers have seen their religion seized by a network of terrorists. Rhetoric is on the rise that conflates these terrorists with the billions of peace-loving Muslims around the world. Furthermore, our St. Louis community has welcomed refugees and immigrants to our civic, academic, business and faith communities. Interfaith Partnership has consistently advocated for policies and practices that value newcomers to our area. Our moral imperative is to welcome and care for those in need. Additionally, data shows that the true inclusion of non-native-born persons generates regional prosperity for all. Unfortunately, we are still hearing rhetoric that characterizes immigrants and refugees as a threat to our security and culture.

Rev. C. Jessel Strong, cabinet chair

Dr. Paul F. Hintze, cabinet vice chair Interfaith Partnership

‘Major’ support for Innovative Academy

Judge Jimmie M. Edwards, founder of Innovative Concept Academy, received 25 laptop computers from Elson Williams, community affairs liaison for Major Brands. The Academy was founded by Judge Edwards to educate youth, teach life skills and respect for each other. These are the youth that have been expelled from public schools, disruptive in the class room and had problems with the law. “His program has given youth with serious problems help, pride and a chance to graduate,” Williams said. Judge Edwards has received recognition from the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Senate and will be inducted into the Missouri Public Service Hall of Fame on April 24. Contributions to the school are needed and accepted, payable to Innovative Concept Academy, PO Box 56509, St. Louis, Mo. 63106.

Nominate a Leader of Distinction

Nominations are now open for the YWCA Leader of Distinction award. Each year, YWCA Metro St. Louis honors women for their contributions in categories like Corporate Management, Entrepreneurship, Science and Technology, Government, Health, Communications, The Arts, Non-Profit, Education, Philanthropy/Community Volunteer and Racial Justice. The women chosen are leaders in their fields and personify YWCA’s mission of eliminating racism and empowering women. To nominate someone for the 2016 YWCA Leaders of Distinction, visit www.ywcastlouis.org.

County Library expands telescope program

St. Louis County Library is expanding its popular Borrow a Telescope program. Twelve additional telescopes are being added to the collection to help reduce wait time. Every open branch will now offer the scopes for check out. Previously, only nine branches were participating in the program. In total, 26 telescopes will be available. Since the program started in the fall of 2014, the telescopes have been checked out over 400 times. Currently, over 500 people are on the wait list for a telescope. Any adult library cardholder can check out a telescope for seven days. Patrons can place a request for a telescope at the circulation desk or by calling 314-994-3300. The telescope comes with tools, instructions and hints on where to look for various constellations.

Feed your life

By Rebeccah Bennett Guest columnist

Three months before I married, my mother called together 40 of the wisest women we know to help me prepare for my impending nuptials. We spent a weekend in the Ozarks talking about everything – love, sex, commitment, change, intimacy, betrayal, forgiveness, children.

The depth and breadth of our discussions were amazing, but the one that stood out for me the most was our conversation about magic versus management. My sister sages counseled that life’s rigors could overwhelm my new love and crowd out the delight that had brought my fiancé and I together. At the time, I didn’t really understand the extent to which grueling schedules, weighty commitments and challenging circumstances could suck the juice right out of life.

Well, years have since gone by, and I am now too familiar with the daily grind. Between work and home, I feel like a whirling dervish on my most relaxed days. Yet, all of this busy-ness has not brought me greater joy. My mile-long “to do” lists are missing bullets that say “experience miracles” and “focus on fulfillment.”

The good news is that I created my life’s frenzy and I have the power to moderate it. No, I’m not planning to abandon my family or close my business. But, I am choosing to share my life’s most precious resources – my presence, attention and time – differently.

n My mile-long “to do” lists are missing bullets that say “experience miracles” and “focus on fulfillment.”

You see, the sources of joy in my life have all too often gone neglected because of some more pressing need or responsibility. Well, I’ve begun changing this pattern and am choosing to feed more of that which feeds me. It turns out that the more attention I give to the relationships and activities that nourish me – the people and causes that really matter – the higher-quality energy I have to give to everything else. My grandmother’s old savings tip comes to mind: “Pay yourself first”! Doing this is one of the most effective ways of getting the happiness and fulfillment that I crave, though it requires a significant shift in my priorities. Feeding the people and work of my heart is essential to developing a more meaningful life. It also helps to mitigate daily stresses. Life’s challenges don’t magically disappear, but I am more aware of and open to the supports that surround me. And these supports, when properly valued, can help me to experience a more resilient, contented life.

Rebeccah Bennett is founder of Emerging Wisdom & InPower Institute.

Rebeccah Bennett

SLPS

Continued from A1 publisher of The St. Louis American, gave an emotional reminiscence.

“Ida Woolfolk was the quintessential St. Louisan. Her friendship and her willingness to help me to understand a city I was not native to were extraordinarily valuable to me,” Suggs said.

“She was a true icon in this community. She was a woman with great spirit, an incredible memory – and an incredible sense of humor. No person was more beloved by the community than Ida, and many, many people will miss her. I can’t imagine St. Louis without her irrepressible spirit and wit. She was a joy.”

U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, knew Ms. Woolfolk since childhood.

“St. Louis is mourning the loss of a great lady who did so much good and served so well for decades,” Clay said. “Miss Ida was not only a trusted friend and great supporter, she was truly a mentor to me and so many others. We will never forget this incredible lady, educator and true civic treasure.”

Everybody knew her name

The phrase “she never met a stranger” was deeply true of Ms. Woolfolk.

“Do I know Miss Ida?

She was my counselor at Northwest,” Angela Winbush once said when someone attempted to familiarize the famous singer with Ms. Woolfolk.

Everyone knew her – and she actually knew them too.

“I could have never asked for a better friend, confidant, mentor, supporter and advisor,” McMillan posted on Facebook. “We truly ‘got’ each other for almost 25 years. We were with each other through every good and bad thing that ever happened to each other and, for that, I thank God for blessing her to be in my life. This city will never see another Ida Woolfolk.”

In lieu of introductions, Ms. Woolfolk would often take the liberty of gloriously announcing the attributes she most admired, or recent accomplishments, between the people within her personal space. Often, people would be taken aback because they didn’t know she had observed them. She knew the proficiencies of everyone within an earshot, and she could instinctively pair people in order to accomplish a mutually beneficial objective.

“Ida listened to people, and then she would connect people with each other and with a shared positive purpose,” George said. Because she lived for serving as mistress of ceremonies for community banquets, luncheons and

n

dinners, she was sometimes was referred to as a socialite. To others, she was a social worker, administrator, community leader or educator. Above all, she was a master investor who specialized in the region’s most valuable resource – its people.

Her long service to the Saint Louis Public Schools began as an educator and counselor, where she tapped into the potential of her students and aided them in crafting a personalized path to success.

“No person was more beloved by the community than Ida, and many, many people will miss her.”

–

Donald M. Suggs

By the time she retired, she was one of the district’s highest-ranking administrators. She took her natural gift for connecting people and created bridges between the district and the region’s political, corporate and faith communities.

To see the ritual that started her workday at SLPS headquarters was downright fascinating.

It would take her about 20 minutes to get from the front door to her desk because she would embark on engaging conversations with every single person she met on the way, starting with the security guard when she entered the building.

“Gladys, how is your girl?”

Ms. Woolfolk would ask the custodian.

They bonded over being

mothers to only one child – a girl. Both were known for pouring praises upon their daughters, and their exchanges ended up with a friendly battle of bragging on them.

Her conversations with Gladys were conducted with the same grace and dignity as when she spoke with then Superintendent Cleveland Hammonds – which wasn’t lost on Gladys.

Ms. Woolfolk and her daughter shared a special bond – but it seemed to be the same with her entire family, especially her sisters Irene E. Graham and Agnes Hughes.

“Look at ‘em – I call them the golden girls,” Woolfolk’s nephew Charles Creath once said as they sat laughing amongst themselves over

refreshments during an opening night reception of a Black Rep show where he served as musical director.

The nickname came from the popular sitcom featuring a group of inseparable senior citizen women who managed to live agelessly – which perfectly summed them up.

Sadly, her sister Agnes Hughes passed away in a similarly sudden manner in December 2014.

“I was going to shy away from the spotlight after I lost my dear sister Agnes,” Ms. Woolfolk said during her hosting duties at the 12th Annual Salute to Women Leadership Dinner presented by The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis last year. “But the outpouring of love, support and condolences, let me tell you, it has been just wonderful – and I’m here because I believe that’s what Agnes would’ve wanted.”

So she continued to let her light shine – right up until the very end.

of family and friends.

Final arrangements for Ida Goodwin Woolfolk are as follows.

Services will begin next Saturday, April 2 with a noon visitation and 3 p.m. memorial service at Kennerly Temple Church of God in Christ, 4307 Kennerly, St. Louis, MO 63113.

On Sunday April 3, Ms. Woolfolk will lie in state in the St. Louis Hall City Rotunda from noon until 4 p.m., where the public is invited to pay their final respects.

A private burial and repast will take place on Monday. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for contributions in her name to: Meds & Food For Kids 4488 Forest Park Ave. #230, St. Louis, MO 63108. Robert Duffy of St. Louis Public Radio also contributed to this report.

Ms. Woolfolk is survived by her daughter Sarah Woolfolk

Edwards, two grandsons, her sister Irene Graham and a host

Ida Goodwin-Woolfolk with David Steward

Ida with NAACP’s Rev. Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks

Ida with Michael McMillan, David Price and grandchildren Christopher and Caleb Edwards

Ida with her nephew Charles Creath

Ida Goodwin Woolfolk Ida with Michael McMillan and Martin L. Mathews Ida on the podium

Ida with Angela Winbush

Ida with Pam Webb, Jackie and Lou Brock, Michael McMillan and Anna Maria Horsford

Ida with former Congressman William L. Clay and Henry Brown

Ida with sisters Agnes Hughes and Irene E. Graham, and former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin

Ida with James M. Whittico, MD

Ida with Michael Pearson, Michael McMillan, Michael Eric Dyson and Vickie Pearson

leaders – or “superheroes,” as they say – and to improve relations between police and the youth. Community organizer and Ferguson protestor Bruce Franks Jr. leads the effort, which is based in South City.

On Saturday, 28 to Life held its first “Bridging the Gap” charity game in hopes of bringing community members and police together.

“It’s important to have something like this to show that everyone is human,” said VonDerrit Myers Sr., whose son was shot and killed by a city officer who since resigned. “Police are human, and this allows them to see that we are human too.”

Franks honored three families whose loved ones died at the hands of police, including VonDerrit Myers Jr., 18, Cary Ball Jr., 25, and Michael Brown Jr., 18. Members of all three of families attended the game to receive the recognition.

Franks also honored three police officers who were killed in the line of duty, including Nicholas Sloan, 24, Norvelle Brown, 22, and Daryl Hall, 34. The police team members received the recognition for the officers.

The two teams were neckand-neck almost the entire game, making for a loud, lively

HOLMES

Continued from A1 its 360 drugs (in more than 800 strengths) can be purchased

crowd of about 50. Several officers in uniform lined the back wall and watched the game quietly, while community members jumped up and down from their seats and yelled.

Alderman Chris Carter of Ward 27 and Carlos Ball, Cary’s brother, played on the 28 to Life team. Several of the players had high school and even college basketball experience, but the team had

for $20 for a 180-day supply. Rx Outreach has now saved 243,000 patients (in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) some $387 million in medications. That would not be a bad

– Bruce Franks Jr.

never played a game together, Franks said.

The police team, on the other hand, plays together twice a week, Ross said. It includes n “You find those officers that you can link with and bridge the gap.”

officers from downtown, the Second and Third districts.

They’ve taken on Harris-Stowe State University basketball freshmen and firefighters and

lifetime of work. But, as he said, he is not done yet. He turned over the operational reins at Rx Outreach to Darryl Munden, who is now the non-profit’s president and CEO, but Holmes

remains as chair of the Board of Directors. Turning over a company that he founded is itself an achievement of a lifetime in St. Louis, where so many executive entrepreneurs suffer from Founder’s

“When they were able to meet officers like Srgt. Ross, they didn’t realize that not all officers are alike,” Franks said. “You find those officers that you can link with and bridge the gap.”

Ross has been working with Franks since he started 28 to Life, and both community and police involvement have grown, they said. Currently there are 300 youth members and 24 mentors. Franks has hosted several events where police, including St. Louis Police Commissioner Sam Dotson, spoke with youth. However, this was the first community-wide event, and they plan on having more of them.

VonDerrit Myers Sr. said it was personally comforting for him to attend the event.

“We’re afraid for our children to walk up and down the street – not just because of regular people, but police officers as well,” Myers said. “This helps show the community that there are some good officers.”

almost always came out on top, he said.

Despite the police team’s upset loss, Ross said the event overall was a win. Several of the 28 to Life team probably wouldn’t have had any positive interaction with police until the initiative started, Ross said.

Franks agreed. Most of the group’s mentors and youth have had numerous negative encounters with police, he said.

Syndrome and simply are unwilling to step down.

Unlike so many others, Holmes trusted someone else to take his vision further than he had taken it himself.

“Darryl was ready to lead,” Holmes said. “I didn’t want to stand in his way. It wasn’t that I was bored or wanted to stop being active. But when you help prepare someone, once they are ready you owe it to them to give them a genuine opportunity.”

Chairing the Rx Outreach board only scratches the surface of Holmes’ continuing service to health care in St. Louis. Widely respected for his keen managerial acumen and effectiveness, he is actively sought out for board service.

He serves on the Board of Directors for BJC HealthCare, the state’s largest health care system and the region’s largest employer. He also chairs BJC’s Compensation and Human Resources Committee.

“Diversity is one of the performance objectives for the organization, as is its overall impact on making St. Louis healthier,” he said of his BJC board service.

Ross said it’s the same on the reverse side.

“It lets officers know that everyone’s not criminals and up to no good,” he said. “I grew up on the South Side, so I know both sides. It’s nothing but a beautiful thing going on here.”

Follow this reporter on Twitter @RebeccaRivas.

operations role at Rx Outreach, he finds himself spending more and more time “mentoring younger people trying to make it in St. Louis,” he said.

“People call wanting to talk careers, situations they face and how they should handle them, career changes. I line up the right resources, find people opportunities, give them some corporate insights.”

He has a lifetime of corporate insights from more than 30 years working with a who’s who of corporate giants, including Monsanto, PepsiCo, Continental Airlines, Edward Jones and Express Scripts.

n “I’ve been blessed in life, so I continue to give back.”

He serves on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors for the United Way of Greater St. Louis, the region’s largest source of philanthropic funding and a lifeline for many health care agencies.

– Michael Holmes, 2016 Lifetime Achiever in Health Care

“I make sure organizations stay focused on their mission and focused on the appropriate diversity to reflect the communities they serve,” Holmes said.

Previously he served on the Board of Directors of Ascension, based in St. Louis, the nation’s largest non-profit health system and the largest Catholic health system in the world. Years ago he also brought the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America back from the edge of financial ruin as chair of its national Board of Directors.

All of this non-profit board service was and is uncompensated. “I’ve been blessed in life, so I continue to give back,” he said.

He also gives very generously of his time to younger professionals who are trying to find their paths to success. Since he left his

“I tell people things that might be helpful,” Holmes said. “It winds up taking up a lot more time than you realize.”

He and his wife, Gail Holmes, maintain their home base in St. Louis, but they also have a home in the St. Petersburg area. They have had the place in Florida for four years, but were able to visit for no more than 15 days per year before he stepped down at Rx Outreach. This year, he said, they already have spent close to 30 days in the Florida sun. But even there, he works to better St. Louis. “In Florida, I spend half my time on the phone or computer talking to people back in St. Louis,” he said. “My wife is not always thrilled. Especially since I am supposed to be retired.”

He said the word “retired” with implied quotation marks. He does, however, anticipate an even more active future role – but doing what and where, he does not know.

“I’m not actively seeking, but I’m open if God leads me,” he said. “I don’t think I will ever quote ‘retire’ and stop doing anything, but what I do will change, as it has in the past. I never really knew what was next for me. God always had a plan for my life.”

Tickets for the 16th Annual Salute to Excellence in Health Care Awards Luncheon on Friday, April 29 at the Frontenac Hilton are $750 per table for VIP/Corporate seating and $50 each/$500 table for Individual seating. To order tickets, call 314-5338000 or visit www.stlamerican.

St. Louis city police officers competed in basketball with mentors and youth members of 28 to Life at the Marquette Park Recreation Center on Saturday, March 26. The 28 to Life initiative, led by Bruce Franks Jr., aims to empower youth to be strong and to improve relations with the police.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Prop 1 would make SLPS salaries more competitive

The experience levels of St. Louis Public School (SLPS) teachers and principals are steadily dropping, district leaders say. And that is a major reason why they are asking city residents to support a property tax increase of 75 cents per $100 in assessed value on the April 5 ballot. The tenure decline is directly related to the district’s inability to provide competitive wages, said Edmond Heatley, the district’s chief human resources officer. SLPS has not been able to compete with regional districts’ salaries since 2009, Heatley said. Starting pay for a SLPS teacher is $38,250, which is in line with several districts in St. Louis County. However after the first three years, “we lose our competitive edge. County schools always give us a run for our money,” he said. He included Hazelwood, Ladue, Webster, Riverview Gardens and Jennings school districts in those that outmatch SLPS. In Kirkwood, starting pay is $43,000. Before 2009, the teachers’ and administrators’ average tenure was 10 years or more. Now the average is five to seven years of experience, he said.

“When we recruit, we put a lot of money into training,” he said. “We lose that investment when teachers leave us. We have hard-to-fill areas. We want to make sure every position is filled on day one.”

This is the first time since 1991 that the district has requested a permanent property tax increase. The tax increase equates to an additional $71.25 per year for the owner of a $50,000 home, or $107.25 per year for the owner of a $75,000 home. This increase would generate an estimated $27.8 million in new revenue each year for the district and charter schools in the city. If approved by voters, Proposition 1 funds would be used to continue offering early childhood education, expand character and alternative education options, improve safety and security equipment and personnel, and offer more competitive salaries to teachers and staff.

MSD on ballot twice

The Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) has two

Edwardsville, he held positions as an administrator, principal and supervisor in other school districts. Novel has put forth four main goals: to maintain the college’s fiscal responsibility, expand its outreach, increase programming options and recruit and retain quality faculty and staff.

Novel has two challengers. Theodis Brown Sr., chief of the Castlepoint Fire Protection Association (a perennial candidate who previously won the seat and resigned, resulting in Novel’s appointment); and Candace D. Gardner, a special education instructor at Northview Elementary School in the Jennings School district. Incumbent Craig Larson was the only person to file for the seat in Subdistrict 4. In accordance with state statutes, there will be no election for that seat. Larson will be sworn in for his second six-year term at the college’s April 28 board of trustees meeting.

New Pine Lawn

propositions (Y and S) on the ballot. MSD’s service area includes all 62 square miles of St. Louis city and 462 square miles (approximately 90 percent) of St. Louis County - serving about 1.3 million people.

Proposition Y asks voters in St. Louis and St. Louis County to approve a $900 million bond issue for wastewater improvement projects. The federal government is requiring MSD to complete these projects in order to prevent wastewater from ending up in Missouri rivers. They are part of the district’s $4.7 billion, 23-year federal consent decree with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Missouri Coalition for the Environment.

As MSD has done in the past (2004, 2008 and 2012), it

is presenting voters with two options for financing the next four of years of work. The federal agreement calls for $1.5 billion in wastewater projects from July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2020. If voters approve Prop Y, the average single family home’s monthly MSD bill eventually increases from today’s $40.72 per month to $60.44 per month on July 1, 2019. If voted down, annual wastewater rate increases in the near term will be even higher. For example, the average single family home’s monthly MSD bill eventually increases from today’s $40.72 per month to $95.13 per month on July 1, 2019. However, the overall long-term cost of this work would be less.

At a March 28 press conference, minority business advocates asked residents to vote down Prop Y because they say MSD cannot tell taxpayers how many minority workers have been employed on the $755 million in construction that has already been contracted. The group said MSD has defaulted on a legally binding Community Benefits Agreement, which includes requirements for hiring minority businesses and workers.

Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis City NAACP, said the sewer district has not been hiring workers from the First Source Hiring list, which includes local, skilled workers who are unemployed or earn low incomes.

“The people on these lists have children they want to feed,” he said. “They deserve the right to work for MSD. Up until that’s happening, the question is: Why should we as taxpayers give MSD another $900 million?”

Yaphett El-Amin, executive director of MOKAN, said approving Prop Y is not residents’ only option. The sewer district can come back with the proposition in August and show it has complied with the Community Benefits Agreement, she said.

“We don’t want people to

believe that this is the only bite at the apple,” said El-Amin. “They need to come back to the drawing table.”

Also on the ballot, Proposition S is basically asking for a revamp of the stormwater tax structure. Under the current structure, not all customers pay the same or get the same level of service.

If approved, those who live in St. Louis County along the Interstate 170 beltway would see a drop in property tax by an average of $22. But in St. Louis County past the I-270 beltway, property tax bills would increase by an average of $47. In St. Louis, tax bills would increase by an average of 72 cents.

Derek Novel for trustee

In this past year, the feds have almost completely dismantled Pine Lawn’s business-as-usual “shake down” regime. In July, the North St. Louis County municipality’s former mayor Sylvester Caldwall was sentenced to 33 months in prison for extorting and trying to extort money from two businesses. Then in January, former police lieutenant Steven Blakeney was convicted of criminal civil rights charges arising from his arrest in 2013 of a mayoral candidate. He faces 20 years in prison.

Now the Pine Lawn Coalition, led by Roslyn Brown, is trying to restore the community by backing a slate of aldermanic and mayoral candidates in the April 5 election.

Derek Novel was appointed by the St. Louis Community College Board of Trustees to fill a recent vacancy on the seven-member board. Novel is now the incumbent on the ballot seeking to complete the remaining four years of the unexpired term for Subdistrict 1 of the St. Louis Community College. This subdistrict is large and diverse. It encompasses numerous communities and the 10 school districts of Clayton, FergusonFlorissant, Hazelwood, Jennings, Ladue, Normandy, Pattonville, Ritenour, Riverview Gardens and University City.

Novel earned a bachelor’s degree in social studies from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He taught history for 14 years at McCluer North and McCluer High Schools. After earning his master’s degree in educational administration at Southern Illinois University-

“Our journey began when Sylvester was in place, and Steve was policing the streets gangland-style,” she said. “I became the social justice advocate.” In 2014, Brown said the group wrote letters to St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch and congressmen to inform them about these violations.

“I applaud the FBI for coming,” she said. “We were waiting on Superman and they came in, removing them both from our community.”

Since then, many of Caldwell’s staff have left. Brown said the community feels hopeful that this election could bring a renaissance to the municipality of about 3,400 people. The coalition’s slate includes: Debra Gomez for Ward 1 Alderman, Roslyn Brown for Ward 2 Alderman, Elwyn Walls for Ward 4 Alderman, Nakisha Smith for Ward 4 Alderman (the unexpired term seat), and Kellie Shelton for mayor.

“When we go door to door, the first thing they say is, ‘We haven’t heard from anyone in years,’” Brown said. The coalition is holding its Rock the Vote kickoff 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday, April 2 at the Petlon Jackson Municipal Park.

Photo by Wiley Price

Jeff Stewart looked over voter information prepared by advocates of Proposition 1 at a rally held at Holiday Inn St. Louis on March 30.

Derek Novel

Emotional well-being

An April 7 For the Sake of All Community Forum

How do you invest in a community’s emotional well-being? That is the topic of discussion for the next gathering For the Sake of All, Thursday, April 7 at 3 p.m. at the Saint Louis Science Center. Jason Q. Purnell, a public health psychologist and lead researcher of For the Sake of All, said that type of investing manifests in a number of ways.

“One, it means that we have to have better access to behavioral health treatment, particularly in areas of high need,

n It’s more of, ‘what can you do in terms of advocacy – activities that can support emotional well-being in St. Louis.’

– Jason, Q. Purnell, For the Sake of All

but before we even do that, we have to work at reducing the stigma around behavioral

health, mental health and substance abuse issues,” Purnell said. “That’s particularly pertinent to the African-American community –getting away from the notion that if you need to seek behavioral health treatment, that there is something wrong with you.”

Other indicators of a community’s emotional well-being include integration of behavioral health into primary care and other health care settings. Purnell said this allows treatment to

See FORUM, A11

JJK fitness classes at Myrtle Hilliard Davis

Myrtle Hilliard Davis Comprehensive Health Centers Inc. partnered with Jackie Joyner- Kersee to launch free eight-week fitness classes, one for seniors (ages 55+) and a separate fitness class for youth (ages 5 to 18). Physical activity is essential to healthy living and regular physical activity is one of the most significant things you can do for your health.

The classes take place at the health center at 5471 Dr. Martin Luther King Dr., St. Louis (63112). The hour-long classes are held on Wednesdays, from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. for seniors; and youth classes are held 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. – and are tailored to an individual’s specific needs of physical activity. Wear comfortable clothing that do not restrict movement. At each of the sessions, a nurse will measure progress by taking the weight, height, blood pressure, pulse and BMI of each participant. A physician and nurses are available at each session. For more information, call 314367-5820.

Why is St. Louis losing so many babies?

By Will Ross, MD, MPH Associate Dean for Diversity and Professor of Medicine Washington University School of Medicine

Everyone should have the same opportunity to live a healthy and productive life – starting from the day you are born. But many of our babies in St. Louis aren’t given that chance.

There are neighborhoods in St. Louis City and County with infant death rates worse than some thirdworld countries. Leaders worldwide look at infant mortality rates as the strongest predictor of a community’s overall health and well-being. So, what does that say about St. Louis?

I would say that we have a public health crisis, which is equal in severity to the level of gun violence we see in our community. But, while there’s been broad and justiiable public interest in reducing gun violence, the topic of infant mortality seems to stay below the radar. This is despite the fact that in 2013, the number of Missouri babies who died before their irst birthday was almost double the number of all Missourians who were murdered by irearms.

n We need to stop blaming mothers and instead look at how we can support families and develop region-wide policies that help reduce infant deaths.

– Will Ross MD, MPH

The health of our babies is critical because it impacts our entire community. Every baby’s death robs us of his or her potential contributions to our society. And, each neighbor, family member or friend who loses a baby faces enormous emotional suffering. These devastating social impacts are paired with inancial strains. Each year, premature births cost Missouri taxpayers $180 million in immediate and shortterm costs. No mother wants to lose a child; the emotional, psychological and even physical consequences of an infant death can be devastating and long-lasting. We need to stop blaming mothers and instead look at how we can support families and develop regionwide policies that help reduce infant deaths. Small changes can make a big difference, such as making it easier for pregnant women to enroll in CHIP for low-cost health care, or increasing funding for public health nurses who can visit moms to connect them with existing resources.

We also must bring the different and intersecting health, social and economic pieces of the puzzle together in order to accelerate needed policy changes. Lack of access to reliable transportation makes it hard to make prenatal health appointments and keep a job. Living in unsafe areas increases stress and makes it hard to venture out of your home to get exercise. Lack of opportunities to ind living-wage jobs increases

See ROSS, A11

At a For the Sake of All community forum held in St. Louis last year on March 12, 2015, moderator Rebecca Bennett led a discussion on ways to improve public health by investing in early childhood education.

Will Ross, MD, MPH Photo by Wiley Price

Taxes and health care coverage

Last year, millions of people purchased quality, affordable coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace, and most benefitted from advance payments of the premium tax credit that lowered their monthly premiums. With the tax filing deadline a few weeks away, it’s a good time to remind everyone – both new and renewing consumers – about what they need to know when they file their taxes.

By now, all Marketplace consumers should have received a statement in the mail from the Marketplace called a Form 1095-A. These statements include important information needed to complete and file a tax return. Marketplace consumers who received advance payments of the premium tax credit are required to file a tax return to reconcile that financial assistance. This is similar to the reconciliation process for taxes withheld from wages during the year – consumers receive a larger or smaller refund depending on whether the appropriate taxes were withheld based on the tax filer’s actual income and other factors.

delayed, and are not eligible to receive advance payments of the premium tax credit in future years.

Individuals with Marketplace or other types of health coverage may also have received additional forms called a Form 1095-B or 1095-C from their employer, insurance company, or the government program that provides their coverage, like Medicare or Medicaid.

n An important reminder: Since most tax filers use a tax preparer or tax preparation software, most filers just need to answer questions when prompted.

Taxpayers don’t need to attach this information to their return or wait to receive the form before filling their federal taxes, but should keep it in a safe place with other tax records. We are here to help. Marketplace consumers having questions should contact the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596 with questions or get more resources and information at www. healthcare.gov/taxes or www. IRS.gov/aca.

Five tips for tax filers

It’s extremely important that those who received advance payments of the premium tax credit reconcile these payments when they file their tax return. Individuals who do not do so will generally see their refunds

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Continued from A10

happen in a co-located space with providers talking with and consulting with each other, “so that your primary health care physician or whoever it is that is caring for you physical health is also in touch with behavioral health professionals.” He said there is also a need for mental health information beyond hospital data.

“That’s not the true prevalence of mental health problems – that’s just people who made it to the hospital,” Purnell said. “We need better data to know what the true prevalence is, and that can help us to plan for – even to the level of geography – where is the need.”

Sharing information across providers would also allow better tracking of patient care, he added.

Purnell, associate professor at the Brown School at Washington University, said this community forum has two parts. The first, from 3 p.m. –5 p.m., will have participants break out into small discussion groups, using tool kits sent to

1. Most people just need to check a box: The vast majority of tax filers have qualifying coverage (including employer coverage, Medicare, Medicaid, or other coverage) and will just need to check a box when they file their taxes to indicate that that everyone in their household had coverage for 2015. The new form, a Form 1095-B or a Form 1095-C received

from the coverage provider is for you to keep in a safe place with other tax records.

2. Marketplace consumers must file a tax return to reconcile any advance payment of the premium tax credit they received in order to maintain eligibility for future help: By now, all Marketplace consumers should have received a statement in the mail from the Marketplace called a Form 1095-A. These statements include important information needed to complete and file a tax return. It’s extremely important that those who received advance

those who pre-register, and a keynote address by Bethany Johnson-Javois, CEO of the Integrated Health Network (who also served as the man-

High schoolers take on half marathon

More than 429 high school students and administrators from 15 schools will be a part of the fitness and character–building program, Students on the GO!, which is aimed at fighting youth obesity, while also encouraging overall fitness and health. Participants have been attending training sessions since November in preparation for reaching their 13.1 mile goal. In addition, students are encouraged to develop healthy eating habits and to give back to their community.

The 15 partner St. Louis area high schools are: Central Visual & Performing Arts, Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience, Collinsville, Gateway STEM, Lindbergh, McCluer North, Mehlville , Metro Academic & Classical, Oakville, Parkway Central, Parkway North, Parkway West, Pattonville, Ritenour and University City.

Jason Purnell, PhD., MPH, assistant professor, Brown School, WUSTL

payments of the premium tax credit reconcile these payments when they file their tax return. Individuals who do not do so will generally see their refunds delayed, and are not eligible for advance payment of premium tax credits in future years.

3. The fee for not having coverage is increasing. For those who could afford health insurance and chose not to get coverage, the fee for not having minimum essential coverage in 2015 has increased to 2 percent of household income or $325 per person. The fee is pro-rated based on how many months a person is uninsured. The

entry to take action within their own communities around the topic of emotional well-being.

“There will be various organizations and agencies. Folks can take the next steps and learn more about what they are doing in the community and potentially sign up on-the-spot for things that they can do,” Purnell said. “This is not a resource fair in terms of where you can get behavioral health treatment. It’s more of, ‘what can you do in terms of advocacy – activities that can support emotional well-being in St. Louis.’”

The Brown School at Washington, Missouri Foundation for Health, Alive and Well STL, St. Louis Regional Health Commission, Behavioral Health Network of Greater St. Louis and Focus St. Louis are partners in this For the Sake of All, which strives to improve the health and well-being of African Americans in St. Louis.

You can join the conversation at #EmotionallyWellSTL.

aging director of the Ferguson Commission). The second part, beginning at 5 p.m. is an interactive open house, where participants can find points of

Advanced registration is online at https://forthesakeofall. org/events/.Onsite registration at is available on the day of the event, starting at 2:30 p.m.

Urban clinics need mental health treatment

A study of patients at the BJC Center for Outpatient Health revealed nearly half (45 percent) of primary care patients surveyed had a diagnosed mental health problem – the most common one being depression. Led by Darrell Hudson, assistant professor at Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, researchers got permission to analyze the electronic medical record data from 767 patients. African Americans and Medicaid patients were more likely to have the diagnosis.

“The biggest take away to me is the high prevalence of mental health conditions among this population of primary care patients,” Hudson said. The Center has medical and mental health treatment options in the same building, perhaps allowing patients to needed services in one location.

“Other health care organizations and facilities may uncover unmet mental health needs if they move to more integrated, coordinated models of care,” Hudson added. The study is in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved.

fee goes up again for 2016. If someone doesn’t have coverage or an exemption in the 2016 calendar year, but could afford coverage, the fee increases to $695 per person or 2.5% of income, whichever is higher.

The vast majority of tax filers have qualifying coverage (including employer coverage, Medicare, Medicaid, or other coverage) and will just need to check a box when they file their taxes to indicate that that everyone in their household had coverage for 2015.

4. Some people who didn’t have health coverage in 2015 will qualify for an exemption: While those who can afford health coverage but chose not to enroll generally have to pay a fee, some people who couldn’t afford coverage or met other conditions can receive an exemption. You can find out more information online from the Marketplace or IRS at https://www. healthcare.gov/health-coverage-exemptions/exemptionsfrom-the-fee or https://www. irs.gov/Affordable-Care-Act/ Individuals-and-Families.

5. Help is available. If people have questions about Marketplace tax forms, qualifying for exemptions, or the fee, they should contact the Marketplace Call Center. The call center is open all day, every day at 1-800-318-2596. Additional resources and information for is also available at www.healthcare.gov/taxes or www.IRS.gov/aca

ROSS

Continued from A10

n In 2013, the number of Missouri babies who died before their irst birthday was almost double the number of all Missourians who were murdered by irearms.

– Will Ross MD, MPH

inancial stress and makes it dificult to afford healthy foods. That is why I became involved with FLOURISH St. Louis, an initiative funded and supported by Missouri Foundation for Health working in coordination with the Maternal, Child & Family Health Coalition. Its aim is to bring all areas of our community together to reduce infant mortality. The FLOURISH St. Louis cabinet of moms, dads and community and business leaders is listening to the community, looking at data and seeing what other cities have done to help their babies. Together, they will identify the next best steps and bring the right resources together to reduce infant deaths. You can help. I invite you to visit www.lourishstlouis. org to learn what you can do to help reduce infant deaths in our region, including: sharing your ideas on challenges families face in having a healthy pregnancy and baby, ideas on what should be done to address St. Louis’ high infant death rate; writing a Letter of Love to show pregnant and new moms in St. Louis that their entire city supports them and joining a Workgroup to help bring FLOURISH St. Louis initiatives to life.

Let’s come together to make St. Louis a place where babies thrive and families lourish.

Zoo connects human and animal health

The Saint Louis Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Medicine, Saint Louis University and Washington University medical schools join the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine to sponsor a “One Health” fair on Saturday, April 16, from 9 a.m. to noon. The One Health concept is a worldwide strategy for expanding interdisciplinary collaboration and communication in all aspects of health care for humans, animals and the environment – all in the interest of advancing the health of each, with an emphasis on prevention.

At the Zoo, medical and veterinary students and Zoo staff, from keepers, zoological managers, veterinarians, technicians to educators – will discuss the links between wildlife conservation and human health.

Admission to the Saint Louis Zoo and all One Health activities are free. For more information, call (314) 781–0900 or visit www.stlzoo.org/OneHealth.

Darrell Hudson

‘Yes’

on Prop F means fire trucks

By Comptroller

Green Guest columnist

Columnist Darlene Green

“We

being

covered or may not be covered while repairs are being done. When you order apparatus, it takes a year, so you’re looking at the earliest 2017. Frankly, we need something sooner.” Taxes will not increase because bonds can be issued using the current tax levy. To lessen financial burdens on residents during the past recession, city leaders decreased the tax levy and reduced property taxes. The tax levy dropped from a high 30 cents to a low 13 cents today. I’m confident that St. Louisans will support our firefighters and help the city address crucial capital needs by voting “yes”

By Patrick A. Lynn

columnist

Darlene

WEEK 30

ONE SMALL CHANGE is an ongoing series that challenges us to take very small steps toward being more environmentally-friendly. If we all participate then ONE SMALL CHANGE can make a big difference! participate, then ONE SMALL CHANGE can make a big difference!

CARPOOL TO SCHOOL!

Nearly every day we pile into our cars and head to school or work. Many times we’re getting into separate cars and drive the exact same route when we could just as easily share a ride. Do you have space in your car and have friends from school who live near you? Talk to your parents first but this might be one small change you can make immediately.

Most students live within 2 miles of their school and that means you could probably catch a ride or give one to a friend. By removing a car from the road we save 3.9 pounds of toxic emissions, $1.66 in gas money, per day. As gas prices go up this Spring your community will save even more money by setting up a carpool schedule. In an entire school year you could save more than 700 pounds of toxic emissions!

PRESENT:

Healthy Kids Kids

Healthcare Careers

Think Lifestyle, Not Diet!

Exercise Game

Perhaps you’ve decided to eat healthier. Don’t think of these healthy changes as “going on a diet.” Instead, think of these smart choices as a new, healthier lifestyle. You can do this by forming new habits. For example, if you decide to eliminate sugary drinks completely, it only takes a few weeks until this becomes what you’re used to. Here are the steps to making a healthy permanent change. We‘ll use the sugary drink change as an example.

Let’s make a game out of exercise!

First, locate either a deck of cards or two dice.

Next you’ll need to make a list of different types of exercise: jumping jacks, sit-ups, lunges, etc. Write each exercise item on a small piece of paper or index

When you are riding in a car, there are a number of things you can do to keep you (and other people in the car) safe. Here are just a few:

Auto Safety

> Stay seated on the car seat and ALWAYS wear a seatbelt.

> Do not fight, yell or throw things — this could distract the driver.

> Decide you’re going to switch from soda to water.

> Start by substituting one drink per day to water.

> Every few days increase the amount of water and decrease your soda intake.

> After 3-4 weeks, this change will become a habit.

When you automatically reach for water instead of soda, it has now become a lifestyle change!

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

card and fold into a small square. Put these squares into a bowl.

Take turns rolling the dice (or drawing a card) and selecting an exercise from the bowl. The total number on the dice or card tells you how many of the exercise you must do. Face cards (king,

> Keep your arms inside the vehicle at all times.

> Never toss anything out the window — No Littering!

> Can you think of other Car Safety Tips?

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 5, NH 1, NH 5, NH 7, SC 4

queen or jack) should all count as the number 10. Aces are “wild” and you can do as many as you want! To really challenge yourself, have one person roll the dice and the second can select the exercise. See who can complete the exercise challenge first!

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 4, HPE 5, NH 1

Healthier Deviled Eggs

Ingredients: 6 Hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut in half, ¼ Cp Plain greek yogurt, 2 Tsp Dijon mustard, Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions: Mix the yolks with the yogurt, mustard, salt and pepper until smooth. Optional: Top with chopped chives or green onions.

Cathy Wagner, Registered Nurse, Operating Room Supervisor

Where do you work? I work at Christian Hospital with BJC HealthCare.

Where did you go to school? I graduated from Sumner High School and earned an Associate of Sciences degree in nursing from St. Louis Community College –Florissant Valley and I’m currently pursuing a Bachelor of Nursing from St. Louis University with a projected graduation of May 2017.

What does a registered nurse do? Most of the time I arrange the surgery cases and the staff to fit into the schedule each day, like puzzle pieces. Sometimes a surgery will take longer than originally scheduled, so the puzzle pieces need to be moved around. I also get to see the inside of the body, including inside bones and organs like the kidneys and colon. Occasionally, I get to be the person who hands the scalpel to the surgeon. Why did you choose this career? When I was young, I went to the hospital to visit a relative and I remember the nurses that came into the room were all very nice. I really enjoy talking to people that are from all walks of life and help them reach their goals no matter what they are. What is your favorite part of the job you have? I chose to be a surgical nurse because I can help people who are sick and need surgery. I knew I could help them to feel better. Often people come to us who are in pain or are very afraid. We manage to comfort them and take away the thing that is hurting them.

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

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

CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT

Fairview Intermediate School

6th grade teacher

Latasha HarveySmith, shows students Myra Martin, JaVion Richard, Demelliah Tabron, Jeffe McCarthan-Johnson, Markell Abernathy how to use scent as a way of indentifying what’s in the cups as a STEM lesson using the newspaper.

Fairview Intermediate is in the Jennings School District.

Price/St. Louis American

by

Sociology is the study of human societies or groups. Sociology often includes anthropology.

(See last week’s STEM page for information on anthropology.)

Sociologists analyze how gender, age, race, religion, and environmental factors affect human behavior and interaction. The studies may be as small as the interaction between two people, to as big as the interaction between countries and nations. Sociologists often study such details as how the economy, crime

Look at the map above: Where are the Elvis Fans? Here you find each state in the U.S. color–coded according to its inhabitants’ tendency or inclination to purchase Elvis memorabilia. Do you notice a pattern, or are the colors randomly distributed? What accounts for these findings?

rate, or technology affects a group. Sociologist will also study marriage and divorce rates, and will evaluate trends

SCIENCE INVESTIGATION

in substance abuse and health issues in a community. These studies are helpful to people who are interested in resolving problems and creating rules and procedures. Examples of these people are educators, lawmakers, administrators, etc.

For more information, visit: http://www. kidzsearch.com/wiki/ Sociology.

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

Deliver A Message

In this experiment, you will use critical thinking and problem solving strategies to solve a problem.

Materials Needed:

• Paper & Pencil for writing a message

• Stuff From Around Your Classroom or House to build your message delivery system, ex: string, scissors, straws, balloons, plastic tubing, empty water bottles, corks, paper cups, masking tape, rubber bands, cardboard boxes

Your Goal:

Use your imagination and design a delivery system that gets messages from one place to another. The catch is, you can’t throw your message to the other team, and you can’t just get up and walk over with it.

MATH CONNECTION

Process:

Use materials you find around the classroom or house to build your message delivery system. Then, write a message and test it out. If the other team can receive and read your message, the design was successful. If your design was not successful, try again.

Evaluate:

What designs worked and what designs did not work? What techniques were most effective? Why?

Learning Standards: I can follow sequential directions to complete an experiment. I can evaluate results and draw conclusions.

Problem Solving

z If there are 98 students at an orchestra concert, and there are 3 seats open in each row, how many rows of seats will they need? ___________

x A restaurant is hosting a birthday party for 37 guests. If each table seats four people, how many tables are needed?

c 25 summer campers plan to take a boat ride on the lake. If each boat holds 5 passengers, how many boats will be needed? __________

People Do Amazing Things Every Day. Check Out These Facts...

James Earl Jones has one of the most wellknown voices, but as a child, he had a very bad stutter.

v A politician is ordering campaign posters. If the politician has $750 to spend and each poster costs $2.00, how many posters can he/she buy? ___________

b There are 358 students attending a field trip to the zoo. If students need to be in groups of 6, how many groups should they form? __________

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

Bill Gates began programming computers at age 13.

W.E.B. DuBois (civil rights activist and sociologist) said, “Now is the accepted time, not tomorrow, not some more convenient season. It is today that our best work can be done and not some future day or future year. It is today that we fit ourselves for the greater usefulness of tomorrow. Today is the seed time, now are the hours of work, and tomorrow comes the harvest and the playtime.”

SCIENCE

STARS

African-American Sociologist Cora Bagley Marrett

Early Life: Cora Bagley Marrett was born in Virginia in 1942 and was the youngest of 12 children. Her parents only had a 6th grade education and they encouraged their children to get more education so they could have a better life.

Education: B.A in Sociology from the Virginia Union University, M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She earned her Ph.D., which focused on the study of races, in 1968. In 1996, she received an honorary doctorate degree from Wake Forest University. Her research has been published in many academic journals.

Teaching: Marrett was a sociology professor at Western Michigan University, the University of North Carolina, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

National Science Foundation (NSF): Marrett is best known for her work with the National Science Foundation, where she has held many different leadership positions. In 1992, she was the first Assistant Director for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences. She then served as the Assistant Director for Education and Human Resources, where she promoted STEM education. In 2009, she became the Acting Deputy Director, and from 2010-2013, she served as the NSF Acting Director.

Committees: Marrett has served on many committees, lending her advice and expertise. She has worked with the United Negro College Fund, the National Institute of Health, the National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Congress.

Awards/Honors: Marrett was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She won the Distinguished Alumni Award Honoree in 2012 from the University of Wisconsin; she was nominated for a University Teaching Award at Western Michigan University, and earned the National Science Foundation’s Distinguished Service Award.

Awards: Jackson won the Distinguished Scholar Teacher Award at the University of Maryland and the Ernest E. Just Prize in Medical and Public Health Records.

Learning Standards: I can read a biography about a person who has made contributions in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. I can make text to world and text to text connections.

MAP CORNER

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

Activity One — Elected Officials: are the qualifications a person should have to hold public office? Make a list, and then see how the current office holders of candidates stack up. Use articles from this paper and other sources to find out about previous jobs, experiences, and other factors that make each candidate or office holder prepared to serve as an elected official.

Activity Two — Nations in the News: Scan the international news stories in the newspaper. Consult a map to determine what nations in the news have geographical features (rivers, oceans, mountains, etc.) that form their political boundaries. Are these geographical features related to why that particular nation is in the news?

Learning Standards: I can use a newspaper to locate information. I can make text to world connections. I can analyze data.

Photo

Wiley

Snoop Dogg made a rap song with astronaut Buzz Aldrin about landing on the moon.

By Chris King

Of The St. Louis American

Al Mitchell is no farmer. When he was growing up in North St. Louis, he said, he didn’t even know what a weed was: “I just thought that was bad grass.” But the path that led him to his current position as president of the Monsanto Fund started on a farm more than 8,000 miles away from his hometown.

Already the general auditor for Monsanto at the time, in 2008 Mitchell was nominated for an Eisenhower Fellowship by a fellow Monsanto executive and awarded the prestigious research opportunity. He chose to study in South Africa. As an African American who came of age in a deeply segregated St. Louis, Mitchell followed Nelson Mandela’s rise from political prisoner under apartheid to become his nation’s first black president.

Mitchell wanted to study how South Africa was “dealing with a lost generation because of apartheid from an educational perspective,” he said. He also wanted to study “corruption and its impact on the ability of a country to make economic gains.” Finally, he wanted to study the process of land being returned to small landholders who were forced to decide between

From accounting to philanthropy Why

By Genera Moore Guest columnist

Emmanuel S. Eneyo received a 2016 Golden Torch Award for Lifetime Achievement in Academia from the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). He is a professor of industrial engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where he advises the campus NSBE chapter. He served as director of industrial engineering 1999-2005 and guided the manufacturing engineering program through its first ABET accreditation visit in 2004.

Karlla Dozier is assistant dean of compliance & recruitment for Maryville University. She previously served as assistant director of career success & life coaching. She will direct and manage the Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action and Title IX programs. She will also manage campus-wide initiatives designed to increase diversity in Maryville University’s hiring practices.

Raghib Muhammad was chosen to become a University of Missouri-St. Louis EDprenuer in Residence. The EDprenuer in Residence program, a joint effort by MasterCard and UMSL’s College of Education, seeks educators who have ideas to innovate education. Muhammad will use his residency to further develop his Systems TeachingTM Framework. He is a marketing instructor at McCluer South-Berkeley High School.

Daffney Moore has been appointed as the new city administrator for the City of Dellwood. She previously served as the Economic Development director for the City of Berkeley in St. Louis County and was an urban planner with the Planning and Urban Design Agency of the City of St. Louis. She replaces Cordaryl Patrick, who now works for the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership.

Howard Richards joined the Board of Directors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis. A club alum and former NFL player, he serves as the senior manager of External Relations for the College of Arts & Science at the U.

Daffney Moore Howard Richards

Karlla Dozier

Photo by Wiley Price

Al Mitchell and his Monsanto Company audit team volunteered at Magnolia Head Start in 2010, working with children from five weeks to five years of age.

Photo courtesy of Al Mitchell

Keeping the peace between adult children in estate planning

By Nathaniel Sillin

When you die, will your kids fight over your money?

It’s an important question that might be hard to answer now, but parents who devote themselves to estate planning with relevant updates over their lifetimes can potentially keep arguments between adult children to a minimum.

As of 2013, American retirees are the sixth most generous in the world when it comes to the amount of assets passed on to family, according to a survey by HSBC, the global British bank. The latest survey (http://www.about.hsbc. com.au/news-and-media) noted that 56 percent of American retirees planned to leave an inheritance with an average amount of $176,814.

How you allocate your estate, no matter what the amount, requires planning and proper communication. Here are a few ways to start.

Know where you stand first. If you haven’t updated your estate planning in the last 5-10 years, do so now

MITCHELL

selling their new land to developers or – as Monsanto would prefer – going into the sustainable agriculture business (and possibly becoming a seed client of the company).

Mitchell spent five months in South Africa, mostly in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durbin. While he was there, Deborah Patterson, then president of the Monsanto Fund, the company’s

to fully understand your complete financial picture. Like all personal finance issues, estate planning should be adjusted when significant life changes happen or there is a major shift in assets, such as when a relative needs help. In short, your estate picture has to reflect current financial realities, so before you decide how to allocate your wealth either before or after you die, seek qualified financial, tax (https://www.irs.gov/ Businesses/Small-Businesses&-Self-Employed/Estate-andGift-Taxes) and estate advice.

Once you’ve determined distribution, confirm your plan. Managing money and family are usually parallel issues until the topic of estate planning arises. For some families, splitting money, property and possessions more or less equally among adult children is a smooth process. However, when it doesn’t result in the fairest outcome for everyone involved, it can be trickier to navigate. Varying situations for each child might mean that an even split won’t

philanthropic arm, connected him with Buhle Farmer’s Academy. The Monsanto Fund donated the academy some land and has awarded it grants for operations. The academy is located in Delmas, a small farming town about an hour northeast of Johannesburg. Mitchell was invited to speak at a graduation there. “I did not know what I was walking into,” Mitchell said. “I walked into a barn facility. Everybody’s family was there. One student was a 15-year-old kid. Another was a 73-year-old former featherweight champion

work. Once you are able to determine your assets, start thinking through how you can distribute them.

Re-affirm your executor and powers of attorney. Making a will and designating

boxer. All the families were applauding and cheering. I was so moved.”

When he returned to St. Louis, Mitchell told Hugh Grant, Monsanto chairman and chief executive officer, and other executives about the experience. “Everybody should go out and see this,” he told them, “and then they would understand what we do and the impact it has on other people.”

He had been bitten, hard, by the philanthropy bug. Patterson noticed and went to work on him. She helped him get on the boards of directors of several

various health, financial and business powers of attorney as applicable are the standard first steps in estate planning. Certain kinds of trusts might also be relevant. Generally it’s good to have documents in place (http://www.

area non-profits, including College Bound. “That hit home,” Mitchell said. “The kids were in impoverished neighborhoods, in the city and North County.” Mitchell knew both; he grew up in North St. Louis and, later, in Ferguson –“a mere five blocks away from Ground Zero,” he said. “I could see myself in them.”

Patterson, it seemed, could see herself in Mitchell. “I am connected to St. Louis and making sure it’s a thriving community and, much like Deborah, I think I can be a model for folks who come from

practicalmoneyskills.com/ estateplanning) early in life. As your children get older, it’s a good idea to review those documents and designated leadership.

Start communicating.

similar backgrounds,” he said. When Patterson thought of retiring, Mitchell looked like a fitting successor. Grant and other top executives –including Janet M. Holloway, senior vice president and chief of staff, and Steve Mizell, executive vice president of human resources – remembered Mitchell’s pep talks after returning from South Africa.

Hollywood has produced many a movie scene with family members sitting nervously in a lawyer’s office waiting for the will to be read. Such moments make for great comedy or drama, but not great modern estate planning. Based on what you hope to leave your family, the state of your relationship with your adult children and whatever weigh-in you get from qualified advisors, it’s usually better to communicate your plans to your children in advance in person and make sure your legal documents confirm exactly what you plan to do.

Bottom line: Could your current estate planning eventually put your kids and other family members at odds? Don’t wait – the time to update or start estate planning is right now.

Nathaniel Sillin directs Visa’s financial education programs. To follow Practical Money Skills on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ PracticalMoney.

organizations externally that support the mission of the Monsanto Fund, which is to ensure that we have a thriving community where our employees live, where our customers live and where we do business,” Mitchell said.

“They all knew I had a desire to move in this direction,” Mitchell said. “They approached me about it, and I willingly accepted.” March 15 was Patterson’s last day on the job, and the Monsanto Fund’s Board of Directors officially approved Mitchell’s appointment as president shortly thereafter.

Ensuring a thriving community

The Monsanto Fund was founded in 1964. Over the last 50-plus years, it has awarded more than 15,000 community grants and supported more than 6,000 schools across the country, not to mention projects like Buhle Farmer’s Academy all over the world, wherever crops are grown. Over the last five years, the Monsanto Fund has contributed $28.5 million in St. Louis and $100 million globally. Over the last three years, those numbers are $17.3 million in St. Louis and $65 million globally.

With more than 4,000 employees working at Monsanto’s St. Louis headquarters, many local Monsanto Fund programs focus on K-12 math and science education, as well as local arts organizations, where the mission is funding access for people who might not otherwise experience the arts. The fund recently launched a new focus area concerned with nutrition, food security, and malnutrition in mothers and children.

“We work with

EXPORT

continued from page B1 Along the way, I was able to help an American auto parts company export into Africa from the United Arab Emirates port. I later was approached by Oman on their new initiative to launch the biggest port in the Middle East. They wanted us to help attract American companies to manufacture in Oman at 0 percent taxation. My business partner visited an indoor dairy farm in Amsterdam since Holland is well known for its agricultural technology. Now that I am back in the U.S. and back home

The Monsanto Fund is a separate entity with its own tax accounting, and Monsanto “has no say so, more or less,” in how the fund spends the money the company pays into it, Mitchell said. “The business can’t profit from what we do with the fund.”

For one-time grants of up to $25,000, the president of the fund is empowered to make grant-funding decisions, Mitchell said, though all applications are scored according to the same set of criteria to help judge their merits and impact.

Any grant for more than $25,000 or for multiple years requires approval by the fund’s Board of Directors, which is comprised of Monsanto Company executive team members; its chair is Nicole M. Ringenberg, Monsanto’s vice president and controller.

One of the larger, multidistrict education programs the fund supports is MySci, a collaboration with Washington University’s Institute for School Partnership (ISP) that equips elementary school teachers with instructional materials and professional development in science, technology, engineering and math. Monsanto Fund awarded a three-year, $1.9 million grant to ISP for the program last year, which was the fund’s largest gift in 2015. It will be used to develop a new 6th-8th grade science curriculum. The Monsanto Fund also is responsible for Monsanto’s global corporate contributions, which are economic development investments tied to the company’s bottom line.

See MITCHELL, B8

continued from page B1 in St. Louis, I have started commercial accounts with Napa, AutoZone and Parts Authority as suppliers for Japanese-made vehicles, Mercedes and Rang Rover parts into Lagos, Nigeria. Why should black Americans get more involved in exporting? The rest of the world does not view skin color. They view you strictly as an American (which is how things should be viewed). Being American is viewed like a high-end, luxury brand. Everyone respects the passport. My success in Dubai was based on the fact I was an American, but also my integrity. I always made sure I delivered on what I contractually said I could do.

Be a Tourist in Your Own Town

St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission

Live in St. Louis: a diverse, arch-sized music scene

The National Blues Museum will open in St. Louis at 615 Washington Ave. on Saturday, April 2. The day will begin with a musical procession from the Normandy High School marching band at 9:30 a.m. The museum will officially open its doors to the public at 10 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. after an all-day rotation of live entertainment.

By Kevin M. Mitchell

For The St. Louis American

In any given week in St. Louis, there are up to 300 chances to treat your ears to some phenomenal musicianship. You can catch Kim Massie and the Solid Senders live most Tuesday and Thursday evenings at the Beale on Broadway. If you didn’t see Dirty Muggs at Fair Saint Louis last year, they perform at venues throughout St. Louis and the Cardinals’ Home Opener. St. Louis has so much to offer including tons of local and national acts at The Pageant in the Delmar Loop and the joyful jamming of Gregory Porter at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center. The live music scene in St. Louis will keep both visitors and locals grooving every night.

“The St. Louis music scene is very diverse – there are just so many genres of music being played here,” says Penny Moon, a local musician. Moon points out that it all can be traced to our rich history in the blues. St. Louis has always been one of the world’s top five indigenous blues music cities, and now we have a National Blues Museum. The blues genre alone accounts for nearly 50 acts a week performing at public and private functions, understandably as the town has always been the true crossroads, tying Chicago to the Mississippi Delta, Memphis to the West. If you’re heading downtown, there are many rollicking live music venues you can count on. At 700 Broadway there is the treasure that is BB’s Jazz, Blues and Soups, which usually

features several acts a night. Across the street, Beale on Broadway has not only blues but also rockabilly, soul, and R&B. Just at the end of the block is the popular Broadway Oyster Bar, which always has great live music, too. Ballpark Village puts on amazing summer concerts, plus a dueling piano bar. Then, of course, there’s Jazz at the Bistro, which brings in national acts like Brandford Marsalis in addition to local crooner David Sanborn. Finally, how about going to Blueberry Hill to see St. Louis legend Chuck Berry, who still performs once a month—after all, he is the true king of rock and roll. If you don’t believe me, just ask him. And those are just the opening notes to a symphony of music options. Here are some sources to plan your memory-inducing St. Louis evening of great live music: the Riverfront Times, the St. Louis Music Press, and a list of the 50 best music venues from St. Louis Magazine. For your event or party, definitely kick it up a notch at your event with a live band. There are over 100 bands to choose from on these three sites: St. Louis Blues.net, St. Louis Bands, and Hire a Band StLouis. As East St. Louis native Miles Davis once said, “Do not fear mistakes – there are none.”

And you won’t make a mistake in taking in the sounds of any of the great players in St. Louis. For more exciting ways to see St. Louis this spring, check out the events calendar and featured content at www.explorestlouis.com.

By state Senator Jamilah Nasheed Guest columnist

Earlier this month, the Democratic Presidential Primary attracted attention, activism, and record turnout. Now, it’s important to remember that our city will soon have another important election on April 5. The main issue on the ballot is the reauthorization of the St. Louis city earnings tax (Proposition E). And, it’s important that you vote.

The earnings tax is nothing new. Local voters established it back in 1948 to pay for critical public services in our city. Eleven years later, the tax increased to its current 1 percent rate and has remained there since. For decades, the tax helped fund basic services like fire protection without controversy.

That is, until a group of outside special interests funded a ballot proposition in 2010 to require St. Louis and Kansas City voters to continually reauthorize the tax. Here in St. Louis, voters rejected that proposal by more than a 2-to-1 margin. Despite this vehement opposition, voters in other parts of Missouri decided they knew how to run our local government better than we did and passed the law over our objections.

So now, we must reauthorize this vital source of our city’s resources every five years. Fortunately, local voters have repeatedly demonstrated overwhelming support for the earnings tax. In fact, 88 percent voted to keep it in 2011. And for good reason: the tax provides one-third of our city’s budget (about $160 million in 2015). This is more than the entire annual allocation for our

police department. Every single dime of the earnings tax stays right here in our neighborhoods. This is our money. But special interests continue to attack our ability to spend it. These outsiders push misinformation and cloud the issue.

n Proposition E does not hurt the working poor. Phasing it out and replacing it with a sales tax would make local tax code more regressive.

Let’s be clear: Proposition E is not a tax increase. If it passes, everyone will pay the same percentage that they do right now.

Proposition E does not hurt the working poor. In fact, phasing it out and replacing it with a sales tax would make

local tax code more regressive, not less.

Proposition E funds don’t just benefit one small area or part of the city. The money from the tax is put into the general revenue fund. It’s earmarked for public safety, infrastructure, and the other essential services that make our city run on a daily basis. Outside of billionaires and rightwing extremists, support for this earnings tax is virtually universal. Organizations throughout the state have voiced their support for the earnings tax. In fact, earlier this year firefighters, teachers, railroads, police officers, civic organizations, and representatives from both regional Chambers of Commerce all testified at the Capitol against a similar bill that would prevent cities from levying earnings taxes. Losing the earnings tax would wreak havoc on the City of St. Louis. It would force drastic cuts to police, firefighters, infrastructure and other essential services, as well as huge increases in our property and sales taxes. Repealing the Earnings Tax is unnecessary, unwarranted and unwanted. Proponents of the tax often say things like, “We should run government like a business.” Well, no business could afford to unilaterally slash its revenues by one-third – and neither can our city. St. Louis is the economic engine that drives the state and the region on both sides of the river. We must keep that engine going. And to do that, we must keep the earnings tax. I urge you to join me in voting yes on Proposition E on April 5. Jamilah Nasheed (D-St. Louis) represents Missouri’s 5th Senatorial District.

State Senator Jamilah Nasheed

Celebrations

Birthdays

Wishing our Princess, Avery Racquel McClinton, a golden 3rd birthday on March 29! All that glitters is gold for our Avie! Love, Your Family

Leroy Long

Avery Racquel McClinton

Happy 80th Birthday to Leroy Long on April 5. Congratulations from your family and friends!

Mother Elizabeth Smith celebrated her 105th birthday on March 6 with family, church family and friends at New Northside Baptist Church. Mother Smith attributes her longevity to clean living.

Reunions

Beaumont Alumni Class 1968 48th Class Reunion will be June 10--12, 2016. Friday: Bowling Kick-Off, Saturday: Black n’ White Speak Easy Party and Sunday: Family n’ Friends Picnic. Meetings will be at Florissant Valley Library Branch, 195 New Florissant Rd., Florissant, MO 63031 on

Saturday March 26, April 23 and May 28 from 1-4 p.m. For more information call (314) 869-8312.

Beaumont High School Class of 1971 is planning its 45th year reunion for July 22-24, 2016.Please send your contact information (address and phone number) to Gladys Smith at beaumont1971alumni@aol. com.

Beaumont High Class of 1984 can stay updated via our Facebook page “Beaumont Class of 1984”. We meet the last Friday of every month. Contact Rochelle Williams at rochellewilliams001@yahoo. com.

Cole School Alumni & Neighborhood Friends age 50 and older Reunion Weekend will be held May 12-15, 2016. For more info call Andrea at 314-369-3052 or check our Facebook page at coleschoolstlouis.

Harrison School All Class Reunion, Saturday September 10, 2016, 6:30-10:30 pm at Ambruster Great Hall, 6633 Clayton Rd, St. Louis, MO 63117. Tickets are $60 per person. For more info Contact: Judy Darris 314-443-6741, Yolanda beck 314-346-8103 or Làshell Tolliver 314-420-3566.

Soldan Class of 1971 is planning its 45th year reunion for: June 17-19, 2016 at the

Ameristar Casino Resort & Spa, One Ameristar Boulevard, St. Charles, Mo 63301.

Soldan Class of 1976 reunion will be held June 10-12, 2016. For more information, email soldanclassof1976@yahoo. com or Facebook: Soldan

High School Class of 1976.

Sumner Class of 1964 70th Birthday Gala will be held Sat. Aug 13. 2016 at the Norwood Hills Country Club at 6:30 pm. Please contact Joyce Camp for additional information 314-423-8821 or Yvette Allen 314-997-2214 or Fannie Clark Rogers 314-3554337 your Gala Committee.

Vashon January and June Classes of 1966 will celebrate our 50 year reunion October 7-9, 2016 at the Hollywood Casino, 777 Casino Center Drive, Maryland Heights, MO 63043. Contact Marilyn Stuckey, Chairperson, 314-438-8338, email: masystucup@att.net or Janice Holland, Co-Chairperson, 314-727-1695, email: jholland1695@att.net for more information.

Vashon Class of 1986 will be celebrating its fabulous 30th Class Reunion in beautiful Las Vegas Nevada, July 21-23, 2016. For more information contact, Claudette at 314 3681502 or cctreze@att.net.

OF

Do you have a celebration you’re proud of? If so we would like to share your good news with our readers. Whether it’s a birth, graduation, wedding, engagement announcement, anniversary, retirement or birthday, send your photos and a brief announcement (50 words or less) to us and we may include it in our paper and website – AT NO COST – as space is available Photos will not be returned. Send your announcements to: kdaniel@stlamerican. com or mail to: St. Louis American Celebrations c/o Kate Daniel 2315 Pine St. St.

Reunion notices are free of charge and based on space availability. We prefer that notices be emailed to us! However, notices may also be sent by mail to: Kate Daniel, 2315 Pine St., St. Louis, MO 63103

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

Michael V. Roberts Sr. and Michael V. Roberts Jr. recently provided the keynote address at the Colored Rocks Prize luncheon, honoring 15 seniors from high schools throughout Georgia for their service in developing their struggling peers. The foundation was established with the goal of shining a brilliant light on distinguished male students of color and using them as models and mentors for younger male students.

Keynote

Elizabeth Smith

n “I’m glad you told my video all that.”

- Lakers rookie D’Angelo Russell to teammate Nick Young after allegedly secretly filming him talking about women

24 athletes to watch

The track and field season is underway in the St. Louis metro area. One of the big story lines of the season will be the continuing dynasty of the Cahokia boys program, which has won the past five state championships in the state of Illinois. The Comanches are loaded and ready for a run at No. 6 as we begin another exciting year. Here are some of the top track athletes to watch in 2016:

Boys

Ja’Mari Ward (Cahokia): The All-American jumper is a three-time state champion in the triple jump and the linchpin of Cahokia’s championship dynasty. He has signed with the University of Missouri.

William Sessions (Belleville East): Senior hurdler who returns after finishing second in the IHSA Class 3 110-meter high hurdles. Headed to Indiana University.

Daniel Isom (SLUH): One of the top hurdlers in the state of Missouri. Finished second in the 110-meter high hurdles and 300meter intermediate hurdles at the Class 5 state meet in ‘15.

Alvin Thompson (Cardinal Ritter): Outstanding jumper who was the Class 3 state champion in the triple jump. Also earned AllState honors in the long jump.

Jayson Ashford (SLUH): Top sprinter who returns after finishing second in the Class 5 100-meter dash last season.

A.J. Epenesa (Edwardsville): Junior three-sport standout who is one of the nation’s top performers in the discus throw. Has already

Since the Los Angeles Rams moved west for greener pastures they continue to be the gift that keeps on giving, especially to the city where they spent the last 20 years.

Just recently USA Today’s columnist Luke Kerr-Dineen wrote a column in regards to a new billboard in Los Angeles taking a shot at St. Louis. The billboard uses the “greater than” (>) and “less than” (<) symbol associated with mathematics. Was it a cheap shot? Of course it was, but it’s the world we’re living in today. But, the part in KerrDineen’s column that really stood out was the following sentence: “There comes a certain point where bitter St. Louis fans will have to accept that, regardless of how the deal went down, the team now belongs in Los Angeles.” He’s right. The Rams definitely belong in Los Angeles. The part where I completely disagree is his misinterpretation of bitterness. Our bitterness and hatred towards the Rams have zero to do with the players.

The bitterness is towards Rams owner Stan Kroenke, who described the region as a loser for any NFL team. He did it in such a manner that even Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis, who sports a haircut like famed Three Stooges frontman Mo

It is often stated that brilliant artists tend to be a little off-kilter. Maybe that explains why Michelangelo almost always slept fully clothed –boots included, why Michael Jackson tried to be the real-life Peter Pan or why Vincent Van Gogh went full-ninja on his own ear. Geniuses tend to be just a little different That could shine some light on Andre Ward, who is the current version of Rembrandt in the ring. How else can you explain a fighter involved in one of the most brutal, violent and corrupt sports that goes by the moniker S.O.G. (which stands for Son of God)? Ward is a fighter who gave up years of his fighting prime locked in a dispute with former promoter Dan Goosen. He eschews the brash, attention-seeking,

H.

money-worshipping antics by guys like Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Adrien Broner. In a sport where it literally pays to be outlandish, Ward appears to be quiet, humble and unassuming outside the ring. He also has often eschewed the bright lights of Las Vegas for the friendly confines of Oakland. Don’t let the smooth taste fool you. Inside the ring, Ward will put hands on his opponent. That’s exactly what happened Saturday night when Ward (29-00, 15KO) faced then-undefeated light-heavyweight Sullivan Barrera in his first bout since moving up to the 175-pound division. Though Barrera (now 17-1-0, 12 KO) is not the highest profile fighter in the world, the crafty Cuban defector is a highly-skilled boxer-puncher like so many fighters that

Ishmael

Sistrunk

With Ishmael H. Sistrunk

L. Alexander Earl Austin Jr.

Photo by Wiley Price

Andre “S.O.G.” Ward remained undefeated by soundly defeating Sullivan Barrera Saturday night in Oakland. The victory sets up a November superfight between Ward and Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev.

Daniel Isom, of St. Louis U. High, one of the top hurdlers in the state, will return after finishing second in the 110-meter high hurdles and 300-meter intermediate hurdles at last year’s Class 5 state track & field meet.

SportS EyE

With Alvin Reid

NCAA, other events in jeopardy if anti-gay bill progresses

By the end of this week,

St. Louis will learn its fate in regard to the National Geospatial- Intelligence Agency’s Western Headquarters. Will it stay in the city or move to the Metro East near Scott Air Force Base?

The city is bracing for bad news and a significant loss after the NFL franchise bolted for the Los Angeles area. The last thing the city needs is more bad news, but the state Legislature – primarily its Republican members – is about to send another a major setback our way. Senate Joint Resolution 39 would allow a statewide vote to change the state constitution to allow bakers, photographers and printers to refuse services to gay people who want to use their commercial services for a wedding.

On Monday, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal – a Republican – vetoed a bill that would have allowed open discrimination against gay people based on “religious freedom.” Disney had threatened to never film another movie in the state and Coca-Cola, which has its international headquarters in Atlanta, was adamantly opposed to the bill.

The Atlanta Falcons’ hope of holding a Super Bowl in a future new stadium would be in question because of the bill, according to the NFL.

North Carolina now has a law on the books dictating where transgendered Americans can and can’t use the bathroom.

The NCAA is reviewing it, and the NBA All-Star is scheduled to be held there in 2017. No word yet what actions – if any – will be taken.

We might as well as put up a sign saying “Hey, NCAA. Don’t bring athletic events here any longer. Major League Soccer? Move along to the next expansion city.”

n We might as well as put up a sign saying “Hey, NCAA. Don’t bring athletic events here any longer.”

The NCAA men’s basketball Midwest and South regional was on display here earlier this month. During the past 15 years, the Final Four, NCAA regional rounds, Frozen Four of men’s college hockey and men’s wrestling championships have been held in St. Louis. Hosting them again will be in serious jeopardy if SJR 39 progresses to a vote.

The women’s Frozen Four is scheduled for March 17-19, 2017 at the Family Arena in St. Charles. Hopefully, this discriminatory effort will not cause it to move to another city. But the NCAA is probably already aware of what is going on here.

When Indiana passed similar nonsense two years ago, the Indianapolis-based NCAA was quick to use its leverage to pressure politicians into revising the bill.

CLUTCH

Continued from B5 with the jab and landed a few right hands. Ward though was simply on another level. The former unified super middle-

I doubt Major League Soccer (MLS), which was the first major sporting league in the U.S. to take a stand against antigay behavior by players and fans, is happy to hear of Missouri’s rush to discriminate. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues, Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Chiefs need to refute this legislation immediately and in no uncertain terms – especially the Cardinals. If there is one business in this region that can change the dynamic of this situation, it is the Cardinals.

Maybe the people of the state would reject this nonsense at the ballot box. However, if the people of Missouri could vote to bring slavery back, my family will be moving long before election day.

Coach K lies big time

With Oregon comfortably ahead of Duke last Thursday in a Sweet 16 showdown, the shot clock was going to expire seconds before the game ended. Ducks coach Dana

Altman told his team to shoot and not take a violation. Star guard Dillon Brooks hit a 35-foot three-pointer, which obviously didn’t sit well with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski

As the players and coaches exchanged handshakes, Coach K told Brooks, “You’re too good of a player to do that. You’re too good of a player.”

When asked about the incident during a postgame interview, Brooks said, “He just told me that I’m too good of a player to be showing out at the end. And he’s right. I’ve got to respect Duke.”

Coach K then threw Brooks under a bus and lied on national TV. He copped an attitude and flat-out denied that he said that to Brooks when questioned by reporters.

Oops, the comments were caught on tape and quite audible. Krzyzewski was caught in a lie. He apologized in a written statement, but had he not been busted it’s obvious

weight champion used superior hand speed, feints, angles, distance and defense that haven’t been seen by anybody in recent years outside of the recently-retired Floyd Mayweather Jr According to CompuBox, Ward landed 166 of 463 punches (36%) compared to just 111 of 722 (15%) by Barrera. To put that in perspec-

his lie would have lived on.

I’m still awaiting the national outrage that should go with a coach behaving in this manner, but it has not happened. Of course, this is Coach K and Duke basketball. Former Detroit News columnist and WXYT-FM The Ticket radio host said it best: “Coach K overstepped his bounds and only apologized after getting caught red-handed. Sometimes you wonder how many tall tales high profile coaches have told over the years when the cameras were not on them.”

Check out ‘The Kansas City Swing’ You don’t have to be a big fan of baseball to enjoy Satchel Paige and the Kansas City Swing.” The entertaining play at The Repertory Theater in Webster focuses on the relationship between Hall of Fame pitcher Paige and his

n Don’t let the smooth taste fool you. Inside the ring, Ward will put hands on his opponent.

tive, Manny Pacquiao landed 19% of his punches against Mayweather when he was embarrassed last May. Ward pitched a near shutout on the judges’ scorecards, with his only real misstep being a point deducted in the 8th round due to an accidental low blow that dropped Barrera to the canvas. Ward was already entrenched into the #1 spot on my pound-for-pound list. Despite his absences from the ring, he was elevated from #2 on my list immediately upon Mayweather’s retirement. For the past few years, I’ve actually considered Ward the better fighter due to his willingness to let his hands go instead of solely relying on his phenomenal defense. However, his

friend Buck O’Neil, who would become one of MLB’s first black coaches and scouts. Paige, in his 40s at the time, scoffs at trying out for the Majors and bristled that Jackie Robinson has broken the color barrier.

O’Neil and Bob Feller, who Paige also considered a good friend, both think he should still try, and I won’t spoil any more of the story than that. Good acting, good music good story. A highlight is Paige telling the story of how he gave O’Neil he lifelong nickname of “Nancy.”

Not always nice Feller

In August 2005, Feller and former KFNS radio host Mike Claiborne found themselves in a heated debate concerning players from Caribbean nations. Feller’s comments included “they don’t even know the rules.” Claiborne offered him several

lack of activity kept him from passing Mr. TMT on the list. Now there should be no debate Ward’s ultimate litmus test will be a fight against Kovalev. The two have already signed a tentative agreement to duke it out on HBO PPV on Nov. 19.

That’s assuming that neither lose interim bouts before the big date.

If it comes to fruition, Kovalev vs Ward will be the boxing event of 2016.

“Krusher” Kovalev (29-0-1, 26

KO) has left plenty of opponents lying limp on the canvas. He’s a smart, highly-skilled fighter with concussive power. Unlike Ward, Kovalev goes into every fight with the intention of beating his opponent unconscious. Every jab, hook or cross throw is with the intention of setting up the kill shot or turning out the lights. The draw on his record was from a controversial bout where he landed a left hook that

chances to explain himself. The conversation ended with Feller hanging up and the respected Claiborne calling him a racist. Claiborne would later tell the Post-Dispatch, “For the most part, I understood where he was coming from regarding how the game is being marketed and things of that nature, but when he says the Caribbean players don’t even know the rules, that raises a flag. ... So I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He didn’t want to address it. I tried to politely ask him, I wasn’t trying to hang him out to dry. That’s not how I do business. He got offended by it, but I said what I said and I stand by it.”

Alvin A. Reid is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook and appears on ABC’s The Allman Report and several sports radio shows. His Twitter handle is #aareid1

dropped his opponent and left him unable to continue. The ref determined the punch was landed behind the head and the fight was ruled a technical draw.

The RING Magazine currently ranks Kovalev as the #2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world and Ward as #4. There’s little doubt that whomever wins this superfight will be universally lauded as the best fighter in the world. Though a lot can happen between now and November, my early inklings are that Ward has the skill and discipline to outbox the beast. After all, he’s a pugilistic genius. The win against Barrera brought him back into public consciousness. A fight against Kovalev would give Ward the canvas to paint a beautiful masterpiece.

Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @ IshmaelSistrunk

Alvin Reid

Senate Joint Resolution 39 would allow a statewide vote to change the state constitution to allow bakers, photographers and printers to refuse services to gay people who want to use their commercial services for a wedding.

Oklahoma’s Hield is lighting up NCAA

By Jill Martin CNN

(CNN) -- Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield -- aka Buddy Buckets -- is putting on a show. The senior guard’s performance Saturday in the Elite Eight was breathtaking. He exploded for 37 points, including sinking eight 3-point shots, to lead the No. 2 Sooners to an 80-68 blowout win against No. 1 Oregon to advance to the Final Four in Houston -Oklahoma’s first since 2002. Numbers like that in college basketball usually are shocking. From Hield, it isn’t. Those

RAMS

Continued from B5

Howard, thumbed his nose at the possibility of moving the Raiders to St. Louis. And to pour salt on a gaping wound, Kroenke is trying to get tax credits in city of Maryland Heights and trying to sell Rams Park in Earth City for $1. Nobody faults a person for wanting to make money, but the way he went about it was cold. Winning was never a priority, and loyal fans in St. Louis showed up for a team that had only four winning seasons in 20 years. The Rams missed the playoffs 80 percent of the time while here. Also, Rams COO Kevin Demoff admitted he was glad the Rams lost four games straight so they could focus on moving instead of getting to the playoffs. The Rams PR Department got more than upset at me because I said in an article last year that Demoff was giving the fans mixed

TRACK

Continued from B5

committed to Iowa to play football.

Derick Clemons (Eureka): Excellent sprinter who was the Class 5 state champion in the 400-meter dash.

Roosevelt Davis (East St. Louis): Excellent sprinter who finished third in the Illinois Class 3 400 and anchored the Flyers to the state title in the 4x400-meter relay.

Anthony McRoberts (Cahokia): Another big-time combination jumper for the Comanches’ powerhouse program. Best event is the high jump.

Travis Anderson

(Edwardsville): A key performer in the Tigers’ drive to the Illinois Class 3 state championship. Finished second in the 110-meter high hurdles.

Alec Haines (Lafayette): Top distance performer who was the Class 5 state champion in the 1,600-meter run. Also a state champion in the 4x800meter relay.

Girls

LaJarvia Brown (Alton): A two-time state champion in the triple jump in the state of Illinois, Brown is headed to Texas A&M.

Destiny Nash (Hazelwood Central): Excellent sprinter who was the Class 5 state champion in the 400-meter dash.

Mariya Hudson (Cahokia): Top junior sprinter who led the Comanches to the Illinois Class 2 state championship after winning the 100, 200 and 400meter dashes.

Lailah Elliott (John Burroughs): The returning Class 3 state champion in the long jump and triple jump. Led the Bombers to the Class 3 state championship.

Raynesha Lewis (Cahokia): Illinois Class 2 state champion in the triple jump and a big factor in the Comanches’ state

37 points? That was just his third-best total in a game this season.

“Buddy’s passion for the game has been well-documented,” Sooners head coach Lon Kruger said. “He’s had a passion from early on.” Hield grew up in the Bahamas with his mother, three brothers and three sisters in the Eight Mile Rock neighborhood in Freeport. His given first name is Chavano, but his mother, Jackie Swann, nicknamed him “Bud” after Bud Bundy from the sitcom “Married ... with Children.” In order to play the game he loved, Hield had to construct

his own basketball goals, cutting out the bottoms of crates he would take from neighbors’ back yards to use as makeshift hoops and nailing those to street posts. It was on those dusty roads where Hield spent hours on the court, and his love for the game grew. Hield moved to the United States in 2010 and played for Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, Kansas, before choos-

Buddy Hield

ing Oklahoma. Today, Bahamians are tuned in to the NCAA tournament for their countryman. “We don’t have to use Michael Jordan anymore,” Charles Robins, president of the Bahamas Basketball Federation, said to USA Today. “We don’t have to ‘Be Like Mike.’ We can ‘Be Like Buddy.’ “ There hasn’t been a scorer like this in the NCAA tournament since someone named

Stephen Curry took the nation by storm with Davidson.

Well before he became an NBA superstar with the Golden State Warriors, Curry first made national waves in the 2008 NCAA tournament, when Davidson, a small school in North Carolina, improbably reached the Elite Eight as a 10 seed. Curry narrowly missed a trip to the Final Four with a 59-57 loss to Kansas.

Curry’s points in those four NCAA tournament games that season: 40, 30, 33, and 25. That’s an average of 32 points per game.

Hield’s numbers this year are similar: 27, 36, 17 and

37, an average of just over 29 points per game in this year’s tournament. Overall, Hield is averaging 25.4 points per game this season, second in the nation. He is a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, presented annually to the outstanding collegiate basketball player of the year, and a finalist for the Naismith Trophy. Today, Hield is projected to be a top-10 pick in this summer’s NBA draft.

The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2016 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

signals, and it turned out to be true the entire time. I still shake my head thinking about that day I was at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater St. Louis. It was 90-plus degrees and the Community Relations Department was laying sod while Demoff and Kroenke continued their lust for money.

championship team.

Kara Steele (Kirkwood): The returning Missouri Class 5 state champion in the triple jump.

Sophia Rivera (Brentwood): One of the top throwers in the country. A three-time state champion in the shot put and discus. Headed to Wisconsin.

Zionn Pearson (MICDS): Excellent sophomore who was an All-State performer in the

I think it’s unreasonable to think that fans who did care and did spend their hard-earned money on a product that was tanking not to feel more than just bitter about this. Even casual fans and everyday citizens should resent Kroenke for slandering a market where he does a lot of real estate

long jump and the 100-meter high hurdles.

Syanne Johnson (Fort Zumwalt East): Excellent junior sprinter who was an AllState performer in the 100 and 200.

Carolyn Ross (Webster Groves): Excellent hurdler who was second in the Class 3 100-meter hurdles and 300meter low hurdles.

Ashli Isbell (Cardinal Ritter): Standout sprinter who

business. When the Big Red left for Arizona in 1988, they didn’t keep leaving bird droppings on St. Louis. They moved west and carried on. It’s business, and it’s always been business. Kroenke made it personal. And that’s something Kerr-Dineen don’t understand. It’s not bitterness. It’s love for

earned Class 3 All-State honors in the 200 and 400-meter dashes.

Constance Jackson (North Tech): Returning Class 3 state champion in the 100-meter dash.

Andi Kuehnlein (Kirkwood): Oklahoma State signee hurdler who earned AllState honors in the 100-meter high hurdles and 300-meter low hurdles.

The ST. LouiS AmericAn AThLeTe of The Week

Jordan Goodwin

Althoff – Boys Basketball

The 6’3” junior standout forward led the Crusaders to Illinois Class 3A state championship, the first in the school’s history in boys basketball. Goodwin scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the Crusaders’ 66-62 victory over Westchester St. Joseph’s in the state semifinals. He followed up with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Althoff’s 62-37 victory over Lincoln Way West. For the season, Goodwin averaged 18 points and nine rebounds a game. A three-year starter for Althoff, Goodwin has led the Crusaders to two consecutive Class 3A state-championship game appearances. Goodwin will play for the St. Louis Eagles 17U during the spring and summer. He has already received numerous NCAA Division I offers.

your city and your region. For more sports content, please follow @ NTheZoneShow. I can also be found on Twitter @ thelegendkil.

Just recently USA Today’s columnist Luke Kerr-Dineen wrote a column in regards to this new billboard in Los Angeles taking a shot at St. Louis.

continued from page B2

Local examples are funding Forest Park Forever and the renewal of the St. Louis riverfront.

“These are things that still embrace what we want to do in terms of uplifting the community and making it thriving for our employees, customers and those we work with,” Mitchell said, “but that money gets charged to the business. Since it is tied to the company’s results and reported to the company, we tend to collaborate on how we spend the money.”

Up from accounting

Awarding some of Monsanto’s money to worthwhile projects in St. Louis and across the globe may be new to Mitchell, but he has been accounting for some aspect of Monsanto’s money for his entire 32-year corporate career. “It’s the only company I’ve ever worked for,” he said. And he worked his way steadily up, from cost accountant in the Fibers Division of a plant in Alvin, Texas (1984-1988) to plant controller in the Detergents & Phosphates Division of a now-defunct facility in Long Beach, California (1998-1992) to a series of increasingly responsible positions at headquarters in St. Louis. His first director position was director of Finance – Animal Agriculture Business (19992003); his first vice president position was VP of Finance – North America & Latin America North Division (20042007). His final position with the company before moving to the fund was assistant controller (2011-2015). Once Mitchell was hired by Monsanto, it looked like he knew what he was doing and where he was going, but his journey to that first job had its unusual and unpredictable moments.

As a graduate of Beaumont

High School in Saint Louis Public Schools, Class of 1979, Mitchell set his sights on Michigan State University. It was said to have a good business school, and an aptitude test had revealed that Mitchell should pursue a career where he worked with numbers. But that wasn’t really why he chose the school.

“I was in love with basketball, and with Magic Johnson they had just won the NCAA championship,” Mitchell said. “He was a sophomore. He had two more years. I am going to Michigan State, Mama!”

But when he got to East Lansing, Magic was gone.

“He left!” Mitchell said. “After his sophomore year, he

Seeking grants from Monsanto Fund

For more information on the Monsanto Fund, the grants it offers, its grant cycles and how to apply for a grant, visit http://www. monsantofund.org/.

went pro. He left me hanging.”

After Mitchell graduated from Michigan State in 1983 with a degree in accounting, he learned the hard way that he did not know how to interview for a job. “I desperately tried to get a job from every company that came to Michigan State,” he said, but found no takers. His mother, Mary Naylor, would still take him in. He moved back in with her in Ferguson and continued his job search. He saw an ad for an area cost accountant at Monsanto in Alvin, Texas, a place he could not find on the map. But his mother was influential.

“My mom said, ‘Son, you’re going to have to get out of my house,’” he said. “So I took all of the failures from my interviews at Michigan State and really prepared and studied hard, and I got the job.”

He spent nearly four years working for Monsanto in Alvin

and about that same amount of time working for the company in Long Beach before moving home to headquarters. But while he was in California he made a new, lasting connection in St. Louis.

There was an accountant named Marsha at Monsanto headquarters whose duty it was to call the Long Beach facility with corporate entries needed for the ledger at that plant. Mitchell would take her call. “There’s no harm in being flirtatious on the phone if you think you’ll never see the person,” Mitchell said.

But in fact he did see her when he came home. His hometown was becoming stranger to him the longer he was away, and she would show him around the changing town. “Eventually,” he said, “we hooked up.”

She is Marsha Mitchell today. They are proud parents of a 17-year-old son, Julian Mitchell (attending Michigan State with the ambition to become a sports broadcaster), and a 12-year-old daughter, Teá Mitchell, a 7th grader at MICDS.

“I’ve had various accounting jobs that moved into management and analysis,” Mitchell summarized his career. “Now I’m leaving finance to move into a whole different space.”

He may have been bitten by the philanthropy bug at a farm academy in South Africa, but he is looking forward to investing Monsanto’s money in public schools here at home.

“Having been a product of the public school system, I have some emotion with helping people understand that you can complete public high school and still be successful,” he said – “but still understand what it takes.”

He now owns a piece of the earth in Florissant, but is no closer to being a farmer.

“I have no garden,” he said. “I don’t have time. I need to play golf.”

For more information on the Monsanto Fund, visit http:// www.monsantofund.org/ or call 314-694-1000.

Financial Focus

By Aaron Ezell

Which IRA is better for younger workers?

If you’re at the beginning of your career, you might not be thinking too much about the end of it. But even younger workers should be aware of –and saving for – their eventual retirement. And since you’ve got many years until you do retire, you’ve got a lot of options to consider – one of which is whether an IRA may be appropriate for you and, if so, what type. Essentially, you can choose between a “traditional” IRA and a Roth IRA. (Other types of IRAs are available if you’re self-employed.) With a traditional IRA, you contribute “pretax” dollars, so your contributions are generally tax-deductible, depending on your income limits and whether you also have a 401(k) or other retirement plan at work. In 2016, you can contribute up to $5,500 to your traditional IRA, although the limit rises once you reach 50. You can fund your IRA with many types of investments – for example, stocks, bonds, and government securities– and your earnings grow on a taxdeferred basis. A Roth IRA has the same $5,500 annual contribution limit and can also be funded with many types of investments. But there are some key differences. You

can only contribute to a Roth IRA if your income is below a certain threshold, but that threshold is quite high, especially for younger workers starting their careers. So you’ll likely be eligible. However, your contributions are never tax-deductible, so you’re basically funding your Roth IRA with money on which you’ve already been taxed. But your earnings can grow tax free, as long as you don’t start taking withdrawals until you’re 59½

November 20, 1970 – March 23, 2016

Farewell to Phife

Member of pioneering group A Tribe Called Quest passes at 45

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St.

Louis American

“You on point, Phife? “… all the time, Tip” “… well then grab the microphone, and let your words rip…”

That call and response introduction of Phife Dawg’s verse on “Check The Rime” from A Tribe Called Quest’s seminal album “Low End Theory” set the stage for Phife

to establish his place among hip-hop’s heavy-hitting lyricists 25 years ago. He wasn’t top of mind among the legends until the hip-hop community learned of his sudden passing on Wednesday, March 23, 2016 at the age of 45.

“Phife-HipHop & Rap word Warrior,

‘The Biggest Boss’

Robert McNichols, newly appointed manager of community events and engagement for Opera Theatre of St. Louis.

OSTL Concert series takes the classic art form into the community

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

“The concept came out of the desire to create new and innovative ways to get beyond our own four walls,” said Robert McNichols, newly appointed manager of community events and engagement for Opera Theatre of St. Louis. “We wanted to get into the community and find creative ways to introduce people to opera – and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.”

Starting Thursday, March 31 and continuing through April 4, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis will take a sample of its musical offerings on the road in a unique five-day concert series that will appease multiple senses while giving a taste of its 41st season, which kicks off in May.

Opera Tastings features intimate performances by four of OTSL’s young artists as the musical backdrop for an evening of food and spirits at a diverse collection of venues across the region, from Chesterfield to South City.

Cinematic movement through the motherland

African Film

daughters

When the festival returns this weekend, audiences will experience narratives that parallel their own. The films will move viewers to connect the dots between themselves and their ancestors – as well as shed light on the often overlooked contemporary issues.

Crises faced in Africa are addressed – but from a first-person perspective. And the films are packaged to show Africa beyond an assumed constant state of suffering.

and

comedy,

“This year’s mix of films offers

Angola” will screen Saturday, April 2 at 7 p.m. as part of Washington University’s 11th Annual African Film Festival.

for 11th year See FILM, C4 The short film

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest during a trip to St. Louis.

Miami Rap star Rick Ross had The Pageant packed to capacity Easter Sunday night for a special show presented by RockHouse Ent., Good Fellas Entertainment and Ethno Nightlife. Be sure to check out stlamerican.com for more photos and a full review of the show.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

How to place a calendar listing

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

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

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

concerts

Mar. 30 & Apr. 2, 7:30 p.m., Jazz at the Bistro presents SFJazz Collective: Originals & The Music of Michael Jackson. an all-star award-winning jazz ensemble comprising eight of the inest performers/composers at work in jazz today. 3536 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, call (314) 5716000 or visit www.jazzstl.org.

Fri., Apr. 1, 7 p.m., National Blues Museum presents Rock ‘N Blues Fundraiser Concert. Blues artists Big George Brock, Shemekia Copeland, and the legendary Bobby Rush will each perform at the concert. The evening will be emceed by Big Llou Johnson, the host of Sirius XM’s Bluesville channel. Lumiere Live, 999 N. 2nd St., 63102. For more information, call (314) 925-0016.

Fri., Apr. 1, 8 p.m., Chaifetz Arena presents Wale & Hoodie Allen. 1 S. Compton Ave., 63103. For more information, call (314) 977-5000 or visit www. thechaifetzarena.com.

Tues., Apr. 5, 7:30 p.m., The Peabody Opera House welcomes Kirk Franklin, for more information, visit http:// www.peabodyoperahouse.com.

Fri., Apr. 8, Mo Investment Ent presents Monica and Chante Moore Live, The Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry Rd., 63136. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Apr. 19, 8 p.m. The Pageant welcomes Lupe Fiasco. 6161 Delmar Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. thepageant.com.

local gigs

Sat., Apr. 2, 8 p.m., Howard Neal Entertainment presents Aretha Franklin Tribute Show and Dance. Dance the

night away with powerful and soulful vocalists, world-class musicians, and Ol’ Skool DJ’s performing a tribute to the Queen of Soul. After the concert, DJ Kev and DJ Colonel Que will keep you on the loor. Argosy Casino, 1 Piasa St., Alton, IL. 62002. For more information, call (573) 301-0105 or visit www. eventbrite.com.

Wed., Mar. 30, 8 p.m., Sheldon Concert Hall presents Julia Bullock and Renate Rohling. Soprano Julia Bullock is a rising star in the opera world. A St. Louis native and graduate of Opera Theatre’s Artist-in-Training program, Bullock won the 2014 Naumburg International Vocal Competition, and is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at The Juilliard School. 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, call (314) 5339900 or visit www.thesheldon. org.

special events

Sat., Apr. 2, 10 a.m., National Blues Museum Opening Day. We will have live events going on all day inside the Lumiere Place Legends Room, and more special moments. 615 Washington Ave., 63101. For more information, call (314) 925-0016 or visit www. nationalbluesmuseum.org.

Sun., Apr. 3, The Made Moguls 2nd Annual B.L.A.C.K T.I.E. Charity Dinner. An elegant night of dinner, auctions, entertainment and more, as we help raise money and awareness for the Made Moguls Youth Program – a nonprofit organization providing mentoring and entrepreneurship education for youth in the greater St. Louis area. Crowne Plaza Saint Louis – Downtown, 200 N. 4th St., 63102. For more information, visit www.mademoguls.com.

Calendar

The Peabody Opera House welcomes Kirk Franklin. See CONCERTS for details.

Featured Event

Sat., Apr. 9, 10 a.m., 3rd Annual Natural Hair and Black Cultural Expo. This event will showcase models, live music, poetry, Afrikan drumming, dancers, and more. New Northside Conference Center, 5939 Goodfellow Blvd., 63147. For more information, call (618) 514-5240.

(See SPECIAL EVENTS)

Thur., Apr. 7, 5:30 p.m., United 4 Children’s Lighting the Way Dinner and Auction Gala. Marriott St. Louis Hotel, 800 Washington Ave., 63101. For more information, visit www.united4children. org or contact Deanna Finch at (314) 531-1412 or finchd@ united4children.org.

Fri., Apr. 8, 6:30 p.m., Rainbow Village’s 20th Annual DinnerAuction and Gala: Somewhere Over the Rainbow. All proceeds will be used in our mission to help families and their loved ones with developmental disabilities. Four Seasons, 999 N. 2nd St., 63102. For more information, call (314) 5671522 or visit www.rbvstl.com.

Sat., Apr. 9, 10 a.m., 3rd

Annual Natural Hair and Black Cultural Expo. This event will showcase models, live music, poetry, Afrikan drumming, dancers, and more. New Northside Conference Center, 5939 Goodfellow Blvd., 63147. For more information, call (618) 5145240.

Sat., Apr. 16, Imagery International’s 10th Annual Because I’m Worth It Gala.

Come out for an evening of food, live music, laughter, and empowerment. This year we are taking this event to another dimension with a dinner theatrical production, Dear God. The cast stars Tish Haynes-Keys, Rochelle Gates, Pastor Miki King, and other local actors. 1Norwood Hills Country Club Dr., 63121. For more information, call (314) 707-8103 or visit www. imageryintl.com.

Apr. 29 – May 1, HarrisStowe State University presents the Inaugural Male Empowerment Summit, hosted by Dr. Dwaun J. Warmack and featuring Pastor Jamal Bryant and Dr. Steve Perry.

May 21 – 22, Compton Heights and Compton Hill Home Tour. Spend a beautiful spring day touring two of St. Louis’ finest historic neighborhoods, adjacent neighborhoods long celebrated for gorgeous turn-of-thecentury architecture. Tour 10 gracious homes built between 1896 and 1913 with original stained-glass windows, intricate woodwork and elegant features, including the famed 30-room Magic Chef Mansion.

Tour-goers may walk, drive or use trams available at no charge throughout the Tour. www.2016housetour. brownpapertickets.com.

The St. Louis Senior Olympics. The regional competition for athletes aged 50 and older, is actively seeking applications for athletes to participate in more than 90 individual and team events over Memorial Day Weekend, May 26 – 31, 2016. From basketball to bocce; soccer, softball and shuffleboard; to tap dancing, tennis and track – the Senior Olympics engage more than 1,100 athletes and hundreds of volunteers at more than a dozen different venues across the St. Louis area. The events are open to everyone. Athletes must be at least 50 years old, but there is no maximum age. For more information, visit www.stlouisseniorolympics. org.

July 15- 17, Sumner High School Class of 1956 will celebrate their 60th Reunion at the Sheraton Westport Plaza Hotel. E-mail contact information (name, address, phone number)to beangloria@ sbcglobal.net for more information.

comedy

Sat., Apr. 16, The Festival of Laughs starring Mike Epps and Rickey Smiley and featuring Earthquake, Tony Rock and Coco Brown. Chaifetz Arena, 1 S. Compton Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. ticketmaster.com.

literary

Fri., Apr. 8, 7 p.m., Maryville Talks Books hosts author Krista Tippett, author of Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living. Krista Tippett, National Humanities Medalist and award-winning broadcaster, will talk with Don Marsh about her new book. The book is a master class in the art of living, focused not simply on personal growth but on public life and human spiritual evolution. Ethical Society of St. Louis, 9001 Clayton Rd., 63117. For more information, visit www.left-bank.com.

Wed., April 13, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books and the National Blues Museum present James McBride, who will sign and

discuss his new book, Kill ‘Em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul. 399 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. This event is free and open to the public, but please RSVP at www.leftbank.com/mcbride.

Wed., Apr. 20, 7 p.m., Phyllis Lawson signs and discusses Quilt of Souls. Left Bank Books, 399 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www.left-bank.com.

theatre

Sat., Mar. 26, 2 p.m., Missouri History Museum presents From Darkness Cometh the Light. Linda Kennedy stars as Lucy Delaney, an African American woman who won her freedom in a lawsuit just prior to Dred Scott’s and who lived and worked in St. Louis for the rest of her life. 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63108. For more information, call (314) 746-4599 or visit www.mohistory.org.

Through April 10, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Satchel Paige and the Kansas City Swing. The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd—it’s what every baseball player dreams of. In 1947, Jackie Robinson had broken baseball’s color barrier, while Satchel Paige and his Negro League All-Stars were barnstorming against their white counterparts in the Majors. It was baseball by day and jazz by night as the impassioned and devoted players tried to find their place in a country on the verge of change. 130 Edgar Rd., 63119. For more information, call (314) 968-4925 or visit www. repstl.org.

Saturdays through Apr. 30, Teens Make History presents Where Did You Go to High School? In a series of short scenes, the TMH Players recount some of their own experiences with the famous “St. Louis question” and demonstrate how high school experiences are so much more than a stereotype. Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63108. For more information, call (314) 7464599 or visit www.mohistory. org.

Saturdays through Mar. 26, 2 p.m., Missouri History Museum presents From Darkness Cometh the Light Linda Kennedy stars as Lucy Delaney, an African American

woman who won her freedom in a lawsuit just prior to Dred Scott’s and who lived and worked in St. Louis for the rest of her life. 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63108. For more information, call (314) 746-4599 or visit www.mohistory.org.

Apr. 1 – 3, The Fox presents Tyler Perry’s Madea on the Run. In trouble with the local authorities, Mabel Simmons, notoriously known as Madea, is on the run from the law. 527 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. fabulousfox.com.

arts

Fri., Mar. 25, 5 p.m., projects+gallery presents HAUTE Hip-Hop Closing Party. We will be celebrating the closing of the exhibition with local hip-hop music artist. Hip-hop artist Bates and fellow female emcees from St. Louis’ own Femcee Nation Organization, as well as DJ Agile One, will perform throughout the evening. 4733 McPherson Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www. projects-gallery.com.

lectures/ workshops

Thur., Mar. 31, 5 p.m., Kemper Art Museum hosts Panel Discussion: Technology, Ethics, and Laws. Panelists include Humberto Gonzalez, assistant professor, School of Engineering & Applied Science; Neil Richards, School of Law; and Meredith Malone, associate curator, will discuss the technological, ethical, and legal implications of drones. This program is presented in conjunction with the exhibition To See Without Being Seen: Contemporary Art and Drone Warfare Washington University, One Brookings Dr., 63130. For more information, visit www. kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu.

Wed., Mar. 30, 6:30 p.m., Forum on April ballot issues for the City of St. Louis. Please join us for a panel discussion with local experts to examine 5 important issues to be decided by city residents at the April 5th Municipal Election. The following ballot propositions will be discussed, evaluating the pros and cons of each issue and how it will affect the City and its residents: Proposition E: earnings tax; Proposition F: issuing of bonds to the City; Proposition 1: operating tax

levy; Proposition Y: sewer and drainage facility upgrades; and Proposition S: storm water operations and maintenance property tax. Central Library, 1301 Olive St., 63103. For more information, call (314) 299-6734 or visit www.slpl. org.

Sun., Apr. 3, 2 p.m., Missouri History Museum presents African American History Collection Highlights Learn about new additions to the Missouri Historical Society’s African American collecting initiative. Come hear Zaki Baruti, Sherman George, Addington Stewart, James Cotter, Carl Bruce, and George Cotton talk about their contributions to the initiative and their importance to African American history. 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, call (314) 746-4479 or visit www. mohistory.org.

Tues., Apr. 5, 4 p.m., Institute of Public Health presents Gun Violence: A Public Health Crisis Symposium. Presenters will include Stephen Hargarten, Medical College of Wisconsin; Deborah Prothrow-Stith, Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science; Daniel Webster, Johns Hopkins; and several Washington University professors. Knight Hall, Washington University, Throop Dr., 63130. For more information, visit www. publichealth.wustl.edu.

health

Sat., Apr. 2, 8 a.m., Saint Louis University’s Geriatric Education Center, the Alzheimer’s Association St. Louis Chapter, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Omicron Eta Omega Chapter are offering a Free Geriatric Screening. This event is for anyone age 65 years or older. The screening will include frailty, nutrition, and cognitive function. Friendly Temple M.B. Church, 5515 Martin Luther King Dr., 63112. For more information, call (314) 977-8848 or visit www.alz.org/stl.

Apr. 14 – 16, 2016 Global Health & Infectious Disease Conference and Trainee Oral Symposium, and FIHTM Symposium. The 4th annual conference at Washington University will focus on “Shrinking the Cure and Prevention Divide that Separates Populations from Life-Saving Drugs and Vaccines.” Experts will offer talks on a diverse array

of topics including HIV, implementation science, malaria, chikungunya, PHARMA drug and vaccine donations, cancer drugs and global access. The event will also include a panel discussion, poster session, and lunch with the speakers. Apr. 14, 1 p.m.: Trainee Oral Symposium (McDonnell Sciences Building, Medical Campus). Apr. 15, 8 am: GHID Conference (Eric P. Newman Education Center, Medical Campus). Apr. 16: FIHTM Details (Farrell Learning & Teaching Center, Medical Campus). All events are free and open to the public. For more information or to register, visit www. publichealth.wustl.edu.

Sat., Apr. 16, 9 a.m., Lane Tabernacle CME Church’s Annual Women’s Day Celebration Kick Off Health Fair “Mind, Body and Soul,” Lane Tabernacle, 910 N. Newstead Ave. For more information, call (314) 533-0534.

Fri., Apr. 29, 11:30 a.m., 16th Annual Salute to Excellence in Health Care Awards Luncheon, Frontenac Hilton. To order tickets, call 314-533-8000 or visit www.stlamerican.com.

Sat., Apr. 30, St. Louis PKD Chapter is hosting a Kidney Fight Trivia Night Fundraiser, The PKD Foundation is the only

organization in the U.S. solely dedicated to finding treatments and a cure for PKD. Machinists’ District 9 Building, 12365 St. Charles Rock Road, Bridgeton, MO 63044. Contact Kris Conant at kidneyfighttrivianight@ gmail.com or call 314-9736597 to register.

May 1, Six Flags Rollercoaster Race, 10K race or 5K run/walk on an exciting course at Six Flags St. Louis that goes through and around the park with scenic view of their worldfamous coasters. Age group awards, cash prizes, and refreshments after the race. Not a runner? Enter original Roller Coaster Ride event, and we’ll track your coasters throughout the day as you try for a total distance of 5K! Registration includes a Six Flags ticket ($61.99 value), a shirt and finisher medal for each event entered,

and free parking ($20 value). Registration fees start at $45. For more information, visit www.rollercoasterrace.com/ stlouis.

spiritual

Sat., Apr. 2, 3 p.m., Cote Brilliante Presbyterian Church’s 12th Annual Praise is What We Do Scholarship Benefit, Cote Brilliante Presbyterian Church, 4673 Labadie.

Sun., Apr. 17, 10 a.m., Lane Tabernacle C.M.E. Church Annual Women’s Day Celebration with Guest Speaker Rev. Anita DavisWilliams, pastor of Hosley Temple C.M.E. Church of Tampa Florida, 910 N. Newstead Ave. For more information, call (314) 5330534.

Sun., Apr. 24, 4 p.m., The

Annual Wilberforce Alumni Musical Feast featuring The 60 Plus Voices Community Gospel Choir Of St. Louis Missouri Under the Direction of Susanne Palmer, St. Paul AME Church, 1260 Hamilton Ave. For more information, call (314) 385-8900.

Sat., Apr. 30, Lane Tabernacle C.M.E. Church Hats, Hankie and Pearls Brunch, New Northside Conference Center, 5939 Goodfellow. For more information, call (314) 5330534.

May 20, Healing & Mending Ministry presents their 7th Annual Fresh Anointing Women’s Retreat. Guest Speakers: Pastor Jackie Allen, Minister Jeanne Vogt & Dr. Laurette Pickett. Deposit is due of $50.00 ASAP. Contact: Pastor McCoy-Email: healingm2@gmail.com http:// www.healmending.org

Through Mar. 31, 9 a.m., AARP Tax Assistance Eligible Seniors may call the AARP tax help line and schedule an appointment for free tax preparation assistance. St. Louis Public Library, Buder Branch, 4401 Hampton Ave., 63109. For more information or to register, call (314) 525-1660. Through Apr. 11, University of Missouri St. Louis hosts Volunteer Income Tax Assistance. St. Louis Public Library, Schlafly Branch, 225 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, call (314) 367-4120 or visit www.slpl.org.

Through Apr. 11, 12 p.m., AARP Tax Help. St. Louis Public Library, Kingshighway Branch, 2260 S. Vandeventer Ave., 63110. For more information, call (314) 5251660.

National Blues Museum presents Rock ‘N Blues Fundraiser Concert. Blues artists Big George Brock, Shemekia Copeland, and the legendary Bobby Rush. For more information, see CONCERTS.

Continued from C1

simple as that. Breathed it & lined rhyme into Sport. A true fire Social Narrator my bro #RIBeats ATCQforever,” Public Enemy front man Chuck D tweeted.

Phife (born Malik Taylor) suffered from ill health that stemmed from diabetes.

He underwent a kidney transplant in 2008 and included his health crises as part of the storyline of Michael Rappaport’s 2012 documentary “Beats, Rhymes and Life” –which highlighted the group’s beginnings, their pioneering approach to rap music, their break up and short-lived reunion.

His death comes just months before the 25th anniversary of the release of their seminal sophomore album “The Low End Theory.”

Tribe Called Quest changed the game when “The Low End Theory” dropped in 1991. When West Coast rap ruled the rap world with its gratuitous bass and lyrics that would make a pimp blush, the New York trio was the anti-gangsta rap. They were Bohemians with their flow, rapping about whatever they were feeling at the moment (veganism, love, even a lost wallet) over jazz and the mellow end of funk. With their body of work they created a bridge of sound that the parents of Generation X not only approved of, but could actually appreciate. As laidback as the sound was in comparison to their California counterparts, what Tribe Called Quest did for the genre was more than just

progressive – it was actually quite revolutionary. “The Low End Theory” was a refreshing redirection of the industry’s attention back to rap’s roots, while hipping us to our parents’ music and simultaneously connecting the dots between hip-hop and bebop.

They even hired legendary bassist Ron Carter, member of the Miles Davis Quintet, to play live on “Verses from the Abstract.”

FILM

Continued from C1

filmmaker of ‘Sembene!’ last year and thought it appropriate to show his film, especially since it pays homage to the father of African cinema, Sembene Ousmane,” TolliverDiallo said.

“The other, from the Afripedia collection, is such an important project undertaken by two Ethiopian/ Eritrean nationals in Sweden to celebrate African creatives on the continent – this endeavor meshes perfectly with the philosophy of the festival.”

Amadaou Fofana, a Humanities Writ Large Fellow at Duke University and a scholar on Sembene Ousmane, will share his thoughts during a post-show discussion following Sunday evening’s film.

African & African American Studies post-doctoral fellow Jordache Ellapen will lead a discussion following Friday’s films, which are both windows into South African Cinema.

A highlight of the festival is the film “Adama,” which tells the story of a young man following his brother to the First World War. This feature brings to light the lives of many Africans who fought for France during the world wars.

world wars.

Though intended for younger audiences, she said the story is exciting and enlightening for adults as well. The film, which is subtitled and best for youth ages 9 and up, is currently a finalist for the Caesar Awards (Oscar equivalent) in France.

“Check The Rhime” proved you could be hip-hop to the core, but still catch life from the horn section of the Average White Band. The song was a game changer for the group – and a defining moment for Phife, whose verses in “Check The Rhime” further solidified his status as a heavy-hitting MC.

He was born November 20, 1970 in Queens, New York. He and fellow group mate Q-Tip (born Jonathan Davis) were lifelong friends. They were toddlers when they met. They grew up in the same neighborhood, attended the same school and played little league baseball together.

A Tribe Called Quest was formed in the late 1980s by Phife, Q-Tip, DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White – who would leave the group at the height of its success.

The act signed to Jive Records and released the first of five studio albums, “People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm,” in 1990.

The group dissolved following the release of their 1998 album “The Love Movement,” though they would return to the road as featured performers at festivals and tours that featured classic hip-hop artists.

Their influence and legacy is still felt throughout the industry.

According to Tolliver-Diallo, who is also assistant dean, College of Arts & Sciences and senior lecturer, African and African American Studies at Washington University, a highlight of the festival is the matinee feature “Adama.” The film tells the story of a young man following his brother to the First World War and adequately brings to light the lives of many Africans who fought for France during the

THEATRE

Continued from C1

“We sent the chefs and the sommeliers (and in the case of Fleur de Lilies, the mixologist) selections of the recordings so that they could come up with some new ideas to help enhance the music,” McNichols said. “And hopefully the music will also help enhance the flavors. There’s a pairing of the food and the drink to the music on purpose.”

The concerts kick off at The Dark Room in Grand Center and continue at Moulin Events (April 1), The Alphabet Club at Central Print in Old North St. Louis (April 2), Balaban’s in Chesterfield (April 2), Fleur de Lilies in Soulard (April 3) and concludes at SqWires Annex in Lafayette Square on April 4.

“We want to connect with diverse audiences – and

“The African Film Festival is a wonderful contribution to St. Louis film culture,” said Gaylyn Studlar, program director in Film & Media Studies and David May Distinguished Professor in the Humanities.

“Year after year, the films screened in this festival eloquently demonstrate how moving image media can give us important perspectives on Africa and on the shared concerns of humanity in the

figured the way to do that is to connect with people who were already connecting with diverse audiences,” said McNichols, who will also serve as one of the master of ceremonies for Opera Tastings.

“Opera Theatre is purposely programming things that are diverse, but we are also reaching out to diverse communities to show them that everybody has a place.”

The music is stunning and the stories are enthralling, but McNichols and OTSL know that opera can be a tough sell for those who are not open to the experience.

“The stereotypes that we face are partly because of the history of the art form – it’s an Italian, a European art form,” McNichols said. “But there have been tons of contributions to the art form by African Americans, Native Americans and everyone else.”

By meeting audiences in their element, OTSL will create

century.” Films of the 11th Annual Washington University African Film Festival will be shown nightly at 7 p.m. FridaySunday, April 1-3 in Brown Hall Room 100. All films are free and open to the public. A Saturday Youth Matinee will take place at 3:00 pm –and as in prior years, the Saint Louis Art Museum is providing take-home craft activities for youth, in keeping with the film theme. The St. Louis Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. will sponsor a reception following Saturday evening’s screening. For more information and a full line up of this year’s films, visit http://africanfilm.wustl. edu/.

a welcoming and comfortable environment for their “Opera 101” experience – which ranges from the music in its most classic sense to a selection from OSTL’s upcoming world premiere of Jack Perla and Rajiv Joseph’s “Shalimar The Clown.”

The event falls in line with OTSL’s legacy of presenting diverse material that contributes to the American canon of operatic repertoire – and dispels the myth that opera is a dying art form.

“Hopefully with the tastings we can show them diverse groups of performers and the music is diverse,” McNichols said. “In these great venues we will dispel the stereotypical view of what opera is and hopefully put opera in a new light.”

For a full schedule of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ Opera Tastings concert series, visit http://www.opera-stl.org/operatastings.

Phife Dog

Clergy argues for local control How you listen

State

and

county

officials not working with local residents, says North County pastor

By Rev. E.G. Shields Sr. For The St. Louis American

Change can happen in different ways. It can be sudden and quick. It can be slow and gradual. There is no one right way for change to come about but change not fully thought out can be damaging even if the intent was appropriate.

Understanding unintended consequences and fully recognizing the issue at hand are needed for successful change over time. This thoughtfulness does not preclude a great sense of urgency if the situation merits it. I say all of this as a preamble to my reservations about Senate Bill 5 (SB5) and its new sister Senate Bill 572 (SB572).

The tragic death of Michael Brown Jr. launched a series of events that shined a needed light on the flawed operations in some of our municipal governments across the St. Louis region. While race was at the core of these problems, the main emphasis out of our state capital was around municipal governance. Change needed to happen for some municipalities, and indeed change has occurred.

The Missouri Supreme Court has stopped the practice of imprisoning people for their traffic violations and any subsequent failures to appear in court for these violations. In addition, the court has also stopped the practice of multiple fines on one traffic stop. Change on some of the most egregious areas of our courts has occurred. Police departments now must be accredited within the next six years – another great step forward.

There of course is much more to do, and by no means am I suggesting that municipalities should be left alone. Rather, I would like to craft an argument for change

that is driven by those who live in these communities, pay their taxes and are the ultimate stakeholders.

SB5, now the law of the state, and SB572, now making its way through the state Legislature, both use a financial hammer to make dramatic changes in how local municipalities carry out their duties. The contraction of revenue from traffic fees and fines to an arbitrary 12.5 percent of total St. Louis County municipal revenue in SB5 will disproportionately harm predominantly African-American communities in North County who by and large have democratically elected African-American leadership. The rest of the state has a 20 percent cap. The financial hammer does not impact more affluent communities in the St. Louis region with a higher residential tax base and strong commercial tax base, thereby not forcing the change in police departments or court systems that may be abridging

the rights of drivers in their municipality particularly as it relates to race. When I converse with members of the clergy community, all agree that no municipality should use traffic fines or fines from code violations to underwrite their budget.

Municipalities need to seek other means to underwrite their budget, such as a tax increase. Residents might pay for trash collection (at present, Pagedale residents do not) and contract out there police department. To their good credit, some municipalities have made changes and others are in the process of doing so.

Neither Jefferson City nor should St. Louis County should make decisions for the residents that live in a given local community. This should be left to the mayor, city council, local elected officials and those that live there.

I worry when someone wants to “protect me” but does not have a relationship with me and does not reach out to me to fully understand the context of my life and the problems that I may be experiencing. This patriarchal use of public policy does indeed worry me.

I am thankful that change has occurred subsequent to Michael Brown Jr.’s death; he deserves that and so much more. More change is needed, but I would like to see a process whereby the residents of the communities where changes will occur due to state law are actually a real and legitimate partner in crafting the changes. Change for a headline, or other political purposes rarely help the party aggrieved by the original problem. Change needs to continue in the municipalities of St. Louis County, and we as citizens need to keep pushing for change. Let us not, however, abdicate our voice and leverage to others to drive these changes. The state has a role in the changes that may be forthcoming, as does St. Louis County. They should not, however, be the instigators of change.

Let us move with urgency to ensure people’s rights are not violated, but let us not move so swiftly by the current of those not in our community that we lose our voice and control.

Shields Sr. is pastor at Mt. Beulah M. B. Church in North St. Louis County.

Since I can remember, I was a talker. So much so, that ever since I can remember I have also heard “you talk too much” from friends and family. Most recently I’ve been accused by the one closest to me that I don’t listen; at least not enough or long enough to allow the person I’m in conversation with to make their point. I’m too busy trying to make mine. Let me plead guilty now in order to hopefully make a spiritual point.

Age, which should bring wisdom, has begun to move me into an understanding that closing one’s mouth heightens one’s hearing and it is by hearing that faith takes place. See Romans 10:17. I get it now. I have been moved recently to shut up and listen.

Miraculous things happen when quiet replaces the noise you generate. When you’re quiet, people tell you stuff, reveal themselves, open their hearts and their minds. By listening you become a vessel through which God can do His thing for someone else.

Now I’m not trying to scare anybody, but a tone, a quiver, a held back tear, a momentary pause can reveal the need for a hug, a word of encouragement, a chance to let someone know you’re there for them; none of which you would know if you’re running your mouth all the time. A funny thing happens when words meet the silence I’m referring to. Truth happens. And when truth happens, I guarantee you God shows up and shows out.

Your ability to listen is a gift, dare I say blessing. Now I believe you are to use this gift to benefit others. How? By realizing you are to share the testimony of your life’s experiences with those who need to they are not alone in their grief, their challenges or their circumstances.

We all got here by going through something. God molded us all. It’s called life. Been there! Bless that!

“Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.” Luke 8:18.

These days folks think there’s something wrong because I’m not saying anything. When I tell them I’m just intently listening to them, they all say the same thing in one way or another. “Your silence is deafening.” Now that’s an oxymoron for you. To me, I’m just listening loud. You’d be amazed at what you hear.

Proverbs 1:5 “Let the wise listen and add to their learning and let the discerning get guidance…“ No matter how hard you try or think you’re trying, you can’t talk and listen at the same time.

Rev. E.G.

Rev. E.G. Shields Sr. is pastor of Mt. Beulah M. B. Church in Hanley Hills.

Columnist James Washington

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

FSC is seeking applicants for the

HELPLINE MANAGER

FINANCIAL SERVICES SPECIALIST

The Missouri Department of Transportation has a vacancy for a

Specialist at its Central Office in Jefferson City, Missouri. This position performs financial accounting, reporting, and support services activities.

Successful candidates will possess a bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration, or related field. Experience in accounting, auditing, budgeting, physical inventory, business analysis or review is beneficial.

We offer an excellent benefits package. An on-line application may be completed at www.modot.org, under “Career Opportunities” by April 13, 2016 EEO/AA THE FATHERS’ SUPPORTCENTER (FSC) IS HIRING!

ASSISTANT CHIEF

BIDS & PUBLIC NOTICES

SEALED BIDS

for Rock Island Trail - Phase 2, Pleasant Hill to Windsor, Mo, Project N o . X1601-01 will be received by FMDC, State ofMO, UNTIL 1:30 PM , 4/28/2016. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http:// oa.mo.gov/ facilities

REQUESTFOR PROPOSAL

-AUDITSERVICES

The Ferguson-Florissant School District is requesting proposals foraudit services forthe FYE June 30, 2016. The RFPis available at www.fergflor.org underthe “Bids and Vendors” tab. If you wish to receive the document via email, please send yourrequest to: tgeorge@fergflor.org Sealed bids will be received until 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 8, 2016 at 1005 Waterford Drive, Florissant, MO 63033-3649.

ANNOUNCEMENT

The Saint Louis Public Schools is applying for a 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The five-year grant, iffunded,

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS

SEWER DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is accepting proposals in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103-2555 until 10:00

INVITATION TO BID

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Musick Construction Company is seeking proposals for the construction of the Doubletree by Hilton Room Additions at Union Station. This project consists of the addition of 46 hotel rooms. The scope includes testing, demolition, concrete, steel fabrication & erection, masonry, carpentry & casework, roofing, canopies, EIFS, load bearing stud framing, drywall, and interior finishes. Design-build services for Fire Protection, Mechanical, Plumbing and Electrical have been awarded and design is underway. Bids for this project are due on April 12, 2016 at 1:00pm. and should be delivered via e-mail to (robertb@musickconstruction.com) or fax (314-781-4830). Plans and specifications can be down loaded from our website or view in our main office at 254 Hanley Industrial Court, St. Louis, MO 63144. This project must adhere to the City of St. Louis Mayor's Executive Order #47 requiring the following: 25% MBE participation 5% WBE participation Workforce participation per Ordinance 69427 requiring the following: 25% Minority 15%

find

REQUESTFOR PROPOSAL

Private Public Safety Service and Emergency Medical Service

America’s Center is seeking sealed bids from qualified companies to provide Private Public Safety Service and Emergency Medical Service. Those interested in bidding on these contracts can obtain a bid package from the Administrative Offices of the America’s Center 701 Convention Plaza, beginning Monday, April 4, 2016 through Friday, April 15, 2016; bids must be returned by 12:00pm Monday, May 2,

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS

SEWER DISTRICT Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is accepting proposals in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103-2555 until 9:00 a.m. on April 26th, 2016 to contract with a company for: Temporary Fence Services.

Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from www.stlmsd.com click

is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Residence If you have any questions or would

more information on this project, please contact Rob

or Bruce

at Musick Construction at 314-781-7005.

REQUESTFOR PROPOSAL # 57816078

Operation and Management of the University Bookstore Harris-Stowe State University (HSSU) is requesting sealed proposals for Operation and Management of the University bookstore. Apre-bid conference will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 14, 2016 in room 123 in the Dr. Henry Givens, Jr., Administration (HGA) building. Atour

the current bookstores will take place at that time.

Interested parties may obtain a copy of the RFPby faxing a written request to HSSU, Attention: B. A. Morrow at (314) 340-3322, emailing an address to: morrowb@hssu.edu or by calling (314) 340-5763 and leaving an address and telephone #.

Proposals will be received until 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 28, 2016 and should be mailed or delivered in sealed envelopes clearly marked “Proposal for Operation and Management of the University bookstore” to Harris-Stowe State University, Attention: B. A. Morrow; 3026 Laclede Avenue, Room 105; St. Louis, MO 63103.

LETTING NUMBER: 8606

RECONSTRUCTION OFTAXIWAYECHO FROM

at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport

Sealed proposals will be received by the Board of Public Service, Room 208, City Hall, 1200 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri, 63103 until 1:45 PM, CT, on April 26, 2016, then publicly opened and read. Plans and Specifications may be examined on the Board of Public Service website http://www.stl-bps.org/planroom.aspx (BPS On Line Plan Room) and may be purchased directly through the BPS website from INDOX Services at cost plus shipping. No refunds will be made.

Bidders shall comply with all applicable City, State and Federal laws (including DBE/MBE/WBE policies). Mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, at 10:00 A.M. in the Training Room (AO-4066) at the Airport Office Building, 11495 Navaid Rd., Bridgeton, MO 63044.

All bidders must regard Federal Executive Order11246, “Notice of Requirement forAffirmative 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 construction of the Doubletree by Hilton Room Additions at Union Station. This project consists of the addition of 46 hotel rooms. The scope includes demolition, concrete, steel fabrication & erection, masonry, carpentry & casework, roofing, canopies, EIFS, load bearing stud framing, drywall, and interior finishes. Design-build services for Fire Protection, Mechanical, Plumbing and Electrical have been awarded and design is underway. Bids for this project are due on April 12, 2016 at 2pm. and should be delivered to Paric via e-mail (bids@paric.com) or fax (636-561-9501).

Plans and specifications will be available to view at Paric’smain office at 77 Westport Plaza, Suite 250, St. Louis, MO 63146.

This project must adhere to the City of St. Louis Mayor's Executive Order #47 requiring the following: 25% MBE participation 5% WBE participation Workforce participation per Ordinance 69427 requiring the following: 25% Minority 15% Apprentice 5% Women 20% City Residence

If you should have any questions or would like to find out more detailed information on this project, please contact Paric Corporation at 636-561-9500.

PARIC CORPORATION IS AN EQUALOPPORTUNITYEMPLOYER

REQUESTFOR PROPOSALS

Requests for Proposals may

of St. Louis website at http://www.stlouis-mo.gov/.

The deadline for submitting proposals is May 3, 2016 by 4:00 P.M. at the address listed above. The Department of Health reserves the right to reject any or all responses with or without cause.

Louis metropolitan area, and by this notice is announcing its availability for a 30-day review period.

The FEIS includes the Agency Preferred Alternative, and during the 30-day review period, the public is invited to provide additional substantive comments on the Agency Preferred Alternative for 15 days starting April 1, 2016 and ending April 16, 2016. Substantive comments, previously unknown, will be NGA will issue a Record of Decision (ROD) following a review and assessment of comments received. The ROD will be issued no earlier than May 1, 2016, (40 CFR 1506.10).

The FEIS will be available for review April 1 at the Meramec Valley Branch: 625 New Smizer Mill Rd., Fenton, MO 63026 • O’Fallon Public Library: 120 Civic Plaza, O’Fallon, IL 62269 • St. Louis County Library – Grant’s View Branch: 9700 Musick Road, St. Louis, MO 63123 • St. Louis Public LibraryDivoll Branch: 4234 N Grand Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63107.

The FEIS can also be viewed at the following website: www.nextngawest.com or from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EIS Database at https://cdxnodengn.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-public/action/eis/search.

CITYOFST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

TUESDAY, APRIL5, 2016

PROPOSITION

OFFICIALBALLOT

BOND

BENJAMIN

Swag Snap of the week

Tank in Memorex. The weekend started out extra early for me thanks to Tank’s little show at The Pageant. I never got a chance to take a breath because he decided to bring his sexy self to town in the middle of the doggone week. I thought the show would quietly be empty boots because it was the Wednesday before Easter. But some of y’all’s cousins tested out their most seductive Resurrection Sunday outfits as they packed it out. And I saw quite a few Dollar Tree versions of your favorite reality show vixens in the building too. Honestly, the verdict is still out on how I felt about Tank’s performance. Is it truly live if you are singing to tracks? It was 75 percent karaoke, but I must say that the intimate performance portion at the end with just him and the piano was quite cute. He should’ve just scrapped the video sing-a-long and outfit change portion altogether.

Can anyone tell me how he decided which of those tracks he was going to sing and which ones he would offer up a dramatic-interpretation lip sync? The great news is that he is still as fine as always – and has the nerve to be funny too. I got every bit of my life when was doing his little shout outs at the end and quietly roasting the folks. When he told the girl who was so far in the balcony that it looked like she was working the upstairs bar that she should’ve saved some of her outfit money to buy a better seat, I was like “how dare you … I’m in love.”

And speaking of love, I get to say I told you so after going strong in my conviction that he must have a St. Louis chick on deck with all of the trips he was making to town. He does – and he shouted her out at the show too.

Big Rich is Next Up. Friday night I made my way over to check out the talent that just might be on deck to be the next big thing out of our city thanks to the Next UP STL competition at Knockouts. The good news is that Next Up brought the masses to Knockouts. They had to shut the doors because there was no more room. The bad news is that while the crowd was at capacity, the talent … not so much. Don’t get me wrong, there were some folks that made me say “oh, ok …” but at least half of them needed some polishing – and that’s exactly what talent shows are for, so I’m not shading the folks who are rough around the edges in the least. That being said, two or three were absolutely delusional. To all the folks who are on the fence about their skills, run your act by your least favorite cousin so you can get an objective opinion. Your mama, granny and favorite aunties will make you think you’re the next Nelly.

Please tell me somebody has video footage of skateboarder/hippie/granola rapper BU’s backup dancer. He said, “Never mind a beat, get into this pop-lockand-drop with head spins.” It was delightful.

But I will say that the folks who hit, tore it all the way up. Like that Lil Ryan. I didn’t know what to expect when he kicked his performance off with one of Tupac’s “Juice” monologues, but he had the crowd on lock! You know you tore it up if you’re a local act and some young ladies rush to the side of the stage, steal your shirt and wave it around like a helicopter (© Petey Pablo). Big Rich ended up with the win, which I wasn’t mad with, but I liked Lil Ryan best. Shout out to Next Up STL for giving the folks who might not necessarily be connected a platform to hone their craft – not to mention $1000 CASH and studio time they awarded the winner. Be checking the Living It section for a feature on Big Rich in the coming weeks.

An ASAP come lately. Saturday afternoon I went to the Hot 104.1 FM ASAP Ferg silent listening party. I like the concept. It’s hard for people to work your nerves with small talk and hookup requests when you have on high performance/ noise canceling headphones. And I loved that the cousin of BU’s backup dancer (see Next Up item) was cutting it up at HG – he was on beat though and turned up form the time he put those headphones on until I left the building. What I didn’t like was that ASAP Ferg did not show up to the party until 7:53 p.m. when the dog on party was over at 8. But it was cool because I got a chance to chop it up with some of my favorite crushes that came through. Hofton Nelson, one of my favorite local designers, came out of the crypt he’s been – which means that I could bask in his fineness for the first time in years. More my faves like T. Marley, A. Plus and DJ Cuddy were in the building as well. I never got a chance to listen to ASAP’s Ferg’s new CD he has coming out later this month because I had to leave to my next spot by the time he showed up.

Sunday night I was back again at the pageant, my new home away from home, for the Rick Ross show. Actually the concert should’ve been called the “Who are all these other dudes?” featuring Rick Ross and the world premiere of his one man show “Y’all Don’t Know None of These Songs For Real, But Get into Them Anyway…Because I’m a Boss.” I must say, that I quietly liked Rozay better when he was more of a chunk. He did a great job for those 35 minutes he was on stage – even if he decided to serve me my favorite jams as snippets and do extended remixes of B-side cuts. He didn’t use a sip of vocal track assistance, so I have to give him and that stranger danger set list some props. I can’t say the same for the 12 opening acts. This’l was cool and Zeus had the folks nodding their heads for dear life with “Two Dollars.” But they could’ve kept the rest… especially the “rapper” whose freestyle about his father being an alcoholic had me feeling more sorry for him than his daddy. What? And the hosts where not about that life either. A serious question for all the tattered comedians: why is it our problem that your jokes are the pits? They are quick to say “tough crowd.” No playa, weak jokes.

R&B star Tank took time to pose with fans like Pat following his show Wednesday night @ The Pageant

Shanan, Kim, Chelsea and Debra checked out the new hot talent @ NEXT UP STL Knockouts Friday

Nikki and Danielle dressed it up and partied @ the Marquee Saturday

Love and Hip Hop star Cardi B and her manager Shaft came through Hot 104.1 Studios to chop it up Princess Stormm on Saturday

Tiffany, Nikki, Monica and Ashley came out to kick it with Cardi B Saturday @ The Lux

Hannah got a chance to meet Rapper ASAP Ferg when he stopped through DNA Boutique Friday

Jessica, Jennifer and Elisha stopped through the closing party for Haute HipHop @ Projects + Gallery

Jzanell and Jones Boy kept the audience live for the Next Up STL talent showcase Friday night @ Knockouts

Raptress Jhonni Layne celebrated the release of her new album with Nichelle and Elisha Friday night @ Knockouts

Dre’Co, DJ Climate and DJ Esco @ The Marquee Friday

Jus Bleezy, Mike Brown Sr. and Orlando Watson with rapper Rick Ross (center) following his sold-out Show at The Pageant Sunday night.

Photo by Rob Ruger of Ethno Nightlife

Photos by Lawrence Bryant & Arlis Davis

St. Louis City NAACP: A

St. Louis City NAACP

Working in Partnership: Raising the Bar

A few years ago, the St. Louis City NAACP celebrated its Centennial Anniversary. In the mist of all the glory and splendor, the room had a signiicant void - most of our membership could not afford to attend. We have not done a similar event since. It speaks volume to what we may have become, if the average person of color can’t afford to attend a celebration of the mission and accomplishments of the National Association for the Advancement for Colored People.

As a Branch, we saw it to redirect such expenditures to “Raising the Bar” through collaborative-partnerships that are strategically effective and measurable. “Raising the Bar,” is a common expression for “raising the level, quality, expectation, or standards.” Within that context, our focus for the past couple of years has primarily consisted of creating “Pathways” that level the playing ield by providing access to resources, training, job opportunities and capacity building, our intellectual property and relationships.

As pressures on underserved populations and community organizations increase and the issues we face become more complex, the idea of collaborative partnerships can hold much promise. Through collaborative partnerships we have contributed our small part and the underserved populations are reaping the beneits of everyone’s effort; we have accelerated learning and distribute skills and knowledge; and, we have added depth and breadth to our community

impact.

It is truly an exciting time for education in this region. Our partnership with the St. Louis Public Schools has positivity impacted everything from Early Childhood Education to Technology Improvements to Teacher Mentoring and Training. And our Digital Pathway Initiative will help transform our current Industrial Age learning systems to Information Age learning systems that are much more customized to the unique needs of individual children, providing all students greater access to content, resources and support. The Digital Pathway Initiative will also provide for transformation to take place not only at the classroom level, but also in recreational centers and homes. Working with our partners SLATE, Blue 1647, and AireFiber, we are on the verge of providing free central access to the information highway to meet the needs of underserved students and their households.

African-American community to center stage, not only as the focus of teaching and learning but also as an essential tool for creating the environments of success we earnestly need for African-American Entrepreneurship.

As the region continues to march forward towards transformation to an Innovation Hub, in order to achieve this needed transformation and provide equity for all, our partnerships with SLATE, BIOSTL, Cortex, St. Louis Community College, and LaunchCode are moving technology from the sidelines of the

St. Louis City NAACP Executive Committee

Adolphus M. Pruitt, II - President

Rev. Elston K. McCowan

1st Vice President

Cedric Clarkson

2nd Vice President

Marva Jean Johnson

3rd Vice President

Donna Sims - Secretary

Martha Davis - Assistant Secretary

Claude Brown, Jr. - Treasurer

Renaldo Anderson, Ph.D.

Reverend Vernon Betts

Sylvester Bolden

Ethel Byndom

Patricia Bynes

Frankie Muse Freeman, Esq.

Abram Pruitt, Jr.

Christel Reed

Norman R. Seay

Elaine Harris Spearman, Esq.

Richard Young

Josephine Wheat, Ex-Oficio

Developing performance-based policies, metrics and the systems to collect data that work in concert with one another are still very new with respect to minority participation in both private and publicly incentivized projects. These systems have improved through our partnerships with SLATE, BJC, Cortex, and Great Rivers Greenway, especially as our partners have become comfortable with transparency and the use of technology. Participation results have increased and permanent job obtainment has skyrocketed with respect for incentivized projects such as Ballpark Village and IKEA. Our policy advocacy at the State level with the Missouri Housing Development Agency and the Missouri Finance Development Board has also produced millions of dollars for minority businesses in the form of greater participation and with minority entrepreneurship creation via a mentor protégée relationship.

Maintaining momentum strategically is crucial to securing prosperity through both public and private sector growth and

positioning minority workers and minority businesses for long-term success in the global economy. To deliver this change going forward, business and government must focus on implementation to ensure words are translated into practical action.

A prime example would be our partnership with Stifel which has resulted in a new wave of innovation to capitalize minority businesses in contracting via a $10-million loan fund. With respect to consumers, our work with Stifel and St. Louis Community Credit Union will have an enormous potential for providing underserved communities affordable products and services at the new Gateway Branch and the Credit Union’s creation of a Wealth Accumulation Center.

From protecting voting rights, to exposing police abuse and political corruption, our partnerships with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF), the Ethical Society of Police, and the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Ofice has worked to address systematic racial discrimination, change and enhance the criminal justice system, and increase African-American representation in local government. Simply put, governments, especially the justice system sector, need to be better, fairer, and more diverse, which will require innovation that breaks the mold of most components of governments today in the St. Louis Region.

Adolphus M. Pruitt, II President St. Louis City NAACP

St. Louis City NAACP Loyalty Society Donors

Loyalty Lead Donors logo…Centene Charitable Foundation logo…Monsanto

Loyalty Diamond Donors logo….Ameren-Missouri logo….Anheuser- Busch, Inc.

Loyalty Gold Donors logo….AT&T - Missouri logo….Edward Jones

Loyalty Silver Donors

Sam and Lorna Hutchinson

KAI Design & Build Paric Corporation

Loyalty Bronze Donors

ABNA

James H. Buford, Sr.

Karl Grice

HBD Construction

HOK

Darryl Jones

Eric Rhone

Shalom (City of Peace)

St. Louis Cardinals

Dr. John Pieper

Washington Metropolitan AME Zion Church

Washington Tabernacle Baptist Church

Jimmy Williams

Loyalty Friends

Nancy and Kenneth Kranzberg

St. Paul AME Church

Adolphus M. Pruitt, II

About BJC

BJC HealthCare is one of the largest nonprofit health care organizations in the United States, and is focused on delivering services to residents primarily in the greater St. Louis, southern Illinois and mid-Missouri regions. BJC serves the health care needs of urban, suburban and rural communities and includes 12 hospitals and multiple community health locations. Services include inpatient and outpatient care, primary care, community health and wellness, workplace health, home health, community mental health, rehabilitation, long-term care and hospice. In addition, BJC provides additional community benefits through commitments to research, emergency preparedness, regional health care safety net services, medical and nursing education, health literacy, community outreach and regional economic development.

For many years, the St. Louis Chapter of the NAACP has been a staunch and front-lines advocate fighting for equity, inclusion and advancement for people of color in the St. Louis region. Whether marching in the community for equality or sitting down in face-to-face negotiations with the leaders of major companies, elected officials at all levels of

St. Louis City NAACP: A

government or the head of a small, but growing company owned by a person of color, the commitment of the NAACP to work for the change we need is evident.

BJC HealthCare has learned much from our work and our interactions with the NAACP. Though it is not always easy to have an outside organization hold a mirror to your efforts and boldly ask you to reflect on whether or not you are where you want to be, it is beneficial.

BJC is the largest provider of health care services in our region. We are also one of the largest employers and one of the major purchasers of goods and services. Just as we ensure that the health services we provide are available to all through our commitment to having full service hospitals in all parts of our region – urban, suburban and rural, providing more financial assistance than any non-profit health care provider in the state of Missouri, and having the only hospital in the City of St. Louis that still delivers babies -- we want to ensure there are opportunities for all members of our community to have access to jobs, contracts, and long-term partnerships with our organization. The NAACP is becoming a valued partner in helping us

to achieve these goals.

One of the best ways to describe the value of what the NAACP has brought to BJC is through the lens of our multi-year Campus Renewal Project at our academic medical center. Campus Renewal represents a 10-year effort to transform our hospitals and other services through new construction and the major renovation of buildings within a 16-block area in the heart of the City of St. Louis. This is the largest construction project undertaken by BJC since the development of the medical center campus. As we began planning for this work, the NAACP was proactive in reaching out and asking very directly how we intended to address diversity in the hiring of minority owned companies, contractors and the workforce for this project. Fortunately, we already believed we had an opportunity to do something new and sustainable in advancing diversity given the number of years the construction project would be underway.

In meetings with NAACP leadership, we got a better of understanding of many of the barriers that were faced by minority owned companies in bidding on major projects, as well as obstacles faced

The challenges facing the City of St. Louis in the last few years highlight the need for law enforcement and the community, as a whole, to change their perspective on crime and crime prevention. Fresh ideas and unique partnerships are a vital piece of a new approach. The St. Louis City NAACP is a leader in establishing cooperative efforts to develop such an approach.

In the summer of 2015, the Circuit Attorney’s Ofice (CAO) announced its vision to combat gun violence. The CAO revealed “3 R’s” for combatting gun violence -- RESOLVE, REDIRECT and REMOVE. The CAO would work with the community to strengthen its RESOLVE against illegal gun possession and use. Community and law enforcement needed to partner to REDIRECT young people on the path toward criminal behavior. Redirecting youth is necessary to reducing both gun violence and incarnation rates. Law enforcement would focus efforts to identify and REMOVE the small number of individuals at the epicenter of gun violence. Witnesses and victims needed to be willing to come forward against those select numbers of people shooting up City streets.

CIRCUIT ATTORNEY CITY OF ST. LOUIS

The St. Louis City NAACP partnered with the Circuit Attorney to ight the epidemic of gun violence killing far too many young people. The NAACP volunteered to educate community members on the hazards of illegal gun use and possession. The NAACP offered to go to the streets to help individual witnesses understand the hazards of failing to confront chronic gun violence offenders. The NAACP offered to mentor young people to help them redirect their actions.

Cooperation with law enforcement is tied to trust. Vital to developing community trust is having a safe process for community members to bring concerns and information to the system. The St. Louis City NAACP joined with the Circuit Attorney to address community concerns about police conduct by establishing new methods to enhance the CAO’s independent investigations. In critical and potentially volatile times, the NAACP worked to stabilize the community and encourage peaceful response to dificult situations. The NAACP called on concerned citizens to focus their frustrations on accountability -- not on violent destruction. Such leadership provides a platform for the community to have productive and proactive access to the justice system.

The St. Louis City NAACP participated in important conversations on issues like oficer involved shootings, witness and victim intimidation and the diversion of individuals away from the criminal justice system. Members of the NAACP reached out to young people who have witnessed crime to offer them access to social services. Others worked to provide youth with information and education as alternatives to violence and gun use. Still other members developed plans in partnership with law enforcement to encourage those victimized by crime to step forward.

The leadership and multiple proactive partnerships of the NAACP have been critical in raising awareness of the power of individuals to change and enhance the criminal justice system. As the City of St. Louis works to develop solutions to crime, the actions of the St. Louis City NAACP are examples for others to follow.

Jennifer Joyce City of St. Louis Circuit Attorney

by the workers of color. The NAACP shared best practices from other parts of the country that if applied here, could help us meet our goals of deepening and strengthening the pool of companies that would be able to successfully bid on our projects and be around to bid on projects across our region for years to come. The NAACP also helped us better position and articulate our intent as an owner with respect to development of apprenticeships and meaningful work on our project. And, the NAACP went a step further in helping identify opportunities for “newer” workers to take advantage of work-readiness programs to enhance the non-construction skills necessary to be successful.

BJC’s work in this space is continuing and our numbers reflect we are making progress. We are optimistic that through education and access to good jobs, we can have a community that embraces inclusiveness, equity and advancement of all members of our community. We are focused on being a part of the solution and we believe our relationship with the NAACP helps us to accelerate the effectiveness of our work.

June McAllister Fowler Senior Vice President, Communications BJC HealthCare

It is with great enthusiasm that I write this letter of support and partnership on behalf of Blue1647 and the NAACP St. Louis. BLUE1647 has partnered with the NAACP St. Louis on several initiatives, including the Digital Path Initiative, which bridges the digital and opportunity divide. Our irst project included the Clinton Peabody Housing Development, a low-income community housing 348 families. At the development, we are providing community Wi-Fi to the development, and providing 21st century technical training to adults and their children. Future endeavors include Rec 2 Tech, which is the conversation of underutilized recreational centers and converting some of the space into technology innovation centers.

Blue1647 is an entrepreneurship and technology innovation center that fosters economic development in technology and 21st Century skills through people development (classes, workshops, and events around technology), workforce development (through youth and adult technology programs to prepare individuals for high-demand jobs) and Business Acceleration (through shared coworking-services). As a beacon of resource, BLUE1647 provides impactful individuals and organizations the resources to realize their ideas for a better world. The BLUE1647 community is a vibrant example of the ways in which creative professionals, entrepreneurs, change-makers, and nonproits can come together to make meaningful, lasting impact with technology training.

Our cutting edge curriculums are proprietary in nature and our technical assistance will enable the NAACP to maximize impact given the resources required. We will also partner to develop a curriculum that will be a tremendous educational opportunity for future instructors and trainers at the local level.

Please allow the above comments to serve as a reafirmation of our joint endeavors in innovation.

Emile Cambry, Jr. Chief Executive Oficer Blue1647

The St. Louis NAACP has provided invaluable guidance and assistance to Cortex in our efforts to ind ways to connect our innovation community to underrepresented neighborhoods and populations in the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County. We appreciate the partnership we have developed in thinking through and identifying meaningful initiatives to provide both access and opportunity to participate in the goodness that Cortex is generating in our efforts to make the St. Louis region a national and international technology hub. Assistance has been provided to the Cortex leadership in the following ways over the past ive years:

• Providing guidance in the development of an MOU on con-

St. Louis City NAACP: A Report to the Community

struction business enterprise and workforce inclusion related to Cortex projects

• Developing a transparent reporting dashboard on the status of all construction projects that Cortex updates on a quarterly basis and posts on our website

• Guidance in the development, implementation and Board leadership related to the establishment of a $10.3 million M/WBE regional construction loan fund

over a two year period with the launch in May 2015

• Guidance related to the recruiting of minority and women entrepreneurs to participate in the Center for Emerging Technologies annual Square One Entrepreneurs Bootcamp (10 weeks), and the recently inaugurated Square One Ignite mini-camp (4 weeks)

• Leadership in convening and estab-

Great Rivers Greenway is grateful for the partnership and collaboration that the St. Louis City NAACP has provided to the District. We were very pleased with the support provided for Proposition P which resulted in a 3/16th sales tax to support Great Rivers Greenway, the redevelopment of the Gateway Arch and all the CityArchRiver projects. This tax generates more than $20 million a year for these projects. It has also provided a major economic impact in the St. Louis region of more than $370 million.

We are especially grateful for the efforts provided us in developing and ensuring minority contractors and workforce were not only included but also elevated as a priority in the $380 million CityArchRiver renovations. The NAACP’s willingness to connect us to minority contractors and participate in all of the pre-bid meetings has resulted in 51% minority contractors in the Central Riverfront project and 33% in the Kiener Plaza project which has begun construction. Because of the guidance and vigilance of the St. Louis City NAACP, we have been able to meet our federal workforce goals; ensuring that the contractors were on track with including minority workforce from all the trades. The NAACP’s help with the National Park Service has resulted in their increased awareness of the importance of minority inclusion.

On a personal note, I wish to thank the St. Louis City NAACP for the many introductions and networking opportunities you have provided to me as Executive Director. I know that the District has had a much larger impact on serving the minority needs of the St. Louis region because of your guidance.

Susan Trautman Executive Director Great Rivers Greenway

lishing the Collegiate School for Medicine and Bioscience, a St. Louis Public Schools magnet high school now in its third year

• Leadership in the formation of a community engagement initiative involving TechShop, a new innovation center opening in Cortex in Summer 2016

The NAACP has not only shined a light on social inequities within the St. Louis region, but has also provided meaningful recommendations and programmatic solutions for inclusion as Cortex implements its mission and vision.

Dennis Lower President and CEO

The Ethical Society of Police (ESOP) would like to state how grateful we are to have the assistance of the NAACP with our Minority Recruitment Program and the monthly ESOP membership meetings.

Having a location in which we can provide potential Police Recruits in Training access to our recruitment classes has been tremendously successful. As of January of 2016, ten of the current Police recruits in Training were hired by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD). All ten Police Recruits in Training attended the ESOP Minority Recruitment Program at the NAACP Ofice, located at 4811 Delmar. The success of the recruitment program is unique, and we’re positive that our recruitment program is one of a kind in the United States. Furthermore, these ten future oficers have diverse backgrounds.

Our classes provide potential Police Recruits in Training with Ethics, Constitutional Law, Patrol Guidelines, Time Management, and Community Engagement Opportunities.

Your diligence in keeping this program going with the City of St. Louis Public Safety Department was a critical component of the ESOP’s success with the recruitment program.

We are also thankful for the use of your ofice for monthly membership meetings. We’ve have been able to provide our membership of 215 Oficers and Civilians with updates speciic to their needs as SLMPD employees.

Sgt. Heather Taylor

President, Ethical Society of Police (ESOP)

St. Louis City NAACP: A Report to the Community

SLATE/St. Louis NAACP Partnerships

Rec 2 Tech is a collaborative effort between the award winning trainer BLUE1647, the St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE) and the St. Louis City NAACP. The essential concept is to transform unused or underused urban recreation centers into neighborhood-based learning sites that help everyone understand and unleash the power of today’s advanced technologies. Rec 2 Tech sites are able to host events, spark new ideas, and spur long-term economic development, while laying the foundation for 21st century skills and helping attract new businesses to our region.

St. Louis Bioscience Jobs Accelerator. In 2011, a $1.8 million grant was awarded to a consortium of St. Louis-based partners to establish the St. Louis Bioscience Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Project. SLATE, the Center for Emerging Technologies (CET), BioSTL,

and the St. Louis Minority Suppliers Development Council (MSDC) worked together to spur the growth of this critical industry cluster throughout the region, one of only 20 of 125 applicants selected. SLATE administered On-the-Job Training (OJT) funds and estimates 80 FT employees from diverse backgrounds entered this industry sector, compared to the baseline goal of 60, with average real wages at over $20/hour to start.

Jobs Plus. The St. Louis Housing Authority (SLHA) and SLATE recently worked together to successfully apply for $3 million in funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Jobs Plus Pilot Program. This project, on of only nine funded nationwide, is now serving 240 residents at the Clinton Peabody development, the largest and oldest SLHA administering paid work experiences and supportive services, and is recruiting Community Coach and

volunteer Jobs Plus Ambassador positions from among the residents.

Developers’and Contractors’Support Services (DCSS) is a partnership whose purpose is to assist construction project developers and contractors operating in the City of St. Louis achieve workforce development and diversity goals required by City Ordinance 69427. A dedicated construction website and associated annual report help monitor contractor progress towards mandated benchmarks.

Ballpark Village. Ballpark Village, located on approximately 10 acres of land that previously held the old Busch Stadium and the Bowling Hall of Fame, has brought 100,000 square feet of new retail, restaurant and entertainment space to downtown St. Louis. Extensive recruitment, screening and interviewing has taken place of ill the approximately 500

jobs created so far. SLATE and NAACP oversaw the developer’s compliance with First Source goals set by the Missouri Downtown Economic Stimulus Act (MODESA).

IKEA JOBS. Last year, downtown St. Louis warmly welcomed the long-awaited IKEA retail location. In the months, leading up to the grand opening, four info sessions were hosted throughout central St. Louis City, effectively reaching minority communities. IKEA was also one of the largest employers present at a series of jobseeker events within unprivileged African-American communities in North St. Louis, including the Ferguson 1000 Job Fair. The results have been successful; of over 300 jobs illed at IKEA, 131 were by City residents, drawn from each and every one of the 28 Wards. Overall, 57% of IKEA’s St. Louis Job openings were illed by African Americans, and 61% by women.

LaunchCode and the St. Louis City NAACP

LaunchCode and the NAACP have partnered to create and increase access to education and employment programs that allow St. Louisans of all ages and backgrounds to pursue careers in technology. The LaunchCode Mentor Center and the ofice of the St. Louis City NAACP are headquartered in the same building. A key

focus of the partnership has been making technology accessible to St. Louisans of all backgrounds and walks of life. As part of their efforts to introduce new people to technology, LaunchCode and the NAACP brought Blue1647, a Chicago-based youth bootcamp nonproit, to St. Louis to work out of the LaunchCode Mentor Center.

LaunchCode is a St. Louis-based nonproit that offers free tech education and paid apprenticeships to people aspiring to work in technology. LaunchCode specializes in serving talented individuals who may lack traditional credentials such as a technical degree. To ind out more about opportunities for learning and employ-

ment through LaunchCode, please visit www.launchcode.org. LaunchCode is looking to ill a wide variety of roles in their St. Louis ofice. To learn more and apply, visit www.launchcode.org/jobs Brendan Lind Executive Director LaunchCode

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Missouri partners with the St. Louis City NAACP

From protecting voting rights, to exposing police abuse and political corruption, the St. Louis NAACP and ACLU of Missouri have a long and effective partnership in the fight to defend and expand civil rights and civil liberties throughout the state.

After 15 years of Missouri’s Attorney General’s annual vehicle stops reports consistently showing African-Americans are almost twice as likely to be stopped, searched, and arrested as white drivers, the St. Louis NAACP joined forces with the ACLU of Missouri and a coalition of allies to call for the passage of Senator Jamilah Nasheed’s and Representative Shamed Dogan’s bi-partisan Fair and Impartial Policing Act (FIPA). FIPA will enhance reporting requirements, track pedestrian stops, require anti-biased

policing training, and enact measures to hold offending agencies and officers accountable.

The St. Louis NAACP’s fight to end biased policing extends years before Ferguson erupted in the summer of 2014, when the chapter began receiving reports of corruption and abusive policing in several St. Louis County municipalities. As a direct result of the St. Louis NAACP’s deep connections in the community, the ACLU of Missouri filed a lawsuit against Pine Lawn for the false arrest of Adrian Wright. After being critical of former Pine Lawn Mayor Sylvester Caldwell, Mr. Wright, who preceded Caldwell as Mayor, was stopped by an officer and wrongly accused of running a stop sign and failing to yield to a fictional emer-

gency vehicle. When the 80-year-old explained he was unable to get on the ground, he was threatened with a taser. Wright was arrested twice as a result of the bogus charges and refused to accept bargains every time. Despite the fact that all charges were dismissed, city officials ensured that Wright’s “perp walk” was recorded by a local TV station and published his mug shot. The litigation sent a strong message that the NAACP and the ACLU are watching – and will not hesitate to expose – municipalities that abuse their power.

And, currently pending in federal court is the most recent example of the NAACP and ACLU partnership. The ACLU of Missouri represents the NAACP and residents of the Ferguson-Florissant School District (FFSD) in a challenge to an elec-

toral scheme that intentionally dilutes the vote strength of the African-American community and works to block families from getting the representation they need to strengthen their children’s education. Under the current, at-large voting scheme, while 80% of the FergusonFlorissant School District student population is Black, typically only one or at most two African-American members serve on the seven-member school board. Time and time again, the NAACP and ACLU have used the unique strengths of each organization and their membership to advocate on behalf of communities of color, and for equality for all Missourians. We look forward to building on this partnership to achieve many more victories until true freedom is won for all in the Show Me State.

St. Louis City NAACP: A Report to the

NAACP and St. Louis Community College Partnership

Disparity Study

In September 2015, St. Louis Community College (STLCC) staff reported on the results of a year-long disparity study that was conducted by Mason Tillman Associates to provide a legal predicate for a minority- and women-owned business (MWBE) policy and program. The study examined the utilization of MWBEs by the College as compared to the availability of ready, willing, and able MWBEs in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The study examined College spending on construction, contracting and procurement for the ive iscal years ending June 30, 2013. Contracting and spending was separated into three industries for the study: construction, professional services including architecture and design and engineering, and purchase of goods and services.

The study relected there was statistical historical disparity in each of the categories to some degree, and suggested policies and practices to address such disparities. The inal report was presented to the STLCC Board of Trustees with a recommendation that the College creates a formal MWBE policy and program; retain appropriate staff to implement and maintain the program; and that STLCC

establish contracting goals.

The STLCC Board overwhelmingly supported the administration’s recommendations and planning has begun to create a program and establish contracting goals by the end of the iscal year. STLCC is also considering incorporating into its program other Mason Tillman recommendations, such as offering expanding outreach to MWBEs regarding available contracting opportunities, and will be posting a position in March that will report to the Finance Department to provide staff support for all relevant initiatives. In addition, the College’s procurement ofice is working to host a workshop and vendor fair for MWBE irms this Spring.

Workforce Training Initiative

Recently, Chancellor Jeff Pittman and NAACP St. Louis Chapter President Adolphus Pruitt met to discuss the development of a partnership between the two organizations leading to workforce training opportunities, and how to co-market these opportunities to minorities. In particular, it was discussed that STLCC’s computer coding programs had the potential to provide minorities and women the skills needed to qualify them

for well-paying jobs for which there is a pronounced shortage of skilled employees in the St. Louis area.

In Spring 2014, St. Louis Community College initiated discussions with founder Jim McKelvey and his key staff member, Brenden Lind, about support that St. Louis Community College might provide to their initiative. LaunchCode had sponsored a public event that drew the interest of nearly 1000 people who were invited to participate in a free introductory computer science course.

Since that time, St. Louis Community College provided LaunchCode with consultation and assistance in participant assessment and selection to the internship pairings and recommended a more rigorous training program. As a result, the college, in partnership with LaunchCode and the State of Missouri, developed and offered a 20 week coding academy. In December 2015, the no cost program, reBootU, graduated 22 individuals most of whom were paired with LaunchCode employer partners.

In addition, St. Louis NAACP President Adolphus Pruitt and St. Louis Community College staff were introduced to BLUE1647, a non-proit 501(c) (3) entrepreneurship and technology innovation

center committed to providing training to low-income youth and adult learners. BLUE1647 and the College are currently engaged in discussions to identify partnership opportunities.

As a result, St. Louis Community College submitted a letter of interest to the U.S. Department of Education asking for inclusion in the Department’s Educational Quality through Innovative Partnerships (EQUIP) experiment. The EQUIP experiment is intended to encourage increased innovation in higher education through partnerships with non-traditional education providers and to increase access to training to students from low-income backgrounds. If selected, college partners will include BLUE1647 and LaunchCode.

Finally, all partners are working with St. Louis Community College to develop a certiicate program that would provide participants with potentially 6-12 college credits upon the successful completion of the training.

Dr. Jeffrey Pittman Chancellor

Collaborating to serve our community:

The St. Louis City NAACP and St. Louis Community Credit Union

St. Louis Community Credit Union is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that serves low-to moderate-income (LMI) populations. As part of our overall giveback to the community, we provide branches in underserved communities, affordable products and services, as well as inancial education and community outreach to communities that need us most.

We realize that providing access to inancial and community resources are important components of building an empowered community. Our innovative collaborations help us further meet the needs of LMI individuals. St. Louis Community Credit Union recently partnered with the St. Louis City NAACP on two initiatives that help support the neighborhoods we humbly serve.

The Preservation of Gateway Bank

Established in 1965, Gateway Bank was the irst and only minority-owned commercial bank in Missouri. It took local deposits and made loans in a neighborhood where few other banks focused. In 2009, Gateway Bank was acquired by Central Bank of Kansas City, which

operated on the site for three years. In 2012, that institution announced that it was leaving the area. During that time, St. Louis was the third highest underbanked African-American community in the U.S. according to the FDIC. Losing this community resource would have left a huge void for North St. Louis city residents. The potential closing of Gateway Bank would have perpetuated an already disappointing trend of reduced access to banking services for members of this community.

The St. Louis City NAACP was determined to ind a solution to save Gateway Bank. As a partner of the Credit Union, the NAACP was familiar with our ability to provide access and inancial capability to inancially underserved communities. St. Louis City NAACP President Adolphus Pruitt reached out to Stifel Bank and Trust to discuss a plan. Together, the two parties connected Central Bank of Kansas City with St. Louis Community Credit Union to work out an agreement that allowed the sale of the property to the Credit Union.

St. Louis Community’s commitment to honoring Gateway Bank did not end there. The Credit Union provided a means for Gateway’s customers to open accounts

and even hired a few employees from Gateway to work at some of its locations. Furthermore, St. Louis City NAACP leadership helped point St. Louis Community Credit Union in the right direction to procure a Community Development Block Grant that facilitated completion of the project. The original Gateway Bank building was demolished in 2015. Thanks to additional funding from the Community Development Block Grant, as well as support from the City of St. Louis, Stifel Bank & Trust, the St. Louis City NAACP, TIAA Direct and others, St. Louis Community Credit Union built a new stateof-the art facility while still preserving Gateway Bank’s great heritage. Several of Gateway’s traditions still live on today through the St. Louis Community Credit Union Gateway Branch. Thanks to our partnership with the St. Louis City NAACP, the residents of North St. Louis City now have access to affordable banking with dignity and respect. To learn more about Gateway Bank’s history, visit www.gatewayslccu.com.

The Digital Pathway Initiative

In 2015, St. Louis Community Credit Union pledged to support the St. Louis

City NAACP’s Digital Pathway Initiative. This effort is designed to bridge the digital divide for low-income individuals living in the Clinton-Peabody housing development.

Our donation (along with other private partners) will combine with $1 million in federal funds, as well as HUD grant funding, to provide (in part) fast and reliable broadband service; formalized training; computer hardware; job placement opportunity; and low-cost Internet access to a community (city wide) that is otherwise shut out from both access and adoption.

At St. Louis Community Credit Union, we realize that access is important. The Digital Pathway Initiative aligns with our passion to empower the underserved.

Reaching back into the communities we serve is a crucial part of our overall giveback. We look forward to partnering with the St. Louis City NAACP for many years to come.

Patrick Adams President and CEO

St. Louis City NAACP: A Report to the Community

Bridging the Technology Gap

“The St. Louis City NAACP Digital Pathway Initiative”

We are in the mist of a technological revolution that will dramatically change the way we live, work, and relate to one another. Its scale, scope, and complexity, will be unlike anything we’ve experienced before. How it fully unfolds is not certain, but let’s be perfectly clear: how African-Americans response to it must be integrated and comprehensive, involving all stakeholders from the public and private sectors to academia and civil society. The emerging technology breakthroughs in ields such as artiicial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles, 3-D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, materials science, energy storage, and quantum computing are no longer on the horizon.

“The NAACP Digital Pathway Initiative” is made up of four lead partner organizations working in collaboration to bring broadband networks, digital literacy and computers to more than 80,000 residents in St. Louis. The initiative, organized in March 2015 with the St. Louis Agency on Training & Employment (SLATE), Blue 1647 and Ambient Networks LLC, attacks two barriers to Internet usage – access and adoption. We will bring dedicated iber based services from our national partner, Level 3 Communications, to underserved communities at a fraction of the traditional costs associated with building dedicated, commercial iber services to a business. This will allow dynamic access to training, education, and the application of technology skills provided by Blue 1647 in a way not usually available to under-served communities.

Phase one of the Initiative focused on supporting SLATE, St. Louis Housing Authority and Blue 1647’s “Job Plus” program at the Clinton Peabody Housing complex. To bridge the digital divide at Clinton Peabody we have brought dedicated iber based services to the complex, and donated tablets for the youth. We are excited to begin planning and implementation of phase two of the project which will include a more distributed public access Wi-Fi infrastructure for this community which can serve as a model for bringing technology based opportunities to the underserved throughout the country.

A youth being trained in the NAACP Digital Pathway Initiative.

Missouri Housing Development Commission and Missouri Development Finance Board

Our ability to meet the challenges and achieve the opportunities of our time depends in large measure on our advocacy for policies and their implementation. Citing the need to develop a strong and diverse minority professional services, contracting, and workforce sector, the St. Louis City NAACP pursued minority participation policy and enforcement changes in both the Missouri Housing Development Commission and Missouri Development Finance Board incentivized projects. There is a growing body of work that documents the positive impact that those policies changes have had on minority-owned businesses:

I.

Missouri Housing Development Commission

The Missouri Housing Development

Commission (MHCD), working in concert with the St. Louis City NAACP, established an additional condition that applicants must meet to qualify for MHDC funding on projects with more than six units. This requirement is identiied as the Emerging Business Initiative (the “Initiative”). The intent behind the Initiative is to encourage involvement in MHDC funded projects by businesses certiied as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and as a Woman Business Enterprise (WBE).

In iscal year 2014, MHDC incentivized $279 million in developments statewide of which $86.5 million was in the St. Louis region including $51.9 million in the City of St. Louis. Seventy-one percent (71%) of MHDC applications met the MBE soft and hard

costs goals and eighty percent (80%) of MHDC applications met the WBE soft and hard costs goals. Forty-one percent (41%) of all applications exceeded participation goals.

In iscal year 2015, MHDC incentivized $284 million in developments statewide of which $85.2 million was in the St. Louis region including $49.9 million in the City of St. Louis. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of MHDC applications met the MBE soft and hard costs goals and eighty percent (80%) of MHDC applications met the WBE soft and hard costs goals. Eleven per cent (11%) of all applications exceeded participation goals.

II. Missouri Development Finance Board

In April 2012, the Board voted to amend its MBE/WBE policy in the interest of enhancing its effectiveness in promoting the use of disadvantaged business on projects funded or partially funded with programs that use direct Board funding or funding predicated on the granting of state tax credits for contributions to the Board’s Infrastructure Development and Reserve Fund. By the end of December 2014, the program’s impact resulted in $202,908,674 in M/WBE participation statewide of which $24.8 million was in the St. Louis Region and $15.8 million in the City of St. Louis.

The St. Louis Bioscience Inclusion Initiative launched in 2008 with a small planning group of seven regional bioscience executives. This planning group then convened a 20-person leadership roundtable – including chancellors of the universities, C-suite executives of major biosciences employers, directors of the region’s incubators, and the heads of industry associations – to qualitatively benchmark the region’s standing related to diversity in the biosciences and to reafirm the region’s commitment to promoting inclusion in its growing bioscience community. We thank the City of St. Louis Branch of the NAACP for its work to shine a light on these challenges locally. Your research and initial dialogue served as an impetus for these meetings that, in turn, helped to coalesce disparate discussions and activities related to diversity in the biosciences.

Since these initial sessions in 2008, the Bioscience Inclusion Initiative has continued to maintain a network, now totaling more than 90 individuals and organizations, committed to collaborative action to increase inclusion within the bioscience and innovation communities in St. Louis. Results of the network include: the irst minority teachers and minority-serving school districts engaged in a summer training programming at one of the region’s major bioscience corporations; and a collaboration to secure a $1.8 million federal grant for St. Louis, matched by an additional $700,000 from BioSTL, to enhance the region’s bioscience talent pipeline and promote inclusion of minority suppliers. Partners on

the program included St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, BioSTL’s investment arm - BioGenerator, the Center for Emerging Technologies (CET), and the St. Louis Minority Business Council. Building from the success of the network and to ill regional gaps identiied around engaging minorities in entrepreneurship, BioSTL engaged Dr. Cheryl Watkins-Moore to help lead a new programmatic expansion of the Inclusion Initiative. Dr. Watkins-Moore previously supported entrepreneurs in her role as an Entrepreneur In Residence at the BioGenerator

In February 2014, BioSTL secured one of ten awards nationally (out of more than 500 applications) from the Blackstone

Charitable Foundation. The award helped launch new programs aimed at identifying high-potential women & minority bioscience entrepreneurs and providing a systematic pathway for them to create viable high-growth ventures. The entrepreneurship inclusion program consists of four main components. Through an intentional pathway of outreach and activities, the program 1) builds Awareness among underrepresented communities of the possibilities related to biosciences; 2) provides Engagement opportunities for individuals to begin exploring their entrepreneurial interests; 3) provides Training to build the skills of entrepreneurship; and 4) connects individuals to the Resources necessary to start and grow a business, including networks, facilities, and capital.

Benjamin R. Johnson Vice President, Programs

Saint Louis Public Schools, our work together

Saint Louis Public Schools is honored to have built a strong, lasting partnership with the NAACP. Creating opportunities for students is a shared passion, and the roots of our relationship go back many decades.

Although our relationship has always been strong, it strengthened with the desegregation settlement agreement of 1999. To provide some history and context, in February 1972, African American parent Minnie Liddell filed a lawsuit against the Board of Education, alleging the District’s racially segregated schools violated the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. The NAACP became a co-plaintiff in that case. Finding in the plaintiffs’ favor, the Federal Court directly supervised and monitored Saint Louis Public Schools until 1999, when the Court approved a settlement creating a desegregation action plan.

I wanted to take a moment to recognize and express my appreciation for the work that has been accomplished through the relationship of our organizations: St. Louis NAACP and Stifel Bank & Trust, as well as our parent company Stifel. Our friendship is found through our shared concern and deeply rooted commitment to ight vigorously for human rights. Our shared interests have helped to form a strong bond between NAACP and Stifel. This collaborative and cooperative tone facilitates our combined success in working to achieve economic inclusion and diversity initiatives.

Ron Kruszewski, Stifel’s CEO, enjoyed partnering with you as the Campaign Chairman of the Freedom Fund in 2011 and 2012. That initial association launched our relationship and fueled addi-

The Court’s order obligated the District to provide certain programs, such as all-day kindergarten and college-preparatory curriculum, “to ensure that the enjoyment of full equality of opportunity by plaintiff school children is not impaired by the effects of past segregation.”

In August 2011, District leadership made a request to the plaintiff representatives of the lawsuit to consider allocating $96.1 million from the Desegregation Capital Fund to support the District’s budget and academic programs over a three-year period from 2011-14.

The funding was approved, and the District allocated the funds to restore the General Operating Fund balance and to execute highly successful programs related to Early Childhood Education, Principal Leadership, Magnet School Transportation, Technology

tional opportunities for our organizations to ind common ground. Ron continues to be a friend and supporter of you and the NAACP.

The most recent initiative we have partnered on is the Contractor Loan Fund (CLF). The CLF provides minorityand women-owned business enterprises with access to capital and professional assistance to grow their business and take on larger projects in St. Louis. CLF is a collaborative effort among St. Louis City and County municipalities, construction buyers, contractors, banks, and communi-

Improvements and Teacher Mentoring and Training (The St. Louis Plan).

In 2014, the District returned to the plaintiffs, requested and was granted additional funding to keep these critically important programs going. These programs have helped the District make significant academic gains over the past seven years, while maintaining stability in governance and finances.

I sincerely thank the NAACP for the role they played and continue to play in the District’s on-going efforts to improve and provide the best education for St. Louis students. I speak for the District as a whole when we say I look forward to continued collaboration with the NAACP and congratulate you on more than 100 years of serving this community.

Dr. Kelvin R. Adams Superintendent Saint Louis Public Schools

ty-based organizations like the NAACP. I sincerely thank you for your help recruiting and mobilizing the CLF’s members and for serving as a valued member of the Board.

The partnership between Stifel Bank and the NAACP helped save Gateway Bank from closure in 2012. Gateway Bank was the irst black-owned and operated bank in Missouri, serving about 1,300 African-American and low-income residents in a location of too many unbanked households. Together, we were able to broker a deal with St. Louis

About Saint Louis Public Schools

Saint Louis Public Schools has been preparing students for a bright future since 1858. The District serves approximately 25,000 children in pre-kindergarten through grade 12. With more than 70 schools, including Magnet and Choice schools, SLPS has a school to fit every child’s needs. For more information about SLPS, visit the District’s website at www.slps. org or follow the District on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or Facebook.

Community Credit Union to purchase the Bank before it was closed. The new bank branch building located at the original Gateway Bank site is scheduled to open in March 2016!

The Stifel Bank/NAACP connection has helped the St. Louis Community Credit Union obtain New Market Tax Credits. The tax credits will be used to create St. Louis Community Credit Union’s irst Wealth Accumulation Center, combining inancial education, access to traditional banking products and services, alternatives to payday loans/inancing and innovative inancial products.

Christopher K. Reichert Chief Executive Oficer Stifel Bank & Trust