March 5th, 2020 Edition

St. LouiS AmericAn

SLPS holds public meetings about school closings

Twentysix of the district’s schools are less than half full

By Ryan Delaney

St. Louis Public Radio

The long and potentially painful process of restructuring St. Louis Public Schools’ physical presence throughout the city is underway. The district held its first of six community visioning sessions Saturday, February 29. They will be followed by special school board meetings and more public forums in early spring.

Superintendent Kelvin Adams laid out a data-heavy case for why SLPS needs to overhaul how and where it educates 21,500 students across 68 buildings.

SLPS once educated more than 110,000 students and has been closing buildings for nearly three decades to keep up with a dwindling student population and overall shrinking city. Meanwhile, more independent charter schools have opened in the last 20 years and now educate one-third of public school children. Twenty-six of the district’s

After Biden upsurge, Bloomberg drops out, endorses Biden

By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American

Black voters were widely credited with Joe Biden’s upsurge in the Democratic Primary on Super Tuesday. Biden won 14 states and one territory with a total of 531 delegates, compared to Bernie Sanders’ 461 and Elizabeth Warren’s 53, according to unofficial election results. Mike Bloomberg – whose only victory on Super Tuesday was the American Samoa caucuses (five delegates) – suspended his campaign. In the most dramatic turn in the campaign to date, Bloomberg endorsed Biden and pledged his fierce campaign machine and vast resources towards the Biden campaign.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn’s (D-S.C.), the highest-ranking African American official in Congress, was credited with rallying black critical support around Biden. Clyburn told The Hill he started talking with black lawmakers, including U.S. Reps. Benny Thompson (D-Miss.), Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) and Cedric Richmond (D-La.), late least year about what they needed to do to help Biden.

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

“Tonight, you didn’t just walk into a church. You walked back into the ring,” Pastor Sarah Jakes Roberts told the women who packed into Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church on Friday, February 28. “There are some devils that you have been fighting that it’s time for you face head on.”

“Hallelujah” and

Photo by Ryan Delaney

Of

By Chris King Of The St. Louis

Photo by Kenya Vaughn

Joe Biden

Flava Flav claps back after PE sends open letter about Flav’s ‘firing’

An open letter on behalf of the group, billed as Public Enemy Radio, was distributed Monday expounding on the group’s decision to part ways with hype man Flavor Flav more than 35 years.

“Flavor Flav has been on suspension since 2016 when he was MIA from the Harry Belafonte benefit in Atlanta, Georgia. That was the last straw for the group,” the letter, signed by members Chuck D, James Bomb, DJ Lord, Pop Diesel and Jahi, said. “He had previously missed numerous live gigs from Glastonbury to Canada, album recording sessions and photo shoots. He always chose to party over work.”

The letter also points out that Public Enemy Radio — the name the group uses when not all members are present — has embarked on several tours and performed various benefit shows without Flavor Flav.

Flav says the fallout grew out of a

dispute surrounding a performance by the group at a Bernie Sanders presidential campaign rally.

“You wanna destroy something we’ve built over 35 years OVER POLITICS???” Flav said in response to his dismissal. “All because I don’t wanna endorse a candidate. I’m very disappointed in you and your decisions right now, Chuck. I didn’t sue you on Friday. I asked the Bernie Sanders campaign to correct misleading marketing. That’s all it was. I’m not your employee. I’m your partner. You can’t fire me. There is no Public Enemy without Flavor Flav, so let’s get it right Chuck.”

R. Kelly lawyers ask for several charges to be dismissed

In a motion filed in Brooklyn federal court Monday, a lawyer for R. Kelly argued for dismissal of several counts against the singer that are based on a New York law that says it is a criminal offense for someone who knows they have an “infectious venereal disease” to have hooked up with another person.

Steve Greenberg, Kelly’s lawyer, argues that the New York law,

which has been on the books since 1943, is an invasion of privacy that “makes it illegal to have private, consensual sexual intercourse.”

“This statute is facially unconstitutional. It prohibits sexual intercourse by anybody who has an STD,” Greenberg wrote. “The definition is vast, ranging from HIV to yeast infections. It includes HPV and ‘scabies.”

Private autopsy completed for Tyler Perry’s nephew found hanging in prison

Tyler Perry’s sister’s son, who was serving 20 years in prison for murdering his father in front of his mother back in 2016, hanged himself in his jail cell.

According to reports Perry’s nephew was placed in solitary confinement following a fight with another prisoner. The nephew was later found hanging by bedsheets during a routine check of his cell.

The nephew, who pleaded no contest to manslaughter charges, was housed inside a prison facility in St. Helena Parish in Louisiana.

While prison officials claim there was no foul play, Perry’s family were initially not convinced.

“Three days ago, I got the horrible news that he allegedly committed suicide,” Perry wrote on his website. “I say allegedly because, unfortunately, our criminal justice system and prisons have been notorious for coverups and/ or getting it wrong. With that in mind, I have hired Dr. Michael Baden for a second autopsy,

BABY MONTH IS BACK!

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and we are expecting results very soon.”

The next day he updated fans with Dr. Baden’s results.

“I spoke with Dr. Baden today after he finished the autopsy on my nephew,” Perry wrote. “I was relieved to hear that he was 98 percent sure that there was no foul play in his death, just as Sheriff Gates stated.

Answers don’t take away grief, but they surely give room for grieving to take its course.”

Lena Waithe denies stealing show concept

Actress, producer, writer and television showrunner Lena Waithe has been accused of stealing the idea for her new series, “Girls Room,” following the release of the show’s trailer last week. On Wednesday, Waithe took to twitter to respond, saying that she didn’t rip the storyline from Atlanta screenwriter Nina Lee. “Prior to my joining the project in 2017, a Dove partner came up with the title and concept from which my scripts were based,” Waithe said. “I was brought on to write the scripts and produce the content. I have never seen Nina Lee’s work nor would I ever steal another artist’s work.”

“As a creative myself, I can only imagine how she must be feeling and I look to #Dove to give us more clarity on the situation,” Waithe added.

Sources: Rollingstone.com, Twitter.com, Tylerperry.com, hotnewhiphop.com

Flava Flav

U City school board president awarded

$3,500

City counselor argued that the burn mark on Hendrix’s breast was ‘mild’

By Rebecca Rivas

Of The St. Louis American

A St. Louis jury awarded Kristine Hendrix, a 36-yearold mother of three boys and president of the University City School District Board of Education, $3,500 after she was tased three times by St. Louis police following a protest in 2015.

Hendrix had filed a lawsuit in 2017 against two St. Louis police officers for assault, excessive force/battery, false arrest and imprisonment, and malicious prosecution.

The St. Louis Circuit Court jury found in favor of Hendrix on only one battery count against St. Louis Metropolitan Police Officer Stephen Ogunjobi.

“I am trying to see the positive in that they recognized that battery occurred,” Hendrix said. “I’m disappointed they didn’t see the extent of Ogunjobi’s actions because when they are not held accountable, there’s a danger that the practice and culture of misconduct will continue.”

On Friday, May 29, 2015, Hendrix was leaving a Black Lives Matter demonstration on Washington Avenue, which had originally started as a silent march by Busch Stadium at 8 p.m.

The group had already moved to the sidewalk and were making arrangements to go back to their cars when the police “ambushed” them, Hendrix told the St. Louis American in a 2015 interview. During the arrest, another protestor had handed his phone to Hendrix, who continued to videotape as she walked away on the sidewalk in an attempt to disperse.

In her arrest, Hendrix was already on the ground with one arm handcuffed behind her back when a police officer tased her body at least three times – all within less than one minute.

During the closing arguments on February 20, Hendrix’s attorneys played video clips recorded on the phone Hendrix had been holding. She was heard crying, “Stop, please stop. It hurts.”

In the video, Officer Louis Wilson, who is white, is heard telling her to put her hand behind her back, while Ogunjobi – who is black – was shooting debilitating electrical currents into her body at the same time. Both officers were named in the suit.

Lawyers from the City Counselor’s Office defended the police officers in the case. In the defense’s closing remarks, City Counselor

in police battery suit

Kristine Hendrix, president of the University City School District Board of Education (seen here at a vigil in 2017), was awarded $3,500 by a St. Louis jury after she was tased three times by St. Louis police following a protest in 2015.

Erin Kathleen McGowan recited Hendrix’s words after she was tased, “Why did you do that? I wasn’t doing anything.” McGowan argued that if Hendrix was really in “excruciating pain” wouldn’t have been able to say that. She also said that Ogunjobi was justified in tasing Hendrix because he thought she had a “closed fist.” McGowan also argued that tasers immobilize suspects quickly, and Ogunjobi

“wanted it to be over as soon as possible.”

McGowan argued that the burn mark on Hendrix’s breast was “mild” and her physical injuries were minor.

Hendrix was charged with resisting arrest and interfering with vehicular traffic, but she was later acquitted of both charges. On December 1, 2016, Circuit Judge Nicole ColbertBotchway acquitted Hendrix of resisting arrest, concluding

that the “evidence presented in this case does not establish that Ms. Hendrix was ever given an opportunity to comply before she was tased repeatedly and then handcuffed.”

Colbert-Botchway stated in her judgment that it was clear from the video and from Wilson’s testimony that he and Ogunjobi approached Hendrix from behind.

“[T]he ‘pop’ sound of Officer Ogunjobi’s taser clearly

can be heard as he applies it to Ms. Hendrix for the first time. Within a couple of seconds of that Ms. Hendrix can be heard saying ‘Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. Why did you do that? I wasn’t doing anything?’” Colbert-Botchway stated.

“An officer can be heard saying ‘Put your hands behind your back,’ but before he even finishes the sentence the sound of Officer Ogunjobi administering another cycle of tasing to Ms. Hendrix can be heard, and she screams. In response to the officer’s command, she then can be heard saying five times in succession ‘I can’t it hurts! I can’t it hurts!’ then ‘It hurts so bad, please, please stop.’ She repeats this several more times, then Officer Ogunjobi tases her a third time. Again, Ms. Hendrix screams, then says, ‘Oh my God, why are you doing this, I’m on the ground.’” Colbert-Botchway continued: “Ms. Hendrix was being electrified almost continuously before the officers handcuffed her. This Court believes Ms. Hendrix [sic] testimony— which is bolstered by the audio from the video recording—that she could not comply with Officer Wilson’s command that she put her arms behind her back. The Court finds this to be so because for much of the time she was on the sidewalk one arm was pinned under her, she was being tased repeatedly in quick succession, and between the tasings she was telling the officers repeatedly that ‘I can’t! It hurts!’” ArchCity Defenders, a local nonprofit civil rights law firm, represented Hendrix.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Editorial /CommEntary

Love thy neighbor’s candidate

Barack Obama has not yet endorsed a Democratic candidate for president in this primary election cycle. It is assumed that the former president is trying to remain publicly neutral so he will be more effective as a party unifier once the Democrats have a nominee. While we are not so foolish as to presume that we have stature comparable in any way to that of Obama, we would still like to borrow this page from his playbook.

Missouri goes to the polls on Tuesday, March 10 to choose a Democratic nominee for president. Democrats will face a ballot with 22 candidates; many of them will be unfamiliar, and even more have dropped out of the race. Only three of the remaining candidates are competitive by any reasonable expectation: Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren. They are listed here in the order they are ranked in the most recent Missouri poll posted by FiveThirtyEight, Nate Silver’s site.

To be sadly candid, we could list many reasons not to vote for all of these candidates. There is no reason for us to repeat any of those attacks – you all are spending plenty of time doing that without our help. However, to paraphrase an ideologue from a past disastrous Republican administration (Donald Rumsfeld), you go into the general election with the candidate that you have, not the candidate you might want or wish to have. Barack Obama is not going to be on the ballot in November. But we are absolutely certain of one thing (that is, absent an act of God): Donald J. Trump is going to be on the ballot.

Trump is going to be on the ballot on November 3 as the Republican candidate. And that fact alone makes us excited – very excited – deliriously excited – to endorse and vote for anyone who emerges from this Democratic primary and earns the nomination to oppose him. We will wait until then to remind you

As I See It - A Forum

An absentee voter expressed his presidential preference at the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners on Wednesday, March 4. Polls for Missouri’s Presidential Preference Primary open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, March 10, and close at 7 p.m.

Photo by Wiley Price

of the many reasons why this divisive, racist, dangerous man must be driven out of the White House by electing a Democrat. For now, we beg our readers to vote on March 10, to vote your conscience and your strategy for a win in November. But, once the Democratic Party has a nominee, if that nominee is not your candidate of choice, be prepared to vote for that candidate.

We make a special appeal, here, to progressive white Democrats. Black Democrats across the spectrum are wearily accustomed to making do in November with a candidate we never would have chosen in the primary. We – who have the most to lose by the white nationalism that is rampant in the Trump White House – do not have the luxury or privilege of hurling rocks at the Democratic establishment if our favored, more progressive candidate does not advance to the general election. We, who have endured the most longtime hostility in America, realize that choosing the lesser of two evils is choosing less evil, which is a wise and strategic choice in the absence of another alternative.

To be more specific, black voters are responsible for Joe Biden’s surge in the polls, at the expense of Bernie Sanders. If you are a progressive white Democrat, you may deride this support of a centrist candidate as propping up a moribund two-party system that continues to give us choices of candidates who are far from our ideals. However, dismantling the two-party system would mean, in 2020, destroying the Democratic Party, the only viable counterpoint to a Republican Party that has aligned itself behind a white nationalist who flouts the rule of law and endangers us all. However much Democrats may be fighting amongst themselves today, Black America has an appeal for all Democrats. Our very survival depends on ending Trump’s destructive behavior. Come November, please, love thy neighbor’s Democratic candidate as thine own.

for Community Issues

Making the tools to dismantle the master’s house

By Mike Jones

Of The St. Louis American

I want to you to ask yourself a question. Take your favorite African-American pundits on your preferred cable news outlet and ask yourself when you’ve ever heard them discuss or analyze how any policy proposals by a Democratic candidate for president specifically relate to the condition of the majority of African Americans. The answer will be rarely if ever.

Why is that? And how then are African Americans to understand their place in the American economic and political reality in general –and in the 2020 presidential campaign specifically? The entire construct of political dialogue in America is premised upon a white consensus. The context for the discussion about the political predisposition of African Americans is typically which white candidate or white policy option we prefer, not what is our actual thinking about an issue or situation. While there are some notable exceptions, African-American pundits and analysts are hired to provide color to the picture, not diversity to the thinking. With the notable exception of Princeton professor Eddie Claude on MSNBC, the African-American political commentariat lacks a critical black political theory. What, you may ask, is critical black political theory?

Critical theory, which evolved in the 1930s, is a social theory critique oriented toward changing society as a whole, in contrast to traditional social theory, which is oriented

toward understanding or explaining society. Critical social theory uses all the social sciences to examine the totality of a society in its historical context. It also involves a normative dimension, either criticizing society from some general theory of values or in terms of the society’s own espoused values. Critical theory isn’t one thing; critical theory is applicable to everything. It’s extremely important for examining the causes and maintenance of any form of structural oppression – like race, for example. In fact, there’s an academic field of study (pioneered and formally organized by black intellectuals and scholars) called critical race theory that speaks directly to racial oppression. Critical race theory posits that race, instead of being biologically grounded and natural, is socially constructed and that, as a socially constructed concept, it functions as a means to maintain the interests of the white population that constructed it. According to critical race theory, racial inequality emerges from the social, economic, and legal differences that white people create between socially constructed races to maintain white dominance and privilege. What would it mean to have a critical black political theory?

Sam Moore’s legacy should be change in North St. Louis

By Michael R. Allen

For The St. Louis American

I first met Alderman Sam Moore in 2007, when I was a freshman building preservationist tilting at windmills as much to learn how to tilt as to strike the windmills. Moore had just taken office and had pressed the city’s Land Reutilization Authority to demolish some 39 vacant historic buildings in The Ville neighborhood. The volume of this request was astounding, but not the reasons why. The Ville had far more than 39 vacant buildings, and saviors were either invisible or non-existent.

At the Preservation Board’s meeting considering the demolition, I joined other advocates for conserving built heritage in urging a rejection of the request on the grounds that many of these buildings were in good condition and that the Ville never had the chance to explore historic tax credits.

The Ville was a local historic district, making demolitions tougher, but not a national one, which would bring state and federal financial incentives for those scarce saviors.

Moore was a shock. When he took to the rostrum to make the case for demolition, he did not repeat the lines I had heard many times – that the buildings were far from saving, that they were threats to public safety or that they were not important. Instead, Moore offered an elegy of sorts, starting by acknowledging how these buildings were built better than anything we would ever see rise in the city again. These buildings also stored more history than anyone in the room could ever learn. Moore valued the buildings as cultural and economic assets.

However, he stated that nothing had been done to save the buildings in all the years since the Ville first became a

historic district in 1989 except talk. He didn’t want to tear them all down, but he was elected to do more than talk and, in the absence of a parade of saviors, thought that the most reasonable course was to demolish these buildings and work to keep the occupied ones around them from being abandoned.

The Preservation Board approved some demolitions, but denied others. Moore was not upset, but pragmatic. He approached then-Cultural Resources Office Director Kate Shea and me after the meeting and asked whether, since we thought the buildings were worth saving, we could figure out how to do that. Shea took the lead and found funding for a new survey of Ville buildings, which I ended up conducting with architectural historian Lynn Josse. In the end, we examined almost 400 buildings and were able to create small historic districts giving 96 buildings a chance for historic tax credits. Moore was supportive of the survey and the national historic district designations at every turn. However, he warned us that what we wanted to do would be hard because we were only designating buildings. We had no power to reverse the denial of capital to his ward, a project that white St. Louis had been inflicting since before World War II. Moore was willing to give a dreamy view of preservation a shot with grace, but he was not blind.

In ensuing years, we joined forces to fight illegal brick theft, garnering a few joint media appearances and

Letters to the editor

A more human capitalism

A critical black political theory would speak to who we are in America, how we came to be in this present moment and what is our optimum path forward. It would offer a way of giving order, meaning and understanding to the political reality we’re experiencing. This means our political understanding of ourselves would no longer be a function of someone else’s theory of political reality. The critical race theory movement organized itself in 1989, but its intellectual foundations are firmly rooted in the tradition of black intellectual activism. Fredrick Douglas, W.E.B. Du Bois, Carter G. Woodson and E. Franklin Frazier are the intellectual forefathers of Franz Fanon, James Baldwin, James Cones and Derrick Bell, who expanded the intellectual space that is now occupied by Carol Anderson, Michelle Alexander, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Jesmyn Ward and Ta-Nehisi Coates.

A discussion of a black theory of the case is always critically important, but especially at this moment because America is at an inflection point. And if history is any guide, then when white America ultimately decides what’s in its best interests, it will not include our best interests.

Since last month was Black History Month and March is Woman’s History Month, I will leave you the words of activist, womanist, poet, feminist and writer Audre Lorde: “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.”

I am already getting emails from conservative Republican candidates calling all Democrats “socialists” when I don’t think that any of the national Democrats are truly socialists at all. None. To me, they are all liberals and progressives who are not advocating for the abolition of our market-based capitalist economic system and who simply want to develop a more human capitalism which has more new federal government social programs to help people. They want the USA to be more like Canada, western Europe, and Scandinavia. I don’t consider these countries to be socialist. These countries do not consider themselves to be socialist. Only USA conservative Republicans do. People like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are not true socialists.

Stewart Epstein Rochester, New York

Wild and baseless accusations

I cannot speak to the silly conspiracy theories that exist out there. I can tell you definitively that I have a job, an excellent one, and I’m not interested in the position of city manager of Ferguson.

Jeffrey Blume’s contract is for 19 months give or take. The charter prohibits councilmembers from becoming an employee for 1 year after their term ends, but legal opinions have held previously that the city manager is a contractor and not part of the merit-based

seemingly little to show except for battle stories. Moore was right. Making the case that St. Louis should care about the future of a single building in North St. Louis was difficult. Sadly, it was even more difficult to get the city to care about an entire neighborhood, let alone an entire half of a city. As time went on, Moore showed me that the buildings I had set out to preserve were just evidence of concentrated deprivation of people.

When Moore stood on the floor of the Board of Aldermen and showed large images of the conditions in his ward, he was reminding the city that it was running from a long-needed reckoning. If the images of broken walls, boarded windows and overgrown lots seemed dreadful, they just pointed to ten thousand decisions to move out when a black family moved next door, to deny a mortgage or sale to a black family, to turn a blind eye to mob violence, and to grant favors to projects across town profiting the same people who refused to invest in The Ville. Moore reminded us that these actions are not just in the past but ongoing, and the landscape of North St. Louis is the public record. The buildings are just signs for how the leaders of this city are treating people. We can’t fix buildings and expect much to change. We must change the way we treat people. On the cusp of a mayoral election, Moore’s legacy urges us to remember that St. Louis won’t be a whole city until North St. Louis is a record of equity and justice. Michael R. Allen is director of the Preservation Research Office and senior lecturer in Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design at Washington University in St. Louis.

civil service or pension plan of the city and so that provision does not apply. So their whole conspiracy is moot, as I would be immediately qualified for the position if that were the case. There is zero conversation or indication that I would take this position, and I’ve continually declined consideration for the position. Frankly, to report on these wild and baseless accusations is silly and irresponsible as there is nothing to corroborate it. I am currently employed in an executive position at a private company that is larger than the City of Ferguson staff. Why would I

seek a lateral move and invite this scrutiny and turmoil? Blume’s contract has been extended to allow for continuity in the effort to reform our city government and to keep pace with the effort to institute the reforms of the consent decree, which have been estimated to continue implementing into the third quarter of 2021, corresponding with Blume’s contract extension. I hope the council will seek a qualified permanent applicant at that time.

Mayor James Knowles III Ferguson

Guest Columnist Michael R. Allen

Guest Columnist Mike Jones

UrbArts anoints Youth Poet

Laureate and Poetry Ambassadors

The youth-centered arts organization UrbArts recently announced the 2020 St. Louis Youth Poet Laureate is Sarah Abbas, a 16-year-old junior at Marquette High School. Abbas will serve as the city’s fourth Youth Poet Laureate.

UrbArts also bestowed awards for Youth Poetry Ambassador to Antigone Chambers Reed Lara Wulff, and Darius Jackson. Wulff and Jackson attend Central Visual and Performing Arts, and Chambers-Reed is home schooled.

As the lead ambassador of youth poetry in St. Louis, Abbas will conduct numerous local performances, host open mic events, and compete for the Midwest regional Youth Poet Laureate. A Pakistani American, Abbas addresses a number of social and cultural issues in her poetry, including the treatment of Muslims in the U.S.

“The most exciting part of the laureateship is all the people I will be able to meet and all the perspectives I will be able to change,” Abbas said. “Being given this opportunity means

I have the platform to heal and impact lives through spoken word.” Abbas holds a 4.2 GPA and is captain of her school’s poetry team, co-editor and chief of yearbook, and captain of interpretation events. Both of Sarah’s parents were born in Pakistan. Abbas was born in Toronto, then later moved to England then later finally settled in America.

“Her work is urgent, powerful and necessary,” said UrbArts Founder MK Stallings. “I look forward to seeing what she does with the laureateship this year.”

In her poem “Clock,” she writes:

“America declared war on my body—

Signed a Muslim Ban to keep my body locked away— Loaded a bullet for anybody who looks like me— Presses their palms together in prayer like me.”

For a full performance by Abbas, visit https://youtu.be/ tg3xgFJB0o8.

Why do blacks think racism is that bad?

By Dorothy Dempsey For The St. Louis American

We are cautioned by our black and white sisters and brothers to be careful in how we speak about racism and politics to white acquaintance. Some of these are intelligent, educated white folks who say they do not understand the black people’s plight because they have struggles just as black folks do, never acknowledging the of white privilege.

You feel like screaming when you tell a white friend how upset you are at, say, an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch a white columnist, Bill McClellan, showing so much bias against black children. You explain your feelings about how a newspaper that basically caters to a white audience allows McClellan to report in such a biased manner about, say, a dine-and-dash incident involving black youth.

In discussing the incident, you share with your white friend that your daughter was privy when in college to white girls sitting in a restaurant and discussing dine and dash. My daughter had never heard of it before and was wondering why they would do it. She said that money did not seem to be a problem for those classmates Dine and dash is not new to white college kids; they have been doing it a very long time. Yet McClellan chose to base his article solely on black youth.

My white friend’s response was that she liked Bill McClellan and enjoyed reading his articles and that I should get to know him because he writes about a lot of good things and probably meant no harm.

I have never read McClellan’s articles responded to this particular column after being encouraged by my daughter to do so. He expressed exactly how he feels about black people in general.

A white newspaper reporter recently told me a story about being followed in a store – as a white person – and how he was watched and profiled. It was the same old tale of white people who think they truly know what racism is.

Here he was a white man, and they profiled him in the store. Why do blacks think racism is that bad? How could it possibly be?

Experiences are just experiences for a white person. For a black person, there are mountains, stepping stones and hurdles every day. We don’t just move on. Racism is ingrained like dirt and very deep.

I told him of my visit to the South as a child and how I went with my aunts and mother to a movie theatre where we were told we could not sit downstairs with the whites and were hustled upstairs.

I asked my mother why? I wanted to know what was going on. Even in my young mind, I knew something was not right. I remember my mother telling me to be quiet. I can still remember it to this day as a senior citizen. It made an indelible imprint on my heart.

The conversation with the reporter ended after I shared my experience with him.

Until some white people come out of their time capsule and realize that they do not understand what racism is, then there can be no real change. Real change comes when people are open to dialogue on race and listen with open ears and an open heart. If I can educate myself on white people, then surely they can educate themselves on me.

Dorothy Dempsey

Continued from A1

schools are less than half full. Northwest Law Academy, one of SLPS’ 14 high schools, has only 192 students enrolled.

Having fewer students across more buildings, Adams said, “does not make sense, at least in my math.”

Adams peppered a presentation to about 120 people at Clyde C. Miller Career Academy — the majority were district teachers and staff, though some parents and alumni were there too — with stats on the financial challenges posed by running so many half-full buildings.

The oldest building in the district was built in 1895; the number of school-age children in the city has declined 18.4 percent since Adams was hired in 2007; students get picked up by buses starting at 5:17 a.m.; the longest a student spends on a bus to school is 67 minutes.

“I have the data,” Adams said. “I’m not making this up. This is a real story.” The district could upgrade technology and add more honors courses and extracurricular activities, Adams said. Teachers and staff could be paid more; bus routes could be streamlined.

“That’s hard to do when you’re spending money on buildings that are not full,” he said. He also said students would have access to nurses, social workers and counselors

Primary

Continued from A1

unnamed senior campaign official told Politico that she is reassessing her situation.

The Democratic nominee will be selected by delegates at the Democratic National Convention taking place July 13-16 in Milwaukee. To win the nomination on the first

every day. Right now, many of those staff members shuttle between two or three schools a week.

“I would love, love, love, love, love, to have every one of those resources in every building every single day,” Adams said.

ballot, a Democratic candidate must receive support from a majority of pledged delegates — at least 1,991 of the total 3,979 pledged delegates. With Missouri’s primary coming up on Tuesday, March 10, volunteers for Biden, Sanders, and Warren have been knocking on local doors and calling local homes. Warren and Bloomberg have held events in St. Louis specifically focusing on the

After Adams’ presentation, attendees broke off into groups to share what they would like to see happen in the district. Staff members talked about safer schools for students and staff.

Derek Anderson and his wife are building a home in

African-American community. Cori Bush, a national surrogate and Missouri co-chair of the Sanders campaign, said she will be holding a black women’s roundtable on Sunday, March 8. This event will come at the end of Sanders’ weeklong Get Out The Vote tour in Missouri.

The American reached out to the Biden campaign regarding events or initiatives focused on the black community, but his team did not respond. At

the Hyde Park neighborhood, a few blocks from Clay Elementary School. Their son, Theo, is in preschool there, and their daughter should start next year.

“We had intentions of both of our kids growing up and being educated there and us

press time, Ambassador Kevin O’Malley and former U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan were scheduled to campaign for Biden in Jefferson City on Wednesday evening.

Biden is scheduled to appear in St. Louis on Saturday, March 7 for a community event at 11 a.m., but the location was unknown at press.

Biden’s support from largely older African-American voters helped carry him to victory on Super Tuesday in the Southern states — especially Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina.

However, in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota and Vermont, black voters were half as likely as those in the South to support Biden, according to a NBS news poll. A large division among black voters is age: black voters under 45 were about three times as likely to support Sanders than those 45 and over, NBC News reported.

In Missouri, black voters are one-fifth of the Democratic electorate, according to NPR, and Sanders lost the state primary to Hillary Clinton by less than a percentage point in 2016.

At the recent Warren and Bloomberg campaign events, black attendees said they were looking for a candidate with “race-forward policies,” and not “race-neutral policies.” They want a plan specifically outlined for the AfricanAmerican community.

supporting Clay any way we can,” he said.

Anderson said he would like to see the district’s curriculum be updated but spent most of the session soaking up ideas and data.

“Initially, on its face, it seems alarming,” he

At a Black Womxn For Warren panel on February 29 in Old North, social worker Jennifer Drake said that black women are the most predictable Democratic voting bloc, and therefore hear the least from candidates. That was what motivated this coalition of black women in St. Louis to get involved in the primary, Drake said.

n “He is our best hope not just to win the presidency but our best hope to maintain our majority in the House of Representatives and to split the Senate.”

– James Clyburn on Joe Biden

“There are material differences between the candidates that matter a lot for the lives of black women, for the black children we raise and the communities we care about,” Drake said. “If you are ignorant to gender and race in your policies about economics, then that makes it easy to erase a particular population.”

What sets Warren apart from other candidates, Drake said, was “her way of bringing race, class and gender in her policies.” She cited the way

said. “But, to me, it seems like there’s room for better utilization of the resources we have.”

Jessica Dorner, a parent of children at McKinley middle school and Metro high school, liked an idea she heard to turn the schools into full community resource centers where neighbors can get other social services, rather than shuttering the schools.

“Now, I understand that would need an influx of cash,” Dorner said. “Where are you going to get the resources? Who’s going to be the great donator or funder who helps us do that?”

Adams has said no specific schools have been picked yet for closure. He plans to present the school board with a recommendation at its work session on March 24.

Following that, the district will hold two more public forums. In early April, Adams plans to present a final proposal to the school board. The board’s regular meeting is scheduled for April 14 and its expects to vote then.

The remaining visioning sessions are scheduled for: 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, March 7 at Carnahan High School; 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 at Soldan High School; and 6-8 p.m. Thursday, March 12, at Roosevelt High School.

Follow Ryan on Twitter: @ rpatrickdelaney.

Reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.

Warren talks about the wealth gap in her Working Agenda for Black America. The agenda includes providing $7 billion in funding to provide grants to entrepreneurs of color, a plan to cancel student debt and programs to help first-time black homebuyers. Drake said the black community needs investment.

“They don’t need financial literacy class, like we don’t know what money is,” Drake said. “I know what money is. I just don’t have it.”

Cori Bush, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay (D-MO) in the August primary, hosted the black women’s roundtable on Sanders.

“I’ve always felt I didn’t have a voice as a black woman,” Bush said. “We need a space where we could hear the person who will be the next POTUS tell us what he will be able to do for our community.”

Some of those plans include helping startup businesses, raising the minimum wage, cancelling student debt and making sure each person has health insurance, she said. Bush said, “All of those things change the lives of the black community in the St. Louis area.”

Polls for Missouri’s Presidential Preference Primary open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, March 10, and close at 7 p.m.

Derek Anderson listened along with his 5-year-old son, Theo, during St. Louis Public Schools’ first community visioning session at Clyde C. Miller Career Academy on Saturday, February 29.

Photo by Ryan Delaney

Pearson

Continued from A1

School, 3883 Jennings Station Rd.

“It is very important to the board and district leadership that these processes start with hearing from our entire Normandy community, including students and families, teachers, community partners, and all district staff,” Foster, who is also a Normandy graduate, said in a statement.

Once a successor is chosen, Pearson may continue to serve the district in an advisory role.

Pearson came to district

Roberts

Continued from A1 that stretched for about two blocks. Once everyone was inside, there was not a single seat available in the mega church.

They came for a word from Roberts, daughter of Bishop T.D. Jakes and a rising star in her own right within the faith community.

“Honestly, I never thought that this would be my life,” Roberts said.

Yes, she is the daughter of perhaps the most famous figure in today’s black church. But her life took several detours early on.

At the tender age of 13, Roberts became pregnant. As a teen mother, she lived in the wilderness of the world for a while before returning to her

leadership from the board, to which he was appointed by the State Board of Education in 2014. He later served as interim superintendent and then was selected to serve on a permanent basis in 2015.

Under Pearson’s leadership, the district saw improvement in student academic scores and a decrease in out-ofschool suspensions. In 2017, the State Board of Education unanimously voted to grant provisional accreditation to the district. During his tenure, Normandy also reconfigured its elementary schools, moving from grades 1-6, to grades 1-8 or “EleMiddle” model.

faith. She suffered through depression and shame.

“I had to go through a teenage pregnancy to get here,” Roberts said. “I had to go through depression to get here. But God said, ‘I have a strategy for your life. And I am going to use all of those things, and you are going to take all of those things to rooms you never should have been in.’”

The evening began with an exercise in transparency. She asked the women to reveal the internal struggles and personal challenges that may create a hindrance for them on their path to purpose. Roberts said, “You are waiting for me to preach, and your life just preached a message: ‘I’m standing up to this thing and it won’t have the end of me. I’m tired of pretending like I’m not depressed when I am. I’m

The district eliminated its middle school and in 2019 opened a new Early Learning Center for students in preschool, pre-kindergarten, and kindergarten.

Foster stated that Pearson “has been a stabilizing, yet visionary, force within and outside of the district” and “has established sound and achievable goals for us to work toward and has guided us through immense change.”

Foster, who is also an executive vice president with Commerce Bank, said that the district also will initiate an external review of the district’s schools and a strategic planning process led

tired of pretending like I’m okay when I’m not. Tonight, I’m going to look that devil right in the face.’”

The event stretched on for nearly three hours. The program also included praise, worship, song and a format that gave women in the audience – and those touring with Roberts – an opportunity to share their triumphs, testimonies and trials.

“I want you to bring not just your strengths, not just the things that you are proud of, I want you to bring your fears into the room too,” Roberts said. “I want you to bring your insecurities. I want you to bring your issues. Because it is only when we bring all of ourselves to God that he is able to give us the transformation and identity exchange that we need.”

When Roberts took the stage to deliver her message

by Attuned Education Partners that will be implemented for the 2020-2021 school year.

“We will reach out to our stakeholders in a variety of ways to get their feedback on these critical decisions,” Foster stated.

Foster said the new superintendent will be a part of the initial stages of the strategic planning process and responsible for its implementation.

Meanwhile, the focus on academic achievement remains the top priority.

“In our buildings, teachers and staff will continue to work on raising student achievement, with the goal of every child

as the culminating event, she focused on moving beyond life’s setbacks and walking into God’s plan.

“Disruption is not destruction,” Roberts said. “The enemy only disrupts things that are in progress. That means if you were stagnant, you would have never been disrupted. If you weren’t destined to be anything, you would have never been disrupted.”

She told the woman that disruption only comes to those in progress towards their destiny.

“if you were stagnant, you would have never been disrupted,” Roberts said. “If you weren’t destined to be anything, you would have never been disrupted. If you were supposed to be little old ordinary girl who no one ever paid attention to, you would have never seen that that thing

at or above grade level by third grade,” Foster said.

“The focus of the district will remain on effective instruction and improving student outcomes.”

Pearson expressed similar sentiments in an August 2017 column in The American that responded to the United the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

“We are committed to creating a school system where all children have access to a quality education. And we are doing that, while the world they live in becomes more and more contentious each and every day. Yes, we recognize the impact of the

was an issue.”

The evening was an evening of worship for women and by women.

“I want to talk to the women who feel ordinary, not really sure that there’s anything special about you – those women who are not really sure that there’s any purpose connected to her name,” Roberts said. “Mary is just an ordinary woman before she receives the word. The difference between ordinary Mary and supernatural Mary is that Mary said, ‘Yes.’”

Roberts also talked about the relationship between Mary and her relative Elizabeth – and how when God revealed her future, it was Elizabeth who confirmed it and reassured her.

“You are here because you needed to be in a room with other women who understand what it’s like to have miracles on her hands,” Roberts said.

environment on the lives of children,” Pearson wrote.

“We remain committed, however, to creating safe spaces for children to interact with caring adults — adults who are knowledgeable about their role in the district; adults who hold each other accountable to serving our students.”

The district’s next public meeting is scheduled for 5:307 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 at Barack Obama School, 3883 Jennings Station Road. For more information, visit www.normandysc.org, and follow the district on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

“You need to be next to a woman who understands you have a miracle on your hands. The enemy thought that if he divided women, that we wouldn’t get together and facilitate a move of God.”

The room exploded again when Roberts told them they were sitting next to women who could confirm what God was doing in their lives.

“Something happens when women get together. The Holy Spirit becomes contagious,” Roberts said.

“Sometimes what you need is another woman to hold the ropes for you so that you know it’s time for you to get back in the ring. I don’t want to be Mary tonight. I want to be Elizabeth. I want to confirm for you that you are not dreaming and you are not hallucinating – that you were called for more.”

March Movies at the Missouri History Museum

By Ellen Kunkelmann, Associate Editor, Missouri Historical Society

This month, join the Missouri History Museum for two films by African American artists that speak to the importance of representation. Both are free and open to the public.

March 15: River to the Heart

In 1985, Eddy L. Harris, an African American author and filmmaker who was raised in St. Louis, traveled the entire length of the Mississippi River alone in a canoe. The physical, emotional, and racial challenges that he encountered became the basis for his now-classic travel narrative, Mississippi Solo Nearly 30 years after the first journey, Harris returned to renew his connection with the river, a story that is told in a feature-length documentary, River to the Heart.

“It has been said that if you want to know and understand these United States and get a real sense of this country, its beginnings and its divisions, its powers economic and cultural, its history and its glory and its ability to transform itself—and in fact its entire story, its racism and its resilience, its richness and its poverty and all its potentials, then you must come to the river and know it,” Harris says in River to the Heart River to the Heart premiered at the St. Louis International Film Festival in 2017 and was also an official selection at the 2018 Ozark Foothills FilmFest and the 2019 Beloit International Film Festival in Beloit, Wisconsin. St. Louisans will have an opportunity to view this film on Sunday, March 15, at the Museum at 1:00pm. The film will be followed by a conversation with Harris, which is scheduled to begin at 3:30pm. Copies of Mississippi Solo will be available for purchase.

March 20: Hyer and Hyer: The Hyers Sisters and the Legacy of Black Women in Opera Anna and Emma Hyers were 19th-century African American opera prodigies known professionally as the Hyers Sisters. They made their stage debut at the ages of 9 and 11 in Sacramento, California, and took on an East Coast tour in their mid-teens. They were the first black women to succeed in touring opera and were immensely popular across the country during the late 1860s and early 1870s, performing at the World Peace Jubilee in Boston in 1872—the first truly integrated musical performance in the United States. But as the Reconstruction era came to an end, racial and social backlash led to increased violence targeting African Americans, as well as increased ridicule and stereotyping of African Americans in theatre. The idea of “blackness” was controlled by white performers performing in blackface minstrel shows. Realizing that they had the ability to change minds and hearts, the

use their success with mainstream audiences to fight against negative stereotypes of African Americans. Together with their family and other talented African Americans, they produced and starred in seven musical dramas that celebrated the African American experience in America, from slavery to freedom. Some of these musicals included Out of Bondage; Urlina, the African Princess; The Underground Railway; and a production of Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Pauline Hopkins, an African American actor and composer. Today the Hyers Sisters are considered pioneers in black musical theatre. They were the first African American women to use black leading players and to integrate casting in mainstream American music theatre. Their story has been told in a 30-minute documentary, Voices for Freedom: The Hyers Sisters’ Legacy, which will be screened at the Museum on Friday, March 20. After the film, there will be a discussion about the history and experiences of African American women in the world of opera, led by the film’s producer, director, and writer, Susheel Bibbs, who is also a classically trained singer; Katherine Jolly, soprano, associate professor of voice at Oberlin College & Conservatory, and 2016 artist in residence at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis; and Katerina Burton, soprano and 2020 Gerdine Young Artist at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

This event will begin at 6:30pm in the Lee Auditorium. Voices for Freedom is part of Women’s History Month at the Museum and is presented with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and the Nine Network.

RESEARCH PARTICIPATION OPPORTUNITY

We are recruiting adults for a study examining stress and cognition at Saint Louis University. Compensation is provided upon study completion.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

• Ages 45 and older

• No history of heart attack or stroke

• Not diagnosed with dementia, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s or Cushing’s Disease

• Not a current tobacco user

• No current psychiatric condition

• Not currently taking corticosteroids, psychiatric, or neurological medications

WHAT WILL YOU BE ASKED TO DO?

• Participate in one 2-hour research session

• Complete speach and math tasks

• Complete decision making tasks

• Provide saliva samples and heart rate measures

Eddy L. Harris.

Virvus Jones says farewell to the Political EYE and The American

The St. Louis American made two changes to its editorial board last week.

Virvus Jones – veteran civil rights activist, pioneering minority inclusion advocate as St. Louis comptroller, and author – retired from The American’s editorial board after 22 years of service (with one interruption in 2017 when he went on hiatus during a St. Louis mayoral campaign where his daughter, Tishaura O. Jones, was competitive).

Jones said he plans to spend more time with his family, personal writing (he is the author of the novel The Stalking Horse), and social media battles. He remains a close friend of the newspaper and its publisher and staff. The Rev Starsky Wilson president and CEO of the Deaconess Foundation, Ferguson Commission co-chair, and thought leader – joined the editorial board.

“Virvus has made invaluable contributions to the political empowerment and wellbeing of the black community in St. Louis, including as a longtime presence on our editorial board,” Suggs said.

Rev. Wilson joins Donald M. Suggs, publisher, executive editor and editorial board chair; managing editor Chris King; assistant managing editor Sandra Jordan; video manager Dawn Suggs; and senior policy advisor and columnist Mike Jones on the editorial board. The editorial board advises Donald M. Suggs, who chairs the board and is solely responsible for the editorial positions of The St. Louis American, which is a missiondriven platform dedicated to informing, educating and empowering the black community in St. Louis.

“The political ambitions of his daughter, Tishaura O. Jones, have presented challenges to us in recent years. When Tishaura ran for mayor in 2017, Virvus went on hiatus from the editorial board. That means he no longer attended editorial board meetings or was included on copy chains to advise on and suggest revisions to our editorials and Political EYE columns. This did not stop some people from wrongly attributing the paper’s endorsement of Tishaura as due to his influence. Though we understand that Virvus retiring from the editorial board will not silence some critics of our political positions, Virvus can be more effective as an independent voice, and we believe the removal of a perceived conflict of interest will compensate for the loss of Virvus’ experience, wisdom and acumen from the board’s deliberations.

“As for Rev. Wilson, he was our first choice to bring fresh energy and insight from a younger generation to our decision-making, and we are delighted that he has agreed to join The American’s editorial.”

Farewell column from Virvus

O. Jones became an elected official and candidate, complaints about the column have grown more pointed, with her political opponents accusing the EYE and The American generally of being partial to Tishaura. That is also normal and expected. It came to mind most recently when 20th Ward Alderwoman Cara Spencer, who is running for mayor, told The American’s managing editor that she was “disappointed” that the paper had written about insensitive arguments made on her behalf by Schoemehl without talking to her. Schoemehl, she said, did not speak for her any more than I speak for Tishaura.

I think Spencer is telling the truth, particularly since her campaign followed up with a disavowal of Schoemehl’s words and tone as complete as anything the EYE would have written about the incorrigible ex-mayor.

Virvus Jones filed a farewell column, which follows.

I have been involved in politics or civil rights since 1963.

In 1963, Medgar Evers was assassinated in front of his home in Jackson, Mississippi; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made his landmark “I have a dream” speech at the March on Washington; the St. Louis branch of the CORE began the Jefferson Bank demonstrations; and four young black girls were murdered in Birmingham, Alabama.

In September of that year, I joined the picket lines at Jefferson Bank with some other black teenage activists. I was arrested twice. That was 57 years ago. Since that year, the constant theme in my life has been activism. I have been arrested 23 times for my participation in various movements.

In 1981, I was elected alderman of the 27th Ward. I became the 11th black alderman in the history of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen,

which was formed nearly 70 years before in 1914. In 1986, I became the second black assessor appointed in St. Louis history, and in 1988 I was appointed St. Louis comptroller in a political swap orchestrated by then-Mayor Vincent Schoemehl and black political leadership. I will detail how the swap was done in a book titled The Swap that I plan to publish later this year.

Over the years, I have met and known a lot of people. Other than my children, spouses or partners, my best friend and confidante has been Donald M. Suggs, the current publisher and executive editor of The St. Louis American. I met him in 1970. Doc, as his friends call him (he is an oral surgeon by training), was part of a group of black medical professionals who provided financial and moral support to help fund the Civil Rights Movement in St. Louis. They gave back.

In 1981, the same year I was elected to the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, Suggs and two other investors bought The St.

Louis American. Except for the time I was forced to take a sabbatical from St. Louis, there have been very few weeks when Doc and I have not talked to each other at least once.

In 1998, I began writing a political column for The St. Louis American under the pseudonym of “Mark Wilson.” I choose that pseudonym as a tribute to a column that Bennie Rodgers, longtime editor of The American, had written using the pseudonym “Farley Wilson.” I told those who asked that Mark was the son of Farley Wilson.

Later the name was changed to the “Political EYE.”

Over the years, it evolved into a group-written column supervised by Suggs. In recent years, my direct contributions have been minimal.

Over the years, elected officials have liked the EYE until they didn’t. They liked it when it said complimentary things about them and hated when it said uncomplimentary things about them. This is normal and expected.

Since my daughter Tishaura

It made me wonder if my thousand opinions, interests, and memories belonged in The American in anything other than my personal voice when Tishaura will be running in an election or two. I wondered whether my daughter would have to write apologetic emails about my meddling.

She won’t. I have retired from The American’s editorial board. The board had its first meeting without my being invited (other than during the 2017 mayoral campaign) on Thursday, February 27. I was informed that the Rev. Starsky Wilson has agreed to join the board. Rev. Wilson is a not a replacement for me; he represents a vast improvement.

For those who may be preparing to celebrate my departure, don’t start popping the champagne bottles just yet. I plan to stay active on social media. Because of my membership on The American’s editorial board, I sometimes had to restrain my comments on social media. I will now be freer to express my opinions without impacting the editorial integrity of the paper. Be careful what you wish for. And thank you for reading.

Virvus Jones

Rev. Starsky Wilson

“TakingCareofYou”

Risk for new coronavirus ‘very high’

The new coronavirus, SARS-CoV2, causes the pneumonia-like disease called COVID-19 and there are more than 91,000 confirmed cases worldwide and the disease has killed more than 3,000 individuals. The map reflects confirmed global cases as of March 4, 2020.

Prevention and preparedness are key focus before it hits Missouri

By Sandra Jordan

St. Louis American

Of The

Educating about what you can do to reduce the chance of contracting or spreading the new coronavirus is the plan of attack by state and local health officials and elected leaders –ahead of any confirmed case of COVID-19 in Missouri.

“Over the past several weeks, our team has been collaborating with a robust network of response organizations to provide timely and accurate information in preparation for the possibility of a COVID-19 case in Missouri,” Dr. Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said Tuesday during a press conference with Gov. Mike Parson in Jefferson City. DHSS has been taking steps to prepare for a potential outbreak since January 27. “Our number one priority is to protect Missourians, and while the risk still remains low, we will continue working with Governor Parson and all of our partners to ensure we are as educated and prepared as possible should the need arise.”

COVID-19 is spread by coming in contact with respiratory droplets from an infected per-

n “We have never before seen a respiratory pathogen that is capable of community transmission, but which can also be contained with the right measures.”

– Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the World Health Organization

son. It is believed to have a 14-day incubation period.

In St. Louis County, County Executive Sam Page, who is a medical doctor, took to Twitter and You Tube to post a video about COVID-19 prevention efforts.

“We must be prepared and educated. We must be ready to respond at a moment’s

notice. But we must also keep these things in perspective: there is no reason to panic,” Page said. Page’s remarks included a demonstration on how to properly wash your hands with hand sanitizer.

Earlier this week, World Health Organization Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “Knowing and understanding your epidemic is the first step to defeating it.”

Ghebreyesus added that this is a unique virus with unique features.

“This virus is not influenza. We are in unchartered territory,” Ghebreyesus said. “We have never before seen a respiratory pathogen that is capable of community transmission, but which can also be contained with the right measures.”

Although there are no reported cases of COVID-19 in Missouri yet, the number in the U.S. is growing, including a deadly outbreak at a nursing home outside of Seattle. Nine deaths are reported in Washington state. The Centers for Disease Control, which is fending questions about accuracy and availability of

Public health leader and Dietician at Homer G. Phillips Hospital

American staff

Mary Jean Harper Thomas was born on June 14, 1951 in Brighton, Tennessee to the blessed union of Thomas Nelson Sr. and Nellie Mae Harper (Jones). From a very young age, Mary confessed her faith in and followed Jesus Christ as a member of Smith Grove Baptist Church in Brighton, Tennessee, where she would be baptized at the age of 12.

Mary Jean Harper Thomas

She started her academic career at Tennessee State University in Nashville, where she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Food and Nutrition and joined the distinguished sorority of Sigma Gamma Rho, Inc. She went on to attend the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, where she would earn a Master’s Degree in Public Health with a concentration in Maternal Child and Infant Nutrition before completing her dietetic internship at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

Her professional path led her to Homer G. Phillips Hospital in St. Louis, where she worked as a nutritionist in the WIC Program and a Clinical/Production dietician and was a member of the American Dietetic Association. In later years, she became the administrative executive of Women’s Health Ob/Gyn of St. Louis, Inc.

She was married in St. Louis on February 2, 1980 to the love of her life, Dr. Jean Alfred Thomas Sr., and to this union three beautiful children were blessed: Jean Alfred II, Pascale, and Bryant.

Mary was a devoted and loving daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, and grandmother, who gave her time and energy to loving and empowering her family, friends and community. Indeed, she was a tireless advocate for the less fortunate, a champion of education, who generously and joyfully

STL County offering free opioid overdose antidote

A medication that can reverse the process of opioid overdose, naloxone, is now available free of charge to the public and community groups at the St. Louis County Department of Public Health’s John C. Murphy Health Center, 6121 N Hanley Rd. #2003 in Berkeley, during regular business hours, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“The Berkeley health center was selected as a priority distribution site because our North County community has been particularly impacted by the opioid crisis,” said Spring Schmidt, co-director of the St. Louis County Department of Public Health.

Naloxone (commonly distributed under the brand name Narcan) already was available at the St. Louis County Justice Center and through community partners.

Last month St. Louis County’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program expanded the depth of support it offers providers. Through the program, healthcare providers can track their controlled substance prescriptions to ensure that patients are only receiving recommended doses.

Because Missouri is the only state without a statewide prescription monitoring system,

n “The Berkeley health center was selected as a priority distribution site because our North County community has been particularly impacted by the opioid crisis.”

– Spring Schmidt

St. Louis County administers the program for 75 participating jurisdictions across the state. Through this massive drug monitoring effort, 94 percent of providers throughout Missouri are covered.

“St. Louis County continues to develop resources for our residents, health care providers, and public health partners –focusing on underserved communities – to combat this crisis,” St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said.

A12

ST. LOUIS AMERICAN • MARCH 5 – 11, 2020

Brittani Nelson, health education coordinator with the St. Louis County Department of Public Health, explains to St. Louis County Executive Sam Page how to use naloxone on someone experiencing an opioid overdose on Monday, February 24.

Missouri

“TakingCareofYou”

Overuse contributes to dangerous drug-resistant bacteria

1 in 4 kids who get antibiotics in children’s hospitals are prescribed drugs incorrectly

Washington University

At any given time, about 1 in 3 patients in U.S. children’s hospitals receive one or more antibiotics. However, for one-quarter of those children, the antibiotic treatments are unnecessary or otherwise “suboptimal,” according to research led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

The research — involving nearly 12,000 children at 32 U.S. children’s hospitals — is published online in Clinical Infectious Diseases, a journal of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

The study also found that nearly half of this inappropriate use of antibiotics would have gone undetected by current antibiotic stewardship programs designed to prevent antibiotic resistance. Such programs involve the routine review of certain patient prescriptions to determine if the correct dose, drug and duration were used. Problems can be flagged and addressed through such reviews.

“Antibiotic resistance is a growing danger to everyone; however, there is limited data on children,” said Jason Newland, MD, a Washington University professor of pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, where he treats patients.

“Data on adults have suggested that 30 percent to 50 percent of antibiotics used in hospitalized adults is inappropriate,” Newland said. “Our goal was to understand if antibiotics used to treat hospitalized children were suboptimal, meaning doctors shouldn’t have prescribed any antibiotics; they could have used a more effective

Coronavirus

Continued from A12

test kits, says state counts will always be the most up to date as the CDC updates its figures midday.

“The greatest risk of infection is with people who are in contact with persons with COVID-19,”Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases said.

She added while most cases of new coronavirus infection are mild, persons who are older with preexisting health conditions have had more severe

Thomas

Continued from A12 shared her many talents as a leader, mentor, advocate, and visionary.

For over two decades, Mary was a member of the Auxiliary to the Mound City Medical Forum, a nonprofit organization which serves the St. Louis metropolitan area by presenting numerous health education programs and sponsoring nursing scholarships for non-traditional students. She also served as regional vice president of the Auxiliary to the National Medical Association.

Mary has been involved with many health and community organizations,

for

High number of bacteria. A few of them are resistant to antibiotics.

antibiotic; or they could have prescribed a different dose or for a shorter duration.

Health-care workers must be vigilant since the inappropriate use of antibiotics is fueling dangerous drug resistance in children.”

The multicenter study involved examining the medical records of 11,784 children from birth to age 17 who had been prescribed, in 32 U.S. children’s hospitals, one or more antibiotics to treat or prevent infections. The researchers evaluated data collected on six separate days from July 2016 through December 2017.

Researchers found 2,946 (25 percent) of the patients received at least one antibiotic deemed suboptimal. Altogether, healthcare providers prescribed

illness with risk of serious outcome. She said if you are age 65 years and older – think about what actions you can take to minimize your exposure. Preparation includes having adequate supplies of medication you regularly take, Messonnier also asked for patience and understanding during this outbreak, and if a health provider tells you to stay home, please do that. She said if you are sick, “Staying home for two weeks when you are ill is really important.” Health officials maintain the best approaches to protect against the new coronavirus are the things individuals can do to prevent influenza. Wash your hands regularly

including as a member of the African American Advisory Board of the Knight Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Washington University School of Medicine. In 2006, Mary founded the St. Louis Morehouse Parents Association with the mission to invest in the education of young African-American men in St. Louis, to create an economic and professional network to support these young men upon graduation, and to support and mentor the parents of first generation college students. Under her leadership as president, the association awarded over $125,000 in scholarships to over 50 young men in the St. Louis Metropolitan area attending Morehouse College. She was

Antibiotics kill bacteria causing the illness, as well as good bacteria protecting the body from infection.

antibiotics 17,110 times. Of those, 3,593 were considered suboptimal. The most common cases of inappropriate antibiotic use included:

• 27 percent due to “bugdrug mismatch,” meaning the wrong antibiotic was given for a particular infection.

• 17 percent due to prolonged antibiotic use after surgery to prevent surgical-site infections.

• 11 percent due to use of antibiotics when they were unnecessary.

• 11 percent due to use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, when a drug that targets a specific type of bacteria could have been used.

The study also found that almost half of the suboptimal prescriptions identified in the study would not have been routinely reviewed by the

with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer, cover your mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, avoid touching your face with your hands, avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness, and if you are coughing or sneezing then stay home until you feel better and your fever is long gone. If you do cough or sneeze, do it into your sleeve, or use a tissue. Dispose of the tissue immediately into a closed

The resistant bacteria now have preferred conditions to grow and take over.

physicians and pharmacists involved in hospital antimicrobial stewardship programs, which only scrutinized the use of specific drugs.

“Arguably, this is one of the most important findings because it helps us to identify blind spots in antimicrobial stewardship programs,” Newland said. “Antibiotics currently not targeted for review still have a significant need for oversight. The obvious solution is to expand routine reviews to include all antibiotics. Unfortunately, this is resource-intensive and may not be feasible at some hospitals.”

However, the study also pinpointed medical conditions that would benefit from increased scrutiny. For example, the most common

n COVID-19 is spread by coming in contact with respiratory droplets from an infected person. It is believed to have a 14-day incubation period.

also a founding member of the Morehouse Parents Council.

In 2008, Mary was inducted in the St. Louis (MO) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, joining over 14,000 professional women of color internationally committed to enriching the lives of people of African descent through friendship and service. During her 12 years as a member of the organization, Mary served as Chapter Program chair, International Trends and Services Facet chair, Chapter Fundraising chair, and Chapter president from 2013 to 2017. While president, she spearheaded the chapter’s signature program The Salute to Mother’s Award Luncheon. In 2019, she was appointed to the Area Executive Committee

rubbish bin, and then clean your hands.

The WHO adds more specific steps to take, including: cleaning surfaces regularly with disinfectant, including kitchen areas and work desks, and educating yourself about COVID-19 from reliable sources – your local or national public health agency, the WHO website, or your local health professional.

Everyone should know the symptoms: for most people,

as Central Area Archives chair. She appeared in St. Louis’ Most Influential and Who’s Who in Black St. Louis; received numerous awards for her leadership and service, including Salute to Women in Leadership Honoree by the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Morehouse Parent Council’s Pride Award from Morehouse College, Leadership Award for Excellence in Civic Engagement from The Royal Vagabonds, Inc., and 2019 Women of Achievement Honoree.

She has served on the boards of Deaconess College of Nursing, Our Lady of the Pillar School, and Economic Growth Initiative for Haiti. She is a former member of the Parent’s Council of John Burroughs

medical condition for antibiotic prescriptions was bacterial lower respiratory tract infection, or pneumonia. It also accounted for the greatest percentage of suboptimal prescriptions — 18 percent.

A number of suboptimal prescriptions stemmed from antibiotics used to prevent surgical-site infections, mainly because the drug was prescribed for longer than necessary. “Notably, recently revised guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that some surgeries limit antibiotics to a single preoperative dose,” Newland said. “This means that an even greater proportion of the cases in our study now would be considered suboptimal.”

The study involved researchers from seven other

the illness starts with a fever and a dry cough, not a runny nose. Most people will have mild disease and get better without needing any special care.

The WHO says to avoid traveling if you have a fever or cough, and if you become sick while on a flight, inform the crew immediately. Once you get home, make contact with a health professional and tell them about where you have been.

Bacteria can even transfer their drugresistance to other bacteria, causing more problems.

institutions: University of Michigan in Ann Arbor; Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo.; Novant Health Eastover Pediatrics in Charlotte, N.C.; University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia; Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; University of Utah in Salt Lake City; and the University of Washington in Seattle. Participating hospitals were recruited by the Sharing Antimicrobial Reports for Pediatric Stewardship Collaborative, which Newland co-founded and currently leads. “Our study also highlights the need for antimicrobial stewardship programs to expand current practices and efforts,” Newland said. “Such evolution is imperative to ensure optimal antibiotic use for all hospitalized children.”

If you are over 60 years old, or if you have an underlying condition like cardiovascular disease, a respiratory condition or diabetes, you have a higher risk of developing severe disease. You may wish to take extra precautions to avoid crowded areas, or places where you might interact with people who are sick. If you are sick, stay at home, and eat and sleep separately from your family, use different utensils and cutlery to eat. If you develop shortness of breath, call your doctor and seek care immediately.

School, former chair of the Morehouse College Parents Annual Giving Campaign, and former Gala Committee co-chair of Meds & Food for Kids for Haiti. She lived her life with purpose, an abiding faith and generosity as large as her commitment to helping others as evidenced by the individuals whose lives have been forever changed for having known her.

In her loving legacy, she leaves behind her devoted husband of 40 years, Dr. Jean Alfred Thomas Sr.; her three children, Dr. Jean Alfred Thomas II of Kansas City, Kansas; Pascale Marie Thomas (Tayo Famakinwa) of San Francisco, California; and Bryant Harper Thomas of New York, New York; two

“It’s normal and understandable to feel anxious, especially if you live in a country or community that has been affected,” Ghebreyesus stated. “Find out what you can do in your community. Discuss how to stay safe with your workplace, school or place of worship.”

grandsons, August

and

of

her 24

and

and

She

Steve Harper and Charles Michael Harper.

beautiful

Eniola Famakinwa and Asa Alfred Famakinwa; her sisters, Mai L. Dunn (Bill), Bettye J. Harper, both of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Linda Harper of Nashville, Tennessee, Carmella Harper of St. Louis, Missouri

her brother, Bobby Harper

Covington, Tennessee;

nieces

nephews;

countless relatives, friends and admirers of her garden.

is preceded in death by her parents, Thomas Nelson Harper Sr. and Nellie Mae Harper (nee Jones); her sisters, Dorothy Nathaniel, Valerie Harper and June Allison Harper; her brothers, Thomas Nelson Harper Jr., Charles Harper and Michael Harper; and nephews,

Pick Your Favorites!

As spring approaches, fruits and vegetables will begin to come into season. What are your favorites? First make a list of 10 vegetables that you like the most, and then do the same with fruits.

Conduct your own research to find out which

OUCH!

Dealing With Injuries

Healthy Kids Healthy Kids

of these fruits and vegetables provide the most nutritional benefit. Some things you could watch for are lower sugar content, high fiber, vitamins, etc. Pick your top four fruits

If you injure yourself while exercising (or even just walking around), an ice pack is usually one of the best ways to treat the initial pain and swelling.

Talk to a nurse or doctor about your injury if the pain is severe,

Listen!

Two kinds of listening are passive and active. An example of passive listening is when you are doing your homework and you have a TV show on in the background. You probably don’t even know what they’re saying on the TV, but you certainly can hear it.

Active listening requires you to pay attention to the person that is speaking. You can improve your active listening by asking questions, taking notes and

or if you don’t feel better within a day or two. Let him or her know what you were doing when you first felt the pain.

reacting physically (like nodding).

Effective listening will improve your grades at school and it can also make a difference in your relationships with family and friends.

As a class, discuss what it feels like when someone isn’t really listening to you. How can you show that you’re actively listening while your friend is speaking?

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 4

and vegetables based on your findings and try to eat at least one of these each day.

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

Bessevelyn Tables, MD

If you’re told to “take it easy” for a while, follow the doctor’s orders. Sometimes you just need to let your body heal. Pushing yourself before you’re ready could actually cause your body to take even longer to mend itself and feel better.

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 7, NH 7

Strawberry Cottage Cheese Bagel

Ingredients:

1 Whole-grain bagel

2 Tbsp Low-fat Cottage cheese

½ Cp Sliced Strawberries (or other fruit)

Directions: Spread the cottage cheese onto a toasted bagel. Top with strawberries or other fruit.

Where do you work? I am a family medicine doctor at BJC Medical Group Primary Care North County. Where did you go to school? I graduated from Hickory Flat Attendance Center in Hickory Flat, Mississippi. I then earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi, medical technologist certification from North Mississippi Medical Center, Tupelo, Mississippi, and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

What does a family medicine doctor do? Every day at work I meet new people and get to know more about them and their families. I help people take better care of their bodies by treating diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, high cholesterol and muscle aches. I give them advice about which medications to take when they are sick. I suture simple lacerations and stabilize broken bones. Overall, I teach people healthier habits such as routine exercise and proper nutrition to prevent disease and illness.

Why did you choose this career? I grew up in a small Mississippi town where the nearest hospital was many miles away. In high school I began to understand how taking care of your body and having access to healthcare services positively affected people, families and communities. This is the perfect career for me since I enjoy taking care of people and working to improve communities.

What is your favorite part of the job you have?

What I love most is that each day brings a new adventure. In medicine, I always encounter new experiences, whether it is celebrating healthcare victories with my patients, supporting and consoling patients during difficult times, coordinating therapy or the scientific challenge of each diagnosis.

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

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

Whether you want to learn more about turtles, penguins, apes, or big cats, the Zoo has a class for you! Our programs are designed to help individuals of all ages and abilities learn through experience, involvement and discovery. Programs include live animals, guided tours, and exciting activities and experiences for the whole family. Programs available for homeschoolers and scouts too!

For program listings and registration information, visit www.stlzoo.org/education or call (314) 646-4544, option #6.

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

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

Premier Charter School 8th grade teacher Mrs. McAdams-Velten shows students Ashky Naif, Derek Cariras, Tatiana

Da’Nisea

CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT SCIENCE STARS

Hidden Figures

African American Women Space Pioneers

SCIENCE CORNER

STEM Opportunities for Students

As you’ve read in many of the biographies, several of our STEM stars had experience in activities at a young age that encouraged them to choose a STEM based career. Did you know there are STEM opportunities in the St. Louis area?

STEM scouts (https://stemscouts.org/) lists many local

classes for a variety of age levels. Visit their page, click on St. Louis and read about the local groups you can join.

STEMPact (http://stempact.org/) is a St. Louis based organization that allows schools and local businesses to work

SCIENCE INVESTIGATION

In this activity, you will put your critical thinking skills into action while you collaborate with a team to solve this challenge.

Materials Needed:

• 12-20 Small, plastic drinking cups

• 2 Pieces of cardboard (24” by 24”) Process:

q Your task is to build a platform with the cups and cardboard that will support the weight of one member of your team.

together to provide STEM opportunities. There is even a field trip planning guide available. The Academy of Science St. Louis (https://www.academyofsciencestl.org/) is a good resource of information about STEM events in the St. Louis area. Visit the websites and learn about the many opportunities to get involved.

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

Paper Cup Weight Challenge

w Place one cardboard square on the floor, and put all of the cups face down on top of it. Place the other cardboard square on top.

e Help your teammate carefully stand on the cardboard. Does it support their weight? If no, try adding more cups. If yes, try taking away cups. Find the exact number of cups necessary to support the weight.

Analyze: What surprised you about this activity? How well did your group work together?

LearningStandards: I can follow directions to complete an experiment. I can analyze results and draw conclusions.

Trashketball

This game allows you to get up and active while learning about ratios, fractions, and decimals. You will need a small trash can, a small ball (such as a ping pong ball), a piece of paper, and a pencil.

z Stand about 4-6 feet from the trashcan. Throw the ball 10 times and record how many times you successfully got the ball into the trashcan. _________

x Next, write that number as a ratio. Ex: 3 out of 10 shots were successful. _________

DID YOU KNOW?

c Next, write that number as a fraction: 3/10.

v Finally, convert that fraction to a decimal 3 divided by 10 = .3 _________

Give it a try! Challenge your friends. Increase the throwing distance from the trashcan. Increase the number of throws. Try this game at home with your parents, too.

LearningStandards: I can calculate ratios, fractions, and decimals.

Bessie Coleman, also known as “Queen Bess, Daredevil Aviator,” was the first female African-American aviator in 1921. She received her pilot’s certificate and stunt training in France.

In 2017, the movie Hidden Figures earned three Oscar nominations. The movie told the stor y of three AfricanAmerican women who worked at Langley Research Center completing computations that allowed John Glenn to travel safely in space. Due to discrimination that was prevalent at that time, these ladies did not receive credit for their work. The movie was based off a true story that was written by Margot Lee Shetterly. Although the book follows the story of four women, the movie features the story of three: Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Johnson. (The book includes Christine Darden).

The ladies were known as “computers” and they used pencils, slide rules, and adding machines, calculating complex equations by hand. They moved to Hampton, West Virginia, to work at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory due to labor shortages caused by World War II. Jim Crow Laws forced the “computers” to work in separate facilities, dine in separate areas, and use segregated bathrooms. They were referred to as “West Computers.” Their skills allowed for a safe launch and return of the 1962 Mercury Friendship 7. Jackson graduated with degrees in math and physical science and was hired in 1951 at Langley. Her supervisor encouraged her to become an engineer. Jackson fought for the right to learn along with white students and won. She became NASA’s first African-American engineer. Vaughan became the first black supervisor and a FORTRAN programmer. Johnson graduated high school at the age of 14 and was the first African-American woman to attend West Virginia State University. She graduated at age 18. John Glenn specifically requested for Johnson to double check the math involved in his flights. In 2015, Johnson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. NASA also has a research facility named in her honor. After Johnson’s passing in February, NASA Administrator James Bridenstine said, “Our NASA family is sad to learn the news that Katherine Johnson passed away this morning at 101 years old. She was an American hero and her pioneering legacy will never be forgotten.”

LearningStandards: people who have contributed to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math connections.

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

Apollo 10’s command module was called “Charlie Brown” and the lunar module was called “Snoopy.”

Activities — Pronouns: draw arrows from all pronouns to their antecedents.

Entertainment: Using the entertainment section of the newspaper, find something you would like to do and a restaurant where you would like to eat. Determine the total cost of your outing for one person, for two, and for your whole family.

LearningStandards: I can use the newspaper to locate information. I can identify pronouns and antecedents. I can calculate cost for an event. I can make text-to-self connections.

Graf and

Longmire how to use the newspaper’s NIE content for lesson ideas.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Teachers, if you are using the St. Louis American’s NIE program and would like to nominate your class for a Classroom Spotlight,

Six Apollo missions landed on the moon: Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17.

Mae

MIKE BLOOMBERG

DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

As someone who has been very lucky in life, I often say my story would have only been possible in America – and that’s true. But I also know that because of the artificial barriers of discrimination, my story likely would have turned out very differently if I had been Black, and that more Black Americans of my generation would have ended up with far more wealth, had they been white. That’s why as President, I’m committed to act to build generational wealth for Black Families.

New ‘Playbook’ for early childhood education in STL

WEPOWER’s Tomorrow Builders outline path to equity in teaching our youngest

By Sophie Hurwitz For The St. Louis American

The 14 WEPOWER Tomorrow Builders

fellows recently released a report titled “The Early Childhood Education Playbook: A Saint Louis Community-Led Response to the First Step to Equity Report.” The fellows, a majority of whom are women of color and educators, spent the past year speaking with over a thousand St. Louis community members to attempt to identify and map out solutions to the problem of early childhood education inequity. Now in the second year of their fellowship, they are taking their plans and attempting to turn them into reality – and make it easier for black and brown educators and the children they care for to succeed in early childhood education.

n “Once we start teaching at a very early age for children to have empathy for others, it’s a solid foundation to make the city safer.”

– Rochelle Bea

The roadblocks standing in their way, as outlined in the Playbook, are numerous. For educators like Treasia Foster, who works at the Harris-Stowe State University William Lacy Clay Early Childhood Center, those roadblocks include modest pay. For other members of the Tomorrow Builders cohort, like Rochelle Bea,

obstacles include struggling each year to find the funding necessary to pay the exorbitant costs of re-accreditation for her childcare center –without which she would be forced to go without accreditation at all.

The costs of teacher retention, professional development, maintenance, and accreditation more often than not fall on the educators themselves and the parents of children in the centers. This means that tuition for early childhood care is often prohibitive, which leads to a little more than half the young children in St. Louis city and county (47,219 out of 89,132 children ages 0-5) going without licensed care.

The Tomorrow Builders fellows spent a year comparing their experiences at different early

See WEPOWER, B6

Kathryn Bentley earned a 2020 Saint Louis Visionary Award in the Outstanding Working Artist category, which celebrates her work in the arts both at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) and in the community. She is an associate professor in SIUE’s Department of Theater and Dance and director of its Black Studies program. She has also served as the artistic director of SIUE’s Black Theatre Workshop since 2006.

Leon Huddleston was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Veterans Business Resource Center, the first such center in the nation. The board oversees the center’s work counseling and training former military men and women on entrepreneurship. Its services include entrepreneurial training, loan application assistance and individual business counseling. Huddleston is a veteran, physician and attorney.

Kaelynn Gore selected to be a part of the Disney Dreamers Academy Class of 2020. She is one of 100 students who will take part in immersive careeroriented workshops that explore a wide range of disciplines found at Walt Disney World as well as learning lifelong skills such as effective communication techniques, leadership skills, and networking strategies. She is a senior at McCluer North High who also created an anti-bullying skit that has been shown to various schools in the St. Louis area.

Ryan Griffin was named to the 2020 cohort of the St. Louis chapter of The New Leaders Council, a progressive leadership development organization. Previous fellows include St. Louis County Council Chairperson Lisa Clancy, Forward Through Ferguson Executive Director David Dwight and Darian Wigfall of Farfetched. Griffin is co-founder of St. Louis Hop Shop, 2600 Cherokee St., whose mission is to provide St. Louis and beyond with the best the world of craft beer has to offer.

By Eric Schmid Of St. Louis American

The St. Louis-area census office needs several hundred more people to apply to be census takers. The local office wants at least 13,000 applicants, and it has reached around 90 percent of that target, said Linda Gladden, a media specialist with the bureau. To apply, visit www.2020census. gov/jobs. The St. Louis office is responsible for counts in the city as well as St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson counties.

The available positions are for parttime census takers — the people who will go to homes that don’t submit an initial response online, by mail or by phone. The Census Bureau tries to place workers in neighborhoods where they live or that they know well, Gladden said. “Ultimately we want to get everyone counted, and we know that people are more apt to open the door if it’s a person that looks familiar to them,” Gladden said.

The available positions with the U.S. Census Bureau are for part-time census takers — the people who will go to homes that don’t submit an initial response online, by mail or by phone.

Rihanna received the President’s Award during the 51st NAACP Image Awards. The award is presented in recognition of special achievement and distinguished public service, with previous recipients including last year’s recipient Shawn “JAYZ” Carter, Jesse Jackson, Lauryn Hill, Soledad O’Brien, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, and Muhammad Ali. Rihanna is a global music and fashion icon, business entrepreneur, and philanthropist.

Ellicia Lanier, Katie Kaufmann, and Julius B. Anthony visited at WEPOWER’s launch of “The Early Childhood Education Playbook” at the Deaconess Center for Child Well-Being on January 9.

Photo courtesy of WEPOWER

SBA has a (black) history of helping African-American entrepreneurs

By Maureen Brinkley

For The St. Louis American

Since 1976, every American president has issued a proclamation making February a month of celebrating the amazing contributions African-American men and women have made to our nation’s landscape. As the first black woman to be appointed district director for the Small Business Administration’s St. Louis District office, my heart is focused on entrepreneurs and business owners. I’ve been with the SBA for 52 years so for me this month is always a walk down memory lane. Over those years, I’ve had the honor and privilege of introducing African-American entrepreneurs throughout eastern Missouri to the many ways SBA’s counseling, lending and contracting programs can help them start and grow their businesses.

n Graduation from the 8(a) program can change the entire trajectory of a small business. I knew this when I introduced Dave Steward to the program in 1991.

idea of bottling water was laughable. In fact, when Elliott Henry, founder of Unlimited Water Processing, announced that he wanted to bottle water and sell it, people snickered. But it’s Elliott who’s having the last laugh as he celebrates 40 years of success in the water bottling business. In 2011 with the help of an SBA 504 Loan, Elliott purchased a larger space that enabled him to consolidate his company’s operation and employees under one roof instead of in four separate buildings. The SBA 504 Loan program offers small businesses an avenue for business financing of fixed assets such as existing buildings, construction of new facilities or land improvements.

The 504 Loan Program provides approved small businesses with longterm, fixed-rate financing used to acquire fixed assets for expansion or modernization. 504 loans

In the early 1980s, the

Census

continued from page B1

Other regional offices in Kansas City, Springfield, Missouri, and Springfield, Illinois, have also hired the majority of the enumerators they need, Gladden said.

The census bureau wants to eventually fill nearly 500,000 jobs nationwide. Low unemployment nationally has made it difficult to fill every temporary position, Gladden said.

“There’s really no definite

deadline [to apply],” she said. “The U.S. Census Bureau will accept applications even after all positions are filled.”

She explained the bureau over-recruits in case there is turnover and the agency needs to quickly fill an open position.

“We’re dealing with a number of unknowns here. It’s really contingent upon the number of people that selfrespond,” Gladden said. “The higher the self-response rate, that means there will be fewer people who are knocking on doors.”

Depending on location in the St. Louis region, these

are made available through Certified Development Companies (CDCs), SBA’s community based partners for providing 504 Loans.

The SBA serves as an entry point into government contracting through the 8(a) Business Development Program. In the early 1970s, as a Minority Enterprise representative, I was part of a team that created the policies that govern the program, which was created to provide a level playing field for socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses. The federal government limits competition for certain contracts to businesses that participate in the program.

the nation’s largest African American-owned technology business with more than 6,000 employees operating from more than 20 facilities all over the world and earning nearly $12 billion in annual revenue.

Graduation from the 8(a) program and successful completion of a federal government contract can change the entire trajectory of a small business. I knew this when I introduced Dave Steward to the program in 1991. At that time World Wide Technology was a small business struggling to find its footing. Today they are

n

This time last year I had the pleasure of meeting Tameka Stigers for the first time. She’s the owner of the Locs of Glory Salon and the 2019 Minority Owned Small Business Person of the Year for SBA St. Louis. Tameka first came into contact with the SBA in 2009 when she sought help with her business plan from the Grace Hill Women’s Business Center, an SBA resource partner. Seven years later when her business had outgrown its space, an SBA 7(a) loan helped her build a custom 3,000 square-foot building to house her hair salon and spa service.

Today Tameka employs nine people and has enjoyed steady growth in revenue. To keep her momentum going she participated in SBA’s Emerging Leaders Initiative and graduated with a threeyear strategic growth plan

“We want to get everyone counted, and we know that people are more apt to open the door if it’s a person that looks familiar to them.”

– Linda Gladden, U.S. Census Bureau

temporary positions will pay between $19 and $23.50 an hour.

What are the requirements?

Gladden said applicants for these jobs must:

• Be 18 years old or older.

• Have a valid Social Security number.

• Be a U.S. citizen.

(Noncitizens with valid employment eligibility will be considered for positions that require proficiency in a particular language if there are no qualified citizen applicants.)

• Have a valid email address.

and a whole new roster of professionals to support her as she continues to build her business and support her community.

No matter what size their business is today, each of these entrepreneurs had an idea and the guts to take risks. These are the kind of people the SBA exists to support through its counseling, lending and contracting programs.

So far in FY 2019, the district office has approved 22 loans totaling $3 million to African-American small business owners. I personally want to see that number grow significantly.

The district currently has 34 firms in the 8(a) program, and we’re actively seeking to assist other small, disadvantaged businesses through this program. In March we’re hosting a four-week 8(a) Certification Bootcamp that will help small business owners successfully navigate the application process. This program is so near and dear to my heart I consider it my third son. I’ve seen this program change lives.

The St. Louis District office has a vast network of resource partners that help entrepreneurs

• Speak, read and write English.

• Be registered with the Selective Service program, or have a qualifying exemption if they’re a male born after December 31, 1959.

• Go through fingerprinting and pass a criminal background check.

• Have access to a computer with internet access.

Applicants also need to commit to training and be able to work flexible hours, Gladden said. She added most will need a driver’s license and access to a vehicle unless public transportation is available.

start and grow businesses. SCORE, the Missouri Small Business Development Centers, Veterans Business Outreach Center, and our two Women’s Business Centers all provide access to experts who stand ready to assist with everything from business plan development to launching and growing small businesses. Lastly, we’re in the second year of a strategic alliance formed with the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, which will enable the SBA to bring more entrepreneurial training programs directly into underserved and underreached neighborhoods. So as we close out this month of honoring the accomplishments of African Americans, I hope this serves as encouragement and inspiration for those who have entrepreneurial visions. The SBA team would like to help add your name to the list of African American small businesses defying the odds and changing communities through entrepreneurship. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/SBA-STL. Maureen Brinkley is director of the SBA St. Louis District.

“If the individual applying is currently employed, their job must be compatible with the census bureau employment and not create conflicts of interest,” she said. To apply, visit www.2020census.gov/jobs. Eric Schmid covers the Metro East for St. Louis Public Radio as part of the journalism grant program Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project. Reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.

Free tax preparation services for low-income families

United Way 2-1-1 is partnering with local tax coalitions to provide free tax preparation services to St. Louis-area families with a household income of $56,000 or less in 2019. Local residents can dial 2-1-1 or visit 211helps. org for more information.

“Last year, the partnership filed nearly 18,000 tax returns in the St. Louis region, helping local low- and middle-income families receive more than

$17 million in tax refunds,” said Debbie Irwin, community economic development director, United Way of Greater St. Louis. “Through free tax preparation services, we hope to again help many working families this year receive all of the tax credits they qualify for, including the Earned Income Tax Credit United Way’s tax coalition partners include Metropolitan St. Louis Community Tax

Coalition, Gateway EITC Community Coalition National Association of Black Accountants, and St. Louis Tax Assistance Program. In 2019, 798 volunteers worked through the coalitions to provide free tax preparation services for people across the region.

Anyone interested in receiving tax preparation help and who is eligible under the $56,000 household income

threshold may contact United Way by dialing 2-1-1 or visit 211helps.org/free-tax-prep for information on qualifications, locations and dates of tax sites, and a list of documents required for services. Sites operate on an appointment or walk-in basis.

The coalitions also focus on bringing awareness to local individuals and families who qualify to receive a refund through the Earned Income

Tax Credit (EITC), a federal tax credit designed to help people increase their financial stability. The average national EITC refund in 2019 was $2,504. According to the IRS, in 2019, more than 25 million workers and families nationwide received over $61 billion in EITC.

“Working families often struggle to save or make ends meet,” noted Irwin. “Free tax preparation services and access to the Earned Income Tax Credit helps working families boost income, allowing them to save for emergencies, pay down debt and catch up on bills. Research also shows long-term benefits such as improved education and health outcomes for children and families, a worthy investment.” Local residents can dial 2-1-1 or visit 211helps.org for more information.

Maureen Brinkley

n “I don’t want to waste time being a combine athlete.”

— Ohio State star Chase Young, on skipping the NFL Combine workouts

Sports

winning Billikens

20 win seasons

The Saint Louis University Billikens have put together back to back 20-victory seasons as head coach Travis Ford continues to move the program in the right direction.

The breakthrough for the Billikens came last season when they won 23 games and captured the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. SLU has followed up on that success by posting a 21-8 record entering Wednesday night’s contest against George Mason.

A big part of the Billikens’ success this season has been the major contributions of players from the St. Louis metro area. Ford has successfully recruited some of the best talent from St. Louis on both sides of the river and it has showed big this year.

Mary’s took over the job as the team’s undisputed floor general from Day 1. Collins has handed out 160 assists, which is first among all freshmen in the country. It is also a freshman record at SLU. Freshman forward Terrence Hargrove Jr. from East St. Louis has come on strong in the past month with his high energy and highlight-reel dunks. The 6’6” Hargrove has averaged 12 points in the last three games, which are all victories.

Former Belleville Althoff High star Jordan Goodwin was one of Ford’s first recruits and he has been sensational. The 6’3” Goodwin is currently averaging a team-high 15.6 points, along with 10.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.0 steals.

Earl Austin Jr.

Junior forward Javonte Perkins, a former Miller Career Academy standout, has emerged as one of the top scoring threats in the conference. The 6’6” Perkins is averaging 14.7 points a game, but he has been leading the team in scoring in A-10 play.

Freshman point guard Yuri Collins from St.

Among the many classic lines from the movie “Animal House is “We have a saying at Delta; ‘don’t get mad, get even.’” Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal has been following that exact strategy since he was not selected as an NBA Eastern Conference All Star. Beal has posted new career highs in consecutive games, with 53 points on Sunday against the Chicago Bulls and 55 in Monday’s overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

“I’m a winner, so you can throw those 55 out with the last 53,” Beal said after becoming the first player in NBA history to score at least 50 points on consecutive days and lose both games. In an NBA season that is now totally dedicated to the late Kobe Bryant, Beal became the first player to score 50 points on consecutive days since Bryant also did it on both nights of a road trip back-toback in March 2007.

It is always extra special for me to see local kids stay home and represent their home city in a big way.

Junior forward Hasahn French has been a pillar of strength for three seasons while freshman Jimmy Bell Jr. is an up and coming big man. French is the school’s all-time leading shot blocker.

The Billikens will close the regular season on Saturday against St. Bonaventure at Chaifetz Arena on Saturday. Then, it’s off to the A-10 Conference Tournament in Brooklyn next week.

District highlights from last week

• Senior Tahj Patterson of Lutheran

“Honestly, I could care less about how I’m playing as long as we’re winning,” Beal told the Washington Post after the Sunday win over the Warriors. “Because my career highs and those good games, what is the record? We’re 1-9 when I score 40 or something. That’s terrible. I’m not happy about that. I’m not going to sit here and be like, ‘Oh yeah, but I scored 40.’ No, we got to win, and that’s what I’m about.” Wins or not, Beal is sealing his legacy with the Wizards. His 55-point game is the third-highest in franchise history, behind Gilbert Arenas’ 60 points against the Lakers

Beal tallied 34 points in a 124-110 win over host Golden State last Sunday and is averaging just under 35 points per game since the disappointment of being left off an All-Star roster. That effort from Beal was the 18th time this season he has scored at least 25 points – a franchise record. The Wizards have 22 games remaining, meaning that record will certainly be extended barring injury. At 22-37, the Wizards, amazingly, still have a chance to make the NBA postseason. After going 5-5 in the last 10 games up to Tuesday, Washington sat four games behind the Brooklyn Nets for the eighth, and final, Eastern Conference playoff slot.

in 2006 and Earl Monroe’s 56 against the Lakers in 1968. The 34-point game sent Beal

Bradley Beal has posted new career highs in consecutive games, with 53 points on Sunday against the Chicago Bulls and 55 in Monday’s overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Junior forward Hasahn French has been a pillar of strength for three seasons.

Alvin A. Reid

The Democratic Party’s primary process has, at times, been a knock-down, drag-out affair. However, at a time when it seemed that both the country and the Democratic Party could not be more polarized, an interesting thing occurred. Progressives, moderates and Democratic socialists came together in opposition of current billionaire and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg

It may be time for New Yorkers to find a way to come together to forge a similar coalition, across political, racial, gender and economic lines, to run New York Knicks Chairman James Dolan out of town. Dolan recently made headlines after engaging in a very public spat with Spike Lee. Monday night, Lee was caught arguing with Madison Square Garden security before the Knicks faced off against the Houston Rockets.

Now the actual beef seems more like a load of rich people problems than any real, significant issues. On ESPN’s First Take, Lee stated that he entered Madison Square Garden at the same employee entrance he has used for nearly 30 years. His ticket was scanned and he got onto the elevator with others. Lee claims he was then approached by MSG security and asked to get off the elevator. He refused.

“The elevator goes up to [the fifth floor], and security was waiting for me like I just ran out of Macy’s stealing something,” Lee said.

“…They wanted me to

With Ishmael H. Sistrunk

Empire State of madness

James Dolan continues to sink the Knicks

leave and walk outside, out to the 33rd Street entrance that I came in and come back on 31st Street (at the VIP entrance). I said, ‘I’m not doing that,’” Lee added.

Lee has been a Knicks season-ticket holder since

1985. He has been the team’s most-prominent and visible fan over the years, supporting the team through thick and thin (and there’s been a lot of thin). He is a beloved staple of ‘The Garden.’

After the release of the video and Lee’s side of the story, the Knicks went into attack mode with the following statement:

“The idea that Spike Lee is a victim because we have repeatedly asked him not to use our employee entrance and instead use a dedicated VIP entrance – which is used by every other celebrity who enters The Garden – is laughable. It is disappointing that Spike would create this false controversy to perpetuate drama. He is welcome to come to The Garden anytime via the VIP or general entrance; just not through our employee entrance, which is what he and Jim agreed to last night when they shook hands.”

The statement was posted alongside a grainy photo of Lee and Dolan shaking hands near Lee’s courtside seat.

“I’m done for the season. I’m done,” Lee stated.

At the time of this column, the Knicks record is 19-42. The team has not reached the playoffs since 2013. The team is on its sixth head coach in that time period. It seems like there should be bigger fish to fry than celebrity entrances.

However, the Knicks are going to Knick. Dolan is the same thin-skinned owner who had former Knicks player and fan-favorite Charles Oakley ejected from the arena and banned over his criticism of the chairman.

Dolan also had a teenage fan removed from the stadium in January for yelling “Sell the Knicks” during a game.

“The commissioner needs to step in and do something, suspend him, something,” Oakley told The Athletic. “He can’t keep getting away with it. Getting the commissioner to step in for Dolan’s ineptitude is a bit much. However, Knicks fans should find a way to band together and convince Dolan to ban himself for the franchise’s greater good.

According to Forbes, the Knicks franchise is worth a staggering $4.6B. That is for a team that hasn’t won an NBA championship since 1973.

I hear that Bloomberg has recently dropped out of the presidential race after dropping more than $500M on his campaign. If he really wants black New Yorkers to forgive him for stop and frisk, he should drop a check for $6B, or whatever it takes, to get Dolan as far away from the Knicks as possible.

Until Dolan is gone, so too are the Knicks’ chances of building a championship contender.

Snacks savoring the moment

Every so often the inter-

net takes a small break from funny gifs, political spats, fistfights and trolling to celebrate an inspiring and heartwarming moment. That happened this week when the Jackson State Tigers suited up Thomas Lee on Senior Night and set the internet on fire.

Not familiar with the name? That’s because you probably know him by “Snacks.”

According to The Athletic, Lee began delivering candy and other tasty treats to the Jackson State basketball team when he was just six years old. That, and the fact that a few bags of snacks likely went missing on the transfer, helped to earn him the now-famous nickname.

When Lee became old enough to enroll at Jackson State, he was welcomed aboard the basketball program as team manager. His one wish was to suit up with the team for pre-game warmups in one game.

“Snacks” entered the ballgame and the Jackson State crowd went wild. His teammates scrambled to get him the ball. With just over 32 seconds remaining, on his third shot of the game, Lee drilled a Steph Curry-esque long-range three-pointer. The crowd and the Jackson State TV announcers went nuts. The video went viral and the rest is history.

Lee was excited and grateful for his viral moment. It left him with a memory that he can cherish forever.

“I can always tell someone that I checked into a Division I game and scored,” he said. That’s not all. Kevin Durant commented on the viral video. “I see u snipe… ,” Durant posted. The Southwestern Athletic Conference also named Lee the SWACMBB Player of the Week.

“The Jackson, Miss. native leads the league in social media views and is a legitimate scoring threat from virtually anywhere on the court,” the SWACC’s social media post read.

That’s what sports are all about.

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

Going into Jackson State’s final home game of the season on Monday night, coach Wayne Bryant decided he would honor “Snacks” by putting him into the game – but only if the team was winning by a large margin late in the second half. With just two minutes and five seconds remaining in the game, the Tigers led 72-46 over the Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions. That’s when Lee got the call.

The New York Knicks’ No. 1 fan Spike Lee got into a public spat with Knicks Chairman James Dolan over the entrance Lee uses to enter games. The beef is just one example why the Knicks franchise is in such terrible condition.

Ishmael H. Sistrunk

Sports Eye

Continued from B3 body around you is what’s most important. So, I think that’s what I take to heart the most and carry that for the rest of my life.”

The Wizards were scheduled to play another back-toback with games at Sacramento then Portland on March 3-4. By the end of the week, Beal’s epic surge since his snub could push his Wizards into true playoff contention – and gain him true national recognition.

A winning Betz

Carolyn Kindle Betz, a primary owner of the St. Louis expansion MLS franchise, told Sports Illustrated (si.com) that her ownership group’s success came in part from the failed first attempt to land a franchise.

“I think in a very positive way, there were a lot of lessons learned [from the unsuccessful bid],” she said.

“It was, ‘O.K., there was a lot of excitement around this, so maybe we should go figure out why.’ Not being a soccer family, by the way. And it was interesting whether it was sort of anecdotal, just social media, different ways. St. Louis fans really wanted a professional soccer team.”

She was asked if the franchise would be a big spender along the lines of Atlanta, LA Football Club, L.A. Galaxy and Toronto or fiscally conservative like Dallas, New England and Colorado.

“I think we need to bring in a team that has a lot more background and knowledge,” she said.

“So, a sporting director, technical people. And the reason why I say that is because when you’re not familiar with the sport and what the fans want, it’s pretty hard to make a decision you feel good about.

“I think once we start having that sporting side develop, and then we sit down with the ownership group and really talk about, you know, what is the philosophy of this team? I think that answer will just sort of organically come to us.”

The franchises’ new stadium will soon be under construction – as signaled by the closing of several highway ramps near the west St. Louis location.

“[To] actually start digging up those ramps was a big deal for our team. But I think it was

Hoops

Continued from B3

also a big deal for the city too, because it’s: ‘Hey, St. Louis, we’re really doing this.’ So, we look forward to a more intense, more robust groundbreaking. But for right now things are going as planned,” she said. Last week, the city Board of Aldermen passed two bills giving some tax relief to the ownership groups stadium project.

One approved 25 years of property tax abatement on the value of the new construction, saving the owners about $34.5 million, according to BOA estimates. Another grants a sales tax exemption for materials used to construct the 22,500seat stadium and related facilities. For all the St. Louis fans that want the name “Steamers” to come back. Kindle Betz said it’s not going to happen.

“We opened it up on our website and we got over 6,000 names,” she said. “So really right now it’s just working with MLS, I’m trying

• Freshman Kayla Sullivan of Lutheran North scored 18 points in the Crusaders 68-20 victory over Trinity in the Class 3, District 7 girls’ championship game at Lutheran North.

to make sure we hone in on the specifics of what names would be truly iconic and unique to St. Louis. Then from there the colors, the crest. We’re hoping to be able to unveil all of that in the next couple of months.”

Battle just begun

The St. Louis Battlehawks topped the Seattle Dragons 23-16 last Saturday and now sit atop the XFL East Division halfway through the season. If the season ended today (and it doesn’t), the ‘Hawks would host a semifinal playoff game. It would be a wild scene.

The Battlehawks drew 29,554 (highest in XFL this season) for the home opener against the New York Guardians. Saturday’s game drew 27,527, (a drop of just more than 2,000 fans), but that has not deterred the team from announcing that seats in the upper bowl of the Dome at America’s Center will be avail-

The state sectional playoffs for area Class 2 and 3 schools were held on Wednesday night. The winners of those sectional contests will advance to the state quarterfinals on Saturday.

able for the team’s next home game on March 21.

The opponent will be the L.A. Wildcats. While the Wildcats have zero to do with the NFL or L.A. Rams owner Stan Kroenke, the game will be a national showcase of how bitter many area football fans remain about the Rams relocation to L.A. I’m sure every seat available will be sold.

St. Louis and Seattle lead the XFL in attendance, by far.

In an article for FORBES this week, St. Louisan and sports economist Patrick Rishe wrote the respective North scored 37 points in the Crusaders’ 87-79 victory over Trinity in the Class 3, District 7 championship game at Lutheran North.

• Sophomore guard Luther Burden of Cardinal Ritter scored 26 points in the Lions’ 87-72 victory over Lift for Life in the Class 3, District 6 championship game at Vashon.

• Sophomore Kelsey Harris of Miller Career Academy scored 17 points and made five 3-pointers in the Phoenix’ 53-46 victory over Metro in the Class 3, District 6 girls championship game at Vashon.

• State Quarterfinals on Tap

The Class 3 state quarterfinals will be held at Normandy High School. The girls’ game will tip off at noon, followed by the boys’ game at 1:45 p.m.

The Class 2 state quarterfinals will be held at Sikeston with the girls scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. followed by the boys at 2:45 p.m.

The ST. LouiS AmericAn PreP AThLeTeS of The Week

Chris Hill

Brentwood – Boys Basketball

The senior standout led the Eagles to the Class 2, District 4 championship last week at Crystal City. The 6’2” Hill had 27 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and four steals in a 59-53 victory over host Crystal City in the championship game. He had 27 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals in a victory over Northwest Academy in the semifinals.

For the season, Hill is averaging 28.4 points, which is second in the St. Louis metro area. He is also averaging 11.8 rebounds, 4.8 rebounds and 5.0 steals while shooting 56 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range. Brentwood faced Oran in the Class 2 Sectional playoffs on Wednesday night in Jackson.

Kalin

Black Christian-O’Fallon – Boys Basketball

The junior standout had a big week in leading the Eagles to the Class 3, District 8 championship at Winfield.

The 6’2” Black had 26 points, 10 rebounds and six steals and scored the game winning basket in a 58-54 victory over Montgomery County in the championship game. He added 17 points and 10

rebounds in a 60-43 victory over Hermann in the semifinals. For the season, Black is averaging 13.2 points and 7.1 rebounds while shooting 48 percent from the field. Christian-O’Fallon faced Lutheran North in the Class 3 sectional playoffs at Francis Howell Central.

cities, “provide key insights into what markets would be the best candidates for future consideration should the league either expand or replace underperforming markets in the coming years.”

The cost of attending a game is a key factor, according to Rishe.

“Clearly, the St. Louis and Seattle markets have shown the most overall engagement with their respective teams,” he wrote.

“St. Louis football fans have been without professional football since the Rams left for

Los Angeles, and the market is showing it certainly can support this brand of football in a highly respectable fashion.

“Seattle has proven itself to be a rabid football community, and alternate entertainment options during this time of year are not as plentiful as they would be in other markets. “And both markets are tapping into a portion of their local demos who perhaps were/are outpriced by the NFL product.”

The Reid Roundup Major League Baseball’s website has published a list of 15 Negro League sites it recommends fans and tourists visit. Among them is a plaque dedicated to James “Cool Papa” Bell in his hometown of Starkville, Mississippi. A National Baseball Hall of Fame member and St. Louis Stars superstar from 1922-31, Bell is buried in St. Peter’s Cemetery at 2101 Lucas and Hunt… After finishing 15th in the Daytona 500, black NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace finished sixth in Las Vegas last week. It was the fifth top 10 finish in his threeyear career… While websites including StubHub and Vivid Seats were offering tickets for more than $100 for the Battlehawks’ home opener, plenty of tickets were available for street purchase from scalpers outside the Dome for far less. The same will likely be true on March 21… The NBA is asking players to refrain from “high fives” in fear of the coronavirus being spread.

Alvin A. Reid was honored as the 2017 “Best Sports Columnist – Weeklies” in the Missouri Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest and is a New York Times contributor. He is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook, a weekly contributor to “The Charlie Tuna Show” on KFNS and appears monthly on “The Dave Glover Show” on 97.1 Talk.” His Twitter handle is @ aareid1

Bradley Beal is averaging just under 35 points per game since being left off an All-Star roster.

continued from page B1

childcare centers and sharing their perspectives from other roles, too – there are school board members, activists, and school district employees in the cohort, along with early childhood educators.

Fellow Bea said that being part of such a diverse group of individuals made her realize that inequities in education are not just something to be put up with, but rather something to be changed.

“I grew up in North St. Louis, I’m familiar with North St. Louis, so it’s just numb to me that different parts of the city get different services,” Bea said. “At first, I just thought we had to suffer through it.” But working with the other Tomorrow Builders gave her hope: “To work with a group of individuals that demanded that all children be offered the same opportunities was great.”

In the Playbook, the Tomorrow Builders fellows call for the creation of a new nonprofit to coordinate center regulation and development and share resources, knowledge, and data between early childhood educators across the area. Some coordinating nonprofits attempting to fill that role have existed recently.

The Playbook states that the St. Louis Regional Early Childhood Council, which was founded in 2017, disbanded last July, though its parent nonprofit, Vision for Children at Risk, still exists. This leaves an opening for a broad, regionwide coordinating nonprofit, which is what the Tomorrow Builders hope to create – this time, “with a new leadership structure, particularly with greater representation from those impacted by the system.”

“This should be a community-led organization that sets a strategic agenda to both strengthen and grow the current early childhood education (ECE) system, as well as magnify the importance of ECE by increasing public

awareness,” they explained in the Playbook. “[The nonprofit] should be charged with system design and implementation, as well as advocacy.”

Joey Saunders, director of the Tomorrow Builders fellowship, said that this as-yetunnamed nonprofit may be more than just an idea, though with interest from potential funders, it could be established as early as this year.

n “I grew up in North St. Louis, so it’s just numb to me that different parts of the city get different services. At first, I just thought we had to suffer through it.”

– Rochelle Bea

“We actually have attracted interest from funders,” Saunders said. “Because this whole thing has been seen as such an energizing and inspiring effort, people are actually willing to invest in these community members and the vision we co-created.”

In addition to the creation of a coordinating system, the Tomorrow Builders are advocating for a future in which more government money is brought into the early childhood education system, so the burden does not fall so entirely upon parents and

educators. Right now, though many programs are technically state-funded, “Missouri has one of the lowest reimbursement rates in the country,” according to the Playbook. That means early childhood educators and parents are left to bear the brunt of costs, without the reimbursement that they would

need to break even.

Tomorrow Builder Adrienne Pennington, for example, has to pull together funding from many different sources to keep her childcare center afloat. “You just have to know how to budget, and raise funds and use other resources, financially,” she said. She often relies on in-kind donations and is forced to borrow money to make ends meet.

The Tomorrow Builders suggest two different solutions to this funding issue for St. Louis and St. Louis County.

In the county, they propose a one-cent sales tax to be directed towards early

childhood education centers.

In the city, where a sales tax is, according to the playbook, “not an option,” they suggest a 2 percent budget allocation in the upcoming fiscal year.

As far as a St. Louis city tax proposal goes, the Tomorrow Builders said it would cost a family making $25,000 a year about $93 in taxes per year. “If that same family has a child 0-5 who benefits from this program by being in high-quality ECE, their maximum return on investment stands to be $20,353 each year,” they state. The county proposal would have a similar outcome.

The Tomorrow Builders cohort have received positive feedback on their plan from community members at their various early childhood centers and educational establishments. Now, as they enter the second year of their fellowship, their challenge will be to mobilize their communities to make it happen.

“Everybody’s ecstatic about it,” said Bea. “They’re very excited, especially as it relates to the north of Delmar situation. It takes a special person to care for children, and I think this industry just wants to be respected.” In the end, Bea said, the point of this effort is not just to enhance kindergarten readiness: it will make St. Louis a safer place to live, too. Children who receive high-quality early childhood education, she pointed out, are 70 percent less likely to be arrested by age 18.

“Once we start teaching at a very early age for children to have empathy for others, effectively communicate, use their words to think and be positive and secure in their actions,” Bea said, “then it’s a solid foundation to make the city safer.” The full text of the Tomorrow Builders “Playbook for Early Childhood Education” can be found at https://www. wepowerstl.org/tomorrowbuilders-fellowship.

WEPOWER’s Tomorrow Builders fellows launched “The Early Childhood Education Playbook” at the Deaconess Center for Child Well-Being on January 9.

Photo courtesy of WEPOWER

Black artists matter

Black Rep’s ‘Spell#7’ casts light on frustrations of African American creatives

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

playwright/author/poet Ntozake

Late

Shange famously illustrated the plight of the black woman with her seminal award-winning choreo-poem, “for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf.”

Though conceived and originally produced in the early 1970s, “For Colored Girls” is among the classics within the canon of black theater and still regularly produced regionally, nationally and internationally nearly 50 years after Shange gave the world an intimate, explicit and transformative vantage point of the black woman’s perspective.

Her lesser known play, “Spell #7” has parallels to “For Colored Girls.” The play pays homage to Shange’s St. Louis roots. It also creates space for expression of a marginalized group: the black performance artist.

The Black Rep, which has presented Shange’s “For Colored Girls” before three generations of audiences, introduces “Spell #7” to its audience as part of its 43rd season. Shange didn’t quite recapture the magic of her most famous work – mainly because the show feels more dated, rather than drawing audiences into a moment in time and connecting them with the era. But the intention – and central theme of showing the high cost of committing oneself to his or her talent and art

– is compelling enough to carry the elements of “Spell #7” that aren’t necessarily timeless.

The Black Rep’s production certainly makes the most of the material with a strong production team and a talented ensemble of actors. So much so that the production – originally slated

to end on Sunday, March 8 – has been extended for another week due to popular demand. A bar in 1970s St. Louis is where a group

See Artists, C4

‘I’m rooting for every single one of you’

Teacher Emily Hockaday helps students pen book that earns LeBron’s praise

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

The book signing and discussion for Wilkinson Early Childhood Center students and their teacher Emily Hockaday was one any bestselling author would hope for.

Two Saturdays ago, as they introduced their book “LeBron James: Black History in Children’s Words,” the line stretched the length of the gymnasium. People waited patiently to get their copy of the book signed by Hockaday and the students.

An extra-long activity table allowed guests to get an assembly line of personalized signatures, starting with Ms. Hockaday and a rotating group of student authors.

By the time they stood before the crowd of proud parents, grandparents, siblings and supporters to discuss the book about 30 minutes later, every available copy of the book was sold. The book, which was released in mid-January of this year, is currently sold out on Amazon.com. Before Ron Himes could get started facilitating the discussion with Hockaday, her students and the audience, tears rolled down Hockaday’s face.

Reactions to the book she conceived were overwhelming. She never thought that a trip to the library to research for a report would be the catalyst for a book that would inspire so many – including James himself.

“I wanted to make sure you guys know what an incredible honor that is for me because it was it wasn’t that long ago that I was just a kid like you – a young kid with big dreams,” James

Photo by Wiley Price

Wilkinson Early Childhood Center teacher and brainchild of the book “LeBron James: Black History in Children’s Words” discussed the work that went into creating the book with Ron Himes Saturday in Wilkerson’s auditorium.

wrote in a letter that serves as the book’s forward. “I never imagined that one day a group of amazing students like you would be making a book with my name on it. That just shows anything is possible if you work hard and believe in yourself.” He also told the students to keep dreaming, wished them the best for the rest of the school year and challenged them to never let anyone slow them down.

“I hope my story continues to inspire you and kids around the world to go out and achieve their dreams,” James said in closing.

“And I’m rooting for every single one of you.”

The journey that led to “LeBron James: Black History in Children’s Words” began with first grader Jackson Harris. He checked out a

‘The Banker’

George Nolfi’s “The Banker,” starring Anthony Mackie, Samuel L. Jackson and Nia Long, opens at the Chase Park Plaza for a limited run starting Friday, March 6. It will stream on Apple TV+ starting March 20.

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

In the documentary “Becoming Warren Buffet,” the multi-billionaire credits a sizable portion of his success to factors “beyond his control” given to him at birth – including being born a white male. Through his film “The Banker,” writer/director George Nolfi proves Warren Buffet’s words true. The film, which opens at the Chase Park Plaza on Friday, March 6 and will stream on Apple TV+ starting March 20, stars Anthony Mackie, Samuel L. Jackson, Nicholas Hoult, Nia Long and Jessie T. Usher.

“You was born the wrong color son,” a young Bernard Garrett is told by his father upon learning

See Film, C4

Photo by Phil Hamer

The Black Rep’s production of Ntozake Shange’s “Spell #7” continues through March 15 at the A.E. Hotchner Studio inside Washington University’s Edison Theatre.

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

Through March 8, Jazz at the Bistro presents Etienne Charles: Creole Soul. Jazz St. Louis, 3536 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www.jazzstl.org.

Sun., Mar. 8, 4:30 p.m., World Renowned Morehouse College Glee Club. Carr Lane Visual & Performing Arts Middle School, 1004 N. Jefferson Ave., 63106. For more information email rmcgowan@stlcc.edu

Fri., Mar. 13, 8 p.m., Pops Concert Venue presents Young Dolph – No Rules Tour. Feat. Key Glock. 401 Monsanto Ave., Sauget, IL. 62201. For more information, visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Sat., Mar. 14, 7 p.m., The Sheldon presents San Francisco Jazz Collective 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com.

Mar. 18 – 21, Jazz at the Bistro presents Kandace Springs. Jazz St. Louis, 3536 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. jazzstl.org.

Sat., Mar. 28, 7 p.m., 2020 Sheldon Gala: An Evening with Renee Elise Goldsberry. Goldsberry is the winner of the Tony, Grammy and Drama Desk Awards for her performance in the Broadway phenomenon Hamilton. 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

local gigs

Fri., Mar. 6, 6 p.m., House Of Soul presents Rhoda G Live. 1204 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

Sun., Mar. 15, 6 p.m., Coleman Hughes Project 7th

Anniversary Celebration. Hollylou, 155 S. Florissant Rd., 63135. For more information, call (314) 4967751.

Tues., Mar. 17, 6 p.m., Gordon’s Entertainment presents Honoring Our Own: Miz Renee Smith Performances by Denise Thimes, Joe Mancuso, Eugene Johnson, Laura Green, and more. Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Fri., Mar. 20, 7 p.m., Kim Massie’s Tribute to Aretha Franklin. National Blues Museumm, 615 Washington Ave., 63101. For more information, visit www. nationalbluesmuseum.org.

Sat., Mar. 21, 3 p.m., Show Me Kids Concert Series feat. That Girl Lay Lay & Tha Slay Gang. With guest ZaZa Live. Hosted by Nelly Da Celeb. Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry Rd., 63136. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Sun., Mar. 22, 8 p.m., Smooth Sounds & Poetry Vol. 2: Jill Scott & Boney James Tribute. Hosted by Danie Skye. 2005 Walton Rd., 63114. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Wed., Mar. 25, 8:30 p.m., World Class Ent. Group presents Tanya Stephens with The Yellow Wall Dub Squad. Club Viva, 408 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

special events

Fri., Mar. 6, 5 p.m., Gold Star Promotions presents Boxing Madness Extravaganza. Featuring Lisa King, Floyd Mayweather Sr & Nadia The Lion Scheduled to

Kenya Vaughn recommends

appear Groovy Taj, Cruz, YBF Meech, Kode Red, Vendetta, and more. Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry Rd., 63136. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Fri., Mar. 6, 6 p.m., Metropolitan St. Louis Fisk University Alumni Association Spring Break Reception. Event for current students and alumni. California Pizza Kitchen, 1155 St. Louis Galleria St., 63117. For more information or to RSVP, email tllovelace0608@gmail.com.

Sat., Mar. 7, 6 p.m., International Food Festival 2020. Sample foods from Asia, Latin America, Africa, Europe, and more. Proceeds benefit local food banks. 5 N. Skinker Blvd., 63105. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Sun., Mar. 8, 3 p.m., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Gamma Omega Chapter and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Epsilon Lambda Chapter The Phirst Experience Fashion Show 1600 N. Broadway, 63102. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sun., Mar. 8, 6:30 p.m., Bust,

Gut, & Jiggly Stuff: Bra and Shapewear Fit Event for Your Curves. Lane Bryant, 8 Brentwood Promenade Court, 63144. For more information, www.eventbrite.com.

Fri., Mar. 13, 6:30 p.m., Shalom Church City of Peace invites you to Generation Next Basketball Tournament. Proceeds will be donated to the St. Children’s Research Hospital. North County Recreational Complex, 2577 Redman Ave., 63136. For more information, visit www. shalomccop.org.

Sat., Mar. 14, 9 a.m., Phenomenal I Am Women’s Conference: Still I Rise. Bridgeton Conference Center, 12259 Natural Bridge Rd., 63044. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Sat., Mar. 14, 8:30 p.m., GRC Records presents 1st Annual 314 Day Festival. Performances by Da Banggaz, Tripp Heaven, Big Homie Meech, Beretta, and more. Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry Rd., 63136. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Sun., Mar. 15, 12 noon to 4 p.m., Bridal Dreams

Wedding Expo, 1624 Delmar. For more information, call (636) 587-0005 or email bridaldreamsweddingexpo@ gmail.com.

Sat., Mar. 21, 10 a.m., Minority Vendor Fair. Jewelry, art, treats, crafts, clothing, and more. North County Christian School, 845 Dunn Rd., 63031. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sat., Mar. 21, 7 p.m., St. Louis Beer Festival. The event will feature dozens of local and domestic breweries, sampling their spring seasonal beers. St. Louis Science Center, 5050 Oakland Ave., 63110. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Mar. 21 – 26, Shalom Church City of Peace HBCU Experience Tour 2020. Schools include Florida A&M University, Alabama State University, Tuskegee University, and Alabama A&M University. For more information, visit www. shalomccop.org.

Sun., Mar. 22, 1 p.m., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., St. Louis Alumnae Chapter and St. Louis Delta Foundation invite you to Gospel, Jazz, and Blues Brunch. Marriott St. Louis Grand Hotel, 800 Washington Ave., 63101. For more information, www.dst-sla.org.

Mon., Mar. 23, 5 p.m., Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis’ 102nd Annual Dinner. Marriott Grand, 800 Washington Ave., 63101. For more information, visit www. ulstl.org.

Mar. 28 – 29, 20th Annual GO! St. Louis Marathon & Family Fitness Weekend

The largest competitive fitness event includes a full marathon, marathon relay, 10K,

children’s fun runs, and more. Downtown St. Louis, 63103. For more information, visit www.gostlouis.org/events.

Sun., Mar. 29, 7:30 p.m., Kode Redd Company Show: Vibrations. With Works From Anthony Redd Williams, Jasmine Spencer & Special Performances From STLs Own Mai Lee & Kennedy Holmes. Grandel, 3610 Grandel Sq., 63108. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com.

comedy

Sat., Mar. 7, 8 p.m., Stifel Theatre presents Chris Tucker. 1400 Market St., 63103. For more information, visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Sun., Mar. 8, 6:30 p.m., Helium Comedy Club presents KevOnStage Slightly Problematic Tour. 1151 St. Louis Galleria, 63117. For more information, visit www. heliumcomedy.com.

Mar. 13 – 15, Stifel Theatre presents Gabriel Iglesias: Beyond the Fluffy World Tour. 1400 Market St., 63103. For more information, visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Fri., Mar. 20, 8 p.m., Chaifetz Arena presents Festival of Laughs starring Sommore, Lavell Crawford, Michael Blackson, and Don DC Curry. 1 S. Compton Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. ticketmaster.com.

literary

Sun., Mar. 8, 3 p.m., Dream Builders 4 Equity & Your Words STL present Dreams Made Real: Book Signing & Poetry Slam. .Zack, 3224 Locust St., 63103. For more information, visit www.

World Renowned Morehouse College Glee Club. See CONCERTS for details.

eventbrite.com.

Thur., Mar. 12, 2 p.m., STL Village Women’s History Month Celebration with speaker Malaika B. Horne PhD, author of Mother Wit: Exalting Motherhood while Honoring a Great Mother. Second Presbyterian Church, 4501Westminster Pl., 63108. For more information, visit www.stlvillage.org.

Thur., Mar. 12, 7 p.m., St. Louis Public Library hosts author Lisa M. Corrigan author of Black Feelings: Race and Affect in the Long Sixties. Central Branch, 1301 Olive St., 63103. For more information, visit www.slpl. org.

Fri., Mar. 13, 6 p.m., Turn the Page STL Early Literacy Forum. A community forum about educating our children to become proficient readers. New NorthSide Baptist Church, 8645 Goodfellow, 63147. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Mon., Mar. 16, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books hosts author Malaika B. Horne PhD, author of Mother Wit: Exalting Motherhood while Honoring a Great Mother.

399 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www.left-bank.com.

Sat., Mar. 7, 11 a.m., Don’t Touch My Hair: A Talk and Demonstration by Maurice Harris. St. Louis Art Museum, 1 Fine Arts Dr., 63110. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Sun., Mar. 8, 2 p.m., Who Is My Neighbor? Designed to get locals to think about what it means to live in a more harmonious community, students in high school and college give their interpretations of their idea of a more cooperative world. Good Shepherd Arts Center, 252 S. Florissant Rd., 63135. For more information, visit www.goodshepherdarts.org.

Sat., Mar. 14, 1 p.m., Curatorial Tour: Terry Adkins. Join Associate Curator Stephanie Weissberg on a guided tour of Terry Adkins: Resounding opening weekend. Exhibit runs through Aug. 2. Pulitzer Arts Foundation, 3716 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. pulitzerarts.org/program.

Thur., Mar. 19, 6:30 p.m., Contemporary Art Museum presents RE: Soul Liz Johnson Artur creates photographic representations of people of African descent around the world. James Biko traces the history of soul in an interactive spinning session. 3750 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.camstl.org.

Sat., Mar. 21, 11 a.m., St. Louis Art Museum presents If It Wasn’t for the Women: An Exploration of Materiality. Hear from three female interdisciplinary artists

Kenya Vaughn recommends

using materials in their work to reflect and represent various ideas. 1 Fine Arts Dr., 63110. For more information, visit www.slam.org.

Through Apr. 19, Derek Fordjour: Shelter. A New York-based artist of Ghanaian heritage, Fordjour works primarily in the realm of portrait painting to create vibrant, multi-textured images. 3750 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.camstl.org.

theatre

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

Through Mar. 8, The Office! A Musical Parody. The Grandel, 3610 Grandel Sq., 63103. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com.

Sat., Mar. 14, 12 p.m., Harriet Tubman. One-woman show by Glynis Brooks. Calvary M.B. Church, 2822 Dr. M. L. King Dr., 63106. For more information, call (314) 422-3720.

Sat., Mar. 14, 7 p.m., Change to Passage. A new original musical that tells of the lives of the many historical black figures that made changes in America. Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information,

visit www.metrotix.com.

Through Mar. 16, The Alpha Players present Clybourne Park. The play tells the story of the first Black family to move into a neighborhood, and then jumps ahead 50 years to the same neighborhood being gentrified. Florissant Civic Center Theatre, 1 James J Eagan D., 63033. For more information, visit www. florissantmo.com/theatre.

Sat., Mar. 28, 7 p.m., Tre Floyd presents Before Black Lives Matter. This drama chronicles Daniel’s journey to the realization that he is a Black male and there are certain things he cannot do. Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

lectures and workshops

Fri., Mar. 6, 7:30 p.m., National Geographic Live: When Women Ruled the Earth with Dr. Kara Cooney, Egyptologist. Touhill Performing Arts Center, 1 University Blvd., 63121. For more information, visit www. touhill.org.

Mon., Mar. 16, 6 p.m., Global 1000 presents Money Talk Monday: A Black Tech & Wealth Building Event. Bring your ideas and learn how to grow your business and get assistance. NexCore, 2631 Gravois Ave., 63118. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Tues., Mar. 17, 4 p.m., African American Studies and the Women’s and Gender Studies Department presents 2020 SLU Annual Bridge Lecture. “Rebel Archives: The Life and Legacy of Queen Mother Moore” featuring: Dr. Ashley Farmer, UT Austin. Busch Student Center, SLU, 220 N. Grand Blvd., 63108. For more information, call (314) 9772242.

Sat., Mar. 14, 1 p.m., Sts. Teresa and Bridget Church, will host a Domestic Violence conference, Hear the dynamic testimony of Evangelist Lizzie Harrison, and others. 2401 North Grand Blvd.

Sat., Apr. 4, 10 a.m., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Omicron Theta Omega Chapter and West Side Missionary Baptist Church Social Justice Ministry present the 4th Annual Financial Empowerment Workshop. 2677 Dunn Rd., 63136. For more information, visit www.akaomicronthetaomega.org.

health

Sat., Mar. 14, 6 p.m., Sing for Siteman. Feat. Opera Theatre of St. Louis’ finest performers singing Broadway, opera, jazz, and more. Also feat. the Sheldon All-Star Chorus and performers from The Bach Society of Saint Louis. Haertter Hall, John Burroughs, 755 S. Price Rd., 63124. For more information, visit www.singforsiteman.org

Sat., Mar. 21, 9 a.m., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Gamma Omega Chapter & Ivy Alliance Foundation present Health Fair 2020 Olivet Missionary Baptist Church, 12200 New Halls Ferry Rd., 63033. For more information or to pre-register visit, www.signupgenius.com.

spiritual

Sat., Mar. 8, 6 p.m., Annual Metro Singers Songfest Members Come hear the Metro Singers Chorus, Area Congregational Chorus and our guest chorus. West

Don’t Touch My Hair: A Talk and Demonstration by Maurice Harris. For more information, see ART.

Central Church of Christ, 4662 Delmar Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Sat., Mar. 28, 9 a.m., Christ Alive Through Mary, a Women’s Witness Ministry prayer breakfast, Cardinal Ritter Prep, 701 North Spring Ave. Register at catholicrenewalcenter@ archstl.org, or call 314-7316100, by March 24.

film

Fri., Mar 6, The Banker starring Samuel L. Jackson, Nia Long and Anthony Mackie opens at the Chase Park Plaza, (available on Apple TV+ starting March 20).

Fri., Mar. 20, 6 p.m., Better Family Life Membership Association presents Hoodie Film Screening. This short film highlights the stigmas of wearing a hoodie. This is event is a book signing, film screening and panel discussion. 5415 Page Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

of talented performers go to exhale. Making a life through their talents isn’t necessarily earning them a living. Gigs are few and far between, and plenty of times come with the heavy toll of playing into stereotypes to subsidize their careers. Though art enriches the lives of those who experience its many forms beyond measure, those who deliver it to the people often starve – figuratively and literally – because, aside from the minute percentage that achieve fame and fortune, artists en masse are perpetually devalued.

Black artists suffer through this phenomenon ten-fold. Though the influence of black art has shaped American and global culture, the black artist is often taken advantage of financially and emotionally and reduced to the lowest common denominator both in their humanity and their talents despite their contributions.

Through “Spell #7,” director Ron Himes and his cast give an intimate portrait of the highs and lows that are par for the course with a life fully committed to performance art. And they are doing so at a time when earning a living on stage, film and television is rarely more than peppering a white narrative as comic relief, subservient, hypersexualized or the criminal element. And yet they persisted – as much to move the needle towards the depiction of African Americans as fully humans with their own experience as for the sake of showcasing their talent.

The cast of “Spell #7” deserves a nod for their ability to weave song and dance around Shange’s complex monologues that include a mouthful of words that would trip up lesser skilled performers. Tyler White particularly shines as a triple-threat actor/ dancer/singer. But each ensemble member – Drummond Crenshaw, Robert Crenshaw, Marki Michelle, Tef Poe,

Book

Camille Sharp, Jacqueline Thompson and Christina Yancy – gets the opportunity to show their chops. Poe, a national recording artist and veteran of the St. Louis rap scene, made his stage debut in the role of bar owner and poet Eli. His monologue about being fully committed to his poetry speaks to the central theme of Shange’s play, which at times gets convoluted with the side narratives that blur the lines between performance and reality in an effort to provide depth and insight with respect to the talent of the characters.

The production team behind “Spell #7” masterfully lend to the story and experience. Set designer Dunsi Dai and choreographer Heather Beal made magic happen (all pun intended) with how they applied their skills to such a limited space. Dai’s meticulously designed set made use of the space from floor to ceiling – and sits on a downward pointing angle that

makes the performance space seem twice as large. And Beal wove in movement, with complex spins, twists and other combinations that require considerably more space without leaving the audience feeling as if the performers were fighting for room or tripping over one another. Sound designer James Biko gives the audience a groove reflective of the time and costumer designer Brandin Vaughn seemed particularly in tune with giving each character a personal style that was an extension of their voice within the play.

The Black Rep’s production of Ntozake Shange’s “Spell #7” continues through Sunday, March 15 at the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre inside the Edison Theatre on the campus of Washington University, 6445 Forsyth Blvd. For tickets or additional information, call (314) 534-3807 or visit www. theblackrep.org.

ALL CAUSES HAVE ADVOCATES. BUT IN THE FIGHT AGAINST HIV ONLY A CHAMPION WILL DO.

Introducing Vivent Health, founded on the combined expertise of AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, Rocky Mountain CARES and St. Louis Effort for AIDS. And steadfastly dedicated to serving anyone and everyone affected by HIV through our comprehensive prevention, care and treatment programs. Learn more at ViventHealth.org

Continued from C1

copy of a LeBron James book and wrote a report on what he read. The other children were so excited to hear what Harris had to say about James that Hockaday compelled them to write about him too.

“They were jumping around. They were shooting baskets,” Hockaday said, “And the writing was electric. I thought, ‘maybe this information could go into a book.’”

She decided to get the whole school, which ranges from pre-k to second grade, involved.

They conducted a schoolwide vote on who should be the topic of their book. In the running were artists, entertainers and sports figures. LeBron James was declared the winner. Hockaday assigned each grade level their own chapter about James. The pre-k students came together to pen “Growing Up LeBron,” kindergarteners shared about the period in James’ life when he experienced homelessness, first grade detailed his NBA career and the second graders ended the book with his community service and

Film

Continued from C1

that his son is a self-taught financial genius in the making.

For a teen growing up in small town in the 1940s, the elder Garrett’s words aren’t negative reinforcement that run the risk stomping out Bernard’s ambitions. They are fact. Had he been a white adolescent with a curiosity and capacity for the facts and figures that financial geniuses are made of, Bernard’s success would have been a given – and he would have been taken under the wing of the industry executives in his town and groomed for triumph.

philanthropic efforts.

“They had no place to live, so they had to sleep in a car,” the children wrote in the book’s second chapter.

“I researched what the children wrote to make sure that everything was accurate,” Hockaday said. “I’m just so amazed by what these students did.”

From start to publication, the process took about six months. The book was published through Noah’s Ark Publishing, which was founded and is run by St. Louis native Laval Belle. Belle, who is also a professional drummer that resides in Los Angeles, came back home to St. Louis to cheer on the students and their milestone.

“Give it up for these students, Ms. Levy these teachers and counselors,” Belle said.

“And last but certainly not least, Ms. Hockaday.”

Half of the proceeds from book sales will benefit Wilkinson ECC’s technology department.

“We are very excited for our young people who went through the whole process of writing, drafting and ultimately publishing this book,” said Yvette Levy, principal of Wilkinson ECC. “And to Ms. Hockaday for making it all possible.”

“Negro man can’t earn money with this,” his father continues. “White man won’t let him – no matter how good at it you are.”

Jackson Harris feels “fantastic” about being the inspiration for the book – and that it was a way for him to make a personal connection with his hero. His mother, Renitra Jackson, expressed the pride she has regarding the book after singing the praises of the “top notch” school, it’s educators and principal.

“He’s become more involved in reading and he is working on collecting all of his chapter books and that helped him to get more involved and want to be involved,” Jackson said of her son. “Basketball is his favorite sport, so this is a great avenue for him to see that reading is fun and you can do more, the more knowledge you gain.” He had just finished a game of hoops before the book signing. She said the book showed her the importance of parents using education to connect with their children.

“A lot of times as parents we get busy and when kids come to us with ideas, sometimes we shrug them off – but engage your child,” Jackson said. “Talk your child and see where they are. That imagination is booming at that age and it can blossom into anything – I mean, look what happened.”

Those words don’t discourage Bernard, they fuel his drive with a passion to prove his father wrong. He grows up and sets off for Los Angeles with the sole intention of putting his mind to work for the sake of making money and building generational wealth within his community. But even outside the confines of the Jim Crow south, Bernard must get creative if he has the most remote chance of building an empire. With the support of his wife, the aid of successful businessman Joe Morris and the white privilege of one of his employees, Bernard is on the path to real estate and banking domination.

Bernard’s empire is a fragile one, because for every gain, racism and systemic oppression are waiting just around the bend to wreak havoc on his unlikely success. And though his success rests completely on his whiteness, employee Jake Steiner quickly comes to believe he is as brilliant as his partners help him pretend to be. He exerts his privilege to put Bernard and Joe in a compromising position that could be their undoing.

“The Banker” is formulaic and predictable as a film with a “made for TV” feel. But the ensemble of actors adds color and depth. On the strength of their organic chemistry, they save the film from what would have been a cute, but boring “run of the mill, based on a true story of racist history” format destiny.

Mackie has the assurance and fortitude to allow Bernard Garrett to walk the line of confidence and arrogance. And the film masterfully takes advantage of Samuel L. Jackson’s impeccable, but somewhat underutilized, comedic timing in his portrayal as Los Angeles businessman Joe Morris. And as Eunice Garrett, Nia Long is the glue that holds everyone together. She also exudes Eunice’s aptitudes and frustrations. Had she been born white and male, she would have given her husband a run for his money with respect to an enterprising mind and the wherewithal to build a business empire. As Matt Steiner, Nicholas Hoult shows the evolution of Jake Steiner from willing tool to an unwarranted, overly confident, borderline adversary.

Banker

Photo by Phil Hamer

Through “Spell #7,” director Ron Himes and his cast give an intimate portrait of the highs and lows that are par for the course with a life fully committed to performance art.

Photo by Wiley Price

Center students Aiyana Daye, Jewel Thomas and ZaKar Williams signed copies of the book that was co-authored schoolwide about NBA star LeBron James Saturday afternoon.

Celebrations

Star Student

Congratulations to Kelsie Jackson, a student at Larimore Elementary, who was recognized by the Hazelwood School District Board of Education for her perseverance after returning to school after a limb amputation. Kelsie has relentlessly tackled the transition with poise and confidence. In a few short months, she moved from 100% wheelchair support to needing little to no physical support with walking and even dancing during the school musical. Kelsie refused to give up on the pursuit of her educational goals and has proven that she can see challenges as a positive learning experience. Kelsie is a role model for her peers.

Reunions

Beaumont High Class of 1965 has scheduled its 55-year reunion celebration for the weekend of Sept. 25-26th 2020. The Meet and Greet (9/25) and Dinner/ Dance (9/26) will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn St. Louis Airport, 4450 Evans Place, St. Louis, MO 63134.

Cost is $100 per person. Make your check payable to Beaumont Class of 1965 & mail to: Verdell Thomas Marshall, 1224 Hudson Hills Drive, 63135. For additional info contact Geraldine Reid (314)868-8284.

Beaumont High Class of 1970 has scheduled its 50-year reunion celebration for the weekend of 10/16/2010/18/20. The banquet will be held at The Embassy Suites (downtown), 610 N. 7th St. We are currently working on finalizing plans to make this our best reunion

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

Northwest High Class of 1975 is planning its 45-year reunion and requests all 1975 classmates to update their contact information at nwhs75@gmail.com to get additional details. Please save the dates of Friday, October 9 - Sunday, October 11, 2020 in St. Louis, MO. We will see you in October. Soldan Class of 1975 Reunion

McCluer North High School senior Kaelynn Gore was recently accepted into the Disney Dreamers Academy, which only accepts 100 students across the nation. During the academy, she will take part in immersive career-oriented workshops that explore a wide range of disciplines found at Walt Disney World as well as learning lifelong skills including effective communication techniques, leadership skills, and networking strategies. Kaelynn maintains a 4.24 GPA, scored a 29 on her ACT, has been accepted to over 13 colleges and universities and has received over $300,000 in scholarships.

Centenarian

Happy Birthday to Alberta Beckwith-Mother Carter who celebrated her 102nd birthday on February 24! With love always, David, Samantha, Steve, Riley, Carter and Christine

Committee is currently seeking all classmates to celebrate our 45-year reunion in September 2020. Please submit your current contact information to Committee members Ms. AnnieSue Preston (314) 6065618, Mr. Arvell Roberts, (314) 319-4937, or send info to SOLDANCLASS1975@ GMAIL.COM or check out our FB Page, Soldan Class 75. Vashon High Class of 1974 is planning for its 45-year reunion. We are in the process of rounding up all classmates. To provide or update your contact information, please

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

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

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

St. Louis American Celebrations c/o

2315 Pine

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

Friendly Temple accepts HUD

Envision

Church is developing former Langston Middle School as community center

By Chris King

Of The St. Louis American

The HUD Envision Center designation announced for Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church on Thursday, February 27 comes with no financial commitment from the federal government. Like the Promise Zone program, the Envision Center designation just promises help facilitating awareness of and access to existing federal programs to help an organization provide community services.

Felicia Pulliam, a member of Friendly Temple and staffer with Robert Fulton Community Development, its companion development agency, has been working on providing community services in the former Langston Middle School building right around the corner from the church.

Currently, Robert Fulton provides adult basic education, senior computer classes, community basketball, Noah’s Ark Summer Camp, and drug and alcohol counseling at Langston, Pulliam said. She said they are working on developing behavioral health services for veterans, a food pantry, a clothing closet and an emergency shelter (“we already have the cots,” Pulliam said).

Center designation

Photo by Wiley Price

Department of Health and Human Services as possible partners for Robert Fulton and Friendly Temple.

The Envision Center announcement was attended by two executives from an existing community partner for Robert Fulton and Friendly Temple, Midwest Bank Centre, which made the unique business decision to open a bank branch on the Friendly Temple campus in 2017.

Alex Fennoy, executive vice president of Midwest Bank Centre, said the branch had done more than $40 million of business in three years and started to make a profit in just over two years, when it typically takes five years for a new branch to turn a profit.

The Envision Center designation, Fennoy said, “comes on the coattails of all the great work Friendly Temple has already done.” Pulliam, Heard and Fennoy all pointed to Bishop Michael Fulton Jones Sr., senior pastor of Friendly Temple, as the prime mover for these community projects, though Jones placed the credit much higher. “God is able,” Jones said.

But this is President Donald Trump’s HUD, and Trump routinely proposes drastic budget slashes to federal funding for community development in many forms. It was telling that Jason Mohr, the regional HUD administrator, brought no funding commitment to the Envision Center announcement but much talk of “self-sufficiency.”

A longer-term vision is to implement a design that three students from Central Visual and Performing Arts High School (in Saint Louis Public Schools) submitted to a district Love of Learning Design Challenge in 2017. The prompt was to design a use for a presently unused district space, and the students designed a

renovation of a former school building (for the students, it was Simmons School, not Langston) into a home and service center for district students in transitional living situations.

That loftier goal is not immediately in sight, but Pulliam was energized by the HUD Envision Center designation as an opportunity that will help them

implement some smaller programs.

“HUD is helping us identify resources across the federal spectrum,” Pulliam said, citing the Small Business Administration as one possible source of support.

James Heard, HUD Field Office director in St. Louis, also mentioned the Department of Education and

This cast a certain light upon something that Heard said when introducing Fennoy and the notion that Friendly Temple has a friendly bank on its side: “a vision without some means of finances turns into a nightmare.”

Bishop Michael Fulton Jones Sr., senior pastor of Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church, and community partners welcomed a HUD Envision Center designation for the church’s community center in the former Langston Middle School on Thursday, February 27.

POLICE CHIEF AND DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS

The City of Clayton is now accepting applications for the positions of Police Chief and Director of Public Works. To apply, visit www.claytonmo.gov/jobs.

EOE

THE CITY OF JENNINGS IS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

The City of Jennings is accepting applications for Code Enforcement Inspectors, Correctional Officers, Public Works Street/Park Laborers, Court Clerk, Economic Development Coordinator, P/T Bus Driver, P/T Concession Stand Workers, P/T Umpires, & P/T Scorekeeper. Please see the full job descriptions online at www.cityofjennings.org. Applications are available at the Jennings City Hall or on the website at www.cityofjennings.org.

The City of Jennings is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE

Forest Park Forever has an opening for a Development Associate. Interested applicants should apply online at: www.forestparkforever.org/jobs. Forest Park Forever is a drug free workplace in accordance with federal law. Equal Opportunity Employer

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Looking for Executive Director, St. Louis ArtWorks: 2020 Full Time Position The Executive Director will bring vision, leadership and continuity to St. Louis ArtWorks, a nonprofit arts organization that works with teens from the St. Louis metropolitan area. The Executive Director is responsible for the organization’s consistent achievement of its mission and financial objectives in program development and administration. For more information about St. Louis ArtWorks visit: http:// stlartworks.org/ Send cover letter, resume, and three references to jobs@stlartworks.org

LEARNING CONSULTANT

DE SMET JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL

To learn more about the position and submit an application, please visit https:// www.desmet.org/about/careers. EOE, Committed to Diversity and Inclusion, M/F/D/V

STAFF ACCOUNTANT

East-West Gateway Council of Governments has an opening for a Staff Accountant position. Starting salary is $40,752 annually. EWG also has an opening for a Regional Planner position. Starting salary is $44,928 annually. Please follow the link to view posts at http://www.ewgateway.org/careers/.

An Equal Opportunity Employer

ST.

LOUIS

GRASSROOTS ORGANIZERS

Missouri Health Care for All is hiring a St. Louis Grassroots Organizer and a St. Louis Campaign Organizer. Apply at https://missourihealthcareforall. org/mhcfa-is-hiring/

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

Missouri Health Care for All is hiring a Communications Manager based in St. Louis. Apply at https:// missourihealthcareforall.org/ mhcfa-is-hiring/

DECLARE HOME HEALTH CARE

Hiring Home Health Care Aids in the St. Louis City and County (314) 201-3200

BUSINESS TRAINING CENTER INSTRUCTOR

The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis is seeking a qualified individual to work as a Business Training Center Instructor. The instructor will prepare course outlines, lesson plans, and goals supporting adult learners thorough basic office procedures and the general use of Microsoft Office. Qualified candidates must have knowledge of classroom instructional techniques for adult learners. Knowledge and abilities are typically acquired through education and experience.

Interested persons should submit a resume with cover letter and salary requirements to the: Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Human Resources Department hr@urbanleague-stl.org EOE.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

World Trade Center St. Louis is seeking applications for instructors to teach in the Chancellor’s Certificate in International Trade program. Instructors are needed for six International Trade subjects. To learn about requirements, visit: www.worldtradecenter-stl.com.

Interested applicants should reply by 5PM (CST), March 12, 2020. Equal Opportunity Employer.

ADVERTISE

LA SALLE MIDDLE SCHOOL NOW ENROLLING

PART-TIME, PAID SUMMER INTERNSHIP

The Slavery, History, Memory, and Reconciliation Project (Jesuits) invites applications for a part-time, paid summer internship. The intern will have the opportunity to learn and contribute in a variety of ways, such as historical research, translation of documents, and social media communications. Visit http://jesuitscentralsouthern. org/joblistings to learn more and apply by March 15, 2020.

HUMAN RESOURCES COORDINATOR

Explore St. Louis has an immediate opening for a Human Resources Coordinator to assist the VP of Human Resources and perform highly confidential administrative tasks & services to support the effective and efficient operations of the HR Department. Essential duties include: maintaining employee files / records and documentation, conducting new hire orientations, assisting with job fairs, benefit enrollment and various employee events, processing bills, and supporting the Payroll Specialist. preferred. Bachelor’s degree in HR or HR experience is beneficial. Excellent organizational skills + attention to detail required. Effective written & oral communication is critical. Ability to work a flexible schedule including nights/weekends & holidays is necessary. Experience with HRIS & payroll systems including UltiPro & ADP is beneficial. Must possess a valid drivers license. To apply, go to https:// explorestlouis.com/job-opportunitiesinternships/ . NO PHONE CALLS!

FOSTER CARE CASE MANAGER

ELECTROMAGNETIC ENGINEER

Nidec Motor Corporation St. Louis, Missouri 8050 West Florissant, St. Louis Mo 63136

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

MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOB OPENINGS!

The Missouri Historical Society has position openings for the following:

• Data Clerk • Development Coordinator

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

An Equal Opportunity Employer

MARIAN MIDDLE SCHOOL OPENINGS

Marian Middle School, an all-girls, Catholic school committed to breaking the cycle of poverty through a life-altering education, seeks the following for 2020-2021.

6th-8th grade social studies teacher. Ideal candidates have certification, content area degree and 2+ years’ experience teaching adolescents from low-income backgrounds.

Administrative assistant. Ideal candidates have 2+ years’ experience in school office; are dependable, flexible, and welcoming, wtih strong communication and technology skills.

Send letter of interest and resume to broche@mms-stl.org. Applicants of all racial and ethnic backgrounds encouraged to apply.

PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER

Webster University has an opening for a Public Safety Officer. Please visit our website at https://apptrkr.com/1829701 for a complete job description. No phone calls please. We are proud to be an equal opportunity affirmative action employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The City of Ferguson is accepting sealed bids for contract grass mowing services to cut vegetation on residential, commercial and industrial properties that are in violation of the City’s ordinance for overgrown vegetation. Sealed bids must be submitted before 2:00 P.M. on March 18, 2020 at the office of the City Clerk, City Hall – 110 Church St, Ferguson, Missouri 63135.

The City of Ferguson intends to procure a lawn care company to cut vegetation on residential, commercial and industrial properties that are in violation of the City’s ordinance for overgrown vegetation. Overgrown vegetation is primarily grass and weeds (between 7 and 24 inches), but can also include unbridled growth of wild vines, shrubs, or other vegetation.

The City is also accepting bids for other nuisance abatement services including removal of downed tree limbs, trash, debris, open storage, and other debris and yard waste when necessary. This may include minor trimming/removal of tree branches and other items.

Full Request for Proposal with project background and bid sheet, are on file and may be obtained at the office of the City Clerk, City Hall, 110 Church St., Ferguson MO 63135. Or you may find them online at www.fergusoncity.com

The City of Ferguson reserves the right to reject any or all proposals.

The City of Ferguson is an Equal Opportunity Employer and invites the submission of proposals from minority and women-owned firms.

LETTING #8718

MOANG Hangar Building 1A Roof Replacement

at St. Louis Lambert International Airport

Sealed proposals will be received by the Board of Public Service in Room 208 City Hall, 1200 Market Street, St. Louis, Mo. Until 1:45 PM, CT, on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, then publicly opened and read. Plans and Specifications may be examined on the Board of Public Service website http://www.stl-bps.org (BPS On Line Plan Room) and may be purchased directly through the BPS website from INDOX Services at cost plus shipping. No refunds will be made.

Bidders shall comply with all applicable City, State and Federal laws (including MBE/WBE policies). Mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 at 1:30 PM, in the Ozark Conference Room at the Airport Office Building, 11495 Navaid Rd., Bridgeton, MO 63044.

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

Bids for Construction Services, Kansas City Region, Project No.

ZASIDIQ-0026 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, March 19, 2020 via MissouriBUYS. Bidders must be registered to bid. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/ facilities

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure: VACTOR PARTS. The District is proposing a 3-year single source procurement to Coe Equipment. Any inquiries should be sent to acooper@stlmsd.com.

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

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS

SEWER DISTRICT

Notice

2350

pany

63103-2555

in

14th, 2020 to contract

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT Notice

The Saint Louis Zoo is looking for a secure, cloud-based system to house, back-up and share its 50,000+ photo library in a centralized system. The system must be easy-to-use and efficient allowing for both fast FTP and browser uploads and downloads, filtered search results and robust file management of various file types. Bid documents are available as of 3/4/2020 on the Saint Louis Zoo website: stlzoo.org/vendor SEALED BIDS

Bidsfor Construction Services,Springfield Region,ProjectNo.

Q0027 willbereceivedby FMDC,State ofMO, UNTIL1:30PM, March19,2020 viaMissouriBUYS. Biddersmustbe registeredtobid. Forspecificproject informationand orderingplans,go to:http://oa.mo.gov/ facilities Digital Asset Management RFP 2020

City of St. Louis

Public Hearing Notice and Draft 2019 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) Available for Review and Comment

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

ON DESIGN OF THE JEFFERSON AVENUE/22ND STREET CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENTS

Notice is hereby given to all interested persons that an open house public hearing will be held at the St. Louis City Hall, 1200 Market Street, St. Louis, MO 63103 on Monday, March 16, 2020, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Central Daylight Time. Handicap access is available. All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard concerning their views on the design of the Jefferson Avenue/ 22nd Street Corridor Improvements with reference to the economic and social effects of such design, its impact of the environment and its consistency with the goals and objectives of the community. The presently contemplated improvement is as follows:

In conjunction with the Jefferson I-64 intersection improvement being undertaken by MoDOT, this project will improve vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic of 8 streets in downtown west St. Louis. Some of the street improvements included in the project are: new pedestrian and bike facilities, the reconnection of the City grid on Clark Avenue and 22nd Street, pavement rehabilitation to Market Street and Jefferson Avenue, new traffic signals and integrated signal timing, new street lighting, landscaping, and other aesthetic enhancements.

Maps, plats, environmental documentation, and other detail information prepared by the City of St. Louis and their consultant will be available for public inspection and copying at the office of the City of St. Louis, Board of Public Service, Room 301 City Hall. Written statements and exhibits as well as oral statements will be received at the hearing. Written statements and exhibits will be made a part of the public hearing transcript if received within ten days after the date of the hearing. Tentative schedules for right of way acquisition and construction will be discussed at the hearing.

If you are disabled and require special services at the public hearing, please notify the City of St. Louis Office of the Disabled by March 13, 2020 at (314) 622-3686 so that arrangements for those services can be made.

For information prior to the hearing, please contact (314) 589-6637.

CITY OF ST. LOUIS

BY Brenna Brown

The City of St. Louis is soliciting comments on its draft Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER). The CAPER is an overall review of the housing and community development activities undertaken in 2019 by the City of St. Louis. It is part of the Consolidated Planning process, which is a pre-requisite to receiving funding allocations from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the following programs: Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnerships, Emergency Solutions Grant, and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS.

Public Hearing Notice/Public Comment Period

The Community Development Administration will conduct a public hearing on Friday, March 13, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. at the Community Development Administration, 1520 Market Street, Suite 2000, St. Louis, MO 63103. The purpose of this hearing is to solicit public comments pertaining to the 2019 CAPER prior to its submission to HUD.

Available for Review

The 2019 CAPER will be available in draft form for review by any interested citizen prior to submission to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on March 6, 2020 at the City of St. Louis Central Library, located at 1301 Olive Street. The draft report, including IDIS reports and the Financial Summary, will also be available for review at the offices of the Community Development Administration located at 1520 Market Street, Suite 2000, St. Louis, MO 63103. Copies of the 2019 CAPER draft report may be downloaded from the City of St. Louis website at https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/ communitydevelopment/documents/2019-caper-draft.cfm

Written Comments

The views of citizens, public agencies, and other interested parties are strongly encouraged. Written comments will be accepted until March 21, 2020 and should be addressed to Mr. Matt Moak, Executive Director, Community Development Administration, 1520 Market, Suite 2000, St. Louis, MO 63103, or via e-mail at moakm@stlouis-mo.gov.

Other Information

Persons with special needs or accommodations relating to handicapped accessibility or foreign language should contact Mr. Moak via email at moakm@stlouis-mo.gov or by phone at (314) 657-3835 or (314) 589- 6000 (TDD). Interpreting services are available upon request for persons with hearing disabilities. Interested parties should contact the Office on the Disabled at (314) 622-3686/voice or (314) 622?3693/TTY at least 48 business hours in advance of the meeting.

CDA is an equal opportunity agency (employer). Minority participation is encouraged.

NOTICE OF ELECTION

PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE PRIMARY ELECTION

CITY OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2020

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Presidential Preference Primary Election will be held at the designated polling place for each precinct in the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri, on Tuesday, March 10, 2020, as certified to this office by the Honorable John R. Ashcroft, Secretary of State of the State of Missouri. The polls will be open between the hours of 6:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M. for the purpose of nominating candidates for United States President. There are no other candidates or issues on the ballot.

The last day the Board of Election Commissioners can accept an application to vote an absentee ballot by mail in the March 10, 2020 Presidential Preference Primary Election is 5:00 P.M. on Wednesday, February 26, 2020. Absentee voting in person will conclude at 5:00 P.M. on Monday, March 9, 2020. The office of the Board of Election Commissioners will be open on Saturday, March 7, 2020, from 9:00 A.M. until 1:00 P.M.

THE OFFICIAL BALLOT WILL BE SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE FOLLOWING FORM:

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

IF YOU USE THE OPTICAL SCAN VOTING MACHINE to cast your ballot, you must completely darken the oval to the left of the name of the candidate of your choice. Do not try to punch through the ballot. Use only the marking device provided to you. If you tear, deface or make a mistake and incorrectly mark the ballot, return it to the Election Judges and obtain a new ballot.

IF YOU USE THE ELECTRONIC TOUCH SCREEN VOTING MACHINE to cast your ballot, follow the directions on the screen. To vote for the candidate of your choice, touch the box on the screen to the left of the candidate’s name. If you need assistance in using the machine, please ask the Election Judges to help you.

PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE PRIMARY ELECTION

CITY OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2020

LIBERTARIAN PARTY CANDIDATES

REPUBLICAN PARTY CANDIDATES

FOR UNITED STATES PRESIDENT (Vote for One)

Donald J. Trump

Bob Ely

Bill Weld

Joe Walsh

Matthew John Matern UNCOMMITTED

DEMOCRATIC PARTY CANDIDATES

FOR UNITED STATES PRESIDENT (Vote for One)

Amy Klobuchar

Tom Steyer

Tulsi Gabbard

Leonard J. Steinman II

Cory Booker

Joseph R. Biden

Elizabeth Warren

Pete Buttigieg

Bernie Sanders

Velma Steinman

Henry Hewes

Andrew Yang

Roque De La Fuente

John K. Delaney

Julian Castro

Deval Patrick

Marianne Williamson

Michael Bennet

Michael R. Bloomberg

Steve Burke

Robby Wells

William C. (Bill) Haas UNCOMMITTED

FOR UNITED STATES PRESIDENT (Vote for One)

Jacob Hornberger UNCOMMITTED

GREEN PARTY CANDIDATES

FOR UNITED STATES PRESIDENT (Vote for One)

Howie Hawkins

Dario Hunter

David Rolde UNCOMMITTED

CONSTITUTION PARTY CANDIDATES

FOR UNITED STATES PRESIDENT (Vote for One)

Don J. Grundmann Don Blankenship UNCOMMITTED

YOU HAVE NOW COMPLETED VOTING.

We, the Board of Election Commissioners within and for the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri, do hereby certify that the above and foregoing is a true and correct list as certified to us by the Honorable John R. Ashcroft, Secretary of State of the State of Missouri, of the candidates entitled to be voted for at the Presidential Preference Primary Election to be held March 10, 2020.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, we have hereunto set our hands and affixed our seal at the office of the Board of Election Commissioners in St. Louis, Missouri, this 23rd day of January, 2020.

BOARD OF ELECTION COMMISSIONERS FOR THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS

JERRY M. HUNTER Chairman/Member

GERALDINE M. KRAEMER Member

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

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

CITY OF ST. LOUIS ST. LOUIS LAMBERT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Solicitation For Bids (SFB) for Banking Concession Bids Wanted

Bid documents may be obtained at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, Airport Properties Division, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., or by calling (314) 426-8189. This SFB may also be obtained by visiting our website at https://www.flystl.com/ business/contract-opportunities Robert Salarano Airport Properties Division Manager

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

District is accepting proposals in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103-2555 until 9:00 a.m. on April 16th, 2020 to contract with a company for: Landfill for Sludge Disposal Services.

Specifications and bid forms

to request a copy of this bid.

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

SEALED BIDS

Bids for Replace RoofSystems, Multiple Assets atFarmington Correctional Center, Project No. C1922- 01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 3/31/20 via MissouriBUYS. Bidders must be registered to bid. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

SEALED BIDS

Bids for Replace Roofs, Multiple

City Youth Center, Project No. H1908- 01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 3/31/20 via MissouriBUYS. Bidders must be registered to bid. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/ facilities

INVITATION TO BID

Notice is hereby given that The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (District) will receive sealed bids for Cranbrook Dr. #731 Storm Improvements (IR) under Letting No. 13242-015.1, at this office, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103, until 02:00 PM on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 at a place designated. Bids will be received only from companies that are pre-qualified by the District’s Engineering Department for: SEWER CONSTRUCTION-St. Louis County Drain Layers License Required Plans and Specifications are available for free electronic download. Please go to MSD’s website and look for a link to “ELECTRONIC PLANROOM.” Plans and Specifications are also available for viewing or purchase at Cross Rhodes Reprographics located at 1712 Macklind Avenue, St. Louis MO 63110. All bidders must obtain a set of plans and specifications in order to submit a bid in the name of the entity submitting the bid. The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure temporary help services from I T Convergence in an effort to support the IT Technology Plan. The District is proposing single source procurement for this service because it does not have the internal expertise to fulfill this Information Technology role. Any inquiries should be sent to strenz@ stlmsd.com.

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

BIDS

Great Rivers Greenway is seeking sealed bids for one (1) 2 Passenger Cargo Van. Go to www.greatriversgreenway.org/ jobs-bids/ and submit by April 03, 2020.

ECONOMIC & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

part time position of Economic & Community Development Specialist. Be a part of supporting business in St. Louis - provide assistance to businesses in coaching, market research, community development, loan referrals, and loan recipient assistance M.A./M.S. in business, finance, urban development, or related field required. 5+ years’ experience in business development, urban planning/ programs, finance or loan processing with proficiency in SBA regulations and processing.

SLDC is an equal opportunity employer. Successful candidate must be a St. Louis city resident or must relocate to the City within 180 days of hire.

Send resume and salary history in confidence to: SLDChumanresources@stlouiscity.com or Human Resources Department, St. Louis Development Corporation, 1015 Locust, Suite 1200, St. Louis, MO 63101 or FAX: 314/259-3496. Deadline for submission: April 16.

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR

MAINTENANCE AND TRASH AND DEBRIS SERVICES

The St. Louis Development Corporation (“SLDC”) of the City of St. Louis is requesting qualifications for grass maintenance and trash and debris removal. The complete RFQ can be viewed online at www.stlouis-mo.gov/sldc or picked up at the office of the St. Louis Development Corporation located at 1520 Market Street, 2nd floor in the Real Estate Department.

The funding of this project, is financed in part through a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Community Development Administration under the provision of Title 1 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (Pub. L 93-383 42 USC 5301 et seq) and/or HOME Title II of the National Affordable Housing Act of 1990, as amended (Public Law 101-625).

(314) 824-2418

is requesting Bids for Office Moving Services. Go to www.greatriversgreenway. org/jobs-bids/ and submit by March 10, 2020.

An R&B Only for the record books. Listen, it’s one thing to have an event that has the venue on lean. But when your set is so crackin’ that it affects parts of the nightlife ecosystem you’re not even affiliated with… that’s a whole new level of winning. Well, that’s exactly what happened when the annual of “tear the club up by way of a shoulder-led body roll” party known as R&B Only hit the Ready Room Saturday night. It was sold all the way out again this year. And this go round the folks were bustin’ a move so tough that it felt like a whole sauna up in there. You know you’re up in the hotspot when the floors are sweating! I’m so glad I wore flats, because I was sliding across that moist floor like I was low key skating. Had I been wearing even the most bite sized of kitten heels, somebody would have footage of me tumbling like my poor spiritual advisor Oprah Winfrey did the other night. But back to the party: I saw folks out in these streets in the name of R&B Only that I thought didn’t even live here anymore. They came out of hibernation, witness protection and Netflix and chill season to turn up for this party. My boys (and Ready Room staff members Jesse and B) had to turn folks away like they were doing Mary and Joseph before they had to settle on that manger. Because there was no more room at the Ready Room, folks just scooted on down to Shisha and got litty lit like it was their original destination. And then, it got to the point where they were at capacity too. It was like a young, black and fabulous fashion parade down those two little blocks of the Mangrove.

Praise parties on point. Since I’m already on the subject of baby Jesus and folks packing places out, let me tell y’all about the faith-based folks showed up Thursday and Friday night. Some might not consider this Partyline appropriate, but I have the final say. Thursday Night, “The Christi Show” audience had Helium looking like the Walmart Money Center line during income tax refund season. I know some of y’all are thinking “who and what is ‘The Christi Show?’” Well, her main character is an unruly church member named Shirleen that gives everybody the blues while wearing shoulder pads that reach the ceiling and usher flats made famous by the late great Payless Shoe Source. But back to my point: She was sold-out before she showed up and probably could have done three shows if she wanted to – at least that’s what I figure, based on how packed it was. Folks were lined up and serving up those “you lucky I’m saved” faces to voice their frustrations about how long it took to gets folks settled in. But let’s talk about the show for a bit. By now, y’all know how suspicious I am of the internet sensations who try to transition to the standup stage. And while I didn’t catch all the show because of prior commitments, what I saw of Shirleen the flesh was full of funny. When she started talking about the ladies making sure they wore a slip during sundress season, I almost fell over laughing. I can still hear her now talking about “Don’t let a sundress send you to hell.” Perhaps it’s because she was talking to me. And when she drove the ladies for settling for less – and by less she means the 2-for-$20 at Chili’s. The thought of her reenacting some woman falling out the car and playing dead if her man rolls up in the parking lot without warning still has me hollering. And on Friday, y’alls’ women’s ministries made the “Christi Show” lines look like an empty urgent care waiting room non-coronavirus season by the way they showed up to see Sarah Jakes Roberts. I knew it would be popular, but ladies were lined up for blocks to get up in Friendly Temple to see her deliver a word. She pulled numbers like her daddy, Bishop TD Jakes. Both events made me seriously consider become a praise and worship event promoter.

A classic Café Soul. I can’t ever think of a time I rolled up to a spot and was happy I couldn’t find a seat. Well, that’s what happened on Friday when I trotted up in House of Soul for the February edition of Café Soul. It was giving me Lucas Schoolhouse vibes by the way the crowd came out to support and the caliber of talent that stepped to the microphone. That gentleman named Tony who tore the house down with his version of Kem’s “Love Calls,” When hit that “When your heart is broken….and your wounded pride is laid to rest,” I was like, ‘oh, he’s been training for this moment since the song first hit the radio.” And I’m so glad he did. And whoever that woman was singing the Fugees version of “Killing Me Softly” got it in too. I was thrilled to see Nichol and the Café Soul crew clock a major win like they did Friday. Keep that same energy for the March edition.

Mvstermind making more major moves. My weekend started and ended in the Mangrove thanks to nationally renowned St. Louis born and bred rapper Mvstermind. He set up shop in Seoul Taco Friday for an intimate set that reminded me why he will always be one to watch. Not only has he mastered his craft, but he is one of the most enterprising rappers in the game, in St. Louis or anywhere else. He has a shoe deal with Dr. Scholl’s, appeared at Seoul Taco as part of a paid partnership and it’s no telling how many other deals he has that are giving him streams of revenue on top of the music. And while he is getting coins on the commercial tip, he isn’t forsaking his fans by focusing so much on the business side of things that it affects the quality of his music.

Badu-ing with Biko. Saturday night my soul wouldn’t have let me be anyplace else if I hadn’t stopped by James Biko on the tables paying tribute to Erykah Badu at UrbArts. I was thrilled that this was the venue because I got one more chance to see that glorious Black History Month visual art exhibit that was curated by Kristian Blackmon. As I expected, Biko had those speakers blazing with his impeccable taste. He took things outside of Badu here and there, but it all fit perfectly within the evening’s vibe.

Sameena, Taylor and Dana were lucky to have seating considering that Shisha elbow to elbow Saturday night

Cortney and Belinda celebrated Cortney’s b-day Friday @ Sophies Hang Suite

Biko’s JustDuIt Badu tribute brought Chelsy, Naomi and Hayveyah to UrbArts for some eclectic fun Saturday night

Juju, Don and Cherie were on 12 as they celebrated pieces season @ Blue Dine+ Lounge on Sunday

Stella Rae of Charleston, SC, Chasity Jones and Erica were amongst the first vocalists to take the stage and wow the crowd @ Café Soul Friday night

Erline and Kathy started their weekend with Café Soul Friday night @ The House of Soul

Anthony, Ranell and the crew playing catch up with other @ The House of Soul Friday night

Marvin and the city said their farewells to FineWine227 @ his Leveled Up going away party Thursday night

Mia and Dan helped make @FineWine227’s send off a night to remember Thursday night

DJ Tab314 and DJ Kimmy Nu were in the mix Sunday @ Blue Dine + Lounge

@SIREDDIEC @ZAHDOUGH with national recording artist Mvstermind during his pop-up performance Seoul Taco in the Mangrove Friday night.

Photos by V. Lang

Summer cAmpS Summer cAmpS

Where will your child spend the summer?

This listing was provided in partnership with Blueprint4SummerSTL.

Blueprint4Summer is a FREE web app that helps parents find summer opportunities in the St. Louis area for children ages 3-18. You can search their extensive database of thousands of listings by price, age, location, category, etc. at http:// blueprint4.com/stl. This is a small sample of camps offered in the area listed on Blueprint4Summer. All of the camps listed on Blueprint4Summer provide more information about multiple dates and expanded camp offerings not listed here.

If you are interested in pre-college or college access programs on University campuses nationwide, check out their sister website Blueprint4Summer College Prep at http://blueprint4.com/college.

Search 4 Summer FUN Today with Blueprint4Summer!

SUMMER CAMP GUIDE

CONTENT FOR 2020:

Artscope Website: https://www. artscopestl. org/summer-camp-create Phone: 314865-0060

Address: 2929 Tower Grove Avenue St. Louis, MO 63110 Camp Description: Visual arts and nature camp located in Tower Grove park for children K-6th Grade.

Age Range: 5-11

Cost Range: $152-$200

BOLD@Olin

Website: https://olinwustl.campusgroups.com/bsba/bold@olin/ Phone: 314-935-2217

Address: 1 Brookings Drive St. Louis, MO 63130

Camp Description: BOLD@Olin is a one-week residential program through the Olin Business School for rising junior and senior female students eager to learn more about business and leadership.

Age Range: 16-18

Cost Range: $750

Boy Scouts of America

Website: http://stlbsa.org

Phone: 314-361-0600

Address: 4568 West Pine Blvd.

St. Louis, MO 63108

Camp Description: Boy Scouts of America day and twilight camps for BOYS AND GIRLS ages 7-11 with a focus on fun, adventure, outdoor activities and character development! Our theme this year, Out of This Galaxy!

Age Range: 6-20

Cost Range: $30-$300

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis

Website: http:/www.bgcstl.org

Phone: 314 335 8000

Address: 2901 North Grand Blvd

St. Louis, MO 63107

Camp Description: Imagine a place where your child can make life-long friends, visit some of St. Louis’ best attractions, enjoy sporting and cultural activities, take field trips and learn to swimall in one summer!

Age Range: 6-18

Cost Range: $0-$275

Camp EarthWays: Young Green Builders See CAMPS, D2

Boys & Girls Summer Camps for kids and teens

Learn to swim, write and produce music and to code

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis (BGCSTL) offers one of the most affordable, comprehensive, extended, high quality summer day camp programs for kids and teens in the St. Louis region. Our summer campers, ages 6-18, are exposed to a variety of learning and participate in educational, recreational, and social activities as well as field trips, social recreation, and cultural activities on-site and in the community. Camps also include a nutritious breakfast and lunch.

BGCSTL will have summer camp at nine locations including the new Teen Center of Excellence (TCOE) in Ferguson, Missouri. At

n BGCSTL will have summer camp at nine locations including the new Teen Center of Excellence (TCOE) in Ferguson, Missouri.

the center, teens will have access to a nutrition education center, outdoor garden, gymnasium, intellectual commons, theater, green and drama room, fitness zone, gaming room, music and art studio, innovation center and more. Programs at the TCOE include health and wellness (i.e., yoga, healthy habits, open gym),

See BOYS & GIRLS, D7 education and workforce development (i.e., college tours, ACT/ SAT prep, tutoring, job readiness, internships and summer employment), STEAM (i.e., visual and performing arts, coding, app creation, robotics) and leadership and civic engagement (i.e., com-

Summer of Freedom

The YMCA offers full-day and some half-day camps and whether your child is interested in exploring, creating, or possibly entertaining, Summer Day Camp at the Y provides the perfect solution. Across 22 branch locations in both Missouri and Illinois, the Y runs camp weekly May 28 - Aug. 9. Camps are available for ages 3-17. Camp ages, types, schedules and prices vary by branch. YMCA Summer Camps offer:

• Well-trained staff

• Age-appropriate fun activities

• Exciting field trips

• Health, exercise, and nutrition education

• Summer learning loss prevention

• Camps for every interest Registration for summer camp is open! www.gwrymca.org/ summercamp

Extended care available

Fun Club Before and After Care is offered at most of our locations. Contact your local branch for more information.

Overnight Camp

Lakewood at Trout Lodge (YMCA of the Ozarks)

YMCA Camp Lakewood is where kids come in the summer time to have fun, learn new skills, make new friends, and to simply be a kid. Your camper will forget all about television, video games, and smartphones while discovering the ultimate childhood experience, all within the safe and trusted environment of the Y. Camp Lakewood provides a wellrounded experience for campers and gets them outdoors to connect with nature for children ages 6-17. With a 360-acre lake, over 5,000 acres of forest-covered hills, caves, creeks and more, there are many opportunities for natural exploration and experiential learning. Whether it’s campfires, swimming, archery, climbing tower, zip line, sports, canoeing, cookouts, fishing, kayaking or a multitude of camp games, every camper delights in waking up with a

Children learn to make a difference with ‘hope, education and action’

By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American

For area St. Louis area children in grades kindergarten through fifth grade, the Deaconess Foundation is sponsoring Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools, a summer enrichment program, built around high quality academic enrichment, parent and family involvement, civil engagement and social action, intergenerational leadership development, and nutritional, physical and mental health. They will take place at the Deaconess Center for Child WellBeing and three locations of the United Church of Christ.

It is a seven week, intergenerational, culturally competent learning model

See FREEDOM,

Learning to swim is just one of the things that campers will experience.

Website: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/learn-discover.aspx

Phone: 314-577-0281

Address: 4651 Shaw St. Louis, MO 63110

Camp Description: Join the EarthWays Center, a division of the Missouri Botanical Garden, for a week-long camp exploring sustainability, green building techniques, and innovations around the St. Louis area as campers design their dream green home. Scholarships are available for those who qualify, as well as Garden Member pricing

Age Range: 10-13

Cost Range: $195

Camp Invention

Website: http://campinvention. org/ Phone: 816-602-0017

Address: Various locations throughout the St. Louis Region Camp Description: Come Invent with Us at Camp Invention’s ELEVATE STEM

Camp and take home your own prototypes, robots, bioluminescent plant, sports stadium, and much more, for children ages 5-12.

Age Range: 5-12

Cost Range: $230-$245

Camp Kennedy

Website: https://www.stlouisco.com/ParksandRecreation/ ChildrensFun/DayCamps

Phone: 314-615-5572

Address: 6050 Wells Road St. Louis, MO 63128

Camp Description: Fun in the sun this summer at Kennedy Recreation Complex!

Age Range: 5-12

Cost Range: $70

Camp Magic House

Website: http://www.magichouse.org/camp

Phone: Address: 516 S. Kirkwood Rd. ST. Louis, MO 63122

Camp Description: Make your child’s summer magical with a one-of-a-kind summer camp

Blueprint for summer

experience, featuring all new activities and themes for 2020!

Age Range: 4-11

Cost Range: $125-$250

Camp Magic House @ MADE

Website: http://www.magichouse.org/MADE

Phone: 314-822-8900

Address: 5127 Delmar Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63108

Camp Description: This summer, The Magic House invites campers to turn their ideas into something incredible at The Magic House @ MADE satellite location! Taking place in the all-new kid-focused makerspace in the heart of the City of St. Louis, children ages 6 to 13 will have a truly unique experience as they become makers, artists, designers and entrepreneurs.

Age Range: 7-13

Cost Range: $250

Camp Soulard

Website: http://www.soulardschool.org/camp Phone: 314-865-2799

Address: 1110 Victor St. St. Louis, MO 63104

Camp Description: A day camp for elementary students featuring weekly themes, crafts, field trips, swimming and more!

Age Range: 5-12

Cost Range: $200

Challenger Learning CenterSt. Louis Website: http://www.challengerstl.org/our-programs/summer/ Phone: (314) 521-6205

Address: 205 Brotherton Lane Ferguson, MO 63135

Camp Description: The Challenger Learning Center St. Louis offers a variety of summer experiences for students 8 years old and up. Simulated space missions, SCUBA diving, and lunar colonies are just of few of the exciting program activities.

Age Range: 8-18

Cost Range: $225-$375

Circus Harmony Website: http://www.circusharmony.org Phone: 314-436-7676

Address: 750 N. 16th St. St. Louis, MO 63103

Camp Description: Let your child run away and join the circus but still be home in time for dinner!

Age Range: 7-17

Cost Range: $450

City of Bridgeton Parks and Recreation Website: http://www.bridgetonmo.com/daycamp

Phone: 314-739-5599

Address: 4201 Fee Fee Rd. Bridgeton, MO 63044

Camp Description: Municipality-sponsored camps for children ages 5-15.

Age Range: 5-15 Cost Range: $100-$140

City of Dellwood Summer Camp Website: http://cityofdellwoodmo.com Phone: 314-869-8686

Address: 10266 West Florissant Ave. St. Louis, MO 63135

Camp Description: 8 Week Camp for youth ages 5-13 that includes wekly swimming, catered lunch, etiquette classes and more. Dellwood Summer Camp is a very affordable, full day program that offers non stop fun for youth for 8 weeks.

Age Range: 5-13

Cost Range: $350

City of Hazelwood Parks and Recreation Website: https://apm.activecommunities.com/hazelwoodmoparksandrec/home Phone: 314-731-0980

Address: 1186 Teson Road Hazelwood, MO 63042

Camp Description: City of Hazelwood Parks and Recreation is offering summer fun with a variety of camps for kids, including an 8-week traditional summer camp!

Age Range: 5-18

Cost Range: $40-$500

City of Maryland Heights - Maryland Heights Day Camps Website: http://www.marylandheights.com Phone: 314-738-2599

Address: 2300 McKelvey Rd. Maryland Heights, MO 63043

Camp Description: This is the perfect first camp for 6-13 year olds. Campers will swim every Tuesday at Aquaport. They will participate in many fun activities such as: Capture the Flag, GaGa Ball, Tree Ball and much more! Some weeks are shorter than others and the price will be prorated.

Age Range: 6-12

Cost Range: $150

COCA - Summer Arts Camps Website: http://www.cocastl. org/ Phone: 314-725-6222

Address: 524 Trinity Avenue St. Louis, MO 63130

Camp Description: Campers have the opportunity to learn and experience new things, build their skills and most importantly have fun! We provide a safe, comfortable, artslearning environment where our campers can truly enjoy art and the art-making process. Many of our camps are multidisciplinary by design and feature multiple teaching artists.

Age Range: 4-18

Cost Range: $132-$330

College For Kids & Kids on Campus: St. Louis Community College-Meramec Website: https://www.stlcc. edu/programs-academics/continuing-education/personal-enrichment/youth-and-family-programs.aspx

Phone: 314-984-7777

Address: 11333 Big Bend

Road St. Louis, MO 63122

Camp Description: For over 30 years, College for Kids (CFK) at St. Louis Community College-Meramec has challenged and engaged gifted and talented youth who have completed kindergarten through eighth grade. Kids on Campus at St. Louis Community College-Meramec is an open enrollment summer experience for youth who have completed kindergarten through eighth grade.

Age Range: 6-14

Cost Range: $79-$99

Consuming Kinetics Dance Company

Website: http://www.ckdc.org/ kidsdanceandartcamp

Phone: 314-564-1477

Address: 465 North Taylor Avenue St. Louis, MO 63108

Camp Description: Bring your children to CKDC this summer for a fun, diverse, immersive arts learning experience! Age Range: 6-13 Cost Range: $300

Craft Alliance Summer Art Camps

Website: http://www.craftalliance.org Phone: 314-725-1177 x325

Address: 6640 Delmar Blvd St. Louis, MO 63103

Camp Description: Craft Alliance’s Delmar Loop location offers 10 one-week camps from June 1-August 7. Choose a camp that fits your schedule! We offer both Half-Day and Full-Day Camps as well as Before-Care, Lunch-Care, and After-Care. In conjunction with Summer Camps, Craft Alliance also offers a Teen Intern program. Teens can apply to assist summer camp faculty - all professional artists - in the studio of their interest! In exchange for volunteering, Teen Interns can enroll in weekly studio classes. Age Range: 7-18

Cost Range: $125-$195

DaySpring Arts & Education

Website: http://www.dayspringarts.org/summer-work-

shops

Phone: 314-291-8878

Address: 2500 Metro Blvd.

Maryland Heights, MO 63043

Camp Description: DaySpring

Arts & Education’s summer offers an opportunity to explore the arts in the areas of dance, musical theatre, music, visual arts, circus arts, as well as engage in critcal thinking in STEAM subjects.

Age Range: 3-18

Cost Range: $40-$425

Dragons Drum & Bugle Corps

Website: http://www.facebook. com/dragondrumcorps/

Phone: 573-301-0105

Address: 10266 W. Florissant

Ave. St. Louis, MO 63136

Camp Description: 100%

FREE Summer Youth Outreach headquarted at the Dellwood Recreation Center. Drum Line, Brass Horn Line and Color Guard are open to teens ages 13-18.

Age Range: 13-18

Cost Range: $0

Dream Big Career Camp

Website: https://starkloff.org/ for-candidates/#additional2

Phone: 314-588-7090

Address: 133 S. 11th Street, Suite 500 St. Louis, MO 63102

Camp Description: College and career exploration camp for high-school students with disabilities and IEPs.

Age Range: 14-21

Cost Range: $375

Explore St. Louis Summer Camp Website: http://www.smartkidsinc.org

Phone: 314-884-1486

Address: 11520 St. Charles Rock Road, Ste. 101 Bridgeton, MO 63044

Camp Description: Summer day camp for children 5-13 to allows students to travel outside of their neigborhoods.

Age Range: 5-13

Cost Range: $125

Fontbonne University

Website: https://www. fontbonne.edu/about-us/griffin-gateways/

Phone: 314-862-3456

Address: 6800 Wydown Boulevard St. Louis, MO 63105

Camp Description: Learning elevates the individual as well as the community. In our mission to serve the dear neighbor, Fontbonne University is proud to offer a variety of camps and workshops that give children opportunities to explore special interests, improve life skills and lay the groundwork for future studies. Our programs cover a range of topics, including several options for children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Scholarships to some camps are available for qualifying students.

Age Range: 5-18

Cost Range: $0-$200

Gene Slay’s Girls and Boys Club

Website: http://www.gsgbcstl. org

Phone: 314-655-9011

Address: 2524 S 11th Street St. Louis, MO 63104

Camp Description: The camp will focus on STEAM activities in the areas of art, communication arts, math, swimming, and athletics.

Age Range: 6-17

Cost Range: $75

Gifted Resource Council Summer Academies Website: https://www.giftedresourcecouncil.org/index.php/ summer-academies/ Phone: 314-962-5920

Address: 357 Marshall Ave., Ste. 6 St. Louis, MO 63119

Camp Description: Gifted Resource Council offers summer programs for K-8 bright and talented students in a varietiy of fun and engaging subjects.

Age Range: 5-14

Cost Range: $500

Girl Scouts of Eastern

Missouri

Website: http://www.girlscoutsem.org

Phone: 314-590-2300

Address: 2300 Ball Drive St. Louis, MO 63146

Camp Description: Outdoor experiences in a girl’s life are invaluable. When a Girl Scout spends time at camp, she learns

cooperation and team building as she grows into a leader of courage, confidence and character. To help all girls get to camp, Girl Scouts offers activity scholarships and special incentives and pricing.

Age Range: 5-17

Cost Range: $0-$655

Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois Website: http:// www.gsofsi.org Phone: 618-6920692

Address: 4

Ginger Creek Prkwy Glen Carbon, IL 62034

Camp Description: Find your own adventure this summer with the Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois. Home to over 25 unique camp opportunities, we have something for every girl. Not a Girl Scout? Not a problem. Girls can register to become members at the time of camp registration. Financial assistance in the form of camp-

erships is available as well.

Join us for an exciting summer filled with outdoor adventures, STEM, Entrepreneurship and Life Skills!

Age Range: 5-17

Cost Range: $25-$400

Good Journey’s Summer

n THIS GUIDE WAS PRODUCED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BLUEPRINT4 SUMMER. TO FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THESE PROGRAMS AND MANY MORE, VISIT THEIR WEBSITE AT: HTTP://BLUEPRINT4. COM/STL

Leadership Academy Website: http:// www.goodjourney.org Phone: 314229-9079

Address: 1020 N Taylor Avenue St. Louis, MO 63113

Camp

Description: Young people will spend the summer using technology creatively and positively, on fieldtrips to state parks, doing fun math and science projects, learning Ndebele culture and beadwork art, leading community projects, learning African dance, developing communication and learning to work collectively. Age Range: 9-16

wood.edu/academics/academ-

ic-schools/school-of-arts-media-and-communications/ communications/digital-cinema-arts/ Phone: 636-949-4166

Address: 2300 West Clay St. St. Charles, MO 63301

Camp Description: Filmmaking camp for rising 9th-12th graders. Write, produce, direct, and edit a short fiction film at Lindenwood University.

Age Range: 13-17

Cost Range: $150

Little Medical School Website: http://www.littlemedicalschool.com/stlouis

Phone: 314-279-1948

Address: 707 N New Ballas Creve Coeur, MO 63141

Camp Description: Little Medical School inspires young minds by sharing our passion for learning, health and careers in medicine. Through hands-on activities, role-play, and interactive demonstrations, children explore the exciting world of healthcare.

Cost Range: $225

Imagine Arts Academy Website: http://imagineartsacademy.com/ Phone: 314-991-8000

Address: 8420 Olive Blvd. St. Louis, Mo 63132

Camp Description: Art

Class Reinvented! Our unique approach teaches your child art concepts and techniques, but with a twist.

Age Range: 5-12

Cost Range: $146-$312

Justin Tatum’s Grade School Basketball Website: http://www.tatumnation.com

Address: 1850 De La Salle Dr St. Louis, MO 63141

Camp Description: Justin Tatum’s Grade School

Basketball Summer Camps are open to boys and girls ages 7-14 and are a great place to learn the fundamentals and skills to play fun, quality basketball.

Age Range: 7-16

Cost Range: $120-$200

Lindenwood University Summer Film Camp Website: https://www.linden-

Age Range: 4-15

Cost Range: $190-$290

Mad Science Summer Camps

Website: http://stlouis.madscience.org Phone: 314-991-8000

Address: 8420-R Olive Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63132

Camp Description: Unique science summer programming that delivers hands-on science experiences for children that are as entertaining as they are educational.

Age Range: 5-12

Cost Range: $170-$336

Maryville Design and Visual Art

Website: https://www. maryville.edu/summerprograms/art-design Phone: 314-529-9381

Address: 650 University Dr. Saint Louis, MO 63141

Camp Description: The Maryville University PreCollege Summer Program provides high school students who have completed grades 9-12 with the unique opportunity to study with college level faculty in a highly creative and enriching art school setting. Students

will acquire art and design

foundational concepts and skills, develop digital media projects, work with three-dimensional space and form, and gain exposure to the disciplines of interior and graphic design.

Age Range: 13-19

Cost Range: $65-$500

Maryville Science and Robotics Program

Website: https://www. maryville.edu/robot/

Phone: 314-281-1120

Address: 650 Maryville University Drive St. Louis, MO

63141

Camp Description: The Maryville Science and Robotics Program is an engaging opportunity for students who are interested in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. We offer premier, cutting-edge courses for students ages 4-16 with highly qualified faculty, Age Range: 5-13

Cost Range: $150-$395

Mathews-Dickey Boys & Girls Club

Website: http://www. mathews-dickey.com

Phone: 314-679-5242

Address: 4245 N. Kingshighway Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63115

Camp Description: Teen College & Career Leadership Camp, ages 13-18, learn professional development skills, go on college tours and enjoy recreation! Summer Day Camp for youth ages 6-12, enjoy academics, arts, sports, swimming and more!

Age Range: 5-12

Cost Range: $100

Metro Theater Company

Summer Camps

Website: http://metroplays.org

Phone: (314) 932-7414 x106

Address: 3311 Washington Ave. St. Louis, MO 63103

Camp Description: Learning through play in the arts is what Metro Theater Company (MTC) Summer Camps are all about. Whether it’s playing with sculpture, storytelling and song at Creative Arts Camp, or learning how to audition for a play at Summer at SLU, MTCs professional teaching artists

bring fun and growth through the arts to campers of all ages.

Age Range: 4-18

Cost Range: $255-$575

Midwest Children’s Burn Camp

Website: https://brsg.org/ Phone: 866-997-2876

Address: 6220 South Lindbergh Blvd., Suite 203 St. Louis, MO 63123

Camp Description: A free camp for burn survivor children.

Age Range: 6-17

Cost Range: $0

North County Christian Schools

A.S.A.P. Summer Camp

Website: http://asapstlsummer. weebly.com/ Phone: 314-972-6227

Address: 845 Dunn Road

Florissant, MO 63031

Camp Description: Christian based camp for children in 3rd - 8th grade focusing on promoting personal development, ministry, extended education and physical activities. Age Range: 8-13

Cost Range: $125

OneCity Stories

Website: http://www.onecitystories.org

Phone: 314-471-5546

Address: 1 University Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63121

Camp Description: Writing program for ages 14-17 focusing on creative writing and on print, broadcasting, and film journalism at UMSL Grand Center June 11-June 29. Age Range: 14-17

Cost Range: $450

Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hosptial Website: http://rankenjordan. org Phone: 314-872-6481

Address: 11365 Dorsett Road

Maryland Heights, MO 63043

Camp Description: If you are looking for a summer program that will both educate and engage your child on a variety of levels, look no further than Ranken Jordan’s Free PreSchool and School Age Camps.

Age Range: 4-12

Cost Range: $0

Ranken Technical CollegeAdventure Academy

Website: http://ranken.edu

Phone:

Address: 4431 Finney Avenue

St. Louis, MO 63113

Camp Description: Summer Adventure Academies engage students in FUN, real world, hands-on activities that demonstrate the skills necessary in technical occupations.

Age Range: 12-19

Cost Range: $60-$95

Saint Louis County Parks and Recreation - Queeny Park Website: https://reserve.stlouisco.com/RecDynamicsWeb/ Activities/Search.aspx

Phone: 314-615-8472

Address: 550 Weidman Rd St. Louis, MO 63011

Camp Description: Fun in the sun this summer! Kids will make memories for a lifetime at Camp Queeny. Activities

Address: 1301 Olive Street St. Louis, MO 63103

Camp Description: St. Louis Public Library is offering 70 fun and enriching weeklong summer camps from June 1 through July 31 at no cost! Registration is required - maximum of two camps per child. Registration opens March 2, 2020 at 12am and closes on the first day of each camp. Visit any St. Louis Public Library or at slpl.org for full camp listings.

Age Range: 3-17

Cost Range: $0

Saint Louis Science CenterSummer Science Blast Website: https://www.slsc.org/ learn-kid-family-activities/summer-science-blast/ Phone: 314-289-4439

Address: 5050 Oakland Ave

St. Louis, MO 63110

Camp Description: We offer the cure for the “common camp” with our Summer Science Blast program.

Age Range: 4-16

Cost Range: $150-$425

Saint Louis UniversitySummer At SLU Website: https://www.slu.edu/ summer Phone: 314-977-3534

inlcude sports, nature activities, arts & crafts, outdoor fun, and special events.

Age Range: 5-12

Cost Range: $90

Saint Louis County Parks and Recreation - North County Recreation Complex Website: http://stlouisco.com/ parks

Phone: 314-615-8839

Address: 2577 Redman Road

St. Louis, MO 63136

Camp Description: Campers will be swimming at our brand new water park several days a week. We will also be having several field trips throughout the summer.

Age Range: 5-12

Cost Range: $48-$60

Saint Louis Public Library Summer Camps Website: https://www.slpl.org/ youth-camps/ Phone: 314-241-2288

Address: 3840 Lindell Boulevard St. Louis, MO 63108

Camp Description: Academic and athletic camps/academies for children ages 5-18.

Age Range: 3-21

Cost Range: $0-$1450

Saint Louis Zoo Website: http://www.stlzoo. org/summerprograms Phone: (314) 646-4544, option #6

Address: 1 Government Drive

St. Louis, MO 63110

Camp Description: Check out summer camp at the Saint Louis Zoo, where campers see and touch live animals, attend a Sea Lion Show, learn about conservation, hop aboard the Zooline Railroad and more.

Age Range: 4-18

Cost Range: $215-$220

SCC- College for All Kids Website: http://www.stchas. edu/learnforlife

Phone: 636-922-8233

Address: 4601 Mid Rivers Mall Drive Cottleville, MO

63376

Camp Description: Get ready for a summer filled with rocket launches, robot wars and cool experiments!

Age Range: 5-14

Cost Range: $119-$189

SPORTSe Website: http://www.iamsportse.org

Phone: 314-201-3640

Address: 7401 New Florissant Road St. Louis, MO 63121

Camp Description: GIRLS University is an all girls summer camp for girls ages 8-15 focusing on self-esteem, self-respect, self-confidence, self-worth and self-awareness. Age Range: 6-16

Cost Range: $650

St. Louis Arc Website: http://www.slarc.org Phone: 314-817-2226

Address: 1177 N Warson Rd St. Louis, MO 63132

Camp Description: The St. Louis Arc is a nonprofit, United Way agency that provides support and services to more than 3,500 adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and their families, throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area. Age Range: 16-99

Cost Range: $55-$110

St. Louis ArtWorks Summer Program Website: http://www.stlartworks.org

Phone: 314-899-9758

Address: 5959 Delmar Boulevard St. Louis, MO 63112

Camp Description: St. Louis ArtWorks is a year round job training program using art to teach work readiness, arts education, life skills, and well-being to youth ages 14-19. Age Range: 14-19

Cost Range: $0

St. Louis Children’s Hopsital Website: https://www.stlouischildrens.org/search?keywords=camp Phone: 314-454-2642

Address: One Children’s Way St. Louis, MO 63110

Camp Description: St. Louis

Children’s Hospital offers a variety of camps for kids!

Age Range: 7-21

Cost Range: $780

Summer Fundamentals at Miriam

Website: http://www.miriamstl.org/summer-camps/

Phone: 314-961-1500

Address: 501 Bacon Ave

Webster Groves, MO 63119

Camp Description: Miriam’s specialty camps are perfect for students entering grades K-12 who need a boost in FUNdamentals during the summer months.

Age Range: 5-18

Cost Range: $1,000-$1,450

Summer@IMSA

Website: https://www.imsa. edu/extensionprograms/schedule-summer

Phone: 618-791-3855

Address: 2465 Amann Drive Belleville, IL 62220

Camp Description: IMSA offers programs for students entering grades 3-10 with an interest in math and science.

Age Range: 8-13

Cost Range: $295

TASK – Team Activities for Special Kids

Website: http://www.tasksports.org/ Phone: 636-343-8275

Address: 980 Horan Drive Fenton, MO 63026

Camp Description: Team Activities for Special Kids (TASK) is a nonprofit 501(c)3, year-round instructional sports program that provides athletic and social opportunities to kids with special needs.

Age Range: 5-100

Cost Range: $75-$175

Tbeats Media Summer Sound Camp Website: http://tbeatsstudio. com/summercamp/ Phone: 314-754-5619

Address: 1204 Washington Ave. Saint Louis, MO 63103

camp/ Phone: 314-994-1600 ext.

3303

Address: 4645 LaGuardia

Drive St. Louis, MO 63134

Camp Description: Special Needs Day Camp for 10-20

year olds providing crafts, physical activities, social skills and community activities. Half week camp is available during summer school.

Age Range: 10-20

Cost Range: $200

Unleashing Potential Website: https://www.upstl. org/enrichment-camps/ Phone: 314-561-3334

Address: 1000 N Vandventer

Ave St. Louis, MO 63113

Camp Description: Our Summer Enrichment Academy will include a wide range of activities with each week including STEAM activities.

Age Range: 5-12

Cost Range: $135

Recreation Phone: 314-963-5650

Address: 33 E. Glendale Rd.

Webster Groves, MO 63119

Camp Description: Outdoor fun, sports, swimming, speciality camps, and field trips!

Age Range: 3-17

Cost Range: $73-$180

Gateway Region YMCA Website: http://gwrymca.org/ programs/summer-day-camp

Address: 22 Branch Locations in both MO and IL

Age Range: 14-17

Cost Range: $500

TEACH-Her Website: http://www.teachher. info Phone: 314-699-4388

Address: 2710 N HWY 67

FLORISSANT, MO 63033

Camp Description: Teaching youth positive habits of success one business at a time.

Age Range: 12-18

Cost Range: $420-$560

The Green Center Website: http://www.thegreencenter.org/camps.html Phone: 314-725-8314 X 105

Address: 8025 Blackberry Avenue University City, MO 63130

Camp Description: Spend the summer at one of The Green Center’s Nature Explorer Camps! Each camp will have students explore our prairie, forest, wetland, greenhouse

Camp Description: Is your child constantly singing? Does she play multiple instruments, dream of forming a musical group? If so, TBeats Summer Sound Camp is just the place to open your child’s ears and musical mind in fun and creative ways. Working in a professional music studio, kids learn everything about creating a song, from production to instrument selection, sound booth to completed track.

and discovery garden outdoor classrooms.

Age Range: 5-13

Cost Range: $135

The Youth & Family Center Summer Day Camp

Website: http://www.theyfc. org Phone: 314-231-1147

Address: 818 Cass Ave. St. Louis, MO 63106

Camp Description: Our eightweek camp offers a variety of sports, crafts, theme days, nature programs, games, and swimming.

Age Range: 5-14

Cost Range: $60

Third Degree Glass Factory Website: http://thirddegreeglassfactory.com/product/summer-glass-camp-2018/ Phone: 314.367.4527

Address: 5200 Delmar Blvd.

St. Louis, MO 63116

Camp Description: A fun and interactive camp for kids 10-14, focusing on three different forms of glass art: Glassblowing, Flameworking, Fused Glass.

Age Range: 10-14

Cost Range: $450

Travis Ford’s SLU Men’s Basketball Camps

Website: http://www.slubasketballcamp.com

Phone: 314-977-3170

Address: 3330 Laclede Ave St. Louis, MO 63103

Camp Description: Basketball camp for children grades 1-12 focusing on building skill, teamwork, and sportsmanship.

Age Range: 6-17

Cost Range: $275

U-CREATE Summer Camp

Website: http://www.umsl. edu/campusrecreation/youthprograms/ucreatesummercamp-page.html

Phone: 314.516.2344

Address: 1 University Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63121

Camp Description:

U-CREATE is a Summer camp for kids ages 6-12 that is designed to be an active camp that both educates and stimulates, while having fun.

Age Range: 6-12

Cost Range: $150

United Cerebral Palsy Heartland Website: http://www.ucpheartland.org/services/st-louis-children-services/summer-day-

Victory Raceway Website: http://www.academyofracing.org/ Phone: 314 297 0720

Address: 8800 Watson Road

St. Louis, MO 63119

Camp Description: Our 5-day camps are all about fun, racing and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

Age Range: 8-16

Cost Range: $300-$375

Washington UniversitySummer Experiences Website: http://summerexperiences.wustl.edu/ Phone: 314-935-6834

Address: One Brookings Drive St. Louis, MO 0

Camp Description: Summer Experiences at Washington University provide academically talented students from across the country and around the world the perfect opportunity to challenge themselves in a supportive and encouraging atmosphere.

Age Range: 11-18

Cost Range: $1,985-$5,985

Webster Groves Parks and Recreation Website: https://www.webstergroves.org/116/Parks-

Camp Description: Summer Day Camp at the Y provides a fun, safe experience for kids to learn new skills, build self-confidence, and make lasting friendships. The Y offers DOZENS of camps for all interests, including traditional outdoor camps, a huge variety of sports camps, and themed camps for every interest -- like aquatics, cooking, art, theater, science, music and so much more! We also have a few locations that offer preschool camp. Features of our camps include well trained staff, age appropriate fun activities, exciting field trips, summer learning loss prevention, and camps for every interest! Camp ages, types, schedules and prices vary by branch.

Age Range: 3-17

Cost Range: Prices vary by branch

YMCA Camp Lakewood Website: https://gwrymca.org/ camps/ymca-camp-lakewood

Address: 13528 State Highway AA Potosi, MO 63664

Camp Description: Interested in OVERNIGHT CAMP?! YMCA Camp Lakewood’s summer overnight camp for kids ages 6-17 provides a well-rounded experience for campers and gets them outdoors to connect with nature. With a 360-acre lake and over 5,000 acres of forest-covered hills, there are many opportunities for natural exploration and experiential learning, including swimming, archery, climbing tower, zipline, sports, canoeing, cookouts, fishing, kayaking, campfires and so much more!

Age Range: 6-18

Cost Range: $395-$1,350

Not sure what you want to do with your summer? Summer At SLU has a program for everyone and there is bound to be something that sparks your interest.

From late May to early August, Summer at SLU hosts more than 80 pre-K-grade 12 camps and academies on the campus of Saint Louis University. Summer at SLU invites students of all ages on campus for exceptional programming that ranks as one of the most-searched summer camp programs in the St. Louis area by Blueprint4Summer.

Summer at SLU continues to expand its programming yearly. Summer 2020 features

‘Summer at SLU’

Packing the summer with camps for pre-K through high school-aged students

more than 10 new offerings, including a Spanish Language Immersion Camp, Cyber Camp, Geospatial Data Science, Little Veterinarian School, Little Scholars World of Wizards and Mad Science: Underground Explorers.

Other 2020 camps and academies include Grand Theater Camp and the Aviation Summer Academy. During Grand Theater Camp, middle and high schoolers experience all aspects of Broadway-style theater productions as actors, playwrights, and professional theater artists.

For teens interested in experiencing the world of

flight or exploring the field of aviation in the Aviation Summer Academy, rising high school juniors and seniors are guided by certified flight instructors through hands-on activities in flight science.

Summer at SLU offers STEM camps, from Introduction to Coding and Information Technology to Cyber Camp, that provide a foundational set of skills and knowledge for students considering any field in college that involves technology such as engineering, computer science, information systems, business or health.

All Summer at SLU camps and academies take place on

the beautiful campus of Saint Louis University.

To enroll your child in a Summer at SLU camp or academy, follow these steps to register online:

• Go to the Summer at SLU website at www.slu.edu/ summer

• Click on K-12 Camps and Academies

• Search for your program using the search bar

• Register for the summer camp/academy of your choice online

For any questions relating to Summer at SLU 2020 programming, please contact summer@ slu.edu or call 314-977-3534.

North County Camp Fair helps families search 4 summer fun

If you’re a parent and haven’t started planning for summer yet, you may be starting to feel behind.

Planning for summer can be stressful for parents. What camps are close to my home? What days are they offered? What ages are they for? These are all questions that can run through a parent’s mind.

Local partners are gathering next weekend for a unique summer camp fair to make the planning process easy and painless for families. The 2nd Annual North County Camp Fair takes place Saturday, March 7. It is free to the public and is a collaborative effort, organized by the Ferguson-Florissant School District and the free summer planning resource Blueprint4SummerSTL.

Last year there were over 1,500 students and families who attended the camp fair, and organizers say they expect an even bigger turnout for 2020. The camp fair will provide opportunities for parents to have one-on-one conversations with camp representatives from some of the best summer programs and activities in the St. Louis area. Summer learning organizations are offering camps related to art, sports, music, nature, STEM and more for children of all ages.

Maxine Clark, founder of Blueprint4SummerSTL, said she’s proud to continue to partner with the FergusonFlorissant School District for this summer camp fair in North County.

“Blueprint4Summer offers a free way to digitally search and find the perfect summer camp, but it doesn’t replace the value of speaking with a camp provider face to face to find out

YMCA

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renewed sense of excitement as to what new activities each day at camp will bring. Camp Lakewood offers 4-day and one-week camp programs, as well as traditional, wilderness and equestrian camp.

Boys & Girls

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munity service, character programs, advocacy training).

Summer will truly be a fun and dynamic experience that will spark creativity, engagement, and explorations! Swimming, teen and STEM

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built on literacy, leadership and social advocacy. Its curriculum is rooted in the Freedom Summer of the Civil Rights Movement and was originally conceived and proposed by Charles Cobb, a United Church of Christ college student.

The Children’s Defense Fund describes its Freedom Schools Model as one that empowers youth to excel and believe in their ability to make a difference in themselves, their families, communities, country and world with hope, education and action.

Constance Rush, director of Advocacy for the Deaconess Foundation, said the literature is culturally rich, competent and all inclusive.

“The children see people who look like them; people who look like people who may live in south St. Louis city ... or people who they’ve read about or heard about in movies or in literature throughout the years,” Rush said. “But it really reflects a whole world diaspora of people. And that is really the root of how children identify and see themselves and really excel in the program.”

if the offering is a great fit,” said Clark. “Prior to this partnership, there were only a few large camp fairs in the region, and none of them were close to the City of St. Louis and North County. Fifty-eight percent of Blueprint4Summer users come from these areas, so we know that families are searching for summer programs close to home.”

Registration is open. Go to https://gwrymca.org/camps/ ymca-camp-lakewood

An inclusive camp experience

Blueprint4Summer is a free website to help families in the St. Louis region search for best-fit summer programming. It was launched in 2015 to alleviate the stress and frustration families, especially in under-resourced areas, felt as they tried to piece together summer plans for their kids as well as to tackle the achievement gap that exists between low-income

students and their middle- and upper-class peers following summer vacation. Research shows that summer learning loss during elementary school accounts for approximately two-thirds of the achievement gap in reading by ninth grade, according to a study by Johns Hopkins University. Blueprint4Summer’s goal is to

Financial Assistance

reduce this disparity by providing lower-income students access to educational summer camps and the opportunity to attend them via scholarships.

“What happens during the summer directly affects outcomes here in our district,” said Dr. Joyce Pugh-Walker, the director of federal programs for the Ferguson-Florissant School District. “Our vision is to sup-

port all students flourishing and becoming lifelong contributors to the success of the societies in which they work and live, therefore encouraging them to participate in meaningful summer programs is part of that process. We are proud to partner with Blueprint4Summer and are excited to host families from any district across the region for this free event.”

Coordinators are planning to have 60 camps in attendance at the fair representing a wide range of activities, many of which have a focus on STEAM learning (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics), such as the St. Louis Zoo, Summer @ SLU, and Girls Inc.

“There are camps for children of any age, including high schoolers,” said Zasmine Johnson, assistant programs manager for Blueprint4Summer. “Many local programs also offer scholarship opportunities, so it’s important to learn all of your options and register for camps early. The camps attending this Summer Camp Fair are also listed on Blueprint4Summer, so if you can’t attend the free event, parents should make sure to search for summer opportunities on our website.”

All families are welcome at the Summer Camp Fair this Saturday, March 7, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the McCluer North High School gymnasium. For more information about the camp fair, visit https://www. fergflor.org/campfair. Parents looking for more information on summer programming in St. Louis can search for opportunities on Blueprint4Summer by visiting the website at http://blueprint4. com/stl

At the YMCA, our goal is to provide an inclusive environment where all members and participants are equally part of our Y community. We make it a priority to provide facilities, programs and services to all. More information is available by calling our Inclusion Services department at 314678-0162.

programs, college and career readiness programs, sports as well as field trips are just a few of the things campers can experience.

Summer campers who are interested in writing, producing or singing will enjoy our Music Studio program led by Grammy Award-winning producer/songwriter Alonzo “Zo” Lee. Students will be

For Freedom Schools In addition to literacy building activities, Freedom School participants are provided meals, snacks, activities and field trips at no cost to families.

“We are committed to making sure that we are closing opportunity gaps for our scholars,” she said, “and our commitment comes through with our test scores each year.”

The program model also includes random testing and evaluation to measure academic progress. And for districts who already have resources assigned to their own summer reading programs, Rush says their scores from students who live in particular school districts provide the data for district buy-in for how great the program is for child literacy.

“We have numbers that they essentially don’t get, especially in a summer program,” Rush said. “That is due, in part, to the literature itself and the curriculum reflecting who the children are.”

This is the fourth summer for the literacy program and SLPS and Webster Groves School District see the results from the summer enrichment when the students are back in school in the fall.

“Each October, November, CDF provides feedback on

The YMCA feels strongly that anyone who wants to

fully engaged in the songwriting/ recording process and create a song from start to finish. While youth who aspire to become coders, graphic designers, 3D animators or game developers will have access to our Best Buy Teen Tech Center at our Herbert Hoover Club. The center is an interactive and innovative fully equipped space with everything

how well our students did the previous summer and our greatest gain was this last summer (2018-2019), where, in seven weeks, the tests have shown that children at one of our particular sites had advanced as much as one year and nine months in their reading level,” Rush said.

Instruction at Freedom Schools is provided by servant leader interns, college students and recent graduates trained by the CDF to use the Integrated Reading Curriculum to teach children conflict resolution and critical thinking skills, engage children in community service and social action projects, encourage children to participate in art and athletic activities. The children get to take books home every week and to decide which ones they want to add to their personal library to encourage that livelong love of reading.

Freedom Schools wrap up with a visit to a campus of higher learning.

“We bring all of our scholars, all of our college students and all of our teachers together at this end of the year celebration called the Culminating Event,” Rush said. “It’s full of energy and ... we are giving the scholars the opportunity to end their summer on a college

be a part of the Y has the opportunity, regardless of his or her ability to pay. Therefore, we offer financial assistance to those individuals who qualify. Funds for this assistance come from the generous support of those who give to our Annual Campaign.

needed to engage youth ages 12-18 with STEAM activities including a music studio, 3D printer, t-shirt press maker, coding stations, state of the art computers, monitors and virtual reality headsets. Registration is now open at www.bgcstl.org or call 314335-8000 with questions.

campus.”

Freedom Schools begin June 9 and run through July 24 at the Deaconess Center for Child Well-Being in St. Louis, Christ the King UCC in Florissant; Peace UCC in Webster Groves and St. John’s Church (The Beloved Community) in St. Louis.

UCC congregation members and community volunteers are needed to read with Freedom School scholars, Rush said.

“We have a read aloud segment, which is about 30 minutes long, where we have our community members come in and read their very favorite, child appropriate book, and engage with the children, share with the children what they do in the community; and how reading has impacted their lives; how reading has been influential in helping them get to where they are.”

A total of 175 scholars will be recruited from UCC congregations, St. Louis Public Schools, Hazelwood and Webster Groves school districts. Enrollment is free and open to all families who meet the criteria. For more information, please call 314436-8001 or contact cdffreedomschools@deaconess.org.

Special camp savings

March 1-31, 2020 - Save 10% off up to three weeks of camp*

*Savings can be applied to a total of three weeks per child, per summer. Discount will be applied when you register in person at the branch. If registering online, the Camp Registrar will notify you through confirmation email the discount has been applied. Not all camps are eligible for discount. Camp deposit required upon registration. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Does not apply to Camp Lakewood, C.I.T., or Fun Club extended care. Registration is open throughout the summer.