May 19th, 2011 Edition

Remembering Paul Reiter

Farewell to a Good Samaritan

Family and community remember Paul Reiter in moving ceremony

By Chris King Of The

“When you suffer the loss of a brother to violence and death, do you lose hope? Or do you hope all the more?”

– Father Patrick Quinn

mourners when he delivered the parable of the Good Samaritan (told by Luke).

As was widely reported in local media in the days before the Memorial Service, Reiter lived and died a Good Samaritan. He was shot dead the morning of May 9, 2011, according to St. Louis police, while interrupting the backdoor burglary of a neighbor on Idaho Avenue

10 years of freedom defined

Meaning of Mary Meachum Crossing relived this Saturday

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St.Louis American

“Even after African Americans were free, they were still not truly free.”

Thanks to a brave free black woman and nine slaves, St. Louis has special significance as a stop on the legendary Underground Railroad located in a former slave state. On Saturday, residents can rewind the hands of time nearly 160 years to gain first-hand understanding of a mode of transportation stretching across the nation that had one destination – freedom.

– Doug Eller,Grace Hill Settlement House

“Every year, we do a different reenactment,” said Doug Eller of the Grace Hill Settlement House – one of the organizers of the event that for the past 10 years has created a live connection with history.

“The first few years were just about Mary Meachum. But we eventually started doing other aspects of history from around that time. This year we will be doing the Civil War and what it meant for African Americans.”

Most carry the assumption that with the war came automatic freedom for slaves. Nothing could be further from the

See MEACHUM, page A6

Son of St. Louis new Georgia Tech dean

Gary S. May wants to make College of Engineering 1st in diversity

By Rebecca S.Rivas

Of The St.Louis American

Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta is the nation’s leading producer of AfricanAmerican and women engineers.

On July 1, St. Louis native Gary S. May, PhD, professor and current chair of electrical and computer engineering at the university, will become the first African-American dean of Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering.

As dean, May will direct the nation’s largest engineering program, one that enrolls nearly 60

“In the interest of being the best, I want us to be the most diverse.”

– Gary S.May

percent of Georgia Tech’s student body. It was also the place where an 18-year-old May arrived from St. Louis to obtain his bachelor’s in electrical engineering.

“For past seven years, Georgia Tech has

been the fourth-best engineering school in the country,” May said. “My platform has been that we should get on the metal stand. In the interest of being the best, I want us to be the most diverse.”

Gordon Moore Jr., director of the Office of Minority Educational Development at Georgia Tech, was one of May’s close friends in their undergraduate years. Working closely with May for so long, Moore said, his appointment is not only well deserved, it is historic.

See MAY, page A7

St.Louis native Gary S.May is the first AfricanAmerican dean of Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering.

Mark Reiter and and Agnes Veronica Reiter,brother and mother of Paul Reiter.

Photo by Wiley Price

See REITER, page A7

Walbridge Elementary School fourth grader

DeMarion Worthy, age 9,waved the American flag as his school participated in Sunday’s rainy Annie Malone Day Parade.

Photo by Wiley Price

Photo courtesy of Georgia Tech

ing all these movies, Sam (Samuel L. Jackson) and all these guys know he’s a hater. He kept all the money, there was lawsuits against him. Spike needs to go sit his punk [expletive] down and stop talking about

Obama hosts Memphis sanitation workers

Survivors of last campaign led by Martin Luther King Jr.

By Jared Bernstein For The St. Louis American

Washington – Civil rights, economic and social justice, the rights of workers to bargain collectively ... the air here at the White House was thick with these sentiments.

They were brought to us by eight of the surviving members of the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike, who came to the White House Friday for the irst time in their lives.

If that long-ago strike sticks out in your mind, it’s because Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. went to Memphis to support the almost entirely AfricanAmerican sanitation workforce as they struck for union recognition, better pay, safer working conditions and, fundamentally, respect.

It was there, on April 3, that Dr. King delivered his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech.

And it was there, on April 4, when that amazing man was taken from us. Please, if you do nothing else today, read (or reread) that speech. Read it to yourself, to your partner, to your parents and to your kids. You would be hard-pressed to ind another document that so perfectly weaves together the beautiful yet all too fragile fabric of the historical struggle for basic human rights. And what’s so remarkable about the way Dr. King told the story that day was not the pain, frustration and violence of that endless struggle for justice, but the hope, the optimism, the non-violent sensibility and, most profoundly, the faith that he brought, and urged us all, to bring to that struggle.

A key theme of the speech, one that resonates today as well as it did in 1968, is the inseparability of social and economic justice. Dr. King’s civil

sanitation strike, an iconic campaign in civil rights and labor rights history, during a meeting in the Map Room

rights work is of course well remembered, but you may not recall that toward the end of his life, he led the

“Poor People’s Campaign,” a movement organized around the need for jobs, health care and housing for the poor and disadvantaged.

As embodied in those striking workers in Memphis, and stressed repeatedly in his speech to them, the issue was, and remains, one of fairness. These men here on Friday and their former cohort faced hard, even fatal working conditions (weeks before the strike, two men were killed on a city truck).

Yet, they also faced deep discrimination and earned poverty-level wages.

So they decided to join a publicsector union – to tap their collective strength in pursuit of the fair treatment that eluded them as individuals.

The mayor of Memphis declared the strike illegal but the workers, with Dr. King’s support, never gave up. And

ultimately, they succeeded. Less than two weeks after King’s tragic assassination, the union was recognized and the strike ended.

Of course, that’s not the end of the story. The struggle to protect and add to the gains that Dr. King and those Memphis workers fought and died for is a lifelong one. It’s a struggle that President Obama knows well, and one he continues to wage each day. It’s a struggle that persists to this very day, as public-sector workers continue to ight for the right to bargain collectively.

But to see these eight men come to the White House and meet with this president … well, there really are no words to describe the moment other than to say that somewhere, from a distant mountaintop, Dr. King smiled down on the world.

Jared Bernstein is chief economic advisor to the vice president.

Academic ideological bullying

A recent article in the New York Times illuminated the growing inluence of corporate donors on colleges and universities. Gone are the days when a donation to an institution of higher learning meant just getting your name put on a campus building. This growing trend, coupled with partisan political persuasions, will undoubtedly have a negative impact on academic freedom and intellectual property.

An unbelievable example of this kind of undue political pressure on a university happened right under our noses. In the now, old trick of editing video tapes for a desired political effect, Andrew Breitbart of bring down ACORN and FDA’s Shirley Sherrod fame used his despicable skill to destroy the reputations of Don Giljum and Judy Ancel. Giljum teaches labor studies at UMSL and Ancel at UMKC; both were accused of promoting violence by unions to protect workers’ rights.

vidual instructor’s budgets. Universities will defend budget cuts by pointing to dwindling dollars to higher education. This makes the institutions even more vulnerable to high rolling, politically backward donors who are emboldened to demand more for their dollars in the current right-wing political climate.

The New York Times article reported that billionaire Charles Koch pledged $1.5 million to Florida State University in exchange for having control over the new hires to its economics department. The foundation of banking company BB&T mandated that universities who take its money create a certain course and reading list; to date, about 60 colleges have taken the Kool-Aid.

Gail Hackett, the UMKC provost, called the video what it is – “inaccurate and distorted.” Unfortunately, the knee-jerk reaction of her St. Louis colleagues resulting in the forced resignation of Giljum. UMSL Chancellor Thomas George and Provost Glen Cope have started to back pedal on their positions when they received a wave of protests in support of Giljum who is respected both on and off campus. I read a copy of Giljum’s letter; he is adamant that his resignation was not voluntary despite the university’s assertion that it was. (If there was no forced resignation, resolution should be easy: bring Giljum back on staff.)

I don’t know what Don Giljum’s ultimate outcome will be, but his situation is growing evidence that independent voices and views that don’t prop up a conservative agenda will be silenced. Progressive academicians have criticized these kinds of silencing attacks that also include defunding of departments or indi-

The targeting of school and college campuses for products and advertising has already been institutionalized. It has produced a generation of young people who think they are consciously choosing the kind of beverage they drink, the sweater they wear or the video game they play. Instead, the idea was planted in their little head as an adolescent void of critical thinking skills to help them make choices that positive beneit them.

When students go to Oral Roberts or Brigham Young Universities, they know what they’re getting. When you send your child to a state university like UMSL or Florida State University, you don’t expect that some donor’s monies or some ideologue’s worldview will be shaping their young minds to serve a particular master.

Unless we wake up and oppose these inluences in the learning laboratories, we can expect a stronger ideological monopoly on the one public space that should be encouraging a critical assessment of many viewpoints and theories, not just the unconscious embracing of one school of thought.

President Barack Obama talks with participants from the 1968 Memphis

of the White House, April 29. Oficial White House photo by Lawrence Jackson

Jamala Rogers

EDITORIAL /COMMENTARY

A ‘Salute’ and a challenge

At the end of the moving Memorial Service conducted for the late Paul Reiter on Saturday at Carmel of St. Joseph Carmelite Monastery, one of Paul’s sisters told the overcrowded chapel of mourners that there would now be a “Salute” for Paul. The many mourners from Paul’s St. Louis American family could be forgiven if we imagined, for a moment, that Paul’s blood family had borrowed our laudatory term for a celebration of excellence. Over the many years of our “Salute” programs, Paul has faithfully delivered hundreds of copies of the paper to the annual events. It was possible to imagine that the celebratory reception following Paul’s service was being styled a “Salute.”

And then, the Color Guard outside the chapel ired a gun. It came as a shock to many of us who did not realize that there would be a military salute. Of course, Paul was a U.S. Navy veteran, and it was a itting and powerful tribute – particularly as the men conducting this part of the ceremony approached Paul’s son, Christopher Reiter, saluted him, and thanked him for his father’s service.

And yet, that burst of gunire had an unsettling effect. It was impossible to forget – it is impossible to forget – that Paul lost his life from a burst of gunire. If authorities have charged the right man, Paul was shot dead by a petty thief who already was a career criminal at age 18. Crime and gun violence in this metropolitan area, and especially in the city of St. Louis, are tragically common. While we applaud the police for acting swiftly to apprehend a suspect, and wish prosecutors the best in serving justice, we don’t pretend to believe that punishment for his killer will do anything

to compensate for the aching loss of this special person, Paul Reiter. Also, it is possible to solve this crime and punish this criminal. But rampant crime and violence are endemic in this community because of underlying problems that we all know well.

The mission of the newspaper that Paul Reiter delivered for 22 years is built around strategic responses to these underlying, chronic problems: poverty, unemployment, inadequate schools, absent or ineffective parents, street drugs that are more readily available than drug abuse prevention programs, churches that shelter themselves from the poor rather than serving their needs, legislators much more willing to fund police and prisons than early childhood education programs, structural racism that continues to stress and hamper black youth, and too frequent reluctance of the black community to take greater responsibility where responsibility is due.

Losing someone like Paul – who did so much in so many ways to better this community and the larger world – through such a senseless act of petty crime has challenged many of us with despair. It is now that much harder to do the dificult things we had set out to do, with Paul’s avid help and support. But it is not an option for us to seek vengeance as a balm, nor for us to turn our backs on what we need to do just because it will be more dificult, and much less fun, to do it without Paul Reiter. Rather, it is time now to go back to what we were doing: addressing the perennial and entrenched problems that leave peace and justice unilled dreams in this city and this world.

COMMENTARY

Remembering Paul Reiter

Dear Paul: Wherever you are, I pray you wake up to a better world. A friend called me with the news of your tragic demise. I hung up the phone in disbelief. Paul, murdered? How? Why? When? Where? Later, I learned from others more about how you died and, still in disbelief, felt it was a bad dream. But, it isn’t. You are gone and we are the lesser for it. I believe whoever shot you and left you for dead near your Dutchtown home – no matter where they are in the world – have already started their irreversible journey into hell, accompanied by the demons that made them pull the trigger. As grisly as your fate, theirs will be worse. It’s been more than eight years since I left The American Yet, every week and everywhere I go I see the newspaper in its place, ready for loyal readers throughout the region. I know it was your dedicated work ethic as manager of circulation that made it so. Sometimes we’d meet in passing and exchange greetings.

Both a little older, a bit wiser, each still plodding along, ducking and dodging life’s many blows. The American’s newsroom was my life for 10 years and now, like many thousands of loyal readers – and because of your excellent job – I welcome the weekly stacks found everywhere. I’m sure that will continue but trust me, it will not be the same without you. Much like everyone else at the newspaper, we were a different breed. Converging from all walks of life, The American crew found a purpose, a destiny at the newspaper and, each in our own roles, put a piece of the gigantic puzzle together each week, year in and year out, always hoping that we were doing our part to make St. Louis a better place to live.

Between tasks we talked about our young children, our grown children, our friends, the newsmakers, the shakers, the dregs of society and the stories that make our world. You contributed both simplicity and complexity in all manner of ways. Wearing your trademark Converse many-colored tennis shoes and shorts, you always offered up an opinion about the stories of the week.

Different in thought and purpose, we disagreed but mostly we agreed. And never did I

worry that the stories we bled ink to craft would never see the light of day because you were not there. You were part of the rock that makes The American solid, lasting and ever-present. We could always count on you. Call Paul and you’d appear, ready and able to help with any task.

For all of us, death is always near and often unexpected. Now, you are the story, the news. And we get to speak about you – your life, your times, your being Paul. And while the manner of your death makes it doubly surprising, it forces us to take stock of our own lives and how we live them.

The Paul I knew lived his life to suit his soul. With more than two decades on the job you could have been long gone from The American, perhaps to a bigger and better future. You were not African-American, yet you chose to serve a newspaper and our community in the best way you could. And for that I am honored and grateful for having known you and worked side-by-side with you to make this a better world.

Ishmael-Lateef Ahmad is a former staff writer for The St. Louis American.

COMMENTARY

Death of the myth of bin Laden

Years from now, I believe, we will look back and say the elimination of Osama bin Laden changed everything. To borrow Churchill’s assessment of the Nazi defeat at El Alamein, “Now, this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

Attempted terrorist attacks in the name of fundamentalist Islam will surely continue. Most will be amateurish failures, such as the alleged plot disclosed last Thursday in which two homegrown would-be jihadists – now in the custody of New York City police – ineffectually aspired to blow up a synagogue. Tragically, we are bound to see attacks by genuine terrorists as well. Some may succeed.

Still, it’s hard to overstate the signiicance of bin Laden’s killing. Operationally and psychologically, he deined the Age of Terror – not just for Americans and other targets of his depredations but also for the terrorists who followed his writ. With his last breath, an era died.

The more we learn about bin Laden’s life in his Pakistan compound, the more apparent it becomes that even in hiding he remained the central, indispensable igure in international terrorism.

The lonely patriarch of jihad spent the autumn of his life reliving past glory – rewinding and fast-forwarding through videos of his early triumphs,

like an aging movie star – and scheming obsessively about spectacular new blows he could inlict.

From the computer iles and handwritten journals that Navy SEALs managed to scoop up in the raid, according to widely published reports, it appears that some of al-Qaeda’s younger, more vigorous and more practical leaders chafed at bin Laden’s direction. They believed, logically, that it was a waste of time and effort to try to equal or top the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks while there were much softer targets closer to home.

What’s interesting, though, is that while afiliates such as the Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula might not have welcomed all of bin Laden’s advice, they still paid attention. Even in his isolation, able to communicate only by courier, bin Laden remained the inspirational leader of the jihadist movement.

No one could match his charisma, and no one could match his legend. He fought the Soviets in Afghanistan and lived to tell the tale; he dealt an unprecedented blow to America in the heart of its biggest city; he escaped, like a ghost, after U.S. forces had cornered him at Tora Bora; and he managed to elude the soldiers and spies of the world’s pre-eminent superpower for nearly a decade. The myth of his invincibility helped draw recruits to al-Qaeda and gave veterans a reason to soldier on.

Now that he’s gone, the terrorist organization he leaves behind will almost surely shift its tactical focus. More important, al-Qaeda is now without its founding father and guiding spirit – who, it turns out, was

not divinely protected from his enemies. The death of the myth, I believe, will prove as important as the death of the man. For Americans, bin Laden’s death is nothing short of a liberation. With the 9/11 attacks, he not only killed thousands of people whose only crimes were to go to work, board airliners or rush to the scene of disaster as irst-responders. Bin Laden also took 300 million prisoners: the rest of us. He held hostage our foreign policy – directly or indirectly provoking two wars – and, with it, hijacked a huge chunk of the federal treasury. He goaded our leaders into stretching our military almost to the breaking point. He was the inspiration, or the excuse, for a vast expansion of the government’s power to intrude into our private lives. He changed us so that whenever we see an unattended gym bag, we don’t think “absent-mindedness,” we think “potential bomb.”

The threat of terrorism is still with us, but the man who embodied that threat is gone. We can think more clearly now – about our mission in Afghanistan and our relationship with Pakistan, about the trade-offs between liberty and security, about which of our fears are rational and which are not. The change in our mindset that I’m certain is coming will not happen overnight. It will take us a while to get used to our new psychological freedom. Not to worry, though; we’ve got plenty of time. One thing I know for sure is that he’s not coming back. Eugene Robinson’s email address is eugenerobinson@ washpost.com.

All letters are edited for length and style. L

ETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Leadership and service

Amen to your “Young leaders to improve the future” editorial.

Black History in America month was established by Carter G. Woodson (1875 – 1950). In The Mis-Education of the Negro he writes that “old men talk of what they have done, young men talk of what they are doing, and fools of what they expect to do.” (St. Francis of Assissi prayed that he would be foolish enough to make a difference ...)

“If we can inally succeed in translating the idea of leadership into that of service, we may soon ind it possible to lift the Negro to a higher level,” Woodson continues.

“Under leadership we have come into the ghetto; by service within the ranks we may work our way out of it. Under leadership we have been constrained to do the bidding of others; by service we may work out a program in the light of our own circumstances. Under leadership we have become poverty stricken; by service we may teach the masses how to earn a living honestly. Under leadership we have been made to despise our own possibilities and to develop into parasites; by service we may prove suficient unto the task of selfdevelopment and contribute our part to modern culture.”

Yes, we will again, despite counter-attacks from naysayers. I am Polish, Slavic; but “slave” and “slav” are the same word.

Joseph Kuciejczyk

St. Louis

Black clergy, white church

As a European-American female minister serving in St Louis, I’d like to honor a speciic group of African-American women leading Caucasian congregations in this city and beyond. These are clergy women like the Reverends Michele Sue Shumake Keller at First United Methodist Church, Webster Groves. She serves such a church and anticipates

retiring in June after 33 years of ministry. Rev. Keller and clergy like her (Renee Fenner, St Barnabas Episcopal Church, Florissant; Monica Jefferson, St. Andrew United Methodist Church, Florissant) are prophets and pioneers, modeling God’s Beloved Community with their churches. In kindness, these clergy are bringing their white congregations new leadership models that challenge and subvert the many stereotypes that cripple our society.

There are many more women clergy serving in such positions than you might imagine. Thank God for their ministry and leadership.

Reverend Becky Ragland University City

God is with Obama

I read your paper all the time. It’s true that we need unity in action. We need to continue our prayers for the safety of our president and his family. We must organize and re-engage in the urgent task of our time. Although faced with an incomprehensible situation, we have to continue to lift him up in prayer. I do believe he is a strong man of God, and he is not alone. God is with him.

Gertie Jackson St. Louis

Darian’s dad

I like Mike Claiborne’s article about the lack of blacks in baseball. A lot of scouts don’t feel they have any pressure to sign the black ballplayer now, especially when they can sign a Latin player for less money. My son Darian Sandford has been toiling around, playing ball, doing pretty good and is struggling to get any kind of consideration. He’s a small player in size, but baseball had always had room for the little guy as long as he had skills. He is playing for the Chillicothe Mudcats in the wooden bat league and excelling. He led all juco in steals in ‘08 and NAIA in steals in 09. Decent hitter – after all, you can’t steal second base unless you

get on irst. Check him out on www.MINKLEAGUEBASEABALL.com at Chillicothe Mudcats.

Cliff Sandford Via stlamerican.com

Columnist Eugene Robinson

Guest Columnist Ismael Lateef Ahmad

An Honor Guard presented the U.S. lag and a military Salute at Paul Reiter闇s Memorial Service held at Carmel of St. Joseph Carmelite Monastery. Photo by Wiley Price

May is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month

The YWCAMetro St. Louis blog reminded the community that May is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month. This may be a good time to discuss the virtues of showcasing teen motherhood through the lens of the MTVreality show, Teen Mom. The show chronicles the challenges of teen motherhood, while, unfortunately, it may as well glorify it.

Even as the teen pregnancy rate has declined over the past few decades, the United States still holds the highest teen pregnancy rate in the western hemisphere.

About 820,000 teens become pregnant each year. That means that 34 percent of teenagers have at least one pregnancy before they turn 20. The social and economic impact of teen pregnancy is far reaching. Only one-third of teenage mothers earn a high school diploma.By age 30, only 1.5 percent of women who had pregnancies as a teenager have a college degree.

Teen mothers not only are charged with raising their children, but rising above the stigma, statistics and stereotypes. The empowerment of women and girls is part of the mission of YWCAMetro St. Louis. Shalia Ford, director of the Youth Division for YWCAMetro St. Louis, said teen girls seeking support in a safe environment with caring staff can find these elements at her program. To learn more, call 314-5311115 or email ywteens@ywcastlouis.org.

Spelling bee champs

In the 2011 Ferguson-Florissant School District Spelling Bee,the first-place grade level winners from each elementary and middle school competed for the title of Spelling Bee Champion.The first-place elementary school winners include:Kelsie Johannsen,a fourth-grader at Combs;Abdullah Brown-El,a fifth-grader at Commons Lane;and Timara Williams,a sixth-grader at Johnson-Wabash.The first-place middle school winners include:Brittany DeSha,a seventh-grader at Cross Keys Middle School;and Jared Williams,an eighth-grader at Berkeley Middle School.The district’s Spelling Bee Champion is Isaac Orbin,a fifth-grader at Wedgwood Elementary.

Homeownerand careerfair

The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and the City of Florissant will host a Resource Fair at the Florissant Civic Center on Saturday, May 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the general public.

Area mortgage lenders and housing professionals will inform the community on affordable mortgage options and down payment assistance for prospective homebuyers looking to purchase in St. Louis County and the City of Florissant. Education workshops will focus on topics such as purchasing a home, fair housing, understanding credit and foreclosure prevention.

Home Retention Teams from Bank of America, Fifth Third Bank, GMAC and US Bank will be in attendance. HUD Certified Housing Counseling agencies will provide one-on-one housing counseling for homeowners whose servicers are not in attendance. The event will also feature a employment career fair. For more information, call 314-506-5311.

Cinema St. Louis accepting entries

The 11th Annual St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase, an annual presentation of the nonprofit Cinema St. Louis, is accepting entries through May 31.

SLFS serves as the area’s primary venue for films made by local artists. SLFS screens works that were written, directed, edited or produced by St. Louis natives or those with strong local ties. SLFS frequently provides the only chance area filmmakers have to display their talents on the big screen.

SLFS annually features 15-20 programs over four days, ranging from full-length fiction features and documentaries to multi-film compilations of fiction and documentary shorts. Most programs include post-screening Q&As with filmmakers.

SLFS also hosts a series of free seminars on the filmmaking process and a lively awards party on closing night that features announcements of SLFS films chosen for inclusion in the St. Louis International Film Festival and awards. For submission application, rules and entry procedures, visit http://cinemastlouis.org/st-louis-filmmakers-showcase.

Cultural values and rape

By Ellen Sweets For The St.Louis American

Near the end of watching a 60 minutes segment recently I practically shouted at the TVduring an interview with investigative reporter Lara Logan.

My heart goes out to her for the trauma she experienced in Egypt. But the minute I saw her wander into that emotionally charged mob of men my heart was instantly in my throat. Why on Earth would a pretty blonde, blue-eyed, Western woman wander into such a crowd?

And then she answered my question near the end of her interview: “I had no idea how endemic, that (rape) is so rife, so widespread, that so many Egyptian men admit to sexual harassing women and think it’s completely acceptable.”

This isa tragic example of the horrible consequences of not knowing a country’s history.

It also throws gasoline on the fire of bigotry thatbrands men of a certain ethnicity, fueling the notion that all white women are in danger from “those” men.

I know writing this runs the risk of infuriating feminists who hold that no matter what a woman does men should control themselves. Well, take a close look at the setting in which she found herself. Better yet, take a look at what Egyptianssaid about themselves in 2008 when an 11-year-old was allegedly raped by a 21 year-old.

Such attacks, whileillegal, are commonly viewed more asa family misfortune rather than a crime.On the web site womensphere.org, Rania Hamid, manager of the family counseling unit at the Centre for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance, is quoted as saying, “These traditions are not 20 years old, they’re ancient.”

The 11-year-oldwas one of 20,000 women or girls raped every year, according to Egypt’s Interior Ministry, a figure which implies that an average of about 55 women are raped every day. However, owing to the fear of social disgrace, victims are reluctant to report cases, and experts say the number may be much higher.

“If the Ministry of the Interior gets 20,000 then you should multiply it by 10,” said Engy Ghozlan of the Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights anti-harassment campaign.

We might be living in the 20th century, but too many regions are socially entrenched in the 15th. There are still parts of the Middle East where marital rape is not acknowledged as a crime. Even worse, in some instances female rape victims are victimized again at the hands of male relatives, who consider raped sistersto bedamaged goods and therefore unworthy of proper marriage.

Did Logan deserve what happened? Absolutely not.

Were the men who attacked her animals? For sure.

But we almost always pay a terrible penalty for not appreciating cultural behavior that deviates from that with which we are familiar. As a black woman in her 7th decade and a retired reporter,I can promise you that the women who rescued her had isolated themselves from the men in Tahrir square for a reason: they knew what she should have.

Mercifully, Lara Logan lived to tell the tale. Now let’s hope the Egyptian authorities are listening.

Ellen Sweets

MEACHUM

Continued from A1 truth. This fact will be illustrated through the 9th anniversary reenactment festivities kicking off at noon on Saturday.

“We will show how the Underground Railroad was still in operation during the Civil War,” Eller said. “Even after African Americans were free, they were still not truly free. This event speaks to freedom – and that it was so important to people that they risked everything, including their lives, to achieve it.”

Aposse of horses will join an ensemble that blends professional actors and community members to create a compelling and realistic experience of historical significance that leaves a lasting impression on the hundreds that visit each year.

The actors include Wendy Gordon, Natasia Griffin (and her two children), Phillip Barry, Victoria Thomas, Amenthra Thomas, Gary Stoff and many more.

For the past five years, the production has been written and directed by Angela da Silva, whose National Black Tourism Network is a cosponsor of the event, along with Great Rivers Greenway, Confluence Partnership, Grace Hill and Lindenwood University’s School of American Studies.

“She is amazing,” Eller said of da Silva. “This production has really helped explain the evolution of freedom for us in the United States. As we know, it was not a complete product during that time and it’s important to talk about how that evolved.”

This year’s Mary Meachum crossing carries special significance. Saturday’s festivities will

include the unveiling of plans to redevelop the location into a national tourist attraction.

Eller said, “We want the site to become a tourist destination that people will come from all across the U.S. to see, to support the community and provide a huge amount of cultural education for people of

North St. Louis and the community in general.”

Grace Hill has managed the Riverfront Trails – the original site of the original Mary Meachum Crossing. For the past 10 years, Grace Hill has been relentless in assuring that location and the brave individuals who made it famous have

their historical significance preserved.

“We are just a hop, skip, jump from the site – maybe 20 feet,” Eller said of Grace Hill Settlement House. “So this worked out perfectly for us.”

This year they have engaged more than 300 community people to participate in the site development planning process with developers from Washington, D.C.

In the meantime, Saturday’s reenactment will do exactly

what Meachum had in mind when she staged an attempt to lead others on a successful navigation through the Underground Railroad: pool available resources to build a sense of community and offer a taste of freedom.

“It’s really a powerful grassroots production in which the local community attends and performs,” Eller said.

“And it shows the community is involved in this sort of effort. We talk about freedom,

The National Black Tourism Ensemble helped to reenact the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing last May.The 9th annual reenactment will take place on Saturday at The Riverfront Trails on the banks of the Mississippi River.

but we don’t define it really well. This reenactment does that.”

The 9th Annual Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing Reenactment will take place on Saturday, May 21 at The Riverfront Trails on the banks of the Mississippi River. Festivities kick off at noon. To learn more about the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing, call Angela da Silva at 314865-0708 Angela da Silva or Doug Eller at 314- 602-4808.

Photo courtesy of Grace Hill Settlement House

MAY

Continued from A1

Before being appointed at the first African-American dean of the College of Engineering, May was the first African-American school chair of an engineering department at Georgia Tech.

“What adds to the historical context is that he is selected dean in the same year that Georgia Tech is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the matriculation of black students,” said Moore, a former national chairman of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).

“This is clearly a truly great mark of how far Georgia Tech has come in 50 years. At the same time, we cannot allow our celebration of this historical mark take anything away from the fact that Dr. May was the best candidate for this position.”

Ronald Moore, pre-collegeinitiative director with NSBE St. Louis,said the 35,000 NSBE members across the world are excited about May’s new mission.

“We’re proud that Dr. May is a St. Louis native,” Ronald Moore said. “The National Society of Black Engineers –Gateway Chapter will share this fine accomplishment with our NSBE students. Dr. May has a rich and academically affluent resume of distinctions. He serves as a role model and inspiration forall students, and specifically AfricanAmerican students.”

REITER

Continued from A1

in South St. Louis. He was 58.

The Good Samaritan, of course, was a man who rescued a traveler who had been waylaid by highway robbers and left for dead. Two previous passers-by, including a priest, stepped past the dying man without helping him. The Samaritan stopped on the road, bandaged the injured man’s wounds, then took him to an inn and left him in the care of the innkeeper. The Samaritan gave the innkeeper some money and promised to reimburse him for any other medical expenses when he returned from the road.

The parable spoke deeply to the mourners’sense of Paul Reiter and what his life had meant. There was sobbing in the pews and among the many people standing in the aisles as Father Quinn related the story. He then based his homily upon the parable’s simple teaching: that one must take risks to be a good neighbor.

Tip from a mentor

When May was in high school, he participated in a summer student program at McDonnell Douglas Corp. (now Boeing). One of his mentors there encouraged May to check out Georgia Tech, as it was one of the primary schools the company worked with. May went on to earn his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of California–Berkeley. He returned to Georgia Tech as an assistant professor in 1991, achieving full professor status in 2000. Two years later, thenPresident Wayne Clough asked him to serve as his faculty executive assistant, a role that introduced him to administrative responsibilities at an institutional level.

May, who has chaired the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering since 2005, shared his aspirations for the future of the college during a public presentation last month.

“My vision is to create an environment where anyone with the aptitude and inclination to study engineering will want to come to Georgia Tech,” he said. In partnership with colleagues in the other colleges, he added, “we will build a community of scholars to address the issues and challenges of the world through technology.”

“Gary exemplifies the type of leadership qualities we hope to instill in each of our students,” Provost Rafael L. Bras said. “As a faculty member, administrator and representa-

“When you suffer the loss of a brother to violence and death, do you lose hope?” Father Quinn asked. “Or do you hope all the more?”

He asked mourners to summon their favorite memory of Paul. He waited for a moment. Then he said, “Grace does not fade or go away. You just need to remember it.”

Asparkling quartet of singers culled from The Ambassadors of Harmony in St. Charles then sang an Irish Blessing song. “May the sun shine warm on your face,” they sang, in radiant harmony, accompanied by Abbie Steiling on solo violin.

After Communion was celebrated, Donald M. Suggs delivered a eulogy from his perspective as publisher of The St. Louis American, which Reiter served as circulation manager for 22 years – 22 years of the paper’s 83-year history.

Suggs said he wanted “to affirm in this holy place” Reiter’s service to the community and to suggest how Paul was “a model of what a real Christian should be,” which is

“He serves as a role model and inspiration for all students,and specifically African-American students.”

–

Ronald Moore,NSBE

tive of Georgia Tech, his impact on his profession and on this institution has been profound.”

May said this is a dream job for him.

“Not only do I get to do the job I’ve always wanted, my

“While the manner of your death makes it doubly surprising, it forces us to take stock of our own lives and how we live

– Ishmael-Lateef Ahmad

precisely the message of the Good Samaritan parable.

For most of the eulogy, Suggs read from an open letter that Ishmael-Lateef Ahmad

them.”

wrote to Paul after he heard of his former colleague’s senseless murder. Ahmad was a longtime reporter for The American who writes with a

family gets to stay in Atlanta,” May said. “They are happy here.”

May’s wife, LeShelle, is also an engineer, and she earned her master’s degree at Georgia Tech. May said he is not sure either of his daughters – Simone, 16, or Jordan, 14 –will follow in their parents’ engineering footsteps. However, as dean, he will have many students watching and

piercing insight into the kind of man the community has lost.

“We could always count on you. Call Paul and you’d appear, ready and able to help with any task,” Suggs read from Ahmad’s letter.

“For all of us, death is always near and often unexpected. Now, you are the story, the news. And we get to speak about you – your life, your times, your being Paul. And while the manner of your death

Gary S.May, who has been announced as the first AfricanAmerican dean of Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering, visits with Georgia Tech’s Fall 2010 commencement speaker Andrew Young in this file photo.

following his lead, all hoping to replicate his success.

“Gary’s record of scholarship, his collaborative nature and his tireless mentorship to students are admirable,” university President Bud Peterson said. “We are very excited about the future of engineering education and research at Georgia Tech under Gary’s leadership.”

makes it doubly surprising, it forces us to take stock of our own lives and how we live them.”

(Ishmael-Lateef Ahmad’s moving letter to Paul Reiter may be read in its entirety on Page A4.)

At the end of the dignified service, Paul’s brother Mark Reiter rose from the first pew, turned to the large crowd of mourners, and said, “As Paul would say, ‘See ya!’”

Photo courtesy of Georgia Tech

Letters about Paul

Two families brought together

To the St. Louis

American Family: We’d like to thank Dr. “Doc” Suggs for the kind words you spoke about our brother Paul Reiter at his service this past weekend. We’d like to thank, too, so many of Paul’s friends who over the past week have shared many stories about how he had touched their lives. And for all of the support you’ve given his son Christopher. It seems like Paul had two families, and this tragedy has brought us together. That would make him very happy.

As you all know, Paul was a kid at heart. When we’d get together for family parties, his great nieces and nephews would shout, “Where’s Paul? Come play with us.” One of my favorite memories is when we’d have a hayride at night. The kids would say, “Go get Uncle Paul and have him jump out and scare us.” And he would. There would be all sorts of shouting and laughing. Volleyball. Camping. Float trips. He was there. He was one of a kind. Any of you who knew him can close your eyes now and picture him with his colorful silk or T-shirts, shorts, and high top Chucks –two colors, of course, would make the most statement. He’d have a mischievous grin on his face. And he was game for anything; would help anybody. He loved his family and loved his friends. I do believe he loved his enemies too but hated injustice. That was our Paul. It’s a shame that Rico Paul didn’t get to meet “our” Paul. He would have liked him. Maybe had their paths crossed when Rico was younger, instead of pulling his gun on someone who was watching out for his neighbor, Rico would have ended up being a Good Samaritan, his heart illed with love for

his fellow man. Please pray for both their souls. And in remembering Paul, the next time someone asks for help, just say, “Sure.” He’d like that.

Peace to all, Paul’s sister Joyce (Joyce Fraser)

Seeing

beauty in diversity

I have so many memories of Paul it is hard to whittle them down. I knew from a very young age that Paul was different then all the other adults in my life. He helped me broaden my thinking, seeing beauty in diversity. He drew me out of myself and showed me the world around me, whether it was going to art festivals and museums or telling me of the injustices in the world. He gave of himself freely, he regarded his family highly. He did not ask for anything free other than freedom. He believed in humanity and that humanity was good. He lived life not carelessly, but with passion. He was a role model to all who came into contact with him. And I also believe that Paul would have found forgiveness in his heart for the people that killed him.

Ursula Wofford-Fischer (Uncle Paul’s niece)

Perfectly Paul

A call late that night. It was Aggie talking to Den. It was in his voice. Paul was shot and killed. Air won’t go in, air won’t go out, my heart stops. Not Paulie pie! Not my baby brother! It hurts. Did he suffer?

Please God, he didn’t suffer! Cry in Den’s arms, jump up, get dressed, drive through the

night.

Got to get home to my brothers and sisters. Cry on my mom’s shoulder, my head under her chin. She doesn’t understand, but she’s my mom and I need her. She understands. Was Paul perfect? Nah! Just perfectly Paul!

In memory of Paul?

Feed the birds. Bake some treats for a college student. Look up, and down and all around.

It’ll make you smile.

Read about Leonard Peltier and share your thoughts with others.

Always say, “I love you” heading out the door.

Love you!

Later Paul!

Mart (Paul’s sister, Martha Wofford)

Pennies for thoughts I remember Rocky Horror Picture Show, protesting in front of the court house, and postcards with pennies for my thoughts.

Andrea Miller (Paul’s niece)

How good he was I wanted to send you my heartfelt condolences on the loss of dear Paul. Remember Dr. Suggs, I referred Paul to the paper when I was working for you. We met at KDHX as volunteers there. Also when I got married and moved to Seattle, Paul lived in my house with Christopher as a baby and toddler.

You know Paul was a good guy; I don’t have to tell you that. Here is an example of how good he was that you may not know.

We had elderly neighbors on West Belle whom I would run errands and do little chores for. Two elderly sisters who lived across the street from us. When I moved to Seattle, Paul stepped right up and took over my duties for the ladies! He grocery shopped for them and took them to doctor’s appointments and many other things that made him indispensable to them. He even continued helping them AFTER he moved to St. Ann. If Mattie and Earnestine were still here, they would be grieving as we all are for Paul and for the senseless and tragic way we have lost him.

Let me know if there will be a fund for contributions set up for Christopher. My co-workers here at Finninger’s Catering asked me to ind out.

Thank you, Cathy Johnson Knights

Editor’s note: Any fund established in support of Paul’s 20-year-old son Christopher Reiter will be promoted in The American.

A loving community

As a Tower Grove East

resident, we (TGE and Dutchtown) have had our share of horriic random acts of deadly violence. I keep thinking about the death of your colleague and how I would have responded in a similar manner. City residents cannot retreat; however, the acts of violence are very scary. On Saturday evening, two close friends of mine were walking home (Spring and Gravois) from a bar at Potomac and Spring, literally one block, and were held up at gunpoint. Please know that a loving community is wrapping its collective arms around your entire organization.

Danny Gladden, LMSW

Sincere condolences

Please accept our sincere condolences on the loss of your circulation director. We are keeping you and everyone at the St. Louis American circulation manager Paul Reiter in our prayers.

Barbara A. Washington, VP Mathews-Dickey Boys’& Girls’ Club

Jolting and tragic

Such a jolting and tragic loss! Words can’t adequate express the sympathy I have for all of you.

Pamela Bolden YWCA Metro St. Louis

A quick note

I just read the news about Paul … I’m so sorry. I just wanted to send a quick note to let you know that our hearts and thoughts are with you guys and

Paul’s family this morning.

Laura McCarthy Musen Steinbach Weiss

Such a bright light

Condolences to you and the entire American family on the senseless death of Paul Reiter. I did not know him at all, but had seen something brief in the news about his murder. But I feel now that I know him from the beautiful tribute to him that Rebecca Rivas has written. Tragic that such a bright light, who represented so much of what’s right in the world, has been needlessly snuffed out. And thanks to you for sharing his wonderful humanness with a wider audience that did not have the privilege to know him.

Frank Absher

Prayers from the DNC On behalf of the Democratic National Committee, let me extend our deepest condolences to the St. Louis American family on the tragic and untimely lost of Paul. We will deinitely be keeping his family and the entire St. Louis American family in our prayers.

With deepest sympathy, Derrick Plummer, DNC

An intentional lifestyle

Read the paper this morning. Incredibly moving – hope it inspires many more to live “an intentional lifestyle.”

Sara Howard, director of communications Congressman Russ Carnahan

Scenes from the Memorial Service for Paul Reiter held Saturday at Carmel of St. Joseph Carmelite Monastery. Photos by Wiley Price

Power, politics and Aerotropolis

The failure of the Aerotropolis deal was perhaps the major story in the legislative session that just closed in Jefferson City. Here is an insider’s view on how the deal – which would provide $360M in state tax credits to incentivize development aimed at making the St. Louis airport an international cargo hub – got shot down.

The bad guy, in this version of events, is a St. Louis developer/consultant close to the publisher of a local business publication who is becoming best known for creating problems so he can get paid to ix them. This operator also has been close to the Mayor’s Ofice, though on this deal his alliance with a governor seeking reelection is said to have put him at odds with his usual deal partners in the city.

There is a surprising good guy, from the EYE’s perspective – Jeff Rainford, chief of staff for Mayor Francis G. Slay. Given that the Aerotropolis deal was killed by leveraging a ight over capping other tax credit programs, including historic tax credits, Rainford worked hard with urban preservationists to foster and hold together an unlikely alliance that almost saved Aerotropolis.

Two Republican state senators – Eric Schmitt and John Lamping – also look like good guys in understanding the net beneit for the region offered by these Aerotropolis incentives, and ighting for the deal in a political climate when tax credits are under attack.

This precarious, progressive

economic development alliance was pitted against the rival urban developer/consultant, who was helping Gov. Jay Nixon work on his own unlikely alliance. The EYE was told that Nixon, a conservative Democrat who knows he will not be beat by a candidate running from the left in 2012, was trying to win over conservative iscal hawks in the Missouri Senate.

Nixon and the urban operator saw an opportunity to drive a wedge between Republicans in the House and Republicans in the Senate that would reveal an appalling lack of cohesion and leadership among Missouri Republicans at the close of the legislative session. To provoke Republican legislative gridlock and court conservative support, the EYE is told, Nixon aligned himself with Republicans wanting to bring tax credit programs under control.

Then Aerotropolis comes along, bundled in the larger economic development bill. Suddenly, real pressure was put on those who stood against tax credit reform to bring existing programs under greater control and accountability. This was when the pro-growth Republicans began to accept that they would have to bring urban preservationists aboard to pass Aerotropolis. Nixon and his consultant never counted on that. Their play rested on the hope and assumption that there never would be an alignment between the hawks who want to cut the state’s way out of its inancial crisis and the economic progressives who want to grow

our way out. At this point, the urban operative tried every trick in the book to sour the deal.

Why? Many operatives will work to defeat what they can’t control. Opening the St. Louis airport to international trade is something this player can’t control.

Why would Nixon take his advice? His critics claim Nixon’s economic development advisors have limited aptitude and mostly are interested in guaranteeing Department of Economic Development discretion, where they can create objective criteria and apply them in a discretionary way that rewards their friends and punishes their enemies. They want to pick the winners and losers and get credit for the wins. In this version of events, Nixon and a sinister urban operative teamed up with iscal conservatives in the Missouri Senate to sacriice economic development – that is, jobs – for power and politics. It certainly animated this alliance that the Aerotropolis legislation is associated with the controversial Northside Regeneration redevelopment.

The Land Assemblage Tax Credit (that is one cornerstone of Northside) was pushed through the Legislature with the essential help of Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder. This has not been forgotten. Kinder is considered to be Nixon’s most likely Republican opponent in 2012. This was bad for Aerotropolis in 2011. The connection between Aerotropolis and Northside also helps to explain the motivation of the St. Louis operative who worked overtime to shoot down this deal. This player is one of many putative experts in downtown St. Louis development who have watched a St. Charles developer march into North City with an amazingly ambitious redevelopment plan for some of the region’s most blighted areas. This helps to explain the animus of this operative (and others). There also is a very old and rancid political model in play here: one good way to get paid to ix something is to break it irst. This operative plays that game too. If he breaks it, he can control it, at least while he is being paid to ix it. In the meantime, an airport

in the center of the country sits with signiicant dormant capacity and plenty of room for growth. If tax incentives encourage market growth at the airport, landed weight would be generated. New airplanes landing at Lambert would mean the landing fees would be lowered, and lower fees would allow more connectivity for passengers. It could make St. Louis a hub again, with increased hub activity from the passenger side and the cargo side. One of many reasons St. Louis has not been as competitive in attracting and retaining businesses is lack of air service, which is tied to is its high landing fees – one of the highest rates in the country, which is a barrier to attracting air trafic. Air service is a primary engine for economic development. In a region where the dominoes have been falling in the wrong direction, Aerotropolis could begin a ripple effect in the direction of development, jobs and prosperity. This is not just about completing a cargo deal with China, but about putting St. Louis in play as an international cargo hub. But the China Hub deal

Vice President Joe Biden visits with resident Djuna Miller while Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon talks with Mayor Kyra Watson during a tour of tornado damage in Berkeley, Missouri on May 11. Tornados damaged or destroyed over 750 homes in the St. Louis area on Good Friday. The tornado also shut down Lambert-St. Louis International Airport for two days.

Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

would be a good started, given the vast scale of Chinese business activity. And incentives are needed to seal this deal, which is highly coveted – it’s not St. Louis’ deal to lose, but a valuable piece of business for which St. Louis must compete. As the dealmakers of Aerotropolis try to talk their potential Chinese deal partners off the ledge, the Aerotropolis dealbreakers celebrate a setback for the region. But the inal chapter has not been written. Nixon has the option of calling for a special legislative session and putting the Aerotropolis bill back on the table, potentially freed from the playmaking and power politics of the closing days of the session. Everyone frustrated with the governor today would be happy to celebrate with him when he signs a completed bill that provides for these incentives to develop the St. Louis airport. Aerotropolis would put St. Louis in a highstakes game where, currently, we have no seat at the table. And what is good for St. Louis, economically, is good for Missouri and its governor.

OBITUARIES

Earl Grady Austin, Sr.

This is a celebration of the life of Earl Grady Austin, Sr., who passed away on May 3, 2011. Earl was the irst of two children born to Alice Austin on June 17, 1941 in the town of Monroe, which is located in Walton County, Georgia. He graduated from Dunbar High School in Dayton, Ohio in 1959. He then went on to attend Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, where he majored in chemistry. Central State was also where he met the love of his life, Sandra Pauline Unseld, of Louisville, Kentucky. They were married on December 28, 1963 in Mil-

waukee, Wisconsin. Earl was also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, having joined in 1961. He received his 50 year membership pin in 2011. Earl spent 46 years as a chemist in the laboratory at the Schlitz Brewing Company and Anheuser-Busch. He worked at the Schlitz Brewery in Milwaukee from 1963-1976 and in Syracuse, New York from 1976-1980. Earl then moved his family to St. Louis in 1980 to work at Anheuser-Busch as the Pilot Lab Manager until his retirement in 2009. Earl’s love for his job is surpassed only by his passion for coaching sports. He spent much of his adult life coaching baseball, softball and basketball at the youth, high school and adult levels. He was a star player and the coach for the Schlitz Company basketball and softball teams that won several industrial league championships in the city of Milwaukee during the 1960s and 70s. He also coached the Schlitz Company team in Syracuse for four years. In St. Louis, Earl was the manager of the Florissant Trojans youth baseball team in the Florissant Area Athletic Association, which was one of the top youth baseball teams in the St. Louis area. One of his star players was his youngest son, Richard Austin, who has now followed in his father’s footsteps as a manager

in the professional baseball minor leagues. Whether he was coaching young children, teenagers or adults, Earl was a tremendous mentor and coach with his patient approach and laid-back demeanor. He was a quiet leader who commanded respect and inspired everyone in all facets of his life. Earl was a loyal friend, a very loving father and most of all, a devoted husband to his wife Sandra, who preceded him in death in 2009. Earl was at Sandra’s bedside day and night, taking care of her throughout her long illness. Earl Austin, Sr. is survived by: his mother, Alice Austin of Dayton, Ohio; his children, Earl Grady Austin, Jr. of St. Louis, MO, and Richard Unseld Austin of Rockford, Illinois; his brother, Richard Austin on St. Croix, US Virgin Islands; his sister, Jean Johnson of Cincinnati, Ohio; his four grandchildren, Robin Charles Thompson, Austin James Thompson, Sean Tracy Thompson and Richard Unseld Austin, Jr.; his uncle, John Bloodsaw and aunts, Lois Harrison and Ruth McGuire of Dayton, Ohio; along with many in-laws, cousins, nieces, nephews, other family members, friends and former players, all of whom Earl has brought much love and inspiration.

Norma Lee Kimble

Norma Lee Kimble, age 77, passed away Wednesday, May 11, 2011 in San Antonio,

Texas. Please visit www.earthmanresthavenfuneralhome.com for service times.

Vernell Turner May 5, 1920 - May 13, 1920

Devoted mother, grandmother, aunt, cousin and friend. Vashon High School Class of 1940. Visitation to be held Thursday, May 19, 2011 from 4-7 p.m. at Austin Layne Mortuary, 7733 Natural Bridge Road, Normandy, MO 63121 and the funeral to be held Friday, May 20, 2011 at 10 a.m. at Third Presbyterian Church, 9990 Highway 367, St. Louis, MO 63136.

Attention St. Louis American Readers

Reginald Clemons hearing set for Nov. 7

Death row inmate inally gets day in court

By Chris King Of The St. Louis American

Missouri death row inmate

Reginald Clemons will inally get his day in court – November 7, 2011 at 9 a.m. in the St. Louis City Courthouse.

This is the date for Judge Michael Manners, the Special Master appointed to review his case by the Missouri Supreme Court, to review Clemons’ case.

Most recently, the case had been rescheduled for September 19, 2011. This September date was a rescheduling from an original hearing date of May 10, 2010. That date was rescheduled when DNA testing of newly presented evidence forced a delay in the case plan laid out by Manners.

Manners had been informed on March 25, 2010 that Clemons’ attorneys and the State of Missouri had reached an agreement to submit the new

evidence to DNA testing. Joshua A. Levine, one of Clemons’ attorneys, wrote to Manners that “we are conident that further testing will only serve to conirm what is already established: no physical evidence connects [Clemons] to the crimes.” In 1993 Clemons was convicted as an accomplice in the murders of Julie Kerry and Robin Kerry. Two days after his interrogation by St. Louis police, after being sent to the hospital for treatment of injuries, Clemons iled a complaint that he had been denied the rights to silence and counsel during his interrogation. He also claimed that his confession was coerced and scripted after an hour and a half of beatings. In this allegedly coerced and scripted confession, he said he raped Robin Kerry but not Julie Kerry. He never confessed to murder, and he has never been tried for nor convicted of rape. However, the charge of rape was used as a “sentence enhancer” by prosecutor Nels C. Moss in his successful push for the death penalty. The evidence newly presented by the state in 2010 includes a rape kit taken from the corpse identiied as Julie Kerry. Robin Kerry’s body never was found. Also in the newly presented evidence: a condom, clothing that purportedly belonged to Clemons’ codefendant Marlin Gray, and what Manners describes as “a light-colored hair recovered” from Gray’s clothing. Gray was executed by the State of Missouri in 2005. Clemons’ execution was scheduled for June 17, 2009 before a federal court issued a stay of execution while it ruled on a separate procedural matter. In the meantime, the Missouri Supreme Court shockingly opened a new evidence phase by appointing a special master with subpoena powers. In his original jury trial, Clemons’ attorneys requested any evidence taken from the Kerry corpse in a pre-trial motion. His current attorneys insist the sudden unearthing of this old evidence proves Clemons deserves a new trial. As Levine wrote to Manners on March 25, 2010, “Due process demands that [Clemons] be granted a new trial to fairly evaluate all exculpatory evidence suppressed by the State, which includes not only the rape kit and lab report, but also the draft police report altered by the prosecutor in this case and other evidence uncovered during the discovery process.” At the conclusion of his case plan, Judge Manners will issue a recommendation to the Missouri Supreme Court on how to proceed with Clemons – anything from “procced with the execution” to “release him for time served” is possible.

Vernell Turner

Local science teacher recognized

Misty Williams, elementary teacher at Washington Montessori, leads students in a science activity. Williams has been identiied by MySci, a local program that equips teachers throughout the St. Louis area with free, hands-on, science curriculum, as an outstanding science educator.

Honored for outstanding use of collaborative MySci curriculum

Special to The American

The beginning of spring means the start of gardening activities for elementary students at Washington Montessori in St. Louis. Misty Williams, elementary teacher at Washington Montessori, is teaching irst-, second- and third-grade students how to maintain the school’s garden, which includes caring for the plants, creating a compost bin and studying animal life in the garden.

Williams is inspired to grow her students’ interest in gardening and science through her involvement in the MySci program, a collaborative effort of Washington University, the St. Louis Science Center, the Missouri Botanical Garden, Science Outreach and the Saint

Louis Zoo. Funded by the Monsanto Fund, MySci equips teachers throughout the St. Louis area with free, hands-on, science curriculum focused on plants, animals and the Earth.

involved in every aspect of maintaining their school’s garden and practice using vocabulary they learned during MySci lessons when participating in gardening activities.

State takes control of ESL schools

If you’ve read any of my columns, regarding the plight of East St. Louis School District 189, then you’ve probably questioned how the State of Illinois could sit idly by and stomach years of poor academic performance, inept leadership, as well as rampant nepotism and cronyism on the part of school board members.

Well, recently, the prayers of ESL parents and citizens were inally answered as the Illinois State Board of Education voted, unanimously, to assume control of ESL public schools.

For the fourth consecutive year, District 189 has landed on the state’s Academic Watch List because students have consistently failed to meet minimum academic standards. For instance, only one in 11 high school students in the district meet state standards in reading and math.

The elimination of Saunders is only a irst step, however. Hopefully, once the stateappointed liaison, John Perkins, reviews the district’s operations, nepotism in the hiring of school board member’s relatives (to the tune of $1,414,678) and cronyism, in terms of excessive consultant contracts, then even more cuts will be made.

n “She does an excellent job of helping students connect what they learn during the lessons to their everyday lives.”

“In my classroom, I’ve applied MySci lessons to subjects besides just science,” said Williams. “I can tie social studies lessons on famine and drought to our gardening activities and MySci lessons related to the life cycle of plants.”

Williams’ students are

– Victoria May, Washington University

Students are learning how recycled materials, like newspapers and discarded food, can be composted to promote plant growth, how gardening can impact their community and requirements for growing fruits and vegetables. Williams has been teach-

ing the MySci curriculum for two years and has completed MySci’s professional development courses, attended by 400 area teachers during the 20102011 school year. She was selected among hundreds of St. Louis-area teachers involved in MySci as an outstanding educator for her commitment to science education.

“MySci is such a successful program because of teachers like Ms. Williams,” said Victoria May, director of K-12 educational outreach for Washington University. “She does an excellent job of helping students connect what they learn during the lessons to their everyday lives.”

For more information about MySci, visit www.mysci. info, or contact Diane Pilla at dpilla@slsc.org.

In addition, district oficials failed to properly staff and operate the 1,100 student special education program as required, despite repeated warnings.

As a result, the ESL School Board wasted no time in throwing Superintendent Theresa Saunders under the bus by voting, unanimously, to rescind her contract, effective immediately.

During that same meeting the board also voted to enter into an agreement to relinquish district control over its inances, personnel and education decisions.

In effect, the ESL School Board is now a titular board with no real power which, given their abysmal track record, is a good thing.

Prior to being ired, Saunders was quoted as saying, “The state is coming alongside to help us.”

And, hopefully, teachers who are burned-out, eligible for retirement or entrenched in the district’s old way of doing business will be transitioned out the door, perhaps, with some combination of severance packages, etc., so that an infusion of new blood may be introduced, along with a more eficient way of educating ESL’s children.

The agreement with the State of Illinois extends through June 2014, with an annual option of renewal for up to three years.

That’s enough time to phase out the era of Lonzo Greenwood as president of a school board, whose primary focus was proven to be the “hook-up” of family friends and cronies, while sacriicing the education and welfare of the children of East St. Louis.

The gravy train has oficially been shut dowm. For the school board sycophants this is a day of mourning, but for the citizens of ESL it should be a day of celebration which is long overdue.

Email: jtingram_1960@ yahoo.com.

James Ingram

“A Royal Salute to Outstanding Women”

80 Customized Worldwide Oficial and Celebrity Recognitions to St. Louis’ top Women Leaders

The 8th Annual Salute to Women in Leadership was an unprecedented demonstration of appreciation and recognition to celebrate outstanding St. Louis area women who, not only achieve professionally, but personally give back to others in signiicant ways. The event is sponsored by the St. Louis Community Empowerment Foundation (STLCEF), a nonproit, 501(c)3 organization. The purpose of the event was to acknowledge and reinforce the deeds of professional women whose philanthropic contributions extend far beyond the call of duty to help others.

Thirteen (13) Honorees received over 32 combined recognitions from oficials within the Bi-State area, nation, and internationally; celebrity tributes; and 80 gifts from a host of businesses.

Listed below are the Honorees, their afiliations and the category in which their leadership awards were received: Nicole Adewale, ABNA Engineering, Business; Mrs. Anita Banks, Community Service; Jan Albus, Variety Club, Civic; DeBorah Ahmed, Better Family Life, Cultural; The Honorable Mattie Moore, Congresswoman Claire McCaskill’s Ofice, Community Service; Becky James-Hatter, Big Brothers Big Sisters Eastern Missouri, Civic; Vanessa Foster, Anheuser Busch, Corporate; Mavis Thompson, Esq., Legal Advocacy; Rabbi Susan Talve, Central Reform Congregation, Religious; Councilwoman

Hazel Erby, St. Louis County, Government; Vickie Newton, KMOV Channel 4, Media; Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, Government; and Dr. Lillian Parks, retired educator, Lifetime Achievement Award.

Four additional awards were presented to outstanding individuals who supported this 2011 event: Xernona Clayton, former Assistant to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ted Turner, CNN; and currently is the Founder & CEO of the Trumpet Awards Foundation, Atlanta, GA, received the national Lifetime Achievement Award. Margarita Flores, Vice President of Community Affairs at Anheuser Busch, and event Co-Sponsor, received a large welcome basket illed with St. Louis items which commemorates her return to St. Louis. David L. Steward, Founder & CEO, World Wide Technology, Inc. and event Co-Sponsor, received three solar revolving world globes on a marble pedestal; and Thelma Steward, a 2010 STLCEF Honoree, received a treasure chest of gifts and chocolates.

The St. Louis Community Empowerment Foundation is committed to self-suficiency and community empowerment through education, economic empowerment, neighborhood stabilization, senior citizen forums and tributes to community leaders who relect the mission of STLCEF.

The event will be aired on STL TV. Please check your listing for airtimes and channel.

Pictured above seated l-r: Councilwoman Hazel Erby, Jan Albus, Mrs. Anita Banks, Dr. Lillian Parks, Lifetime Achievement Award; Vanessa Foster, Vickie Newton, Rabbi Susan Talve, and Mavis Thompson.

Standing l-r: DeBorah Ahmed, Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, Margarita Flores, Michael McMillan, Xernona Clayton, David L. Steward, Thelma Steward, Mattie Moore, Becky James-Hatter, and Nicole Adewale.

Internationally renowned, Denise Thimes, accompanied by Tony Simmons on keyboard presented a musical tribute to the honorees and 300 guests in attendance. In the background are the individual award tables for each honoree.

Sponsors, are surprised when Michael McMillan, STLCEF Chairman, had special gifts presented to each: David Steward received three revolving solar globes mounted on a marble pedestal and Thelma Steward received a treasure chest of gifts and chocolates. Volunteers Richard Davis, Darius Chapman and McFarlane Duncan present gifts.

Xernona Clayton, Founder & CEO of the Trumpet Awards Foundation receives the STLCEF National Lifetime Achievement Award. Ms. Clayton is the former Assistant to the King Family and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther, King, Jr. and Vice President with Ted Turner, CNN.

National Baseball Hall of Famer Lou Brock accompanies his wife Rev. Jacqueline Brock who gave both the invocation and the benediction.

Each Honoree had comparable individual gift tables showcasing 32 oficial recognitions from regional, state, federal and international dignitaries along with 80 gifts from businesses and celebrities.

Ida Goodwin Woolfolk, Mistress of Ceremonies; Michael McMillan, License Collector; Thelma and David Steward, World Wide Technology, Inc. and Co-Sponsors; Xernona Clayton, Founder & CEO of the Trumpet Awards Foundation and recipient of the STLCEF, National Lifetime Achievement Award; and Johnny Furr, Founder & President, St. Louis Mentoring

BUSINESS

Black accountants offerfree residency

Accounting

Career Awareness Program accepting applicants through May 31

American staff

The National Association of Black Accountants has some slots available for a week-long, all-expense paid, summer residency program focused on careers in business and accounting.

The Accounting Career Awareness Program, a project of NABA’s Center for Advancement of Minority Accountants, is accepting applications through May 31.

“This program can truly be life-changing.”

– Melvin Bates,a CPA and assistant vice president at Wells Fargo Advisors

Twenty-five students will be selected based on 2.5 or better GPA, two letters of recommendation and high school transcript. Students (currently in 9th – 12th grade) from all across the Midwest and St. Louis metropolitan area are welcome to submit the required application.

In the residency, students will attend classes on accounting, busi-

Esther H.Vassar, national ombudsman and assistant administrator for regulatory enforcement fairness for the U.S.Small Business Administration, spoke last Thursday at a roundtable of local business owners and representatives of federal agencies held in the downtown St.Louis office of the SBA. Listening beside her is Patricia Brown-Dixon, regional administrator for the SBA’s Region VII,which includes Missouri.

PEOPLEON THE MOVE

ness and college preparation. Classroom topics will be enhanced through team building activities, professional office tours and field trips.

The program will be held at Harris-Stowe State University from Sunday, July 24 to Friday, July 29.

“This program can truly be life-changing,” said Melvin Bates, a CPAand assistant vice president at Wells Fargo Advisors.

“I attended a summer program like this in high school, not knowing what I wanted to do or if college was right for me. I came out focused and ready to pursue a business degree. I went on to earn a full academic college scholarship. Without that program, I would not be where I am today.”

See PROGRAM, B2

Federal troubleshooter meets with small businesses

By Rebecca S.Rivas Of The St.Louis American

Esther H. Vassar has a big title.

“We are having to fight against major firms.Their interest is to make sure that we don’t get part of the market share.”

She’s the national ombudsman and assistant administrator for regulatory enforcement fairness for the U.S. Small Business Administration, an appointed position. In short, she is the voice of small businesses nationwide. She will fight for the little guys when excessive fines, penalties or unfair regulatory enforcement by federal agencies are creating stifling nooses for their businesses.

– David W.Mason

Yet, the long title does not come with a big staff, she said on May 12 to a roundtable of local business owners and representatives of other federal agencies. About 20 people gathered at the downtown SBAoffice, 200 S. Broadway.

In her Washington, D.C. office, she has three case managers, and they reply to concerns within 48 hours. Yet in order to leverage the nation’s SBAteam from 2,400 employees to “millions,” she said she works with partners.

Urban Jobs Act targets dropouts

African-American unemployment at 16.1 percent

ByMarc H. Morial National Urban League

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) of New York has enlisted in the war on

Marc H. Morial

April

report

the urgent

for this

ment is back up to 9

ment has now

Even more

to 16.1

African-American

African

youth unemployment has now

to 41.6

the

of any group in the nation.In many urban communities, roughly one-third of minority youth are unemployed. For several years now, the National Urban League has been leading the call for targeted action to address the urban jobs crisis. Our 12-point Jobs Rebuild America plan lays out specific strategies to achieve that goal.But Washington has been

James E. McLeod

James E. McLeod will be honored by Coro Leadership Center at its 23rd annual Leadership Awards Celebration on Wednesday, June 8. McLeod is vice chancellor for students and dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Washington University. The other honorees are Ellen Harshman, dean of the John Cook School of Business at Saint Louis University, and Amy Rome, founder and principal of The Rome Group. See http://www.corostl.org/awards/.

Vanessa Foster was honored at the Salute to Women in Leadership by The St. Louis Community Empowerment Foundation. She is senior director of community affairs for Anheuser-Busch. She is responsible for developing strategy and providing leadership for A-B’s local and national charitable giving, multicultural and local community relations strategies, and the A-B Foundation. Previously she directed community relations for retail grocery firms.

BUSINESS BRIEFS

Kwame continues work on $70M airport renovation

Despite extensive damage from the EF-4 tornado that hit Lambert-St. Louis International Airport in April, Kwame Building Group is continuing work on Phase II of the $70 million interior renovation known as the Airport Experience Program.

The $50 million Phase II project, which had begun just a few weeks earlier in April, is the most intensive phase of the program, the largest interior renovation in the airport’s history. Construction will be complete in late 2012.

Kwame, a St. Louis-based minority business enterprise, played a key role as a member of the emergency response team, helping the airport return to full capacity within just 48 hours. Workers used plywood sheets, previously set aside for construction walls in Concourses Aand C, to board up nearly 50 percent of the iconic arched windows in the airport’s historic Terminal 1.

With emergency repairs finished, KWAME has resumed work on improvements to Concourse Aand Terminal 1. Concourse C is closed due to extensive damage from the tornado; work on that concourse is pending damage and insurance assessments.

KWAME is providing program management, design and construction procurement, and design and construction management services for the Airport Experience Program.

Missouri Foundation forHealth awards $2.7M in

local grants

The Missouri Foundation for Health recently awarded 28 non profit organizations in the St. Louis area with grants totaling $2.7 million.

Two-year awards for basic support were provided to the majority of organizations, which would cover existing salaries, benefits, equipment and supplies. Health services covered include counseling for persons dealing with domestic violence and substance abuse; behavioral health therapy, lead prevention; children, youth and family health services; reproductive health, HIV/AIDS; autism; and nutrition. The St. Louis Health Department received almost $150,000 to help develop a Smoke-Free St. Louis Kids initiative.

The local grants were part of a $7 million funding round by the MFH board.

SBAappoints Council on Underserved Communities members

Fifteen individuals from across the country have been appointed to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Council on Underserved Communities, which is chaired by Catherine Hughes, founder and chairperson of Radio One and TVOne. The members are Hassell McClellan, Carroll School of Management; Dasil “Das” Elius Velez, New York State Empire State Development Corporation; B. Doyle Mitchell Jr., Industrial Bank; Eric Collins, Mobile Posse; Derek Hyra, Virginia Tech; Ron Busby Sr., U.S.Black Chamber, Inc.; Randy Blass, Florida State Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities Program; Ned Fawaz, Energy International Corporation; Eddie Reyes, University of North Texas; Roni Wisdom, San Luis Valley Development Group.; Hilda Kennedy, AmPac Tri State CDC; Rod Hsiao, BUILD; Hugh Short, Alaska Growth Capital; Marilyn Strickland, mayor, Tacoma, Washington.

Its first meeting will be held in July, in Washington, D.C.Before the first meeting, members of the CUC will hold listening sessions in their regions to hear from small business owners and members of the community about what they need from the SBA.

Vanessa Foster

Photo by Wiley Price

What is the best form of property ownership forme?

In planning your estate, it is customary to consider wills and trusts (as well as intestacy) as a means of property distribution. As a matter of fact, the manner in which you hold title to your assets may supersede provisions contained in other transfer documents. Likewise, significant tax benefits can be gained (or lost) depending on the characterization of your property.

Let’s take a look at the general classifications of ownership.

Sole Ownership

Sole ownership occurs when one owns a complete interest in property. Ownership is passed by the typical transfer documents, or by the laws of intestate succession. The complete interest is included in the estate of the decedent. Because of this, the benefici-

MORIAL

Continued from B1 largely silent, until now.

Upon introducing the legislation, Senator Gillibrand said,

ary receives a full step-up in basis. This, in essence, brings up the original purchase price to the fair market value, thereby eliminating a capital gain.

Joint Tenancy Joint tenancy exists when two or more persons share equal, undivided interests in property. Joint tenancy is not limited to spouses. Anyone can share joint interests, but there are tax benefits when this arrangement is shared only between husband and wife (qualified joint tenancy). Ajoint property interest cannot be passed through traditional documents, such as a trust or a will. Ownership of a joint interest passes by “operation of law” to the surviving joint owner(s). Further, property held in joint tenancy will not be subject to probate. Under qualified joint tenan-

“Supporting education and training for our youth is a smart investment that will pay dividends over the long term.”

We agree.We know that youth employment not only helps put food on the table of struggling families, a jobcan

By Charles Ross PERSONAL FINANCE

cy, half of the property is included in the first decedent’s estate. Because of this, the surviving spouse obtains a stepped-up basis only on the first decedent’s half of the property.

If any nonspouses participate in joint ownership, the entire value of the property is includable in the decedent's estate, reduced to the extent that the estate can prove that the surviving tenant(s) contributed to the cost of the property.

Charles Ross

Another form of joint ownership — tenancy by the entirety — is similar to joint

literally turn a young person’s life around and provide the skills, work ethic and experience necessary to grow into productive adulthood.

The Urban Jobs Act would create an Urban Jobs Program and allocate $23 million in

tenancy, but it can only be created between husband and wife. Unlike joint tenancy, an interest cannot be transferred without the consent of the spouse. Tenancy by entirety is only recognized in certain states.

Tenancy in Common Tenancy in common provides an undivided interest in property between two or more people. Unlike other forms of joint ownership, however, these interests can be owned in different percentages. Atenant in common can utilize the traditional transfer

grants to national non-profit organizations to provide a comprehensive set of services designed to prepare youth, ages 18-24, for the job market. These services include job placement, mentoring, internships and on-the-job training

documents, but interest cannot be passed by operation of law.

Community Property Under community property statutes, all property earned or acquired by either spouse is owned in equal shares by each spouse. The essential principle of community property is that the earnings of either husband or wife and the revenue from their property belong not to the producer but to the community of the husband and wife.

For estate conservation purposes, there are no restrictions on how each spouse can give away his or her half of the community property. There is no law requiring one person to leave his or her half to the surviving spouse, although, of course, many do.

Currently, nine states have community property laws: Arizona, California, Idaho,

as well as GED preparation, reading and math remediation, educational enrichment and post-secondary education.

Support services include child care, health and nutrition referral and transportation and housing assistance.

“Now that I have my second chance, I’m taking it to the max, taking advantage of it to the fullest,” said Ida DeLeon, 21-year-old participant in the Urban League of Rochester’s Job Training Program.

Louisiana, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. The amount includable in the estate of a decedent is based on his or her percentage of ownership. The beneficiary of the property interest receives a stepped-up basis on that portion of the property. It is important to remember that the beneficiary can be chosen by the decedent. This is in contrast to joint tenancy, under which the surviving joint tenant(s) automatically inherit the interest of the decedent.

Charles Ross is host of the syndicated radio program

“Your Personal Finance.”

Contact him at P.O. Box 870928; Stone Mountain, Georgia 30087; or email to charles@ charlesross.com.

to build more

urging citizens to follow the link below to sign a letter urging your Representative to join the current co-sponsors of

“Supporting education and training for our youth is a smart investment that will pay dividends over the long term.”

– Senator Gillibrand

The Urban Jobs Act will provide desperately needed resources to give young people who need it an all-important second chance.It will reduce the disproportionate incarceration of minority youth and prepare eligible young adults for entry into the world of work.

While the Senate bill has just been introduced, we need

PROGRAM

Continued from B1

Bates said the program is a mix of study, networking and other activities.

“The program will be a lot of work, but also a lot of fun,” he said. “We have some great activities planned. Students will get to meet professionals from a variety of industries such as sports, not for profit, banking, public accounting, defense and education. They will also get to network with current minority college students to get the real deal on college life.”

The Accounting Career Awareness Program began in

who include

Empower yourself, empower your community, and join us in the “War on Unemployment”!

Marc H. Morial is president and CEO of the National Urban League.

1980 and was created to provide minority high school students with early exposure to career opportunities within the business and accounting professions where they are underrepresented. It is a program of the St. Louis chapter of NABAwas established in 1972 to promote and develop the skills of its professional members, utilize their wide-ranging business skills to fulfill civic responsibilities, and to encourage and assist minority students in the accounting profession.

For more information, call 860-930-4873, email melvin.bates@wellsfargoadvisors.com or visit www.nabastl.org/ACAP.

momentum in the House. We are

H.R. 683

Edolphus Towns (NY), Robert Brady (PA), Corrine Brown (FL), Steve Cohen (TN), John Conyers, Jr. (MI), Alcee Hastings (FL), Jesse Jackson Jr. (IL), Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX), Gregory Meeks (NY), Donald Payne (NJ), Charles Rangel (NY), Cedric Richmond (LA), Albio Sires (NJ) and Betty Sutton (OH).

“I can cross riding a bull off my bucket list.”

— Cincinnati Bengals

receiver Chad Ochocinco, after his ill-fated attempt at bull riding last weekend

MRH seeks third straight state title

TRACK & FIELD NOTEBOOK

With Earl Austin Jr.

the 100 last year. Fisher will be one of the favorites in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs. She was a Class 3 state champion in the 3,200 last season.

Hopkins, player hater

INSIDE SPORTS

in the

NBA CHANGES GUARD

Kobe, Duncan out; Rose and LeBron in

We are experiencing a changing of the guard in the National Basketball Association playoffs right before our eyes. At least for this season. In recent years, we have grown accustomed to seeing the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics play for world title. How quickly times have changed. We are now in the Final Four of the playoffs, and those three veteran stand-bys have been bounced out of the playoffs.

Instead of watching the Kobe Bryants, Tim Duncans and Kevin Garnetts on television, we are seeing the next generation of stars such as LeBron James Derrick Rose Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook taking center stage. The 25-andunder crew is making their presence felt in a big way. The Dallas Mavericks have been left to hold it down for the old vets.

The difference between the Mavs and the Lakers, Spurs and Celtics is that their future Hall of Famers Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd are still seeking their first NBAtitle and are hungry for some championship bling.

The four teams remaining all have something to offer. Miami has the star power of the “Big Three in LeBron, D-Wade and Chris Bosh.” Chicago has great depth, athleticism and the unstoppable Derrick Rose. Dallas has lights-out shooters and an improved defense while Oklahoma City has its dynamic duo of Durant, Westbrook and a great college-like atmosphere at its home games. It should be very interesting to see how all of this unfolds in the next couple of weeks.

The 25-andunder crew is making their presence felt in a big way.The Dallas Mavericks have been left to hold it down for the old vets.

Metro East powers East St.Louis and Edwardsville will highlight the area teams that will compete in the girls Class 3A state meet.

• On the Illinois side, the IHSAGirls State Championships will be held in Charleston, Ill. on the campus of Eastern Illinois University. Metro East powers East St. Louis and Edwardsville will highlight the area teams that will compete in the Class 3A state meet. East St. Louis fin-

Plain and simple

I must apologize if I was not paying attention, but since when did a twobit felon like Bernard Hopkins become the selfappointed gatekeeper to blackness? While preparing for an upcoming fight, this half-wit piece of sheer ignorance decided to take NFLquarterback Donovan McNabb to task. Hopkins took cheep shots at McNabb for not being “black enough” during his days with the Philadelphia Eagles. He basically put the “House Negro” and “Uncle Tom” label on Donovan in one spectacular verbal display of buffoonery and classlessness. Plain and simple, Bernard Hopkins is, well, plain and simple. Poor Donovan had the audacity to be raised by two caring parents, get a college degree and carry himself with great class and

Earl Austin Jr.

With Earl Austin Jr.

Derrick Rose and the Bulls will battle LeBron James and the Heat for the right to play

NBA Championship.

Photo by Wiley Price

Riverview's JaVante' Phipps won the Class 4,District 3 boys high jump with a jump of 6'4" Monday at McCluer.

By Mike Claiborne

Bernard Hopkins, playerhater

Bernard Hopkins, in Philadelphia for his May 21 fight against Jean Pascal, invited reporters to watch him train Tuesday and decided to take additional verbal jabs at Donovan McNabb and even implied that the Washington Redskins quarterback wasn’t black enough.

“Forget this,” Hopkins said, according to the Philadelphia Daily News, and pointed to his own skin. “He’s got a suntan. That’s all.”

According to Hopkins, McNabb had a privileged upbringing in Chicago and isn’t as tough as himself, current Eagles quarterback Michael Vick or Cincinnati Bengals receiver Terrell Owens, who famously had a falling out with McNabb before being released by Philadelphia in 2006. Hopkins said Tuesday that McNabb and Owens essentially didn’t speak the same language.

McNabb because his parents made the sacrifice of giving their child an opportunity for a better life than theirs?So now there is something wrong with the fact that McNabb comes for a two-parent family who did the best they could to give him guidance in making good decisions so he would not end up a nine-time felon like Hopkins, who was sentenced to more than 18 years in prison for a variety of punk moves?

“T.O. got [into] the boardroom and saw the way they talked to McNabb. Coming from where he [came from] – that’s strange to some white people, when a black man speaks,” Hopkins said, according to the Daily News. He said Owens “[wasn’t] used to this language. [He’s] used to speaking up.’“

I guess Muhammad Ali would not have passed the muster with Bernard Hopkins as far as being black.

While Hopkins feels that apparently only convicted felons count these days, if not for the fact that he is a Hall of Fame fighter who made a career of seldom getting hit in the head, one can only wonder what is going on in his.Mr. Hopkins is what’s wrong with African-American athletes who want to cry foul about their own upbringing.In short he is a player hater.He is also a fool.

Hopkins is hating on

It kind of reminds of the Jalen Rose – Grant Hill flap after the Fab Five Documentary, where Rose expressed his resentment for black players who went to Duke because many of them had come from two-parent middle-class families.Rose went on to make it clear that is how he felt as a teenager and has since changed his view on the matter, whereas Grant Hill felt compelled to set the record straight in the well known letter published in the New York Times Since then both Hill and Rose have agreed to work together on furthering an academy Rose has set up in Chicago for underprivileged kids in Chicago.Good did come from their flap.I doubt if the same can be said for McNabb and Hopkins. There are a number of single parents who bust their butts everyday to give their kids the best of what they have and teach them to do the right thing and guess what?They do not go to prison to show how tough they are.They set the right example, and yet they do not question a person’s “blackness.”What gets me is the fact Hopkins is apparently upset because McNabb took his football skills, used them to get an education as well as degree, and yes Bernard, he

can even put two sentences together that we can all understand.Is it McNabb’s fault that T.O. didn’t pay attention when he got a chance to get an education?

Bernard Hopkins doesn’t get it and never will.You see, when you lack social skills it may be hard to comprehend. Hopkins feels that it makes him more of a black man when he questions another because he used to play quarterback for his favorite team.That’s real smart.Because McNabb grew up in a two-parent middle-

class neighborhood, he is not black or tough enough. Because McNabb has not spent time in prison, it doesn’t make him hard.Funny thing here is that if Hopkins had done some homework he would have learned that McNabb had more in common with someone in Hopkins’field of boxing than he could imagine. Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. came from a two-parent family in Louisville, Kentucky.His parents, Cassius Sr. and Odessa, raised two sons in Cassius and Rudolph who

never spent a day in jail as a felon and he too had a “sun tan.”Cassius Sr. was a painter while Odessa was a house domestic – credible, honest living to say the least. Clay eventually changed his name to one that may be more familiar to you. I guess Muhammad Ali would not have passed the muster with Bernard Hopkins as far as being black.

Bernard Hopkins has put his foot in his mouth on more than one occasion when it comes to being uninformed.

Bernard Hopkins is what’s wrong with AfricanAmerican athletes who want to cry foul about their own upbringing. In short he is a player hater. He is also a fool.

At 46, he is fighting again and because his fights have been lackluster at best recently, I guess this is the way he sells fights; he has to stoop to such a classless level to keep his name out there.If Hopkins can hate on McNabb because he thinks he is not “black” enough, I can certainly take a pass on Hopkins for just not being smart enough to do anything but box.

Any opinions, observations, or other mindless gibberish from him shall go ignored, as should his next fight.

Mike Claiborne

Eagles are champs

The St.Louis Eagles Basketball Club 16U boys team won the championship at the recent Howard Pulley Invitational in Minneapolis, MN.The Eagles defeated Kingdom Hoops (IA) in the championship game.The Eagles also won the NY2LA Swish n Dish Tournament in Milwaukee.They are currently 22-2 this season.The team members are: (front row) Kevin Baker (Imagine Prep),Tyrin Williams (Riverview Gardens),Jimmy Barton (DeSmet), Anthony Virdure (Lutheran North), Cary Davis Jr.(asst.coach);(middle row) Shacquille Edwards (McCluer), Deshawn Munson (East St.Louis), Tyler Jordan (Eureka),Tre Harris (Edwardsville);(back row) Rick Maclin (asst.coach),Laroyce Eason (Fort Zumwalt East),Richard Reynolds (McCluer),Hunter Reine (Roxana),Nolan Berry (DeSmet). Not pictured,Rich Gray (head coach).

TRACK

Continued from B3

ished fourth in the team standings last year while Edwardsville finished second. Both teams are led by outstanding throwers Ashley Gaston of East Side and Emmonnie Henderson of Edwardsville. They are two of the top performers in the state in the shot put and discus and they have been battling all season. At last week’s Sectional at O’Fallon, Gaston defeated Henderson in the shot put while Henderson returned the favor in the discus.

East Side also features sprinter Brandy Griffin, who was a sectional champion in the 100 and 200. Junior Joymesia Howard was also a double sectional-champion in the high jump and 100-meter

Continued from B3

throughout his entire career, even when he’s taken several unwarranted abuse on and off the field. In the feeble little brain of Mr. Hopkins, that equates to longing to be white. After all, Bernard grew up robbing people and committing felonies and other acts of mayhem before spending some time in jail, where he learned to box. Naturally, he thinks he is the essence of a true black man. Make that a true clown.

I kind of thought we got by this controversy after the Jalen Rose-Grant Hill noise after the showing of the “Fab Five” documentary on ESPN. Or when that former Harvard Law professor took an oath to become the 44th President of the United States in 2009 (I guess Barack Obama wants to be white too, huh Bernard). But no. I was wrong. We still have some serious issues. When young AfricanAmericans are vilified by their own for striving to be the best that they can be in life, there is something very wrong. And it is truly a shame.

Larry shows love

Agood time was had by all at last Saturday’s Larry Hughes High School Sports Banquet, which was sponsored by the St. Louis Gateway Classic Sports Foundation. I

high hurdles. Markita Rush was a sectional champion in the 300-meter low hurdles. The Flyerettes are also taking their 4x100 and 4x200-meter relay teams to Charleston.

Edwardsville also has top field event performers Lauren White in the long jump, Hannah Faulkner in the pole vault and a very talented 4x400 relay team that won a sectional title in 3 minutes 55.6 seconds.

One of the top individual athletes in Charleston this weekend will be senior Jena Hemann of Breese Central. Hemann will be looking to win four individual events for the second year in sucession. Hemann will be competing in the long jump, high jump, triple jump and 100-meter dash. She won state titles in all four events last year. At last Saturday’s Class 1 sectional at Wood River, Hemann cleared the magical 6-foot barrier in

had the honor of being the master of ceremonies for this special event, which honored about 50 of the top high school athletes in the St. Louis metro area.

The keynote speaker was Frank Cusumano of KSDKTV. Also giving special remarks were Maurice Drummond of KTVI-Fox 2 and Hughes, the former CBC, Saint Louis U star who played in the National Basketball Association for 12 seasons.

Having Hughes present at the event was a special treat for

the high jump, becoming only the second girl in the STLarea to accomplish the feat. The first was former Belleville East star Reflaye Williams in 1989.

Sectional competition for Illinois boys will be held this week, beginning with today’s Class 3Asectional in Moline. All of the top metro east teams, including East St. Louis, Edwardsville, Belleville East, Belleville West and O’Fallon will be on hand. The Class 2Asectional meet will be held at Triad. That meet features perennial power Cahokia and its stable of athletes. The top qualifiers will head to Charleston, Ill. on May 28-29 for the IHSAState Championships.

• The Missouri Class 3 and 4 Sectional meets will be held on Saturday. Class 3 sectional meets involving area teams will be held at Lutheran South

the kids. Some of the athletes honored included basketball standouts B.J. Young (McCluer North), Cameron Biedscheid (Cardinal Ritter), Dantiel Daniels (Holt), Nolan Berry (DeSmet), football standouts A.J. Chappelle (Hazelwood Central), Grant Wallace (John Burroughs) and girls standouts Jena Hemann (Breese Central/volleyball), Janna and Jasmine Swopshire (Fort Zumwalt West/basketball) and JenniferRocha (St. Dominic/basketball).

and Mexico. The Class 4 sectionals will be at Lafayette and Troy.

*Now, for a few district meet highlights. McCluer High’s girls accomplished a rarity at the Class 4, District 3 meet at McCluer. The Comets qualified all four of their high jumpers into this weekend’s sectional round. Sherise Williams won the event. She was followed by Alauna Ray, Catrina Harris and Shervonna Tucker. Soldan High basketball standout Paul McRoberts is getting it done on the track as well. McRoberts won the high jump, long jump and triple jump at the Class 3, District 2 meet at Affton. Ladue’s Montenae Roye won the 200 and 400 at the Class 5, District 2 meet with winning times of 24.86 in the 200 and 54.86 in the 400.

Lockette on lock McCluer North girls softball standout Breanna Lockette has signed a letter of intent to play at Saint Louis University. Lockette was one of the top players in the area. Lockette hit .649 with seven home runs and 49 runs batted in as she led the Stars to a 21-3 record and a conference and district championship. (You can follow Earl Austin Jr’s on his basketball website, www.earlaustinjr.com or on Facebook and at twitter.com/earlaustinjr.)

Financial Focus

By Roger Macon, AAMS, financial advisor

Before investing in bonds,you should understand the risks involved.

3.33% yield is equivalent to a taxable bond with a 5.12% yield. (This example is for illustration purposes only.) Keep in mind that, before investing in bonds, you should understand the risks involved, including interest rate risk, credit risk and market risk. Bond investments are subject to interest rate risk such that when interest rates rise, the prices of bonds can decrease, and you can lose principal value if the investment is sold prior to maturity. So it’s best to discuss municipal bonds with your financial and tax advisors. By adding quality municipal bonds to your portfolio, you can show faith in your municipality, your investment dollars can help support worthwhile projects in your area, and you receive a steady source of tax-exempt income.

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor. Forfurtherinformation contact RogerMacon at (314) 481-3962 or1-800EDJONES

Continued from B1

“We work with agencies, because if agencies dislike our office we can’t be of service to you as businesses,” Vassar said.

Representatives from the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of Labor and General Services Administration sat ready to support Vassar when she opened the room up for questions.

“We are here to be your voice, so that means we have to listen,” she said. “I want to make you the stars of the show.”

David W. Mason, president and CEO of David Mason & Associates, was the first to share his story and present his situation.

“I filled out the form and

Cynthia Pope (case manager in Vassar’s office) responded in 48 hours,” Mason said. “But with my issue – we are not quite there yet.”

Mason said the size standard for businesses in the NAICS Sector 54, which includes professional scientific and technical services, has not been revisited for 25 years. These standards determine eligibility for federal small-business assistance programs. For most businesses, the government measures receipts and number of employees.

For his business, the standard was “excessively low” at $4.5 million.

After reaching out to Vassar’s office, he received word in March that the government proposes to increase the size standard in his standard from $4.5 million to $19 million.

Yet the companies that gross $2 billion annually are

lobbying against it.

“My hope is that you continue the fight for us,” he said.

“We are having to fight against major firms. Their interest is to make sure that we don’t get part of the market share.”

His son, Taylor Mason, director of business development, added that the research that SBAprovided was part of their fight’s success.

Vassar turned and tipped her hat to the person she partnered with to make that happen – Becky Greenwald, the regional advocate for the Office of Advocacy in Region VII, which includes Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas.

“The process does work,” Mason said. “We need to spread the word that there is a means for pushing the ball up the court a little further.”

Vassar said, “See why it’s good to have a team? I can’t emphasize that enough.”

James Webb, chairman of the St. Louis Minority Business Council, said many small businesses have been asked to do international trade. Yet they don’t have the resources to do their own market research. Webb asked if SBAor another agency could provide information about what products small business should try to export to other countries.

Dennis Milton, SBAdistrict director, said that in the case of one business, the Department of Commerce was able to meet with the owner to discuss whether their products would be marketable. SBAhelped to coordinate the visit.

“With the Department of Commerce, we leverage their international aspect,” Milton said. “It’s about building bridges and sharing resources. We look for people for the questions we don’t have the answers to.” Regulatory burdens are much greater for small firms than they are for those with 500 employees or more, according a brochure from Vassar’s office. Small firms with fewer than 20 employees spend $7,647 annually per employee, 45 percent more than larger firms, to comply with federal regulations, according to SBA. Small firms also spend 67 percent more per employee on tax compliance.

To report excessive or unfair regulatory enforcement, complete the federal agency comment form found online at www.sba.gov/ombudsman. Or call 1-888-734-3247. For compliance assistance, visit online www.business.gov.

Black DJs of ‘Fame’

St.

By Rebecca S. Rivas

Of The St. Louis American

Without the black radio disc jockeys in the 1950s to the 1970s, many R&B and gospel records would not have hit the airwaves. National organizations and acclaimed musicians would not be where they are today without those DJs who spun without earning a working wage.

On June 8, three of these radio personalities – Doug Eason, Gentleman Jim Gates and Columbus Gregory – will be inducted into the St. Louis Media Halls of Fame, along with media members in newspaper and television. The induction ceremony for the 2011 honorees is set for 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Gio’s Ristorante & Bar, 7th and Market in downtown St. Louis. The event is open to the public, with cash bar.

All three disc jockeys know each other well. With only a few stations for African Americans to work at, they

Media

stuck together in the good times and the bad.

“We were one little band working for separate stations,” said Bernie Hayes, a longtime radio personality, St. Louis American columnist and author of Death of Black Radio. “Blacks that were on the air were a family, even though we had competing time slots.”

Doug Eason

Within this community, Doug Eason, “The Leprechaun,” was known as an approachable person who would make things happen. After working as a broadcast specialist for the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service, Eason made his mark in commercial radio in a career that spanned more than 40 years. Though he left for stints to go to California and Alabama, the majority of those years were spent in St. Louis radio. And listeners looked forward to hearing the gentle-voiced

Celebrating the many shades of beauty

St. Clair Square Macy’s ‘colorful’ cosmetics charitable event

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

From French Vanilla to Dutch Chocolate, the many flavors that represent the spectrum of hues among women of color are indeed a beautiful thing.

But the reality is that with those complexions, can come some serious complexity with respect to the search for cosmetic products.

Actually, every once in a while it can be more than a notion!

Plenty of ladies can attest to the being the lone person of color at an office outing makeup party– or even at the cosmetics counter – and been met with a blank stare of horror as the host/professional beauty consultant is charged with the task of selecting a starting point for a cosmetic package that hides imperfections, highlights and accentuates.

On Saturday morning (May 21), the Macy’s of St. Clair Square Mall will be hosting an event that will use one of the biggest names in the beauty business to guide women of color to be their most stunning selves – and for a worthy cause.

Through “The Color of Beauty” Macy’s will honor women of color with an exceptional fashion and cosmetic event.

disc jockey with a strong presence in his community.

As vice president and general manager of KATZ and WESL, he opened doors for many aspiring radio personalities, Hayes said. His degree from SIU–Carbondale opened doors for him later in his life. While teaching full-time and mentoring high school students, Eason also hosted a daily show on WGNU.

Gentlemen Jim Gates

The career of Gentleman Jim Gates began at KATZ in 1968. After three years, he moved to KWK, followed by WESL, where he was co-owner of the station and served as general manager. In 1986 he returned to KATZ as general manager. Known as “The Brown-Eyed Scorpio,” Gates earned more than 40 Gold Records from the music industry. He also worked at KXOK in 1993 and then KMJM where his show was

The NAACP presented Jim Gates with its Legend Award in 2008.

Columbus Gregory

What began as a part-time job in 1959 turned into a lifetime career for Columbus Gregory. He began working as a remote engineer at KATZ while attending Hubbard Business School; his duties expanded to include work in the station’s promotions and market-

ing departments. Four years later he was hired as an announcer at KXLW, where he stayed for 19 years. Gregory was always an authority on gospel music. Soft-spoken, listeners knew him for offering great advice. Shortly after he moved to WGNUFM, the station was sold to a national chain, and Gregory moved to KIRL in 1979. That station was sold in 2005, and Gregory was soon working for KXEN/WGNU as an announcer and senior account executive. He appeared as the announcer in the movie “Say Amen Somebody” and was named one of America’s Top 25 Disc Jockeys by Dollars and Sense magazine in 1986.

been engaging youth ages 13-24, with a culture they understand, hip-hop. They provide youth with free studio time, airplay and access to the hip-hop

By Jihad Hassan Muhammad

For The St. Louis American

Youth from different schools and neighborhoods throughout St. Louis take the oath on non-violence and responsibility with James W. Muhammad of Dynasty Hip-Hop Inc. Mentoring Program.

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

May 21, 9 p.m. Bilal with special guest DJ Nune and hosted by Coco Soul, Lola. For more information, visit www.welovelola.com or call (314) 621-7277.

Fri., May 27, 8 p.m., And Beyond Entertainment presents Howard Hewett with special guests Monya Mental and LamarHarris, Lights On Broadway, 8350 N. Broadway. For more information, call (314) 534-1111 or visit www.metrotix.com.

Jun. 12, 6 p.m., Hot 104.1 presents SuperJam 4, Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre. For more information, visit www. hot1041stl.com.

Fri., Jun. 17, 8 p.m., R. Kelly with special guests Keyshia Cole and Marsha Ambrosius, The Chaifetz Arena. For more information, call (314) 5341111.

Sat., Jun. 18, 8 p.m., Earth, Wind and Fire, The Fox Theatre. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com or call (314) 534-1111.

Sun., July 17, 7p.m. (doors open 6p.m.) Lexus Len Production Presents THE BACKWITH AVENGENCE TOUR featuring George Clinton & Parliament/ Funkadelic, The Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry Rd. Call The (314) 869-9090or Metrotix (314)534-1111 (metortix.com).

July 28, Sade with special guest John Legend, Scottrade Center. Tickets on sale April 16. For more information visit www.ticketmaster.com

local gigs

St. Louis’own StarCity recording artist Fred Walker performs his (one man)SAXY JAZZ music show at the all new SHRIMPSHACK GRILL , Every Friday (happy hour) 3pm – 7pm, and Saturday (brunch) 10am – 2pm. 8624 Natural Bridge Rd (at Hanley) 314-426-3333.

Funkin Right, Every 2nd

Saturday, Nappy DJ Needles invites you downtown for a monthly dose of good vibes delivered in the form of raw soul, afro beat, house, hip hop and deep funk. Lola, 500 N. 14th St.

Karaoke with Ric Louis, THURSDAYS, 8pm at St. Louis’Happy Hour Bar & Grill, 12948 New Halls Ferry at Parker Road (Next to Save-A-Lot Supermarket). Wednesday s, 9pm at Ace`s Lounge, in the Comfort Inn Airport Hotel, 9600 Natural Bridge Rd. at Brown Rd. (Across from Church’s Chicken). Come and enjoy Drink Specials, Food Specials, Super Music Videos, Free Prizes and Great Fun !! (314) 608-2424.

Pieces of the Family featuring Marvin (Hit Man) Rice, Fridays 8 p.m., Klub Klymaxx (inside The Ambassador), 9800

CALENDAR

Halls Ferry Rd. Call (314)8699090.

Sensational Sundays, 6:30 p.m. (6 p.m. doors) Jazz @ Eventide, featuring Black and White Trio. Sip N Savor, 286 DeBaliviere, 1/2 block north of the Forest park Metro link. For more information, call (314)361-2116.

Steppin & Boppin, 6 p.m. Wednesdays, Legacy Café, 5249 Delmar.Lessons available.

special events

Through May 20, 5 p.m., Applications being accepted forHarris-Stowe State University 2011 Academy for Science and Mathematics (taking place Jun. 26 – Jul. 30). The academy prepares incoming Harris-Stowe State University freshmen for academic success in there first year college level science and mathematics courses. Applications are available at www.hssu.edu/ms. For more information, call (314) 3405955.

Through May 20, Grand CenterInc. is accepting applications for individual dancers, dance troupes and performance artists for the fifth annual Dancing in the Street Festival, held Sept. 24 on the streets of Grand Center. Applications, including a DVD must be submitted by May 20; participants will be notified of their acceptance by June 24. To submit a performance application, please contact Rachel Kell at 314-289-1517 or rachel@grandcenter.org Submission forms may also be obtained at www.grandcenter.org. All applications will be reviewed by a selection panel.

Fri., May 20, 9 p.m., SLIM Exclusive All White Birthday Celebration – Part 1hosted by Meagan Good, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Mashonda & Tierra Mari, EXO, 3146 Locust.

Sat., May 21, 11 a.m., Omicron Theta Omega Chapterof Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., presents Pink Pizzazz: An All White Affair featuring the Tim Cunningham Duet, Norwood Hills Country Club, One Norwood Hills Country Club Drive. For more information,

call (314) 283-8213.

Sat., May 21, 12:30 p.m., The St. Louis Chapterof Women Entrepreneurs of America (WEA) is teaming up with Lia Sophia to host its Blingo fundraise,Weber branch of the St. Louis County Library. Enjoy a game of Blingo where prizes include jewelry from the Lis Sophia collection. Open to the public. To purchase tickets, visit www.weastlouisblingo. eventbrite.com. For more information, call (314) 2831764.

Sat., May 21, 8 p.m., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Gamma Omega Chapter3rd Annual Oldies But Goodies Dance, The Omega Center, 3900 Goodfellow blvd., For more information, call (314) 973-9801.

Sun., May 22, 3 p.m., The SONGS OFAFRICA ENSEMBLE, an eclectic multicultural ensemble including singers, drummers, string trio and bass, will hold its Season Finale Concert, Trinity Presbyterian Church 6800 Washington Avenue in University City. Additional information about the Songs of Africa Ensemble can be found at the website of its parent organization, African Musical Arts Inc. http://www.africarts.org

May 24, 6:30 p.m., Boys Hope Girls Hope will hold theirannual Hope Couture “By Night” at the Contemporary Art Museum May. Proceeds from this evening of fashion and fun will go to support Boys Hope Girls Hope. BHGH helps academically capable and motivated children-in-need to meet their full potential and become men and women for others by providing value-centered, familylike homes, opportunities and education through college. For more information, call (314)692-7477 or visit www.boyshopegirlshopestl.org

Thurs., May 26, 10 a.m., Community Renewal Development Inc. presents 5th Ward 7th Annual Job Fair. Bring yourresume! The Rhema Church, 2233 Cass Ave. For more information call (314) 289-9900.

May 27 – May 30, The Rib America Festival presented by U.S. Cellularand featuring the Motown Revue, Soldier’s Memorial Plaza.

Sat., May 28, 12 noon, The 3rd Annual Scholarship Fundraiser, Morehouse Men of Style: AFashion Show Luncheon with special guest Dr. Robert M. Franklin, Jr., president of Morehouse College. Hilton St. Louis Frontenac, 1335 S. Lindbergh. For more information, call (314) 265-8556 or email: maryharperthomas@gmail. com.

May 29, 3 p.m., (doors open

at 2:30 p.m.) AAAFirst Impression Inc. presents a scholarship concert and dinner featuring Phase 2,Voice of Shawn Brown and Da Boyz All Faith Banquet Hall, 4301 State Street (Behind Greater St.Mark Church), East St. Louis, IL. Call (618) 3942540.

May 29, Kut-Nup Productions presents “Sync orSwim” An Ol’School Blast!!!, The Cotton Club, 8132 Scott Ave. For more information, call 314-3677877.

Sun., May 29, 6 p.m., 13 Black Katz presents Katz on a Hot Tin Roof, Grand Renaissance Hotel, 20th Floor. For more information, visit www.13blackkatz.com

Sat., Jun. 4, London’s Legend Ball #5 “Solid Gold,” Blackmon’s Plaza. For more information, call (618) 7978752.

Sat., Jun. 4, 12 noon, Sumner High School Alumni Association presents the 4th Annual Scholarship & Award Luncheon, Debonaire Banquet Center & Catering, 3515 N. Lindbergh Blvd. call (314) 385-9843.

Jun. 6 – Aug. 12, Best Dance & Talent CenterDance & Activity Camp, (7 a.m. – 6 p.m. Mon.- Fri.) Best Dance and Talent Center, 105 Northwest Plaza. For more information, call (314) 739BEST(2378).

Sat., Jun. 25, 12 noon, Comedy, Wine, Beer& Blues Day Tour, Must be at least 25 or older to attend. Call 314219-4188 for info or register online at www.dayatthewinery.eventbrite.com.

comedy

May 19 – May 22, Bill Bellamy, Funnybone at Westport Plaza. For more information, visit www.stlouisfunnybone.com .stlouisfunnybone.com or call 314-4696692.

Jun. 2 – Jun. 5, St. Louis Funnybone presents Loni Love, Funnybone at Westport Plaza. For more information, visit www.stlouisfunnybone.com

Wed., Jun. 8, 7 p.m., The St. Louis County Library Foundation and Pudd?nHead Books are pleased to present renowned author Francine Prose for a discussion and signing of her new novel My New American Life, St. Louis County Library Headquarters, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd. For more information, contact St. Louis County Library by phone 314-994-3300 or visit www.slcl.org.

Bill Bellamy at the Westport Funnybone.For more information,see COMEDY.

May 19- May 29, Unity Theatre Ensemble presents Motown Revue, The Ivory Theatre, 7622 Michigan Ave. Call (314) 389-5194 or visit www.theivorytheatre.com.

May 20 – June 5, Gitana Productions presents The new original play Faultlines, written by Lee Patton Chiles, the play examines issues of domestic violence and abuse of women, particularly those in the South Asian immigrant community. Cardinal Rigali Center, 20 Archbishop May Drive at Laclede Station Road. Tickets may be reserved at www.gitana-inc.org or by contacting Gitana at gitanaproductionsinc@gmail.com or 314721-6556.

Through May 22, The Lady With All the Answers, COCA’S Black Box Theater 524 Trinity Avenue, University City, MO, 63130. Go to www.cocastl.org or call 314-725-6555 ext 0 or visit the COCAbox office.

arts

May 20 through August 14, Cryptic: The Use of Allegory inContemporary Art with a Master Class from Goya.This exhibition will feature the work of six contemporary artists – Folkert de Jong, Hiraki Sawa, Allison Schulnik, Dana Schutz, Javier Tellez, and Erika Wanenmacher –paired with works by Spanish master Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes. (Opening reception May 20, 7 p.m.) Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis,3750 Washington Boulevard. For more information, visit www.camstl.org.

May 28 through May 30, 2011 African Arts Festival featuring African marketplace, African arts and crafts, jewelry, clothing, oils, African Film Festival and children’s entertainment. World’s Fair Pavilion in Forest Park. Visit wwww.stlafricanartsfest.org for more information and a full activity schedule.

Through August 1, MFA Thesis Exhibition featuring the candidates in Washington University’s Graduate School of Art, part of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum.

Through August 1, Cosima Von Bonin Character Appreciation, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum.

Fri., Jun. 3, opening recep-

tion for Roz Flax –Retrospective, Art Dimensions Gallery 2720 Cherokee.

Through August 28, PPRC Photography Project: BarnesJewish Hospital Center for Diversity & Cultural Competence, an exhibit at two locations. LOCATION 1: Through Aug. 28 at PPRC Photography Project Gallery, 427 Social Sciences and Business Building at UMSL, 1 University Blvd., St. LouisCounty, Mo. 63121; LOCATION 2: Through July 31 at Arts + Healthcare Gallery in the Shoenberg Pavilion at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, 4921 Parkview Place, St. Louis, Mo. 63110; Opening reception: 5:30-7 p.m. May 3; For more information, call (314) 5165273 or visit www.pprc.umsl.edu.

lectures

Sat., Jun. 4, In His Image Ministries International Christian Church will hold its first Youth Conference, The Airport Marriot Hotel. All youth entering grade 6 through 12 can register to learn basic life skills such as cooking, cleaning, sewing, changing a tire, tie tying, money management, resume writing and more. Registration deadline Friday May 20th. You may contact Assistant Pastor, Rev. Denise Belton at 607-9563 to register and find out more information.

Toastmasters International St. Louis presents Primary Conversations! Want to develop in Public Speaking? Visit Toastmasters Primary Conversations Club every 2nd and 4th Tuesday at 6pm...Please call 314-2259098 for more information.

health

Thurs. May 19, 12:30 p.m., Christian Hospital Blood Drive at Northwest Healthcare in the community room. Make appointments online at www.redcrossblood.org and use the sponsor code, NorthwestHealthCare.

Thurs. May 19, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. - “Caring forthe One You Love,” Crowne Plaza St. Louis-Clayton Hotel, sponsored by Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Memory Care Home Solutions. The event is free, but registration is required. To register, call 314TOP-DOCS (314-867-3627) or toll-free 866-867-3627.

Sat. May 21, 7 a.m., Stride

forSIDS 5K Run/Walk, Carondelet Park, St. Louis. To register, go to www.StridesForSIDS.com or call 800-421-3511

Sat. May 21, 10 a.m., Blood Drive at Christ Our Redeemer AME Church, 13820 Old Jamestown Road in Black Jack, Mo. Please bring a valid photo ID when you arrive to donate. Make an appointment at redcrossblood.org or call 1800-RED-CROSS (1-800-7332767).

May 21, 5 p.m., More than 1,500 teens and their families are expected to gather in St. Louis County to give a voice to all young teens who struggle with depression and to remember those who lost their life to suicide. Working to combat this destructive trend among adolescents, CHADS Coalition for Mental Health hosts its fifth annual “Kids Walking for Kids – ACelebration of Hope!” (KWK) from 5 to 9 p.m., Saturday, May 21 in Creve Coeur Park, Maryland Heights.

Sat., May 21, 2 p.m., YOURS MARKEThosts “Healthy Body and Hair” presented by Debra Small owner of HPO Spa Treatments. Smalls will discuss the importance in eating healthy to have healthy hair and skin. HPO, (Happy People Only) products was created by Smalls with natural ingredients only to help her clients fight dry skin and over processing. To learn more go to www.hpospatreatments.com YOURS MARKET, 8005 Broadway. Hours of operation are Monday – Thursday 7am7pm, Friday-Saturday 7am8pm and Sunday 8am – 5p.m. For more information go to www.yoursmarket.org or call 314-553-9270.

Sat., May 28, 2 p.m., YOURS MARKEThost “Healthy Fitness” presented by

And Beyond Entertainment presents Howard Hewett with special guests Monya Mental and Lamar Harris, Lights On Broadway.See CONCERTS for details.

“Fitness with Ankia.”Anika Porter a personal trainer and nutritional counselor will discussed great exercises you can do and will hold a work out session for those who want to bring their heart rates up while grocery shopping that day. To learn more about Fitness with Ankia go to www.fitnesswithankia.com. Thursday 7am7pm, Friday-Saturday 7am8pm and Sunday 8am – 5p.m. For more information go to www.yoursmarket.org or call 314-553-9270.

Fri., May 27, 9:30 a.m., The Southside Wellness Center is connecting a community of 500 area seniors with a myriad of experience, knowledge and unique talents at its 31st Annual “Bringing It Together” MusicFest. The national Older American’s Month festivity takes place, The Muny Opera Pavilion in Forest Park. For more information, please call Ollie Stewart at (314) 6645024.

June 4-5, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

ASID DesignerHome Tour benefitting Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Tickets are $25 each and for groups of six or more, tickets are $20 each. Homes are located in easy to find areas of Kirkwood, West County and St. Charles. For tickets contact (314) 427-7933, visit the Concierge’s Desk at Plaza

Frontenac or http://www.stldesignerhometour.info

Tues. June 7, 8 a.m. Free1Day Training forPotential Hospital Trustees by the Institute forDiversity in Health Management and the CenterforHealthcare Governance of the American Hospital Association, Chase Park Plaza Hotel. Complimentary breakfast at 7:30 a.m. and a 5 p.m. reception. Submit registration online at www.americang overnance.com/tcregistration.

Wed. June 8, Christian Hospital blood drive in the Detrick Building Atrium, 11133 Dunn Rd at the I270/Hwy 367 interchange. Make appointments online at www.redcrossblood.org and use the sponsor code, ChristianHospital; or contact Sandy Barnes at 314-653-5719 or slm9123@bjc.org

Sat. June 11, Susan G. Komen Race forthe Cure downtown St. Louis. For more information, go to www.komenstlouis.org.

Thurs. June 16, 11:45 a.m., “Preparing OurFaith Communities forDisasters,” a faith based emergency preparedness conference at St. Louis University - DuBourg Hall - Refectory Room 157, 221 N. Grand in St. Louis. Space is limited to one person from the first 150 churches. Food and parking is provided. Registration begins May 1deadline is June 3. Churches can register by calling Cathy Harris at 314-977-8274 or email charri29@slu.edu

Sat. June 18, 7 a.m. - 2nd Annual Ronald McDonald House Charities of Metro St. Louis’Bike Ride in Forest Park. The event has five race options: To ride, volunteer or for more information, visit www.rmhcridestl.com, 314932-4146 or e-mail lfletcher@rmhcstl.com.

Sat., Jun. 18, 9 a.m., LTS Love Outreach Ministry and

Health Unit presents Meet the Professionals – Community Health Fair, 626 N. Newstead, St. Louis, Mo 63108.

Sun. June 19, Katy Trail Father’s Day Family Bike Ride, to benefit prostate cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. Riders can start from a designated KATY Trailhead and ride to Defiance, Mo. Pre-registration is $10.00 ($15.00 day of ride). For more information, or to sign-up, go to www.fathersdaybikeride.com.

Sat., Jun. 25, 7:30 a.m., CHIPS Health and Wellness Center11th Annual 5k Run/Walk and 1 Mile Fun Walk and Community Health Festival, CHIPS Health and Wellness Center, 2431 N. Grand Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63106. For more information, call (314) 652-9231 Ext.20.

Thurs., May 19, 7 p.m., An Evening of Worship with Wellspring Church featuring Maurette Brown Clark and PastorF. Willis Johnson, New Northside Family Life Conference Center, 5939 Goodfellow Blvd. For more information, call (314) 5214217.

Through May 21, 102nd Annual Holy Convocation of the Missouri Eastern First Jurisdiction of the Church Of God In Christ will be held May 14-21 at the Kennerly Temple Church Of God In Christ, 4307 Kennerly Ave. Bishop R. J. Ward is host pastor and Jurisdictional Bishop.The theme is “The Power of Unity: Psalm 133.” For more information, call (314) 452-6899.

Sun., Jun. 5, 12 noon, GreaterRising StarM B

Goin’ Wild

On Friday May 13, Mayor Francis Slay presented Country singer Wild Bill Young with a proclaimation from the City of St.Louis. Young was honored at City Hall for civic and charitable events performed in the area and to wish him well on his future endeavors.

SHADES

Continued from C1

“Quite honestly, I’m super excited about what the day will bring,” said Tammie Holland of Majic 104.9 FM, who will host the fashion show portion of the festivities. “And I hope everyone will join us.”

A major source of excitement for Holland and many planning to attend has to be the informational segment led by self-made black beauty maven Lisa Price, founder and president of the Carol’s Daughter hair and body care line.

“I think more and more women are embracing their different needs and have been frustrated for so long finding the beauty products that meet their needs,” Price said. “I understand the frustration and have been there before. It’s so important to find products that work for you. Together with Macy’s, we will help women find their beauty solutions.”

Price began brewing her own beauty solutions in her Brooklyn kitchen during the early 1990’s.

In 1999, Lisa opened her first boutique in her Brooklyn neighborhood and a second store opened in Harlem in 2005.

DYNASTY

Continued from C1

“Getting Youth off the Streets with Hip-Hop Campaign” where they are touring the St. Louis area, getting youth to pledge “I will not engage in violence, I accept the responsibility to build my community, ” while doing ongoing mentoring on how to facilitate the oath they have taking.

“It is quite simply the words and inspiration from the Hon. Min. Louis Farrakhan, who has asked us to engage our neighborhoods and ask them to accept the responsibility to build our community,” Muhammad said.

“Looking at all the recent violence and murder we have seen affecting every part of our city, we started demanding

The line attracted a loyal following including celebrities like Jada Pinkett Smith, Halle Berry, Erykah Badu and Rosie Perez.

By 2007, Carol’s Daughter began working with Macy’s and distribution of Carol’s Daughter products continues to expand throughout Macy’s network of 810 stores and online at macys. com.

“What a fantastic organization,” Price said of Macy’s. “Our partnership has flowered over the years and I am very thankful.”

Price will discuss her personal journey as an oddsdefying entrepreneur, the newest products offered by Carol’s Daughter as well as insightful tips and tools for women of color to use in enhancing their natural beauty.

“I will be sharing how my mother taught me to channel my dreams and make them my everyday reality,” Price said. “You must follow your dreams, identify your passion, find a team that believes in your vision, adapt to the changing landscape and always remain authentic.”

But Saturday’s festivities go far beyond the success and joy that comes with embracing and enhancing beauty among women of color. The event allows guests to give back as they give to themselves.

Guests will receive a free,

that the youth in every school we are in, or just visit, every neighborhood that we go to, give their word, a pledge, a oath that they will do what it takes not destroy our community.”

Many would say that hiphop is part of the problem, that it can’t help, that these young people need to be focusing on becoming doctors, lawyers, engineers. Dynasty member, Fredrick Robinson, age 20, said the focus is to make youth positive, and you can’t make it to be a doctor or a lawyer if you are dead.

“Before Dynasty I was in all kind of trouble,” Robinson said. “I would be strung out on drugs, in jail or dead if the program had not gave me a outlet to get out the streets, a positive place to come to. I was in these streets because I had nothing to do with my time, no job, just bored, so I would get into stuff.”

10-day supply of perfectly matched foundation to take home with you. Every ticket holder will also receive a $20 dollar Macy’s gift card and a swag bag filled with cosmetic samples designed with women of color in mind. In addition, $5 from every ticket sold will be donated to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Illinois. Through the activities, women of color can enjoy themselves while learning to put their best face (and hair –and body) forward. But Price believes the notion of doing so must begin long before any products are or processes are applied.

“Embrace your unique beauty,” Price said. “Any woman can try any regimen. Just don’t put yourself in a box.” The Color of Beauty will take place this Saturday (May 21) from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., at the Macy’s located in St. Clair Square Mall, 134 St. Clair Square, Fairview Heights, IL. Deborah Patterson, Vice President of the Monsanto foundation will kick off the event. Price will present at 11 a.m. and a fashion show hosted by Tammie Holland will follow her presentation. Price will present again at 2:30 p.m. For more information, call (618) 6242000, ext. 2781 or visit http:// www.stclairsquare.com/shop/ stclairsquare.nsf/salesevents.

Robinson said he began some job opportunities from Dynasty. Royston said the same. “This program has brought me job opportunities that helped me feed my son,” he said.

Youth have already taken the pledge to stop violence at Northwest High School, Yeatman Middle, Judge Jimmie Edwards’ Innovative Concept Academy, and even Ladue High School, to name a few.

“These children want change,” said Carmelita Henderson, a 26-year-old North St. Louis resident, whose little sister is a part of Dynasty.

“Our neighborhoods have become so violent we barely go outside. They want to change that. I believe that these youth in Dynasty will change this city.”

Dynasty can be reached at 314-243-4722 or www. dynastyhiphop.org.

‘America I Am’

Tavis Smiley’s African American Imprint opens May 28

The first time I remember hearing about African-America history in school was in the fourth grade when we were learning about slavery. I don’t remember anything that was said that day because, as I was the only African American in the class, everyone kept looking at me. I do remem ber sitting at my desk just praying for the lesson to be over and recess to begin so things could get back to normal.

Unfortunately, this was the first of many inadequate lessons I endured about African-American history. Either African Americans were nonexistent in the curriculum or the literature was interpreted to make people feel better, as when my AP History teacher said the Civil War was all about manufacturing.

Thankfully, I had a mother who took me to museums and plays and encouraged me to read, all of which provided me with the education I was not getting in the classroom. At the time I wasn’t very interested, but now I am happy to have seen all of August Wilson’s plays and read the works of Zora Neale Hurston.

The St. Louis community will have the opportunity to learn more about African Americans’ contributions to America through an exciting new exhibit opening on Saturday, May 28 at noon. Presented by Tavis Smiley, America I Am: The African American Imprint is sponsored by Walmart and education partner Northern Trust. With over 200 artifacts, documents and photos, the exhibit explores how African Americans have contributed to and shaped America in four areas: economics, politics, culture, and spiritual life.

By Melanie Adams

Scott,

As I work with young people, I am always appalled that many of them are not well versed in African-American history. Being in St. Louis, students should at least have a base knowledge of the events in the region that have shaped the AfricanAmerican experience, whether it is the case

East

at Stix Baer Fuller. Everyone should know these episodes in American history. These events may be specific to African Americans, but in the long run, they have affected the entire country and are part of everyone’s history, not just African Americans’. To provide local pieces of the African American story, the History Museum has dozens of programs planned during the run of the exhibit. These programs include lectures, concerts, book signings, and work-

shops for young adults. Over the next few months, I will be writing about the different programs so you can plan your visit to the museum accordingly. For a complete list of programs, please check out the History Museum’s website at www.mohistory.org.

I encourage you to not only come to the programs, but bring young people when appropriate. We can’t complain about young people not knowing their history if we don’t do anything to help them learn it.

America I Am: the African American Imprint

Tickets: Adults $8, Seniors/Students/ Groups/Active Military $5, Children (6 – 12) $5, Children Under 6 Free, Free Admission on Tuesdays from 2pm – 8pm for St. Louis City and County residents.

Miles Davis: A Multimedia Panel Discussion Saturday, May 28, 1 p.m.

Lee Auditorium Free

Dr. Eugene B. Redmond, professor emeritus of English at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, leads a panel in discussing Miles Davis’s artistic and cultural legacy.

IAMWE Arts Showcase Saturday, May 28

4 p.m.

Lee Auditorium

A well-crafted, in depth collage of music, film, theater, and media presentation offered by the arts collective IAMWE.

For a complete list of programs please visit mohistory.org.

of Dred

the

St. Louis race riots, or lunch counter sit-ins

Graduation Lackland Air Force Base

Portia Jonae’ Britt

~ CELEBRATIONS ~

Graduation Trinity Catholic

DaKeeya M.Gilkey

DaKeeya M.

Attending

Recipient

Birthdays

Cayden Pruitt (1)—May 12

Lisa Fields—May 19

Brea Fields—May 22

Morgan Sutton (8)—May 23

Darnay James Christopher Davis (11)—May 23 Cayden Pruitt Morgan Sutton

Attending

Reunions

The Douglass School Alumni Collective presents an “Old School” Dance, Sat., May 21, from 8 p.m. until Midnight, at the Webster Groves Recreation Complex, 33 East Glendale Avenue, Webster Groves, MO 63119. Donation is $15 per person. BYOB. For additional information please call: 314-

Graduation Rosati-Kain High Davin W. Minor

Rosati-Kain High School May 23, 2011

Attending St. Louis College of Pharmacy in fall 2011

495-5150.Proceeds from this event will be used to sponsor an honorary evening for current president of Harris Stowe State University, Dr. Henry Givens, Jr., in recognition of his early contribution to Douglass School in Webster Groves, Missouri.

Beaumont High School Class of 1965 is looking for all classmates interested in celebrating our 45-year reunion. We are in the process of planning a dinner/dance.Your contact information is needed ASAP. Pleaseemail LaLinda Newsom Diggs at lalindadiggs@sbcglobal.net.

Beaumont High Class of 1971 has scheduled its 40-year reunion for August 5-7, 2011.

E-mail your contact information to beaumont71alumni@ yahoo.com for details.

Beaumont High School Class of 1976 will have its 35th year reunionAugust 19-21, 2011. Friday night,August 19: meet & greet hospitality suite St. Louis AirportRenaissance Hotel, Saturday August 20: a DinnerDanceSt. Louis Airport Renaissance Hotel Penthouse & Sunday August 21: worship & picnic.For more detailed information pleaseemail bhs1976@swbell.net or visit our website at http://desyco.tripod.com.

East St. Louis Lincoln Class of 1971, calling all classmates interested in their 40-year

Darnay James Christopher Davis

reunion, please send your contact info to: Lincoln Class of 1971, PO Box 1430, East St. Louis, IL62202. Email us at ESTLLincoln1971@hotmail.c om, on Facebook at ESLLinconPenn or call 618781-4888 or 314-249-7295.

Hadley Technical High School class of 1961 is preparing for its 50-year reunion in 2011. We are seeking contact information to complete our directory. For more information contact Ralph Johnson 314-477-2042 or William Perry 314-531-3170.

Kinloch High School Class of 1970 will host their 41st Reunion Dinner Dance on June 10, 2011 at the Heart of St. Charles Banquet Center. Please contact Arlene Davis at 4800103, Lester Wilson at 8632180, or Mc McKinnies at 524-0126 for additional information.

Riddick School/ Neighborhood Reunion will be held September2-3, 2011. Friday, 9/2/11: Meet and Greet, Saturday, 9/3/11: Picnic (Forest Park). Costs: $30/individual, $60/couple, $75/family. Make money orders or cashier checks payable to: Riddick School Reunion, P.O. Box 52003, St. Louis, 63136.

Please do not send cash or personal checks. For additional information, please contact: Wanda Simmsat 314-3837046, Wanette Johnsonat 314-869-9692 or Catherine Kendricksat 314-741-4059.

Soldan Class of 1976 is celebrating its 35-year reunion during the weekend of June 1012.We're looking for all alumni to participate. Contact us via e-mail:soldanclass 76@yahoo.com

Kinloch High Class of 1976 is planning its 35-year reunion for August 12-13, 2011. For more information please contact Janet Dalton Campbell at 314-490-5441, Rosie Moore Odom at 314-601-1331 or Sheila Hughes Bell at 314680-8878.

The SumnerAlumni Association Scholarship Luncheon Committee is making plans forits 4th Annual Scholarship and Awards Luncheon. The Luncheon will be Sat., June 4, 2011 from noon until 4 p.m. at Debonaire Banquet Center & Catering, 3515 N Lindbergh Blvd. Featuring Angelo “Sax” Shaw as we dine and DJ Phill B. for entertainment. For more information, please call B. Louis at 314-385-9843.

Do you have a celebration you’re proud of? If so we would like to share your good news with our readers. Whether it’s a birth, graduation, wedding, engagement announcement, anniversary, retirement or birthday, send your photos and a brief announcement (50 words or less) to us and we may include it in our paper and website – AT NO COST – as space is available Photos will not be returned. Send your announcements to: kdaniel@stlamerican. com or mail to: St. Louis American Celebrations c/o Kate Daniel 4242 Lindell Ave St. Louis, MO 63108 FREE OF CHARGE

Reunion notices are free of charge and based on space availability. We prefer that notices be emailed to us! However, notices may also be sent \by mail to: Kate Daniel, 4242 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63108. 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

SumnerClass of 1961 is preparing for its 50th year reunion, which will be held on June 3-5, 2011. If you have not received your info in the mail, please send your information to sledgesisternumber3@yahoo.com.

Vashon Class of 1986,25th Reunion Celebration, Cruisin’ On The Mississippi,Friday July 15, 2011, 10pm.Contact Claudette 314-369-6548.

Religion

Churches, hospitals team up against cancer

National Black Church Initiative targets deadly disparities

American staff

The National Black Church Initiative and researchers from New York, Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles are combining forces to address disparities in prostate and breast cancer mortality.

Breast and prostate cancer are two of the most common cancers in the U.S. Of great concern is that the African-American community experiences a higher burden from these two cancers.

According to the National Cancer Institute, “African American men are more likely to die from prostate cancer than any other racial or ethnic group. The death rate from prostate cancer is about 2.4 times higher in African American men than in white men. African-American women who are diagnosed with breast cancer are less likely than white women to survive five years after diagnosis. The rate among African-American women is 71 percent, compared to 86 percent among whites.”

Learning more about cancer and what to do if you or your loved ones face a cancer diagnosis is an important step to addressing these disparities. Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Fox Chase Cancer Center, The University of Colorado Cancer Center and the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have created programs to help prostate and breast cancer patients learn more about their treatment options. The National Black Church Initiative is launching a nationwide breast and prostate cancer awareness campaign to inform African-American women and men about this program.

Michael Diefenbach, Ph.D., associate

Pursue and conquer our struggles

By Min. Tonja Steward For The St. Louis American

Today we need to know that in order to pursue and conquer anything in life, we must have a dream or vision in our heart from God. Why because without a dream or vision leaves an open door for the enemy to distract our focus toward something that has nothing to do with our destiny?

professor of Urology and Oncological Sciences at Mount Sinai, said, “This program is tremendously important for the public health of the African American population.”

The Rev. Anthony Evans, president of the National Black Church Initiative, said this is what his group intended to do when it launched its Health Emergency Declaration: “to join with research hospitals and teaching universities in an unprecedented alliance to make sure that African Americans receive the latest therapeutic education and treatment options for the 15 most deadly chronic disease states that impact African Americans the most.”

“These fine institutions recognize the influence and persuasive power of the African-American church as we launch this nationwide program to educate newly diagnosed African Americans who have either breast or prostate cancer to understand the various treatments options at their disposal,” Evan said.

“We look forward to the success of this program as we also join with the National Cancer Institute in demonstrating the importance of coalitions and partnerships to help reduce the racial disparities.”

Linda Fleisher, Ph.D., assistant vice president, Office of Health Communications & Health Disparities at Fox Chase Cancer Center,” said, “Working together with leaders in the community, like the church, brings important information into the hands of those who need it most.”

Participation in the program is free and confidential. Recently diagnosed prostate and breast cancer patients should call 1-877-258-7981 or visit www.prostatehealingchoices.com or www.breasthealingchoices.com.

‘From Here to Eternity’

The Saint Louis Chamber Chorus closes its 55th season with a meditation on the afterlife, “From Here to Eternity,” Sunday, May 29 at St. Peter Catholic Church, 243 West Argonne in Kirkwood. The audience will be able to compare Hubert Parry’s thoroughly Christian response to the question of the afterlife, “Songs of Farewell,” with that of his contemporary Gustav Mahler in “Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen,” presented in a 16-part arrangement by Clytus Gottwald.

Peter Cornelius’s “Requiem” is in memory of his friend poet Christian Friedrich Hebbel. Jon Leif’s piece sets to music a poem chosen to lament the drowning of his own daughter. Walt Whitman is represented by Granville Bantock’s “Darest Thou Now, O Soul,” while a chief’s cry from an “Amerindian” poem is transformed by Iowa composer Sven Lekberg into the heart-rending “Lament.”

Tickets are $27 or $10 (students). Visit www.chamberchorus.org or call 636-4584343.

The word of God says without vision the people parish. He who keepeth the law, happy is he. See, when we allow people to influence our life to go the wrong way, it’s because we don’t have vision and we don’t know our purpose.

But thanks be unto God that he has given us the tenacity and power to pursue and conquer our struggles, heartaches and disappointment in life. Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. We can do all things through Christ who strengthen us. Why? Because the kingdom suffers violence and violent take it by force. Nevertheless, when we have a vision from God there is something we must do.

“Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.” (Habakkuk 2:2, 3)

For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it will speak and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come. Pursuing our dreams involves praying and communing with the Father, then listening for instructions or directions on how to manifest what is written on the table of our heart. If we were building our dream boards today, we should have words or pictures that describe our desires. However, when we walk in God’s perfect timing there will be some waiting involved in the process. During the waiting period God is preparing and purifying us to go forth in our destiny. Yet in our waiting he made a promise to those of us who are willing to wait, “but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). Our human strength will never be able to handle all the challenges and difficulties we face in everyday life. So now matter who we are or how much will power we think have, situations will bring us to our knees to pray. So as we look to God for strength, we will pursue and conquer our dreams.

Accepting Inspirational Messages

The American is accepting Inspirational Messages from the community. Send your column (no more than 500 words) as a Word document and pasted text to cking@stlamerican.com and attach a photo of yourself as a jpeg file. Please be patient; we will run columns in the order received.

Min. Tanja Steward

The National Black Church Initiative and researchers from New York, Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles are combining forces to address disparities in prostate and breast cancer mortality.

ST. LOUIS AMERICAN

Tech prep starts in early childhood

Hazelwood high school students teach careers to elementary school kids

Special to The American

Ten advanced child development students from Hazelwood West High School have been working with prekindergarten and first-grade students at Armstrong Elementary School as part of a tech prep articulation with St. Louis Community CollegeFlorissant Valley.

In the program, high school students must complete 15 hours of practical, hands-on work with children. During the school day, the high school students visit the elementary school and give the younger students lessons they designed and prepared. The high school students make sure the teachers receive copies of the lessons.

In Michelle Chitwood’s first-grade class, the student teachers asked the students what plans they had for the upcoming weekend as they passed out a coloring assignment on flowers. Next, they distributed short, wooden sticks and cupcake baking liners in pastel colors. Following their directions, the young students eagerly made craft projects using these items.

“I like it when the kids ‘get’ something we’re teaching

them; they get excited,” said senior Charlene Behlmann. “I don’t want to be a teacher, but this is about family and it’s about kids and I want to have a family someday. When I’m older, this will really help me a lot.”

The students’youth can pose a challenge for Behlmann.

“When the kids don’t understand a concept, I try to figure out another way to explain it,” she said. Next door, in Ashley Dickey’s room, first-grade students worked on making selfportraits and created a list, describing their skin, eye and hair color.

“I really like making the lesson plans creative and then show the kids and see their excitement on their faces,” said junior Kelly Parsons. She said she plans to go into education or pediatric nursing, so this class helps her set a good foundation for her future. She vividly remembers the firstgrade’s introduction to shaving cream.

“We used it and they had to write numbers in it and it was really messy,” she said.

Alittle farther down the hall, in Kim Reese’s class, some students worked at the

board, making food pyramids, labeling them properly and coming up with examples of each level or section of the pyramid.

“I’m very awed by the control these teachers have,” said Deborah Kniepkamp, who teaches family and consumer

science at the high school. “We already feel privileged to be here and it’s such an advantage for my students.” After the young ladies finished in the first-grade rooms, they crossed to the other side of the building to visit the prekindergarten room and teacher

A student in the advanced child development class from Hazelwood West High School helps some Armstrong Elementary School first-grade students with a craft project in Michelle Chitwood’s class. The high school students must complete 15 hours of practical,hands-on work with children as part of a tech prep articulation program at St.Louis Community CollegeFlorissant Valley.

Melissa Wright. The high school students planned a counting lesson for the preschool students that included a number train. Each car was numbered and the young students had to put the cars in the correct order.

Booker T.Washington wins Commencement Challenge

Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis, Tenn., won the 2011 Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge.

“Booker T. Washington High School proves what can be accomplished when students, teachers, parents and administrators come together to support achievement in the classroom,” President Obama Booker T. Washington High School’s graduation rate went from 55 percent in 2007 to 81.6 percent in 2010. The school has established separate freshman academies for boys and girls. Students can now take APclasses, learn about engineering through robotics competitions and earn college credits. The principal is Alisha Kiner.

President Obama set a goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020, and the Commencement Challenge invited the nation’s public high schools to submit applications that demonstrate their commitment to preparing students for college and a career

Celebrity Swagger Snap of the Week

Abreast on Burlesque. Barely clothed strippers dancers promenaded the Sheldon stage last Friday, all the while disrobing themed costumes piece by piece. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t an event hosted by The Pink Slip. Instead it was the second annual Show-Me Burlesque Spectacular show. For all that attended during the 3-day festival, it was a jaw dropping event as performers from across the country came to show their alleged goodies for all of St. Louis to see and even learn from. However, at the burlesque show held on Friday evening, an underutilized band was perched stage left as Christina Aguilera wanna-be’s shifted their hips to a kick drum. Cloaked in feather boas, ish net stockings, and even a super hero costume, the ladies came to give a show that one would never forget. While I preferred some mis-shapen entertainers to keep their clothes on, others tended to keep things quite spicy. Most notable was a male-female team that seemed to showcase a never-ending strip tease. So much so that by the time they were done, the female was left with tasseled pasties and decorated panties while the male was left with just a small ribbon barely covering his unmentionables. From using all that they got, to break-away clothing and even a large feathered fan, it was clear that the ladies were quite talented in coming out of a costume with just using one inger. Needless to say, my eyes popped out the socket and stayed there. Who knew that a quiet strip show would be goin’ down at the Sheldon of all places?

Pimps, Poets, and Lyrics. The resurgence of the always lovely Mocha Latte’s “Got Lyics?” spoken word event was still goin’ strong at Exo last Friday. Everyone from the original gangstas in brightly-colored suits to headwrapped soul sisters came out to partake. The smooth melodies of Katrina Reese permeated the place and set the atmosphere for aspiring poets takin’the stage. Backed by the Hot Chocolate Soul band, Reese went through hits made famous by St. Louis favorite Fantasia such as “Bittersweet” and “I’m Doing Me”. DJ Reminisce was also on hand on the ones and twos keepin’the crowd relaxed and enthused. One by one, willing participants were able to take the stage to spit a line or two. In efforts to sound profound, some succeeded while others needed a visit from the Sand Man. After several forgotten lines and awkward pauses by a select few, Mocha Latte remained encouragin’ while remindin’the crowd that written-out pieces are welcomed. She then managed to share some of her original work while settin’ the example of how it should be done. Overall this is an event not to be missed out on. If you are lookin’for a cool relaxed spot, away from the usual club scene, this is the place for you. “Got Lyrics?” is every 2nd Friday of the month at Exo.

Fresh in the City.The newly revamped City Ultra Lounge was deinitely poppin’last Friday as well. Strobe lights were ablaze as ladies and gents illed the dance loor. Apparently, not everyone came to be cute as one young lady decided to wear her best sweats. Perhaps on the heels of Lobster night at the local casino, home girl had no problem twirkin’ it in her best P.E. class regalia. After the unfortunate distraction, I noticed that The City looked like it received a face lift. Havin’ been under the radar for a minute, it was nice to see it rockin’an updated look.As soon as I stepped into the place, I noticed the upgrades: resituated VIP area and walls completely decorated with latscreen televisions. Just in case you didn’t know, Friday hosts their “Fresh in the City” nights which boasts drink specials all night long. So if you’re lookin’to party hard and keep it cute make sure you are checkin’ out the City Ultra Lounge.

Funkin Right with DJ Rich Medina. If you are a self professed soul star, there was no reason in the world you shouldn’t have been at Lola last Saturday night. The place was illed to the gills as the crowd was set and ready to engage in the funky beats of world renowned DJ Rich Medina. Our very own DJ Nappy Needles opened the set while goin’ hard on the decks. Once Medina took center stage, there was no stoppin’the party. Selections rendered proved that Medina is a true music lover while spewin’ out funk, soul, and Afrobeat bound to be found deep in a records crate. There was not a dry shape in the house as one couldn’t keep still on Lou Rawls and Jackson 5 cuts rendered. I for one was glad that the masses were sure to utilize a sturdy deodorant because Lola was on ire only a few hours in. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one rockin’sweat stains as Medina brought universal grooves and rocked the St. Louis down.

The Label’s Last Hurrah. Not even a cold wet night could stop St. Louis from showin’ up to bid one last goodbye to The Label on their inal night on Sunday. Freakum dresses and tall tees piled into the Staple nightclub to bid farewell as drinks lowed all night.Although spirits were high, it was also bittersweet. Hip hop beats boomed as Dano the Mano held it down on the mic. Smiles were given and bodies swayed. Everyone from the regular club heads to those of an “alternative” persuasion all showed up for support. This just goes to show, the impact that The Label had on St. Louis nightlife and that it will surely be missed. Like a lost scene from “For Colored Girls,” the owners gathered together in one last photo op. Special remembrance go out to head bartender Chance Fallon. R.I.P. to a man that made The Label a fun place to go to each and every night.

ASoulful Reminder. Whatever you do, please don’t forget the long -waited return of neo-soul singer Bilal’s return to St. Louis. He will be serving high pitched squeals at Lola on May 21st. Opening will be DJ Nune and the Horney Horns with CoCo Soul as hostess. This is a must-see event folks. Not often do we get underground gems to come into town. Make sure you make plans to attend now and not regret it later. I’m sure, if your alcohol consumption stays at a minimum, Bilal will be set to give a show that we will not forget.

Memorial Day Madness. If you happen to get stuck in St. Louis over Memorial Day weekend or want a chance to get your party on before you hit it out of town, don’t fret. We have some visitors coming to town to party exclusively with your shapes. Dustbunny rapper Jim Jones will be posted at Club Amnesia as a part of their Memorial Day weekend kickoff

26th.

town would

on May

Valentino at EXO on the same

Yo Gotti performs live for a wall to wall crowd Friday night @ the Imperial Palace

Mocha Latte on the mic at @Got Lyrics Friday night as Courtney from the Heart and Soul Band plays keys

Elson, June and Tre from Major Brands at their 2011 Burlesque Festival Friday @ the Sheldon Hall

Trife Trizzil of Dertty ENT and Raekwon of The WuTang Clan backstage of the Firebird on Monday night after classic perfomance of Raekwon hits

Carl Haywood out celebrating his wife Jana’s Birthday Friday night @ Lola

Cherrell and Damon @ the City on Friday

Chiriga looking lovely at Lola Friday night

Dwaneen and Jimmy Kennedy enjoying some homegrown Hip hop art @t ArtMatic

Ervin, Kris and Kels @ Got Lyrics Friday night @ EXO

DELUX Magazine’s Michael Winield (Brooklyn) showcased his piece “Luva My Life The Lost Tapes” @ Artmatic on Saturday night @ Dantes

Charysma and Lauren Renee’ showing love to The Label as they close their doors on Sunday Night

Andrea and Valerie @ BFree’s Reggae Thursday’s @ Forever Yours Bar and Grill

Photos by Lawrence Bryant

Dry mouth? Don’t delay treatment

Almost everyone’s mouth is dry sometimes and a dry mouth is a common side affect listed for many medications. But if you feel like you have cotton in your mouth constantly, it may be time for treatment.

Dry mouth, medically known as xerostomia, occurs when you don’t have enough saliva (spit).

Feeling stressed can temporarily trigger dry mouth. But a persistently dry mouth may signal an underlying disease or condition, so it’s important to see your doctor, says the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates products that relieve dry mouth.

And because dry mouth can lead to tooth decay, you should see your dentist, too, says John V. Kelsey, D.D.S., of FDA’s Division of Dermatology and Dental Products.

Dry mouth may make it difficult to speak, chew, and swallow, and may alter the taste of your food. It can also cause a sore throat, hoarseness, and bad breath.

Dry mouth can affect people of any age, but older people are especially vulnerable.

“It’s not a normal consequence of aging,” says Kelsey. “Older people may take multiple medications that can cause dry mouth.”

According to the Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health in America, dry mouth is a side effect of more than 400 prescription and over-the-counter drugs, such as antidepressants, antihistamines, muscle relaxants, and high blood pressure medicines.

Other causes of dry mouth include cancer treatments, hormone changes, and health problems, such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and Sjögren’s syndrome, a disease in which a person’s immune system attacks the body’s tissues, including moisture-producing glands snoring; or breathing open-mouthed.

Saliva is produced by three major glands in the mouth (salivary glands) and plays a key role in chewing, swallowing, and digesting food preventing infection in the mouth by controlling bacteria preventing tooth decay.

“Saliva is mostly water, but it also contains enzymes and lubricants,” says Kelsey. “The enzymes help digest food and the lubricants make speaking, chewing, and swallowing more comfortable.”

Saliva helps control bacteria, which cling to the surface of teeth. They feed on sugar in the food we eat and break down and use (metabolize) the sugar to grow.

“Aby-product of the metabolized sugar is acid, which starts to eat away at a tooth’s surface,” says Kelsey. Saliva neutralizes the acid and helps wash away food particles. If there is not enough saliva, cavities may occur.

Dry mouth treatments

Your doctor or dentist may recommend oral rinses and moisturizers, or prescribe artificial saliva.

While not a cure, artificial salivas can provide short-term relief of the symptoms of dry mouth and may also help minimize discomfort after an oral procedure.

If you have persistent dry mouth, the FDArecommends you talk to your doctor,who may change your medications or adjust the doses. FDAalso recommends talking to your dentist and bring with you a list of the medicines you take as well as any medical conditions or treatments you’ve had. The American Dental Association recommends seeing your dentist at least twice a year.

Tips forRelieving Dry Mouth

• Sip water or sugarless drinks, or suck on ice chips.

• Avoid irritants, such as alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine. Remember that caffeine is found in many sodas as well as in coffee and tea.

• Chew sugar-free gum or suck on sugar-free candy.

• Avoid salty or spicy foods, which may irritate the mouth.

• Use a humidifier in your bedroom at night.

• Consider using saliva substitutes.

Chicken Jambalaya with brown rice

(serves 4)

• 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided

• 1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped

• 1 green bell pepper, chopped

• 2 stalks celery, chopped

• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic

• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning

• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 2 cups dry brown rice

• 3 cups chicken broth (low sodium)

• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, add 1tablespoon oil. Add the chicken, season lightly with salt and pepper, and brown on both sides, about 7 minutes, working in batches if necessary.Remove the chicken to a plate.

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and the onions, peppers, and celery, and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, Cajun seasoning, cayenne, salt and pepper.Stir. Stir in the rice.

Add the chicken back to the pot, along with the broth and tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, about 30 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Nutrition Information:(perserving)

Calories:396

Calories from Fat:187

Trans Fats:0 Protein:39 g

HEALTH BRIEFS

Impact of asthma, allergies affects patients and theirfamilies

Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) recently released results of a first-of-its-kind survey detailing the impact of asthma and allergies on the people who cope with it every day. The survey confirms what many already know: asthma and allergies disrupt daily lives, not only for patients but their families as well.

“Survey results show we have a long way to go to transform asthma care and create a better future for generations of people with asthma,” says Nancy Sander, president and founder of AANMA. “Proven best practices such as completion of a proactive asthma action plan are still not widely adopted, and uncertainty is a major force in the lives of patients and their families.”

Among participants of the online survey:

• 43 percent made at least one trip to the emergency department; 19 percent had one or more hospitalizations; 15 percent experienced a near-fatal asthma episode over the past year.

• 80 percent have had allergy testing.

• 37 percent of participants did not have an Asthma Action Plan.

• Respondents’challenges differ from one to the next. Some face multiple challenges while others listed only one: inability to pay for medications; problems getting prescriptions filled with the drug prescribed by the physician; too many missed school and work days; and frustration that family, teachers or co-workers often don’t understand that asthma is serious or what their family is going through.

“Asthma is a constant factor, to be considered every single hour of every day,” one person wrote. “Integrating its effects and the fact of my child having a disability is difficult, emotionally taxing and expensive.”

Stuart Stoloff, MD, chairman of the AANMABoard of Directors, says, “Right now

we have the knowledge to control and prevent asthma symptoms. Unfortunately, people are still dying of asthma, and survey results demonstrate that families continue to struggle. Healthcare costs both direct and indirect are a significant burden on our healthcare system. It’s time to change this landscape.”

Low Vitamin D levels linked to allergies in kids

Astudy of more than 3,000 children shows that low vitamin D levels are associated with increased likelihood that children will develop allergies, according to a paper published online recently in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University headed the study. Its researchers looked at the serum vitamin D levels in blood collected in 2005-2006 from a nationally representative sample of more than 3,100 children and adolescents and 3,400 adults. The samples are derived from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a program of studies designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States. The survey is unique in that it combines interviews, physical examinations and laboratory studies. One of the blood tests assessed was sensitivity to 17 different allergens by measuring levels of Immunoglobulin E (IgE), a protein made when the immune system responds to allergens.

No association between vitamin D levels and allergies was observed in adults, but for children and adolescents, researchers say low vitamin D levels correlated with sensitivity to 11 of the 17 allergens tested, including both environmental allergens (e.g., ragweed, oak, dog, cockroach) and food allergens (e.g., peanuts). For example, children who had vitamin D deficiency were 2.4 times as likely to have a peanut allergy than children with sufficient levels of vitamin D in their blood.

The research shows only an association and does not prove that vitamin D deficiency causes allergies in children, cautioned Michal Melamed, M.D., M.H.S., assistant professor of medicine and of epidemiology & population health at Einstein and senior author of the study. Nevertheless, she said, children should certainly consume adequate amounts of the vitamin. “The latest dietary recommendations calling for children to take in 600 IU of vitamin D daily should keep them from becoming vitamin-D deficient,” she said.

Moderate secondhand smoke levels delivernicotine to the brain

Exposure to secondhand smoke, you inhale indirectly as persons around you smoke – has a direct, measurable impact on the brain-and the effect is similar to what happens in the brain of the person doing the smoking. In fact, exposure to this secondhand smoke evokes cravings among smokers, according to a study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health.

The study, published recently in Archives of General Psychiatry, used positron emission tomography (PET) to demonstrate that one hour of secondhand smoke in an enclosed space results in enough nicotine reaching the brain to bind receptors that are normally targeted by direct exposure to tobacco smoke. This happens in the brain of both smokers and non-smokers.

Previous research has shown that exposure to secondhand smoke increases the likelihood that children will become teenage smokers and makes it more difficult for adult smokers to quit. Such associations suggest that secondhand smoke acts on the brain to promote smoking behavior.

“These results show that even limited secondhand smoke exposure delivers enough nicotine to the brain to alter its function,” said NIDADirector Nora D. Volkow, M.D. “Chronic or severe exposure could result in even higher brain nicotine levels, which may explain why secondhand smoke exposure increases vulnerability to nicotine addiction.”

“This study gives concrete evidence to support policies that ban smoking in public places, particularly enclosed spaces and around children,” said Arthur Brody, M.D., of the UCLADepartment of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences and corresponding author for the article.

The Surgeon General’s Report concluded in 2006 that secondhand smoke causes heart disease and lung cancer in nonsmoking adults and many serious health conditions in children, including sudden infant death syndrome, respiratory infections, and more severe asthma. According to the CDC, almost 50,000 deaths per year can be attributed to secondhand smoke. For more information or for resources to help quit smoking, go to http://www.nida.nih.gov/DrugPages/Nicotine.html.

Bias toward obese patients shouldn’t happen

By Consuelo H.Wilkins,MD

Shortly after moving to St. Louis to begin my fellowship in geriatric medicine, I started moonlighting in the weight management clinic at our medical center. Although you are officially a physician after graduating from medical school, the salary you earn while training as an intern, resident and fellow is somewhat modest, especially when you have thousands of dollars in student loans to repay.

My responsibilities in the weight management clinic were fairly straightforward. Patients who were interested in the program had to have a medical evaluation prior to starting the program and I took the history, performed the physical exams and ordered any necessary tests. I enjoyed working with the staff and the patients, many of whom had been trying to lose weight for 10 years or more. The amount of weight that the patients needed to lose ranged from 30 pounds to over 300 pounds.

During my second week in the clinic, I was surprised when one of the patients said ‘You are the first doctor to touch me in years.’I initially thought that she meant she hadn’t seen a doctor in years so my response was ‘I’m glad that you have decided to start getting regular

check-ups so you can get healthier.’She then explained that she had a primary care doctor and had been going to the appointments every three to four months for many years.

The problem was, per the patient’s report, that the physician no longer examined her.

As she continued to gain weight, she outgrew the exam gowns so the nurses stopped asking her to remove her clothes.

Consuelo H. Wilkins,M.D., Medical Accuracy Editor

At first, the doctor would lift her shirt to listen to her heart and lungs. He then started listening to her heart and lungs by placing the stethoscope on top of her shirt. Eventually, he stopped listening because he said it was too hard to hear her heartbeat and breath sounds due to her size. I could see the pain in her eyes so I told her that was I sorry that she had that experience. I encouraged her to tell the physician or someone in his office about her concerns and to request that they provide gowns that would fit her. I was disappointed to hear that another physician had treated the patient so insensitively but hoped that it was an isolated case. Unfortunately I was wrong. During

YourHealth Matters

Abi-monthly special supplement of the St. Louis American

May 5, 2011

YourHealth Matters provides up-to-date information, from an African-American perspective, about one of the most important subjects in evryone’s life – their personal health.

Donald M. Suggs, President and Publisher

Kevin Jones, Senior Vice President, COO

Dina M. Suggs, Senior Vice President

Chris King, Editorial Director

Consuelo Wilkins, MD, Health Care Editor

Sandra Jordan, Health Reporter

Debbie Chase, Director of Health Strategy & Outreach

Sonia Dulaney, Onye Ijei, Barb Sills, Sales

Michael Terhaar, Art/Production Manager

Angelita Jackson, Cover Design

Wiley Price, Photojournalist

the next few months, two other patients told me similar stories about health professionals not examining them because of their obesity. Again I was disappointed but there wasn’t much I could do about it. I spoke to one of the other physicians in the clinic. He thought it was more common that than I might imagine but emphasized the importance of us treating them differently so that they would have better experiences and better care.

It’s been years since my time in the weight management clinic but I began to think about my experiences when I read some recent publications about health professionals’ attitudes towards obese patients. One study reported that of the 620 physicians who responded, more than half of them had negative views of obese patients including that they were lazy and noncompliant. Asecond study found that doctors believed that patients’attitudes

and behaviors were the reason for obesity while patients believed that low income and medical conditions were the causes of obesity. These differences likely make it difficult for doctors and patients to communicate openly about weight management.

Of course, negative views and attitudes about obesity don’t just occur in the health profession. If we are going to tackle the increasing rates of obesity and its complications, it will have to be a collective effort. One that doesn’t perpetuate stereotypes but also doesn’t applaud obesity. We must embrace strategies that promote health and healthy lifestyles for all shapes and sizes. Ideally, we will provide a supportive and nurturing environment to allow everyone to achieve optimal health.

Consuelo H. Wilkins, M.D., is medical accuracy editor of The St. Louis American and associate professor of medicine and psychiatry, Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Science, at Washington University – St. Louis

There is relief for

Rising temperatures have lengthened the spring allergy season allergies

By Sandra Jordan

Of The St.Louis American

People can be allergic to almost anything and allergies can occur any time of the year. Allergy triggers can be found indoors or outdoors, and can affect your skin, eyes, respiratory system or your entire body. They are not contagious nor do they cause fever, but they are a nuisance at best and life-threatening at their worst.

“Saint Louis has been ranked as a top city with a lot of allergies – it’s a top allergy city [16th this year],” says Dr. Susan Berdy, and allergist and assistant professor of clinical medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and a board member for the St. Louis chapter of the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America. “What we see in the springtime is tree pollen and the tree pollen season goes from March through May; grass pollen goes from May into June and then ragweed will come out in the fall in August and September.”

Berdy says. “Usually the steroid nasal sprays are best used as a preventative before and during the season and they can effectively prevent the symptoms and they have a very low side effect profile.”

Because they are not hormones and the active ingredient in them are not absorbed very well into the bloodstream, Berdy describes these as safe and effective.

Berdy says another class of nasal sprays – the nasal antihistamines, like Astepro or Patanase, can be added on to over the-counter medications.

Ten to 30 percent of U.S. adults and up to 40 percent of all children suffer from hay fever.

Common indoor and outdoor allergens include tree, grass and weed pollen, dust mites, animal dander, mold and cockroaches.

Berdy says the best way for people to avoid those outdoor pollens is to “keep those windows closed and run your air conditioner 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

That can get expensive.

For those who need other choices, there are options.

“There are over-the-counter antihistamines like Allegra, Claritin and Zyrtec— if those don’t work, usually your doctor can prescribe a prescription nasal spray,” she says.

Nasal allergies cause your nasal cavity to become irritated and inflamed, making it hard to breathe.

“The most commonly used [prescription] nasal sprays are the steroid-type nasal sprays like Flonase or Nasonex,”

And just in case you think your allergies this spring are worse than ever, it may not be your imagination, says allergist/immunologist Dr. Jeff Stokes, an associate professor of medicine with Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. Stokes says that rising temperatures have lengthened the spring allergy season, causing plants to pollinate longer. In addition, an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is most likely resulting in more pollen being emitted, he added.

“For those who believe in global warming, that could be a factor,” Stokes said.

Ten to 30 percent of U.S. adults and up to 40 percent of all children suffer from hay fever. The National Institutes of Health says hay fever happens when pollen from trees, weeds and grasses get into the nose and throat, causing sneezing, runny or stuffy nose, itchy eyes, nose and throat; coughing and post nasal drip.

Stokes says those with a family history and young adults are most at risk. Allergies generally begin in childhood, peak in young adulthood and disappear as we get older.

Allergies affecting the skin can cause itching, hives, eczema and psoriasis.

See ALLERGIES, page 9

‘Can a 15 yearold get on birth control without parental consent?’ Your Health Questions Matter

This question comes from J.L.

The answercomes from Dr. Denise Hooks-Anderson, when the topic came up during the workshop “Safe Sex is kNOw Sex” at the Sistas Saving OurSelves summit March 12 in Florissant, Mo.

“In the state of Missouri, if you want contraception, you can do that without parental consent. And if you need STD testing, you can also do that without parental consent.”

Yes. Missouri law will allow minors age 12 or above to obtain contraceptive services without the consent of a parent. 26 other states along with the District of Columbia have similar laws. This does not apply to pregnancy termination procedures. The US teen birth rate is higher than other industrialized nations such has Great Britain and Canada. In 2005, MO had almost 13,000 teen pregnancies. 2009 national

data showed that by the 12th grade, 67 percent of teens were considered sexually experienced. 52 percent of those same teens were sexually active by the 12th grade. As a family physician for the past 10 plus years, the above data was not a surprise to me. For some parents, it may be unsettling to know that their “babies” can obtain birth control without their permission. However, I have found that many teens still do not feel comfortable sharing with their parents about sex. Although, I always recommend that they have an open relationship with their parents, I have no reservations about prescribing contraception. To the dismay of the adult society, teens are more sexually advanced than in decades past. As adults, we must face reality! There are several places in St. Louis city and county that will provide contraceptive services:

• Planned Parenthood, 4251 Forest Park Ave, 314-531-7256

• Family Care Health Centers, 4352 Manchester, 314-531-5444

• St. Louis Co Health Center(Pine Lawn), 4000 Jennings Station Rd., 314-679-7800

Thurs. May 19, 12:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. – Christian Hospital Blood Drive at Northwest Healthcare in the community room. Make appointments online at www.redcrossblood.org and use the sponsor code, NorthwestHealthCare.

Thurs. May 19, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. –“Caring forthe One You Love,” Crowne Plaza St. Louis-Clayton Hotel, sponsored by Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Memory Care Home Solutions. The event is free, but registration is required. To register, call 314-TOP-DOCS (314867-3627) or toll-free 866-867-3627.

Sat. May 21, 7 a.m. -11 a.m. – Stride forSIDS 5K Run/Walk, Carondelet Park, St. Louis. To register, go to www.StridesForSIDS.com or call 800421-3511

Sat. May 21, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. - Blood

CALENDAR

Drive at Christ OurRedeemerAME Church, 13820 Old Jamestown Road in Black Jack, Mo. Please bring a valid photo ID when you arrive to donate. Make an appointment at redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767).

Sat. May 21, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. – Free Breast/Cervical Cancerscreening, through Show Me Healthy Women in partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure at Moline Acres Community Hall, 2454 Chambers Road. For more information, call 314-953-6766.

Fri. May 27, 9:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., 31st Annual Bringing It Together MusicFest, an Older Americans Month celebration at the Muny Opera Pavilion in Forest Park. Attendees will learn about issues such as housing, Medicare, wellness and health care while enjoying

morning and afternoon exercises, dancing, food, informational booths, tours of Forest Park, inter-generational activities and an awards program. For more information, please call Ollie Stewart at (314) 664-5024.

Sat. June 4, 10 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Community Health Fairat Mt. Beulah Missionary Baptist Church, 7823 Racine Drive at Page & Hanley Rd. At 9 a.m., the “Exercise Your Faith” walk in Miller Park at1300 North & South Rd. at Canton Street in University City, Mo. Free consultations and screening on site. Low impact aerobics at 1 p.m. For more information, call 314-531-2746.

Tues. June 7, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. – Free1Day Training forPotential Hospital Trustees by the Institute for Diversity in Health Management and the Center for Healthcare Governance of the American Hospital Association – Chase Park Plaza Hotel. Complimentary breakfast at 7:30 a.m. and a 5 p.m. reception. Submit registration online at www.americangovernance.com/tcregistration.

Wed. June 8, Christian Hospital blood drive in the Detrick Building Atrium, 11133 Dunn Rd at the I-270/Hwy 367 interchange. Make appointments online at www.redcrossblood.org and use the sponsor code, ChristianHospital; or contact Sandy Barnes at 314-653-5719 or slm9123@bjc.org.

Sat. June 11, Susan G. Komen Race forthe Cure, downtown St. Louis. For more information, go to www.komenstlouis.org.

Thurs. June 16, 11:45 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., “Preparing OurFaith Communities forDisasters,” a faith based emergency preparedness conference at St. Louis University – DuBourg Hall – Refectory Room 157, 221 N. Grand in St. Louis. Space is limited to one person from the first 150 churches. Food and parking is provided. Registration begins May 1 –deadline is June 3. Churches can register by calling Cathy Harris at 314-977-8274 or email charri29@slu.edu.

Sat. June 18, 7 a.m. - 2nd Annual

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Metro St. Louis’Bike Ride in Forest Park. The event has five race options: To ride, volunteer or for more information, visit www.rmhcridestl.com, 314-9324146 or e-mail lfletcher@rmhcstl.com.

Sun. June 19, Katy Trail Father’s Day Family Bike Ride, to benefit prostate cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. Riders can start from a designated KATYTrailhead and ride to Defiance, Mo. Pre-registration is $10.00 ($15.00 day of ride). For more information, or to sign-up, go to www.fathersdaybikeride.com.

Sundays, 10 a.m., Alcoholics Anonymous Group 109 meets in the 11th floor conference room at Christian Hospital, 11133 Dunn Road at I270/Hwy. 367. This is an open meeting for alcoholics, drug addicts and their family and friends.

Mondays, 7 p.m., “Tobacco Free for Life” support group – free weekly meetings at St. Peters Mo. City Hall. Supported by SSM Cancer Care; RSVP initial participation to 636-947-5304.

Tuesdays, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m., Help fora drug-free life - chemical dependency information meeting. Call 314-839-3171.

Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., STEPS Schizophrenia Support Group This nationally recognized program provides education and support for those with schizophrenia. Group is facilitated by an experienced STEPS nurse. For more information, call 314-839-3171.

First Thursdays, 10 a.m. – Family Support Group by NAMI St. Louis, The Alliance on Mental Illness at the Grace Hill Murphy-O’Fallon Health Center, 1717 Biddle St. No registration needed; no cost. For more information, contact Allen Daniel, 314-814-8579.

Free psychiatric and chemical dependency evaluations are confidential at the Christian Hospital Center for Mental Health. Call 314-839-3171.

ALLERGIES

Continued from page 6

Eye allergies are called allergic conjunctivitis. Symptoms begin almost immediately after exposure to allergens causing watery, itchy eyes.

“We can add eye drops,” Berdy says.

Anaphylactic shock

Some people have very serious, life-threatening allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis, which involves the entire body and develops very rapidly – in seconds or minutes. Anaphylaxis may result in breathing difficulties, shock or death and requires immediate medical attention. People who are at risk for anaphylaxis carry EpiPens to selfinject epinephrine (adrenaline) when a life-threatening allergic reaction occurs. The epinephrine raises blood pressure and your heart rate back to normal levels. The most common culprits causing anaphylactic shock are venom from insect stings or bites; drug and food allergies.

Tips for controlling allergies

An optometrist recommends the following steps at home to minimize effects of some environmental allergies.

• Don’t touch or rub your eyes

• Wash your hands often with soap and water

• Wash bed linens and pillow cases in hot water and detergent to reduce allergens

• Avoid sharing – and in some cases, wearing eye makeup

• Never share contact lenses or contact lens cases with someone else

• Replace lens cases every two months

Source:Crown Vision Centers

Berdy says people can outgrow some food allergies, but others are there for life.

“Foods like peanuts and shrimp are almost never outgrow but other foods, like milk or soy are commonly outgrown,” Berdy says. “Those we can test with blood testing and skin testing and those we follow over time.”

Allergy shots

For some people, allergy shots (immunotherapy) can help to reduce sensitivity to allergens over time.

“There are allergy shots for those patients where medications don’t work or have side effects that people find unacceptable,” Berdy adds. “People are on them for about five years and you start off for safety reasons, with weekly injections. It goes from a low dose to an effective dose, and then after they start to become effective, the interval between the shots increases to every other week and every third week and then once a month.

“The thing about allergy shots is they have to be given in a doctor’s office where a doctor is supervising the patient to watch for signs of an allergic reaction so that they can treat it promptly and effectively.”

After five years of shots, Berdy says many people are sensitized to their allergens.

“Many people have no symptoms after that and other people may have minimal symptoms that require just some medications – but it is usually very dramatic at reducing the severity of the symptoms or the complications, like sinus infections and asthma that can be associated with allergies.”

Allergic asthma

Allergens can cause asthma attacks. Known as allergic asthma, it is the most common form of asthma and produces wheezing, breathing difficulties, coughing and chest tightness. Unlike other allergy shots, patients with severe, persistent asthma who take Xolair shots for allergic asthma are on them for the long haul.

“It is not possible to discontinue that one,” Berdy says. “It has to be given every two to four weeks, based on how it’s dosed indefinitely. Xolair is dosed based on your weight and your total IgE level, which is your total immunoglobulin E level.”

IgE antibodies are found in your lungs, skin and mucus membranes and react against foreign substances.

Patients who are on Xolair, Berdy says, have abnormal lung function; they’ve been in the hospital; they’ve had frequent prednisone but their severe asthma can be controlled by the injection. She says after a set period of time, hopefully they can reduce some of their other asthma medications.

When to see a doctor

How do you know if you need to see a doctor about your allergies?

See a health professional when you can’t control the symptoms by yourself.

“You go to a doctor when avoidance measures – the windows closed, the air conditioner on doesn’t work – you don’t want to spend long periods of time outdoors,” Berdy explains. “If those things don’t work and over-the-counter medications, then you do want to see a doctor or an allergist to get better treatment.”

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation has several suggestions on how to aggressively reduce the amount of allergens in your home. Find out by visiting http://tinyurl.com/indoorallergens.

Counseling people on nutritionallyrelated diseases’

Position/Where: Registered dietitian and director of Nutrition Services at Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers

CareerHighlights: Adefinite highlight to my career is the opportunity to move into a management position within three years of working at People’s Health Centers.

Education: • Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Xavier University of Louisiana

• Master of Science in Nutritional Sciences from University of Missouri-Columbia

• Completion of Coordinated Program in Dietetics from University of Missouri-Columbia

Personal: Husband, Eddie Doss; parents - Karl and Frankie Jones; sister and nephews -Kara Trice; Devin and Dylan Trice.

Member of Ferguson Heights Church of Christ

St. Louis Connection: Graduated from Hazelwood East High School in 1993

Yourjourney to success: Taking opportunities as they presented themselves has been a huge part of my progress. I always saw myself as a research scientist while growing up, so that was my aim when entering college. I was able to have several research opportunities in college and received fellowship and scholarship money for conducting research projects with my mentors. My interest in nutrition started when I became a graduate student at the University of Missouri-Columbia. I had always been involved in the sciences, but I did not know that nutrition was considered a science. I had only been exposed to biology, chemistry and physics not knowing that nutrition involves all of them. I redirected my graduate studies from biochemistry to nutrition and did prostate cancer research for my Master’s thesis. After completing the project and learning of how food affects health, I decided to stay in school to study dietetics. I wanted to be able to counsel people on how to eat to prevent and manage nutritionally related diseases. Now, I like to share knowledge of the field to minorities since there is a shortage of African-Americans and males in dietetics.

Dorian Doss

PROFILING PEOPLE IN HEALTH

Dorian Doss

Breast Cancer

Gateway to Hope offers no-charge medical and reconstructive treatment for uninsured breast cancer patients in Missouri. Contact 314-569-1113.

Behavorial

Christian Hospital offers free and confidential psychiatric and chemical dependency evaluations at the Christian Hospital Center for Mental Health. The hospital has a geriatric psychiatric unit dedicated to serving the mental health needs of geriatric patients. For more information, call 314-839-3171.

Diabetes

Free, diabetes education program held at various locations by the Diabetes Network of St. Louis. Participants will be offered testing and support for diabetes control. Six sessions will cover monitoring your blood sugar, controlling complications of diabetes, taking care of your feet, living a healthy life through diet and exercise, and personal goal setting. Call Coco Bopp 314-7479533 for more information.

Dental

HEALTH RESOURCES

Free Dental Hygiene Clinic - No charge dental exams, x-rays, cleanings and other dental services for children and adults provided by dental students at Missouri College. Patients needing more extensive dental work (like fillings, crowns, etc.) will be referred to local dentists. For an appointment, call 314-768-7899.

Fitness

Jazzercise every Monday and Thursday, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. – $1 per class at Ferguson Heights Church of Christ, 1239 N. Elizabeth Ave. Ferguson, Mo., 63135. For information, call 314-521-8005.

Information

Missouri 2-1-1 offers referral and information on a wide range of social service and helpful resources. Call 2-1-1.

Medical

Salam Free Saturday Clinic, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Isom Community Center at Lane Tabernacle CME Church, 916 N. Newstead. for those who are uninsured. For information, call 314-533-0534.

St. Louis ConnectCare offers urgent care services to City of St. Louis employees without an appointment, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and most holidays. For more information, call 314-879-6300.

Nutrition

Food Outreachprovides food, meals and nutritional education/ counseling to eligible persons living with HIV/AIDS or cancer in St. Louis. For more information, call 314-652-3663 or visit www.foodoutreach.org.

Angel Food Ministries operates in hundreds of churches nationwide and offers heat and serve meals, canned and fresh food boxes at a reduced cost. Find the nearest locations by zip code at www.angelfoodministries.com.

Prescription Cost Help

Schnucks Pharmacies – now offers certain prescription prenatal vitamins for free and offers no-cost generic prescription antibiotics at select locations.

Wal-Mart Pharmacies – offer select prescriptions for $4 or less for a 30-day supply or $10 for a 90-day supply. View the complete list at www.walmart.com/pharmacy.

Respiratory Health

Free lung function screening - Christian Hospital Breathing Center at Northwest HealthCare, 1225 Graham Rd. For more information, call 314-953-6040.

Sexual Health

St. Louis County Health Department offers free, confidential testing, counseling and treatment at the North Central Community Health Center, 4000 Jennings Station Road, St. Louis, MO 63121. For more information, call 314679-7800.

St. Louis Metropolitan HIV/AIDS Program offers confidential or anonymous testing for HIV/AIDS. The office is located within ConnectCare’s main building in Suite 203 at 5535 Delmar, St. Louis, MO 63112. For more information, call (314) 879-6468.