May 1st, 2014 Edition

The

Sterling the heave-ho

Adam Silver, commissioner of the NBA, had the whole world looking at him, and he made the right call.

St. LouiS AmericAn

‘They simply wanted to serve’

By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American

“I honestly believe that each of these special people we recognize did not begin their journeys attempting to gain recognition or be a leader,” Denise HooksAnderson, MD, said in her welcoming remarks at the St. Louis American Foundation’s 2014 Salute to Excellence in Health Care Awards luncheon held Friday at the Hilton St. Louis Frontenac.

“They simply wanted to serve.”

n “We have to find people from multiple pathways, people who have diverse backgrounds.”

– Michael Railey, MD

Hooks-Anderson, The St. Louis American’s medical accuracy editor and assistant professor at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, praised

the foundation’s 2014 awardees to a soldout audience of health care executives, colleagues, family, friends, patients and supporters.

The foundation presented two Lifetime Achiever awards this year. Gloria Taylor, cofounder of Community Women Against Hardship, received the Lifetime Achiever in Caring for the Community award. Sherrill Jackson, RN, MHSA, CPNP, pediatric nurse practitioner and breast cancer

By Rebecca Rivas

Of The St.

In 2012, two African-American entrepreneurs created a Yelp-like website for black-owned businesses called Tuloko. The online business search engine has continued to grow in its reach and popularity.

n “Studies have shown the black unemployment rate would drop 4 points if African Americans reached 10 percent of their spending on black-owned businesses.”

– Duane Johnson, co-founder of Tuloko

“We wanted to find a niche to support black-owned businesses,” said Tuloko co-founder Duane Johnson. “We wanted to merge the ‘Buy Black Movement’ with social networking.” Now that Tuloko is up and running, Johnson and co-founder Sean Armstrong have moved onto a new project, the Green Book ‘Buy

By Dale Singer Of St. Louis Public Radio

The incoming president of Harris-Stowe State University doesn’t take over until midJuly, but Dwaun J. Warmack has a pretty good idea of what his priorities will be.

He told a news conference on campus last Thursday that he is a visionary leader, and his vision has four parts: academic excellence, strong enrollment and retention of students, marketing and branding, and friend-raising and fund-raising.

And, Warmack said, his background prepares him to get the job done.

Citing his experience at universities public and private, with a variety of missions, he made clear that he knows how to deal with students See

Photo by Wiley Price

Gloria Taylor, cofounder of Community Women Against Hardship

Sherrill Jackson, RN, MHSA, CPNP, founder and president of The Breakfast Club, Inc.

Youth from the Dwight Davis and Net Rushers tennis teams served as flag bearers during opening ceremonies for the U.S. vs. France Fed Cup held recently at the Chaifetz Arena.

Dwaun J. Warmack, the incoming president of Harris-Stowe State University (center), speaks with Darius Chapman and Michael Holmes, who chaired the search committee, before Warmack’s introduction to the public last Thursday.

Photo by Wiley Price

Did Nelly swoop in on Miss Jackson?

Earlier this month Nelly shamelessly flirted with Floyd Mayweather’s ex fiancé, Shantel Jackson, making her his Woman Crush Wednesday on social media.

Well, this week they were spotted together sitting court side at the Miami Heat Charlotte Bobcats game.

First Jackson posted pictures of her Ford boots on the hardwood. Pictures of the two together began circulating online immediately afterwards.

T.I. and The Game engage in LAPD standoff following club brawl

Rappers T.I. and The Game were involved in a stand-off with L.A.P.D. last night after their friends get into a fight outside Supperclub in L.A. After half of T.I. and Game’s party were refused entry to

Supperclub, the guys who couldn’t get in got into a fist fight with security. Eventually the police arrive and take over.

TMZ cameras caught T.I. and Game trading tense words with L.A.P.D. after mistakenly believing their battered and bruised friends had been assaulted by the cops.

According to TMZ, the two men were taken to LAPD’s Hollywood division but no charges were filed and they were released.

Porsha claims to have been physically abused by Kordell

why didn’t you tell anybody or call the police or what have you? I just thought that I could make it better. I honestly thought after each situation that I would change this or I would change that, and therefore the outcome wouldn’t be the same I was praying every day. I was cooking. I was smiling. The outside appearance was as if nothing was happening. Even though you’re being abused, you still love that person; you’re just trying to love them through it. You’re not realizing that you can’t change a person, they have to change themselves.”

Williams’ ex-husband immediately denied her abuse claims.

“Real Housewives of Atlanta” Porsha Williams sat down with “Access Hollywood” and dropped the bombshell – saying ex-husband Kordell Stewart hit her on more than one occasion.

Speaking about the video for her new single “Flatline,” Williams said the domestic violence scene was loosely based on her real life.

“Yeah. There were several different occasions that this happened,” Williams said.

“When you’re in an abusive situation, it kind of just builds, and it starts to get worse and worse. And people ask me,

“It’s not true. I’ve never abused her,” Stewart told Access Hollywood. “Never put my hands on her. Never.”

RHOA casting suspense continues, insiders say Sheree may return

Kenya Moore vows to return to The Real Housewives of Atlanta whether she’s hated by the rest of the cast or not.

“Kenya was just bragging about how she got Porsha fired and that she is definitely going to come back for another season and she doesn’t care if the other ladies say they hate her,” a source told Radar Online.

“The producers are still on the fence about keeping Porsha. They are about 60 percent

decided to fire her but 40 percent still wanting to keep her. The public wants Porsha to stay, but she was about to get the axe before the fight. Kenya has money problems and she’ can’t afford NOT to do the show. She’ll take whatever they offer her to stay.”

With Porsha William’ fate on the show up in the air, insiders claim former cast mate Sheree Whitfield is poised to take her place.

V. Stiviano vows to run for president, linked to Bishop Don Juan

Speaking publicly for the first time, the woman behind the scandal that resulted in L.A. Clippers owner Don Sterling’s lifetime ban from the NBA, V. Stiviano had some strangely interesting things to say when TMZ cameras caught up with her outside a restaurant in L.A. “One day I will become President of the United States of America and I will change the legislation and laws…modern day history… a civil rights movement,” Stiviano said. Meanwhile infamous Chicago pimp Bishop Magic Don Juan claims Sterling’s former mistress is just a

UMSL hosts forum on gun violence

Exposure to violence causes ‘toxic stress,’ says CDC expert

By Bridjes O’Neil

Of The St. Louis American

The “Safe and Sound: Smart Strategies to Protect Children from Gun Violence” forum was held recently at the J.C. Penney Conference Center at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL).

Women’s Voices Raised for Social Justice and Vision for Children at Risk co-sponsored the event, which featured keynote speaker James A. Mercy. Mercy is a consultant with the division of violence prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

“If you are unfortunate enough to get shot,” Mercy said, “you have a one in three chance of dying from those injuries.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics has defined gun violence as a public health issue and have long advocated for policies aimed at ending gun violence. In 2010, Mercy said, almost 32,000 people died nationwide due to firearm injuries. He said 60 percent of those deaths were suicide-related and 36 percent were homicides. Homicide is the second-leading cause of death among young people ages 15-24, he said, but is the leading cause of death for African Americans.

“Exposure to this type of violence has impacts on the brain. It gets under our skin in profound ways,” he said. “It’s what neuroscientists are now referring to as ‘toxic stress.’”

He said children who have had direct exposure to violence were more likely to display signs of aggression, low selfesteem, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorders.

During the Q & A session, an audience member asked whether income disparities contribute to gun violence.

“You find in countries with greater income inequality, you have higher rates of homicide,” he answered.

Refusal to expand Medicaid is attack on poor

We continue to allow the doctrine of the Confederacy — states’ rights — to divide us, even to the point of costing Americans their lives.

Charlene Dill, a resident of Florida, was a 32-year-old mother of three. She worked three jobs to try to support those children, despite having a serious heart condition. She earned too much ($11,000 a year) to be eligible for Medicaid under Florida law. She would have been able to get expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

who get the early bus, who clean our streets, take care of our children, work the midnight shift. But they hate Obama far more than they care for lowwage workers.

On the national level, he said, the CDC is focusing on preventive measures intended to reduce the frequency and severity of gun violence. He said proper gun storage, school and family-based programs, and advocacy organizations like Chicago-based Cure Violence have proven to be effective.

James Clark, vice president of community outreach at Better Family Life, called for a “paradigm shift” in how violence is confronted.

“We have reached a point that I like to call analysis-paralysis,” Clark said.

He said more direct action needs to be taken in the communities where the issue of gun violence is most prevalent.

Clark led a panel discussion that included the Rev. James Morris, pastor of Lane Tabernacle CME Church; Peggy Gordin, vice president of patient care at St. Louis Children’s Hospital; and Frankie Edwards, a Better Family Life volunteer. Each of the panelists shared with the audience their first-hand experiences with gun violence.

Morris spoke of his three sons. One was shot during his freshman year in college and is now paralyzed from the neck down. Gordin said her son was not raised in a community where he was exposed to gun violence. Yet, she

said the issue of gun violence affects all people, crossing racial and socioeconomic barriers. Her son was shot and killed in what she described as a retaliatory attack.

“He was hunted down at 2 a.m. and shot in the back five times,” she said.

Edwards is a former gang member and drug dealer. He said he lacked positive role models growing up and turned to the streets.

“Now it’s time for us to go straight to our neighborhoods and deliver people resources so they can make better decisions about their life,” Clark said.

Other speakers included David M. Jaffe, M.D., medical director of emergency services at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and president of the Academic Pediatric Association; Lt. Janice Bockstruck, juvenile division commander of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department; Tiffany Anderson, Ed.D., Jennings School District superintendent; and Saaid Khojasteh, M.D., chief of the department of psychiatry at St. Joseph Health Centers, St. Charles and Wentzville and network associate medical director of behavioral medicine at SSM Health Care

Follow this reporter on Twitter: @ BridjesONeil.

But the conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states have the right to refuse to expand Medicaid, even though the federal government will pay 100 percent of the costs for the first three years, and 90 percent thereafter. This states’ rights decision would cost Charlene Dill her life.

Every member of the Florida state legislature has health insurance. Yet, as zealous opponents of Obamacare, they voted not to expand Medicaid, turning their noses up on billions in federal support. That decision cost Charlene Dill her life.

According to a Harvard study, an estimated 8 million Americans will remain uninsured because of the decision of 25 states to refuse to expand Medicaid. They estimate that will result in about 7,000 deaths per year, or 19 a day.

The victims are working people, who earn too much to get Medicaid and too little to afford health insurance. Conservatives, one would think, would want to help those

Not surprisingly, the states that have refused to expand Medicaid include almost the entire South, the states of the former Confederacy, as well as the Republican bastions in the Midwest and West. These are among the poorest states in the union, with the most residents who have no health insurance, and the worst health care indices. People of color – primarily African Americans and Latinos –are disproportionately the victims of this cruelty. That should not surprise. From John C. Calhoun’s South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification to secession, the Civil War to segregation, states’ rights has always been a doctrine wielded to oppress minorities, even at the cost of depriving poor working people of all races. These governors and legislators assume that poor people do not register and do not vote (and they are passing laws to make it harder for them to do so). They assume that most Americans won’t care if thousands die needlessly. They assume that states’ rights can allow America to move from one nation to two nations, separate and unequal. I believe we are a better country than that. Working and poor people have an insult level that is being violated. People of conscience will not turn their eyes forever. This is a moral disgrace that cannot be simply ignored.

Columnist Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.

James Clark of Better Family Life poses with fellow panelists Peggy Gordin and Frankie Edwards at a forum on gun violence organized at UMSL by Women’s Voices Raised for Social Justice and Vision for Children at Risk. Both Gordin and Edwards shared their first-hand experiences with gun violence at the forum.

Editorial /CommEntary

When fighting monsters

According to news reports of his murder trial in the Tulsa World, Clayton D. Lockett was a cold-blooded killer who botched his executionstyle slaying of an innocent young woman, left her dying in a shallow grave, and then returned to finish the job after he had worked out a kink in his murder weapon, a shotgun. In 2000, an Oklahoma jury found Lockett guilty of this heinous murder and sentenced him to death. On Tuesday the executioner finally came for Lockett at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, and the executioner – a medical professional contracted by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections – also botched his job. Part of the execution cocktail intended to numb the condemned man failed to work, according to press reports, and Lockett died in the execution chamber of a heart attack after writhing in pain for more than a half-hour. One of Lockett’s attorneys said it looked like “torture.” Considering that a man who had been officially executed managed to rise from the gurney and undergo a heart attack before dying without medical help, it’s difficult to know what else to call it. In light of Lockett’s own crime, which put an innocent victim through death throes similar to what he would later suffer as punishment, many would say he got what he deserved. Some would go so far as to see the hand of fate or even providence in the agonizing way that Lockett died. A small voice in almost all of us says, at times, that murderers deserve to be murdered and torturers deserve to be tortured. But if we want to take pride in living in (and accept paying taxes to) a civilized state and

nation, we must not accept this brutal thinking and allow ourselves to become brutalized in the process of administering punishment. As the philosopher Friedrich W. Nietzsche warned, “Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster.”

Like Oklahoma, Missouri is a death penalty state. Like Oklahoma’s Department of Corrections, ours has difficulty securing drugs for executions because many providers, especially those based overseas, do not want to do business with executioners. And as in Oklahoma, our executioners try to hide from the condemned the details of their lethal drug cocktails. As St. Louis Public Radio points out, Oklahoma and Missouri have bought execution drugs from compounding pharmacies, which are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and whose products have a significant failure rate. Oklahoma and Missouri also both shield the identity, and therefore the competence, of their executioners. What happened to Lockett could happen to any of the condemned prisoners in

Missouri whose executions the Missouri Supreme Court continues to schedule and that Gov. Jay Nixon and Attorney General Chris Koster continue to endorse and encourage. Indeed, as St. Louis Public Radio points out, Koster even used the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling on one of Lockett’s appeals to argue that Missouri’s execution drug supplier should remain secret. “No execution should take place in Oklahoma until there has been a full investigation into Clayton Lockett’s death, including an independent autopsy and full transparency surrounding the drugs and the process of administering them,” said Madeline Cohen, a federal public defender and lawyer for another condemned man who had been scheduled for execution after Lockett. We strongly believe the same should be true in Missouri. We must not tolerate our state government buying and mixing lethal cocktails in our name and executing prisoners in a manner that – after the death of Clayton Lockett – clearly can end in what amounts to torture. When punishing monsters, we must not become monsters.

As I See It - A Forum for Community Issues

Why being my brother’s keeper matters

By Gov. Deval Patrick Guest Columnist

As a black man, my heart aches over the disproportionate numbers of men and boys of color left back by schools, left out of jobs and caught up in crime. As a black public official, I am struck by how little appetite there seems to be among law makers to deal with the root causes of this. So, I am encouraged by President Obama’s leadership in his “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative. We all know the statistics. Disproportionately more African- and HispanicAmerican boys are in poverty, ill-nourished and without adequate health care; more stuck in achievement gaps or in underperforming schools; more subject to school discipline; more “disconnected,” as the social scientists say, from college education and jobs; more victims of violence or in jail. We also know how interconnected these calamities are – how poverty, for example, connects to school readiness, or how critical good fathers are to growing boys into responsible men. And yet we listen to the statistics and the news reports with a measure of resignation, as if these realities are beyond our capacity to care about and to solve. The president has wisely engaged us all. His initiative brings business and philanthropic leaders together with policy makers, educators, faith leaders and law enforcement, to consider how to save boys and men of color.

A comprehensive approach is inherently ambitious, but it is the right approach. The task force is charged to consider the whole picture, the combination of challenges and opportunities presented by personal behavior and related policy affecting an at-risk population. Everyone is at the table because everyone has a stake in the outcome. Our economy needs the creativity of young men of color. Our society needs the contributions of young men of color. Our communities need peace and a reason to hope. America is in the midst of the most profound global competition in centuries, and we need everybody on the field ready to play.

n For the first time in decades, achievement gaps in our schools are shrinking.

In Massachusetts, we have taken a similar approach. We have taken a number of collaborative, “publicprivate” measures to close the achievement gap in our schools and to prevent crime among young men who are known high risks. We have better aligned our community colleges to provide the job training our businesses actually need their prospective employees to have. One high school in Boston has formed a partnership with the community college across the street to create a clear pathway for students to highdemand careers. We have even engaged new financing tools, such as social impact bonds through the private sector,

where the state pays local community-based agencies for better outcomes through demonstrated savings in prison or remedial costs. And, like the president proposes to do, we pay attention to measurable results, adjusting as we go, with a commitment to ending programs that don’t work.

We are getting results. For the first time in decades, achievement gaps in our schools are shrinking. The dropout rate has been cut in half. In our targeted cities, overall crime victimization is down significantly, with a 25 percent drop in homicide and a 19 percent drop in aggravated assaults.

We need people caught up in their own cycles of selfdestruction or violence to break that cycle, and a combination of personal responsibility and targeted programming can help them do so. As we charge young men of color to break their destructive cycles, we as policymakers can help by breaking a few of our own. President Obama’s initiative will give young men who work hard and play by the rules a chance to succeed.

My father was old-school. He believed, like countless other black fathers, that being hard on his son was the only way to prepare him for the harsh realities of being a black man in America. He was a creature of his times and also of timeless truths. But he, again like countless other black fathers, was also transferring his pain to another generation. That is a destructive cycle, and it must also be broken. It is brave, and inherently risky, for any president to undertake to do so. It might be that only this president could. Deval Patrick is governor of Massachusetts. Reprinted from the Bay State Banner.

Commentery

Court undermines affirmative action

Affirmative action has opened doors for disadvantaged minorities and made this a fairer, more equal society. The U.S. Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts apparently wants no more of that.

This week’s big ruling –upholding a Michigan state constitutional amendment that bans public universities from considering race in admissions –claims to leave affirmative action alive, if on life support. But the court’s opinion, ignoring precedent and denying reality, can only be read as an invitation for other states to follow suit.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s thundering dissent should be required reading. She sees what the court is doing and isn’t afraid to call out her colleagues on the disingenuous claim that the ruling in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action is limited in scope. It has implications that go beyond college admissions to other areas, such as voting rights, where majorities seek to trample minority rights.

By “rights,” I mean not affirmative action but the principle, upheld repeatedly by the court, that the political process should be a level playing field. In Michigan, with the high court’s blessing,

anyone who wants to advocate for affirmative action is at a disadvantage. Instead of banning the policy outright – which would at least be honest – the court paints it with a bull’s-eye and strips it of defenses.

The case involves the University of Michigan, my alma mater, by the way, which has spent nearly two decades trying to defend taking race into account, as one of many factors, in deciding admissions.

The university is governed by an elected board of regents, some of whose members have campaigned on their views for or against affirmative action. Opponents of what they call “racial preferences” tried but failed to elect enough like-minded regents to end the practice, so they proposed an amendment to the state Constitution that says Michigan’s public universities “shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin.”

Voters approved the measure in 2006 by a wide margin.

This may sound reasonable, even admirable, but here’s the problem: With the amendment, voters changed the political process in a way that unfairly burdens racial minorities.

There was, after all, an existing process for influencing the university’s admissions policies. You could lobby the regents. You could run ads to pressure the board. You could campaign for board candidates

Letters to the editor

Another ‘Long Hot Summer’?

The commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Bill brings to mind the quote by William Faulkner: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”

Looming in the background when Martin Luther King Jr. and other black leaders gathered around President Lyndon Johnson for the signing of the legislation was the same argument against it that exists today. Namely, that the impoverishment of the black community is the result of its cultural dysfunction, not discrimination.

That theory found its political credence in the infamous Moynihan Report, which blamed the black community’s inferior status on its matriarchal structure. We hear that same argument repeated today when the black community is said to have an “entitlement” culture.

King planned the Poor People’s Campaign to try to obtain for his people America’s Holy Grail in a capitalist-driven nation: money. It was a mission never quite accomplished, and the few dollars sprinkled by Johnson’s War on Poverty were quickly washed away by a wasted war and the counter-revolution from the right that ensued after the leaders from the left had been assassinated.

Today, as the black community is mired in unemployment double that of the rest of the nation, after having suffered in the so-called Great Recession the greatest loss of wealth of any ethnic group, the grating argument that blacks are themselves to blame for their condition contains an element that may be combustible. As we remember the enactment of the Civil Rights Act 50 years ago, let us not forget the “Long Hot Summer” that followed.

Louis

Eric E. Vickers, St.

Give the gift of cord blood

Compassion and generosity are hallmarks of motherhood. As we look forward to this Mother’s Day, there is a singularly meaningful way that

who shared your views. You could run to become a regent yourself.

You can still do any of these things if you want to want to influence the university’s admissions policies in any other way – if you want, say, more places reserved for “legacy” applicants who are the sons and daughters of alumni. But if you want to influence the board in favor of race-sensitive admissions, you have only one option: an onerous, expensive and almost surely futile attempt to amend the state Constitution yet again.

As Sotomayor writes, “The effect ... is that a white graduate of a public Michigan university who wishes to pass his historical privilege on to his children may freely lobby the board of that university in favor of an expanded legacy admissions policy, whereas a black Michigander who was denied the opportunity to attend that very university cannot lobby the board in favor of a policy that might give his children a chance that he never had.” If stacking the deck in this manner is acceptable in university admissions, why not in voting rights?

Sotomayor’s dissent recounts the long history of attempts by majorities to change the political process in order to deny racial and ethnic minorities the chance to achieve their goals. The court has recognized a duty to protect the process rights of minorities – until now, apparently.

expectant mothers can show compassion and give hope to people in need: by donating umbilical cord blood.

Cord blood, normally disposed of after birth, is unlike any other blood donation. It can be the only potentially life-saving treatment option for thousands of patients suffering from truly devastating blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma.

The donation process is simple and can be arranged months in advance. It doesn’t affect labor or delivery, and is safe for moms and babies.

When you donate your baby’s cord blood to a public cord blood bank, such as the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank, you pay nothing. Your baby’s cord blood will be listed on the national Be The Match Registry where it is made available to anyone in need of a transplant.

Thank you for considering a gift of life and hope through a public cord blood donation. For more information, contact the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank at 1-888-453-2673 and www. slcbb.org, or visit BeTheMatch. org/cord.

Kathy Mueckl RN, BSN Nurse coordinator, St. Louis Cord Blood Bank St. Louis

Breaking the public

trust

The action taken by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce against former St. Louis Alderwoman Kacie Star Triplett, for using campaign contributions for personal use, is rather puzzling. There have been public officials and governmental entities that have trampled all over numerous election laws and spent tens of thousands of tax dollars to unlawfully promote ballot measures, and Joyce has done nothing.

There are two mitigating factors in the Triplett matter. One, tax dollars were not involved. Two, no election was improperly influenced or corrupted. The same cannot be said of others. In 2012, a matter was brought to Joyce about the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District spending tens of millions of dollars of public money on no-bid consulting contracts. One $5 million contract went to the firm where

the sewer district chairman was a top executive. At just one meeting, $37 million of the no-bid contracts were approved. Joyce did nothing. By failing to do her job for years, Joyce has broken the public trust far more than Kacie Star Triplett.

Tom Sullivan, University City

Columnist

Eugene Robinson

Guest Columnist Gov. Duval Patrick

Student paper fares well

The Scene student newspaper at St. Louis Community College-Forest Park won 23 awards at the recent Missouri College Media Association Conference in Kirksville, Mo. The Scene won second place for Best Newspaper Overall and also second in the sweepstakes. The student publication competes in Division 4, which includes newspapers at community colleges across the state. Teri Maddox is the Scene faculty adviser. The Scene is now online at www.thescenefp.com. For more information, call 314-644-9140 or email the_scene_fp@yahoo.com.

Youth and Family

Resource Fair

on May 3

The Hazelwood School District will partner with the Spanish Lake Community Association, Saint Louis County and Majic 100.3 for the 8th Annual Youth and Family Resource Fair 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 3 at Twillman Elementary School, 11831 Bellefontaine Rd. Spanish Lake families and surrounding communities will be able to get information to help them provide a safe and enriching summer for their children, and to connect them with organizations that support the community. There will be fun activities, free books and bicycle helmets for children, and a complimentary hot dog lunch will be served (while supplies last). For more information, call 314-741-4100.

Full moon viewings at Compton Hill Water Tower

The historic Compton Hill Water Tower has opened its doors for its 15th consecutive season of monthly openings and full moon viewings events. The next full moon is Wednesday, May 14.

The Tower, located at the intersection of Shaw and Grand boulevards, will open at 5:30 p.m. on full moon evenings and stay open as late as midnight for most months from April through November.

The Tower is open from noon to 4 p.m. on the first Saturday of each month from April through November. Visitors can climb to the top of the 179-ft. Tower and enjoy a 360-degree vista of metro St. Louis stretching as far as Illinois, Clayton and the Jefferson Barracks Bridge.

Admission to climb the tower is $5 per person; children six to 12 are $3; children five and younger are free. For more information, visit www.waterfoundation.org.

Old North House & Community Tour on May 17

Historic homes, businesses and community gardens will be on display at the annual Old North St. Louis House & Community Tour 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday, May 17.

Tours will begin at the clock tower at the corner of N. 14th St. and St. Louis Ave., across from Crown Candy Kitchen. Visitors will be able to walk between the homes and gardens on the tour at their own pace or use the free shuttle service.

Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 on the day of the tour; a coupon for a free ice cream cup, courtesy of Crown Candy Kitchen, is included with the tour. Tickets will be available in advance at the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group office at 2700 N. 14th Street or online at www.ONSL.org.Tickets also will be available on the day of the tour. Proceeds from ticket sales benefit the ongoing neighborhood improvement efforts of Old North St. Louis Restoration Group.

Where dehumanization leads us

By Esther J. Cepeda Washington Post

“What could a 3-year-old possibly do to warrant being suspended from preschool?”

The question was raised by someone who had read a news story about a Department of Education report noting that black children make up 18 percent of preschool enrollment but represent 42 percent of preschool children suspended once and 48 percent of those suspended multiple times.

In a perfect world, the answer would be a mix of the stupid and the predictable.

Stupid on the part of administrators who insist on crazy zero-tolerance rules and then bust the children for benign offenses such as making a pretend gun with a thumb and finger.

Predictable, as in the children who have a hard time adjusting from very patient or permissive family situations to the structured – and stressful, for some –environment of preschool.

Let’s put the statistics about suspensions of black preschoolers into perspective. While African-American children are suspended from preschool at a rate well over twice their share of enrollment, white students represent 43 percent of preschool enrollees but only 26 percent of suspensions.

No other racial or ethnic group even came close to the level of disparity in the proportion of population-to-suspension as black kids. Why?

Consider a recently published article in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology titled “The Essence of Innocence: Consequences of Dehumanizing Black Children.” Researchers describe their efforts to understand whether black boys are seen as children – distinct from adults, with the essential characteristics of being innocent and needing protection – equally as their non-black peers.

In four different laboratory and field experiments, the researchers examined evidence that black boys are seen as older and less innocent than their white same-age peers. The research team also found that black boys are seen as being more responsible for their actions.

“This research suggests that dehumanization is a uniquely dangerous intergroup attitude, that intergroup perception of children is underexplored, and that both topics should be research priorities,” researchers wrote.

Dehumanization, the authors noted, is not the same as prejudice or bias – it’s far worse. “Whereas prejudice may prompt one to devalue a job candidate from a disliked group, prejudice would not predict endorsement of genocide or extreme violence toward that individual or group. Dehumanization, on the other hand, would.”

To say that we need more research on how implicit perceptions of black children affect their treatment in society is a big understatement. And to note that our education policy needs to pay close attention to such findings must be a given.

If we really are at a period in our development when something deeper than racism is feeding the mass failure of our black kids and encouraging the school-to-prison pipeline, we need to acknowledge it before buying into the idea that universal preschool and other educational interventions will be a magical elixir for young men of color.

Follow Cepeda on Twitter @estherjcepeda.

Esther J. Cepeda

ARCH

Continued from A1

Network. The Green Book is like a dating or social networking site for minority suppliers to “match up” with government or corporate contractors.

On Saturday at the downtown St. Louis Public Library, the Tuloko team was among 46 finalists who presented their business proposals as part of the Arch Grants Global Startup Competition, which offers funding for startup businesses willing to relocate to downtown St. Louis. Selected from hundreds of applications from 21 countries, the finalists are competing for 20 nonequity grants of $50,000 each. Winners will be announced on May 21. Johnson and Armstrong came up with the idea for the Green Book Network after realizing that many databases of minority-owned businesses are outdated and difficult to navigate.

“We decided we can create something similar so a large company could easily find a small minority business,” Johnson said. “The Green Book Network will be a conduit

HEALTH

Continued from A1 survivor, received the Lifetime Achiever in Health Care.

“Many of the people that are struggling do not have basic needs,” Taylor said. “We give furniture, appliances, food – all of those things really come from the community.”

Community Women Against Hardship offers programs and services to those who are struggling with poverty in order for them to become more selfsufficient.

“The educational framework is about having a parent opportunity program as well as programs for youth,” Taylor

between all the players in the supplier diversity field. We will be a one-stop shop.”

Johnson’s hope is to make communication between minority businesses and contractors as fluid as possible.

The Green Book will have two “platforms,” he said.

One side is for government agencies, large corporations and university college purchasing departments to list their “request for proposals” and contract opportunities.

said. “The child has to return to that environment, so we work very hard in trying to get the parent involved in health and wellness.”

Jackson was honored primarily for her work on behalf of breast cancer survivors as founder and president of The Breakfast Club, Inc. She is also manager of school-based programs at Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers.

“Over these last 16 years, we have a program called Faith on the Move that brings mammography vans to churches,” Jackson said. “We have a formalized buddy program, which is four women who are breast cancer survivors themselves, and they buddy

On the other side, small business owners can create a profile which would include information on their certifications, finances and other aspects of their business that contractors look for.

The network will be open to businesses owned by ethnic minorities, members of the LGBT community, women, and veterans. Business owners can also upload 30-second videos to introduce themselves. Through the site, contractors

with newly-diagnosed women. We visit prisons, and we work with St. Louis correctional facilities.”

Michael Railey, MD, associate dean of multicultural affairs at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, received the 2014 Stellar Performer in Health Care Award. His department seeks to recruit, retain and train students, graduate medical students and faculty. He said today’s global, diverse world calls for a more inclusive physician pool.

“We have to have trained doctors that know how to relate to all of these types of people,” Railey said. “We have learned that looking at grades is not enough. We have to find people from multiple pathways,

Jerry Schlichter, board chair of Arch Grants, speaks with Tuloko co-founder Duane Johnson at a reception for new Arch Grant finalists held Saturday at Central Library downtown.

will be able to instant-message or video-conference with small businesses.

“They can do it right from their office and make a match,” Johnson said about the online conferencing feature. “It saves both parties thousands of dollars. And it eliminates all the excuses of large corporations, in terms of not being able to find quality minority suppliers.”

Johnson is currently based in Minneapolis, where he is

people who have diverse backgrounds. We call looking at an evaluation for a doctor as a holistic process.”

Laurent Javois, regional executive director of the Missouri Department of Mental Health, was the inaugural recipient of the St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund Dr. John M. Anderson Excellence in Mental Health Award. Javois oversees the three state psychiatric hospitals in the St. Louis area.

Javois expressed concern about aspects of mental health affecting the African-American community, including “the stigma of mental illness and its impact on access to treatment.”

“There are many individuals in our community who simply do not understand mental illness and shy away from it,” he said. “I think we need to do a better job of engaging individuals who are influential in the African-American community and have them participate in a discussion about mental illness, about treatment and recovery.”

Eight Salute to Excellence in Health Care Awardees were honored:

• Kimberly Brown, MPPA, LNHA, administrator at

asking lots of questions to leaders in the supplier diversity field regarding best practices.

“We’ve been recruiting people from retail, construction, government agencies and getting their ideas as we build this out,” he said.

The two young entrepreneurs first met in Boston years ago, while volunteering for the National Urban League. At the time, the organization was pushing a campaign that encouraged African Americans to spend 10 percent of their income at black-owned businesses.

Although it was a great idea, Johnson said it fizzled out because people didn’t know how to connect with the proper businesses.

The two had the idea to create a virtual version of “Black Wall Street,” the most prolific African-American business district in American history, which was vibrant in the early 20th century in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Today, African Americans have proven to be among the most active mobile shoppers, so a mobile app is a natural way to engage them, he said. By drawing attention to black-owned businesses and hopefully increasing their profiles within the black community, Johnson and

Doorways;

• Richelle S. Clark, BSN, MHA, MBA, co-director of the Center for Community Health and Partnerships at the Washington University Institute of Public Health;

• Jameca Falconer, PhD, a counseling psychologist at Logan University College of Chiropractic;

• Louis Gary, MD, medical director at Unity Hospice and physician at Touchette Regional Hospital;

• Taressa Hockaday, director of behavioral health youth services at SSM Health Care;

• Valencia M. McLaurin, LCSW, lead social worker at SSM Behavioral Health Services;

• CoKeisha Van Hook, RN, BSN, OCN, a nurse navigator and clinician at Christian Hospital;

• and Kel Ward, manager of community relations at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and manager of community engagement for BJC Healthcare.

Armstrong see a potential path to decreasing unemployment.

“Studies have shown the black unemployment rate would drop 4 points if African Americans reached 10 percent of their spending on black owned businesses,” he said.

The Green Book Network will also work towards lowering unemployment among the minority community, he said. Initially, they will offer the site’s services for free and then switch to a subscriptionbased business model down the road.

If selected, the Tuloko team will relocate to St. Louis, as required by the grant. Because St. Louis would be the pilot location for the project, the team would research what works best in connecting regional businesses and measure their outcomes. Johnson feels the website could have a significant impact on St. Louis’ minority businesses.

“It’s going to require us to hone in on St. Louis businesses and providing employment opportunities for St. Louisans,” Johnson said. “We are looking forward to that, because we will be able to provide metrics to success.”

Follow this reporter on Twitter @rebeccarivas.

Brenda Jackson, an international opera star and St. Louis native, performed to the accompaniment of Larry Johnson from Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church. Gregg “Happy Guitar” Haynes provided entertainment at the reception. Ida Goodwin Woolfolk served as emcee. Jackson and Taylor received $1,000 each from the St. Louis American Foundation for The Breakfast Club and for Community Women Against Hardship. All awardees received cards or gifts from Vincent’s Jewelers.

The presenting sponsors for the 2014 Salute to Excellence in Health Care Awards luncheon were Centene Corp. and Home State Health Plan.

Donald M. Suggs, publisher of The St. Louis American and president of the St. Louis American Foundation, stressed the importance of recognizing dedicated African-American health care professionals for their exemplary performance and their invaluable work.

“Their achievements are an inspiration to encourage better health behavior,” Suggs said, “as well as promoting a greater interest in pursuing health care careers.”

Photo by Wiley Price

By Eugene Robinson Washington Post

Let’s not pretend that deadbeat rancher Cliven Bundy and basketball team owner Donald Sterling are the last two racists in America. They have company.

I hear regularly from proud racists who send me – anonymously – some of the vilest and most hateful correspondence you could imagine. You’ll have to trust me about the content; this stuff, mostly vulgar racial insults directed at President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, is too disgusting to repeat.

My sensibilities are not delicate. I grew up in South Carolina as the Civil Rights Movement reached its climax, a place and time where racism was open, unambiguous and often violent. I would be the last person to deny that we’ve made tremendous progress against discrimination. But it is obvious that we have miles to go.

HSSU

Continued from A1

on a personal level. After all, he pointed out, his own story is very much like many of theirs.

Warmack said he and his four brothers were raised by a single mother in the projects of Detroit. He is the first member of his family to graduate from college. So he will be able to relate to the students that have been the core of HarrisStowe’s recruitment efforts.

“Harris-Stowe is a place that gives students an opportunity who are like me,” Warmack said. “So my passion, and my calling, have the opportunity to line up and to serve.”

Repeating the mantra of a school that is accessible, affordable and diverse, Warmack said an interview that he wants to make sure HarrisStowe graduates have the tools they need to succeed once they leave campus.

Racists among us

Attorney General Eric Holder was harshly criticized five years ago when he said we are “essentially a nation of cowards” in our reluctance to confront the racial issues

n In 2009, Sterling agreed to pay $2.73 million to settle a Justice Department lawsuit alleging discrimination against African-American and Latino tenants.

that remain. In retrospect, Holder was merely telling a truth that many still will not acknowledge.

Bundy’s hideous assessment of “the Negro” – he wondered whether African Americans were better off as slaves, picking cotton, than today –should have come as no shock.

A Nevada rancher who refuses to pay for grazing his cattle on federal land, Bundy belongs to the far-

a suit to work. Who I am all the time is who I am. So I think I am modeling behavior that is necessary to show them as a blueprint to what it means to be successful.”

n “I don’t wear two suits. I don’t wear a suit to church and a suit to work. Who I am all the time is who I am.”

Warmack succeeds Constance Gully, who has served as interim president for the current school year. She replaced Albert Walker, who served just two years as president following the 32-year tenure of Henry Givens Jr. Warmack will take over a campus where the governing board imposed a contract onto the faculty after declaring that negotiations had reached an impasse. Professors who were unhappy with their treatment by the administration formed the first union at a public campus in Missouri and have been vocal about what they consider to be a lack of influence in how the school is governed.

– Dwaun J. Warmack, incoming president of Harris-Stowe

“We will brand the institution in a way that individuals will know coming to Harris-Stowe, you will get a quality education but you have a real-world experience,” he said. “Our students will leave here prepared to serve and compete against anyone in the country. That’s what our focus will be.”

In his current job as senior vice president for administration and student services at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla. – a campus he joined as a vice president in 2010 at the age of 33 – he said he connects with students via social media and even gives out his cell phone number. Such personal relationships, he said, are ways to help students succeed.

“Because of my upbringing, because of my background, there’s no separation from the work that I do and the person that I am,” Warmack said.

“I don’t wear two suits. I don’t wear a suit to church and

Warmack noted he is a former professor and has an idea about what their concerns may be.

“Faculty, staff and administrators all have one common goal,” he said. “That’s to serve the students. So my goal will be to bring us together and keep that as our main focus.”

Brian Elsesser, the newly elected president of the faculty union, said in an email that in his new position Warmack “will need to prove that he is serious about academics by moving more resources and power to faculty and away from an extremely top-heavy administration.”

So far, Elsesser said, Warmack’s comments have been encouraging, but his actions once he takes over on July 14 will be more revealing.

“We will know if Dr. Warmack is serious about academic excellence, shared governance and transparency within the first 90 days of his presidency,” Elsesser said. “I intend to work with him and will support him as long as he holds true to these principles.”

right, anti-government fringe. I’m talking about the kind of people who deny the federal government has any legitimacy and expect black helicopters to land any minute.

This worldview has found a home in the tea party movement, which harbors – let’s be honest – a racist strain.

This is not to say that all or most tea party adherents share Bundy’s ugly prejudices. But it has been obvious since the movement emerged that some tea partyers do. Media-savvy leaders eventually convinced those attending rallies to leave the racist placards at home, but such discretion says nothing about what remains in those people’s hearts and minds.

Department lawsuit alleging discrimination against AfricanAmerican and Latino tenants in his apartment buildings. In an earlier discrimination suit, settled for an undisclosed sum, one of his property managers quoted Sterling as saying of black tenants in general that “they smell, they’re not clean.”

Still, the recording of the alleged conversation between the 80-year-old Sterling – there has been no denial that it’s his voice – and his young girlfriend dominated the weekend’s news, perhaps because it was not only racist but truly weird.

Racist words from Donald Sterling, a real estate mogul who owns the Los Angeles Clippers, also should have been less than surprising. In 2009, Sterling agreed to pay $2.73 million to settle a Justice

“It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people,” the voice believed to be Sterling’s says to the girlfriend, V. Stiviano -- who is of mixed African-American and Mexican heritage. Sterling apparently believes

that since Stiviano is lightskinned and has straight hair, no one has to know that she is part black – if only she would stop posting photos of herself with African Americans, such as basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, on Instagram. He instructs her not to bring Johnson to Clippers games.

Throughout the recorded conversation, which was obtained by TMZ.com, Sterling is unable to grasp why a black woman might resist his demand that she not be photographed with other black people. He apparently views racial segregation, at least in public, as the way things still ought to be.

Sterling’s racism has the National Basketball Association in an uproar – understandably, given that nearly 80 percent of the league’s players are black. Even Obama, midway through a trip to Asia, felt the need to comment on what he called Sterling’s “incredibly offensive racist statements.” He said Sterling was advertising his “ignorance.”

Dwaun J. Warmack, the incoming president of Harris-Stowe State University, high-fives graduating senior Christopher C. Miller while junior Bennie Gilliam-Williams Jr. looks on following a press conference on campus last Thursday.

that the

another kind of climate figured into

But something more sinister than cluelessness was involved. Sterling made clear in the conversation with Stiviano that African Americans were unwelcome in his “culture.” This is old-fashioned “separatebut-equal” racism, pure and simple.

The Republican Party, Fox News and a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court would like to believe such naked prejudice is history. Yet some big-city school systems are as segregated as they were in the 1960s. Leading public universities are admitting fewer black students than a decade ago. The black-white wealth gap has grown in recent years. Blacks are no more likely than whites to use illegal drugs, yet four times more likely to be arrested and jailed for it. No, racism isn’t back. It never went away.

Eugene Robinson’s email address is eugenerobinson@ washpost.com.

deliberations by him and his wife, LaKisha, about whether to seek a job in St. Louis. He noted that his current job is in Daytona Beach, which he called “the world’s most famous beach.”

“My wife has grown extremely accustomed to the beach weather. And so we did a lot of soul searching and praying before we applied,” he said. “So my helpmate, my soulmate, thank you for being here with me on this journey.”

Edited slightly and reprinted with permission from news. stlpublicradio.org.

Eugene Robinson

Despite what kind of cooperative climate Warmack encounters on campus, he told the news conference

question of

Photo by Wiley Price

Attention St. Louis American Readers

As a service to the community, we list obituaries in the St. Louis American Newspaper, on a space-available basis and online at stlamerican.com. AT NO CHARGE. Please send all obituary notices to kdaniel @stlamerican.com.

Erma Gean Barton

Erma “Gean” Barton entered into the kingdom of Heaven on Friday, April 18, 2014 at the age of 73. Gean was born on May 12, 1940 in Whitmore, AR to parents Eola Duff/ Boyland and David Duff. Gean was one of seventeen siblings.

Obituaries

Gean married Mitchell Barton, Sr. in May 1956. To their union welcomed four sons and two daughters: Mitchell, Jr., Dennis, Dephene, Michael, Francine and Lawrence.

Gean dedicated her life to Christ at a young age and had been a faithful member at Original Friendship M.B. Church for over thirty years.

Gean’s legacy lives on through the lives of her surviving six siblings, her six children, three daughters-inlaw: Lisa, Carlise, Catrina, nineteen grandchildren, thirteen great-grandchildren, and a host

of nieces, nephews, family, church family and dear friends.

In Loving Memory of Sanford K.M.A. Outlaw

April 1, 1980—Dec 1, 2000

Sanford was an all-around athlete and earned many awards for his abilities, but his true love was football. His achievements were: Drummer’s Award, 1994-95; Sumner High School “Most School Spirit” Award, 1999; St. Louis Gateway

EPA recruiting small business panel

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is inviting small businesses to participate as consultants for a Small Business Advocacy Review Panel as the agency considers steps to reduce lead based paint exposure from the renovation, repair and painting of public and commercial buildings as required by the Toxic Substances Control Act. EPA encourages owners or operators of small businesses, community officials, and representatives of nonprofit organizations to participate. However, a person from a trade association that exclusively or primarily represents potentially regulated small entities may also serve.

Classic Foundation Athletic Achievement Award, 1999; Public High School League AllStar Award, 1998-99; Honor Roll, Class of 1999; Football MVP Award, 1999. He is greatly missed by his daughter, Taylor Elizabeth; mother, Cheryl Ann Outlaw; family and friends.

Erma Barton

Outlaw

Public not allowed to speak at public safety hearing

Alderman Antonio French worked hard to get the chair of the aldermanic public safety committee to call a hearing with Police Chief Sam Dotson and the city’s new director of public safety, Richard Gray. At the meeting held last Thursday, French was anything but satisfied.

“What happened in today’s meeting was disgraceful,” French said (with some abbreviations) that day on Twitter, where his more than 3,800 readers include many of the city’s elected officials and media representatives.

“Not allowing aldermen to ask questions, threatening to have the public removed. Local control?”

The “local control” refers to the fact that the City of St. Louis now administers its own police department, following Mayor Francis G. Slay’s successful push to take “local control” of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department away from a board of gubernatorial appointees. French was implying bitter irony in the fact that the city now has “local control” of its police department, yet citizens were denied the opportunity to ask questions of the city’s police officials at the public hearing.

Alderwoman Phyllis Young, who chairs the committee, did not allow the public to ask questions. She also did not allow aldermen who are not on the committee to ask questions. Further, she placed tight time limits on the questions she did allow from committee members.

“Much of today’s presentation was about how violent crime in St. Louis affects black people,” French said, with some abbreviations, on Twitter. “Then black people weren’t allowed to ask questions.”

Virvus Jones, former alderman and comptroller for the city, said it was the chair’s prerogative to limit who could ask questions at the hearing. “But it’s a public hearing in a public facility, so I find it highly unusual that she would not let the public speak,” Jones said.

Young did not think it was unusual.

“The format of the hearing was similar to other hearings we’ve had in the past,” Young told The American. “The police were invited to make a presentation about crime statistics and what is going on in the department. The public is welcome to attend the meeting to get information, but they

have never been invited to make statements or to question the police.”

Young said she felt blindsided by an attempt to turn a committee meeting into a public forum.

“There are meetings in the community sponsored by the police districts that provide that sort of forum,” Young told The American. “I was not asked about providing that opportunity for yesterday’s meeting nor was I told that arrangements had been made to bus people to the meeting.”

This explanation did not account for Young not taking questions from board colleagues who are not on the committee, such as Alderwoman Sharon Tyus who was very vocal in her displeasure at being silenced.

“By not allowing Alderwoman Tyus and others to speak or ask questions of the police chief, the chairwoman displayed a level of disrespect for her colleagues that is not often seen publicly at the Board of Aldermen,” French said. “Chairmen always extend the most basic courtesy of being heard to other aldermen, even those not on the particular committee.”

On Twitter, French posted a photograph of some citizens from the 21st Ward, which he represents, who attended the hearing but went home without asking any questions about public safety at this public meeting.

“I apologize to these wonderful women on behalf of my city for how you were treated today,” French said on Twitter. “Your voice DOES matter.”

Chief Dotson told The American he would come to The Sanctuary in French’s 21st Ward to talk to these citizens whenever he is invited. He noted that he remained in the hearing room after the hearing was concluded to respond personally to people from the community who attended the meeting.

“I will come over and talk any time they want to talk,” Dotson said. “I will talk to anybody who wants to talk about anything. I stayed after the meeting to talk to people. I’ll go back next week and continue the conversation. If invited, I’ll be there next month. If invited, I’ll be there next week.”

Politics and posturing

Dotson questioned whether the outrage of French and Tyus

Police Chief Sam Dotson stayed late last Thursday after a public safety committee meeting held at the Board of Aldermen to speak to members of the public who had not been allowed to speak by the committee chair. Comments Dotson made to

Johnnie Hatcher, Jeraline Hopkins and Jean Grant were picked up by KMOX and got Dotson in trouble temporarily with the St. Louis Police Officers Association.

was substantive or merely political.

“Are we trying to get the right outcome, or are we posturing to be political?”

Dotson asked. “I want to have the best police department, to deliver the best service, and I will have that conversation every day all day long. But I understand that posturing is something politicians do. It gets them elected.”

Neither French nor Tyus have to defend their seat any time soon, but French did make a political point.

“What has become clear is that Chairwoman Young, a close ally of Mayor Slay, used her seniority to seize the chairmanship of the Public Safety Committee from Alderman Terry Kennedy for the sole purpose of making this committee a passive player in local control of the police department,” French told The American. “Our community should not stand for that. Because it is our community that is most affected by the violent crime sweeping our city. And it is our community that is most affected by the failure of Chief Dotson and Mayor Slay to recognize the crisis at hand.”

Slay was asked to comment on French’s claim that Young is an ally doing his bidding. His spokesperson, Maggie Crane, did not respond.

French said his actions were explicitly political in that he intended to encourage other black aldermen to leverage their power as elected officials. Though a plurality of city residents are black, black aldermen are a minority on the board.

“Though we are few (now only 11 of 28, despite our city’s population numbers), it is up to the African-American members of the Board of Aldermen to be strategic in using our power to get results for our community,” French said. “But certainly, the actions of Chairwoman Young to silence our voices in the conversation about crime

and public safety should not go without consequences.”

‘Slugs’

and cops for Boyd

Chief Dotson stayed in that hearing room talking to the public a little too long and too candidly. To one resident who said she was not impressed by the police department’s response time, Dotson acknowledged that 20 percent of officers on the force are “slugs.” KMOX picked up this comment and broadcast it, forcing an apology from Dotson that was accepted by the St. Louis Police Officers Association.

In other copper news, the St. Louis Police Officers Association announced some political endorsements last

week. The coppers endorsed three white Democrats (Deb Lavender for state rep, Sharon Quigley Carpenter for recorder of deeds, and Beth Murphy for alderman) and one black Democrat: Jeffrey Boyd for license collector.

Boyd, one of those 11 African-American aldermen, filed against an incumbent African American, License Collector Mavis Thompson, rather than Carpenter or the other white citywide incumbent, Collector of Revenue Gregg F.X. Daly Thompson was appointed to the office by Gov. Jay Nixon after Michael McMillan stepped down. Mayor Slay endorsed Boyd over Nixon’s appointee before filing closed, a flagrant sign of disrespect to Nixon and the black political community

that pressured the governor to appoint Thompson.

The coppers – including the alleged 20 percent “slugs” among them – join an interesting crowd on Boyd’s campaign bandwagon. Mayor Slay and Sheriff James Murphy also have endorsed Boyd. Boyd is very active on Twitter, frequently commenting on posts made by Mayor Slay, his spokesperson and his communications consultants Richard Callow and Gentry Trotter. But at least dating back to March 18 (as far back as the EYE could stand to read Boyd’s blather), he had nothing to say about why he was running for license collector. Here is a typical use of Twitter for Mr. Boyd from March 18: “@newsformaggie @ jeffrainford Happy Birthday @MayorSlay.” If you can read Twitter-speak, you know that Boyd has written to the mayor’s spokesperson to wish her a happy birthday, while copying the mayor and his chief of staff, Jeff Rainford Boyd sure appears to be more interested in gaining favor with the mayor than serving the city as its license collector.

Upgrade in city counselor

In the past, The American has heard from Mayor Slay’s city counselor usually when being threatened with legal action. When Patti Hageman stepped down to work for a Clayton firm, she was not missed here. So it comes as a major surprise to see her succeeded by a respected, able young attorney: Winston Calvert

“Winston is a very bright, dedicated, conscientious and hardworking young lawyer who will serve the City of St. Louis well,” Steven Cousins, partner at Armstrong Teasdale, said of Winston Calvert, who is leaving the firm to accept the position. At Armstrong Teasdale, Calvert worked under Cousins, who is counsel for The American

Photo by Wiley Price

CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT

Robinwood Elementary School 4th grade teacher

Casey

SCIENCE CORNER

Imagine a typical day. Your alarm clock goes off, you turn on a light switch to provide light, your parents cook your breakfast as you get ready for school. How many electrical appliances do you use in a day? It is estimated that the average person uses more than one dozen electrical appliances a day. Have you ever wondered about electricity? Electricity is a form of energy and it can come from coal, oil, hydropower, nuclear power, natural gas, geothermal energy, solar power, as well as wind power. Electricity travels over lines or wires attached to towers. Electricity moves through transformers that adjust the level of strength of the

SCIENCE EXPERIMENT

Materials Needed:

• 2Lemons • 2PaperClips • 3PiecesofWire • 5

AlligatorClipWires • ASmallDigitalClocktoPowerUp

Procedure:

q Attach one of the paperclips to a wire.

w Then attach a penny to a second wire.

e Attach another penny to one end of the third wire, and a paperclip to the other end.

r Squeeze and roll two lemons to loosen the pulp inside.

t Make two small cuts in the skins of both lemons an inch or so apart.

y Put the paper clip that is attached to the wire and the penny into the center of a cut lemon.

All electrical devices come with a wattage rating, which estimates how many watts each uses in a given hour when turned on. To convert to kilowatt hours, you need to divide the wattage rating by 1000, because 1 kilowatt

electricity. Once the electricity arrives at its destination, it has the strength to power the electrical devices being used.

Although energy provides us with many conveniences each day, there are some dangers involved. Electrical outlets can cause shock. Electrical appliances should never be used by water. Water conducts electricity and can cause electric shock. You should always unplug an appliance before working on it. It is best to ask an adult for help before using an electrical appliance.

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

u Stick the penny into a hole in the other lemon.

i Put the other paper clip into the second hole of the lemon with the penny.

o Then put the last penny into the last open hole.

1) Connect the free ends of the wires to the terminals of the digital clock. Watch how the lemons make enough electricity to turn the clock on.

Note: If you’ve hooked everything up and the clock isn’t running, try switching the wires.

Learning Standards: I can follow sequential directions to complete an experiment. I can analyze my results.

Use the formula to complete the following chart.

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

SCIENCE STARS

AFRICAN-AMERICAN ELECTRONICS INVENTOR: Otis Boykin

Otis Boykin was born in Dallas, Texas, on August 29, 1920. Not much is known about his early life. After he graduated from high school, he attended Fisk College in Nashville, Tennessee, and graduated in 1941. Boykin was then employed by Majestic Radio and TV Corporation of Chicago. He worked as a laboratory assistant, testing automatic controls used in airplanes. Next, he was employed by P.J. Nilsen Research Laboratories while he worked at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago to continue his education. Unfortunately, he could not afford the cost of college and dropped out after two years. Boykin eventually founded his own company Boykin-Fruth, Incorporated.

In 1959, Boykin received his first patent. He is famous for inventing a wire precision resistor used in computers, radios, television sets, and other electronics.

In 1961, he created a device that could hold up to extreme changes in temperature and pressure. This device was in high demand from the US military for guided missiles and from IBM for computers. In 1964, he moved to Paris and created the control unit for the pacemaker, which saved the lives of many people with heart disease. He held 26 patents, including one for a burglar-proof cash register and a chemical air filter.

In 1982, Boykin died of heart failure.

Learning Standards: I can read a biography about a person who has made contributions in the field of science, technology, or mathematics.

MAP CORNER

Use the newspaper to complete these activities to sharpen your MAP skills.

Activity One —

GettheJobDone: Look at the help wanted ads in the newspaper to see how they are written. Read some of the ads aloud and create a chart to show what the abbreviations mean. Next, make a list of classroom jobs that need to be done and write a newspaper ad for someone to fill one of these jobs.

Activity Two — NewspaperInformation: A newspaper has so much information. Discuss how one can use a print or digital newspaper to find a job, a place to live, a car, entertainment and more. Use the newspaper as a reference to find information such as where the president is, the television lineup for this evening or the sports scores from yesterday. Create a list of questions that could be answered from the information presented in the newspaper. Learning Standards: Use the newspaper to locate information. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information.

Teachers, if you are using the St. Louis American’s NIE program and would like to nominate your class for a Classroom Spotlight, please email: nie@stlamerican.com.

Hunt helps students Briarra Anderson, Candis Griffin, and Gavin Louder with a STEM lesson using the newspaper. The school is in the Ferguson-Florissant School District. Photo: Wiley Price / St. Louis American

The Brooklyn Bridge was the first bridge to be lit using electricity.

Boykin’s 1959 patent for the F. Boykin Wire Type Precision Resistor.

Oak Hill raises $2.3K for MDA

Oak Hill Elementary School students and staff participated recently in a Missouri Assessment Program pep rally called “Duct Tape the Principal” that raised $2,300 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and briefly left Principal Karessa Morrow wrapped in tape. The pep rally was facilitated by fourth grade teacher James Perotti. Students at the school took the MAP test on April 22.

Streaming media coming to County Library

On May 5, St. Louis County Library will introduce a new service that allows patrons to instantly stream movies, television shows, music and audiobooks. Hoopla, an eMedia service, will be accessible via the library’s website (www.slcl. org/emedia) to all library cardholders.

Using hoopla, patrons can download and stream up to 10 titles per month on their tablets, phones and computers with internet access (data rates may apply). All items are available immediately. When the due date arrives, the item will be checked back in automatically. Hoopla offers thousands of titles. Patrons can learn more about using this new service at one of several “hoopla: Getting Started” sessions, including: 2 p.m. May 15, Natural Bridge Branch,

7606 Natural Bridge Rd.; 2 p.m. May 20, Daniel Boone Branch, 300 Clarkson Rd.; 2 p.m. May 22, Lewis and Clark Branch, 9909 LewisClark Blvd.; 10 a.m. May 27, Thornhill Branch, 12863 Willowyck Dr.; 2 p.m. May 29, Oak Bend Branch, 842 S. Holmes Ave.

To register for one of the hoopla programs visit www. slcl.org/events or call 314994-3300.

Not post-racial America

One good thing about the Obama presidency is that it has completely shattered the myth of a post-racial society in the U.S. Sectors of the country believed (with legitimate optimism) that centuries of white supremacy and institutional racism would be washed away because of a black presidency. Instead, it tore open the scabs on the festering sores of racism in this country.

In many ways, the Obama factor has had the opposite effect – bullets flying off the shelves since the 2008 election in preparation for a race war, an increase in white supremacy groups, openly hostile attacks on black and brown people from the president on down, etc.

All of this despite the fact the President Obama has intentionally avoided issues of race, of acknowledging his blackness and all the ugly realities that go with it to prove he is a president of all the American people. The truth that the president is finally forced to embrace is that no amount of suppression or moderation of race issues wins any points with the right-wingers who control most of the media airwaves and legislative halls.

According to Ronald Kessler, author of “In the President’s Secret Service,” the rate of threats against the president increased 400 per cent under Obama from the 3,000 a year or so under President George W. Bush. Some sources say it’s an average of 30 threats a day.

n The truth that the president is finally forced to embrace is that no amount of suppression or moderation of race issues wins any points with the right-wingers.

And it not just the president –there have been threats directed at first lady Michelle Obama and even daughters Sasha and Malia.

We know about the plan hatched by top Republican leaders on the night of Obama’s inauguration – to take back the House in November 2010 and to make Obama, in the words of Senator Mitch McConnell, a “one-term president.”

Obama was successfully re-elected but the GOP did take back the House and have obstructed most of the president’s program for the country. The number of blocked appointments to government and judicial posts is unprecedented. Then there’s the barrage of racist slurs, comments and cartoons about the president which black folks understand is also directed at them.

The Cliven Bundys and Donald Sterlings of the world also keep us grounded in the reality of whether or not America is in a post-racial period. While they represent very different economic strata, their opinions about blacks are not that far apart. Bundy has been leeching off the government for 20 years in unpaid grazing fees. His statements about Negroes “being better off as slaves” fit right in with Sterling’s plantation notion of taking care of his black basketball Clippers: “I … give them food and clothes and cars and houses.”

Let’s agree that the U.S. is not post-racial, a delusion that keeps us from grappling with the real and tangible effects of racism. Let’s put some serious energy into breaking the chains of inequality and injustice, held together by white supremacy, that have our communities in economic and political chokeholds.

Jamala Rogers

Diversifying the corporate boardroom

Arnold Donald speaks on panel at WUSTL Law conference

By Rebecca Rivas

Louis American

Of The St.

A father and his teenage daughter once had a heated debate, said James Turley, director of Emerson Electric Co. and Citigroup Inc., at a recent Washington University School of Law conference on diversity.

n “Diverse perspectives in management and at the board room generate superior results.”

– James Turley, director of Emerson Electric Co. and Citigroup Inc.

n “Diversity has to be mindful and intentional.”

– Arnold Donald, director of Bank of America and Crown Holdings

“Finally, the girl said, ‘Dad, you don’t get it. Dad, you’re too pale, too male and too stale,’” said Turley, also the retired chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young. “The sad truth is, when you look at U.S. corporate boards, that’s what they’re looking like.”

Turley was one of six panelists who spoke at the capstone session for the “Resetting Performance Expectations: The Role of Directors and General Counsel in Developing Diversity and Gender Equity” conference on April 8.

Turley said 70 to 75 percent of the employees and customers of all U.S. companies will not be white men. Yet, more than 80 percent of the board members and executives are white men.

“This is not sustainable,” Turley said. “It’s about competitiveness. Diverse perspectives in management and at the board

Arnold Donald, CEO and president of Carnival Corp. and director of Bank of America and Crown Holdings, speaks with Ann Harlan (director of The Gorman-Rupp Company and retired vice president and general counsel of The J.M. Smucker Company) and James Turley (director of Emerson Electric Co. and Citigroup Inc. and retired chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young) following “Resetting Performance Expectations: The Role of Directors and General Counsel in Developing Diversity and Gender Equity,” hosted at Washington University School of Law on April 8.

room generate superior results. It’s something we need to confront more aggressively. It is not a supply issue.

It’s a demand problem. Companies have to be more aggressive.”

Arnold Donald, CEO and president of Carnival Corp. and director of Bank of America and Crown Holdings, was also a panelist for the session. He recalled being at a directors’ conference a couple of years ago when the presenter brought up a question: “How much do you think in advance about diversity when looking at your next board candidate?”

Donald said, “Fewer than 20 percent said they thought about it at all.”

Then, Donald said, someone in the audience argued that their first priority is to make sure they have qualified, experienced board members.

“He got applauded for saying that,” Donald said. “The reality is, nobody said diverse but not qualified. Of course, the person has to be qualified, but it just goes to show you the mindset.”

Donald said that diversity has to be “proactively engineered.” It won’t naturally happen on its own.

“It’s natural in nature, but it’s not natural in corporations,” Donald said. “People tend to identify people that they hang out with. Diversity has to be mindful and intentional.” Diversity on boards is also good for financial returns, said Hillary Sale, professor of law at Washington University and event moderator. One study showed that companies that have three or more women on the board had higher returns in sales, equity and capital.

The number of women of color on corporate boards has stayed the same – 3.2 percent – since 2003, while the number of women overall on boards has risen from 13.6 percent in 2003 to almost 17 percent in 2013.

Donald gave some tips on how to become a board member.

“It’s easier to get on a board if you’re already on one,” he said.

Companies look at experience and track records, so for the first-timer, it’s not so easy, he said. But that’s where networking comes in.

“The reality is, there are rules –and there’s the way things get done,” he said.

The rules are: there’s a nominating committee, and the nominating committee processes the names.

Boeing’s Ventures moving to Cortex

Fostering interaction between established companies and emerging companies

By Maria Altman Of St. Louis Public Radio

Boeing Defense, Space & Security’s start-up arm, Ventures, is moving to Cortex, the innovation and technology district in the Central West End.

“We’re really looking forward to being part of the St. Louis’ rapidly growing hub of innovation, entrepreneurship, start-ups, and technology research,” said Ventures’ Vice President Tim Noonan. Noonan said about 20 fulltime employees will move from

n Noonan said younger Boeing employees are asking for different contracts that allow them to take risks and work with others to develop ideas.

the current location on Boeing’s Hazelwood campus to Cortex. Ventures will take up about 7,500 square feet in the @4240 building. Cambridge Innovation Center, one of the nation’s leading business incubators, is also slated to move into Cortex this year. Boeing began Ventures about

two years ago in an effort to grow business outside its expertise in airplane and defense production.

“We’re breaking the myth that Boeing can’t start up,” Noonan said. He pointed to its partnership with a Montreal-based company, RER Hydro, to commercialize hydrokinetic turbines. Boeing

worked with the smaller company to test the technology, then signed an agreement in 2012 for exclusive rights to market and sell the turbines around the world.

“That’s an example of taking someone else’s intellectual property, adding to it only the things Boeing could add, and finding a commercial opportunity,” Noonan said. He said Ventures’ focus will be primarily on developing ideas brought by Boeing engineers. Noonan said he expects the team to

Raymond Howard was inducted into the National Bar Association Hall of Fame, which includes the late Johnny Cochran and the late Thurgood Marshall. Howard graduated from Vashon High School at age 16 and has a degree from the University of Wisconsin and a law degree from Saint Louis University. A former Missouri state senator, he has practiced law for 50 years and has a law practice in Clayton.

Aisha White joined RubinBrown as a manager in its State and Local Tax Services Group. She will provide state and local tax compliance, planning and consulting services for clients in a variety of industries. She serves as board member and treasurer for the Reid Scholarship Foundation and co-chairs the education committee for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. RubinBrown is one of the nation’s largest accounting and business consulting firms.

Sam Blue has been appointed to the national Parent Advisory Council of the FRIENDS National Resource Center for the federal CommunityBased Child Abuse Prevention Program. He is a community engagement specialist with Project LAUNCH and Vision for Children at Risk. He is president of the Peabody Tenant Association and vice president of the City-Wide Tenant Association Board.

Takako Nomi received a $45,824 grant from the Spencer Foundation to fund the research project “Pathway to College: Understanding the Mechanism of the Long-term Impact of Ninth-grade Algebra Intervention on Student’s Educational Attainment in Urban Schools.” She is an assistant professor in the College of Education at Saint Louis University. She investigates policy mechanisms that link short-term to long-term impacts by looking at students’ math course taking patterns.

Mark A. Pate graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas as an Air Force Airman 1st Class. He is the son of Patrice Anderson of Sugar Hill, Ga. and a 2010 graduate of McCluer North High School. He earned an associate degree in 2012 from Ranken Technical College. The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline.

Mitzi Miller is the new editorin-chief of Ebony magazine. She most recently served as editor-in-chief of Jet magazine, a post she had held since May 2011. While at the helm of JET magazine, Miller revamped the 62-year-old brand with a redesign, re-launch of the Jet website and an increased social media presence.

On the move? Congratulations! Send your good professional news and a color headshot to cking@stlamerican.com.

Raymond Howard

See DONALD, B6

Aisha White

Sam Blue

Takako Nomi

Mark A. Pate

Mitzi Miller

Photo by Mary Butkus/WUSTL

Spend your tax refund wisely

By Jason Alderman

Last year the IRS doled out over 110 million income tax refunds averaging $2,803. Another way to look at it is that collectively, Americans overpaid their taxes by nearly $310 billion in 2012.

Part of that is understandable: If you don’t have enough tax withheld throughout the year through payroll deductions or quarterly estimated tax payments, you’ll be hit with an underpayment penalty come April 15. But the flip side is that by overwithholding, you’re essentially giving the government an interest-free loan throughout the year. If you ordinarily receive large tax refunds, consider withholding less and instead putting the money to work for you, by either saving or investing a comparable amount throughout the year, or using it to pay down debt. Your goal should be to receive little or no refund.

Ask your employer for a new W-4 form and recalculate your withholding allowance using the IRS’ Withholding Calculator (at www.irs. gov). This is also a good idea whenever your pay or family situation changes significantly (e.g., pay increase, marriage, divorce, new child, etc.) IRS Publication 919 can guide you through the decision-making process. Meanwhile, if you do get a hefty refund this year, before blowing it all on something you really don’t need, consider these options:

Business Briefs

Monsanto only STL company to make Diversity Top 50

Monsanto Company is ranked 46th in DiversityInc’s 14th annual list of the Top 50 Companies for Diversity, the only business based in the St. Louis region to make the list. DiversityInc cited the company’s exceptional leadership support, talent-development initiatives, strong employee resource groups and philanthropy.

“We need a diverse and talented workforce to deliver new innovations to increase food production, improve climate resilience and address challenges in agriculture for today and tomorrow,” said Hugh Grant, Monsanto’s chairman and CEO.

Organizations participating in the review must have at least 1,000 employees and are required to fill out a detailed survey. More than 1,200 companies participated in this year’s survey, from which the Top 50 were drawn. This is the seventh consecutive year DiversityInc has recognized Monsanto for its commitment to diversity.

New report on ‘The Disappearing Corporate Tax Base’

The Center for Effective Government, National People’s Action and GrassRoots Organizing have collaborated on a new report, “The Disappearing Corporate Tax Base: How to Reclaim Lost Tax Revenue to Rebuild State Budgets.”

Pay down debt. Beefing up credit card and loan payments can significantly lower your long-term interest payments. Suppose you currently pay $120 a month toward a $3,000 credit card balance at 18 percent interest. At that pace it’ll take 32 months and $788 in interest to pay it off, assuming no new purchases. By doubling your payment to $240 you’ll shave off 18 months and $441 in interest.

Note: If you carry balances on multiple cards, always make at least the minimum payments to avoid penalties. The same strategy will work when paying down loans (mortgage, auto, personal, etc.) Ask the lender to apply your extra payment to the loan principal amount, which will shorten the payoff time and reduce the amount of overall interest paid. Just make sure to ask whether there’s a prepayment penalty before trying this strategy.

Boost your emergency fund. As protection against a job loss, medical emergency

or other financial crisis, try to set aside enough cash to cover six to nine months of living expenses. Seed the account with part of your refund and then set up monthly automatic deductions from your paycheck or checking account going forward.

Increase retirement savings. If your debt and emergency savings are under control, add to your IRA or 401(k) accounts, especially if your employer matches contributions; remember, a 50 percent match corresponds to a 50 percent rate of return –something you’re not likely to find anywhere else.

Finance education. Enroll in college courses or vocational training to gain additional skills in case you lose your job or want to

change careers. And ask whether your employer will help pay for job-related education. You can also set money aside for your children’s or grandchildren’s education by contributing to a 529 Qualified State Tuition Plan. As an incentive, the government allows your contributions to grow taxfree until they’re withdrawn. And finally, to check on the status of your refund, go to the IRS’s Where’s My Refund site. You can usually get information about your refund 24 hours after the IRS acknowledges receipt of your e-filed return or about four weeks after filing a paper return.

Jason Alderman directs Visa’s financial education programs. To participate in a free, online Financial Literacy and Education Summit on April 2, 2014, go to www.practicalmoneyskills.com/ summit2014.

According to the report, corporations in Missouri are paying 26.3 percent less in income taxes than they did at the beginning of the recession, and each year Missouri loses $439 million to loopholes that enable corporations to hide taxable revenue generated in Missouri in offshore accounts.

“This report shows that the revenue needed for recovery didn’t just vanish, it was siphoned off by corporations who refuse to pay their fair share,” said George Goehl, executive director of National People’s Action.

Read the report at http://www.foreffectivegov.org/ files/budget/disappearing-corp-tax-base.pdf.

Women in Construction co-host golf tournament for scholarships

The National Association of Women in Construction –St. Louis Chapter will host its 38th Annual Golf Classic and the American Society of Professional Estimators –St. Louis Chapter is supporting the event as a co-sponsor. The event will be held 7:30 a.m. Fri., May 2 at the Forest Park “Norman K. Probstein” Golf Course. Proceeds from the Golf Classic will be donated to the organizations’ scholarship programs. For more information, contact Annette Parker at aparker@waidb.com.

n “There is no place for Donald Sterling in our league.” – LeBron James

TraCk & F

ield noTebook

With Earl Austin Jr.

Spirited invitational at Ladue

There was some excellent track going on at last weekend’s Phil Brusca/Strobach Invitational at Ladue. Many of the area’s top performers were on hand and they did not disappoint.

One of the highlight events was the girls’ 400-meter dash. The top seven finishers all were under 60 seconds and the top three were under 57 seconds. Sumner’s Ja’Ianna Williams won the race in a time of 56.17 seconds. Rachel Culberson of McCluer North was second and Chastity Franklin of Cardinal Ritter was third. There have been several state meets over the years where that many 400-meter runners were under 60 seconds. McCluer North and McCluer South-Berkeley

Earl Austin Jr.

had some spirited races in the sprint relays. McCluer North edged Berkeley to win the 4x200-meter relay in a time of 1 minute 41.1 seconds. McCluer South-Berkeley came back to win the 4x100 in 47.7 seconds. McCluer North was most impressive in the 4x400 as the team of Kiana Harvey, Demetria Anderson, Michala Woods and Culberson turned in an excellent time of 3:54.11. Two of the area’s top boys were also on hand in Cardinal Ritter’s Charles Jones and Cleveland Naval Jr. ROTC’s Mike Wells. Jones won the

Mayweather

Faces easy money fight with Maidana

This weekend as Floyd “Money” Mayweather struts down the MGM Grand walkway on his way to face Marcos “El Chino” Maidana, his ring walk music choice should be brought to us by none other than Mr. Magna Carta himself, Jay Z. If you didn’t know by now, Mayweather (45-0-0, 26 KO) is boxing’s version of Hova. He’s a veteran and the best in the biz. Skillwise he’s on a level above nearly every other fighter in the game. Mayweather’s defensive skills are akin to Jay’s vernacular

gymnastics – crisp, sound and nearly flawless after decades of perfecting his craft. Back to the ring walk, I can hear it now. “I sell ice in the winter, I sell fire in hell, I am a hustler baby, I’ll sell water to a well.” –Jay Z, “U Don’t Know” This weekend’s fight, billed as “The Moment,” will once again cement Mayweather’s status as boxing’s best businessman. Each time I hear Mayweather, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer or Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbee talk about how Maidana (35-3-0, 31 KO)

800-meter run in 1:54.3. He also anchored the Lions to a victory in the 4x400-meter relay. Wells was a triple winner in the 100, 200 and 400. He posted winnings times of 10.7 in the 100, 21.7 in the 200 and 48.29 in the 400.

Jasmine Barge of McCluer North continued her stellar performances. She won the 100meter high hurdles in 14.5 seconds and the 300meter low hurdles in a sizzling 43.36.

Jordan McClendon of John Burroughs was also a double-winner in the shot put and discus. She won the discus with a throw of 136 feet 4 inches and the shot put with a heave of 42 feet 1 inch.

See TRACK, B4

to cash in

By Maurice Scott, Jr.

Flyers girls on the rise

First year girls’ basketball coach Shardae Butler had the large task of filling the shoes of former head coach Hubert Butler at East St. Louis Senior High.

Perhaps even more challenging was that she was replacing her own father as the coach. Shardae was a former star player at East St. Louis, and grew up in the gym from her childhood days with her father.

After completing her first year in the powerful Southwestern Conference, Shardae proved she belongs with her conference peers. She led the Flyerettes to an overall record of 13-9, (8-6 in SWC). Her team grew and improved as the season went along.

n Led by senior Dynesha Powell, the Flyerettes won their first Class 4-A Regional since the 2009-10 season. Leading the way

Led by senior Dynesha Powell, the Flyerettes won their first Class 4-A Regional since the 2009-10 season. Leading the way for the Flyerettes were two underclassman. First Team All-Conference performer Brelannair Cox, the niece of former Flyers’ All- American and NFL All- Pro linebacker Bryon Cox, averaged 16 points a game in the SWC. In addition to Cox, the Flyerettes have another star returning in 2nd Team AllConference performer in Janesha Munson, who averaged 8.5 points in SWC play this past season. The Flyerettes started out like they were going to be a force early in the season with three straight conference wins over Collinsville, Belleville East and Alton, respectively. Even more impressive, coach Butler won the school’s first class 4A Regional since the 2009-10 season beating both Belleville East, the upset regional favorite Belleville West 42-40 for the Regional Championship on Feb. 20.

During the off-season, Butler wants to work on her team’s defense. They finished last in the conference giving up 50 points per game.

“That’s something we will put a major emphasis on during the offseason: working on our defensive schemes,” she said. “But overall, I was pleased with our year. Winning

can end the fight in one punch, I chuckle guffaw. Don’t be mistaken, Maidana certainly has power. You can’t compile an 88 percent KO rate without carrying thunder in those 8-ounce gloves. However, most of Maidana’s knockouts have come in the 140-pound division instead of the 147-pound weight limit where he’ll meet Mayweather. Maidana’s KOs have also been a product of his relentless and pressure-packed style. He throws powerful punches in bunches. The problem is, Mayweather’s speed and precision counter-punching will pick apart Maidana’s crude and

n Whether I fork over the funds to watch in my man cave or venture out and about to a fight party, I’ll definitely be tuned in.

technically unsound style. Need proof? Look no further than Ricky Hatton, Carlos Baldomir, Robert Guerrero, Victor Ortiz and even Canelo Alvarez. Each of those fighters brought a slow, plodding, pressure style that Mayweather dissected and picked apart within the first few rounds. In many of the bouts, he counter-punched his foes into lethargy, in the others he made them pay dearly for each missed punch. What about Adrien Broner, you say? Well, what about him? Though Broner was billed as the “next Mayweather” by

See CLUTCH, B4

Maurice Scott

Ishmael H. Sistrunk

Photo by Wiley Price

Kirkwood’s Brian Boyd clears 6’0” in the high jump Saturday at the Phil Brusca Invitational hosted by Ladue.

Claib’s Call

With Mike Claiborne

Silver gives Sterling the heave-ho

For all of you that thought things would be different when it comes to race relations in this country because there is a black president, you forgot one thing. The billionaires and morons either did not get that memo or are just too plain stupid to understand it.

Enter Donald Sterling

By now you have heard about his comments and you have heard from everyone who has something to do with race on this planet. Come to think of it, we have heard from just about everyone on the planet, although the precincts from the country of Mongolia have been slow to report. Yes, Donald Sterling, a self-made billionaire who just never got it for many years until earlier this week.

Say hello to Adam Silver, commissioner of the NBA. Silver had the whole world looking at him, and he made the right call. He banned Sterling from the NBA for life, levied the maximum fine and started the process, with the blessing of other owners, of selling the L.A. Clippers. Never in sports have we seen a situation like this, and hopefully we will never see another one, but for those who think they want to try on Adam Silver, I would suggest trying someone else.

Silver responded to his players that make this league. With a weaker response, anarchy could have reigned supreme. Instead, he unified league owners and fans unlike anything else that has ever taken place before now. As for Sterling, to waste time and ink on such a despicable person would be useless. Sterling’s racist behavior in the past should have been checked before now by the NBA, but then again you can pick a league and there will some owner who has had problems in this area. Yes, it

CLUTCH

Continued from B3

HBO, he never quite fit the bill. Besides similarities in stances and trash talk, Broner and Mayweather’s fighting styles are very different. Broner is a very active offensive fighter but has always been vulnerable to get touched on the chin from time-to-time. He also leapfrogged two full weight divisions and won his WBA welterweight strap against the feather-fisted

TRACK

should have been addressed before now. The problem here is that this situation is costing the NBA money and its image. While he is a billionaire according to his bank account, Donald Sterling is a loser in life as his team has reflected for so many years. The question is: who will defend him or try to run up the “free speech” flag like they always do?

There may be a draw back here as there may be a pushback from some in selling the team and the legal ramifications that may come from it. The NBA owners will have the final say on this and as they ponder how to punish one of their members, they

Paulie Malignaggi. Broner wasn’t ready for the power of a welterweight, even a blown up one. Mayweather has been fighting between 147- and 154-pounds since 2006. Not that he gets hit very often with his impregnable shoulder roll defense, but we know he can take a punch. So if a strong punch is all Maidana brings to the table, game over. His chances are slim-to-none. Besides Broner, the last two skilled boxers Maidana fought were Devon Alexander and Amir Khan. Alexander

need to be reminded that the slave mentality will no longer be tolerated. Yes, the players are millionaires and the owners are billionaires, but one needs to understand the other in order to move on from here.

The league bylaws worked here. To go overboard and re write the book may not be needed, with the exception of increasing fines. While it is the maximum, $2.5 million is not even half the money that the average player in this league makes.

I commend the actions of Adam Silver and how he handled himself in representing the NBA. The players and fans should feel good about his leadership even though he has

chaperoned Maidana through a 12-round boxing clinic.

Verus the china-chinned Khan, Maidana was outboxed early but came on strong in the latter rounds. He still lost on points after failing to send the speedy Brit to see the sandman. Mayweather’s boxing skills are head and shoulders above the others.’

As a fan of Maidana’s go-for-broke style, I’m glad to see him grab a nice payday against the Holy Grail of PPV. Golden Boy was nice enough to reward him for humbling Broner. The question though

only been on the job for just three months. Yes, there will be a time where he will lock horns with the Players Association , but so far he has proven that he has their backs. Sterling has still made millions off the team and will cash another big check upon the eventual sale of the team, which is valued well north of a half-billion dollars. Sterling will have another payday for sure. Billionaires do that sort of thing. They also lose contact with reality, as Sterling has clearly displayed.

Good old Mizzou

For those who yearned for

is whether I should be willing to go broke by throwing $75 at my TV for a bout to which I already know the outcome? Should you?

Whether I fork over the funds to watch in my man cave or venture out and about to a fight party, I’ll definitely be tuned in with the hardcore and casual fight fans. I suppose I’ll look at any money spent like a lottery ticket. Chances of a competitive scrap are not very high, but the profits will go to education – the education of Marcos Maidana.

My pick: Floyd Mayweather

was banned from the

for life and levied the maximum fine for racial comments which were recorded by his girlfriend.

the days of Norm Stewart and the “glory days” at old Mizzou, look no further as former player and assistant coach at Missouri Kim Anderson has been named head coach of the basketball team. Perhaps the safest hire for Mike Alden, Anderson will hope to rekindle the glory days in Columbia. He will have his work cut out for him as he has few good players as we speak. He’ll need to create a comfort level for all players he recruits, especially in St. Louis, where good players are starting to emerge. It’s my hope that Anderson will have a better relationship than his mentor Norm Stewart

had as he neared the end of his coaching career. They say things change with time. Let’s hope this is one. Anderson certainly deserves a chance and some time as he will be starting from scratch.

Let’s hope he finds some talent in St. Louis quick as the three guys before him thought to go elsewhere for wins. So few wins that they are now elsewhere.

Let’s hope Kim Anderson is the man for all Mizzou fans. Time now for the local media to fawn all over Anderson. Hopefully Anderson is smart enough to know they can do little for him or the program. He will have to do it on his own.

Mike Claiborne

Donald Sterling, owner of the L.A. Clippers,

NBA

via decision. Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @ IshmaelSistrunk. Tune in to

my weekly boxing Hangout, In the Clench Monday nights on Google+ or youtube.com/ stlamericanvideo.

All-Stars win MO Challenge Championship

The St. Louis All-Stars won the championship of last weekend’s Missouri Challenge, which was held in Springfield, MO. The tournament brings together eight teams from eight different regions of the state. St. Louis defeated the Southwest All-Stars 90-85 in overtime to win the championship. The team members are: (front row, left to right)

Coach Tony Irons (Madison Prep), Chaz Glotta (Fort Zumwalt North), Rashad Lindsey (McCluer North), Sean Clancey (Cardinal Ritter), Drew Moore (Duchesne), Jake Socha (Parkway West), Coach Brandon Gilmore (Hazelwood Central). (back row, left to right) Jordan Barnett (CBC), Robin Thompson (MICDS), Arlando Cook (Madison Prep). Jordan Barnett was the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Barnett and Clancey were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Rams Roundup

With Palmer L. Alexander III

Rams in the catbird seat

Palmer L. Alexander

With most of the sports and social world still seething from remarks made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, the talk surrounding the upcoming NFL draft has taken a temporary backseat. But it won’t last for long. Draft pundits and their mock drafts constantly change. And the one thing about mock draft that people tend to forget is: potential draft day trades. In St. Louis the hot topic is: What will the Rams do with the number two pick in the draft? It depends on what the Houston Texans do with the first pick in the draft. The Texans are not showing their hand. Most people feel that they will draft Jadeveon Clowney with the first pick, which nobody could fault them for doing. But they could just as easily trade the pick and cash in on the value of such a premium pick.

I think the Texans will find a trade partner, maybe a team like the Atlanta Falcons, whose interest in Clowney is no secret. Maybe they will execute a deal and swap spots and the Texans will get a shot at the quarterback they really covet. What will the Rams do if this happens? Will they also seek out a trade partner? Or wait for their phone to ring? No matter what, the Rams are in the catbird seat. Selecting second in the draft this year is not a bad thing. The Rams need help all over the roster. I feel it might come down to taking one of the top tackles or wideout Sammy

Watkins. The Rams haven’t had a lot of success recently drafting tackles in the first round.

Names like Alex Barron (2005) and Jason Smith (2009) quickly come to mind. But also keep in mind that this draft is deep and there will be other tackles available, plus the Rams have

n The Rams need to take Sammy Watkins if they don’t trade away their pick.

one of the best line coaches in the NFL in Paul Boudreau.

And that’s why the Rams need to take Sammy Watkins if they don’t trade away their pick. Watkins would put an extra playmaker on the field for this Rams offense.

The Rams need to get more vertical on offense if they want to keep opposing teams from

stacking nine or 10 guys in the box. Running back Zac Stacy had a great rookie year and teams know who he is, and it’s important for the Rams to have a more balanced and diverse attack.

The Rams haven’t had a 1,000-yard or Pro Bowl receiver since Torry Holt. And with Jeff Fisher and Les Snead letting the entire sports world know that they are all-in for Sam Bradford, selecting a talent like Watkins makes perfect sense. He’s just what this offense needs. Chris Givens regressed, and we’re still waiting on Brian Quick. Kenny Britt is a question mark, with Austin Pettis serving as the veteran of the receiving corps, while Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey enter second season.

For more Rams Roundup, please subscribe to our page www.stlamerican/youtubevideo.

TRACK

Continued from B3

Prep Athletes of the Week

Maya Cody

Lutheran South – Girls Track

The junior sprinter was the individual standout at last weekend’s Metro League Championships at Lutheran South.

Cody won the 100-, 200- and 400 meter dashes and also anchored the Lancers’ 4x100-meter relay team to a first-place finish. Her winning times were 12.15 in the 100, 24.73 in the 200 and 57.49 in the 400. Cody was a three-time individual medalist last season in leading South to a second-place finish at the Class 3 state championships. She was the Class 3 state champion in the 400-meter dash.

Kamira Franklin

McCluer South-Berkeley – Girls Track

Franklin was one of the top performers at last weekend’s Phil Brusca/Connie Strobach Invitational at Ladue.

Franklin defeated a talented field of sprinters to win the 100 and 200-meter dashes. She posted winning times of 12.31 in the 100 and 25.19 in the 200. She also ran a leg on the Bulldogs’ first-place 4x100-meter relay team.

As well her emergence as one of the top sprinters in the area, Franklin has been a big part of the McCluer South-Berkeley sprint relays that have posted some of the fastest times in the St. Louis metro area.

a regional championship is something we can build on for the future.”

After watching the Flyerettes, the future is very bright for Shardae and her staff.

Wrestling Flyers

East St. Louis Flyers’ wrestling program is back in the area wrestling news.

Led by one of the nation’s best at 145 pounds, Sir Romeo Howard placed 2nd in the state at 145, and was a First Team

All-Conference performer. Howard, in my opinion, is the best that the Flyers’ program has ever produced at 145. He’s currently being courted by several big-time program including Mizzou, Nebraska, Illinois among others.

In addition, junior Don Cavitt made the AllConference Team at 126, and sophomore Antonio James made All-Conference at 285.

Hats off to the Flyers wrestling program that seems to be back after competing in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s under former coach Willis “Dr. Jack” Jackson as one of the premier programs in the Southwestern Conference.

Strong commits to Mizzou

Flyers running back Natereance Strong, the No. 2-rated player in the class of 2015 in the state of Illinois, made an oral commitment to Mizzou. With a rare combination of power and speed, Strong will be a great addition to the Tigers offense. In addition, Strong led the East St. Louis Flyers to a secondplace finish in the Illinois Class A Track & Field Championship last season, finishing second in the 100m dash. Strong turned down offers from Ohio State, Florida State, Illinois, Michigan, among others.

manage about three to five start-up ideas per year.

“We’re going to spend a lot of time working on refining this method for accelerating ideas quickly and finding pathways to either scale them or pivot to another market,” he said.

Another reason Boeing started Ventures is to attract the best talent to Boeing. Noonan said younger employees are asking for different contracts that allow them to take risks and work with others to develop ideas.

“At Boeing we want to grab these employees, and we want to help them find a path to

start new businesses,” Noonan said. “We think it’s an essential ingredient to our future.”

Cortex’s President and CEO Dennis Lower said Ventures’ move to Cortex is important in helping St. Louis prove itself as a technology hub.

“It really continues to validate the direction that we’ve been going the last couple of years, which is to create an environment where established companies and emerging companies can interact with each other,” Lower said.

He said Cortex is in talks with a number of companies that could move into space adjacent to Ventures. It’s all a part of a trend in the last decade for open innovation instead of closed research and development within established

DONALD

Continued from B1

And then there’s a CEO who is looking for someone who is going to challenge him or her and also support the CEO’s corporate strategy, Donald said. There could also be particularly influential shareholders on the committee, depending on the size of the corporation.

“All of those players can come into the mix,” Donald said. “It’s not so much who

companies.

“We’re looking to facilitate synergies between established companies as well as with the start-up companies to create as many creative collision points for those companies to interact and form new companies,” Lower said.

The move is also helping the @4240 building fill quickly. Lower said the building is 80-85 percent occupied with leases that are signed or soon to be signed.

Manifest Digital, the largest independent digital agency in the Midwest, recently announced it will take more than 16,000 square feet in @4240.

Reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.

Follow Maria on Twitter: @ radioaltman.

Financial Focus

By Andre Nelson, financial advisor

Be prepared for the changing ‘seasons’ of life

Elson Williams, community affairs liaison for Major Brands (left), and Kelvin Murphy, vice chairman of Strong Community Campaign, share a donation with Cheryl L. Baughn, district executive for the Downtown YMCA, and Nathalie Henderson, principle of Jefferson Elementary School. Major Brands sponsors Downtown YMCA’s 250 elementary student recess programs at Jefferson Elementary in Downtown St. Louis every day.

you know, but who knows you.”

Mary Ann Hynes, director at GHD Group Pty Ltd. and senior counsel of Dentons, said people have to be tireless when looking for a board position.

“You have to be able to define yourself very quickly about what you can add,” she said. “Are you international? Are you strategic?” Donald also serves as chair of the Executive Leadership Council, an organization that works to increase ethnic diversity on the executive level.

He said for the last 10 years, the number of AfricanAmerican board members of Fortune 500 companies has declined.

“This is really simple stuff,” he said. “If you are involved in a business, the key to success is innovation. To innovate, you have to think outside the box. You want diversity because if you have a diverse team organized around a common objective, they will out-solution any homogeneous team. Diversity is a really good thing.”

A few days ago, we observed May Day, a celebration of spring. And, after a long and hard winter in many parts of the country, most of us are ready for sunshine, warmer temperatures and the hopefulness that spring always symbolizes. But as winter gives way to spring, we are also reminded that our lives have “seasons,” too — and it pays to be prepared for all of them. So, as you move into the “retirement season,” you’ll need to prepare for several possible challenges, including the following:

Outliving your resources — The idea of outliving one’s financial resources is certainly not one we want to face. In fact, in a poll of people ages 44 to 75 sponsored by Allianz Life Insurance, 61% said they fear depleting their assets more than they fear dying. The best way you can overcome anxiety about running out of money is to invest and plan. Contribute as much as you can afford to your IRA and 401(k) or other employer-sponsored retirement plan — and when your salary goes up over time, increase your contributions. As for the

“plan” part, try to envision the type of lifestyle you want during retirement, and then estimate how much this lifestyle will cost. Once you reach retirement, you will also need to do some planning — specifically, you will need to calculate how much money you can afford to withdraw from your investments each year.

n

Becoming disabled One-third

Major Brands supports Downtown Y

Lavell gets Mother’s Day funny

Lil Duval.

Crawford to headline comedy showcase at Chaifetz

By Kenya Vaughn

Of The St. Louis American

“Ain’t no place like home.”

It was as simple as that when comedian Lavell Crawford gave his reasoning for returning to St. Louis to record his full-length

“I

role in the hit AMC network show “Breaking Bad.” Appearing in film, television and staying on the road, the L.A.-based Crawford has been busy continuing the St. Louis comedy legacy pioneered by Redd Foxx and Dick Gregory See LAVELL, C4

New artistic director Robert Battle showcases troupe’s Dunham roots

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

One thing was evident with Dance St. Louis’ presentation of The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Friday night at The Fox Theater. The creative contrast between the legacy of founder Alvin Ailey and its new artistic director Robert Battle is like night and day.

Watching the captivating primal movement of the opening ballet, Aszure Barton’s “Lift” –which was followed up by Bill T. Jones’ “D-Man in the Waters” – against Ailey’s signature ballet

“Revelations” was an illustration of the shift to a more progressive form of movement.

Battle was hand-selected by Judith Jamison and took helm of AADT in 2011. Rooted in a modern spin on Afrocentrism, Battle seems to be taking the world-renowned troupe in the direction of founder Ailey’s mentor and teacher Katherine Dunham.

Influences of St. Louis and Metro East’s icon –and Afro-Caribbean dance pioneer – were found throughout the first two selections.

The beautiful lines and pristine form often associated with Ailey gave way to gritty and gutwrenching movement in two selections presented to audiences outside of “Revelations.”

Contortions and liberal combinations were less pretty – but more emotive – and forced the audience to feel chaos, rage, sexual tension and black pride.

See AILEY, C4

Flipping the STL script

By Chris King Of The St. Louis American

Chauncy Thomas has flipped the script on being a working actor in St. Louis – let alone a professional African-American actor in St. Louis.

Thomas – who plays no less than six roles in Shakespeare Festival St. Louis’ summer production in Forest Park – has been trying to move to New York for the past three years. The problem is he keeps getting too much work as an actor in St. Louis to get out of town.

“I’ve been a nomad,” Thomas said, before rehearsing a Shakespeare swordfight scene recently at the MX Building downtown. “I moved to New

York, then I got a show here. Then I got a show in Milwaukee. Then I moved to New York. Then I got a show here!”

Thomas is in the enviable position of getting too much work in the Midwest to actually move to a major industry city to pursue the proverbial career blowup. Being a black actor from Peoria who studied theater (at Washington University) in the Midwestern city that hubs the Black Rep has made the difference.

“I have been fortunate in that a lot of people have been familiar with my work through the Black Rep,” Thomas said. “I got a lot of work. I didn’t really need a day job.” He also didn’t need an agent in

Chauncy Thomas and Reginald Pierre, who both play multiple roles in Shakespeare Festival St. Louis’ summer production, practiced their sword play in a recent group rehearsal at the MX Building downtown.

St. Louis or (in many instances) need to audition. These are hard industry realities he will have to sort out after he wraps his six

Shakespearean roles on June 15. “Before I can get an agent, I need

See PLAY, C4

Lavell Crawford will headline Mother’s Day Comedy Jam on Friday May 9 along with Sheryl Underwood, Tony Roberts, Luenell, Michael Blackson and

Photo by Wiley Price

Photos by Wiley Price

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

Thurs., May 8, 8 p.m.,

The Sheldon presents “An Evening for Hope” with the Marcus Roberts Trio. All proceeds from the Evening of Hope will benefit the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders. 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Sat., May 10, 7 p.m., Super Fresh Hip Hop Fest feat. Too Short, Doug E Fresh, Naughty By Nature, Mc Lyte, and more. Chaifetz Arena, 1 S. Compton Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Sun., May 11, 5:30 p.m., The Sheldon presents Denise Thimes and Friends Mother’s Day Concert. The events will benefit The Mildred Thimes Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer. The concert features Cyrus Chestnut, piano; Tom Braxton, saxophone with John King, bass and Demarius Hicks, drums. 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

May 14-17, Jazz at the Bistro presents Jane Monheit. An extraordinarily gifted vocalist whose sincere and romantic interpretations of exceptional songs have made her a favorite in both the jazz and cabaret worlds. Her first album, Never Never Land, was voted Top Debut Recording by the Jazz Journalist’s Association and stayed on the Billboard jazz chart for over a year. 3536 Washington Blvd., 63101. For more information, visit www. grandcenter.org.

Sat., May 17, 6 p.m., The Peabody Opera House presents Cabaret for a Cause, starring local jazz favorite Erin Bode, 1400 Market St., 63103. To learn more about all the ways Lutheran Senior Services helps older adults,

visit LSSLiving.org/Giving today.

May 17, 7 p.m., Black Out Circuit Christian Concert featuring FLAME, KB, THI’SL, V. Rose & DA’ T.R.U.T.H. also featuring SPEC and MIKEREAL, The Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry Rd (63136). For more information, visit http:// blackoutcircuit.com.

Mon., May 26, 8 p.m., The Ambassador presents Future. 9800 Halls Ferry Rd., 63136. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com.

Fri., May 30, 7:30 p.m., St. Louis Symphony presents The Gospel According to Swing with Byron Stripling Trumpet sensation Byron Stripling performs the swing hits that will set your soul on fire. From Mahalia Jackson to Aretha Franklin, with the influences of Bessie Smith and Duke Ellington. Powell Symphony Hall, 718 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, call (314) 5341700 or stlsymphony.org.

local gigs

Fri., May 2, 8 p.m., Kim Massie: A Tribute to Etta James. Pop’s Concert Venue, 1403 Mississippi Ave., Sauget, IL. 62201. For more information, call (618) 2746720.

Tues., May 6, 6 p.m., Missouri History Museum presents Twilight Tuesdays feat. Soulard Blues Band. 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. mohistory.org.

Sat., May 17, 6 p.m., Thundagrownd presents Journii Walker – Rhythm & Words. Advanced tickets are required. 2701 N. 14th St., 63106. For ticket information, visit http://www.eventbrite. com/e/thundagrowndpresents-journiiwalkerrhythm-words-tickets-

10793923917?aff=zvents

Mon., May 19, 9 p.m., Broadway Oyster Bar hosts Soulard Blues Band Open Jam. 736 S. Broadway, 63102. For more information, visit www.stlblues.net.

Fred Walker and his Saxy Jazz Music Show returns to Ms. Piggie’s Smokehouse on Sundays with the best in live and recorded Jazz and Gospel. 12noon - 4pm 10612 Page Ave. St. Louis, Mo. 63132 call (314) 428-7776 for information.

special events

May 2 – 3, Forest Park hosts 19th Annual St. Louis Microfest. A beer tasting festival that offers festivalgoers the chance to sample international and craft beers. admission includes a great experience at a fun filled event including: Tastes from over 75 breweries and 100 international and craft brews, a tasting glass, live music, silent auction, and food. Proceeds from Microfest benefit Lift For Life Gym. Macklind Dr and Union Dr., 63110. For more information, visit www. stlmicrofest.org.

Fri., May 2 (5 p.m.) and Sat. May 3 (11 a.m. and 3 p.m.) Afro World presents Meet and Greet with Harriet Rosebud and “Hattitudes”in store Fashion Show, 7276 Natural Bridge Road St. Louis, Missouri 63121. For more information, call (314) 389-

5194.

Sat., May 3, 2 p.m., Street celebration Austin A. Layne, Jr., Austin Layne Chapel, 7302 West Florissant Avenue and Austin A. Layne, Jr. Way, Jennings, MO 63136.

Sun., May 4, 8 a.m., Six Flags presents Roller Coaster Race. Enjoy a fun 5K on an exciting course that winds around and through the park, and under and between some of Six Flags’ world famous coasters. There will also be a Roller Coaster 5K Ride. Participants’ coaster rides will be tracked on the park’s nine coasters during regular park hours, and people riding a total distance of 5K win a medal. 4900 Six Flags St. Louis Railroad, Eureka, 63069. For more information, visit rollercoasterrace.com.

Sat., May 3, 8:30 p.m., Variety’s Dinner With the Stars Concert feat. Harry Connick, Jr. Variety the Children’s Charity of St. Louis will celebrate more than 80 years of helping St. Louis kids with disabilities as Variety Week 2014 culminates with the most anticipated social event of the year, the Dinner with the Stars black tie gala. Peabody Opera House, 1400 Market St., 63103. For more information, visit www. varietystl.org.

Sun., May 4, 6 p.m., Washington University presents Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts 85th Annual Fashion Design Show. It’s the stage that launched juniors fashion. The fully choreographed, Parisstyle extravaganza will feature

The Sheldon presents Denise Thimes and Friends Mother’s Day Concert. See CONCERTS for details.

dozens of models wearing scores of outfits by 26 aspiring designers. The 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Ave., 63130. For more information, call (314) 935-6543.

Wednesday, May 7, 6:30 p.m., Girls in the Know presents Girls Night Out for moms and Daughters. Be one of the first to indulge at St. Louis’ new interactive sweet shop, Sweetology, With every ticket purchased, adults who attend this unique and tasty event will receive one complimentary beverage; children will receive a cupcake to decorate. This is sure to be a fun-filled evening of laughter, cupcake decorating, candy samples and drinks at St. Louis’ most exciting new interactive sweet shop. Sweetology, 9214 Clayton Rd., 63124. For more information, call (314) 717-1270 or visit www.girlsintheknow.org.

Fri., May 9, 7 p.m., The Kwame Foundation and Harris-Stowe State University Don & Heide Wolf Jazz Institute present Living the Dream Concert. Featuring Brianna Brown and Her Trio. Dr. Henry Givens Jr. Administration Building, Harris-Stowe State University, 3026 Laclede Ave., 63103. For more information, call (314) 340-3342.

Sat., May 10, 10 a.m., Crowne Plaza- St. Louis Airport hosts Mother’s Day Off – Spa Party. Enjoy a rejuvenating day of relaxation, shopping and great food. Free buffet served from noon until 1:30pm. The first 50 women to register will receive a free gift bag filled with goodies. 11228 Lone Eagle Dr., 63044. For more information, visit www. mothersdayoffspaparty.com.

Sat., May 10, 10 a.m., District 9 Machinist Hall hosts Glitz & Glam Mother’s Day Gala. These are just 2 of mom’s favorite things... Shopping & Fashion. At 3 p.m., there will be an “All Eyes on Mom” Fashion Show. Give mom what she really wants this Mother’s Day. 12365 St. Charles Rock Rd., 63044. For more information, visit asyougoevents.com.

Thurs., May 15, 11:15 a.m., The Ritz-Carlton hosts 2014 Women of Achievement Luncheon. The St. Louis Women of Achievement Award is the oldest, ongoing program in the area whose sole mission is to honor and recognize the volunteer service and leadership of women. Women of Achievement recognizes the 2014 Class of Honorees, which includes Ida H. Early and Eva Frazer. 100 Carondelet Plz., 63105. Reservations can be made by contacting Sarah Thorowgood at MAC Meetings & Events at (314) 421-2005 or sthorowgood@macmeetings. com.

Sat., May 17, Concordia Lutheran Church hosts 6th Annual Anthony Smith 3on3 Memorial Tournament. Anthony Smith and his twin brother Antoine graduated from Kirkwood High School in 2001. Anthony died of Leukemia at the young age of 24. The aim of the annual Smith 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament is to encourage and inspire young athletes, and to support the Leukemia &Lymphoma Society and other local outreach organizations. 505 S Kirkwood Rd., 63122. For more information, visit www.keepwatching50.org.

Sat., May 17, 9 a.m., The Humane Society of Missouri and Purina ONE® present Bark in the Park. The largest dog festival in the Midwest. Grab your favorite furry companion for a fun family festival, which features a 5k run, 1-mile walk, and pancake breakfast, all benefiting the Humane Society of Missouri Animal Cruelty Fund. Registration includes an official Bark t-shirt. The annual event will be held at Cricket Field in Forest Park. For more information, visit member.hsmo.org.

Sat., May 17, 6 p.m., St Peter AME Church hosts Send a Student to College. Katara Scholarship Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships to students with learning disabilities. Katara Scholarship Foundation is having its first annual charity dinner and the guest speaker will be Michael McMillan, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Urban League. Applications are still being accepted for anyone with a learning disability for high school seniors planning to attend college. The deadline for application is April 30, 2014. 4730 Margaretta Ave., 63115. For more information, visit http://katarascholarfoundat. wix.com/katarascholarfound or contact Tamara Walker at (314)537-0785 or Keilah Evans at (314) 683-3188.

Wed., May 21, 11 a.m., Doubletree Hotel St. Louis at Westport hosts St. Louis Career Fair. Multiple employers will be at the National Career Fair Job Fair and are looking to fill hundreds of local positions immediately. Company recruiters meet with attending job seekers on a oneon-one basis which increases your chances of being selected

quickly for a great new job. Attendance is free for all job seekers. 1973 Craigshire Rd., 63146. If you are interested in exhibiting as an employer or recruiter at a National Career Fairs event, call 1-(702)-6149537

comedy

Sat., May 3, 7 p.m., Humor for Hire presents The Clean Comedy Series: Family Funny hosted by DeAndre Whitner. A clean comedy show for all ages to enjoy. Featuring national and local comedians sure to keep you laughing. Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, call (314) 329-1503.

Fri., May 9, 7:30 p.m., Chaifetz Arena presents Mother’s Day Comedy Jam. Comedians include Lavell Crawford, Lil Duval, Sheryl Underwood, Tony Roberts, Luenell, and Michael Blackson. One S. Compton Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. thechaifetzarena.com.

Sat., May 24, 7 p.m., Lumiere Casino presents D.L. Hughley. 99 N. Second St., 63160.

theatre

Fri., May 2, 8 p.m., Sparky and Rhonda Rucker. Music from the American south; blues and old-time songs and tunes from an Afro-American perspective. Singer/guitarist Sparky Rucker has been singing songs and telling stories from the American tradition for over fifty years. Rhonda adds vocals, piano, banjo, blues harmonica, and rhythmic bones to their music.

Focal Point Traditional Arts, 2720 Sutton Blvd., 63143. For more information, call (314) 560-2778.

Through May 11, The Fox Theater presents Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. One of the most enduring shows of all time is the irresistible family musical about the trials and triumphs of Joseph, Israel’s favorite son. 527 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www.fabulousfox.com.

Sun., May 11, 3 & 7 p.m., The Peabody Opera House presents The Color Purple. 1400 Market St., 63103. For more information, visit colorpurple.com.

May 13 – 18, The Fox Theater presents The Wizard

of Oz. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new production of The Wizard of Oz is an enchanting adaptation of the all-time classic, totally reconceived for the stage. 527 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. fabulousfox.com.

literary

May 2 – 4, St. Louis Mercantile Library presents St. Louis Fine Print, Rare Book & Paper Arts Fair This annual event will feature local and national fine print and rare book dealers. Proceeds benefit the Mercantile Library’s collections acquisition and conservation funds. J.C. Penney Conference Center, UMSL, One University Blvd., 63121.For more information, call (314) 516-6740.

May 2- May 3, 1 p.m., Black Visions Books welcomes bestselling author Blacc Topp to discuss his newly released novel Tainted, Black Visions Books, Grand Slam Flea Mkt. 367 @ Chambers. For additional information, contact (314) 295-0551.

Sun., May 5, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books hosts author Barbara Bonner, author of Inspiring Generosity. This book is an invitation to savor a sampling of the very best inspirations on the subject of generosity. It includes fourteen contemporary stories of “generosity heroes” whose lives have been transformed by the power of generosity. 399 Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, call (314) 3676731.

Thurs., May 15, 7 p.m., St. Louis County Library welcomes St. Louis’ own Cynthia Bond, author of the critically acclaimed novel Ruby, St. Louis County Library Headquarters 1640 S. Lindbergh. For more information, call (314) 9943300 or visit www.slcl.org.

Sat., May 17, 2 p.m., Missouri History Museum hosts Light and Liberty: Reflections on The Pursuit of Happiness. Eric Petersen spent ten years studying Jefferson’s reflections in reports, state papers, speeches and twenty thousand letters. Members of the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run, a global torch relay, will offer the audience the opportunity to hold and pass the peace torch, which has been held by such individuals as Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and Archbishop Tutu. 5700 Lindell Blvd.,

63112. For more information, call (314) 746-4599 or visit www.mohistory.org.

arts

Sat., May 17, 7 p.m., Contemporary Art Museum hosts Apocalyptic Wonderland. The premiere event in the Fête series, the exhibition will be a transformative journey through darkness, limbo and light via performing and fine art, high fashion and music. 750 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. FeteEventSeries.eventbrite. com.

Through May 18, The St. Louis University Museum of Art presents Tradition Redefined: The Larry and Brenda Thompson of African-American Art. The Thompson collection includes the work of notable artists, as well as those by artists who have been considered emerging, regional or lesser known and has typically not been recognized in the traditional narratives of African-American art. 3663 Lindell Blvd., 63108.

Sat., May 31, 10 a.m., Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum presents Tour de Museum. Guided by Trailnet, Tour de Museum leads cyclists of all ages through St. Louis on a route that provides riders with a variety of programs, tours, and activities by some of the city’s top museums. Route includes stops at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, The Pulitzer Foundation

St. Louis County Library welcomes St. Louis’ own Cynthia Bond, author of the critically acclaimed novel ‘Ruby.’ For more information, see LITERARY.

for the Arts, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, the Saint Louis Art Museum, and the World Chess Hall of Fame. The tour is free, but registration at the Kemper Art Museum is required. 1 Brookings Dr., 63130. For more information, visit www. trailnet.org

lectures

Thurs., Apr. 24, 10 a.m., Clayton Oasis presents 1968: When Reggae Hit the Town. Explore a year of epic change in Jamaican music & culture as KDHX reggae DJs Ital K (“Ital Rhythms”) and Michael Kuelker (“Positive Vibrations”) deliver a lively lecture with music. The focus is 1968, when the culture in Jamaica was brimming with change, when rocksteady was giving way to new sounds. 50 Gay Ave., 2nd Floor, 63105. For more information, visit www.oasisnet.org.

Sat., Apr. 26, 1 p.m., Missouri Legislative Black Caucus Town Hall Meeting.

Missouri Legislative Black Caucus along with State Rep. Brandon Ellington will host a kcmo Town hall meeting. So if you have any problems with any state office rmation, call (314) 746-4599.

health

Sat., May 3, 9 a.m., Living World Theater: St. Louis Zoo hosts Walk with the Animals. Join the Gateway Hemophilia Association’s “Walk with the Animals” 1 Mile/5K, in Forest Park. Please join them in the fight to make a difference in the lives of people living with Hemophilia and von Willebrand Disease. This event is located at Picnic Area 13, across from the north zoo entrance in Forest Park. One Government Dr., 63110. To register, visit www. gatewayhemophilia.org

Sat., May 3, 9 a.m., The International Rett Syndrome Foundation hosts Seventh Annual St. Louis Strollathon. The one-mile family-friendly stroll includes a visit from Fredbird, entertainment and food. All proceeds will benefit Rett Syndrome research. Gloria Rodgers Shelter, Tilles Park, 9551 Litzsinger Rd., 63131. For more information, call (314) 878-0868.

May 10, Community Women Against Hardship 10th Annual Walk-a-thon and Health Fair, Tower Grove Park sponsored by Community Women Against Hardship in cooperation with Ameren Missouri, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Richardson Endocrine Care. Choose 1k, 3k or 5k. The event provides health information from a myriad of physicians and health care providers. Come and enjoy Food, Fitness and Fun. Volley Ball Games, Hula Hoop Contest, Arts & Crafts, Face Painting, Line Dancing, and much more. For more information, visit www.cwah. org, or call 314-289-7523.

Sat., May 17, 11 a.m.,

Christ Community United Methodist Church presents We Survive...We Thrive Women’s Complimentary Luncheon & Panel Discussion in conjunction with National Women’s Health Week, 8841 Old Lucas & Hunt, Jennings, MO 63136. RSVP: (314) 388-1211.

Saturday, May 31, 8 a.m., Wesley House Association, is sponsoring “Shape-Up, Sip, and Savor”. Event includes: medical screenings, Zumba, slides, and aerobics. Wesley House Association, 4507 Lee Avenue. Call (314) 385-1000 for more information.

spiritual

May 2 – May 3, Lane

Tabernacle C.M.E. Church hosts the 2014 Spring Convocation and Quadrennial Celebration of the Third Episcopal District of the C.M.E. Church, St. Louis Airport Marriott Hotel. For more information, call 533-0534!

Sun., May 4, 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., Bishop John Mitchell, Jr.’s 25th Pastoral Anniversary Celebration, Southern Mission Baptist Church (SMBC), 8171 Wesley Ave., Kinloch, MO. For more information, call (314) 314-521-3951.

Sun., May 4, 3 p.m., The 24th Pastoral Anniversary celebration of Theodore V. Foster (Ted) of Eastern Star Missionary Baptist Church. Christ Pilgrim Rest Church, 1341 N. Kingshighway, 63113. For more information, call (314) 716-2194.

Sat., May 10, 11 a.m., First Baptist Church of Chesterfield presents their 11th Annual Hattitude and Hankie Tea, Norwood Hills Country Club, 1 Norwood Hills Country Club Dr. For more information, call (636) 537-8748 or email crc@ firstbcc.org.

or boring – and the spiritual themes within remain as relevant as when Ailey created them nearly 55 years ago.

Both of the aforementioned pieces, which premiered last year, were new to Ailey’s St. Louis audience.

They were equally physically demanding and required a level of talent reserved for the most elite of dancers.

Under Battle’s direction, Friday’s performance had AADT straying from the reserved and diving feetfirst into a style that had audiences thinking of Ailey in an entirely new way –cutting-edge and liberated from classical dance form and structure. Through the new works, AADT proved its potential for dance diversity and capacity for provoking feeling from unlikely sources of movement.

AADT gave audiences a taste of its roots through “Revelations.” Though it is performed at every Ailey concert, the three movements of the ballet will never get old

Favorites include opening ensemble dance “I Been ‘Buked,” the duet “Fix Me, Jesus” and solo “I Wanna Be Ready.”

Friday night guests were moved to accompany the performances through synchronized claps for the entire duration of “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel” and “Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham.” The audience was along for the entire ride of “Revelations,” which carried them from sin and sorrow to redemption and hallelujah.

Antonio stands out

Among the company of dancers that truly operates as an ensemble, St. Louis’ own Antonio Douthit-Boyd is a standout.

His presence as a principal – one might say the leading man of Ailey – was made apparent even before he took the stage. He appeared alone

in full extension as the front cover art for the program.

Douthit-Boyd lived up to any and all expectation the cover may have presented throughout his performances in all three of Friday night’s ballet presentations.

In particular, he performed “I Wanna Be Ready” (within “Revelations”) as if it were choreographed specifically for him.

With his joint-defying kicks and flawless form, Douthit-Boyd is a presence to be reckoned with – even among the immense talent found within the Ailey troupe. He is celebrating 10 years with AADT, but with every move there is hunger passion and drive that resemble a fresh-faced dancer with something to prove and nothing taken for granted.

Though the Ailey women dancers left their hearts on the stage (especially during “Revelations”), Ailey’s leading lady Alicia Graf Mack was sorely missed by all who have seen her take the stage and were expecting her in St. Louis this past weekend.

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to get my auditions together,” Thomas said. “I haven’t needed to do monologues in St. Louis, and that’s a skill, like a muscle, you need to keep worked out.”

In the meantime, he also needs to work out six small roles, lines of 400-year-old British dialogue and some archaic swordplay. Shakespeare Festival St. Louis has made the bold move for its 2014 season of staging three of Shakespeare’s history plays in one brief run: “Henry IV” (parts one and two, staged as a single work, directed by Tim Ocel) and “Henry V” (directed by Bruce Longworth). Of his six small roles, Thomas first came to grips

FILMS

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and reignited by Cedric The Entertainer.

Yet his regular visits to the city – including a one-night engagement that broke box office records at The Lumiere Theatre – show that home is always where his heart is.

And next weekend he will stand on his biggest headlining stage as the main attraction for the Mother’s Day Comedy Jam on Friday May 9.

“When I come home they don’t treat me like a celebrity,” he said, “they treat me like I’m that ‘good ole’ cousin.”

Next weekend will be his second consecutive Mother’s Day gig in St. Louis. As a featured performer he was the highlight of a comedy/R&B showcase last year at Scottrade Center that starred Keith Sweat. This time Crawford will be bringing a variety of comedy talent who are either established or rising stars in their own right – including Sheryl Underwood, Tony Roberts, Luenell, Michael Blackson and Lil Duval.

A 1986 graduate of Pattonville High School, Crawford has come a long way since his first stint at stand-up in a Belleville, Illinois comedy club.

He started out as the funny friend and family member who would make folks laugh on the regular, but when he saw a cousin’s boyfriend – a working comedian – Crawford decided he could make a career out of comedy.

The North County native

with Sir Richard Vernon, a rebellious noble in “Henry IV,” which opens May 17. “Some actors work from the head, some work from the heart,” Thomas said. “I work from the head, and I understand Sir Richard Vernon. He is an English noble whose choices are based on what’s best for England.”

However, by the time “Henry V” opens on May 24, Thomas expects his favorite part for the theatrical run will be Williams, a soldier in “Henry V.”

“Williams is a common man, and King Henry V said, ‘We are going to war,’ so he is going to war,” Thomas said. “It’s the night before the battle, and we’re badly outnumbered. He is still doing his duty knowing he is walking into death. It’s taking me some time to fully embrace that

character.” It’s the death thing that is throwing Thomas off. He has never felt near death.

“Unless you have experienced something similar, it’s difficult to do it on stage,” he said. Thomas is not concerned about dying – in the theatrical sense – on stage in Forest Park this summer or after he moves to New York (provided, of course, another local role does not keep him here again).

“New York is just something I need to try,” Thomas said. “Worst case scenario is I fail miserably and end up back in St. Louis. I’d still be thrilled with my life.”

For more information and a complete schedule of the production, which runs 8 p.m. every night (except Tuesday) from May 17 to June 15, visit http://www.sfstl.com/.

began doing open mic nights on a dare.

“I thought, ‘Maybe I’ll go on and try stand up,” Crawford said. “I called the Funny Bone about three months straight. Finally, one night I called and they said, ‘You’re on the list tonight.’ And I said, ‘What am I gonna do?’”

A joke about his mother’s car catching fire on Christmas instantly won him over with the notoriously vicious crowd.

“I kept it real and it paid off,” Crawford said. “I’ve been blessed I haven’t looked back.”

He’s gone on to sell out comedy venues across the nation and appear in films and on television.

After breaking onto the national scene in “Def Comedy Jam” and BET’s “Comicview,” Crawford cut his teeth on numerous television shows including “The Jamie Foxx Show” and “Showtime at the Apollo.” He came in second place for NBC’s hit comic search “Last Comic Standing.”

Even though he didn’t win, he’s arguably the show’s most successful alum.

He was a regular on the E! late night talk show “Chelsea Lately” before striking gold as the no-nonsense bodyguard for “Breaking Bad.”

The show received both critical and commercial acclaim during its run, but Crawford

never dreamed he’d have been blessed to be recognized by the industry with a Screen Actors Guild Award. Nor did he anticipate the residuals that would come because of the prestige attached to the statue. It’s been like getting a key to Hollywood,” Crawford said. “I’ve been on ‘The Crazy Ones’ with Robin Williams, ‘The Jimmy Kimmel Show ’ They were fans, and they were like, ‘Your character was so great on the show.’ It opened up doors.” He’s currently to preparing to work on a film entitled “Evil Nature” that stars Dan Fogler and Gary Busey, and he recently signed a three-record deal with Warner Brothers to make comedy albums. In the meantime he’s continuing to put on for our city in the comedy realm – just like he’s been doing for the past 20-plus years – and it will be business as usual next Friday. “Support your boy,” Crawford said. “It’s gonna be a good show.” The Mother’s Day Comedy Jam starring Lavell Crawford will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 9 at The Chaifetz Arena. Tickets are available at the Chaifetz Arena box office, at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

Lavell Crawford

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Photo by Wiley Price

Do You Know About Kara Walker?

Film Screening Friday, May 2, 7:00pm at the Saint Louis Art Museum

By Kimberly D. Jacobs,

Romare Bearden Fellow

2013-2014

Whether you love or hate Kara Walker, the dialogue surrounding her works of art certainly is worth experiencing. Walker’s provocative, shocking and, arguably, obscene works have the power and potential to expose racial stereotypes and twisted sexual fantasies, as well as cleanse our collective memory of slavery in the process. The 44-year-old artist and mother is renowned internationally for her life-size tableaux comprised of black silhouettes. Walker’s images borrow from the dark side of American history and fuse factual information with her own fabrications. Without significant contemporary art like Walker’s – art that is not afraid to raise questions and controversy – the art world would be left with a void.

Kara Walker was born in 1969 in Stockton, California. Walker’s father also was an artist. Reflecting on her father, Walker says: “One of my earliest memories involves sitting on my dad’s lap in his studio in the garage of our house and watching him draw. I remember thinking: ‘I want to do that, too,’ and I pretty much decided then and there at age 2½ or 3 that I was an artist just like Dad.” She and her family moved to Stone Mountain, Georgia when she was 13. In college Walker focused on painting and printmaking. She earned her BFA from the Atlanta College of Art in 1991 and her MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1994. Walker’s artwork was included in the 1997 Whitney Museum of American Art Biennial. In the same year, at the age of 27, she received the prestigious MacArthur Foundation’s “genius” grant. Within three years, Walker’s art career took off which also launched a lot of public controversy around her work.

The Saint Louis Art Museum opened Anything But Civil: Kara Walker’s Vision of the Old South in February. The exhibition showcases 15 largescale prints in which Walker has quite literally taken pages right out of a history book! She borrowed images from Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War, first published in 1866, and superimposed her iconic silhouette figures on top of them. In addition to the prints, 23 of Walker’s drawings are spread across the wall as you enter the galleries. Created early in her career in 1999, the viewer has the opportunity to see Walker’s more delicate use of media. Small in scale yet powerful in content, these images demonstrate what we have come learn about Walker’s work –that is it begins in her own imagination.

The programs surrounding the exhibit reveal the performative side of Walker’s work in which she brings her fabrications to life through shadow puppets. The Art Museum will screen Fall Frum Grace, Miss Pipi’s Blue Tale, 2011 on Friday, May 2, 2014 at 7:00pm in The Farrell Auditorium. This short film draws on Walker’s own feelings after traveling to the Mississippi Delta. She says, “I drove down to the Delta thinking about the terrors of Jim Crow and slavery, yet the silent indifference of the landscape and the economic stasis, lack of mobility, and the persistence of a racist memory in the area is what stuck.” The panel discussion following this film will be moderated by Adrienne D. Davis, the vice provost of Washington University in St. Louis and president of the Art Museum’s Board of Trustees. Panelists include Rebecca Wanzo, associate professor at the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at Washington University; Martha S. Jones, professor of history at the University of Michigan; and Jeffrey Uslip, chief curator at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis.

We invite you to be a part of the dialogue this Friday at the Art Museum. Your voice and opinions are an integral part of what Kara Walker’s artwork seeks to do – to be a catalyst for conversations about race, sexuality, violence, and to move us closer towards justice and healing .

Overcoming My Fears

Aleah Brooks Cardinal Ritter college prep high school 9th grade

Have you ever done some thing you thought you would never do? That was me on my irst day working in the YES (Youth Exploring Science) Program. YES is a program at the Saint Louis Science Center that introduces teens to science. My irst day in summer time science (summer time science is the irst step of becoming a YES Teen) was fun--I met new people. As I was looking for my component, I saw “Inquiry to Worms”. I began to have chills as I thought about the word “worms”. I would hate to be the one with that job. I looked for my name on every other poster but the worm inquiry. I inally looked at the poster with my name on it in complete disappointment: WORM INQUIRY. At irst I really didn’t want any thing to do with this component. Once I started, I really liked it. I loved learning things about worms. Some of the things that I learned were that

worms breathe thought their skin and that they are hermaphrodites, which means that they are male and female at the same time. How cool is that!

There was another time when I thought that I would never do something, but the YES Program helped me to do it. That time was the irst day the component I was in started teaching. We were suppose to have 70 kids but we had less. Even though it was a smaller group then the original 70 kids, I was still was very nervous. I usually don’t stand in front of people and talk, but that day I became a speaker. Big or small crowds--they don’t scare me anymore. I plan on speaking in front of large groups more often. I thank the YES program for helping me over come my fear of talking in front of people. That was the best thing that happen to me that summer.

P.s When you think you would never do something, think again.

collect food for needy

Edwards recently helped The

Aleah Brooks

Kara Walker, American, born 1969; Fall Frum Grace, Miss Pipi’s Blue Tale, 2011; DVD Video (color, audio); 17 minutes; Image courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co. © 2011

Kara Walker

Peggy

Curves in Ferguson collect 1,032 pounds of food for the food bank operated by the St. Vincent DePaul Society at Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Church, as part of a national drive by The Curves to support food banks.

~ Celebrations ~

Newlyweds

Crystal Diane Spears and Dorian Gerard Jackson were married on Saturday, October 19, 2013 at the Jewel Box in Forest Park. They celebrated a reception with family and friends at Windows on Washington and honeymooned in the Dominican Republic.

Scholarship winner

Reunions

Beaumont Class of 1968 46th Reunion Weekend: Happy Hour, Friday, June 6 and Picnic, Saturday, June 7. Meetings to wrap up plans for the weekend will be Saturday, April 26, 3-5 pm with final meeting May 24, 2014 2-5 pm, both at STL County

Library 7606 Natural Bridge. For more information email bhsco1968@att.net or call 314-869-8312.

Beaumont class of 1969 45-year planning committee will meet at the St. Louis County Library Normandy Branch, 7606 Natural Bridge Rd., on Saturday April 19, May 10 and June 14, 2014 from 1-3 p.m. For more info contact beaumontclassof1969@yahoo. com or LaDonne at 314-2775095.

Beaumont High School Class of 1984 is planning its 30 year class reunion for October 3-4, 2014. Reunion dinner will be held Saturday, October 3 at

Pageant finalist

Miss Brielle Armani Daniels, age 8, has been chosen as a State Finalist in the National American Miss Missouri Pageant to be held June 27, 2014June 28, 2014 at the Holiday Inn Executive Center in Columbia. Brielle will be participating in the Jr. Pre-Teen age division, along with other outstanding young ladies from across Missouri.

Birthdays

Happy Birthday to my goddaughter, Tayjia Morris, a smart, talented and beautiful young lady. On May 3, she will celebrate her 15th birthday. May all the dreams hidden in your heart come true. Stay Sweet! Love you, Angelita Jackson

Other birthdays:

Elizabeth Richardson (91)—May 3

Alfreda M. Muhammad—May 4

Hilton at the Ball Park. Please check us out on Facebook page “Beaumont Class of 1984” for class updates. The class meets the last Friday of every month. Contact Rochelle Williams at rochellewilliams001@yahoo. com.

Normandy High School Class of 1994 will hold its 20th Reunion Weekend, August 22-24, which will include a Meet and Greet, All White Party, and Ol’ School Field Day. For more information please visit our website at http://nykeawatts.wix.com/ normandy1994.

Riverview Gardens High School Class of 1994 is planning its 20th reunion.

Please join us via Facebook: Riverview Gardens Senior High Class of 1994. Please email your name, address, telephone number and/or email to rgclassof1994@ gmail.com.

FREE OF CHARGE

Do you have a celebration you’re proud of? If so we would like to share your good news with our readers. Whether it’s a birth, graduation, wedding, engagement announcement, anniversary, retirement or birthday, send your photos and a brief announcement (50 words or less) to us and we may include it in our paper and website – AT NO COST – as space is available Photos will not be returned. Send your announcements to: kdaniel@stlamerican. com or mail to: St. Louis American Celebrations c/o Kate Daniel 2315 Pine St. St. Louis, MO 63103

314-369-9549 or Co-Chair, Eric Oliver at 314-799-6122.

Soldan will host its 5th AllClass Alumni Skate Party on Saturday, May 24 at Skate King, 6100 Natural Bridge Rd., Pine Lawn, MO 63121 from 9 p.m. - 12 a.m. Open to all skaters 18 years and older. Tickets are $5 in advance/$7 at the door, skates included. For more information call: (314) 413-9088.

Soldan class of 1969 is planning its 45th reunion on June 6-8, 2014. Please contact Bennie Robinson at 314-243-6441 or Barry Taylor at 314-520-1179. For more info visit us on the web at www.soldancwc1969.com.

Sumner Alumni Association has planned their 13th Annual Golf Scholarship Fundraiser for Saturday, May 17, 2014 at The Golf Course of Florissant. This event is open to all golfers who would like to be a part of this fun filled day. For more information contact Chairperson, Robin Allen at All reunion announcements can be viewed online!

Sumner Alumni Association hosts its 7th Annual Scholarship Awards Luncheon & Fashion Show Saturday, June 7, 2014 at the Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel, noon–4 p.m. This year we are honoring former Track Coach, Mrs. Lynn Mitchell and we are seeking all former Track Members 1972-1983. All alumni are welcome. The cost is $50 per person w/complimentary parking. For more info, contact B. Louis at 314.385.9843 or sumneralumniassn@yahoo. com.

Sumner Class of 1964 can still let us know if you want to attend the 50th Class Reunion. Contact Patricia Wells Shelton at (314) 839-2214 or via email at patricia.shelton@att. net and/or Carol Strawbridge at (314) 524-8504 or via email at strawu@aol.com for information regarding this upcoming event the weekend of June 13-15.

Reunion notices are free of charge and based on space availability. We prefer that notices be emailed to us! However, notices may also be sent by mail to: Kate Daniel, 2315 Pine St., St. Louis, MO 63103 Deadline is 10 a.m. on Friday. If you’d like your class to be featured in a reunion profile, email or mail photos to us. Our email address is: reunions@ stlamerican.com

Sumner Class of 1974 will have its 40th class reunion at the Doubletree by Hilton St. Louis Chesterfield Hotel, 16625 S. Swingley Ridge Road, Chesterfield, MO 63017, July 18-20, 2014. The Sunday event is morning services at New Beginnings MB Church, 4055 Edmundson Road, St. Louis, Mo 63134 at10am. Memorial brunch following services. Contact Joyce Bush Cruesoe at 314-484-1552, or Denise Washington Nicks 314-6423366 for information.

Bianca M. Fountain, has been selected as the 2014 Elizabeth Gray Danforth and Thomas H. Eliot Scholar at Washington University. Bianca lives in Berkeley, MO and attends the Florissant Valley campus of St. Louis Community College and will be attending Wash U this fall.

Father Nutt to lead Institute for Black Catholic Studies

St. Louis native also endowed professor at Xavier University

American staff

The Rev. Dr. Maurice J. Nutt, C.Ss.R., has been appointed director of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies (IBCS) and the Drexel Society Endowed Professor of Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. Xavier University is the only historically black and Catholic university in the nation. He officially assumes his new role of IBCS director on July 1. In this role, he will give leadership to the only graduate degree program in Black Catholic Studies in the United States. He will also work with critical constituents to foster the empowerment and enrichment of the Black Catholic community.

A native of St. Louis, Father Nutt, 51, professed vows in the Redemptorist congregation in 1983 and was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood in 1989. He has served as pastor of Holy Names of Jesus and Mary Catholic Church in Memphis TN, as director of the African American Ministry Initiative in Chicago IL, and as pastor of St. Alphonsus Liguori “Rock” Catholic Church in his hometown of St. Louis. He comes to Xavier from the Redemptorist Preaching Team based in Chicago, IL.

Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis and a Master of Divinity degree from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He is the author of three books: “Thea Bowman: In My Own Words,” “Advent and Christmas Wisdom from St. Alphonsus Liguori,” and “Lent and Easter Wisdom from St. Alphonsus Liguori.” He is also a contributor to the African American Catholic Youth Bible, a collaborative project between the National Black Catholic Congress and St. Mary’s Press to be published this year.

Can you imagine experiencing the perfect power of God? For clarification on this, look to 2 Corinthians 12:7-9.

“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfect in weakness.’”

M

Father Nutt is no stranger to Xavier, having earned a Master of Theology degree from Xavier’s Institute for Black Catholic Studies in 1989 and having served as an assistant professor of preaching at the institute since 2007.

“We are blessed to have acquired the full-time services of Father Maurice, who will bring his boundless energy, dynamic leadership and profound scholarship to the Institute for Black Catholic Studies,” said Dr. Loren J. Blanchard, provost and senior vice-president for Academic Affairs.

The institute, established in 1979 to help sustain and

support the pastoral and intellectual needs of Black Catholics throughout the United States, offers a Master’s degree in Pastoral Theology and continuing education units in Catechesis, leadership and youth/young adult ministry

A member of the Board of Directors for the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, Father Nutt has also served as an adjunct professor for Hampton University’s Online Religious Studies Program and as an adjunct professor in Saint Louis University’s Department of Theology.

In addition to his Xavier degree, he also holds a Doctorate of Ministry from

“I had the best job in the world working on the Chicago-based Redemptorist preaching team where I had the privilege of preaching the Gospel throughout the nation and various parts of the world,” Father Nutt said. “Only when I was recruited for this position did I realize what a great opportunity it presents to inform the wider community on the spiritual, intellectual and cultural contributions of those of the African diaspora beyond the Roman Catholic Church.”

For more information on Xavier University’s Institute for Black Catholic Studies go to: www.xula.edu/ibcs

Pastoral anniversary

Eastern Star Missionary Baptist Church will celebrate the 24th Pastoral Anniversary of Rev. Theodore V. Foster 3 p.m. Sunday, May 4 at The Christ Pilgrim Rest Church, 1341 N. Kingshighway, For more information, contact Mrs. Eunice Carter at 314-716-2194.

All of us tend to focus on our flaws and faults with a good degree of guilt. Paul lets us know here that there is indeed a reason to accept our shortcomings with the basic understanding that they should be celebrated.

It’s when we’re at our lowest that God will (if you let Him) show up and then proceed to show out. Talk about your powerful stuff!

All of us should take notice of what the Lord is telling Paul versus what Paul is asking the Lord for. It all starts with an honest look into a mirror, any mirror. We are who we are in relation to God’s assessment of us.

The fact is, we can’t do this thing called life alone. You and I need help, and that help comes from only one source. Those consequences begin

with recognizing that there is divine purpose in your particular set of weaknesses. Most of us want to reject the notion that our sinful ways have a spiritual, even a blessed, purpose in our lives. This text says it is our job to revel, if not celebrate, through spiritual recognition that we are fertile ground and God can do miracles in our dirt. When you get a handle on this and a hand from God, you can overcome addictions, place restraints on your pride, deal with your physical infirmities and have peace when the world is falling apart around you. You also get Christ’s power to work with. No wonder Paul continues by saying, “That is why, for Christ’s sake I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

How many testimonies does it take for you and me to give God the praise for accomplishing for us that which we cannot do for ourselves? Because of our frailties, isn’t it about time we give God his just due? He deserves it. We don’t. Accept your insecurities and your passions then step back and watch God do his thing in your life.

The American is accepting Inspirational Messages from the community. Send your column (no more than 400 words) as a Word document and pasted text to cking@stlamerican. com and attach a photo of yourself as a jpeg ile. Please be patient; we will run columns in the order received.

James A. Washington

The Rev. Maurice Nutt preaching at the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University in New Orleans.

Celebrity Swagger Snap of the Week

Boosie in the building. What can I say...except for…prayer changes things. However it happened, Boosie showed up in the flesh Friday night at the Ambassador. Yep. The rumor spreaders and naysayers did not get the last laugh for this one because Boosie and his Christopher “Play” Martin hair game came through and blessed us with what I’m dubbing as his “Freedom Tour.” The promoters whoever they are almost didn’t let me give them the glory of telling you. They were quietly feeling themselves and trying not to show a sistah some hospitality. Thanks to Bo and Flex (two of my favorite security folks) I was able to get them to understand it would be in their best interest to let me in. I got up in the Ambassador and they took standing room only to a whole new level…as in EVERYBODY who is not VIP. It wouldn’t have been too terrible if they hadn’t been charging $50 a ticket and $100 for VIP. If I’m gonna pay $100 for Boosie, they better have me on a chaise lounge being fed grapes by Colin Kaepernick. It didn’t look as packed as I thought it would be in the general admission area, but that probably had everything to do with the sparseness of tables and folks standing shoulder to shoulder. Speaking of shoulder to shoulder, I could barely hone in on Boosie because everybody and their probation officer was on the stage while he was performing. I guess they said “If I have to stand up, it might as well be on stage where I can pretend to be important.” Boosie did exactly what I expected him to – and fairly well considering he had no breathing room. Boosie was on stage barely before midnight and did a nice selection of songs. He even threw shade at the Youngbloodz and Lil Jon by accusing them of track thievery. I did not realize how filthy his lyrics were. What can you do? The only downside of the night came when I underestimated the promptness of Boosie and therefore totally missed Young Buck and his latest facial hair landscape architecture.

Café Soul’s 2014 return. They took some time off after their successful run at The Pageant, but they’re back. I’m so glad they returned to the scene to give the grown folks a place to gather and get a taste of some good old fashion STL talent. Angie, Nichol and host Tendai made their return Saturday night with their Rustic Goat debut. There was some sort of elderly G-Rated “Eyes Wide Shut” masquerade party going on simultaneously. It did feel the masked crowd made it a bit more mature than usual, but the overall swag was unaffected. The new house band they is the ABSOLUTE TRUTH. A Zorro looking cat daddy from the “Eyes Wide Shut” crew came to the stage and put his ankle in his rendition of Frankie Beverly and Maze’s “Golden Time of Day.” I got more life than I could’ve imagined. True to form, Rhoda G turned a club banger into a jazz standard when she took on King Bey’s “Drunk in Love.” I’ve decided that she was born with an extra lung in her thigh – that’s the only way to explain how she holds those notes. I had a good time, but I can’t say that the layout of the Rustic Goat is necessarily conducive for Café Soul. I don’t mind the venue, but for Café Soul you want to be able to peep the stage from every angle.

Bone Thugs back in STL. Based on the ….let’s just say intimacy of the meet and greet earlier in the afternoon at Lola, I was in full prayer warrior mode for Orlando Watson and his team of promoters. I was fearful I might be able to complete a full tumbling passage through the Pageant thanks to a lack of audience for the Bone Thugs and Harmony concert Sunday. Their latest 15th this year STL visit was recorded for some sort of production offering (I’m not sure if it’s film or TV) as part of their 20th anniversary festivities. Turns out I was DEAD wrong. The crazy thing is the demographic was nothing like I expected. I thought I was gonna see James Hardin beards and body con freakum dresses. I got up in there and was met with skater boys and tattoo artist types from the boys and a multiple choice of Toms with sundresses, and Daisy Dukes paired with gladiator sandals topped off mom jeans with stilettos from the sassier element of the ladies. At first I thought I had my dates mixed up and was accidently at Pointfest – or that Pop’s had asked The Pageant if they could rent the space for the night for an alternative rock showcase. I ran into my not so secret crush Yak Boy Fresh and knew what was up. Isn’t he the cutest? He knows it too. Anyway, the general population was deep in the Pageant to get their “Thuggish Ruggish Bone” on and I’m not the least bit mad. They knew every word when Wish, Crazy, Lazy Flesh and Bizzy took the stage. Bizzy was looking so good to me! Okay, enough lustin’…Every time I see them I realize all of the late great hip-hop icons they’ve recorded with and get a bit raw emotional. They only performed for about 40 minutes, which to me is just a sample if you’re doing a Pageant show. But the general population crowd just stood there like, “oh, it’s not over until we say it’s over.” So Bone turned it into “Club Bone” meaning they let the DJ play whatever he wanted and invited the ladies on stage to do their Miley Cyrus-inspired twerk game. It was something quite interesting to see – and reminded me how long and deep hip hop has infused itself into POPULAR culture.

Cast your vote for Coco. Our girl came from wild card status to beat out 70 and win the St. Louis leg of the Hard Rock Battle of the band, so let’s send Coco Soul to Rome so she can win the Global crown. How? All you have to do is go to https://www.facebook.com/hardrockcafestlouis and cast your vote EVERY DAY. Voting ends May 7th, so stay posted on there!

Something about Funny First Sundays. My boy Arvin Mitchell will be back at Blueberry Hill this weekend for the May installment of Funny First Sundays. I’m telling you I’ve never been to one where my face wasn’t hurting from laughter when I left up out of there. The party starts at 7 p.m.

Auror and Eye Candy Model Kelcee were among the pretty faces in the place @ MPAC’s Eye Candy Party Saturday night @ The Coliseum

Sam and Ann were among those taking in the laidback vibes of Lola Saturday night

Thanks to promoters Orlando, Craig and Javon Bone Thugs and Harmony were in the STL celebrating a twenty year hip-hop legacy Sunday night @ The Pageant

Kolanda celebrated her b-day with friends Ashlie, Philip, Erica and Tashauna in the swank surroundings of the all-new Marquee Saturday night

Chief and Ty take in the lovely sights @ The Eye Candy Party Saturday night @ The Coliseum

Wild 104.9’s Taylor J and St. Louis Rams’ star Brandon McGee performed with youngsters and faithful area volunteer Linda Robinson contributed her time to the America Scores’ Celebrity Voices Fundraiser Saturday night @ City Hall

Lynette, Bridgett and Kristyn basked in the panache of new hotspot The Marquee Saturday night

The Kappas provided plenty of pretty boy hospitality to cuties like Rochelle and Cherita @ The Chocolate Dip Social Saturday night @ Soho

Tendai and Angela were thrilled with the warm reception of Café Soul’s re-launch Saturday night @ The Rustic Goat

Happy couple Ashley and Damion enjoyed their backstage access during the Bone Thugs and Harmony concert Sunday night @ The Pageant

Louisiana rapper Lil Boosie was eager to rep The Lou by way of St. Louis Cardinals gear when he came to town for a special concert

Photos by Lawrence Bryant

Obesity, a costly disease

Obesity has been the topic of discussion for several years now and dominates most news outlets daily. Conversation has ranged from diet trends, exercise, surgery, colon cleanses, supplements or prescription medications. The internet is full of claims to cut belly fat, drop 4 dress sizes, or increase metabolism. The fitness industry, tech companies, personal trainers and even doctors have profited from this burgeoning disease state. But do you find yourself wondering if the war against obesity really matters? Does obesity really increase the cost of healthcare, does it really increase the likelihood of other diseases, and can a person ever reverse it? The resounding answer to those lingering questions is YES, INDEED!

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the cost of obesity in America in 2008 was a $147 billion dollars! During that time frame, an obese person spent approximately $1400 more in medical costs than someone of a normal weight. Do you know what you could do with an extra $1000 per year? Can we say vacation?

A body mass index of 30 or higher is classified as obesity and is calculated based on a person’s height and weight. BMI is an alternative for direct body fat measurement. The amount

of body fatness that a person has can be a predictor of future health problems or concerns. Contrary to most beauty shop conversation, BMI is not specific for any particularly ethnicity. Therefore, a 5”3’ woman, regardless of her cultural or ethnic background, should only weigh between 107-135 pounds.

Our bodies were designed to last a lifetime if they are maintained appropriately. Adding increased weight to a small frame increases the gravitational pull and force on our backs, knees and other joints. This added pressure hastens the normal aging process of our joints and causes premature cartilage damage. Patients are now presenting with osteoarthritis in their early forties instead of later in life.

Joint degeneration becomes a serious issue because once physical therapy and steroid injections have failed to relieve the pain, joint replacement is then the only viable option remaining. Artificial joints have greatly improved over the years but they were never intended for young patients. In addition, surgery to replace a joint is major and comes with

serious risks such as infection, leg clots, and possible faulty equipment.

M.D.

Obesity also affects pregnancy and its outcomes. Obese pregnant patients are at increased risk of gestational diabetes and hypertension. Some private physician groups are refusing to care for obese patients because it increases their medical liability by having patients that are more likely to have complications during delivery.

Ok, so what do you do if your doctor has told you that you are obese? The simple answer is MOVE! There is no magic to this formula: you have to expend more energy than you consume. Exercise is a vital part of a healthy lifestyle and there is an exercise for every person. I’m amazed at all of the people that believe that when a doctor recommends exercise that he/she is suggesting you go out and sign up for the next marathon. Slow your roll, my friend! Your doctor simply wants you off the couch for thirty minutes to one hour daily and that time can be done in intervals if necessary.

What about medications such as Xenical, Belviq, and Qsymia? These medications are FDA approved for weight loss but were intended as an adjunct to diet and exercise and at most provide about only a 5% reduction in weight. They are also not void of side effects or other more serious adverse reactions such as gastrointestinal issues. Most non-prescription based weight loss medications except for Alli

are not FDA approved for weight loss and the FDA warns against purchasing supplements from another country because they could contain US banned substances.

What if you have done everything in your power to lose weight but to no avail? Should you consider bariatric surgery and what are the options? Again, contemplating surgery is a major life decision and should be discussed carefully with your family, primary care doctor and the surgeon. For those patients whose blood sugars and blood pressures are out of control even on multiple medications, surgery may be the only option. However, a reputable surgeon will require you to consider cognitive behavior therapy, exercise, and a nutritional consultation prior to proceeding with surgery. Your care team wants to insure that if surgery is your choice then you are making an informed decision after carefully weighing your options and you understand the potential risks.

Presently, there are many different procedures used in bariatric surgery such as gastric banding, sleeve gastrectomy, and the traditional bypass. Each of those surgeries carry its own set of risks and complications and it is not guaranteed that it would be covered by your insurance plan. Before even considering paying for such an expensive procedure, many insurers require that the patient has shown some type of effort in weight loss over the last few years.

Yours in Service, Denise Hooks-Anderson, M.D. Assistant Professor SLUCare Family Medicine yourhealthmatters@stlamerican.com

Your Health Matters

A bi-monthly special supplement of the St. Louis American May 1, 2014

Your Health 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

Denise Hooks Anderson, M.D., Medical Accuracy Editor

Sandra Jordan, Health Reporter

Debbie Chase, Director of Health Strategy & Outreach

Onye Hollomon, Barb Sills, Pamela Simmons, Sales

Michael Terhaar, Art/Production Manager

Angelita Jackson, Cover Design

Wiley Price, Photojournalist

the

Denise Hooks Anderson,

‘Stealth Health’

Nutrition and wellness at work and home

By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American

Providing healthier choices is taking place in the restaurants, at home, and the workplace as well.

At the BJC Employee Wellness Summit, held April 10-11 at the BJC Learning Institute in St. Louis, businesses from across the nation learned from experts about the importance of employee wellness programs to their workers’ health and to the bottom line.

“The business model of health care is changing,” Kelvin Westbrook, chairman of the BJC HealthCare board of directors, said, “moving from a model that’s primarily been focused on treatment to a model that is focused on improving the health of the community in a more sustainable way.”

Westbrook said that means more accountability, more participants and looking for ways to engage them in what they think is a large source of the challenges.

“There are a number of diseases that are associated with lifestyle choices around food or around activity, and trying to find a way to change behaviors and engage those who might be in a better position to impress upon individuals the need to change behaviors is what this summit is all about,” Westbrook said.

At the summit’s Food as Medicine presentation by celebrity Chef Cary Neff, business owners and managers learned how his company offers healthier choices that can reduce the obesity epidemic and cut down employee health care costs.

“You can do both. You can make great tasting food that is also good for you,” Neff said.

Neff is vice president of culinary for Atlanta-based Morrison Management Specialists, which provides dining services to BJC and over 800 hospitals and senior living communities. Neff, executive chef and president of Pear Restaurant Group, is author of Conscious Cuisine, which offers recipes using grains, vegetables, legumes and fruits to create satisfying, nutritious and tasteful meals.

Neff said such presentations make a difference internally and externally.

“Internally for our staff in realizing the value that they have and the importance of their job, and externally to change the culture for everyone’s benefit – first within their families and within the organization they are working and within the communities in which we live,” Neff described. “As we are

n “There are a number of diseases that are associated with lifestyle choices around food or around activity, and trying to find a way to change behaviors and engage those who might be in a better position to impress upon individuals the need to change behaviors is what this summit is all about.”

– Kelvin Westbrook

able to influence these experiences, then we have the best opportunity to influence their beliefs and in changing their beliefs.”

Why is this important?

“Because the belief that most people have is if it’s good for you, therefore it don’t taste good,” Neff said.

Bottom line: You can cook healthy and keep it tasty.

Neff offers the American readers a few tips for healthy eating, starting with cooking preparation. Ready to grease up the skillet? Spritzing has its own lighter, healthier flavor.

“I arm my staff with spray bottles of oil. It’s 75 percent canola oil and 25 percent olive oil. It gives it more flavor, but it has a higher burning point,” Neff said. “So now, they are misting a pan, rather

than adding the butter.”

He also buys two types of olive oil; one for cooking; and the more expensive extra virgin olive oil for dressing salads and vegetables.

From skillet to plate, portion control and wholesome items are the main course.

“The lifestyle and the habits of which we were raised – that we have to eat everything on your plate, this makes the majority of those things whole grains and fruits and vegetables, and the least amount is the protein,” Neff said. “It’s more affordable and it also provides you a balance in nutrition.”

For most people, you do not have to give up dessert altogether- just make smarter and smaller choices.

“The easiest fix is don’t change the See HEALTH, page 10

Celebrity Chef Cary Neff presented “Food as Medicine” at the 2014 Employee Wellness Summit, held recently at the BJC Learning Institute in St. Louis. With him are Truman Medical Centers President and CEO John W. Bluford and BJC Board Chairman Kelvin Westbrook.

Photo by Wiley Price

Except for small children, allergy prevalence

the same in U.S. geographic areas

In the largest, most comprehensive, nationwide study to examine the prevalence of allergies from early childhood to old age, scientists from the National Institutes of Health report that allergy prevalence is the same across different regions of the United States, except in children 5 years and younger.

“Before this study, if you would have asked 10 allergy specialists if allergy prevalence varied depending on where people live, all 10 of them would have said yes, because allergen exposures tend to be more common in certain regions of the U.S.,” said Darryl Zeldin, M.D., scientific director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of NIH. “This study suggests that people prone to developing allergies are going to develop an allergy to whatever is in their environment. It’s what people become allergic to that differs.”

n If you would have asked 10 allergy specialists if allergy prevalence varied depending on where people live, all 10 of them would have said yes.

Analyses of blood serum data compiled from approximately 10,000 Americans in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2006 was taken into account. The findings were published online recently in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Although the study found that the overall prevalence of allergies did not differ between regions, researchers discovered that one group of participants did exhibit a regional response to allergens. Among children aged 1-5, those from the southern U.S. displayed a higher prevalence of allergies than their peers living in other U.S. regions. These southern states included Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida.

“The higher allergy prevalence among the youngest children in southern states seemed to be attributable to dust mites and cockroaches,” explained Paivi Salo, Ph.D., an epidemiologist in Zeldin’s research group and lead author on the paper. “As children get older, both indoor and outdoor allergies become more common, and the difference in the overall prevalence of allergies fades away.”

The NHANES 2005-2006 not only tested a greater number of allergens across a wider age range than prior NHANES studies, but also provided quantitative information on the extent of allergic sensitization. The survey analyzed serum for nine different antibodies in children aged 1-5, and 19 different antibodies in subjects 6 years and older. Previous NHANES studies used skin prick tests to test for allergies.

The scientists determined risk factors that made a person more likely to be allergic. The study found that in the 6 years and older group, males, non-Hispanic blacks, and those who avoided pets had an increased chance of having allergen-specific IgE antibodies, the common hallmark of allergies.

Socioeconomic status (SES) did not predict allergies, but people in higher SES groups were more commonly allergic to dogs and cats, whereas those in lower SES groups were more commonly allergic to shrimp and cockroaches.

By generating a more complete picture of U.S. allergen sensitivity, the team uncovered regional differences in the prevalence of specific types of allergies. Sensitization to indoor allergens was more prevalent in the South, while sensitivity to outdoor allergens was more common in the West. Food allergies among those 6 years and older were also highest in the South.

Heavy alcohol use impairs cells’ ability to regenerate, repair

Muscle weakness from long-term alcoholism may stem from an inability of mitochondria, the powerhouses of cells, to self-repair, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

In research conducted with rats, scientists found evidence that chronic heavy alcohol use affects a gene involved in mitochondrial repair and muscle regeneration.

“The finding gives insight into why chronic heavy drinking often saps muscle strength and it could also lead to new targets for medication development,” said Dr. George Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the NIH institute that funded the study.

The study is online in the April issue of the Journal of Cell Biology. Leading the research is Dr. Gyorgy Hajnoczky,

M.D., Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology and director of MitoCare at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Mitochondria are cellular structures that generate most of the energy needed by cells. Skeletal muscle constantly relies on mitochondria for power. When mitochondria become damaged, they can repair themselves through a process called mitochondrial fusion –joining with other mitochondria and exchanging material such as DNA.

In addition to heavy alcohol consumption, Hajnoczky said other environmental factors may also alter specifically mitochondrial fusion and repair. He suggested that identifying the proteins involved in mitochondrial fusion may aid in drug development for alcohol-related muscle weakness.

Thurs. May 1, 6 p.m., John H. Gladney MD Diversity Awards

Reception, Saint Louis University El Monastero, 3050 Olive St. Guest speaker: Ronald Wyatt MD, MHA, DMS (HON), medical director, healthcare improvement, Office of the Chief Medical Officer, The Joint Commission. Dinner is served at 6pm with the program immediately following. RSVP by April 18 to 314-977-8730 or oma@slu. edu.

May 2-4, 6 a.m., Remote Area Medical Free Health Clinic, Jackie Joyner Kersee Center, 101 Jackie Joiner Kersee Circle Dr., East St. Louis , Ill. For adults and children; services include dental cleanings, fillings and extractions; eye examinations and prescription glasses made onsite. Medical care includes general, diabetes and wound care; women’s health. For more information, call 618560-0656, 618-482-6804 or visit ramusa. org.

Sat. May 3, 4 p.m., Walk to End Lupus Now, Carondelet Park, St. Louis. Registration at 4 – walk begins at 5 p.m. For more information, call 314644-2222 or visit www.lfaheartland.org.

Calendar

Sun. May 4, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m., Cinco de Mammo-thon, Northwest HealthCare, 1225 Graham Rd., 63031. Women age 40 or older who haven’t had a mammogram in the past few years are encouraged to call today to schedule an appointment. Make sure you mention you want to be a part of the Mammo-Thon when you call 314-747-WELL (9355).

Wednesdays, May 7 – July 23, Healthy Eating, Active Living (HEAL) free weight management program for Family Care Health Center patients ages 21-35 who are interested in a healthy lifestyle to manage weight. The 12-week program will include cooking classes, nutrition lessons, with focus on habit change and mindfulness with health coaching, all in a supportive group setting. To apply, call Susanna at 353-5190 x 3443.

Wed. May 7, 12 Noon – 4 p.m., American Red Cross Blood Drive at Northwest Health Care Community Room, 1225 Graham Rd., 63031. Register at www.redcrossblood.org and use the sponsor code: northwesthealthcare; or contact Mindy McLain at mlm7458@bjc.org.

Thurs., May 8, 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., Healthy Cooking Class, Christian Hospital Diabetes Institute, 11155 Dunn Rd., Professional Building 1, Suite 101N, 63136. Learn how to make affordable and delicious meals with a registered dietitian; taste-testing, handouts and recipe cards. Space is limited to first 25 who reserve a spot. Cost - $10. Registration is required by calling 314747-WELL (9355).

Sat. May 10, 10th Annual Walk-athon and Health Fair at Tower Grove Park sponsored by Community Women Against Hardship. Choose 1K, 3K or 5K; food, fitness, arts & crafts, dancing and more. For more information, call 314289-7523 or visit www.cwah.org.

Sat. May 10, 7:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., Metro St. Louis 2014 Heart Walk for American Heart Association, Busch Stadium, 700 Clark Street. To register and for more information, call 314-6925662, email Angela.Heigl@heart.org or go to http://tinyurl.com/HeartWalkStL.

Sat., May 10, 4 p.m. Metro East March for Babies, GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Ill.,2301 Grizzlie Bear Blvd. Registration at 4p.m. and event begins at 5:30 p.m. For more information, call 314-513-9990 or email MO633@marchofdimes.com.

Thurs., May 15, 8 a.m. – 11 a.m., SSM Heart Institute’s “Get Screened for Your Heart’s Sake,” St. Mary’s Health Center main lobby. To register, call 1-866-SSM-DOCS (1-866-776-3627) or visit www.ssmhealth.com/heart.

Thurs., May 15, 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m., Hospitalization & Dementia: Caring Partnerships, Northwest HealthCare Community Room, 1225 Graham Rd. Florissant, Mo. 63031. Christian Hospital and Alzheimer’s Association helps prepare people caring for a loved one with dementia for a hospital stay. Registration requested by calling 314-747-9355.

Thurs., May22, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., Healthy Cooking Class, Christian Hospital Diabetes Institute, 11155 Dunn Rd., Professional Building 1, Suite 101N, 63136. Learn how to make affordable and delicious meals with a registered dietitian; taste-testing, handouts and recipe cards. Space is limited to first 25 who reserve a spot. Cost - $10. Registration is required by calling 314747-WELL (9355).

Sat. May 24, 7 a.m., 2014 Mind and Body Health and Fitness Event, at Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School, 701 N. Spring Ave., St. Louis, 63108. Hosted by Christ Deliverance Ministry, featuring $500 first prize at

stake for 5K; fitness challenge featuring Briant Mitchell of BKM Boot Camp; free children’s eye exams and glasses by Ronald McDonald Care Mobile and health screenings from SSM DePaul Hospital. To register, visit www.cdmmindandbody.org.

Thurs., May 29, 5:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., HATtatude! 10th Annual Hats Off to Women, Christian Hospital heart health event. The ladies of The Heart Care Group will be there to educate you on what you need to know about heart disease.

A goody bag will be given to all participants and a light, heart-healthy dinner will be served. Free blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose screenings will be available.

Make your reservation by calling 314747-WELL or 1-877-747-WELL.

Mon., July 21, 26th Annual AAFA Golf Classic, Persimmon Woods Golf Club, Weldon Spring, Mo., benefiting the St. Louis chapter of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation. For more information, visit aafastl.org/golf.

Sundays, 10 a.m. – Alcoholics Anonymous Group 109 meets in the 11th floor conference room at Christian Hospital, 11133 Dunn Road at I-270/ 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. – Alcohol and Drug Informational meeting, Christian Hospital, Professional Office Building 2, Suite 401. For information, 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 Transfiguration Lutheran Church, 1807 Biddle Street. No registration needed; no cost. For more information, call 314-9624670.

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

Allergy to moistened wipes on the rise

More and more people are developing an itchy, painful rash in an effort to stay clean. A dermatologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center says a preservative in many types of pre-moistened wipes is linked to a dramatic rise in allergic reactions.

“In the last two or three years, we’ve suddenly seen a big increase in people with this type of allergy,” said Dr. Matthew Zirwas, director of the contact dermatitis center at Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center. “For some patients, their rash has been unexplained and going on for years.”

n Zirwas says the chemical preservative is MI (methylisothiazolinone) and it has been around for years.

Zirwas says the chemical preservative is MI (methylisothiazolinone) and it has been around for years. The preservative is found in many waterbased products like liquid soaps, hair products, sunscreen, cosmetics, laundry products and cleaners as well as pre-moistened personal hygiene products and baby wipes.

“Concentrations of the preservative have increased dramatically in some products in the last few years, as manufacturers stopped using other preservatives like paraben and formaldehyde,” Zirwas said.

The irritated skin can be red, raised, itchy and even blistery, appearing much like a reaction to poison ivy. The three most common areas affected by the allergic reaction include the face, from using soaps and shampoos, the fingers and hands, from handling the wipes, and the buttocks and genitals from using moistened flushable wipes.

“If someone suspects an allergy to moistened wipes, they need to stop using them for at least one month. A week or two isn’t enough time,” Zirwas said.

Zirwas is nationally-known as for spending nearly 10 years sleuthing out the causes of mysterious rashes that others can’t solve. Over the years, he has identified allergies to shoe glue, hot tub chemicals, nickel in food, even a chemical in escalator hand rails. Zirwas says it isn’t clear how many Americans might react to MI, but he said manufacturers are aware of the growing allergy problem and are working on alternatives.

MI was named 2013 Allergen of the Year by the American Contact Dermatitis Society.

HealtH Briefs

Scientists discover link to female PCOS, infertility

A variant in a gene active in cells of the ovary may lead to the overproduction of androgens – male hormones similar to testosterone – occurring in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), according to scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health. The discovery may provide information to develop a test to diagnose women at risk for PCOS and also for the development of a treatment for the condition.

In addition to high levels of androgens, symptoms of PCOS include irregular menstrual cycles, infertility, and insulin resistance (difficulty using insulin.) The condition affects approximately 5 to 7 percent of women of reproductive age and increases the risk for heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. In PCOS, higher levels of androgens may also cause excess facial and body hair, as well as severe acne.

“PCOS is a major cause of female infertility and is associated with other serious health problems,” said Louis V. De Paolo, chief of the Fertility and Infertility Research Branch of NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, which funded the study. “In identifying this gene, the study authors have uncovered a promising new lead in the long search for more effective ways to diagnose and treat the condition, and perhaps, to one day prevent it from even occurring.”

The study was published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study’s primary author was Jan M. McAllister, Ph.D, professor of pathology, obstetrics and gynecology, and cellular and molecular physiology in the Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pa.

Normal Ovary

Theca Cell

Top: Normally, the egg matures inside a spherical structure called a follicle. When the egg is mature, the follicle ruptures and the egg is released. The inside surface of follicles are lined with theca cells, which produce the protein DENND1A. V2, involved in the production of male hormones.

PCOS Ovary

Theca Cell

Over production of DENND1A.V2

Bottom: In polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), follicles fail to mature and form cyst-like structures. In the current study, the researchers determined that in women with PCOS, theca cells produce a much greater quantity of DENND1A. V2. In a series of experiments, the researchers found that the protein led to the production of high levels of male hormones-a characteristic of PCOS.

The researchers narrowed their search to the gene called DENND1A, which contains the information needed to make a protein. This protein is made in theca cells, which line the inner surface of ovarian follicles, the temporary, spherelike structures which ultimately break open and give rise to the egg each month. In women with PCOS, the follicles fail to mature normally. Instead of rupturing

during the monthly cycle to release the egg, the follicles accumulate and form numerous cyst-like structures. Previous studies have shown that in PCOS, theca cells are the source of the high levels of androgens found in women with the condition.

PCOS appears to run in families, but no genes have been definitively linked to the disorder. Researchers believe that PCOS probably results from the interaction of several genes, and perhaps to interactions between certain genes and the environment.

American Lung Association recruiting smokers with asthma

The American Lung Association Asthma Clinical Research Center is currently recruiting asthmatic smokers for studies examining whether asthma control assessment measures and treatment options work as well in those who smoke. ACRC is a network of 18 centers across the U.S. Asthma is a common lung disease that makes breathing difficult for over 25 million Americans; 20-30 percent of whom also currently smoke. While there is no cure for asthma, the disease can be managed and treated in most individuals. However, evidence suggests that the cur-

rent asthma treatment guidelines may not be appropriate for smokers with research indicating that inhaled corticosteroids, the recommended mainstay for treating asthma, being less effective in smokers.

Current cigarette smokers with poorly controlled asthma are encouraged to enroll in the Smoking Asthmatics Cohort Study (SCS) to evaluate whether asthma control assessment measures are as effective when used with smoking asthmatics as they are with non-smoking asthmatics.

“If we find that these assessment measures are valid in smokers, we will

then be able to examine whether certain add-on therapies can benefit poorly-controlled smoking asthmatics.” stated Joe Ramsdell, MD, primary investigator of the SAPS trial at the American Lung Association Asthma Clinical Research Center located at the University of California, San Diego. “It is hoped that our research will lead to improved asthma care for smokers”.

The SCS clinical trial is currently recruiting current smokers (cigarettes) between the ages of 18-50 with history of asthma for a six-week study.

To learn more about the SCS study, visit http://tinyurl.com/mv7kv5k.

In addition, the ACRC at the University of San Diego is conducting the Smoking Asthmatics Pilot Study (PILOT), a trial that is evaluating treatment options for asthmatics who smoke cigarettes. This trial will assess the feasibility of doing a larger trial in asthmatics who smoke. For the Pilot study, they are recruiting current smokers between the ages of 18-50 for a six-month trial. To learn more about the pilot study, call 888-UCSD-AIR.

Behavioral

Christian Hospital offers free and confidential psychiatric and chemical dependency evaluations at the Christian Hospital Center for Mental Health. For more information, call 314-839-3171.

Christian Hospital Key Program offers support and education to patients with chronic mental illness to prevent increased severity of symptoms and to reduce the need for inpatient re-hospitalization. Call confidentially to 314-8393171 or 1-800-447-4301.

Crime Victim Advocacy Center provides no cost support for persons affected by criminal acts. Email peggy@supportvictims.org, visit or call the 24-hour hotline 314-OK-BE-MAD (652-3673) or visit www.supportvictims.org.

HealtH ResouRces

Bike helmet safety

The St. Louis County Health Department provides free bicycle helmets to St. Louis County residents between ages 1 and 17 by appointment only. Proof of residency is required. For the location nearest you, visit www. tinyurl.freebikehelmets.

Breast Cancer

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

Dental

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 (fillings, crowns, etc.) will

be referred to local dentists. For information, call 314-768-7899.

Diabetes

SSM St. Mary’s Health Center provides free, Diabetes Support Group sessions the second Tuesday of every month from 6 – 7 p.m. to address health management issues. It’s located at Meeting Room 1 on the second floor, 6420 Clayton Rd. To register, call toll free 866-SSM-DOCS (866-776-3627).

Health Partnerships

The Center for Community Health and Partnerships: Building Bridges for Healthy Communities works to develop beneficial community-academic partnerships to address the health needs of the St. Louis. For more information, email publichealth@wustl.edu; phone 314-7479212 or visit publichealth.wustl.edu.

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

Medical

Boys & Girls Clubs Dental & Vision Clinic at Herbert Hoover Club, 2901 N. Grand, St. Louis. Open year-round for members at no additional fee by appointment only. Teeth cleaning, braces, x-rays, root canals, some extractions; vision mobile unit, comprehensive exam and glasses, if required. Make an appointment by calling 314-355-8122.

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

Diet influences your cancer risk

Maranda Witherspoon wants you to live your healthiest life. Through her work in public health and community leadership with the Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities (PECaD), Maranda is committed to making St. Louis communities healthier. She takes cancer prevention seriously and has made important lifestyle changes to lower her risk of developing cancer. One of those changes is eating a healthier diet.

Studies have shown, and continue to show, that diet affects cancer risk. Calories alone, and the weight gain they cause, can impact at least 11 different cancers. Getting adequate calcium and vitamin D in your diet can lower colon cancer risk. Fruits and vegetables lower the risk of certain kinds of breast cancer. And too much red meat – particularly processed meats – can increase colon cancer risk.

Small changes can make a big difference. Start by making fruits and vegetables part of every meal. Cut back on fast food and store-bought snacks. Maranda

made these changes in her own life because, in her words, “I decided to own my health.” Will you?

To learn more about lowering your cancer risk or PECaD’s community events, visit: PECaD: http://www.siteman.wustl. edu/pecad.aspx

8 Ways to Stay Health and Prevent Cancer: http://www.8ways.wustl.edu

The Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities (PECaD) at the Siteman Cancer Center is working to

eliminate local and regional disparities in cancer education, prevention and treatment through community outreach, research and training. To learn more about cancer or to get involved with PECaD, call 314-747-4611, email PECaD@wudosis.wustl. edu or write to us at SCCPECaD, Campus Box 8100, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110. Look for future articles in Health Matters.

& a

What is pancreatitis? HealtHy Q

Pancreatitis refers to the inflammation of the pancreas.

First, a little anatomy: The pancreas is a large, flat gland that is tucked behind the stomach and close to the duodenum, which is the first part of the small intestine. The pancreas secretes juices or enzymes into the duodenum to aid digestion. It also secretes the hormone insulin and glucagon to regulate the way the body processes sugars.

The enzymes from the pancreas work with bile from the liver (which is

HEALTH

Continued from page 3

recipe,” Neff said. While he could offer more health conscious versions using Splenda, agave, chickpea flour, and the like, you could make your favorite dessert

stored in the gall bladder) to digest food. Pancreatitis occurs when the enzymes meant for digesting food start digesting the pancreas itself, according to the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Pancreatitis can happen suddenly, or it can become chronic and cause life-threatening complications. Common symptoms include severe pain in the upper abdomen, nausea and vomiting.

Mild cases may go away in a few days and not require treatment. Acute pan-

creatitis needing more medical attention usually goes away after a few days of IV fluids, antibiotics and medication for pain. Acute pancreatitis is often the result of gallstones.

On the other hand, chronic pancreatitis gets worse over time and can cause permanent damage. Common causes include heavy alcohol use, cystic fibrosis, high levels of fat or calcium in the blood and inherited disorders, autoimmune conditions and some medications. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, weight loss and

oily stools. Treatment is similar to acute pancreatitis, with the addition of taking enzymes and a special diet. With this condition, it is important not to smoke or drink alcohol.

Source: National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse

Email your health-related question to yourhealthmatters@stlamerican.com. the answer will be printed in a future issue of Your Health Matters.

using traditional methods and ingredients – just serve it sparingly.

“Now just put it in a small shot glass. And now I have a taste, and I got my ‘fix’, but I don’t have the larger portion that I had before,” Neff said.

He said those items have provided them with the greatest amount of results, because it is doable. Everyone can eat

small portions.

Smoothing out the textures of grains by blending them together and hiding them in cupcakes and other desserts is a way to add a healthier punch to a favorite sweet treat. Attendees were surprised to learn the mini chocolate cupcakes prepared for them contained black beans.

“The answer to that is really the stealth

approach,” Neff said. “I use those types of tools to puree or juicing of the ingredients so they are not aware those ingredients are inside. They are getting it.”

The healthy choice does not have to be the tasteless choice.

Follow this reporter on Twitter @ YrHealthMatters.

Food allergy nearly doubles among black children

Papers show alarming increase and possible food allergy prediction

Newswise — ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (March 3, 2014) – Children’s food allergies are gradually increasing, but they may be as much as doubling among black children. According to a study published today in the March issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the scientific publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), self-reported food allergy nearly doubled in black children over 23 years.

“Our research found a striking food allergy trend that needs to be further evaluated to discover the cause,” said Corinne Keet, MD, MS, lead study author and assistant professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University.

“Although African Americans generally have higher levels of IgE, the antibody the immune system creates more of when one has an allergy, it is only recently that they have reported food allergy more frequently than white children. Whether the observed increase is due to better recognition of food allergy or is related to environmental changes remains an open question”.

Researchers analyzed 452,237 chil-

dren from 1988 to 2011. Of these children, it was found food allergy increased among black children at a rate of 2.1 percent per decade, 1.2 percent among Hispanics and 1 percent among whites.

“It is important to note this increase was in self-reported allergy,” said Dr. Keet. “Many of these children did not receive a proper food allergy diagnosis from an allergist. Other conditions such as food intolerance can often be mistaken

for an allergy, because not all symptoms associated with foods are caused by food allergy.”

Another Annals paper, also released today, notes many allergists can often determine which children may outgrow their food allergy, and which might have a lifelong condition.

“Those allergic to milk, egg, soy, and wheat are more likely to tolerate these allergens over time, than those allergic

to peanuts and tree nuts,” said allergist Wesley Burks, MD, lead study author and ACAAI fellow. “No single test alone can predict eventual food tolerance, but when patients are under the regular care of a board-certified allergist they can be re-evaluated and tested in different ways.”

Food allergy is a serious disease that can lead to a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis. When food allergy isn’t properly diagnosed, the chance of anaphylaxis increases and many time patients undergo unnecessary dietary exclusions which can lead to malnourishment.

“If you think you have symptoms of a food allergy, you should see an allergist for proper testing, diagnosis and treatment,” said allergist Marshall Gailen, MD, Annals editor. “You should never take matters into your own hands, whether it is self-treating your allergy or introducing an allergenic food back into your diet to see if you’re still allergic.”

For more information about food allergy and to locate a board-certified allergist in your area, visit AllergyAndAsthmaRelief.org.