November 10th, 2011 Edition

COGIC will return to STL in 2013

Second successful Holy Convocation earns additional year as host city

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St.Louis American

“This has been one of the greatest convocations I’ve ever experienced in all of my life,” said Church Of God In Christ

“Convocation is a mass appropriation of all of the resources of the church in one location, and that’s why it seems so profound.”

– Elder CJ Bolden

success.

Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake Sr., as tens of thousands of COGIC saints sat attentively in the Edward Jones Dome on the eve of the final day of their 104th

In the face of a strained economy and high unemployment rates, local African-American leaders secured $2 million for the United Way of Greater St. Louis, setting a new high for United Way’s AfricanAmerican giving locally and nationally.

“You have set a new standard nationally, and you will help more people as a result of it.”

– Orvin Kimbrough, United Way senior vice president

Orvin Kimbrough, a United Way senior vice president, congratulated the members of the African-American Leadership Cabinet on reaching this year’s goal.

“You all should take a bow because you helped navigate a tough economy and march right into the history books – you have secured $2 million through African-American giving in this

See GIVING, A7

Danny Ludeman,2011 campaign chair with Richard Mark,2011 African American Leadership Society chair

By Chris King Of The St.Louis

American

heavyweight champion Joe Frazier passed Monday night from liver cancer at age 67 in Philadelphia.

Former heavyweight champion

Michael Spinks is not yet ready to talk about the enormous loss of his friend, boxing legend Joe Frazier, who passed Monday night from liver cancer at age 67.

“Michael said he has lost so many friends that he is just overwhelmed with the sadness that has occurred around him,” said Alderman Samuel Moore, a close confidante of the Spinks family. They all worked closely together in Butch Lewis Productions, which also managed Frazier’s early professional boxing career.

“We all just saw Joe at Butch’s funeral,” Moore said. “We just lost Butch Lewis, and then to come round to Joe like that.” Lewis died July 23 at age 65. The son of a South Carolina sharecropper who won an Olympic gold medal in 1964 in

By Rebecca S.Rivas Of

Board of Directors passed a resolution Monday that mandates more

workforce participation on the library’s $67.5 million renovation of the Central Library. The resolution puts an end to more than two months of protesting from a coalition of community organizations.

“The most important thing is that the com-

‘Everyone is a winner,’ says Pruitt of STLNAACP See LIBRARY, A6

See COGIC, A7

Photo by Wiley Price

Spiritual dancers performed at the Edward Jones Dome during Sunday services for the 104th Holy Convocation of the Church of God in Christ held in St.Louis.For more convocation photos,visit www.stlamerican.com.

R.I.P. Heavy D

Few details have emerged regarding the sudden and tragic death of rapper/actor Heavy D on Tuesday at the age of 44.

Sources are revealing that a terrible fall down a flight of stairs may have contributed to his death – but no official word has been released.

The rapper, born Dwight Arrington Myers was taken to a Los Angeles hospital around noon and was pronounced dead at 1 p.m. Heavy D, who made a tremendous impact in the 80s and 90s, recently performed the grand finale for the BET Hip-Hop Awards.

Kim K. hops a plane for personal apology to Kris

Kim Kardashian reportedly flew to estranged husband Kris Humphries in Minnesota to talk to him for the first time after she dramatically filed divorce papers after just 72

days of marriage. Kim was said to have flown to Kris’ hometown early yesterday to talk to him in the presence of his family pastor Joel Johnson, who married them on Aug. 20. And Kim also planned to apologize to Humphries’ family for the damage her marriage drama has done to them – without any reality TV cameras

“Kim feels deeply embarrassed and sad about what happened, and decided . . . to talk things through with Kris . . . She also wants to apologize to Kris’ family for all the drama, media attention and hurt this has caused them,” a source close to Kim Kardashian said.

“She regrets not calling them to explain before she filed for divorce. This isn’t about a reconciliation. While she accepts people are criticizing her for the lavish wedding, she feels terrible about letting everyone down.”

Were Drake and Weezy threatened by ‘The Throne’ ?

Drake said that he and Lil Wayne were in serious talks to create an album together, but Kanye and Jay-Z beat them to the punch so they put the project on the back burner.

“Me and Wayne scrapped the

idea of a collaboration album,” Drake told XXL. “We just agreed that it would be looked upon as…It would be sort of this competition [with Watch The Throne]. I feel like it would get caught in this whirlwind of hype. [Wayne] agreed. We just said, ‘If we do it, we’ll do it down the line. But right now is not the time.

Eddie Murphy out as Oscars host

Plenty of people were wondering what, if any, impact Bret Ratner bowing out as producer of the 84th Annual Academy Awards would have on Eddie Murphy’s status as the show’s host.

Well, less than one day after Ratner’s resignation, Murphy has followed him out the door.

“I appreciate how Eddie feels about losing his creative partner, Brett Ratner, and we all wish him well,” Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

President Tom Sherak said Wednesday in a statement.

Murphy released a statement of his own regarding his departure, saying:

a part of the show that our production team and writers were just starting to develop, but I’m sure that the new production team and host will do an equally great job.”

The whole ordeal began when Ratner used a gay slur in a question and answer session about the process of producing the show.

“Rehearsals are for [f-word expletive],” Ratner said.

The next day he voluntarily stepped down as producer of the show before the start of any backlash, controversy or protests.

“First and foremost I want to say that I completely understand and support each party’s decision with regard to a change of producers for this year’s Academy Awards ceremony. I was truly looking forward to being

Breezy throws up deuces to angry neighbors

Chris Brown has given up on fighting with his neighbors and has moved out of his West Hollywood condo. The battles between the R&B heartthrob and his condo association have been well documented in recent months. Rather than comply to the demands of fellow tenants, Brown has decided that he has had enough of the

Archway Links raise funds through fashion

On Saturday, October 15, the Archway Chapter of The Links, Incorporated presented “A Salute to Outstanding Women Leaders,” an awards luncheon and fashion show fundraiser at the Missouri Athletic Club.

Last week’s column on Redemption and Reciprocity (R&R) must have struck a collective nerve.

I heard from many folks who were served by the Human Development Corporation as well as those who were stung by it. There’s a lot of finger-pointing and venom being spewed. It makes me reiterate what I said last week: We need a process that holds us morally, politically and financially accountable. When wrongdoing has been established and admitted, a restorative justice model is enacted to reinforce restitution and healing.

Proceeds to benefit The Women’s Safe House

By Patricia Sanders For The

On Saturday, October 15, the Archway Chapter of The Links, Incorporated presented “A Salute to Outstanding Women Leaders,” an awards luncheon and fashion show fundraising event at the downtown Missouri Athletic Club. Special guest Russ Mitchell of CBS News served as master of ceremonies. Ruby Harriman Christian is chapter president. =Patricia Smith Sanders is event chair. With some 400 guests attending, the affair began with cocktails and a silent auction. Following was lunch and the awards program, which recognized five extraordinary women honorees, whose profiles appeared in a video presentation produced by Archway member Bonita Cornute of KPLR TV/FOX 2 and Marteana Davidson, coordinator of the Video Technology

Lab at Ladue Horton Watkins High School.

The women recognized for their outstanding achievements and contributions to the St. Community included Nicole Adewale, LEED AP, Principal and President of ABNA Engineering; Lisa Orden Zarin, Founder/CEO of College Bound; LaRhonda R. Jones, MD, Regional Medical Director of Optum Health Behavioral Solutions; The Honorable Judy Preddy Draper, Associate Circuit Judge, 21st Judicial Circuit; Barbara A. Washington, Vice President, Public Relations and Special Events of Mathews-Dickey Boys & Girls Club.

Following the awards program was a fashion show featuring New York designer Jason Christopher Peters. Regarded as the “future of fashion” by Teen People, Genre, Bleu Magazine and many other respected publications, the former model, turned

designer, is a rising fashion icon. His designs have been featured in magazines such as PEOPLE, Cosmopolitan, Us Weekly, Teen People and Style 101. His designs can be seen on the likes of such celebrities as recording artist Omarion, Phaedra Parks of Atlanta Housewives, Brandy, and Jersey Shores’ Sammie Sweetheart, to name a few.

Founded in 1946, The Links, Incorporated is one of the oldest and largest volunteer service organizations of women who are committed to enriching, sustaining, and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other persons of African ancestry. The proceeds from Archway’s fundraising event support chapter programs that benefit The Women’s Safe House, a shelter for domestically abused women.

5,000 city children were eligible for Head Start. Insiders said employees weren’t doing their job of recruiting.

The nonprofit received about $12 million a year in federal grants to provide employment, health, rent, utility and emergency food assistance for low-income residents in St. Louis and Wellston cities. HDC was forced to close its doors owing more than $1 million in overdue payments to employees, contractors and creditors. HDC had received more than a half million dollars for energy assistance but the monies were never paid out.

It is worth dissecting the troubles of HDC that led to its demise. The agency has been around since 1964 and served thousands of poor and working-class families. It was established at a time when the government was trying to cool out civil unrest. Under the War on Poverty, agencies were created in cities across the country. Those heading these agencies were dubbed “poverty pimps” because their interest was not to eliminate the conditions that gave rise to poverty but to see how to further profit from them.

Red flags started flying with HDC back in the late 1990s with its Head Start Program. Eventually after several years of investigation and audits, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) terminated the St. Louis-based agency’s contract. In 2000, it closed its Head Start offices after 35 years of service. DHHS criticized HDC’s persistent under enrollment, poor fiscal management and non-compliance regarding children with disabilities.

HDC officials blamed then state Representative Charles Quincy Troupe whose actions prompted the governmental investigation. At the time, Troupe’s response was that he wasn’t anti-HDC, he was “pro-efficiency and productivity.”

The lack of enrollment in a city that has one of the highest childhoodpoverty rates in the nation was an outrage. At the time, more than

HDC’s woes has been blamed on Harold Antoine and Ruth Smith, past executive directors; on the board of directors, some who have served for years; on lazy and incompetent employees, on vendors who received no-bid contracts; and even on the families who were served. All were aware of the internal dynamics but chose to just complain or to turn a blind eye because of fears of losing their jobs, services, perks or privileges.

We see similar scenarios happen in the sexual abuse cases of priests in the Catholic Church or in cases of wrongful convictions. There are real perpetrators out there but there are many passive accomplices along the way. Silence or lack of action gives more power to the perpetrators and results in more damage to individual victims and to our communities.

I know people on all sides of the HDC tragedy; they are not evil people. It is important that they take responsibility for their piece of the problem. Our community must develop citizens who understand that we all have human and civil rights and that we all have the responsibility of protecting those rights for everyone. Otherwise, we will devolve into a society where there’s no shame or remorse for exploiting others, where all forms of abuse become commonplace and where accountability only happens in the criminal justice system. And that, my friends, is

to Toe helps children who are overweight work with their parents or caregivers to make

To learn more about Head to Toe, diabetes, and ways you can help your child live a healthier life, call 314.454.KIDS (5437), visit StLouisChildrens.org,

St. Louis American

Jamala Rogers

Photos by Dana Oliver

EDITORIAL /COMMENTARY

Good day at polls does not offset bad news

Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Eugene Robinson, whose work appears frequently in The American, came to mind as nationwide election results were announced last night. When the Democrats suffered huge losses in the 2010 midterm elections, Robinson compared that rightwing surge to the liberal zeal that fueled Obama’s runaway presidential victory in 2008 and decided that we have become a nationwide of knee-jerk reactions, veering from the left to the right and back again. Progressives – who mostly stayed home or were beaten in 2010 – counted many victories in 2011, seeing evidence that the nation’s swing to the right was reversing itself. Mississippi voters defeated conservatives’ efforts to grant “personhood” to human embryos. In Ohio, voters overturned a Republican-backed law curbing the bargaining power of public-sector labor unions. In Arizona, state Sen. Russell Pearce, author of the state’s draconian immigration law, was ousted after a recall attempt by a fellow Republican. Without question, these outcomes represent at least a welcome pause in the victorious stride of the Republican Party’s right lank, which powered the GOP’s 2010 victories during a prolonged economic recession that destroyed Obama and the Democrats’ momentum coming out of 2008. However, progressives make a mistake if they celebrate too heartily. The Ohio voters who backed unions also passed a ballot initiative to prohibit people from being required to buy health insurance as part of Obama’s health-care overhaul, and the Mississippi voters who sided with abortion rights also passed a voter photo ID constitutional amendment that will disenfranchise many minority, elderly and low-income voters. In all, we witnessed more of a drift toward the center than a swerve to the left.

In St. Louis, the biggest election news was the victory of a progressive Democrat running as an independent, Stacy McCreery, over the Democratic Party nominee in the 83rd District of the Missouri House of Representatives, Jeff O’Connell, who won the seat to replace state Rep. Jake Zimmerman through an insider election by committeemen, including O’Connell himself. It was a clear victory of democracy over Democratic Party inside power-dealing.

For us, this was nowhere near enough good news to offset China Cargo’s recent cancelation of its scheduled Monday freight light to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport for the second week in a row. Airport oficials claimed – at least oficially – that a weak global market is to blame, but obviously China is smarting and pulling away from the St. Louis market after the much-heralded Aerotropolis legislation failed to pass the general and special sessions in the Missouri Legislature. High-level Chinese oficials devoted an extraordinary amount of time and effort to exploring St. Louis as a new air cargo hub, but the incentives essential to attract their business were gutted. A once-in-a-lifetime chance was presented by a key player in China with St. Louis connections (Steven Perry) making all of the necessary high-level introductions, yet money and effort were squandered here and a tremendous amount of face was lost in China.

However our ideology may swerve, this region must seize its competitive advantages to attract greater capital investment and grow our economy to create the jobs and opportunities we so desperately need. Despite a relatively encouraging day at the polls on Tuesday, the dominant lesson of 2011 is we must move beyond rigid ideology to promote desperately needed sustainable growth.

As

I See It - A Forum for Community Issues

White fear of blacks running things

As a young child, I spent time growing up in Chicago; a place that remains one of my favorite cities. Although I have fond memories of those care-free days, long since gone, I also recall the neighborhood as it quietly transformed, then changed forever. Slowly but surely, grocery stores that once beamed with diversity and fresh produce, soon became mere shells of their former selves. Parks that once welcomed families on picnic treks on sun swept afternoons became havens where only the less fortunate and inebriated found solace. While my memory does not allow me to internalize all of those conversations that certainly must have taken place about “change and gentriication,” one iteration was constant among many, “Blacks will destroy the neighborhood”. Apparent too was the fact that whites were leeing neighborhoods as fast as blacks could move in. Morally deicient realtors and bankers devastated communities as they devalued properties in such a manner that, to this very day, minorities hold title to land that is virtually worthless, simply because a white face proclaimed it to be so. Despite the fact that city services, jobs and businesses followed those white faces to the inevitable promised lands of the suburbs, in the minds of many (including some African

Americans), it was the fact that blacks had taken over that led to the demise of once thriving communities.

Every now and then was the story of a black family who reached out or a white family who, through their individual decency, offered the symbolic “olive branch.” Inevitably, no matter the gestures, the results were the same. Neighborhoods became segregated, not because blacks sought to make them so, but because far too many whites succumbed to their fears and depraved assumptions: “Blacks will destroy the neighborhood.”

The truth was that landlords actually stopped ixing that which was broken. In many cases, absentee owners passed ramshackle properties on to relatives or other unscrupulous buyers, creating slumlord empires. Lost too was the reality of police tolerance of crimes that would have certainly been squashed in previously all white neighborhoods.

Despite the fact that business dollars had led the community with the exodus of white faces, in the hearts and minds of many, what they had feared for centuries had come true: “If you let blacks in, they will ruin things.”

Shamefully, we hear those same nefarious whispers today as the media pretend to not see race as an inluence in the hostilities towards President Obama. Although poll after poll reveals that so-called “true conservatives” and Tea Party activists would never vote for Obama under any circumstances, America’s talking heads sit before us pretentiously stupeied as they anguish over what could possibly explain Obama’s

inability to connect with such voters.

With fully one third of conservatives refusing to accept that the president was even born in America, it would be nothing less than a political miracle for him to be able to ameliorate such tomfoolery.

These bangers at the gates bring not genuinely patriotic concerns, but rather an unrepentant hatred for a black man who dared to scale the fence of racism and seize the power of the presidency. The Tea Party reaction to Barack Obama is but the personiication of veiled white fear, neatly tucked away and masquerading as a political movement.

In times past, that fear presented its ugly head as white light, or that stale utterance at the dinner table whispered by the white father informing the family that he had lost his job because of Afirmative Action. It is the Jim Crow child all grown up and having heard so many black jokes that he internalized them. These champions of their jaded versions of the American way of life take up the heavy load to save America from the threat posed by the nation’s irst black president.

My old neighborhood in Chicago has changed so dramatically that it’s almost unrecognizable. There are new stores, cleaner streets and even a new diversity that I never could have imagined. Just as with the election of Barack Obama, blacks running things really won’t destroy them after all.

Cotton is Director of Development & Alumni Affairs in the College of Science at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

COMMENTARY

The Mitt might not it

The Republican Party’s inevitable decision to nominate Mitt Romney for president is starting to look evitable after all.

That’s certainly not a consensus view among the Washington cognoscenti, who tend to see the yet-to-come primaries and caucuses as mere formalities. Romney, they say, is the GOP’s obvious choice – a poised and experienced candidate with presidential bearing, worldclass hair and the ability to speak in complete sentences, even about the economy.

The White House certainly seems to buy into this scenario. For months now, virtually every conversation I’ve had with one of those increasingly chatty “senior administration oficials,” on any subject, has included at least a swipe or two at Romney. It’s clear that he’s the opponent the Obama machine is gearing up to face.

But I’m less and less convinced. It’s hard for me to see how any of the other candidates can win the nomination – but it’s hard for me to see how Romney wins it, either.

Polls have told a consistent story: Between 20 percent and 30 percent of Republican voters support Romney and the rest support somebody else. Actually, not somebody, anybody It was bad enough when Romney’s main challenger was Mi-

chele Bachmann, whose views are so extreme that she favored allowing the nation to go into default – thus triggering the possible collapse of the global inancial system – rather than raise the debt ceiling. It was bad enough when Rick Perry entered the race and vaulted into the lead, sight unseen. It was bad enough when Republicans, having actually made Perry’s acquaintance, practically offered New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie the nomination, along with a dog and pony.

But the whole Herman Cain infatuation is much worse, from Romney’s point of view. Here’s a man with no experience in public ofice, no knowledge of international affairs and, from the evidence of his “9-9-9” tax plan, bizarre ideas about how arithmetic works. Yet before allegations of sexual harassment threatened to derail the Cain Train, he was actually leading in many polls.

It is safe to conclude that most Republicans are looking for an alternative. Clearly, they don’t see Romney as the inevitable nominee – and they’re the deciders.

Mostly, they don’t trust his bona ides as a party-line conservative. And indeed, his record gives them reason to doubt.

The latest evidence came last Thursday in a Washington Post story quoting advocates for several liberal causes about their interactions with Romney when he was running for and serving as governor of Massachusetts. According to the individuals quoted, Romney portrayed him-

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Silence over spilled Christian blood

Last year, the world was in an uproar against the threat of the pastor of a very small congregation in the American South to burn the Quran. The uproar was swift, pointed and justiiable.

In many circles the loudest voices were those of Christian clergy comprising both progressive and conservative stripes. Both groups sang the symphony of love for all humanity and the respect for the religious choices of others as they expressed shear disdain in the idea that one who would proclaim to follow the Messiah of Love would stoop to burn a holy book to make a political point.

But one thing puzzles me: the deafening silence of many progressive and conservative Christian pastors, preachers, evangelists, prophets, and teachers to the growing violence against people in the world (often times perpetuated by Islamic extremists, but not always) who believe in the same Lord that they do!

When will we stop being silent about the murder of our own brothers and sisters; brothers and sisters not by blood, but by blood because they confess the same Lord, the same Faith, and the same Baptism? When will we stop seeing ourselves as simply local congregations or denominations and recognize the truth that we are a part of a global body and each member of that global body is our responsibility?

Tremaine Combs Florissant

Poverty and protest

Protests by those who have come to be known as “The 99%” are akin to the development of forest ires. The 1 percent and those who commiserate with them should take notice! From the protests (forest ires) of the Middle East, the burning embers of discontent were spewed into the atmosphere and spread worldwide by the swirling winds of hopeilled change. Recent news reports tell of social, economic and political protests in cities on four continents, America included.

self as someone liberals could work with on causes such as abortion rights, gay rights and protecting the environment. Today, Romney espouses orthodox GOP positions. He describes himself as unambiguously anti-abortion. He is irmly against gay marriage. And while as recently as June he said he believed humans contribute to global warming, he now says “we don’t know what’s causing climate change on this planet.” He certainly doesn’t sound like a moderate anymore. But some Republican ears hear the whoosh of wind whistling past a weathervane. You can’t beat somebody with nobody, however, and thus far the contenders who played the role of “Not Mitt Romney” have all had brief runs. It’s reasonable to assume that if the pattern holds, all Romney has to do is carry on and eventually the party will fall in line, if not in love.

Sounds reasonable, but not inevitable.

The most obvious alternate is a Perry comeback. His poll numbers have nowhere to go but up, and his fundraising prowess – $17 million last quarter – can allow him to be the last “Not Mitt” standing after others go broke and drop out. It’s hard to imagine that any of the other candidates can seriously challenge Romney, or that some new contender could enter the race. But did anyone think the words “Herman Cain” and “front-runner” would ever appear in the same sentence?

Factors contributing to these protests vary, but poverty is a common thread.

According to recently released U.S. Census Bureau data, 46 million (46,000,000) Americans now live in poverty, the most ever recorded. Fortysix states saw an increase in their poverty level since 2007 and one-in-four children now live in poverty. Poverty, the absence of inancial viability, results in home foreclosures, bankruptcies, an unhealthy, under-educated population and the degeneration of families, all of which are symptoms now plaguing America.

The one-percenters and their wanna-be brethren, however, continue to be in denial of the obvious: People – the 99 percent – have had enough of the economic, social and political disparities created and fostered by the 1%, politicians and corporations. Yet the 1 percent, via their henchmen, continue to openly distain protest issues and participants, thus fueling and fanning the ires of discontent.

To be born and lourish, forest ires must have three elements: fuel, oxygen and an ignition source. They are unpredictable. So too is social unrest. Protests to date in America are little more than smoldering hot spots. They have been kindled and possess ample fuel (economic, social, political inequities), but they lack oxygen. If history is an indicator, the 1 percent, via their political and corporate lackeys, will attempt to suppress “the rabble” and in doing so, will provide the oxygen that will feed the ires that consume the forest.

Michael K. Broughton Green Park

One nation under God

Our children are losing their spirit of hope in God and their country. They have taken the 10 Commandments, prayer and the Pledge Allegiance to the lag out of the school system. How do our children develop faith and honor as part of their human development within their educational system? Our children have developed a lack of respect and honor for themselves, others and our nation. We are now a diverse nation of many nationalities. We need to promote God’s Will of the

commandments, prayer and honor for our country – “One Nation under God.” If you need a faith based-bible instructing church, you are invited to attend the City of Life Christian Church, 8333 Fullerton, University City, MO 63132.

Diann Buckley Via email

Columnist Eugene Robinson

Guest Columnist

George R. Cotton Sr.

NAACPaccepting 2012 Spingarn nominations

The NAACPNational Board of Directors is currently accepting nominations for the 2012 Spingarn Medal. The medal, which was instituted in 1914 by the late J.E. Spingarn, then Chairman of the NAACPNational Board of Directors, is awarded annually for the highest achievement by an American of African descent in the previous year or years. Recent medalists include Mrs. Frankie Muse Freeman, actress Cicely L. Tyson and NAACP Chairman Emeritus Julian Bond.

Nominations should be addressed to The Spingarn Medal Award Committee, Attention: Mrs. Mildred B. Roxborough, 1095 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 24D, New York, NY10006.

“The purpose of the medal is twofold – first, to call attention of the American people to the existence of distinguished merit and achievement among people of color; and second, to serve as a reward for such achievement and as a stimulus to the ambition of youth of color,” said NAACPNational Chairman Roslyn M. Brock.

Nominations must include a detailed, current biographical profile of the nominee, highlighting the nominee’s relevant activities and achievements. Supporting and verifying documents such as news clippings and honors received are encouraged. The final selection will be made by a nine-person Committee of Award, which is selected by the Association’s Board of Directors.

Feds fund Safe Schools in Hazelwood

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded the Hazelwood School District more than $1.4 million in renewed grant funding for the Safe SchoolsHealthy Students Initiative (SS-HS) for 2011-12.

The grant will support the district’s programs and services such as Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports, Response to Intervention, after-school activities, school-based mentors, non-violent crisis prevention/intervention training, bullying prevention training, alcohol, tobacco and drug prevention activities, guidance programs, mental health services, as well as providing support for early childhood education and Parents as Teachers.

In July 2008, HSD was the only school district in Missouri to receive the $6 million SS-HS federal grant. After 2012-2013, the funds will no longer be available to HSD. The district is developing a sustainability plan with support from its Safe SchoolsHealthy Students partners, including BJC Behavioral Health Services, Family Court of St. Louis County, Florissant Police Department, Hazelwood Police Department, National Council of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Special School District and St. Louis County Police Department.

Empowering girls and women

Mother and daughter teamsAnyia,Anitrea,Mukiah andChelle celebrated Sisters of Hope,Inc.’s 3rd anniversary of “Empowering Every Girl and Woman Everywhere”on Sunday October 23,at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park.Young ladies of all ages,proud papas,grandpas,two and three generations of beautiful mothers,daughters and grandmothers were smiles from ear to ear at this event.

Enrichments programs included self-esteem building, healthy eating,breast cancer awareness,charm classes and entrepreneur development workshops.

HOK workplace giving benefits local arts

Employees of HOK have donated over $8,800 to The Arts and Education Council to support St. Louis-area arts and arts education organizations through its 2011 workplace giving campaign. HOK has conducted a workplace giving campaign on behalf of the Arts and Education Council for over 15 years.

The campaign, which began in July and led by campaign coordinator Heather Lents, incorporated fun ways for employees to engage and participate in the arts. Events were planned daily to help promote the campaign and included “sketch wars,” an alloffice version of Cranium and a performance by members of the Jazz St. Louis Jazz All-Stars.

Workplace giving campaigns account for one-third of the donations the Arts and Education Council receives each year and have a major impact on the Council’s ability to support the arts in the St. Louis bi-state region.

Stop the violence against women

By Julianne Malveaux NNPA Columnist

The Fort Worth Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated held its annual Sisterhood Luncheon last Saturday, and I was privileged and honored to be the keynote speaker.Acloud hovered over the luncheon, though, and the media was there to talk about it.

Four Delta women have been raped in the Dallas Fort Worth area in the last year by a serial rapist who appears to be targeting women in their 50s and 60s.The rapes have caused such alarm that the national President of our sorority, Cynthia Butler McIntyre, has issued an alert, suggesting caution in displaying Delta identification on automobiles, and in wearing identifying T-shirts and sweaters.

Every two minutes, someone is sexually assaulted.More than 200,000 people, mostly women, are sexually assaulted each year.But only one in 16 rapists will spend even a moment in jail – more than 60 percent of all rapes are not reported to the police.Most rapes occur within a mile of a victim’s home, or in her home, and almost two-thirds of all rapes are committed by someone the victim actually knows. Nearly 80 percent of all rapes are perpetrated on women under 30, so the Delta rapes are unusual in many respects.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority has the opportunity to turn the pain of these rapes into an empowering moment by organizing to stop the violence against women.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was authored by Vice-President Joe Biden when he was the senator from Delaware.It became law in 1994, and was reauthorized in 2000 and 2005. It is up for reauthorization again this year, and while it should face no trouble in Congress, who knows with this Congress?It is important for women to remind their congressional representatives that this critical legislation must be reauthorized.

There is a federal agency that focuses on implementing VAWAby providing resources to organizations dedicated to preventing violence against women.The Office on Violence against Women (ww.ovw.usdoj.gov) is part of the Department of Justice.The office urges people needing assistance to reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.

We still treat the crime of rape with 19th century sensibilities.Many women lack the courage that the Guinean victim of former World Bank President Dominique Strauss-Kahn (also known as DSK) showed.Yet her treatment is a cautionary tale about why so many victims are silent.

After Naffissatou Diallo spoke up, we learned all her business – that she cleaned rooms for $25 an hour in New York, that she had an acquaintance or fiancé who may have been involved in drugs and was incarcerated in Arizona, that she may have lied on her immigration application, and that she may have earned income that she did not report.Before it was all said and done, charges were dropped.

Many women don’t speak out because they don’t want to be dragged through the media mud of scrutiny into their past lives.The victim’s character is placed on trial, and that shouldn’t be the case.

Four members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority were violated in the DallasFort Worth area, and more than 200,000 people are violated in our nation each year.Delta can use the pain of these rapes to lead the nation in drawing a line in the sand.Enough is enough.It is time to stop the violence against women.

Malveaux is President of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, NC.

Julianne Malveaux

Photo by Rosalind Guy

LIBRARY

Continued from A1

munity had some concerns, and the library heard them,” said Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis NAACP. “The community and library were able to sit down and reach an understanding to the degree that everyone is a winner in this situation.”

The resolution states that the library will encourage the construction manager, BSI Constructors Inc., and the development manager, CLR Consultants Inc., to use “good faith efforts” to increase the minority workforce participation by 50 percent, hire five minority apprentices and accept a compiled list of minority contractors from the NAACPas potential hires.

They will also issue letters of authorization to the trade unions for potential new hires, which allows the union to hire someone who might not be in the direct line of rotation or who is someone of lesser seniority to meet the project’s needs.

According to the library, 20.5 percent of the renovation project’s contracts for construction costs are going to minority-owned business

FRAZIER

Continued from A1

Tokyo and rose to undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, Frazier was diagnosed in September and admitted to hospice care in Philadelphia last weekend before his death.

enterprises (MBE) and 5.12 percent to women-owned business enterprises (WBE). However, the library did not have any guidelines for minority workforce participation, and project managers were not tracking the number of minority workers on the site. Hence, library directors could not disprove the coalition’s claims that few African Americans were working on the project, which was financed with some federal assistance and taxpayers’money.

Waller McGuire, executive director of the St. Louis Public Library, said the library aligned its minority participation goals with the Mayor’s Executive Order 28, even though the library is exempt from the ordinance because it is an independent political entity and no city funds were used on the project. The library acquired the bonds to pay for the renovation on its own, McGuire said.

The project’s financing is primarily facilitated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009’s Recovery Zone Economic Development and Build American Bonds (RZEDBs). Pruitt said taxpayers’ money pays for these programs with the hope of creating jobs in high-unemployment recov-

Spinks’St. Louis-based team trained extensively in Frazier’s Philadelphia gym.

“That was a nice, tight, little, hot gym,” Moore said.

ery zones. African Americans have been the hardest hit by unemployment in the city. However, they are not benefiting from these opportunities designed to help them, Pruitt said.

Ken Brostron, the library’s attorney, said the federal program does not have a workforce percentage requirement.

“You cannot tell poor, unemployed African Americans that, based on their condition, you are creating benefits that you are passing to a non-profit and/or for-profit individual to create opportunities for them,” Pruitt said, “yet when the benefits come down and the opportunities are created, they are not allowed to take advantage of the opportunities.”

The coalition demanded that the construction site’s workforce better reflect the population of the city of St. Louis. African Americans make up 48 percent of the city’s residents, according to the Census 2010. Mikail Ali, president of the AfricanAmerican Business & Contractors Association (AABCA), recognized that no direct laws have been violated, according to the library.

“The spirit and intent of our laws demanded that the coalition address the moral issues at

“That was the epitome of training. Joe used a lot of heavy bags and belly balls. It was tough training. Mike got a lot out of Joe’s gym. Joe was a hard worker. I liked everything about him.”

The late Ray Latham and the Finger twins, Lavell and Terrell Finger, are other St. Louis fighters who trained with Frazier and Lewis. Frazier toughened

stake,” Ali said.

“I think what happened here was the library recognized that this was a large coalition that included a lot of organizations coming together,” said Jim Sahaida, vice president of Metropolitan Congregations United.

“What was asked for was nothing more than what was fair and right. They recognized

“He was a kind guy.He was a lover, and he wanted to be loved.”

– Ald.Sam Moore on Joe Frazier

that, and they really wanted to do the right thing.”

This is just the beginning of future confrontations, said Ali.

Currently the coalition is urging the Metropolitan Sewer District to pass policies to increase minority participation. Pruitt said the Hazelwood School District is next.

all of them.

“If I were a young man, I’d aspire to the hard work of Joe Frazier,” Moore said.

“He was a selfdisciplined fighter. He had the discipline to run on his

James Buford of the Urban League presents David Price with the 2011 Entrepreneur of the Year award at the St.Louis American Foundation's 12th annual Salute to Excellence in Business Networking & Awards Luncheon Wednesday.

Check next week's American and stlamerican.com for extensive photo coverage.

“The library is a role model now. The St. Louis Public Schools is also a role model. Barnes Jewish is a role model,” Pruitt said.

own before the trainer gets there. Joe always ran in the mountains.”

The world knew the disciplined fighter with the devastating left hook who fought three epic battles with Muhammad Ali, culminating in the 1975 “Thrilla in Manila,” and later tangled with and lost to George Foreman.

The Spinks team also knew the man – the friend, the prankster ... the singer!

“Joe thought he could sing,” Moore chuckled. He’d sing, ‘It Was All Right with Me,’” the Cole Porter standard.

Though his immortal adversary in Ali was famed for his devastating wit and aggressive pranks, Frazier also had that dimension to him. In fact, he played off Ali in his pranks.

“He was practical joker –he scared us all,” Moore said.

“He’d threaten you, but be joking. He was always a frightful guy to be around. He’d crack a joke: ‘You’re starting to look like Muhammad Ali to me. I might have a flashback.’Make you want to stay away sometime.”

Frazier’s animosity for Ali was hard-earned.

“He should also be remembered as Ali’s personal media punching bag, where he was

“The question is: are the rest going to follow suit? Hazelwood School District needs to look at what’s going on in the St. Louis Public Schools. They have some issues we are going to start addressing publicly.”

called everything from an Uncle Tom to a Gorilla by Ali,” said St. Louis American sports columnist Michael Claiborne.

“Smokin’Joe took it personally and developed a hatred for Ali until a few years ago where they made peace.” Any yet, behind the scarred, wary, scary prankster was a warm man.

“He was a kind guy. He was a lover and he wanted to be loved,” Moore said of Frazier.

“He accepted most people. He was not snooty. He loved his family – loved those kids. That followed all the way through to when Ali’s daughter and his daughter fought. Joe was a big part of that.” Jacqui Frazier-Lyde and Laila Ali squared off in 2001. Like fathers, like daughters, as Ali got the better of the fight. Claiborne said, “Joe Frazier should be remembered for a lot of things: a great champion, father and first-class gentleman who did the best with what he had to work with, in and out of the ring.” Moore said, “We have lost this great man, the great Joe Frazier.”

For Earl Austin Jr.’s column on Frazier, see Page B3.

Photo by Wiley Price

Presiding Bishop Charles E.Blake St.delivered a powerful message to the members of the Church of God in Christ’s 104th Holy Convocation at the Edward Jones Dome in St.Louis on Sunday.For more convocation photos,visit www.stlamerican.com.

COGIC

Continued from A1

“I just praise God for the wonderful welcome and the warm hospitality St. Louis has extended to us,” Blake said. “The city of St. Louis has in every way tried to make us comfortable and make everything convenient for us.”

As a token of its appreciation, COGIC announced they would stay another year beyond the three-year contract that they originally signed for 2010-2012.

The 106th Holy Convocation will be held in St. Louis from November 5-13, 2013.

The move will mean more than $170 million in added revenue for the city over the course of the four years, according to License Collector Michael McMillan. This year, COGIC members spent $35 million during the convocation, according to the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission.

“I am so pleased and elated because I have gone to Memphis for decades and I’ve seen the impact it has had on that city,” said St. Louis host Bishop Lawrence M. Wooten, pastor of Williams Temple Church of God in Christ. “This is a great opportunity for us.”

An agenda for praise “Stand up and leap for joy,” the praise leader of the choir sang on the last evening worship for the 104th Holy Convocation. On this Monday night, in a space designated for football cheers, the Dome exploded with fervent faith.

More than 40,000 COGIC saints passed through St. Louis from as far away as India and Nigeria this past week. They had been in worship mode –morning, noon and night – for seven days, but it didn’t show. 7 a.m. prayer breakfasts,

GIVING

Continued from A1

region,” he said. “You have set a new standard nationally, and you will help more people as a result of it.”

Overall, the United Way of Greater St. Louis raised the most it has ever raised before: $71,027,412, surpassing its goal of $71 million.

Members of the AfricanAmerican Leadership Society rejoiced, sending emails of congratulations and gratitude, on meeting the 2011 campaign goal.

“Praise God for the things He has done,” wrote David L. Steward, founder and chairman of World Wide Technologies, one of the top AfricanAmerican givers to the United

morning word, noonday worship, evening worship and midnight musicals that threatened to bleed into prayer breakfast time had been the schedule. Attendees apparently couldn’t get enough based on the constant praise breaks that prolonged services.

“What makes us a triumphant church is not the fact that we are the largest AfricanAmerican Pentecostal denomination with over 12,000 churches and nearly 6.5 million people,” said Sister Alicia from Florida. “But we are a church that has the Holy Ghost.”

The 104th Holy Convocation boasted performances and preaching by some of the biggest names in gospel – including Donnie McClurkin, Smokie Norful, Marvin Winans and COGIC’s own VPof music Kim Burrell – but the relentless praise and worship was what left the lasting impression.

“My favorite thing is the word of God,” said Lady Bertha Packnett of Elder Louston Packnett Sr.’s Redemption Church of God in Christ in Kansas City. “And the awesome move of God that has been experienced based on what has been delivered through his word.”

COGIC Cares

“They are coming from different places but they are helping people here,” said Dwight Stone, on-air personality for Clear Channel’s Gospel 1600 AM.

As he spoke, COGIC’s Christmas in November was underway. The second annual event is equal part tent revival and charitable initiative that donates coats, clothing, household items, groceries and toys to residents.

The same faces that sang along with gospel great Fred Hammond well after 3:30 a.m. were fresh-faced and volunteering on the grounds across

Way in St. Louis. In 2010, the group (also known as the Charmaine Chapman Society) had more than 800 members and raised more than $1.8 million for the United Way of Greater St. Louis campaign. The society recognizes African Americans who donate $1,000 or more to United Way annually. More than $19.75 million was invested in 61 of United Way’s partner agencies that primarily serve African Americans throughout United Way’s 16-county service area last year. In a year when African Americans are experiencing double-digit unemployment rates, St. Louis remains first in African-American giving among United Ways across the country. Richard Mark, senior vice

from Williams Temple to serve the residents of the neighborhood near Union Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

“I got some comforters and pillows,” Metra Robinson said with a giant smile on her face. “I just want to say bless everybody, because they have blessed me.”

“It’s a blessing that we can help one another as Christ would want us to do,” Eula Henderson said.

“Jesus didn’t just say go to our churches, he said go to all of the world,” Wooten said. “Jesus said, ‘When I was hungry, you fed me. When I was naked, you clothed me.’That’s what this is all about.”

In the two dozen or so services that took place over the course of the convocation, members were constantly reminded of the worldly service that happens through COGIC, with references to aiding orphanages in Africa and victims of the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina.

At the COGIC Cares Luncheon, which raises funds for charitable efforts (and awarded 54 students with college scholarships), Bishop Blake spoke of the experience he had when traveling to Japan to deliver earthquake relief.

“We have four churches in Japan, but plenty of the Japanese people have never heard of COGIC,” Blake said. “COGIC Charities is how they were exposed to us.”

“Convocation is a mass appropriation of all of the resources of the church in one location, and that’s why it seems so profound,” said Elder CJ Bolden of Jackson Miss.

“But in our home cities, it is what we are doing in our neighborhood, in our churches and in our community. God is real. And through the services and all of the things that have gone on this week – and all of the people that have been helped – I hope that people will walk away knowing that.”

president of customer operations for Ameren Missouri, is 2011 chair of the African American Leadership Society. At the beginning of the campaign, Mark told society members that he wanted a knock out, said Pat Smith Thurman of MasterCard, who is also one of the top African-American givers in St. Louis.

“Well, this one is off the charts,” Thurman said. “Congratulations to all who made it happen.”

Danny Ludeman, CEO of Wells Fargo Advisors and the 2011 Campaign Chair, said he was “amazed and humbled” by the region’s generosity.

“There is no shortage of giving in this community; in fact, it’s one of the characteristics St. Louisans are known for,” he said.

Photo by Wiley Price

United Way thanks de Tocqueville givers

Janet and Jimmy Williams

Larry Thomas, Jim Weddle and Bob fox

Pat Smith-Thurman gets her book signed by Bob Woodruff

Richard Mark with Anne and Michael Beatty

Richard Mark chats with Bob Woodruff

Thomas and Cheryl Walker

Tim and Sheila Slater

Orvin Kimbrough with Rich and Sharon McClure

Stray dogs, Slay and North City

Soon after the City of St. Louis closed its animal control facility in August 2010, residents and surrounding animal shelters noticed an increase in dogs on the loose.

Since then, residents from all parts of the city have testiied that the stray dogs are making them feel unsafe. Last month, one mother told Board of Alderman President Lewis Reed that she walks her children to school with a golf club in hand to protect them from stray dogs.

More than a year after Mayor Francis G. Slay announced the shelter’s closure, his ofice representatives and the city’s health director Pamela Walker will propose a plan to reorganize and formalize the city’s animal control services. If they don’t come up with a plan before January 1, the city could ind itself in violation of the new Canine Cruelty Prevention Act, said Slay in a September blog post.

Alderwoman Dionne Flowers, who has been in negotiations with Walker and Slay’s ofice, said the new plan will be presented to the Board of Aldermen the week of November 14.

What happened to Gasconade?

After a 2010 news report revealed the inhumane conditions at the city’s animal shelter at 2120 Gasconade, Slay made a decision to close the facility.

In Walker’s new animal-control plan, she writes, “Gasconade was obsolete and inhumane. It was built during World War II as a catch-and-kill facility. No thought was given to the comfort of animals. Disease and infection control were almost impossible. Too many of the healthy strays in Gasconade were euthanized.”

Slay’s quick replacement was to establish an unwritten partnership with the non-proit Stray Rescue, which has a mission of taking in stray dogs and inding homes for them. Since Stray Rescue was a willing, unpaid volunteer, the city basically unloaded all of its duties onto the group, including answering the city’s calls coming in from

the Citizen’s Bureau and caring for the dogs that the city was snatching up, which is not in its mission.

However, in Walker’s plan, she states that the partnership has worked. Stray Rescue took almost a thousand more dogs off the streets than the prior year and was able to increase adoptions from 303 dogs to 1,200.

However, the Gasconade location was not oficially closed down – just closed to the public.

According to Slay’s post, it houses bite dogs and dogs the police pick up during criminal raids, evictions and other police calls. Walker said by running Gasconade as a smaller animal control facility, it allows employees to focus on enforcing the law. Since January, the number of tickets issued has gone from zero to 140, she said.

“The public is safer and animals are being treated better,” Walker stated.

However, many – including Mayor Slay and Walker – agree that this is not sustainable.

The bandage unravels

In May, several aldermen said that the City couldn’t keep up this Band-Aid solution forever. By law, the City has to provide its residents with a viable and structured system to collect “biter” dogs and stray dogs, Flowers said.

“The one thing that has always been a concern is that Stray Rescue is always full,” she said. “You are going to need some overlow.” By law, shelters have to keep found dogs for ive days before they can be euthanized. Most shelters are forced to euthanize dogs to make room for incoming dogs. Because Stray Rescue is a no-kill shelter, it can’t handle the city’s animal control problems single-handedly, she said.

“We support Stray Rescue and what they do, but their mission doesn’t it our duties to citizens,” said Tom Shepard chief of staff for Lewis Reed. “No provisions were made to provide any annual appropriations for the immense responsibility Stray Rescue was now asked to perform.”

In addition, Gasconade is the city-managed and oper-

ated animal shelter, and by January 2012 it will be in direct violation with the new Canine Cruelty Prevention Act.

Walker’s plan includes opening a new animal shelter in North St. Louis City, where the city would lease the building for a proposed $50,000. It would cost $300,000 to retroit the building, she states.

Her plan also includes hiring two more animal control oficers at $84,000, a full-time veterinarian at $80,000, veterinarian staff at $88,000 and a public information oficer, who would manage the lost pet registry, assist with adoption and promote education and low income outreach programs, at $50,000.

Flowers expects Walker will propose to split duties between the city and Stray Rescue. All the calls that come in about dogs who have bitten people or owners who want to give up their pets, the city’s shelter will handle. Calls for stray dogs would go to Stray Rescue.

Flowers said the city should compensate Stray Rescue annually for providing this service, which the city has not done thus far. And that means more than just a one-time $250,000 donation, which was proposed in July by Alderman Steve Conway and now again by Walker.

Flowers said the city beneits immensely from partnering with Stray Rescue because they have various educational and outreach programs for petowners that the city is not able to provide.

“It is making us more animal friendly and able to support families,” she said. “It is imperative that there is support.”

Blame it on North City

Shepard said that Slay’s ofice and Walker have been pushing off dealing with this issue by blaming the situation on North City residents who don’t know how to care for their pets.

“It’s a people problem,” has been the mantra coming from Walker’s Tweeter feed and media appearances.

After rescuing dogs from a dumpster in North City, Randy Grim, founder of Stray Rescue, wrote on the organization’s website that it was a speciically a North City problem. When asked if she agreed with him, Walker said, “I’d rather stick to facts. Most of the complaints we get through CSB are from citizens about neighbors who let their dogs run loose. This is the ‘people problem.’”

In a PowerPoint presentation, Walker showed that 70.5 percent of the complaints com-

ing into the Citizens’ Service Bureau come from 12 city wards, nine of which are in North City.

“Citizens in these wards should not have to put up with their neighbors letting their dogs run loose,” she said. “So we are increasing our enforcement efforts in these 12 wards. Claiming that they did not know letting their dogs run loose was a violation of the law is not an acceptable defense.”

Richard Thurman, the postal safety coordinator for St. Louis, told KMOX that dogs have attacked 39 postal carriers in St. Louis in each of the last two years, and the number is growing. Currently, St. Louis is among the ive worst cities in the U.S. for dog attacks on letter carriers.

“From what Thurman said, this is not just a North St. Louis problem,” Shepard said. “The health director and mayor’s ofice want to pose it as a North St. Louis problem. Because if it is only a North St. Louis problem, it is just ‘those irresponsible black folks.’ It’s absolutely nuts to me the amount of political cover they are trying to gain, instead of just saying that, ‘We made a mistake,’ which would be in agreement with what the Humane Society and Animal Protection Association are saying.”

Stray population will increase

Steve Kaufman, executive director of the Animal Protection Association, said his St. Louis County shelter has received 20 to 50 more dogs from the city each month since the Gasconade shelter closed. This is largely because the city does not provide a place to drop off unwanted pets.

“It’s because there is no place for folks to take these dogs in the city,” Kaufman said. “The city needs to provide animal control service again.” Kaufman worries that people don’t know to look for their pets in the county, and they could then be put down.

Flowers said Walker has been unreceptive to including drop-offs as part of the new plan, but Flowers is continuing to push for it. In the current plan, Walker proposes to charge animal-owners $100 if they want to give up their pets, with the understanding that the animal will most likely be euthanized.

Flowers is not the only one who believes the city should offer a drop off service.

“When all options to surrender a dog are completely removed, the stray dog population will increase,” Shepard said. “It is our responsibility to have an open-admission shelter within the city of St. Louis.” Before Gasconade closed, animal control had $1.1 million for services, Flowers said. Since then, the city, either by design or necessity, chopped away at the budget. Flowers and others think that the budget could get back to a sustainable level again.

Ten years ago a child was mauled to death by stray dogs the same day that Slay was elected mayor. Slay pledged that this would never happen again.

“It’s not something that he could forget,” Shepard said. “For us to start dismantling our animal protection program is completely irresponsible. We are not going to let them turn this into a budget issue.” – Reported by Rebecca

S. Rivas

*Slide taken from City Health Director Pamela Walker’s PowerPoint presentation

Mary Annette Lott

May 27, 1938— Nov. 25, 2009

Gone but not forgotten. We miss you, Mom. Leroy and Christopher

Lillie Mae Herron

Born on November 6, 1928, Lillie Mae Herron was the irst of two children born to Bessie and Bernice Herron in England, Arkansas. She attended Gartrell School. Lillie met “the love of her life “Marcus C. Hindmon at Gartrell. Marcus would walk ive miles and to court Lillie.

Lillie‘s parents sent her to St. Louis around 1943 so that she could continue her education beyond grade school. She attended Vashon and Washington Tech. Marcus followed her to St. Louis and continued to court her. Lillie excelled in her business classes and while still in high school was part of a pilot program of hiring Blacks for jobs with white business. She was the irst black bookkeeper for Boatman’s Bank. Black people would go downtown to look in the window at her, smile, and wave. A screen was put up to hide her from the white patrons so that they would not be concerned about their money.

Lillie eventually gave up the job to start her family. Lillie and Marcus were wed October 14, 1947 and had four children, Doris Jean, Linda, Valorie, and Marcus C. Lillie continued to work in-

OBITUARIES

between and after children. She worked as a court stenographer, a cook with The Principia Schools, and Manager of Chenoweth Chapman Cleaners.

Lillie was a faithful member of Parrish C.M.E. Temple for over 50 years. She held several ofices with of the Senior Usher Board including that of president. She was known for her warm smile as she greeted and seated the worshipers. She hosted several committees. She was an active member of the Missionary Board. She was a past president of Missionary Society. She was often a presenter a missionary conferences and received several awards for her missionary works.

Lillie believed in community works and was an active member of Neighborhood Association. She was an active member of the Golden Girls Social Club. After all of her children had graduated, married and moved on, Lillie went back to Jr. College to further her personal knowledge of black studies.

Surrounded by family, Lillie Mae Hindmon departed this life on October 27, 2011.

She is preceded in death by her mother Bessie Cathy Herron and her father Bernice Herron.

Lillie leaves to cherish her memories her husband of 64 years Marcus C. Hindmon; brother, Leon “Jap” Herron of St. Louis; her four children, Doris (Drew) Lowe of University City; Linda (Donald) of Kansas City, MO; Valorie (James) Brown of Fayetteville,Georgia; Marcus C. Hindmon Jr. (Rita) of Florissant, Missouri: her ten grandchildren, Carlos Idelberg of St. Louis; Leslie (Brent) Taylor of Norcross, Georgia; Allison Lowe of St. Louis; Donald (Kimberly) Lee of Long beach, California; Laura Lee of New York, NY; Donavan Brown of Atlanta, Georgia; Brian

Pujols, AT&T target texting while driving

Youth may win opportunity to have Cardinals slugger to school assembly

Special to The American AT&T and St. Louis Cardinals’ player Albert Pujols are teaming up to raise awareness about the risks of texting and driving. Area teenagers ages 13 to 18 can visit participating AT&T retail locations in the St. Louis, Missouri area through December 15 to enter to win a chance to bring Pujols to school for an assembly.

Pujols joins AT&T in this important public safety initiative that encourages all wireless users, especially youth, to wait to send text messages until after driving.

n “We all know that texting is now part of everyday life, but nothing is so important to risk lives.”

“We all know that texting is now part of everyday life, but nothing is so important to risk lives,” said Pujols. “It only takes a few seconds for that message to mean the difference between life and death. It can wait.”

“We are thrilled to be working with Albert to help us deliver an important safety message and at the same time provide an experience of a lifetime for one lucky student,” said Nancy Garvey, AT&T’s vice president and general manager for the Greater Midwest Region. “While our lucky student gets to ride to school in a limo, meet Albert and receive a jersey, his or her classmates will take part in a valuable educational experience on the dangers of texting while driving.”

Albert Pujols.

To win this VIP experience, students must enter in-person at participating St. Louis, Missouri area AT&T retail stores and agent locations. AT&T has created a unique mobile app that shows contestants a short video on the dangers of texting and driving as part of the entry process. There is a limit of one entry per student.

(Allison) Brown; Jade Hindmon; Marcus III( Spring) Hindmon of St. Louis; Tamiko (William) Amos of Ontario, California; her nine great-grandchildren, Jordon, Joshua, Kennedy, Lee, Amani Hindmon, Anaiya Hindmon, Mariya Amos, Mikala Amos, Markesha Idelberg, Karlia Idelberg; her one great-greatgrandchild Armani Idelberg; nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives, church family, friends and neighbors.

Mason O. Burks Sr.

Mason O. Burks Sr., born on November 30, 1964 to late John Mason Burks and Cecile Burks, departed this life on October 26, 2011. He was a friend to many, and the holidays will never be the same without him. He was a beloved son, grandson, brother, father, uncle, nephew and cousin. He leaves to mourn; one daughter, Jocelyn Burks; two sons, Mason and Mason Jr.; his beloved mother, Cecile; maternal grandmother, Lillian Barnes; paternal grandmother, Forcelen Burnett; aunts, uncles, a host of cousins and friends.

Lillie Mae Hindmon

Beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother Lillie Hindmon passed away October 27, 2011 at Mercy Hospital. Visitation will be held on November 4, 2011 at 10:00 am with the funeral immediately follow-

ing at 11:00 am. Coleman Wright

C.M.E. Church, 9777 Halls Ferry

Rd., St. Louis, MO 63136. Burial to follow at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

Lillie was born November 6, 1928 in England, Arkansas to Bessie and Bernice Herron. Lillie grew up in a loving and Christian family. She moved to St. Louis to continue her education with high school in 1943.

On October 14, 1947, Lillie married Marcus C. Hindmon, her childhood sweetheart who had followed her to St. Louis, and they raised a family of four children.

Lillie was known for her ever present smile and enthusiasm. For over 50 years she was a faithful member of Parrish C.M.E. Temple. She was a member of the usher board, active member of the Missionary Board and District Missionary Society. She received many awards for her missionary work.

Lillie cherished family and friends. She is survived and will be greatly missed by her husband Marcus C. Hindmon of 64 years, brother Leon “Jap” Herron; her four children Doris (Drew) Lowe; Linda (Donald) Lee; Valorie(James) Brown; Marcus C. Hindmon Jr. (Rita): her ten grand children Carlos, Leslie, Allison, Donald , Laura, Jade, Marcus, Donovan, Brian, Tamiko; her 9 great grandchildren Jordon, Joshua, Kennedy, Amani ,Anaiya ,Mariya , Mikala , Markesha , Karlia ; and her 1 great great grand child Armani.

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.

Lillie Mae Hindmon

Mary Lott

Mason O. Burks Sr.

St. Louis Cardinals Albert Pujols, wife Diedra and son Ezra (age 2) pose in front of the new Albert Pujols statue, just unveiled at the Pujols 5 Restaurant in Maryland Heights, Missouri on November 2.

Photo by UPI/Bill Greenblatt

Urban violence and public health

Dr. John Rich delivers Homer G. Phillips Public Health Lecture

By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American

In his critically-acclaimed book, Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Violence, Trauma and Violence in the Lives of Young Black Men, John Rich, M.D., M.P.H., shares the unheard voices and perspectives of young people whose lives are overshadowed by race, fear and violence.

As the guest speaker at the annual Homer G. Phillips Public Health Lecture, sponsored by the Office of Diversity Programs at the Washington University School of Medicine, Rich shared his insights about urban violence and how it disproportionately affects the health of young black males.

Rich described three types of stress that people experience. Positive stress is the type that felt when studying for an exam, for example. It helps you prepare for a particular activity.

Tolerable stress is the type that is intense, but short-lived – like the loss of a job. For most people, the fightor-flight mode is turned on when you need it, and off when you don’t. The third type – toxic stress – leaves the body’s fight-or-flight mode

on constantly, causing disruptions in how your hormones function in your body, which over time causes disease and sickness.

“With that system partly turned on, it causes changes in the immune system and your ability to fight diseases and it changes your brain development in particular ways,” Rich said. He called on health professionals to change the stereotypical narratives about young black men by changing their language and adding humanity to their treatment of physical wounds to help heal the emotional injuries of violence.

Rich said trauma the young men experience by witnessing or experiencing a violent act often goes ignored or unrecognized as they struggle to find others ways to cope (like turning to drugs and alcohol) and stay safe in an otherwise hostile environment.

Rich said even in the medical community, it is presumed that victims of inner-city violence do something to get themselves shot or stabbed –blaming the victim for their injuries.

“And it is often the case with young people who come in with injury that the experi-

John Rich, M.D., M.P.H., recently delivered the annual Homer G. Phillips Public Health Lecture sponsored by the Office of Diversity Programs at the Washington University School of Medicine.

Photo by Maurice Meredith

ence of care is often as traumatizing as the injury itself, and so nonviolence as a symbol of the struggle for justice as a symbol of struggling against oppression is still relevant today,” Rich said.

“We will not change these young people until we change our view of them.”

By taking time to interview patients coming into Boston City Hospital, Rich discovered that most of the patients who were brought in due to violent attacks were not thugs and hoodlums. They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

His mentor, Roy Martin, shed light on what is happening in urban communities.

“Those who can’t be famous settle on being infamous,” Rich said his mentor explained.

Rich said place matters how you will live.

“Your environment matters, in some ways, maybe more than all of the other actions and constraints that you have,” Rich said. Where you grow up, where you live has an impact on how long you will live.”

He said poverty imposes a particular type of stress, racism imposes stress and higher stress leads to poor health and earlier death.

In early childhood adversity, communities matter.

“Young people who are growing up in unsafe environments who are experiencing violence, even though they themselves are not directly victimized, may be suffering in ways we don’t know,” Rich said. “It is why our highest priority would have to be to protect children from adversity.”

“If we want to address the problem of chronic disease, we have to address the problems of childhood adversity, it’s that simple,” he added.

He said that’s why giving voice to their stories matter.

“Understanding the experiences of young people who are growing up in these places will help us as health care providers or community members to hold systems accountable to do the things they need to do,” Rich said.

What needs to get done is the healing – a shared responsibility by first recognizing the hurt that comes from places other than the physical injury.

“We simply have to apply what we know to the lives of people we don’t know,” Rich said. “The systems that are charged to help you can’t traumatize you more.”

Do-nothing Legislature mirrors Congress

By Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression

For six months every year, Jefferson City buzzes with activity as the duly elected representatives of Missouri communities claim to do the bidding of their constituents and safeguard their interests while creating an environment statewide that makes Missouri a good place to work, live and raise a family. In theory, this sounds good but in practice another reality takes shape.

Lawmakers bring their biases, ideologies and worldviews to the table, and a contentious political tug of war is waged between rural and urban, moderate and conservative, Democrat and Republican. Add in the machinations of lobbyists, and the resulting brew no longer serves the public so much as it serves non-elected special interests.

Jefferson City is starting to look a lot like Washington, D.C. in that Capitol Hill has become a place where nothing is being accomplished on behalf of the American people. Congress has come to a grinding halt and is currently unable to address the socio-economic crises that are choking the nation.

During a special session of the Missouri general assembly, lawmakers failed to transfer the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department from state oversight to local control after it was placed on the agenda

by Gov. Jay Nixon along with funding the China cargo hub at Lambert airport. The cargo hub plans were also ignored. The Legislature missed a huge opportunity to grow the Missouri economy and create jobs as well as move the SLPD into the 21st century by placing the City of St. Louis on par with municipalities statewide that control their police forces. Republicans in Congress ignored job creation by rejecting financial help for cities to retain or hire more police officers, firefighters and teachers. While touting itself as a law-and-order party, the GOP hypocritically turned its back on first responders. Missouri is not alone in being subjected to a dysfunctional group of lawmakers. As state legislatures across the country grapple with ideological battles over economic inequality, workers’ rights, reproductive rights, voting rights, freedom to marry, civil liberties, public safety and immigration fairness, the people they claim to represent have no other recourse but to voice their frustration through mass action like the Occupy movement. St. Louis demands that her democratic voice not be muted by their petty politics. A day of reckoning is fast approaching and they will have to answer for their inaction. If not, on Nov. 6, 2012, we may witness the Occupy movement transform into an Eviction movement.

We owe so much of our success to you.

25 years ago, we set up shop in Georgetown, KY, and we haven’t stopped since. Today, Toyota operates ten plants throughout the U.S., including our newest one in Blue Springs, Mississippi. We know that none of this would be possible without you, our loyal customers. And we’d like to thank you for standing by us, and making us feel so welcome in the communities we call home. Toyota.com/usa

BUSINESS

David Hinson,national director of the Minority Business Development Agency,spoke to more than 150 businesses at the St.Louis Council of Construction Consumers’“Diversity in Design & Construction”workshop,held at Ameren Corporation headquarters on Nov.4.

‘The fastest job creator in America’

Federal Minority Business official talks strengths and opportunities in STL

By Rebecca S.Rivas

Of The St.Louis American

If you took the minority-business community out of the United States and called it a country, it would be the 17th richest country on Earth, said David Hinson, national director of the Minority Business Development Agency.

On Nov. 4, Hinson spoke to more than 150 businesses at the St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers’“Diversity in Design & Construction” workshop, held at Ameren Corporation headquarters. America’s minority business community provides nearly six million jobs directly and

New study on ‘Status, Race and Money’

Minority consumers will pay more for goods, services to assert status

American staff

It has been well-documented that minorities are subject to discrimination in product pricing and customer service. What is startling is the result of a new study showing that sometimes ill treatment can make African-American consumers voluntarily pay more for goods and services than they would normally, as well as pay more than their Caucasian counterparts. The study was conducted byAarti S. Ivanic, assistant professor of marketing at the University of San Diego’s School of Business Administration, and Jennifer R. Overbeck, assistant professor of management and organization along with Joseph C. Nunes, associate professor of marketing at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business. They set out

See STUDY, B2

“The minority business community is the fastest job creator in America.”

– David Hinson,Minority Business Development Agency

over $1 trillion in economic output to the national economy.

“You may not be aware but the minority business community is the fastest job creator in America,” he said.

In the last Census track, minority-owned business were creating jobs at a 27 percent growth rate, as compared to non-minorityowned firms that were growing jobs at a mere .03 percent growth rate, he said “Minority-owned businesses are also a source of tremendous innovation,” he said.

“From the creation of peanut butter and the electric light filament in years past to the creation of the PC Sound Card and I-Phone applications in modern times, minority entrepreneurs have been leaders in developing innovations that have changed the world.”

WEALTHDISPARITIES LIKELYTOGROW

By George E.Curry TheDefendersOnline.com

Awidening gap between the mega-rich and the rest of society, documented in a recent congressional study, is likely to create even larger economic disparities between African-Americans and Whites.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued a report that stated: “For the 1 percent with the highest income, average real aftertax household income grew by 275 percent between 1979 and 2007.”

By contrast, 60 percent of the population in the middle of the income scale (the 21st through 80th percentiles), the growth in average real after-tax household income was just under 40 percent. For the 20 percent with the lowest income, their after-tax income grew by only 18 percent over that same period.

cent over 1979. Put another way: The top 20 percent earned more after-tax income in 2007 than the combined income of the other 80 percent of Americans.

George E.Curry

The 47-page CBO report is titled, “Trends in the Distribution of Household Income Between 1979 and 2007.” It showed that the share of after-tax household income for the top 1 percent more than doubled over the period studied, rising from nearly 8 percent in 1979 to 17 percent in 2007.

The most affluent 20 percent of the population received 53 percent of after-tax household income in 2007, an increase of 10 per-

PEOPLEON THE MOVE

Jamala Rogers has been named a 2011 Alston Bannerman Fellow by the Center for Social Inclusion that honors longtime community activists of color.Rogers, a long-time leader of Organization for Black Struggle and columnist for The St. Louis American, is one of six fellows selected this year. For over 40 years, the center said, she “has been in the forefront of organizing for human dignity, economic justice and political empowerment.”

Clem Smith received the YMCAof Greater St. Louis 2011 Legislative Recognition Award for Youth Development. Smith, a Democratic state representative who serves the 71st District in North St. Louis County, was recognized for his advisory and mentoring work with the Monsanto YMCAYouth and Government program. Smith currently serves as Deputy Minority Whip, Treasurer of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus and works for The Boeing Company.

Morgan Mizell, a recent John Burroughs School Graduate, has recently accepted two positions as a research assistant in two research labs at Washington University in St. Louis and Saint Louis University. These positions are usually reserved for graduate students. Morgan will be working in the Cognitive Control and Psychopathology Lab at Washington University and a Saint Louis University lab that specializes in the mechanisms of sleep in albino mice. She plans to attend Swarthmore College.

Kenya Frazier, a 2010 McCluer South-Berkeley High School graduate, earned a $2,000 Barnes/Wilkerson Scholarship from the Rev. Charlie E. and Cinderella S. Taylor Sr. Foundation for her essay describing how the Good Friday tornados impacted her family. Kenya, who is currently a sophomore at Missouri State University, had her home in Berkeley severely damaged during the storm. Gwen Diggs was encouraged to find students who were negatively impacted by the storm to apply for the scholarship.

BUSINESS BRIEFS

World Wide Technology seeks $20M bond to expand

World Wide Technology Inc.plans to seek a $20 million bond from St. Louis County and other incentives from the State of Missouri to help pay for an expansion of its headquarters in Maryland Heights. The company plans to add 100 workers with an average salary of $100,000 over the next three years, St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley said. The ITfirm employs more than 1,700 people and has added more than 300 jobs in 2011, including more than 100 at its headquarters, the St. Louis Business Journal reported World Wide Technology, founded by David L. Steward, had $3.3 billion in revenue in 2010.

AXAoffering $670K in scholarships

These figures are fueling the heated debate over the Occupy Wall Street movement that has spread throughout the country and around the world. But that discussion has virtually ignored the plight of Blacks, who have already seen the wealth gap widen during the most recent recession.

A State of the Dream report issued earlier this year by United for a Fair Economy chronicles African-Americans’stalled economic progress.

“In 1947, Blacks earned 51 cents to each dollar of White median family income,” the report recounts. “By 1977, Blacks were earning 56 cents on each dollar in White income, a gain of five cents. Most of those gains were made in the 1960s.

“Then, as the backlash took hold, progress slowed – and stopped. By 2007, Blacks earned slightly over 57 cents (57.4 cents) to each White dollar, a gain of just one penny in thirty years. Two years later, as the Great Recession set in. Blacks lost a half-cent, ending at 57 cents to each White

AXAAdvisors, LLC of St. Louis is accepting applications for the 2012 AXAAchievement Scholarship, in association with U.S. News & World Report, which will award $670,000 in scholarships Through the AXAAchievement Scholarship, 52 students – one from each state, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico – will be selected to receive one-time scholarship awards of $10,000 each. From the pool of 52 state winners, 10 students will be selected as national winners, earning an additional scholarship of $15,000 and the opportunity for an internship with AXA. The online scholarship application is available at www.axa-achievement.com and must be submitted by December 1.

Bank partners with Beyond Housing on HOPE Loan program

Citizens National Bank of Greater St Louis and Beyond Housing have partnered in developing a community mortgage product to serve low- to moderateincome clients. The bank has dedicated $1,250,000 in home mortgage loan funds for its new (HOPE) Home Ownership Program and Education loan, designed to assist low- to moderate-income, first-time homebuyers with limited or no credit history who purchase a home in the city of St. Louis. Additionally, the bank has pledged $30,000 in downpayment assistance funds to be used with the HOPE Loan. Beyond Housing is the exclusive provider for the education component of the HOPE Loan.

Clem Smith

Jamala Rogers

Morgan Mizell

Kenya Frazier

Photo by Wiley Price

Closed-end funds have been around since 1893, more than 30 years before the first mutual fund (also known as an open-end fund) was created in the United States. However, closed-end funds are much less common than open-end funds. There are fewer than 700 closed-end funds on the market, whereas there are around 7,500 mutual funds available.1

Closed-end funds are similar to open-ended mutual funds in that investors pool their money together to purchase a professionally managed portfolio of stocks and/or bonds. They also have dividends and capital gains that are distributed annually.

What is a closed-end fund?

In other ways, they are very different. Closed-end funds actually have more in common with stocks or exchange-traded funds (ETFs), but they are actively managed. Closed-end funds have an initial public offering (IPO) with a fixed number of shares to sell to investors. After that point, the investment company usually does not deal with the public directly, and any investors who want to purchase shares must do so on a secondary market, such as the New York Stock Exchange. A closed-end fund’s investment portfolio is generally managed by a separate entity, known as an “investment adviser,” that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Shares are bought and sold on the open market, creating a situation in which investor activity does not significantly impact decisions on handling the funds. The market price of closed-end fund shares trading on a secondary market is determined by supply and demand, not by the shares’net asset value (NAV). Although

PERSONAL FINANCE

Charles Ross

JOB

Continued from B1

In the area of global trade, minority-owned businesses are twice as likely to export as non-minority owned businesses and three times as likely to be pure exporters – those companies that gain 100 percent of their revenue from exporting.

“There is no doubt that the minority business community is a powerful contributor to the U.S. economy, but this sector has the potential to do much more,” he said. “And for the minority business community to be more productive, some things must change.”

First, think bigger, he said.

The average AsianAmerican owned business generated over $330,000 on one end and the average AfricanAmerican owned business generates a mere $71,000 in gross revenue on the other end.

By Charles Ross STUDY

And while there are over 5.7 million minority-owned businesses, only 786,000 have employees. He said this situa-

closed-end funds start with a NAV, the trading price may be higher or lower than that value. If the price is higher, shares are selling at a “premium.” If the price is lower, they are selling at a “discount.”

If you are considering investing in a closed-end fund, there are some things to be aware of. Closed-end funds have broker trading fees and are considered riskier than

tion is exacerbated in the African-American community, where a mere 5 percent have employees.

“To win our future, minority business owners must embrace the growth models of the future,” he said. “These growth models include growth through merger or acquisition, joint venture or strategic partnership. It is much more difficult to go it alone than to go with a strategic partner.”

And it is much more difficult to grow organically – one client at a time – than to acquire an existing client base, he said.

The second thing that must change is that large corporations here in St. Louis and across the nation must expand their efforts to embrace the

Continued from B1

to understand inequities in transactions.

In their study, “Status, Race and Money: The Impact of Racial Hierarchy on Willingness-to-Pay,” forthcoming in Psychological Science, the researchers found that African Americans who felt their status was threatened by poor service because of their race were willing to pay more for products and services to assert their social standing.

While Caucasians and African Americans showed equal interest in products such as headphones or luxury hotel upgrades, researchers found that when race was explicitly activated (subjects were made aware of the stereotypes affiliated with their race), most African-American survey participants indicated a willingness to pay more for products than either Caucasian participants or other African

open-ended mutual funds. They can invest in a greater amount of illiquid securities and can use leveraging methods usually avoided by mutual funds. Because they are harder to sell, they are less liquid than mutual funds. Closed-end funds are generally not redeemable. The investment company does not have to buy back shares to fulfill investor demand. And closed-end funds often charge between 1% and 2% annually for management fees.

Some people consider investing in closed-end funds because they are designed to provide a stream of income, often on a monthly or quarterly basis. Closed-end funds also

minority-business community as a viable economic partner.

“Far too many large corporations make the same old and tired excuse that they can not find any ‘capable’minorityowned firms that are ‘qualified’to do business with them,” he said. “This was not true 40 years ago when my agency was founded …. and it is not true today.”

Hinson called on every major corporation in St. Louis to meet with leaders from the minority business community and develop a plan to increase spending with minority-owned firms in the State of Missouri by $3 billion over the next five years.

“This means aggressively engaging minority-owned firms in construction and con-

Americans for whom race was not raised.

Meanwhile, when race was implicitly raised, the researchers found that AfricanAmerican participants were less likely to counteract negative stereotypes and decreased their willingness to pay for

African Americans who felt their status was threatened by poor service because of their race were willing to pay more for products and services.

products.

However, what was also uncovered in this study was that African-American participants who strongly identified with their race had a lower “willingness to pay,” suggesting that greater pride in group membership made them less vulnerable about their status.

In the concluding experi-

couldprovide an important diversification element to their portfolios.Diversification is a method to help manage investment risk, but it does not guarantee against loss. The value of closed-end fund and mutual fund shares fluctuate with market condi-

tracting, manufactured supplies and professional services,” he said.

“I urge the political leadership in the city and state to support this effort and my agency, the Minority Business Development Agency, will work with the leadership to get it done.”

The last thing that must change is the volume of our voices, he said.

“We need your voices to be heard in support of the American Jobs Act,” he said.

“The American Jobs Act will create 2 million new jobs in the next 12-months. We don’t have time to talk about taking our country back, because we need to focus on moving our country ahead.”

ment with more than 500 participants, the researchers found that, as with Caucasians surveyed, when African Americans were treated well, they did not indicate a willingness to pay more for goods or services even when race was made an issue. When AfricanAmerican subjects were treated poorly, but race was not raised, they paid less.

Though the survey focused on African Americans, USC Marshall Professor Jennifer Overbeck says the findings may be applicable to any group that has had a traditionally disadvantaged status throughout history.

“Minority consumers have tremendous buying power,” Overbeck said.

“We want to draw attention to the fact that these downstream forces of discrimination are important and to bring it to the attention of anyone who feels disadvantaged in the marketplace that he/she should not feel the need to prove themselves to people who don’t deserve it by paying more.”

By

Passing of a warrior

Reflections on the death of the great Joe Frazier

Frazier’s left hook was one of the most dangerous weapons in the history of the sport.

by technical knockout when Frazier’s trainer Eddie Futch would not let him come out for the 15th round. At the time of the stoppage, Frazier literally could not see out of either eye. He was basically blind. Yet, he wanted to go out and finish the fight.

See FRAZIER, B5

Frazier throws his famous left hook during the first of

on March 8,1971,in front of a capacity crowd at Madison

pion Frazier (26-0,23 KO) against the challenger Ali

25

stripped of his title four years earlier.Frazier won the 15-round fight in an

THESHAMEIN HAPPY VALLEY

By Eugene Robinson Washington Post

Legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno said, “I did what I was supposed to.” In fact, nobody at Penn State did what basic human decency requires – and as a result, according to prosecutors, an alleged sexual predator who could have been stopped years ago was allowed to continue molesting young boys. The arrest Saturday of former Penn State defensive coor-

dinator Jerry Sandusky on felony child sex abuse charges, involving at least eight victims, has sent university officials scrambling to justify a pattern of self-serving inattention and inaction.

University Vice President Gary Schultz and Athletic Director Tim Curley also face charges — for failing to report what they knew about Sandusky and for allegedly perjuring themselves before a grand jury. Both proclaim their innocence. After an emergency

They “never attempted to learn the identity of the child in the shower,”according to the grand jury. Unbelievable.

meeting of the Board of Trustees, it was announced that the two officials would be stepping away from their jobs.

Penn State President

Graham Spanier has said that Schultz and Curley have his “unconditional support.” If he believes the way they acted was right, or even remotely acceptable, then he needs to go, too – as does Paterno, who can only destroy his legacy by hanging on and trying to excuse the inexcusable.

Assuming that even half of what Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly alleges is true, Sandusky is a patient and calculating pedophile who used his insider status with the

glamorous Penn State football program to lure boys as young as 10. Sandusky allegedly met his victims through The Second Mile, a charity he founded that provides programs for troubled – and vulnerable – youth. The investigation that led to the charges was launched in 2009 after the mother of a boy, a Second Mile participant, reported allegations of sexual assault to officials at a high

Even his colleagues have taken aim at the one-time icon

OK, Greg, what would you call it, just good old boy talk when Woods was not around?

there.)

his colleagues on the tour have decided to take aim at the one-time icon. In one of those “boys only” dinners, Woods’former caddy Steve Williams, who is still snorting

is the single most important reason the PGA is what it is today.

Earl Austin Jr.

Of The St.Louis American

Tiger Woods’ star has tarnished, and it is now open season on the lone person of color on the tour who

Joe

three fights he had with Muhammad Ali.Billed as the "Fight of the Century," it was held

Square Garden in New York.The fight pitted the reigning undefeated heavyweight cham-

(31-0,

KO),who'd never been beaten in the ring in his professional career but had been

unanimous decision.

See SHAME, B5

Legendary Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno is under fire.

PREP FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK

Slow night forrevenge

Previous victors win again in rematches

Monday night’s Missouri state sectional playoff action featured seven rematches from the regular season. In all seven games, the team that won the first meeting emerged victorious in the second game as well. There were no acts of revenge carried out on the football fields in St. Louis on this particular night.

In Class 5, Parkway Central defeated Webster Groves 4226 after trailing 20-7 at halftime. Central won the first contest 34-13 in district play. Hazelwood East defeated McCluer 25-14 on Monday night after defeating the Comets 50-21 in district playoff play two weeks ago.

In Class 4, MICDS defeated Ladue 31-21 to remain undefeated at 12-0. The Rams trailed Ladue 21-14 in the fourth quarter, but scored 17 unanswered points to take the victory. Also in Class 4, Gateway Tech defeated Miller Career Academy 52-14 in the rematch of Public High League rivals. Gateway Tech won the first meeting 30-14. St. Francis Borgia defeated St. Charles West 30-10 in Class 4 for the second time. Borgia won the first game 28-21 three weeks ago. In Class 3, John Burroughs defeated ABC League rival Lutheran North for the second time 42-12. In Class 2, Maplewood edged Brentwood 7-0 on a late fumble recovery for a touchdown by junior Kahlid Hagens. Maplewood won the first meeting 55-0, but Brentwood put up a spirited battle in the rematch and nearly pulled off the upset.

Prep gems

Afew individual gems from Monday night’s sectional games: Gateway Tech standout quarterback Paul Rice had 372 total yards and threw five touchdown passes in the victory over Career Academy.

MICDS senior A.J. Washington scored two late touchdowns and added an interception in the Rams’ fourth-quarter rally against Ladue.

John Burroughs junior Ezekiel Elliott had 245 yards of total offense and scored five touchdowns in the Bombers’ big victory over Lutheran North.

Hazelwood East quarterback Trey Hill threw for 207 yards and one touchdown to lead the Spartans past McCluer.

St. Francis Borgia defensive back Jared Mohesky had three interceptions in the Knights victory over St. Charles West.

What’s on tap this weekend

Class 6 Quarterfinals (All games on Friday at 7 p.m.)

DeSmet (9-2) at SLUH (8-3)

McCluer North (10-1) at CBC(11-0)

Fort Zumwalt West (9-2) at Francis Howell 8-3)

Class 5 Quarterfinals Hazelwood East (7-4) at Parkway Central (10-1), Saturday, 6:00 p.m.

Gateway Tech quarterback Paul Rice (5) had 11 carries for 92 yards against Career Academy Monday night during Class 4 Sectionals at Sumner High School. Gateway would defeat Career Academy 52-14.

Class 2 Quarterfinals

FLYERS PAYBACK

OSWEGO

ESLhosts another playoff nemesis

Wheaton Warrenville South this weekend

By Earl Austin Jr. Of the St.Louis

American

The East St. Louis Flyers gained a measure of payback in last week’s 41-0 victory over Oswego in the second round of the IHSAClass 7Astate playoffs. Oswego had knocked the Flyers out of the state playoffs in 2003 and 2004.

The Flyers will try to knock off another state playoff nemesis this weekend when they host Illinois state power Wheaton Warrenville South in the state quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon at Jordan Stadium in East St. Louis. Kick-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.

After the St. Louis Rams disposed of the high-powered New Orleans Saints a week ago, 31-21, the sentiment among Rams Nation was this team has arrived.

The win against a playoff (and possibly Super Bowl) contender meant better days ahead for the Rams. Better days for embattled head coach Steve Spagnuolo and his entire coaching staff. However, that’s not the case this time. The Rams lost in overtime to a team that once used to reside here, 19-13. Why did the Rams take four steps backwards? I really wish I knew. I was surprised that Sam Bradford played after sitting out the last couple of games with a high ankle sprain. And Sam Bradford did struggle in the game. Whether he was holding on the ball too long, or overthrowing his intended receiver, or underthrowing an open receiver, it was not a great day for the second-year quarterback. It was hard to watch. Even harder to fathom because for the first time I really felt backup quarterback A.J. Feely gave the Rams a better chance to win against the Arizona Cardinals. And the big reason that it was hard to fathom is Bradford was the No. 1 overall pick in the NFLdraft last spring. He is the “Chosen One.” He was the person that will lead the Rams to their next playoff game and maybe a championship title run.

Kirkwood (10-0) at Camdenton (7-5)), Saturday, 1:30 p.m.

Class 4 Quarterfinals Borgia (12-0) at MICDS (12-0), Saturday, 1:30 p.m.

Gateway Tech (10-2) at Farmington (11-1), Saturday, 1:30 p.m.

Class 3 Quarterfinals

Caruthersville (11-1) at Maplewood (10-2), Saturday, 1:30 p.m.

IHSAClass 7AQuarterfinals Chicago St. Rita (8-2) at O’Fallon (10-1), Friday, 7 p.m.

Wheaton Warrenville South (9-2) at East St. Louis (9-2), Saturday, 1 p.m.

Arizona Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell (93) blocks a field goal attempt by St.Louis Rams kicker Josh Brown (3) to force overtime during the end of the fourth quarter Sunday in Arizona.The Cardinals wemt on to win in overtiime 19-13.

Senior running back Ejay Johnson will lead O’Fallon High into Friday night’s showdown against Chicago St.Rita in the quarterfinals of the IHSA Class 7A playoffs. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

for 179 yards while freshman Natereace Strong rushed for 145 yards. Senior quarterback Lamontiez Ivy threw for 135 yards and two touchdowns. After a 2-2 start, the Flyers have won seven consecutive games. O’Fallon High (10-1) will also be hosting an IHSAClass 7Astate quarterfinal game this weekend. The Panthers will take on Chicago St. Rita (9-2) on Friday at 7 p.m. The Panthers went on the road last weekend and won a 34-31 shootout against host Pekin. Senior tailback Ejay Johnson rushed for 161 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead the Panthers. Junior quarterback Todd Porter threw for 199 yards and a touchdown.

Should O’Fallon and East St. Louis get by these two tough quarterfinal matchups, it would set up an All-Southwestern Conference semifinal game next weekend with a berth in the state championship on the line.

Jones

The senior defensive lineman was a major force in the Stars’37-14 victory over Lafayette in the Class 6 sectional playoffs last Saturday. The 6’2” 280-pound tackle had five solo tackles and two quarterback sacks to lead the Stars’defensive effort. Jones put the capper on a dominating performance by scoring on a 72-yard interception return in the second half to seal the victory.

One of the top defensive linemen in the St. Louis area, Jones has racked up 13 sacks and 18 tackles for losses during the season.

McCluer North will visit top-ranked CBC in the Class 6 state quarterfinals on Friday night.

Photo by Wiley Price

FRAZIER

Continued from B3

That was the essence of Joe Frazier.

In sports, people like to throw out the phrase “he’s a warrior” at every opportunity. Sometimes, we are a little too loose with the term “warrior” when it comes to our sports heroes. Not when it comes to Smokin’Joe, who passed away on Monday night from liver cancer. He was 67. Frazier was diagnosed in September and admitted to hospice care last weekend before his death.

The boxing world lost one of its greatest champions on Monday night. It also lost one of its greatest warriors. When Smokin’Joe came to the ring, he came to fight. When you paid your money to see Smokin’Joe, you were never cheated because he put every ounce of heart and soul into every round he fought.

Joe Frazier was the bluecollar, working man’s champion who settled down in Philadelphia after spending the first 15 years of his life in Beaufort, South Carolina. In a blue-collar town, Frazier was one of Philly’s greatest sports heroes. He was a punishing puncher who took great pride in working the opponent’s body before unleashing his signature punch: the left hook. Frazier’s left hook was one of the most dangerous weapons in the history of the sport. The left hook helped him win an Olympic gold medal in Toyko in 1964 when he defeated German heavyweight Hans Huber. It helped him win the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world in 1970 when he knocked out Jimmy Ellis in the fifth round.

The most famous left hook in the history of boxing also dropped Ali in the 15th round of the first Ali-Frazier superfight in Madison Square Garden in 1971. It enabled Frazier to hand Ali his first loss and retain his championship in the first battle of undefeated heavyweight champions. Frazier managed to cut his niche as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time despite fighting in the Golden

SHAME

Era of heavyweights in the late 1960s and ‘70s. In an era that was dominated by the greatness and flamboyance of Ali, plus the likes of George Foreman, Ken Norton, Ernie Shavers, Frazier proved over and over that he was one bad

wish I were dead.”

man. Even in defeat, Frazier was the subject of perhaps the most famous call in boxing history when Howard Cosell screamed, “Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!” during his loss to George

Foreman in Kingston, Jamaica in 1973. In those great Ali-Frazier fights, I made no bones about rooting for Muhammad Ali, who I feel is the greatest of all time. However, part of the reason why Ali is the greatest was

because he had a contemporary rival such as Joe Frazier who pushed him beyond the limits of humanity to bring out the greatness of him. These two men will be forever connected to each other because of their three epic fights.

school where Sandusky, now 67, volunteered. But Penn State officials knew at least 11 years earlier that there were disturbing questions about physical contact between Sandusky and young boys. In 1998, Sandusky was famous in the college football world as the defensive wizard who gave Penn State the nickname “Linebacker U,” and he was often mentioned as Paterno’s likely successor.

CLAIBS

Continued from B3

Continued from B3 over being fired, showed his backside. The caddy said when his new client Adam Scott won a tournament that Woods was involved in, he took great joy in it, resorting to foul language and references to body parts we can’t print while calling out Woods by race.

Once word got out, Williams’comments were met with everything from a chuckle to “what do you want me to do?” No one has stepped up in the golf community to call out Williams for what he said, though they all eat better and take care of their families in a better manner thanks to Tiger Woods.

Adam Scott said he thought Williams should apologize. I remind you he said he “thought,” not that he insists. Williams relented and through a statement he did apologize. Woods, being consistent, never uttered a word about the comments, only releasing a short statement through his agent.

I can recall when Tiger won the Masters and when former Masters Champion Fuzzy Zoeller suggested they serve collard greens and perhaps watermelon at the Champions dinner. It all hit the fan. Zoeller seemed to apologize to everyone he could find, short of the club pro at Forest Park. Now you have the likes of Greg Norman saying that

That year, the university police department conducted what a grand jury report calls a “lengthy investigation” of allegations that Sandusky had hugged, rubbed against and inappropriately touched two 11-year-old boys while they were naked with him in the showers of a Penn State locker room.

Detectives listened in while the mother of one of the boys called Sandusky to confront him. According to the grand jury report, Sandusky told her: “I understand. I was wrong. I wish I could get forgiveness. I know I won’t get it from you. I

Williams’statement was not racist. OK, Greg, what would you call it, just good old boy talk when Woods was not around?

Williams needs to get over it. People get fired every day for working harder than carrying a set of someone else’s golf clubs. Tiger put a lot of money in this clown’s pocket and if he wants to carry this further then he should give the money back.

As for the media, they have just kind of pooh-poohed this thing, as if it were just an offcolor remark that meant no harm. Three years ago they would have led the charge in making sure Williams could not caddie on the moon.

Another way to lose

Just when I was thinking after a big win over New Orleans and all the big talk from Rams players after the game, maybe now they can put a streak of two or three wins together. Throw in the fact that the Rams were playing the Arizona Cardinals without their starting quarterback, I am almost all in on this one.

Then something hit me. They had only won one game for a reason.

They continued to find new way to lose. How do you get a field goal blocked at the end of the game? Better, how can you have a99-yard punt returned in OVERTIME?

This will be a longer season than I thought.

The local district attorney declined to prosecute, and the investigation was closed. Paterno was Sandusky’s immediate boss, and Curley was Paterno’s. Perhaps all who were involved did, in the narrowest sense, what they were “supposed to.” But imagine how much better it would have been if someone had done the right thing and taken that 1998 incident seriously – better for the victims, but also better for the university’s reputation and ultimately better for Sandusky himself.

It gets much worse: In

Mizzou to the SEC

It finally happened, and I could not be happier. This will be a real tough task for the entire athletic department at Mizzou, as the SEC is no joke. They take few prisoners on Saturdays, and Mizzou will have to step up its game in recruiting better players. I would much rather see Mizzou play the likes of Alabama, LSU, Tennessee and others over Iowa State, Baylor and Texas Tech. Whoever travels to those cities, or should I say towns, to see Ole Mizzou play these slugs?

2002, after Sandusky had retired – although he still had an office and enjoyed the run of the Penn State athletic facilities – a football team “graduate assistant” saw Sandusky raping a young boy in the showers, according to the grand jury report.

The assistant – widely identified in news reports as Mike McQueary, a former Penn State quarterback who is now the team’s wide receivers coach – told Paterno what he had seen. Paterno told Curley. The assistant was eventually summoned to a meeting with Curley and Schultz at which he

Blue again

Well, what do you know?

The Blues made another coaching change, number 25 in the 40-plus years of their existence. No one comes close when it comes to futility. The current regime has gone through its fourth coach in seven seasons, and yet no one else has taken the fall for this farce. No owner, no president, no one has been charged with making so many bad hires and yet kept a job. The two at the top have shown all the skills of leadership that Qaddafi showed at his last stand.

says he described the rape in graphic detail.

The two officials claim they were only told about behavior that was “not that serious.” They took it seriously enough, however, to decree that Sandusky could no longer bring Second Mile children into the football building.

But they “never attempted to learn the identity of the child in the shower,” according to the grand jury. “No one from the university did so.”

Unbelievable. According to the grand jury, the assistant, Paterno, Curley, Schultz and Spanier all knew about the incident. None lifted a finger to find out who the victim was or what had become of him. Tell us again how you did everything you were supposed to do?

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

Muhammad Ali appeared unannounced outside Joe Frazier’s workout facility in Philadelphia on Jan.28,1971,a little more than a month before their famous “Fight of the Century”bout in New York.

The referee motions Joe Frazier to his corner after knocking down Muhammad Ali in round 15 of their epic 1971 “Fight of the Century.”Frazier won the fight by unanimous decision.

Joe Frazier throws a left jab at Muhammad Ali during their “Thrilla in Manila”bout on October 1,1975.

Harris-Stowe to host Business Fair

American staff

Harris-Stowe State University will host a PreVenture Business Fair and Program on Thursday November 17 at the AnheuserBusch School of Business, located on the south campus, 5707 Wilson Ave. The event is free and open to the public.

Panelists for the event include: Anthony Thompson, chief executive officer of KWAME Construction; Sharilyn Franklin of Fuse Advertising; Carolyn Pryor of Serenity Women’s Health;

WEALTH

Continued from B1 dollar of median family income.”

Such erosion has led to the widest wealth gap on record between Blacks and Whites.

In July, the Pew Research Center issued a report that stated, “The median wealth of white households is 20 times that of black households and 18 times that of Hispanic households.” It explained, “These lopsided wealth ratios are the largest since the government began publishing such data a quarter century ago and roughly twice the size of the ratios that had prevailed between these groups for two decades prior to the Great Recession that ended in 2009.”

The bursting of the housing bubble in 2006 and the high unemployment rates have devastated communities of color.

Median home equity for Whites declined by 18 percent between 2005 and 2009, from $115,364 to $95,000. Meanwhile, Blacks lost 23 percent of their home equity, from $76,919 to $59,000.

Black long-term unemploy-

Darlene Davis, certified public accountant; and Steven Cousins, attorney.

The business fair will begin at 4:30 p.m. Apanel discussion will be held from 5 - 7 p.m.

The fair will conclude at 7:30 p.m.

The event will be hosted by Bob Virgil Center for Entrepreneurship in the Anheuser-Busch School of Business at Harris-Stowe State University, in conjunction with the St. Louis Development Corporation.

Participating entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to glean advice and guidance

ment was also higher than that of Whites, which is usually the case during a recession. Black unemployment increased from 8.6 percent to 15.6 percent during that period; White employment rose from 3.7 percent to 8 percent. Black wealth, already much

“The median wealth of white households is 20 times that of black households and 18 times that of Hispanic households.”

– Pew Research Center

less than Whites, worsened.

“From 2005 to 2009, inflation-adjusted median wealth fell by 66 percent among Hispanic households and 53 percent among black households, compared to just 16 percent among white households,” the Pew report stated. “As a result of these declines, the typical black household had just $5,677 in wealth (assets minus debts) in 2009, the typical Hispanic household had $6,325 in wealth; and the typi-

firsthand from these successful business leaders, as well as showcase their own business concepts to the public. Those interested in entrepreneurship, business start-ups and economic development within the region are encouraged to attend. For more information, contactHoward Hayes, Director Minority Business Development, (314) 622-3400 ext. 308, hayesh@stlouiscity.com; or Shawni Jackson-Triggs, Assistant Professor-Business Administration, (314) 8770057, jacksons@hssu.edu.

cal white household had $113,149.”

The $5,677 in Black wealth in 2009 was less than half of the $12,124 in Black wealth just four years earlier. In order to get ahead in the future, clearly AfricanAmericans will need to diversify their financial holdings beyond housing. As the Pew report noted, “Whites and Asians are much more likely than Hispanics and blacks to own financial assets. More than 80 percent of whites and Asians own interest-earning assets in financial institutions, compared with about 60 percent of Hispanics and blacks. Whites and Asians are also three to four times as likely as Hispanics and blacks to own stocks and mutual funds shares…Asizable minority of U.S. households own no assets other than a motor vehicle. In 2009, that was true of 24 percent of black and Hispanic households, 8 percent of Asian households and 6 percent of white households.”

The racial and ethnic wealth gap was already horrendous. Reports of a wider economic divide between the haves and have-nots have shown that the problem is getting even worse.

SLIFF turns 20

Black perspective screens during local festival’s landmark year

By American Staff

Cinema St. Louis is celebrating 20 years of bringing world-class ilms from around the world to St. Louis by way of the St. Louis International Film Festival. And while they continue to bring global vantage point to viewers, subject matter that is close to home for St. Louis –black St. Louis, in particular – has managed to make its way to the screen.

Pruitt-Igoe unraveled

Chad Freidrich’s The

Pruitt-Igoe Myth explores the social, economic and legislative issues that led to the decline of conventional public housing in America and traces the personal and poignant narratives of several of the project’s residents. In the process, the ilm provides important insight into St. Louis’ history, the evolution of the Civil Rights Movement and the charged racial climate of the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. In an enthusiastic review, Variety notes that the ilm “combines concise but thoroughgoing sociologicalhistorical analysis and elegant cinematic resources in service of an uncommonly artful example of ilm journalism.”

Pruitt-Igoe Myth will screen at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12 at Washington University’s Brown Hall with special guests including director Freidrichs and several of the ilm’s subjects.

Interrupting gang violence

Filmmaker Steve James (creator of the classic sports documentary Hoop Dreams)

and journalist Alex Kotlowitz take viewers to the frontline of the deaths and shootings – that have become ordinary coming of age experiences –

See SLIFF, C4

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

Truth be told, in some cases a Kirk Franklin song being played on the radio is all the church some people get.

“It’s very humbling and a great honor for people to listen, but it’s not enough,” Franklin said. “I know my songs can’t be the sum total of people’s experience, relationship and/or worship with God.”

Barely out of his teens when his hit “Why We Sing” became a gospel and urban contemporary radio hit in 1993, Franklin has consistently provided music to inspire and uplift that has managed to bridge the gap between gospel and urban mainstream music.

“This whole experience has been life-changing, because He has been life-changing,” Kirk Franklin said of his nearly 20 years as a household name in the music industry. “And I don’t try to igure out any of it on my own.”

The “crunk” stylings of “Stomp” featuring hip-hop star Salt (of female rap group Salt-N-Pepa) got listeners hyped for Christ. His ballad “Lean on Me” featured R. Kelly and Mary J. Blige and offered encouragement through the trials that come with everyday living.

Franklin is bringing his message of hope and peace through God back to St. Louis next Thursday when the Fearless tour stops at the Fox Theatre.

“I really hope to speak to people and at the same time they will hear some of their favorites, but mostly I want everyone who comes to this show to know that tough times don’t last long, but tough people do,” Franklin said.

“Fear may knock, but we don’t have to keep answering. God has a plan, and you can go through the storm without being killed.”

By Kevin Whitehead National Public Radio

Julius Hemphill’s “Dogon A.D.” — the 15-minute piece, and the album that’s named for it — was one of the startling jazz recordings of the 1970s, a rethinking of possibilities open to the avant-garde. In the 1960s, free jazz was mostly loud and bashing, until some Chicagoans began playing a more open, quieter improvised music. That inspired St. Louis players like Hemphill, who also had ties to heartland rhythm-and-blues scenes. Hemphill’s genius was to combine the Chicagoans’ dramatically spare sound with a heavy backbeat. His new urban music smacked of old country blues.

Piloting that funky backbeat is drummer Philip Wilson, who’d already mixed free jazz and the blues by leaving the Art Ensemble of Chicago for the Paul Butterield Blues Band. Another reason “Dogon A.D.” sounds so mesmerizing is Abdul Wadud, whose cello sounds like a Delta blues guitar played with a bow. Wadud sticks mostly to two alternating licks: a grinding two-note riff and the nagging long tones that answer it. Selfcontained call and response: That’s very bluesy. On trumpet is St. Louis native Baikida Carroll. Abdul Wadud wasn’t the irst jazz

See DOGON, C4

Single black females and the ‘elderly’ bachelor

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

“If a man is in his late 30s, early 40s and has never been married, something is wrong with him,” someone said. “Either he’s crazy … or on the down low – so watch yourself.”

Really? No … seriously?

So there is a statute of limitations for the single black males, and once he has “expired” he is boxed in as mentally unstable or a closeted gay? Help. I know what you’re thinking. “Some disgruntled thirsty woman spoke this into the universe because a man opted to be by himself rather than deal with her ‘bitter sister’ song and dance.”

Wrong.

Actually, a married man was the first to point this out to me. Another married man – who had never met the statement’s originator – co-signed without even knowing it.

Just for sport, black females and our “lists” came up at a social gathering, and of course the “never married/no kids” combo was at or near the top.

Then some kind of way, Steve Harvey’s groundbreaking notion (peep the sarcasm) of dating older men came into the mix of the conversation.

Plenty of the women were game, as long as it wasn’t “too old.”

A friend’s husband essentially told us we should run from the never married older man.

“What if he is waiting on God to send him his wife?” a friend says like

Julius Hemphill

The Loving Story

1.Email

2.Visit

concerts

Nov. 11, 8 p.m., Darrell Scott live, The Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Boulevard. For more information, visit www.darrellscott.com

Mon., Nov. 14, 9 p.m. doors, Grammy-nominated group The Foreign Exchange, The 2720 Venue (located at 2720 Cherokee).

Thurs., Nov. 17, 7:30 p.m. Fox Concerts presents Kirk Franklin’s Fearless Tour with special guests St. Louis’own AmberBullock and Isaac Carree, The Fox Theatre. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com or call (314) 534-1111.

Fri., Nov. 18, 8 p.m., Nurses forNewborns will host the Third Annualn Notes for Newborns, an evening of music featuring award winning singer-songwriter Carrie Newcomer, Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Avenue. Tickets are available through MetroTix (314-5341111 / www.metrotix.com) or directly from Nurses for Newborns (www.nfnf.org or 314-544-3433).

local gigs

Nov. 20, 7 p.m. (6 p.m. doors), A-List Band Nights Concert Series, Quintessential Dining & Nightlife, 149 North Main St. St. Charles, MO 63301. For more information, call (314) 314-517-1995.

Sundays, 7 p.m., StarCity recording artist FRED WALKER performs his SAXYJAZZ music show every Sunday at: “JAZZ ON BROADWAY” 554 East Broadway, Alton, Il. 62002. Call 618-465-5299 for more information and directions.

Funkin Right, Every 2nd Saturday, Nappy DJ Needles

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

special events

Thurs., Nov. 10, 5:30 p.m., Edward Jones presents Beyond Housing’s Divas For a Cause featuring Erin Bode, Kim Massie an Denise Thimes, Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington. For more information, call (314) 533-9900 or visit www.sheldonconcerthall.org. For benefit level ticket information call Beyond Housing at 314-5330600 or visit www.beyondhousing.org.

Fri., Nov. 11, 5 p.m., Incite to Insight Magazine Launch Series Part 1, Harry’s, 2144 Market. For more information, call (314 ) 566-1251.

Through Nov. 12, In connection with its international conference Nov. 10-12 at the University of Missouri?St. Louis, Women in the Arts at UMSLwill present a series of “Special Events” highlighting women authors, composers, poets, musicians and singers. Theevents will take place Nov. 5-9 at Unity Lutheran Church, 8454 Glen Echo Drive in BelNor, Mo. All are free and open to the public. For more information, call Barbara Harbach at 314-516-4990 or e-mail bharbach@umsl.edu

Sat., Nov. 12, 9 a.m., Rossman School Open House. 12660 Conway Rd., 63141.For more information, call 314-434-5877 or visit www.rossmanschool.org.

Sat., Nov. 12, 9:30 a.m., New City School Open House. Every year, in every grade, New City’s comprehensive curriculum for preschool through sixth grade prepares

CALENDAR

students for continued acameic success. New City students become lifelong learners who succeed in secondary school, in college and in life. For more information, call 314-361-6411 or visit www.newcityschool.org.

Sat., Nov. 12, 7 p.m., Washington University’s Black Alumni Council (BAC) Presents its 5th Annual Trivia Night and Silent Auction to benefit Washington University students, 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Avenue (off Delmar in the U. City Loop). For ticket information, or to donate high-end silent auction items by November 4, call 314.935.5645, or email: wubac@wustl.edu

Sat., Nov. 12, 5:30 p.m., Friends of the Saint Louis University LiverCenterpresents theirannual fundraiser “Denim and Diamonds: The Black & White Gala,” Khorassan Room at The Chase Park Plaza.For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact (314) 576-3078 or visit www.friendsoftheslulc.org

Nov. 12, 6 p.m., Harvest Ball, an evening of dinner, dancing and delight for adults with developmental disabilities, City Hall Rotunda. Call (314) 421-0090.

Tues., Nov. 15, 5:30 p.m., Vision forChildren at Risk 20th Anniversary Celebration & Superstars for Kids Awards, The Palladium Saint Louis, 1400 Park Place (in Lafayette Square). Visit www.visionforchildren.org or call (314) 534-6015.

Thur., Nov. 17 8:30 a.m., MICDS hosts the Middle

School Diversity Leadership Conference. This conference is open to 7th and 8th grade students from throughout the St. Louis metro area. Each participating school is being asked to send a delegation of 5 to 15 students. For more information, call 314-995-7360 or email Erica Moore at emoore@micds.org.

Thur., Nov. 17, Christian Academy Open House. Developing Our Leaders of Tomorrow with Christian Values and Principles Today. Call today to schedule a tour. 8390 Latty Ave., 63042. For more information, call 314524-4272.

Thurs., Nov. 17, 6 p.m., The Saint Louis Crisis Nursery’s Young Professional Board will party fora purpose at Napoli’s Night forthe Nursery, Bar Napoli proceeds will support the Saint Louis Crisis Nursery Tickets can be purchased online at www.CrisisNurseryKids.org/m ake_a_donation.htm. Specify Napoli’s Night in the comments field. For more information, call (314) 292-5770 or email ebonee@crisisnurserykids.org

Fri., Nov. 18, 5:30 p.m., On The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Metropolitan St. Louis Chapterwill host their2nd Annual NeoSoul/Jazz Wine Tasting to “HonorWomen in Media” with entertainment provided by St. Louis’s own Jazz artist Denise Thimes Hotel Lumiere Atrium in Downtown St. Louis. Tickets may be purchased at: http://neosoulwine2011ncbwstl.eventbrite.com/ . For more information, call (314) 4943886 or e-mail ncbwstl@ncbwstl.org

Banquet Hall (located at 11896 Raymond Ave, St. Louis, MO 63138). For more information, call (314) 231-3500 or e-mail: platinumgroup02@cs.com

Dec. 3 & 4, Saturday (7pm) and Sunday (4pm). “Dance to Change the World!! An Interactive and Innovative African Dance Concert” presented by Malena Amusa & AddLife! Studio. For two nights only, come and experience Amusa’s one-of-a-kind African dance theatre and live concert surprises that willstir and wake you — and inspire you to change the world! At The Legacy, 5249 Delmar Blvd. To learn more, call (314) 458 – 4282 or visit www.AddLifeStudio.com

Niecy’s Network Showcase, The showcase provides a spot for talent to shine! Fridays 8 p.m., Klimaxx

Sat., Nov. 19, 12 p.m., St. Louis Language Immersion Schools Open House. 4011 Papin St., 63110. For more information, call 314-533-2001 or visit www.sllis.org.

Sat., Nov. 19, 6 p.m., AWay With Words, VPR Grief Support Foundation 18th Annual Dinnerand Candlelight Service Brentwood Recreation Complex, 2505 S. Brentwood Blvd, 63144. For more information, call (314) 838-8603 or (314) 681-1988.

Through Nov. 22, SABAYET OUTREACH INC. is seeking donations for food baskets to distribute to BASIC for thanksgiving. Goods can be dropped off at: SABAYET OUTREACH INC., 4000 Maffitt Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63113.

Nov. 23, Black Spade “The Sweetest Revenge” Album Release Party, The Gramophone, 4243 Manchester Ave. For more information, visit www.TheGramophoneLive.co m.

Fri., Nov. 25, 8 p.m. The 13 Black Katz presents 2nd Annual Bootology featuring DJ Mark Edwards and The Dirty Muggs, Grand Renaissance Hotel, 800 Washington St., St. Louis MO 63101.

Fri., Nov. 25, Cornell Boone in conjunction with Crown Royal, Heineken & Cort Furniture presents Panache Art Lounge Grand Opening hosted by Lance Gross Inside Forest Park Golf House. For more information, e-mail, info@panacheartlounge.com or visit www.panacheartlounge.com.

Sat., Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m., Platinum Group, Inc.’s 10th Annual “Have a Platinum Christmas” Celebration and Symposium, Carbriant

Edward Jones presents Beyond Housing's Divas For a Cause featuring Erin

Bode (left),Kim Massie (center) and Denise Thimes (right).See SPECIAL EVENTS for more information.

more information, call 314340-5975.

November18-20, COCA

Family Theatre Series presents Mufaro’s Beautiful

Daughters: An African Tale COCA, 524 Trinity Ave., St. Louis, MO. For more information, visit www.cocastl.org

Through November19, 8 p.m., Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble (SATE) will produce William Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Black Cat Theater, 2810 Sutton Boulevard. Please call (314) 827-5760, email tickets@slightlyoff.org or visit the SATE website at slightlyoff.org for more information.

Nov. 25 – Dec. 18, The Black Rep presents BLACK NATIVITY: AHOLIDAYCELEBRATION, The Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. Tickets are available from The Black Rep Box Office at (314) 5343810 or through MetroTix (314) 534-1111 or online at metrotix.com.

Dec. 10, 2:30 p.m. & 7 p.m., Danse Arts Company and West County Family YMCA present WinterExtravaganza 2011, West County Family YMCA, 16464 Burkhardt Place in Chesterfield. For more information, call 636-532-6515 ext. 227 or e-mail: emarkingcamuto@ymcastlouis.org

Through November30, Portfolio Gallery presents Robert Hale’s exhibit Intimate Encounters: The African Americans, Portfolio Gallery, 3514 Delmar. For more information, call (314) 533-3323.

Through December2, The Luminary presents Recently Possible: Objects of the Future, their final exhibit of the 2011 season which explores the concept of ‘new media’from a literal perspective of technological development, innovative concepts and

radical consumer products primarily drawn from the past year. New media has been shorthand for all art that engages technology since at least the video experiments of the 60?s and has been omnipresent since the emergence of interactive technologies of the 90?s. Artists and projects include Art404, Teenage Engineering, Yamaha Tenori-on, Wacom, Ryan Hendrickson + Arch Reactor Hackerspace, E.M.I.L.Y./Hydronalix, Sugru, Russell Davies, and more. The Luminary Center for the Arts, 4900 Reber Place, MO 63139. Through December5, TASK, a self-generating, improvisational art-making event developed by artist OliverHerring, will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Oct. 21 at Gallery 210 on the North Campus of the University of Missouri?St. Louis. Herring will curate an exhibition from the objects created by the TASK participants as well as other artwork by him. Areception for the TASK exhibition will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28. Herring will give a gallery talk at 6:15 p.m. in the Gallery 210 auditorium. 44 Arnold B. Grobman Drive on the North Campus of the University of Missouri?St. Louis (between the MetroLink Station and the Touhill Performing Arts Center). For more information, call 314-516-5976 or email gallery@umsl.edu

Through January 8, PPRC Photography Project: Pais Youth Development Center, the newest exhibition for the Public Policy Research Center at the University of Missouri St. Louis. Children from the nonprofit center, which is based in the neighborhood, took to the streets to capture the more vibrant aspects of their surroundings. The colorful exhibit will be on display through Jan. 8 at the PPRC Photography Gallery in 427 Social Sciences and Business Building at UMSL, 1 University Blvd. in St. Louis County (63121). Gallery hours are from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Cinema St.Louis presents The 20th Annual St. Louis International Film Festival featuring The Interrupters.For additional details,see FILM.

daily. Aduplicate of the exhibit will be on display through Jan. 8 in the northwest hallway at the Victor Roberts Building, 1354 N. Kingshighway Blvd. in St. Louis (63113). The exhibit can be viewed from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. An opening reception will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Victor Roberts Building.

lectures

Thurs., Nov. 17, 4:30 p.m.,

Local Business Fairpresented The Bob Virgil Centerfor Entrepreneurship in the Anheuser-Busch School of Business at Harris-Stowe State University, in conjunction with the St. Louis Development Corporation, panelists for the event include: Anthony Thompson, chief executive officer of KWAME Construction; Sharilyn Franklin of Fuse Advertising; Carolyn Pryor of Serenity Women’s Health; Darlene Davis, certified public accountant; and Steven Cousins, attorney. Participating entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to glean advice and guidance firsthand from these successful business leaders, as well as showcase their own business concepts to the public. Those interested in entrepreneurship, business start-ups and economic development within the region are encouraged to attend. South

campus of Harris-Stowe State University, 5707 Wilson Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit (314) 340-3391.

health

Thur., Nov. 10, 6:30 p.m., Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University in St. Louis present Neurosciences: Decoding the Human Brain Doubletree Hotel and Conference Center, 16625 Swingley Ridge Rd., 63017. For more information, call 314-867-3627 or visit www.barnesjewish.org/classes.

Sat., Nov. 12, 8 a.m., SSM Health Care - St. Louis public clinics and St. Louis flu experts will speak about the need to get a seasonal flu vaccination and give tips for staying healthy this holiday season, St. Mary's Health Center Cafeteria, 6420 Clayton Rd. For more information, call 1-866-SSM-DOCS (7763627).

Sat. Nov. 12, 7 p.m.-11 p.m.Asthma & Allergy Foundation of American Trivia Night at Whitfield School. Event includes a silent auction, free beverages & snacks and door prizes. Cost$350 for table/team of 10. For more information, visit

www.aafastl.org.

Wed., Nov. 16, 9 a.m., Mercy's mobile mammography van will be at Pilgrim Congregational UCC (826 Union Blvd.) for a community breast cancer screening for women between 40 and 64 years of age. Exam is free for the uninsured and underinsured. Participants are asked to bring insurance card or proof of income for those with no insurance. All screenings are read by radiologists at Mercy Hospital. Women who have a mammogram will receive a $5 grocery gift card. Appointments are required. Please call 314-239-5204 for more information and to schedule your appointment.

Wed., Nov. 16, 9 a.m Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University in St. Louis present Diabetes: Take Steps to Prevent Diabetes Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Heart & Vascular Center in West County, Medical Office Building #3, 1020 N. Mason, 63141. For more information, call 314-867-3627 or visit www.barnesjewish.org/classes.

Thur., Nov. 17, 5 p.m., St. Louis Diabetes Coalition presents Dining Out With Diabetes. Rich & Charlie's, 9942 Watson Rd., 63126. For more information, call 314338-3460 or email stldiabetes@gmail.com.

First Thursdays, 10 a.m.Family Support Group by NAMI St. Louis, The Alliance on Mental Illness at the Grace Hill MurphyO'Fallon Health Center, 1717 Biddle St. No registration needed; no cost. For more information, contact Sharon Lyons, 314-9624670.Meetings are forindividuals who have someone in theirfamily with mental illness including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia.

Group Health Plan presents Medicare Advantage Plans.

Every Tuesday in November Choosing your Medicare coverage is an important decision. Let GHPshine some light on our Medicare Advantage plans at a neighborhood meeting. Afro World, 7276 Natural Bridge Rd., 63121. For more information, call 1-877-9818158 or visit www.MyGHPMedicare.com. Human Resource Center, a student-run free health clinic free pediatric clinic that is held on Saturdays from 1-3 pm. Free school physicals, immunizations, and other health screens by SLU and Cardinal Glennon physicians. The clinic will run every Saturday until September 24th. 1371 Hamilton Ave., St. Louis, MO 63112. For inquiries, call 314-389-0008. 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.

spiritual

Nov. 17-19, New Baptist Covenant at St. Luke Memorial Baptist Church, 3623 Finney Ave., 63113. For more information, call 314531-1978.

film

Nov. 10 - Nov. 20, Cinema St. Louis presents The 20th Annual St. Louis International Film Festival, various locations. For more information and a full schedule of events, visit www.cinemastlouis.org.

Wed., Dec. 7, 6 p.m., Three Things Black People Everywhere Need to Know, Schlafly Library, 225 N. Euclid St. For more information, call (314) 725-2722.

through the eyes of the people trying to stop the violence.

Viewers are taken into the trenches via CeaseFire, an organization dedicated to preventing shootings. The organization is made up of reformed gang members and people who use their street cred to re-route young people from following a familiar path to prison or death.

The stories are tragic, the violence appears insurmountable, yet the small group is as dedicated to creating peace through on-the-spot mediation as the gang sets they once claimed.

The fearlessness and authenticity of the interrupters are their primary weapons against violence, drugs, guns and aggression. The ilm hints that the violence and death are symptoms of a broken community. The ilm has the capacity to create a springboard for change thanks to a small group willing to risk it all to rescue the next generation.

The Interrupters will screen at 1 p.m. on Sun., Nov. 13 at Wildey Theatre (252 N. Main St., Edwardsville, IL)

SLU lady ballers

Robert Herrera’s The Gray

cellist, but he pointed the way for guitaristic cello improvisers to come, including Tom Cora, Ernst Reijseger, Diedre Murray and Erik Friedlander

“Dogon A.D.” is captivating enough to suggest an unseen ritual — it’s named for the Dogon people of West Africa, with their elaborate masked ceremonies.

Hemphill’s tune “Rites” is denser music for the same

Seasons is a touching and emotional inside look at SLU Women’s Basketball Head Coach Shimmy Gray-Miller as she joins the program with big dreams of taking her team to the top of national rankings. The ilm follows the tradition of great sports docs that take viewers on a journey with the range of emotions from thrilling victory to crushing defeat and the back again over the course of the entire collegiate sports career of the young women she brought in as freshmen. Gray-Miller comes in with something to prove and assurance in the ability to deliver the expectations of the athletic program. Her arrival during the 2005 season is a pivotal moment for SLU sports. The school has just broken ground on the multi-million dollar Chaifetz Arena and major staff changes shake the university to its core.

As Gray-Miller experiences highs and lows of building a powerhouse, she is confronted with the reality that her expectations of overnight success for her team were an illusion. The process of building the foundation for her goals would be would be done one block at a time – illed with setbacks of injuries, emotional exits, stagnancy and frustrations. No emotion is spared and the ilm’s candid spirit captured from behind the scenes is refreshing.

quartet. A melody with a catchy hook bleeds into a tight collective improvisation that really works because the players really listen to each other. Other labels have tried to reissue Dogon A.D. before. So give credit to the indie label International Phonograph for putting out its second coveted reissue this year, after Bill Dixon’s Intents and Purposes The new edition of Dogon A.D. contains an extra track from the same 1972 session that has been on CD before. “The Hard Blues” adds baritone saxist Hamiet Bluiett to the quartet.

The nagging regrets, selfcriticism, self-relection, frustration and brutal honesty collectively shared between Gray-Miller and her team offer insight on the heart of a sportsman and their quest to become champions.

The Gray Seasons screen at 6:30 p.m. on Tues., Nov. 15 at The Tivoli.

Loving in black and white

The Loving Story is a compilation of archival footage of the highly publicized Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court Case. The interracial couple married in 1958, but it would be 1967 before they could legally live as man and wife. Through The Loving Story, Nancy Buirski offers an eye-opening experience via the obstacles Richard Loving and his black wife Mildred were forced to endure for an existence that many take for granted some 50 years later.

The Loving Story screens at 7:15 p.m. on Wed, Nov 16th at Tivoli Theatre.

For a full schedule and list of activities for the 20th Annual St. Louis International Film Festival (including a full listing of the African and African American Sidebar), visit www. cinemastlouis.org.

A few years later, saxophonists Julius Hemphill and Hamiet Bluiett helped found one of the quintessential New York bands of the late ‘70s and the ‘80s, the World Saxophone Quartet. That unit brought Hemphill’s new old blues to a much wider audience.

Hemphill made other great albums on his own, starting with his second, Coon Bid’ness also known as Relections. But none had quite the impact of Dogon A.D. Almost 40 years later, it’s still a revelation.

SINGLE

Continued from C1

she is ready to say “check mate” with a side of “in yo’ face!”

“If he is in his 40s, God has probably already sent his wife to him, and he ran in the other direction – for one reason … or another.”

Call me idealistic, but I just felt like it wasn’t fair to jump to conclusions about why someone has settled into his pattern of not being settled down.

But the more I did so, he argued against my opinion –as if he were inside my head.

“Look, a woman picks a man and decides she wants to settle down with him,” he said. “A man decides he wants to settle down and picks someone to settle with. Now if he is divorced and decides that he doesn’t want to go down

FRANKLIN

Continued from C1

His music has garnered him Grammy Awards, platinum status and sold-out performances. But to Franklin the accolades and credentials that have come with his track record as a musician are beside the point.

“What I’ve done as an artist is not important except for the fact that hopefully it brings people closer to God,” Franklin said. “My accomplishments over the years aren’t going to get people the help that they need today– only the word and encouragement can do that. I want to speak life instead.” Franklin is thrilled to be returning to St. Louis – and with special ties to the city.

St. Louis native Amber Bullock, winner of the hit BET show Sunday Best, is a featured performer on the Fearless tour. And Franklin, who also serves as host of Sunday

that road again, that’s one thing. But we are not talking about that.”

His argument was so compelling that I couldn’t help but wrestle with it.

“Okay, if you think gay and crazy are ‘extra,’ then check this out. He has been searching and searching without finding what he is looking for – doesn’t that sound like he has some sort of perfectionism issue?” he continued.

“And if he claims he doesn’t have game in this day and age – when you don’t need ‘em – he is so insecure that he has some other issues that cause problems in the relationship sooner than later. Or he’s one of those compulsive brothers that goes hard in the beginning and falls off as soon as he sees you’ve caught feelings. Is that what you want?”

Then, on the other side of the country – as if it was the

Best, admitted he is almost as excited to be bringing presenting her to her hometown as he was when he irst found out she would she would be trying out for the gospel singing competition.

“I had a chance to hear about her when she was singing with Myron Butler,” Franklin said. “And when she auditioned for the show I was like, ‘Wow.’All throughout the auditions, she was a monster. What is going to be exciting about her career is that she is young, so she has that eye of the tiger, but she has this old woman voice – seeing that marriage is going to be exciting.” Franklin says that he is also looking forward to sharing the ups and downs – but mostly downs – of his career with Bullock and helping her grow into the artist he knows that she’s capable of becoming.

“I’m going to enjoy the opportunity to share my failures,” Franklin said. “Folks don’t beneit from sharing

universe begging for a Black & Single about this topic – a friend of mine was just about to get excited about a 44-yearold man she had gone on a few dates with. While in that giddy phase where you want to tell everybody, she talked about him while visiting her friend’s house. And as she talked about him, she offered his “stats” and how she didn’t think she could really consider dating an older man until this guy came along.

“How much older?” the husband chimed in. “Why hasn’t he been married until now? What is going on with him?”

He went on to interrogate her like a homicide detective until he came to the same conclusion as the aforementioned male voice of reason. I’m trying not to judge or jump to conclusions …. but …

your accomplishments.”

And in the same way he wants to offer lessons learned – as opposed to awards earned – with Bullock, he wants to offer testimonies through his music through his new tour.

“I’m trying to get on that stage and speak to people like their life is depending on it,” Franklin said. “They need to save their money and not get their hair done, because they are going to sweat their curls out.

But my hope is that they leave saying, ‘I know I can do this. Through this show God has reminded me he didn’t put me here to die.’ I hope they walk away feeling ‘Not only do I know who I am, but whose I am.’” Kirk Franklin’s Fearless Tour stops in ST. Louis at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17 at The Fox Theatre with special guests Amber Bullock, Isaac Carree, Deon Kipping & Jason Nelson. For more information, call (314) 534-1111 or visit www.metrotix.com.

Photos by Kent Epps & Denzell Robinson

~ CELEBRATIONS ~

Birthdays

Kamryn Haynes (12)— November 8 Happy “Tween” Birthday!

Donna Isaiah— November 9 Wishing you a happy and blessed birthday! Be happy! With love always, your family

Parresha Jenkins— November 7 Happy 18th Birthday to a lovely young lady! From, your family and friends

Doree J. Mahr(49)— November 11

Loree J. Mahr(49)— November 11

Beatrice Robinson (60)—November 14

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

Beaumont High School Class of 1963 is looking for all classmates interested in celebrating our 50 year reunion.Your contact information is needed as soon as possible.Please e-mail: Lawrence Watson atlanticgold45@gmail.com, Gloria Allen Overton gloverto@netzero.net or Joann Kaiman Vitiello

joannevlo@aol.com.

McCluerNorth Class of 1992 is looking for all classmates interested in celebrating our 20-year reunion. We are in the process of planning a dinner/dance. Your contact information is needed ASAP. Go to the web-site at mccluernorth1992.com

Northwest Class of 1982 is preparing for its 30th reunion in 2012. We are in the process of planning. Your contact information is urgently needed to form our class committee. Please email Herman Hopson (hopdog82@yahoo.com) 573230-4290, Roy Johnson (royj1475@gmail.com) 314495-7982, Rick Calvin , (olescl@yahoo.com ), Claude Ussery 314-805-0163

(usserycrew6@sbcglobal.net). Or you can FB us.

Soldan High School Class of 1962 is in the process of planning our 50th class reunion for the second weekend in August of 2012. We are calling all classmates to come and celebrate this momentous occasion. Your contact information is urgently needed. Please call Bobbie Brooks at 314-8389207 or Hiram Wilkens at 314803-5580. You may email Sam Harris at harrissam@hotmail.com.

SumnerHigh School class of 1964 is looking for all classmates interestedin celebrating our 50th reunion. Your contact info is needed. If youor anyone you know would like to participate, please e-mail your

info to sumnerco1964@yahoo.com contactCarol Strawbridge at 524-8504.

SumnerHigh School Class of 1987 is looking for all classmates interested in celebrating our 25-year reunion. We are in the process of planning. Your contact information is needed ASAP. Please emailyour information to:sumnerco1987@gmail.com

Vashon Class of 1978 Holiday Dance Extravaganza, Saturday, December 3, 2011, 8 pm—1 am, Carr Square Community Center; 1629 Bible. BYOB; Set Ups Will Be Sold in Advance $10, at door $12.

Soldan High School Class of 1982 is preparing for its 30

year reunion in 2012.We are seeking contact information to complete our class directory. Please email information to Rahmina Stewart Benford and Bridgette West at soldanclassof82alumni@yahoo.com.

Soldan International Studies High School Class of 2002 is preparing for its 10-year reunion in 2012. We need your contact information to complete our class directory. Please email your information including mailing and email address to soldanclassof2002@yahoo.com. For more information please contact Denise Cobbs at 314-3231228 or email: denisecobbs83@yahoo.com. Please join our Soldan Class of 2002 group on Facebook.

Reunion notices are free of charge and based on space availability. We prefer that notices be emailed to us! However, notices may also be sent by mail to: Kate Daniel, 4242 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63108. Deadline is 10 a.m. on Friday. If you’d like your class to be featured in a reunion profile, email or mail photos to us. Our email address is: reunions@ stlamerican.com

Happy Anniversary to Deborah and Charles “Babatu” Murphy, who will celebrate 10 years of wedded bliss on 11/11/11.

Murphys celebrate 10 on 11/11/11

Donna Isaiah

Kamryn Haynes

Parresha Jenkins

RELIGION

Racial reconciliation at New Baptist Covenant II

November 17-19 at St. Luke Memorial Baptist Church

Racial reconciliation within Baptist churches in St. Louis, and the United States, will be on display at the New Baptist Covenant II which will occur November 17-19. The New Baptist Covenant II is an informal alliance of more than 30 racially, geographically, and theologically diverse Baptist organizations from throughout North America that claim more than 20 million members. The irst NBC event was conceived and spearheaded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, and occurred in Atlanta, GA in 2008.

This year’s New Baptist Covenant meeting will originate from Atlanta, GA, but will be simulcast through churches located in St. Louis, Los Angeles, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, San Antonio, Seattle, and Washington. The St. Louis portion is being spearheaded by Dr. Scott Stearman, Pastor of Kirkwood Baptist Church and Dr. Jimmy Brown, Pastor of St. Luke Memorial Baptist Church and President of the Missionary Baptist State Convention of Missouri.

Dr. Stearman, who is white, and Dr. Brown, who is black, both believe that this type of event is needed in today’s church. Dr. Stearman said, “This was initiated by Jimmy Carter, but there is a shared desire among most Baptists to come together across racial lines and to face the divisions of our past and to work and pray for the ability to overcome those barriers in the future.”

Dr. Brown said, “The New Baptist Covenant stands for a unique opportunity for Baptist Churches to answer Jesus’

prayer that we be ‘as one’ as Jesus and the Farther are ‘One.’”

Dr. Stearman concurred, “Historical racism has led to present organizational division. We will not, and do not, meet together by accident. We need to gather together to experience the true richness of the Baptist family. We need to work together, because we are commanded to do so.”

Both men agree that events such as the New Baptist Covenant can have much bigger and long term positive affects for the communities involved. Dr. Brown said, “There are many leaders, pastors and denominational personnel who do not know each other, or the willingness of others to collaborate on ministry and mission projects.” He also said, “I hope that through this, and other events, we will create lasting relationships and friendships that cross racial and cultural lines.”

Dr. Stearman added that through gatherings like the New Baptist Covenant, “We will be more aware of one another’s gifts. We will be able to pray

Feeling the COGIC Spirit

A celebrant moves to the Spirit at the opening of the Church of God in Christ’s 104 Holy Convocation at the opening session in St. Louis last week.

for one another’s needs. We can more authentically pray for oneness, which can be hard to do if you’ve never driven out of your comfort zone to worship together!”

Dr. Stearman has put this idea to practice. After the shootings of white city oficials by a black man in Kirkwood occurred in 2008, Dr. Stearman and Kirkwood Baptist Church took the lead in bridging the racial divide that existed in Kirkwood. “Kirkwood Baptist Church hosted the irst community dialogue after the Kirkwood shooting in Feb. 2008. I helped to found the Community for Understanding and Hope, which created multiple opportunities for cross racial interaction, and continues to do so.”

As part of his participation in Friday’s events, Dr. Stearman will help to lead a discussion titled Beneath the Skin- Conversations about the Bible and Racism. Rev. Jeffrey Croft, a black pastor from Kirkwood, will help facilitate this discussion. In addition to addressing

issues of race, the New Baptist Covenant will seek to address other community concerns, including HIV/AIDS education, youth violence, drug addiction, and how we can be good neighbors within our diverse communities.

The New Baptist Covenant will be occurring from Thursday, November 17 through Saturday, November 19 at St. Luke Memorial Baptist Church, located at 3623 Finney Avenue in north St. Louis. For more information, visit www.newbaptistcovenantstl.weebly.com or www.newbaptistcovenant.org, email newbaptistcovenantstl@ hotmail.com, or call 314-5311978.

Schedule for the event: Thursday, November 17. 7-9 p.m.: Worship Service for the General Public Music: Dello Thedford/Cecelia Stearman & combined choirs

Greetings: Dr. Alton Lacey (President, Missouri Baptist University)

Speaker: Dr. Freddy Clark (Pastor, Shalom Church)

Friday, November 18. 8-9:45 a.m.: “Beneath the Skin”- Conversations about the Bible and Racism, Facilitated by Dr. Scott Stearman and Rev. Jeffrey Croft

10-11 a.m.: A Conversation with former President Jimmy Carter, Bob Abernathy, Dee Dee Coleman, and Wendell Griffen Held via simulcast from Atlanta, GA

11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.: Lunch. 2-4 p.m.: Community Concerns Breakout Sessions: HIV education/ministry, youth violence, heroin addiction, ministry among foreign born nationals. 7-9 p.m.: Worship Service for the General Public, speakers include Carroll Baltimore, Tony Campolo, and Mary Wright Eddleman.

Saturday, November 19: A Day of Service within the community.

Prayer and how we approach it, can really make a difference in our perspective on life, particularly when the proverbial “going gets tough.”

Personally, I am coming to rely heavily upon the notion that prayer will indeed get you through it. The ‘it’ I’m referring to is, well, everything. The ire that initially burned in me when I inally met Christ sometimes leaves me more cold than hot, and I cannot seem to remain constant or consistent in my journey towards eternal salvation.

Have you ever been there? Even my prayer life at times can be more often weak than strong. I think I’ve inally igured out that at times like these, there is only one thing to do and that is to continue to pray. Through prayer seek the face of God. Pray my way through it. If you’ve ever been lost on some nameless highway in the middle of nowhere, you probably know what I’m talking about; no gas stations, no exits, no one or other cars around, nobody to ask directions. You just keep driving and looking. It’s just you and the needle on the fuel gauge. Given the circumstances, prayer can be very appropriate when you’re physically lost.

what ails you. I looked up prayer in the Concordance of my bible and found out that I am correct in my assumption that prayer(s), pray(ed), praying, all hold a special place in biblical history and in the eyes of God.

For every quote I could give you right now, there are many of you who could quote dozens of more appropriate ones for this message.

James 5:15-16 “And prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you might be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” Humbly, what I’m trying to convey is once I was lost and I’m sure I’ll be lost again and again. Life happens. But when it does happen the fact is prayer will lead me home again and again. This is an irrefutable fact for me. I encourage you to try it. Speak to God from your heart. Let Him know you know He knows you are lost and wavering. Then step back and watch God step up and act out on your behalf, proclaiming for all to see that now, you are found.

I submit that prayer is more appropriate when you’re spiritually lost. My word to you today is to just keep praying.

At this stage of my spiritual development, I can’t think of an alternative to prayer for

All I’m trying to say is when you don’t take prayer for granted, you might still get lost but you’ll never be abandoned; big difference,

Send your Message column (no more than 500 words) as a Word document and pasted text to cking@stlamerican. com and attach a photo of yourself as a jpeg ile. Please be patient; we will run columns in the order received.

James A. Washington

Photo by Wiley Price

Celebrity

R.I.P. Heavy D and Smokin’ Joe. My heart is crying out as I had to say farewell to two of my favorite heavyweights – no pun intended. Legendary boxing champ Joe Frazier lost a swift battle with liver cancer at the age of 67. And “the overweight lover” Heavy D. died suddenly at the tender age of 44. I hate to start things off on a somber tip, but it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t pay my respects.

Sweet Sounds at the Thaxton Speakeasy. It was a bit of trouble trying to get into the Thaxton Speakeasy last Friday for the Family Affair event featuring singer Sineta Rocker and rapper Rockwell Knuckles. Clearly, this was an extremely exclusive event that only those on a top secret list would be able to gain entry to without paying the $10 cover, regardless of whether you were press or not. At least that’s what “Cindy” and “Mindy” were instructed at the door when I was initially denied entry. With their lips pressed, they firmly held their position as I was forced to scramble to reach an event organizer. Once things were cleared up, I kindly brushed my freshly dry cleaned mink stole past their faces into the venue with the fiercest “do-you-know-who-I-am?!” gait. After being pressed behind the organizers on whether or not I was going to write about the event (wouldn’t have been there otherwise), I whisked inside to find the nearest wall space to hug for this tightly packed event. Once settled, I was greeted by the slenderized Theresa Payne which made me want to jump on an elliptical immediately. It seemed a host of friends, loved ones, and admirers gathered to see the featured act of the night, singer Sineta Roker. Formally known for her stint on American Idol, this living porcelain doll beauty was poised in a fresh Dark & Lovely relaxer with a live band that included Tiffany Elle Katrina Reece, and Tasha Ryan on background. Her sweet tenderness touched me, as she went through cuts like George Michael’s “Careless Whisper,” and Adele’s “Someone Like You.” Although at times it felt like the song choices might have been too big for her delicate pipes, but her congenial personality and bright smile made up for the shortfalls. Her original material suited her better as she gave teases of Amel Larrieux and even the late-great Aaliyah in her vocal expression. In the end, I was satisfied and quietly hoped this under the radar showing was enough to get her far with the members of Def Jam that came to check her out.

A slow wind to remember. It seems that one can’t get through a successful and fun weekend without hittin’ up the now heavily featured Lola. Although I declared that I was going to stop riding Lola’s jock (pause), I couldn’t miss the multi-talented Vikter Duplaix on the decks Friday night. I made sure to get there relatively early to bypass the Ratch Patrol. DJ Nune and Thelonious Kryptonite were holdin’ it down in the Absinthe Bar and quietly had their own production goin’ on. With drummer in tow, Nune whipped out his horn while playing cuts like Musiq’s “Just Friends,” and Jaheim’s “Hey How You Doing.” Meanwhile Kryptonite coaxed a circle of shapes into doing a mean homage to classic Kid-N-Play choreography. Coco Soul was holdin’ it down in the front as DJ Nappy Needles was assisting with a fresh take of Michael Jackson’s “Can’t Help It” by providin’ a hot soul beat instead of its normal rendition, followed with Chaka Khan’s “Sweet Thing.” A hot Afro-beat mix was launched as musty armpits began to show themselves. I wasn’t too terribly mad because it was hard to sit still behind such a thumpin’ soundtrack. Once Vikter, in graphic tee with Macbook and a litany of equipment in tow, took the stage and launched into a Reggae medley, it was all over. Slow winds and pops ensued behind Chaka Demus “Murda She Wrote” and the like. He upped the ante with Busta Rhymes “Make It Clap” as some ladies tried their hardest. Once Beanie Sigel’s “Rock the Mic” and 2Pac’s “I Get Around” made their way on the speakers it was a wrap as the line to get in followed suit and wrapped around the corner of the building. Much props goes to 1st Fridays and Leisure Studies for bringin’ in Duplaix and keeping the rocking right!

What’s Your Zodiac Sign?../Scorpio! Special love was shown for the sexy Scorpios this weekend at The Loft and J.Bucks on Saturday. It seems like a chilly fall night won’t stop the girls from showin’ off their gams, especially for such an occasion. Big Tah was on hand for the Scorpio B-day Bash goin’ down at the Loft as DJ Cuddy was on the 1s and 2s and the always lovely Mocha Latte kept things hot on the mic. Now, I gotta bone to pick with Miss Mocha… While my crow’s feet are making their way in and nesting, this heffa refuses to age. Homegirl, tell me your secret! Is it daily Vaseline baths or what?! And then she had the nerve to rock this sickening Deena Jones/Chaka Khan curly fro that sent me overboard. I swear, a girl can run up and down an Ashley Stewart aisle all day and it wouldn’t up enough to upstage Ms. Latte… (I can’t stand her… LOL!) Special shoutout to my girl Sparkle Williford who was also in the place and lookin’ just as lovely. Over at J. Bucks Super Smooth Promotions had their “Scorpions On The Loose” party in full effect with Super Ego on hosting duty and DJ Flex on the decks. They even threw in a performance from Ethno Nite Life just for good measure. Everybody was in full celebration mode as drinks were in the air for several birthday boys and girls. I coulda sworn I even saw Faith Evans walk up in the place… but with that black lace dress, I knew my hunch was dead wrong. Faith wouldn’t be caught dead without a thousand shawls thrown about the bustine with matchin’ flair dress pants. Anyway, I’m sure any Scorpio would have felt good after that double-featured night! Delores’ event pick of the week. Did you all miss this feature for the past two weeks? My beezy…A sistah ran out of space! Rest your shape! I made sure to take care of you this week. In the midst of the usual local party/ club scene, don’t miss out on the soul duo The Foreign Exchange at 2720 Cherokee Monday night. If you can dig neo-soul with a hip hop/electronic edge, this would be the event for you. Along with the duo will be Zo!,

Keona and Phillip take a sip for UCME for the Freaky Muscato 1-year anniversary party Sunday night @ EXO

Vanita Applebum was on her grind to keep good music coming to the STL alongside DJ J-Mo Friday night @ Goapele’s listening party @ Lola

Keita, Katrina and Tracey couldn’t help but get it in on the dancefloor thanks to special Guest

Vikter Duplaix @ 1st Fridays @ LOLA

Jessica and Inez kick it with the Scorpios Saturday night @ JBucks

Theda and Glenn Oliver with Sybil Wilkes of the Tom Joyner Morning Show @ The Susan G. Komen Circle of Promise Ambassador meet and greet @ Lola

Will of The FRESH Group and Joni Marie Ross

an inside look with the sneak peek of Lavish Saturday night

Sineta Roker and her house rocking band, Rockwell Knuckles and Family Affair pose after a job well done during her Unplugged Review Friday night @ The Thaxton Speakeasy

Mike and Stephanie Roberts soak in the sweet sounds of Sineta Roker Friday night @ The Thaxton Speakeasy

Swagger Snap of the Week

Tamara with Ashley King from the hit Oxygen Network show Bad Girls Club Friday night @ Amnesia Photo by Christopher Hawkins Photography

Thomas and Keisha kick it in the name of 1st Friday last weekend @ Lola

Kyjuan and Murphy Lee toast to the one-year anniversary of Freaky Muscato Sunday night @ EXO

DJ Sir Thurl and Young Dip were on deck in the DJ booth for a sneak peak of Lavish Saturday night

Photos by Lawrence Bryant

ST. LOUIS AMERICAN

Biomedical Systems donates 28 EKG machines to SLPS

Special to The American

The St. Louis Public School

District’s Division of Career & Technical Education has received 28 GE MACpc electrocardiogram (EKG) machines from Biomedical Systems to support Health Sciences programs at Gateway Institute of Technology High School, Clyde C. Miller Career Academy, and Beaumont Technical High School. The donation, valued at more than $26,000, will help students learn about the heart’s electrical activity. Specifically, the GE MACpc EKG machines will show students: how fast a heart is beating, whether the rhythm of a heartbeat is steady or irregular and the strength and timing of electrical signals as they pass through each part of a heart

Career & Technical Programs will provide ‘hands-on medical experience’

lems, such as heart attacks, arrhythmias, and heart failure.

“Our goal is to introduce the students to the medical profession by giving them our EKG machines for a hands-on medical experience.”

– Ray Barrett, Founder and Chairman of Biomedical Systems

“Our goal is to introduce the students to the medical profession by giving them our EKG machines for a hands-on medical experience,” said Ray Barrett, Founder and Chairman of Biomedical Systems. Our hope is that this experience will encourage the students to consider a career in the medical profession Because the GE MACpc EKG machines are hospital-grade, acquiring signals from 12 leads simultaneously and analyzing them with an interpretive program, Biomedical Systems provided set-up and professional training during the summer to instruct teachers on how to incorporate the technology into their curriculum.

Professionally, doctors use GE EKG machines to detect and study many heart prob-

The four Career & Technical Health Sciences programs that will benefit from the use of the GE MACpc EKG machines donated by Biomedical Systems include:

The Emergency Medical Technician -Basic (EMT-B) program offered at Gateway Institute of Technology. The EMTprogram is certified as a training entity with the Missouri Bureau of Emergency Medical Services (BEMS) and has also been certified as a Training Center with the Emergency Care and Safety Institute (ECSI).Students

enrolled in this program can receive certification in First Aid and CPR as well as attend Homeland Security/FEMA Incident Command System classes.

The Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program offered at Gateway Institute of Technology, Clyde C. Miller Career Academy, and Beaumont Technical High

The St.Louis Public School District’s Division of Career & Technical Education has received 28 GE MACpc electrocardiogram (EKG) machines from Biomedical Systems to support Health Sciences programs at Gateway Institute of Technology High School,Clyde C. Miller Career Academy and Beaumont Technical High School.

School. The CNAprogram trains prospective healthcare professionals to help people with their healthcare needs under the supervision of a Registered Nurse. CNAs can work in hospitals, nursing homes, daycare centers, residences and assisted living facilities.

The Rehabilitation (Physical) Therapy program

offered at Gateway Institute of Technology and Clyde C. Miller Career Academy. The purpose of the program is to prepare a student for employment as an allied health aide, occupational therapy aide, or physical therapy aide—and for future education in allied healthcare.Rehabilitation (Physical) Therapists help patients, including accident victims and individuals with disabling conditions improve mobility, relieve pain and limit permanent physical disabilities.

The Respiratory Therapy program offered at Beaumont Technical High School. Respiratory therapy helps treat chronic respiratory diseases which affect a person’s airways and other structures of the lung. Students enrolled in the program receive specialized instruction in airway management, CPR, mechanical ventilation, oxygen therapy, medical terminology, and the history of respiratory therapy.

The St. Louis Public School District’s Division of Career & Technical Education offers Health Sciences programs to students AND adults throughout the school year. To learn more, or to enroll, please call (314) 345-5715.