November 19th, 2020 edition

St. LouiS AmericAn

‘Safer at Home’ order reduces business capacity

City of St. Louis limits social gatherings

By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American

The city of St. Louis has set a 10-person limit on group gatherings to reduce the risk of potential super-spreader events amid the coronavirus pandemic. But the city is continuing to allow indoor dining. Meanwhile, in St. Louis County, public health restrictions go further, reducing indoor capacity for businesses to 25% and eliminating indoor dining at restaurants to outdoor, takeout and delivery only.

Mayor Lyda Krewson has extended the city’s Temporary Outdoor Seating Permit Program

n “About 50% of the new COVID-19 cases are occurring among people in their 20s and 30s, with the increased spread of the virus in St. Louis city occurring primarily in gatherings among friends, families and neighbors.”

– Fredrick Echols, acting public health commissioner

through the end of next year, Dec. 31, 2021, which will allow city-approved restaurants and other businesses to expand outdoor seating and dining in the winter.

“I’m very aware of the many challenges the pandemic has cre-

ated for our local restaurants and other small businesses and their workforce. I see this as an opportunity for us to continue to help them as much as possible so they can serve more customers and hopefully keep people on the pay-

roll, while still being able to safely practice robust social distancing,” Krewson said. In his Health Commissioner’s Order #15, that went into effect on Saturday, Nov. 14, Fredrick Echols, St. Louis’ acting public health commissioner, said about 50% of the new COVID-19 cases are occurring among people in their 20s and 30s, with “the increased spread of the virus in St. Louis city occurring primarily in gatherings among friends, families and neighbors via informal gatherings occurring in and around homes, and in neighborhoods.”

Billie’s Pastries offers gathering place in perilous times

By Sylvester Brown Jr.

Of The St. Louis American

n “This is one of the few places in the world where you can disagree but not be disagreeable. All of us are friends, we have differences of opinion, but we don’t allow that to affect our personal relationships.” — Tommy Dancy

The square, beige-colored, brick building seems to be the only operating business on the block. Next door, a yellow-brick, abandoned building advertises longgone services: “Beauty Shop;” “UNLIMITED Talk, Text & Data: $24.99,” and a hand-painted sign above a broken garage door that reads: “Car Wash.” The building at 7301 State Street in East St. Louis is among the many boarded up businesses and homes along the State Street strip. Billie’s Pastries, however, is one of the survivors. Above the door, a dark brown banner reads: “Billie’s est. in 1980.” Below it, a sunflower, See PASTRIES, A6

Mayor Krewson won’t run for re-election

By Dana Rieck Of the St. Louis American

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson announced Wednesday she will not run for re-election next year.

“I am now pushing 70, so after a lot of thinking and a lot of dis-

cussion with my family I have decided to retire in April,” she said in a news conference streamed on Facebook. Krewson has served as an elected official for 23 years in St. Louis, four of those as the city’s mayor.

“Serving as mayor these past

four years has far and away been the biggest honor of my life,” she said. “It’s the people who have made it so great, the people of St. Louis and the thousands of great people who work for our city.” The primary for the mayoral election will be held March 2,

2021, and the general will be held April 6, 2021.

Those expected to run in the race include: Tishaura Jones, St. Louis treasurer; Cara Spencer, 20th ward alderman, has served on the Board of Aldermen since 2015; and Aldermanic President Lewis Reed.

By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis

American

Missouri’s Nov. 3 General Election resulted in a number of black lawmakers being elected or re-elected, with a majority running unopposed, as well as notable newcomers to the Jefferson City statehouse in 2021.

Unofficial results from Missouri’s House of Representatives races, Black unopposed winners from the St. Louis area, all Democrats, include Marlene Terry 66th, Neil Smith 67th, Rep. Jay Mosley 68th, Raychel Proudie 73rd, Mike Person, 74th, Rep. Alan Gray, 75th, Marlon Anderson, 76th, KimberlyAnn Collins, 77th, LaKeySha Bosley,79th, Wiley Price, IV, 84th, Kevin Windham Jr., 85th, and Joe Adams (D) 86th.

While most of the African American lawmakers faced no opposition in the general election, Gray said that may be coming to an end.

“With this Clean Missouri, that might change everything. The way (leaders of the Clean Missouri initiative) are talking about drawing the legislative lines, it’s going to force, instead of representing your neighborhood, you will almost always have an opponent,” Gray said.

n Sen.-elect

Angela Walton Mosley and her husband, Rep. Jay Mosley, are believed to be stepping into Missouri history as the first husband and wife to be elected to serve in the Missouri House and Senate at the same time.

“I think this is probably one of the last races we will all be unopposed for the general elections. We will have to see.”

In addition to making marginal changes to restrictions on lobbyist gifts and campaign donation limits, the initiative, also known as Amendment 3, effectively ends a redistricting system that voters backed in 2018. Widely known as Clean Missouri, that plan would have empowered a demographer to draw House and Senate districts that emphasized partisan fairness and competitiveness.

Because voters approved Amendment 3, either bipartisan commissions or appellate judges will draw state legislative maps. In two races in which the incumbent faced opponents in the general election, Rasheen Aldridge Jr. (D) 78th defeated Republican Timothy Gartin, who received 1,871 votes to Aldridge’s 11,023

Wiley Price, IV

Billie’s Coffee Shop in East St. Louis, Ill. is where chess enthusiasts Richard C. Bolden, Brian Clay, Harvey Jackson and Montez Bailey come together for friendly competition and bragging rights. In the background is shop owner Gina Jackson. The shop is located in the 7300 block of State Street.

Photo by Wiley Price

Fourth person charged in Montgomery murder

Federal authorities have charged a fourth person in connection with the alleged murderfor-hire plot that, in March 2016, claimed the life of Andre Montgomery, grandson of “Sweetie Pie’s” St. Louis soul food restaurant owner Robbie Montgomery, of whom the fiveseason OWN network reality show was centered around.

According to a Nov. 12 news release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Missouri, Travell Anthony Hill is charged with “conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire.” A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment against James Timothy Norman (the victim’s uncle and alleged mastermind), Terica Taneisha Ellis

Waiel Rebhi Yaghnam and Hill. The release states that Norman, Ellis and Hill are charged with conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and murder-for hire resulting in the death of Montgomery. Norman and Yaghnam are

charged with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and Yaghnam is charged with five counts of aggravated identity theft, all in connection with Montgomery’s murder-for-hire. Prosecutors claim Montgomery was killed by his uncle to collect on $450,000 in life insurance policies to which Norman was the sole beneficiary. The release states “On March 16, 2016, Hill received a cash payment of $5,000 at the direction of Norman. That same day Hill engaged in recorded phone conversation with an individual in jail and discussed Montgomery’s murder and his payment. On March 18, 2016, Norman contacted the life insurance company in an attempt to collect on the life insurance policy he had obtained on his nephew.”

Erykah Badu tests positive for COVID-19

Singer Erykah Badu posted to Twitter on Nov. 13 that she tested positive for COVID-19 in one nostril and nega tive in the other. “Left nostril positive. Right nostril negative. Maybe they need to call Swiss

Beats so they can do a versus between them. Funny thing is, Dr. ONLY reported the positive result,” she tweeted. Thankfully, at tweet time, Badu reported no symptoms.

LeVar Burton for next Jeopardy host

The Root is reporting an online Change.org petition to Sony Pictures Entertainment to offer up PBS “The Reading Rainbow” host, actor LeVar Burton to be the next host of “Jeopardy.” The show’s beloved and longtime host Alex Trebek died of pancreatic cancer on Nov. 8 at age 80. As for Burton, the famed and beloved actor of the 1977 groundbreaking TV mini-series “Roots,” who played Kunta Kinte, knows a few things about names, words, and nerdy stuff, IJS. It feels kind of too soon, but, hey, someone will have to do it. Why not the man who played brainiac engineer Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: the Next Generation? At press time, the petition has received more than 97,000 signatures. Burton tweeted, “Even if nothing comes from it, I can’t tell how much I

POINTS?

appreciate all y’alls love and support!”

Jeremih hospitalized for COVID-19

TMZ reports that R&B singer Jeremih is seriously ill and hospitalized, fighting for his life after contracting COVID-19. It says rappers Chance the Rapper, 50 Cent and producer Hitmaka went online to solicit prayers on his behalf. 50’s post said he is in the ICU in Chicago. On Nov. 14, Chance tweeted, “Please if you can take a second to pray for my friend Jeremih, he is like a brother to me and he’s ill right now. I believe in the healing power of Jesus so if you can for me please please say a prayer over him.” Vibe reports that Adam Smith, a member of the ‘Don’t Tell ‘Em” singer’s management team shared on V103.1’s The Kenny Burns Show,” He’s stable but he still has a [ways] to go before anything. We’re not out the dark, but God is the light.” Sources: Change.org, Justice.gov, NY Daily News, Page Six, The Root, Smart News, TMZ, Twitter, Vibe

Cannon

Jeremih Erykah Badu

Wilson leaves Deaconess Foundation to serve children on national level

He looks forward to serving all of America’s children

By Danielle Brown of The St. Louis American

The Rev. Starsky Wilson is headed to Washington, D.C., after nine years as the president and CEO of the Deaconess Foundation in St. Louis. Wilson is heading east to take on the same roles at the Children’s Defense Fund.

During his tenure at Deaconess, Wilson has been recognized for his dedication to helping children beyond just the traditional 9-to-5 work, but really being on the ground, building tight-knit ties in the community.

“Deaconess has given me the opportunity to speak clearly about my own values and beliefs,” Wilson said. “I got to stand up for communities I believe in, and it really gave me the privilege to do that without the constraints of worrying about who’s finally supporting what.

“As an independent philanthropy, Deaconess has really been a powerful, helpful platform to be able to stand up for our community in the times we’re in now,” he said in an interview with The American Through Deaconess’ partnership with the Children’s Defense Fund, the organization sponsors a network of Freedom Schools. These Freedom Schools allow congregations

to work on meeting the needs of children and advising faithbased advocacy.

As Wilson embarks on his journey of overseeing the leadership over CDF, replacing Civil Rights icon Marian Wright Edelman, he said he is looking forward to serving all of America’s children in various regions of the country with state and regional offices.

“I’m really pleased to be able to invest really deeply in the religious organizing and movement building work that CDF has been doing for almost 47 years.” Wilson said.

Positive energy and aura

Cheryl D.S. Walker, interim president and CEO of Deaconess, has known Wilson for years, and has worked with him in various capacities. The pair first met when Wilson was working at United Way more than a decade ago.

Walker said Wilson’s positive energy and aura stood out to her. Early in their working relationship, Walker said she knew Wilson was destined to do great things. She just wasn’t sure of what that would look like in the future.

Their paths crossed once again when Wilson worked with the Black Rep, where he served as director of institu-

tional advancement from 20052007. Eventually, they both joined Deaconess’ Board of Trustees. When then-CEO, the Rev. Jerry Paul announced he was retiring, Wilson took over as CEO and president.

“Before Mike Brown was murdered ... the board had approved creating a fund to support more grassroots organizations, because previously we had supported organizations that had been around longer. ... but Starsky was like, ‘that’s great and we can continue

Bryce Pettiford understands the importance of being a change agent in his community. That’s why he champions several racial equity initiatives and programs at Maryville University. Most recently, Pettiford helped lead the “Be the Change” rally on Maryville’s campus. The rally brought awareness to the Black Lives Matter movement as well as systemic oppression plaguing black communities.

Pettiford is also involved in clubs like the Black Male Initiative, the Association of Black Collegians and Inclusion at Maryville. As part of Maryville’s Multicultural Scholars Program, he serves as a peer tutor, educator and mentor.

Pettiford uses his bold voice and ideas to ensure inclusion on campus, and Maryville stands with him. Learn more at maryville.edu/bold

doing that, but let’s also support those closer to the ground and do the work,” Walker said.

“In August (of 2014), Michael Brown was murdered. The platform was already in place for us to be able to supply money to organizations involved in the Black struggle for justice.

“The relationship continues ‘til this day,” Walker said. “The process was already in place, thanks to his leadership and his vision. It’s been a positive journey that I think has enabled us

Rev. Starsky Wilson took a moment to gather his thoughts during his emotional goodbye to staff and friends Sat. Nov. 7, 2020.

Photo by Wiley Price

to be ready where things have come, due to his vision and his ability. As a man of faith and as a preacher, and as a person of faith myself, I feel, of course it was the hand of God that helped him give those ideas so that we could be ready in the moment.”

Richard McClure worked with Wilson when the two served as co-chairs of the Ferguson Commission, a group of volunteers assembled by then-Missouri governor Jay Nixon. The group was assigned

to analyze the racial and economic inequities in St. Louis after Brown was killed by a Ferguson police officer.

“Starsky has been such an incredible leader for our region. His leadership at the Ferguson Commission, the Deaconess Foundation, and so many other causes has been incredibly impactful for our region, for the cause of social justice and equity, he has called us all to a higher standard and for that we are deeply grateful.” McClure said.

While many have praised Wilson for his leadership, success, and progressive vision at Deaconess and elsewhere, he said he doesn’t believe he deserves all the credit. Instead, he gave credit to his staff members for their willingness to serve and maintain children at the forefront of the foundation’s core values.

“If you’re wondering whether this work is going to keep happening, how it will evolve, and those kinds of things, just know that it’s not about Starsky, it’s about this squad,” Wilson said.

“They’ve been down since day one. They’ve been making it happen for children and they’ll continue to do so. I ain’t worried, so y’all shouldn’t be worried. I’m glad that they were willing to come and join a team with me.” Walker will begin her temporary position as president and CEO of Deaconess on Wednesday, Nov. 18. Wilson begins his duties next month at the CDF.

BOLD CHAMPION

We’re not done yet: Georgia runoff election to determine critical balance in U.S. Senate

The stakes could not be higher in national politics than in Georgia for all of Black America, where the state’s voters will determine, on Jan. 5, 2021, which political party will control the U.S. Senate. The incumbent Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler represent an extension of the destructive and reckless policies of Donald J. Trump and his enabler-in-chief, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. While Joe Biden narrowly won Georgia in the presidential race, the state has not elected a Democratic senator since 1996.

The only path to control of the Senate for Democrats is for both Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to win because Republicans already have 50 seats while Democrats have 48. If Warnock and Ossoff win, then Vice President Kamala Harris would break the tie to gain Democratic control of the Senate. Democratic control of the White House and both chambers of Congress could enable restoration of more progressive policies that would improve the life circumstances for millions of Black people. We can’t expect that the Democratic Party will or should deliver us as a people, but their control of the Senate could mean the reversal of some of the pernicious scourge of Trump’s reign. There are many who say there is no difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. That’s nonsense. There is a difference between bad and worst. Granted, the Democratic Party is not our savior — much of that salvation will have to come from us. Yet there are obstacles to our progress, and there is some unrelenting hate and lawlessness and oppression that needs to be opposed with support of our political allies. Democratic control won’t bring us to The Promised Land, but it can bring more sense and decency to politics to help rid us of the pervasive immorality and corruption of Trump and the Republicans who condone with their silence to his lying, cruelty and unfiltered racist behavior. So we must all come together to block the emergence of a much smarter, less crude proponent of Trumpism. The election of a person like Donald Trump used to be unthinkable. The

earlier dog whistles of Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and successive Republican presidents have morphed into the present overt racist presidency of this grifting, shady and vile person who has occupied the White House for the last four years and who ultimately may have to be physically pried from the building. Who knew that in this current era we could have someone come to power proudly proclaiming his white supremacy, white nationalism and xenophobia?

These competitive runoff elections in Georgia are a call to action for Black people all around the country. These races in Georgia are akin to the historic importance of the Pettus Bridge demonstration in Alabama in 1964 that led to the Voting Rights Bill of 1965, which outlawed Jim Crow voter suppression practices that had been adopted after the Civil War.

This “act to enforce the 15th amendment to the Constitution” became law 95 years after the amendment was ratified. Democratic President Lyndon Johnson signed this law that helped give millions of African Americans their right to vote. Unfortunately, much of that progress was stifled when a Republican majority on the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-to-4 vote. Thank you again, Clarence Thomas, a widelytouted originalist, despite the fact that Black people were slaves when the Constitution was adopted in September 1787. must realize that these races down in Georgia should command our keen attention and generous support. The outcome of these contests directly affects the daily lives of our families and ourselves. To ensure the election of Warmock and Ossoff, we must bring all of the collective power and resources of Black America.

We saw activists from John Lewis, Julian Bond and Jesse Jackson to Bill Clay Sr., onto Bruce Franks and Cori Bush shift to politics because that’s where the public policy decisions that impact our life circumstances are created. We must respond to the urgency of this moment and urge your friends and families as well as any like-minded people in St. Louis and beyond who believe in social and economic justice to join this historic opportunity to get involved and make a difference.

Georgia’s Black Voters Can Make History Again

By Ben Jealous For The St.

Louis

American

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris made a brilliant choice in opening her remarks at the Democratic presidential ticket’s victory celebration with a quote from civil rights icon and former Georgia congressman John Lewis: “Democracy is not a state. It is an act.” Lewis, who was nearly killed by racist police on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, knew better than most of us that taking action to defend democracy can be dangerous. But he also knew, as Harris reminded us, that there is joy in the struggle. Brothers and sisters, defeating Donald Trump was an occasion for great joy. I loved seeing people post videos of a dancing John Lewis to celebrate. But we have more actions to take, more bridges to cross, more elections to win — right now, and right in John Lewis’s home state of Georgia. Georgia was in the rare position of having two U.S. senate races on the ballot in the same year. Both races had more than two candidates, and both races have now gone to runoff elections, according to Georgia law, because no candidate got over 50 percent of the vote. That means that on Jan. 5 — actually for early voters starting Dec. 14, — Georgia voters will have the power to decide whether the U.S. Senate will have a majority willing to work with the Biden-Harris administration on behalf of the American people, or whether we’ll be stuck with a Republican majority led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has bragged

about turning the Senate into a graveyard for legislation coming from the House of Representatives. McConnell is the reason American families and small businesses suffering from the economic fallout of the pandemic have had no relief for months. McConnell is the reason Trump has been able to pack federal courts with the worst, most unqualified, most anti-civil-rights judges we’ve seen in a long time. On the Democratic side, we have two Senate candidates we can be excited about.

The Rev. Rafael Warnock is the senior pastor of Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. and his father served as pastors.. Warnock has embraced the responsibilities that come with that historical legacy. He led a sit-in at the Georgia capitol to try to convince lawmakers to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, which would have brought health care coverage to hundreds of thousands of low-income people in the state. From 2017 to January 2020, Warnock chaired Stacey Abrams’ New Georgia Project, which has registered hundreds of thousands of new voters.

It would be remarkable, in the year that we lost Lewis, to send Warnock to Washington. In the other Senate race, Atlanta native John Ossoff is challenging incumbent David

Trump made the U.S. worse than the African nations he insulted

By Karley M. King

For The St. Louis American

Growing up in Lomé, the capital city of the Togolese Republic in West Africa, we voted for a president. The incumbent, who was always Eyadema, always had an opponent. Eyadema always won, and his opponent always lost. Eyadema always declared victory before the votes were all counted.

Gnassingbe Eyadema took power 1967 when I was a child, and he died in office in 2005, 16 years after I immigrated to the United States. For nearly 40 years of elections, the people of Togo voted, and Eyadema declared victory before the votes were counted. After his death, his son, Faure Gnassingbe, was installed as president. Now his son rules the country.

I doubt that Donald J. Trump could find my home country on the map, but he was referring to African nations and Haiti in January 2018 when he reportedly asked a group of lawmakers why the U.S. accepts so many immigrants from (I am using a less offensive phrase) “bumhole countries.” Like Black people and people of conscience of any background, I was deeply offended and enraged. The people of Togo and other African nations are as worthy of respect and admiration as people from Germany, where Trump’s paternal grandfather was born.

If countries like mine have problems, and they do, those problems can be traced back to two main causes. Togo has ethnic rivalries that predate the slavery and colonial eras, when

European nations exploited our people for their labor and our land for its resources. In fact, slave traders preyed on ethnic rivalries to capture laborers as war captives, and they exploited ethnic rivalries to divide the people to take over their land. I grew up in Togo speaking French, along with several African languages, because France was the dominant colonial power in the part of West Africa nationalized as the Togolese Republic.

In the post-colonial era of so-called independence, Africa has suffered many dictators like Eyadema in Togo. I left Togo for the United States in part to escape Eyadema and the ethnic rivalries and economic inequities that made Eyadema possible.

I have been thinking about this painful history of Africa and Togo since the election of Donald Trump and his offensive, inhumane and racist remarks about “bumhole” African countries. Because I have watched for the past four years as Trump made the United States look more and more like the weakened, turbulent Africa nations he described in these foul terms.

Exploiting racial divisions

Trump has exploited racial divisions in America like the African slave traders of past centuries, by calling Mexican

Letters to the editor

Take back our neighborhoods

Perdue. Ossoff has been a journalist and director of a company producing documentaries on corruption and war crimes around the world.

While he was in high school, Ossoff interned in Lewis’s congressional office. Lewis and Abrams endorsed Ossoff in his first run for Congress in 2017, when he took on a battle for a seat that was considered solidly Republican — and made it a close race.

The far right and the parts of the Trump operation that are not still trying to deny and overturn Trump’s rejection by voters are all focusing on winning the Georgia elections so they can prevent the kind of change Americans just voted for.

People For the American Way, the group I lead, is one of many organizations working to reaffirm the importance of Black voters staying engaged in every election — and turning out to support Warnock and Ossoff. So there are a lot of different ways you can get involved in this fight.

Georgia’s Black voters have already made history once this year. Let’s help them do it again. And again.

Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way and People For the American Way Foundation. Jealous has decades of experience as a leader, coalition builder, campaigner for social justice and seasoned nonprofit executive. In 2008, he was chosen as the youngest-ever president and CEO of the NAACP. He is a graduate of Columbia University and Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and he has taught at Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania.

I am a senior citizen living in St. Louis. I am encouraged about the Black Lives Matters movement and the difference it can make, calling attention to the injustices that have shaped our world.

I am concerned about the people who remain in the neighborhood and are held hostage by the criminal activity that has become the norm. I am concerned that city services take on a new low level when it comes to the Northside.

I am concerned there is no one we can go to to assure a better quality of life. I am concerned that our elected officials disappear after being elected. I am concerned that people are not accountable to the residents.

What will it take not to blame the police for the condition in which we live? What will take to enforce the use of temporary license plates that allow much of the crimes. Who will stand for us.?

We need uncompromising leadership. We need to hold people accountable who represent us. We need help, but until we take back neighborhoods our voices will never be heard.

Patricia A. Miller

St. Louis

Hawley ignores Black man’s death in jail

After listening to St. Louis on the Air on June 10, I was appalled to learn details concerning the torturous circumstances surrounding the death of Tory Sanders, a young African American man, in a Mississippi County jail cell in May of 2017. His death was apparently due to the exces-

immigrants “rapists” and questioning the citizenship of President Barack Obama. His tax cuts widened the income and wealth gaps in this country, making it closer in economic structure to the post-colonial countries in Africa with a few very rich people and a great many very poor people. And then, with his handling of the 2020 elections, he acted exactly like Eyadema, exactly like an unelected dictator falsely claiming victory. The United States, which recently went around the world supposedly investigating and enforcing democracy in other nations, has been turned into a farce, a parody, of democracy by Trump. Whatever Trump saw in African nations that made him refer to them as a “bumhole,” he turned his own country into a nation much more like them. Indeed, Trump’s America could learn from many African nations about holding fair, democratic elections and accepting their outcomes. Haiti and African nations do not deserve to be described by this foul and offensive term. Neither does the United States, though it is weaker, less equal, more divided and less democratic after four years of President Trump. The facts are clear: In his own terms, looking at his performance and what he did to his country, Trump was a bumhole president.

Karley M. King is a program manager in the health-care field. A native of Togo, West Africa, she has lived half of her life in the United States in New York City and half in St. Louis County.

sively forceful actions of jail and law enforcement officials. It was also very distressing to learn that U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley failed to pursue charges against the perpetrators concerning this particular matter while serving as Missouri attorney general. Mr. Sanders suffered the same horrific treatment — including a knee on the neck — as George Floyd, with a similarly tragic outcome. Sen. Hawley has yet to respond in any meaningful and public way as to why he chose not to pursue criminal charges against the officials’ violation of public trust placed in them, including then-Sheriff Hutcheson and jail administrator Sally Yanez, who

violated the public trust placed in them and bear responsibility for this young person’s death. Hawley’s dismissal of factors leading to Tory Sanders’ death by contending it was simply due to “excited delirium” certainly does not pass the smell test to me. I urge other citizens, including Josh Hawley, to contact Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmidt and join with the Missouri NAACP in asking him to reopen the investigation into the death of Tory Sanders. Black Lives Matter.

Suzanna Laba St. Louis

Guest Columnist Karley King

Guest Columnist Ben Jealous

If you travel over Thanksgiving, do so safely

Colonel Eric T. Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, reminds everyone there may be an increase in traffic over the Thanksgiving holiday. As such, drivers should remain alert to changes along their normal route.

“No matter how many vehicles are sharing the road, it’s important to be a courteous and attentive driver,” Olson said in a news release. “This year’s Thanksgiving holiday weekend might look different from past year’s due to the pandemic. No matter how many vehicles are on the road, driving with the highest degree of care is everyone’s responsibility, and following all traffic laws is imperative.”

The counting period for the 2020 Thanksgiving holiday weekend is from 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 25, through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 29. Troopers will be participating in Operation C.A.R.E., enforcing all traffic laws, and available to assist the public. Over the 2019 Thanksgiving holiday counting period, 11 people were killed and 634 injured in 1,594 traffic crashes.

“Every driver needs to pay attention,” Olson said. “Driving is a full-time job. Please turn off your cell phone, drive sober, and remember to buckle up. We want everyone to have a safe Thanksgiving holiday.”

Schnucks expands curbside pickup in St. Louis area

Schnuck Markets, Inc., in partnership with Instacart, is offering curbside pickup at 10 additional locations in the St. Louis area. The grocer is also temporarily waving the $1.99 curbside pickup fee all for orders of $35 or more. The fee remains $3.99 for orders less than $35.

“With curbside pickup, Schnucks customers can receive their groceries quickly without having to leave their vehicles,” said Schnucks E-Commerce Manager Karin Goldkamp. “This is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic when many customers, especially those that are high-risk, are taking additional precautions.”

Curbside pickup customers may visit schnucksdelivers.com, select the “Pickup” option, and select a time between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. After completing their purchase, customers will receive a text/app message with store parking and pickup instructions. The grocery orders are kept in a designated area of the store, with temperature-sensitive items appropriately placed in refrigerators, freezers, and warming units. When a customer arrives for pickup, a Schnucks teammate will deliver the items to the customer’s vehicle.

These are the stores that Schnucks is adding for this service:

In Missouri:

Affton,10070 Gravois Road

Crestwood, 9540 Watson Road

Dillon, High Ridge, 20 Dillon Plaza Drive

Grandview, Florissant, 74 Grandview Plaza

Hampton Village, St. Louis, 60 Hampton Village Plaza Ladue, 8867 Ladue Road

Town Square, Dardenne Prairie, 7909 Highway N Twin Oaks, 1393 Big Bend Road

In Illinois:

Granite City, 3100 Madison Ave

Seven Hills, O’Fallon, 907 East Highway 50

I promise to do my best

By Linda Lockhart Of The St. Louis American

Hello, St. Louis.

This is your interim managing editor, happy to make your acquaintance.

As I move to fill in for Chris King, who has led the St. Louis American for these past 16 years, I thought I would take a little time to introduce myself. Chris is leaving to become the public information officer for St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell. He is well known by many of you and will be greatly missed.

Let me start by saying I am a proud daughter of north St. Louis. In my early years, I lived with my parents, Cornelious and Laura Lockhart, first in the 4500 block of Evans Avenue near Marcus Avenue, and later in the 5200 block of Terry Avenue, between Kingshighway and Union Boulevard. Later, with my younger sister Connie, we moved to Webster Groves, where my parents had a home built in north Webster. My roots run deep there, too, through the McCall and Walker families.

Further solidifying my StL credentials, my maternal grandparents were Harry and Augusta Boulding. My grandfather taught math for many years, at Vashon and Beaumont high schools. They were among the first African-Americans to purchase a home on Lewis Place.

I won’t bore you with too many details of my upbringing, but there are few things of which I am most proud.

we missed being so far from home. We cut the distance in half by moving to Madison, Wisconsin, where I continued editing, first at the Wisconsin State Journal and later, The Capital Times. Steve took up freelance writing while he was the stay-at-home parent for our children and is extremely proud of his service at the Madison Times, the Black weekly paper there.

After nearly 20 years away, I got a call from the PostDispatch, when then-recruitment director Cynthia Todd asked if I would be interested in returning. I said yes, and in 1998, our family came home.

I was the first African American student to graduate from Lutheran High School South. I attended the University of Missouri and received my B.J. degree from the School of Journalism, enabled by a full scholarship from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

I started my career as a reporter at the PD and learned a lot about this craft, covering general assignments, along with the police and education beats.

I am a founding member of the Greater Association of Black Journalists and former secretary for the National Association of Black Journalists.

I was working at the Post when I met Steve Korris, the man who would become my husband. At the time, Steve was working at the American, where he was an ace reporter under the much beloved editor Bennie G. Rogers. Steve later worked at the St. Louis Argus, which, sadly, is no longer in publication. Those were the days of fierce competition between the two Blackowned newspapers.

Steve and I left St. Louis and moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where we were married. I worked as a copy editor at the Milwaukee Journal. I still have in my wedding scrap book the announcement that appeared in the American, under the headline, “Two Former St. Louis Reporters Marry.”

From there we moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where I worked in several editing positions at the Pioneer Press. That’s where our children, Rachel Laura and Paul Kenneth, were born.

While we managed to embrace the cold and snow,

I worked at the Post as a copy editor, Metro Section editor, editorial writer, and editor on the national/international news desk. But after about 10 years, things began taking a dark turn for daily newspapers.The PostDispatch I had known, long-owned by the Pulitzer family, was sold to Lee Enterprises, ironically the same company that owned the Wisconsin State Journal, back in Madison. In those changing times of the early 2000s, newspapers across the country began downsizing. The Post was no exception. In 2007, I accepted a buy-out offer for early retirement. But I wasn’t really ready to retire. It was to my great fortune that I was invited to join a crew assembled by Margaret Wolf Frievogel, when she launched the St. Louis Beacon, an online news organization. I was thrilled to be able to work again with many of my former PD colleagues, including my good friend Robert Joiner, who also served for a time as editor of the American. It was part of the Beacon’s mission to address issues that mattered most to African Americans in greater St. Louis: health care, education and equality.

“Race, Frankly,” was a special print edition produced by the Beacon staff that looked closely at these issues.

After about five years, the Beacon merged with St. Louis Public Radio, and I moved into what for me was a whole new world of broadcast journalism. I learned a lot, working primarily for the station’s website. While I didn’t do much on air, I greatly loved my role as outreach specialist, where I worked to add diversity to the voices of people who shared their stories with the station. In 2019, I decided that my journalism career had come to an end. I was happy to sleep late, have long lunches with friends and play with my grandchildren.

These days, daughter Rachel lives with her husband in St. Louis as Mr. and Mrs. Jermal Seward II, and is mother of my Grand Darlings, Avery Augusta and Jermal Leon III, better known as Leo. Son Paul Lockhart-Korris lives in Sunnyvale, California. I was caught completely off guard when I received a phone call a few weeks ago from Fred Sweets, contributing editor to the American, asking me to help out while the paper searches for a permanent newsroom leader. I am deeply honored to be chosen, and I thank Dr. Donald Suggs, publisher, for putting his trust in me. I promise to do my best to not let him down. I especially want to do my best for you, our readers. You may reach Linda by mail at llockhart@stlamerican.com

Linda Lockhart

Pastries

yellow placard proudly proclaims: “Celebrating 40 years of Business in East St. Louis.”

It’s almost 8 am. According to the Internet listing, the store should have been opened an hour ago. A car pulls up and a woman approaches it. “The owner will be here in a few minutes,” the woman with a glittery gold and black face mask explains.

“Sometimes they deliver the donuts and sometimes she has to go pick them up,” the faithful customer explained to a reporter.

Within minutes, Gina Jackson, 53, arrived, exiting her SUV with about six boxes from Pharaohs Donuts in downtown St. Louis. Jackson is the youngest of Billie Jean and Henry Miller’s nine kids. Her mother, Billie, the founder of the shop, is 84 years old. She doesn’t work at the shop like she used to.

“She can’t stand all day like I can,” Gina said.

Inside, Jackson methodically goes about her daily routine. In moments, four steaming decanters of coffee sit on her Bunn commercial coffee maker. The boxes of glazed donuts, apple fritters and twisty creations have all been placed under the glass counter. One by one, customers stream in.

Order

Continued from A1

The city is limiting private gatherings to no more than 10 attendees, this includes house parties, dinners, celebrations and other social events. In case someone contracts the virus, exposed individuals can be more easily traced and quarantined. Although there is no word on how that would be enforced, the order states: “will continue to be in effect until it is extended, rescinded, super-

“Hello Mr. Byrd,” Jackson shouts as they enter. “Hey there, Ms. Jackie.” Jackson seems to know how each customer takes their coffee. Without asking, she presses the pump of oversized Coffee Mate containers, knowing who wants French vanilla, salted caramel, pumpkin spice, or any other flavor.

“When you come here, you’re home,” said Geneva Stokes, 77, the customer from the parking lot. “It’s like that TV show, ‘Cheers,’ where everybody knows your name.” Stokes has known Billie since childhood. “Our families go way back. We’re from the south end of East St. Louis, “like everybody else,” she added.

Billie Miller, an East St. Louis native, worked as a nurse’s aide, caseworker, and served as Centreville city clerk, treasurer and precinct committeewoman for 40 years. The Miller family is well known in East St. Louis.

“They were in all walks of life,” Stokes explains. “Preachers, teachers, social workers, you name it,” Jackson said her mother opened the shop with the specific purpose of providing a place where locals could gather and talk:

“Mom was involved in the community. So, she built this business on the concept of ‘coffee and conversations.’ It’s where local people can come

seded or amended.” These measures do not apply to “day-to-day operations of businesses, schools, institutions of higher learning, and government offices,” the order states. Those are subject to previous health orders.

As of midday Monday, Nov. 15, the St. Louis Department of Health reported a cumulative total of 10,427 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 286 probable cases and 223 COVID-related deaths since the start of the pandemic in early spring.. St. Louis County’s “Safer at Home” order

and actually discuss things. It’s good to have a place where we could come and just conversate.”

The conversations stopped for a while when the coronavirus started to spread and businesses had to abide by strict safety mandates. The shop closed for two months and Jackson said it took a bit longer for her customers to realize they had reopened. But, she added, “our customers are loyal. They came back.”

Forest Gerald “F.G.” McGraw, 77, is one of those come-back customers. The retired construction worker sat at a table marking, then clipping sections from newspapers.

“These are football stats. It’s a hobby of mine,” McGraw

St. Louis County Executive

Dr. Sam Page warned last week that tighter restrictions would be considered if the numbers didn’t get better in a week or two. But it only took a few days of consecutive record-number hospitalizations to force the county to act on behalf of public health. On Friday, Nov. 13, Page announced the “Safer at Home” order, posted at stlcorona.com. This order means that people must stay at home unless it is necessary to leave for specific activities such as going to work or school, seeking medical

confessed. “I’m getting ready to make a bet on the Super Bowl.”

McGraw pulls back four knobby fingers to detail the benefits of Billie’s: “First, it’s the atmosphere. Second, it’s the girl who runs this place, Gina’s personality,” he said, referring to Jackson. “Third, it’s a place where people can play chess. Fourth, it’s the gossip. Anyone who hangs around here knows what’s going on and what’s happening.”

McGraw introduces James Reeves, also in his late 70s. Reeves said he comes to the pastry because he enjoys “the discussions.” According to McGraw and other customers, Reeve is the unofficial chair

care, or buying food or other daily necessities.

Restaurants cannot offer indoor dining in the county. Outdoor dining, take-out, and delivery are allowed. Bars may only provide carryout and delivery.

Businesses and houses of worship must reduce their capacity to 25% of the maximum allowed by the fire code.

Other group gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited in St. Louis County.

For persons who must meet with others outside of their household, the order states it

Gina Jackson gets ready to welcome the regulars at Billie’s Pastries. The East St. Louis coffee shop was established by Jackson’s mother, Billie Jean Miller, in 1980

of what they call the “philosophy table.”

“It’s where we sit back and solve all the world’s problems,” Reeves jokes.

Virgil “Virg” Riley, 77, is a retired East St. Louis Fire chief, and Tommy Dancy, 78, a long-time political player in the city, are active participants in sometimes-heated debates.

“We discuss everything from A-to-Z, taxes, politics, you name it, and we can handle it,” Reeves interjects.

That’s what’s so special about this place, Dancy adds:

“This is one of the few places in the world where you can disagree but not be disagreeable. All of us are friends, we have differences of opinion, but we don’t allow that to affect our

should be in an organized support bubble of no more than 10 people total, including family members or friends.

“These groups must be established, and even when a group gathers, all participants should practice masking, social distancing and other steps to reduce the risk of transmission. And if any member of the group gets sick, that person must immediately notify the other members,” the order states.

Face coverings must be worn by anyone over the age of 5, in any indoor setting outside

personal relationships.” There’s no disagreement among the men about their fear of the coronavirus.

“COVID got me scared, got me staying in. This is the only place I go. Only time I get nervous is when people come in that I don’t know, like you,” Riley said to a reporter, pulling his face mask up to cover his nose.

Dancy expressed a similar sentiment: “I come in the morning but when they get a few people in here, I leave. I don’t want to catch it. If I don’t know ‘em, I don’t talk to ‘em.”

When asked about new restrictions due to a rise in COVID-19 infections, Riley was skeptical:

“It’s too late. It’s out already out there,” he said. “Only thing that’s gonna help us is that vaccine they talking about.” Barring another government shutdown, Jackson said she’s prepared: “I’ve adjusted. People must wear their masks. We have these big bottles of hand sanitizers all over the place. I have plenty of professional strength disinfectant that I use to wipe everything down.

“If they shut us down again, we’ll just have to allow people to come and go. That’s a shame, though, because my base is people who come in, sit down and just talk.”

Sylvestr Brown Jr. is The St. Louis American’s inaugural Deaconess Fellow.

of the home, including when at work, when frequenting businesses, or when gathering with people who live outside of your household. This mask-wearing rule covers everyone at a gym, including those who are working out, participants in organized sports, when not actively playing in a game, and students in a school setting.”

If a St. Louis County resident tests positive for the virus, they are expected to immediately self-isolate and tell everyone that they were in close contact with to quarantine.

Photo by Sylvester Brown Jr.

By Dana Rieck

Of The

St. Louis

Prop D expected to protect the collective power of Black voters

American

With the passage of Proposition D in St. Louis on Nov. 3, political analysts say 74% of Black voters are more likely to hit the polls in March and April for the municipal election.

The proposition now makes elections open and non-partisan for the offices of mayor, comptroller, president of the Board of Aldermen, and the Board of Aldermen. Proponents of the measure also argue that it will protect the collective power of Black voters and progressives in St. Louis by ensuring their votes will not be split among several similar candidates, which has happened in the past. For instance, in the April 2017 in mayoral Democratic primary, seven candidates fought for the Democratic slot on the general election ballot.

Lawmakers

Continued from A1

Democratic challenger Angie Schaefer, who received 8,950 votes to Dogan’s 13,367 votes.

Angela Waltom Mosley is a new state senator who was elected to represent north St. Louis County, replacing term-limited Gina Walsh. Walton Mosley defeated Libertarian Jeff Coleman. He received 9,018 votes to Walton Mosley’s 63,292 votes.

Sen.-elect Walton Mosley and her husband, Rep. Jay Mosley, are believed to be stepping into Missouri history as the first husband and wife to be elected to serve in the Missouri House and Senate at the same time.

Although she will be a freshman Democratic senator in Jefferson City next session, Walton Mosley is well-versed in politics. In addition to her husband being re-elected in the 68th District, her brotherin-law, Rep. Alan Gray, was re-elected in the 75th District (a district previously represented by his wife, who is Walton Mosley’s sister, Rochelle Walton Gray) and will become vice chair of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus.

Walton Mosley’s stepmother was the late former Rep. Juanita Walton, who was married to her father, former state Rep. Elbert Walton, a decisive figure in North County politics.

With Walton Mosely’s election, there are now five Black state senators in Missouri — four from the St. Louis area. Rep. Steve Roberts won election to the Senate in District 5, defeating Republican Michael Hebron, who received 8,201 votes to Robert’s 55,427 votes. Democrat Rep. Barbara Anne Washington of Kansas city is now a senator-elect, after defeating Republican challenger David Martin, 10,909 votes to Washington’s 50,722 votes.

The votes were drastically divided. Lyda Krewson won with 32.04% — 888 separating her from Tishaura Jones, who received 30.4% of the votes. Following them, Lewis Reed received 18.3%, and Antonio French garnered 15.84% of the vote. The other candidates received less than 3% of the vote each.

“I think Prop D is better for government, period. I supported it because it is a way to reduce spoiler candidates,” Tishaura Jones said while announcing her 2021 mayoral candidacy this month. “… And it’s a way for everyone to participate in their democracy.”

Rossetta Okohson, Jones’ campaign strategist, said their focus for the 2021 mayoral election will not change. Jones intends to continue contacting and educating as many voters as possible, like they did during this year’s treasurer’s primary against Alderman Jeffrey Boyd,

The Missouri Legislative Black Caucus

The general election resulted in there being 25 Missouri Legislative Black Caucus members. From the St. Louis area: Sen. Brian Williams, Sen. Karla May, Sen.-elect Steve Roberts, Sen.-elect Angela Walton Mosley; Rep. LaKeySha Bosley, Rep. Jay Mosley, Rep. Rasheen Aldridge, Rep. Marlene Terry, Rep.-elect Neil Smith, Rep. Michael A. Person, Rep. Alan Gray, Rep. Shamed Dogan, Rep. Wiley Price IV, Rep. Kevin Windham, Rep.-elect Marlon Anderson, Rep.-elect

22nd Ward. Jones won that primary 58.5% to 41.5%.

“We did social distance door knocking in the city and were able to knock on 50,000 doors in two and a half months,” Okohson said. “And so our plans to talk with voters and engage them and make sure that their questions are answered and they’ve asked what they feel like they need to ask — that part of the strategy won’t change”

n “I think this will make politicians focus on the actual issues instead of dividing people based on party.”

— Benjamin Singer, executive director,

Show Me Integrity

Proposition D was passed by St. Louis voters by a decisive margin of 68.14% to 31.86%.

As for how the ballots will change, Show Me Integrity

Executive Director Benjamin Singer said to expect primary ballots to be nonpartisan. They

will ask voters to choose as many candidates as they approve of in each race, regardless of party affiliation. The two candidates with the most votes will then face off in the general election. Proposition D affects elections for mayor, comptroller, board president and aldermen nonpartisan offices.

Singer noted that there are at least 13 instances in the last five years where a St. Louis candidate has been elected to office without a majority of the vote. So, he said, it was impossible to know if St. Louis was really electing the person with the broadest support. His argument is supported by data collected by The Center

n Although she will be a freshman Democratic senator in Jefferson City next session, Walton Mosley is well-versed in politics. In addition to her husband, her brother-in-law, Rep. Alan Gray, was re-elected in the 75th District (a district previously represented by his wife, who is Walton Mosley’s sister, Rochelle Walton Gray). Walton Mosley’s stepmother was the late former Rep. Juanita Walton, who was married to her father, former state Rep. Elbert Walton, a decisive figure in North County politics.

Kimberly-Ann Collins, Rep. Joe Adams, and Rep. Raychel C. Proudie.

From the Kansas City

area: Sen.-elect Barbara Washington, Rep. Richard Brown, Rep. Mark Sharp, Rep. Jerome Barnes, Rep. Yolanda

for Election Science, which found 27% of Black voters in the city feel they are represented well.

With this new method of voting, he said, St. Louis will most likely see two Democratic candidates make it to the general election ballot, instead of one Republican and Democrat.

“I think this will make politicians focus on the actual issues instead of dividing people based on party,” Singer said, noting that often in the past, politicians focused on a few neighborhoods in the city to acquire a small constituency that was enough to carry them through the election.

Okohson added that in 2017 approximately 72% eligible voters in the city did not vote or participate in the election.

“I think that was a message. I think the message is that we don’t feel heard and we don’t have enough people here that [we] feel like are going

Young, and Rep.-elect Michael Johnson.

The Black Caucus members are mostly Democrats in a super majority Republican state legislature. They will have to continue to reach out to their GOP colleagues in Missouri to get support and movement on any proposed legislation.

Gray said Missouri Legislative Black Caucus members make up about 40 percent of the Democratic Legislative Caucus.

Shalonda Webb elected to St. Louis County Council

On a separate north St. Louis County election of note,

to do something for us and it doesn’t matter,” she said. “And so that’s on anyone who’’s running to really make sure that message comes across to voters so that they not only feel empowered, but they feel excited.” Singer pointed to Fargo, North Dakota, as an example. Fargo is the first city in the country to use approval voting in an election on June 9. The two candidates who went on to the general election received votes on 55% and 53% of primary ballots, according to The Center for Election Science.

“It’s like we just don’t know if the person who wins actually has the most support — it’s random,” Singer said of traditional voting.

The primary for the St. Louis mayoral election will be held March 2; the general election will be held on April 6.

“My passion is the community service aspect of the job and it is disappointing I will no longer have the accessibility to continue to bring much-needed services to North County,” Walton Gray said.

“Hopefully, I will be able to continue to serve the community in some other capacity.”

Shalonda Webb was elected in the Nov. 3 County Council race in District 4, defeating incumbent Councilwoman Rochelle Walton Gray. District 4 includes Black Jack, Florissant, Spanish Lake, Bellefontaine Neighbors, Riverview, and the northeast area of unincorporated St Louis County.

Taylor to run Midwest BankCentre’s new subsidiary, Rising Analytics

By Dana Rieck of the St.

Louis American

Midwest BankCentre has acquired an analytics firm and appointed its owner, Kelvin Taylor, to run the bank’s new subsidiary, Rising Analytics.

After discussing the bank’s needs with chairman and CEO Orvin T. Kimbrough, Taylor said he became the bank’s chief information officer in November 2019, while also acting as managing partner of Taylored Analytics. Taylor and his wife, Tamila Taylor, founded Taylored Analytics and ran the data company for 12 years.

“I continued to talk about the variety of things that Taylored Analytics could do to support Midwest Bank, Orvin and I sort of agreed that there might be a bigger opportunity,” Taylor said.

“Not only beyond just supporting Midwest BankCentre and their data analytics needs, but also supporting

the data analytics needs of Midwest BankCentre’s commercial clients.”

On March 31 the bank acquired Taylored Analytics and rebranded it to Rising Analytics. Both companies share one goal: accelerating organic growth for its clients.

“Our value proposition to our clients is to identify ways to help them grow faster by leveraging data without going and having to buy a company to grow,” he said.

Taylor said the acquisition will provide the bank’s customers with additional resources. The bank has a relationship with about 8,000 businesses; most of those are small to medium-size businesses.

“So when Midwest BankCentre, a community bank, talks about rising together, which is the motto of the mission of the bank, we’re talking about helping not only

consumers in our community, but also small and midsize businesses in our community be more profitable.

“And we think at the end of the day, that that helps build a stronger community, and the community that Midwest BankCentre serves. Small businesses are responsible for the majority of employment and the economy. So we think helping small to midsize businesses is a key to economic growth for the St. Louis metropolitan area.”

Taylor pointed out that while the acquisition means the analytics company is no longer minority owned it will remain minority-led.

“There are not a lot of African Americans that are in the big data, data science field,” he said. “So we are particularly proud of our representation of people of color in that

field.”

Taylor earned his bachelor’s degrees in economics and mathematics at Morehouse College and his post-graduate degree in economics at University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. He has served locally on the United Way and Urban League boards of directors.

“Kelvin’s strengths in the application of data analytics provide a tremendous advantage to businesses and organizations that want to continually improve the quality and effectiveness of their sales and marketing decisions,” Kimbrough wrote in a statement. “He is passionate about equipping business leaders to effectively translate their financial goals into well-informed business strategies and actions. We’re excited to make this practical expertise readily accessible to Midwest BankCentre’s clients and other small to midsize businesses and nonprofits.”

Coro Fellows program, UMSL to restart effort aimed at boosting racial equity

The program is designed to boost racial equity at local public service organizations, government entities, nonprofits and businesses through community-based leadership training.

By Andrea Henderson St. Louis Public Radio

The St. Louis Coro Fellows Program will relaunch its leadership training initiative next fall in a partnership with the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

The program is designed to boost racial equity at local public service organizations, government entities, nonprofits and businesses through community-based leadership training.

“The Coro fellowship is more relevant than ever because it promotes a strong democracy by ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard, so racial equity is a big piece of that,” said Colin Dale, interim director of St. Louis Coro Fellows Program.

n “The Coro fellowship is more relevant than ever because it promotes a strong democracy by ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard, so racial equity is a big piece of that.”

– Colin Dale, interim director of St. Louis Coro Fellows Program

“Having the tool sets and the relationships to facilitate those conversations and to understand the complexity of the issues that our region faces are all things that the Coro fellowship prepares leaders to do.”

The Coro Fellows Program launched in San Francisco in the 1940s and expanded to St. Louis nearly 50 years ago. The program was a part of FOCUS St. Louis until 2019.

In August, 12 fellows will begin working for nine months with various organizations on projects of interest. Previous fellows worked with community leaders in public policy, business, biotechnology and nonprofit agencies. Dale said the fellowship program can be a driving force in the region to promote economic development and equity.

The fellows will help local businesses and organizations build civic engagement and expose the young professionals to challenges the region faces along the racial equity lines, said Paul Sorenson, interim director of UMSL’s Community Innovation and Action Center.

“We’re hoping that it both builds individual leadership skills as well as a deep understanding of St. Louis and some of the things that are needed to move our community forward,” Sorenson said. The program aims to raise $350,000 to support programming, fees and fellow stipends. People have until Jan. 7 to apply. The fellowship program begins on Aug. 21.

Harris-Stowe taps Hill as associate provost

Harris-Stowe State University has named Edward Louis Hill Jr. to the position of associate provost in the Office of Academic Affairs.

Hill is responsible for overseeing academic support units on campus, including the Academic Resource Center, Student Support Services, Academic Success Retention and International Programs, First Year Programs, Student Appeals, Career Engagement and University Institutes.

“I am extremely excited and honored to have the opportunity to assist President Bradford, the Division of Academic Affairs, Sponsored Programs, Deans, staff, and students in achieving more academic notoriety and acclaim,” Hill said. “I am drawn to the quality of our academic programs, the unique mission of the university, and collaborative initiatives. There are many visible opportunities to assist the Division of Academic Affairs and Policy in the advancing of the academic enterprise of Harris Stowe State University.”

Hill recently served as the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Strategic Initiatives at Wilberforce University in Ohio.

“I am excited to welcome Dr. Hill to the Academic Affairs leadership team,” said Dr. LaTonia Collins Smith, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. “His experience with accreditation, quality improvement and deep understanding of academic excellence will be a tremendous asset to Harris-Stowe State University.”

Hill received a doctorate of education in Educational Leadership from South Carolina State University in 2005, a masters of education in curriculum and instruction from Columbia College in 1999, and a bachelor of arts in early childhood education from Morehouse College in 1993.

Mayor Gerry Welch has announced that the Webster Groves City Council appointed Marie Peoples as city manager, by unanimous approval.

“We are delighted to welcome Marie to our city and our municipal organization,” Welch said. “Marie will bring strong experience and credentials to the position. She values service to the community’s residents and businesses and brings the big-picture thinking our residents expect.” Peoples follows long-time City Manager Steve Wilie, who retired in July after serving 19 years as City Manager.

Peoples is currently the deputy county manager for Coconino County, Arizona, where she has worked since 2013. There she manages several departments and about half of a $198 million county budget. She previously held positions based in Jefferson City and Springfield, Missouri.

“I very much look forward to my work with an engaged City Council and knowledgeable City staff,” said Peoples.. “In addition, it will be exciting to live in and become part of such a vibrant community.”

Peoples is a Missouri native and graduated from Columbia College with a B.A. in criminal justice, She also holds an M..A. from Lincoln University, a masters in public Health and a PhD from Walden University. Peoples will begin her duties in January 2021.

Edward Louis Hill Jr.

Kelvin Taylor

Photo courtesy of St. Louis Coro Fellowship Program

Basketball star Hughes opens Missouri’s only black-owned cannabis shops

Larry Hughes will make history when he opens two cannabis dispensaries and a cultivation center in St. Louis, becoming the only Blackowned cannabis business in Missouri.

The retired NBA player is working with his former teammate, Al Harrington, who is CEO of Viola brands. The company’s “focus is to empower minority ownership by creating a coalition of minority investors who own and operate Viola.”

Hughes’ dispensary, Viola Missouri, will serve patients suffering from qualifying medical conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma and other debilitating conditions. The business will be located on Cherokee Street.

Missouri legalized medical marijuana in 2018 when voters passed Amendment 2 by a margin of 66% to 34%.

Hughes, 41, played for nine teams during a 14-year career: the Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Bobcats and Orlando Magic.

He attended Saint Louis University before he was selected in the 1998 NBA draft.

St. Louis’ Larry Hughes, who attended Saint Louis University before he was selected in the 1998 NBA draft, played for nine teams during his 14-year career. Hughes will make history when he opens two cannabis dispensaries and a cultivation center in St. Louis, becoming the only Black-owned cannabis business in Missouri.

Harris-Stowe to launch accelerated certification teaching program for 2021

By American staff

Harris-Stowe State

University’s College of Education will launch its official Accelerated Certification Teaching Program in 2021 with the application date extended to Friday, December 18, 2020.

“We are centering the program around working adults in addition to combatting the barriers they face in realizing the potential of their dream teaching career,” said Nicole Evans, director of Urban Education and Student Engagement. Evans talked about what changes have been made to the

official launch of the program.

“One of the things we did was transfer all courses online,” Evans said.

Originally, the program was intended to be a hybrid program where students could take both online and in-person courses.

“The reason we did this is

because we know that we have a reciprocity agreement with a few states,” Evans said. “If they receive their certification here and live somewhere else, their certification may be used in their state if it falls within the list of states outlined in the agreement.”

Students can use their certification awarded from the program in 38 states in the reciprocity agreement between Missouri and their respective states.

Other things that have changed have been requirements to apply to the program.

“Students originally needed a degree in the desired areas of general education, interdisciplinary studies, general studies, child development or educational studies to apply to the program,” Evans said. However, it has been expanded to have a bachelor’s degree in any area with a 2.75 grade point average.”

The candidates who have a degree outside of the desired areas need to currently work at a school and have a letter of support from the candidate’s director or principal, according to the HSSU College of Education.

“A barrier for a teaching assistant or paraprofessional has been the workload and then not being able to work while in school,” Evans said. “We want to alleviate some of the struggles adult learners face because we want people who are not only interested in the field, but who might already be working in the field.”

The A.C.T. program launched a pilot program during the pandemic in August. Two out-of-state students are currently in the spring cohort.

“We currently have a candidate in Tennessee and

Nicole

Cahokia,” Evans said “They are in the first cohort who are excited to be a part of this; they both have said they don’t have an opportunity like this in their states.”

Aketta Neal, a member of the spring 2020 cohort, has been in the education field for eight years. She currently works for Porter Leath at Kipp Henry as a Head Start teacher in Memphis, Tennessee. She has a master’s degree in early childhood education.

“It is my utmost desire to help my students develop a passion for learning and

become kindergarten ready,” Neal said. “This desire encouraged me to join the A.C.T. certification program so that I can become a highly certified educator who helps the children and families I serve to live healthy, optimal and independent lifestyles.” Another member of the spring 2020 cohort is Charlene Walker-Temple. She currently works as a paraprofessional in Cahokia School District #187. Temple holds a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in business leadership.

“My heart lies in the field of education and I have been in education for almost 20 years,” Temple said. “This program is allowing me to meet both professional and personal goals.”

According to Evans, this program will be beneficial to those looking to pursue an affordable teaching certification around the United States.

“This program will assist professionals in the education field to move up the financial and career ladder, as this early childhood certification will allow them to earn more and help push their careers forward,” Evans said. “The candidates will no longer have to worry about how they’re going to financially support their families as they earn certification.” For more information on the A.C.T. program or to apply, visit the Harris-Stowe State University website: https:// www.hssu.edu/

Evans, director of Urban Education and Student Engagement

Photo by Lindy Drew / Humans of St. Louis

By Dana Rieck of The St. Louis American

While the St. Louis County Police Department says it is making an effort to educate the public on use of force policy and give people a chance to provide input on revisions soon to be put in place, community leaders don’t see that effort as the most efficient use of time when it comes to ending police violence.

The department recently hosted two webinars last week. These webinars were meant to “guide the public through the current policy and then take comments about potential changes.”

Lt. Colby Dolly has been with the St. Louis County Police Department for 20 years and is responsible for research, policy and analysis within the department. He organized and has hosted the webinars, a format that came about due to the coronavirus. He may continue holding webinars due to an increase in accessibility for people.

John Chasnoff, co-chair of the Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression, said he understands the need for accessibility, but doesn’t feel it’s the best way to solicit community comment.

“I think there needs to be some kind of counter presentation or a presentation from a different point of view,” he said, adding that he thinks the webinar format has a vacuum effect on the dialogue that occurs.

“What I’ve seen in the past is that community members

have very real, lived experiences around these policies and how they are affected by them, and so they’ll often see what’s wrong with the policy,” Chasnoff said. “But they’re not policy experts, they haven’t talked through all the various policy alternatives. And so, when presented with an opportunity that’s more or less in a vacuum, the kind of feedback that you get in a forum like that is not always the most productive.”

Dolly said he understands that criticism, but has hope that

officers to think differently and act differently.

“People could have said anything critical of the police today and I’m not going to stop them from saying that,” Dolly said.

Dolly’s colleague, Sgt. Benjamin Granda, added he did not agree with Chasnoff’s vacuum comment.

“I would respectfully disagree with that. Today’s a perfect example on how it’s happening more publicly than ever before,” he said. “I don’t know how we might have made access to this dialogue any easier than we have today. We are taking that input, pairing it with case law, best practices, input, to continually improve.”

Blake Strode, Arch City Defenders executive director, was not aware of these specific webinars when asked, but expressed concerns in their effectiveness in ending police brutality.

Strode said the problem is the violence perpetrated by police against people, particularly against disenfranchised communities, during police interactions.

“So what I think we need to do is find ways to reduce policing in all of our lives,” Strode said.

St. Louis County Officer Shanette Hall agreed, noting there are a number of different things that need to be addressed when it comes to reducing police violence.

people will make their voices heard. He also expressed his belief that changing these policies has potential to get police

“I think it would be important for police officers to evaluate or re-evaluate the use of force policy, however it is extremely important, if not more important, to discuss de-escalation as much as possible,” said Hall, who is also a member of the Ethical Society of Police.

Hall said that while Missouri’s Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission has voted to require annual one-hour training sessions on de-escalation techniques and recognizing implicit bias for law enforcement, there’s more that needs to be done.

“People are becoming more involved and we have to get to the point where we reimagine what the police look like. I know we have the slogan ‘defund the police,’ but we really are at a point where we need to reimagine what policing looks like and what is most beneficial for communities.”

Strode added that he wants to see both county and city police departments scaled down, while other resources such as drug intervention specialists, mental health professions, emergency response and peer support see an increase in funding and involvement within the community.

“That’s why we’ve been really focused on building a better collective understanding, why we need to think more holistically through a lens of community well-being and community health that means shifting our reliance and our response from police to other resources.”

Cori Bush is going to Washington

New congresswoman is set to be a champion for the people of St. Louis

By the Missouri Independent

Missouri’s Congresswoman-

elect Cori Bush has told the same story ever since her first campaign in 2016.

At one point in her life, she was working as a nurse as a single mother living out of her car with her children — never imagining she’d ever find herself in that situation.

“I was that person running for my life across a parking lot, running from an abuser,” Bush said in her acceptance speech on Nov. 3. “I remember hearing bullets whiz past my head. And at that moment, I wondered, ‘How do I make it out of this life?’’

She’s also been uninsured and locked into the perpetual debt cycle of payday lending.

“I’m still that person,” Bush said. “I’m proud to stand before you today, knowing it was this person, with these experiences, who moved the voters of St. Louis to do something historic. St. Louis, my home, we have been surviving and grinding, just scraping by and now this is our moment to finally start living.”

Bush’s election to represent Missouri’s 1st Congressional District makes her the state’s first Black congresswoman. She was also the only person elected this year to either Congress or a statewide office in Missouri who wasn’t an incumbent.

Bush is a Ferguson frontline activist, and she supports the renewed demands for police reform and accountability echoed nationwide this year.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson won re-election with a toughon-crime platform, and, along with the state’s Republican Party, saw Bush’s statements to defund the police, military and Pentagon as the perfect ammunition against his rival, Democrat Nicole Galloway.

“My opponent endorses people who want to defund the military,” Parson said at a Columbia campaign stop. “If you run with that crowd, you are that crowd. That is just the way this world works.”

The Independent recently spoke with Bush about these statements, the criticism she’s faced and her role as a leader in Missouri’s Democratic Party.

The Independent: You are now one the state’s top Democrats. What will your role as a party leader look like?

Bush: First, it’ll be a continuation of who I have been — the pastor, the nurse, the activist, the single mother. First and foremost, it’s always been my job to show up. And that is what people know about me. So as congresswoman of

Missouri’s 1st District, I will do the same. I will show up. I will be the active leader, that present leader as much as I can, trying to work between here and D.C. Being in this position, it’s such an honor. And it’s a great responsibility. It’s a lot of accountability. And so that’s the kind of leader I want to be — the one that is responsible and accountable. Like I’ve been saying, this thing is about love and humanity. And in order to do that, I will have to stand on my principles.

The Independent: Then, how can Democrats prevent another Trump in four years from taking away any kind of gains Democrats made in this presidential election?

Bush: We can’t play the middle of the road because they aren’t. They’re making a very clear stance. They’re drawing a very clear line in the sand about what they believe, and that no matter what happens, they are going to stay as a group and stand together. And so, I think as Democrats, we need to do the same thing.

People are looking for a champion

People can look at me and say, ‘Oh, well she has these strong stances. And she’s not willing to compromise.’ Well, the thing is, that resonated with people in this district because 245,000 of them voted for me to move on to Congress. And I think it’s because people were tired of trying to figure out where people stand. People are tired of that.

People are looking for that champion. And even though Donald Trump was not the best champion, even though he’s not the one that people should have looked to and followed, he was very serious and very clear about how he feels about certain things.

And even though some of it was absolutely disgusting, people know where he stands. I think as Democrats, we have to show up that same way so that we don’t end up in this position in four years, where there is this clear line, this is what we believe, and this is it. The Independent: As the election neared, it seemed Republicans continually tried to make you a key figure in the governor’s race. What was your take on that?

Bush: I truly believe that it was just all racially charged. Because if I was a white woman saying the exact same thing, no one would have said anything. It wouldn’t have started a thing. The issue is because I’m a Black woman who fights for Black lives and has been very vocal about it, calling out systems and call-

fear and panic in people to make them not think clearly, and not research the person, not look at who Nicole really is. It was just about, “My governor said this, and so I’m sure it must be true. And now I’m afraid.”

The Independent: Is there one line or one thing that sticks out in your mind, from all things people have told you since you were declared the winner on Tuesday?

Bush: Well, someone said to me, “I see me in you.” And this was someone I had never met. A young Black woman. And that meant everything to me. Because that’s what this is supposed to be. Because I’m taking St. Louis to Congress, not Cori.

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ing out people who I feel have been complacent in those areas who could have done different work, but chose not to because their lives are on the line. That was the reason why I believe that they used me to try to hurt her campaign. It was totally racially charged. It was that southern strategy. It was really to invoke

Cori Bush’s election to represent Missouri’s 1st Congressional District makes her the state’s first Black congresswoman.

Harris-Stowe to launch accelerated certification teaching program

2021 spring semester open to out-of-state students

American staff

Harris-Stowe State University’s College of Education will launch its official Accelerated Certification Teaching Program in 2021 with the application date extended to Friday, December 18, 2020.

“We are centering the program around working adults in addition to combatting the barriers they face in realizing the potential of their dream teaching career,” said Nicole Evans, director of Urban Education and Student Engagement.

Evans talked about what changes have been made to the official launch of the program.

“One of the things we did was transfer all courses online,” Evans said.

Originally, the program was intended to be a hybrid program where students could take both online and in-person courses.

“The reason we did this is because we know that we have a reciprocity agreement with a few states,” Evans said. “If they receive their certification here and live somewhere else, their certification may be used in their state if it falls within the list of states outlined in the agreement.”

Students can use their certification awarded from the program in 38 states in the reciprocity agreement between Missouri and their respective states.

Other things that have

changed have been requirements to apply to the program.

“Students originally needed a degree in the desired areas of general education, interdisciplinary studies, general studies, child development or educational studies to apply to the program,” Evans said. However, it has been expanded to have a bachelor’s degree in any area with a 2.75 grade point average.”

The candidates who have a degree outside of the desired areas need to currently work at a school and have a letter of support from the candidate’s director or principal, according to the HSSU College of Education.

“A barrier for a teaching assistant or paraprofessional

has been the workload and then not being able to work while in school,” Evans said. “We want to alleviate some of the struggles adult learners face because we want people who are not only interested in the field, but who might already be working in the field.”

The A.C.T. program launched a pilot program during the pandemic in August. Two out-of-state students are currently in the spring cohort.

“We currently have a candidate in Tennessee and Cahokia,” Evans said “They are in the first cohort who are excited to be a part of this; they both have said they don’t have an opportunity like this in their states.”

Aketta Neal, a member of

the spring 2020 cohort, has been in the education field for eight years. She currently works for Porter Leath at Kipp Henry as a Head Start teacher in Memphis, Tennessee. She has a master’s degree in early childhood education.

“It is my utmost desire to help my students develop a passion for learning and become kindergarten ready,” Neal said. “This desire encouraged me to join the A.C.T. certification program so that I can become a highly certified educator who helps the children and families I serve to live healthy, optimal and independent lifestyles.”

Another member of the spring 2020 cohort is Charlene Walker-Temple. She currently works as a paraprofessional in Cahokia School District #187. Temple holds a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in business leadership.

“My heart lies in the field of education and I have been in education for almost 20 years,” Temple said. “This program is allowing me to meet both professional and personal goals.”

According to Evans, this program will be beneficial to those looking to pursue an affordable teaching certification around the United States.

“This program will assist professionals in the education field to move up the financial and career ladder, as this early childhood certification will allow them to earn more and help push their careers forward,” Evans said. “The candidates will no longer have to worry about how they’re going to financially support their families as they earn certification.”

For more information on the A.C.T. program or to apply, visit the Harris-Stowe State University website: https:// www.hssu.edu/

Ashcroft: Investigation finds Galloway’s op-ed did not violate law

St. Louis American Staff

Two days after the Nov. 3 election, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft formally cleared Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway of allegations that she violated state law by using government staff and money to publish an op-ed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch criticizing Gov. Mike Parson’s stance on abortion.

Ashcroft began an investigation after conservative Liberty Alliance group submitted a complaint against Galloway on Sept. 9. In a letter to Galloway dated Nov. 5, Ashcroft blamed the length of the investigation on the fact that Galloway took too long to supply emails regarding the op-ed after Ashcroft’s office submitted a sunshine request.

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vided my office with 32 pages of documents on the afternoon of Friday, October 30, 2020,” he wrote. “Had my office received these 32 pages, many of which are redundant, my office could have closed this matter sooner.” Galloway issued a statement on Thursday: “Since this review began last month, my office has complied with inquiries from the Secretary of State’s Office. As I said from the start, no laws were broken. I’m pleased Secretary Ashcroft came to the same conclusion.” Galloway lost in the statewide contest against Parson by nearly a half-million votes, 1,216,192 votes (40%) to Parson’s 1,713,152 (57.171%). In St. Louis County, however, she won with 59% of the vote, and with 80% of the vote in St. Louis.

Nicole Evans, director of Urban Education and Student Engagement, Harris-Stowe State University.

Nicole Galloway

and to refinance $5.4 million in outstanding debt previously issued by the Parking Division, according to a news release.

The Streets, Traffic, and Refuse Committee on Oct. 13 considered both requests, and Jones’ office wrote it was understood that a subsequent meeting would be set to vote on both measures.

Two months later,

Jones said, Committee Chair Boyd has yet to set the hearing for a vote on the schedule.

Jones said Boyd has continued to request additional information and that her office has complied. Boyd did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jones wrote a letter to the Board of Alderman on Tuesday in support of the bills and noted that if they are not passed in time to fund the upcoming debt service payment on Dec. 15, the money will have to be obtained from somewhere else.

garage operations.

“All of this is supposed to be non-political,” she told The St. Louis American. “You know, we have brought refinancing to the board in the past and they have usually passed it with no problem. I don’t know what the difference is this time with what I’m asking.

As for Jones’ plans for next steps, she said it’s really not up to her.

Jones wrote that because of the pandemic, the treasurer’s office previously reduced the current budget by 5%, including a 9% reduction in full-time employees.

“We have subsequently identified another $700,000 in reductions,” she wrote.

“Unfortunately, these reductions are not sufficient to offset the decline in parking demand.

As a result, we are utilizing approximately $361,000 per month in unrestricted reserves to meet our financial obligations.”

St. Louis Parking Division has experienced a 63% decline in revenue compared to last year, caused by restrictions put in place because of COVID-19.

The parking division has three main drivers of revenue: event parking, meters and tickets and

“We are literally at the mercy of the board at this point,” Jones said. “And if we don’t get the authorization and do a line of credit and also refinance debt, we’ll have to continue burning through our reserves and look at other additional cost-cutting measures that include potentially laying off dozens of employees.” Jones and Boyd have a tumultuous history. Jones has previously said she believes it derives from a personal grudge Boyd holds

By Dana Rieck Of The St. Louis American

St. Louis City Treasurer

Tishaura Jones said Tuesday dozens of city layoffs could be imminent if Alderman Jeffrey

Tishaura Jones

Jeffrey Boyd

Krewson announces tiny home community for people without a place to stay

By Dana Rieck of The St. Louis American

St. Louis Mayor Lyda

Krewson announced Tuesday plans to build a tiny house community for people who are homeless. The planned development will be located at 900 N. Jefferson Ave., the site of the former St. Louis RV Park.

The community will include 50 tiny houses for adults. There will be 40 single houses, eight doubles, and two houses that are ADA compliant. Each dwelling will have room for a bed, desk, chair, shelving unit, heat and air conditioning, and a charging unit for electronic devices.

In a news conference streamed live on Facebook, Krewson said the first year of the lease will be financed with more than $600,000 in federal CARES Act funds St. Louis received this year to address the effects of the coronavirus. People will begin to move into the homes by Dec. 1. Krewson said individuals who want to stay in one of the houses must be screened through the existing Homeless Missourians Information System and will be placed in a tiny house based upon a referral.

“With this investment, we’ll be able to create new opportunities for temporary, transitional housing and better protect

n The houses range from 80 to 96 square feet will serve as transitional housing for residents for about four to five months while case workers try to find them permanent shelter.

our unhoused neighbors, who remain at risk of contracting this dangerous virus. I’m grateful to my staff and the various city departments who came together collaboratively and proactively to prioritize this project and the needs of the most vulnerable among us,” Krewson said.

The houses range from 80 to 96 square feet will serve as transitional housing for residents for about four to five months while case workers try to find them permanent shelter, according to news reports. Krewson was scheduled to ask the Board of Estimate and Apportionment to approve the proposed lease during a virtual meeting at 2 p.m. Wednesday. This will be the second tiny home community for homeless

people in St. Louis. Kansas City, Mo.-based non-profit, Veterans Community Project, built 50 similar for veterans who are homeless near North Grand Boulevard and Aldine Avenue in north St. Louis.

Krewson’s announcement comes as the winter months are approaching, temperatures are dropping and local organizations have concerns about people who will be left out in the cold.

John Lunardini, senior vice president of Catholic Charities, expressed his concern, saying phone calls to the organization from families on the verge of losing their homes have jumped 300 percent. since when

On Nov. 6, St. Louis officials extended the suspension on evictions through the end of the year, as new COVID-19 cases continued to rise in the region.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES, is a $2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill passed by U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27 in response to the economic fallout of the pandemic in the United States.

As of Monday, there were 10,503 COVID-19 cases diagnosed in St. Louis and 223 deaths due to symptoms of the virus since the beginning of the year.

A Facebook screenshot shows St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson on Tuesday announcing the construction of a tiny house community that will be located at 900 N. Jefferson Ave., the site of the former St. Louis RV Park.

“Taking Care of You”

Coronavirus resurgence curtails elective surgeries

Fills area hospital beds

By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American

Record numbers of coronavirus hospitalizations have hospitals in the St. Louis area and throughout the country at the brink of disaster.

BJC HealthCare and Washington University announced Sunday that all of its 15 hospitals and ambulatory settings will halt some elective surgeries for at least eight weeks to make more room for COVID19 patients. In a letter to the public released by Richard J. Liekweg, BJC HealthCare president and CEO, and Dr. Paul J. Scheel Jr., CEO of Washington University Physicians, they expressed their growing concern about the pandemic’s resurgence and staggering numbers in this area that led to their decision.

“With the positive cases growing exponentially and our COVID-19 hospital admissions already the highest they have ever been, BJC HealthCare and Washington University Physicians are preparing now for how we will handle this inevitable surge of patients who we know will need our services.

“As of Nov. 16, we are suspending some elective surgery and other procedures that can be postponed safely. We must take this drastic measure both to increase our hospital capacity and ensure we have the staff available to continue providing exceptional care for our patients. An available room means nothing if there is not a nurse at the bedside.”

Across the county, coronavirus cases have surpassed 11 million and nearly a quarter-million deaths. CNN reported Sunday another 1 million COVID-19 cases in the past six days. The pandemic has not let up. The United States. has the most cases in the world.

Mask, distance, wash hands

Liekweg and Scheel also asked members of the public to support the health care providers by taking necessary protective measures. “There are clear steps to take that are proven to reduce the spread of the virus. As basic as

Record numbers of coronavirus hospitalizations have taken a toll on doctors and health care providers.

n “The number of people in our intensive care units with COVID is higher than ever. The weather is getting colder and it could not come at a worse time.

— Dr. Alex Garza, Task Force incident commander and chief community health officer at SSM Health

it seems, our greatest protection against COVID-19 while we await a safe and effective vaccine is a mask – a piece of cloth worn over the mouth and nose.”

“Social distancing of at least six feet is another basic defense. It is important to

wear a mask even when you social distance. Frequently washing your hands or using hand sanitizer kills germs and prevents transmission. Avoiding large gatherings also makes a big impact,” the letter said.

“We know how tiresome and restrictive this is. We are all collectively weary of these measures. But, they continue to be our best defense and we must dig deeper to stay the course while the vaccines continue to be developed and produced.”

The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force has been reporting record numbers in its seven-day moving average of COVID-19 hospitalizations among the four systems that comprise the task force, BJC HealthCare, SSM Health, Mercy and St. Luke’s Hospital.

On Friday, Nov. 13, Dr. Alex Garza, Task

See COVID, A19

By Eric Schmid St. Louis Public Radio

Mamie Cosey wants her great-grandchildren to play and exercise outside, but some days she can’t let them, she said, because the air isn’t safe to breathe.

Cosey, 79, lives in East St. Louis, near the Veolia Environmental Services incinerator in Sauget. She explained on some days the stench from the plant is overwhelming.

“It’s various odors depending on what they’re cooking,” Cosey said.

n Mamie Cosey, 79, lives in East St. Louis, near the Veolia Environmental Services incinerator in Sauget. She explained on some days the stench from the plant is overwhelming.

“Sometimes it’s rotten sewage. Sometimes it’s like chemical smells. It’s out of control.”

She’s lived near the plant for nearly a decade, and the acrid smells are nothing new. But environmental activists in the Metro East are concerned the incinerator could start burning something new: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) firefighting foam.

The Veolia incinerator is listed as one of eight sites authorized by the Department of Defense to dispose of the substance, according to a lawsuit filed in February. The United Congregations of Metro East, the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations are suing the Department of Defense to block the disposal pending an environmental review.

So far, the incinerator in Sauget hasn’t burned any PFAS firefighting foam from the Defense Department, said Cheryl Sommer, president of the United Congregations of Metro East. She said her organization received records in the spring showing the Sauget plant had not received any foam.

A spokesperson for Veolia Environmental Services said the plant does not have contracts with the Defense Department or other customers to dispose of PFAS at the Sauget facility.

Several area schools return to virtual

By Ryan Delaney St. Louis Public Radio

It’s mid-November, well into the second quarter of the school year. But Willow O’Connor has experienced just two weeks of kindergarten. Willow, who’s 5, is enrolled at Gibson Elementary in the Riverview Gardens School District. Her class started the year fully virtual as nearly all schools in St. Louis County did. But Willow threw temper tantrums and refused to sit for computer lessons, her mother said, meaning she received almost no instruction.

“It was cutting teeth to try to get her on the computer,” Kayla O’Connor said, until Riverview Gardens brought elementary students back Nov. 4. When Willow is actually going to school every day, “she likes it,” her mother said. “Her favorite thing is art class; she gets very excited when she has art class.”

But on Thursday, Nov. 12, the district announced classes would return to fully virtual instruction starting Monday, Nov. 13, “until further notice.” As COVID-19 cases spike again throughout the St. Louis region, several school districts are reversing or pausing the return to schools that had been underway for

n “Though we recently welcomed students back to in-person learning, the recent and dramatic increase in disease transmission has made it clear that we must pivot in a different direction.”

— Riverview Gardens School District statement

the past two months. Others hope extended Thanksgiving breaks will be enough of a buffer.

“Though we recently welcomed students back to in-person learning, the recent and dramatic increase in disease transmission has made it clear that we must pivot in a different direction,” Riverview Gardens said in a statement.

The Jefferson School District in Festus

See SCHOOLS, A19

A18

ST. LOUIS AMERICAN • NOVEMBER 19 – 25, 2020

Riverview Gardens Superintendent Scott Spurgeon enters Danforth Elementary School in October 2019. The district is closing its buildings again just a few weeks after reopening because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr. Alex Garza

Photo By Ryan Delaney / St. Louis Public Radio

Photo by Wiley Price

COVID

Continued from A18

Force incident commander and chief community health officer at SSM Health, said the number of people with the virus is skyrocketing in our region.

“For months, we’ve talked about a time when we would run out of options; a time when we have run out of space to care for sick patients; when our options would be limited; when the virus is hitting us so hard

that the health care system that we have would be unable to address the people’s needs.

“That terrible time, gets closer with each passing minute, each passing hour, each passing day,” Garza said.

The number of people in our area with COVID-19 is three times above a “sustainable level,” he said.

“The number of people in our intensive care units with COVID is higher than ever. The weather is getting colder and it could not come at a worse time,” Garza said. “The

“Taking

Care of You”

real peak of the pandemic has yet to come. At the pace we’re on now, we could easily, easily double the number of COVID patients in our hospitals in about two weeks. At that point, we will not have the capacity we need to sufficiently care for our patients. Not just COVID patients – but all patients.”

Task Force calls for statewide mask mandate

Garza said it is “beyond the time where individual behavior alone could address this

disaster.” He said health care systems across Missouri need Gov. Mike Parson and the state to take additional action to prevent unnecessary illnesses and deaths.

“We need the state to act if we want to ensure our hospitals, both rural and urban, won’t have to turn away sick patients.

“We need the state to act against the virus if we want to keep the economy functioning, and if we want to keep schools in-person,” Garza said.

“Today we are asking the

state to initiate a statewide mask mandate for Missourians when they are out in public. Increasing the use of masks over the next several weeks statewide will slow the incredible pace of this virus. It will give health care systems and workers a chance to take a breath, to keep up and provide the appropriate level of care for our patients who so desperately need it.”

While he knows Parson has stated mask mandates should be handled at the local level, Garza said the breadth of the

coronavirus pandemic makes us “one big county now,” because every day, COVID patients are crossing county lines to go to hospitals.

“The lack of a mask mandate in one county has implications for residents and health care professionals in other parts of the state, The spread and cases are blanketing the state and no locale is safe anymore,” he said. “A statewide mask mandate is needed to save lives across the state.”

‘Just not enough people’: Missouri health care workers face fatigue as COVID surges

By Tessa Weinberg Missouri Independent

Cheryl Rodarmel’s love and enthusiasm for the job she’s held for the last 28 years as a rehabilitation nurse is waning. Before the pandemic, she often spent her days at Research Medical Center in Kansas City helping patients recover after strokes or getting them ready to return back to their lives that had been interrupted by surgery.

Now, no day is certain. Will she watch COVID patients battle for their lives? Will she once again have to advocate for her hospital to implement stronger protections for her coworkers? Will it be the last day before she sees another fellow nurse leave?

“It’s very much an emotional rollercoaster and I find that I think it’s a big frustration for me, because my patients deserve and expect that I will be there. And I want to be there,” Rodarmel said. “But at the same time, there’s that, ‘God, I wish I was closer to retirement age than I am.’ Because if I could, I would.”

As cases and hospitalizations hit all-time highs, both in Missouri and across the country, hospitals, officials and

Schools

Continued from A18

is closing all of its buildings this week through at least Dec. 1, while Edwardsville is closing its high school this week with plans to reopen after Thanksgiving. Mehlville and Wentzville are closing their high schools until after Christmas; Wentzville’s middle schools are closed until Dec. 7.

“We have prioritized keeping our early childhood through eighth grade students in person as our older students are better equipped to learn virtually without as much supervision. Additionally, our younger students have lower positivity

Veolia

Continued from A18

Sommer said the facility’s authorization to dispose of the foam means the plant could receive the substance in the future, either from the Department of Defense or another source.

“Municipalities have it. State fire departments have it,” Sommer said. “It’s everywhere.”

The Defense Department accounts for three-quarters of the PFAS firefighting foam used while municipal airports, refineries and other industrial facilities account for most of the rest, the plaintiffs allege in their federal complaint.

Environmental activists are particularly concerned about the effects of incinerating PFAS firefighting foam

healthcare workers themselves are warning that staffing is stretched thin.

“I’m not so concerned about ventilators. I’m not so concerned about ICU beds,” Gov. Mike Parson said during a news conference on Thursday, Nov. 12. “But I don’t know that you have the manpower to be able to focus on all of that if this disease keeps spreading at the rate it is.”

On Tuesday, Nov. 10,, MU Health Care had nearly 80 employees out who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, a spokeswoman said. Since the pandemic began, Rodarmel says she’s watched too many colleagues leave for other jobs because of the stress.

Nurses who are testing positive for COVID — but are asymptomatic — are being required to come in to help fill shortages, said Heidi Lucas, the state director for the Missouri Nurses Association. Dr. Alex Garza, the incident commander of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, put it this way.

“An analogy would be, I could have 100 buses, but if I only got one driver, I got one bus,” Garza said during a recent briefing. “The rest are just taking up parking spots.”

rates than our older students,” Mehlville Superintendent Chris Gaines said.

Critical staff shortages

St. Louis Public Schools, which opened to younger students late last month, will keep buildings closed and provide only distance learning the week after the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Rockwood and Hillsboro districts have warned parents that building closures may be coming. Rockwood is facing “critical shortages in staffing” because of required quarantines, Superintendent Mark Miles said in a newsletter.

“If this continues, these shortages may not allow us to

because the substance is difficult to break down.

PFAS are a set of thousands of synthetic chemicals that are found in common household products like nonstick cookware, clothing and stain repellent for carpet.

Most Americans have some levels of PFAS in their bodies because the so-called “forever chemicals” do not break down naturally and can accumulate over time.

“The same properties that have made PFAS a widely used fire suppressant also make them difficult and dangerous to incinerate,” the plaintiffs write. “Uncombusted PFAS are emitted into the air along with other hazardous chemicals, contaminating the communities surrounding the incinerators.”

This happened at a hazardous waste incinerator in Cohoes, New York, one of the other facilities authorized to

Emotional toll Lucas said the burnout level among nurses on the frontlines is “exceptionally high” as they see typically healthy patients decline rapidly.

“They’re seeing things that they’ve never really seen before,” she said

“Watching them die alone — and really being the only person in the room with them,” Lucas said. “They hold a lot of hands and are with people during their last breaths. And that doesn’t have to happen.”

own time off to stay home and away from work if they contract COVID-19.

“It’s exhausting and those that have become sick, they’ve run out of sick time,” said Julie Long, a family nurse practitioner and the board president of the Association of Missouri Nurse Practitioners.

n “The challenge of caring for COVID patients is about keeping our staff safe.”

– Mary Beck, chief nursing officer,MU Health Care

Health care workers themselves aren’t immune from the disease. More than 1,300 healthcare workers have died in the U.S. due to COVID-19, according to The Guardian and Kaiser Health News. One of Rodarmel’s co-workers died from the disease in April.

“The challenge of caring for COVID patients is about keeping our staff safe,” said Mary Beck, the chief nursing officer for MU Health Care.

Lucas said some nurses across the state must use their

support in-person educational services appropriately in the near future. This is why I’m asking our staff and families to join me in preparing for the future possibility of a shortterm return to fully remote learning for students,” he said.

Parkway switched its elementary and middle schools to a hybrid model earlier this month after infections were found in all but one of the district’s 23 elementary and middle schools.

Hazelwood and FergusonFlorissant have yet to reopen buildings at all this fall.

Confluence Academies, the largest charter school network in St. Louis, will keep middle and high schools closed until at least mid-January, though its

burn the foam, Sommer said.

“Activists out there did a study of the soil in the vicinity of the Cohoes plant, and it demonstrated that it was un-adequately incinerating the PFAS,” she said. “The soil was laced with it.”

Serious health risks

PFAS exposure can lead to kidney and testicular cancer, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, liver damage, suppressed immune systems, fertility issues in women and other serious health ailments, according to the federal lawsuit.

The suit alleges the Defense Department knew byproducts from burning PFAS present serious health risks to people in surrounding communities, including severe respiratory damage and skin burns. The plaintiffs add that some of the byproducts are the same chemicals found in rodent poison or

Rodarmel, who is Research Medical Center’s chief nurse representative with National Nurses United, and nurses from other KC-area hospitals protested at the start of May for better protective equipment. And it wasn’t until this month, Rodarmel said, that Research Medical Center committed to no longer having staff decontaminate and reuse face masks.

Christine Hamele, a Research Medical Center spokeswoman, said in a statement Friday, Nov. 13, that the hospital has taken steps to connect staff with mental health resources and that its focus has been on ensuring staff have personal protective equipment.

“This includes our universal

elementary schools are currently open.

Scientific research continues to show children contract and spread the virus less than adults, and schools have not been proven to cause wide spreading of the coronavirus. Still, cases of COVID-19 among St. Louis County youth doubled between late October and early November, according to the county health department. Older teenagers have the highest test positivity rate of all age groups in the county, though more testing is being done on adults than children.

County health officials said in their biweekly report that the level of testing of teens and children “is not identifying a large enough share of the

chemical warfare agents.

“It’s our health that’s at stake here,” Sommer said. “We’re talking about seriously toxic stuff.”

Last November, the CDC launched an investigation into whether the Veolia plant is emitting heavy metals into the air. The investigation is still ongoing, according to the office of Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois.

“The people of Sauget deserve answers about the potential health concerns stemming from the weakening of pollution controls at the Veolia Waste Incineration facility,” the senator said in a written statement. “I know how important it is that every American be able to breathe safe and clean air, regardless of where they live.”

Cosey said she sees the effects of what the plant burns regularly.

“Some mornings you wake

masking policy, consistent with CDC guidelines, that has been in place since the end of March and requires masks for everyone in patient care areas and N95 masks for those treating a COVID positive patient having an aerosolizing procedure,” Hamele wrote.

Beck said at MU Health Care, N95 respirators are decontaminated and reused at least six times. While N95 masks are ideally discarded after each patient encounter, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlines a decontamination process in order to reuse them when necessary.

‘There’s just not enough people’

In 2019, Missouri health care professionals saw a combined turnover of 19.8 percent statewide, according to a Missouri Hospital Association survey. And that was before the pandemic.

Dave Dillon, the spokesman for the Missouri Hospital Association, said it’s difficult for hospitals to bolster their workforce quickly, especially when hospitals nationwide are in need of staff.

Some hospital executives or employees in administrative roles who are registered nurses,

infected population to bring transmission under control.”

Last week, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and the state’s education department relaxed quarantine rules for students and staff, saying students and teachers do not have to quarantine following close contact with an infected person if everyone was wearing face coverings.

Teachers unions in the state strongly objected to the announcement as dangerous.

Clayton Superintendent Sean Doherty told district families over the weekend that exposure and quarantine rules in the district will not change, pointing out it “runs counter to current CDC guidelines.”

have been transitioning back to working with patients. At MU, Beck said nurses who don’t typically care for patients bedside are also being asked to step in and help. On a call with Parson and state health department director Randall Williams late last month, Tindle described facing a “transfer crisis” as hospitals in larger metros refused to accept patients because they too were full.

Dillon said hospitals are even facing a “log jam” to get patients out of hospitals and back to places like nursing homes. And as the length of their stay increases, “that’s a bed that’s occupied that can’t be occupied by someone else.”

Citing declines in revenues, hospitals across the state have laid off and furloughed hundreds of staff, from administrative assistants to nurse practitioners.

In May, MU Health Care laid off 32 workers after canceling 70 contracts for traveling nurses. Over 1,300 employees were affected by furloughs and cuts at Mercy’s St. Louis and Springfield’s hospitals in May.

O’Connor, whose daughter, Willow, is struggling through kindergarten, is “terrified to see what happens” during the second attempt at virtual school. She spent the weekend shopping for school supplies, hoping that making the house look and feel more like school will encourage her daughter to participate. If it doesn’t work, she and her husband will seriously consider pulling Willow out of school and trying kindergarten again next year.

up and the grass is not green,” she said. “The grass is brown. How that happens only God knows.”

The pollution has made it impossible for Cosey to keep flowers or garden with her great-grandson, she said.

“He wanted to plant a garden, and I helped him. You couldn’t tell what I planted. It was not edible,” she said. “He was disgusted and has not planted a garden since.”

The possibility of new toxic substances coming from the incinerator leaves Cosey confused and upset. She said the majority of people in her community are low-income or people of color.

“I don’t know why there isn’t a lot of outcry in this community about the plant,” she said. “You’re cheating my kids of a normal life that they should have.”

Cosey said she is particularly concerned with how the

“I’m afraid that it’s going to make her end up disliking school altogether,” O’Connor said. “I’m afraid that she’s going to get in her mind that this is just what school is, and this is what it’s going to be.”

consistent exposure to whatever Veolia burns will affect her great-grandchildren’s health later in life. She added she does not understand why she and other members of her community need to be the ones to prove to the EPA if something is toxic.

A spokesperson for the EPA said PFAS is not listed as a hazardous waste or hazardous air pollutant under federal law, but the agency is evaluating if the firefighting foam can be safely incinerated. The EPA will release new guidance on PFAS disposal before the end of the year.

“They should be the one to prove that these things are not harmful,” Cosey said.

Eric Schmid covers the Metro East for St. Louis Public Radio as part of the journalism grant program Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project.

NEWSPAPER IN EDUCATION

Sensible Thanksgiving Eating

Nutrition Challenge:

PRESENT:

Healthy Kids

Thanksgiving is a day that we take a moment and remember the things/people that we are thankful to have in our lives. But let’s be honest, many Thanksgiving celebrations also include food – and a lot of it! But if you remember just a few simple tips, you can enjoy the day without the extra calories (and uncomfortably full stomach).

Follow the Meal

With a Walk!

Why not start a new tradition this year? After your Thanksgiving dinner, have your family take a walk around the neighborhood. This is a great way to spend time with your relatives, see who’s in town for the holiday, and can help prevent the all-too-common post meal stomachache. Walking aids digestion, keeps you away

Being Thankful

Thanksgiving is a great time to remember all of the people/things that have had a positive impact on your life. Why not have each person around the table say one (or two or three!) thing(s) that they are

> Remembering week seven’s divided-plate lesson, try to fill at least half of your plate with healthy vegetables/fruits.

> Eat slowly. That way you’ll know when you’re full before you’ve overdone it.

> Limit desserts; choose just one. Or if you want to try a few different kinds, ask for a small “sample” of each.

> Can you think of any other tips?

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

from the dessert table and even helps with that after-dinner slump that affects many people after a big meal. In addition, getting up and moving will get your body back into calorie-burning mode. What are some other ways to be “active” after your Thanksgiving dinner?

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

thankful for, before you begin eating? You could even make a game out of it: each person writes down what they’re thankful for on a small card. Someone then reads each card as the group guesses who wrote it.

Learning Standards: HPE 2, NH 4

Ingredients:

6 Whole carrots

Cooking spray

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel the carrots and cut into small strips about ¼ inch thick and 3 inches long. Spread the carrots onto a cooking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt/pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes, flip them over. Spray with a little cooking spray and more salt/ pepper. Cook for another 15 minutes, until lightly browned.

Healthcare Careers

Leslie Davis, Counselor, Family Advocate

Where do you work? I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor with a private practice in O’Fallon, IL, as well as a contracted therapist with Better Help. I am also the Founder and Executive Director of Hearts in Faith, NFP in O’Fallon, IL.

Where did you go to school? I am a current student at Regent University, working towards a PhD in Counseling and Psychological Studies. I earned my Master’s Degree in Professional Counseling at McKendree University and my Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology at Wheaton College.

What does a counselor do? As a psychotherapist, I see myself as my client’s mirror, reflecting back to them a different view on their thoughts and feelings. I enjoy working primarily with teens, young adults, and couples. As a Black Therapist, it is my mission to empower young women and teens to face various challenges that arise in life.

Why did you choose this career? I knew at the age of 13 that I was going to be a counselor. Since I was a teen, I’ve always had random people share their life stories with me, and I somehow always found a way to encourage them. As the Founder of Hearts in Faith, I enjoy empowering single moms and youth who need encouragement to develop and maintain healthy relationships, free from violence.

What is your favorite part of the job you have? I enjoy seeing people through their process of healing. I also enjoy meeting people from various walks of life. The other aspect of my role is being an advocate. It brings me joy to know that I was part of the process that brought someone closer to their goals.

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

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

Carrot Fries

It

Tef Poe becomes executive director at social justice news website

Rapper/activist continues fight for justice as new face of The Boycott Times

By Danielle Brown Of The St. Louis American

One thing’s for certain, you can never try to figure out Kareem “Tef Poe” Jackson’s next move or box him in. Since his heavy involvement with the Ferguson movement, he has always made his mission to shift the status quo very clear.

In his new role as executive director at The Boycott Times, the rapper and activist joins a team of professional and aspiring writers, who share similar perspectives.

n “I want to show people there isn’t a box you can put me in, You can’t finger what I’ll do next or peg it.”

— Tef Poe

The Boycott Times is an independent, non-profit website committed to combining journalism, fashion, music and art, while providing writers with a platform to pen free form political pieces. It is funded by the sales of Boycott Apparel, which was originally launched as a clothing line in Colombia, by Daniel Hernandez, founder and art director.

“I met Danny through a friend of mine I met at Harvard named Mordecai Lyon,” Poe said in an interview. “Danny contacted Mordecai asking him if he knew of any hip-hop artists who might align with the brand and might have the ability to help it grow and expand. So we just started talking and feeling each other out.”

When he was contacted by Hernandez, Poe, was living in Stratton, Vermont, writing his memoir, “Rebel to America.” He was reacclimating himself to the United States after serving as a U.S. cultural ambassador in Amman, Jordan in 2019. Initially, he said he wasn’t ready to take on a big project because his book was his priority.

“I wasn’t ready to take on too many more massive projects at the time,” Poe said. “We kept talking about it, and casually building about it. Then at the turn of the year, we took a more serious tone about how we were going to do it and who all would be at the table. Danny and Mordecai both said they felt I would be the perfect executive director.”

Poe is a rapper and national activist from St. Louis. He is most recognized for advocating for improving the lives of Black people in and outside of the United States. He is the co-founder of HandsUp United, a social justice organization established after black teenager Michael Brown, was killed in 2014 by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.

In his new role, Poe is responsible for curating the day-to-day operations at Boycott. He’s part of the team that revamped what was once just a clothing line into a hub for citizen journalists and people with non-traditional political views — different from those of the mainstream media.

Under his leadership, Poe wants people to know those who are active on social media are already writers and he wants those who contribute free content online to know they can use their writing as their voice.

“I want to show people that most of us in this current era of social media, we were already

Artist releases part one of three-series EP

By Danielle Brown of The St. Louis American

A lot has transpired in Muhammad “Mvstermind” Austin’s life since his 2016 debut EP “Cusp.” Just as he is gaining more attention from record labels, he has collaborated with Dr. Scholl’s to launch his own sneaker: the “MVSTERMIND.” And he was named a Tidal Rising Artist.

On a steady climb to success, Mvstermind found difficulties in intertwining his musical journey with the responsibilities of marriage and fatherhood. His efforts to balance it all served as the inspiration behind the “BEGREATFOOL,” EP, a three-part, interconnected sequence with more than 20 tracks. “Be,” is the first installment that has been released.

“I was spending so much time being Mvstermind that it wasn’t always the easiest process to be able to freely create when I

wanted,” the artist said. “At one point in time in my journey, I went ahead and chose love

writers, and I think there’s something that I haven’t completely untangled with a lot of Black people I know concerning their ability to write,” Poe said.

“I think a lot of people don’t realize how much free content they’re giving AT&T, you’re giving Facebook, you’re giving Twitter, you’re giving Instagram.” Art, music and fashion are other elements that Boycott is trying to bring together to make

The Rep presents ‘Love and Kindness in the Time of Quarantine’

Regina Taylor, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’ Andrew W. Mellon Foundation playwright-in-residence, directed and curated ‘Love and Kindness in the Time of Quarantine.’ The production will debut online at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20.

Curated

by

Regina Taylor, playwright-in-residence, show benefits Urban League

By American Staff

The prophetic words of Stevie Wonder’s “Love’s In Need of Love Today,” ring especially true in the unprecedented experiences of 2020. With its upcoming virtual production, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis seeks to rise to his four-decades old challenge. This week, The Rep will debut a collection of stories that offer hope, encouragement and perspective in a time of global uncertainty. Love and Kindness in the Time of Quarantine will stream online for free at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20. The production is directed and curated by Regina Taylor, The Rep’s Andrew W. Mellon Foundation playwright-in-residence.

Love and Kindness in the Time of Quarantine features a blend of songs and monologues examining nine perspectives during the coronavirus pandemic and reflecting on the search for light in this seemingly dark moment in history.

over everything. I proposed to my now wife at Delmar Hall and that was a testament to me like ‘yo, put your happiness, and put your love over this music and your journey.’

“Shortly afterward we had our son. That was a new challenge for me, growing up as a husband, a father, in a transitional stage of adulthood, all of those different things in the middle of my budding career.”

With “Be,” Mvstermind wants fans to know he is a man true to his stage name, all due to him being someone who is a mastermind of his artistry, and still human like everybody else.

“The only thing that allows us to be superhumans to an extent is how we react to the uncontrollable,” he said. “That’s the part that I wanted to breathe into the world. The certain person that they see today that’s juggling his family, everything that he loves, and standing strong in the middle of a pandemic, and pivoting. There was at one point I was at rock bottom, and I made a decision to make rock bottom my sturdiest foundation. I want to let people know, is that it’s a real true journey behind all of what you’re seeing.”

As a lover of music, it was important for Mvstermind to be transparent on this project, because he creates his music for himself. The

See Mvstermind, B3

The production features nationally renowned writers Dustin Chinn, Connie Congdon, Isaac Gomez and Octavio Solis as well as local favorites Tre’von Griffith, Carter W. Lewis, Mariah Richardson and Tonina. The performance features acclaimed stage and screen actors including Kathleen Chalfant, Brian D. Coats, Peter Gerety, Cedric Lamar and Karen Rodriguez.

n “We are proud to collaborate with The Urban League, where these tenets are modeled daily in service of our community.”

- Hana S. Sharif, The Rep’s Augustin Family artistic director.

“As an artist, I’ve observed the human spirit hungry for care and connection during this quarantine time,Taylor said. “What can we do to fill ourselves with love?”

“I’m grateful to the wonderful collection of artists who have written pieces that connect our community to art and connect art to life. Together, we can bear witness to what affects us in this time and share those experiences.”

Inspired by the community organizations that demonstrate love and kindness in the St. Louis region every day, The Rep has partnered with the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis on this virtual production.

“Art has the unique ability to cultivate and amplify compassion,” said Hana S. Sharif, the Rep’s Augustin Family artistic director. “In the midst of these uncertain times, we hope that Love and Kindness in the Time of Quarantine will inspire us all to spread light, hope and communion with each other. We are proud to collaborate with The Urban League, where these tenets are modeled daily in service of our community.”

Donations are encouraged and all proceeds directly benefit the Urban League as the organization provides food, toiletries and housing assistance to people in need during the coming holiday season.

See Rep, B2

In his new role as executive director at The Boycott Times, rapper and activist Tef Poe joins a team of professional and aspiring writers, who share similar perspectives.

Mvstermind

“Since 1918, The Urban League has sought to uplift and empower communities, and we recognize the power of theater to do that same important work,” said Michael P. McMillan, president and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. “We look forward to spreading a message of love, kindness and community this season with The Rep.” The Rep is also invit-

ing people throughout the area to spread positivity and joy across social media with acts and images of love and kindness with The #RepLoveAndKindness challenge, underway through Dec. 4. Participants are asked do something kind for someone else, share the story or post a photo on social media, add #RepLoveAndKindness as a hashtag to the post. They are then urged to tag five friends, challenging them to commit a random act of kindness of their own and keep the good works flowing.

“It could be as simple as texting someone who might need a kind word or as

exhausting as raking a neighbor’s leaves,” The Rep said in a statement about the challenge. “No kindness is too big or too small.”

Love and Kindness in the Time of Quarantine may be viewed for free on repstl. org and The Rep’s YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube. com/user/repstlvideo) beginning at 7 p.m. CST on Nov. 20. The performance will be available to stream through Dec. 31. For more information, visit repstl.org or call The Rep Box Office at 314-968-4925. To donate to the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, visit www.ulstl.com.

Be a Tourist in Your Own Town

Black women are especially welcomed to join Boycott. Tef Poe said Black women writers dominate in literature and journalism and play a significant role in why the website advocates for that demographic.

“We made it intentional to come out the gate working with Black women writers,” Tef Poe said. “It’s just facts in terms of the literary world and journalism of who’s telling the truth out here, in most cases it’s Black women writers. It’s important to work with the right people and have some integrity about it.” Visit https://boycottx.org/ for more information.

By Barry Draper, Director of Partnership Services, Explore St. Louis

The wonders of the Vatican are front and center at America’s Center Convention Complex. Open now, the international touring exhibit, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition, is an immersive journey through the iconic masterpieces that adorn the Sistine Chapel in Rome, Italy. It’s truly a sight to behold and will stay in St. Louis until January 10, 2021.

Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition transports visitors safely and responsibly to the Vatican, all while never leaving St. Louis. The exhibit covers nearly all of America’s Ballroom’s 27,625 square feet of space – allowing guests to marvel at one of the world’s greatest artistic achievements, Michelangelo’s renowned ceiling frescoes, up close and personal.

The exhibition takes its visitors back in time and up onto the scaffolding that was used during the restoration of the Sistine Chapel in the 1980s. The paintings in the Chapel had become covered in such a thick layer of dust and soot after almost 500 years that the brilliance of their original luminous colors had all but disappeared. It was not until the comprehensive restoration work carried out in the 1980s and 1990s that the true richness

of color in the wall and ceiling frescoes could once more be seen. The exhibition illustrates the restoration and allows guests to view the monumental paintings much closer than the usual 65 feet. Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition brings an entirely new perspective to these works by Michelangelo, and acts as a work of art in its own right.

With expertise and care, each restored ceiling fresco has been reproduced in its near original size using state-ofthe-art technology. Altogether, the exhibition features 34 displayed reproductions, including internationally recognized The Creation of Adam and The Last Judgement. Guests who visit America’s Center will be overcome by the details of the art, the closeness to the picture, and the modern style of the exhibition.

Recently internationally recognized as a GBAC STAR Facility for its commitment to ensuring a clean, safe, and healthy environment, America’s Center has health and safety protocols firmly in place, including but not limited to: temperature screenings for guests upon entry, mandatory use of face coverings, practicing of social distancing, and rigorous sanitization of all surfaces. Additionally, all visitors are required to move through the exhibit in pods, allowing plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful works of art at their

own pace. Timed tickets on the hour are available to ensure capacity limits and social distancing. Hours of operation are Thursday – Sunday 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Interpretive signs are available; audio devices with narrative accompaniment (in English or Spanish) are

Directions and Parking: To enter the exhibit at America’s Center, guests are to use the Washington Ave. entrance. $5 self-parking is available at the US Bank Plaza Garage immediately across the street from the Washington Ave. entrance. For more information on Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition at America’s Center, please visit https:// explorestlouis.com/sistine.

Open now, the international touring exhibit, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition, is an immersive journey through the iconic masterpieces that adorn the Sistine Chapel in Rome, Italy.

Tef Poe Continued

Tef Poe

music helps calm his anxiety, express what’s on his mind and figure out what’s in his heart. With everything he was experiencing at the time, with doing music full-time and juggling a family, it was a no-brainer for him to hit the studio and talk about it.

“At times I would be recording, mixing, mastering and engineering everything all at once, and I’d put my son to sleep in his crib, go to the booth, then I was frustrated, I felt rusty,” Mvstermind said. “I started to get down on myself. I was fighting depression. I was like let me pour my true experiences and what’s going on cause that’s what I need.”

Mvstermind collaborated with 18-year-old electronic prodigy Owen Ragland, on-therise producer Michael Franco, Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Neila, and world-renowned

Alarm Will Sound Orchestra on “BEGREATFOOL.” The collaborations allowed his vision to be tangible, providing him with different feelings than those he felt when he sampled music as a producer. “Working with Owen, in his mind he was able to play everything that was on my mind and we were able to work with one another,” Mvstermind said. “I

to life. Working with Alarm Will Sound, just seeing their recording processes, was another thing for me ‘cause I’m used to recording vocalists and rappers. But watching them record their instrumentalists was really nice, to see their creative process, and honestly, the biggest thing in music in general is the community that comes from creating.”

St. Louis has always showered Mvstermind with love and support. The recognition he receives from the people here motivates him to keep going.

“It’s incredibly honorable and it empowers me to make sure that I continue to walk into that step as that hometown hero and make sure that I continue to provide my platforms for my city and my people who steadily fill up my cup.” Mvstermind said

was able to really curate the exact sound that was in my mind the whole time as far as the colors, and the speed and the texture. It was a real special moment being able to bring that

Mvstermind has performed at Loufest, A3C, SXSW, and shared the stage with Chance the Rapper, Lupe Fiasco, Travis Scot.

Mvstermind’s “Be,” EP can be found and streamed via all music platforms.

Read more about Enterprise and our impact in the community at

Congratulations to Nakischa Joseph for her promotion to Community Mortgage Loan Officer at Enterprise Bank & Trust. Nakischa is a business development professional with more than 15 years in the financial industry. Nakischa holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from LeMoyne-Owen College.

Nakischa volunteers with the Urban League and her local church, and mentors young girls with her women’s empowerment group, G.A.B. (God’s Anointed Beauties). Nakischa believes in giving back and reaching back. Congratulations, Nakischa!

Take Refuge in Art

The core mission of the Saint Louis Art Museum has always been to elevate the human spirit. As our community continues to face the uncertainties of a world pandemic, as well as social inequities and political challenges, there is no better time to highlight printer and sculptor Elizabeth Catlett. Catlett is recognized as one of the nation’s most important 20th-century artists. She attended Howard University, where she worked with some of the most influential artists and activists. The Black community was a great motivator for Catlett’s work, and she once said, “I have always wanted my art to service my people—to reflect us, to relate to us, to stimulate us, to make us aware of our potential.”

In 1946, Catlett moved from the United States to Mexico City. There, she worked with the People’s Graphic Workshop, a printmaking collective dedicated to using art to promote social change. The United States later barred Catlett from returning to the U.S. because the American government deemed her an “undesirable alien” due to her work’s political nature. Catlett became a Mexican citizen in 1962 and spent the rest of her life there creating work that speaks to people around the world. Her U.S. citizenship was restored in 2002, rendering her a citizen of both the United States and Mexico.

“Seated Woman,” a sculpture by Catlett, entered the Museum’s collection in 2019. The wooden sculpture carved

from mahogany realistically depicts a Black woman. There is clear influence from the art of the African diaspora in the carving of the face that is reminiscent of an African mask and Mexican sculpture. The woman’s rounded body and firmly placed legs convey confidence and stability. Catlett felt affirmative representations, such as “Seated Woman,” could support social change because they allow underrepresented people to see themselves depicted in art.

The Museum acquired one of Catlett’s most famous prints entitled “Sharecropper” a little more than 10 years ago. “Sharecropper” reveals Elizabeth Catlett’s lifelong concern for the marginalized and the dignity of women. Vivid

markings create this anonymous woman’s weathered skin, textured white hair, and broadbrimmed straw hat. Fatigue is evident in her eyes, and a makeshift safety pin holds her lightweight jacket closed. By focusing on the enduring strength of poor laborers, Catlett hoped to “find a voice to speak for people who do not have one.”

While there may be uncertainties, everyone remains forever hopeful. Elizabeth Catlett firmly believed that “art can raise the consciousness of injustice, expose abuses of power, and illuminate possibilities for social transformation.” We at the Saint Louis Art Museum hope that you will continue to find refuge in art.

Sculptor Elizabeth Catlett

Faith in Action:

The election may be over, but the work must continue

Faith

“Voting is a

to

of

part of

the

marginalized

said the Rev. Alvin Herring, executive director of Faith in Action.

This turnout happened in spite of a global pandemic that fundamentally altered how grassroots leaders organize, moving many integral in-person voter engagement events to virtual only. With the election now behind us, faith leaders and organizers across the networks are urging those energized by the election to continue this work and not become complacent.

“James 2:26 says faith without works is dead; this is at the crux of Faith in Action’s mission. Our faith traditions are diverse and all compel us to work toward justice, equity and liberation for all. It is not enough to believe these ideals, we must do all that we can to organize for a better future. And we cannot solely rely on our leaders to achieve this vision. We must use every tool in our toolbox and continue the fight for civil rights,” Herring said.

“But our activism is not and cannot be limited to the ballot box. Now we have to get to work and build a beloved community that is rooted in peace, justice and equity.”

Justice Alito warns against COVID threats to religious liberty

For the St. Louis American WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito warned against threats to religious liberty and freedom of speech imposed because of the coronavirus that have resulted in “previously unimaginable” restrictions on Americans.

Justice Alito said Thursday that he doesn’t intend to downplay the “severity of the virus’ threat” to public health but called out what he sees as government overreach in the ongoing fight against COVID-19.

The election is not an endpoint — it is a starting point, a road map for how we can strategize moving forward to achieve racial justice, win compassionate immigration reform, create a criminal justice system rooted in dignity, and remove the far-too-many barriers to voting. Our work did not end on election day. If anything, it started anew the day after, Herring said.

Faith in Action, formerly known as PICO National Network, is the largest grassroots, faith-based organizing network in the United States. The nonpartisan organization works with 1,000 religious congregations in more than 200 cities and towns through its 46 local and state federations. For more information, visit www. faithinaction.org.

“The pandemic has resulted in previously unimaginable restrictions on personal liberty. We have never before seen restrictions as severe, extensive and prolonged as those experienced for most of 2020. Whatever one may think about COVID restrictions, we surely don’t want them to become a recurring feature after the pandemic has passed,” Alito said.

“In certain quarters, religious liberty has fast become a disfavored right. For many today, religious liberty is not a cherished freedom. It’s often just an excuse for bigotry and it can’t be tolerated even when there’s no evidence that anybody has been harmed,” the justice said. Alito cited two cases this year in which the High Court

sided with states while claiming the Coronavirus as the reason for restrictions on the size of religious gatherings. In May, the Supreme Court rejected an emergency appeal by a California church challenging attendance limits at worship services. The justices turned away a similar challenge by a Nevada church in July. The High Court ruled 5-4 in both cases, allowing the limitations to continue. Alito said that the resulting restrictions “blatantly discriminated against houses of worship” and he added that he believed religious liberty is in danger of becoming a “secondclass” right.

What has been underscored in the long ballot-count process since Election Night is the importance and power of Black and Brown voters.

Justice Samuel Alito

Sports

SportS EyE

With Alvin A. Reid

NFL does little, NCAA does nothing to increase minority hires

The NFL pulled a crafty escape move when it comes to hiring more minority head coaches, assistant coaches and general managers last week.

Last spring, NFL owners rejected a proposal that would reward franchises for hiring minority coaches and major front office with additional draft picks.

Instead, the same owners last week unanimously adopted a proposal that would grant draft pick compensation to teams that develop minority coaches who are then hired by another team.

I guess this could be called “progress,” but it’s really an attempt to placate those that are rightfully calling out the NFL for its lack of front office diversity.

Beginning this offseason, a team that loses a minority assistant coach who becomes a head coach, or loses a personnel executive who becomes a general manager, will receive third-round compensatory picks in each of the next two drafts.

Blacks to hold the position.

The Fritz Pollard Association, which is named for the first Black coach in NFL history, tracks minority coaching hires and qualified candidates at the NFL and collegiate levels.

Executive Director Rod Graves told USA TODAY that racism must be playing a role in NFL hiring.

“You look at the NFL and its track record and you have to wonder: How much of it is the result of racist attitudes and disregard to fairness?” he asked.

“Those types of issues have to come up when you look at the NFL’s track record.”

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell defended the action - even if it creates minute change.

“I think that’s how we’ve made progress over the past several years,” Goodell said during a conference call following the owners’ vote.

The problem is that this happens once in a blue moon, so it will have little real impact. Teams should be incentivized for making minority hires, not losing one of few minority coaches or GMs.

The second new concept mandates that a team that loses two minority staffers to head coach and general manager positions would receive three third-round picks. It sounds good, but this has NEVER happened in the history of the NFL.

About 75 percent of NFL players are black yet, at the season’s start, there were just three black head coaches – Brian Flores, Miami; Anthony Lynn, San Diego; Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh. Ron Rivera, who is Latino, is head coach of the Washington Football Team.

After Houston and Atlanta fired their head coaches earlier this season, Romeo Crennel and Raheem Morris are serving as respective interim head coaches.

The NFL’s record on GMs is similarly pathetic. The Cleveland Browns’ Andrew Berry and Miami Dolphins’ Chris Grier are the lone two

“It’s continually keeping a focus on this, adapting, looking to see what areas we can improve on, and that constant evolution of improvement, to try to make sure we’re doing everything appropriate to give minorities an opportunity to advance in the head coaching ranks or the coaching ranks in general, in personnel and other football areas, to well beyond that.

That’s a lot of words that really don’t say much.

NCAA says ‘no way’

As sour as Black coaches and fans might feel about the NFL’s watered-down effort, it beats the heck out of the NCAA.

For more than a decade, the state of Oregon has had a state law requiring that “state schools interview at least one qualified minority candidate for all head coach and athletic director openings.”

In August, the West Coast Conference adopted the “Bill Russell Rule” which requires its member schools to “include a member of a traditionally underrepresented community in the pool of final candidates for every athletic director, senior administrator, head coach and full-time assistant coach position.”

Russell played at San Francisco University, which is now a WCC member.

The NCAA Committee to Promote Cultural Diversity and Equity (NCPCD) met last week to reportedly discuss both mandates and recommend to the NCAA that similar plans be adopted.

It didn’t vote on any action or recommend any policy changes. The committee also didn’t have the guts to provide an actual man or woman to tell the world of its decision.

In a written statement, the NCAA said it will, “continue conversations with conference commissioners” who support

the rule changes after the committee opted not to move forward with a recommendation to the board of governors.

“The NCAA is a voluntary association with public and private members who are subject to different state laws,” the statement said.

“Thus, the NCAA cannot mandate the individual hiring practices of colleges and universities or campus employment practices. As a result, employment decisions are made at the individual campus level.”

Translation: “If you choose, go ahead and be racist out there when it comes to Black coaches.”

InSIdE SportS

With Earl Austin Jr.

Sam Sachs, founder of The No Hate Zone and an advocate for policy changes that promote minority hiring in college athletics, called the NCAA “a white supremacy structure that’s unwilling to give up its power.”

He added that he feels he was “played” by NCAA President Mark Emmert. He had shared correspondence with Emmert and worked with him to garner support for Oregon and the Russell initiatives.

“Emmert led me down this path, told me what to do, encouraged me what to do, and it’s a complete and utter failure,” he told ESPN.

“I feel like I’ve been played. I don’t feel the NCAA really values diversity and equity. Now what?”

If it involves alleged racism, it must involve Missouri in some way, right?

Mark Lombardi, Maryville University president, is chair of the CPCDE.

Sachs said he has attempted to speak with Lombardi several times and has received no response. ESPN reached Lombardi and it was told to contact the NCAA for a request to interview him.

On Tuesday, I sent an email to Lombardi’s office to request an interview. It includes request for a statement on Sachs’ accusations and his thoughts on the committee’s decision.

In September, 30 athletic directors from Division I programs signed a Collegiate Coaching Diversity Pledge. The schools said they would “have a finalist pool that includes at least one candidate from a traditionally underrepresented background and one non-diverse candidate” for vacancies in in men’s basketball, women’s basketball and football.

Dozens of NCAA schools have Black men’s and women’s basketball head coaches, so the real culprit here is football.

According to the NCAA’s own statistics from 2018-19 academic year, Black and other minority players comprised about 65 percent of the player pool. There were only 20 minority coaches (15.4 percent) in the FBS, which includes 129 football teams. The NCAA created this data base in 2011-12. At that time, 83.3 percent of FBS head coaches were white. Today, that number has not decreasedit has increased to 84.6 percent. By the way, the NCAA statement said its board of governors adopted “the Presidential Pledge” to promote better diversity and gender equity and that it continues to discuss other initiatives. Sachs scoffed at that, saying “it is time for the NCAA to fulfill the broken promises and move their words to action to promote cultural diversity and equity.”

Alvin A. Reid’s Twitter handle is @aareid1.

Isaiah Williams is Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week

The St. Louis area continues to produce some excellent football players who are currently putting in some serious work at the collegiate level.

Former Trinity Catholic standout quarterback Isaiah Williams was named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week after his big performance in leading the University of Illinois to a 23-20 victory at Rutgers last Saturday. Williams rushed for 192 yards and scored a touchdown to lead the Illini to its first victory of the season. The 192 yards was the most ever by an Illinois quarterback in a single game. Williams became the first Illinois player to win the Freshman of the Week Award since 2016. Williams led Trinity to the Class 3 state championship during his senior year in 2019. Former Vianney star Kyren Williams is having a stellar

campaign for Notre Dame, which is currently 8-0 and ranked No. 2 in the country. A sophomore running back, Williams has rushed for 777 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging nearly six yards per carry. Williams rushed for 140 yards and scored three touchdowns in Notre Dame’s 47-40 overtime victory over then No. 1 Clemson two weeks ago in a big showdown in South Bend, Indiana. He was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week after that performance. Williams led Vianney to two Class 5 state championships during his stellar prep career.

Former Pattonville High standout quarterback Kaleb Eleby is the starting quarterback for Western Michigan and a big part of its 2-0 start this season. Eleby shined in WMU’s nationally-televised

victory over Toledo last week when he completed 20 of 29 passes for 284 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-38 victory. Eleby executed the fake spike to throw the game-winning touchdown in the closing seconds to culminate a late rally by the Western Michigan. In two games, Eleby has passed for 546 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions while completing 71 percent of his passes.

High School State Playoffs Continue

that are still alive in the playoffs.

Here is the schedule of this weekend’s state football playoffs in the state of Missouri. There are currently 11 schools from the St. Louis metro area

Class 6 (State Semifinals) Fox at DeSmet, Friday, 7 p.m. Raymore-Peculiar at Liberty North, Saturday, 1 p.m.

Class 5 (State Quarterfinals) Jackson at Chaminade, Friday, 7 p.m.

Fort Zumwalt North at Battle, Friday, 7 p.m. Lebanon at Webb City, Friday, 7 p.m. Grain Valley at Platte County, Friday, 7 p.m.

Class 4 (State Quarterfinals) Festus at Union, Friday, 7 p.m.

MICDS at Hannibal,

Saturday, 1 p.m. West Plains at Helias, Friday, 7 p.m. Smithville at Grandview, Friday, 7 p.m.

Class 3 Kennett at Cardinal Ritter, Saturday, 1 p.m. Lutheran North at Blair Oaks, Saturday, 1 p.m. Buffalo at Cassville, Saturday, 1 p.m. Maryville at Summit Christian, Saturday, 1 p.m.

Class 2 Jefferson at Duchesne, Friday, 7 p.m. Lamar at Mt. View Liberty, Saturday, 1 p.m. Hallsville at Palmyra, Saturday, 1 p.m. Butler at St. Pius X, Friday, 7 p.m.

Top District Championship Performances

• Senior Rico Barfield of DeSmet scored three touchdowns in the Spartans’ 28-7 victory over Francis Howell.

• Senior Chris Futrell of Fort Zumwalt North scored two touchdowns and had two quarterback sacks in the Panthers’ 52-3 victory over Fort Zumwalt South.

• Sophomore Jamond Mathis of Duchense recorded three sacks in the Pioneers’ 16-13 victory over Lutheran-St. Charles.

• Quarterback Brian Brown of Lutheran North completed nine of 13 passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns in the Crusaders’ 45-10 victory over Borgia.

Alvin A. Reid

Earl Austin Jr.

Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin is one of only three head coaches in the NFL.

COORDINATOR RISK SERVICES

Individual is responsible for handling various tasks to support the Risk Services Department, to enable each unit to function effectively and provide superior customer service while meeting various compliance requirements. To apply, please visit: https:// www.safetynational.com/ careers-page/

FIREFIGHTER/ PARAMEDIC

The City of Richmond Heights is accepting applications for Firefighter/Paramedic. To apply go to https://richmondheights. applicantpro.com/jobs/1578864. html . Applications will be accepted from November 9, 2020 through November 20, 2020.

LOSS PORTFOLIO TRANSFER CLAIMS MANAGER

Responsible for handling assigned claims from initial assignment to closure, as well as provide assistance in various administrative functions associated with the Loss Portfolio Transfer (LPT) Workers’ Compensation line of business. To apply, please visit: https://www.safetynational.com/ careers-page/

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Sealed Proposals for B21-1201 Rotary Cutter and Disc Bine will be received at Lincoln University Purchasing Dept 1002 Chestnut St, RM 101 Shipping & Receiving Bldg, JCMO 65101 until 2PM CT on 02DEC2020. Download Proposal Request at http://www.lincolnu.edu/web/ purchasing/bids

CAMPAIGN

FEASIBILITY STUDY RFQ 2020

The Saint Louis Zoo Association is seeking qualifications for a Campaign Feasibility Study and Development Readiness Audit. The Zoo envisions a comprehensive campaign in the range of $200 million or more. Bid documents are available as of 11/18/2020 on the Saint Louis Zoo website: stlzoo.org/vendor

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for the Tesshire Drive Bridge No. 400, St. Louis County Project No. CR-1669, Federal Project No. BRO-B096(003), will be received electronically thru the County’s Vendor Self Service portal at https://stlouisco. munisselfservice.com/Vendors/ default.aspx, until 11:00 a.m. on December 16, 2020

Plans and specifications will be available on November 16, 2020 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouiscountymo.gov) or by contacting Cross Rhodes Print & Technologies, 2731 South Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63118 (314) 678-0087.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for the Lucas-Hunt Road (North) Resurfacing project, St. Louis County Project No. AR-1560, will be received electronically thru the County’s Vendor Self Service portal at https:// stlouisco.munisselfservice.com/ Vendors/default.aspx, until 11:00 a.m. on December 16, 2020

Plans and specifications will be available on November 16, 2020 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouiscountymo.gov) or by contacting Cross Rhodes Print & Technologies, 2731 South Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63118 (314) 678-0087.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for the St. Charles Rock Road (West) ARS Resurfacing project, St. Louis County Project No. AR-1477, will be received electronically thru the County’s Vendor Self Service portal at https://stlouisco. munisselfservice.com/Vendors/ default.aspx, until 11:00 a.m. on December 16, 2020

Plans and specifications will be available on November 16, 2020 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouiscountymo.gov) or by contacting Cross Rhodes Print & Technologies, 2731 South Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63118 (314) 678-0087.

REINSURANCE ACCOUNTANT

To ensure that the daily tasks required to perform ceded and assumed reinsurance and program accounting are completed accurately and timely. Responsible for claims payment funds for Large Casualty claims and Large Primary Workers Compensation over the SIR and AGG limits. To apply, please visit: https://www.safetynational.com/ careers-page/

www.stlamerican.com

REGIONAL UNDERWRITING MANAGER – PUBLIC ENTITY

Responsible for underwriting and development of multi-line public entity new and renewal business as part of the Safety National Public Entity Practice. Territorial underwriting and development of business to align with geographic office location as much as possible, but may include National presence as management need arises. To apply, please visit: https://www.safetynational.com/ careers-page/

Preferred but not required experience working in HUD housing facility. Send resume to: cmcrvillage2@gmail.com

SENIOR MANAGER, HUMAN RESOURCES

The Senior Manager of Human Resources will coordinate all generalist HR functions for a non-profit organization that currently employs 60 team members. This includes developing, implementing and coordinating policies and programs encompassing all aspects of human resources, including: employment, compensation, training, staff planning and development, benefits, employee relations, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs in a manner which reflects the mission, philosophy and policies of Covenant House. To apply, visit our website at www.covenanthousemo.org

St. Louis County Department of Human Services

HOUSING URBAN DEVELOPMENT FY20 EMERGENCY

SOLUTION GRANT CV-1 FUNDING

The St. Louis County Department of Human Services, Homeless Services Program, is seeking proposals for the Housing Urban Development FY20 Emergency Solution Grant CV-1 (Corona Virus) funding. The total funding available is $1,703.217.00 These special ESG-CV-1 funds are to be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) among individuals and families who are homeless or receiving homeless assistance; and to support additional homeless assistance and homelessness prevention activities to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19.

Proposals are due by 11:00 a.m. on December 7, 2020. Request For Proposal details and specifications can be obtained at the St. Louis County Bids and RFPs webpage located at https://stlouiscountymo.gov/services/ request-for-bids-and-proposals/

INVITATION TO BID:

Blackline Design and Construction is seeking qualified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE’s) & Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE’s) proposals for the interior and exterior renovations (multi-family conversion) of a former catholic school located at 4021 Iowa Ave., St. Louis, MO 63118. Scope consist of: Demolition, Abatement, Excavation/Grading, Concrete Foundations, Concrete Flatwork, Masonry, Aluminum Fence, Gates, & Operators, Metal Railing, Carpentry, Lumber, Casework, Millwork, Countertops, Materials, Mailbox, Building Signage, Doors, Door Frames, Door Hardware, Windows, Window Film, Window Glazing, Appliances, Metal Stud Framing, Drywall, Insulation, Flooring, Wood Floor Refinishing, Terrazzo Polishing, Tile, Roofing, Sheet Metal, Gutters, Downspouts, Painting, Plumbing, HVAC, Electrical, Fire Protection, Fire Extinguishers & Cabinets, Fill, Finish Grading, Landscaping, Plantings, Asphalt, Asphalt Curbs, Parking Bumpers, Parking Signs, Pavement Markings, Steel Bollards For inquires and/or access to the property, contact Jenny McKie at: jmckie@blacklinestl.com or (314) 391-8900.

INVITATION TO BID:

Blackline Design and Construction is seeking qualified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE’s) & Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE’s) proposals for the interior and exterior alterations of the former American Brake Company Building located at 1920 N. Broadway, St. Louis, MO 63102. Scope consist of: 02-Existing Conditions, 03-Concrete, 04-Masonry, 05-Metals, 06-Woods, Plastics, and Composites, 07-Thermal and Moisture Protection, 08-Openings, 09-Finishes,10-Specialaties, 11-Equipment, 12-Furnishings, 14-Conveying Equipment, 21-Fire Suppression, 22-Plumbing, 23-Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning, 26-Electrical, 27-Communications, 28-Electronic Safety and Security, 31-Earthwork, 32-Exterior Improvements, 33-Utilities. Site walks scheduled for 11/11, 10am-12pm & 11/16, 3pm-5pm. Proposals are due via email by close of business Friday, 12/4/20. For details and more information, contact Jenny McKie at: jmckie@blacklinestl.com or (314) 391-8900.

CITY OF ST. LOUIS BOARD OF ALDERMEN REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL –PROP S YOUTH AT RISK PROGRAMS

The Public Safety Committee of the Board of Aldermen has approximately $950,000 available to award in calendar year 2021 for programs designed to prevent crimes perpetrated by youth in the City of St. Louis. The Committee is seeking proposals from qualified not-forprofit organizations to serve at-risk youth in the 11 to 24 year-old demographic. For the purposes of this RFP, crime prevention programs are defined as those programs that, either on an individual or group level, work to reduce the likelihood of youth involvement in criminal activity. An award range from $15,000 to $200,000 has been established for proposals submitted pursuant to this RFP. Please note the application will be online. Applicants may find the online submission page through the following link: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/youth-at-risk/

For questions please contact Brian Champion, Department of Public Safety, at ChampionB@stlouis-mo.gov

Proposals must be received by 4:00pm CST Monday, December 14, 2020.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for the Yaeger Road Resurfacing project, St. Louis County Project No. CR-1578, will be received electronically thru the County’s Vendor Self Service portal at https://stlouisco. munisselfservice.com/Vendors/ default.aspx, until 11:00 a.m. on December 16, 2020

Plans and specifications will be available on November 16, 2020 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouiscountymo.gov) or by contacting Cross Rhodes Print & Technologies, 2731 South Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63118 (314) 678-0087.

BIDS

INVITATION TO BID

Sealed bids will be received by the Webster Groves School District at the District Service Center Building, 3232 South Brentwood Blvd., Webster Groves, MO 63119, until WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2020 BY 2 P.M. CDT for the Webster Groves High School Baseball Field Dugouts. Bids will be opened publicly at that time.

Drawings and specifications for this project will be available starting November 23rd at the office of the Architect, Hoener Associates, Inc., 6707 Plainview Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63109, (314) 781-9855, FAX (314) 781-0163 and will also be available on the Webster Groves School Districts website under the heading need to know – quick links: RFP/RFQ.

Information as to bidding instructions and requirements for procuring bidding documents may be obtained from the Architect.

Not less than the prevailing hourly wage rates, as determined by the State of Missouri, Division of Labor Standards, shall be paid all workers employed on this project.

The Board of Education reserves the right to waive technicalities, to select any contractor filing a proposal, and to reject any or all bids.

A PRE-BID meeting will be conducted 10:00 am on November 30th 2020 at the Webster Groves High School Baseball Parking lot which is located off Bradford Avenue between Selma Avenue and Big Bend Blvd.

By: Mr. Rob Steuber Construction Project Manager

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CASE MANAGEMENT

The City of St Louis Department of Health is seeking separate proposals for an agency providing Medical Case Management Services. Requests for Proposals may be obtained beginning November 19, 2020, by downloading from the City of St. Louis website at http://www.stlouis-mo.gov/. Contact Tanya Madden for questions: maddent@stlouis-mo.gov, (314) 657-1532 (email preferred).

The deadline for submitting proposals is January 19, 2021, by 4:00 P.M. at 1520 Market Street – Lobby, St. Louis, MO 63103. The Department of Health reserves the right to reject any or all responses with or without cause.

ADVERTISEMENT FOR RFP OUTPATIENT AMBULATORY MEDICAL SERVICES

The City of St Louis Department of Health is seeking separate proposals for an agency providing Outpatient Ambulatory Medical Services.

Requests for Proposals may be obtained beginning November 19, 2020, by downloading from the City of St. Louis website at http://www.stlouis-mo.gov/. Contact Tanya Madden for questions: maddent@stlouis-mo.gov, (314) 657-1532 (email preferred).

The deadline for submitting proposals is January 19, 2021, by 4:00 P.M. at 1520 Market Street – Lobby, St. Louis, MO 63103. The Department of Health reserves the right to reject any or all responses with or without cause.

ADVERTISEMENT FOR RFP

EMERGENCY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PRESCRIPTION EYEGLASSES

The City of St Louis Department of Health is seeking separate proposals for an agency providing Emergency Financial Assistance –Prescription Eyeglasses. . Requests for Proposals may be obtained beginning November 19, 2020, by downloading from the City of St. Louis website at http://www.stlouis-mo.gov/. Contact Tanya Madden for questions: maddent@stlouis-mo.gov, (314) 657-1532 (email preferred).

The deadline for submitting proposals is January 19, 2021, by 4:00 P.M. at 1520 Market Street – Lobby, St. Louis, MO 63103. The Department of Health reserves the right to reject any or all responses with or without cause.

ADVERTISEMENT FOR RFP ORAL HEALTH

The City of St Louis Department of Health is seeking separate proposals for an agency providing Oral Health Services

Requests for Proposals may be obtained beginning November 19, 2020, by downloading from the City of St. Louis website at http://www.stlouis-mo.gov/. Contact Tanya Madden for questions: maddent@stlouis-mo.gov (314) 657-1532 (email preferred).

The deadline for submitting proposals is January 19, 2021, by 4:00 P.M. at 1520 Market Street – Lobby, St. Louis, MO 63103. The Department of Health reserves the right to reject any or all responses with or without cause.

St. LouiS AmericAn

‘Safer at Home’ order reduces business capacity

City of St. Louis limits social gatherings

By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American

The city of St. Louis has set a 10-person limit on group gatherings to reduce the risk of potential super-spreader events amid the coronavirus pandemic. But the city is continuing to allow indoor dining. Meanwhile, in St. Louis County, public health restrictions go further, reducing indoor capacity for businesses to 25% and eliminating indoor dining at restaurants to outdoor, takeout and delivery only.

Mayor Lyda Krewson has extended the city’s Temporary Outdoor Seating Permit Program

n “About 50% of the new COVID-19 cases are occurring among people in their 20s and 30s, with the increased spread of the virus in St. Louis city occurring primarily in gatherings among friends, families and neighbors.”

– Fredrick Echols, acting public health commissioner

through the end of next year, Dec. 31, 2021, which will allow city-approved restaurants and other businesses to expand outdoor seating and dining in the winter.

“I’m very aware of the many challenges the pandemic has cre-

ated for our local restaurants and other small businesses and their workforce. I see this as an opportunity for us to continue to help them as much as possible so they can serve more customers and hopefully keep people on the pay-

roll, while still being able to safely practice robust social distancing,” Krewson said. In his Health Commissioner’s Order #15, that went into effect on Saturday, Nov. 14, Fredrick Echols, St. Louis’ acting public health commissioner, said about 50% of the new COVID-19 cases are occurring among people in their 20s and 30s, with “the increased spread of the virus in St. Louis city occurring primarily in gatherings among friends, families and neighbors via informal gatherings occurring in and around homes, and in neighborhoods.”

Billie’s Pastries offers gathering place in perilous times

By Sylvester Brown Jr.

Of The St. Louis American

n “This is one of the few places in the world where you can disagree but not be disagreeable. All of us are friends, we have differences of opinion, but we don’t allow that to affect our personal relationships.” — Tommy Dancy

The square, beige-colored, brick building seems to be the only operating business on the block. Next door, a yellow-brick, abandoned building advertises longgone services: “Beauty Shop;” “UNLIMITED Talk, Text & Data: $24.99,” and a hand-painted sign above a broken garage door that reads: “Car Wash.” The building at 7301 State Street in East St. Louis is among the many boarded up businesses and homes along the State Street strip. Billie’s Pastries, however, is one of the survivors. Above the door, a dark brown banner reads: “Billie’s est. in 1980.” Below it, a sunflower, See PASTRIES, A6

Mayor Krewson won’t run for re-election

By Dana Rieck Of the St. Louis American

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson announced Wednesday she will not run for re-election next year.

“I am now pushing 70, so after a lot of thinking and a lot of dis-

cussion with my family I have decided to retire in April,” she said in a news conference streamed on Facebook. Krewson has served as an elected official for 23 years in St. Louis, four of those as the city’s mayor.

“Serving as mayor these past

four years has far and away been the biggest honor of my life,” she said. “It’s the people who have made it so great, the people of St. Louis and the thousands of great people who work for our city.” The primary for the mayoral election will be held March 2,

2021, and the general will be held April 6, 2021.

Those expected to run in the race include: Tishaura Jones, St. Louis treasurer; Cara Spencer, 20th ward alderman, has served on the Board of Aldermen since 2015; and Aldermanic President Lewis Reed.

By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis

American

Missouri’s Nov. 3 General Election resulted in a number of black lawmakers being elected or re-elected, with a majority running unopposed, as well as notable newcomers to the Jefferson City statehouse in 2021.

Unofficial results from Missouri’s House of Representatives races, Black unopposed winners from the St. Louis area, all Democrats, include Marlene Terry 66th, Neil Smith 67th, Rep. Jay Mosley 68th, Raychel Proudie 73rd, Mike Person, 74th, Rep. Alan Gray, 75th, Marlon Anderson, 76th, KimberlyAnn Collins, 77th, LaKeySha Bosley,79th, Wiley Price, IV, 84th, Kevin Windham Jr., 85th, and Joe Adams (D) 86th.

While most of the African American lawmakers faced no opposition in the general election, Gray said that may be coming to an end.

“With this Clean Missouri, that might change everything. The way (leaders of the Clean Missouri initiative) are talking about drawing the legislative lines, it’s going to force, instead of representing your neighborhood, you will almost always have an opponent,” Gray said.

n Sen.-elect

Angela Walton Mosley and her husband, Rep. Jay Mosley, are believed to be stepping into Missouri history as the first husband and wife to be elected to serve in the Missouri House and Senate at the same time.

“I think this is probably one of the last races we will all be unopposed for the general elections. We will have to see.”

In addition to making marginal changes to restrictions on lobbyist gifts and campaign donation limits, the initiative, also known as Amendment 3, effectively ends a redistricting system that voters backed in 2018. Widely known as Clean Missouri, that plan would have empowered a demographer to draw House and Senate districts that emphasized partisan fairness and competitiveness.

Because voters approved Amendment 3, either bipartisan commissions or appellate judges will draw state legislative maps. In two races in which the incumbent faced opponents in the general election, Rasheen Aldridge Jr. (D) 78th defeated Republican Timothy Gartin, who received 1,871 votes to Aldridge’s 11,023

Wiley Price, IV

Billie’s Coffee Shop in East St. Louis, Ill. is where chess enthusiasts Richard C. Bolden, Brian Clay, Harvey Jackson and Montez Bailey come together for friendly competition and bragging rights. In the background is shop owner Gina Jackson. The shop is located in the 7300 block of State Street.

Photo by Wiley Price

Fourth person charged in Montgomery murder

Federal authorities have charged a fourth person in connection with the alleged murderfor-hire plot that, in March 2016, claimed the life of Andre Montgomery, grandson of “Sweetie Pie’s” St. Louis soul food restaurant owner Robbie Montgomery, of whom the fiveseason OWN network reality show was centered around.

According to a Nov. 12 news release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Missouri, Travell Anthony Hill is charged with “conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire.” A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment against James Timothy Norman (the victim’s uncle and alleged mastermind), Terica Taneisha Ellis

Waiel Rebhi Yaghnam and Hill. The release states that Norman, Ellis and Hill are charged with conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and murder-for hire resulting in the death of Montgomery. Norman and Yaghnam are

charged with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and Yaghnam is charged with five counts of aggravated identity theft, all in connection with Montgomery’s murder-for-hire. Prosecutors claim Montgomery was killed by his uncle to collect on $450,000 in life insurance policies to which Norman was the sole beneficiary. The release states “On March 16, 2016, Hill received a cash payment of $5,000 at the direction of Norman. That same day Hill engaged in recorded phone conversation with an individual in jail and discussed Montgomery’s murder and his payment. On March 18, 2016, Norman contacted the life insurance company in an attempt to collect on the life insurance policy he had obtained on his nephew.”

Erykah Badu tests positive for COVID-19

Singer Erykah Badu posted to Twitter on Nov. 13 that she tested positive for COVID-19 in one nostril and nega tive in the other. “Left nostril positive. Right nostril negative. Maybe they need to call Swiss

Beats so they can do a versus between them. Funny thing is, Dr. ONLY reported the positive result,” she tweeted. Thankfully, at tweet time, Badu reported no symptoms.

LeVar Burton for next Jeopardy host

The Root is reporting an online Change.org petition to Sony Pictures Entertainment to offer up PBS “The Reading Rainbow” host, actor LeVar Burton to be the next host of “Jeopardy.” The show’s beloved and longtime host Alex Trebek died of pancreatic cancer on Nov. 8 at age 80. As for Burton, the famed and beloved actor of the 1977 groundbreaking TV mini-series “Roots,” who played Kunta Kinte, knows a few things about names, words, and nerdy stuff, IJS. It feels kind of too soon, but, hey, someone will have to do it. Why not the man who played brainiac engineer Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: the Next Generation? At press time, the petition has received more than 97,000 signatures. Burton tweeted, “Even if nothing comes from it, I can’t tell how much I

POINTS?

appreciate all y’alls love and support!”

Jeremih hospitalized for COVID-19

TMZ reports that R&B singer Jeremih is seriously ill and hospitalized, fighting for his life after contracting COVID-19. It says rappers Chance the Rapper, 50 Cent and producer Hitmaka went online to solicit prayers on his behalf. 50’s post said he is in the ICU in Chicago. On Nov. 14, Chance tweeted, “Please if you can take a second to pray for my friend Jeremih, he is like a brother to me and he’s ill right now. I believe in the healing power of Jesus so if you can for me please please say a prayer over him.” Vibe reports that Adam Smith, a member of the ‘Don’t Tell ‘Em” singer’s management team shared on V103.1’s The Kenny Burns Show,” He’s stable but he still has a [ways] to go before anything. We’re not out the dark, but God is the light.” Sources: Change.org, Justice.gov, NY Daily News, Page Six, The Root, Smart News, TMZ, Twitter, Vibe

Cannon

Jeremih Erykah Badu

Wilson leaves Deaconess Foundation to serve children on national level

He looks forward to serving all of America’s children

By Danielle Brown of The St. Louis American

The Rev. Starsky Wilson is headed to Washington, D.C., after nine years as the president and CEO of the Deaconess Foundation in St. Louis. Wilson is heading east to take on the same roles at the Children’s Defense Fund.

During his tenure at Deaconess, Wilson has been recognized for his dedication to helping children beyond just the traditional 9-to-5 work, but really being on the ground, building tight-knit ties in the community.

“Deaconess has given me the opportunity to speak clearly about my own values and beliefs,” Wilson said. “I got to stand up for communities I believe in, and it really gave me the privilege to do that without the constraints of worrying about who’s finally supporting what.

“As an independent philanthropy, Deaconess has really been a powerful, helpful platform to be able to stand up for our community in the times we’re in now,” he said in an interview with The American Through Deaconess’ partnership with the Children’s Defense Fund, the organization sponsors a network of Freedom Schools. These Freedom Schools allow congregations

to work on meeting the needs of children and advising faithbased advocacy.

As Wilson embarks on his journey of overseeing the leadership over CDF, replacing Civil Rights icon Marian Wright Edelman, he said he is looking forward to serving all of America’s children in various regions of the country with state and regional offices.

“I’m really pleased to be able to invest really deeply in the religious organizing and movement building work that CDF has been doing for almost 47 years.” Wilson said.

Positive energy and aura

Cheryl D.S. Walker, interim president and CEO of Deaconess, has known Wilson for years, and has worked with him in various capacities. The pair first met when Wilson was working at United Way more than a decade ago.

Walker said Wilson’s positive energy and aura stood out to her. Early in their working relationship, Walker said she knew Wilson was destined to do great things. She just wasn’t sure of what that would look like in the future.

Their paths crossed once again when Wilson worked with the Black Rep, where he served as director of institu-

tional advancement from 20052007. Eventually, they both joined Deaconess’ Board of Trustees. When then-CEO, the Rev. Jerry Paul announced he was retiring, Wilson took over as CEO and president.

“Before Mike Brown was murdered ... the board had approved creating a fund to support more grassroots organizations, because previously we had supported organizations that had been around longer. ... but Starsky was like, ‘that’s great and we can continue

Bryce Pettiford understands the importance of being a change agent in his community. That’s why he champions several racial equity initiatives and programs at Maryville University. Most recently, Pettiford helped lead the “Be the Change” rally on Maryville’s campus. The rally brought awareness to the Black Lives Matter movement as well as systemic oppression plaguing black communities.

Pettiford is also involved in clubs like the Black Male Initiative, the Association of Black Collegians and Inclusion at Maryville. As part of Maryville’s Multicultural Scholars Program, he serves as a peer tutor, educator and mentor.

Pettiford uses his bold voice and ideas to ensure inclusion on campus, and Maryville stands with him. Learn more at maryville.edu/bold

doing that, but let’s also support those closer to the ground and do the work,” Walker said.

“In August (of 2014), Michael Brown was murdered. The platform was already in place for us to be able to supply money to organizations involved in the Black struggle for justice.

“The relationship continues ‘til this day,” Walker said. “The process was already in place, thanks to his leadership and his vision. It’s been a positive journey that I think has enabled us

Rev. Starsky Wilson took a moment to gather his thoughts during his emotional goodbye to staff and friends Sat. Nov. 7, 2020.

Photo by Wiley Price

to be ready where things have come, due to his vision and his ability. As a man of faith and as a preacher, and as a person of faith myself, I feel, of course it was the hand of God that helped him give those ideas so that we could be ready in the moment.”

Richard McClure worked with Wilson when the two served as co-chairs of the Ferguson Commission, a group of volunteers assembled by then-Missouri governor Jay Nixon. The group was assigned

to analyze the racial and economic inequities in St. Louis after Brown was killed by a Ferguson police officer.

“Starsky has been such an incredible leader for our region. His leadership at the Ferguson Commission, the Deaconess Foundation, and so many other causes has been incredibly impactful for our region, for the cause of social justice and equity, he has called us all to a higher standard and for that we are deeply grateful.” McClure said.

While many have praised Wilson for his leadership, success, and progressive vision at Deaconess and elsewhere, he said he doesn’t believe he deserves all the credit. Instead, he gave credit to his staff members for their willingness to serve and maintain children at the forefront of the foundation’s core values.

“If you’re wondering whether this work is going to keep happening, how it will evolve, and those kinds of things, just know that it’s not about Starsky, it’s about this squad,” Wilson said.

“They’ve been down since day one. They’ve been making it happen for children and they’ll continue to do so. I ain’t worried, so y’all shouldn’t be worried. I’m glad that they were willing to come and join a team with me.” Walker will begin her temporary position as president and CEO of Deaconess on Wednesday, Nov. 18. Wilson begins his duties next month at the CDF.

BOLD CHAMPION

We’re not done yet: Georgia runoff election to determine critical balance in U.S. Senate

The stakes could not be higher in national politics than in Georgia for all of Black America, where the state’s voters will determine, on Jan. 5, 2021, which political party will control the U.S. Senate. The incumbent Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler represent an extension of the destructive and reckless policies of Donald J. Trump and his enabler-in-chief, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. While Joe Biden narrowly won Georgia in the presidential race, the state has not elected a Democratic senator since 1996.

The only path to control of the Senate for Democrats is for both Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to win because Republicans already have 50 seats while Democrats have 48. If Warnock and Ossoff win, then Vice President Kamala Harris would break the tie to gain Democratic control of the Senate. Democratic control of the White House and both chambers of Congress could enable restoration of more progressive policies that would improve the life circumstances for millions of Black people. We can’t expect that the Democratic Party will or should deliver us as a people, but their control of the Senate could mean the reversal of some of the pernicious scourge of Trump’s reign. There are many who say there is no difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. That’s nonsense. There is a difference between bad and worst. Granted, the Democratic Party is not our savior — much of that salvation will have to come from us. Yet there are obstacles to our progress, and there is some unrelenting hate and lawlessness and oppression that needs to be opposed with support of our political allies. Democratic control won’t bring us to The Promised Land, but it can bring more sense and decency to politics to help rid us of the pervasive immorality and corruption of Trump and the Republicans who condone with their silence to his lying, cruelty and unfiltered racist behavior. So we must all come together to block the emergence of a much smarter, less crude proponent of Trumpism. The election of a person like Donald Trump used to be unthinkable. The

earlier dog whistles of Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and successive Republican presidents have morphed into the present overt racist presidency of this grifting, shady and vile person who has occupied the White House for the last four years and who ultimately may have to be physically pried from the building. Who knew that in this current era we could have someone come to power proudly proclaiming his white supremacy, white nationalism and xenophobia?

These competitive runoff elections in Georgia are a call to action for Black people all around the country. These races in Georgia are akin to the historic importance of the Pettus Bridge demonstration in Alabama in 1964 that led to the Voting Rights Bill of 1965, which outlawed Jim Crow voter suppression practices that had been adopted after the Civil War.

This “act to enforce the 15th amendment to the Constitution” became law 95 years after the amendment was ratified. Democratic President Lyndon Johnson signed this law that helped give millions of African Americans their right to vote. Unfortunately, much of that progress was stifled when a Republican majority on the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-to-4 vote. Thank you again, Clarence Thomas, a widelytouted originalist, despite the fact that Black people were slaves when the Constitution was adopted in September 1787. must realize that these races down in Georgia should command our keen attention and generous support. The outcome of these contests directly affects the daily lives of our families and ourselves. To ensure the election of Warmock and Ossoff, we must bring all of the collective power and resources of Black America.

We saw activists from John Lewis, Julian Bond and Jesse Jackson to Bill Clay Sr., onto Bruce Franks and Cori Bush shift to politics because that’s where the public policy decisions that impact our life circumstances are created. We must respond to the urgency of this moment and urge your friends and families as well as any like-minded people in St. Louis and beyond who believe in social and economic justice to join this historic opportunity to get involved and make a difference.

Georgia’s Black Voters Can Make History Again

By Ben Jealous For The St.

Louis

American

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris made a brilliant choice in opening her remarks at the Democratic presidential ticket’s victory celebration with a quote from civil rights icon and former Georgia congressman John Lewis: “Democracy is not a state. It is an act.” Lewis, who was nearly killed by racist police on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, knew better than most of us that taking action to defend democracy can be dangerous. But he also knew, as Harris reminded us, that there is joy in the struggle. Brothers and sisters, defeating Donald Trump was an occasion for great joy. I loved seeing people post videos of a dancing John Lewis to celebrate. But we have more actions to take, more bridges to cross, more elections to win — right now, and right in John Lewis’s home state of Georgia. Georgia was in the rare position of having two U.S. senate races on the ballot in the same year. Both races had more than two candidates, and both races have now gone to runoff elections, according to Georgia law, because no candidate got over 50 percent of the vote. That means that on Jan. 5 — actually for early voters starting Dec. 14, — Georgia voters will have the power to decide whether the U.S. Senate will have a majority willing to work with the Biden-Harris administration on behalf of the American people, or whether we’ll be stuck with a Republican majority led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has bragged

about turning the Senate into a graveyard for legislation coming from the House of Representatives. McConnell is the reason American families and small businesses suffering from the economic fallout of the pandemic have had no relief for months. McConnell is the reason Trump has been able to pack federal courts with the worst, most unqualified, most anti-civil-rights judges we’ve seen in a long time. On the Democratic side, we have two Senate candidates we can be excited about.

The Rev. Rafael Warnock is the senior pastor of Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. and his father served as pastors.. Warnock has embraced the responsibilities that come with that historical legacy. He led a sit-in at the Georgia capitol to try to convince lawmakers to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, which would have brought health care coverage to hundreds of thousands of low-income people in the state. From 2017 to January 2020, Warnock chaired Stacey Abrams’ New Georgia Project, which has registered hundreds of thousands of new voters.

It would be remarkable, in the year that we lost Lewis, to send Warnock to Washington. In the other Senate race, Atlanta native John Ossoff is challenging incumbent David

Trump made the U.S. worse than the African nations he insulted

By Karley M. King

For The St. Louis American

Growing up in Lomé, the capital city of the Togolese Republic in West Africa, we voted for a president. The incumbent, who was always Eyadema, always had an opponent. Eyadema always won, and his opponent always lost. Eyadema always declared victory before the votes were all counted.

Gnassingbe Eyadema took power 1967 when I was a child, and he died in office in 2005, 16 years after I immigrated to the United States. For nearly 40 years of elections, the people of Togo voted, and Eyadema declared victory before the votes were counted. After his death, his son, Faure Gnassingbe, was installed as president. Now his son rules the country.

I doubt that Donald J. Trump could find my home country on the map, but he was referring to African nations and Haiti in January 2018 when he reportedly asked a group of lawmakers why the U.S. accepts so many immigrants from (I am using a less offensive phrase) “bumhole countries.” Like Black people and people of conscience of any background, I was deeply offended and enraged. The people of Togo and other African nations are as worthy of respect and admiration as people from Germany, where Trump’s paternal grandfather was born.

If countries like mine have problems, and they do, those problems can be traced back to two main causes. Togo has ethnic rivalries that predate the slavery and colonial eras, when

European nations exploited our people for their labor and our land for its resources. In fact, slave traders preyed on ethnic rivalries to capture laborers as war captives, and they exploited ethnic rivalries to divide the people to take over their land. I grew up in Togo speaking French, along with several African languages, because France was the dominant colonial power in the part of West Africa nationalized as the Togolese Republic.

In the post-colonial era of so-called independence, Africa has suffered many dictators like Eyadema in Togo. I left Togo for the United States in part to escape Eyadema and the ethnic rivalries and economic inequities that made Eyadema possible.

I have been thinking about this painful history of Africa and Togo since the election of Donald Trump and his offensive, inhumane and racist remarks about “bumhole” African countries. Because I have watched for the past four years as Trump made the United States look more and more like the weakened, turbulent Africa nations he described in these foul terms.

Exploiting racial divisions

Trump has exploited racial divisions in America like the African slave traders of past centuries, by calling Mexican

Letters to the editor

Take back our neighborhoods

Perdue. Ossoff has been a journalist and director of a company producing documentaries on corruption and war crimes around the world.

While he was in high school, Ossoff interned in Lewis’s congressional office. Lewis and Abrams endorsed Ossoff in his first run for Congress in 2017, when he took on a battle for a seat that was considered solidly Republican — and made it a close race.

The far right and the parts of the Trump operation that are not still trying to deny and overturn Trump’s rejection by voters are all focusing on winning the Georgia elections so they can prevent the kind of change Americans just voted for.

People For the American Way, the group I lead, is one of many organizations working to reaffirm the importance of Black voters staying engaged in every election — and turning out to support Warnock and Ossoff. So there are a lot of different ways you can get involved in this fight.

Georgia’s Black voters have already made history once this year. Let’s help them do it again. And again.

Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way and People For the American Way Foundation. Jealous has decades of experience as a leader, coalition builder, campaigner for social justice and seasoned nonprofit executive. In 2008, he was chosen as the youngest-ever president and CEO of the NAACP. He is a graduate of Columbia University and Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and he has taught at Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania.

I am a senior citizen living in St. Louis. I am encouraged about the Black Lives Matters movement and the difference it can make, calling attention to the injustices that have shaped our world.

I am concerned about the people who remain in the neighborhood and are held hostage by the criminal activity that has become the norm. I am concerned that city services take on a new low level when it comes to the Northside.

I am concerned there is no one we can go to to assure a better quality of life. I am concerned that our elected officials disappear after being elected. I am concerned that people are not accountable to the residents.

What will it take not to blame the police for the condition in which we live? What will take to enforce the use of temporary license plates that allow much of the crimes. Who will stand for us.?

We need uncompromising leadership. We need to hold people accountable who represent us. We need help, but until we take back neighborhoods our voices will never be heard.

Patricia A. Miller

St. Louis

Hawley ignores Black man’s death in jail

After listening to St. Louis on the Air on June 10, I was appalled to learn details concerning the torturous circumstances surrounding the death of Tory Sanders, a young African American man, in a Mississippi County jail cell in May of 2017. His death was apparently due to the exces-

immigrants “rapists” and questioning the citizenship of President Barack Obama. His tax cuts widened the income and wealth gaps in this country, making it closer in economic structure to the post-colonial countries in Africa with a few very rich people and a great many very poor people. And then, with his handling of the 2020 elections, he acted exactly like Eyadema, exactly like an unelected dictator falsely claiming victory. The United States, which recently went around the world supposedly investigating and enforcing democracy in other nations, has been turned into a farce, a parody, of democracy by Trump. Whatever Trump saw in African nations that made him refer to them as a “bumhole,” he turned his own country into a nation much more like them. Indeed, Trump’s America could learn from many African nations about holding fair, democratic elections and accepting their outcomes. Haiti and African nations do not deserve to be described by this foul and offensive term. Neither does the United States, though it is weaker, less equal, more divided and less democratic after four years of President Trump. The facts are clear: In his own terms, looking at his performance and what he did to his country, Trump was a bumhole president.

Karley M. King is a program manager in the health-care field. A native of Togo, West Africa, she has lived half of her life in the United States in New York City and half in St. Louis County.

sively forceful actions of jail and law enforcement officials. It was also very distressing to learn that U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley failed to pursue charges against the perpetrators concerning this particular matter while serving as Missouri attorney general. Mr. Sanders suffered the same horrific treatment — including a knee on the neck — as George Floyd, with a similarly tragic outcome. Sen. Hawley has yet to respond in any meaningful and public way as to why he chose not to pursue criminal charges against the officials’ violation of public trust placed in them, including then-Sheriff Hutcheson and jail administrator Sally Yanez, who

violated the public trust placed in them and bear responsibility for this young person’s death. Hawley’s dismissal of factors leading to Tory Sanders’ death by contending it was simply due to “excited delirium” certainly does not pass the smell test to me. I urge other citizens, including Josh Hawley, to contact Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmidt and join with the Missouri NAACP in asking him to reopen the investigation into the death of Tory Sanders. Black Lives Matter.

Suzanna Laba St. Louis

Guest Columnist Karley King

Guest Columnist Ben Jealous

If you travel over Thanksgiving, do so safely

Colonel Eric T. Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, reminds everyone there may be an increase in traffic over the Thanksgiving holiday. As such, drivers should remain alert to changes along their normal route.

“No matter how many vehicles are sharing the road, it’s important to be a courteous and attentive driver,” Olson said in a news release. “This year’s Thanksgiving holiday weekend might look different from past year’s due to the pandemic. No matter how many vehicles are on the road, driving with the highest degree of care is everyone’s responsibility, and following all traffic laws is imperative.”

The counting period for the 2020 Thanksgiving holiday weekend is from 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 25, through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 29. Troopers will be participating in Operation C.A.R.E., enforcing all traffic laws, and available to assist the public. Over the 2019 Thanksgiving holiday counting period, 11 people were killed and 634 injured in 1,594 traffic crashes.

“Every driver needs to pay attention,” Olson said. “Driving is a full-time job. Please turn off your cell phone, drive sober, and remember to buckle up. We want everyone to have a safe Thanksgiving holiday.”

Schnucks expands curbside pickup in St. Louis area

Schnuck Markets, Inc., in partnership with Instacart, is offering curbside pickup at 10 additional locations in the St. Louis area. The grocer is also temporarily waving the $1.99 curbside pickup fee all for orders of $35 or more. The fee remains $3.99 for orders less than $35.

“With curbside pickup, Schnucks customers can receive their groceries quickly without having to leave their vehicles,” said Schnucks E-Commerce Manager Karin Goldkamp. “This is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic when many customers, especially those that are high-risk, are taking additional precautions.”

Curbside pickup customers may visit schnucksdelivers.com, select the “Pickup” option, and select a time between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. After completing their purchase, customers will receive a text/app message with store parking and pickup instructions. The grocery orders are kept in a designated area of the store, with temperature-sensitive items appropriately placed in refrigerators, freezers, and warming units. When a customer arrives for pickup, a Schnucks teammate will deliver the items to the customer’s vehicle.

These are the stores that Schnucks is adding for this service:

In Missouri:

Affton,10070 Gravois Road

Crestwood, 9540 Watson Road

Dillon, High Ridge, 20 Dillon Plaza Drive

Grandview, Florissant, 74 Grandview Plaza

Hampton Village, St. Louis, 60 Hampton Village Plaza Ladue, 8867 Ladue Road

Town Square, Dardenne Prairie, 7909 Highway N Twin Oaks, 1393 Big Bend Road

In Illinois:

Granite City, 3100 Madison Ave

Seven Hills, O’Fallon, 907 East Highway 50

I promise to do my best

By Linda Lockhart Of The St. Louis American

Hello, St. Louis.

This is your interim managing editor, happy to make your acquaintance.

As I move to fill in for Chris King, who has led the St. Louis American for these past 16 years, I thought I would take a little time to introduce myself. Chris is leaving to become the public information officer for St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell. He is well known by many of you and will be greatly missed.

Let me start by saying I am a proud daughter of north St. Louis. In my early years, I lived with my parents, Cornelious and Laura Lockhart, first in the 4500 block of Evans Avenue near Marcus Avenue, and later in the 5200 block of Terry Avenue, between Kingshighway and Union Boulevard. Later, with my younger sister Connie, we moved to Webster Groves, where my parents had a home built in north Webster. My roots run deep there, too, through the McCall and Walker families.

Further solidifying my StL credentials, my maternal grandparents were Harry and Augusta Boulding. My grandfather taught math for many years, at Vashon and Beaumont high schools. They were among the first African-Americans to purchase a home on Lewis Place.

I won’t bore you with too many details of my upbringing, but there are few things of which I am most proud.

we missed being so far from home. We cut the distance in half by moving to Madison, Wisconsin, where I continued editing, first at the Wisconsin State Journal and later, The Capital Times. Steve took up freelance writing while he was the stay-at-home parent for our children and is extremely proud of his service at the Madison Times, the Black weekly paper there.

After nearly 20 years away, I got a call from the PostDispatch, when then-recruitment director Cynthia Todd asked if I would be interested in returning. I said yes, and in 1998, our family came home.

I was the first African American student to graduate from Lutheran High School South. I attended the University of Missouri and received my B.J. degree from the School of Journalism, enabled by a full scholarship from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

I started my career as a reporter at the PD and learned a lot about this craft, covering general assignments, along with the police and education beats.

I am a founding member of the Greater Association of Black Journalists and former secretary for the National Association of Black Journalists.

I was working at the Post when I met Steve Korris, the man who would become my husband. At the time, Steve was working at the American, where he was an ace reporter under the much beloved editor Bennie G. Rogers. Steve later worked at the St. Louis Argus, which, sadly, is no longer in publication. Those were the days of fierce competition between the two Blackowned newspapers.

Steve and I left St. Louis and moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where we were married. I worked as a copy editor at the Milwaukee Journal. I still have in my wedding scrap book the announcement that appeared in the American, under the headline, “Two Former St. Louis Reporters Marry.”

From there we moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where I worked in several editing positions at the Pioneer Press. That’s where our children, Rachel Laura and Paul Kenneth, were born.

While we managed to embrace the cold and snow,

I worked at the Post as a copy editor, Metro Section editor, editorial writer, and editor on the national/international news desk. But after about 10 years, things began taking a dark turn for daily newspapers.The PostDispatch I had known, long-owned by the Pulitzer family, was sold to Lee Enterprises, ironically the same company that owned the Wisconsin State Journal, back in Madison. In those changing times of the early 2000s, newspapers across the country began downsizing. The Post was no exception. In 2007, I accepted a buy-out offer for early retirement. But I wasn’t really ready to retire. It was to my great fortune that I was invited to join a crew assembled by Margaret Wolf Frievogel, when she launched the St. Louis Beacon, an online news organization. I was thrilled to be able to work again with many of my former PD colleagues, including my good friend Robert Joiner, who also served for a time as editor of the American. It was part of the Beacon’s mission to address issues that mattered most to African Americans in greater St. Louis: health care, education and equality.

“Race, Frankly,” was a special print edition produced by the Beacon staff that looked closely at these issues.

After about five years, the Beacon merged with St. Louis Public Radio, and I moved into what for me was a whole new world of broadcast journalism. I learned a lot, working primarily for the station’s website. While I didn’t do much on air, I greatly loved my role as outreach specialist, where I worked to add diversity to the voices of people who shared their stories with the station. In 2019, I decided that my journalism career had come to an end. I was happy to sleep late, have long lunches with friends and play with my grandchildren.

These days, daughter Rachel lives with her husband in St. Louis as Mr. and Mrs. Jermal Seward II, and is mother of my Grand Darlings, Avery Augusta and Jermal Leon III, better known as Leo. Son Paul Lockhart-Korris lives in Sunnyvale, California. I was caught completely off guard when I received a phone call a few weeks ago from Fred Sweets, contributing editor to the American, asking me to help out while the paper searches for a permanent newsroom leader. I am deeply honored to be chosen, and I thank Dr. Donald Suggs, publisher, for putting his trust in me. I promise to do my best to not let him down. I especially want to do my best for you, our readers. You may reach Linda by mail at llockhart@stlamerican.com

Linda Lockhart

Pastries

yellow placard proudly proclaims: “Celebrating 40 years of Business in East St. Louis.”

It’s almost 8 am. According to the Internet listing, the store should have been opened an hour ago. A car pulls up and a woman approaches it. “The owner will be here in a few minutes,” the woman with a glittery gold and black face mask explains.

“Sometimes they deliver the donuts and sometimes she has to go pick them up,” the faithful customer explained to a reporter.

Within minutes, Gina Jackson, 53, arrived, exiting her SUV with about six boxes from Pharaohs Donuts in downtown St. Louis. Jackson is the youngest of Billie Jean and Henry Miller’s nine kids. Her mother, Billie, the founder of the shop, is 84 years old. She doesn’t work at the shop like she used to.

“She can’t stand all day like I can,” Gina said.

Inside, Jackson methodically goes about her daily routine. In moments, four steaming decanters of coffee sit on her Bunn commercial coffee maker. The boxes of glazed donuts, apple fritters and twisty creations have all been placed under the glass counter. One by one, customers stream in.

Order

Continued from A1

The city is limiting private gatherings to no more than 10 attendees, this includes house parties, dinners, celebrations and other social events. In case someone contracts the virus, exposed individuals can be more easily traced and quarantined. Although there is no word on how that would be enforced, the order states: “will continue to be in effect until it is extended, rescinded, super-

“Hello Mr. Byrd,” Jackson shouts as they enter. “Hey there, Ms. Jackie.” Jackson seems to know how each customer takes their coffee. Without asking, she presses the pump of oversized Coffee Mate containers, knowing who wants French vanilla, salted caramel, pumpkin spice, or any other flavor.

“When you come here, you’re home,” said Geneva Stokes, 77, the customer from the parking lot. “It’s like that TV show, ‘Cheers,’ where everybody knows your name.” Stokes has known Billie since childhood. “Our families go way back. We’re from the south end of East St. Louis, “like everybody else,” she added.

Billie Miller, an East St. Louis native, worked as a nurse’s aide, caseworker, and served as Centreville city clerk, treasurer and precinct committeewoman for 40 years. The Miller family is well known in East St. Louis.

“They were in all walks of life,” Stokes explains. “Preachers, teachers, social workers, you name it,” Jackson said her mother opened the shop with the specific purpose of providing a place where locals could gather and talk:

“Mom was involved in the community. So, she built this business on the concept of ‘coffee and conversations.’ It’s where local people can come

seded or amended.” These measures do not apply to “day-to-day operations of businesses, schools, institutions of higher learning, and government offices,” the order states. Those are subject to previous health orders.

As of midday Monday, Nov. 15, the St. Louis Department of Health reported a cumulative total of 10,427 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 286 probable cases and 223 COVID-related deaths since the start of the pandemic in early spring.. St. Louis County’s “Safer at Home” order

and actually discuss things. It’s good to have a place where we could come and just conversate.”

The conversations stopped for a while when the coronavirus started to spread and businesses had to abide by strict safety mandates. The shop closed for two months and Jackson said it took a bit longer for her customers to realize they had reopened. But, she added, “our customers are loyal. They came back.”

Forest Gerald “F.G.” McGraw, 77, is one of those come-back customers. The retired construction worker sat at a table marking, then clipping sections from newspapers.

“These are football stats. It’s a hobby of mine,” McGraw

St. Louis County Executive

Dr. Sam Page warned last week that tighter restrictions would be considered if the numbers didn’t get better in a week or two. But it only took a few days of consecutive record-number hospitalizations to force the county to act on behalf of public health. On Friday, Nov. 13, Page announced the “Safer at Home” order, posted at stlcorona.com. This order means that people must stay at home unless it is necessary to leave for specific activities such as going to work or school, seeking medical

confessed. “I’m getting ready to make a bet on the Super Bowl.”

McGraw pulls back four knobby fingers to detail the benefits of Billie’s: “First, it’s the atmosphere. Second, it’s the girl who runs this place, Gina’s personality,” he said, referring to Jackson. “Third, it’s a place where people can play chess. Fourth, it’s the gossip. Anyone who hangs around here knows what’s going on and what’s happening.”

McGraw introduces James Reeves, also in his late 70s. Reeves said he comes to the pastry because he enjoys “the discussions.” According to McGraw and other customers, Reeve is the unofficial chair

care, or buying food or other daily necessities.

Restaurants cannot offer indoor dining in the county. Outdoor dining, take-out, and delivery are allowed. Bars may only provide carryout and delivery.

Businesses and houses of worship must reduce their capacity to 25% of the maximum allowed by the fire code.

Other group gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited in St. Louis County.

For persons who must meet with others outside of their household, the order states it

Gina Jackson gets ready to welcome the regulars at Billie’s Pastries. The East St. Louis coffee shop was established by Jackson’s mother, Billie Jean Miller, in 1980

of what they call the “philosophy table.”

“It’s where we sit back and solve all the world’s problems,” Reeves jokes.

Virgil “Virg” Riley, 77, is a retired East St. Louis Fire chief, and Tommy Dancy, 78, a long-time political player in the city, are active participants in sometimes-heated debates.

“We discuss everything from A-to-Z, taxes, politics, you name it, and we can handle it,” Reeves interjects.

That’s what’s so special about this place, Dancy adds:

“This is one of the few places in the world where you can disagree but not be disagreeable. All of us are friends, we have differences of opinion, but we don’t allow that to affect our

should be in an organized support bubble of no more than 10 people total, including family members or friends.

“These groups must be established, and even when a group gathers, all participants should practice masking, social distancing and other steps to reduce the risk of transmission. And if any member of the group gets sick, that person must immediately notify the other members,” the order states.

Face coverings must be worn by anyone over the age of 5, in any indoor setting outside

personal relationships.” There’s no disagreement among the men about their fear of the coronavirus.

“COVID got me scared, got me staying in. This is the only place I go. Only time I get nervous is when people come in that I don’t know, like you,” Riley said to a reporter, pulling his face mask up to cover his nose.

Dancy expressed a similar sentiment: “I come in the morning but when they get a few people in here, I leave. I don’t want to catch it. If I don’t know ‘em, I don’t talk to ‘em.”

When asked about new restrictions due to a rise in COVID-19 infections, Riley was skeptical:

“It’s too late. It’s out already out there,” he said. “Only thing that’s gonna help us is that vaccine they talking about.” Barring another government shutdown, Jackson said she’s prepared: “I’ve adjusted. People must wear their masks. We have these big bottles of hand sanitizers all over the place. I have plenty of professional strength disinfectant that I use to wipe everything down.

“If they shut us down again, we’ll just have to allow people to come and go. That’s a shame, though, because my base is people who come in, sit down and just talk.”

Sylvestr Brown Jr. is The St. Louis American’s inaugural Deaconess Fellow.

of the home, including when at work, when frequenting businesses, or when gathering with people who live outside of your household. This mask-wearing rule covers everyone at a gym, including those who are working out, participants in organized sports, when not actively playing in a game, and students in a school setting.”

If a St. Louis County resident tests positive for the virus, they are expected to immediately self-isolate and tell everyone that they were in close contact with to quarantine.

Photo by Sylvester Brown Jr.

By Dana Rieck

Of The

St. Louis

Prop D expected to protect the collective power of Black voters

American

With the passage of Proposition D in St. Louis on Nov. 3, political analysts say 74% of Black voters are more likely to hit the polls in March and April for the municipal election.

The proposition now makes elections open and non-partisan for the offices of mayor, comptroller, president of the Board of Aldermen, and the Board of Aldermen. Proponents of the measure also argue that it will protect the collective power of Black voters and progressives in St. Louis by ensuring their votes will not be split among several similar candidates, which has happened in the past. For instance, in the April 2017 in mayoral Democratic primary, seven candidates fought for the Democratic slot on the general election ballot.

Lawmakers

Continued from A1

Democratic challenger Angie Schaefer, who received 8,950 votes to Dogan’s 13,367 votes.

Angela Waltom Mosley is a new state senator who was elected to represent north St. Louis County, replacing term-limited Gina Walsh. Walton Mosley defeated Libertarian Jeff Coleman. He received 9,018 votes to Walton Mosley’s 63,292 votes.

Sen.-elect Walton Mosley and her husband, Rep. Jay Mosley, are believed to be stepping into Missouri history as the first husband and wife to be elected to serve in the Missouri House and Senate at the same time.

Although she will be a freshman Democratic senator in Jefferson City next session, Walton Mosley is well-versed in politics. In addition to her husband being re-elected in the 68th District, her brotherin-law, Rep. Alan Gray, was re-elected in the 75th District (a district previously represented by his wife, who is Walton Mosley’s sister, Rochelle Walton Gray) and will become vice chair of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus.

Walton Mosley’s stepmother was the late former Rep. Juanita Walton, who was married to her father, former state Rep. Elbert Walton, a decisive figure in North County politics.

With Walton Mosely’s election, there are now five Black state senators in Missouri — four from the St. Louis area. Rep. Steve Roberts won election to the Senate in District 5, defeating Republican Michael Hebron, who received 8,201 votes to Robert’s 55,427 votes. Democrat Rep. Barbara Anne Washington of Kansas city is now a senator-elect, after defeating Republican challenger David Martin, 10,909 votes to Washington’s 50,722 votes.

The votes were drastically divided. Lyda Krewson won with 32.04% — 888 separating her from Tishaura Jones, who received 30.4% of the votes. Following them, Lewis Reed received 18.3%, and Antonio French garnered 15.84% of the vote. The other candidates received less than 3% of the vote each.

“I think Prop D is better for government, period. I supported it because it is a way to reduce spoiler candidates,” Tishaura Jones said while announcing her 2021 mayoral candidacy this month. “… And it’s a way for everyone to participate in their democracy.”

Rossetta Okohson, Jones’ campaign strategist, said their focus for the 2021 mayoral election will not change. Jones intends to continue contacting and educating as many voters as possible, like they did during this year’s treasurer’s primary against Alderman Jeffrey Boyd,

The Missouri Legislative Black Caucus

The general election resulted in there being 25 Missouri Legislative Black Caucus members. From the St. Louis area: Sen. Brian Williams, Sen. Karla May, Sen.-elect Steve Roberts, Sen.-elect Angela Walton Mosley; Rep. LaKeySha Bosley, Rep. Jay Mosley, Rep. Rasheen Aldridge, Rep. Marlene Terry, Rep.-elect Neil Smith, Rep. Michael A. Person, Rep. Alan Gray, Rep. Shamed Dogan, Rep. Wiley Price IV, Rep. Kevin Windham, Rep.-elect Marlon Anderson, Rep.-elect

22nd Ward. Jones won that primary 58.5% to 41.5%.

“We did social distance door knocking in the city and were able to knock on 50,000 doors in two and a half months,” Okohson said. “And so our plans to talk with voters and engage them and make sure that their questions are answered and they’ve asked what they feel like they need to ask — that part of the strategy won’t change”

n “I think this will make politicians focus on the actual issues instead of dividing people based on party.”

— Benjamin Singer, executive director,

Show Me Integrity

Proposition D was passed by St. Louis voters by a decisive margin of 68.14% to 31.86%.

As for how the ballots will change, Show Me Integrity

Executive Director Benjamin Singer said to expect primary ballots to be nonpartisan. They

will ask voters to choose as many candidates as they approve of in each race, regardless of party affiliation. The two candidates with the most votes will then face off in the general election. Proposition D affects elections for mayor, comptroller, board president and aldermen nonpartisan offices.

Singer noted that there are at least 13 instances in the last five years where a St. Louis candidate has been elected to office without a majority of the vote. So, he said, it was impossible to know if St. Louis was really electing the person with the broadest support. His argument is supported by data collected by The Center

n Although she will be a freshman Democratic senator in Jefferson City next session, Walton Mosley is well-versed in politics. In addition to her husband, her brother-in-law, Rep. Alan Gray, was re-elected in the 75th District (a district previously represented by his wife, who is Walton Mosley’s sister, Rochelle Walton Gray). Walton Mosley’s stepmother was the late former Rep. Juanita Walton, who was married to her father, former state Rep. Elbert Walton, a decisive figure in North County politics.

Kimberly-Ann Collins, Rep. Joe Adams, and Rep. Raychel C. Proudie.

From the Kansas City

area: Sen.-elect Barbara Washington, Rep. Richard Brown, Rep. Mark Sharp, Rep. Jerome Barnes, Rep. Yolanda

for Election Science, which found 27% of Black voters in the city feel they are represented well.

With this new method of voting, he said, St. Louis will most likely see two Democratic candidates make it to the general election ballot, instead of one Republican and Democrat.

“I think this will make politicians focus on the actual issues instead of dividing people based on party,” Singer said, noting that often in the past, politicians focused on a few neighborhoods in the city to acquire a small constituency that was enough to carry them through the election.

Okohson added that in 2017 approximately 72% eligible voters in the city did not vote or participate in the election.

“I think that was a message. I think the message is that we don’t feel heard and we don’t have enough people here that [we] feel like are going

Young, and Rep.-elect Michael Johnson.

The Black Caucus members are mostly Democrats in a super majority Republican state legislature. They will have to continue to reach out to their GOP colleagues in Missouri to get support and movement on any proposed legislation.

Gray said Missouri Legislative Black Caucus members make up about 40 percent of the Democratic Legislative Caucus.

Shalonda Webb elected to St. Louis County Council

On a separate north St. Louis County election of note,

to do something for us and it doesn’t matter,” she said. “And so that’s on anyone who’’s running to really make sure that message comes across to voters so that they not only feel empowered, but they feel excited.” Singer pointed to Fargo, North Dakota, as an example. Fargo is the first city in the country to use approval voting in an election on June 9. The two candidates who went on to the general election received votes on 55% and 53% of primary ballots, according to The Center for Election Science.

“It’s like we just don’t know if the person who wins actually has the most support — it’s random,” Singer said of traditional voting.

The primary for the St. Louis mayoral election will be held March 2; the general election will be held on April 6.

“My passion is the community service aspect of the job and it is disappointing I will no longer have the accessibility to continue to bring much-needed services to North County,” Walton Gray said.

“Hopefully, I will be able to continue to serve the community in some other capacity.”

Shalonda Webb was elected in the Nov. 3 County Council race in District 4, defeating incumbent Councilwoman Rochelle Walton Gray. District 4 includes Black Jack, Florissant, Spanish Lake, Bellefontaine Neighbors, Riverview, and the northeast area of unincorporated St Louis County.

Taylor to run Midwest BankCentre’s new subsidiary, Rising Analytics

By Dana Rieck of the St.

Louis American

Midwest BankCentre has acquired an analytics firm and appointed its owner, Kelvin Taylor, to run the bank’s new subsidiary, Rising Analytics.

After discussing the bank’s needs with chairman and CEO Orvin T. Kimbrough, Taylor said he became the bank’s chief information officer in November 2019, while also acting as managing partner of Taylored Analytics. Taylor and his wife, Tamila Taylor, founded Taylored Analytics and ran the data company for 12 years.

“I continued to talk about the variety of things that Taylored Analytics could do to support Midwest Bank, Orvin and I sort of agreed that there might be a bigger opportunity,” Taylor said.

“Not only beyond just supporting Midwest BankCentre and their data analytics needs, but also supporting

the data analytics needs of Midwest BankCentre’s commercial clients.”

On March 31 the bank acquired Taylored Analytics and rebranded it to Rising Analytics. Both companies share one goal: accelerating organic growth for its clients.

“Our value proposition to our clients is to identify ways to help them grow faster by leveraging data without going and having to buy a company to grow,” he said.

Taylor said the acquisition will provide the bank’s customers with additional resources. The bank has a relationship with about 8,000 businesses; most of those are small to medium-size businesses.

“So when Midwest BankCentre, a community bank, talks about rising together, which is the motto of the mission of the bank, we’re talking about helping not only

consumers in our community, but also small and midsize businesses in our community be more profitable.

“And we think at the end of the day, that that helps build a stronger community, and the community that Midwest BankCentre serves. Small businesses are responsible for the majority of employment and the economy. So we think helping small to midsize businesses is a key to economic growth for the St. Louis metropolitan area.”

Taylor pointed out that while the acquisition means the analytics company is no longer minority owned it will remain minority-led.

“There are not a lot of African Americans that are in the big data, data science field,” he said. “So we are particularly proud of our representation of people of color in that

field.”

Taylor earned his bachelor’s degrees in economics and mathematics at Morehouse College and his post-graduate degree in economics at University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. He has served locally on the United Way and Urban League boards of directors.

“Kelvin’s strengths in the application of data analytics provide a tremendous advantage to businesses and organizations that want to continually improve the quality and effectiveness of their sales and marketing decisions,” Kimbrough wrote in a statement. “He is passionate about equipping business leaders to effectively translate their financial goals into well-informed business strategies and actions. We’re excited to make this practical expertise readily accessible to Midwest BankCentre’s clients and other small to midsize businesses and nonprofits.”

Coro Fellows program, UMSL to restart effort aimed at boosting racial equity

The program is designed to boost racial equity at local public service organizations, government entities, nonprofits and businesses through community-based leadership training.

By Andrea Henderson St. Louis Public Radio

The St. Louis Coro Fellows Program will relaunch its leadership training initiative next fall in a partnership with the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

The program is designed to boost racial equity at local public service organizations, government entities, nonprofits and businesses through community-based leadership training.

“The Coro fellowship is more relevant than ever because it promotes a strong democracy by ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard, so racial equity is a big piece of that,” said Colin Dale, interim director of St. Louis Coro Fellows Program.

n “The Coro fellowship is more relevant than ever because it promotes a strong democracy by ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard, so racial equity is a big piece of that.”

– Colin Dale, interim director of St. Louis Coro Fellows Program

“Having the tool sets and the relationships to facilitate those conversations and to understand the complexity of the issues that our region faces are all things that the Coro fellowship prepares leaders to do.”

The Coro Fellows Program launched in San Francisco in the 1940s and expanded to St. Louis nearly 50 years ago. The program was a part of FOCUS St. Louis until 2019.

In August, 12 fellows will begin working for nine months with various organizations on projects of interest. Previous fellows worked with community leaders in public policy, business, biotechnology and nonprofit agencies. Dale said the fellowship program can be a driving force in the region to promote economic development and equity.

The fellows will help local businesses and organizations build civic engagement and expose the young professionals to challenges the region faces along the racial equity lines, said Paul Sorenson, interim director of UMSL’s Community Innovation and Action Center.

“We’re hoping that it both builds individual leadership skills as well as a deep understanding of St. Louis and some of the things that are needed to move our community forward,” Sorenson said. The program aims to raise $350,000 to support programming, fees and fellow stipends. People have until Jan. 7 to apply. The fellowship program begins on Aug. 21.

Harris-Stowe taps Hill as associate provost

Harris-Stowe State University has named Edward Louis Hill Jr. to the position of associate provost in the Office of Academic Affairs.

Hill is responsible for overseeing academic support units on campus, including the Academic Resource Center, Student Support Services, Academic Success Retention and International Programs, First Year Programs, Student Appeals, Career Engagement and University Institutes.

“I am extremely excited and honored to have the opportunity to assist President Bradford, the Division of Academic Affairs, Sponsored Programs, Deans, staff, and students in achieving more academic notoriety and acclaim,” Hill said. “I am drawn to the quality of our academic programs, the unique mission of the university, and collaborative initiatives. There are many visible opportunities to assist the Division of Academic Affairs and Policy in the advancing of the academic enterprise of Harris Stowe State University.”

Hill recently served as the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Strategic Initiatives at Wilberforce University in Ohio.

“I am excited to welcome Dr. Hill to the Academic Affairs leadership team,” said Dr. LaTonia Collins Smith, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. “His experience with accreditation, quality improvement and deep understanding of academic excellence will be a tremendous asset to Harris-Stowe State University.”

Hill received a doctorate of education in Educational Leadership from South Carolina State University in 2005, a masters of education in curriculum and instruction from Columbia College in 1999, and a bachelor of arts in early childhood education from Morehouse College in 1993.

Mayor Gerry Welch has announced that the Webster Groves City Council appointed Marie Peoples as city manager, by unanimous approval.

“We are delighted to welcome Marie to our city and our municipal organization,” Welch said. “Marie will bring strong experience and credentials to the position. She values service to the community’s residents and businesses and brings the big-picture thinking our residents expect.” Peoples follows long-time City Manager Steve Wilie, who retired in July after serving 19 years as City Manager.

Peoples is currently the deputy county manager for Coconino County, Arizona, where she has worked since 2013. There she manages several departments and about half of a $198 million county budget. She previously held positions based in Jefferson City and Springfield, Missouri.

“I very much look forward to my work with an engaged City Council and knowledgeable City staff,” said Peoples.. “In addition, it will be exciting to live in and become part of such a vibrant community.”

Peoples is a Missouri native and graduated from Columbia College with a B.A. in criminal justice, She also holds an M..A. from Lincoln University, a masters in public Health and a PhD from Walden University. Peoples will begin her duties in January 2021.

Edward Louis Hill Jr.

Kelvin Taylor

Photo courtesy of St. Louis Coro Fellowship Program

Basketball star Hughes opens Missouri’s only black-owned cannabis shops

Larry Hughes will make history when he opens two cannabis dispensaries and a cultivation center in St. Louis, becoming the only Blackowned cannabis business in Missouri.

The retired NBA player is working with his former teammate, Al Harrington, who is CEO of Viola brands. The company’s “focus is to empower minority ownership by creating a coalition of minority investors who own and operate Viola.”

Hughes’ dispensary, Viola Missouri, will serve patients suffering from qualifying medical conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma and other debilitating conditions. The business will be located on Cherokee Street.

Missouri legalized medical marijuana in 2018 when voters passed Amendment 2 by a margin of 66% to 34%.

Hughes, 41, played for nine teams during a 14-year career: the Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Bobcats and Orlando Magic.

He attended Saint Louis University before he was selected in the 1998 NBA draft.

St. Louis’ Larry Hughes, who attended Saint Louis University before he was selected in the 1998 NBA draft, played for nine teams during his 14-year career. Hughes will make history when he opens two cannabis dispensaries and a cultivation center in St. Louis, becoming the only Black-owned cannabis business in Missouri.

Harris-Stowe to launch accelerated certification teaching program for 2021

By American staff

Harris-Stowe State

University’s College of Education will launch its official Accelerated Certification Teaching Program in 2021 with the application date extended to Friday, December 18, 2020.

“We are centering the program around working adults in addition to combatting the barriers they face in realizing the potential of their dream teaching career,” said Nicole Evans, director of Urban Education and Student Engagement. Evans talked about what changes have been made to the

official launch of the program.

“One of the things we did was transfer all courses online,” Evans said.

Originally, the program was intended to be a hybrid program where students could take both online and in-person courses.

“The reason we did this is

because we know that we have a reciprocity agreement with a few states,” Evans said. “If they receive their certification here and live somewhere else, their certification may be used in their state if it falls within the list of states outlined in the agreement.”

Students can use their certification awarded from the program in 38 states in the reciprocity agreement between Missouri and their respective states.

Other things that have changed have been requirements to apply to the program.

“Students originally needed a degree in the desired areas of general education, interdisciplinary studies, general studies, child development or educational studies to apply to the program,” Evans said. However, it has been expanded to have a bachelor’s degree in any area with a 2.75 grade point average.”

The candidates who have a degree outside of the desired areas need to currently work at a school and have a letter of support from the candidate’s director or principal, according to the HSSU College of Education.

“A barrier for a teaching assistant or paraprofessional has been the workload and then not being able to work while in school,” Evans said. “We want to alleviate some of the struggles adult learners face because we want people who are not only interested in the field, but who might already be working in the field.”

The A.C.T. program launched a pilot program during the pandemic in August. Two out-of-state students are currently in the spring cohort.

“We currently have a candidate in Tennessee and

Nicole

Cahokia,” Evans said “They are in the first cohort who are excited to be a part of this; they both have said they don’t have an opportunity like this in their states.”

Aketta Neal, a member of the spring 2020 cohort, has been in the education field for eight years. She currently works for Porter Leath at Kipp Henry as a Head Start teacher in Memphis, Tennessee. She has a master’s degree in early childhood education.

“It is my utmost desire to help my students develop a passion for learning and

become kindergarten ready,” Neal said. “This desire encouraged me to join the A.C.T. certification program so that I can become a highly certified educator who helps the children and families I serve to live healthy, optimal and independent lifestyles.” Another member of the spring 2020 cohort is Charlene Walker-Temple. She currently works as a paraprofessional in Cahokia School District #187. Temple holds a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in business leadership.

“My heart lies in the field of education and I have been in education for almost 20 years,” Temple said. “This program is allowing me to meet both professional and personal goals.”

According to Evans, this program will be beneficial to those looking to pursue an affordable teaching certification around the United States.

“This program will assist professionals in the education field to move up the financial and career ladder, as this early childhood certification will allow them to earn more and help push their careers forward,” Evans said. “The candidates will no longer have to worry about how they’re going to financially support their families as they earn certification.” For more information on the A.C.T. program or to apply, visit the Harris-Stowe State University website: https:// www.hssu.edu/

Evans, director of Urban Education and Student Engagement

Photo by Lindy Drew / Humans of St. Louis

By Dana Rieck of The St. Louis American

While the St. Louis County Police Department says it is making an effort to educate the public on use of force policy and give people a chance to provide input on revisions soon to be put in place, community leaders don’t see that effort as the most efficient use of time when it comes to ending police violence.

The department recently hosted two webinars last week. These webinars were meant to “guide the public through the current policy and then take comments about potential changes.”

Lt. Colby Dolly has been with the St. Louis County Police Department for 20 years and is responsible for research, policy and analysis within the department. He organized and has hosted the webinars, a format that came about due to the coronavirus. He may continue holding webinars due to an increase in accessibility for people.

John Chasnoff, co-chair of the Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression, said he understands the need for accessibility, but doesn’t feel it’s the best way to solicit community comment.

“I think there needs to be some kind of counter presentation or a presentation from a different point of view,” he said, adding that he thinks the webinar format has a vacuum effect on the dialogue that occurs.

“What I’ve seen in the past is that community members

have very real, lived experiences around these policies and how they are affected by them, and so they’ll often see what’s wrong with the policy,” Chasnoff said. “But they’re not policy experts, they haven’t talked through all the various policy alternatives. And so, when presented with an opportunity that’s more or less in a vacuum, the kind of feedback that you get in a forum like that is not always the most productive.”

Dolly said he understands that criticism, but has hope that

officers to think differently and act differently.

“People could have said anything critical of the police today and I’m not going to stop them from saying that,” Dolly said.

Dolly’s colleague, Sgt. Benjamin Granda, added he did not agree with Chasnoff’s vacuum comment.

“I would respectfully disagree with that. Today’s a perfect example on how it’s happening more publicly than ever before,” he said. “I don’t know how we might have made access to this dialogue any easier than we have today. We are taking that input, pairing it with case law, best practices, input, to continually improve.”

Blake Strode, Arch City Defenders executive director, was not aware of these specific webinars when asked, but expressed concerns in their effectiveness in ending police brutality.

Strode said the problem is the violence perpetrated by police against people, particularly against disenfranchised communities, during police interactions.

“So what I think we need to do is find ways to reduce policing in all of our lives,” Strode said.

St. Louis County Officer Shanette Hall agreed, noting there are a number of different things that need to be addressed when it comes to reducing police violence.

people will make their voices heard. He also expressed his belief that changing these policies has potential to get police

“I think it would be important for police officers to evaluate or re-evaluate the use of force policy, however it is extremely important, if not more important, to discuss de-escalation as much as possible,” said Hall, who is also a member of the Ethical Society of Police.

Hall said that while Missouri’s Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission has voted to require annual one-hour training sessions on de-escalation techniques and recognizing implicit bias for law enforcement, there’s more that needs to be done.

“People are becoming more involved and we have to get to the point where we reimagine what the police look like. I know we have the slogan ‘defund the police,’ but we really are at a point where we need to reimagine what policing looks like and what is most beneficial for communities.”

Strode added that he wants to see both county and city police departments scaled down, while other resources such as drug intervention specialists, mental health professions, emergency response and peer support see an increase in funding and involvement within the community.

“That’s why we’ve been really focused on building a better collective understanding, why we need to think more holistically through a lens of community well-being and community health that means shifting our reliance and our response from police to other resources.”

Cori Bush is going to Washington

New congresswoman is set to be a champion for the people of St. Louis

By the Missouri Independent

Missouri’s Congresswoman-

elect Cori Bush has told the same story ever since her first campaign in 2016.

At one point in her life, she was working as a nurse as a single mother living out of her car with her children — never imagining she’d ever find herself in that situation.

“I was that person running for my life across a parking lot, running from an abuser,” Bush said in her acceptance speech on Nov. 3. “I remember hearing bullets whiz past my head. And at that moment, I wondered, ‘How do I make it out of this life?’’

She’s also been uninsured and locked into the perpetual debt cycle of payday lending.

“I’m still that person,” Bush said. “I’m proud to stand before you today, knowing it was this person, with these experiences, who moved the voters of St. Louis to do something historic. St. Louis, my home, we have been surviving and grinding, just scraping by and now this is our moment to finally start living.”

Bush’s election to represent Missouri’s 1st Congressional District makes her the state’s first Black congresswoman. She was also the only person elected this year to either Congress or a statewide office in Missouri who wasn’t an incumbent.

Bush is a Ferguson frontline activist, and she supports the renewed demands for police reform and accountability echoed nationwide this year.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson won re-election with a toughon-crime platform, and, along with the state’s Republican Party, saw Bush’s statements to defund the police, military and Pentagon as the perfect ammunition against his rival, Democrat Nicole Galloway.

“My opponent endorses people who want to defund the military,” Parson said at a Columbia campaign stop. “If you run with that crowd, you are that crowd. That is just the way this world works.”

The Independent recently spoke with Bush about these statements, the criticism she’s faced and her role as a leader in Missouri’s Democratic Party.

The Independent: You are now one the state’s top Democrats. What will your role as a party leader look like?

Bush: First, it’ll be a continuation of who I have been — the pastor, the nurse, the activist, the single mother. First and foremost, it’s always been my job to show up. And that is what people know about me. So as congresswoman of

Missouri’s 1st District, I will do the same. I will show up. I will be the active leader, that present leader as much as I can, trying to work between here and D.C. Being in this position, it’s such an honor. And it’s a great responsibility. It’s a lot of accountability. And so that’s the kind of leader I want to be — the one that is responsible and accountable. Like I’ve been saying, this thing is about love and humanity. And in order to do that, I will have to stand on my principles.

The Independent: Then, how can Democrats prevent another Trump in four years from taking away any kind of gains Democrats made in this presidential election?

Bush: We can’t play the middle of the road because they aren’t. They’re making a very clear stance. They’re drawing a very clear line in the sand about what they believe, and that no matter what happens, they are going to stay as a group and stand together. And so, I think as Democrats, we need to do the same thing.

People are looking for a champion

People can look at me and say, ‘Oh, well she has these strong stances. And she’s not willing to compromise.’ Well, the thing is, that resonated with people in this district because 245,000 of them voted for me to move on to Congress. And I think it’s because people were tired of trying to figure out where people stand. People are tired of that.

People are looking for that champion. And even though Donald Trump was not the best champion, even though he’s not the one that people should have looked to and followed, he was very serious and very clear about how he feels about certain things.

And even though some of it was absolutely disgusting, people know where he stands. I think as Democrats, we have to show up that same way so that we don’t end up in this position in four years, where there is this clear line, this is what we believe, and this is it. The Independent: As the election neared, it seemed Republicans continually tried to make you a key figure in the governor’s race. What was your take on that?

Bush: I truly believe that it was just all racially charged. Because if I was a white woman saying the exact same thing, no one would have said anything. It wouldn’t have started a thing. The issue is because I’m a Black woman who fights for Black lives and has been very vocal about it, calling out systems and call-

fear and panic in people to make them not think clearly, and not research the person, not look at who Nicole really is. It was just about, “My governor said this, and so I’m sure it must be true. And now I’m afraid.”

The Independent: Is there one line or one thing that sticks out in your mind, from all things people have told you since you were declared the winner on Tuesday?

Bush: Well, someone said to me, “I see me in you.” And this was someone I had never met. A young Black woman. And that meant everything to me. Because that’s what this is supposed to be. Because I’m taking St. Louis to Congress, not Cori.

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ing out people who I feel have been complacent in those areas who could have done different work, but chose not to because their lives are on the line. That was the reason why I believe that they used me to try to hurt her campaign. It was totally racially charged. It was that southern strategy. It was really to invoke

Cori Bush’s election to represent Missouri’s 1st Congressional District makes her the state’s first Black congresswoman.

Harris-Stowe to launch accelerated certification teaching program

2021 spring semester open to out-of-state students

American staff

Harris-Stowe State University’s College of Education will launch its official Accelerated Certification Teaching Program in 2021 with the application date extended to Friday, December 18, 2020.

“We are centering the program around working adults in addition to combatting the barriers they face in realizing the potential of their dream teaching career,” said Nicole Evans, director of Urban Education and Student Engagement.

Evans talked about what changes have been made to the official launch of the program.

“One of the things we did was transfer all courses online,” Evans said.

Originally, the program was intended to be a hybrid program where students could take both online and in-person courses.

“The reason we did this is because we know that we have a reciprocity agreement with a few states,” Evans said. “If they receive their certification here and live somewhere else, their certification may be used in their state if it falls within the list of states outlined in the agreement.”

Students can use their certification awarded from the program in 38 states in the reciprocity agreement between Missouri and their respective states.

Other things that have

changed have been requirements to apply to the program.

“Students originally needed a degree in the desired areas of general education, interdisciplinary studies, general studies, child development or educational studies to apply to the program,” Evans said. However, it has been expanded to have a bachelor’s degree in any area with a 2.75 grade point average.”

The candidates who have a degree outside of the desired areas need to currently work at a school and have a letter of support from the candidate’s director or principal, according to the HSSU College of Education.

“A barrier for a teaching assistant or paraprofessional

has been the workload and then not being able to work while in school,” Evans said. “We want to alleviate some of the struggles adult learners face because we want people who are not only interested in the field, but who might already be working in the field.”

The A.C.T. program launched a pilot program during the pandemic in August. Two out-of-state students are currently in the spring cohort.

“We currently have a candidate in Tennessee and Cahokia,” Evans said “They are in the first cohort who are excited to be a part of this; they both have said they don’t have an opportunity like this in their states.”

Aketta Neal, a member of

the spring 2020 cohort, has been in the education field for eight years. She currently works for Porter Leath at Kipp Henry as a Head Start teacher in Memphis, Tennessee. She has a master’s degree in early childhood education.

“It is my utmost desire to help my students develop a passion for learning and become kindergarten ready,” Neal said. “This desire encouraged me to join the A.C.T. certification program so that I can become a highly certified educator who helps the children and families I serve to live healthy, optimal and independent lifestyles.”

Another member of the spring 2020 cohort is Charlene Walker-Temple. She currently works as a paraprofessional in Cahokia School District #187. Temple holds a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in business leadership.

“My heart lies in the field of education and I have been in education for almost 20 years,” Temple said. “This program is allowing me to meet both professional and personal goals.”

According to Evans, this program will be beneficial to those looking to pursue an affordable teaching certification around the United States.

“This program will assist professionals in the education field to move up the financial and career ladder, as this early childhood certification will allow them to earn more and help push their careers forward,” Evans said. “The candidates will no longer have to worry about how they’re going to financially support their families as they earn certification.”

For more information on the A.C.T. program or to apply, visit the Harris-Stowe State University website: https:// www.hssu.edu/

Ashcroft: Investigation finds Galloway’s op-ed did not violate law

St. Louis American Staff

Two days after the Nov. 3 election, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft formally cleared Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway of allegations that she violated state law by using government staff and money to publish an op-ed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch criticizing Gov. Mike Parson’s stance on abortion.

Ashcroft began an investigation after conservative Liberty Alliance group submitted a complaint against Galloway on Sept. 9. In a letter to Galloway dated Nov. 5, Ashcroft blamed the length of the investigation on the fact that Galloway took too long to supply emails regarding the op-ed after Ashcroft’s office submitted a sunshine request.

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vided my office with 32 pages of documents on the afternoon of Friday, October 30, 2020,” he wrote. “Had my office received these 32 pages, many of which are redundant, my office could have closed this matter sooner.” Galloway issued a statement on Thursday: “Since this review began last month, my office has complied with inquiries from the Secretary of State’s Office. As I said from the start, no laws were broken. I’m pleased Secretary Ashcroft came to the same conclusion.” Galloway lost in the statewide contest against Parson by nearly a half-million votes, 1,216,192 votes (40%) to Parson’s 1,713,152 (57.171%). In St. Louis County, however, she won with 59% of the vote, and with 80% of the vote in St. Louis.

Nicole Evans, director of Urban Education and Student Engagement, Harris-Stowe State University.

Nicole Galloway

and to refinance $5.4 million in outstanding debt previously issued by the Parking Division, according to a news release.

The Streets, Traffic, and Refuse Committee on Oct. 13 considered both requests, and Jones’ office wrote it was understood that a subsequent meeting would be set to vote on both measures.

Two months later,

Jones said, Committee Chair Boyd has yet to set the hearing for a vote on the schedule.

Jones said Boyd has continued to request additional information and that her office has complied. Boyd did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jones wrote a letter to the Board of Alderman on Tuesday in support of the bills and noted that if they are not passed in time to fund the upcoming debt service payment on Dec. 15, the money will have to be obtained from somewhere else.

garage operations.

“All of this is supposed to be non-political,” she told The St. Louis American. “You know, we have brought refinancing to the board in the past and they have usually passed it with no problem. I don’t know what the difference is this time with what I’m asking.

As for Jones’ plans for next steps, she said it’s really not up to her.

Jones wrote that because of the pandemic, the treasurer’s office previously reduced the current budget by 5%, including a 9% reduction in full-time employees.

“We have subsequently identified another $700,000 in reductions,” she wrote.

“Unfortunately, these reductions are not sufficient to offset the decline in parking demand.

As a result, we are utilizing approximately $361,000 per month in unrestricted reserves to meet our financial obligations.”

St. Louis Parking Division has experienced a 63% decline in revenue compared to last year, caused by restrictions put in place because of COVID-19.

The parking division has three main drivers of revenue: event parking, meters and tickets and

“We are literally at the mercy of the board at this point,” Jones said. “And if we don’t get the authorization and do a line of credit and also refinance debt, we’ll have to continue burning through our reserves and look at other additional cost-cutting measures that include potentially laying off dozens of employees.” Jones and Boyd have a tumultuous history. Jones has previously said she believes it derives from a personal grudge Boyd holds

By Dana Rieck Of The St. Louis American

St. Louis City Treasurer

Tishaura Jones said Tuesday dozens of city layoffs could be imminent if Alderman Jeffrey

Tishaura Jones

Jeffrey Boyd

Krewson announces tiny home community for people without a place to stay

By Dana Rieck of The St. Louis American

St. Louis Mayor Lyda

Krewson announced Tuesday plans to build a tiny house community for people who are homeless. The planned development will be located at 900 N. Jefferson Ave., the site of the former St. Louis RV Park.

The community will include 50 tiny houses for adults. There will be 40 single houses, eight doubles, and two houses that are ADA compliant. Each dwelling will have room for a bed, desk, chair, shelving unit, heat and air conditioning, and a charging unit for electronic devices.

In a news conference streamed live on Facebook, Krewson said the first year of the lease will be financed with more than $600,000 in federal CARES Act funds St. Louis received this year to address the effects of the coronavirus. People will begin to move into the homes by Dec. 1. Krewson said individuals who want to stay in one of the houses must be screened through the existing Homeless Missourians Information System and will be placed in a tiny house based upon a referral.

“With this investment, we’ll be able to create new opportunities for temporary, transitional housing and better protect

n The houses range from 80 to 96 square feet will serve as transitional housing for residents for about four to five months while case workers try to find them permanent shelter.

our unhoused neighbors, who remain at risk of contracting this dangerous virus. I’m grateful to my staff and the various city departments who came together collaboratively and proactively to prioritize this project and the needs of the most vulnerable among us,” Krewson said.

The houses range from 80 to 96 square feet will serve as transitional housing for residents for about four to five months while case workers try to find them permanent shelter, according to news reports. Krewson was scheduled to ask the Board of Estimate and Apportionment to approve the proposed lease during a virtual meeting at 2 p.m. Wednesday. This will be the second tiny home community for homeless

people in St. Louis. Kansas City, Mo.-based non-profit, Veterans Community Project, built 50 similar for veterans who are homeless near North Grand Boulevard and Aldine Avenue in north St. Louis.

Krewson’s announcement comes as the winter months are approaching, temperatures are dropping and local organizations have concerns about people who will be left out in the cold.

John Lunardini, senior vice president of Catholic Charities, expressed his concern, saying phone calls to the organization from families on the verge of losing their homes have jumped 300 percent. since when

On Nov. 6, St. Louis officials extended the suspension on evictions through the end of the year, as new COVID-19 cases continued to rise in the region.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES, is a $2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill passed by U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27 in response to the economic fallout of the pandemic in the United States.

As of Monday, there were 10,503 COVID-19 cases diagnosed in St. Louis and 223 deaths due to symptoms of the virus since the beginning of the year.

A Facebook screenshot shows St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson on Tuesday announcing the construction of a tiny house community that will be located at 900 N. Jefferson Ave., the site of the former St. Louis RV Park.

“Taking Care of You”

Coronavirus resurgence curtails elective surgeries

Fills area hospital beds

By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American

Record numbers of coronavirus hospitalizations have hospitals in the St. Louis area and throughout the country at the brink of disaster.

BJC HealthCare and Washington University announced Sunday that all of its 15 hospitals and ambulatory settings will halt some elective surgeries for at least eight weeks to make more room for COVID19 patients. In a letter to the public released by Richard J. Liekweg, BJC HealthCare president and CEO, and Dr. Paul J. Scheel Jr., CEO of Washington University Physicians, they expressed their growing concern about the pandemic’s resurgence and staggering numbers in this area that led to their decision.

“With the positive cases growing exponentially and our COVID-19 hospital admissions already the highest they have ever been, BJC HealthCare and Washington University Physicians are preparing now for how we will handle this inevitable surge of patients who we know will need our services.

“As of Nov. 16, we are suspending some elective surgery and other procedures that can be postponed safely. We must take this drastic measure both to increase our hospital capacity and ensure we have the staff available to continue providing exceptional care for our patients. An available room means nothing if there is not a nurse at the bedside.”

Across the county, coronavirus cases have surpassed 11 million and nearly a quarter-million deaths. CNN reported Sunday another 1 million COVID-19 cases in the past six days. The pandemic has not let up. The United States. has the most cases in the world.

Mask, distance, wash hands

Liekweg and Scheel also asked members of the public to support the health care providers by taking necessary protective measures. “There are clear steps to take that are proven to reduce the spread of the virus. As basic as

Record numbers of coronavirus hospitalizations have taken a toll on doctors and health care providers.

n “The number of people in our intensive care units with COVID is higher than ever. The weather is getting colder and it could not come at a worse time.

— Dr. Alex Garza, Task Force incident commander and chief community health officer at SSM Health

it seems, our greatest protection against COVID-19 while we await a safe and effective vaccine is a mask – a piece of cloth worn over the mouth and nose.”

“Social distancing of at least six feet is another basic defense. It is important to

wear a mask even when you social distance. Frequently washing your hands or using hand sanitizer kills germs and prevents transmission. Avoiding large gatherings also makes a big impact,” the letter said.

“We know how tiresome and restrictive this is. We are all collectively weary of these measures. But, they continue to be our best defense and we must dig deeper to stay the course while the vaccines continue to be developed and produced.”

The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force has been reporting record numbers in its seven-day moving average of COVID-19 hospitalizations among the four systems that comprise the task force, BJC HealthCare, SSM Health, Mercy and St. Luke’s Hospital.

On Friday, Nov. 13, Dr. Alex Garza, Task

See COVID, A19

By Eric Schmid St. Louis Public Radio

Mamie Cosey wants her great-grandchildren to play and exercise outside, but some days she can’t let them, she said, because the air isn’t safe to breathe.

Cosey, 79, lives in East St. Louis, near the Veolia Environmental Services incinerator in Sauget. She explained on some days the stench from the plant is overwhelming.

“It’s various odors depending on what they’re cooking,” Cosey said.

n Mamie Cosey, 79, lives in East St. Louis, near the Veolia Environmental Services incinerator in Sauget. She explained on some days the stench from the plant is overwhelming.

“Sometimes it’s rotten sewage. Sometimes it’s like chemical smells. It’s out of control.”

She’s lived near the plant for nearly a decade, and the acrid smells are nothing new. But environmental activists in the Metro East are concerned the incinerator could start burning something new: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) firefighting foam.

The Veolia incinerator is listed as one of eight sites authorized by the Department of Defense to dispose of the substance, according to a lawsuit filed in February. The United Congregations of Metro East, the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations are suing the Department of Defense to block the disposal pending an environmental review.

So far, the incinerator in Sauget hasn’t burned any PFAS firefighting foam from the Defense Department, said Cheryl Sommer, president of the United Congregations of Metro East. She said her organization received records in the spring showing the Sauget plant had not received any foam.

A spokesperson for Veolia Environmental Services said the plant does not have contracts with the Defense Department or other customers to dispose of PFAS at the Sauget facility.

Several area schools return to virtual

By Ryan Delaney St. Louis Public Radio

It’s mid-November, well into the second quarter of the school year. But Willow O’Connor has experienced just two weeks of kindergarten. Willow, who’s 5, is enrolled at Gibson Elementary in the Riverview Gardens School District. Her class started the year fully virtual as nearly all schools in St. Louis County did. But Willow threw temper tantrums and refused to sit for computer lessons, her mother said, meaning she received almost no instruction.

“It was cutting teeth to try to get her on the computer,” Kayla O’Connor said, until Riverview Gardens brought elementary students back Nov. 4. When Willow is actually going to school every day, “she likes it,” her mother said. “Her favorite thing is art class; she gets very excited when she has art class.”

But on Thursday, Nov. 12, the district announced classes would return to fully virtual instruction starting Monday, Nov. 13, “until further notice.” As COVID-19 cases spike again throughout the St. Louis region, several school districts are reversing or pausing the return to schools that had been underway for

n “Though we recently welcomed students back to in-person learning, the recent and dramatic increase in disease transmission has made it clear that we must pivot in a different direction.”

— Riverview Gardens School District statement

the past two months. Others hope extended Thanksgiving breaks will be enough of a buffer.

“Though we recently welcomed students back to in-person learning, the recent and dramatic increase in disease transmission has made it clear that we must pivot in a different direction,” Riverview Gardens said in a statement.

The Jefferson School District in Festus

See SCHOOLS, A19

A18

ST. LOUIS AMERICAN • NOVEMBER 19 – 25, 2020

Riverview Gardens Superintendent Scott Spurgeon enters Danforth Elementary School in October 2019. The district is closing its buildings again just a few weeks after reopening because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr. Alex Garza

Photo By Ryan Delaney / St. Louis Public Radio

Photo by Wiley Price

COVID

Continued from A18

Force incident commander and chief community health officer at SSM Health, said the number of people with the virus is skyrocketing in our region.

“For months, we’ve talked about a time when we would run out of options; a time when we have run out of space to care for sick patients; when our options would be limited; when the virus is hitting us so hard

that the health care system that we have would be unable to address the people’s needs.

“That terrible time, gets closer with each passing minute, each passing hour, each passing day,” Garza said.

The number of people in our area with COVID-19 is three times above a “sustainable level,” he said.

“The number of people in our intensive care units with COVID is higher than ever. The weather is getting colder and it could not come at a worse time,” Garza said. “The

“Taking

Care of You”

real peak of the pandemic has yet to come. At the pace we’re on now, we could easily, easily double the number of COVID patients in our hospitals in about two weeks. At that point, we will not have the capacity we need to sufficiently care for our patients. Not just COVID patients – but all patients.”

Task Force calls for statewide mask mandate

Garza said it is “beyond the time where individual behavior alone could address this

disaster.” He said health care systems across Missouri need Gov. Mike Parson and the state to take additional action to prevent unnecessary illnesses and deaths.

“We need the state to act if we want to ensure our hospitals, both rural and urban, won’t have to turn away sick patients.

“We need the state to act against the virus if we want to keep the economy functioning, and if we want to keep schools in-person,” Garza said.

“Today we are asking the

state to initiate a statewide mask mandate for Missourians when they are out in public. Increasing the use of masks over the next several weeks statewide will slow the incredible pace of this virus. It will give health care systems and workers a chance to take a breath, to keep up and provide the appropriate level of care for our patients who so desperately need it.”

While he knows Parson has stated mask mandates should be handled at the local level, Garza said the breadth of the

coronavirus pandemic makes us “one big county now,” because every day, COVID patients are crossing county lines to go to hospitals.

“The lack of a mask mandate in one county has implications for residents and health care professionals in other parts of the state, The spread and cases are blanketing the state and no locale is safe anymore,” he said. “A statewide mask mandate is needed to save lives across the state.”

‘Just not enough people’: Missouri health care workers face fatigue as COVID surges

By Tessa Weinberg Missouri Independent

Cheryl Rodarmel’s love and enthusiasm for the job she’s held for the last 28 years as a rehabilitation nurse is waning. Before the pandemic, she often spent her days at Research Medical Center in Kansas City helping patients recover after strokes or getting them ready to return back to their lives that had been interrupted by surgery.

Now, no day is certain. Will she watch COVID patients battle for their lives? Will she once again have to advocate for her hospital to implement stronger protections for her coworkers? Will it be the last day before she sees another fellow nurse leave?

“It’s very much an emotional rollercoaster and I find that I think it’s a big frustration for me, because my patients deserve and expect that I will be there. And I want to be there,” Rodarmel said. “But at the same time, there’s that, ‘God, I wish I was closer to retirement age than I am.’ Because if I could, I would.”

As cases and hospitalizations hit all-time highs, both in Missouri and across the country, hospitals, officials and

Schools

Continued from A18

is closing all of its buildings this week through at least Dec. 1, while Edwardsville is closing its high school this week with plans to reopen after Thanksgiving. Mehlville and Wentzville are closing their high schools until after Christmas; Wentzville’s middle schools are closed until Dec. 7.

“We have prioritized keeping our early childhood through eighth grade students in person as our older students are better equipped to learn virtually without as much supervision. Additionally, our younger students have lower positivity

Veolia

Continued from A18

Sommer said the facility’s authorization to dispose of the foam means the plant could receive the substance in the future, either from the Department of Defense or another source.

“Municipalities have it. State fire departments have it,” Sommer said. “It’s everywhere.”

The Defense Department accounts for three-quarters of the PFAS firefighting foam used while municipal airports, refineries and other industrial facilities account for most of the rest, the plaintiffs allege in their federal complaint.

Environmental activists are particularly concerned about the effects of incinerating PFAS firefighting foam

healthcare workers themselves are warning that staffing is stretched thin.

“I’m not so concerned about ventilators. I’m not so concerned about ICU beds,” Gov. Mike Parson said during a news conference on Thursday, Nov. 12. “But I don’t know that you have the manpower to be able to focus on all of that if this disease keeps spreading at the rate it is.”

On Tuesday, Nov. 10,, MU Health Care had nearly 80 employees out who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, a spokeswoman said. Since the pandemic began, Rodarmel says she’s watched too many colleagues leave for other jobs because of the stress.

Nurses who are testing positive for COVID — but are asymptomatic — are being required to come in to help fill shortages, said Heidi Lucas, the state director for the Missouri Nurses Association. Dr. Alex Garza, the incident commander of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, put it this way.

“An analogy would be, I could have 100 buses, but if I only got one driver, I got one bus,” Garza said during a recent briefing. “The rest are just taking up parking spots.”

rates than our older students,” Mehlville Superintendent Chris Gaines said.

Critical staff shortages

St. Louis Public Schools, which opened to younger students late last month, will keep buildings closed and provide only distance learning the week after the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Rockwood and Hillsboro districts have warned parents that building closures may be coming. Rockwood is facing “critical shortages in staffing” because of required quarantines, Superintendent Mark Miles said in a newsletter.

“If this continues, these shortages may not allow us to

because the substance is difficult to break down.

PFAS are a set of thousands of synthetic chemicals that are found in common household products like nonstick cookware, clothing and stain repellent for carpet.

Most Americans have some levels of PFAS in their bodies because the so-called “forever chemicals” do not break down naturally and can accumulate over time.

“The same properties that have made PFAS a widely used fire suppressant also make them difficult and dangerous to incinerate,” the plaintiffs write. “Uncombusted PFAS are emitted into the air along with other hazardous chemicals, contaminating the communities surrounding the incinerators.”

This happened at a hazardous waste incinerator in Cohoes, New York, one of the other facilities authorized to

Emotional toll Lucas said the burnout level among nurses on the frontlines is “exceptionally high” as they see typically healthy patients decline rapidly.

“They’re seeing things that they’ve never really seen before,” she said

“Watching them die alone — and really being the only person in the room with them,” Lucas said. “They hold a lot of hands and are with people during their last breaths. And that doesn’t have to happen.”

own time off to stay home and away from work if they contract COVID-19.

“It’s exhausting and those that have become sick, they’ve run out of sick time,” said Julie Long, a family nurse practitioner and the board president of the Association of Missouri Nurse Practitioners.

n “The challenge of caring for COVID patients is about keeping our staff safe.”

– Mary Beck, chief nursing officer,MU Health Care

Health care workers themselves aren’t immune from the disease. More than 1,300 healthcare workers have died in the U.S. due to COVID-19, according to The Guardian and Kaiser Health News. One of Rodarmel’s co-workers died from the disease in April.

“The challenge of caring for COVID patients is about keeping our staff safe,” said Mary Beck, the chief nursing officer for MU Health Care.

Lucas said some nurses across the state must use their

support in-person educational services appropriately in the near future. This is why I’m asking our staff and families to join me in preparing for the future possibility of a shortterm return to fully remote learning for students,” he said.

Parkway switched its elementary and middle schools to a hybrid model earlier this month after infections were found in all but one of the district’s 23 elementary and middle schools.

Hazelwood and FergusonFlorissant have yet to reopen buildings at all this fall.

Confluence Academies, the largest charter school network in St. Louis, will keep middle and high schools closed until at least mid-January, though its

burn the foam, Sommer said.

“Activists out there did a study of the soil in the vicinity of the Cohoes plant, and it demonstrated that it was un-adequately incinerating the PFAS,” she said. “The soil was laced with it.”

Serious health risks

PFAS exposure can lead to kidney and testicular cancer, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, liver damage, suppressed immune systems, fertility issues in women and other serious health ailments, according to the federal lawsuit.

The suit alleges the Defense Department knew byproducts from burning PFAS present serious health risks to people in surrounding communities, including severe respiratory damage and skin burns. The plaintiffs add that some of the byproducts are the same chemicals found in rodent poison or

Rodarmel, who is Research Medical Center’s chief nurse representative with National Nurses United, and nurses from other KC-area hospitals protested at the start of May for better protective equipment. And it wasn’t until this month, Rodarmel said, that Research Medical Center committed to no longer having staff decontaminate and reuse face masks.

Christine Hamele, a Research Medical Center spokeswoman, said in a statement Friday, Nov. 13, that the hospital has taken steps to connect staff with mental health resources and that its focus has been on ensuring staff have personal protective equipment.

“This includes our universal

elementary schools are currently open.

Scientific research continues to show children contract and spread the virus less than adults, and schools have not been proven to cause wide spreading of the coronavirus. Still, cases of COVID-19 among St. Louis County youth doubled between late October and early November, according to the county health department. Older teenagers have the highest test positivity rate of all age groups in the county, though more testing is being done on adults than children.

County health officials said in their biweekly report that the level of testing of teens and children “is not identifying a large enough share of the

chemical warfare agents.

“It’s our health that’s at stake here,” Sommer said. “We’re talking about seriously toxic stuff.”

Last November, the CDC launched an investigation into whether the Veolia plant is emitting heavy metals into the air. The investigation is still ongoing, according to the office of Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois.

“The people of Sauget deserve answers about the potential health concerns stemming from the weakening of pollution controls at the Veolia Waste Incineration facility,” the senator said in a written statement. “I know how important it is that every American be able to breathe safe and clean air, regardless of where they live.”

Cosey said she sees the effects of what the plant burns regularly.

“Some mornings you wake

masking policy, consistent with CDC guidelines, that has been in place since the end of March and requires masks for everyone in patient care areas and N95 masks for those treating a COVID positive patient having an aerosolizing procedure,” Hamele wrote.

Beck said at MU Health Care, N95 respirators are decontaminated and reused at least six times. While N95 masks are ideally discarded after each patient encounter, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlines a decontamination process in order to reuse them when necessary.

‘There’s just not enough people’

In 2019, Missouri health care professionals saw a combined turnover of 19.8 percent statewide, according to a Missouri Hospital Association survey. And that was before the pandemic.

Dave Dillon, the spokesman for the Missouri Hospital Association, said it’s difficult for hospitals to bolster their workforce quickly, especially when hospitals nationwide are in need of staff.

Some hospital executives or employees in administrative roles who are registered nurses,

infected population to bring transmission under control.”

Last week, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and the state’s education department relaxed quarantine rules for students and staff, saying students and teachers do not have to quarantine following close contact with an infected person if everyone was wearing face coverings.

Teachers unions in the state strongly objected to the announcement as dangerous.

Clayton Superintendent Sean Doherty told district families over the weekend that exposure and quarantine rules in the district will not change, pointing out it “runs counter to current CDC guidelines.”

have been transitioning back to working with patients. At MU, Beck said nurses who don’t typically care for patients bedside are also being asked to step in and help. On a call with Parson and state health department director Randall Williams late last month, Tindle described facing a “transfer crisis” as hospitals in larger metros refused to accept patients because they too were full.

Dillon said hospitals are even facing a “log jam” to get patients out of hospitals and back to places like nursing homes. And as the length of their stay increases, “that’s a bed that’s occupied that can’t be occupied by someone else.”

Citing declines in revenues, hospitals across the state have laid off and furloughed hundreds of staff, from administrative assistants to nurse practitioners.

In May, MU Health Care laid off 32 workers after canceling 70 contracts for traveling nurses. Over 1,300 employees were affected by furloughs and cuts at Mercy’s St. Louis and Springfield’s hospitals in May.

O’Connor, whose daughter, Willow, is struggling through kindergarten, is “terrified to see what happens” during the second attempt at virtual school. She spent the weekend shopping for school supplies, hoping that making the house look and feel more like school will encourage her daughter to participate. If it doesn’t work, she and her husband will seriously consider pulling Willow out of school and trying kindergarten again next year.

up and the grass is not green,” she said. “The grass is brown. How that happens only God knows.”

The pollution has made it impossible for Cosey to keep flowers or garden with her great-grandson, she said.

“He wanted to plant a garden, and I helped him. You couldn’t tell what I planted. It was not edible,” she said. “He was disgusted and has not planted a garden since.”

The possibility of new toxic substances coming from the incinerator leaves Cosey confused and upset. She said the majority of people in her community are low-income or people of color.

“I don’t know why there isn’t a lot of outcry in this community about the plant,” she said. “You’re cheating my kids of a normal life that they should have.”

Cosey said she is particularly concerned with how the

“I’m afraid that it’s going to make her end up disliking school altogether,” O’Connor said. “I’m afraid that she’s going to get in her mind that this is just what school is, and this is what it’s going to be.”

consistent exposure to whatever Veolia burns will affect her great-grandchildren’s health later in life. She added she does not understand why she and other members of her community need to be the ones to prove to the EPA if something is toxic.

A spokesperson for the EPA said PFAS is not listed as a hazardous waste or hazardous air pollutant under federal law, but the agency is evaluating if the firefighting foam can be safely incinerated. The EPA will release new guidance on PFAS disposal before the end of the year.

“They should be the one to prove that these things are not harmful,” Cosey said.

Eric Schmid covers the Metro East for St. Louis Public Radio as part of the journalism grant program Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project.

NEWSPAPER IN EDUCATION

Sensible Thanksgiving Eating

Nutrition Challenge:

PRESENT:

Healthy Kids

Thanksgiving is a day that we take a moment and remember the things/people that we are thankful to have in our lives. But let’s be honest, many Thanksgiving celebrations also include food – and a lot of it! But if you remember just a few simple tips, you can enjoy the day without the extra calories (and uncomfortably full stomach).

Follow the Meal

With a Walk!

Why not start a new tradition this year? After your Thanksgiving dinner, have your family take a walk around the neighborhood. This is a great way to spend time with your relatives, see who’s in town for the holiday, and can help prevent the all-too-common post meal stomachache. Walking aids digestion, keeps you away

Being Thankful

Thanksgiving is a great time to remember all of the people/things that have had a positive impact on your life. Why not have each person around the table say one (or two or three!) thing(s) that they are

> Remembering week seven’s divided-plate lesson, try to fill at least half of your plate with healthy vegetables/fruits.

> Eat slowly. That way you’ll know when you’re full before you’ve overdone it.

> Limit desserts; choose just one. Or if you want to try a few different kinds, ask for a small “sample” of each.

> Can you think of any other tips?

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

from the dessert table and even helps with that after-dinner slump that affects many people after a big meal. In addition, getting up and moving will get your body back into calorie-burning mode. What are some other ways to be “active” after your Thanksgiving dinner?

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

thankful for, before you begin eating? You could even make a game out of it: each person writes down what they’re thankful for on a small card. Someone then reads each card as the group guesses who wrote it.

Learning Standards: HPE 2, NH 4

Ingredients:

6 Whole carrots

Cooking spray

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel the carrots and cut into small strips about ¼ inch thick and 3 inches long. Spread the carrots onto a cooking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt/pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes, flip them over. Spray with a little cooking spray and more salt/ pepper. Cook for another 15 minutes, until lightly browned.

Healthcare Careers

Leslie Davis, Counselor, Family Advocate

Where do you work? I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor with a private practice in O’Fallon, IL, as well as a contracted therapist with Better Help. I am also the Founder and Executive Director of Hearts in Faith, NFP in O’Fallon, IL.

Where did you go to school? I am a current student at Regent University, working towards a PhD in Counseling and Psychological Studies. I earned my Master’s Degree in Professional Counseling at McKendree University and my Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology at Wheaton College.

What does a counselor do? As a psychotherapist, I see myself as my client’s mirror, reflecting back to them a different view on their thoughts and feelings. I enjoy working primarily with teens, young adults, and couples. As a Black Therapist, it is my mission to empower young women and teens to face various challenges that arise in life.

Why did you choose this career? I knew at the age of 13 that I was going to be a counselor. Since I was a teen, I’ve always had random people share their life stories with me, and I somehow always found a way to encourage them. As the Founder of Hearts in Faith, I enjoy empowering single moms and youth who need encouragement to develop and maintain healthy relationships, free from violence.

What is your favorite part of the job you have? I enjoy seeing people through their process of healing. I also enjoy meeting people from various walks of life. The other aspect of my role is being an advocate. It brings me joy to know that I was part of the process that brought someone closer to their goals.

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

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

Carrot Fries

St.

Questions or comments? Contact Cathy Sewell csewell@stlamerican.com or 618-910-9551

Student Meadow Hill, from Mrs. Huddleston’s fourth grade class, along with her mother Erica Hill, work together on science lessons at home. Their science activity is inspired by The American’s STEM page.

CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT SCIENCE STARS

African-American Computer Scientist and Educator Kyla McMullen

SCIENCE CORNER

Do you enjoy math? Maybe you are curious about studying math in college, but you’re unsure what kind of jobs you could have with a degree in mathematics. Below is a list of just a few of the careers that are related to math, there are many more. Careers in math not only involve numbers and patterns, but they include logic and problem solving. Read on to see if any of these careers sound interesting to you.

Accountant—deals with money. They can help companies evaluate gains and losses. They also help people file their income taxes.

Actuary—calculates risk and the cost involved with those risks. They usually work for insurance companies. For example, they may study trends to see if more male or female drivers have auto accidents. What age is a driver more likely to have an accident?

SCIENCE INVESTIGATION

Civil Engineer plans roads, buildings, airports, bridges, etc. for the public. They need to test not only design safety, but they need to make sure the building can accommodate the flow of people.

Surveyor—measures land, air space, and water area. If you enjoy math and the outdoors, this could be a good career for you.

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

Consecutive Number Patterns

In this activity, you will use logic to form and test a hypothesis to solve the problem.

Materials Needed:

• Pencil • Paper • Calculator (optional)

Process:

q Find five consecutive numbers that add up to 100.

w Form a hypothesis. Where will you start? What five numbers do you think it could be? Why?

e Test your hypothesis. Continue to revise until you have the correct answer.

q Put these decimals in order from least to greatest: 7.9, 8.1, 7.2, 8.4, 6.9 ____________________

w Write 1/100 as a decimal: _________

e Write ½ as a decimal: _________

r Once you know which five consecutive numbers equal 100, try to figure out which five consecutive numbers equal 200. After you do that, you’ll probably see a pattern.

t Use the pattern to see which five consecutive numbers add up to 300.

Reflect: Did you find a pattern? For an added challenge, figure out what you would have to do to find six or seven consecutive numbers that add up to 100.

Learning Standards: I can form and test a hypothesis to complete an experiment. I can analyze results and draw conclusions.

Decimals

t Write .75 as a fraction in simplest form: _________

Kyla McMullen grew up in Washington, D.C. She had the nickname of Inspector Gadget because she loved computers and always had some type of electronic device with her.

A high school teacher, Mr. Randy Ware, encouraged his students to see themselves as scientists. Her parents were not able to attend college, and it was very important to them that McMullen have that opportunity for education. She graduated from Oxon Hill High School, where she participated in the science and technology program.

In 2005, McMullen earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Maryland. From there, she earned a master’s in computer science and engineering from the University of Michigan, in 2007, and stayed there to earn her PhD five years later. She was the first AfricanAmerican woman to earn a doctorate in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan. While in college, she was president of the Society of Minority Engineers and Scientists. She was vice president of the Movement of Underrepresented Sisters in Engineering and Science (MUSES).

McMullen’s research focuses on 3D audio signal processing used to learn about the environment. In 2007, she began creating educational software that taught children to identify relationships of objects. She also worked in the Naval Submarine Research Lab where she constructed a virtual environment used for training simulations. She currently works in South Carolina at Clemson University School of Computing as an assistant professor. She has received many honors and awards, such as the 2015 Emerging Scholar for Diverse Issues in Higher Education. She was awarded a travel grant from Google, Inc. and the National Black Data Processing Associates awarded her the Professional Achievement Award. MUSES awarded her the Trailblazer Award for Achievement.

She says that if she could invent anything, she would invent a machine that washes, dries, separates, folds, and puts clothes on hangers. She has some advice for students: learn to work with others, even if they are very different from you. She says, “The only thing constant in life is change.” Get used to change; be flexible. McMullan says that any student interested in computer science can email her at: kyla. mcmullen@gmail.com.

Learning Standards: a person who has made contributions in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

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

Activities —

y Place the following in order from least to greatest: 1/10, ¾, .43, .9, 1.6, 11/10 ______________________

.75 .57 1.6 .9 .43

r Write .57 as a fraction: _________

DID YOU KNOW?

Learning Standards: I can compare decimal and fraction amounts. I can convert a decimal to a fraction.

If you have a bachelor’s degree in computer science, you are 9 times more likely to get a job than someone without a

Automobiles for Sale:

Use a classified section to percentage of the following: of cars that are 4 door, the percentage of used cars with mileage over 60,000, the percentage of trucks, and the percentage of used cars listed in “excellent condition.”

Color Pictures: It costs more money to print newspaper pictures in color. Look through your newspaper to see which pictures and graphics have been printed in color, and which have been printed in black and white. Why do you think the specific pictures and images were chosen to print in color? If you were making the choice, which pictures would be printed in color? Why?

Learning Standards: I can use the newspaper to locate information. I can calculate percentage. I can evaluate graphics and use evidence to support decisions.

It

Tef Poe becomes executive director at social justice news website

Rapper/activist continues fight for justice as new face of The Boycott Times

By Danielle Brown Of The St. Louis American

One thing’s for certain, you can never try to figure out Kareem “Tef Poe” Jackson’s next move or box him in. Since his heavy involvement with the Ferguson movement, he has always made his mission to shift the status quo very clear.

In his new role as executive director at The Boycott Times, the rapper and activist joins a team of professional and aspiring writers, who share similar perspectives.

n “I want to show people there isn’t a box you can put me in, You can’t finger what I’ll do next or peg it.”

— Tef Poe

The Boycott Times is an independent, non-profit website committed to combining journalism, fashion, music and art, while providing writers with a platform to pen free form political pieces. It is funded by the sales of Boycott Apparel, which was originally launched as a clothing line in Colombia, by Daniel Hernandez, founder and art director.

“I met Danny through a friend of mine I met at Harvard named Mordecai Lyon,” Poe said in an interview. “Danny contacted Mordecai asking him if he knew of any hip-hop artists who might align with the brand and might have the ability to help it grow and expand. So we just started talking and feeling each other out.”

When he was contacted by Hernandez, Poe, was living in Stratton, Vermont, writing his memoir, “Rebel to America.” He was reacclimating himself to the United States after serving as a U.S. cultural ambassador in Amman, Jordan in 2019. Initially, he said he wasn’t ready to take on a big project because his book was his priority.

“I wasn’t ready to take on too many more massive projects at the time,” Poe said. “We kept talking about it, and casually building about it. Then at the turn of the year, we took a more serious tone about how we were going to do it and who all would be at the table. Danny and Mordecai both said they felt I would be the perfect executive director.”

Poe is a rapper and national activist from St. Louis. He is most recognized for advocating for improving the lives of Black people in and outside of the United States. He is the co-founder of HandsUp United, a social justice organization established after black teenager Michael Brown, was killed in 2014 by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.

In his new role, Poe is responsible for curating the day-to-day operations at Boycott. He’s part of the team that revamped what was once just a clothing line into a hub for citizen journalists and people with non-traditional political views — different from those of the mainstream media.

Under his leadership, Poe wants people to know those who are active on social media are already writers and he wants those who contribute free content online to know they can use their writing as their voice.

“I want to show people that most of us in this current era of social media, we were already

Artist releases part one of three-series EP

By Danielle Brown of The St. Louis American

A lot has transpired in Muhammad “Mvstermind” Austin’s life since his 2016 debut EP “Cusp.” Just as he is gaining more attention from record labels, he has collaborated with Dr. Scholl’s to launch his own sneaker: the “MVSTERMIND.” And he was named a Tidal Rising Artist.

On a steady climb to success, Mvstermind found difficulties in intertwining his musical journey with the responsibilities of marriage and fatherhood. His efforts to balance it all served as the inspiration behind the “BEGREATFOOL,” EP, a three-part, interconnected sequence with more than 20 tracks. “Be,” is the first installment that has been released.

“I was spending so much time being Mvstermind that it wasn’t always the easiest process to be able to freely create when I

wanted,” the artist said. “At one point in time in my journey, I went ahead and chose love

writers, and I think there’s something that I haven’t completely untangled with a lot of Black people I know concerning their ability to write,” Poe said.

“I think a lot of people don’t realize how much free content they’re giving AT&T, you’re giving Facebook, you’re giving Twitter, you’re giving Instagram.” Art, music and fashion are other elements that Boycott is trying to bring together to make

The Rep presents ‘Love and Kindness in the Time of Quarantine’

Regina Taylor, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’ Andrew W. Mellon Foundation playwright-in-residence, directed and curated ‘Love and Kindness in the Time of Quarantine.’ The production will debut online at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20.

Curated

by

Regina Taylor, playwright-in-residence, show benefits Urban League

By American Staff

The prophetic words of Stevie Wonder’s “Love’s In Need of Love Today,” ring especially true in the unprecedented experiences of 2020. With its upcoming virtual production, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis seeks to rise to his four-decades old challenge. This week, The Rep will debut a collection of stories that offer hope, encouragement and perspective in a time of global uncertainty. Love and Kindness in the Time of Quarantine will stream online for free at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20. The production is directed and curated by Regina Taylor, The Rep’s Andrew W. Mellon Foundation playwright-in-residence.

Love and Kindness in the Time of Quarantine features a blend of songs and monologues examining nine perspectives during the coronavirus pandemic and reflecting on the search for light in this seemingly dark moment in history.

over everything. I proposed to my now wife at Delmar Hall and that was a testament to me like ‘yo, put your happiness, and put your love over this music and your journey.’

“Shortly afterward we had our son. That was a new challenge for me, growing up as a husband, a father, in a transitional stage of adulthood, all of those different things in the middle of my budding career.”

With “Be,” Mvstermind wants fans to know he is a man true to his stage name, all due to him being someone who is a mastermind of his artistry, and still human like everybody else.

“The only thing that allows us to be superhumans to an extent is how we react to the uncontrollable,” he said. “That’s the part that I wanted to breathe into the world. The certain person that they see today that’s juggling his family, everything that he loves, and standing strong in the middle of a pandemic, and pivoting. There was at one point I was at rock bottom, and I made a decision to make rock bottom my sturdiest foundation. I want to let people know, is that it’s a real true journey behind all of what you’re seeing.”

As a lover of music, it was important for Mvstermind to be transparent on this project, because he creates his music for himself. The

See Mvstermind, B3

The production features nationally renowned writers Dustin Chinn, Connie Congdon, Isaac Gomez and Octavio Solis as well as local favorites Tre’von Griffith, Carter W. Lewis, Mariah Richardson and Tonina. The performance features acclaimed stage and screen actors including Kathleen Chalfant, Brian D. Coats, Peter Gerety, Cedric Lamar and Karen Rodriguez.

n “We are proud to collaborate with The Urban League, where these tenets are modeled daily in service of our community.”

- Hana S. Sharif, The Rep’s Augustin Family artistic director.

“As an artist, I’ve observed the human spirit hungry for care and connection during this quarantine time,Taylor said. “What can we do to fill ourselves with love?”

“I’m grateful to the wonderful collection of artists who have written pieces that connect our community to art and connect art to life. Together, we can bear witness to what affects us in this time and share those experiences.”

Inspired by the community organizations that demonstrate love and kindness in the St. Louis region every day, The Rep has partnered with the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis on this virtual production.

“Art has the unique ability to cultivate and amplify compassion,” said Hana S. Sharif, the Rep’s Augustin Family artistic director. “In the midst of these uncertain times, we hope that Love and Kindness in the Time of Quarantine will inspire us all to spread light, hope and communion with each other. We are proud to collaborate with The Urban League, where these tenets are modeled daily in service of our community.”

Donations are encouraged and all proceeds directly benefit the Urban League as the organization provides food, toiletries and housing assistance to people in need during the coming holiday season.

See Rep, B2

In his new role as executive director at The Boycott Times, rapper and activist Tef Poe joins a team of professional and aspiring writers, who share similar perspectives.

Mvstermind

“Since 1918, The Urban League has sought to uplift and empower communities, and we recognize the power of theater to do that same important work,” said Michael P. McMillan, president and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. “We look forward to spreading a message of love, kindness and community this season with The Rep.” The Rep is also invit-

ing people throughout the area to spread positivity and joy across social media with acts and images of love and kindness with The #RepLoveAndKindness challenge, underway through Dec. 4. Participants are asked do something kind for someone else, share the story or post a photo on social media, add #RepLoveAndKindness as a hashtag to the post. They are then urged to tag five friends, challenging them to commit a random act of kindness of their own and keep the good works flowing.

“It could be as simple as texting someone who might need a kind word or as

exhausting as raking a neighbor’s leaves,” The Rep said in a statement about the challenge. “No kindness is too big or too small.”

Love and Kindness in the Time of Quarantine may be viewed for free on repstl. org and The Rep’s YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube. com/user/repstlvideo) beginning at 7 p.m. CST on Nov. 20. The performance will be available to stream through Dec. 31. For more information, visit repstl.org or call The Rep Box Office at 314-968-4925. To donate to the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, visit www.ulstl.com.

Be a Tourist in Your Own Town

Black women are especially welcomed to join Boycott. Tef Poe said Black women writers dominate in literature and journalism and play a significant role in why the website advocates for that demographic.

“We made it intentional to come out the gate working with Black women writers,” Tef Poe said. “It’s just facts in terms of the literary world and journalism of who’s telling the truth out here, in most cases it’s Black women writers. It’s important to work with the right people and have some integrity about it.” Visit https://boycottx.org/ for more information.

By Barry Draper, Director of Partnership Services, Explore St. Louis

The wonders of the Vatican are front and center at America’s Center Convention Complex. Open now, the international touring exhibit, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition, is an immersive journey through the iconic masterpieces that adorn the Sistine Chapel in Rome, Italy. It’s truly a sight to behold and will stay in St. Louis until January 10, 2021.

Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition transports visitors safely and responsibly to the Vatican, all while never leaving St. Louis. The exhibit covers nearly all of America’s Ballroom’s 27,625 square feet of space – allowing guests to marvel at one of the world’s greatest artistic achievements, Michelangelo’s renowned ceiling frescoes, up close and personal.

The exhibition takes its visitors back in time and up onto the scaffolding that was used during the restoration of the Sistine Chapel in the 1980s. The paintings in the Chapel had become covered in such a thick layer of dust and soot after almost 500 years that the brilliance of their original luminous colors had all but disappeared. It was not until the comprehensive restoration work carried out in the 1980s and 1990s that the true richness

of color in the wall and ceiling frescoes could once more be seen. The exhibition illustrates the restoration and allows guests to view the monumental paintings much closer than the usual 65 feet. Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition brings an entirely new perspective to these works by Michelangelo, and acts as a work of art in its own right.

With expertise and care, each restored ceiling fresco has been reproduced in its near original size using state-ofthe-art technology. Altogether, the exhibition features 34 displayed reproductions, including internationally recognized The Creation of Adam and The Last Judgement. Guests who visit America’s Center will be overcome by the details of the art, the closeness to the picture, and the modern style of the exhibition.

Recently internationally recognized as a GBAC STAR Facility for its commitment to ensuring a clean, safe, and healthy environment, America’s Center has health and safety protocols firmly in place, including but not limited to: temperature screenings for guests upon entry, mandatory use of face coverings, practicing of social distancing, and rigorous sanitization of all surfaces. Additionally, all visitors are required to move through the exhibit in pods, allowing plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful works of art at their

own pace. Timed tickets on the hour are available to ensure capacity limits and social distancing. Hours of operation are Thursday – Sunday 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Interpretive signs are available; audio devices with narrative accompaniment (in English or Spanish) are

Directions and Parking: To enter the exhibit at America’s Center, guests are to use the Washington Ave. entrance. $5 self-parking is available at the US Bank Plaza Garage immediately across the street from the Washington Ave. entrance. For more information on Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition at America’s Center, please visit https:// explorestlouis.com/sistine.

Open now, the international touring exhibit, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition, is an immersive journey through the iconic masterpieces that adorn the Sistine Chapel in Rome, Italy.

Tef Poe Continued

Tef Poe

music helps calm his anxiety, express what’s on his mind and figure out what’s in his heart. With everything he was experiencing at the time, with doing music full-time and juggling a family, it was a no-brainer for him to hit the studio and talk about it.

“At times I would be recording, mixing, mastering and engineering everything all at once, and I’d put my son to sleep in his crib, go to the booth, then I was frustrated, I felt rusty,” Mvstermind said. “I started to get down on myself. I was fighting depression. I was like let me pour my true experiences and what’s going on cause that’s what I need.”

Mvstermind collaborated with 18-year-old electronic prodigy Owen Ragland, on-therise producer Michael Franco, Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Neila, and world-renowned

Alarm Will Sound Orchestra on “BEGREATFOOL.” The collaborations allowed his vision to be tangible, providing him with different feelings than those he felt when he sampled music as a producer. “Working with Owen, in his mind he was able to play everything that was on my mind and we were able to work with one another,” Mvstermind said. “I

to life. Working with Alarm Will Sound, just seeing their recording processes, was another thing for me ‘cause I’m used to recording vocalists and rappers. But watching them record their instrumentalists was really nice, to see their creative process, and honestly, the biggest thing in music in general is the community that comes from creating.”

St. Louis has always showered Mvstermind with love and support. The recognition he receives from the people here motivates him to keep going.

“It’s incredibly honorable and it empowers me to make sure that I continue to walk into that step as that hometown hero and make sure that I continue to provide my platforms for my city and my people who steadily fill up my cup.” Mvstermind said

was able to really curate the exact sound that was in my mind the whole time as far as the colors, and the speed and the texture. It was a real special moment being able to bring that

Mvstermind has performed at Loufest, A3C, SXSW, and shared the stage with Chance the Rapper, Lupe Fiasco, Travis Scot.

Mvstermind’s “Be,” EP can be found and streamed via all music platforms.

Read more about Enterprise and our impact in the community at

Congratulations to Nakischa Joseph for her promotion to Community Mortgage Loan Officer at Enterprise Bank & Trust. Nakischa is a business development professional with more than 15 years in the financial industry. Nakischa holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from LeMoyne-Owen College.

Nakischa volunteers with the Urban League and her local church, and mentors young girls with her women’s empowerment group, G.A.B. (God’s Anointed Beauties). Nakischa believes in giving back and reaching back. Congratulations, Nakischa!

Take Refuge in Art

The core mission of the Saint Louis Art Museum has always been to elevate the human spirit. As our community continues to face the uncertainties of a world pandemic, as well as social inequities and political challenges, there is no better time to highlight printer and sculptor Elizabeth Catlett. Catlett is recognized as one of the nation’s most important 20th-century artists. She attended Howard University, where she worked with some of the most influential artists and activists. The Black community was a great motivator for Catlett’s work, and she once said, “I have always wanted my art to service my people—to reflect us, to relate to us, to stimulate us, to make us aware of our potential.”

In 1946, Catlett moved from the United States to Mexico City. There, she worked with the People’s Graphic Workshop, a printmaking collective dedicated to using art to promote social change. The United States later barred Catlett from returning to the U.S. because the American government deemed her an “undesirable alien” due to her work’s political nature. Catlett became a Mexican citizen in 1962 and spent the rest of her life there creating work that speaks to people around the world. Her U.S. citizenship was restored in 2002, rendering her a citizen of both the United States and Mexico.

“Seated Woman,” a sculpture by Catlett, entered the Museum’s collection in 2019. The wooden sculpture carved

from mahogany realistically depicts a Black woman. There is clear influence from the art of the African diaspora in the carving of the face that is reminiscent of an African mask and Mexican sculpture. The woman’s rounded body and firmly placed legs convey confidence and stability. Catlett felt affirmative representations, such as “Seated Woman,” could support social change because they allow underrepresented people to see themselves depicted in art.

The Museum acquired one of Catlett’s most famous prints entitled “Sharecropper” a little more than 10 years ago. “Sharecropper” reveals Elizabeth Catlett’s lifelong concern for the marginalized and the dignity of women. Vivid

markings create this anonymous woman’s weathered skin, textured white hair, and broadbrimmed straw hat. Fatigue is evident in her eyes, and a makeshift safety pin holds her lightweight jacket closed. By focusing on the enduring strength of poor laborers, Catlett hoped to “find a voice to speak for people who do not have one.”

While there may be uncertainties, everyone remains forever hopeful. Elizabeth Catlett firmly believed that “art can raise the consciousness of injustice, expose abuses of power, and illuminate possibilities for social transformation.” We at the Saint Louis Art Museum hope that you will continue to find refuge in art.

Sculptor Elizabeth Catlett

Faith in Action:

The election may be over, but the work must continue

Faith

“Voting is a

to

of

part of

the

marginalized

said the Rev. Alvin Herring, executive director of Faith in Action.

This turnout happened in spite of a global pandemic that fundamentally altered how grassroots leaders organize, moving many integral in-person voter engagement events to virtual only. With the election now behind us, faith leaders and organizers across the networks are urging those energized by the election to continue this work and not become complacent.

“James 2:26 says faith without works is dead; this is at the crux of Faith in Action’s mission. Our faith traditions are diverse and all compel us to work toward justice, equity and liberation for all. It is not enough to believe these ideals, we must do all that we can to organize for a better future. And we cannot solely rely on our leaders to achieve this vision. We must use every tool in our toolbox and continue the fight for civil rights,” Herring said.

“But our activism is not and cannot be limited to the ballot box. Now we have to get to work and build a beloved community that is rooted in peace, justice and equity.”

Justice Alito warns against COVID threats to religious liberty

For the St. Louis American WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito warned against threats to religious liberty and freedom of speech imposed because of the coronavirus that have resulted in “previously unimaginable” restrictions on Americans.

Justice Alito said Thursday that he doesn’t intend to downplay the “severity of the virus’ threat” to public health but called out what he sees as government overreach in the ongoing fight against COVID-19.

The election is not an endpoint — it is a starting point, a road map for how we can strategize moving forward to achieve racial justice, win compassionate immigration reform, create a criminal justice system rooted in dignity, and remove the far-too-many barriers to voting. Our work did not end on election day. If anything, it started anew the day after, Herring said.

Faith in Action, formerly known as PICO National Network, is the largest grassroots, faith-based organizing network in the United States. The nonpartisan organization works with 1,000 religious congregations in more than 200 cities and towns through its 46 local and state federations. For more information, visit www. faithinaction.org.

“The pandemic has resulted in previously unimaginable restrictions on personal liberty. We have never before seen restrictions as severe, extensive and prolonged as those experienced for most of 2020. Whatever one may think about COVID restrictions, we surely don’t want them to become a recurring feature after the pandemic has passed,” Alito said.

“In certain quarters, religious liberty has fast become a disfavored right. For many today, religious liberty is not a cherished freedom. It’s often just an excuse for bigotry and it can’t be tolerated even when there’s no evidence that anybody has been harmed,” the justice said. Alito cited two cases this year in which the High Court

sided with states while claiming the Coronavirus as the reason for restrictions on the size of religious gatherings. In May, the Supreme Court rejected an emergency appeal by a California church challenging attendance limits at worship services. The justices turned away a similar challenge by a Nevada church in July. The High Court ruled 5-4 in both cases, allowing the limitations to continue. Alito said that the resulting restrictions “blatantly discriminated against houses of worship” and he added that he believed religious liberty is in danger of becoming a “secondclass” right.

What has been underscored in the long ballot-count process since Election Night is the importance and power of Black and Brown voters.

Justice Samuel Alito

Sports

SportS EyE

With Alvin A. Reid

NFL does little, NCAA does nothing to increase minority hires

The NFL pulled a crafty escape move when it comes to hiring more minority head coaches, assistant coaches and general managers last week.

Last spring, NFL owners rejected a proposal that would reward franchises for hiring minority coaches and major front office with additional draft picks.

Instead, the same owners last week unanimously adopted a proposal that would grant draft pick compensation to teams that develop minority coaches who are then hired by another team.

I guess this could be called “progress,” but it’s really an attempt to placate those that are rightfully calling out the NFL for its lack of front office diversity.

Beginning this offseason, a team that loses a minority assistant coach who becomes a head coach, or loses a personnel executive who becomes a general manager, will receive third-round compensatory picks in each of the next two drafts.

Blacks to hold the position.

The Fritz Pollard Association, which is named for the first Black coach in NFL history, tracks minority coaching hires and qualified candidates at the NFL and collegiate levels.

Executive Director Rod Graves told USA TODAY that racism must be playing a role in NFL hiring.

“You look at the NFL and its track record and you have to wonder: How much of it is the result of racist attitudes and disregard to fairness?” he asked.

“Those types of issues have to come up when you look at the NFL’s track record.”

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell defended the action - even if it creates minute change.

“I think that’s how we’ve made progress over the past several years,” Goodell said during a conference call following the owners’ vote.

The problem is that this happens once in a blue moon, so it will have little real impact. Teams should be incentivized for making minority hires, not losing one of few minority coaches or GMs.

The second new concept mandates that a team that loses two minority staffers to head coach and general manager positions would receive three third-round picks. It sounds good, but this has NEVER happened in the history of the NFL.

About 75 percent of NFL players are black yet, at the season’s start, there were just three black head coaches – Brian Flores, Miami; Anthony Lynn, San Diego; Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh. Ron Rivera, who is Latino, is head coach of the Washington Football Team.

After Houston and Atlanta fired their head coaches earlier this season, Romeo Crennel and Raheem Morris are serving as respective interim head coaches.

The NFL’s record on GMs is similarly pathetic. The Cleveland Browns’ Andrew Berry and Miami Dolphins’ Chris Grier are the lone two

“It’s continually keeping a focus on this, adapting, looking to see what areas we can improve on, and that constant evolution of improvement, to try to make sure we’re doing everything appropriate to give minorities an opportunity to advance in the head coaching ranks or the coaching ranks in general, in personnel and other football areas, to well beyond that.

That’s a lot of words that really don’t say much.

NCAA says ‘no way’

As sour as Black coaches and fans might feel about the NFL’s watered-down effort, it beats the heck out of the NCAA.

For more than a decade, the state of Oregon has had a state law requiring that “state schools interview at least one qualified minority candidate for all head coach and athletic director openings.”

In August, the West Coast Conference adopted the “Bill Russell Rule” which requires its member schools to “include a member of a traditionally underrepresented community in the pool of final candidates for every athletic director, senior administrator, head coach and full-time assistant coach position.”

Russell played at San Francisco University, which is now a WCC member.

The NCAA Committee to Promote Cultural Diversity and Equity (NCPCD) met last week to reportedly discuss both mandates and recommend to the NCAA that similar plans be adopted.

It didn’t vote on any action or recommend any policy changes. The committee also didn’t have the guts to provide an actual man or woman to tell the world of its decision.

In a written statement, the NCAA said it will, “continue conversations with conference commissioners” who support

the rule changes after the committee opted not to move forward with a recommendation to the board of governors.

“The NCAA is a voluntary association with public and private members who are subject to different state laws,” the statement said.

“Thus, the NCAA cannot mandate the individual hiring practices of colleges and universities or campus employment practices. As a result, employment decisions are made at the individual campus level.”

Translation: “If you choose, go ahead and be racist out there when it comes to Black coaches.”

InSIdE SportS

With Earl Austin Jr.

Sam Sachs, founder of The No Hate Zone and an advocate for policy changes that promote minority hiring in college athletics, called the NCAA “a white supremacy structure that’s unwilling to give up its power.”

He added that he feels he was “played” by NCAA President Mark Emmert. He had shared correspondence with Emmert and worked with him to garner support for Oregon and the Russell initiatives.

“Emmert led me down this path, told me what to do, encouraged me what to do, and it’s a complete and utter failure,” he told ESPN.

“I feel like I’ve been played. I don’t feel the NCAA really values diversity and equity. Now what?”

If it involves alleged racism, it must involve Missouri in some way, right?

Mark Lombardi, Maryville University president, is chair of the CPCDE.

Sachs said he has attempted to speak with Lombardi several times and has received no response. ESPN reached Lombardi and it was told to contact the NCAA for a request to interview him.

On Tuesday, I sent an email to Lombardi’s office to request an interview. It includes request for a statement on Sachs’ accusations and his thoughts on the committee’s decision.

In September, 30 athletic directors from Division I programs signed a Collegiate Coaching Diversity Pledge. The schools said they would “have a finalist pool that includes at least one candidate from a traditionally underrepresented background and one non-diverse candidate” for vacancies in in men’s basketball, women’s basketball and football.

Dozens of NCAA schools have Black men’s and women’s basketball head coaches, so the real culprit here is football.

According to the NCAA’s own statistics from 2018-19 academic year, Black and other minority players comprised about 65 percent of the player pool. There were only 20 minority coaches (15.4 percent) in the FBS, which includes 129 football teams. The NCAA created this data base in 2011-12. At that time, 83.3 percent of FBS head coaches were white. Today, that number has not decreasedit has increased to 84.6 percent. By the way, the NCAA statement said its board of governors adopted “the Presidential Pledge” to promote better diversity and gender equity and that it continues to discuss other initiatives. Sachs scoffed at that, saying “it is time for the NCAA to fulfill the broken promises and move their words to action to promote cultural diversity and equity.”

Alvin A. Reid’s Twitter handle is @aareid1.

Isaiah Williams is Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week

The St. Louis area continues to produce some excellent football players who are currently putting in some serious work at the collegiate level.

Former Trinity Catholic standout quarterback Isaiah Williams was named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week after his big performance in leading the University of Illinois to a 23-20 victory at Rutgers last Saturday. Williams rushed for 192 yards and scored a touchdown to lead the Illini to its first victory of the season. The 192 yards was the most ever by an Illinois quarterback in a single game. Williams became the first Illinois player to win the Freshman of the Week Award since 2016. Williams led Trinity to the Class 3 state championship during his senior year in 2019. Former Vianney star Kyren Williams is having a stellar

campaign for Notre Dame, which is currently 8-0 and ranked No. 2 in the country. A sophomore running back, Williams has rushed for 777 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging nearly six yards per carry. Williams rushed for 140 yards and scored three touchdowns in Notre Dame’s 47-40 overtime victory over then No. 1 Clemson two weeks ago in a big showdown in South Bend, Indiana. He was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week after that performance. Williams led Vianney to two Class 5 state championships during his stellar prep career.

Former Pattonville High standout quarterback Kaleb Eleby is the starting quarterback for Western Michigan and a big part of its 2-0 start this season. Eleby shined in WMU’s nationally-televised

victory over Toledo last week when he completed 20 of 29 passes for 284 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-38 victory. Eleby executed the fake spike to throw the game-winning touchdown in the closing seconds to culminate a late rally by the Western Michigan. In two games, Eleby has passed for 546 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions while completing 71 percent of his passes.

High School State Playoffs Continue

that are still alive in the playoffs.

Here is the schedule of this weekend’s state football playoffs in the state of Missouri. There are currently 11 schools from the St. Louis metro area

Class 6 (State Semifinals) Fox at DeSmet, Friday, 7 p.m. Raymore-Peculiar at Liberty North, Saturday, 1 p.m.

Class 5 (State Quarterfinals) Jackson at Chaminade, Friday, 7 p.m.

Fort Zumwalt North at Battle, Friday, 7 p.m. Lebanon at Webb City, Friday, 7 p.m. Grain Valley at Platte County, Friday, 7 p.m.

Class 4 (State Quarterfinals) Festus at Union, Friday, 7 p.m.

MICDS at Hannibal,

Saturday, 1 p.m. West Plains at Helias, Friday, 7 p.m. Smithville at Grandview, Friday, 7 p.m.

Class 3 Kennett at Cardinal Ritter, Saturday, 1 p.m. Lutheran North at Blair Oaks, Saturday, 1 p.m. Buffalo at Cassville, Saturday, 1 p.m. Maryville at Summit Christian, Saturday, 1 p.m.

Class 2 Jefferson at Duchesne, Friday, 7 p.m. Lamar at Mt. View Liberty, Saturday, 1 p.m. Hallsville at Palmyra, Saturday, 1 p.m. Butler at St. Pius X, Friday, 7 p.m.

Top District Championship Performances

• Senior Rico Barfield of DeSmet scored three touchdowns in the Spartans’ 28-7 victory over Francis Howell.

• Senior Chris Futrell of Fort Zumwalt North scored two touchdowns and had two quarterback sacks in the Panthers’ 52-3 victory over Fort Zumwalt South.

• Sophomore Jamond Mathis of Duchense recorded three sacks in the Pioneers’ 16-13 victory over Lutheran-St. Charles.

• Quarterback Brian Brown of Lutheran North completed nine of 13 passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns in the Crusaders’ 45-10 victory over Borgia.

Alvin A. Reid

Earl Austin Jr.

Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin is one of only three head coaches in the NFL.

COORDINATOR RISK SERVICES

Individual is responsible for handling various tasks to support the Risk Services Department, to enable each unit to function effectively and provide superior customer service while meeting various compliance requirements. To apply, please visit: https:// www.safetynational.com/ careers-page/

FIREFIGHTER/ PARAMEDIC

The City of Richmond Heights is accepting applications for Firefighter/Paramedic. To apply go to https://richmondheights. applicantpro.com/jobs/1578864. html . Applications will be accepted from November 9, 2020 through November 20, 2020.

LOSS PORTFOLIO TRANSFER CLAIMS MANAGER

Responsible for handling assigned claims from initial assignment to closure, as well as provide assistance in various administrative functions associated with the Loss Portfolio Transfer (LPT) Workers’ Compensation line of business. To apply, please visit: https://www.safetynational.com/ careers-page/

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Sealed Proposals for B21-1201 Rotary Cutter and Disc Bine will be received at Lincoln University Purchasing Dept 1002 Chestnut St, RM 101 Shipping & Receiving Bldg, JCMO 65101 until 2PM CT on 02DEC2020. Download Proposal Request at http://www.lincolnu.edu/web/ purchasing/bids

CAMPAIGN

FEASIBILITY STUDY RFQ 2020

The Saint Louis Zoo Association is seeking qualifications for a Campaign Feasibility Study and Development Readiness Audit. The Zoo envisions a comprehensive campaign in the range of $200 million or more. Bid documents are available as of 11/18/2020 on the Saint Louis Zoo website: stlzoo.org/vendor

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for the Tesshire Drive Bridge No. 400, St. Louis County Project No. CR-1669, Federal Project No. BRO-B096(003), will be received electronically thru the County’s Vendor Self Service portal at https://stlouisco. munisselfservice.com/Vendors/ default.aspx, until 11:00 a.m. on December 16, 2020

Plans and specifications will be available on November 16, 2020 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouiscountymo.gov) or by contacting Cross Rhodes Print & Technologies, 2731 South Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63118 (314) 678-0087.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for the Lucas-Hunt Road (North) Resurfacing project, St. Louis County Project No. AR-1560, will be received electronically thru the County’s Vendor Self Service portal at https:// stlouisco.munisselfservice.com/ Vendors/default.aspx, until 11:00 a.m. on December 16, 2020

Plans and specifications will be available on November 16, 2020 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouiscountymo.gov) or by contacting Cross Rhodes Print & Technologies, 2731 South Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63118 (314) 678-0087.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for the St. Charles Rock Road (West) ARS Resurfacing project, St. Louis County Project No. AR-1477, will be received electronically thru the County’s Vendor Self Service portal at https://stlouisco. munisselfservice.com/Vendors/ default.aspx, until 11:00 a.m. on December 16, 2020

Plans and specifications will be available on November 16, 2020 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouiscountymo.gov) or by contacting Cross Rhodes Print & Technologies, 2731 South Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63118 (314) 678-0087.

REINSURANCE ACCOUNTANT

To ensure that the daily tasks required to perform ceded and assumed reinsurance and program accounting are completed accurately and timely. Responsible for claims payment funds for Large Casualty claims and Large Primary Workers Compensation over the SIR and AGG limits. To apply, please visit: https://www.safetynational.com/ careers-page/

www.stlamerican.com

REGIONAL UNDERWRITING MANAGER – PUBLIC ENTITY

Responsible for underwriting and development of multi-line public entity new and renewal business as part of the Safety National Public Entity Practice. Territorial underwriting and development of business to align with geographic office location as much as possible, but may include National presence as management need arises. To apply, please visit: https://www.safetynational.com/ careers-page/

Preferred but not required experience working in HUD housing facility. Send resume to: cmcrvillage2@gmail.com

SENIOR MANAGER, HUMAN RESOURCES

The Senior Manager of Human Resources will coordinate all generalist HR functions for a non-profit organization that currently employs 60 team members. This includes developing, implementing and coordinating policies and programs encompassing all aspects of human resources, including: employment, compensation, training, staff planning and development, benefits, employee relations, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs in a manner which reflects the mission, philosophy and policies of Covenant House. To apply, visit our website at www.covenanthousemo.org

St. Louis County Department of Human Services

HOUSING URBAN DEVELOPMENT FY20 EMERGENCY

SOLUTION GRANT CV-1 FUNDING

The St. Louis County Department of Human Services, Homeless Services Program, is seeking proposals for the Housing Urban Development FY20 Emergency Solution Grant CV-1 (Corona Virus) funding. The total funding available is $1,703.217.00 These special ESG-CV-1 funds are to be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) among individuals and families who are homeless or receiving homeless assistance; and to support additional homeless assistance and homelessness prevention activities to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19.

Proposals are due by 11:00 a.m. on December 7, 2020. Request For Proposal details and specifications can be obtained at the St. Louis County Bids and RFPs webpage located at https://stlouiscountymo.gov/services/ request-for-bids-and-proposals/

INVITATION TO BID:

Blackline Design and Construction is seeking qualified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE’s) & Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE’s) proposals for the interior and exterior renovations (multi-family conversion) of a former catholic school located at 4021 Iowa Ave., St. Louis, MO 63118. Scope consist of: Demolition, Abatement, Excavation/Grading, Concrete Foundations, Concrete Flatwork, Masonry, Aluminum Fence, Gates, & Operators, Metal Railing, Carpentry, Lumber, Casework, Millwork, Countertops, Materials, Mailbox, Building Signage, Doors, Door Frames, Door Hardware, Windows, Window Film, Window Glazing, Appliances, Metal Stud Framing, Drywall, Insulation, Flooring, Wood Floor Refinishing, Terrazzo Polishing, Tile, Roofing, Sheet Metal, Gutters, Downspouts, Painting, Plumbing, HVAC, Electrical, Fire Protection, Fire Extinguishers & Cabinets, Fill, Finish Grading, Landscaping, Plantings, Asphalt, Asphalt Curbs, Parking Bumpers, Parking Signs, Pavement Markings, Steel Bollards For inquires and/or access to the property, contact Jenny McKie at: jmckie@blacklinestl.com or (314) 391-8900.

INVITATION TO BID:

Blackline Design and Construction is seeking qualified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE’s) & Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE’s) proposals for the interior and exterior alterations of the former American Brake Company Building located at 1920 N. Broadway, St. Louis, MO 63102. Scope consist of: 02-Existing Conditions, 03-Concrete, 04-Masonry, 05-Metals, 06-Woods, Plastics, and Composites, 07-Thermal and Moisture Protection, 08-Openings, 09-Finishes,10-Specialaties, 11-Equipment, 12-Furnishings, 14-Conveying Equipment, 21-Fire Suppression, 22-Plumbing, 23-Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning, 26-Electrical, 27-Communications, 28-Electronic Safety and Security, 31-Earthwork, 32-Exterior Improvements, 33-Utilities. Site walks scheduled for 11/11, 10am-12pm & 11/16, 3pm-5pm. Proposals are due via email by close of business Friday, 12/4/20. For details and more information, contact Jenny McKie at: jmckie@blacklinestl.com or (314) 391-8900.

CITY OF ST. LOUIS BOARD OF ALDERMEN REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL –PROP S YOUTH AT RISK PROGRAMS

The Public Safety Committee of the Board of Aldermen has approximately $950,000 available to award in calendar year 2021 for programs designed to prevent crimes perpetrated by youth in the City of St. Louis. The Committee is seeking proposals from qualified not-forprofit organizations to serve at-risk youth in the 11 to 24 year-old demographic. For the purposes of this RFP, crime prevention programs are defined as those programs that, either on an individual or group level, work to reduce the likelihood of youth involvement in criminal activity. An award range from $15,000 to $200,000 has been established for proposals submitted pursuant to this RFP. Please note the application will be online. Applicants may find the online submission page through the following link: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/youth-at-risk/

For questions please contact Brian Champion, Department of Public Safety, at ChampionB@stlouis-mo.gov

Proposals must be received by 4:00pm CST Monday, December 14, 2020.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for the Yaeger Road Resurfacing project, St. Louis County Project No. CR-1578, will be received electronically thru the County’s Vendor Self Service portal at https://stlouisco. munisselfservice.com/Vendors/ default.aspx, until 11:00 a.m. on December 16, 2020

Plans and specifications will be available on November 16, 2020 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouiscountymo.gov) or by contacting Cross Rhodes Print & Technologies, 2731 South Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63118 (314) 678-0087.

BIDS

INVITATION TO BID

Sealed bids will be received by the Webster Groves School District at the District Service Center Building, 3232 South Brentwood Blvd., Webster Groves, MO 63119, until WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2020 BY 2 P.M. CDT for the Webster Groves High School Baseball Field Dugouts. Bids will be opened publicly at that time.

Drawings and specifications for this project will be available starting November 23rd at the office of the Architect, Hoener Associates, Inc., 6707 Plainview Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63109, (314) 781-9855, FAX (314) 781-0163 and will also be available on the Webster Groves School Districts website under the heading need to know – quick links: RFP/RFQ.

Information as to bidding instructions and requirements for procuring bidding documents may be obtained from the Architect.

Not less than the prevailing hourly wage rates, as determined by the State of Missouri, Division of Labor Standards, shall be paid all workers employed on this project.

The Board of Education reserves the right to waive technicalities, to select any contractor filing a proposal, and to reject any or all bids.

A PRE-BID meeting will be conducted 10:00 am on November 30th 2020 at the Webster Groves High School Baseball Parking lot which is located off Bradford Avenue between Selma Avenue and Big Bend Blvd.

By: Mr. Rob Steuber Construction Project Manager

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CASE MANAGEMENT

The City of St Louis Department of Health is seeking separate proposals for an agency providing Medical Case Management Services. Requests for Proposals may be obtained beginning November 19, 2020, by downloading from the City of St. Louis website at http://www.stlouis-mo.gov/. Contact Tanya Madden for questions: maddent@stlouis-mo.gov, (314) 657-1532 (email preferred).

The deadline for submitting proposals is January 19, 2021, by 4:00 P.M. at 1520 Market Street – Lobby, St. Louis, MO 63103. The Department of Health reserves the right to reject any or all responses with or without cause.

ADVERTISEMENT FOR RFP OUTPATIENT AMBULATORY MEDICAL SERVICES

The City of St Louis Department of Health is seeking separate proposals for an agency providing Outpatient Ambulatory Medical Services.

Requests for Proposals may be obtained beginning November 19, 2020, by downloading from the City of St. Louis website at http://www.stlouis-mo.gov/. Contact Tanya Madden for questions: maddent@stlouis-mo.gov, (314) 657-1532 (email preferred).

The deadline for submitting proposals is January 19, 2021, by 4:00 P.M. at 1520 Market Street – Lobby, St. Louis, MO 63103. The Department of Health reserves the right to reject any or all responses with or without cause.

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EMERGENCY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PRESCRIPTION EYEGLASSES

The City of St Louis Department of Health is seeking separate proposals for an agency providing Emergency Financial Assistance –Prescription Eyeglasses. . Requests for Proposals may be obtained beginning November 19, 2020, by downloading from the City of St. Louis website at http://www.stlouis-mo.gov/. Contact Tanya Madden for questions: maddent@stlouis-mo.gov, (314) 657-1532 (email preferred).

The deadline for submitting proposals is January 19, 2021, by 4:00 P.M. at 1520 Market Street – Lobby, St. Louis, MO 63103. The Department of Health reserves the right to reject any or all responses with or without cause.

ADVERTISEMENT FOR RFP ORAL HEALTH

The City of St Louis Department of Health is seeking separate proposals for an agency providing Oral Health Services

Requests for Proposals may be obtained beginning November 19, 2020, by downloading from the City of St. Louis website at http://www.stlouis-mo.gov/. Contact Tanya Madden for questions: maddent@stlouis-mo.gov (314) 657-1532 (email preferred).

The deadline for submitting proposals is January 19, 2021, by 4:00 P.M. at 1520 Market Street – Lobby, St. Louis, MO 63103. The Department of Health reserves the right to reject any or all responses with or without cause.