October 20th, 2016 Edition

BFL addresses

‘State of emergency’

New programs to calm conflicts and help drug users

at Better Family Life Cultural, Educational, and Business Center, 5415 Page Blvd., on October 6 to address

“You will see people whose lives have been totally bottomed out and society discarded them, and the numbers are growing,” James Clark, Better Family Life’s vice president of community outreach, told a group of social-service providers on Oct. 6. “And we are not doing anything about it.”

Absentee voting underway

By Chris King Of The St. Louis American

Absentee voting is underway for the Tuesday, November

By

By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American

Photo by Wiley Price

Mariah Stewart Of The St. Louis American

George Allen Jr. with his mother, Lonzetta Taylor, on the day he was released from prison in November 2012 after serving 30 years in prison for a rape and murder he did not commit.

Photo by Wiley Price

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Zahniyla Kennedy took advantage of the warm weather on Monday, October 17 to pick pumpkins on her third birthday in North County.

Birthday girl in the pumpkin patch

Are Denzel and Pauletta ready to call it quits?

For years, there have been rumors that actor Denzel Washington has engaged in extramarital affairs.

According to Globe Magazine, Pauletta has finally had enough.

“This marriage is on its last legs,” a family insider told the magazine.

Another source close to the 61-year-old star and Pauletta, 66, who have four grown kids, describes the relationship as a “show marriage.”

The source claims Denzel has “been caught stepping out several times.”

Israel Houghton’s camp confirms side children

Just as the gospel singer was celebrating his engagement to “The Real” co-host

Adrienne Bailon, records leaked confirming longstanding rumors that Israel Houghton fathered two outside children during his 20-year-marriage.

When urban celebrity news site Bossip referred to a recent child support case opened against him in Texas, Houghton’s attorneys responded.

“Mr. Houghton has been financially supporting the two children since they were born but hasn’t been served with the suit because he is on tour,” lawyers for Houghton told Bossip.com.

to court this week demanding that Hankerson is not let off the default judgment, pointing out the chain of restaurants is ruining her reputation.

The singer points to reports that revealed the restaurant was under a health investigation after receiving a ‘U’ grade by health inspectors.

The establishment received a grade of 44 out of 100 on October 6. The score was posted to the Fulton County Department of Public Health on their website.

Family feud over Gladys Knight Chicken and Waffles wages on

Gladys Knight sued her Shanga Hankerson, to have her name removed from his Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffles restaurant chain after he was accused of tax evasion and money laundering. Hankerson reportedly fired back with accusations that Knight has a diminished mental capacity.

In the latest battle, Knight accuses Hankerson of damaging her reputation after failing several health inspections.

According to The Daily Mail, Knight headed back

The Department’s report cited the restaurant for violations including handling food without gloves, “heavy grease, dirt, dust, build-up on floor, walls, ceilings” and even cockroaches.

The report says that the restaurant was found to not be in compliance over areas that include clean and properly washed hands, toxic substances not being identified, sanitized food contact surfaces and improper temperatures for areas storing food.

Nicki Minaj blasts Kanye and his ‘Goldigger’

In a new interview with Marie Claire, cover girl Nicki Minaj gets candid about what it’s like to compete with male rappers, why young women should aspire to become entrepreneurs instead of marrying rich, and why she has an issue with Kanye West and “Gold Digger.”

Nicki says she’s ‘so tired’ of black women’s fear that their men will leave them for women of a different race once they get rich. “It wasn’t funny when Kanye said, ‘When he get on, he’ll leave your [expletive] for a white girl,’ and Kanye happens to be with a white girl now,” she says, referring to his wife Kim Kardashian West. “It wasn’t funny when it said it; it was the [expletive] truth.”

Back child support could land Stevie J in jail

Two years ago, “Love and Hip Hop Atlanta” co-star Stevie J was arrested for failure to pay child support for two of his five children, for more than 10 years. Now Stevie is facing an extended stay for not paying up.

In 2001, Stevie J was ordered to pay $8,557 a month for two of his kids, but reportedly never made a payment. By 2014, the amount had crept past the $1 million mark, and Stevie J was arrested. This week, according to reports, Stevie J signed a letter of indictment to avoid taking the case to trial.

Stevie J is due back in court for sentencing in January and faces of up to six months in prison, a $5,000 fine and restitution. In the meantime, the reality star is required to wear a GPS monitor and must abide by a 10:30 curfew.

Sources: Bossip.com, MarieClaire.com, The Globe, The Daily Mail

Shanga Hankerson

Denzel washington

Community calls for stronger response to blackface incident

Kirkwood students object to response of counselor when they complained

By Jenny Simeone Of St. Louis Public Radio

Some Kirkwood High School students and their parents continue to express outrage over a white student’s apparent use of blackface .

That frustration was apparent during a Kirkwood School Board meeting on Monday, October 10, when about 40 concerned parents, students, and alumni packed the district’s offices. During public comments, eight people called on the board to enact a stronger response to the incident — and more administrative support for students of color.

Black students told Kirkwood High School faculty on October 6 that a white classmate had walked from chemistry class to lunch period with charcoal from an experiment smeared on his face. Principal Michael Havener later said the student was mimicking a beard. But the students who reported the incident said that the smears on his cheeks and forehead appeared to be blackface, a once-prevalent form of makeup used by white entertainers to negatively portray black people.

“The kid put it all over his face because he thought it was funny,” said Kiden Smith, a freshman at Kirkwood High School who reported the incident. “He did later apologize for it and said that wasn’t his intention, but the conversation should be, ‘Why

did he leave the classroom that way?’ and ‘why didn’t anybody say something to him?’”

Smith said she was mostly happy with the way Havener handled the incident by the end of the day, but was disappointed by how faculty initially reacted. She said walking counselor Cindy Ricks responded to the black students’ complaints by “slamming her hands on the table” where they were sitting, telling the young women to “calm down” and dismissing their concerns of racism on campus.

“The threatening behavior of the white female counselor put me and my friends in a position of feeling unsafe in our school,” Smith wrote the School Board in a statement.

“My parents never stand over me and slam their hands down on a table yelling at me with anger in their eyes. That was an act of aggression, and I would hope that she is sufficiently sanctioned for physically threatening students.”

Smith’s mother, Antona Brent Smith, called for Ricks’ termination. Ricks could not be reached for comment.

Other speakers at the October 10 meeting pressed the board to have the student who smudged charcoal on his face issue a public apology.

One recent Kirkwood alumni, Sydni Jackson, called for more thoughtful inclusions of black history in Kirkwood’s curriculums, and more anti-bias training for administrators and teachers.

A number of white parents with students in Kirkwood schools stood up in support of Smith and her friends, and criticized the board’s silence on the incident and broader incidents of institutional racism on campus.

One speaker, Dr. Koach Frazier, commended the students who spoke up about what they saw. He said institutional racism “lives and breathes” at the school.

“Zora Neal Hurston of blessed memory said if you are silent about your pain they will kill you and say you enjoyed it,” Frazier said. “I will not sit idly by while you traumatize my family in a place where they live, they pay taxes and attend and excel in this school.”

Around 40 people gathered for the Kirkwood school board meeting on Monday, October 10, the majority of whom attended for the public comment segment.

School Board members thanked the crowd for their comments, but did not say if they would act on any of the speakers’ suggestions.

On October 11, the district’s chief communications officer, Ginger Cayce, released a statement from Superintendent Tom Williams.

“We appreciate the courage it took for our student, Kiden Smith, to address the school board regarding a hurtful situation that occurred at her school,” Williams said in the statement. “We also acknowledge and take seriously the pain and hurt expressed by our students, parents and community members. We must improve upon our work to create a culture that recognizes and values diversity. We must become more knowledgeable, students and staff members, about the history of racism in our country and how it still impacts our students, schools and society.”

Follow Jenny on Twitter @ jnnsmn.

Reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.

Ferguson made the right call on Judge McCullin

By Wesley Bell Guest columnist

As Missouri Supreme Court Appointee Judge Roy L. Richter’s term in Ferguson Municipal Court was expiring in June of 2015, the City of Ferguson faced a serious dilemma with respect to its much-maligned municipal court. Not only was it important to continue the progress underway, but considering recent unrest and calls for court reform, it was more important to get the right person as the city attempted to move forward. I called recently retired Circuit Court Judge Donald L. McCullin and asked him to apply.

This was a tough (phone) call for me – tough in the sense that I was a newly elected councilman attempting, with many others, to help navigate Ferguson through a historical chapter while literally the eyes of the world watched. The courts were one of the issues that the city could not afford to get wrong. Additionally, I was potentially interviewing a man who I cut my teeth with as a young, fresh-out-of-law school public defender. Who was I to question him?

Judge McCullin not only mentored myself, but many other area attorneys. As a result, there was a part of me that anticipated he would think this job beneath him. But, true to form, this lifetime public servant did not hesitate. His response was, “Is anyone going to have a problem with me doing what’s right?” “Absolutely not,” I said. He continued, “If anyone expects me to generate revenue, I’m not interested.”

The city at the time was beginning the process of interviewing potential candidates, and my next fear was that he would feel slighted. With a resume which expanded longer than I had been alive, it seemed insulting to ask this legal legend to go through several interview panels. To the contrary, he insisted on going through the process like every other applicant.

Needless to say, he became the clear choice of the citizens and City Council.

Without doing a deep dive into his many accomplishments, I will mention that prior to enrolling in law school he was an educator. Thus, it is not surprising that, when I discussed him with colleagues, the two most consistent and recurring themes are that he was “fair” and a “mentor.”

Henry Brooks Adams said, “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”

Judge Donald McCullin now belongs to the ages, but I anticipate his influence will continue to be felt by many;; certainly by me.

That, indeed, was the right call. Wesley Bell is a member of the Ferguson City Council.

Guest Columnist Wesley Bell

Photo by Jenny Simeone / St. Louis Public Radio

Editorial /CommEntary

Vote NO on Amendment 6 and Amendment 3

Donald Trump surrogate Newt Gingrich – of all vile political corpses to rise in support of this most loathsome of presidential candidates – has been using his national platform to claim that the voting irregularities in St. Louis in the August 2 primary, which resulted in two election results being thrown out, prove the need for voter photo ID. Like so many claims made by Trump and his surrogates, this is not true. The absentee votes mishandled by the St. Louis election board were not cases of voter impersonation, which is what voter photo ID protects against. In fact, voter impersonation is almost unheard of, so it’s obvious that something else is going on with the voter photo ID restrictions that Republicans are pushing, via legislation and ballot initiatives, all over the country. In Missouri, the latest attempt is Constitutional Amendment 6 on the November 8 ballot, which would require “valid government-issued photo identification” to vote in the state. Current Secretary of State Jason Kander – a Democrat running for U.S. Senate on November 8 against Republican incumbent U.S. Senator Roy Blunt – estimates that Amendment 6 would disenfranchise 220,000 voters in Missouri. College students, low-income people, the disabled and the very elderly are the people most likely to be without state-issued photo ID. All of these demographics trend Democratic as voters, which is why Republicans all over the nation have pushed voter photo ID proposals for years. Voter photo ID is being presented as a solution where no problem exists. If passed with a simple majority, it would make it more difficult for some of our most vulnerable and transient citizens to vote, while doing nothing to prevent the types of voter fraud that do exist in Missouri, such as exploiting the absentee ballot privilege. We strongly recommend a vote of NO ON CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 6

Should we raise the tax on cigarettes to fund early childhood education? Yes, of course –we have argued stridently for universal pre-K education and other early childhood education initiatives for many years, given how crucial the earliest years are in forming the minds and possibilities of our citizens. Should we vote yes on Constitutional Amendment 3, which appears, on the face of it, to do just that? No.

This exceptionally detailed and misleading initiative is opposed by major, credible organizations that one would expect to support an initiative that does exactly what Amendment 3 claims to do. The American Heart Association, American Lung Association

in Missouri, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Campaign for TobaccoFree Kids, Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City and Tobacco-Free Missouri all should be expected to support higher taxes on cigarettes, which would be expected to decrease smoking and improve health outcomes. But they all oppose Amendment 3. Why? Because Amendment 3 was drafted by and is being funded by Big Tobacco for dubious purposes. RJR Tobacco Company has contributed or pledged nearly $8 million to pass its handcrafted amendment to our Constitution. The measure gives $9 million a year back to the tobacco industry just for collecting the tax. The measure bans public health agencies that receive funding from advocating for stronger laws against tobacco. It bans research into the harmful effects of smoking on children and prevents public safety agencies from enforcing tougher tobacco laws in the future.

The Missouri National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers Local 420, Missouri Retired Teachers Association and Public School Personnel, and Missouri Association of Rural Education should be expected to support increased funding for early education. But they all oppose Amendment 3. Why? Because Amendment 3 creates an unelected body that would make funding decisions for the public money collected through the tax increase and would weaken Missouri’s long-time ban on using public money to fund private religious schools.

Amendment 3 – an initiative presumably about decreasing smoking and increasing education funding – also includes completely off-topic and worrisome language regarding funding for STEM cell research and abortion services, which is why Missouri Cures and NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri both oppose it. There is no defensible reason why this language should appear in a measure that has nothing to do with STEM cell research or a woman’s right to choose abortion. This is a complex, deceitful, Trojan Horse measure that its advocates are trying to push past voters in a ballot initiative that is not fully and fairly represented in the brief ballot language. We encourage Missouri legislators to increase tobacco taxes to provide funding for early childhood education in future transparent legislation that does not cater to the tobacco industry or infringe upon research and abortion rights. In the meantime, we strongly recommend a vote of NO ON CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 3.

As I See It - A Forum for Community Issues

We must unite to reform criminal justice

By Rep. Shamed Dogan and Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones Guest columnists

Even though our political philosophies and our constituencies are very different, we have come together in unity to support criminal justice reform, which we believe is essential to lessening our racial divide and ensuring that law enforcement has the backing of the communities they serve as they do their jobs.

Last year we both joined the 20/20 Leaders of America, a diverse, bipartisan group of black mayors, city, county and state officials, prosecutors, defense attorneys, political strategists, police chiefs and other law enforcement officials from across the nation. Their mission is to fundamentally change the way in which the American political system addresses criminal justice issues, both now and in the future.

The 20/20 Club believes that building bi-partisan coalitions and engaging in solution-oriented conversations involving community activists, law enforcement, and elected officials is the best way to ensure that meaningful reforms are enacted, no matter which party happens to hold the White House or any other office. We all believe that our next president, Congress, and state and local policymakers need to develop comprehensive criminal justice reform plans that address six areas: racial profiling and detention reform; movement from police militarization to community policing; racial diversity in the justice system; pre-trial detention reform; sentencing reform; and restorative justice.

Both of us in our respective roles have been at the forefront of fighting for change in these areas, including calling for St. Louis City’s Workhouse to be shut down, freeing Jeff Mizanskey from a life sentence for nonviolent marijuana offenses, and being strong supporters of community policing. America incarcerates more people than any other nation on the face of the earth. This is largely because starting in the 1970s America moved away from a philosophy of ensuring that “the punishment should fit the crime” and towards one of “lock ‘em up and throw away the key,” particularly for drug crimes –disproportionately harming communities of color. In so doing we have broken up families, robbed our communities of human capital, and taken away the freedom of too many of our citizens for too long. Poverty, not skin color, is the root cause of crime. While we support the call for broadening the conversation about crime beyond incarceration, it would be irresponsible for policymakers to simply ignore race. Racial discriminatory real estate policies chronicled in Colin Gordon’s “Mapping Decline” helped create concentrated pov-

Trump may be worse than just a pig

Let’s begin with the People magazine writer who says that Donald Trump took her into a room at his Mar-a-Lago estate – while his pregnant wife was changing her clothes upstairs – and “within seconds he was pushing me against the wall and forcing his tongue down my throat.”

Natasha Stoynoff is an experienced journalist with six books to her credit, and her story is similar to those told by others. A second woman says she, too, was groped by Trump at the Florida estate. Two other women told The New York Times of being accosted by Trump, one of them groped and the other forcibly kissed. A former Miss Washington says Trump “continually grabbed my ass” at a beauty pageant. Another woman alleged in a lawsuit that Trump pushed her against a wall and tried to put his hands up her dress.

Trump denies it all. But there is reason to believe these stories of sexual assault because of Trump’s own words about the way he treats women. This the very behavior Trump boasts of in the Access Hollywood videotape from 2005. He relates how he “moved on” co-host Nancy O’Dell, a married woman, without success. He says that when he sees beautiful women, “I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait.” He says that “when you’re a star,” you can “grab them by the p----. You can do

anything.” In the second debate, Trump tried to dismiss those unguarded words as “locker room talk.” Pressed by moderator Anderson Cooper, he claimed never to have actually done any of these things.

erty in African-American communities. Sensible solutions to addressing crime and poverty must acknowledge our nation’s history of discrimination.

Fortunately, over the past few years a consensus has developed across the ideological spectrum that we need to be smart on crime rather than simply “tough” on crime. Sadly, that consensus has not taken hold everywhere throughout America. As a recent New York Times article illustrated, Missouri is in the center of a “prison belt” of rural counties stretching from Texas to Indiana. These counties have seen their prison admissions skyrocket over the past decade, despite falling crime rates and reductions in prison admissions in large and mid-sized counties. Mass incarceration is not just a minority problem – it’s an American problem – and we have to get a handle on it before yet another generation is damaged.

The 20/20 Club is engaged with leaders at all levels of both the Democratic and Republican parties in order to help achieve progress in our six focus areas. Our work will help ensure that between now and 2020, we will see transformative changes to our criminal justice system and improvements in relationships between police and the citizens they serve. We do not take this challenge lightly. But it is a challenge that demands action from all of our political leaders at this polarizing time in American history. If not us, who? If not now, when? Shamed Dogan (R-Ballwin) is state representative for Missouri’s 98th District. Tishaura O. Jones (D-St. Louis) is treasurer for the City of St. Louis.

The creepiest new revelation comes from CBS News, which discovered footage from a 1992 interview in which Trump says of a 10-year-old girl: “I am going to be dating her in 10 years. Can you believe it?” And there have also been reports in the Guardian and BuzzFeed about Trump walking in on contestants in the Miss Teen USA pageant when they were half-dressed.

values. Indeed, some leading Republicans abandoned the Trump Titanic when the Access Hollywood tape made it impossible to pretend the party had nominated a candidate worthy of the presidency. But others – notably Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell – have stuck with him.

Columnist

Eugene Robinson

The story here is not just that Trump is a pig. It is that the Republican nominee for president of the United States appears not to be a sexual predator who uses his wealth and power, including his physical strength, to force himself on women.

Yet vice presidential nominee Mike Pence – who calls himself “a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order” – tells audiences that Trump is “a good man.” There are no words for such hypocrisy.

The GOP claims to stand for traditional family

Letters to the editor

We need criminal justice reform

Reddit Hudson first published “Suffering in Silence” in 2009, citing numerous examples of abuse and neglect. Christi Griffin, of the Ethics Project, published “Incarceration in Black and White” in 2014. Community activists Jamala Rogers and John Chasnoff have formed CAPCR, Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression. Edna Harden has worked with Decarceration, a group of former inmates calling for reform.

Our elected officials and political candidates cannot pretend ignorance of the deficits, abuses and neglect within our current criminal justice system. Yet individual agendas and shuffling for positions of power and influence frequently cause unnecessary delays in enacting progressive legislation.

Hearing that the national Democratic platform calls for criminal justice reform has given me hope. I was heartened when, at a private function, our Democratic candidate for governor, Chris Koster, allowed me to discuss the needs for reform with him and, when we were interrupted, returned to me to continue our conversation.

Multiple conversations with Kimberly Gardner solidify my belief that she will encourage and cooperate with efforts in progressive changes in our city system as St. Louis circuit attorney. Several state representatives and state senators have expressed to me their support of criminal justice reform.

We need to express our concerns loudly and often. Our legislators need to listen and act. We need in the few days remaining before the November 8 election determine the views and values of candidates and vote accordingly.

Teri Powers, St. Louis

Applause for Bernie

Applause goes out to Bernie Hayes for “Killer Radio.” I have long advocated that something very wrong was happening in our community when radio stations continue to

play trash and degrading music, while pronouncing this is what the community likes. Problem is, the community keeps saying they do not like what is on radio and have loudly or silently shown its displeasure. I do hope these studies will get out, not only to the public, but to officials and media outlets who will bring transparency and outrage to these practices.

I have taken steps to work with a researcher who is documenting a film as to why conscious or positive hip-hop is not being played on corporate radio. It is bad enough that laws already on the books are not being enforced by our officials and lawmakers to put more diverse music (mainly from independent music labels). This would increase an empowering economic system within our community in all sorts of ways, especially for jobs and diverse revenue, but would decrease the influence over our youth to follow these destructive pressures.

Jerry King, Via email

Trump and Pence are bad for women

Donald Trump and Mike Pence have made contempt for women a common theme throughout their campaign.

Trump has mocked women throughout his campaign, calling us “pigs” and “dogs,” labeling pregnant women an “inconvenience,” and even insulting a Gold Star mother whose son made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. I could go on and on. The bottom line is that Trump isn’t fit to be our president and won’t be a friend to women and families in the White House. By selecting Mike Pence as a running mate, Trump has doubled-down on his commitment to misogyny and anti-women, anti-family policies. Trump has said he would shut down the government over Planned Parenthood funding. Pence led the charge to defund Planned Parenthood at any cost while he was in Congress. Trump wants to punish women who choose abortion. Pence led the state that tried to sentence a woman to 20 years in prison for doing just that. Donald Trump and Mike Pence have

Inside the gilded Trump Tower bunker, the selfdescribed habitual groper is reported to be in a constant rage. His narcissism leads him to blame everyone else for his predicament – the women who alleged the assaults, the news media that seek to hold him accountable, the Republicans scrambling for the lifeboats. Trump and his inner circle apparently believe that screaming about Bill Clinton’s sexual peccadilloes will somehow excuse or neutralize what we have learned. But Hillary Clinton is on the ballot, not her husband. Voters know the difference. They also understand that women who suffer sexual assault often do not immediately come forward. In People, Stoynoff wrote that “like many women, I was ashamed and blamed myself for his transgression. ... I was afraid that a famous, powerful, wealthy man could and would discredit and destroy me.” Back in New York, “I asked to be taken off the Trump beat,” Stoynoff wrote. Most Americans feel the same way.

Guest Columnist

Shamed Dogan

Guest Columnist

Tishaura O. Jones

Elson Williams honored as veteran volunteer

Elson Williams was among seven Missourians honored by Lieutenant Gov. Peter Kinder with the 2016 Veterans Service Award at the state Capitol on Thursday, September 15. Williams was nominated for the award by McKinley Hubbard of the St. Louis Vet Center. In total, 34 Missouri veterans from around the state received the 2016 award, which is given to veterans who provide exemplary volunteer service to their communities. Williams is a Vietnam veteran who volunteers his time working with Missouri Veterans’ History Project, a not-for-profit corporation organized to interview and record the stories of veterans. Once recorded, a copy is given free to the veterans and another copy is made available to historians and the public through the Missouri State Historical Society and U.S. Library of Congress. Visit www.mvhp.net.

Nov. 11 deadline for Teen Talent Competition

November 11 is the deadline to register for the 7th annual St. Louis Teen Talent Competition, hosted by the Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation. Online registration to enter is now open for all high school students in the St. Louis metropolitan area. There are no fees to participate. Students placing first, second and third will win college scholarships. The event will follow a competition format with students vying for scholarships, special awards, prizes and the opportunity to compete in the finals on The Fabulous Fox Theatre stage on Saturday, April 8, 2017. Performing arts categories include (but are not limited to): singers, dancers, actors, musicians, comedians, rappers, and circus skill artists. Contestants may perform with original or published material. Register online at www.foxpacf.org/teen-talentshowcase.aspx.

Homecoming at Little Creek Nature Area

The Little Creek Nature Area, 2295 Dunn Rd in Florissant, will host its annual Homecoming Celebration from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, October 22. The event is free and open to the public.

The Homecoming Celebration will feature live music from Strings Attached, guided tours of the preserve’s ADA-accessible nature trails, naturebased arts and crafts, a puppet show, scavenger hunt, and a silent auction for a tree and shrub. For $2 per person, attendees may also enjoy a hayride with apple pressing. Starbucks will provide coffee, and Little Creek is providing snacks. Little Creek Nature Area is a 97-acre preserved owned and operated by the Ferguson-Florissant School District for experiential learning in science, biology, ecology and related areas of study.

The death penalty is judicial murder

By Desiree Austin-Holliday Guest columnist

Imagine a golden retriever with gorgeous long fur, wide brown eyes, and an excited wagging tail, called Sam. Sam has a hard life. Sam was taken in by a man, called John. Now John is a drinker, he isn’t nice, he makes Sam do things Sam doesn’t want to do. When Sam doesn’t listen, John kicks him, hits him, or chains him up outside in the rain.

After a few years, Sam has broken bones, clumps of hair hacked out from abuse. Sam is afraid, of everyone. He lashes out at people because he doesn’t know that there are people who can help him. Sam lives the rest of his life in fear, anger and sadness.

One-day John lets Sam out in the yard. Jane is riding her bike on the sidewalk when she spots Sam. Jane is young, still naïve to the world; she sees a dog and looks at it like a new friend. She enthusiastically hops off her bike and runs over to Sam to pet him. Sam sees her approach, sees her hands reaching out, sees her running over; Sam attacks. Jane is bit, scratched, and clumps of dirt and grass mingle with the blood oozing from her injuries. That night, the police bang on John’s door along with animal control. An hour later, Sam is put down, like an animal, and no one bats an eye. No one protests, or screams, or begs for mercy. Now Sam is dead.

Now imagine a baby. Born into this world completely innocent. This baby is not prejudiced, scorned or manipulated by time. But time is inevitable. This baby is the victim of abuse; a broken home; an ineffective educational system; and a criminal justice system ready to make him another statistic.

Thirty years later, he is a man. He is hardened inside and out by a society that sees him as a nuisance. This man views the world as his enemy. One day this man makes a horrible mistake. This man’s kills a person. He beats her to death in a park. This man is tried and convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death by lethal injection. Years of appeals, only lead to an execution date. He is executed 15 years after being put on death row. Now he’s nothing more than a statistic.

If you get nothing else from these scenarios, remember this: Never look at a human being and see him or her as trash that needs to be thrown away.

At a lecture at my school, Saint Louis University School of Law, Steven Bright told a story of a general and a soldier. The soldier came to the general and said, “Sir, we have a problem.” The general said, “We don’t have problems, we only have opportunities.” The soldier then said, “Sir, we have one hell of an opportunity.”

Missouri has one hell of an opportunity. Missouri still has the death penalty. Taking another person’s life is the definition of murder. To continue to have the death penalty implies that we don’t value human life like we should. Someone commits a homicide, and then the state kills the alleged perpetrator. Now we have two people whose lives have been taken. Two families who have lost a loved one.

Two wrongs don’t make a right. Two deaths won’t bring back the deceased. We’ve got to stop looking at our criminal justice system as a form of vengeance. If we want people to practice their own form of justice, we can just go back to the time where people were lynched for crimes by angry mobs before they could even get a trial. We should look at the crime rates and asking ourselves, “What are we accomplishing by killing people and calling it justice”?

Desiree Austin-Holliday is a student at Saint Louis University School of Law

Desiree AustinHolliday

two problems: the open air drug market and gun violence in Hayne’s neighborhood.

“We can leave here right now and go a few blocks over and you will see prostitutes performing sex acts,” said James Clark, Better Family Life’s vice president of community outreach. “You will see drug addicts shooting themselves in the vein. You will see people whose lives have been totally bottomed out and society discarded them, and the numbers are growing. And we are not doing anything about it.”

On October 6, Clark presented two solutions to addressing these devastating

ABSENTEE

Continued from A1

Continued from A1 a person who is incapacitated or confined), religious belief or practice, employment as an election authority, incarceration, absence from the country as a government official, and active service in the U.S. armed forces (or dependent or spouse thereof).

Voters registered in Missouri who moved into a new Missouri voting district after the 4th Wednesday prior to an election, which in this case is October 12; former residents of Missouri who are authorized to vote for federal offices by federal law; and certified participants in the address confidentiality program, because of safety concerns, also may vote by absentee. According to Missouri law, a voter may apply for an absentee ballot in person, by mail, or by fax.

problems. First, social-service providers will set up resources in these open-air drug markets once a week for an extended period of time to give the people a way out, he said.

“Right now, they don’t have a way out,” Clark said. “Social services must meet them right there where they are and offer the help to get out.”

Second, he announced a program through area churches to de-escalate conflicts that have the potential to end in gun violence. Clark said he personally de-escalates about four such conflicts every week.

Alena Malone recently called Better Family Life when a friend was involved in a conflict that she knew could turn deadly. Clark went to work on it right away, she said.

“He told me, ‘Give me all parties’ information, don’t leave anything out,’” she said. He was able to calm down the situation, and no one was harmed. When Clark told

A registered voter may apply for an absentee ballot in person or for a relative within the first or second degree of blood relation or affinity at their local election board. The relationship to the family member must be specified on the application. For a chart that shows degrees of blood relation, visit https://goo.gl/ iAyuX3.

In St. Louis County, vote absentee in person at the election office at 3232 Laclede Station Rd. in the Deer Creek Shopping Plaza in Maplewood. The hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. In St. Louis city, vote absentee in person at the election office at 300 N. Tucker Blvd. The hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Thursday and Friday; 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. (On Saturday, November 5, those hours will be extended to 9 a.m. to 3 pm.) You should bring an approved form of identification. Approved forms of identification include an ID issued by the federal government, State of Missouri or a local election authority; an ID issued by a Missouri institution (public or private) of higher education, including a university, college, vocational

and technical school; a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check or other government document that contains the name and address of the voter; a driver’s license or state identification card issued by another state.

To vote absentee through the mail, you must reapply for a ballot for each election. To download and print an application in St. Louis County, visit https://goo. gl/mWsELe. To download the absentee ballot of application for St. Louis city, visit https://goo.gl/ YRo8a8.

n The deadline to vote absentee in-person is 5 p.m. November 7. The deadline for the election board to receive an absentee ballot request by mail or fax is 5 p.m. November 2.

The absentee ballot request must be received by the election board by 5 p.m. Wednesday, November 2.

If you are unable to obtain a copy of the ballot application, you may also mail or fax a written request to the local election board. The letter should contain the name

Malone that he was going to turn his process into an official program, she offered to help in any way.

“Churches have always been a safe haven,” said Malone, who works in bail bonds. “When you think of safety, you think of the church. For it to be the place for a de-escalation center, I think it is the appropriate place.”

Gun violence and open-air drug markets have “St. Louis at a state of emergency,” Clark said.

“Not to address these now, we will continue to see heightened and more brazen acts of violence,” Clark said, “and more disruption in our most impoverished neighborhoods.”

Clark said these tactics are different than anything socialservice providers have tried in

of voter, birthdate and last four digits of social security number, registered voting address, address where ballot is to be mailed, reason for voting absentee, election for you which are requesting an absentee ballot, signature of the voter, signature of person applying for a ballot and their relationship to the voter.

Anyone registering by mail may vote absentee the first time only after enclosing a copy of an approved form of identification with his or her absentee ballot request.

A registered voter may apply for their absentee ballot or an absentee ballot for a family member within two degrees of blood relation or affinity by fax to 314-615-1998. The relationship to the family member must be specified on the application. For a chart that shows degrees of blood relation, visit https:// goo.gl/iAyuX3.

If you are voting absentee for any reason other than being disabled, part of the active military, or currently in a foreign country, you will need to sign your ballot return envelope in the presence of a notary public.

Absentee ballot requests must be mailed or faxed to the

Election Board no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday, November 2.

In St. Louis County, absentee ballot applications may be returned by mail to: St. Louis County Board of Election Commissioners, Attention: Absentee Department, 12 Sunnen Dr., Suite 126, St. Louis, MO 63143. Or fax to 314-6151998.

In St. Louis city, absentee ballot applications may be returned by mail to: St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners, 300 N. Tucker Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63101. Or fax to 314-6223378.

If you are voting absentee by mail, your notarized affidavit envelope, with your voted ballot inside, must be returned to the election board no later than 7 p.m. the day of the election. The ballot may be returned by the voter in person, through the mail, or by registered carrier or a registered voter’s relative within two degrees of blood relation.

Voters who are permanently disabled, or their caregiver, may apply to be on the permanently disabled voter list. Once placed on the permanent absentee list, a voter will automatically be mailed an absentee ballot application for each election held within their voting jurisdiction. To download a copy of the permanently disabled for St. Louis County,

the past. “This is taking and lowering our collective trajectory,” he said. “Normally, social service organizations, we aim too high. We go after the cream of the crop. We pick individuals and projects that will give us good numbers, that will give us good outcomes.”

Better Family Life’s two new programs, he said, are different.

“These two models are saying, ‘We are not doing this to position ourselves for more funding. We are not doing this to show funder outcomes. We are doing this because people are dying and being killed,’” Clark said. For more information about the programs, contact James Clark at jclark@ betterfamilylife.org or 3818200.

visit https://goo.gl/NKF9IO. For permanent disabled status in St. Louis city, call 314-6223230 or 314-622-3319. As of late morning on Wednesday, October 19, the St. Louis County election board had processed just over 36,500 absentee ballot applications and received just over 17,000 ballots back from voters. “So far, this is tracking very similarly to the past two presidential elections in St. Louis County,” said Eric Fey, Democratic director of elections for St. Louis County. In St. Louis city, the election board had processed approximately 6,000 absentee ballot applications and received back approximately 1,500 absentee ballots from voters by mid-afternoon on Wednesday, October 19, according to Mary Wheeler-Jones, Democrat director of elections for St. Louis. Fey added that the ballot this November is unusually long. He strongly encouraged voters to study and mark a sample ballot before voting. Sample ballots may be found on the local election board’s website. For additional absentee voting information in St. Louis County, please call 314-6151933 or 314-615-1836 or visit http://www.stlouisco.com/ YourGovernment/Elections. In St. Louis city, call 314622-4336 or visit https://www. stlouis-mo.gov/government/ departments/board-electioncommissioners/.

James Clark, Better Family Life’s vice president of community outreach, gathered about 100 social-service providers at BFL’s Cultural, Educational, and Business Center on October 6 to address two problems: open air drug market and gun violence in North St. Louis.

Photo by Wiley Price

ESOP

Continued from A1

Sgt. Heather Taylor, president of ESOP, said the goal of the forum was to get solutions from the community because that’s “absolutely necessary” to spark change within the police department.

“So many things need to change,” Taylor told The American. “We have officers losing $600,000 lawsuits – it’s an ugly stain on our department. Until we address it and deal with it properly, we are never going to have the community’s trust.”

Earlier this month, two of four St. Louis police officers lost a lawsuit in which they were accused of beating a 39-old-man in 2013 because he was black. A federal court ordered the two officers to pay $600,000 to the plaintiff. All four officers involved in the lawsuit still work for the department.

In December, former St. Louis Police Officer Jason Flanery – who fatally shot black teenager VonDerrit

ALLEN

Continued from A1 in the face of such incredible adversity.”

On November 2, 2012, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green ordered Allen’s release after he overturned Allen’s 1982 rape and murder conviction based on the police’s failure to disclose numerous pieces of evidence pointing to his innocence. Attorneys at the New-Yorkbased Innocence Project and local Bryan Cave lawyers together uncovered evidence that police withheld from the court in 1982, and they also obtained numerous rounds of new DNA testing on crimescene evidence – all of which excluded Allen as the killer.

Myers Jr. – resigned after cocaine and alcohol were found in his system following a police vehicle accident from which he fled.

Last September, a jury decided St. Louis Police Officer James Zwilling lied about a black teenage male pointing a gun at him.

Taylor said it’s a concern for some officers to report injustices they witness within the department because it can be “a lonely road” once reported.

“When officers do speak up, we need the support of the community because we feel isolated at times,” Taylor said.

Redditt Hudson, a former St. Louis police officer who moderated the forum, said he is concerned about officers not getting disciplined for their biased actions.

“I don’t think anybody in this room is anti-police, but the moment you call for some actual accountability, you get too many officers pointing the finger at you, saying you’re ‘anti-law enforcement’ and ‘pro-criminal’ and all other kinds of nonsense,” Hudson said. “But without any real

On the day of his release, Allen walked through the doors in a blue-plaid shirt and black slacks, and his family beamed. Judge Green kept the proceeding brief, and within minutes signed the order for Allen’s release. Seconds later, Allen walked straight into his mother’s arms as the courtroom roared in applause. “I hadn’t touched him in years,” Taylor said that day. “We’ve always spoken behind a glass. There are no words that could describe how that felt.” Taylor said prison was difficult on George. He lost one of his eyes in an assault by another prisoner.

“Throughout this time, I was scared that I would never get another chance to hold my son or make him a homecooked meal,” Taylor said.

“But in 2012, our prayers were

accountability, all policy is meaningless.”

FIRE is engaged in a lawsuit against the city that claims that black firefighters were racially discriminated against with a 2013 promotional examine test. Percy Green III, a St. Louis firefighter and member

answered. George enjoyed four years of freedom before his untimely death last weekend.”

Taylor said she is requesting assistance because she cannot

of FIRE, said that testing for promotions has had adverse impact on black firefighters.

“Obviously, something is going on to the detriment of black firefighters,” Green said. “These are decent-paying jobs that allow you to take care of your family. We’re asking for

afford the costs of a funeral for her only son.

“The donated funds will help me make sure that my son receives a proper burial

opportunity and fairness in these jobs – we’re not getting that.”

FIRE encouraged community members to reach out to Mayor Francis Slay and Public Safety Director Richard Gray about the firefighter tests. Police mental health crisis

that honors his life,” she said.

“Thank you in advance for your generosity. I am very grateful for your support during this difficult time.”

intervention was also cited as a solution for direct police response. Behavioral Health Response (BHR) is a resource provided by taxpayers dollars and funded by the Missouri Department of Mental Health to help intervene, especially when police are called to help with mental crises.

Dan Gladden, business development representative from BHR, described the program as a “mental health safety net.”

“If you have to ask yourself, ‘Should I call?’ then the answer is ‘yes,’” Gladden said. Annie Rice, 8th ward Democratic committeewoman, stressed the importance of the forum. “To have the police, firefighters and even mental health professionals all here in the same room – this is so important,” Rice told The American. “This should be our biggest issue going forward in all of our races going forward.”

If you or someone you know is dealing with a mental illness crisis and afraid to call the police directly, you can contact Behavioral Health Response at any time: 314-469-6644, 1-800811-4760 or 314-469-3638.

Sgt. Heather Taylor, president of the Ethical Society of Police; Redditt Hudson, a former St. Louis police officer, and St. Louis Police Officer Cedric Hendrix spoke at a forum on inclusion issues in St. Louis’ public safety agencies on Tuesday, October 18 at Oak Hill Presbyterian Church in South St. Louis.

Photo by Wiley Price

LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD! ACKNOWLEDGING YOUR LIFE EXPERIENCES

THE COMMUNITY FORUM ON HEALTHCARE FOR KIDS IN ST. LOUIS (History, Context and Community Engagement) THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27 FROM 6-8 P.M.

Vaughn Cultural Center (Urban League Head Quarters) 3701 Grandel Square • St. Louis, MO 63108

Host – Michael P. McMillan, President and CEO Moderator – Amy Hunter

COMMUNITY LISTENING SESSIONS

St. Louis Children’s Hospital Senior Leaders invite you to share your stories, acknowledging your life experiences.

North County Location

• Part I: Thursday, November 3, 6-8 p.m. at Gore Community Education Center (Jennings School District) 2545 Dorwood Drive, Jennings, MO 63136

• Part II: Thursday, November 10, 6-8 p.m. at Gore Community Education Center

Host – Art McCoy, Ph.D., Superintendent of Schools

Moderator – Rebeccah Bennett OR

North City Location

• Part I: Sunday, November 13, 2:30-4:30 p.m. at Saint John’s Church (The Beloved Community) 4136 N Grand Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63107

Host – Rev. Starsky D. Wilson, M.Div., Pastor

Moderator – Amy Hunter

• Part II: Sunday, November 20, 2-4 p.m. at St. John AME Church 1908 North Kingshighway Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63113

Host – Lee Clayton Goodman, Esq. Senior Pastor

Moderator – Rebeccah Bennett

If you have any questions, please contact Kel Ward, Manager of Community Relations at 314.412.4839 or KKW6218@BJC.ORG.

Refreshments Will Be Served While They Last

Koster on gun control, prisons and a ‘Ferguson agenda’

Chris Koster, the current Missouri attorney general and former state senator and Cass County prosecutor, is the Democratic nominee for Missouri governor on the November 8 ballot. A former Republican – he switched parties just before he ran for attorney general as a Democrat – Koster faces Eric Greitens, an untested politician who has never held public office, but prevailed in a lively four-way Republican primary election. Koster sat down with The American on October 7 for a long, on-the-record interview, which has been lightly edited for space and continuity.

The St. Louis American: Do you support Hillary Clinton for president?

Chris Koster: Yes, I support Hillary Clinton. There are things that I agree with her on. There are some things I disagree with her on. But, at the end of the day, I know that she can do the job – and I have concerns as to whether or not Mr. Trump has the temperament for the position.

The American: What are some of your reservations about Hillary Clinton as president?

Chris Koster: I’m to the right of her on the Second Amendment. I wish she were a warmer candidate, or something – whatever the word is that everybody knows, but nobody can put their finger on.

a local decision, but I want to do everything that I can in Jefferson City to make that decision as logical and easy for a local department to make as we can, including the possibility of creating financing for the cameras. One of the objections that police officers have had is that they don’t want to be seen as stringers for the evening news, and they’re very vehement about this. That means not releasing the videos immediately to the media, but rather to the family, and then it’s for the family to decide what to do with it.

The American: Your position on who investigates police-involved shootings. Local prosecutors or someone else?

Chris Koster: I have decided that local prosecutors should. Localized decision-making has been the history of the state, in all periods of time.

The American: What did Jay Nixon do wrong in Ferguson? What would you have done differently?

The American: You supported the bill that extended the concealed carry provision to people without firearms training and that passed the Stand Your Ground provision. How do you defend that?

Chris Koster: The reality is Missouri is one of the most gunfriendly states in the nation, and a governor – particularly a Democratic governor – only has four years to try and make Missouri a better place. And so I will choose to spend my time on things that can have an effect and can pass this Legislature. And so my time will be spent on things like health care, moving a Ferguson agenda forward, fully funding education and not investing valuable time in other matters.

The American: Your position on body -worn cameras for police departments?

Chris Koster: Strongly favorable toward it. I think that it has to be

Chris Koster: I would have been present much more than Jay was. Jay was not present. I was the first statewide elected official to go to the line. I was the first statewide to cross the line. I was the first statewide to interact with protestors, either on the scene or after nightfall. And I held a lot of meetings with Ron Johnson and others in schools, with minister leaders and with community activists. I think being present was something that was lacking definitely. I would not have demoted Belmar so quickly. I think that proved to be a mistake, and it offended a lot of the local officers.

And then we need to move the Ferguson agenda. I still think that there’s a lot that can be accomplished and is not far beyond our reach. I will ask that the Highway Patrol be put in with body cameras. We have 14,500 peace officers in the state of Missouri, and we have no idea how many of them are from minority communities.

So, if I manage the Department of Public Safety, we’ll keep that statistic right from the get-go. If we’ve got 14,000 officers, then we’re going to need 3,000 that are from the African-American community, and we don’t have that now. That’s how we end up with a situation where a 96 percent white police force is policing

a community that’s 70 percent African-American. And then with the governmental overlay driving revenues out of that police department through the municipal court system – that was a tinderbox that was waiting to be lit.

The American: What did Bob McCulloch do wrong in Ferguson?

Chris Koster: The back and forth of not getting along with the governor. We were in a national – if not international – crisis, and the antipathy (or whatever word you want to apply to the relationship) was not an excuse to fail to cooperate and coordinate.

The American: What about announcing the lack of an indictment after rush hour at night when all of the protests had gone wrong at night? Would you have done that differently?

Chris Koster: Certainly, in retrospect.

The American: The new criminal code, which is taking effect soon, will add another 2,000 inmates to our already overcrowded prison system, if present prosecutorial judicial practices remain as is. That means building another prison, and adding another hundred million or two to the Department of Corrections budget. What exactly, given all this, should criminal justice reform look like in

Missouri?

Chris Koster: I am against building another prison in this state. We have just a hair over 30,000 beds, and if anything we need to re-prioritize how we use those beds. The Department of Corrections is at $680 million, something like that; I think it’s 10 percent of the state budget. But I am not in favor of building another prison. We don’t have the money to continue to dedicate to that. Every dollar that goes over there, doesn’t go to filling the foundation formula. So, I would look to opportunities to work with legislators to administer the criminal code that prioritizes dangerous offenders, and de-prioritizes nonviolent offenders. But I do not want to go over the 30,000 number; that’s a lot of people we have behind bars in this state.

The American: You’re pro-choice. As a governor, what would you do to actually improve a woman’s chances of actually obtaining a safe and legal abortion in Missouri?

Chris Koster: I was against and, like Nixon, would have vetoed the three-day waiting period. There is nothing comparative that says a man can’t make up his mind on an important matter in less than three days. The notion that we do this to women and get away with it is shocking. I would use the veto pen to protect a woman’s right to make her own health-care decisions.

I also will look for opportunities with the Republican Party to try and find synergies where we both have a goal that is worthwhile. For example, there’s 5,200 teenage pregnancies in the state every year. Both parties want to see that number lowered. There have been states that have had pilot projects around long-acting, reversible contraceptives that have been very, very successful. And having an honest conversation about teenage sexuality seems like a mature, responsible place to go.

The American: You would inherit a state Legislature with a Republican veto-proof majority. What would you do differently than Jay Nixon has done to actually get your vetoes upheld?

Chris Koster: Nixon has allowed the formality of the office to grow too high. Maybe too many security guards. He’s very formal with people. I’ll be more casual and more interactive. You know, less than a decade ago

I was leader of the Republicans in the Missouri Senate. They know me, they elected me. And so, because I do see myself as a conservative Democrat, I think that culturally they recognize a small-government, Second Amendment protector sitting across the table. I think that that and the agricultural stuff – the Missouri Farm Bureau endorsement – will give me a better chance to say, “Look, we’ve got to work on a Ferguson agenda here. It’s the right thing to do for you and me, together. You can take credit, I don’t have to take credit, but let’s get something done.”

The American: Give me a few reasons why you’re better than Eric Greitens.

Chris Koster: The primary reason is I can name the cabinet departments, and I know where they are, and I know what they do. In today’s day and age, after term limits, the average state legislator has about three years of experience, and you just can’t learn the workings of a $27 billion corporation in that period of time. You can’t put an inexperienced governor –a guy who’s really only been around here watching the state for six months or so – on top of an inexperienced Legislature and think that this is the solution to our problems. I know state government as well as anybody in the state of Missouri who’s not named Jay Nixon. I’ve been general counsel to the company for eight years, I was on the Board of Directors – which is the state Senate – for four years, and before that I was 10 years in local government. I lived 16 years in western Missouri in Harrisonville, in the Kansas City metro, I’ve been one-third of my life in central Missouri, and I grew up here in St. Louis. I know this state – Republican, Democrat, east, west, rural, urban – in a way that has prepared me for the job.

The American: Is there anything you want to add?

Chris Koster: Fully funding the foundation formula is critically important. It’s probably my number one agenda item. On the health-care issue, every day I’m talking about expanding healthcare and accepting the $2 billion into the state’s system. That’s our money that has gone to Washington. The federal government is trying to give it back to us.

Photo by Maurice Meredith

Chris Koster in a file photo from October 2014.

April 14, 1941 – October 6, 2016

Donald McCullin, beloved judge

Donald McCullin was born on April 14, 1941 in St. Louis, Missouri to Earnest and Virgie McCullin. He was the eldest of four children. Both parents preceded him in death.

Donald loved the Lord and carried Christ in his heart.

As a young adult, Donald married; and to this union four children were born and subsequently eight grandsons and five great-grandchildren. There was a mutual love between Donald, more affectionately known as, Granddaddy, and his eight grandsons. His grandchildren were an integral part of his life, and they all looked up to him as a father figure. He enjoyed attending numerous sporting events in support of his grandsons. He was their biggest fan, often jumping out of his seat in excitement while recording their games. He also enjoyed many activities with his grandsons including bowling, movie outings, racquetball, air shows, going out to eat, and especially taking them to see the greatest show on turf. Donald also loved traveling to visit family, including his sisters, nieces and nephews in Las Vegas and his aunt in Montana.

Donald attended the St. Louis Public Schools and graduated from Soldan High School. He muscled his way through college at Southern Illinois University and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics. He came from humble beginnings and worked extremely hard to become the man we all loved so dearly. He deeply valued education and went on to attain a Master of Arts in Mathematics from Webster University and a Juris Doctorate Degree from St. Louis University School of Law. Donald was a member of the Missouri, Illinois, and California bars.

He began his career in East St. Louis as a high school mathematics teacher. He was loved and respected by his students, so much so they continually invited him to participate and speak at their class reunions. After teaching for several years, Donald decided to begin a career in law. A career in law was the perfect fit for his passion for service; he served with joy and humility.

Donald worked in private practice with the firm of Wilson, Smith, and McCullin, served as Managing Attorney for the United Auto Workers Legal Services Program and was employed with AnheuserBusch Companies as director of Diversity and Compliance. He served in this position until Gov. Mel Carnahan appointed him as circuit court judge in St. Louis city in 1999, the same year his Rams went on to win the super bowl. 1999 was his year. After retiring as circuit court judge, Donald served as a hearing officer for the St. Louis Parking Commission and the St. Louis Civil Service Commission, as well as Disciplinary Hearing Officer for the Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Missouri. He also served as a mediator for Aequitas. Ferguson City Council members appointed Judge Donald McCullin as the city’s municipal judge. He served the citizens of Ferguson for 10 months until his 75th birthday. During his tenure, he withdrew all arrest warrants issued before December 31, 2014. This gave the residents a fresh start, allowing them

to apply for flexible payment plans, community service, and reduced fines to settle their tickets. His compassionate nature was really on display in Ferguson.

He is the recipient of numerous awards including The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis President’s Award, the National Bar Association President’s Award, Best Region Award (1990), Humanitarian Award, Distinguished Service Award, The Honorable Theodore McMillian Award BLSA, and the Region VIII of BLSA instituted an annual award to a worthy student titled the Donald L. McCullin Leadership Award. The Mound City Bar Association named him a Legal Legend.

While Donald appreciated these awards, you may have never known he earned them. He was down to earth, and never bragged about his accomplishments. He was a humble, loving man.

Donald was active in the legal community, a member of the Mound City Bar Association, Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, St. Louis Lawyer’s Association, Women Lawyer’s Association,

was also a columnist for the St. Louis Lawyer newsletter writing bimonthly on minority issues in the legal profession. He served two terms as president of the Mound City Bar Association and Regional Director of the National Bar Association.

Association. He

Donald’s valiant battle with lung disease came to an end on October 6, 2016. He will be missed by so many because he was a great father, brother, uncle, friend, mentor, and an especially amazing, caring, and loving grandfather. He leaves to cherish his memory: his son Donald L. McCullin, Jr. (Lorenette); daughters, Laurie McCullin, Cheryl McCullinMontgomery, Renee McCullinRusso (Craig); sisters, Delphine McCullin-Wilson (Richard), Denise Sanders (Charlie); brother, Ricardo McCullin; grandchildren, Anthony Bonty (Jessica), Blake Montgomery (Caitlyn), Bradley Montgomery (Alexis), Karlton Bonty

(Reaux), Brock Montgomery (Kaelyn), Christopher Bonty, Brett Montgomery, Auston Bonty; great-grandchildren, Elijah Bonty, Anthony Bonty, Jr., Harlowe Bonty, Mya Bonty, Mia Bonty; aunt, Peggy Smith whom he dearly loved. He also leaves behind a host of nieces nephews, cousins, other relatives, and friends.

The family of Donald McCullin wishes to express sincere appreciation for the many acts of kindness extended through your prayers, cards, telephone calls, floral arrangements and other courtesies provided to them during their bereavement. They remain forever grateful and ask that people continue to pray for them.

In lieu of flowers, the McCullin family requests that contributions be made to the Innovative Concept Academy, a school founded by Judge Jimmie Edwards

National Bar Association, and American Bar

Community challenges hire of new Ferguson cop

By Mariah Stewart Of The St. Louis American

Two years after a police shooting drew national attention to this St. Louis suburb, the Ferguson Police Department is struggling to fill open positions on the force. And an investigation into its latest recruit shows just how difficult that process can be.

In 2014, the year Officer Darren Wilson killed 18-yearold Michael Brown Jr., the Ferguson Police Department had 54 sworn police officers. Now, it’s down to 39 – six black men, two black women and 27 white men.

The city’s head police dispatcher resigned during a City Council meeting in August, saying budgets and staffing constraints led to her decision. She also said the police department was so dangerously understaffed that someone could be hurt as a result. At that same meeting, newly appointed Police Chief Delrish Moss agreed that new hires were needed, but said he wanted to be sure he hired the right candidates.

But the latest police force hire, Scott Woolridge, a white man who was sworn in during a City Council meeting on October 11 along with a new police commander, city clerk and city attorney, is already drawing the ire of local activists Emily Davis and Keith Rose, who shared a series of tweets from an account bearing the officer’s name.

The tweets discussed a video that went viral in 2015 and showed a McKinney, Texas, police officer chasing teens at a pool party, wrestling a bikiniclad teenage girl to the ground, pointing a gun toward two boys and performing a barrel roll. The officer in the video, Eric

Casebolt, resigned immediately after the incident, and White House officials called his actions “detrimental” to policecommunity relations.

The person who wrote the tweets apparently didn’t see it that way. “[P]olice tell you to comply, you comply!” said one. “[T]his is typical for people not to listen to police.”

The account also contained transphobic comments. One response to a post by Kim Kardashian urging people to follow Caitlyn Jenner on Twitter said, “your whole family is sickening and I can’t believe he won that award,” referring to Jenner’s Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYS last year. The tweet used the gender pronoun “he” to refer to Jenner, who now identifies as female.

The account, and a Facebook page under the same name, have both since been deleted.

In any other municipality, hiring a police officer wouldn’t make national news. But in Ferguson, everything officers do is under a microscope, including their social media profiles.

Ferguson Mayor James Knowles immediately responded to the activists’ concerns, and asked Rose to leave printouts of the tweets with the city clerk. City spokesman Jeff Small said in an email that the department is working to verify the tweets.

“[A]lthough he was not an officer at the time, the concerns raised by the revelation of the account are now a personnel matter,” Small wrote. “Due to the fact that it is a personnel matter the departmental inquiry cannot be discussed as a matter of law.”

In 2015, the Justice Department concluded that

Ferguson’s police officers regularly engaged in unconstitutional policing, targeting the black community to drive up revenue for the city.

“Just as officers reflexively resort to arrest immediately upon noncompliance with their orders, whether lawful or not, they are quick to overreact to challenges and verbal slights,” the department wrote. “These incidents – sometimes called ‘contempt of cop’ cases – are propelled by officers’ belief that arrest is an appropriate response to disrespect.”

Now, a consent decree

n “Tell me what we have to do to make you care enough to make you hire better officers.”

– Emily Davis

between the city and the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division requires officers to go through more intensive training than cops in neighboring cities.

St. Louis County has dozens of separate police forces, and many offer higher salaries than Ferguson currently provides.

Despite the city’s apparent struggles with filling open officer positions, the tweets didn’t sit well with locals. Ferguson resident Emily Davis said the city shouldn’t be hiring someone who believes the McKinney police officer handled the situation in an appropriate way.

“The police chief of McKinney, Texas, called that officer’s

actions ‘indefensible,’ and do you know who’s defending those actions? … [The officer] who we hired. That’s problematic,” Davis said.

“Tell me what we have to do to make you care enough to make you hire better officers.” Davis said. “If burning buildings and worldwide media attention and investigations by the United States government, millions of dollars in budget shortfalls, citizens in the streets mourning the death of a son, and armored vehicles, teargas and rubber bullets don’t do it, what will?” Ferguson’s population is more than 67 percent AfricanAmerican, but it wasn’t until last year that more than one black person served on the city council. All of the new hires sworn in Thursday, other than the new officer, are black. Apollo Carey, the new city attorney, said he’s looking forward to his new position in Ferguson. He’ll be replacing Stephanie Karr, who was accused of misconduct in the Justice Department report and had long been a target of activists. Carey said, “I want to be a part of moving things forward.” Days before the October 11 council meeting, former Ferguson City Council candidate Adrienne Hawkins told HuffPost she believes “not much has changed” in terms of progress within the city. “Other than the skin color on faces, what has really changed?” asked Hawkins, who now lives in the neighboring city of Florissant. “I don’t see any progress. I think protesters have grown a little weary. I think residents are exhausted, and I think city government remains unchanged.” Ryan J. Reilly of the Huffington Post contributed reporting.

“[P]olice tell you to comply, you comply!” a new Ferguson Police recruit tweeted about the incident in Texas where Officer Eric Casebolt (above) threw a black teen girl to the ground then sat on her. “[T]his is typical for people not to listen to police.”

Services Thursday for Christopher M. Smith Sr., attorney and judge

Christopher M. Smith Sr., attorney, judge and native of St. Louis, departed this life Sunday, October 16, 2016.

He is survived by his loving family: wife, Sharon (Serre); children, Christopher M. II and Shannon; siblings, Wayman F.

(Susan) Smith, III and E. Robin (Isaac) Smith Stallworth; loving nieces, nephews, cousins and a host of friends.

Visitation is Wednesday, October 19, from 4-7 p.m. at All Saints Episcopal Church, 2831 North Kingshighway

Blvd. The funeral service is Thursday, October 20, 2016 at 10 a.m. at All Saints Episcopal Church. Burial will immediately follow at St. Peter’s Cemetery, 2101 Lucas and Hunt Rd., St. Louis.

August 6, 1941 – October 3, 2016

James Edward Balls II

James Edward Balls II passed away peacefully on Monday, October 3, 2016 surrounded by family and friends. James was born on August 6, 1941 in St. Louis to Edward and Clara Ford Balls.

James was an active member of Union Memorial United Methodist Church. He eventually joined Lane Tabernacle Christian Methodist Episcopal Church where he served for over 50 years. He participated in several church ministries and served as a soloist in the Willie C. Dawson Male Chorus.

James received his primary and secondary education in the St. Louis Public Schools. Prior to his sophomore year at the Soldan High School, he met Joyce Rollins Hale. After high school, he attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and Los Angeles City College. He married Joyce on January 26, 1963.

He took time off from college to work for McDonnell Douglas Corporation but ultimately completed his undergraduate degree at Lincoln University in Jefferson

City, Missouri. He obtained his Master of Science in Public Health from the University of Missouri at Columbia with additional public health training at The Johns Hopkins University. James worked in the field of public health since 1969 until his retirement in 2007. He was a founder of the East Central Missouri Area Health Education Center. Additionally, he was a public health educator at the Illinois Department of Public Health, an Assistant Professor at The George Warren Brown School of Social Work, a program officer with the Experimental Health Delivery Systems (The Department of Health, Education & Welfare), Health Commissioner of East St. Louis and held various positions with

St. Louis City Department of Health.

James was an over 40-year member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. (St. Louis Alumni Chapter). All that knew him will remember his love for Motown, soul, funk and gospel music. He performed locally at a number of churches as well as with The Original Alpines and the male doo-wop group Nostalgia. While he once sang on stage with Tina Turner, his joy came from serenading his wife.

His parents, brothers Lawrence and Curtis Balls, and sisters Angela Balls, Claretha Balls Hopson, and Juanita Balls Roberson preceded him in death.

James is survived by his wife, Joyce, his son James Edward Balls, III of Washington, DC (Kara Mathis), daughter Joyce Balls-Berry of Rochester, MN (Bernard Berry, Jr.), granddaughter Lois Greer of Washington, DC, brothers Zevonzell Balls of St. Louis, MO and Charles Balls of Los Angeles, CA, a host of cousins, nieces, nephews, and family friends.

James Edward Balls II

The latest research says taking excessive amounts of calcium supplements may damage the heart by causing calcium buildup in the arteries, whereas calcium in the diet poses no such risk.

Cutting back on the calcium

More is not always better when it comes to calcium supplements

By Sandra Jordan

Of The St. Louis American

n Taking excessive amounts of calcium supplements may harm the heart.

Dietary calcium through calcium-rich foods is good for you; however, taking excessive amounts of calcium supplements may harm the heart, that according to 10-year study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and other universities. The findings, published Oct. 10 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, analyzed data of more than 2,700 patients from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, a longitudinal study of risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Forty-six percent of them took calcium supplements. By looking at calcium consumption in year one and year 10, researchers concluded that those who took calcium supplements had a 22 percent increased likelihood of calcium buildup in the coronary arteries, indicating heart disease development. Researchers said, however, a diet that is high in calcium-rich foods appears to be protective.

“They really found this problem in people who were taking more than 14001500mg a day,” Dr. Toniya Singh, a board member of the American Heart Association and a partner at St. Louis Heart and Vascular, said. “When you take a high dose of calcium, it is shown that it doesn’t really go straight to your bones. Some of it gets deposited in your soft tissues and in your blood vessels.”

Smaller doses throughout the day, like you would get through eating and drinking, may be a better way, she explained.

say for most

Sometimes people think ‘if my bones are weak, I can take extra calcium, that will make them stronger’ – even more than the doctor suggested. But that’s just not how that large dosage of calcium works in the body,” she said. “So, more is not always better.”

Several studies evaluating the relationship between calcium supplementation and cardiovascular risk produced mixed results, cardiologist Dr. Justin Sadhu said. “Some have shown that calcium supple-

mentation is associated with increased cardiovascular risk whereas others have not found an association,” said Sadhu, of Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. “There is not yet consensus regarding the safety of calcium supplementation.”

“I think unfortunately, a lot of people take supplements that are available over-the-counter, thinking they are safe and that there is not

This is what a doctor looks like

No day is ever the same for most physicians who practice family medicine. For most of us, that is the very reason we chose the specialty. Variety is the spice of life and that phrase is pretty much the hallmark of our career. However, several days ago my experience was quite unexpected but all too familiar.

I walked into our break room and noticed two pharmaceutical representatives speaking to a nurse. I was not acknowledged, but the reps in all fairness were in the midst of a conversation with another individual. No problem. I preceded to get my food. The nurse left. I was waiting for the reps to speak to me but they continued to talk amongst themselves. As I was about to say something, in walks my partner who they immediately greeted with warmth and excitement. Now, my partner looks nothing like me and to be clear, he just graduated from residency less than two years ago and has far less experience than I but I guess he “looked” more like a doctor than I. For many people in medicine, that disrespectful experience occurs all the time. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I am perceived to be the nurse, the cleaning crew, or the secretary. Some try to clean it up and say that I look so young or they say someone as pretty as I could surely not be the doctor. Really? Is this what I am to believe?

Little did I know that while I was dealing with my own microaggression of racism/sexism that a fellow colleague had experienced a similar encounter at the hands of a flight attendant on Delta Airlines. This particular African-American physician was simply trying to provide assistance to a passenger in distress but was dismissed because she too I guess did not “look like a doctor.” As that story went viral, hundreds of pictures were shared on social media of stunning black women in lab coats, suits, and wearing stethoscopes around their necks with the same caption: #this is what a doctor looks like.

A14

ST. LOUIS AMERICAN

Denise HooksAnderson, MD

Photo by Wiley Price

HealtH Briefs

One in four adults 50 and older are physically inactive

Regular physical activity is vital for healthy aging. It can help delay, prevent, or manage many costly chronic diseases. Physical activity can also reduce the risk of premature death. Despite these benefits, a new study published by the CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity found that 31 million adults aged 50 and older (28%) are inactive.

The study used data from the 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a telephone-based survey. Respondents were defined as inactive if they answered “no” to the question, “During the past month, other than your regular job, did you participate in any physical activities or exercises such as running, calisthenics, golf, gardening, or walking for exercise?”

Among U.S. states and DC, the percentage of inactivity ranged from 17.9% in Colorado to 38.8% in Arkansas. It was also higher among women, Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks, and adults with ≥1 chronic disease than their counterparts. The percentage of inactivity also decreased as education increased and increased as weight status increased.

Helping inactive people become more active is an important step towards healthier communities. Many adults age 50 years and older want to be active but face barriers in their communities. Communities that offer design enhancements and healthy lifestyle programs can play a role in supporting physical activity. We can all work together to make positive changes in our communities that make it safer and easier for people of all ages and abilities to be physically active.

24:1 gets RWJF Culture of Health Prize

The 24:1 Community is one of seven winners of the 2016 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Prize. The prize honors communities for their efforts to ensure all residents have the opportunity to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. The 24:1 Community is a coalition of the 24 municipalities that make up the Normandy School Collaborative in North St. Louis County. The non-profit Beyond Housing, a comprehensive community development organization that is working within the 24:1, will accept the $25,000 Prize.

The 24:1 community brings partners together to rally around a shared vision of health, drawing especially on the wisdom, voice, and experience of residents themselves. The municipalities told the RWJF of their work toward goals such as restoring accreditation in the community’s school district, attaining the highest standards of policing, and attaining health equity in ways that go far beyond health care.

“The RWJF Culture of Health Prize communities show us that in towns and regions across the nation, individuals are coming together to find powerful ways to help people achieve the best health possible. These communities are connecting the dots between health and education, jobs, housing, and community safety,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, RWJF president and CEO. “We’re privileged to learn from this growing network of communities that offer hope for the well-being of the entire nation.”

“We are honored that our community’s efforts have been recognized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,” said Chris Krehmeyer, president and CEO, for Beyond Housing. “The 24:1 Community came together to help solve the serious challenges facing the residents of the 24 municipalities within the geographic boundaries of the Normandy School Collaborative. It takes time. It’s a heavy lift. But it is our hope that this system-wide mobilization will bring about something that is all too rare today: lasting success. This prize shows we are going in the right direction.”

The award celebration takes place Oct. 19-20 at the RWJF headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey.

Mindfulness: key steps for purposeful living

Got mindfulness? It’s one of the key steps to purposeful daily living, occupational therapist Dr. Melanie AustinMcCain said.

“Be present, smile, humble yourself, and acknowledge others,” said Austin-McCain, an assistant professor at New York Institute of Technology School of Health Professions, who described how to be mindful in a world where we often spend more time looking at our phones than those around us. “With mindfulness, you’re really in the present and focusing on your senses and your experiences –

CALCIUM

Continued from A14

any toxicity associated with them, so I think it is very important that if you are on any supplement, that you discuss with your doctor that you are on that supplement.” Dr. Singh said. Furthermore, people may not realize how much calci-

DOCTOR

Continued from A14

So why do I write about this in the health section of an award winning paper? I write because these encounters give

Leading a purposeful daily life is important for health and wellness

what you are feeling, thinking, and doing.”

Austin-McCain, who also serves an associate with NYIT’s Center for Sports Medicine, said research shows that having healthy daily routines and a purpose in life (beyond short-term goals like finishing school or completing a project) contribute to wellness and may help you live a longer, more positive life.

“Evidence shows that having a purpose in life is helpful in promoting health and preventing chronic disease,” said Austin-McCain. “It’s about finding out about who you are,

um they are already getting, through supplements, multivitamins and in their diet for example.

Doctors recommend calcium supplements to adults to reduce the risk of brittle, porous bones due to osteoporosis.

“Postmenopausal women and adults with low bone density (osteoporosis or osteopenia) often take calcium supplements with the goal

support to why diversity in medicine is important. By 2044, it is projected that more than half of the U.S. population will belong to a minority group. However, we are not on track in providing representative amounts of physicians of color in the workplace. Per

the things you like do and that are meaningful for you and setting goals that align with those things.”

Austin-McCain, who has presented community workshops on the topic, offers other purposeful living steps and ways to incorporate them in your life:

1. Meditation –Don’t set a goal of 30 minutes to meditate, Austin-McCain advises. Instead, aim for short periods of stillness, where you

of reducing the risk of fractures,” Dr. Sadhu explained. “In most cases, the calcium is taken with vitamin D.” Persons who are lactose intolerant are another group that may take calcium supplements, Dr. Singh said.

If you are currently taking calcium supplements, both doctors said talk to your doctor about your risks and benefits of calcium supplementation.

the Association of American Medical Colleges, blacks and African Americans comprise only 4 percent of the physician workforce and currently, blacks make up only 6.3 percent of the total number of matriculants in medical school. Though this disparity

can visualize goals and set daily intentions

2. Movement Stretch your mind and body, said Austin-McCain. Find ways to stay active, engaged, and moving. Commit yourself to thinking things through, exploring new ideas, coming up with different strategies to approach challenges, and trying new things.

Dr. Sadhu said, “For someone without a strong reason to be on a calcium supplement, I would discuss the possible association with cardiovascular risk so that he/she could make an informed decision.”

Additionally, Dr. Singh reminded to “be aware of doses of the supplements you are taking and bring in your bottles of supplements. It may make it easier for you to have a discussion.”

is glaring on paper as you read it in black and white, it is far more apparent when you live it on a daily basis.

Even though increasing diversity is important to the ideals of culturally, competent care, it will not provide the sole solution to this country’s ineq-

3. Management – “Be the CEO of your life,” AustinMcCain said. That might mean performing a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of your life, decluttering your desk and living space, or meal planning that makes it easier to choose healthy foods.

4. Maximization – Adopt a “future is mine” mindset, where challenges are opportunities and you see your potential as well as the potential in others.

5. Meaningfulness

There are other ways of having high amounts of calcium in the bloodstream.

“In day-to-day practice, the common reasons for having high calcium would be kidney disease, parathyroid disease or calcium supplements,” Singh said.

If you eat a balanced, healthy diet, you may already get enough calcium.

“I would advise my patients that eating a healthy,

Acknowledge those who support you and seek joy and happiness in the things you choose to do. “Meaningfulness is more like gratitude – awareness and appreciation of the things around you.”

6. Mentoring – AustinMcCain said mentoring goes both ways: it’s best to seek mentors for various aspects of your life (professional, personal) and to serve as a mentor to others, providing support and wisdom.

Source: Newswise

balanced diet is likely superior to trying to obtain nutrients via multivitamins or other supplements,” Dr. Sadhu said. “Natural dietary sources of calcium include milk, yogurt, cheese, kale, and broccoli.” Fortified cereals and many plant-based foods are good sources of calcium. For a chart of calcium-rich foods, visit http://bit.ly/22KsQ7X.

uities and disparities. However, it is definitely a great start. Just maybe if those pharmaceutical reps and that Delta Airlines flight attendant had been exposed to greater diversity and frankly had been provided better training, they would not have ignited a firestorm of words and hashtags! Denise Hooks-Anderson, M.D. is assistant professor at SLUCare Family Medicine. You may contact her at yourhealthmatters@stlamerican.com

Dr. Melanie AustinMcCain

Michelle Obama brought out the truth in Trump

By Mike Jones Columnist

“A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” This quote by Shakespeare from “Macbeth” is an accurate description of most American political speech, especially doing this 2016 political season. However, every now and then we hear a political speech whose truth is as bright as a full moon on a dark, cloudless night. It has the profound impact of defining or redefining how we understand reality. George Washington’s farewell speech, Franklin Roosevelt’s and John Kennedy’s first inaugural addresses, Martin Luther King Jr.’s, “I Have A Dream” speech and Barak Obama’s 2004 keynote to the Democratic National Convention are a few that had this power.

On October 13 in New Hampshire, Michelle Obama delivered a speech, if not for the ages, definitely for this age. She did so much more than give a speech supporting Hillary Clinton, or provide a searing takedown of Donald Trump’s soullessness exposed in the Access Hollywood tape from 2005. With sublime eloquence, brilliant insight and profound moral authority, she summarized with crystal clarity the oppression and suppression of women in America.

“I have to tell you that

I can’t stop thinking about this,” she said. “It has shaken me to my core in a way that I couldn’t have predicted. So while I’d love nothing more than to pretend like this isn’t happening, and to come out here and do my normal campaign speech, it would be dishonest and disingenuous to me to just move on to the next thing like this was all just a bad dream.”

She was able to capture and characterize the inherent misogyny in America’s paternalistic culture – the culture which all women and girls, independent of class and status, must overcome. She described a culture that marginalizes and subordinates half of its population. For the record, that indictment is true

n The election is about whether the darkness Donald Trump represents in American culture will carry the day.

for every culture on the planet.

She also did something more profound. She created a narrative that speaks to what it means to be “the other” in America: to have your humanity compromised and your body at risk, not for what you may done, but simply because of who you are.

“To make matters worse, it now seems very clear that this isn’t an isolated incident,” she said. “It’s one of countless

examples of how he has treated women his whole life. And I have to tell you that I listen to all of this and I feel it so personally, and I’m sure that many of you do too, particularly the women. The shameful comments about our bodies. The disrespect of our ambitions and intellect. The belief that you can do anything you want to a woman.”

The “he” in the aforementioned quote is referencing more than Donald Trump. If you are a black man, a Mexican immigrant, a Muslim or a member of the LBGT community, you know exactly what she’s talking about. Because what she said about the condition of women applies to everyone the culture defines as a nonwhite male. The 2016 Presidential Election is not about Hilary Clinton’s trustworthiness or Donald Trump’s fitness to be president. The election is about whether the darkness Donald Trump represents in American culture will carry the day. Since its founding, America has been in perpetual war with itself. On one side is the idea of America, aspirational America. This is the America represented in the person of President Obama and what he is always referring too. Then there is the reality of America represented in Donald Trump. This war will extend beyond this election, but November 8 is a battle we can’t afford to lose.

Mike Jones, who has held senior policy positions in St. Louis city and county government, serves on the St. Louis American editorial board and the State Board of Education.

Guest Columnist Mike Jones

Healthy Kids Kids

Healthcare Careers

Halloween Tricks?

Turn Chores into Fun Exercise

Evacuation Plan— FireSafety

Nutrition Challenge:

Halloween is almost here and anytime you have an event that focuses on food (especially sweets) it’s always better to plan ahead. Be sure to eat a filling, healthy dinner before you go out trickor-treating; you’ll be less likely to eat candy along the way.

Here are a couple of tips that might help prevent

Here’s a crazy idea. Why not turn those chores into exercise? Play your favorite music, put on headphones and “Clean to the Beat!” Cleaning your room can be almost fun, set to music. Bending over, stretching,

Today we’re going to talk about what to do if you do get caught in a fire. It helps to have a plan!

> It’s important that you have a family meeting to prepare for such an emergency. Decide ahead of time which doors/windows would be the safest ways to escape from different parts of your home.

> Also, decide on a “Meeting

a big bowl full of leftover treats at your house after all of the kids are done knocking on your door.

Why not hand out little “gifts” instead of candy? Many stores offer bags of pencils, spider rings, tattoos, etc. that you could buy — and are often actually cheaper than candy!

Consider purchasing candy that really isn’t your favorite. This makes those extras much less tempting to you.

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 3, HPE 5, NH 1, NH 5

reaching and pickingup are all excellent ways to increase your flexibility. Why not sweep, mop, vacuum or rake with music, a smile and a

Spot” in your yard so that you all know when the whole family is safe.

> And remember — if you have a fire, call 911 from a neighbor’s home. Don’t stay in your house to make the call.

> And once you are out, don’t go back in for any reason until you’re told by the fire fighters that it’s safe.

Learning Standards: HPE 5, NH 5

quick pace. As long as you’re careful to still complete the job well, you can add some physical activity, get your heart rate up, burn some calories and have the satisfaction of combining chores, exercise and fun!

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

Baked Kale Chips

Where do you work? I work at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Where did you go to school? I graduated from Jennings Senior High School and earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, and a Master of Business Administration from Webster University in St. Louis.

What does a mechanical engineer do? Each day, I work to make sure that our hospital is using energy efficiently. I investigate our existing equipment, and research new equipment, to make sure that we are using the most energy efficient methods of operating our building. I also monitor and give predictions on what our energy consumption will be like in the future.

Why did you choose this career? I love science and I’m passionate about the healthcare industry! It was the perfect choice for me.

What is your favorite part of the job you have? I get to serve the community by doing the best work I can to help keep healthcare affordable, while conserving the Earth’s natural resources.

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

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

The St. Louis American’s award winning NIE program provides newspapers and resources to more than 7,000 teachers and students each week throughout the school year, at no charge.

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

CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT

Brown Elementary School 5th grade teacher, Peter Kain,

School is in the Hazelwood School District.

by Wiley Price/St. Louis American

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

SCIENCE CORNER

Do you love insects? You’re not alone. Entomology is the scientific study of insects, and the people who study them are called entomologists. The Entomological Society of America (ESA) is a professional organization that was created to help entomologists share research and resources. The International Association of Black Entomologists (IABE) is an association created to help promote the study of entomology among minorities. They often have individual meetings during ESA conferences.

The IABE has four goals: 1. To foster communication among black entomologists, 2. Organize meetings/events for black entomologists during ESA annual meetings, 3. Assist in the recruitment, retention, and advancement of blacks in entomology graduate programs and careers, and 4. Promote the science of entomology and entomology-related careers in the black community.

SCIENCE INVESTIGATION

In this experiment, you will see how temperature affects bug activity in your community. This is the perfect experiment for fall and spring with wide variations in temperature.

Materials Needed:

• Outdoor Garden Area (this can even include landscaping of plants around the building)

• Notebook • Pencil • Outdoor Thermometer Process:

q Find an outdoor garden area to observe. Does your school have flowers or plants around the building? That will be an ideal area.

MATH CONNECTION

z Ants can lift up to five times their body weight. If an ant weighed 1.5 mg, how much weight could it lift?

x A Monarch butterfly flies about 80 miles per day. So far it has flown 45 miles.

The equation 80 – m = 45, m represents the number of miles it has yet to fly that day. Find the solution to the equation.

Check

SCIENCE STARS

African-American Entomologist Dr. Rizana Mahroof

There are two types of membership: student and non-student. Members of IABE include professors, researchers, teachers, students, and scientists from numerous agencies. IABE is open to all people who support their goals. The purpose of IABE is to encourage minority students to seek a degree in entomology and to offer support in finding a career.

Meet Dr. Rizana Mahroof, an entomologist and professor for the Department of Biological Sciences at South Carolina State University. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Next, she earned her Master of Philosophy in Entomology from the University of Edinburgh, UK. Finally, she earned her PhD in Entomology from Kansas State University. She has also received a diploma in computer science from IDM Computer Studies Limited, Sri Lanka.

Mahroof’s research focuses on pest control to help preserve food. Pesticides are chemicals used that kill pests that feed on crops, but they can be very dangerous to the environment and the water supply. They can cause disease in people and animals. Mahroof researches the insects that attack crops and the safety of methods used to eliminate those insects and preserve the crops.

To learn more about entomology and how to identify bugs, visit: https://www. amentsoc.org/insects/what-bug-is-this/. Learning Standards: I can read nonfiction text for main idea and supporting details. I can make text-totext connections.

The U.S. Agency for International Development funded a project called Feed the Future Innovation Lab for the Reduction of Post-Harvest Loss. Many communities face hunger when their crops are lost due to insects and pests. Mahroof was part of the team that traveled to Ethiopia and Guatemala to complete work for this project.

w Take a notebook and pencil outside and observe for 15-20 minutes. What is the outside temperature? Is it cloudy or sunny? What types of bugs do you see? Are they crawling or flying? Are they active or inactive?

e Choose a second day to observe (with different weather). Answer the same questions as #2.

r Analyze and draw conclusions. How did temperature affect the bug activity?

Learning Standards: I can follow directions to complete an experiment. I can analyze and draw conclusions. I can make text-to-world connections.

c A queen army ant can lay 135,326 eggs in five days. How many eggs can a queen lay in one month?

v On a field trip, Melvin visited an insectarium at the zoo. He took pictures of 18 species of ants, and 15 species of butterflies. If there are 330 species of ants and butterflies at the insectarium, what percent of insects did Melvin capture in his pictures?

Mahroof has published numerous articles in scientific journals and has contributed to textbooks. She has won many awards, including: University Professor of the Year from South Carolina State University in 2012, Best Professional Presentation at the 59th Annual Meeting of the South Carolina Entomological Society, and the South Carolina State University MANRRS Faculty Achievement Award.

Learning Standards: I can read a biography about an African American who has made contributions in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

b A harlequin beetle lays eggs in trees. She can lay up to 20 eggs over 2 or 3 days. After the first day, she has laid 8 eggs. If she lays 20 eggs in all, how many eggs will she lay in the second and third day combined?

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

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

Activities —

Plural Words: Find and clip five plural words from the newspaper. Write their root word next to each of the plural words.

Newsworthy: Find a story in the newspaper and read it. Answer the following questions: When did the story take place? Where did the story take place? What happened? Who was involved? Why is it newsworthy?

Learning Standards: I can use the newspaper to locate information. I can identify root words. I can find the key details of a news story and explain why it is newsworthy.

shows students

Brittany Dominguez, Orbie Lloyd, Emmett Williams, and Trinity Jones how to identify decay using the experiment in the newspaper ' s STEM page.

Brown Elementary

Photo

Business

OCTOBER 20 – 26, 2016

‘Solving problems of social and economic mobility’

Salute to Business

Urban Strategies President Sandra Moore discussed a planning grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in St. Louis on January 16, 2015. Moore will receive the St. Louis American Foundation’s 2016 Non-Profit Executive of the Year award at the Salute to Excellence in Business Networking & Awards Luncheon on Friday, November 18.

Sandra Moore of Urban Strategies honored as 2016 Non-Profit Executive of the Year

By Rebecca Rivas

Of The St. Louis American

President Obama traveled to Pittsburgh on Oct. 13 to host the first-ever White House Frontiers Conference, a national meeting of the minds to explore the future of innovation.

“We have a tremendous group here from all sciences, industries and academia,” Obama said in his opening remarks. “All of you in your own fields are transformers. We have an amazing panel, and I’m excited to learn from the people here today.”

Urban Strategies President Sandra Moore was among the speakers Obama invited. During her panel, she was introduced as a person who had “dedicated her life to solving problems of social and economic mobility.”

n At the White House’s inaugural Frontiers Conference, Urban Strategies President Sandra Moore was introduced as someone who had “dedicated her life to solving problems of social and economic mobility.”

At one point, Moore said, Obama shook her hand and thanked her for her work. “It was an amazing professional day for me,” Moore said.

On Friday, November 18, Moore will receive the 2016 Non-Profit Executive of the Year award at the St. Louis American Foundation’s Salute to

Excellence in Business Networking & Awards Luncheon.

For 16 years, Moore has led Urban Strategies’ team of professionals who work in mixedincome housing developments and help residents and community stakeholders transform distressed urban core communities into vibrant, safe residential neighborhoods. Pittsburgh was among the communities she helped transform. “Nationally there’s been far more that Sandra has done,” said Richard D. Baron, co-founder and chairman of McCormack Baron Salazar. “It’s not just the outstanding work she’s done in St. Louis.”

McCormack Baron Salazar is an urban real-estate development company focused on

See MOORE, B2

KAI Design & Build expands via acquisition

Acquires mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineers from United Excel Design

American staff

KAI Design & Build has doubled its staff of mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineers by acquiring the engineering group at United Excel Design, PC (UED). Based in St. Louis, UED provides architectural and engineering services. It is part of an integrated group of design-build companies including United Excel Construction, which performs construction, and Mill Creek, which specializes in the outfitting of furniture, fixtures and equipment, equipment planning, transition planning and move management. The integrated group of companies specializes in healthcare planning, design and procurement for the government through design-build projects. KAI President Michael B. Kennedy said the acquisition will help his firm compete for significant government and military projects nationwide geared toward medical facility repairs, renovations and new construction. UED’s engineering design portfolio includes

Michael B.

Kennedy, president of

KAI

Design & Build

n “The acquisition now makes KAI Design & Build one of the region’s largest hospital engineering firms.”

– Michael B. Kennedy, president of KAI Design & Build

See KAI, B2 projects at: General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital in Missouri; Keller Army Community Hospital at West Point in New York; David Grant Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base in California; 87th MDG Dental Clinic at McGuire Air Force Base in Maryland; 99th Medical Group Medical Center at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada and McWethy Troop Medical Clinic at Ft. Sam Houston in Texas. The expansion heightens KAI’s profile locally. “The acquisition now makes KAI Design & Build one of the region’s largest hospital engineering firms,” Kennedy said. The acquisition also allows for additional collaborations and opportunities for all companies involved in the design-build process, Kennedy said. Founded in 1980 as an architectural design firm, KAI added mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) services in 1990. The MEP group has worked on a variety of different

Rhonetta Brazzill is the new senior diversity specialist at Bi-State Development Agency. She is responsible for enforcing the Disadvantage Business Enterprise (DBE) Program, inclusive of certification, contract compliance monitoring, goal setting, reporting and outreach. She is working in partnership with the Missouri Regional Certification Committee to develop an initiative to build the capacity of small minority and women-owned businesses in order to compete outside the DBE Program.

Dr. R. Jerome Williams Jr. had his medical office, located at 3409 Union Blvd., recognized by Mayor Francis Slay and the St. Louis Development Corporation as the 2016 1st Ward Neighborhood Business of the Year. Part of Esse Health, the practice includes his wife, Nurse Practitioner Marva Williams. His father, who was also a physician, bought the building and moved his medical practice to the Union Boulevard. location in 1964.

Zekita Asuquo joined Magdalene St. Louis as director of Social Enterprise. The Social Enterprise, Bravely, is located at 2700 14th St., employs women who have survived abuse, sex trafficking, and drug addiction. The program’s mission is to pay the women a living wage and equip them with critical business skills including marketing, website development, and operations.

Ramon Blakley was recently elected to the Board of Directors for the National Association for College Admission Counseling, which is dedicated to serving students as they make choices about pursuing postsecondary education. He is Georgia College’s director of Admissions. Previous positions include senior associate director of admissions at Saint Louis University and admission counselor/ assistant director of multicultural student recruitment at Missouri State University.

Ema Remtula joined Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM) as a paralegal/ office manager in the Lasting Solutions Family Court Program, which provides legal representation and advocacy for women and children who are victims of domestic violence. Previously she served as a legal secretary at Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, where she supported attorneys in diverse areas of practice, primarily in cases involving victims of domestic violence.

Kenyon Wofford received the George Washington Carver Rising Leader in Innovation and Service Award from the Carver Birthplace Association. He is a student at the Normandy 7th-8th Grade Center. The award was based on an essay and nomination from his former teacher, Janis Wiley. He received the award September 20 at the inaugural Carver Dinner at Washington University. On the move? Congratulations! Send your professional news and a color headshot to cking@stlamerican.com

Rhonetta Brazzill

Zekita Asuquo

Ramon Blakley

Ema Remtula

Dr. R. Jerome Williams Jr.

Kenyon Wofford

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Make sure every dollar you give to charity counts

By Nathaniel Sillin

Deciding to make a charitable contribution can arise from a desire to help others, a passionate commitment to a cause or the aim to give back to a group that once helped you or a loved one. Choosing which organizations you want to support can be difficult. There are over a million public charities in the United States according to the National Center for Charitable Statistics, and every dollar you give to Charity A is a dollar you might not be able to match for Charity B. Whether it’s a friend’s charity run or supporting an animal rescue, often the decision to give comes down to a mix of internal and external factors. You have to determine which causes are most important to you, and with outside help you can compare how effective various charities are at using their funding. Many non-profits do incredible work, but it’s always smart to verify their claims. You can start your due diligence by double checking an organization’s tax-exempt status using the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS)

MOORE

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revitalizing neighborhoods throughout the country, and about 75 percent of the projects

Exempt Organizations Select Check Tool. Once you verify its non-profit status, you want to make sure it’s well run and makes a significant impact. There are several non-profits that evaluate and rate charities. You can find their guidance online and use it compare charities and inform your gifting.

Sometimes a specific event rather than a general cause can spur you into action. When this happens, if you want to be sure that your money goes to support that particular cause you might want to narrow your

Urban Strategies works on are connected to the developer. Moore has become a national expert on bringing federal funding streams down to the household level. She said in St. Louis, Urban Strategies and McCormack Baron have

search to charities that let you specify how your donation will be used. Otherwise, your money might not directly support those affected by the crisis.

Donating to a non-profit with effective programs and processes is the way to go if you’re trying to help as many people as possible, but you can also make contributions to individuals or families through a crowd-funding website. There’s something special about knowing exactly who and how you’re helping, and they’ll appreciate the aid from

been doing mixed-income projects, but not “leading transformation” on a grand scale – like they have done in other cities.

“Urban Strategies has developed quite a reputation for that kind of work around

a stranger. Similarly, you can help entrepreneurs by making a microfinance loan through a non-profit. You can relend the money you’re paid back to continue supporting small businesses.

If you’re looking for ways to increase your contribution, ask your employer if it has a matching program. Some companies will double, or even triple, your gift to select nonprofits. If your company doesn’t offer such a program, you could speak to your human resources department or boss about establishing one. Third-parties also fund matching campaigns for charities. You can ask a charity if there’s a campaign running and make sure your donation qualifies. Unless there’s a pressing reason to make a donation today, you may want to put your money aside and wait until a matching campaign starts. You might be able to increase your financial impact without outside help if you can claim a tax deduction for your donation. Calculate your tax savings each year and put the money back into your charity fund. Donated-related deductions can sometimes be confusing, and you may want to check with a tax

the country,” Moore said. “We hadn’t been able to reach that level of improvements in our hometown.”

However, Moore feels that this year could bring change. Years ago, Urban Strategies led the application process and was

professional or look online for tips from the IRS. Your charitable gift could be the start of a legacy of giving among your family. By making donations a regular event during your children’s formative years, you’re establishing charitable giving as a family value that they can take into their adult lives.

To engage children, make a donation to support a child’s favorite cause and show them how the money makes a difference. For example, you could follow up a donation to a non-profit animal rescue with a visit to the shelter to see how the money helps the staff take care of the animals.

Bottom line. Making a donation is one way to support a cause you believe in and ensure your gift has a meaningful impact. You can do this by having money available when it’s needed, donating to worthwhile charities, looking for ways to increase your financial impact and passing on a legacy of giving.

Nathaniel Sillin directs Visa’s financial education programs. To follow Practical Money Skills on Twitter: www. twitter.com/PracticalMoney.

the grantee for a federal Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant. Now this year, they are leading the massive collaboration to apply for the Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant for North City. In September, the City of St. Louis – the applicant – was declared a finalist for the grant by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

“It was very important for me,” Moore said. “You never want to do more with someone else’s home than you do with your own home.”

HUD will announce the winners in December. If St. Louis is chosen, the grant would mean $30 million – or $90 million after contributions from city partners – to “put products on the ground” in North City, she said. That includes revitalized housing, singlefamily homes, a recreation facility, and resources to strengthen the Flance Early Learning Center, Moore said.

building types in support of KAI’s architects, as consultants to outside architectural firms, and as the prime contractor to owners for groundup, replacement, repair and ongoing operational maintenance projects.

Leo Zerjav, principal at UED, said the acquisition will pave the way for private sector work for his business.

“UED wanted to expand and diversify our services to the private market. Our engineering group needed additional staff and leadership,” Zerjav said.

“We started looking for partners to help with our increasing workloads and diverse direction.

KAI Design & Build at the same time was looking for additional engineers and diversification into government and healthcare markets. Each firm was able to provide what the other was looking for.”

For more information about KAI Design & Build, visit www.kai-db.com or call 314-241-8188.

n At the White House’s inaugural Frontiers Conference, Urban Strategies President Sandra Moore was introduced as someone who had “dedicated her life to solving problems of social and economic mobility.”

The application process included convening more than 100 meetings with local leaders, residents and stakeholders, such as universities and community colleges, the St. Louis Public School District, charter schools, business owners, hospitals and non-profits, as well as the St. Louis Housing Authority. The city’s Near North Side Choice Neighborhood Initiative (http:// www.nearnorthsidestl. com/) encompasses Carr and Columbus Square neighborhoods, along with portions of Old North, St. Louis Place and the new home of the Next National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) West intelligence campus.

“St. Louis hasn’t focused on the North Side in decades,” Baron said. “That’s been a challenge for all of us who are working in these neighborhoods. I hope that begins to change now with Sandra’s important work.” Baron said Moore’s leadership at Urban Strategies has been so successful because of her unique skillset.

“She comes with a very interesting background, being both a lawyer and former administrative judge for the

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Council,” said Baron. A graduate of Washington University, Moore received her J.D. degree from the School of Law in 1979 and a bachelor’s degree in urban studies in 1976. Baron also marveled that she was the former director of the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, where she served as a member of Governor Mel Carnahan’s cabinet. Moore formerly served as the CEO of the Missouri Family Investment Trust, a publicprivate partnership entity leading Missouri’s multisystem reform efforts. Prior to joining the Family Investment Trust, she was vice president of St. Louis 2004, Inc., a citizen-based effort to make the St. Louis region a recognized leader in the 21st century by accomplishing major projects. She is also proud that she helped to get parts of North St. Louis and north St. Louis County the federal Promise Zone designation.

“That’s important because it created a working connection for the city and county,” she said. “It encompasses about 200,000 people, and it gives us a platform for collaboration.” Urban Strategies is also leading the Promised Neighborhood Grant application process that would bring $30 million over five years to support Normandy Collaborative, St. Louis Public and KIPP schools. Overall, Moore said, “I’m very proud to being able to add my voice to discussion about how to make St. Louis better.”

The 17th Annual Salute to Excellence in Business Awards & Networking Luncheon will be held Thursday, November 17 at the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis, with a networking reception at 11 a.m. and luncheon program at noon. Tickets are $100 for VIP/ Preferred seating, $75 for general admission. Call 314-533-8000 or visitwww. stlamerican.com for more information or to purchase tickets.

n “It was disappointing to hear a Supreme Court justice call a protest against injustices and oppression ‘stupid, dumb.’”

– Colin Kaepernick

Pro Football Notebook With Earl Austin Jr.

Zeke leads the league

Former Burroughs star tops all NFL rushers

By Earl Austin Jr.

Of The St. Louis American

St. Louisan Ezekiel Elliott is off to an historic start of his career in the National Football League with the Dallas Cowboys.

The former John Burroughs and The Ohio State University star running back is currently leading the NFL in rushing with 703 yards after six games. Elliott is also the first rookie in the history of the league to have four consecutive games of rushing for more than 130 yards. Elliott rushed for a season-high 157 yards in leading the Cowboys to a big road victory over the Green Bay Packers. He had 134 yards in a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, including a 60-yard touchdown run. Elliott also had 138 yards against the San Francisco 49ers and 140 yards against the Chicago Bears. Elliott’s 703 rushing yards are the second-most by any rookie in the history of the NFL after his first six games.

Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson rushed for 787 yards in his first six games with the Los Angeles Rams. Current Minnesota Vikings star Adrian Peterson had 690 yards after his first six games. Elliott has also scored five touchdowns while averaging a robust 5.1 yards per carry.

Led by Elliott and fellow rookie Dak Prescott at quarterback, the Cowboys have been one of the surprise teams in the league with a 5-1 record. They head into their bye week in first place in the NFC East.

Elliott rushing toward NFL record book

Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson is celebrating the Rams’ return to Los Angeles from St. Louis. Interestingly, a rookie rushing record he set in L.A. in 1983 is being challenged by a St. Louis-area native.

Ezekiel Elliott has the NFL abuzz after rushing for a leagueleading 703 yards (more than 25 teams’ total rushing yardage) and five touchdowns after six games. He is averaging 117.2 yards per game for the 5-1 Dallas Cowboys and boldly doing post-game interviews while in his boxer shorts. Man, you talk about confidence. Following the Cowboys’ 30-16 victory at Green Bay last Sunday, Elliott credited his offensive line for much of his success, saying, “I’ll take my O-line over any guys in the league.” “I’ll take my fullback (Keith Smith) over any in the league. These guys just come out and execute so well, week in and week out. They’re the reason why this running game is so successful.” Elliott’s 703 rookie rushing yards after six games are second only to Dickerson’s 787. After gashing the Packers for 157 yards, he became the first rookie in NFL history to rush for 130-plus yards in four straight games. Elliott rushed for more than 150 yards in those four games, a feat last accomplished by Chris Johnson with the Tennessee Titans in 2009. If Elliott’s pace continues, he’ll finish the season with 1,875 yards and top Dickerson’s rookie mark of 1,808. For Elliott to reach 2,000 yards he must average 129.7 yards per game over the next 10 games. Elliott is also a “complete back,” one who can handle any assignment.

community.

C11

Earl Austin Jr.

Ezekiel Elliott, the former John Burroughs and The Ohio State University star running back, is currently leading the NFL in rushing with 703 yards after six games.

Alvin A. Reid

With Ishmael H. Sistrunk

Hopkins curtain call set for Dec. 19

The 51-year-old fighter will step into the ring one last time

Normally, boxing is not a sport that allows its legends to age gracefully. A glance at the sweet science’s mountaintop will tell numerous cautionary tales of fighters who stayed in the ring well past their expiration date. Muhammad Ali Joe Louis Sugar Ray Leonard Julio Cesar Chavez, Roberto Duran Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones Jr. and countless others have left the fight game as a shell of their former selves. Whether chasing dollars or grasping at fleeting fame, those fighters paid one heck of a toll towards the end of their careers.

Then there’s Bernard Hopkins

many of the aforementioned ring legends, Hopkins appears to be of sound mind, body and bank account. Is Hopkins the same fighter who knocked out Felix “Tito” Trinidad more than 15 years ago? Nah. But because his greatness was based on technique, timing and positioning, rather than raw speed or power, Hopkins has aged more gracefully into his 50s than most fighters have into their late 30s.

The 51-year-old former middleweight and light heavyweight champion is finally set to call it quits. Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KO) has agreed to fight Joe Smith Jr. (22-1-0, 18 KO) on Dec. 19 in what will be the final fight of his illustrious career. I know what you’re thinking. Boxing retirements are about as reliable as political promises. However, it appears that we can etch the end of Hopkins’ career in stone. According to ESPN’s Dan Rafael, the fight contract for Hopkins’ bout “has language legally stipulating that this is his last fight.”

n Hopkins (557-2, 32 KO) has agreed to fight Joe Smith Jr. (22-1-0, 18 KO) on Dec. 19 in what will be the final fight of his illustrious career.

The one-sided defeat he suffered two years ago at the hands of IBF, WBA and WBO champion light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev showed Hopkins why Father Time remains undefeated. It was the first time in his career that Hopkins was beaten and battered decisively. Still, despite suffering a firstround knockdown, Hopkins survived 12-rounds with an elite champion who is likely the hardest pound-forpound puncher in the sport. It would be easy for Hopkins to shuffle through the dumpster to find a ‘Bum of the Month’ to face in his swan song. However, the man whose stubbornness is as legendary as his skills wanted to go out with a bang.

Hopkins initially desired to closeout his career with anoth-

Why wouldn’t it be? Unlike

Bernard Hopkins was outgunned in 2014 by unified light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev, but still survived 12-rounds with a man who is among the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world and arguably the hardest puncher in the sport.

er title fight. But with all the major players at light heavyweight and super middleweight

unavailable for the rest of the year, Hopkins chose to target a capable young gun.

The hard-hitting Smith worked his way onto Hopkins’ radar with an upset knockout of former title contender (and 14-to-1 favorite) Andrzej Fonfara on a PBC show in June. As a tactician, Smith will never be confused with Floyd Mayweather Jr., but the 27-year-old known as “The Irish Bomber” has legitimate power and likes to come forward to launch his heavy artillery.

That means the greatest AARP-eligible fighter in history will have to work hard to leave the ring with a victory in his 67th professional prizefight. Win, lose or draw, old man Hopkins will walk away from the ring on his own terms. The man formerly known as “The Executioner” and currently

known as “The Alien” will do it in the ring against a fighter who wasn’t even born when Hopkins began his career.

Heavyweight disappointment

The only certain thing when it comes to boxing seems to be that a continuous stream of disappointment. I was excited when the long-awaited rematch between Wladimir Klitschko and Tyson Fury was announced. I didn’t expect the fight to be a barnburner, but at least it would help sort out the mess that is the heavyweight division. Unfortunately, the fight was postponed numerous times before Fury finally pulled out for good by vacating his WBA title due to personal and health issues.

The silver lining was that

Klitschko was then in line to fight against British knockout sensation and IBF titlist Anthony Joshua for the vacated crown. Now it appears that Klitschko vs Joshua is now on the ropes as the WBA has stalled on giving the thumbs up on sanctioning the matchup as a title bout. Klitschko is only interested in the bout if it gives him a chance to recapture the WBA title he lost to Fury. Why the WBA would be hesitant to sanction a bout between a current (though untested) champion and a former champion is mind-boggling. It’s a high profile fight between two respected fighters. It would be a rare relevant fight in a division that has been irrelevant for years. I guess that’s boxing. Let’s hope the WBA can get out of its own way and make the fight happen.

Ishmael H. Sistrunk

Postseason begins

District playoff competition this weekend

The postseason begins for Missouri schools this weekend with district playoff competition around the St. Louis area. Every team begins the postseason with a clean slate and a 0-0 record in this single elimination format. Here is a preview of the upcoming district playoffs for St. Louis area schools. For a complete schedule and brackets, visit the website, www.mshsaa.com.

Class 6 District 1: Kirkwood is the No. 1 seed with Eureka, Lafayette and Fox poised to give the Pioneers a run. (Earl’s Prediction: Kirkwood).

District 2: Undefeated Hazelwood Central is the No. 1, but also in the mix is CBC, which is currently ranked No. 1 in the state. Ritenour, Marquette and SLUH are also very solid. (Earl’s Prediction:

CBC)

District 3: This district covers the state with Blue Springs as the No. 1 seed, followed by Francis Howell, Jefferson City and Fort Zumwalt West. (Prediction: Blue Springs).

Class 5

District 1: Southeast Missouri schools Jackson and Poplar Bluff are the top seeds, but there is also a Vianney with a 4-5 record, but a very challenging schedule. (Prediction: Vianney).

District 2: State runner-up Chaminade is the top seed as it looks to get back to the state-championship game. Hazelwood East checks in at No. 2. (Prediction: Chaminade)

District 3: The St. Charles area district that features top seed Fort Zumwalt North at 8-1, followed by Timberland and

Fort Zumwalt South. (Earl’s Prediction: Fort Zumwalt North).

Class 4 District 1: A very competitive field that includes Farmington, Hillsboro, Sikeston and North County. (Earl’s Prediction: Hillsboro)

District 2: Ladue drops in from Class 5 with a powerful team with the top seed. No. 2 seed MICDS is surging while Gateway STEM and St. Mary’s are also solid. (Earl’s Prediction: Ladue)

District 3: Parkway North is another strong team that came down from Class 5. The Vikings are followed by Parkway Central and St. Dominic. (Earl’s Prediction: Parkway North).

District 4: A wide open district with No. 1 seed Parkway

Continued from C9

Romo seriously injured his back in a preseason game, Cowboys fans (myself included) hoped the young man could keep the team at or near .500.

Prescott has led his team to a 5-1 record and first place in the NFC East. While he has fellow rookie sensation Elliott running the football at a record pace, Prescott has continued his outstanding play without injured star receiver Dez Bryant.

Noted NFL pundit Peter King wrote on Monday, “Dak Prescott cemented his grip on the starting quarterback job in Dallas with his fifth straight win, and even if the broken bone in Tony Romo’s back is healed by October 30 off the Dallas bye, it’ll be a shock if Prescott gets yanked.”

A recent Dallas Morning News poll concluded that 82 percent of respondents want Prescott to remain the starter when Romo returns, which will likely be October 30 at home against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Prescott was interviewed by FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd on Monday and was asked about the prospect of turning his starting role over to Romo.

Cowherd: “Most of America wants Dak Prescott to remain quarterback. There’s a handful of people that say, ‘You gotta give Tony his job back.’ Where do you land on that?”

Prescott: “I’m just trying to give my team a chance to win, week in and week out.

That’s not my call. My, I guess you could say, purpose in this whole deal is to just make sure

I’m prepared each and every week and make sure those other guys around me are ready to win come Sunday. That’s all I’m focused on.”

Cowherd: “If they told you they were goin’ with Tony, would you be bummed?

Disappointed?”

Prescott: “I mean everybody wants to play. Everybody wants to get out there on the field so I’ll have that in me that wants to be out there that’s itching to play. But as long as we’re winning, as long as the offense is doing well and the team feels good I’m happy.” OK, don’t be upset with me. I want this young, quarterback of color to lead the Cowboys into a bright future. But I’m in that 18 percent of the Morning News poll and that “handful” of people that Cowherd mentioned.

I say give Romo his chance to throw for more yards and more touchdowns than Prescott has during his first six games. Prescott is in the bottom one-third of the NFL in total yards passing, yards per reception and TD passes. I’m not a hater, he has done everything expected of him – especially winning games. As for Romo, he cannot come back throwing crazy interceptions and coughing up the ball on fumbles. He has to be sharp and he has to win. He also has to stay healthy, which is far from a given. Call me crazy, but I think the Cowboys could be a better football team than they are right now. It won’t take long to find out, and it’s worth giving it a chance.

West, followed by Union, St. Clair, Borgia and Westminster. (Earl’s Prediction: Parkway West).

Class 3

District 1: The field is wide open with top seed Miller Career Academy, followed by Lutheran South and John Burroughs. (Earl’s Prediction: Miller Career Academy).

District 5: Top seed McCluer South-Berkeley is enjoying an undefeated season. The Bulldogs will be challenged by St. Charles West, Orchard Farm and Lutheran St. Charles. (Earl’s Prediction: McCluer South-Berkeley).

Class 2

District 2: Top seed Trinity is undefeated and looking every bit of the juggernaut this season. Lurking in the weeds is No. 2 seed Lutheran North. (Earl’s Prediction: Trinity).

Running a reverse U.S. Supreme Court

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has apologized (kind of) for calling San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling protest “dumb and disrespectful.”

In a statement released by the Court public information office, Ginsburg said, “Some of you have inquired about a book interview in which I was asked how I felt about Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players who refused to stand for the national anthem,” Ginsburg said.

“Barely aware of the incident or its purpose, my comments were inappropriately dismissive and harsh. I should have declined to respond.”

Liberal or not, I find this response to be chilling.

Kaepernick responded to Ginsburg’s original comment in dignified and scholarly fashion.

“(It was) disappointing to hear a Supreme Court justice call a protest against injustices and oppression ‘stupid, dumb.’”

“I was reading an article and it refers to white critiques of black protests and how they try to de-legitimize it by calling it

‘idiotic, dumb, stupid,’ things of that nature, so they can sidestep the real issue,” he told the San Jose Mercury News. “As I was reading that, I saw more and more truth how this has been approached by people in power and white people in power in particular.” Kaepernick could have a future in politics in Northern California after his NFL career has ended.

Alvin A. Reid is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook and appears on ABC’s The Allman Report and several sports radio shows. His Twitter handle is @aareid1.

The ST. LouiS AmericAn PreP AThLeTeS

Ryan Thompson

MICDS – Football

The junior wide receiver enjoyed a big performance in leading a surging MICDS squad past Hillsboro last Friday night.

Thompson caught four passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns in the Rams’ 38-22 road victory to close the regular season on a sevengame winning streak. He caught touchdown passes of 47 and 24 yards.

For the season, Thompson has 22 receptions for 506 yards and eight touchdowns. He also has a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to his credit. He is averaging more than 23 yards per reception as the Rams’ big-play receiving target.

MICDS (7-2) will host Affton in the first round of the Class 4, District 2 playoffs on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Brandon Harris

Miller Career Academy – Football

The senior quarterback led the Phoenix to a come-from-behind 18-13 victory over John Burroughs last Saturday afternoon.

The 6’0” 225-pound Harris completed 12 of 20 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 78 yards and added another score. He threw a 53-yard TD pass with just over a minute to play to complete Career Academy’s rally from a 13-0 deficit for the victory.

For the season, Harris has completed 50 of 94 passes for 868 yards and nine touchdowns while rushing for 464 yards and seven touchdowns.

Career Academy (7-2) is the top seed in the upcoming Class 3, District 2 playoffs.

Tim Kaine, Democratic nominee for VP and a major KU basketball fan, posed with former KU star Isaac “Bud” Stallworth during the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 28. Stallworth is campaigning for his wife, Robin Smith, who is running for secretary of state on the November 8 ballot.

Photo courtesy of Robin Smith Kaine is Bud’s bud

Dak Prescott has led the Dallas Cowboys to a 5-1 record and irst place in the NFC East.

Sierra Club endorses Teresa Hensley for Missouri attorney general

American staff

The Missouri Sierra Club endorsed Teresa Hensley, a Democrat, for Missouri attorney general in the November 8 election.

“We are confident that she would enforce the laws that protect clean air and clean water, and would stand up to the special interests that seek to profit by ignoring environmental safeguards,” said Missouri Sierra Club Political Committee Chair Ross Hunt of Overland.

“As Cass County prosecutor, Teresa built a strong record of standing up for the most vulnerable Missourians, including children and seniors. These same Missourians suffer the greatest impact from dirty air – just look at the sky-high levels of childhood asthma in St. Louis

and Kansas City.”

Anne McGregor, Sierra Club Political Committee member and Kansas City resident, said Hensley “has earned our trust” and “is a true environmental champion who will fight to protect Missouri’s clean air, clean water, our climate and natural treasures.”

Teresa Hensley

Missouri Chapter Director John Hickey said Hensley would carry on “a proud bi-partisan tradition of attorneys general who have led on critical environmental issues.”

The Republican nominee Josh Hawley has very little political or policy experience,

but he has accused the EPA of “federal overreach” in its Waters of the United States rule pertaining to the Clean Water Act.

“This rule will provide the clarity and certainty businesses and industry need about which waters are protected by the Clean Water Act, and it will ensure polluters who knowingly threaten our waters can be held accountable,” President Obama said of this rule that Hawley opposes.

Along with the endorsement, the Sierra Club will lend its volunteer strength to Hensley’s campaign. “Scores of Sierra Club volunteers will contact voters on her behalf and will speak to the public as often as possible about her commitment to enforce environmental protections,” Hunt said.

Race and Route 66: The Green Book

History Museum exhibition features guide to black travel in segregated America

By Jody Sowell Missouri History Museum

The Missouri History Museum’s exhibition Route 66: Main Street Through St. Louis is quite a show. Inside you will find 11 neon signs, a 1919 Ford Model T truck, a 1926 Willys convertible, a 1963 Corvette Stingray, even an Airstream trailer. You can listen to 16 different versions of “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66” on a custom jukebox, or watch a movie at a re-created drive-in theater. You can see largerthan-life images of famous St. Louis sites from the Parkmoor to the Coral Court Motel.

It’s a big exhibit that’s drawing big crowds. But one of the show’s most powerful objects is also one of its smallest. Located near the front of the gallery is an original edition of The Negro Motorist Green Book. This book, named after its publisher Victor Green, was essential for AfricanAmerican travelers on the road from the mid-1930s into the 1960s. Today, however, the travel guide has been largely forgotten.

The Green Book told African Americans where they could find safe and welcoming places to eat, sleep, and service their cars. It was first published in 1936 as a guide to New York City, but Victor Green was immediately met with demands for a national guide. Based on reviews and word of mouth, Green was able to publish one the very next year.

It would have been sorely needed for African Americans traveling Route 66 and facing long stretches of road with few services available to them.

In Missouri, the Green Book clearly showed that St. Louis was the place to stop for food or accommodations. For much of the highway’s history, St. Louis was the only city in Missouri with multiple options for African American travelers. In other Missouri towns, the choices were few and far between.

Victor Green had hoped his travel guide would soon become obsolete. “There will be a day sometime in the near future when this guide will not have to be published.

That is when we as a race will have equal opportunities and privileges in the United States,” he wrote in the 1936 edition. “It will be a great day for us to suspend this publication for then we can go wherever we please, and without embarrassment.”

The guide, however, was needed for nearly 30 more years until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 barred discrimination based on race. The Green Book is a meaningful part of the country’s past, and it’s indicative of how we share history at the Museum. In just a few months we will open a new exhibition chronicling St. Louis’s important, but often overlooked, civil rights history.

#1 in Civil Rights: The African American Freedom Struggle in St. Louis will trace the fight for racial equality from early protests over Missouri’s entrance into the Union as a slave state all the way to the events in Ferguson.

This kind of in-depth examination of race is imperative, but we can’t limit the discussion to exhibitions that focus on race alone. To do so would ignore how ingrained race is in every aspect of American history, including the history of travel.

More than 1,000 visitors see the Route 66 exhibition every day, and soon it will become the second mostvisited exhibit in our 150-year history. I know many visitors

are coming to see the neon or the cars or to take a nostalgic trip down the country’s most famous highway, but if we can get them to think a little bit about race and its role in American history—or about the fact that even how we travel is determined by the color of our skin—then I think we have made a significant point. I hope you will visit Route 66: Main Street Through St. Louis before it closes on July 16, 2017. We are also putting the finishing touches on a documentary about Missouri’s role in the highway’s history, and it features a section about the Green Book Show Me 66: Main Street Through Missouri premieres at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 10, at the Missouri History Museum. If you want to explore the Green Book, you can find digitized copies at two websites put together by the New York Public Library. Visit digitalcollections.nypl. org/collections/the-green-book or publicdomain.nypl.org/ greenbook-map. Sharing the history of this important publication –through exhibits, films, and websites – challenges all of us to think about how race affects American life: not just in the past, but in the present and into the future.

Jody Sowell is director of Exhibitions and Research at the Missouri History Museum.

Monday, Nov. 14 | 6-8 p.m. East St. Louis Jackie Joyner Kersee Center 101 Jackie Joyner Kersee Cir.

Alzheimer’s researchers and specialists discuss: Early detection and diagnosis of Alzheimers. Research updates on scientific breakthroughs. Caregiver resources.

Visit alz.org/stl or call 800.272.3900 for more information and to register. *REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.

Sponsored by:

Photo by Jody Sowell

Pages from the Green Book, currently on display at the Missouri History Museum.

Damage control in ESL

The 2016 political landscape in America will go down in history as being replete with undesirable candidates and voters tasked with the obligation of holding their collective noses while doing damage control at the voting booth.

Nationally, the choice is between presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, who struggles with issues of trustworthiness and judgment, and Donald Trump, whose arrogance, poor temperament, bigotry, sexism and vulgarity are legendary. However, the political turf in St. Clair County, Illinois is equally interesting, especially in the races for St. Clair County Board chairman, state representative of the 114th Legislative District, coroner and circuit judge.

St. Clair County Board

Columnist

James Ingram

Chairman Mark Kern, one of the godfathers of St. Clair County “politricks,” will square off against former Belleville mayor Rodger Cook. Kern has used the city of East St. Louis as a political plantation, harvesting the black vote to win elections for himself and his political sycophants, while more than doubling the MidAmerica Airport construction debt from $40 million to $88 million. He also contributed to the negative political climate which caused St. Clair County to lose the much-publicized NGA West project to St. Louis. Rodger Cook has vowed to have a more transparent governmental structure and to aggressively formulate a plan to stop the financial bleeding at MidAmerica. Bob Romanik, aka “The Grim Reaper of Radio,” an admitted felon and controversial local radio personality, says that if elected as state representative of the 114th Legislative District he will refuse to take a salary or per diems and will work tirelessly to do the will of his constituents, holding both Illinois Republicans and Democrats accountable. His opponent Latoya Greenwood, a professional politician, is an ESL city councilwoman, as well as hustling an additional $91,000 as a director of human resources for ESL School District 189. Her father, Lonzo Greenwood, is president of the District 189 Board of Education and chairman of the ESL Democratic Club. Then there’s the race for coroner. Former ESL Mayor Carl Officer and his family have comforted the bereaved for three generations through the Officer Funeral Home. Their name is synonymous with service to the grieving families of ESL and the St. Louis area. Yet, the St. Clair County political bosses have pitted Calvin Dye, a 68-year-old retired Illinois State Trooper, bailiff and state’s attorney’s investigator against Officer. Dye, not-so-coincidentally, happens to also be black. While Dye is a nice gentleman, he is cooperating in being used to divide the black vote in hopes of punishing Officer, who is more qualified.

And, finally, there’s the race for circuit judge by former Associate Judge Laninya Cason. She served on the bench for 12 years before being railroaded from her job. In 2015, St. Clair County Judges (more than likely steered by Chief Judge John Baricevic) cowardly cast anonymous ballots to deny her retention. They based their votes on a bogus poll by the Illinois State Bar Association. Cason was, therefore, forced to switch her allegiance to the Republican Party as a tactical move to appear on the ballot. Laninya was a well-respected judge and hosted educational forums as well as inspired many young black women through her community work.

I’m hoping for change in 2016.

Email: jtingram_1960@ yahoo.com; Twitter@ JamesTIngram.

Financial Focus

By Courtney Bond

Black Rep celebrates 40 years

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

“This gala event is the centerpiece of our 40th anniversary celebration, and we are bringing back old friends and introducing new ones in this onenight-only concert,” said Ron Himes, founder and producing director of The Black Rep.

In just over two weeks, the company will present a special concert performance of the Broadway classic “Dreamgirls.” The event is equal parts celebration and fundraiser and will feature some notable names – including

Black power in the dollar

David Banner, Boyce Watkins to talk economic empowerment Sunday at Lux

By Malena Amusa For The St. Louis American

“As African Americans, we have the power to do more with our money than waste it,” Grammy Awardwinning rapper, producer and actor David Banner told Black Enterprise Banner has become as recognizable for his views on black liberation, economic empowerment and social justice as he has for his contributions to the entertainment industry –particularly when it comes to the power of “the black dollar” and applying financial resources from within to build thriving communities and dismantle systemic racism.

Dr. Boyce Watkins

“White supremacy only respects the loss of finance and the loss of life,” Banner said during a conversation with Rock Newman on The Rock Newman Show. “We spend trillions of dollars. Once we get ourselves together, that will affect them financially.”

At 7 p.m. Sunday, October 23, he and Boyce Watkins will headline an impressive panel of experts to inspire and connect people interested

Phillip Dixon and Reginald Pierre star in Upstream Theater’s production of “Suspended,” which closes Sunday, October 23. Provided by ProPhotoSTL.com

in financial empowerment at The LUX Theatre, on 2619 Washington Ave. in downtown St. Louis.

“I am not playing when it comes to business,” Banner recently told HipHopDX. “I don’t run a black business. I run a successful business, and I give the proceeds to black people.”

At the St. Louis Economic Empowerment Panel Discussion, Banner will share his advice alongside 11 other expert panelists, including Watkins, a nationallyrenowned commentator and economist. Considered “The People’s Scholar,” Watkins has authored several books and is the executive producer of the critically acclaimed film “Resurrecting Black Wall Street.”

Also sharing their unique expertise on financial literacy and entrepreneurship

“Dreamgirls” original Broadway cast member and longtime Black Rep supporter Obba Babatunde.

The Tony- and Emmy Award-nominated Obba and his brother (and fellow actor) Akin Babatunde have both graced the Black Rep stage over the years. Obba was often a featured celebrity guest at the Black Rep’s now-defunct Woodie Awards, which celebrated the best and brightest from the season and served as their annual fundraiser.

By Willis Ryder Arnold Of St. Louis Public Radio

As the St. Louis metro area continues to take note of the region’s growing status as a magnet for newcomers from other countries, Upstream Theater launched “Suspended,” a play that aims to break down assumptions about immigrants.

Director Linda Kennedy said stories about the relationship between immigrants and longtime residents can strengthen both communities.

“When we look at businesses and how they network with each other, or organizations

Glaring flaw of ‘Until the Flood’

production of

in Webster Groves.

The Rep’s production on Ferguson ignores protest narrative

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis ambitiously commissioned Pulitzer Prize finalist Dael Orlandersmith to offer reflections on the Ferguson unrest. The result was the one-woman show “Until the Flood,” which plays on their main stage at The Loretto Hilton through November 6. Their decision to devote center stage space within their 50th Anniversary Season for audiences to engage with a creative response to the international story about the community’s response to the death of Michael Brown Jr. on August 9, 2014 deserves to be noted. But the actual unrest itself – which captured global attention – is conspicuously absent from the collection of narratives Orlandersmith performs on stage under the direction of Neel Keller. For the play, Orlandersmith spent time in St. Louis region and developed characters based on conversations she had with area residents. And while the area surrounding the stage is fashioned as a memorial to Brown, the play itself is not so much.

n Dael Orlandersmith gives plenty of attention to the white rage perspective. There are times when, as a black person, it’s tough to sit through.

The Rep touts the play as “evenhanded,” but as Orlandersmith, a black woman, takes on characters plenty of times, it feels anything but objective –mainly because there is barely a mention to the months of protest in response to Brown’s death, and none of the characters reflect the protest narrative.

It was the unrest that gave Ferguson its spotlight, but Orlandersmith focuses on feelings and reactions to the shooting itself. There is very little context with respect to what compelled a community to take to the streets and voice their disgust with a broken system that has targeted and oppressed them for generations. She portrays a mix of black and white characters over the course of the 70-minute production.

The white characters include a retired police officer, an unapologetically racist white landlord who rents to black tenants in Ferguson, and a school teacher who doesn’t understand why her black friend is upset when she discloses sympathy for Brown’s police shooter Darren Wilson – and how his life has been turned upside down as a result of Brown’s death. The

The Rep’s

“Until the Flood” (by Dael Orlandersmith, directed by Neel Keller) continues through November 6 at the LorettoHilton, 130 Edgar Rd,

Malkia Stampley (Lorrell Robinson), Willena Vaughn (Effie) and Jia Taylor (Deena) in a scene from The Black Rep’s 2006 production of “Dreamgirls.”

David Banner

How to place a calendar listing

1. Email your listing to calendar@stlamerican. com OR

2. Visit the calendar section on stlamerican.com and place your listing

Calendar listings are free of charge, are edited for space and run on a space-available basis.

concerts

Fri., Oct. 21, 7 p.m., Delmar Hall presents the Mvstermind EP Release Show. With Danté Wolfe, J’Demul, Arshad Goods + Special Guests. 6133 Delmar Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. thepageant.com/event.

Sat. Oct. 22, 3rd Annual An Evening With Cedric The Entertainer and Friends featuring Smokey Robinson, George Lopez and D.L. Hughley. Peabody Opera House. For more information visit www.cedricandfriends. org.

Tues., Oct. 25, 7 p.m., The Ready Room presents Tory Lanez: The I Told You Tour with Kranium. 4195 Manchester Ave., 63110. For more information, call (314) 833-3929 or visit www. thereadyroom.com.

Tues., Oct. 25, 8 p.m., The Pageant presents Schoolboy Q. 6161 Delmar Blvd., 63112.

Oct. 28 – 30, Subculture presents Twisted EDM Release. Twista is coming and it’s going to be a Twisted Twista Halloween. The MultiPlatinum selling artist will be preforming with a Local EDM crowd and this time is releasing a Wetter Remix. A two-night rave for Halloween and Subculture is pulling out all the stops. The Skatium, 120 E. Catalan St., 63111. For more information, visit www. brownpapertickets.com.

Nov. 3, 8 p.m., The Pageant welcomes Lil Uzi Vert, 6161 Delmar. For more information, visit www.thepageant.com

Sun., Nov. 6, Community Women Against Hardship Concert and Gala”Jazz in PinkS,” this year the already awesome group adds Harpist and Top 5 Billboard Magazine artist Mariea Antoinette. She joins keyboardist Gail Jhonson,

violinist Karen Briggs, drummer Danielle Thompson, bassist Robin Bramlett and flautist Althea Rene. For tickets call Metro Tix at 314- 534-1111 or Community Women Against Hardship direct a 314- 289-7523

Nov. 19, The Ambassador welcomes Meek Mill, 9800 Halls Ferry. For more information visit www. metrotix.com.

special

events

Thur., Oct. 20, 6 p.m., The Young Friends of North Side present Rollin’ with North Side. An evening of fun to benefit North Side Community School. Price includes 2 hours of bowling, food and drinks. Pin Up Bowl, 6191 Delmar Blvd., 63112. For more information, call (314) 385-9502 or visit www. northsidecommunityschool. org.

Sat., Oct. 22, 11 a.m., Helping Hands Food Pantry Inaugural Luncheon: “Living Your Life to Leave a Legacy.” Entertainment, door prizes and a silent option will be part of the event. Crown Plaza Hotel, 11228 Long Eagle Dr., 63044. For more information, call (314) 8396591 or (314) 795-4753.

Sat., Oct. 22, 11 a.m., The Girl Talk Outreach Project Summit 2016. Our mission is to help empower, encourage, motivate and positively build the self-esteem within teen girls and teen moms, through mentorship, motivational conference events and more. This year’s event will talk about goal setting and include a goal setting activity to help young girls set and organize their goals, which in return will help them reach their dreams. Black Jack Community Fire Protection District, 5675 N Hwy 67,

The Guide

Sun., Oct. 23, 7 p.m., The Choices Project presents Festival of Praise Tour 2016. Featuring Fred Hammond (above), Hezekiah Walker, Israel Houghton, Karen Clark Sheard. For more information, see SPIRITUAL.

Featured Event

Thur., Nov. 3, 6 p.m., St. Louis Public Library presents What About Us: Dispelling the Myth of Deadbeat Dads Film Screening The film will be followed by a panel discussion on black fatherhood. Central Branch, 1301 Olive St., 63103. For more information, call (314) 241-2288 or visit www.slpl.org.

63034. For more information, visit www.entertainment.com.

Sat., Oct. 29, 12 p.m., Imagery International’s 5th Annual Women’s Empowerment Tea. You are invited to join us for tea, a delicious meal, empowerment, and encouragement. Miss Aimee B’s Tea Room, 837 First Capitol Dr., 63301. For more information or to register, call (314) 707-8103 or visit www.imageryintl.org/ imagery-events

Sat., Oct. 29, 6 p.m., 100 Black Men of Metropolitan St. Louis presents the Phantom at the Arch Masquerade Ball” Annual Black Tie Gala. Marriott St. Louis Grand Hotel, 800 Washington Ave., 63101. For more information, call (314) 367-7778 or visit www.100blackmenstl.com.

literary

Through October 21, Eugene B. Redmond Writers Club Festival of ‘Conch-Us-nest’, October 18-21, 2016 in East St. Louis, Illinois featuring Haki R. Madhubuti, Jerry

W. Ward, Jr. For more information, call (618) 6503991, email eredmon@siue. edu or write EBRWC at P.O. 6165, East St. Louis, IL 62201.

Tues., Nov. 1, 7 p.m., St. Louis County Library hosts author Peter Cozzens, author of The Earth is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West. An essential history of the struggle between whites and Native Americans over the fate of the West. With the end of the Civil War, the nation recommenced its expansion onto traditional Indian tribal lands. In an exploration of the wars and negotiations, Cozzens gives the fullest account to date of how the West was won—and lost. Library headquarters, 1640 S. Lindbergh, 63131. For more information, call (314) 9943300 or visit www.slcl.org.

Wed., Nov. 2, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books hosts author Mark Speltz, author of North of Dixie: Civil Rights Photography Beyond the South. In North of Dixie, Speltz shines a light past the most iconic photographs of the era to focus on images of everyday activists who led grassroots campaigns to protest

Passing Strange. A semiautobiographical account of a young brother’s encounters with sex, drugs, and rock and roll as he searches for “the real.” A rock musical that is equal parts comedy and drama, Passing Strange follows “the Youth” on his pilgrimage of self-discovery from Los Angeles to Amsterdam, Berlin and beyond. Directed by Ron Himes. Edison Theatre, 6465 Forsyth Blvd., 63105. For more information, call (314) 935-6543 or visit www.edison. wustl.edu.

racial discrimination in jobs, housing, education, and police brutality in Philadelphia, Cleveland, Columbus, St. Louis, Cedar Rapids, and many other cities. 399 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, call (314) 3676731 or visit www.left-bank. com.

Thur., Nov. 3, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books hosts author Ryan Berg, author of No House to Call My Home: Love, Family, and Other Transgressions. Berg immerses readers in the gritty, dangerous, and shockingly underreported world of homeless LGBTQ teens in New York. As a caseworker in a group home for disowned LGBTQ teenagers, Berg witnessed the struggles, fears, and ambitions of these disconnected youth as they resisted the pull of the street, tottering between destruction and survival. 399 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, call (314) 3676731 or visit www.left-bank. com.

art

Through Oct. 30, COCA presents Outside In: Paint for Peace. Showcasing the power of the arts, the exhibition presents a selection of the murals painted on the boardedup storefronts by amateur and professional artists in the days and weeks following the 2014 protests in Ferguson. 524 Trinity Ave., 63130. For more information, call (314) 7256555 or visit www.cocastl.org.

theatre

Thur., Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m., Touhill Performing Arts Center presents A Night of Love & Betrayal. Join soprano Stella Markou for an eclectic evening of music devoted to love and betrayal. Featuring the works of Bernstein, Handel, Rossini, Pergolesi, Williams and Puccini. One University Blvd., 63121.

Oct. 21 – 23, Variety Children’s Theatre presents Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Touhill Performing Arts Center, One University Blvd., 63121.

Oct. 21 – 30, Washington University Performing Arts Department presents

Sat., Oct. 22, 3 p.m., Civic Arts Company presents RACE. A play based on the real-life interviews of Studs Terkel. RACE empowers the audience to reimagine itself through theatre, championing a great reflection on our national identity and pushing us to rewrite our future together in America. Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, call (314) 746-4599 or visit www.mohistory.org.

Oct. 29 – 30, Fox Theatre presents Love Jones The Musical. 527 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www.fabulousfox.com.

Nov. 4 – 5, COCA presents Akeelah and the Bee Akeelah has a crazy passion for words: the more abstruse and labyrinthine, the better. But this gift is almost overwhelmed by the challenge of her daily life in a tough, Chicago neighborhood. Akeelah’s aptitude earns her a spot in the National Spelling Bee, and inspires the people in her neighborhood with her courage and tenacity. 524 Trinity Ave., 63130. For more information, call (314) 5614877 or visit www.cocastl.org/ event.

Nov. 4 – 13, Hawthorne Players present Driving Miss Daisy. Florissant Civic Center Theatre, 1 James J. Eagan Dr., 63033. For more information, call (314) 921-5678 or visit www.florissantmo.com.

Through Nov. 6, Repertory Theatre St. Louis presents Until the Flood. Celebrated writer, performer and Pulitzer Prize finalist Dael Orlandersmith spent a week in St. Louis interviewing people from every corner of the region about recent social unrest. The play is a mosaic of voices that tells our region’s story without advancing any one viewpoint above others. 130 Edgar Rd., 63119. For more information, call (314) 968-4925 or visit www.repstl.org.

lectures and workshops

Fri., Oct. 21, 5:30 p.m., CJT Consulting LLC presents Mosaic Ceiling: A Panel Discussion for AfricanAmerican Women. This gathering is for AfricanAmerican women with diverse educational, professional, entrepreneurial, and creative backgrounds to share their knowledge and to brainstorm how and why women must connect their resources via mentorship, patronage, and health & wellness. Dennis & Judith Jones Visitor and Education Center, 5595

Grand Dr., 63112. For more information, visit www.evite. me/2SMhr2gRUA.

Sat., Oct. 22, 10 a.m.,

National Park Services presents The Life of Congressman Robert Smalls – The First African American Civil War Hero. Robert Sutton, historian emeritus for the National Park Service, will speak about Robert Smalls, a Civil War hero and a U.S. Congressman. The program coincides with the park’s temporary exhibit on Robert Smalls that closes on October 30. Reservations are required. Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, 7400 Grant Rd., 63123. For more information, call (314) 8621867 or visit www.nps.gov/ ulsg/index.htm.

Sat., Oct. 22, 1 p.m., The ABCs of Getting a J-O-B: Resume Writing and Job Training Programs. Learn how to write effective resumes and apply for jobs online. St. Louis Public Library, Walnut Park Branch, 5760 W. Florissant Ave., 63120. For more information, call (314) 383-1210 or visit www.slpl. org.

Sun., Oct. 23, 2:30 p.m., Missouri History Museum presents Black Military Service and Free Labor in Civil War Missouri.

Dr. Miller Williams Boyd, University of Mississippi, demystifies an important aspect of black life during the Civil War and provides new pathways to think about the varied and complex ways African American men viewed the war and their freedom. 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. mohistory.org.

Wed., Oct. 26, 6:30 p.m., Displacement, Museums, and Memory: Lessons from South Africa. A panel of leading museum professionals and scholars from South Africa discuss how painful memories of forced displacement under the apartheid regime have been recovered and preserved.

Sun., Oct. 30, 5 p.m., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., St. Louis Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter presents College 101: Pulling Off the Mask of Educational Inequality. Students and parents are invited to hear from admissions officers and administration about the application timelines, how to find the right college fit, writing admission essays, and much more. There will also be a Financial Aid 101 session for parents. Hillman Hall Room 70, Washington University, 1 Brookings Dr., 63130. For more information or to register, visit www.dstslmac. com.

Sat., Oct. 29, 1 p.m., St. Louis Public Library presents History to You: The Nat Turner Rebellion. Guests will be able to view original newspapers from September, October, and November 1831. The news articles chronicle the trial and execution of his compatriots as well as the capture and execution of Nat Turner himself. Guests will also view newspapers with similar rebellions in the decades leading up to the Civil War. Julia Davis Branch, 4415 Natural Bridge Ave., 63115. For more information, call (314) 383-3021 or visit www. slpl.org.

Wednesdays through Nov. 9, 7 p.m., The Missouri Bar presents the Fall 2016 Mini Law School for the Public. The more you know about the laws that affect you, the easier it is to make good decisions about your life, your family, and your finances. St. Louis County Council, 41 S. Central Ave., 63105. For more information, call (866) 366-0270 or visit www. missourilawyershelp.org/minilaw-school.

health

Fri., Oct. 21, 6 p.m., Sickle Cell Association’s Fall Folly. If you or your child is living with sickle cell disease, you are invited to

join us for camaraderie, costumes, and candy. Allow the kids to search our costume closet while you join the Get Connected Registry. 5616 Pershing Ave., Ste. 29, 63112. For more information or to RSVP, call (314) 833-6751 or visit www.getconnected.org.

Sat., Oct. 22, 7:30 a.m., American Cancer Society hosts the 8th annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. Forest Park Lower Muny Lot, 1 Theatre Dr., 63112. For more information, call (314) 2688185 or visit www.main. acsevents.org.

Sat., Oct. 22, 10 a.m., Alzheimer’s Association presents the Care and Conquer Education Series. We are proud to host dementia expert, Dr. John Morley, MD, Director of the Division of Geriatric Medicine at Saint

more information, call (314) 384-6563 or visit www. valedashope.org.

Sun., Oct. 23, 12 p.m., 2016

St Louis NephCure Walk: Love our Kidneys. Help us create awareness, support and the funds needed to find a cure for FSGS and the diseases that cause Nephrotic Syndrome and kidney failure. Meet other families in your area, enjoy children’s activities, and learn more about how NephCure Kidney International can support you. Tremayne Shelter, Creve Coeur Park, 13725 Marine Ave., 63043. For more information, visit www.give.nephcure.org/ stlouis.

Sat., Nov. 12, 9 a.m., Mercy Seat Missionary Baptist Church Community Health Awareness Fair, 4424 Dr. James Brown Sr., Dr. (Formerly: Washington Ave.) For information, call Mercy Seat Missionary Baptist Church 314-531- 3759.

Louis University, to bring you cutting-edge information and resources. John F. Kennedy Community Center, 315 Howdershell Rd., 63031. For more information or to register, visit www.alz.org/stl/ in_my_community_103550. asp.

Sat., Oct. 22, 12 p.m., Valeda’s Hope 5 th Annual Pink & Pearls Luncheon. Dr. Lannis Hall-Daniels, from the Siteman Cancer Center will be the Keynote speaker. The funds raised will go towards organization’s “Mobile Mammogram” service and its’ “Survivor Gift Basket Drive” which provides specialty garments and supplies for the treatment of this painful condition. Funds are being raised through corporate sponsorship, donations and ticket sales. Hilton St. Louis Frontenac, 1335 S. Lindbergh Blvd., 63131. For

Tuesdays & Thursdays, 7:30 p.m., Get Sexy Movement Boot Camp. Station styled boot camp with 1 minute at each station for three rounds. North County Recreation Center, 2577 Redman Rd., 63136.For more information, call (314) 898-8898.

spiritual

Sat., Oct. 22, 11 a.m., Centennial Christian Church Jazz Brunch. The brunch will feature the Coleman-Hughes Project featuring Adrianne Felton-King and a Silent Auction. The Atrium, 4950 Fountain Ave., 63113. For more information, call (314) 276-7702.

Sun., Oct. 23, immediately following 10 a.m. worship service, St. Paul A.M.E. Church will present the 4th Pastoral Anniversary Celebration of The Rev. Spencer Lamar Booker, St. Paul A.M.E. Church, 1260 Hamilton Ave. St. Louis, MO.

For more information, call (314) 385-8900.

Sun., Oct. 23, 3 p.m., 2nd Annual Good News Baptist Church Scholarship Fund Benefit Concert. Featuring the Silver Wings. 8850 Jennings Station Rd., 63136. For more information, call (314) 8683312.

Sun., Oct. 23, 7 p.m., The Choices Project presents Festival of Praise Tour 2016 Featuring Fred Hammond, Hezekiah Walker, Israel Houghton, Karen Clark Sheard, Regina Belle, Casey J, and hosted by comedian Earthquake. Fox Theatre, 527 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. fabulousfox.com.

Sat., Oct. 29, 7 a.m. – 2 p.m., Greater St. Mark Family Church BBQ and Yard Sale, 9950 Glen Owen Dr (@ Chambers Rd), St. Louis MO 63136

Nov. 3-Nov. 13, Cinema St. Louis presents 25th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival, 419 films: 111 narrative features, 73 documentary features, and 235 shorts. The fest also will feature 15 specialevent programs, including four free master classes and the closing-night party. This year’s festival has 72 countries represented. The fest schedule, ticket and venue information, and a complete list of films (with descriptions) are available at www.cinemastlouis.org. For more information, visit www. cinemastlouis.org or call 314289-4150.

Thur., Nov. 3, 6 p.m., St. Louis Public Library presents What About Us: Dispelling the Myth of Deadbeat Dads Film Screening The film will be followed by a panel discussion on black fatherhood. Central Branch, 1301 Olive St., 63103. For more information, call (314) 241-2288 or visit www.slpl.org.

An Evening With Cedric The Entertainer and Friends featuring Smokey Robinson, George Lopez and D.L. Hughley. See CONCERTS for additional details.

“I love St. Louis – and one of the reasons is because of The Black Rep,” Obba told The American while promoting his film “Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups” back in 2012. He sang the praises of the theatre and the caliber of productions they present year after year in the St. Louis region.

“Ron’s commitment [to the art of producing theatre] is amazing,” Obba said.

Two Saturdays from this weekend, Babatunde graces the Black Rep stage once again – by way of the 560 Music Center – when he assumes the role of Curtis Taylor Jr. in the concert performance of “Dreamgirls.” His portrayal as C.C. in the original Broadway production earned him a Tony nomination back in 1982.

“We decided on ‘Dreamgirls’ because it was such a fan favorite,” Himes said about adapting the play into a concert fundraiser.

The musical, long-rumored to be loosely based on The Supremes, exposes the highs and lows of show business and the price many pay for fame in the cutthroat entertainment industry.

It tells the tale of a group of three teen singers who have big talent, an even bigger dream of

becoming musical sensations –and not much else.

Green to the woes that come with the trappings of success, “Dreamgirls” shows the sacrifices that sometimes must be made in pursuit of stardom – as well as the power of forgiveness and redemption.

“Dreamgirls” premiered

FLOOD

Continued from C1

Brown was killed – and a barbershop owner. Orlandersmith gives plenty of attention to the white rage perspective. Audiences must sit through more than one monologue where the N-word is hurled as Brown’s death (and sympathy for Wilson) is seen as warranted based on personal experiences with black people. It is the hope that these moments are Orlandersmith’s attempt to hold a mirror to the mostly white audience as far as the racist views that permeate the region. But there are times when it doesn’t feel that way

on Broadway in 1981, with music by Henry Krieger, and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. The musical had 13 Tony nominations and won 6 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. A featured song, “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going,” became an R&B classic in its own right.

– and, as a black person, it’s tough to sit through. Even as she offers black voices, justifiable racism bleeds into their commentary as well. This is especially evident when she opens the show, with the most educated and informed of the black characters. She is a retired educator who moved away from St. Louis to attend college in New York in the 1960s and, while there, became a part of the Black Power movement. Yet with all of the black pride that was instilled in her, the woman speaks on the shooting in a manner that screams self-hatred. “Why did he have to steal?” the woman asked. “Why did he have to act like a [N-word expletive]?” It stopped just short of saying that the youth was

The Original Cast Recording for “Dreamgirls” also won 4 Grammy Awards.

In 2006, the musical was adapted into a major motion picture starring Beyoncé, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Anika Noni Rose and Jennifer Hudson. Murphy and Hudson both earned Academy Award nominations for their roles, with Hudson taking home the “Best Supporting Actress” Oscar in 2007.

During the Black Rep’s 30th anniversary season, their production of the musical shattered box office records when it played The Grandel Theatre as their season finale –just before the theatrical release of the film.

The opulence and glamour was matched only by the stellar performances of The Black Rep production. Willena “Mz NV” Vaughn made her Black Rep debut as “Dreamgirls” lead character Effie White in the 2006 run – which was extended due to popular demand. Ten years later, Vaughn will resume the role.

Along with Babatunde and Vaughn, LaTonya Holmes, best known for her performance

responsible for his own death.

There is a danger in providing this particular frame of commentary from within the space of a proud black woman – even if Orlandersmith’s goal in doing so was to illustrate the character’s personal contradictions.

The play shows cops and community from both sides of the badge. A white former officer refers to Darren Wilson as his “brother” and speaks of being targeted by a wild black mob that forced him to draw his weapon. Meanwhile, a young black man from Canfield, who is determined to use education as a passport out of Ferguson, details being harassed by a police officer who accuses him of stealing his books as he’s walking home from school.

in the national tour of “The Color Purple,” will portray Lorrell Robinson. T.C. Carson, best known for his role as Kyle on the Fox Network hit “Living Single,” will play James Thunder Early. Angela Robinson, who currently stars in the OWN Network hit “Tyler Perry’s The Haves and Have Nots,” will assume the role of Deena Jones.

Local favorite The Jazz Edge Orchestra, under the direction of Charles Creath, will provide music for the concert performance.

“It’s going to be an exciting night,” Himes said. “We can’t wait to present the music from this beloved production as we celebrate another milestone year for The Black Rep.” The Black Rep will continue the celebration of its 40th season of theatre with a concert version of the classic musical, ‘Dreamgirls.” The event will take place 8 p.m. Saturday, November 5 at the E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall at the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Ave, 63130. For tickets and/ or additional details, call The Black Rep at (314) 534-3810 or visit www.theblackrep.org.

But without a protestor’s point of view, “Until the Flood” feels hollow, incomplete and uninformed. These characters sound off about Brown’s death from both sides, yet so little attention is given to the phenomenon that had people from all parts of the world engaged in the conversation –and starting a movement.

“Until the Flood” offers the “what,” but fails to deliver on the “why.”

The Rep’s production of “Until the Flood” continues through November 6 at the Loretto-Hilton, 130 Edgar Road, Webster Groves, MO 63119. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (314) 968-4925 or visit www. repstl.org.

Obba BabatundeLaTonya HolmesT.C. Carson

The actual unrest itself – which captured global attention – is conspicuously absent from the collection of narratives Dael Orlandersmith performs on stage under the direction of Neel Keller.

Continued from C1

that network with other organizations, you see a certain amount of growth and personal development,” she said. “But if we stay in these little, closeminded attitudes, there is no growth.”

In “Suspended,” the theater examines the relationship of two refugee window washers from Sierra Leone who focus on their work and have agreed not to discuss their past. Still, both are compelled to examine their situation on the opposite side of the glass from established business workers.

The story, written by Israeli playwright Maya Arad Yasur, aims to break down local assumptions about immigrants and immigrant cultures, Kennedy said.

DOLLAR

Continued from C1

will be local business leaders Marlon Whitfield, managing partner of Hawk Time, LLC, and Tishaura O. Jones, treasurer of the City of St. Louis. A networking after-party hosted by DJ Needles with Kyjuan and Murphy Lee will follow the panel.

The event is presented by Money + Music + Social, an events company mixing lively sounds, interactive conversation, and a focus on exchanging great ideas to improve lives.

“The economic disparity African Americans face is nothing new, but we decided to do something about it,” said Kevin Bryant, president of Conversions Global Marketing, who founded M+M+S alongside Marlon Whitfield.

“By creating this panel, we hope to galvanize people through financial inclusion and empowerment initiatives.”

Moderating the two-hour, interactive conversation will be Nicole Roach, associate

“It should make us look at our own lives, as privileged as they are,” Kennedy said One refugee, Benjamin, is dealing with questions of redemption after recently obtaining full immigrant status, said actor Phillip Dixon, who plays the character. Dixon, who has been acting professionally in St. Louis for more than five years, was drawn to the play for its timely depiction of immigration, which is a major talking point in current political discourse and a growing part of St. Louis’ identity.

The foreign-born population of the St. Louis area grew by about 9 percent from 2014 to 2015, according to census data collected in an American Community Survey. Dixon said the play reflects discussions prevalent in today’s society.

“If we have an opportunity to look into things deeper and

VP for Diversity at Webster University, and business expert Cedric Cobb. Guests are encouraged to mingle and exchange ideas afterwards, while the disc jockey fuels the room with positive vibrations.

Black residents are well aware of the economic disparity in the city. The median household income for African-American residents is $31,200, compared to $61,200

n

“White supremacy only respects the loss of inance and the loss of life.”

– David Banner

for their white counterparts, city data show. There are major contributors to this disparity, with a lack of education being a major factor.

“Even with all of the disparities between blacks and whites with regard to the money,” Banner said, “there is still hope to have the wealth

through someone else’s eyes, and to present that in a way that would bring interest and life and honor to someone else’s problems and struggles - that’s where art can really make a difference,” he said.

Even in a play defined by the two refugee characters’ occupation as window washers, there are moments of high emotion.

“Even in the dark moments, you know, there’s still hope in the end,” Dixon said. “There’s still an upside to it all.”

“Suspended” will run through Sunday, October 23 at the Kranzberg Arts Center in Grand Center.

For more information, visit http://kranzbergartscenter.org/ calendar/current-events/item/ upstream-theater-suspended or call (314) 669-6382.

Reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.

gap closed.”

Bryant and Whitfield hope the panel and future events will educate participants about business and life, from finances to relationships. This first panel will cover topics including: “How We Can Use Economic Power for Social Justice” and “Creating a Plan for Personal Financial Freedom.”

“Our inspiration for this panel is entrepreneurship that engages your unique personality and abilities,” Bryant said. “If we can inspire you to innovate and do something new with products, services, markets, or technology, then we think we have a chance of creating more owners and managers. This will alleviate the reliance on others to save our community from economic disparity.”

The St. Louis Economic Empowerment Panel Discussion will take place at 7 p.m. (6 p.m. doors) Sunday, October 23, at The LUX Theatre, 2619 Washington Ave., in downtown St. Louis. For ticket information, visit www.moneymusicsocial.com, call 314-266-8481 or The LUX Theatre at 314-371-4031.

The dream of white privilege in Kirkwood

By Clark Randall Guest columnist

On October 6, a white student at Kirkwood High School left his chemistry class after smearing charcoal on his face. Several black students approached the principal after recognizing the display as akin to blackface, an act in which white people perform racist stereotypes with their faces painted black.

St. Louis Public Radio reported that Principal Michael Havener defended the student, claiming he only meant to mimic a beard. Kiden Smith, a black freshman at Kirkwood, said in response, “Our principal did not know what blackface was and so we tried to explain it to him.”

After approaching the principal, the black students were met by a white school counselor, Cindy Ricks. According to the report, Ricks slammed her hands to the desk, demanding the students calm down with their accusations of racism. Kiden told the counselor, “I know for a fact this school has a lot of racist students.” The counselor responded, “No, this school doesn’t. Nothing like that happens here.”

The principal and counselor’s response echoes familiarly through the halls of Kirkwood’s history.

Kirkwood officials frequently have denied the existence of racism in their community, despite glaring lines of racial and economic segregation between Kirkwood and Meacham Park, an historically black community hemmed into Kirkwood by two major highways. The jarring segregation between Kirkwood and Meacham Park shares similarities to St. Louis’s more well-known Delmar Divide.

The white residents of

Kirkwood believe the small town to be a kind of utopia, separated from the problems of St. Louis. So whenever the accusation of racism arrives, Kirkwood officials and residents – with few exceptions – act as though race no longer exists within their community.

October 6 was the most recent rendition of this denial, but it is not hard to find others. In February 2008, Cookie Thornton – a resident of Meacham Park – entered Kirkwood City Hall and shot seven people, ultimately killing six, including the mayor, two city council members, two police officers and a reporter, before being shot to death by police.

Thornton had his own vested economic interests for his fight with Kirkwood government; he had accrued tens of thousands of dollars in citations after Meacham Park was annexed by Kirkwood in 1991. But he also represented a voice for his community and the plight imposed on Meacham Park as an isolated, exploited pocket of an affluent suburb.

In words with striking similarity to those of school counselor Cindy Ricks, Kirkwood’s Mayor Art McDonnell said in response to the shooting, “We really don’t have a racial problem.” John Hessel, Kirkwood city attorney at the time, told St. Louis Magazine, “I have never viewed this issue with [Cookie] as being a racial issue.”

The Department of Justice disagreed and stepped in to create a mediation team

to “minimize conflict and encourage communication between the two communities.” Leaders were appointed to forge a line of healing. Not long after, the president of the Meacham Park Neighborhood Association, Harriet Patton, quit. She told the St. Louis Beacon that Kirkwood leaders kept saying, “Kirkwood does not have a racial problem.” Patton continued, “The lack of awareness of white privilege is a dream come true in Kirkwood.”

One concern that came up in the mediation process was the lack of black teachers at Kirkwood High School. In a student body that was 26 percent black in 2008, there were only two black teachers. One was part-time, and neither taught core courses required to graduate.

The complaints made it to the superintendent, Tom Williams. In response, Kirkwood School District promised to make hiring black teachers a top priority at the high school. District wide, Kirkwood’s teaching staff is now 91 percent white and 7 percent black. These numbers closely mirror Kirkwood’s residential makeup. However, at the high school these numbers are lagging. Of 112 full time teachers at Kirkwood High School, only four (3.5 percent of faculty) identify as black.

As Kiden Smith told St. Louis Public Radio, “There aren’t very many teachers of color. The only teacher of color I have is my orchestra teacher. … For situations like this, we may not have many teachers to turn to.”

A recent graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, Clark Randall is an editorial intern for The St. Louis American.

Guest Columnist Clark Randall

Birthdays

Very special birthday wishes to Alberta LaMarque Squires, who will be 100 years old on October 29. Grandma, you have been a blessing and joy to so many. Thank you for sharing your faith, love and talents with us as you helped to mold the next generation. With love and admiration, The LaMarque-Squires Family

Happy Birthday to Elder McCoy on October 27 from your Kennerly Temple Family! May God bless you with many, many more birthdays! We love you.

Happy Birthday to Ann Miller on October 30! My godmother’s heart is a wondrous gift designed by God above, a beautiful expression of his everlasting love. Love ya! From your goddaughter, Cynthia Brown

Wishing my uncle Denny a Happy Birthday on October 29! You are a wonderful man of God and a great blessing to this family! Love, Tracy

Happy Birthday to my wonderful, smart nephew, Mitchell Harris, on October 27! I am proud of you! Love, Aunt Tracy

Reunions

Beaumont Class of 1967 will meet at the Natural Bridge County Library, 7606 Natural Bridge 63121 at 1:30 pm on Saturday, Nov. 19, and Dec. 17. Please update your contact info at Beaumontclassof67@ sbcglobal.net. We will be mailing info soon.

Beaumont High School,

Class of 1978 will celebrate its 40-year reunion in 2018. For further information, please contact: Marietta Shegog Shelby, 314-799-5296, madeshe@sbcglobal.net.

Central Visual and Performing Arts Class of 1996 will be hosting its 20th Year Anniversary Spooktacular Soiree Reunion Kickoff Event at Central Visual and Performing Arts Gym, 3125 S Kingshighway Blvd, on October 29 from 7:00 pm-11:30 pm, admission $20. For more information contact Dr. Miranda Avant-Elliott, at cvapclassof96@gmail.com or visit the VAP C/O of 1996 20th Yr Reunion Facebook page.

Celebrations

Sumner Class of 1965 is planning a “70th” Birthday Cruise for October 2017. If you’re interested and want to receive more information, please contact Luther Maufas (314) 541-4556, Brenda Smith Randall (314)382-1528, or Laura Young (314) 328-3512 with name, address so the info can be mailed to you.

Sumner Class of 1967 is planning its 50-year reunion and need contact information from those classmates. Please contact Carlotte Algee Stancil at algee1999@ yahoo.com; DonnaYoung Rycraw at donnarycraw@ aol.com or Stella Smith Hunt at stellalhunt58@sbcglobal. net, 314-381-5104 with email, address and phone number.

Vashon High School 90th Anniversary Celebration will be held at Renaissance Hotel Airport St. Louis, October 6-7, 2017. On October 5, 2017, there will be an Alumni Day at Vashon High School. Please save the dates.

Vashon Class of 1957 is having its 60-year reunion on May 20, 2017 at the Atrium at the rear of Christian N.E. Hospital on Dunn Road. Classes 1955-1959 are welcomed. For more information, please contact Lovely (Green) Deloch at 314867-1470, Marlene (Randall) Porter at 314-653-0107, Mae (Simmons) Mahone at 314653-0818 or Phyllis (Bolden) Washington at 314-531-9925.

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

Vashon Class of 1967 is planning its 50-year reunion and is need of contact information for all interested alumni. Please contact JoAnn Alvoid at alvoidjoe8@gmail. com; Sarah (Taylor) Robinson at srobinson647@hotmail. com; or Sonya (Walker) Smith at 314.381.8221, with your address, email and phone number.

St. Louis Community College needs your help identifying STLCC alumni. Alumni are encouraged to visit the website: www.stlcc.edu/foundation/, to become members or update information. For more information, contact Ashley Budde, coordinator of alumni relations, at abudde6@stlcc. edu, or 314-539-5145.

Alberta LaMarque Squires Elder McCoyAnn Miller

Denny

Mitchell Harris

The Village Church celebrates reopening after fire

Christ Church Cathedral names

Rev. Kinman’s

successor

American staff

This October, the members of The Village Church of St. Louis UMC (TVC) will celebrate the official return to our building at 8145 Page Ave. after the year-and-a-half, post-fire rebuild project.

On Sunday, October 23, at 3 p.m., TVC will celebrate its Grand Re-Opening with a festive worship and consecration service. They invite the community to help make this one of the greatest events in the life of this ministry by coming out and celebrating with them.

The guest Preacher will be The Reverend Kevin D. Anthony, executive pastor of St. John UCC Church (St. Louis). Featured guests include Lela Gardner-Rhema Dance Ministry, Karen Hylton, Saxophonist Rod Tate and the SIUE Gospel Choir. “Help us commemorate this historic day as we enter in with new vision, new strength and great victory,” organizers urged.

On December 27, 2013 at around 3:30 p.m., church members began to receive phone calls from pantry clients who live across the street from the church and other community members stating that “the church is on fire.” Families rushed to the church, and there were 12 fire trucks, four news stations, and police cars on the scene. People gathered from around Vinita Park, University City, Webster and various municipalities, watching and praying that the flames would cease and that no one would get hurt trying to save the church.

The devastation brought tears to the members’ eyes to see their ministry in flames, but all was not lost. As they stood there overwhelmed, the members of The

their ministry efforts upon reentry into our building. For more information about the Grand Re-Opening or on how you might lend your talents to this ministry, email tvcevents1@gmail.com.

Christ Church Cathedral names Rev. Kinman’s successor

Christ Church Cathedral, in downtown St. Louis, has called the Rev. Kathleen “Kathie” Adams-Shepherd, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Newtown, Connecticut, to be its new provost. The Rev. Adams-Shepherd’s selection as new clergy leader of the Cathedral was shared with its congregation on Sunday, October 9.

She will the 15th ordained clergy leader in the history of the Cathedral, which was founded in 1819 in downtown St. Louis.

Rev. Adams-Shepherd’s first official day at the Cathedral will be January 2, 2017. She is expected to preach her first sermon here on January 8. She will succeed the Rev. Michael Kinman, who answered a call to All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California, in June.

Village Church and pastors from other churches prayed with them, and they made plans to carry on the ministry, even though they did not have a building. Though this congregation was displaced by fire, they have preserved and remained a beacon of light in the community. Their need to worship and minister in unconventional ways has allowed them to broaden their praxis and practice of serving the community. As they rebuild, they are looking for partners to help to resume and expand

The Cathedral’s call to the Rev. Adams-Shepherd reflects its longstanding commitment to rich liturgy, social justice in downtown St. Louis and beyond, and mutual ministry with the congregation. Her experience, extraordinary pastoral gifts and passion for social justice were cited by the Cathedral search committee for her selection.

She has served as Trinity Episcopal Church’s rector since January 1996. She describes her liturgical style as collaborative, mutual, open, broad, creative and inclusive. Trinity Church has also been active in issues of social justice, including racial reconciliation, refugee resettlement and gun violence.

How many of you repent, but remain in a guilt-ridden state of mind because you really don’t believe God will forgive you? If there was ever a challenge of faith, I believe this is it.

Deep down inside, you can’t really live a life of spiritual freedom, because you have never thought God would really forgive you for all that sinning you used to do and sometimes miss doing even today. I bring this up because I believe you and I are dealing with another clever trick of the devil. If you really don’t believe you’ve been forgiven, you keep asking God to forgive you. If you keep asking for something that is already done, the mere prayer insults the God who took care of this for you.

Enter the devil. Since you cannot accept your own forgiveness, you cannot stand on the faith you profess in God. Hence, you cannot live the life God has cleared you to embark upon. That’s a hypocrite. Enter Jesus. He took care of that. You are forgiven. Your faith in Him allows you to accept that forgiveness and move on in freedom, which brings you courage for the testimony, your testimony that undoubtedly will help someone else. The ensuing behavior change in you lets the world know your faith is real. That’s a believer. Some might say that’s a soldier for the Lord. Any way you look at it, its basis rests in the belief of whom Jesus was, what He did, why He did it and who He did it for i.e. you and me and anybody who looks like us. Face it. You are forgiven; not because I say so, but because Christ says so. Deal with it please. With it comes a peace that defies understanding and a peace that surely will set you free.

It does not matter your degree of sin, your quantity or your perceived propensity to sin again. Christ did not and does not discriminate on that basis. Remember, you had nothing to do with this. God’s grace is what I’m talking about. That forgiveness thing should resonate in the soul when it collides with that grace thing.

It’s up to us, you and me, to accept it. And when we do, something wonderful happens. You begin to see yourself as God sees you. You begin to understand the beauty of salvation and oddly enough, you truly want others to understand this gift also. Your testimony takes shape and your words are then shaped around the blessing that is Jesus Christ. Reread Luke and the tears that washed the Savior’s feet.

“Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven, for she loved so much…” Luke 7:47. The answer to your being able to forgive yourself lies not within you but within the One who has already forgiven you.

Columnist James Washington

Rev. Michelle McClendon McGhee, lead pastor of The Village Church of St. Louis

Rev. Kathleen AdamsShepherd

Municipal Division Courts

CHILD

Municipal Division Courts Monitor II

CLERK

The Supreme Court of Missouri is accepting applications for a Municipal Division Courts Monitor II, Clerk. This highly responsible position will visit and observe municipal divisions of the circuit courts to evaluate their compliance with minimum operating standards and best practices as established by the Supreme Court of Missouri. Thorough knowledge of the operation of local and state court systems, especially Municipal divisions, is required.

Minimum qualifications: Bachelor’s Degree in business, public administration, or criminal justice and five years of experience in court related work. Preference will be given to candidates with certification in court administration through the Missouri Association for Court Administration, Missouri State University, the Missouri Court Management Institute, or the National Center for State Courts.

Salary commensurate upon experience.

If interested please send resume to municipalclerk@courts.mo.gov

Additional information can be found at courts.mo.gov under the careers link. Applications received by November 4, 2016 will receive preference, but applications may be considered until position is filled.

The Supreme Court of Missouri is an equal opportunity employer.

Supreme Court of Missouri Job Announcement EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Board of Law Examiners

MARKETING SPECIALIST

Definition of Work: The Board of Law Examiners is responsible for administering the Missouri bar examination and determining the character and fitness and the eligibility of all applicants seeking admission to the bar in Missouri. The Executive Director provides management and support for all aspects of the bar admission process, including oversight of the Board's office, budget and staff of ten. The Executive Director reports to the Supreme Court of Missouri, the clerk of the Court, and the Board of Law Examiners. Extensive independent judgment is required.

Salary/Benefits: Starting salary range $88,212 to $100,620 annually depending on experience and qualifications. This position is eligible for full benefits and leave accruals provided through the Board of Law Examiners.

Minimum Education and Experience Requirements: Candidates should possess a master's degree and five years of professional management experience. Alaw degree may be helpful in this position.

Application: Qualified candidates shall submit resumes and at least three professional references via e-mail to BOLEdirector@courts.mo.gov

Interested parties may refer to the judiciary web sitehttp://www.courts.mo.gov and clicking on “Careers” in the footer for additional details.

Applications accepted until position is filled. Preference given to applications received on or before November 18, 2016.

The Supreme Court of Missouri is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

SEALED BIDS

forExterior Lighting, Brick Facade & Tunnel Repairs, Various, Farmington Correctional Center, Farmington, Missouri, Project No. C1605-01 will bereceived by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 11/10/2016. Forspecific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo.gov/ facilities

SEALED BIDS

forFire Protection Systems, Northwest Regional Youth Center, Kansas City, Missouri, Project No. H1405-07 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 11/10/16. Forspecific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo.gov/ facilities

KCI CONSTRUCTION COMPANY

REQUESTS SUBCONTRACTPROPOSALS

FOR THE County Courts Project, Clayton, Mo, exterior window cleaning package.

PROPOSALS ARE DUE IN OUR OFFICE BY 4PM October 25,2016. PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS ARE AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING IN OUR OFFICES BY APPOINTMENTAT

KCI CONSTRUCTION COMPANY 105 S. Central STLOUIS MO 314-894-8888

KCI IS AN EQUALOPPORTUNITYEMPLOYER

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for Old State Road – ARS Infrastructure, St. Louis County Project No. AR-1475, will be received at the Office of the Director of Procurement for the County of St. Louis, County Government Center Administration Building, 41 South Central Avenue, 8th Floor,Clayton, Missouri 63105 until 2:00 p.m.on November2, 2016

Plans and specifications will be available on October10, 2016 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouisco.com), or by contacting County Blue Reprographics, Inc., 1449 Strassner Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63144, (314) 961-3800.

DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENTAND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES ST. LOUIS, COUNTY

INVITATION FOR BIDS

Sealed bids for Project No. 1276 “FY17

received by the City of

Department, 1st Floor, 6801 Delmar

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for North Hanley Road (C), St. Louis County Project No. AR-1474, will be received at the Office of the Director of Procurement for the County of St. Louis, County Government Center Administration Building, 41 South Central Avenue, 8th Floor, Clayton, Missouri 63105 until 2:00 p.m. on November2, 2016

Plans

Louis, Missouri 63144, (314) 961-3800.

DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES ST. LOUIS, COUNTY

CITYOFST. LOUIS

BOARD OFPUBLIC SERVICE

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS for PROFESSIONALENGINEERING, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, AND LAND SURVEYING SERVICES FOR RECREATIONALFIELD, STREET, AND TRAILIMPROVEMENTS – AVIATION FIELD

PHASE II & STABLE ROAD, CONCOURSE & CARR LANE (ROADWAY&CROSS PARK TRAILCONNECTION), FORESTPARK, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI. Statements of Qualifications due by 5:00 P.M., CT, OCTOBER 26, 2016 at Board of

Service, 1200 Market, Room 301 City Hall, St. Louis, MO 63103. RFQ may be obtained from website www.stl-bps.org, under On Line Plan Room –Plan Room, or call Board of Public Service at 314-622-3535. 25% MBE and 5% WBE participation goals.

ATTENTION

MBE/WBE FIRMS:

KAI Design & Build is having an Open House on Thursday, October 20, 4-6 pm for qualified MBE/WBE subcontractors and suppliers for subcontracting opportunities for two projects: Deaconess Foundation headquarters and Creve Coeur Park soccer complex. Opportunities include, but are not limited to, site demolition and monitoring, earthwork, irrigation system, plumbing, HVAC, fencing, landscaping, CIP concrete, masonry, structural steel, ornamental metal, carpentry, architectural woodwork, waterproofing, roofing, flashing and sheet metal, joint sealants, doors and frames, hardware, glazing, gypsum board, tile, acoustical ceiling, flooring, painting, display boards, wall and corner guards, signage, lockers, FPspecialties, toilet and bath accessories, food service equipment, window treatments, furniture, systems furniture, and elevators. RSVPfor the Open House to dhirson@kai-db.com

DOWNTOWN VENDING DISTRICT

The City of St. Louis pursuant to Ordinance 68603, is seeking vendors for the Downtown Vending District, which includes both streets and parks locations. The permits are for a three (3) year period from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2019. The minimum annual fee is $500. Vendors shall be selected based upon the criteria set forth in the Solicitation for Permit Applications, which may be obtained from the Parks Department at 5600 Clayton Avenue, 3140-289-5344, or the Department of Streets at 1900 Hampton Avenue, 314-647-3111, Sta. 1009 or downloaded from the City's website at http://stlouis-mo.gov/government/parks

The last day forfiling applications for the Vending District is Friday, November4, 2016.

To discuss opportunities, contact George Fujii at gfujii@kai-db.com or 314.753.3127.

NOTICE TO MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISES

Jay Dee / Frontier-Kemper JV, 38777 Schoolcraft Rd, Livonia, Michigan. Tel: 734-591-3400; Fax: 734-464-6868; Email: estimating@jaydee.us, is seeking certified Minority Business Enterprises (African American) for subcontracting opportunities for the following Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District project: Jefferson Barracks Tunnel (Lemay WWTP to Martigney PS) Contract Letting No. 11711-015.1

The bid date is November 1, 2016. Subcontracting opportunities may exist in the following areas: site development, tunneled sewers, excavation, backfill, hauling, structural concrete, asphalt and concrete paving, landscaping, mechanical, electrical, traffic control devices and services, material supply, provision of professional services, and other related work and activities.

Plans and specifications are available for free electronic download. Please go to www.stlmsd.com and look for a link to “Electronic Planroom”. Plans and specifications are also available for viewing or purchase at Cross Rhodes Reprographics located at 1710 Macklind Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110.

All interested and certified Minority Business Enterprises (African American) should contact John T. DiPonio, Estimator, to discuss potential subcontracting opportunities. All negotiations must be completed prior to the bid opening date. JAYDEE / FRONTIER-KEMPER JVIS AN EQUALOPPORTUNITYEMPLOYER.

SEALED BIDS

forHVAC Renovations, Center ForBehavioral Medicine & Kansas City Regional Office, Kansas City, Missouri, Project No. M1603-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 11/3/2016. Forspecific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

Trimming” will

in

MO 63130, until 10:00 A.M. CDTThursday, November3, 2016. The bids will then be opened in the presence of a City official, and the contract will be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, subject to confirmation by the City Council. A5% security in the form of cash,

INVITATION FOR BID

Dragados-USA, Inc. is requesting bids for the Jefferson Barracks Tunnel project located in St. Louis, Missouri. Project Description: The Jefferson Barracks Tunnel (Lemay WWTPto Martigney PS) Project Number 11711 consists of approximately 17,800 feet of 7-foot finished diameter tunnel. The ground cover over the tunnel alignment will vary in depth between approximately 95 feet and 210 feet. This sewer tunnel facility is located in St. Louis County within the Lemay WWTPService Area. The facility will collect, store and convey sewer flows to the Lemay WWTP. Dragados is looking for qualified MBE subcontractors and suppliers to assist with the following work items: Fencing, Electrical, Clear & Grub, Site Grading, Site Utilities, Drainage, Trucking, Concrete Supply, Aggregate Supply, Security, Drilled Shafts, Tie-Backs, Miscellaneous Metals, Metal Fabrication, Asphalt Paving, Steel Pile, Pre-Cast Concrete, Pipe Supply (D.I., S.S., P.V.C., R.T.R.C.), Rebar Supply, Rebar furnish & Install, Castin-Place Concrete, Demo, Traffic Control, Signage. To request plans and specifications, please email Arinda Cale. acale@dragados-usa.com Dragados-USA, Inc. will be present at the MSD Sponsored Diversity Opportunity Fair on October 5th, from 3:00-4:30pm. Location of the event is Moolah Shrine Facility, Ballroom, 12545 Fee Fee Rd. Maryland Heights, MO. There is no cost to attend the event, and team members will be present to discuss available subcontracting opportunities. There is a 17% MBE (African American) requirement for this project.

Dragados-USA, Inc. encourages Minority Owned Business Enterprises to participate in this project and hereby notifies all bidders that minority business enterprises will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation in consideration for an award.

INVITATION TO BID

S. M. Wilson & Co. is formally requesting bids Monday, October31st 2016 at 2 p.m. (CDT) for Creve CoeurCounty Park SoccerComplex. Bids may be emailed to Bids@smwilson.com (preferred method) or faxed to 314-644-2050.

This project consists of renovating 2 existing turf fields and adding 11 new turf fields, including associated site work. Project also includes natural grass fields, surface parking, restroom facilities, concessions, storage area, and future considerations for a management building, EMTareas, cooling stations, vendor village, championship stage, team gathering areas, and cricket pitch.

This project is a design-build project. The SeniorEstimatoron this project is Greg Kutz (314) 633-5791, greg.kutz@smwilson.com. Please contact Greg Kutz foradditional information.

St. Louis County has set participation goals that twenty (20) percent of all work on the contract be performed by certified minority business enterprises ("MBE") and that five (5) percent of all work on the contract be performed by certified woman business enterprises ("WBE")

S. M. Wilson & Co. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. S. M. Wilson strives to make our

MWBE PREBID MEETING NOTICE The SITE Improvement Association is hosting a Prebid meeting for Qualified and Certified MWBE contractors to discuss working on Rogers Lane #975 Storm Sewer Contract Letting No. 11119-015.1 The pre-bid meeting is being held on behalf of the following SITE contractor members: The meeting will take place at 10:00 a.m. October 26, 2016 SITE Improvement Association 2071 Exchange Drive, St. Charles, MO 63303 For questions regarding this prebid meeting, Contact the SITE Improvement Association office at 314/966-2950.

J.M. Marschuetz Construction 15 Truitt Drive Eureka, MO 63025 636/938-3600

Swag Snap of the week

A night to remember with Smokey, Ceddy (bear) and more. That’s right, the weekend has arrived for our own Cedric The Entertainer to return home for the worthiest of causes – his annual show that raises funds for the Rosetta Boyce Kyles Women’s Pavilion that will be housed at SSM. The 3rd Annual An Evening with Cedric The Entertainer and Friends will be happening this Saturday (Oct. 22) at Peabody Opera House featuring the incomparable Smokey Robinson. Look, I

wanted to see Aretha too…but it would be selfish of us all not to have her heal – and the doctor has the final say. Plus, we’re getting Smokey Robinson in her place. And he puts on a show. That “You Really Got a Hold On Me” voice is still intact! On top of that, you’ll get a chance to giggle with George Lopez, D.L. Hughley, Cedric himself and a few surprise guest. Y’all gonna be sorry if you miss it – not just for the good time, but the good cause you will be sowing into with the purchase of each ticket. Listen, Ceddy sells out shows around this country – how about we give him a sold out show that will contribute to his late mother smiling down because there will be a center in her honor helping women get exceptional healthcare right here at home. I’m just sayin’. Visit ticketmaster.com for more info. JR at HG. Does McDonald’s still make those mighty kids meals? If so, that’s how I would describe rapper JR’s party Friday night at HG – not quite full sized, but surprisingly filling. His little hit “Best Friend” wasn’t enough to have HG busting at the seams, but I would be lying if I said the medium sized crowd wasn’t all the way live. I also had the pleasure of running into Murphy Lee and Kyjuan as I was making my way towards the exit.

Kickin’ it with Keyshia Ka’oir. I was all ready to say that it was a great weekend to be the convenience mart Bey-Z with Kesyhia Ka’oir and her main mane (yes, I said mane) Gucci coming through for a two-night, two event power couple takeover. All did not end well thanks to some gun totin’ ratchet who refused to allow them to be great, but I I’ll get to that next. Ke-Ke had the Marquee on lean Friday night. It was definitely a good look as her matching cotton candy hair and lip game inspired the girls to follow suit. It quietly looked like a Halloween party dress rehearsal, but in the words of the self-proclaimed international “hot list celebrity” Andrew Caldwell “who are me to judge?”

Good news and tragedy for Gucci Mane’s Ambassador set. I was all prepared to scoff in the face of the folks who were saying something savage was going to go down at Gucci Mane’s comeback show in St. Louis Saturday night at The Ambassador. Sadly the naysayers get to say I told you so, but before we get into that let me tell y’all why I had already written a fantastic review in my head up until the final moments that resulted in tragedy. First of all, it seemed like no one was in the mood for any foolishness – their only objective was to turn up with Gucci. The lines were absolutely bananas, but there was not the least bit of static. Most of the men were checking out the ladies. And who could blame them? It was quietly looking like a silicone trade convention, but with clients only. I haven’t seen so many store bought curves in one place at one time in all my life – and in St. Louis. Who knew? We are slowly but surely giving Dr. 90210 and ‘nem a run for their money, buying tops and bottoms. And I must admit that only half of them were absurdly done. But back to the concert, there were a bunch of local rappers who took the stage before Gucci. He didn’t get on until way late – like well after midnight. Folks didn’t even seem mad. When the new and improved Gucci came out with his texturizer and newly svelte shape as he rapped to his tracks, the folks met him word for word. It was a full-fledged trap sing along and I was actually quietly enjoying myself before an inner voice told me to hit it. I didn’t understand why – because everything was going down in the best way imaginable. No sooner than I turned the corner, the sirens and the chaos popped off. The venue was prepared with all kinds of cops and security measures, but y’all know what happened after that. I want to send prayers to the family of the young man who passed away – and I know I’m asking for reason amongst the unreasonable, but think about the lives that are impacted when you get the urge to pull the trigger –and in a crowd no less. I don’t care what it was that went down, it was not enough to warrant gunfire, let alone the loss of a life.

Fall day parties dusted. When I tell you that the head-to-head day parties were the last thing on folks mind – in spite of the GORGEOUS weather – you had to see it to believe it. My first stop was Fused at BarBar Italia was kind of cute. But the Ciroc Mango release party at the Brewhouse in Ballpark Village was the biggest day party let down this season. They claimed that there were more than 1500 RSVPs, well 1375 of them must have said “you know what, never mind.” Hey, you win some and you lose some…I just hated to see the folks lose so badly.

A hot tip on a cool show. You’ve probably already heard by now, but when I was writing this it was an exclusive. Old School 95.5 FM and Metro PCS are teaming up to present Winter Jam 2016 on Thursday December 1 at The Fox. I had a ball at Spring Jam. I’m preparing to do the same in a couple of months, when Bobby Brown, Ginuwine, After 7, Jaheim and SWV take the stage. Now I know what you’re thinking – Jaheim is 0-3 when it comes to making concert appearances in St. Louis. But something tells me that he wants to show off his new hair game to everybody he can. Have you seen it? Here’s a hint: It looks like him and Yung Joc have the same stylist. But enough shade, tickets for the show go on sale Friday (Oct. 21).

Mo Spoon, Fred and Dj Mark Flava of Chicago kept the crowd grooving Sunday @ Ballpark Village

Kathy and Rebecca came to party with JR for his birthday Friday @ HG

Stephanie and Keysh slayed in all black Friday while partying with Keyshia Ka’oir @ The Marquee

Tiffany and Katrina said farewell to the weekend by enjoying the beautiful weather Sunday @ Ballpark Village

Marty, KK and Alexis came through to get a taste of the new Ciroc Mango Sunday @ Ballpark Village

Kim and Staci stopped through The OBar Sunday night

Kileia and Angel closed out their weekend Sunday @ The Fall Day Party @ Ballpark Village

Kay and Briana brought in the weekend @ HG Friday night

Taylor and Amanda were all smiles to see Gucci Mane Saturday @ The Ambassador

Tiara and Joelle

out

Rapper Gucci Mane got busy on stage for his show at The Ambassador Saturday night.

Photos by John Scott

Private Schools

From L.A. to STL

Ferguson brought Milton Mitchell back from California to lead City Academy

By Chris King

Of The St. Louis American

n Mitchell, 37, landed a major position in St. Louis city as principal of City Academy.

It was the unrest in Ferguson that made Milton Mitchell want to leave the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County and come back home. “After the Mike Brown situation, my heart went out to this community,” Mitchell said. “I didn’t realize how much I love St. Louis until I saw it hurting.” Mitchell, 37, landed a major position in St. Louis city as principal of City Academy, an independent elementary school co-founded in 1999 by Don Danforth III and Duncan Marshall at MathewsDickey Boy’s & Girl’s Club in North St. Louis (later moving across Penrose Street to its own pristine facility). But his home and family are much closer to the unrest. His maternal grandparents, Jerlene Wilkes and Desoto Wilkes, live in Ferguson, which made the situation “super personal.” His parents, the Rev. Milton Mitchell Sr. and Cathy Mitchell, live in Berkeley, which would experience a police-involved killing and protest before their son could get

back home. “They screamed,” he said, when they heard he was coming home to lead a school here.

Watching Ferguson from Los Angeles County, Mitchell said, “My heart always went

out to the kids, what they were experiencing and going through. What are the babies experiencing, feeling, seeing?”

Many of the City Academy students he would come home to lead were directly impact-

ed by the events in Ferguson, which spread to St. Louis. A slight majority of its students come from North County, from the Ferguson-Florissant (15 percent), Riverview Gardens (14 percent), Hazelwood (13

percent) and Normandy (9 percent) school districts, with the bulk of the rest (37 percent) coming from St. Louis. All of the

Nine schools coalesce for added support

North County Catholic Schools share resources to enhance physical education and fine arts for students

Since the 2010-11 school year, teachers from nine schools in North County have been gathering in Professional Learning Teams, a collaborative program of the Federation of Catholic Schools. Teachers of the same grade level and/ or subject area gather to share best practices and support one another in solving classroom challenges. In addition to proving the opportunity for teachers to share best practices and resources, this also provides an opportunity for community engagement. Some recent examples include partnerships with SSM Health – DePaul Hospital for the CatholicFIT program, and a curriculum partnership with Jazz St. Louis for music teachers, as well as an opportunity for students to see the live production “New Kid” by Metro Theater. For the third year SSM Health DePaul Hospital will sponsor the CatholicFIT program in the spring, where all 3rd and 6th grade students learn about the connection between faith and fitness in their P.E.

n New this year, music teachers at the nine schools will learn about the curriculum partnership offered by Jazz St. Louis.

classes. Fitness Trainer and Coach Dave Reddy, creator of the program, sees a strong connection between faith and fitness, between spiritual and physical health, and notes that elementary school is an ideal time for kids to start noticing and reflecting on this connection. “CatholicFIT is not about being super holy and/or super fit—it is about offering universal, values-based programs for our children so when they struggle in either area throughout life, they look back upon this experience for guidance and support,” says Reddy. New this year, music teachers at the nine schools will learn about the curriculum partnership offered by Jazz St. Louis. This education and outreach program will provide resources to teachers for incorporating Jazz into the school’s music curriculum. Music teachers will also have the opportunity to learn from Jazz artist Alvin Atkinson, who will lead a clinic for the teachers in January.

In November, the Federation

of Catholic Schools will host the production of “New Kid” by Metro Theater Company at two schools, with students from the

performance. The professionally produced show is a story of an immigrant family and the difficulties they encounter moving into a new community.

The nine Catholic elementary schools in North County that participate

Early FAFSA could

help more students go

to college Federal aid moved up three months

By Camille Phillips St. Louis Public Radio

For the irst time, high school seniors can apply for federal student aid at the same time they apply for college.

Instead of opening the Free Application for Federal Student Aid in January as usual, the U.S. Department of Education started accepting FAFSA Oct. 1 using last year’s tax returns. Local organizations working to boost the number of irst generation and low-income St. Louisans enrolled in college say the new timeline could be a game changer.

n Instead of opening the Free Application for Federal Student Aid in January as usual, the U.S. Department of Education started accepting FAFSA Oct. 1.

“What has happened in the past is that they apply in the fall or early winter, they’re admitted, and then they’re waiting, waiting, waiting for the inancial aid award; and when it comes the student has graduated high school or has pretty much settled on one institution he wants to attend, and the sad news of the inancial aid award may derail that dream, said Faith Sandler, executive director of the Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis.

“Hopefully by moving this process back we all have a better chance to help students not only to college but through college — so choose a college that is affordable and that is positioned to support them.” The idea is to get inancial aid packages in students’ hands earlier in the year, closer to the time they get their acceptance letters.

“If they get that information early, it’s likely that they can make a better and informed decision about what institution is going to be the most affordable and the best match for the student.”

In past years, students often didn’t ind out how much help they’d be getting to pay for college until the summer. Scrambling last minute for an affordable option is the main reason for the phenomenon known as summer melt, said St. Louis Graduates co-chair Alan Byrd. With help less readily available,and fewer options still open, as much as 40 percent of low-income high school seniors who say they’re going to college end up not enrolling come fall.

The coalition of organizations behind St. Louis Graduates started a summer counseling program four years ago to help reduce summer melt.

“We’re hoping that (accept-

Students from Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Catholic School

See MITCHELL, D5

Milton Mitchell, principal of City Academy, talks with students in the school’s library.

Photo by Wiley Price

Alexis Wright, first African American named to lead a major private school in STL

By Chris King

Of The St. Louis American

Alexis Wright, the new head of school at New City School, already has blazed a trail in St. Louis as the first African American to be named to lead a major private school in the region.

“It’s a distinction,” he told The American, “and it may make me stand out in St. Louis, but it’s not something I will think about all the time.”

At the moment Wright, who moved here from New York City, is thinking more about having an entire house for his family on a broad, safe street in the Central West End.

“The other day, I saw a priceless image,” he said after his first month in St. Louis: “my girls riding bikes down the middle of the street. Children don’t ride bikes down the middle of the street in New York. It was a magical moment.”

More space for his family and “a different pace of life,” he said, were major motivators for him to leave his position as dean of Children’s Programs and head of school at Bank Street College of Education in New York. But his new school had to be just right, not least of all because his own children (Morgan, 8, and Avery, 3) will become students there.

“New City stands for academic excellence and a commitment to diversity with a broad definition of diversity,” Wright said. “I knew I could see my children going there and it’s a place where I would be comfortable.”

As for academic excellence, 6th grade New City students score in the 92nd percentile for reading, the 97th percentile for math and the 94th percentile overall, compared to national averages on the Stanford

Achievement Test.

There are 48 faculty with a 7:1 student to teacher ratio.

Last year, nine graduates went to John Burroughs School, and nine also went to Crossroads College Prep, with the rest attending a mix of private, public and charter schools. The student body – currently, 320 students from age three to 6th grade – is composed of 42 percent students of color. Students come from 49 different zip codes throughout the city and county. The school provides need-based financial

n “New City stands for academic excellence and a commitment to diversity with a broad definition of diversity. I knew I could see my children going there and it’s a place where I would be comfortable.”

– Alexis Wright

aid for 39 percent of students.

(The current full tuition is $18,800.) The school’s total annual allotment of financial aid is $1.2 million, or approxi-

mately 15 percent of the operating budget.

“The school led the job search,” Wright said. “It just happened to be in St. Louis.”

During his job search, of course, the St. Louis region was forced into national focus by the Ferguson protest movement and subsequent reform efforts toward achieving greater racial equity in the region. That also attracted him.

“Now is a good time to be here,” he said. “There is an ascendancy. Post-Ferguson, this is a great opportunity.”

His leadership of an expensive private school does not limit his ability to make an impact on the wider community, he said.

“There is a misperception that independent schools are not necessarily part of the community,” Wright said. “There is work already being done at New City to help the children realize that their community is not just the school, but it’s much wider. And I have some ideas for how to ensure our kids define their community broadly.”

Brittany Packnett is one of countless change agents who studied at New City School as a child. She served on both the Ferguson Commission and President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing and recently accepted a promotion to a national vice president position at Teach For America that takes effect October 1. Currently she is executive director of Teach For America St. Louis and serves on the New City School board. Wright has diversity experiences of his own, starting long before he blazed a trail at St. Louis’ independent schools. Originally from New York City, he earned an undergraduate degree in Human Ecology from Rutgers University and a Masters in Marine Affairs and Policy from the University of Miami before getting involved with teaching children. “Just because of my course of study,” he said, “I was always one of the first, if not the only, African American.” He may have been the first African American named to lead a major private school in the St. Louis region, but he already is not the only one. This May, City Academy announced Milton Mitchell, a native of Kinloch, as its new principal. Wright and Mitchell actually started work at their respective schools on the same day, July 1.

Alexis Wright, the new head of school at New City School, speaks with students ?????? and >>>>>.

Photo by Wiley Price

Whitfield School recognized nationally for its exceptional college counseling Team

provides a student-centered, highly personalized approach

n “Every college counseling program intends to help kids gain admission to great schools, but our program focuses on what is personally the right school for each specific student and family.”

Whitfield School is recognized locally and nationally for its exceptional college counseling program. The dynamic team of Director of College Counseling Sara Ringe and Assistant Director of College Counseling Beth Wilner provide a student-centered, highly personalized approach that empowers students to reach their top choice schools in a low-stress way. “Our process differs from other schools in the extraordinary level of individualization, the curricular integration and an emphasis on empowering students to take ownership of their college search,” said Sara Ringe. “Every college counseling program intends to help kids gain admission to great schools, but our program focuses on what is personally the right school for each specific student and family.”

The individualization is a direct result of Whitfield’s school size, 410 students in grades 6-12 for the 2016-17 academic year. Because each counselor only works with 30-40 seniors each fall, Ringe

and Wilner are able to provide a level of service to students and families that larger schools cannot.

Whitfield’s Habits of Mind and Heart, the school’s approach to character education, is also integrated into the college counseling process. “I think we are unique in our

inclusion of mindfulness in our college counseling process,” said Beth Wilner. “Through learning about and practicing mindfulness, our students develop skills to more effectively deal with stress—in testing environments, in presentations, or in meetings with college representatives.”

National trends indicate students are increasing the number of college applications they submit each year but according to Ringe, Whitfield students apply on average to six or seven schools. “We would much rather that our students have a very purposeful approach and develop a list of schools that they like, can afford, and that their whole family is behind,” said Ringe. “We work hard to do everything we can to give each Whitfield senior a chance to get into their first choice school whether that’s an Ivy, a large public university, a small private college, a school located outside of the

or

United States,

any other variety of college that is right for them. Our goal is to help them select a place where they will continue to be happy, grow and be successful.”

Director of College Counseling

Sara Ringe with seniors Mark Wheeler and Madi Boone.

Cursive without curses: Teachers learn how to return handwriting to the classroom

By Dale Singer St. Louis Public Radio

When you think back on learning to write cursive, do you remember it fondly? Or do you recall smudged letters that didn’t look at all like the flawless classroom model, and how you never could get to stay within those pesky dotted lines?

Or maybe you never even learned it at all.

Fans of cursive think the time-honored means of expression does more than just result in pretty writing. And they want to help make sure children don’t miss out on its benefits.

As the beginning of the school year approached, about three dozen women — no men — gathered in a downtown St. Louis hotel room to hear how they could get young students prepared first for printing, then for cursive writing.

“We have to teach our children how to write so that they can express what they know,” said Paula Heinricher, an occupational therapist. She works with Handwriting Without Tears, the system that sponsored the two-day St. Louis workshop.

And, she added in an interview, once students make the transition from printing to cursive, their thought processes can become smoother as well.

“When we connect those letters,” Heinricher said, “and don’t have to lift our pencils for each and every individual letter like we have to do in print, the writing will just flow, and the writing will only flow in cursive also if we taught our children well, so they can also master cursive.”

When they do, she said, they can master better modes of thinking.

“Research has recently shown that when we physically write something,” Heinricher said, “taking pencil to paper, more things are happening in the brain, leading to better memory and better processing. That’s not seen when we are typing.

“Both have a place. It doesn’t become handwriting versus technology or keyboarding. I feel in our day and age that both have a very significant place. What we’re finding sometimes is that schools are choosing to teach one or the other or neither. And that’s where I think we are disadvantaging our students. Both need to be taught in order for our students and our children to become effective and productive members in our society.”

That road to efficiency and productivity could very well start in a conference room at the Holiday Inn Convention Center downtown. There, Cathy Van Haute of Handwriting Without Tears used songs, crayons and pieces of wood

– curved and straight – earlier this month to demonstrate how to introduce children to the printing that is the foundation for cursive.

One member of the group, Tamora Thies, an occupational therapist at the Ozarks Medical Center in West Plains, Missouri, had practical, educational and physiological reasons for keeping cursive in the curriculum.

Tamora Thies

“I’m an advocate for cursive writing,” Thies said, “because without it, we will have a generation that will not be able to read the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution in its original form.”

And, she added, mastering cursive writing will help them achieve other skills they’ll need to succeed.

“There’s a neurologic connection between being able to do a motor task and being able to do higher level executive functioning like planning and organization and scheduling and other executive tasks that are part of an adult’s life,” Thies said.

“As we take away more and more the fine motor components and the motor components of children’s requirements, we’re going to be taking away their ability to do that executive

Fans of cursive think the time-honored means of expression does more than just result in pretty writing. And they want to help make sure children don’t miss out on its benefits.

AID

Continued from A1

ing last year’s tax return) is a step in the right direction to where we won’t have as many students who have to change their plans in the late summer,” Byrd said. “We served 245 students this (past) summer. Many of them it was helping them ind option B. These were students who planned to leave the state for college or go to certain universities, but by the time they received their inancial aid packages and received their bills they realized they could not afford it.”

In addition to allowing students to receive their inancial aid packages sooner by accepting FAFSA earlier, Byrd said accepting last year’s tax returns means students can more easily meet award deadlines and get better inancial aid packages.

functioning in the future.”

Kathy Rebholz

“Children need to be able not just to do something on a computer,” she said. “There is a connection, I think, in the brain, if they’re actually doing stuff with paper and pencil versus doing stuff like on an iPad all the time.”

She recalled that when she interviewed for her first teaching job, the principal said she was hired, then left her alone to write out a letter to the parents of her future students.

After five minutes, Rebholz said, the principal returned and said the exercise was really a ruse.

“She came in and said, ‘I’m not going to really read what you wrote. I just wanted to check your handwriting.’

“I just thought that was the most powerful thing. It is a reflection on you. You are putting out what you are going to teach.”

Despite regularly expressed concerns that cursive is going the way of the floppy disk and the VCR, it is demonstrating remarkable staying power. Fans say it looks better and helps students with discipline and orderly thinking.

“If we had a student, for example on our campus last year, who either had issues doing the FAFSA or they didn’t get it done for some reason until April 10. That student would have missed out on the (state need-based) Access Missouri grant and they would have also missed out on our institutionally based grant, the UMSL grant. So that student would have lost upward of $3,000 in grant funding because they missed the priority deadline,” said Byrd, the dean of enrollment at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

But the earlier timeline does mean students need to apply now, said Sandler, because some priority deadlines are earlier.

“Waiting until the traditional starting point of Jan. 1 or not completing a FAFSA until later in the spring may truly disadvantage them in the inancial aid process,” Sandler said. “If the funds have been awarded or there are not suficient funds, you’ve missed that opportunity.”

CATHOLIC

Continued from A1

in the PLT program are: Blessed Teresa of Calcutta School, Christ Light of the Nations School, Our Lady of Guadalupe School, Sacred Heart School, St. Ann School – Normandy, St. Angela Merici School, St. Ferdinand School, St. Norbert and St. Rose Philippine Duchesne School. To learn more about the programs and goals of the Federation of Catholic Schools, or for application and enrollment information for any of the eight schools, please visit www.ExploreCatholicSchools.com.

school’s 188 students – uniquely among private elementary schools in Missouri – receive scholarship support.

“I felt I could make a difference, especially here, given City Academy’s intentional mission to take kids from the community I love dearly, no matter what barriers or obstacles, and propel them through to change their lives, families and, ultimately, communities,” Mitchell said. “Mr. Danforth established the mission and finds the resources, then lets educators do their job. It’s a pretty dynamic gig.”

Along with Alexis Wright, who started as head of school at New City School on the same day Mitchell started at City Academy, July 1, he is the first African American to lead a private, independent school in the St. Louis area.

Mitchell had not been at his new job a full week when Philando Castille, a St. Louis native, was killed by police during a routine traffic stop in a suburb of Minneapolis. Another wave of grief, anguish and rage swept through Black America, impacting the children, the babies.

“I sat in my office with the weight on me,” Mitchell said. “I didn’t realize how personal I would take my shepherding these kids.” His son, Benjamin Mitchell, 9, is one of the 188 students under his leadership.

“That’s an added weight,” Mitchell said. (His daughter Lea Mitchell, 12, attends Immanuel Lutheran Day School in Olivette.)

He knows that City Academy students, overwhelmingly African-American, are successful by any standard.

Ninety percent of its graduates have matriculated into the region’s most competitive private, independent secondary schools. Members of City Academy’s class of 2009 graduated from high school in 2015, and every single one of them was accepted to college, receiving significant financial

support.

But that does not protect them from the police.

“You can be educated, do everything right, dress appropriately, drive a nice car, but get pulled over by a police officer and have things go not so well,” Mitchell said. “How do we encourage these kids, but at the same time prepare them for society’s ills? That’s the struggle that keeps me up at night.” Mitchell himself grew up, safe and secure, in Kinloch, a community that has since been, he said, “flattened.” He went to elementary school at a Catholic school in Kinloch, Our Lady of the Angels, which was shuttered in 2002. The oldest black community incorporated in Missouri lost more than 80 percent of its population between

1990 and 2000, as a result of buyouts to expand the St. Louis airport. Mitchell, who was born in 1979, knew Kinloch on the cusp of the buyout.

“I knew every adult in my community, and they knew who I was,” Mitchell said. “I felt safe and protected. I was somebody.”

It helped that he grew up playing drums and saxophone in a neighborhood church founded by his grandfather, the Rev. John Mitchell Sr. It’s still there, St. John Missionary Baptist Church, now led by his aunt, Pastor Glenda MitchellMiles. His parents left Kinloch for Berkeley with their three children when Milton was 8.

“Our house was the only inhabited house on our street for a good year,” he said.

Mitchell graduated from McCluer High School in 1997 and started what became a surprising family tradition by matriculating at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. Mitchell was recruited when he visited campus at the invitation of a friend, Tracy Booth (now Dr. Tracy Heinz). The sight of flat corn fields dotted with ostrich and bison farms was all new to this son of majority-black ring suburbs, but a generous financial package helped him make the leap.

“There was a small number of students of color, but we bonded very quickly, and the university offered tremendous support,” Mitchell said. That was where he met his wife, now Angie Mitchell, and

where his younger siblings followed him. His brother Michael Musician is music director for Leslie Odom Jr. (of “Hamilton” fame) in New York, and his sister Madeline Mitchell is associate director of Client Services for George Washington University in the nation’s capital.

Milton Mitchell was recruited to DePauw by a black man, Rod Haywood, then associate director of admissions, who then helped him land a job on campus in the admissions office after graduation. That set him on the path to his career. In 2001 he left his alma mater to work in admissions at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, near where his wife grew up in the Los Angeles area. He trans-

Milton Mitchell, 37, landed a major position in St. Louis city as principal of City Academy.

ferred to multicultural student services, then looked elsewhere when Cal Tech started to make cuts. “Minority programs are always the first to go,” he said. He held administrative positions at two independent K-12 schools in the Los Angeles area, the Buckley School and Chadwick School, before deciding he was needed more at home.

“It’s an immense blessing to be back home,” Mitchell said, “in a role that allows me to make a direct impact on a place I love so much.” For more information on City Academy, 4175 N. Kingshighway Blvd., call 314-382-0085 or visitwww. CityAcademySchool.org.

Photo by Wiley Price

Central Christian School named one of the best in nation

U.S. Secretary of Education

John B. King, Jr. announced that Central Christian School in Clayton has been named a 2016 National Blue Ribbon School.

Central is one among 279 public and 50 private schools receiving this honor.

n Founded in 1957, Central Christian School educates children ages 3 through sixth grade through the lens of a Christian worldview.

Schools are nominated for the award by the state department of education, and then complete a comprehensive application about school practices. Schools may apply for status as Exemplary High Performing— among the top schools in a state—or Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing— schools making the fastest progress in the their state in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. Central was awarded for being Exemplary High Performing.

Founded in 1957, Central Christian School educates children ages 3 through sixth grade through the lens of a Christian worldview. Nearly 280 students come from 45 different zip codes and 65 churches. Widely identified as an academic competitor, Central has demonstrated a commitment to providing research-validated best practices within a nurturing, Gospel-centered community. Enrollment has grown 60% over the last decade, and 34% of the student are children of color. Central’s faculty

U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr. announced that Central Christian School in Clayton has been named a 2016 National Blue Ribbon School. Central is one among 279 public and 50 private schools receiving this honor.

is committed to educating a uniquely diverse group of students equitably, with purposeful excellence, to prepare them to engage a changing world for Jesus Christ.

“By God’s grace, we have been blessed with an amazing group of teachers here at Central,” shares John Murray, Head of School. “I am encouraged to see them receive national recognition for their passion for teaching and dedication to our students.” Head of School John Murray, along with Jennifer Whitmer (Director of Assessment) and Dana Scheidt (Director of Curriculum and

Instruction), will represent Central Christian School at a two-day awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., to celebrate their hard-won achievements. For more information about Central, please contact the