October 5th. 2017 Edition

ACLU claims aggressive policing continues

Claim police use chemical agents, Tasers illegally

By Jessica Karins and Kenya Vaughn

Of The St. Louis American

There was a crackle, a scream and then chaos in the final minutes that protestors marched through downtown Friday night.

“They got Cap,” a female protester yelled. “They electrocuted Cap. Come back y’all, they got Cap!” Cap is Calvin Kennedy – a familiar face among protestors since Ferguson. He is often seen on the frontline wearing a PEACEKEEPERS shirt.

“He wasn’t doing anything. They just electrocuted him,” she said. He was not killed by the Taser, only

Calvin “Cap” Kennedy – a familiar face among protestors since Ferguson – was tased by St. Louis police during a protest on Friday, September 29. Eyewitnesses claim it was unprovoked and continued though Kennedy did not offer resistance.

Protestor and Lost Voices co-founder Dontey Carter led demonstrators in a chant outside of Busch Stadium on Friday, September 29 following the drop of the Artivist banner that read “Stop Killing Us” during the third inning

Cardinals game.

Protestors canvass North side

Voter registration, job training take place of disruption

By

Instead of “shutting [expletive] down,” protestors took to the streets on Sunday, October 1 to build neighborhoods up.

“People have said since we’ve been out here that we don’t protest black-on-black crime,” said state Rep. Bruce Franks Jr. “This is us protesting black-on-black crime. The root cause of black-on-black crime is lack of jobs, education and resources.”

Dozens of those who have united to disrupt businesses and events in the region as a response to the not-guilty verdict of Jason Stockley in the 2011 shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith two weeks ago marched the neighborhoods of the North Side to uplift, encourage and educate. “The organizers decided that we would go to the economically distressed areas in our communities to provide

American strikes ‘Gold’ again Paper

wins Gold Cup from Missouri Press for fourth time in past five years

American staff

The St. Louis American won 37 awards, including the Gold Cup award for large weeklies, from Missouri Press Association in its 2017 Better Newspaper Contest. Awards were presented Saturday, September 28 at the association’s 151st annual convention in Springfield. This marks the fourth time in the past five years that The St. Louis American has won top honors among all large weeklies from the state press association. The American also took home first place honors for General Excellence, marking the seventh time the newspaper has won that award.

n “This publication has depth and breadth and passion. It shows throughout the whole product,” judges from the Michigan Press Association wrote of The American

Each year, a different state press associations judges the competition. This year, it was the Michigan Press Association.

“This publication has depth and breadth and passion. It shows throughout the whole product. Weekly newspapers are renowned for serving their communities and this newspaper does so with conviction,” judges from the Michigan Press Association wrote of The American

“There is great variety in story topics, wonderful, appropriate use and quality of photos, consistency and purpose in design, sections that matter, such as health and business, extensive sports coverage (especially local), appropriate ad placement and design, good headline style with major hedes and decks and subhedes.”

The American also received nine other first place awards: Community Service (Salute to

GOLD CUP, A6

North St. Louis resident Tony

and protester Michael

who canvassed the block to register voters, shared parting greetings after an impromptu political debate on Claxton in the Walnut Park neighborhood on Sunday, October 1.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Kenya Vaughn and Lawrence Bryant

Of The St. Louis American

Photo by Vincent Lang

of the St. Louis

Lost Voice at the barricade

Conrod

Hassell,

Photo by Vincent Lang

Is ‘RHOA’ snatching Kenya’s peach?

Last week, rumors swirled that Kenya Moore was refusing to film with her nemesis, Kim Zolciak her new husband, Marc Daly, “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”

According to Star Magazine Moore’s actions came with serious consequences.

“Kenya didn’t quit, but she is being disciplined and producers brought in Eva Marcelle as a supporting cast member in her absence,” an insider told Star Magazine.

“Producers are paying her a massive salary to share her authentic life with the viewers and she refuses to do so.

The insider also added that cameras were banned from her June wedding to

Marc Daly.

“She will be fined by not getting paid for the trip episodes,” the insider said after reports surfaced that she was kicked off the Barcelona cast vacation.

“She is going to be phased out of the show.”

Kordell Stewart said to be suing Funky Dineva

According to TMZ, Kordell Stewart is back in court to clear his name. He recently sued St. Louis native and internet sensation Andrew Caldwell, accusing him of spreading false rumors about his sexuality. This time, he is reportedly suing Quentin “Funky Dineva” Latham, the blogger he claims snatched a nude video and posted it online.

Stewart is suing Latham for a December 2016 post that included video of a partiallynaked Stewart. In the docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, Stewart

also accuses Latham of creating a fake email account – which he used to make it seem like the video had been exchanged between Kordell and another man.

According to the docs, Latham also posted a story claiming Kordell intended to marry Tyler Perry.

Stewart initially claimed his ex, Porsha Williams from ‘Real Housewives,’ had jacked the video from him and submitted it to the blog.

Booby Gibson clears up custody and spousal support claims

Last month, R&B singer Keyshia Cole filed for divorce from her husband, former NBA player Daniel “Booby” Gibson, after six years of marriage. When popular urban celebrity gossip site The Jasmine Brand said that Gibson was filing for spousal support and custody, attorneys for Gibson had this to say in response: “Mr. Gibson wishes to clarify that he is not actively seeking spousal support and full custody. Mr. Gibson submitted a full settlement proposal to Ms. Cole some time ago, which

excludes spousal support and includes a shared custodial plan for their son. The document in question (i.e. Mr. Gibson’s Response to the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage) is what we in the family law sector call inclusive. This means that a party will always file or respond in a way that gives them the best possible outcome in the event the case goes to trial, as it is much more difficult, time-consuming, and costly for the client to go back and amend a filing to ask for something that was not originally requested. Attorneys who are well-versed in Family Law are aware of this and almost always counsel their clients to file as such with the full understanding that a resolution is typically reached that is acceptable to both parties, particularly in a case like this, where the parties are on amicable terms. It is regretful that this document has been publicized and is now subject to scrutiny by individuals unfamiliar with standard family law practices. Mr. Gibson hopes to resolve this matter with Ms. Cole as soon as possible in a way that will allow them to move forward amicably and continue their cooperative co-parenting efforts.”

Sources: TMZ.com, The Jasmine Brand, Star Magazine

Kenya Moore

Boobie Gibson

Funky Dineva

College School introduces Witnessing Whiteness program

‘In order for us to dismantle racism, white folks have to change’

By Jessica Karins For The St. Louis American

As children in prekindergarten take out their crayons to color, teachers at the College School make sure to point out a few specific shades, ranging from beige to brown. They want to make sure their youngest students understand that any of these can be the skin colors of figures in their drawings.

Kids have already noticed these differences, according to Vincent Flewellyn, the director of Equality and Inclusion at the College School. It is up to educators to make sure they can address them in the best way.

It’s part of the school’s approach to addressing race at every educational level, a goal the school also extends to its teachers and administrators.

Many employees at the College School are participating in a program called Witnessing Whiteness, a discussion group designed to help white people rethink how they see and talk about race.

The program, facilitated by the YWCA, provides a

forum for white people to educate other white people, and themselves, about race. It is based on the book “Witnessing Whiteness” by Shelly Tochluk.

Most Witnessing Whiteness programs are held in community spaces, not in schools, but the College School is taking a direct approach to making sure its teachers eliminate the unconscious biases that often affect education. The group is voluntary and meets after school for a 10-week period, but despite this extra commitment, nearly half of the school’s staff has signed up.

Flewellen said he noticed after the Ferguson protests began in St. Louis that many people felt like there was nothing they could do and they were not equipped to have conversations about race. At the school, he helped introduce Witnessing Whiteness as a way to address that.

“I think they saw participating in this as the first step in understanding and unpacking some of their own biases about race,” Flewellen said.

“As a person of color, it gets exhausting at times trying to help folks who are wellintentioned.”

Jaclyn Stewart-Strothmann, the director of Institutional Advancement at the College School, said the program has helped her and other white faculty members become more aware of others’ perspective on race.

“Maybe a student of color

staff learn the same lessons they are trying to teach their students: how to empathize with others and have productive conversations about important topics.

The majority of the College School is white, with 26 percent of students identified as racial minorities. However, Flewellen said this does not make it any less important for the school to work for anti-

n “As a person of color, it gets exhausting at times trying to help folks who are well-intentioned.”

– Vincent Flewellyn

not so well-represented in most spaces for them.”

Flewellen said it is also important for white students to learn about race from an early age so they are able to think critically about inequality in the world around them.

“In order for us to dismantle racism, white folks have to change,” Flewellen said.

Kate Polokonis, a parent with two children at the College School, also participates in a Witnessing Whiteness program. She said it is important to her that her children’s school prioritizes racial equality and the leadership at the College School makes a significant difference.

“They are people who keep justice in mind,” Polokonis said.

racism.

might need something different from their white counterpart,”

Stewart-Strothmann said.

“We’ve started talking about what support structures we have within our community that help people get what they need to be successful.”

Stewart-Strothmann said the program helps faculty and

“Equity and inclusion are key components for us here, but we also don’t have students of color in large numbers here,” Flewellen said. “I want our faculty and staff to then understand what it must be like for those students of color to be a part of a population that is

The College School is an independent school that often enrolls students whose families come to them looking for an alternative to public schools.

The administrators hope introducing more programs dealing with racism and other social issues will help attract a more diverse student body, as well as addressing concerns which are important to all families.

For example, Flewellen said, addressing what was happening in St. Louis after the verdict in the Jason Stockley case was released was a concern for students of all races.

“What’s been surprising to me is the number of white families who come through our admissions office and ask what are we doing around equity and inclusion issues, because those are important to them,” Flewellen said.

Founded in 1963, the College School was originally a project of what is now Webster University, with the partial goal of implementing new, experimental teaching methods. Flewellen said the school’s independent status and historically progressive approach to education has allowed them to implement programs like Witnessing Whiteness. The approach, he said, should be more widely adopted.

“I don’t understand why we can’t, as educators, really move to having these conversations,” Flewellen said. “It’s almost irresponsible.”

Jessica Karins is an editorial intern for the American from Webster University.

Vincent Flewellen is director of Equity and Inclusion at The College School.

Photo by The College School

Speech for Mayor Krewson to give on police management

I have reviewed several lawsuits filed against the City of St. Louis for police behavior, both during ongoing protests of police unaccountability and protests of a police-civilian killing before I was elected mayor. I have reviewed a substantial amount of documentary evidence, and decided that constitutional protections and good governance mindful of long-term public safety compel me to contact counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri and personal litigants and call for a settlement conference.

Further, in light of doubts raised about my own accountability, after I canceled a series of town hall meetings precisely when these matters of constitutional protections and government accountability were urgently before the public, I hereby invite the public to join us in that settlement conference. In advance of that settlement conference, if it is granted, I want to publicly establish the City of St. Louis’ position under my administration on the role of the police in our government.

The role of the police is to patrol the city and investigate apparent or reported incidents of criminal activity. It is dangerous to interfere with some criminal activity, and we expect our police officers to defend the public and themselves from imminent threat. It is understandable that sometimes a police officer’s duty-bound elimination of a legitimate public threat ends in injury or loss of life for the suspect. However, let me be clear. And I have lined up with me today many other people from the City of St. Louis. See them standing all around? I invited every citywide elected official, as well as the senior leadership of the police department and my senior staff. They are standing with me today to make this public declaration that our institutions belong to us, no one can take them away from us,

and we can and do demand that they change.

To be very clear: The police do not have any punitive role in our government. Other than defending against an imminent legitimate threat, police are duty-bound to use minimum necessary force and maximum personal respect when getting the attention of a civilian, interviewing a suspect, or taking a suspect into custody. The police are not authorized to hurt or punish anyone except in legitimate defense of the public or themselves. So, if you are a police officer because you think that means you get to hurt people, you need to get out now.

If you think aggravation at a protestor – perhaps even someone who has been exercising his freedom of speech to say quite hateful things to your face – means you get to spray that person in the face with chemical munitions, you need to get out now.

If you think aggravation at a protestor or any suspect means you get to Tase them to make them hurt, you need to get out now.

If you think that when a suspect makes you chase him that means you get to exact a “foot tax” – a beatdown – when

you catch him, you need to get out now.

If you think being a police officer means you get to kill people with impunity, even when they pose no imminent threat to you or the public, you need to get out now.

And, now, I want you all to get out your cellphones and make a video of this next statement so you can be very sure where I stand on this: Our government offers police protection equally to all people. If you think people of any race, gender, sexual orientation, or creed deserve more or less respect and protection from the police than any other people, you need to get out now.

I am speaking to everyone in my administration and this police department when I say: If you think the police have any punitive role in our government or that any people deserve any more or less respect or protection from the police than any other people, you need to get out now.

Inspired by remarks made by U.S. Air Force Lt. General Jay Silveria, superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy, on September 28, in response to racial slurs written outside the dorm rooms of five black cadets.

Tragically, the carnage will continue

We will never know why. We already know how, but we don’t care about that. And we know, beyond the slightest doubt, that it will happen again. There can be no rational motive for mass murder, which means that asking why Stephen Paddock turned the Las Vegas Strip into a killing zone is ultimately a futile exercise. He may have had nominal or imagined reasons for his homicidal anger. But nothing can really explain the decision to spray thousands of concert-goers with automatic weapons fire, killing at least 58 and injuring hundreds more. The attack wasn’t terrorism, authorities quickly said. Would someone please explain to me how that works? Are friends and family members of the dead supposed to feel one way if the murderer yells “God is great” in Arabic, and another way if he doesn’t?

Investigators and reporters will now sift through Paddock’s life for signs of chronic mental illness or sudden psychological deterioration. But what will that search tell us except the obvious? Of course, Paddock was disturbed.

What we do know about Paddock, 64, is that he lived in the nearby town of Mesquite and often came to the Strip to gamble and attend country music shows. We also know, according to Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo, that Paddock brought more than 10 firearms to his room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

So the “how” of this tragedy

is simple: Our nation is flooded with guns, and the constitutionally protected right to “keep and bear arms” – established in the age of single-shot blunderbusses and muskets – has been deemed to include militarystyle semiautomatic assault rifles and other high-powered weapons.

Sound from cellphone videos taken during the Las Vegas massacre clearly indicates that Paddock was using a fully automatic rifle – meaning that squeezing and holding the trigger unleashed a long, continuous burst of gunfire. Such machine guns were supposedly outlawed in 1986, but there are two huge loopholes: In some states, it is legal to buy and sell machine guns that were made before 1986; and internet merchants sell kits that convert semiautomatic rifles into fully automatic killing machines.

No deer hunter or targetshooting enthusiast needs a weapon intended for war zones. But if the Newtown, Connecticut, massacre of 6-year-olds and 7-year-olds didn’t even lead to universal background checks for gun purchasers, let alone a ban on assault weapons, I don’t see why anyone should believe things will be different this time around.

The Supreme Court has stated explicitly that reasonable

As I See It -

A Forum for Community Issues

White privilege is a chronic condition

By Mike Jones Columnist

The proverb says, “With all thy getting, get understanding.”

Understanding is the ability to perceive and discern a situation. Webster says it’s the power to make experience intelligible by applying concepts and categories.

Guest Columnist

Mike Jones

A critically important component in understanding is making sure the premise on which your understanding rests is correct. If the premise of your understanding is wrong, every action that flows from that misunderstanding will lead to failure and frustration. The correct understanding leads to correct action that produces satisfactory results.

Let’s use medicine as an example. If a doctor gets a diagnosis wrong, meaning he or she misunderstands what’s wrong with the patient, they will recommend a course of treatment that will not successfully address whatever ails you. When the diagnosis is correct, the proposed course of treatment can have a high probability of success.

The commentary by Jason Q. Purnell in last week’s St. Louis American captured the fundamental assumption of black life in America and provided the necessary premise for the understanding on which

all our political strategies and tactics must rest.

Jason described the clinical nature of the racism that’s a permanent part of the American character and the long-term or chronic nature of that racism.

His referencing of two black intellectual giants, W.E.B. DuBois (“The Souls of Black Folks”) and James Baldwin (“The Fire Next Time”) speaks to the historical context and the emotional angst of black life and lives in America.

What does this have to do with black politics in St. Louis or America? Effective political strategy depends upon a proper understanding of who or what is the adversary and under what conditions that adversary will be engaged.

gun-control measures are permissible under the Constitution.

But can you imagine this Congress and this president doing the right thing?

But even if I could snap my fingers and change the law, there would still be an estimated 300 million guns in the United States – roughly one per person. Which means that the quotidian carnage would continue.

If the Las Vegas killings had not happened, nearly 100 people around the country would have been killed by firearms that day. About two-thirds of those deaths would have been suicides; nearly all the rest, homicides – about 12,000 a year. We have become emotionally and intellectually numb to this appalling toll.

A mass shooting or a terrorist rampage, on the other hand, rivets the nation. Television networks shift into continuous “breaking news” coverage. Newspapers rush to profile the shooter, then the victims. The president makes a statement expressing the nation’s grief. Gun-rights advocates pre-emptively declare that this is not the time to talk about gun control, accusing anyone who does of politicizing tragedy. Gun-control proponents ask: If not now, then when?

Everyone agrees we should do something about mental health, but we end up doing nothing. A long series of sad funerals ends the ritual.

We go back to our routines as if there won’t be a next time. But there will. And we all know it.

What does County NAACP say about Galleria arrests?

I don’t know why the St Louis County NAACP is missing on the issue with the situation with the arrests at the Galleria on Saturday. John Gaskin and the St Louis County NAACP with Lt. Col. Troy Doyle held a forum in St Louis City about the Jason Stockley verdict even though that was a St Louis City issue. I’m guessing that John Gaskin and the St Louis County NAACP is missing on the arrests at the Galleria since everyone in the black community knows that John Gaskin is employed by County Executive Steve Stenger and is paid not to speak out against the St Louis County Police Department and County Executive Steve Stenger on the arrests at the Galleria. The ACLU has put out numerous statements about the arrests at the Galleria. I hope your newspaper prints this as a letter to the editor. Thanks.

Patrice Davis

Independent investigations needed in City and County on alleged police abuse of protestors

We congratulate St. Louis City Mayor Lyda Krewson and St. Louis Metropolitan Police Acting Chief Lawrence O’Toole for agreeing to an independent investigation of St. Louis City police abuses during protests against the Stockley verdict. This contrasts with the silence from the St. Louis County Council and St. Louis County Police Department, as well as the Richmond Heights government and their police force.Lawlessness and violence by police erodes trust in our system.

So we continue to demand St. Louis County and

n Our adversary –existential enemy, really – is white privilege and the racism that’s its rationale.

For black Americans, our adversary is not right-wing Republicans, the Klan or any other assorted nut cases we waste too much time focused on. Our adversary – existential enemy, really – is white privilege and the racism that is its rationale.

Jason refers to the disease of racism and its seemingly intractable nature as part of the American cultural DNA. Given that, you could say racism is a chronic disease or condition. Whether you consider racism

Letters to the editor

Richmond Heights government appoint an independent commission to investigate the police riot at the St. Louis Galleria Mall on Saturday, September 23, 2017.

The elected officials, faith and civil rights leaders listed below issued a formal request Tuesday evening, September 26 to St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger and the St. Louis County Council during public testimony at their regular council meeting. There are too many questions and the public deserves answers.

a disease or white privilege a condition, like anything that’s chronic, they are not going any place soon, if ever. This is fundamental to understanding what it means to be black in America. White privilege will not be defeated by affirmative action, inclusion, integration, civil rights or voting rights. These are all important battles in our war against white privilege, but they didn’t defeat the enemy. They are gains that must be defended because white privilege gives ground, but it doesn’t give up. It regroups and counterattacks. It always has: Jim Crow was the counter-attack to Reconstruction. We must resist the notion that America has changed because America is changing, that someday in the not-toodistant future we will prevail over white privilege. If we could spare our children the burden of this war we would, but we can’t. So our responsibility is to ensure they are prepared to continue this struggle that’s their inheritance. Wycliffe Jean reminds us, “Though your load may be heavy, it’s the weight that makes you strong.” How do we ensure they’re ready to carry this load, the weight of being black in America? It begins by giving them a correct understanding of the assumptions of black life in America, and this is why what Jason Purnell had to say needs to be heard.

Mike Jones is a member of the St. Louis American editorial board and the State Board of Education.

U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay; State Rep. Tommie Pierson Jr.; State Rep. Allan Green; State Rep. Cora Faith Walker; State Rep. Alan Gray; State Rep. Jay Mosley; State Rep. Joe Adams; State Rep. Stacey Newman; State Rep. Deb Lavender; St. Louis County Councilwoman Rochelle Walton Gray; Rev. Karen Anderson, Ward Chapel AME Church; Rabbi Shulamit Cenker; Dr. James Croft, Ethical Society of St. Louis; Rabbi Randy Fleisher, Central Reform Congregation; Rabbi Andrea Goldstein, Congregation Shaare Emeth; Rev. Cassandra Gould, Missouri Faith Voices; Rabbi Justin Kerber; Rabbi Tracy Nathan; Rev. Rebecca Ragland, Deaconess Anne House; Rabbi Dale Schreiber; Rev. Steven Shepard, St. Peters AME Church; Rev. Clinton Stancil, Wayman AME Church; Rabbi Susan Talve, Central Reform Congregation; and Rod Chapel, President, Missouri State Conference of the NAACP.

Columnist Eugene Robinson

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

St. Louis Police Sgt. Brian Rossomanno unleashed chemical munitions on protestors during a demonstration in St. Louis on September 15.

St. Louis Teen Talent Competition applications open

Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation is accepting applications for the 8th Annual St. Louis Teen Talent Competition through December 1. Contestants must be enrolled in the 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th grade in the 2017-2018 school year and must attend a high school/home school within a 50-mile radius from the Arch in all directions. The contest follows a competition format with students vying for more than $30,000 in college scholarships, cash awards, and prizes as well as performance opportunities while showcasing talented teens who excel in performing arts.

Registration is free and open online for all high school students in the St. Louis metropolitan area at www.foxpacf.org/teen-talent-showcase.aspx.

St. Louis’ foreign-born population is increasing

According to the latest American Community Survey report by the St. Louis Mosaic Project, St. Louis is the second-fastest growing metro for the foreign-born population out of the nation’s largest metros. An increase of 5,015 foreign-born residents during 2016 highlights the region’s second consecutive year of growth.

The foreign-born population of St. Louis metropolitan statistical area (MSA) grew by 4.3 percent in 2016. Additionally, the increase in foreignborn relocation offsets domestic emigration from the region between 2015 and 2016. The State of Missouri also experienced an increase of 6,441 foreign-born residents in 2016.

For more information about The St. Louis Mosaic Project, visit www.STLMosaicProject.org.

Brothers of the blacklist

By Jamala Rogers

“We’re all equal under the law. I was completely duped by that. I thought that was the deal. Then all of a sudden, I look around and it ain’t. It is not the deal. It is you and it’s us.”

Those were the words of disillusionment spoken by Edward “Bo” Whaley, an African-American professor and counselor at a meeting in 1992 with university officials at State University of New York at Oneonta. Whaley, who worked tirelessly to support his “kids,” had seen the line drawn in the upstate New York town with a racist dragnet of the black, male students on campus after an attempted rape off campus. The incident on September 4, 1992 spurred the longest litigated civil rights case in U.S. history.

I vaguely remember hearing about the case back then. The DVD called out to me when I was at the Julia Davis Library recently.

Sean Gallagher, the filmmaker and a 2008 Oneonta graduate, was a junior before he heard about the incident. The college had methodically tried to whitewash this ugly history. The young Gallagher did a class project on the incident and later turned it into a documentary.

During the Labor Day weekend 25 years ago, the black, male students of SUNY Oneonta were systematically pulled out of their beds, confronted on public busses and rounded up at sports practices. They were forced to show their hands to police. If they questioned the command or refused to cooperate, they were threatened with arrest. School officials had generated a list of all the black, male students on campus and their residences – all 125 of them – and turned the list over to the Oneonta police.

The racist round-up stemmed from the attempted rape of elderly white women who fought with her knife-wielding attacker and somehow made him cut his hands on the knife. The victim told police all she saw was a black arm. Trained dogs were brought to the scene to pick up the scent of a young, black male that police claim went in the direction of the campus. It was later found out that the victim never said her attacker was young. It was also revealed that the dog handlers stated that the scent of the perpetrator went in the opposite direction of the Oneonta campus. This hunt was all the racially biased machinations of the all-white police force. The victim even criticized the police for their actions and public stated that she also believed the students’ rights had been violated.

I shuddered to think what would’ve happened had one of the young men accidentally cut himself on that fateful day when cops were conducting forced examination of black hands.

Through interviews with students, faculty, and townspeople, Gallagher illuminates the racial divisions, the scars of trauma on black students and faculty and the indifference of white institutions including the courts.

The beauty of the documentary is the tenacity of the students and their parents along with the solidarity of white students (clearly not all). The victimized students created the Brothers of the Black List and spent 14 years trying to get justice in the U.S. courts, not for themselves but for the next generations of Oneonta students of color. Their pro bono attorney estimated that the case cost his firm an estimated $1.5 million.

Over time, memories and evidence of the largest case of racial profiling were erased by the university. At the 20th anniversary commemoration, a plaque was made that didn’t even include the word “black.” By then, it was merely a list. No university official every owned up to their complicity in the ordeal and none of them ever apologized.

Jamala Rogers

Protesters marched silently down Market Street on Monday, September 25 with blue tape covering their mouths in a direct action with the theme “Blue silence is violence.”

White silence = violence

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

NORTH SIDE

Continued from A1

resources – to talk about voter registration, to talk about the services provided by SLATE and other organizations,” Franks said. “We thought it was time to canvass these neighborhoods to provide resources, not just when it’s time to vote.”

Groups were assigned blocks from the vicinity of Wohl near Natural Bridge and Kingshighway all the way to Walnut Park. They passed out programs and services directory booklets from the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. SLATE was on hand to recruit people for job training.

Newly appointed SLATE director Alice Prince took her team of employees, and her daughter, through blocks surrounding Lillian and Arlington in Walnut Park.

“Is there anyone that you know that is out of a job or looking for another one?” Prince shouted through one door. A woman cautiously opened.

“That’s all we are doing right now,” Prince said, “walking the streets offering employment opportunities and educational opportunities.”

As they completed the block of Claxton, they crossed paths with another group registering individuals to vote. Residents already outside were much more receptive. Gina Payne sat on a porch

GOLD CUP

Continued from A1

with three other gentlemen sipping beer and enjoying the lovely weather. She was genuinely moved by the gesture.

“We just thank y’all for coming out here to talk to us to get the word out about everything,” Payne said. “For real. Thank you so much for coming. Can y’all pray for me?”

“Give me a hug, Mother,” Michael Hassell said to Payne, reaching out to her for an embrace. “We are going to pray for you – not only are we going to pray for you, but we are going to do for you.”

After the tender moment, Hassell went back to his original mission of getting people to register to vote.

“I don’t want to register to vote, because then I’ll have to do jury duty,” a man on the porch said. “I can’t stand doing jury duty.”

“Let me tell you something about jury duty,” Hassell responded. “The reason why we need to go to jury duty is because they keep locking up brothers like us.”

The man nodded.

“Can I get a registration slip, please?” Hassell yelled across the street to the SLATE group.

He was just as fired up and full of energy as he is during direct actions.

“I was trying to talk to the brother from down the street, but he wasn’t feeling me at first,” Hassell said. “Once he heard my perspective and where I was coming from, he was like, ‘Yeah, that’s

Excellence), Best News Story (Rebecca Rivas, “Was it suicide by hanging or not?”), Best Coverage of Government (NGA in St. Louis series), Best News Photo (Lawrence Bryant, “Mike in Memoriam”), Best Headline Writing, Best Columnist – Serious (Mike Jones), Best Story About History (Chris King “Lewis & Ebo Share Battle Scars”), Best Sports Columnist (Alvin A. Reid), Best Sports Pages, Best Photo Package (Lawrence Bryant, “Salute to Fashion”), Best Video (Rebecca Rivas), Best News or Feature Special Section (Diversity, A Business Imperative), and the Tilghman Cloud Memorial Editorial Award (“Chancellor gets in way of gun violence”).

right’ That’s what we’ve got to do. By the time I got done talking with him, he said, ‘I’m registered to vote. I’m ready to vote today if I have to.’”

A woman named Rachel Young, who was sitting in a van nearby, joined in the conversation. She proudly told Hassell that voting is a family affair in the Young household.

“My sons are 28 and 29 years old. We all go right up to that school and vote for every primary and every election,” Young said. “Ever since they were 18, I made them go. My husband has been a city worker for almost 30 years, and we all go together.”

As Hassell wooed prospective voters, Prince was

Four-yearold Daniel helped Tiffany and other demonstrators register voters like Robert White on Claxton, near Lillian and Arlington, on Sunday, October 1. Protestors canvassed several neighborhoods in North St. Louis to offer resources to the community.

Photo by Vincent Lang

busy offering an opportunity to a man sitting in front of a vacant property a few houses down.

“So, listen, I want Mr. Brooks to come down to the office tomorrow morning and interview for a maintenance position,” Prince told a member of her SLATE team.

“I’ll be down there waiting for you, Mr. Brooks,” the woman from SLATE said.

“Do you have a ride, or will you need somebody to pick you up?”

He looked stunned – even more stunned than he did when Prince addressed him as “Mr. Brooks” and continued to do so for the entire conversation.

“You’re gonna get me a job,

n Weekly newspapers are renowned for serving their communities and this newspaper does so with conviction,” judges from the Michigan Press Association wrote of The American

The paper’s second place awards include: Best Online Newspaper or Website (stlamerican.com), Best

Investigative Reporting (Rebecca Rivas), Best Local Business Coverage, MultiMedia Reporting (Rebecca

for real?” Brooks said, clearing his throat in attempt to disguise the crack in his voice.

As Hassell and his crew came to greet them, a young man walked up the hill of the property and greeted the older gentleman.

“Are you registered to vote?” Hassell asked the young man, who introduced himself as Tony Conrod.

“Yeah, I’m registered – and I voted for Donald Trump,” Conrod replied.

The rest of the group who overheard his response laughed. They thought he was just giving Hassell a hard time, but Hassell saw the seriousness in his face.

“Can I ask why you voted

Rivas), Best Story About Education (Pat Matreci), Best Columnist – Serious (Chris King, Political Eye), Best Story About Rural or Agricultural Life (Chris King “Fishing with Cops”), Best Video (Rebecca Rivas), and Best Newspaper In Education Project (Cathy Sewell, STEM Page). The American also received a number of third place and honorable mention awards.

for Trump?” Hassell said.

“After what Bill and Hillary did to our communities, I thought I would give Trump a fair shot,” Conrod said. Others in the group couldn’t resist a negative reaction.

“For the last 50 years, this neighborhood has been under Democratic control. Look at it,” Conrod said. “It’s the same B.S. Drugs, violence –everywhere where Democratic people are in control, this is what you see in neighborhoods like this for people like us. Vacant houses, crime, all of that.”

Hassell tried to convince him that he made the wrong decision.

“If the Democrats show me something different, then I will change back,” Conrod said. “But right now, I’m a black conservative.”

Hassell pointed out the crisis in Puerto Rico. He pointed out the slur Trump made regarding NFL players who protest during the National Anthem.

“That’s just a phrase, people use that all of the time,” Conrod said. “That’s just him being human. They take everything he do and say, and flip it.” The canvassers made their way back down the street, heading towards the next block. They ran into Payne again.

“Y’all some angels,” she said. “We don’t get people coming through here to let us know they thinking about us and wanna do for us.”

“This was team effort, from the front desk to our news staff, sales staff, accounting and administrative staff,” said Donald M. Suggs, publisher and executive editor of The St. Louis American “We couldn’t be more proud. We don’t take these awards lightly. These accolades from industry professionals are a testament to the consistent, professional, hard work we strive for for our community.”

POLICING

Continued from A1 incapacitated. He was on the ground. His body was still jerking a bit from the Taser. Police put zip ties on him and carried him off.

Hardly anyone in the protestor group saw what happened, because the mass of them were headed south on Broadway, but several in the group demanded answers from the police.

“Why did you do this?” a man asked. “In 15 seconds the whole thing would have been over.”

Rasheen Aldridge, a Democratic committeeman for St. Louis’ 5th Ward, attended the protests on Friday. He said the use of Tasers on protesters is a sign that their tactics are escalating.

“The fact that they tased them was completely uncalled for,” Aldridge said.

Aldridge himself was pepper-sprayed by a police officer on Friday.

“There was never a warning that we needed to disperse, they were just using chemical agents,” Aldridge said.

In the wake of a notguilty verdict for former St. Louis Police Officer Jason Stockley in the fatal shooting of Anthony Lamar Smith, St. Louis police have been widely criticized for their use of force against protestors. The ACLU of Missouri filed a lawsuit calling on the city to comply with the U.S. Constitution in its policing of protests.

The suit was filed in the Eastern Missouri District of United States District Court. It accuses the City of St. Louis of violating the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitutions.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Maleeha Ahmad and Alison Dreith, two St. Louis residents, “on behalf of themselves and a class of similarly situated individuals”.

Plaintiffs Ahmad and Dreith alleged they were sprayed with pepper spray without any warning on September 15.

“I think everyone deserves the same rights as I do. I just want peace and justice,” said Ahmad. “If it hadn’t been for my fellow peaceful protestors –strangers who came to my aid –I don’t know how my eyesight would be today. I would have been left out in the sun, on the ground, with my face burning.”

The lawsuit claims the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) unlawfully used chemical weapons on protesters on a number of occasions; the suit lists seven. In the incident on September 17, the suit said, police used these chemical agents on protestors and media caught in the kettle without giving adequate warning to disperse.

The ACLU alleges the SLMPD routinely engages in several illegal behaviors.

“The City of St. Louis has a custom or policy of retaliating against protestors expressing disapproval of the actions of law enforcement officers, and has done so on occasions before these particular protests,” the lawsuit says.

The ACLU will ask the court to award the plaintiffs attorneys’ fees and to issue a permanent injunction ordering the SLMPD to follow the Constitution in their use of chemical agents and interactions with protestors.

“St. Louis should be a place where all people feel safe against retaliation from law enforcement, and all should receive due process,” Dreith said in a statement. “We should strive to be a place where every citizen feels supported by the communities we call home. This is the vision that drives us into the streets and inspires us to hold our leaders accountable when they betray our values.”

Two documentary filmmakers have also filed a lawsuit against the city and three unidentified police officers after being caught up in the kettling mass arrest on September 17. The documentarians, married couple Drew and Jennifer Burbridge, allege that the officers retaliated against them for exercising their First

More than 200 protestors occupied all the lanes of eastbound I-64 in downtown St. Louis on Tuesday, October 3 in continuing protests of police unaccountability in the wake of the not-guilty verdict in the Jason Stockley trial. They stood chanting for several minutes before they marched slowly east for nearly an hour before exiting the highway. “Look at this [expletive],” a Metrobus operator said to his coworkers watching the action. “Look at all those white people shouting, ‘Black lives matter.’ That’s what I’m talking about.” The police made 143 arrests.

Amendment rights.

The Burbridges’ lawsuit says the officers violated due process by using the kettling tactic, in which police officers close in on a large group of protestors from all sides and arrest as many as possible.

The suit claims the officers interfered with the couple’s constitutionally protected right to record officers and then used excessive force in arresting them. Drew Burbridge said he was restrained with zip ties, sprayed with chemicals and beaten with batons until he lost consciousness briefly. The suit said any dispersal orders issued by the police could not be heard by the Burbridges. Their suit is seeking actual

and punitive damages against the City of St. Louis.

The Burbridges are part of a group who have been a vital part of the conversation about the post-Stockley protests: livestreamers and citizen journalists. Livestreamer Jon Ziegler (RevolutionaryZ) recorded himself being peppersprayed during kettling events.

Livestreamer Heather de Mian said she was pepper-sprayed while filming an arrest and then officers took her camera and erased her footage.

“I was just sitting in my wheelchair and the cops [expletive] maced me for no [expletive reason],” de Mian told the audience watching her live stream. She squinted, coughed and spit her way through the statement.

The ACLU has also come out in favor of a new St. Louis Board of Aldermen bill aimed at protecting protesters’ free speech rights. The bill would prevent the police from declaring constitutionally protected protests “unlawful assemblies,” from using chemical sprays on people who are restrained, and from concealing or not wearing name tags at protests.

The bill was introduced by Alderwoman Megan Ellyia Green.

“If we are to change the relationship between police and the community in St. Louis, we must begin by protecting the First Amendment rights of the people to express their concerns and grief without fear of being injured or retaliated against by officers,” said Green.

Aldridge sees recent events as an indication that officers have no fear of being held accountable by their supervisors or by city officials. However, he said, the increasing militarization of the SLMPD is costing the department public support, causing more people to align with protestors.

“There’s a huge issue in the African-American public with law enforcement,” Aldridge said, “but nowadays it’s becoming more like the general public.”

Jessica Karins is an editorial intern with the St. Louis American from Webster University.

Protestors shut down highway downtown

Photo by Vincent Lang

American staff

The Deaconess Foundation will invest $100,000 in a public policy campaign that pursues change through grassroots advocacy, civic engagement

and community organizing focused on at least one of the Ferguson Commission Calls-toAction.

The foundation is seeking applications from community organizations, coalitions and

public campaigns positioned to focus the region’s energy on the civic engagement required to move in the direction of racial equity the Ferguson Commission set forth in its work. The report was issued

on September 14, 2015 – two years and a day before the not-guilty verdict in the Jason Stockley murder trial engulfed St. Louis in new protests.

“Two years later to the day, the nature of imbedded and implicit bias in the region’s systems of public safety and judicial accountability were highlighted again,” said Rev. Starsky D. Wilson, Deaconess Foundation’s president and CEO and former co-chair of the Ferguson Commission. “The community’s distrust of these systems comes at a high cost, borne out in preparations for the Jason Stockley verdict and protests since throughout the region.”

In light of the Stockley case, many have focused on the “Justice For All” section of the report, which makes recommendations regarding civilian oversight of police, use-of-force, independent investigation of police-involved shootings and de-escalation in demonstration protocols. All of this will require the building of public and policymakers’ will to mobilize and organize for change.

Read the Ferguson Commission report at https:// tinyurl.com/lt4lc5j./ The Policy Campaign grant is made possible through philanthropic partnership between Deaconess Foundation and the Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock. Applications are available at www.deaconess. org and are due November 1. Campaign activities can take place through December 31, 2018.

FAFSA student aid filings opened October 1

By Colleen Tressler Federal Trade Commission

If you’re a high school or college student, or their parent, it’s nearly time for FAFSA. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) filing season opens October 1 for the 2018-19 academic year. Completing the FAFSA form is free, and it gives you access to the largest source of financial aid to pay for college or career school. Submit your FAFSA form as soon as you can. Many states and schools allocate funds on a first-come, first-served basis. And some states have deadlines for filing the FAFSA form to be eligible for certain kinds of aid. There’s no need to wait until your family has all of the necessary paperwork or has filed their income taxes to submit your FAFSA form. You can submit the form using estimates, and then update the form later. While you’re at it, remember never to share your FSA ID (it’s what you use to log in to fill out your FAFSA form). And watch for scholarship and financial aid scams. Ads or offers from companies may claim they can get you financial aid, including grants, student loans, work-study and other types of aid. For a processing fee, they say they’ll handle all the paperwork. But the only way to get access to all that aid is by filling out your FAFSA form. And that’s free. If you hear from companies or see offers that say they’ll process your FAFSA for a fee, stop. You can find all the help you need – for free – at StudentAid.ed.gov, the U.S. Department of Education’s site. File your FAFSA form online (again, for free). Need more help? Call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID.

Colleen Tressler is a consumer education specialist at the Federal Trade Commission

Putting the brakes on hate at the History Musuem

By Morgan Bradley For The St. Louis American

HateBrakers is a nonprofit organization that works to “put the brakes on hate.” It spotlights individuals who have overcome being victims of hate and those who have perpetrated acts of hate themselves—and then used their stories and experiences to change the world. Sammy Rangel is one such person. He is being honored as the group’s 2017 HateBraker Hero and will talk about his life during a discussion on Tuesday, October 17, at the Missouri History Museum.

“Sammy is a former victim, perpetrator, and witness of hate,” says Susan Balk, HateBraker’s founder. “The work that he does in Life After Hate is to help free white supremacists from the bondage of their hate so they can live meaningful lives. Life After Hate breathes life into our mission to interrupt the otherwise predictable cycle of hate.”

Rangel is a Chicago native and founding member and executive director of Life After Hate, a nonprofit created in 2011 by former members of the violent American farright extremist movement. Through powerful stories of transformation and unique insight from decades of experience, Life After Hate’s members serve to inspire, educate, guide, and counsel.

Rangel’s childhood was entrenched in violence. His mother tried to kill him. By 3 he had been sexually assaulted, and he attempted suicide at age 8. By fifth grade he had dropped out of school, and he left home at 11. His first child was stillborn. A selfdescribed “loudmouthed kid willing to fight,” Rangel says he “wasn’t yet an angry person, just hurting.” Rangel spent his juvenile years in and out of various institutions. At 17 he was sent to an adult prison for the first time. A race riot was brewing there, and it soon erupted. “My friend, an unarmed black man, died trying to save my life. He was shot by guards while I was being cornered by a group of armed white men.” For Rangel, it was a turning point. From then on he directed his anger toward the prison system. Because of his role in the riot, Rangel spent more than two years in segregation before being discharged at 22 years old. “I walked into prison a street punk and walked out a gang leader, one of the highest in the state,” he says. But within seven or eight months

Life After Hate: An Inspirational Evening with HateBraker Sammy Rangel takes place at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 17, at the Missouri History Museum. The program is free and open to the public.

he was back in prison again, convicted of violent gun crimes. “I was angry at the system but took it out on who I could get a hold of.” Rangel doesn’t think he experienced a single, defining moment of transformation. Rather, many things laid the foundation for his dramatic life change. One of the most pivotal happened in a prison-based program. “My transformation came with a question,” Rangel recalls.” A counselor asked me about my story. No one had ever asked me to tell my story, and I was more than happy to tell it,” he says. “I told my story from my perspective as an angry, hostile victim, and he listened to the whole story with no interruption.” Rangel says he was able to talk about all of the injustices he suffered— and why he felt his response was justified. “I wanted him to understand where I was coming from. He validated my hurt.” Rangel began to realize that his violence was a tactic to make people pay attention. “It became my way to express my emotional trauma,” he says. “I realized I just wanted to be heard and wanted to make people listen. As a child growing up, I was mostly angry at people who

couldn’t or wouldn’t validate my experience.”

After that powerful realization, Rangel was committed to change. For the remainder of his sentence, he resisted violence almost every day. He prevailed. He completed his associate’s degree in human services and was released from prison in 1999. Rangel later went on to receive his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and he is now on track to earning his PhD in industrial organizational psychology. “No one is a lost cause forever,” Rangel says. HateBrakers’ Balk echoes his sentiment. “Hate isn’t permanent,” she says. “It can look and feel like power, but it’s also something that can be recovered from. Our organization has found that one of the most effective ways to recover from hate is to try to fix the world and hit the brakes on hate so that these things don’t happen again.”

Life After Hate: An Inspirational Evening with HateBraker Sammy Rangel takes place at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 17, at the Missouri History Museum. The program is free and open to the public.

Conversation With The Artist: Mickalene Thomas

African American artist Mickalene Thomas will speak about her work in an on-stage conversation with Simon Kelly, the Saint Louis Art Museum curator of modern and contemporary art, and Lisa Melandri, executive director of the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. The program will take place Friday, October 6 at 7 pm in the Art Museum’s Farrell Auditorium. Best known for her largescale images that use diverse materials, Mickalene Thomas explores issues of black female identity, sexuality, beauty, and representation in her paintings, photographs, and videos. Her influences are varied, ranging from 19th century painters Edouard Manet and Henri Matisse to the collages of African American luminary Romare Bearden. While Thomas has a deep understanding of art history and the classical genres of portraiture, landscape, and still life paintings, she has also found inspiration in contemporary subjects like Solange Knowles and Whoopi Goldberg’s Celie from the film The Color Purple. One of Thomas’ favorite subjects has been her mother, whose likeness dominated the artist’s earliest works.

Thomas’ photograph Din, Une Trés Belle Négresse, is on view at the Art Museum in Gallery 249. In this work, she captures the woman’s penetrating gaze, her majestic halo of hair, and a dramatically made-up face with full, dark lips. The model, Din, was a medical student who regularly posed for Thomas. Self-assured and beautiful, Din’s gaze captures and holds the viewer. Din, Une Trés Belle Négresse is French for Din, A Very Beautiful Black Woman and the title acknowledges an earlier era with its use of the term “négresse.” Commonly used in French to describe an unpaid servant, negresse comes from a time of slavery and shares parallels with the American term “Mammy.” While still thought of as a pejorative,

Thomas takes the word and recreates it. She empowers “negresse” by applying it to a portrait that embodies cool confidence and beauty. Din, Une Trés Belle Négresse

Conversation with the Artist: Mickalene Thomas is part of an artist residency. While at the Saint Louis Art Museum Mickalene Thomas will also participate in workshops with local students and teachers. Invited participants will have an opportunity to engage with the artist and create their own multimedia artwork. Thomas’ residency coincides with the exhibition Mickalene Thomas: Mentors, Muses, and Celebrities, currently on view at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. Tickets for Conversation with the Artist: Mickalene Thomas are now on sale at the Saint Louis Art Museum and through Metrotix. Ticket

harkens back to the 1970s—an era defined by powerful new images of black beauties like Pam Grier’s Foxy Brown and Tamara Dobson’s Cleopatra Jones Din, Une Trés Belle Négresse will be on view at the Art Museum in Gallery 249 through Sunday, October 15.

The Ferguson Commission, Mayor Krewson, policies and politics

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson released a statement urging the Ferguson Commission report’s calls to action as the way forward for our troubled region. She called for St. Louis to “double down on the Ferguson Commission report” and pledged to use her political capital to implement the report’s calls to action. To us, Krewson’s call seemed belated at best and hypocritical at worst, considering that she has opposed or frustrated many of the most important reforms the Ferguson Commission included in its report.

The Ferguson Commission report called for new police policies and training. These should be low-hanging fruit for a mayor truly dedicated to implementing the report’s calls to action. To change police policies, a mayor does not need to go through the legislative process – she can simply direct interim Police Chief Lawrence O’Toole to change the policies. Although it is still early in the administration, St. Louis police behavior reflects no changes to police policies or training protocols to indicate Krewson’s supposed commitment to the Ferguson Commission report.

The report called for reducing the use of militarized weaponry. If the mayor

was truly committed to implementing the Ferguson Commission’s calls to action, we would not have seen military-grade MRAPs and automatic weapons guarding her Central West End neighborhood. Yet when the protests came - as expected - so did the military weaponry.

When we asked a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department spokesman what policies had been changed since the Ferguson Commission report, we received a list of new policies and training protocols that had been adopted in response to the Ferguson crisis. But, when asked who directed those changes, the response was, time after time, former Police Chief Sam Dotson – the same person Krewson unceremoniously “retired” as her first act in office. In 2015, according to the police, the department began training in de-escalation and implicit bias. Every officer on the department has received Continuing Educational Training in de-escalation and implicit bias, and de-escalation training is included in recruit basic training. Dotson made that change before Krewson’s

election and his “retirement.”

To change police policies, Mayor Krewson does not need to go through the legislative process – she can simply direct interim Police Chief Lawrence O’Toole to change the policies.

foresight before Ferguson, because he instituted reforms of many municipal court abuses that contributed to the Ferguson unrest - before Ferguson happened. However, his daughter, Anne Schweitzer, managed Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones’ mayoral campaign that narrowly lost to Krewson –and Judge Schweitzer promptly lost his job after Krewson took office.

“It probably didn’t escape the mayor that my daughter was the campaign manager for her opponent,” Schweitzer told Tony Messenger of the Post-Dispatch. Schweitzer was replaced with Newton McCoy who (Messenger noted) donated $3,000 to Krewson’s campaign.

This year, also before Krewson’s election and Dotson’s “retirement,” the department: partnered with the St. Louis Crime Victim Advocacy Center to provide training on working with LGBTQ+ victims of violence, with more than 1,000 officers trained; implemented an officer wellness program designed to help officers learn about and cope with the stress factors unique to their profession; and launched the Community Engagement and Organizational Development Division, which implements community outreach programs and focuses on organizational development and internal training. Dotson was vilified by the protest movement and therefore a political liability who was removed by Krewson on her first day in office. Unfortunately, according to the police department itself, she has directed no new changes to police training, management or

behavior – even knowing from the day she took office that the department would face massive protests when the expected notguilty verdict was handed down by Judge Timothy Wilson in the Jason Stockley murder trial.

Her replacement for Dotson was the police leader who said his officers “owned the night” after they executed an unconstitutional kettle mass arrest while chanting, “Whose streets? Our streets!” This Ferguson movement chant was most previously appropriated by white supremacists and neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia. When The American asked Krewson during a press conference whether she had discussed that openly racist echo with O’Toole, she said no. It had not occurred to her.

As for municipal court reform, so crucial to the Ferguson Commission report, Krewson inherited Gordon Schweitzer as the city municipal court’s administrative judge. Schweitzer is one of the few people in this region who can legitimately claim

So two people in city government who had started policy changes called for in the Ferguson Commission report were both dumped by Krewson for political reasons, and replaced with people who have made no proactive or progressive changes of their own.

The Ferguson Commission called for child savings accounts as a racial-equity measure. In 2016, Krewson voted to defund the Financial Empowerment Center and child savings accounts instituted by Treasurer Jones, who was shaping up to be her mayoral opponent. Yet Krewson voted for it as an alderwoman in 2015, and then again as mayor voted on the Board of Estimate & Apportionment, making her support or opposition to the program look situational and political.

Krewson’s support for a city-wide minimum wage increase - an obvious harbinger of racial equityhas been questionable. As an alderwoman, Krewson did not vote for raising the minimum wage ordinance. Instead, she “took a walk,” the cowardly tactic that aldermen employ to defeat an ordinance without casting a vote against it. And

then, as mayor, Krewson refused to challenge a state law that prohibited the city from raising the minimum wage, despite the fact that courts had struck down the last two attempts by the state to pass similar bills.

Many suspect that her political consultant Ed Rhode, who also lobbied against the minimum wage for the restaurant industry, influenced Krewson’s decision to forgo a challenge to the state law. This, again, would be payback politics trumping progressive policy for the mayor. Yet Krewson has shown some clear commitment in applying a racial equity lens to city government. Early positive signs for the administration included the appointment of Nicole Hudson – who consulted for the Ferguson Commission and had a major role in crafting its report – as deputy mayor and Krewson’s decision to keep Chief Resiliency Officer Patrick R. Brown from the Slay administration. The two seem to be dedicated to finding ways to apply a racialequity lens to city government, including the posting of a full-time job to carry out that mandate. Likewise, the promotion of Alice Prince to lead SLATE empowered a black woman with deep roots in the community and tremendous potential to bring positive change in workforce development. Krewson’s call for the United States attorney to review the city’s protest response was a welcome development in the spirit of the Ferguson Commission’s calls to action. But if the mayor plans to use the Ferguson Commission as her talking point in the future, she will first need to stop obstructing Ferguson Commission reforms – and actually start making some.

2017 People Against Poverty campaign

Nominations due October 13

By Gwen Swan For The St. Louis American

When Pamela Dugger was interviewed by Gloria Taylor of Community Women Against Hardship (CWAH) as a potential People Against Poverty campaign recipient, she suggested that there were other families who needed help more.

But with a 19-year-old daughter with Down syndrome, 7-year-old autistic twin boys, five grandchildren and one great grandchild, the family need was clear to the staff at CWAH.

“I needed them more than I thought,” Dugger said.

Due to their mother’s battle with behavioral health issues, Dugger’s grandchildren spent two years in foster care in Cleveland, Ohio. Their living conditions were deplorable, Dugger said. Dugger said they were locked in a room, couldn’t talk, weren’t potty trained, and were unable to walk without braces. By the time she was made aware of the situation, she said, she had already moved to St. Louis, but she fought for custody. She said she fought for two years with a social worker of questionable intent and a materially motivated foster family manipulating the system to prevent her access, but finally prevailed.

“Nothing and no one is bigger than my God,” she said. A cancer survivor, Dugger is now retired from her job as an anesthesia coordinator and considers her greatest challenge to be … laundry.

“You can’t imagine how much laundry I have with a Down syndrome daughter, two autistic boys, and a house full of kids,” she said. “God has a sense of humor.”

Her grandkids have attended classes in CPR, music, health and fitness, and reading through CWAH. The organization helped repair her furnace several times. CWAH’s work with her is, she said, “a family affair.”

If you know of an individual or family that could benefit from services at CWAH, nominate them today for the 2017 People Against Poverty Campaign 2017. Please submit nominations by Friday, October 13 to: The St. Louis American Newspaper, People Against Poverty Campaign, 2315 Pine St., St. Louis, MO 63103. Or email mwinbush2@stlamerican. com or fax: (314) 533-2332.

Gloria Taylor of Community Women Against Hardship with Pamela Dugger and family.

Careers

Middle-class families most likely to benefit from Illinois tax credit scholarships, expert says

By Camille Phillips St. Louis Public Radio

Sister Thea Bowman Catho-

lic School in East St. Louis is one of hundreds of private schools in Illinois that could see a financial boost from the state’s new tax credit scholarship program.

More than 90 percent of the families who send their children to the school fall below the federal poverty line of $24,600 for a family of four. That gives them top priority to receive a scholarship.

Although children from lowincome families get priority, if Illinois follows the pattern of other states with similar programs, most of the tax credit scholarships will go to middleclass families.

Listen Listening...3:36 Starting next year, some Illinois families will have more help in paying for private schools in the form of tax credit scholarships. Though low- and middle-income families qualify, lower-income families will get priority.

Dan Nickerson, the principal of Sister Thea Bowman, is hoping the tuition subsidy will put his school on firmer financial footing.

“It’s difficult for us. We have been in the black for the last two years, but for several years before that we were running at a deficit,” Nickerson said.

About 80 percent of his school’s funding comes from grants and donors, who will be able to get a lower tax bill if they give money for the scholarships.

“Since I’ve been principal, we’ve never turned anybody

away for financial reasons,” Nickerson said. “We always try to find a way to make it work if they want their student to go here and we feel that they’re a good fit.

How it works

Illinois’ became the 18th state with a tax credit scholarship program last month as part of a compromise to pass a K-12 school funding bill.

Unlike school vouchers, which provide families with state money to pay for private schools, tax credit scholarships are distributed by nonprofit groups.

Funding for the scholarships comes from money that would otherwise be paid to the state. The scholarships are funded by people and corporations who receive a 75 percent reduction on their state income tax.

For instance, if a person who owed $1,000 in taxes donated $1,000 for a scholarship, the state their tax bill would drop to $250.

That allows families to more easily use the scholarships at religious schools. Most states, including Illinois, bar public money from going to religious institutions.

Opponents of tax credit scholarships, like the Illinois School Board Association, view them as public money despite the workaround.

“This is designed to be state, public monies, going to some taxpayer because of tuition paid to a private school,” Ben Schwarm, the association’s deputy executive director said. “We just think that’s worri-

some.”

“That’s certainly going to drain revenue and resources which could have been going to public schools,” he added.

Donors are supposed to start receiving tax credits in January, but even the Department of Revenue, the agency tasked with implementing the scholarship, doesn’t know exactly how the scholarship program will work.

When asked who would distribute the private school aid,

and in what school year families could start using the scholarship, a department spokesman said that would be decided in the coming months.

Funding

Under the law, up to $75 million in tax credits can be distributed to people and corporations who contribute to the scholarship funds each year. Illinois’ education budget,

meanwhile, is more than $5 billion. But Schwarm considers the amount of tax credits “significant money.”

“Public schools have been cut and pro-rated for really eight years in a row, and we’re fighting for every dollar,” Schwarm said. “And that direct funnel now from what could be going to public schools, going now generally to private schools, is going to be a problem.”

Supporters of the program,

Students get ready for a violin class taught by Philip Tinge at Sister Thea Bowman Catholic School in East St. Louis. Most students at the school come from low-income families, and would get first priority on tax credit scholarships.

meanwhile, would like to see more money put into it.

“It’s a drop in the bucket,” Jason Bedrick, policy director at research and advocacy group, EdChoice said. “It’s probably only going to provide scholarships for ... about half of one percent of the total student population in Illinois.”

The cap on tax credits puts a limit on the number of students who will be able to receive a scholarship: anywhere from 5,000 to 25,000 students depending on their families’ incomes.

Bedrick would like to see the program expand so all families who want their children to attend a private school can receive a scholarship, not just families who make less than 300 percent of the federal poverty line. For a family of four, that’s about $74,000. Once a family has received a scholarship their income can rise to $98,000 without losing eligibility.

“Ultimately we believe that these programs should serve all kids, but if we’re going to phase in a program and there’s a lim-

Photo by Carolina Hidalgo, St. Louis Public Radio

Choices/Careers

ited number of seats, it makes sense as a matter of fairness that the students who are most in need would have access first, Bedrick said.

“The problem with that is that if you only have a small number of students participating, all you’re going to do is fill empty seats at existing schools. If you want to create a more dynamic and innovative system than you really need to have everybody involved.”

Eligibility

Many of the other 17 states with tax credit scholarships also have a cap on family income. In Florida, for example, a family of four must make less than $64,000.

Luis Huerta, Columbia University education policy professor, said middle-class families are the primary beneficiaries of the scholarships in those states.

“We can predict, given tuition prices, and given that this is a scholarship that will only pay for partial tuition, that families that are more mobile and on the upper part of the income threshold will be the ones who take up the scholarship,” Huerta said.

Low-income families will be able to receive a scholarship up to about $12,000, which would cover full tuition at most Catholic schools in Illinois. Tuition is about $4,000 a year at elementary schools in the Belleville diocese, partly because the local parishes contribute to their school’s budget.

But Huerta said low-income families most likely won’t be able to access more expensive private schools, with higher tuition.

According to EdChoice, the average tax credit scholarship in other states range from $1,600 to $6,500.

Chances of expansion

Like Bedrick, Huerta predicts that Illinois’ program will fill just a few empty seats at private schools.

While many of the other 17 states with tax credit scholarships restrict eligibility to children who previously attended a public school or who are entering kindergarten, Illinois allows all students to apply, as long as their families fall below the income threshold.

The 30 catholic schools in the Belleville Diocese, includ-

Jordyn Willis lines up with classmates before heading to lunch at Sister Thea Bowman Catholic School in East St. Louis. Students at the school clasp their hands together as if in prayer as a reminder to be quiet in the hallway.

Photo by Carolina Hidalgo, St. Louis Public Radio

ing Sister Thea Bowman, plan to take advantage of that eligibility.

Tom Posnanski, director of education at the diocese, hopes the tax credit scholarships will help keep families enrolled at parish schools through eighth grade. That could keep them from moving away or enrolling in public schools.

“Hopefully it will be assistance to the families who already send their children to Catholic schools. And one would hope that at some point it would lead to more potential students,” Posnanski said, adding that enrollment has declined in the diocese schools in recent years. “I hope it stabilizes enrollment in most of our schools, if not increase it somewhat, not a lot.”

Most other scholarship programs also started small like the one in Illinois. Typically, they expand over time, Huerta said, raising the cap on the amount of money that can be donated and reducing eligibility restrictions.

However, Huerta said expansion is less likely in Illinois because it has a five-year sunset clause. If lawmakers don’t revisit it, the program will dissolve in 2023.

Follow Camille on Twitter @cmpcamille

Reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.

Clean energy sector jobs in Illinois and Missouri are rising

By Eli Chen St. Louis Public Radio

Nearly 600,000 people in the Midwest are working in the clean energy sector and that number likely will continue to rise, according to advocates for the industry.

The nonprofit groups Clean Energy Trust and Environmental Entrepreneurs released a report Thursday that demonstrated a significant increase in the past year in the number of people who work in fields such as wind and solar power and energy auditing. Illinois led the region’s clean energy sector growth by adding nearly 120,000 jobs, largely in the area of energy efficiency. Missouri showed growth in multiple areas, including renewable energy, which saw jobs grow by 14.5 percent in the last year.

Clean energy groups say the

rise in employment is due to the falling costs of renewable energy and increasing support from state legislators.

“It’s also clear that states are taking a leading role in developing clean technologies because policymakers see that clean energy is a really good job creation plan,” said Gail Parson, director of member and state engagement at Environmental Entrepreneurs.

In the case of St. Louisbased solar energy company Microgrid Energy, growth has been tied to state policies and the affordability of solar energy, vice president of business development Steve O’Rourke said.

When Microgrid started in 2009, “there was virtually no demand for solar,” O’Rourke said. Solar energy projects often come with an upfront cost and in the late 2000s a client would

have expected to wait 25 years to see a return on investment. In 2013, the state-mandated rebate funded by Missouri utilities cut that wait to just a couple years. Then, Microgrid’s employment was at its highest, at 50 workers. After the rebate no longer became available, employment fell at the company. Microgrid employs 20 but expects to add workers, partly due to new policies that support renewable energy.

“Within two years, we’ll [have] a 50 percent increase in the number of employees,” O’Rourke said. “We’ll go from 20 to 30 easily.”

Follow Eli on Twitter: @StoriesByEli Reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.

Microgrid installed two solar arrays at Busch Stadium.

More than 250 free health screenings for men, women and children took place on Saturday, September 23 at the annual Community Health Fair, held at Harris-Stowe State University by 100 Black Men of Metropolitan

Cancer Coalition.

Harris-Stowe hosts Community Health Day

100 Black Men, Prostate Cancer Coalition offer free screenings, info, 5K run/walk

By Sandra Jordan Of The

Stowe State University by 100 Black Men of Metropolitan St. Louis and the Prostate Cancer Coalition.

“This health fair was not just educating people, but meeting people where they are and offering them screenings that many people cannot afford because they

– Lannis Hall, M.D.

free health care event, so we partnered with them to make that happen.”

Hall is director of radiation oncology at Barnes-Jewish Hospital’s Siteman Cancer Center in St. Peters.

The Community Health Fair offered free PSA, or prostate-specific antigen, testing for men, mammograms for women, glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol testing. There were hearing and vision screenings for kids and Affinia Health care offered dental screenings and simple repairs for children. Additionally, n “if you didn’t have a health care provider or had not been to the doctor, you could have had really a full work up – for free.”

By Denise Hooks-Anderson, M.D. Of The St. Louis American

“Why was school dismissed early, Mommy?” asks my 10-year-old.

Having to explain an unjust judicial system to a child is difficult and frankly uncalled for in a supposedly democratic society. The mere fact that in the year 2017 the social inequities are no different than during the 1940s when Thurgood Marshall was trying the Groveland Boys case in Florida is shameful.

MD are uninsured or underinsured,” said event organizer, Lannis Hall, M.D. “This was the first time that the 100 Black Men had a totally

The constant fear, anxiety, and anger that these repetitive injustices invoke should be listed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as major risk factors for early deaths in people of color.

For many in our communities, it is difficult to understand the ramifications of the constant news reports of black men being stopped by police and those encounters ending in a deadly manner.

For many it is difficult to fathom that when your teenage son or nephew leaves the house, your heart rate rises to unhealthy levels and your respiratory rate increases as if you are in a fight-or-flight response.

n My patients are hurting. They are tired of attending funerals of young people who never had a chance to fulfill their God-given destinies.

However, for a large proportion of our society, this heightened state of awareness is an everyday reality. This added daily pressure of having to always think about race is overwhelming.

For certain portions of our communities, healthcare and the judicial system share many things in common. One is a lack of trust in the people who administer it. As a healthcare provider, it saddens me to hear people say that, but I cannot trivialize what a person feels and has internalized.

If someone has never felt like they mattered or they have been discriminated against within the very system that is charged with helping them, why would we expect them all of a sudden to have faith in

See RACISM, A15

Community members learn about health research

Washington University teaches public to address health disparities

By Sandra Jordan

Of The St. Louis American

Washington University in St. Louis recently graduated its fourth group of community researchers who voluntarily embarked on a 15-week intense graduate-level study for those interested in making a difference in how research is conducted, known as the Community Research Fellows Training program (CRFT). The program provides community members interested in reducing health and cancer disparities with education and hands-on experience to take back to their own communities.

The 15-week program is based on a Master of Public Health curriculum. Members committed to a three-hour evening once each week in the classroom and to homework or assignments. Ideally, upon completion, CRFT alumni are able to address health disparities within their own neighborhoods and work towards the Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities’ goal of eliminating health disparities in the St.

See RESEARCH, A15

Washington University in St. Louis recently graduated its fourth group of community researchers who took a 15-week graduate-level study for those interested in making a difference in how research is conducted known as the Community Research Fellows Training program.

St. Louis and the Prostate

Denise HooksAnderson,

Photo by Wiley Price

Ex-offenders eligible for 90 days of free meds

Thousands of people leaving Missouri prisons will now receive 90 days of free medication to eliminate the medication gap that ex-offenders experience when coming home from prison. Rx Outreach, a St. Louis-based nonprofit pharmacy that provides affordable and free medications for people in need, has been awarded $421,360 in grants from the Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis, the Sidney R. Baer, Jr. Foundation and Missouri Foundation for Health to support the Healthy Transitions program for up to three years. The Healthy Transitions program – a partnership between Corizon Health, Missouri Department of Corrections, and Rx Outreach –bridges the medication gap that many people face when they are released from prison. With approximately half of participants receiving mental health medications, Rx Outreach hopes to improve public safety and reduce crime by providing critical mental health and other medications at the time of release.

For more information, call or visit www.rxoutreach.org

HEALTH

Continued from A14

Walgreens offered free flu shots and the St. Louis Department of Health offered STD and lead testing.

“You really could have come and if you didn’t have a health care provider or had not been to the doctor, you could have had really a full work up,” Hall said – “for free.”

President of 100 Black Men of Metropolitan St. Louis Leroy Shumpert, said is important to the organization to heighten health awareness among black men and in the community.

Northwest HealthCare hosts ‘Mammo-

thon’

Northwest HealthCare, 1225 Graham Rd. in Florissant, will host a Mammo-thon on Sunday, October 15 from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Reservations are required. To schedule a mammogram during the Mammo-thon call 1-855-953-WELL (9355). Make sure to mention that you want to be a part of the Mammo-thon. An appointment and pre-registration are necessary. No physician prescription is necessary for screening mammograms.

n “I lost four uncles to prostate cancer. Those are the things that motivated me to be an advocate for screenings.”

– Ken Griffey Sr.

“We were very excited to partner with the Prostate Cancer Coalition on this effort,” Shumpert said. “We wanted to really make sure this event had something for everyone – for the kids, for the adults – men and women.” The Prostate Cancer Coalition, founded by physicians in 2014, is comprised of health professionals, survivors and community organizations.

RESEARCH

Continued from A14

Tyrell Manning was one of this year’s two dozen CRFT graduates. He works as a regional integration specialist at Rustin’s Place for Willliams and Associates, Inc. an advocacy and support organizations for persons living with HIV and AIDS.

“Basically, I test black people for HIV and integrate them either into care or prevention,” he said.

Participating in the

RACISM

Continued from A14

a bureaucracy that fails them over and over again?

“It is made up of physicians, prostate cancer survivors, health care organizations, like Siteman, the American Cancer Society and our partners are the federally qualified health centers,” Hall said. Organizers said more than 100 individuals participated in a 5K prostate cancer run/walk, including several members of The Empowerment Network, a health advocacy group of prostate cancer survivors and a member of the Coalition. Hall said the walk did not raise money. It raised awareness. Prostate cancer survivor and Major League Baseball legend Ken Griffey Sr. was a special guest and signed autographs during the event. Griffey played for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves and the Seattle Mariners from 1973 through 1991. He was also the first pro baseball dad to play simultaneously in the majors with his son, Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. From his personal experience and that of his family, Griffey became an advocate for prostate cancer awareness and screening among African American men.

program gave him a better understanding of systemic issues in St. Louis, methods of research and health outcomes.

“The whole process has really shown me, even though we’ve come here learning about research, it’s actually like taking a deeper look at where we live at and what’s happening around us,” Manning said. He said the experience has empowered him.

“The systems here are actually set up so that you don’t succeed, but we’re going to now take this research, apply it to the work you do so that now you can go and do better

“Being an athlete, every year you get a physical. My last couple of physicals is when I found out I had prostate cancer,” he said. “I went through all the biopsies

and surgery and had it removed, but before that, I lost four uncles to prostate cancer. Those are the things that motivated me to be an advocate for screenings.”

n “Even though we’ve come here learning about research, it’s actually like taking a deeper look at where we live at and what’s happening around us.”

– Tyrell Manning

work in the community.”

Learning about research has given him a fresh perspective and focus on his job – and how to do better work in the community because of it. He said when next year’s group is solicited, “I’m going be sending it out to friends that I have and

to people in the community that I know need this, because it’s very applicable to life right now.”

Vetta Sanders-Thompson, professor in the Brown School of Social Work and the Institute of Public Health at Washington University, said

Hall hopes they will build on this year’s event and bring in more residents next year to get vital health screenings at no cost.

“We are going to continue to

it is not how the university benefits, but how and whether the community benefits from these efforts.

“The most important outcome of this work is that CRFT alum are more critical consumers of health-related research,” she said. “In addition, CRFT alum have worked with Washington University, Saint Louis University and University of Missouri – St. Louis faculty on research and projects to improve health in the region. They provide consultation and input during the planning phase of projects, assist in data collection and dissemination of

do this each year and continue to do it completely free as long as I am a part of it, because think that’s a benefit for the kind of insurance landscape that we have right now,” Hall said.

“We had over 45 vendors all out to offer information and free health screenings and to get people signed up for free health insurance if they were uninsured. We had the St. Louis Integrated Health Network, Alive and Well, along with Affinia and CHIPS and People’s and they’re really able to plug people into health care, not just for the event, but for the long-term.”

Hall also expressed gratitude to the event host, partners and participating churches.

“We were extremely thankful to Harris-Stowe and the partnership between 100 Black Men and the Prostate Cancer Coalition – we just want to build it further,” she said.

“The churches played a huge role in this, and we want to build off the participation of the churches throughout St. Louis who really came out.”

“We look forward to this event in the future,” Shumpert added. “We want it to become larger, and we are excited to see the partnership grow.”

findings.”

Sanders-Thompson said participating faculty will be working with interested CRFT alum on strategies to improve and increase cancer education outreach for the Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities. The Community Research Fellows Training program receives support from Siteman Cancer Center, Prevention and Control, Washington University School of Medicine, Department of Surgery and the Staenberg Foundation.

Denise Hooks-Anderson, M.D., is an assistant professor at SLUCare Family Medicine and the medical accuracy editor of The St. Louis American. Email her at yourhealthmatters@ stlamerican.com. Louis region.

My patients are hurting. They are tired of attending funerals of young people who never had a chance to fulfill their God-given destinies. They are tired of burying fathers from senseless violence, and they are sick of hearing that the case is still unsolved or that the perpetrator will not be held accountable. Who is fighting for my patients?

Several studies over the years have documented relationships between racism and health outcomes. For instance, racism has shown a negative effect upon mental health. People who have been discriminated against report a wide variety of symptoms, some of which include low selfesteem, distress, and lack of life satisfaction.

For some, these negative experiences as they relate to race has resulted in PostTraumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. I recall reading stories

about how the teens who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957 were bullied, spat on, and even had acid thrown into their eyes. I am certain they remember those events as if they were yesterday. It is impossible to separate current political and judicial unrest from health and wellness. Lack of sleep, hair

loss, and loss of appetite are all signs and symptoms of stress and can result from what is happening right now before our very eyes. Sleep aids and appetite stimulators are only Band-Aids to those problems. In-depth solutions are needed to conquer the underlying problems in our seemingly lopsided society. All citizens deserve a chance to be healthy and live long enough to see their grandchildren and greatgrandchildren grow up.

Kevin Nolan brought his daughter, Dillon and son, Evan to the annual Community Health Fair held at Harris-Stowe State University. The event provided screenings for hearing and vision for children and Affinia Health Care offered dental screenings and simple repairs for children.

Photo by Wiley Price

Photo by Chris King

NEWSPAPER IN EDUCATION

Dividing Your Plate!

Nutrition Challenge:

Healthy Kids Kids

For years kids were taught the proper variety of different categories of food by the use of a “Food Pyramid.” The tip of the pyramid represented the small amount of fats a child should consume and that was followed by the five food groups (Milk/Cheese, Meat, Vegetables, Fruits and Grains/Breads). Now the more common image is a plate divided up into portions, showing how much room vegetables, fruit, meats and breads should fill.

Play Tag!

A fun way to run around, get your heart rate up and have fun is to play good old-fashioned tag. One person is “it” and they must tag someone else who is now the chaser. This game has many variations including:

Freeze Tag — Once you are tagged, you are frozen until a friend crawls through your legs to un-freeze you. Game continues until everyone is frozen. When this happens, the first one frozen is now “it.”

The image also includes a side of milk.

Seeing the different kinds of foods on a plate can help you see how much of each type of food you should eat.

Notice that the fruits/vegetables portion fills half of your plate. And remember to include whole grains in the “bread” section of your plate.

For more information visit: http://kidshealth. org/kid/stay_healthy/food/pyramid.html.

Learning Standards: HPE 2, NH 1, NH 5

Partners Tag — Two people hold hands and chase the others.

Once they catch another player, that player joins their chain. Once two more partners have joined the team, they can split into two teams of two, and so on. (Teams must always have at least two players.)

Most of our childhood we are taught to share. But there are some things that should never be shared! These include eating utensils such as forks, spoons, straws and even napkins. But some other items to keep to yourself are your brush, comb, toothbrush, headbands and make-up. Germs, allergens and even living organisms (such as lice) can be passed through sharing these items. What are some other things that should not be shared?

Learning Standards: HPE 3, NH 1, NH 7

Careers

Deborah Edwards, School Nurse

Flashlight Tag — Instead of tagging other players, “it” must simply shine a flashlight on another player, who then becomes “it.”

What are some other ways to play tag? Share your ideas with your classmates.

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

Where do you work? I work for St. Louis Public Schools at Columbia Elementary. Where did you go to school? I graduated from Sumner High School and then earned an Associate Degree in Nursing from Forest Park College and a BS in Business Administration from Columbia College.

What does a school nurse do? I assess the concerns of students who are ill, injured or experiencing alteration in their normal health. I’m also responsible for the administration of medication and treatments as prescribed, teaching and coordination in the delivery plan of health care.

Why did you choose this career? I was inspired by my former school nurse, Ms. Batey, at Turner Middle School. When I was a child, she was a quiet, friendly face and would calm down students on immunization days at school. I had the opportunity to speak with her and told her that I became a nurse from my experience with her. What is your favorite part of the job you have? I interact with students, parents and staff on health needs, education, counseling, offer assurance and provide family resource needs. Best of all is the smiles, hearing “thank-you,” and hugs.

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

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

CLASSOOM SPOTLIGHT

SCIENCE CORNER

What Is Density?

Have you ever wondered why some small items weigh more than larger items? It’s all about the density. Density is the mass of an object relative to its volume. Objects with a lot of matter in a certain volume have a higher density, while objects with a small amount of matter in the same volume have a low density. Consider this example. If you have an empty milk gallon and fill the container with pennies, it will be quite heavy and will have a greater density. If you fill the same milk gallon with cotton balls, which are light, it will have a lower density. If you have a bowl of water, you can try adding items, such as a quarter, a pencil, and an egg, to see if they sink or

SCIENCE INVESTIGATION

In this experiment, you will observe density in motion. The colors placed in a jar will separate by density of the liquid. Different liquids have different densities (mass per volume) and therefore, different weights. The heaviest liquids will sink, the lighter liquids will rise to the top.

Materials Needed:

• Food Coloring • Rubbing Alcohol • Water • Dish Soap (colored) • Canola or Vegetable Oil • Clean Jars or Glasses for Mixing • 1 Pint Canning Jar • Funnel

Procedure:

q Make a prediction: which liquid has the greatest density: dish liquid, rubbing alcohol, water, or oil? Place them in order from heaviest to lightest.

In this experiment, you will test your prediction.

float. If an item has a density greater than the water, it will sink. If the density is less than the water, it will float. If you add a teaspoon of salt to the water and stir it to dissolve it, you have increased the density of the water. If you have an item that did not float, keep adding salt to the bowl of water to see if you can make it float.

For More Information: Watch this video online—www.brainpop.com/science/ matterandchemistry/measuringmatter.

Learning Standards: I can read nonfiction text to gain background information about density.

Liquid Density in Motion!

e Mix 1/4 cup of water with food coloring of your choice. Using the funnel, slowly pour the water into the jar on top of the dish soap. r Next pour 1/4 cup of vegetable oil into the jar on top of the water and soap. Pour this slowly and carefully so that you don’t disturb the other layers any more than necessary. The vegetable oil is difficult to mix color into, so leave it in its natural state.

t Finish up by mixing red food coloring into 1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol and then carefully pouring this solution into the jar. This will leave you with four layers in the jar. They will be mixed up a bit from the pouring action, so set the jar aside in a well lit area where you can watch the layers begin to separate.

Discussion Questions: Was your prediction correct? Which liquid had the greatest density? Which liquid had the lightest density?

SCIENCE STARS

AFRICAN AMERICAN PHYSICIST:

Joe Johnson

Joseph A. Johnson III was born in Tennessee in 1940. He received his bachelor’s degree in physics from Fisk University in 1960. Johnson later attended Yale University, where he earned his master’s degree in 1961 and his doctorate degree in 1965. While there, Johnson was a Danforth Fellow and a National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellow. A “fellow” is a postgraduate student that is employed by the university to complete research and to teach. While at Yale, Johnson became interested in fluid dynamics.

Johnson conducted research at Sikorsky Aircraft Company and Bell Laboratories and has worked for NASA. He taught at Yale University, Southern University, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), and Rutgers University. He was named the Herbert Kayser Professor of Science and Engineering at the City College of New York. His research has focused on plasma turbulence and new methods for examining turbulence in physics. He co-founded the Advisory Council of the Edward Bouchet-Adus Salam International (EBASI) Center for Theoretical Physics Institute. This organization helps to continue the advancement of physics in Africa.

Fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that deals with fluid flow, the science of fluids in motion. This includes liquids and gases, such as air. The above graphic of an airplane wing shows the movement of air, (fluid flow), caused by the shape of the wing.

In 1990, Johnson became a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) and was named a member of the Third World Academy of Sciences. He has received an honorary doctorate from Fisk University and the 1995 Edward Bouchet Award from the American Physical Society. Johnson is a member of Sigma Xi honorary scientific society and the Naval Research Advisory Committee. Between 1988 and 1990, he served as president of the National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP).

Discussion Questions: Dr. Johnson is the winner of the Bouchet Award. Who is Edward Bouchet? Why is he important to the physics community? Dr. Johnson has done research on plasma turbulence. What kind of turbulence are you familiar with? What does it mean if something is turbulent?

Learning Standards: I can read a biography to learn about an African American who has made strides in the fields of math, science, and/or technology.

w Place 1/4 cup of dish soap in the one pint canning jar. Helpful tip: Pour liquids slowly and through a funnel.

MATH CONNECTION

Density is mass divided by volume. Therefore, mass is density multiplied by volume. Use these formulas to complete the questions.

Problem 1: You have a rock with a volume of 15cm3 and a mass of 60g. What is its density?

Learning Standards: I can make a prediction and test the accuracy. I can follow sequential directions to complete a task. Calculating

Problem 3: In the two examples which rock is heavier? Which is lighter?

Problem 4: In the two examples which rock is more dense? Which is less dense?

Problem 2: You have a different rock with a volume of 20cm3 and a mass of 60g. What is its density?

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

The Shape of the Final Scores:

Locate the Sports section of your newspaper. Record all of the final scores shown for a particular sport. Arrange the final scores in order from least to greatest. Calculate the mean, median, mode, and range of the numbers. Discuss your results.

Relevant Information:

Find an interesting news story to evaluate. Read the story and identify the main ideas. Number the main ideas in order of importance. Explain why you chose that order.

Learning Standards: I can add, subtract, multiply, and divide to solve a problem. I can determine the main idea. I can use specific details to defend my opinion.

In Mrs. Christy Wohlgemuth 8th grade class at Premier Charter School students Alex Corzine, Otis Woodard, John Nguyen, and Ruby Kraft discuss how to work a science experiment using an example from the STEM page in the newspaper. Photo by Wiley Price

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: csewell@stlamerican.com

Mrs. Christy’s 8th Grade Class - Premier Charter School

‘Anew’ way to recruit mentors

Big Brothers Big Sisters hopes to make new connections in new event space and test kitchen

By Sophie Hurwitz For The St. Louis American

“The way the world builds trusting and enduring relationships is primarily around a table,” said Rebecca J. Hatter, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters St. Louis. Creating those relationships – the mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters – is why they recently opened Anew, a new event space and test kitchen above its headquarters at 519 North Grand Blvd. in Grand Center.

“The name came from a couple places,” said Hatter. “First of all, the building faces the east, so when the sun comes up in the morning, your day is anew.” Indeed, the patio – no roof or

n “If St. Louis is going to be a better place to grow up as a kid, we’re going to have to introduce more people to young people so that they have more opportunities.”

– Rebecca J. Hatter, executive director of

Big Brothers Big Sisters St. Louis

tenting options, event planners – offers a stellar eastern view of Midtown to Downtown.

“Anew” also evokes the way the building has

evolved over the years.

“It used to be a building that was a Woolworth’s that had segregated lunch counters, in the ‘50s, and everyone is now welcome at the table where they were not welcome at the counter,” Hatter said.

“We believe that when you sit down and build relationships over food and at the table, your relationships are anew.”

Anew sits on the fourth floor of the current BBBS building on Grand. On the first floor, a private entry takes you to the rooftop and allows access to a test kitchen and another dining space.

The space plays two roles: an event area, and

Monsanto funds science program at Loyola Academy

n In 2009, less than 2 percent of college degrees went to African-American students in science and only 4 percent were awarded in math.

ST. LOUIS – The young men of Loyola Academy – an all-boys, Jesuit middle school in the Grand Center District – will receive support in their science education, thanks to a $40,000 grant from the Monsanto Fund. This grant will be used to affect student achievement in the field of science by: continuing to staff a certified science teacher who will engage students using experiments, technology and simulations; increase student performance and interest in the field of science and; dispel the myth that minorities are not welcome in and/ or successful in science related fields. Funding will also provide learning tools such as

supplies, field trips and

for Loyola’s

teacher. African Americans continue to receive far fewer degrees in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). In 2009, less than

Leslie K. Gill has been selected as the new executive director of Rung, which is transitioning to a new business model. The charity previously operated as a resale boutique, but will be restructured as an organization that provides multiple resources and services to help women achieve economic stability. Gill was previously the CEO of Annie Malone Children and Family Service Center.

Joseph Anderson was chosen by the board of directors as the new interim CEO of Annie Malone Children and Family Service Center. Anderson is the current CFO of the organization. Annie Malone operates multiple service centers in St. Louis for families in crisis and will now begin the process of choosing a permanent new CEO.

Deneen Busby has been named director of Marketing and Communications at Myrtle Hilliard Davis Comprehensive Health Centers, Inc. (MHDCHC). Busby has been with MHDCHC for three years and is well known for her radio work with iHeartMedia. MHDCHC provides health care services and health insurance counseling at several locations in the St. Louis area.

Reverend Starsky Wilson was elected unanimously as the new chair of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). Wilson is the president and CEO of the nonprofit Deaconess Foundation. The watchdog organization NCRP works to hold nonprofits accountable through research and advocacy.

DeAndrea Nichols is director and Social Design principal at Civic Creatives, following a threeyear term at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (CAM). Civic Creatives seeks creative and artistic solutions to social problems and collaborates with citizens. Nichols’ artwork is in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Gerald Horne received the first WES Award from the Workers’ Education Society, a nonprofit dedicated to ongoing adult education. Horne, a St. Louis native, is the author of more than 30 books and holds the John J. and Rebecca Moores Chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston. The foundation has also established a scholarship in his name.

On

Leslie K. Gill

Deneen Busby

Reverend Starsky Wilson

Gerald Horne

DeAndrea Nichols

Joseph Anderson

Photo by Miya Norfleet

See ANEW, B6

Hill lawmakers seek end to triple-digit interest on payday and car-title loans

By Charlene Crowell Columnist

A group of Capitol Hill lawmakers are combining efforts and influence to legislatively crack down on predatory lending nationwide.

Seventeen members of the U.S. House and eight U.S. Senators are supporting companion bills that would slash the cost of payday and car-title loans from their typical 300 percent annual interest rate to no more than 36 percent – the same rate protection that Congress first provided military families in 2006. Today 90 million Americans living in 15 states and D.C. benefit from enacted rate caps of 36 percent or lower. But in the other 35 states, residents remain vulnerable to triple-digit interest rates that average 400 percent nationwide on an average loan of only $350. When consumers use their car titles as collateral for a larger and equally costly loan, a loss of personal transportation occurs when borrowers can no longer keep up with the spiraling high costs. If enacted, the legislation is expected to have an immediate impact on payday and car-title loans; but would ensure that all consumer financial services would end cycles of debt that trick and trap unsuspecting consumers into long-term debt. The bicameral effort is led in the U.S. Senate by Senators Dick Durbin of Illinois and Jeff Merkley of Oregon. Their

leadership counterparts in the House of Representatives are Matt Cartwright of Scranton, Pennsylvania and Steve Cohen of Memphis, Tennessee. “Predatory lending

disproportionately harms people who are already struggling financially,” noted Rep. Cartwright where in Pennsylvania these types of predatory and high-cost loans

are already banned by state law. “This consumer-friendly legislation would provide relief from exorbitant fees for many low-income consumers across the country.”

Rep. Cohen, Cartwright’s House colleague felt similarly.

“Throughout my career, I have always worked to shield people from those who would take advantage of them through predatory lending practices that can wreak havoc on people’s lives and perpetuate a cycle of indebtedness,” said Rep. Cohen. “Both justice and morality dictate that reasonable caps on interest be enacted to protect borrowers from devious lenders.”

From the Deep South, to the Pacific Coast, and westward to the mid-Atlantic and Midwest states, state payday interest rates range as high as 662 percent in Texas to California’s 460 percent, and Virginia’s 601 percent. Likewise in the

Midwest, the states of Illinois, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin have comparable high interest rates that all exceed 400 percent. In Alabama and Mississippi, two of the nation’s poorest states when it comes to per capita incomes, payday interest rates are respectfully 521 percent and 456 percent.

“What we have encountered across the country,” said Yana Miles, Senior Legislative Counsel with the Center for Responsible Lending, “is that when voters are given the chance to support a rate cap, large majorities consistently say no to debt-trap lending.

Conversely, when it comes to state legislatures, reform efforts are often thwarted by the industry.

Already more than 40 national, state and local organizations have jointly written their Members of Congress in support of the legislation. Signers of the correspondence include civil

Both Missouri and Illinois fall under the category Payday Loan Debt Trap.

rights organizations, labor, consumer advocates, and research institutes.

In part the letter states, “Veterans, seniors, women, and communities of color are most often targeted for exploitation by these unaffordable high-cost loans. . .

.While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expressly prohibited from setting a rate cap, Congress is not and should do so. A federal rate cap puts all creditors on a level playing field without undermining any additional consumer protections in the states.”

“Despite the economic gains we have made as a nation in recent years, many working families continue to struggle,” noted Illinois’ Sen. Durbin. “For some, payday lenders offer a quick way to make ends meet, but their outrageous interest rate caps and hidden fees can have crippling effects on the people who can least afford it.”

“This bill’s simple, straightforward approach will protect consumers and ensure that families aren’t bankrupted by high interest rates and hidden fees,” noted Sen. Merkley.

Charlene Crowell is communications deputy director with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at Charlene. crowell@responsiblelending. org.

LOYOLA

continued from page B1

2 percent of college degrees went to African-American students in science and only 4 percent were awarded in math. In 2011, although African-Americans made up 11 percent of the workforce, only 6 percent were represented in STEM jobs. Further, studies show that African-American students continue to avoid STEM based careers as a result of stereotypes that they will not do well and/or because of socio-economic factors, (mainly attending schools where such study was not accessible and/or encouraged). Currently, 96 percent of Loyola’s student population is below federal poverty level. Eight-five percent are being raised by a single-parent, and 98 percent are AfricanAmerican.

Charlene Crowell

n “I feel like this was a breakthrough game for us offensively.”

– Cam Newton, after leading Carolina to an upset victory over the New England Patriots

Sports

Artivists unfurl banners at the Ballpark

Protestors unfurled a banner created by the Artivists at the St. Louis Cardinals game at Busch Stadium on Friday, September 29. It was an image of Fredbird wearing a jersey that said #ExpectUs with “Stop Killing Us!!” written at the bottom. As they dropped the banner during the game’s third inning, a few Cardinals fans tried to yank the banner down. Other protestors stood with a bright orange banner that read “Caution: Racism Lives Here.” They were heckled and confronted as they left the stadium.

Cardinal’ crappy season calls for spirited changed on field, and in the dugout

~ See ‘Sports Eye’ page B4 ~

Cardinal Ritter College Prep is enjoying an excellent run with a 6-1 record heading down the home stretch of the regular season. The only blemish on the Lions’ record is a loss to a powerful Trinity team during the third week of the season. In the Lions’ six victories, they are averaging more than 50 points a game.

Earl Austin Jr.

Ritter’s top ball carrier is powerful 5’7” 215-pound junior Jared Price, who has rushed for 560 yards and 11 touchdowns. Junior Jameson Williams is a bigplay performer who has 22 receptions for 641 yards and seven touchdowns. He also has three touchdowns on kick and punt returns. Williams has earned scholarship offers from a number of top programs, including Ohio State University. Sophomore quarterback Ernest Wess has passed for 992 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Lions’ defense features 6’2” 210pound senior defensive end Donnell Sharp, who has come back strong after suffering a season-ending knee injury last year. Sharp has recorded 60 tackles this season. Senior defensive back Jared Phillips is a ball hawk who has three interceptions while junior Isaiah Jones has a team-high 64 tackles with an interception and a quarterback sack. Cardinal Ritter will close the regular season home games against Priory and St. Mary’s in the final two weeks.

Earl’s Exciting Weekend I was treated to three exciting football

The 2017 NBA All-Star game was the league’s mostwatched midseason event since 2013. A big reason for the boost in popularity was the widely known drama between former Oklahoma City Thunder teammates and BFFs Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Everybody wondered if the game would defrost the icy relationship that started when Durant took his talents to The Bay without even giving Westbrook a heads up. The stars gave each other the silent treatment during team practices and media sessions. Epic levels of passive-aggressive shade were thrown between the two players. The KD vs Westbrook storyline dominated every sports-related TV show, article, podcast and social media post leading up to the game. In the end, the played together for just 80 seconds but shared the lob heard ‘round the world when Durant connected with an alley-oop pass to Westbrook. The moment gave

fans and media a feel-good moment for the day. After an exciting offseason, that featured plenty of wheeling and dealing of star players, it’s clear the NBA intends to milk the drama for all its worth. The league announced it will depart from the usual East vs West format for the 2017 All-Star Game. Instead the two leading vote-getters, aka LeBron James and Stephen Curry, will serve as captains and draft their teams from the entire roster of All-Star selections, regardless of conference affiliation. Those voted in as starters will be selected first, followed by the reserves. The new format is surely designed to stir up chatter at barbershops and water coolers, message boards and basketblogs. Will James pass over former teammate Kyrie Irving for a lesser player? Will Durant and Westbrook end up on opposite teams and take turns dunking on each other? Will the Warriors

Ishmael H. Sistrunk

SportS EyE

With Alvin A. Reid

Cardinals’ crappy season calls for spirited changes on field, in the dugout

The Major League Baseball postseason is underway and, for a second consecutive year, the St. Louis Cardinals are nowhere to be found.

Four games over .500 (83-79) just ain’t cuttin’ it.

Regardless of losing Alex Reyes to Tommy John surgery in spring training and a rash of ailments that limited Dexter Fowler, Kolten Wong, Matt Carpenter and other key players’ participation, the Cardinals have no excuse.

The team under-performed, suffered through some of the dizziest managerial moves seen anywhere in baseball and finished in third place –third place.

The Milwaukee Brewers finished second behind the Chicago Cubs, and declared to the division that they are no longer a doormat.

“Athleticism can lead to guys with potential being better defenders. Athleticism can make guys become better baserunners. Athleticism can give guys a better chance to improve and take advantage of the other skills we look for in baseball. The way we’ve looked to build our team, we have looked to athleticism as an important component.”

Where do the Cardinals go from this empty first week of October through the beginning of spring training in Jupiter, Fla.?

Post-Dispatch beat writer Derrick Goold wrote Tuesday that Fowler, Wong and Tommy Pham – all players of color –only played 42 times together.

The Redbirds obviously needed their speed, athleticism and attitude – all were missing at key parts of the season. When that trio played together, the Cardinals played solid baseball.

The team was “athletic,” which often means “not all white.”

Think back to August 30 when Brewers’ centerfielder Keon Broxton snagged Randall Grichuk’s sure home run to preserve a onerun win for his team. I still figured the Brewers would fold in September, but that was the first day I thought “the Cardinals might not catch them.”

“Athleticism is important to us,” Brewers general manager David Stearns told Goold.

The talk of signing a “big bat” for the middle of the lineup is just that, I’m afraid – talk. That’s where the interest in missed games by key players stems. Why spend big money when injuries can explain the Cardinals’ lackluster season? That’s not me talking, that’s the Cards’ owner and front office.

A penny saved is a penny earned in Redbirds World. I’m not forgetting the 2016 offseason investments in Fowler and Brett Cecil. Fowler’s paid off for the most part, Cecil’s flatout didn’t.

I feel the franchise will be hesitant to open its vault and make a trade for Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton –who has a gargantuan contract. It also would not be willing to part with key young players and/or prospects to secure a trade for third baseman Manny Machado of the Baltimore Orioles, who could then leave as a free agent after the 2018 season. By the way, I heard “phenom” and “revelation” attached to shortstop Paul Dejong’s name in September after his outstanding summer of base-

ball. Not so fast, folks. The baseball world has a few months to figure him out and he hasn’t made a believer out of me just yet.

Just like Pham, had Dejong started the season in St. Louis, he might have made the AllStar team. It does not mean that either player is All-Star caliber over an entire season. They could be, but we’ll have to wait and see.

The Cardinals’ jump start should begin with a visit to former third base coach Jose Oquendo’s residence in Florida. Whatever needs to be said, whatever needs to be offered financially, should be part of a conversation that brings him back to the bench next season.

Yadier Molina’s midseason social media spat with manager Mike Matheny proved that the team misses Oquendo. Molina mentioned “old school baseball” with a photo of him and Oquendo. No mixed messages there.

If not Oquendo, how about Davey Lopes?

The former Brewers manager and L.A. Dodgers star second baseman is the Washington Nationals first base coach. He is still noted for his in-yourface style of coaching and doesn’t let baserunning blunders or misplays in the field slide by without comment.

The Cardinals needed someone to meet them at the top step of the dugout after obviously stupid moves (yes, you Matt Carpenter) and Matheny isn’t up to that task.

Detroit Tigers batting coach Lloyd McClendon will be

interviewed for that team’s open managerial position.

The former Pittsburgh Pirates and Seattle Mariners manager probably won’t get the job, leaving him open to come to St. Louis. He’s noted for his fiery temper, something the Cards’ dugout could use.

A year ago, even Cardinal Nation was fixated on the Chicago Cubs World Series run – and (ugh) the upcoming presidential election.

All eyes are on the Cardinals’ front office this go ’round. The team needs help in the field, at the plate and in the dugout. If there isn’t significant change, be prepared for a third year of no postseason.

Driving a nice deal

Rather than calling protesting black players an awful

name, Detroit Lions owner Martha Ford took a very respectful approach.

She asked her players to not kneel. In exchange for finding a different way to demonstrate their concern for racial injustice and police brutality, Ford will donate money and her name to community issues “at the heart of the players’ cause.”

“As a team, we came together, talked to Mrs. Ford, the owners, and we understand the issues for the most part, generally,” running back Ameer Abdullah said.

“Me personally, I definitely want to be an aid in growing the social awareness in this country, that it is a race problem in this country.

“We do dance around the topic a lot and Mrs. Ford has come forward and said that as long as we compromise as a team and unify and make a unified demonstration, she’ll back us financially. So, I’m definitely going to hold her to her word.”

Ford had linked arms with Lions coach Jim Caldwell and her three daughters at Ford Field last week during the national anthem.

Oakland Raiders players wore “Everybody vs. Trump” T shirts, and there were raised fists and kneeling throughout the NFL on Sunday, Oct. 1

About half the members of the San Francisco 49ers knelt during the national anthem before their game against the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, Ariz., while some of those kneeling also placed their hands over their hearts. Their teammates stood behind them, with one hand over their hearts and the other on the shoulders of the kneeling players. The 49ers issued a statement saying the demonstration was meant to show unity, love and brotherhood.

Our demonstration is simply a representation of how we hope our country can also come together by putting differences aside and solving its problems,” said the team, which encouraged fans to “embrace your differences, find strength in them, and come together for the good of all.”

Ward open to protest

St. Louis Blues nemesis Joel Ward of the San Jose Sharks said last week he would not rule out taking a knee during the national anthem. The Sharks forward told The Mercury News he might be the first NHL player to take the peaceful form of protest to the ice, saying “I wouldn’t cross it out,” when asked if he would do it.

There are about 30 black players in the NHL and, as I have written about NFL players, all should take a knee over a one or two-day period and not leave anyone hanging out for specific criticism.

“I’ve experienced a lot of racism myself in hockey and on a day-to-day occurrence,” he said. “I haven’t really sat down to think about it too much yet, but I definitely wouldn’t say no to it.” P.K. Subban of the Nashville Predators, one of the game’s black stars, reportedly told an audience at a Nashville comedy club that his team had decided to not protest in any fashion and that he would “never take a knee,” during the anthem.

Let me translate:

“I will never take a knee because Nashville folk would run my black behind right out of town.”

Alvin A. Reid was honored as the 2017 “Best Sports Columnist – Weeklies” in the Missouri Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest. He is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook, is a weekly contributor to “The Charlie Tuna Show” on KFNS and can also be heard on Frank Cusumano’s “The Press Box.” His Twitter handle is #aareid1.

Alvin A. Reid

The St. Louis Cardinals expect to make many changes over the off-season. One of the top concerns will be the bullpen where relievers such as Brett Cecil and Seunghwan Oh (above), failed to produce for much of the 2017 season.

CLUTCH

Continued from B3 Conference will still field 12 players in the All-Star Game.

The talent pool was already considered awfully thin in the East. Now, 2017 All-Stars Paul George (Thunder), Carmelo Anthony (Thunder), Paul Millsap (Nuggets) and Jimmy Butler (Timberwolves) have all moved out West. The Cavaliers’ Isaiah Thomas is not expected to return from his hip injury until January. Maybe Adam Silver can convince Michael Jordan and Jason Kidd to swap out their front-office suits for jerseys and shorts to help the East have proper star representation from the East.

I understand why the league won’t eliminate the conference restrictions on the number of players in the All-Star Game. First, it would be a formal admission that the East is currently an inferior conference. Secondly, it would eliminate one of the few incentives for conference parity.

Don’t think for one second that Gordon Hayward didn’t at least consider that the Eastern Conference would provide an easier path to becoming a perennial All-Star when he decided to leave the Utah Jazz for the Boston Celtics. Still, Western snubs like

PREP

Continued from B3

games on three consecutive days over the weekend. On Thursday night at Kirkwood, MICDS defeated Westminster 38-31 in a shootout in which the Rams scored in the final minute of the game for the victory. On Friday night, Lindbergh defeated Ritenour 46-42 in a showdown of undefeated teams that lived up to the hype. The Flyers needed a late goal-line stand in the closing seconds to hold off Ritenour. On Saturday, Hazelwood Central defeated Pattonville 33-27 in an overtime thriller. With the regular season winding down and the playoffs just around the corner, the excitement level is beginning to ramp up around the metro area.

Stellar performers last week

• Receiver Bryce Childress of Trinity scored five touchdowns on three receptions, a punt return and an interception return in the Titans’ 71-10 victory over Tolton Catholic.

• Quarterback Mekai Hagens of Hazelwood East passed for 329 yards and two touchdowns in the Spartans’ 20-14 victory over Rockwood Summit.

Damon Lillard Mike Conley Rudy Gobert and Karl Anthony-Towns are prohibitively better than players who will likely represent the East. The league needs to find a way to fix this problem. Still, the NBA’s All-Star changes are a huge step in the right direction. Big Baller ego strikes again With everything going on in the world, I try hard to be on Issa Rae’s level and root for “everybody black.” However, Mr. Big Baller Brand, LaVar Ball, makes it so very difficult. Ball recently made headlines when he announced that he would remove his youngest

son, LaMelo Ball, from Chino Hills High over a dispute with the new head coach, Dennis Latimore “[Latimore] came in with his own mindset. Like he was gonna change the whole program,” LaVar Ball stated. “I told him, ‘We lost three games in three years. C’mon, man. What are you bringing to the table?’”

Despite losing just three games in the past three seasons, Chino Hills is on its third basketball coach during that same period. Many point to LaVar Ball as the reason for the high turnover, despite the enormous level of success.

16-year-old LaMelo Ball’s high school hoops career is over after his father, LaVar Ball, removed him from Chino Hills High School due to a disagreement with the school’s new basketball coach. LaMelo will spend his final two high school years being home schooled and privately trained.

In an interview with ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, LaVar Ball stated, “That coach has his own frame of mind on how he wants to play and who he picks in the team. OK, y’all got that going on, let’s see how you do without my tutelage.”

In an instant, LaVar Ball decided to end his 16-yearold son’s high school basketball career in order to home school him and train him privately. Going forward, LaMelo Ball will only play competitive prep basketball on the AAU circuit.

Now I’m not one to tell a father how he should raise his

son, however, it seems absurd for a parent to remove a child from high school and high school sports because a basketball coach wants to … coach.

The move to pull LaMelo Ball from school is the most egotistical decision made this side of the White House.

Eureka quarterback Jhalon Asher-Sanders (10) escapes the grasp of McCluer North linebacker Munajj Shahid (33) during Saturday’s game at North. The Wildcats of Eureka went on to defeat the Stars of McCluer 56-0.

Hopefully, the rash decision will not negatively impact LaMelo’s basketball career. You have to believe that UCLA is trying to determine whether the talented Ball brothers are worth the headache their father brings. Then again, NCAA programs have currently have other concerns and bigger fish to fry. But that’s a column for another day. Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter at @ IshmaelSistrunk.

the St. louiS AmericAn college AthleteS of the Week

Najee Jackson

The junior quarterback from Lincoln, Neb. had a career passing day in the Lions’ near upset of No. 14 ranked Fort Hays State last Saturday in St. Charles. Jackson completed 29 passes for 365 yards and three touchdowns in the

Lions’ 38-35 loss. Jackson’s touchdown passes were of 11, 4 and 17 yards.

For the season, Jackson has completed 91 of 154 passes for 1,142 yards and nine touchdowns. He has completed nearly 60 percent of his pass attempts.

Jazmin Malinowski

– Women’s Hockey

• Running back Titus Baker of Miller Career Academy rushed for 289 yards on 17 carries and five touchdowns in the Phoenix 42-0 victory over Roosevelt.

• Wide receiver Dijion Walls of Hazelwood East caught seven passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns in

the Spartans’ 20-14 victory over Rockwood Summit.

Top Games of the Week

Lindbergh (7-0) at Eureka (6-1), Friday, 7 p.m.

Ritenour (6-1) at Pattonville (4-3), Friday, 7 p.m.

Mater Dei (2-4) at Lutheran North (6-0), Friday, 7 p.m.

Parkway West (6-1) at Parkway Central (6-1), Friday, 7 p.m.

CBC (6-1) at Rockhurst (5-2), Friday, 7 p.m.

Lutheran St. Charles – Football

The talented senior enjoyed a big performance running and passing in the Cougars’ 51-7 victory over Central Homeschool last Friday night. French rushed for 160 yards on eight carries and scored two touchdowns on runs of 53 and 59 yards. He also passed for 435 yards and four touchdowns on passes of 76, 19,

• Running back Cole Mueller of Holt rushed for 393 yards and eight touchdowns in the Indians’ 51-45 victory over Fort Zumwalt South.

25 and 29 in his first game as the Cougars’ quarterback. In the process, French also became the all-time rushing leader in Lutheran St. Charles history, surpassing the 4,000-yard mark last Friday. For the season, French has rushed for 916 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Francis Howell Central (3-4) at Francis Howell (5-2), Friday, 7 p.m.

Hazelwood Central (6-1) at Hazelwood West (5-2), Saturday, 1 p.m.

Webster Groves (3-2) at Parkway North (4-3), Saturday, 1 p.m.

Affton (4-3) at McCluer South-Berkeley (5-0), Saturday, 1 p.m.

The sophomore goalie from New Lenox, Ill. recorded a shutout in the Bearcats opening season victory over Grand Canyon State last week.

Malinowski saved all 17 shots from Grand Canyon and also

Lindenwood University – Football had an assist on McKendree’s first goal during its 2-0 victory. As a freshman in 2016, Malinowski had a record of 4-2 in the nets and recorded a 3.3 goals against average during the season.

Photo by Wiley Price

four hours a month to spare to be an older sibling for a kid who needs one.

a

Hatter hopes that the space will aid in the relationship-building that is fundamental to BBBS, by helping recruit new Big Brothers and Big Sisters for the organization, and by helping community members come together over a table and connect with each other.

Mentor recruitment is urgent, Hatter said – there are never as many Big Brothers and Big Sisters signed up as hopeful Little siblings on the waiting list to match with them.

“Every day we have a thousand kids waiting for a Big Brother or a Big Sister,” said Hatter. “If we make 50 matches this month, another 50 kids will come on.”

So, with events held at Anew, the organization can recruit more mentors – adults from around St. Louis with

“I mean, there’s really no reason why St. Louis can’t show up with a thousand new people,” she said. “I mean, we have all these young people in this community. We have retirees. Everyone can be a Big, and we have a thousand kids waiting.”

Aside from recruitment events, Anew will be used to say “thank you” to the 1,700 active Bigs currently involved in the organization. It will hold thanksgiving dinners for Big and Little siblings to share, and celebrations for Little siblings who experience important life milestones. It will also be open to the entire St. Louis community. The space will be able to host everything from corporate events, to yoga classes, to family celebrations. Originally, Anew was going to be utilized only by BBBSaffiliated events, but then, Hatter said, “We realized this is such a fabulous space with so many unique opportunities, we should make it available to the community to use!” All of the rent from these community

events will go to BBBS.

Another way Anew is interconnected with the community is through its test kitchen, which will employ various St. Louis area chefs. “St. Louis is a foodie place,” said Hatter. Those chefs will be able to use the opportunity to test new concepts, and BBBS hopes to use the space for cooking classes for kids, as well.

“We really believe in this idea that we can come together. We have to come together,” said Hatter.

She sees Anew as a way to create a more interconnected community through the kind of bonding that can only happen around a table.

“If St. Louis is going to be a better place to grow up as a kid, we’re going to have to introduce more people to young people so that they have more opportunities,” she said. “So Anew is really a promise to the community, of hope, of opportunity. That we really, as a community, can come together.”

For more information, call 314-615-1047 or visit http:// meetanew.com.

Financial Focus

By Courtney Bond

Photo by Cory Miller

‘Everything that we do is going to be for black empowerment’

From Ferguson youth to rising filmmaker

By Sharee Silerio For The St. Louis American

As a child, David Kirkman lived in a small apartment in Ferguson, Mo. with his parents and four siblings.

“Early on, between one (year old) and like six (years old), we were pretty poor,” he said. “I remember sitting on the floor eating in the kitchen. We didn’t even have a kitchen table.”

Living It

‘For Ahkeem’ comes home

Film about student of Judge Edwards’ alternative school to make STL premiere

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

In the opening scene of the Jeremy S. Levine and Landon Van Soest documentary film “For Ahkeem,” St. Louis teen Daje Shelton stands before Judge Jimmie Edwards in court, all out of second chances.

She’s been getting suspended since she was five years old, but a fight during her junior year of high school means that Shelton is no longer welcome at public school.

She has two choices: attend Edwards’ Innovative Concept Academy or be done with school altogether.

“I can’t get into college from no alternative school,” Shelton tells her mother.

She knows that she is a smart and wellrounded student, but her chances in life are tied to individuals looking beyond her behavioral choices.

The documentary film “For Ahkeem”

she wants is for her daughter to repeat that

“Judge always talked about not giving kids a second, third or fourth

by

a

Graffiti bridge

on

and

n While staying a couple of nights at his grandparent’s house in Kansas City when he was 18, the now 22 year-old discovered his calling.

When he was 14 years old, his father started a church. A few years later, his family ended up moving out of their apartment into a house in Ferguson, then to Maryland Heights, Mo., right before his senior year of high school. Leaving a predominately African-American neighborhood to move to a diverse community exposed the briefcase toting, suit jacket and jean-wearing teen to a life outside of what he calls a “sheltered” upbringing. “I was brought up one specific way, and told to follow that one specific way. I was much more reserved,” Kirkman said. “I wasn’t open minded. I didn’t drink, I didn’t smoke, and I still don’t smoke. I didn’t go out. I didn’t do anything. I don’t know what it’s like to go to a prom. I don’t know what it’s like to go to a homecoming.”

And while his classmates were attending dances and doing “teen” things, Kirkman was editing his first short film, called “Extraction.” Although film is what he is known for, he grew up wanting to make beats and create music scores. Film wasn’t on his mind until four years ago.

While staying a couple of nights at his grandparent’s house in Kansas City when he was 18, the now 22 year-old discovered his calling.

“My granddad was like, ‘Have you seen that movie Inception?’ I was like, ‘No, what is it? Inception? What is an inception?’” Kirkman recalled, laughing. “I watched it on Blu-ray in his man cave, and ended up watching the behind the scenes. I watched the movie and the behind the scenes twice that night.”

See FILM, C4

By Mark Loehrer For The

St. Louis American

Displacement is not an abstract concept or a term reserved for academia or newspaper editorials, but rather a lived reality – and in St. Louis, a reality often encountered by African American homeowners, renters, and business owners. From benign neglect to eminent domain, there is no tool in the hands of public policymakers that St. Louis African American communities have not been affected and decimated by.

“Eminent Domain/Displaced,” a collaborative installation by Matt Rahner and Lois Conley, which opens October 6 at the Griot Museum, is a new exhibit that explores neighborhoods victimized by eminent domain. Visitors will view scenes from Kansas City’s Wendell Phillips neighborhood to Mill Creek Valley and St.

Louis Place (home to the upcoming NGA West Campus), scenes of life before and after the headache ball. From Mill Creek Valley to Meacham Park, residents have been bought out of or forced out of their homes in the name of “progress.” Using willing partners in the media, local city officials

have manipulated public opinion, masking displacement behind a facade of offering attractive market rate homes or the potential for high-rise office space. In exchange for the disruption of black lives and the seizure of black homes and businesses, the larger community is assured of new tax revenues and jobs. In the

The underlying implications are that

property inherently lacks

that black residents in the path of shopping centers or military installations somehow contribute less to society than do the individuals and businesses replacing them.

Advocates

‘Chasing Waterfalls,’ a new R&B musical revue that strolls down memory lane from the 90s into the early 2000s, will close TLT Productions’ inaugural season, October 5-7, 2017.The show will take place

Film maker David Kirkman.

Photo courtesy of David Kirkman

gives viewers the opportunity to do so over the course of her junior and senior years at the school starting in 2013. The odds were stacked against Shelton since before she was born. Shelton’s mother was expelled from school at the same age. The outcome was limited opportunities because of her lack of education and an impoverished life for her family. The last thing

cycle.

chance because

the time they come before him in his courtroom they are already

their twelfth chance,” said Bradley J. Rayford, who worked on the film as

field producer

soundperson. “He felt that See AHKEEM, C4

The two-day St.ART Festival held this weekend at Forest Park and Fairgrounds Park used street art to connect communities and brought together artists of all ages and backgrounds. “The intent was to come together for love,” organizer Michael Tompkins said about the festival. “To celebrate the city – and the diversity in our community.”

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

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. 6, 7 p.m., Pulitzer Arts Foundation presents The Score feat. Brian Owens and Composition for Life. 3716 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. pulitzerarts.org.

Sat., Oct. 7, 9 p.m., The Boulevard Concert Series present T.K. Kravitz. 2543 N. Grand Blvd., 63106. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Sun., Oct. 8, 7:30 p.m., The Kevin Eubanks Band Eubanks is a guitarist and composer, and the former Music Director of The Tonight Show band. Wildey Theatre, 252 N. Main St., Edwardsville, IL. 62025. For more information, visit www.tickets. vendini.com.

Tues., Oct. 10, 8 p.m., Old Rock House presents Benjamin Booker. 1200 S. 7th St., 63104. For more information, visit www. oldrockhouse.com.

Fri., Oct. 13, 7 p.m., “RAW” EP Release Concert. Join us in a night of music, singing, theater, and dance. Harris Stowe State University, 3026 Laclede Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Fri., Oct. 13, 8 p.m., The Gaslight Cabaret Festival presents An Evening with Paula West. 358 N. Boyle Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www. gaslightcabaretfestival.com.

Sat., Oct. 21, 8 p.m., Chaifetz Arena presents Janet Jackson: State of the World Tour. 1 S. Compton Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Sat., Oct. 21, 8 p.m., An Evening with Cedric The Entertainer and Friends featuring Sheila E. The

Peabody Opera House, 1400 Market. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit http://www.ssmhealthstmarys. org/cedric-and-friends/t. Sheila E.

Sun., Oct. 22, 5 pm Chuck Flowers: Up Close & Personal with Darrell Mixon/upright bass, Leland Crenshaw/acoustic guitar and David A. N. Jackson, BB’s Jazz Soups and Blues, 700 S. Broadway.

special events

Fri., Oct. 6, 5 p.m., Sistahs Entertaining U invites you to Camo for a Cause. Help raise funds for families devastated by the recent hurricanes. Lowes Café, 8911 Natural Bridge, 63121. For more information, call (314) 7411646.

Sat., Oct. 7, 2 p.m., Thomas Dunn Learning Center presents Missouri Prairie Festival 2017. 3113 Gasconade St., 63118. For more information, visit www. tdunn.org.

Sat., Oct. 7, 9 a.m., Missouri Baptist Medical Center’s Second Annual Charity Car Show. We will have more than 50 cars on display, vendors, entertainment and more. Proceeds will benefit the United Way. 3015 N. Ballas Rd., 63131. For more information, call (314) 9964180.

Oct. 7 – 8, 3rd Annual St. Louis Natural Hair and Black Cultural Expo 2017. Holiday Inn Downtown, 811 N. 9th St., 63101. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sat., Oct. 7, 11 a.m., Community Birth and Wellness Center invites you to our Community Baby

Kenya Vaughn recommends

Celebrating Civil Rights: A Two-Part Tribute to Dick Gregory. See LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS for details.

Shower. We’ll collect and distribute new and gently used maternity and infant items. 8 Church St., 63135. For more information and a list of needed items, visit www. facebook.com.

Sat., Oct. 7, 12 p.m., Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., Kappa Sigma Chapter presents their 5th Annual Sigma Charity Classic Golf Tournament. Eagle Springs Golf Course, 2575 Redman Ave., 63136. For more information, visit www. sigmacharityclassic.com.

Sat., Oct. 7, 1 p.m., St. Louis Performing and Visual Arts Fair. College-bound students interested in performing arts can learn more about degrees offered in their area of interest. Grant Gymnasium, Webster University, 470 E. Lockwood Ave., 63119. For more information, visit www. nacacfairs.org.

Sat., Oct. 7, 2 p.m., Thomas Dunn Learning Center presents Missouri Prairie Festival 2017. This year we will have educational talks, interactive workshops, solarpowered live music, and more. 3113 Gasconade St., 63118. For more information, visit www.tdunn.org.

Sat., Oct. 7, 2 p.m., 12th Annual Grove Fest. Come out for a kid’s zone, street performers, vendors, live performances, and more. Machester Ave. between Tower Grove and Sarah, 63110. For more information, visit www.thegrovestl.com.

Sat., Oct. 7, 5 p.m., Harrison Entertainment presents The Dream Awards. Join us as we those who have achieved their dreams including Lifetime Achievement Recipient, Dr. Donald M. Suggs. Harris Stowe, 3026 Laclede Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Sun., Oct. 8, 11 a.m., Florissant Old Town Partners presents Florissant Fall Festival. Join us for a chili cookoff, wine garden, flea market, vendors, pony rides, and much more. 955 St. Francois St., 63031. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Tues., Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m., UMSL Student Involvement presents Todrick Hall Live! – Conversation & Performance. Touhill Performing Arts Center, UMSL, 1 University Blvd., 63121. For more information, visit www.touhill.org.

Oct. 12 – 14, Helium Comedy Club presents Sinbad. 1151 St. Louis Galleria, 63117. For more information, visit www. heliumcomedy.com.

Thur., Oct. 12, 11 a.m., Choice Career Fair St. Louis. Walk in and start interviewing with hiring decision makers. Double Tree Westport, 1973 Craigshire Rd., 63146. For more information and to register, visit www.eventbrite. com.

Sat., Oct. 14, 12:30 p.m., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Omicron Theta Omega Chapter and Harris Stowe State University present the HBCU Awareness College Fair. Emerson Performance Center, 3026 Laclede Ave., 63103. For more information, email henscsc@gmail.com.

Tues., Oct. 17, 6 p.m., St. Louis Career Fair. Meet employers looking to hire in the areas of telemarketing, customer service, financial services, sales, and more. Double Tree Westport, 1973 Craigshire Rd., 63146. For more information and to register, visit www.eventbrite. com.

Fri., Oct. 20, 6 p.m., The SoulFisher Ministries invites you to the 4th Annual AGAPE Gala. Andre’s Banquet and Catering, 4254 Telegraph Rd., 63129. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sat., Oct. 21, 12 p.m., Black Nurses Association of Greater St. Louis invites you to their First Annual Scholarship Luncheon Catering To You, 12777 New Halls Ferry Rd., 63134. For more information, visit www. bnast.louis.org.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Gamma Omega Chapter presents Girl’s Month. Throughout the month of September, they will have events to celebrate the strength of young girls, while also addressing some of the biggest challenges they face. For more information, visit www.akagostl.com.

literary

Sun., Oct. 8, 11:30 a.m., Left Bank Books presents Christian Robinson: When’s My Birthday? A celebration of birthdays written by Julie Fogliano and illustrated by Caldecott and Coretta Scott King Honoree, Robinson.

Thur., Oct. 19, 7 p.m., St. Louis County Library hosts author Brit Bennett, author of The Mothers. A story of love and ambition that asks whether a “what if” can be more powerful than an experience. 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd., 63131. For more information, visit www.slcl.org.

Thur., Oct. 19, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books hosts author Mark Bowden, author of Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam An in depth look at the Tet Offensive.

Tues., Oct. 24, 4:30 p.m., Library Faculty Book Talk Series: Paul Steinbeck, author of Message to Our Folks: The Art Ensemble of Chicago. Olin Library, Washington

University, 1 Brookings Dr., 63130. For more information, visit www.music.wustl.edu.

Fri., Oct. 6, 7:30 a.m., Arts and the Innovation Economy: St. Louis’ Competitive Edge. Learn how the arts are fostering a more competitive and innovative workforce in the region. CIC St. Louis/Cortex, 4240 Duncan Ave., 63110. For more information, visit www.focusstl.org/events.

Fri., Oct. 6, 7 p.m., St. Louis Art Museum presents Conversation with the Artist: Mickalene Thomas. Thomas works on a larger-than-life scale using diverse media to explore black female identity and representation. 1 Fine Arts Dr., 63110. For more information, visit www.slam. org.

Oct. 7 – 8, The Shaw Neighborhood Improvement Association presents the Historic Shaw Art Fair Featuring 135 artists, music, art demonstrations and kids’ activities, and more. 4100 & 4200 blocks of Flora Place, 63110. For more information, visit www.shawstlouis.org.

Through October 7, The Pulitzer Arts Foundation presents Blue Black curated by Glenn Ligon, The Pulitzer Arts Foundation, 3716 Washington Blvd. For more information, visit www. pulitzerarts.org.

Fri., Oct. 13, 7 p.m., St. Louis Art Museum presents Come to Your Senses: African Arts, Sensiotics and Understanding of Persons, Cultures, and Histories. African Art Lecture in honor of Tom Alexander. 1 Fine Arts Dr., 63110. For more information, visit www.slam. org.

lectures and workshops

Sat., Oct. 7, 10 a.m., Women on a Rise presents Speak Out: Domestic Violence Awareness Event. Gain awareness about domestic violence, healthy relationships, and more. Youth and Family Center, 818 Cass Ave., 63106. For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

Sun., Oct. 8, 2:30 p.m., STL Village Community Engagement Committee presents Gray Power –Older Adults and Activism Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information or to register, call (314) 802-0275. Wed., Oct. 11, 5:30 p.m., Show-Me Institute presents War of Words: Free Speech vs. Tyranny on Campus. David French will discuss today’s main threats to free speech. Washington University School of Law, 1 Brookings Dr., 63130. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Fri., Oct. 13, 7 p.m., Identifying Physical and Mental Abuse. Learn about indicators of abuse, effects of abuse, and resources for victims. Grace Gospel Temple, 2407 Droste Rd., 63301. For

more information, call (314) 503-4667.

Sat., Oct. 14, 8:30 a.m., Beyond Housing presents a Home Buyer Education Class. Learn more about the benefits of homeownership and if buying a home is right for you. 24:1 Excel Center, 6724 Page Ave., 63133. For more information, visit www. beyondhousing.org.

Sat., Oct. 14, 10 a.m., Great Commission Center presents ABC’s of Savings Youth Financial Workshop Midland Bank and PNC Bank will teach youth 18 and under about banking and saving. 121 N.Harvey Ave., 63135. For more information or to register visit www.eventbrite.com.

Sun., Oct. 15, 3:30 p.m., Celebrating Civil Rights: A Two Part Tribute to Dick Gregory. Part I: Honoring a Civil Rights Legend. Part II will take place Nov. 30. Graham Chapel, Washington University, 1 Brookings Dr., 63105. For more information visit www.eventbrite.com.

Wed., Oct. 18, 5:30 p.m., So Reel: Economic Justice –Lessons in Connection from the Cowry Collective. Learn how local people are changing economic inequality. Phyllis Wheatley Heritage Center, 2711 Locust St., 63103. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Wed., Oct. 18, 6:30 p.m., The Scholarship Foundation invites you to a FAFSA Workshop. Learn about The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and completion assistance is available by appointment. 6825 Clayton Ave., 63139. For more information, visit www.sfstl. org.

Thur., Oct. 19, 6 p.m., Panel

Discussion: Injury, Trauma, and Repair. Explore issues relating to trauma and repair in conjunction with the opening of Kader Attia: Reason’s Oxymorons. Kemper Art Museum, 1 Brookings Dr., 63130. For more information, visit www.kemperartmuseum. wustl.edu.

theatre

Oct. 5 – 7, TLT Productions presents Chasing Waterfalls. This R&B musical revue features music from the 90’s and early 00’s, while exploring pop culture and the glorified life of the music industry. .Zack, 3224 Locust St., 63103.

For more information, visit www.metrotix.com.

Fri., Oct. 6, 7 p.m., Acts for Houston: Artists Helping Artists. A variety show with all proceeds going to benefit the professional artists of the Houston Theater District. Grandel, 3610 Grandel Sq., 63108. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com.

Fri., Oct. 13, 7 p.m., Phil Woodmore Singers presents Antigone in Ferguson. Performance will be followed by a discussion. Harris Stowe State University, 3026 Laclede Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sat., Oct. 14, 7 p.m., The Drum Major Instinct. See Dr. Martin Luther King’s final sermon performed in a dramatic reading. Harris Stowe State University, 3026 Laclede Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Through October 15, Fox Theatre presents The Bodyguard The Musical starring Deborah Cox. 527 N.Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. fabulousfox.com.

Sunday Oct.15th 3 p.m.,

JE’CARYOUS JOHNSON presents TWO CAN PLAY THAT GAME: The

Stageplay, an all-star cast including film star Vivica A.Fox, Vivian Green, Gary Dourdan, Columbus Short, Porsha Williams, Carl Payne and more, The Peabody Opera House, 1400 Market Str.For more information call 314499-7600.

Thur., Oct. 19, 7 p.m., R-S

Theatrics presents Falling to Find Me with Marshall Jennings. Examine the notion that perhaps pain is instrumental in sculpting our lives. The Monocle, 4510 Manchester Ave., 63110. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Oct. 20 – 22, COCA presents The Wiz. The Black Rep’s Ron Himes directs this upbeat retelling of Dorothy and her crew’s adventure through the Land of Oz. 524 Trinity Ave., 63130. For more information, visit www.cocastl.org/event/ the-wiz.

health

Sat., Oct. 7, 8 a.m., 8th

Annual Sista Strut Breast Cancer Walk. Raising awareness about the issues of breast cancer in women of color and provided information on resources. For more information, visit www. thebeatstl.iheart.com.

Thur., Oct. 12, 6 p.m., Lifelong Vision Foundation presents The Eye Ball. Help support our programs such as free vision exams and glasses for lowincome families. The Hilton St. Louis Frontenac, 1335 S. Lindbergh Blvd., 63131. For more information, visit www. lifelongvisionfoudation.org.

Fri., Oct. 13, 7 p.m., Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri’s Centennial Community Celebration. Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www.ppaction.org.

Sat., Oct. 14, 7:30 a.m., Dynamic Participators Enterprise, Inc. presents 5K Prayer Walk/Run and Inaugural Community

Health Expo. 5195 Maple Ave., 63113. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sat., Oct. 14, 9 a.m., Shalom Church City of Peace presents Health Fest. Counseling services, chiropractic care, vision testing, mammograms, and much more. For more information and to preregister, call (314) 653-2322.

Sat., Oct. 21, 8 a.m., 14th Annual Second Wind Lung Walk & 5K Race. Forest Park Visitor’s Center, 5595 Grand Ave., 63112. For more information, call (314) 6646360.

spiritual

Oct. 5 – 7, James Lee Ward Sr. District’s Women’s

Conference 2017: Holy Women Standing on the Promises of God. Nazareth Temple C.O.G.I.C., 3300 Marshall Ave., 63114. For more information, call (314) 578-1388.

Through Oct. 6, True Vine M.B. Church of Ferguson invites you to Fall Revival of the Soul. 8420 Hill Ave., 63121. Guest Evangelist: Pastor Amos Gilmore of Greenville, Mississippi. For more information, call (314) 805-3721.

Oct. 13 – 15, Greater Fellowship Baptist Church presents Men of Integrity Annual Weekend: Men of Integrity Walking in the Light. 5941 Lillian Ave., 63136. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Fri., Oct. 20 – 21, 6th Annual Women of the Cross Conference. River of Life Evangelistic Center, 518 North 12th St., East St. Louis, IL. 62201. For more information, visit www. back2crossministries.org.

Sun., Oct. 22, 2 p.m., The local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) announces its annual symposium featuring inter-faith views on mental illness. Central Reform Congregation, 5020 Waterman.

Fri., Oct. 6, The Mountain Between Us starring Idris Elba and Kate Winslet opens in theatres nationwide.

Fri., Oct. 13, Marshall directed by Reginald Hudlin and starring Chadwick Boseman and Sterling K. Brown opens in theaters nationwide.

An Evening with Cedric The Entertainer and Friends featuring Sheila E. For information, see CONCERTS.

Kenya Vaughn recommends

often forgotten.”

“For Ahkeem” grew out of a PEOPLE Magazine profile of Judge Edwards, who was named a PEOPLE Hero for 2011.

he needed to give them a different chance – and to show the kids stern compassion so they can become productive adults who are not making excuses for themselves.”

After an acclaimed festival run that included the Berlin Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival, “For Ahkeem” will premiere in St. Louis with a special screening at Beyond Housing’s 24:1 Cinema at 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 12. A post-show Q&A will follow the screening on the 12th and the film will play at the theatre through October 19.

“People from St. Louis will see themselves in it,” Rayford said. “Whether you are the young person, the school administrator or teacher fighting for that young person, you will find some way to relate to it.

“We hear all the time that North St. Louis is such a violent place. When we say that, we dehumanize the people who live there. Hopefully when people see the film they are able to humanize the people who are

Edwards and the PEOPLE Magazine author Jeff Truesdell, who lives in St. Louis, developed a relationship. Rayford said the idea for the film came from Truesdell’s desire to tell a broader story of the school and its impact on the region.

“The Innovative Concept Academy is an interesting story,” Rayford said. “You have this juvenile court judge with all of this power and the future of these young people in his hands based on the decisions he makes. He decided to use that power not only to uplift his community, but trying to prevent the generational problems that a lot of the young black inner-city kids face.” Edwards was the inspiration for the film, but he only makes a pair of cameo appearances in “For Ahkeem.”

The school is a part of Shelton’s story and all the ups and downs she faces as she fights for her future.

“What we hope that people understand is that this is just a slice of her life – it’s not the whole story,” Rayford said.

“Daje is an amazing young woman. She had so many opportunities to give up, but she made a personal decision to keep going.”

By capturing Shelton’s experience at the school – and the barriers she faces with her education based on her environment – the film illustrates the impact and importance of Innovative Concept Academy and the change agent the school can be for those who willing to take advantage of what it offers.

“Now you have dozens, possibly hundreds, of kids who received their diploma because a black man in power decided to act,” Rayford said. “Imagine if more people like him decided to take action in a similar way – how much better our city and country would be. There are plenty of people doing things, but the point is that there is never enough.”

“For Akeem” will premiere in St. Louis at 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 12 at Beyond Housing’s 24:1 Cinema, 6755 Page Ave, St. Louis, Mo. 63133. There will be a Q&A after the screening. The film will run at 24:1 Cinema from October 12-19.

Continued from C1

society’s mindset regarding redevelopment, it is mandatory that we not allow those using the process of eminent domain to bury stories of the displaced.

“Eminent Domain/ Displaced” is a multimedia installation of imagery of place, portraiture, landscape and appropriated space. Salvaged objects, oral interviews, archival materials, photographs and more explore the impact of displacement.

An opening reception/curator’s talk will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, October 6. A community panel discussion on Saturday, October 7 will feature former residents of Mill Creek Valley and St. Louis Place, as well as the WendellPhillips neighborhood. Visitors can match visuals to the spoken word – learning not just about life in these displaced communities before urban renewal, but of the lingering struggles many faced after being moved from

their neighborhoods.

The day finishes with an afternoon workshop, facilitated by Yale University Professor of Art Neil Goldberg, which prompts participants to remember the past and envision the future.

“Eminent Domain/ Displaced” is presented by The Griot Museum of Black History in collaboration with Washington University Center for the Humanities and the University of Missouri-St. Louis, with additional support

from the Missouri Humanities Council, Regional Arts Commission and the Saint Louis Art Museum.

“Eminent Domain/ Displaced,” a collaborative installation by Matt Rahner and Lois Conley, opens October 6 at the Griot Museum, 2505 St. Louis Avenue, and continues through November 20. For programming related to the installation, visit http://www. thegriotmuseum.com/currentfuture-events.html or call (314) 241-7057.

Continued from C1

“Inception” moved Kirkman so much that when he returned to St. Louis, he started creating skits for his YouTube channel. With a wide, bright smile and robust chuckle, Kirkman added that they are now videos “you’ll never find.”

“It just boiled down to even when I was composing music, I wanted to tell a story through music,” he said, passionately. “I realized film was the next level up from that.”

After graduating from Parkway North High School in 2013, Kirkman directed his first feature length film, “The Rising.” It was a mosaic of his influences – “Inception,” “The Dark Knight,” Quentin Tarantino, and “The Walking Dead.”

In fall of the same year, he started studying film production at Webster University. A year later, in the summer of 2014, he started researching classic 90s movies such as “Boyz n the Hood” and “Juice.”

“I took a lot of that inspiration, and put it in a binder ... photos and screenshots, and my experiences growing up as a Black male,” he said. “And then Ferguson happened. Me being down there at the protests, and all that just shaped, helped everything.”

Kirkman and his crew –which includes his high school friends Robert Richardson and Duncan Wheeler – filmed the short “Retribution” in November 2014, which explored the dynamics of brotherhood. The film premiered in 2015 with a crowd of over 350 fans. Soon after, he started writing his next and newest project, “Gonzo,” a series inspired by his college experiences.

“We’re exploring the complexities within a black student organization itself,” he described. “It’s a comingof-age about a young man, a couple of people who find out exactly what they believe and what they’re willing to stand for, including their experiences on a college campus.”

By the time “Gonzo” was filmed, Kirkman’s heart for studying film in school had changed. In 2016, he withdrew from Webster University to pursue his passion project.

Two weeks ago on September 20, the prelude to the first episode of “Gonzo” premiered at Wehrenberg Theatres Ronnies 20 Cine.

The screening was sold-out, so the theatre had to add another showing later that evening.

All the work Kirkman and his team have put in is paying off. Next year, they are going to film more of “Gonzo,” expect to open their own office, and hope to be able to pay crew

and cast members. They aren’t waiting on Hollywood to give them permission to tell the stories they want to tell, and for now, St. Louis is the perfect place for them to take them from the script to the movie theater screen.

“Everything that we do is going to be for black empowerment. Whether it is faith or spiritual-based, social activism, or the LGBTQ community, it’s going to be all of that,” Kirkman said. “We’re more than just the ‘hood, you know. I respect my ‘hood movies. They got they place in cinema. But there is more to us than just that.”

“Gonzo’s” success is already opening doors for the talented cast and crew behind the series. An online streaming service focused on the global black community wants to pick the series up, including other large and small companies.

“A lot of people think that opportunities are going to come to you. That’s true in many cases, especially if you have a strong product,” he said. “Some opportunities are coming to us. But in many cases – and we will still have to – you have to go out and grab them.”

From the moment Kirkman was bit by the film bug, to increasing success, hard work, determination and boldness define his journey. For updates on David Kirkman’s projects, follow him on Facebook and Instagram.

Sharee Silerio is a St. Louis-based freelance writer, Film and TV writer-producer and blogger. When she isn’t creating content for The Root or Curly Nikki, she enjoys watching drama/sci-fi/comedy movies and TV shows, writing faith and self-love posts for SincerelySharee.com. Review her freelance portfolio at ShareeSilerio.com then connect with her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

FILM

A scene from the film “For Ahkeem.”

Celebrations

Birthdays Anniversary

Reunions

Beaumont Class of 1968 will begin planning for its 50-year reunion to be held in St. Louis, Missouri in 2018. For more information contact Vanetta Cobbs, 314-869-5665, or email vanetta.cobbs@ sbcglobal.net.

Beaumont High 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.

Hadley Tech Classes of 1962-1963 are having their 55th year reunion on October 13-15, 2017 at the St. Louis Airport Marriott. For more information, please contact Hellon (Merritt) Jefferson at 314-307-3681, Ora (Scott) Roberts at 314-222-3662, Wilhelmina (Gibson) Baker at 314-630-9647, Pearl (Tillman) Holden 314-685-0466 or Virdell (Robinson) Stennis at 314-773-8177.

Jennings Sr. High School

Happy 18th Birthday to our beautiful daughter, Oksanna Muhammad, on October 10. Oksanna is a Senior at Hazelwood East High School where she’s on the Symphonic Marching Band and plays Varsity soccer. We want you to have the most amazing day ever. Love, Mom & Dad

Happy 6th Birthday to Thomas Jay Butler on October 18!

Love, Jerry, Tiffany and Timothy

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

will celebrate its 2017 Homecoming on October 6-7 for all alumni and students. For more information, contact Carmen Keaton at 314-3635172 or Sandra Wells at 314368-8874.

Kinloch High School Class of 1967 has finalized plans for an outstanding 50-year reunion. If you haven’t received your registration letter or email, please call 310-346-7235. You may also email your contact information to alreemc@aol. com.

McKinley Class of 1978 will celebrate its 40-year reunion July 27-29, 2018 at the Embassy Suites-Airport. For more information please

contact Barbara Lindsey, Barbara_Lindsey@icloud.com or Marvin Woods, mwoods@ projectcontrolsgroup.com , (314) 647-0707.

Northwest High School Class of 1978 is planning its 40-year reunion for next year. PLEASE reach out to our classmates, tell them get ready for this. If you have any questions please contact Sly at (314) 397-0311 or email us at northwestbluedevils@78gmail. com. Check us out on Facebook Northwest High School-Class of 1978.

University City High School Homecoming will be October 14, 2017. Parade at 10am; Tailgate at Jackson Park

immediately after parade; U. City vs. Jennings game at 1 pm; Homecoming Dance at the Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry 7:30 pm-1am, donation $10. For more information contact Denise WeatherfordBell at (314) 484-6318 or msdenise38@yahoo.com.

Vashon High School will celebrate its 90th anniversary October 5-7, 2017 for alumni, students and community. For additional information, go to Vashonhigh.org or contact Elvis Hopson, elvishopson@ att.net, (314) 535-0243, Pearl Lake, lakep6@aol.com, (314) 388-0743 or Cozy W. Marks, Jr., jr3810@sbcglobal.net, (314) 383-5682.

Congratulations to James Edward and Annie Starks, who celebrated their 11th wedding anniversary on October 3. May the Lord bless them with many more!

Happy 9th Birthday to Delali Maxine Suggs Akaffu on October 7! Delali is the only granddaughter of St. Louis American publisher Donald M. Suggs.

The Message

Satan is slick

You know, I’ve got to give it to Satan. He truly is as slick as they come. He has some power in the physical world and what amounts to zilch in the eternal kingdom of heaven. The devil has an advantage when it comes to orchestrating the events of this world in order to accomplish two very important things to him, things that we should all be aware of. One, I believe, is to get us to believe he doesn’t exist. Two, is to show us a perspective on this world that leaves God out of the equation. I don’t know which one is more damaging. To think the devil doesn’t exist is extremely dangerous and to further believe that God is not an integral part of life is spiritually suicide. In the Parable of the Sower, we learn this reality: “Some people are like seed along the path where the Word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the Word that was sown in them.” Mark 4:15. This parable speaks to how life, its worries, its illusions about acquiring wealth and desire for personal gratification, can obscure the truth contained in the Word of God.

Imagine being tricked out of what rightfully belongs to you because you didn’t know it was yours in the first place. Now underscore that with the belief that the person doing the tricking is actually someone who doesn’t really exist.

If we succumb to either point of view, belief or non-belief, then we proceed through life guaranteeing that the Word of God will bear no fruit in us or through us. Hence, it is impossible for us to have the kind of life which God intends for us. I believe many of us, me included, spend far too much time and energy relying on the lies of Satan and a world that measures success by the weight of one’s wallet, rather than by God’s divine will.

We must first be the soil made ready to produce a crop. Our challenge is to be prepared to hear the Word. The intent is to bear fruit. By bearing fruit, I mean we should spread the Word, pollinate the lives of others with the reality that Satan is real and evil walks and talks and lives and breathes in this world today.

We have been seeded with the secrets revealed to us in the life and death and life of Jesus Christ. He is the key to our salvation. The question then is what do you believe in? Your world becomes defined by the answer to that simple but very important question.

Belief in God obviously, necessitates a belief in the devil and fortifies and insulates you against evil in your life winning. If you don’t believe in God, what you don’t know will be what ruins you eternally. You will never seek Him out. You therefore become vulnerable to the devil’s tricks because keeping you ignorant is and always has been the tool of this oppressor.

A little bit of faith is required when life and the devil says no way. Faith always gets tested. Salvation lies somewhere between what you say, what you do and what you believe in. You see when you know the truth, you can’t be tricked.

Religion

Reconciliation Network promotes multi-ethnic worship

‘Harnessing the potential collective power of diverse faith communities’

By Sophie Hurwitz For The St. Louis American

“Our mission is to heal the broken race relations of the St. Louis region by harnessing the potential collective power of its diverse faith communities,” said Dave Gustafson, president of the Reconciliation Network. Their main project is a training program that has now been brought to hundreds of participants in several churches across the St. Louis area.

“We teach people to live what we call the ‘multiethnic life,’” said Gustafson. “Christians, who spend too much of their time in very segregated churches, learning that that’s not the way that we should be living our lives, that we are called to lead multi-ethnic lives with a diverse circle of friends. The continuing pattern of behavior of the church – that is, to be very segregated, especially on Sundays – is actually a huge contributing factor in the problems that we face here, not just in St. Louis but across the country.”

Brandon Wilkes, the Training and Education director of the Reconciliation Network, knows the power of multiethnic churches. His home church in Cincinnati “went from being 99 percent white

use of racial slurs.

“That’s right around the corner from my house,” he said. “And at my daughter’s high school, there was a very recent graduate of Ladue High who was photographed as one of the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, so this stuff is hitting pretty close to home.”

Wilkes and Gustafson hope their program could help ease tensions in the schools. “I think there’s a huge need for this in our school system,” Gustafson said, “and I think it’s an unmet need for training in this area.” For more information, visit stlrn.org.

to being a truly multi-ethnic, diverse church,” Wilkes said. After the shooting of Timothy Thomas in Cincinnati in 2001, that church was motivated to change how it was structured and take deliberate action to create a diverse worship space. Then, Wilkes’ church sent him to St. Louis to replicate that here.

“St. Louis was actually on our radar because in Cincinnati we had heard about the Delmar Divide,” Wilkes said. “And when we heard about that, and when we started thinking about a place to plant a church, St. Louis was like, ‘They could use that here.’ So we got here, and then Ferguson happened.”

Wilkes and Gustafson met in the immediate aftermath of the shooting of Mike Brown.

“Dave and I, actually, out of coincidence, sat next to each other in the meeting about what pastors and the church can do to heal this divide,” explained Wilkes. “And that’s how we

became friends, and then Dave told me about the St. Louis Reconciliation Network, and I told him – almost immediately – yeah, I’m happy to partner with you.”

Now, they’ve taken their racial reconciliation training program to hundreds of churches, and brought their work to thousands of St. Louisans. And their program works, Gustafson said: “Well over half of the participants in our classes have really changed their patterns of behavior as a result of the information they learned during the class.”

And some, he added have truly become “activists in our communities, you know, really pushing for the elimination of racism, and bringing issues of biblical justice to our community.”

Their next project? Bringing their work to the schools.

Gustafson referenced the students who were recently expelled from MICDS for their

Free mammograms at church

Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine are offering mammograms at no cost to qualifying women age 40 and over on Saturday, November 4 at Christ Our Redeemer AME Church, 13820 Old Jamestown Road in Florissant (63033). The Siteman Mammogram mobile unit will be at the church from 8:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. Funding is provided by Susan G. Komen Missouri. Schedule appointments by calling 314-747-7222 or 800600-3606 (option#2).

Columnist James Washington

Brandon Wilkes and Dave Gustafson of the Reconciliation Network

MULTI-MEDIA ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

American Publishing Company is in search of an optimistic, energetic, hard-working and creative Multi-Media Account Executive. Must be growth oriented, have a strong work ethic and exceptional people skills. Your hard work, energy and strong desire to meet and exceed sales opportunities and challenges will ensure your success in this position.

Must work well independently, be entrepreneurial, persistent and have a proven work record. This is a great opportunity for those who love sales and want to be an integral part of the ongoing growth of a major St. Louis media outlet.

Your task will be to consistently sell a variety of products to meet clients’ needs: print advertising, online advertising, social media advertising, special sections, events, sponsorships, etc.

Full or part time opportunity. Salary plus commission. (Benefits package with full time).

About The St. Louis American:

• Now Missouri’s largest weekly newspaper, period!

• 160,000+ Unique monthly visitors to stlamerican.com

• More than 50,000 Facebook fans, and more than 14,000 Twitter followers

In its 88th year, The St. Louis American’s:

• Print circulation is at an all-time high

• Online viewership is at an all-time high

• Social media engagement is at an alltime high

For information, contact: Kevin Jones, Chief Operating Officer

The St. Louis American kjones@stlamerican.com

(Absolutely no phone calls will be accepted)

OPEN POSITION FOR A FULL-TIME COURT CLERK

Three years’ experience with customer service preferably including experience working in a court environment; or an equivalent combination of training and experience.

HOW TO APPLY: Applicants interested in applying for this position should visit our website at city of www.molineacres.org on tab (services) and tab (job postings) for more information.

UNITED STATES PROBATION OFFICER

ASSISTANT

United States Probation Officer

Assistant, Eastern District of Missouri. Generous retirement/benefits package. For additional information including how to apply, see our website at www.moep.uscourts.gov.

Vacancy Announcement 2018-03. Equal Opportunity Employer.

EMPLOYMENT

OPPORTUNITY O’FALLON FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT

The O’Fallon Fire Protection District is currently seeking qualified applicants to establish a hiring list for the position of Firefighter/EMT-P. Application packets can be picked up at the O’Fallon Fire Protection District Administration Office located at 111 Laura K Drive, O’Fallon, MO 63366 beginning October 2, 2017 at 8:00 a.m. CST, and must be returned to the Administration Office by October 13, 2017, 4:00 p.m. CST (Monday thru Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.). Packets may be obtained electronically by contacting the office at 636-272-3493 and returned via US Mail. The O’Fallon Fire Protection District is not responsible for any correspondence or mail that is lost or misdirected, or received after October 13, 2017, 4:00p.m. CST.

The O’Fallon Fire Protection District is an Equal Opportunity Employer

ASSISTANT TO THE DISTRICT ENGINEER KANSAS CITY

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is seeking applications for the Assistant to the District Engineer in Kansas City, Missouri. This position assists the district engineer in all elements of management of the district operations with primary responsibility for direct supervision of the administrative functions and units including human resources, information systems, risk management, support services, facilities operations, and budget and business plan development.

Requirements include a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Human Resources, Accounting, or related field. Over nine years of progressively responsible experience in positions providing extensive exposure to functions such as human resources administration, accounting, resource/budget management, or other job related areas is required. MoDOT offers an excellent compensation package.

To view the entire job description and apply on-line, please visit our website www.modot.org/jobs (Job ID #9961).

The deadline to apply for this position is October 17, 2017

Equal Employment Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Employer, M/F/D/V

POLICE OFFICERS

Moline Acres Police Department is looking for MO POST Certified applicants. Must be committed to working in a community oriented environment. Applications are at www.molineacres.org website and at Moline Acres 2449 Chambers Road 63136. Moline Acres is an equal opportunity employer. UNITED STATES PROBATION OFFICERS

RESOURCE PROTECTION

OFFICER, FULL-TIME

The Missouri History Museum seeks full-time Resource Protection Officers (Security). Visit www.mohistory.org for details. An Equal Opportunity Employer

United States Probation Officer vacancy/ies, Eastern District of Missouri. Generous retirement/benefits package. For additional information including how to apply, see our website at www.moep.uscourts.gov.

Vacancy Announcement 2018-02. Equal Opportunity Employer.

YOUTH AND FAMILY PROGRAMS MUSEUM EDUCATOR

The Missouri History Museum seeks a temporary part-time Youth and Family Programs Museum Educator. $10/hr. Visit www.mohistory.org for details. An Equal Opportunity Employer

ACTOR/INTERPRETER

The Missouri Historical Society seeks an Actor/Interpreter to portray leaders in the African American Freedom Struggle in St. Louis. Visit www.mohistory.org for details. An Equal Opportunity Employer

SALES ASSOCIATE, PART-TIME

The Missouri History Museum seeks a part-time Sales Associate. Visit www.mohistory.org for details. An Equal Opportunity Employer

DIRECTOR, PRE-K INITIATIVES

ARCHS has a position for a Director in the Early Childhood Department. Applicant must have experience with family child care environments, goal setting, early childhood best practices, and be familiar with strength-based coaching techniques. Applicant will be required to complete monthly on-site visits with family child care providers, model best practices, and complete assessments in order to work with owner/directors to individualize quality improvement.

A Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood, Social Work or a related field with at least 24 credit hours in Early Childhood Education is required. Competence in Microsoft software including: Word, Excel, Power Point and Web Based Data Systems a plus. Applicant will be expected to conduct early childhood and leadership trainings. Full benefits package, including 401(k) match. Email letter of application, resume and salary history by October 27, 2017 to careers@stlarchs.org or Fax to HR, 314-289-5670. No phone calls please.

www.stlamerican.com

Responsible for the day-to-day administering and maintaining of SQL databases, including system and product administration functions as well as problem resolution, report writing and performance tuning. To apply, please visit: www.safetynational.com and click on the Careers tab.

and maintain peace in our diverse community.

The position of Police Officer is vital to the success of the City of Ferguson. A person in this position is responsible for community engagement, enforcing and upholding the laws and ordinances of our City, the laws of the State of Missouri, and the laws of the United States. All Police Officers work under the direction of the Police Chief.

The City of Ferguson offers a benefit package which includes health, dental, vision, life insurance, vacation/sick days, tuition reimbursement, and residency incentive pay.

Applicants must be 21 yrs. old, high school diploma/GED, Missouri P.O.S.T. Certified and able to pass a comprehensive medical exam and extensive background check.

Special Requirements

Please provide the following: High School Diploma/State Equivalency Certificate, Missouri P.O.S.T. Certification. Provide if applicable: Military Discharge (DD214), All College Transcripts, College Diploma, special certifications.

Apply to City Hall – Human Resources, 110 Church Street, Ferguson, MO 63135 or email hr@fergusoncity.com. EOE Apply Online

FIREFIGHTER/EMT

This is skilled firefighting work combating, extinguishing, and preventing fires and providing rescue services to protect life and property. Work also involves routine maintenance of fire department equipment, apparatus, and quarters and driving equipment when specifically assigned.

Employees of this class perform hazardous tasks under emergency conditions, which may require strenuous exertion under such handicaps as fire, heat, smoke, and cramped surroundings. Although firefighting and rescue work are the most difficult and responsible areas of activity, a major portion of time is spent studying methods and techniques of fire prevention and suppression and basic and/or advanced life saving techniques; studying and perfecting the operation of fire and rescue equipment and apparatus; and in performing routine duties in the care and maintenance of fire department property and equipment. Work is usually performed under the command of a superior officer.

The City of Ferguson offers a benefit package which includes health, dental, vision, life insurance, vacation/sick days, tuition reimbursement, and residency incentive pay.

Firefighter 1 and 2 as mandated by St. Louis County Fire

for applications: October 18, 2017

FIREFIGHTER

City of Alton, IL

Must have current Paramedic License

See website for further requirements and link to online application

www.cityofaltonil.com

Written test will be held on October 28 at 9am

Deadline for applications: October 13, 2017

Notice

St. LouiS american Bids & Public Notices

NOTICE

SEALED BIDS

ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

MO Network Utility Transport, LLC is proposing to construct a 54-foot overall height utility pole at 1054110599 Cinnamon Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63114 (approximate coordinates are 38 42 17.600, -90 23 34.537). The proposed structure would not be lighted. MO Network Utility Transport invites any interested party to request further environmental review of the proposed action under the FCC’s National Environmental Policy Act rules, 47 CFR §1.1307, by notifying the FCC of the specific reasons that the action may have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment. This request must only raise environmental concerns and can be filed online using the FCC pleadings system at www.fcc. gov or mailed to FCC Requests for Environmental Review, Attn: Ramon Williams, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554 within 30 days of the date that notice of this proposed action is published on the FCC’s website. Refer to File No. A1088725 when submitting the request and to view the specific information about the proposed action.

(S1719/9MOB001545)

Saint Louis Zoo Distribution Center Freezer Replacement RFP

The work consists of the removal and replacement of the existing 33’ x 33’ x 12’H freezer building at the St. Louis Zoo Central Warehouse including replacement of the insulated floor and vent-tubes, foundation demolition. (see Bid Documents and Drawings). A mandatory pre bid meeting will be on at 10/13/2017 at 9:00AM. Meet at the Distribution Center located at Gate 5 off Wells Drive.. Bids are due on 10/25/2017 At 2:00 PM Bid Documents will be available on 9/27/2017 at: https://www.stlzoo.org/about/contact/ vendoropportunities/

INVITATION TO BID

FERGUSON FLORISSANT SCHOOL DISTRICT 8855 DUNN ROAD FLOORING PROJECT

Sealed bids for the above project are being requested from the FFSD and will be received and publically opened and read aloud on October 13, 2017 at 11:30 AM at Facilities Department 7469 Mintert Industrial Drive, Ferguson, MO. Attendance at a pre-bid meeting is required on October 3, 2017 10:00 AM. Bid documents available on District Website at http://new.fergflor.k12.mo.us/facilities-rfq or call 314-506-9184 for further bid details and the required documents.

for Bridge Restoration, Union Covered Bridge, State Historic Site, Paris, MO, Project No. X1703-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 10/12/2017. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/ facilities

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The St. Louis Economic Development Partnership (the “Partnership”) is soliciting proposals from qualified engineering firms to analyze the greenway system in the 39 North district in St. Louis County, Missouri, develop a design to connect the 39 North greenway system with the Centennial Greenway, and implement that design in accordance with the 39 North master plan.

To be considered, proposals must be received no later than 3:00 PM on Friday, October 27, 2017. Proposals should be sent by email to hbean@stlpartenrship.com, or to St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, ATTN: Howl Bean II, 7733 Forsyth Blvd., Suite 2200, St. Louis, Missouri 63105. DBE, MBE, and WBE firms are encouraged to bid.

The Request for Proposals may be obtained from the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership’s web site at www.stlpartnership.com. The Authority reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive informalities therein. Any questions should be directed to Howl Bean II, Staff Attorney, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership at (314) 615-7663 or hbean@ stlpartnership.com.

St. Louis Economic Development Partnership Equal Opportunity Employer

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The St. Louis County Port Authority (the “Authority”) is soliciting proposals for a qualified contractor to purchase salvage rights to materials located in the former Macy’s (500 Jamestown Mall) and former JC Penney (246 Jamestown Mall) at the Jamestown Mall site in Florissant, Missouri 63034.

To be considered, proposals must be received no later than 3:00 PM on Friday, October 27, 2017. Proposals should be sent by e-mail to hbean@stlpartnership.com, or to St. Louis County Port Authority, c/o St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, ATTN: Howl Bean II, 7733 Forsyth Blvd., Suite 2200, St. Louis, Missouri 63105. DBE, MBE, and WBE firms are encouraged to bid.

The Request for Proposals may be obtained from the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership’s web site at www.stlpartnership.com. The Authority reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive informalities therein. Any questions should be directed to Howl Bean II, Staff Attorney, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership at (314) 615-7663 or hbean@ stlpartnership.com. St. Louis Economic Development Partnership Equal Opportunity Employer

City of St. Louis

Public Hearing Notice and Draft 2018 Annual Action Plan and Draft 2015 – 2019 Consolidated Plan Amendment

Available for Review and Comment

The City of St. Louis is soliciting comments on two draft documents: (1) draft 2018 Annual Action Plan, which includes annual priorities for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnership (HOME), Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) programs; and (2) an amended 2015 – 2019 Consolidated Plan that reflects recent reprogramming of funds and HUD-approved Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Areas.

Public Hearing Notice/Public Comment Period

The Community Development Administration (CDA) will conduct a public hearing on October 26, 2017 at 5:30 p.m. at 1520 Market - Suite 2000, St. Louis, MO 63103. The purpose of this hearing is to solicit public comments and answer questions pertaining to the draft 2018 Annual Action Plan and Consolidated Plan Amendment.

Documents Available for Review

The 2018 Annual Action Plan and 2015 – 2019 Consolidated Plan will be available in draft form for review by any interested citizen beginning at 12:00 p.m. CST on October 13, 2017. The plan will be available at the Central Branch of the St. Louis Public Library, located at 1301 Olive Street and on the City of St. Louis website, http:// www.stlouis-mo.gov/cda/. The plan will also be available for review at CDA’s office, 1520 Market Street, Suite 2000.

Written Comments

The views of citizens, public agencies and other interested parties are encouraged and comments or questions with respect to the draft documents should be addressed to Ms. Alana Green, Executive Director, Community Development Administration, 1520 Market Street, Suite 2000, St. Louis, MO 63103, or via email at GreenA@ stlouis-mo.gov. Written comments will be accepted until 12:00 p.m. CST on November 13, 2017.

Persons with

needs or accommodations relating to handicapped accessibility or foreign language should contact Ms. Green via email at GreenA@stlouis-mo.gov or by phone at (314)657-3835 or (314) 589-6000 (TDD).

St. Louis Community College will receive separate sealed bids for Contract No. F 18 501, Replace Retaining Wall at Training Center, St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley, until 2:00 p.m. local time Thursday, October 5, 2017. Bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at the office of the Manager of Engineering and Design, 300 South Broadway (Room 423, Fourth Floor). Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from the Manager’s office at the above address, or by calling (314) 539-5012.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Notice is hereby given that The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (District) will receive sealed bids for Markdale Dr. #8571 and 8575 Storm Sewer under Letting No. 11290-015.1, at this office, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103, until 02:00 PM on Wednesday, November 08, 2017, at a place designated. Bids will be received only from companies that are pre-qualified by the District’s Engineering Department for: SEWER CONSTRUCTION – St. Louis County drainlayer’s license required Plans and Specifications are available for free electronic download. Please go to MSD’s website and look for a link to “ELECTRONIC PLANROOM.” Plans and Specifications are also available for viewing or purchase at Cross Rhodes Reprographics located at 1712 Macklind Avenue, St. Louis MO 63110. All bidders must obtain a set of plans and specifications in order to submit a bid in the name of the entity submitting the bid. The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

TO

link to “ELECTRONIC PLANROOM.” Plans and Specifications are also available for viewing or purchase at Cross Rhodes Reprographics located at 1712 Macklind Avenue, St. Louis MO 63110. All bidders must obtain a set of plans and specifications in order to submit a bid in the name of the entity submitting the bid. The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

NOTICE

MO Network Utility Transport, LLC is proposing to construct a 40-foot overall height utility pole at 8849 Seeger Drive, Berkeley, Missouri 63134 (approximate coordinates are 38 45 54.941, -90 20 33.497). The proposed structure would not be lighted. MO Network Utility Transport, LLC invites any interested party to request further environmental review of the proposed action under the FCC’s National Environmental Policy Act rules, 47 CFR §1.1307, by notifying the FCC of the specific reasons that the action may have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment. This request must only raise environmental concerns and can be filed online using the FCC pleadings system at www. fcc.gov or mailed to FCC Requests for Environmental Review, Attn: Ramon Williams, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554 within 30 days of the date that notice of this proposed action is published on the FCC’s website. Refer to File No. A1088734 when submitting the request and to view the specific information about the proposed action.

(S1716/9MOB001541)

MWBE Pre-bid Meeting Notice

The SITE Improvement Association is hosting a Pre-bid meeting for Qualified and Certified MWBE contractors to discuss working on Caulks Creek Force Main (Waterworks Rd. to River Valley) Letting No. 12892-015.1

A pre-bid meeting is being held on behalf of the following SITE contractor members:

J & J Boring 41 Cardinal Hill Road Winfield, MO 63389 636/566-6766

The meeting will take place at 11:00 a.m.

Thursday, October 12, 2017 SITE Improvement Association 2071 Exchange Drive, St. Charles, MO 63303

Project plans are available from MSD. For questions regarding this prebid meeting, Contact the SITE Improvement Association office at 314/966-2950.

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure: COMPLETE OVERHAUL OF #1 ENGINE/GENERATOR. The District is proposing single source procurement to CK Power. Any inquiries should be sent to dlegrand@stlmsd.com.

Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure temporary help services from Amitech Solutions in an effort to support the IT Technology Plan. The District is proposing single source procurement for this service because it does not have the internal expertise to fulfill this Information Technology role. Any inquiries should be sent to strenz@stlmsd.com.

Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

BID NOTICE

Great Rivers Greenway is accepting qualification submissions from interested design teams for an international design competition for the Chouteau Greenway. Check https:// greatriversgreenway.org/ Chouteau/ and submit by November 21, 2017.

PROMOTIONAL T-SHIRTS

The Missouri Lottery is accepting bids for the purpose of establishing a contract for promotional t-shirts . The bid document with the specifications can be obtained by going to http:// www.molottery.com/learnaboutus/ bid_opportunities.shtm or by contacting Melissa Blankenship at melissa.blankenship@molottery.com or 573-751-4050.

SEWER DISTRICT ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI DC-02 & DC-03 SANITARY RELIEF (BRENTWOOD BLVD TO CONWAY RD) – PHASE II

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS

Notice is hereby given that The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (OWNER) will receive sealed bids for DC-02 & DC-03 Sanitary Relief (Brentwood Blvd to Conway Rd) - Phase II under Letting No. 12471-015.1, at this office, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103, until 02:00 PM on Thursday, November 9, 2017. All bids are to be deposited in the bid box located on the First Floor of the Owner’s Headquarters located at 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, MO 63103, prior to the 2:00 p.m. bid deadline.

The project extends from Brentwood Park in the City of Brentwood across Manchester Road through the City of Rock Hill across McKnight Road to just south of Two-Mile Creek in the City of Ladue. The WORK is generally described as follows: The Contractor shall furnish all the materials, tools, equipment, labor to perform the installation of: approximately 8,190 ft of 8-inch to 72-inch diameter sanitary sewers and appurtenances (including approximately 1,780 ft of tunnel), 6 junction chambers, 28 manholes, one flow metering manhole and other associated work in accordance with all the requirements of these specifications, and the drawings made a part thereof.

Bids will be received only from companies that are pre-qualified by the District’s Engineering Department for: Deep Sewer Construction

The ENGINEER’S Cost Estimate of Probable Cost for this project is $34,500,000.

Plans and Specifications are available for free electronic download. Please go to MSD’s website and look for a link to “ELECTRONIC

and

SINGLE

FEASIBLE SOURCE PROCUREMENT

Reference Revised Statutes of Missouri, 34.044. Harris-Stowe State University (HSSU) anticipates awarding a single feasible source contract to H. Bernard Lee/Infinity Productions to provide performing artists during Fall 2017 homecoming. H. Bernard Lee/Infinity Productions is the only firm able to supply the requested artists. The contact for the University is Barbara Morrow, Director of Business Services, Harris-Stowe State University, 3026 Laclede Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103. Telephone #: (314) 340-5763, fax #: (314) 340-3322.

INVITATION TO BIDDERS

hardware.

Sealed bids marked with project name will be accepted on or before 11/1/2017 at 2:00 PM Bid Documents will be available on October 4, 2017 at https://www.stlzoo. org/about/contact/vendoropportunities/

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The City of University City is requesting quotations from qualified contractors to provide all labor and materials necessary to remove yard waste and leaves from University City’s Ruth Park Woods compost facility at 1160 North McKnight Rd. Also included in this quote request is the delivery of leaf mulch and compost.

Sealed bids will be received by the City of University City in the Finance Department, 1st Floor, 6801 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO 63130, until 10:00 A.M. CDT on October 19, 2017.

Bid

The City of University City reserves the right to accept or reject any bid and to waive any irregularities in the best interest of the City.

CITY OF ST. LOUIS ST. LOUIS LAMBERT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Solicitation For Bids (SFB) for Solid Waste & Recycling Services Bids Wanted

Bid documents may be obtained at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, Airport Properties Division, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., or by calling (314) 426-8184. This SFB may also be obtained by visiting our website at www.flystl.com/ business/contact-opportunites.

Robert Salarano Airport Properties Division Manager

SINGLE FEASIBLE SOURCE PROCUREMENT

Reference Revised Statutes of Missouri, 34.044. Harris-Stowe State University (HSSU) is proposing to procure the Axon Officer Safety Plan and four (4) additional X26P’s from Axon Enterprise, Inc. Axon Enterprise, Inc. is the sole developer and offeror of the Axon brand products and Evidence.com Data Management Solutions. The contact person for the University is Barbara Morrow, Director of Business Services, 3026 Laclede Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103. Telephone #: (314) 340-5763, fax #: (314) 340-3322.

Advertised

p.m., or by calling (314) 426-8184. This SFB may also be obtained by visiting our website at www.flystl.com/business/contact-opportunites.

Robert Salarano Airport Properties Division Manager

BID NOTICE

Bethesda Temple Church of The Apostolic Faith, Inc. is accepting bids for a major renovation of its bathroom facilities. If you are a General Contractor interested in submitting a bid for this project, please contact the church at (314) 382-5401 or by email at bethesdatemple@bethesdastl.org and an electronic copy of the RFP will be forwarded to your attention.

OF

Solicitation For Bids (SFB) for Solid Waste & Recycling Services Bids Wanted

Bid documents may be obtained at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, Airport Properties Division, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., or by calling (314) 426-8184. This SFB may also be obtained by visiting our website at www.flystl.com/ business/contact-opportunites. Robert Salarano Airport Properties Division Manager

BID NOTICE

TRRA is accepting bids for replacing the Merchants Bridge Main Spans and East Approach, a freight railroad bridge in St. Louis, MO to Venice, IL. Bids are due January 22, 2018. A DBE networking event is planned for November 7, 2017 starting at 4:30 p.m. at the Missouri Athletic Club, 405 Washington Ave, St. Louis, MO 63102.

BIDS

Contegra Construction Company, LLC, will be submitting a bid on the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) project: Coldwater Creek WWTF Final Clarifiers Replacement -12504-015.1, bid date is 10/10/17. We are requesting bids from qualified Minority Business Enterprises (MBE) on this project to help in our effort to meet or exceed the 30% goal set forth in MSD’s MBE utilization program. A pre-bid meeting for interested parties will be held at Contegra’s office, 22 Gateway Commerce Center Drive W, Suite 110, Edwardsville, IL 62025, on 9/28/17 at 9am. Please contact Joe Koenig (618931-3500 ext. 106) for more information regarding bid opportunities.

Documents and

A mandatory pre bid meeting will be on 10/13/2017 at 9:00AM. Meet at The Living World lower rotunda. Bids are due on 10/30/2017 At 2:00 PM Bid Documents will be available on 9/27/2017 at: https://www.stlzoo.org/about/contact/ vendoropportunities/

Deaconess Foundation is requesting proposals from firms to provide interior signage for the new Deaconess Center for Child Well-Being. The Center is currently under construction at 1000 N. Vandeventer with substantial completion scheduled for December 15, 2017. For more information visit www.deaconess.org. Proposals are due by 5:00 p.m. Central Time on September 22, 2017.

star Jeezy has been embraced by the St. Louis since the beginning of his career. As part of a birthday celebration in STL, he tossed out the first pitch at the Cardinals game on Wednesday, and was joined by Phil Assets of Liquid Assets. Later that night Phil and LooseCannon

S.L.I.M., threw Jeezy a jampacked bash at The Marquee.

Swag Snap of the Week

Jeezy skipped to The Lou for his b-day. This week is going to sound like there was a whole lot of winning going on – but it was, so that’s that. Why don’t we go ahead and kick it off with trap star Jeezy tearing the club up for his birthday right here in St. Louis last Wednesday night. Listen, LooseCannon (S.L.I.M.) and Liquid Assets (Phil) had the club going ALL THE WAY UP on a Wednesday. So much so, that if you got to work and had a heavy-eyed colleague with an aroma that hinted of Swisher Sweets and spilled liquor, they were probably at the Marquee. If you didn’t, then it was probably you. I almost need a new slang to be created to describe it – because for me “lit” and “turnt (yes, with a “t”)” don’t quite do enough. I also ran in to T. Marley, the newest member of the Hot 104.1 FM family. He’s been keeping the club live for years and I can’t wait to see what he does over the airwaves. But this is about Jeezy, so let me get back to it. Now a few folks were acting a bit salty, saying Jeezy didn’t perform. I don’t know how they could be mad, when it wasn’t said anywhere that he would be doing a concert. I mean, it was his birthday – don’t you take off work for your birthday? I know I do. He was in the building celebrating, as he should be. And the whole city was thrilled to be kicking it with him. Did I mention he threw out the first pitch at the Cardinals Game? The reinvention of Teese. Whoever decided to remix Teese into a day party deserves a slow and lingering clap for a job well done. I tell you, that party was the party we all fell in love with nearly a decade ago. And even more beautiful was the fact that most of the folks have grown up enough to not put the graphic in graphic tees with their nasty little themes and concepts. Most is the operative word. That outdoor space next to the Nine Network and St. Louis Public Radio was perfect too! The imagery from the screens mixed with the music –and the Honey Jack – made for a memorable evening to say the least. The only downside was traffic on Olive Street was a mess because people were so busy trying to get a sneak preview of who was up in there than trying to keep things moving on the street and finding a decent parking space – which in all fairness was next to impossible. All it took was one drive-by look for the folks to decide to hop out, but every doggone body doing it created a baby Teese traffic jam. Everybody who was anybody came through. I even ran into my old pal David “D-Beezy” Buckner up in there. Good to see you Dave! If I had to pick a favorite tee of the night, I think I’ll go with Victoria Said It (yep, that’s what she goes by) and her “I’m Rooting For Everybody Black” shirt that quoted Issa Rae’s viral moment from the Emmys red carpet.

Packed to the gills at Glow. When I heard Glow was being held at the Bronson House, my first thought was “what and where is the Bronson House?” Then I learned it was that big house on Washington near Compton and I thought I would finally see what the inside looked like. Well, I never did. Those Glow regulars know that it is an outdoor party. I’ve been going since it was a Free Time thing, but thought I would at least get to be nosey and get a glimpse inside. Oh well, Glow was business as usual when the annual end of summer outdoor party came back around Saturday night. The venue was tighter than typical, but folks still had a blast. DJ AJ was absolutely killing on the tables, but might I suggest that the good sir considers the size of the crowd when making musical selections. Real talk, I almost got “swag surfed” clean onto the street because of you. There were just too many people to play that song to not have any casualties of the dance. I got banged up a bit, but I still had a ball. Love for the Motherland at Mood. Just like last year, there was a line clean on out the for the Nigerian Independence Day party Saturday night at Mood. There were a few differences though. First, was the fire breather on the corner supposed to be inside as part of the festivities, or just out there coincidentally trying to come up on a few coins? I could see how it would have been hazardous to have him on the inside considering the capacity crowd. Anyway, I also didn’t see as much lovely African garb as I did in 2016. The melanin up in there was still poppin’ though – especially from the young woman with the Afrocentric off the shoulder ruffle blouse. She was utterly slaying the whole game. And finally, Cardi B has become an official phenomenon if “Bodak Yellow” can be mixed into the playlist of those paying tribute to Nigeria’s Independence.

Sunday brunchin’. My weekend festivities ended on the highest of notes – and y’all must know that the highest notes for me mean a full stomach. I was still claiming my post-Salute diet cheat week when I stepped into The Gallery by Troy to see what Misha Sampson and Chef Jack served up for Fish and Grits (their name, not mine) monthly Sunday brunch that rotates to hotspots around the city. I’m getting choked up right now just thinking about it. I don’t know if it’s because of how good the food was, or if it’s because of how far I fallen off my healthy eating. Perhaps a bit of both. The atmosphere, the vibe and the people made it another grand slam. Shout out to Culture Food Group! I promise to keep supporting even after I get back on the wagon. That may mean me coming before the food is finished or after its gone, because I just don’t trust that I will be able to control myself around those delectable dishes! But don’t let my diet stop y’all from getting your life from that delicious all-you-can eat realness – that’s if you have the discipline to push that plate away, or perch on the arc trainer at the YMCA to burn it off.

Theo and Jordiee looked like fall fashion icons at Blank Space Sunday

Wayne and Lydia of Sauce Records presented Jones Boy as the winner of the center Stage Artist Showcase Thursday @ The Ready Room

Lauren Dara and Nya helped Jezzy celebrate his birthday on Wednesday @ The Marquee

Jessica J-Starr Rickeya and Noni arrived just as the Bloody Shoes party got cracking Sunday @Blue Dine Lounge

Niddy and Tay were ready to sample the latest Fish and Grits Brunch @ The Gallery by Troy

Aaron and Lakecia dropped in the St. Louis Hop Shop on Friday for the UP$ RUN

St. Louis Surge Khalia owner stopped by the Ready Room to show her support for JI and other rising musicians @ Center Stage Artist Showcase Thursday night

Andrea and Zemetria were made sure they didn’t miss the annual Teese party at the Public Media Commons Saturday evening

Reuben and Milan closed out their Saturday night @ The Marquee @ the afterparty for the Nigerian Independence Celebration

ATL rap

Photo by Digital Dash

Photos by V. Lang

Sabrina and Noelle had an opportunity to meet K Camp just before he performed Saturday @ Mystic

An evening of purpose & celebration

30th Salute awards more than half-million in scholarships

The sold-out 30th Anniversary Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship and Awards Gala provided a memorable evening of elegance, celebration and inspiration – from lively receptions to outstanding post banquet musical entertainment and splendid dining. More than 1,200 attendees filled America’s Center to pay tribute to Lifetime Achiever Michael A. Middleton and Stellar Performer Dr. Kelvin R. Adams and honor the outstanding accomplishments of individual educators and high-achieving scholarship recipients.

With more than a half-million dollars in scholarships being awarded at the gala this year, the foundation, together with its corporate and education partners, has now fostered more than $5 million in scholarships and community grants since 1994.

Stellar Performer in Education Dr. Kelvin Adams with Richard Gaines

Fontbonne University President Dr. Mike Pressimone (left), Donald M. Suggs (second from right) and the 2017 Fontbonne Donald M. Suggs Multicultural Leadership Scholars: Alejandro Rivas, Trey Scott, Jessica France, Mya Robinson and Jerrica Davis

Southeast Missouri State University President Dr. Carlos Vargas presents the SEMO Counselor of the Year Award to Kim Quain.

Salute photo coverage by Wiley Price, Lois Ingrum and Maurice Meredith

PNC Early Childhood Education Award recipient Michele Lemee with PNC’s Jeffrey Lewis

Dr. Nina Caldwell presents the 2017 Maryville University Suggs Donald M. Suggs Scholarship to Destinie Jones

2017 Excellence in Education Award recipients: Dr. LaTisha Smith, Dr. Raghib Muhammad, Cheryl Latham accepting on behalf of Dr. Kevin Martin, Angela Keys, Shanise Johnson, Anya Gray Franklin, Dr. Crystal Gale and Alan Byrd Jr.

Lifetime Achiever in Education Michael Middleton with emcee Carol Daniel

St. Louis American Newspaper In Education Golden Apple teacher Christopher Gardner of Vogt Elementary in FergusonFlorissant.

Vanessa Cooksey presents laptop computers to the scholarship recipients on behalf of Wells Fargo Advisors.

Webster University

President Dr. Beth Stroble presents the 2017 Webster University Donald M. Suggs Scholarships to Jovan McBride and Nicolas Land.

entertainment featuring The Jazz Edge Orchestra

Kelvin Westbrook, Valerie Bell, Dr. Karen Collins and Stellar Performer in Education awardee Dr. Kelvin Adams

Carolyn Smith, LaDonna Vaughn, Carletta Peoples and Tracy Davis

Dr. Henry and Belma Givens

Robert Ross and C.J. Tatum

Jerold Eason and Excellence in Education awardee Shanise Johnson

Martin Mathews and Barbara Washington

Jody Squires and Mayor Lyda Krewson

Darryl and Villa Jones

Alex Gasser, Sonia Rucker, George Belon, Debbie Belon, Pam Vargas and Carlos Vargas

Dr. Charlene Jones and King Taylor

Judge Jiimmie Edwards, Arthur Ross, Kyri Morgan, and Stacy Edwards

Friends and family salute Lifetime Achiever in Education Michael Middleton.

Carlton Prince, Dr. Alice Prince and Ann Marr of World Wide Technology

Judge Sandra Hemphill and Sandra Moore

Lakisha and Dr. Dwaun Warmack

Roger Howard, Janice Robinson and PNC Early Childhood Education awardee Michele Lemee

Lee Haynes, Sam Hutchinson and Laurna Godwin

VIP Reception guests and family members congratulate Lifetime Achiever Michael Middleton

Staci Static and Asha Hornaday

Melva and Melvin Moore

Turan Mullins of Maryville University

Dr. Kelvin Adams and Rick Sullivan

Dwight Jones and Pamela Wall-Dover, both from Boeing

Monsanto’s Al Mitchell and Marsha Mitchell

World Wide Technology’s Ann Marr, Jennings School District Superintendent Dr. Art McCoy and Belinda McCory

Rev. Earl Nance Jr. delivered the invocation before dinner

Excellence in Education awardee Dr. Crystal Gale (left, center) and her guests.

Michelle Tucker of Epworth and Emily Pitts of Edward Jones

Family and friends with Lifetime Achiever Michael Middleton

Larissa Banks and Richard Banks

Jeffrey St. Omer and Melanie Adams

Emcee Carol Daniel of KMOX 1120AM

The 2017 Anheuser-Busch Better World Scholars

Andrew Cooksey

Stellar Performer in Education Dr. Kelvin Adams addresses the audience.

SEMO Counselor of the Year Kim Quain snaps a selfie with a guest.

UMSL Chancellor Dr. Tom George with 2017 UMSL Suggs Scholar Felesha Clarke and Donald M. Suggs

SEMO President Dr. Carlos Vargas and the 2017 SEMO Suggs Scholar Ma’isah McMillan

Vanessa Cooksey of Wells Fargo Advisors

St. Louis Community College Chancellor Dr. Jeff Pittman, 2017 STLCC Suggs Scholar Amica Johnson and Donald M. Suggs

Monsanto’s Al Mitchell presented The 20217 Monsanto School of Excellence Award to Jennings High School.

Dr. Michele Smith presented The 2017 Missouri State University Suggs Scholarship to Jeremy Townsend.

Wells Fargo’s Jada Boykin addresses the VIP Reception crowd.

Stephanie WilliamsNelson

Morgan Williams, Kendra Tolsen, Jan Walker, Tracey Hermanstyne, Alana Bennett and Keesha Strong

Harris-Stowe State University President Dr. Dwaun Warmack and the 2017 HSSU Suggs Scholar Donovan Taylor

Shirley Myles and April Hendricks-Brown

Salute attendees went straight to the dance floor after the banquet portion was finished.

DJ Kut of 95.5 FM on the ones and twos.

Denise Thimes wows the crowd at the J. Hill Jazz Cabaret following the banquet.

had

good time at the afterparty.

DJ Kut had folks dancin’.

That’s Mavis Thompson and friends on the dance floor.

The line dances were a big hit throughout the night.

Ald. Megan Green and Treasurer Tishaura Jones at the Old School Dance Party.

Tishaura Jones and friends are all smiles.

Tyrell Rodgers and Kyvia Moss enjoy the old school grooves.

More line dancing.

Longtime Salute attendee Kedra Tolson of St. Louis Community College shares laughs with friends.

A Salute attendee concentrates on her moves.

Tom Bailey, Richard Banks, Michael McMillan, Keith Williamson and Julio Suarez

Lifetime Achiever Michael Middleton delivers his acceptance remarks.

Kay Sonnhurst and Richard Pinkney

Louis Bazile and Lisa Smith

Rick Sullivan and Dr. Susan Sullivan

Dr. A. Michael Shaw, Dr. Michael Shaw and Richard Gaines

Karen Kieffer, Dan and Linda Kieffer

Tommy Wilder and Richard Manfield

University of Missouri-Columbia guests

St. Louis American photojournalist Wiley Price presents a portrait to Michael Middleton.

Dr. Garnett Stokes present the 2017 University of Missouri Suggs Scholarship to DeMario Malone.

Rebeccah Bennett and her mother, Maybelle Taylor Bennett

Sandra and Cardell Jordan

Virvus Jones and Cory Elliot

Robin Herron Shepherd of Bubbling Brown Sugar Productions, St. Louis City Treasurer Tishaura Jones and her son Aden and emcee Carol Daniel present a cruise attendance prize to lucky winner Jessica France.

St. Louis City License Collector Mavis Thompson (seated right center) and guests.