October 6th, 2022 edition

LouiS AmericAn

Substance and style

35th Salute a spectacular evening for students, educators

Holly Cousins, left, retired Jennings School District teacher and avid supporter, is the 2022 St. Louis American Foundation Lifetime Achiever. She said giving a child hope is giving them a boost that can help send them wherever they want to go in life. Dr. LaTonia Collins Smith, Harris-Stowe State University president and 2022 Stellar Performer, said the honor she received would not be possible without her dedicated team, students, and alums.

The milestone 35th St. Louis American Foundation Scholarship and Awards Gala on Oct. 2 at America’s Center was a grand display of substance and style.

The substance was almost $2.8 million being awarded in minority scholarships to high-achieving under-financed students, and community grants to schools and service organizations, and the celebration of our region’s most dedicated and effective educators. The foundation, with its higher education partners and individual givers, has distributed more than $14 million locally since its inception. The style was reflected in the elegant

fashionably dressed crowd of more than 900 guests, and the music of The Jazz Edge Orchestra and the after-banquet Jazz Cabaret featuring acclaimed vocalist Denise Thimes.

“This has been an amazing run,” Donald M. Suggs, St. Louis American publisher, executive editor, and St. Louis American Foundation president said of the Salute reaching its 35th evening of celebration and honors.

“A community should celebrate what it values. That is an even more compelling reason, during these challenging times, for this annual event that recognizes and celebrates some of our region’s most outstanding edu-

cators

“The Salute also helps raise needed financial resources for high-achieving aspirational young people. They are critical to a better future, and we want them to seize this opportunity.”

Holly Cousins, who was honored as 2022 Lifetime Achiever, said “It has been a stunning evening and I’m overwhelmingly grateful.”

“Have you ever listened to a child tell you what they want to be when they grow up? said the former longtime Jennings School District teacher.

“’I want to be a doctor, a fireman, an engineer, a basketball player.’ And did you ever wonder what happened to some of these pre-

Drs. Helen E., Homer Nash Jr. to be honored with street renaming ceremony

Brown,

and Kathleen

were

and Awards

A mix of class, excellence... and a bit of shame

By Sylvester Brown Jr.

The St. Louis American

I’ve never attended one of the St. Louis American’s “Salute” events; not the Salute to Young Leaders or Healthcare, and certainly not the Salute to Education that was held this past Saturday.

There are several reasons: First, I’m not a black tie kinda guy; I’m more comfortable in a karaoke club than a posh, high-profile, dress-to-the-nines soiree. Another reason was my infamous, nearly two-decade feud with the newspaper. More on that later. The St. Louis American Foundation’s 35th Annual “Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship & Awards Gala” at the America’s Center downtown was my virgin voyage into this

See BROWN, A6

Sylvester

St. Louis American reporter,

Wyatt

in style during the 35th Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship

Gala.

Dr. Helen E. Nash

Dr. Homer Nash Jr.

Photos by Maurice Meredith

Photo by Lois Ingrum

Tia Mowry, Cory Hardrict divorce after 14 years of marriage

Love don’t live here anymore for Tia Mowry and Cory Hardrict, after 14 years of marriage, the once happily in love couple have called it quits.

“I have always been honest with my fans, and today is no different. I wanted to share that Cory and I have decided to go our separate ways. These decisions are never easy, and not without sadness,” Mowry, 44, wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, October 4, 2022. “We will maintain a friendship as we co-parent our beautiful children. I am grateful for all the happy times we had together and want to thank my friends, family and fans for your love and support as we start this new chapter moving forward in our lives.”

Documents obtained by US Weekly indicate Mowry filed for divorce on Tuesday in Los Angeles. Mowry cites irreconcilable differences as the reason behind the split in the paperwork.

Mowry didn’t specify a date of separation, she did however, request physical and legal custody of their children, Cree, 11, and Cairo, 4. She also asked the judge to eliminate spousal support, and noted they had a prenup in place. Mowry and Hardrict met in 2000 while

filming “Hollywood Horror.” After six years of dating, they got engaged on Christmas Day. They married in 2008.

JT and Cardi B throw shade at each other on Twitter

JT of the City Girls and Cardi B are now the latest female rappers beef. It all started after JT sent GloRilla congratulations for her single “Tomorrow 2” featuring Cardi B, making the Billboard’s Hot 100 and landing at No. 9. The achievement is GloRilla’s first top 10 hit and Cardi’s 11th.

XXL pointed out JT responded to a fan not GloRilla and Cardi B.

“NAH actually the tweet was too long!

PLUS Cardi Been having top 10’s I been congratulating her for years this is GLO first one, I’ve been ignoring y’all but y’all are hella annoying, move round & get off my [expletive]

Thank YOU!” JT wrote.

Cardi’s response is what caused friction between the two femcees. Cardi tweeted “lapdog,” but didn’t @ anyone then JT tweeted, “I hope you don’t think you no BULLY!!!” Then, “wiener dog,” and also didn’t @ anyone.

Carid tweeted “go fetch,” then JT’s rebuttal was that Cardi should go fetch a real talent. She also asked why the two were putting on a show for Twitter although they were already DMing each other back and forth.

“So wait, me and you talking in the DM woman to woman, but YOU take it to your timeline and throw shots calling me a bully and a wiener,” Cardi tweeted. “Why you play-

ing dumb? And YOU talking about a talent?!

haaaaa! You forgot P tried to put me on wit your writer?”

Cardi continued and said, “Matter fact, I’m not even doing this on the timeline!It’s becoming real repetitive for doggy treats. We already addressing it in the DM’s. GOODBYE YALL.”

After that they argued with each other up and down on who has bigger hits and who ghostwrites.

What’s up with Kanye West’s ‘White Lives Matter’ t-shirts

Kanye West has made a bold fashion statement. On Monday, Oct. 3, he revealed a surprise Yeezy fashion show in Paris displaying the Season 9 collection. Before models ripped the runway, he gave a speech while wearing a “White Lives Matter” t-shirt with the Pope’s face on the front.

He mentioned his ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s 2016 Paris robbery, his former manager Scooter Braun, and the challenges he’s faced in the fashion industry including his departure from Gap.

“I am Ye, and everyone here knows that I am the leader,” he said at one point, referencing his new legal name. “You can’t manage me.”

Some of the models in the show donned the same

“White Lives Matter” show as West, leaving social media outraged.

“Sending a “WHITE LIVES MATTER” t-shirt down a runway in Paris is literal insanity and no amount of gospel is getting that man through Heaven’s gate, I’m so sorry,” one person tweeted. Another wrote, “mind you kanye was just calling kim and kris the kkk 2 weeks ago and now he’s wearing a white lives matter shirt.”

Others remembered the “MAGA” hat he wore to the White House, and a Confederate flag jacket he wore in 2013.

Coolio, “Gangsta’s Paradise” rapper, dies at 59

Grammy-winning rapper, producer and actor, Coolio, most known for his 1995 classic “Gangsta’s Paradise,” has died. He was 59. His longtime manager Jarel Posey, confirmed his death to multiple media outlets stating Coolio died around 5 p.m. PT on Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 28. According to TMZ, he was found at a friend’s

“We are saddened by the loss of our dear friend and client, Coolio, who passed away this afternoon. He touched the world with the gift of his talent and will be missed profoundly,” Sheila Finegan, his manager at Trinity Artists International, said in a

Diaper desperation

By Alvin A. Reid

St. Louis American

The

Diapers, a basic need for babies, are looked upon the same as cigarettes, liquor, and pet food when it comes to using food stamps and WIC for purchase. The mission of eliminating diaper need in America is ongoing, according to St. Louis Area Diaper Bank Executive Director Muriel Smith.

“It costs an average of $100 each month to diaper a single baby, and one in three U.S. families struggle with this expense,” she said. [Our organization] diligently works throughout the year to ensure families have access to clean diapers and other necessities because it is crucial in helping children thrive.”

in America.

The 2021 Fill the Warehouse fundraising drive collected almost 130,000 diapers, and that number topped 150,000 in 20220 between Sept. 1 and Oct. 2.

n According to a Center for Economic and Policy Research, the poorest 20% of Americans who regularly purchase diapers spend nearly 14% of their post-tax income on diapers and related supplies.

The St. Louis non-profit Diaper Bank is part of the National Diaper Bank Network [NDBN], a nationwide nonprofit dedicated to eliminating diaper need

The St. Louis diaper drives also “provide individuals, organizations, communities, and elected officials the opportunity to engage in real talk and simple actions while drawing national attention to the issue of diaper need,” said Smith. Diapers can be donated throughout the year, and The Diaper Bank also collects monetary donations. For every $1 donated, the organization can directly purchase eight diapers for children in need.

Founded in 2014, the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank collects, stores, and distributes 250,000 free diapers per month

to families through a network of 56 communities, nonprofits, educational and health care partners serving low-income women and children.

In St. Louis, more than 5.1 million diapers have been distributed in recent years, including nearly 900,000 diapers during the height of the pandemic.

Diaper need is not a health and child development issue reserved for urban and lowincome areas. According to the NDBN, one in three American families cannot afford enough

diapers to keep their baby clean, dry, and healthy. Children require at least 50 diaper changes per week or 200 diaper changes per month.”

Cost is the issue, and the NBDN website states it does not lobby for diapers to be eligible for purchase through WIC or food stamps because “they are nutrition programs administered by the Department of Agriculture. Diapers would be a big cost addition to these programs that already face budget challenges.”

While diapers can be pur-

chased with TANF funds, only 23% of families living below the Federal Poverty Level receive cash assistance through the program. The costs of utility payments, rent, and other expenses often extinguish the funds before diapers can be purchased.

Inflation is also playing a role in the need for more diaper distribution to families. According to a Center for Economic and Policy Research, the poorest 20% of Americans who regularly purchase diapers spend nearly 14% of their

As

Receiving a flu shot helps keep you and your community healthy. Experts are predicting a more severe flu season this year, so it’s important that we work together to reduce the spread of this contagious virus. THANKS FOR DOING YOUR PART BY GETTING A FLU SHOT!

LOUIS

COUNTY SATURDAY, OCT. 1 | 9 A.M. – 2 P.M. Siteman Cancer Center – South County WEST

LOUIS COUNTY

SATURDAY, OCT. 8 | 9 A.M. – 2 P.M. Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital

Photo courtesy of St. Louis Area Diaper Bank

Muriel Smith, St. Louis Area Diaper Bank executive director, says her organization distributes 250,000 free diapers per month to families through community, nonprofit, educational and health care partners serving low-income women and children.

Guest Editorial

The history of Black giving is rooted in sacrifice, compassion, and our willingness to love our neighbors a s ourselves. Those roots still hold true to this day.

Setting the bar high for Black giving

By Vernon “Vito” Bracy and Adrian Bracy

Socioeconomic disparities and an ever-growing wealth gap in America continue to afflict the Black community. Despite this reality, recent studies still show that Black families contribute to charities more than any other racial group at roughly $11 billion, annually.

St. Louis has been renowned historically as one of the most generous regions in the country, and our local Black community has played a critical role in this. One of the premiere organizations setting the bar for Black philanthropy is United Way of Greater St. Louis’ Charmaine Chapman Leadership Giving Society (CCS), founded in 1994 by Dr. Donald Suggs, publisher of the St. Louis American, after recognizing that Black leaders needed a stronger voice in the philanthropic community in St. Louis. Since then, the Society has grown and expanded to over 600 members and is now the No. 1 philanthropic program for Black leaders in the nation. Members pledge $1,000 or more to United Way of Greater St. Louis each year to tackle our region’s most pressing issues. To date, CCS has raised nearly 60 million for the community.

The Society is named after the first woman and first Black person to lead United Way of Greater St. Louis as president and chief executive officer, Charmaine Chapman. During her tenure, she led United Way through hugely successful fundraising efforts. Chapman passed away in 2001, but the Society is committed to honoring her memory through giving, volunteering and fostering the next generation of Black leaders under the direction of Michelle Tucker, the organization’s second Black female president and chief executive officer in its century-long year history.

We are honored to help continue the legacy of this group that prioritizes the importance of Black giving and Black leadership by serving as co-chairs of the Charmaine Chapman Society’s

2022 fundraising campaign. As longtime CCS members, engaged community leaders, and the former leadership of a United Way-supported agency, we’ve seen the power of United Way and the impact of CCS giving firsthand. Through this Society, we are making an enormous difference and lending a helping hand to countless neighbors in need. Our dollars help to feed, shelter, educate and inspire others.

The history of Black giving is rooted in sacrifice, compassion, and our willingness to love our neighbors as ourselves. Those roots still hold true to this day, and we encourage fellow leaders and other members of the community to continue to honor the distinguished history of the Charmaine Chapman Society by working to create a better tomorrow.

Please visit HelpingPeople.org to donate or to learn more about the Charmaine Chapman Society and other ways to get involved with United Way of Greater St. Louis.

Vernon “Vito” Bracy of RVC Solutions and Adrian Bracy of the Steward Family Trust are 2022 Charmaine Chapman Society Co-chairs

Commentary

No loud cry for Favre to lose everything

By Marc Morial

Last year, when Brett Favre partially repaid the state of Mississippi for $1.1 million in welfare funds he was paid for appearances and speeches at events he did not attend, he posted on Facebook, “I would never knowingly take funds meant to help our neighbors in need.”

But text messages recently filed in court documents revealed Favre was really concerned that the public would learn of more alleged underhanded actions.

“If you were to pay me is there anyway the media can find out where it came from and how much?” Favre texted to Nancy New, executive director of a nonprofit established to distribute millions of dollars from Temporary Assistance to Needy Families meant to assist the state’s poorest residents.

Favre first met in July of 2017 with New and Mississippi Department of Human Services director John Davis to request funds for a volleyball facility at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi, where his daughter played volleyball. In addition to the $1.1 million paid to Favre, New’s nonprofit sent a total of $5 million directly to the university. Favre also worked to secure $2.1 million through the nonprofit for a biotech start-up in which he is an investor.

Favre is certainly not the central villain in Mississippi’s unfolding $94 million welfare scandal, but he is far and away the most prominent and the

wealthiest. The pillaging of public funds intended for the desperately poor is disgraceful on its face, but even more so when the one who’s doing the pillaging is worth an estimated $100 million.

It’s difficult not to compare the public’s reaction to Favre’s misdeeds with the media backlash against Black athletes and coaches – not only Colin Kaepernick, who lost his career for kneeling during the National Anthem to protest police brutality and racial injustice, -- but also Michael Vick, who served federal prison time for his involvement in a dog fighting ring, Deshaun Watson, who was suspended for 11 games and fined $5 million for accusations of sexual misconduct, and Celtics coach Ime Udoka, who has been suspended for the entire 2022–23 season for an improper relationship with a Celtics staff member. The comparisons are imperfect. As sportswriter Jemele Hill points out, Favre has been retired for a dozen years while Vick, Watson, and Udoka were all active when their scandals occurred.

But Favre was an active player in 2008, when he harassed a Jets sideline reporter with lewd text messages, in-

As I See It - A Forum for Community Issues

How low can Herschel Walker go?

By Adam Howard

It’s another day, so naturally, there is another Herschel Walker scandal. Since he launched his improbable candidacy for the U.S. Senate this year, he has been caught lying about everything from COVID to his professional experience to how many children he has.

And now the Daily Beast is reporting yet another bombshell, alleging that in 2009, Walker urged his then-girlfriend to get an abortion and reimbursed her for the procedure.

This, of course, should not be a scandal. If true, he and his then-partner had every right and perhaps every reason to pursue an abortion, and one could argue it was almost chivalrous of the ex-NFL star to foot the bill. But the irony is that Walker has been running a virulently socially conservative campaign, chastising others for their family-planning decisions and calling for a total ban on all abortions in the United States with no exceptions for atrocities like rape or incest, as well as the health of the mother.

His own 23-year-old son has taken to Twitter to condemn his father. Christian Walker, an outspoken conservative in his own right, who had previously supported his father’s Senate run, has declared he’s “done” with his father after the allegations reported by the Daily Beast.

And yet, despite all of this, Walker—a man who has been accused of holding his ex-wife hostage at gunpoint, a man who had refused to debate his Democratic opponent until recently, a man who has demonstrated no coherence whatsoever when it comes to national or statelevel issues—has a very good chance of winning the election the U.S. Senate this November. If anything, his reaction to the Daily Beast story may win him more support from his GOP base. Taking a page right out of the Donald Trump playbook, Walker played the victim— allegedly that the story was part of some kind of Democratic plot and threatening to sue the

Daily Beast for libel. It will be an uphill legal battle—should he follow through with it, which I doubt he will—because the Daily Beast has receipts. While the woman who’s come forward has sought to shield her identity, she did provide the publication with a “$575 receipt from the abortion clinic, a ‘get well’ card from Walker, and a bank deposit receipt that included an image of a signed $700 personal check from Walker.”

But what is “evidence” to a Republican voter these days? There is no evidence that there was substantial fraud in the 2020 election, and yet, nearly two years later, an overwhelming majority of Republicans insist there was. Call it cynical or clever or both, but Republicans have not only managed to convince their voters that any election they didn’t win is legitimate, but they also have argued that any story that paints them in an unflattering light is “fake news.”

Among the GOP right-wing zealots who still support Walker after the latest shocking allegation is Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley.

Walker’s incoherent ramblings about “bad air” flowing from China and the theory of evolution are either ignored or accepted by people who know better like Mitch McConnell because ultimately it’s more important to them that a crucial Senate seat is held by someone who calls themselves a Republican and votes the way they want them to.

There is no doubt Walker would do that. He managed to easily win the GOP nomination for Senate in Georgia after doing little more than demonstrating that he would

Letter to the editor

cluding a photo of his genitalia, and voicemails. Favre was fined $50,000 for not cooperating with the NFL’s investigation and didn’t miss a single game.

“While no one is standing up for Favre, there isn’t this loud cry that he should lose everything,” Hill wrote. People almost always want a pound of flesh when it comes to Black athletes, and it’s often unrelenting. So sometimes it’s not about coverage, but tone.”

About 43% of Mississippi’s Black children live in poverty, compared with 14% of white children. But fewer than one percent of those eligible to receive TANF assistance actually receive it.

“They make it so incredibly difficult for families that need these resources to get it,”

Aisha Nyandoro, chief executive of the antipoverty nonprofit Springboard To Opportunities, told the Washington Post. “But then others who don’t need it can just send a text message and money magically appears in their bank account … There are people that didn’t receive the money they needed to get their car fixed, to get a job; moms who couldn’t get diapers. What good could have been done in Mississippi with this $94 million? How many families could’ve been impacted?”

Perhaps some Americans can’t quite muster the same outrage on behalf of impoverished Black children that they can on behalf of a flag.

Marc Morial is National Urban League president and CEO

be the most devoted to Donald Trump of any of the candidates running. There are some who have speculated that Walker’s promotion from convention guest speaker to U.S. senatorial prospect was a deliberate attempt to siphon off Black voters from incumbent Democratic Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock, who also happens to be African American, but if that was part of the calculation, it isn’t paying off.

Warnock, who has proven himself to be an effective senator—helping to pass historic reductions in the cost of insulin—and one of the Democratic Party’s most charismatic orators, maintains the support of the overwhelming majority of Black voters across the state of Georgia, and so Walker’s best hope for victory is the conservative white voters of the state.

So far, the Republican Party and its backers have now evinced, at least publicly, any qualms about how Walker has comported himself not just in his past but over the last few months on the campaign trail. If it didn’t bother them that Walker blamed the tragic Uvalde, Texas, high school shooting on “young men that’s looking at women that’s looking at social media” will this Daily Beast story phase them?

This will be a true test of whether their supposed deeply held convictions on the issue of abortion are really that deeply held at all. Republican supporters may not be willing to vote for Warnock, who is unapologetically pro-choice, but will they leave Walker’s box blank to make a statement that is at least consistent with the national party’s embrace of criminalizing abortion? Only time will tell. But nothing whatsoever can change the fact that Herschel Walker’s candidacy has been one of the biggest hot messes in recent political history.

This commentary was originally published in The Grio

As we continue our 2022-23 season, we’ve made some changes to our Health and Safety Policy we think you should know about. With guidance from our medical advisors at Washington University, and after careful consideration, we have decided to retire our proof of vaccination/testing requirement, effective Friday, October 7, 2022, for our evening performance of Private Lives. Masking remains optional but encouraged. Our team will continue to closely

Vernon “Vito” Bracy and Adrian Bracy

Guest Columnist Adam Howard

Columnist Marc H. Morial

Giving is Divine

Challenge through Nov. 2, 2022.

Charmaine Chapman Society seeks Divine pledges

St. Louis American staff

Black fraternity and sorority members can pledge again. OK, not that kind of pledging.

The United Way of Greater St. Louis’ Charmaine Chapman Leadership Society [CCS] Divine 9 Fundraising Challenge runs through November 2, 2022, and members of the nine historically Black Sororities and Fraternities in the St. Louis region can pledge an annual gift of $1,000 or more.

Individuals can donate and view current Fraternity and Sorority rankings by visiting HelpingPeople.org/ Divine9

United Way’s Charmaine Chapman Society is a philanthropic organization for Black leaders in the St. Louis region and is the largest organized Black giving group associated with any United Way in the nation.

“United Way is very important in keeping our community strong, safe and healthy, and the Leadership Giving Societies, like CCS, play a very important role in United Way’s campaign,” said Arica Harris, member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Omicron Eta Omega Chapter, and vice chair of United Way of

Greater St. Louis’ 2022 campaign.

“We are looking forward to the friendly competition of the Divine 9 Challenge to really ignite the spirit of giving from the CCS members. This is a fun way for our Fraternity brothers and Sorority sisters to give back to the community and help our neighbors.”

All Divine 9 members who contribute $1,000 or more to this year’s campaign will receive a special invitation to the Divine 9 Soiree, hosted by the Charmaine Chapman Society in early November.

Francella Jackson, member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Delta Delta Omega Chapter, and co-chairman of the Divine 9 Challenge Committee says United Way is a unique way to give back.

“No other organization plays as critical of a role in galvanizing our region for the purpose of ensuring economic stability, good health and the ability for all to thrive,” she said.

“It is especially important in today’s social and racial justice climate to make a choice to be a part of the solution that unites our community with the resources, tools, and services that will tackle the difficult problems we face.”

Missouri could step up its college funding

By Charlene Crowell

President Joe Biden’s recent student debt cancellation announcement elicited a diverse range of reactions– some congratulatory, others critical, and still others that seem unsure what to make of the unprecedented multi-billion-dollar effort. Predictably, long-time education and civil rights advocates spoke to the need for additional reforms, while others wondered about cancellation’s impact on an already troubled economy. Families struggling with the rising cost of living and deepening student debt –have only a few months to make household budget adjustments before loan payments resume in January.

The good news is that of the 43 million people affected by the executive action, 20 million borrowers will have all of their debt cancelled. Many of these borrowers incurred student loans but dropped out of school, left with thousands in debt and lower earnings due to the lack of a degree.

Another 27 million people from working class backgrounds who received Pell grants are assured of up to $20,000 in debt relief.

But these actions do not resolve the structural mismatch between the still-rising costs of college, limited family financial means to contribute to that cost, and the availability of financial aid other than interest-bearing loans.

“We’ve all heard of those schools luring students with a promise of big paychecks when they graduate only to watch these students be ripped off and left with mountains of debt,” stated President Biden on August 24. “Well, last week, the Department of Education fired a college accreditor that allowed colleges like ITT and Corinthian to defraud borrowers…Our goal is to shine a light on the worst actors so students can avoid these debt traps.” It seems like a perfect time for the Department of Education to clean house of all the bad higher education actors — especially costly for-profit institutions that promise a lot but deliver little, and accreditors that fail to do their jobs.

On August 30, the Department of Education took action against another defunct for-profit: Westwood College. This trade school lured unsuspecting students into costly debt from January 1, 2002, through November 17, 2015 when it stopped enrolling new borrowers in advance of its 2016 closure. Changes to Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program rules will allow borrowers that would not otherwise qualify, to receive credit for past periods of repayment. Interested borrowers and their families can get more information on the program’s information page, but they must act by October 31. Details on the time-limited offer are available at:https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/ pslf-limited-waiver

But individual states must do their part as well. Across the nation, state revenues are flush with surpluses.

“I don’t think there’s been a time in history where states [including Missouri] are better equipped to ride out a potential recession,” said Timothy Vermeer senior state tax policy analyst at the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. “A majority, if not all, of the rainy-day funds are in a really healthy position.”

Additionally, and according to the 2021 edition of the annual State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) report, short-changing higher education funding at the state level will likely lead to worse, not better results. The report tracks enrollment trends, funding levels and distributions of state institutions.

The report notes that while federal stimulus and relief funds are helpful, they cannot be a replacement for long-term state investments, because stimulus funds are time-limited and often restricted in their use.

If we want to end the student debt trap, now is the time for citizens to challenge states to use their tax revenue to do more for their own constituents.

Charlene Crowell is a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending.

Members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Gamma Omega Chapter and all area Black Greek organizations can support The Charmaine Chapman Society Leadership Society during the Divine 9 Fundraising

Photo courtesy of AKA Gamma Omega Chapter

Charlene Crowell

Brown

Continued from A1

world.

I’ve been an employee with the newspaper for almost three years now and felt a need to attend. Well, to be honest, “my boss,” Dr. Donald Suggs, wanted me to attend. But I was also anxious to mingle with my colleagues, many of whom I’ve only met through COVID-era Zoom meetings.

“Sylvester, I’ve never seen you so dressed up before,” was Alderwoman Megan E. Green’s comment about my attire and emphasized my fish-out-of-water feelings.

Green was one of the well-known faces I saw after entering the gala’s reception, an elegant affair replete with free-flowing hors d’oeuvres and spirits. There were others: Mayor Tishaura Jones, County Executive Sam Page, County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, U.S. Senate candidate Trudy Busch Valentine and many more.

The word “class” looped in my head as guests arrived adorned in colorful, unique gowns, tuxedos, elegant eve-

Nash

Continued from A1 children and advancing medical education since the 1940s.”

“In addition, the campus will soon display a permanent timeline of key moments in our institutions’ evolution toward diversity, inclusion and culturally responsive care for all patients in one of our most prominent public corridors, serving the medical center’s faculty, staff and trainees,” David H. Perlmutter, MD and Sherree Wilson, PhD, said in a joint release.

“Our institutional mission emphasizes building a campus culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Today we establish

ning dresses and dapper suits.

On my way to the grand ballroom, I saw some of my colleagues, including COO Kevin Jones, Digital Projects Director Dawn Suggs, Photographer Wiley Price and my adopted “little sister” and community reporter, Danielle Brown.

My guest and I shared a table with Darlyn Bosley, veteran newswoman Robin Boyce, columnist James Ingram and Assistant Digital editor, Isiah Peters. Peters, a gracious and fascinating young man who, at 24, had traveled the globe before settling in St. Louis.

The gala was an Oscarworthy affair. The stage’s backdrop of blue and gold was highlighted with six hanging centerpiece crystal chandeliers. Three room-sized monitors projected live coverage and video presentations. Mock palm trees or slim, golden vases with roses served as center pieces for the 100 or so white-clothed tables. The three-course meal served was delicious.

Dressed in a beautiful burgundy-red gown, host Carol Daniel expertly kept the

important milestones on that journey.”

Perlmutter is Executive Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor and George and Carol Bauer Endowed Dean, School of Medicine.

“Nash Way will honor a family whose legacy continues to define pediatric care in St. Louis. As two St. Louis pediatricians, we celebrate this well-deserved tribute as we mourn the loss of Dr. Homer Nash Jr., a consummate educator, and renowned clinician whose name is synonymous with compassionate care,” said Perlmutter and Wilson.

Dr. Helen Nash completed her residency at Homer G. Phillips Hospital and the his-

show flowing as she vacillated between self-deprecating humor, hilarious one-liners, and inspiring tributes to honorees. Before and during the ceremony, the Jazz Edge Orchestra kept the vibe in traditional award-show fashion.

The awesomeness of the evening was solidified for me as I watched countless young people come to the stage to accept their acknowledgements and their “Donald M. Suggs” scholarships to various local colleges and universities.

Daniel accurately articulated my emotions when she noted that the evening wasn’t about dropouts or crime or violence…it was about young people and educational excellence.

tional institutions as representatives accepted their awards and stressed the necessary ingredients in preparing young people to succeed in life.

That adage “It takes a village” meant something that night as the list of corporate sponsors like Anheuser-Busch, Edward Jones, Bayer, BJC Healthcare, and numerous other educational and business institutions were cited for monetary and scholarship contributions.

n Dressed in a beautiful burgundy-red gown, host Carol Daniels expertly kept the show flowing as she vacillated between self-deprecating humor, hilarious one-liners, and inspiring tributes to honorees.

My cynicism for typical corporate-sponsored events faded as I recognized the tremendous contributions these entities are making in the future of Black students.

My sense of gratitude was extended to educators from Harris-Stowe State University; Hamilton, Lusher and Marion Elementary Schools, Lincoln Middle School and other educa-

toric institution will also be honored during the Nash Way ceremony.

In 1949, she became the first African American woman to join the attending staff at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, where she helped develop one of the first specialized wards for premature infants.

She started her private practice that year, while remaining on staff at Homer G. Phillips Hospital, serving as pediatric supervisor and associate director of pediatrics from 1950 to 1964. She was president of Children’s Hospital attending staff from 1977 to 1979.

After treating thousands of children in her 45 years of practice, Dr. Nash retired from private practice and her faculty position as a professor

cant to me.

Which brings me to the “shame” part of this commentary. Suggs is a humble man who avoids the limelight, so I hope he and our editor, Alvin A. Reid, allow me to elaborate.

It’s no secret that the St. Louis American and my former monthly publication, Take Five Magazine, feuded publicly back in the day. I put our literary bouts in the category of the Leon Spinks vs Muhammad Ali 1978 fight.

When I founded the publication in 1987, the American was almost 60 years old. Take Five was the new scrapper on the block. The American, I felt, got the lion’s share of the sliver of corporate Black advertising dollars.

Witnessing, in real time, the St. Louis American Foundation’s nearly $14 million in scholarships and community grants (including $2.8 million in 2022) made the entire 35-year endeavor more signifi-

emeritus of pediatrics in 1993. She then served as dean of minority affairs for Washington University School of Medicine from 1994 to 1996.

“She loved her patients and pushed institutions to change to improve children’s health and lives,” Dr. Alison Nash said.

Helen Nash followed her father’s footsteps by pursuing a medical career, he was a general practitioner in Atlanta. Her younger brother, Dr. Homer Nash Jr., and her niece, Dr. Alison Nash, followed Helen Nash into pediatrics.

“She set very high standards for herself and the people around her,” Dr. Alison Nash said of her aunt.

Homer Nash Jr. served in the U.S. Army in Italy during World War II and received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. When he returned, he went to Meharry Medical School in Nashville and following his graduation he moved to St. Louis to train under his sister at

Somewhat young, very cocky and envious, I aggressively went after the “big dog.” Although most of our disagreements were legitimate, I now realize that I didn’t pay proper respect to the man behind the city’s largest Black newspaper.

On Saturday, I reflected on the benevolence of the publisher who had every right to hold a grudge and even seek vengeance. He never did. In

Homer G. Phillips. He sought to address obvious health inequities in the Black community, where children did not have access to the same resources other area children. He made it his life’s work to serve those children, always keeping his private practice office in the Black community as his sister had done and his daughter has continued to do.

He was on staff at St. Louis Children’s and BarnesJewish hospitals and served on many committees and advisory boards. He was a clinical professor of pediatrics at Washington University and worked with the Community Outpatient Practice Experience (COPE) to facilitate community pediatric practicums for WashU medical residents and for physician assistants and nurse practitioners in other programs.

2020, when the Deaconess Foundation offered the newspaper a Fellowship to cover COVID’s impact on the Black community, Suggs offered me the position.

My 65-year-old knees hurt as I watched Suggs, a man in his mid-80s, constantly bound the stage’s steps to present awards. No matter how long I live, I don’t think my legacy will ever measure up to this giant of a man who has given so much back to the Black community and Black, aspirational students.

After the awards were all given out, I saw Dr. Suggs at the musical after-set rocking and singing along with internationally acclaimed jazz vocalist, Denise Thimes. I caught a brief glimpse of him leaving the gala. Donning a stylish black hat, Suggs energetically pumped his fist in the air as he bid everyone “farewell.”

His departure summarized my first Salute feelings. It was a mix of class, some regret and loads of respect and admiration for an evening of absolute excellence.

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

“In general internship, you spend six weeks or two months in each service. Pediatrics was the one I liked the best,” he said.

Speakers at the Nash Way celebration will include Will Ross, MD, Associate Dean for Diversity Principal Officer for Community Partnerships, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, Trish Lollo, St. Louis Children’s Hospital president, and Donald M. Suggs, St. Louis American publisher, friend, and colleague of Dr. Homer Nash.

Dr. Nash, who passed away earlier this year, practiced and taught well into his 80s, continually improving the lives of children and teaching students. He was honored as a Lifetime Achiever during the 2009 Salute to Excellence in Healthcare and told The St. Louis American he chose pediatrics as his specialty while an intern at Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago.

Dr. Alison Nash will also speak on behalf of the family during the Nash Way unveiling.

Salute

Continued from A1 cious children? As they grew older, did that twinkle in their eye vanish? Was that fire for life extinguished? Who was there to mentor them, to infuse them with the restorative power of hope to lift their gaze?

“I believe if you supply students with hope, they can then have the ambition, desire and perseverance to succeed.”

LaTonia Collins Smith, Harris-Stowe State University president and 2022 Stellar Performer recipient, shared a favorite line, “It’s a great day to be a Hornet!”

It is my team who make days like this possible by executing the vision. Most importantly, my students and alums allow me to show up every day, [be] my authentic self, and challenge me to be greater and stellar in my performance daily,” she said. “As we all make our individual contributions to educate tomorrow’s leaders, I leave you with this proverb; “The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade we may never see.”

Marion Elementary School in the Ritenour School District was honored as the 2022 Bayer School of Excellence, and Principal Bilal Ewing said, “we love beating the odds.”

“We love outperforming expectations. We love outperforming more affluent schools and school districts,” he said.

“You can’t shortcut. You got to go all in [on] full implementation. Close the parentheses. And this work is tricky. It’s hard to keep a great team together. It’s hard to let those best practices grow. But that’s exactly what’s happened in Marion.”

Al Mitchell, Bayer Fund president and Bayer vice president of community relations, said his company is in its 20th year of awarding the School of Excellence recognition, and called Marion “a very deserving school.

The recognition also

includes eight new iPads and a $2,500 education grant.

Tashanna Stanciel, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri’s first alumni mentoring executive director, was honored as the 2022 Southeast Missouri State University Community Based Partner of the year.

Stanciel told The American, “I find my energy working back with our young people.”

“This position has allowed me to grow as a leader, how to manage and provide growth opportunities.”

Honored as 2022 Excellence in Education Awardees were Leah Crawford, Ladue Schools instructional coach; Ashley Ellis, Special School

District of St. Louis County job coach; Starlett Frenchie, Hamilton Elementary principal, SLPS; Asley Gerald, Lusher Elementary first grade teacher, Hazelwood School District; Brittany Green, Wyvetter Younge School of Excellence principal, East St. Louis School District; Roosevelt Mitchell, Lincoln Middle School special education teacher, East St. Louis School District; Regina Ware, Opportunity Center teacher, Hazelwood School District; and Linda Wells, University of Missouri – St. Louis teaching professor.

Each of the eight recipients will receive a $500 education grant.

SLPS Superintendent Kelvin Adams, who is retiring after 14 years in that vital role, received a special recognition award, “In recognition and appreciation of your service for a dedication to the St. Louis community.

Adams, 2017 Salute to Excellence in Education Stellar Performer, modestly thanked all involved with the district, saying, “I am just one of just 3,500 employees.” The gala evening was celebrity emcee of the event, which she called, “uplifting,” “It is so nice to have this wonderful evening back in person this year, celebrating our 35th anniversary.”

Honored as 2022 Excellence in Education Awardees were Linda Wells Glover, University of Missouri – St. Louis teaching professor; Regina Ware, Opportunity Center teacher, Hazelwood School District; Roosevelt Mitchell, Lincoln Middle School special education teacher, East St. Louis School District; Brittany Green, Wyvetter Younge School of Excellence principal, East St. Louis School District; Ashley Gerald, Lusher Elementary first grade teacher, Hazelwood School District; Starlett Frenchie, Hamilton Elementary principal, SLPS; Ashley Ellis, Special School District of St. Louis County job coach; and Leah Crawford, Ladue Schools instructional coach.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Alderman Jack Coatar (Ward 7) has landed himself in yet another cauldron of hot water, after the St. Louis Business Journal identified the name of the corporation overseeing the redevelopment of Downtown’s Railway Exchange Building. Despite secret deals behind closed doors and going out of his way to conceal the identities of the developer and local general contractor, Coatar’s actions have once again been exposed. The alderman has sought to portray himself as a reformer since announcing his candidacy to replace disgraced former board president Lewis Reed who resigned earlier this summer following a federal grand jury’s indictment.

Coatar is the sponsor of Board Bill 53, introduced on September 22, and his bill would award a 95% abatement of real estate property taxes for 20 years to the out-of-state multi-million dollar real estate developer. The cost to St. Louis City Public Schools has not yet been publicly disclosed, although all signs point to millions of tax dollars potentially being traded away for yet another “luxury” apartment

building that likely will remain unfilled as similar developments have. If there are any community-focused developers out there who want to build in neighborhoods, consider this our call for more affordable housing across all of St. Louis! Coatar’s proposed tax abatement bill failed to identify the New York-based developer, Carnegie Management, Inc., or the local contractor, PARIC Construction, Co., before the Business Journal released that information, but as with everything else in St. Louis politics (especially when it comes to Coatar): follow the money.

A Missouri Ethics Committee report - where all campaign financerelated spending must be disclosed - reveals that on September 21, the day before Coatar introduced the tax abatement bill for Railway Exchange, a $35,000 donation was made by PARIC Construction Co to a political action committee called the Nexus PAC. PARIC has been tapped as local general contractor for the Railway Exchange Building project. The Nexus PAC, on the other hand, has strong ties to the Nexus Group, a Jefferson

City lobbying firm that also promotes the political agenda of Missouri billionaire Rex Sinquefield. Nexus Group itself has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Nexus PAC, but its donations pale in comparison to PARIC’s nearly $200,000 in contributions since the PAC launched in 2018. Coatar has been directly linked to other Sinquefield projects, like the failed privatization of Lambert International Airport and the unsuccessful attempt to merge St. Louis City and County.

of their political careers, and the fear of irrelevancy, this anxiety has reportedly manifested itself as “a hard time communicating.”

While the alderman hasn’t yet filed his upcoming MEC campaign finance disclosures (due later this month), the alderman previously has been a direct recipient of the Nexus PAC, netting a $1,000 donation from the committee in June 2021. Coatar has also received financial contributions from some of Nexus PAC’s funding corporations.

As the November 8 Election Day gets closer, more and more of Coatar’s connections to dark money surface and raise the question, “how would Coatar’s leadership as president of the Board of Aldermen differ from the man he wants to replace?”

By all accounts, Coatar has the same campaign team, the same set of campaign donors, and the same developers that supported Reed and lobbied for his favor. His political positions - a toothless stance on “women’s rights,” a patronizing perspective toward the City’s unhoused, a blind loyalty to the policeare in complete alignment with Reed’s values and actions.

The days are ticking for Coatar to show voters how he would be different in the future.

County Council devolves into chaos over hurt feelings

Other things that are ticking?

Several “bombs” inside the St. Louis County Council. As some members face the potential end

Councilman Mark Harder (R-District 7), who faces a tough Democratic challenger Kristine Callis, has spent much of his free time harassing his colleague, Councilwoman Lisa Clancy (D-District 5), and loudly complaining about being left out of a project no one knew he was involved with.

Councilwoman Shalonda Webb (DDistrict 4) and Councilman Ernie Trakas (R-District 6) aren’t running this cycle, but they’re still keeping themselves occupied by fighting amongst themselves over nothing that actuallt serves their constituents.

And who even knows where Councilman Tim Fitch has been since he won his police pension lawsuit against St. Louis County at the end of June, enabling him to draw from those funds and netting nearly a $250,000 judgment.

Of course, by winning that lawsuit, Fitch indirectly hurt Council Chairwoman Rita Heard Days, who has expected her time in elected office to accrue toward her own county pension, but that anticipated benefit was cut short when former county executive Steve Stenger fired her from the County’s Board of Elections. Fitch’s lawsuit defined which county employees could earn county pensions: full-time, merit positions, and not part-time, elected offices. Despite winning her hotlycontested August primary, Days has seemingly fallen into her own spiral - perhaps reacting to the consequences of Fitch’s suit - by picking her own silly fights with St. Louis County Executive Sam Page over some road construction, and with St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones over federal transportation funding. Without her reliable group of

Republican council members (Fitch and Harder), Days may be a wolf without a pack in the upcoming council session.

“County lawmakers may say this internal conflict is about communication, but that has been part of the story,” a source close to the County Council told the EYE. “Their petty gripes have only to do with their own self-serving interests and elections. St Louisans are the ones who lose out.”

Downtown start-up funds l ocal racist website

A downtown tech start-up has made national headlines for its longtime enablement of a far-right fake news website. LockerDome, which is headquartered in a converted Washington Avenue garment factory, was the subject of a recent investigation by Gateway Journalism Review reporter Paul Wagman, who researched and analyzed the advertising platform’s multi-million dollar relationship with The Gateway Pundit, a website that promotes racist propaganda and conspiracy theories. In 2021, another GJR exposé found that LockerDome (rebranded as “Decide Technologies”) had financed at least several other far-right websites. By creating a revenue stream for hate speech, LockerDome has both enabled and profitted from deadly conspiracy theories such as the “Great Replacement theory” (the false belief that white Anglo-Saxon persons are being replaced with a raciallyand ethnically-mixed society) and that Donald Trump won the 2020 election.

Only a few miles away, Central West End resident Jim Hoft runs the disinformation website, rising to prominence during the Trump presidency by amassing millions of webpage views and generating revenue for its advertisers. The website operates through Hoft’s LLC, TGP

Communications, which was registered with the Missouri Secretary of State at Hoft’s former Southwest Gardens home. With massive amounts of funding and assistance from hate speech enablers LockerDome, Hoft has leveraged his national platform to unfairly target St. Louis’ Black elected leaders, like Mayor Jones and U.S. Rep. Cori Bush. In its earlier days, The Gateway Pundit falsely claimed that President Barack Obama was not born in the U.S., and Hoft himself has been involved with promoting the “Big Lie” - that Trump won the 2020 election. Hoft was banned from Twitter as a result. He’s also written several articles for The Gateway Pundit promoting outright falsehoods related to the “Big Lie,” from voting software “glitches” to accusing Georgia Secretary of State of having a fake brother who worked for a “Chinese tech firm.” Most recently, Hoft has attempted to sue Mayor Jones and civil rights activist Umar Lee for rightfully calling Hoft’s June 2020 rally a meeting of “the local St. Louis KKK chapter” and referring to Hoft’s supporters as “white Christian nationalists.” If you haven’t picked up on this yet: these are not good people. Without platforms like LockerDome, disinformation sites like Hoft’s would go out of business. After all, the company has carved out for itself a hefty $32 million share in the digital publishing market. The Gateway Pundit and Hoft have been de-platformed from most of their revenue-generating websites, but until platforms like LockerDome sever ties completely, hate groups will continue to profit from racism and promoting white supremacy. While some believe that LockerDome ended its business relationship with the

Tim Fitch

Rex Sinquefield

Jim Hoft

“Taking Care of You”

Austin cherishes chance to

‘make an impact on people’

Named BJC HealthCare Sr. VP

By JoAnn Weaver

For The St. Louis American

Tommye Austin has joined BJC HealthCare as its senior vice president and system chief nurse executive, and welcomes her role in St. Louis because she can serve more people.

Austin brings more than 30 years of experience in the nursing field to BJC, having most recently served as the senior vice president and chief nursing executive for University Health in San Antonio, Texas.

“I felt like I needed to get back into a role where I had the opportunity to provide guidance over more individuals,” Austin said. San Antonio has a smaller African American population than St. Louis, which

according to Austin is a reason she was drawn to BJC.

“In health care, a lot of the time people don’t trust health care workers because they haven’t always been treated well,” she said.

“I have an opportunity to make an impact on people in a way that they see a face that looks like theirs.”

As BJC’s senior nursing executive, Austin is accountable for developing and implementing targeted system-wide initiatives to improve

patient outcomes, standardize care, and enhance effectiveness of the clinical workforce.

“The reason I went to San Antonio was because [it] didn’t provide stroke care and I worked with a stroke unit in Houston,” she said.

“During my time in San Antonio, I worked with the hospitals to provide primary stroke care so now if you suffer from a stroke there, you will be well taken care of and I feel like I had a lot to do with that,” Austin said.

Her plan at BJC incudes an assessment of the city in regards to education options, working with schools on their clinical programs, and work within the community.

Do you need a stress management coach?

By Anissa Durham

Racial discrimination, children being gunned down in classrooms, and a healthcare system that has historically disregarded Black folks — are just some of the reasons we are stressed. On top of all that, studies also show that between May and June of 2020, Black folks experienced a 31% increase in stress relating to police violence. While there are so many pressures and worries in our lives, taking control of our mental health is one of the ways the Black community continues to rise.

That’s where the work of Carenda Deonne a Charlotte, North Carolinabased certified stress management life coach, speaker, and author comes in. Deonne says she experienced several stressful situations that led her to commit to helping others alleviate their stress. In 2019, she started a business to help women and corporations cope with and decrease their stress levels.

Deonne says it’s important for her to help women alleviate stress because she believes everyone has been created for and in purpose. She wants women to maximize their full potential and embrace their purpose without feeling unworthy.

n Deonne says she experienced several stressful situations that led her to commit to helping others alleviate their stress.

“I want to see women have those celebrations in their lives, have those wins, and have those victories,” she says. To help corporations promote a less stressful work environment, Deonne also does workshops focused on reframing reactions to stress. She provides them on both individual and group levels.

During a conversation with Word In Black, Deonne tells us why working through stress in the Black community is so important and shares simple steps to get started.

Word In Black: Why did you decide to become a stress management life coach?

Carenda Deonne: I personally went through a lot of stressful moments in my life. I’ve been through two failed marriages. I’ve also been through various health challenges

A new focus on COVID-19 and children’s myopia

By Sylvester Brown Jr.

The St. Louis American

Nearly 190,000 African Americans have low vision, according to the National Eye Institute. That number is comprised of Black people who have had a recent vision test. Unfortunately, a Population Research and Policy Journal study concluded that Black Americans are twice as likely to have no insurance than their white counterparts.

“Without medical insurance, they are less likely to go to a doctor when their vision starts to deteriorate. They are also less likely to get surgery for their eye diseases, which explains this degree of higher prevalence of glaucoma and blindness in this population.” African Americans are at higher risk for glaucoma at a much younger age than other populations. Now, there is another concern, and it is

n “Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve observed a marked increase in the number of myopia cases we’re treating.”

– Dr. Vito Vricella, Lead Optometrist and Owner of Fenton Family Eye Care

a result of COVID-19. It’s referred to as COVID-related myopia. Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a disease that usually starts in school-aged children and causes the eye to grow too long. Long-sightedness leads to problems with near vision (seeing things that are close up) and the eyes may commonly become tired.

While working at University Health in San Antonio, Texas, Tommye Austin, BJC HealthCare senior vice president and system chief nurse executive, designed a replacement mask with materials that block more than 96% of airborne particles and will protect healthcare employees if needed. She also repurposed a sterilization process used to decontaminate surgical equipment and began using it to clean N95 masks.

Photo courtesy of University Health San Antonio

Photo courtesy of National Eye Institute

Anissa Durham

Tommye Austin

“Taking Care of You”

Austin

Continued from A10

“I plan to work in the community to make sure there is good representation because I spoke with the president of the Goldfarb School of Nursing and she said she had 33% of African Americans in the school, which is wonderful,” Austin said.

“But I don’t know what the diversity ratio is in regard to patients to nurses in the hospitals.”

Austin said an incident

Durham

Continued from A10

and experienced the very tragic loss of my baby brother. All of those situations brought upon stress, and I started to see how I was internalizing that stress and how it was affecting me, meaning insomnia, anxiety, panic attacks, loss of my hair, gaining weight, and I started to make unhealthy choices when it came to diet and exercise.

I decided that I had to make a choice to do something different. I knew that stress was causing me to have those unhealthy habits and not be able to move forward with my life — it was keeping me stuck.

I decided to become my own client first and started working on simple ways I could incorporate throughout my day

Myopia

Continued from A10

A study published in the Jan. 2021 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that home confinement during the pandemic created a significant increase in myopia for children aged 6 to 8 years. Additionally, studies from Hong Kong, Turkey and the Netherlands also link the pandemic to an increase in myopia among young children.

The problem is also growing in the United States, said Dr. Vito Vricella, lead optometrist and owner of Fenton Family Eye Care.

“Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve observed a marked increase in the number of myopia cases we’re treating.”

Vricella was quoted in a release published by Treehouse Eyes, self-described as “the only healthcare practice in the country dedicated exclusively to treating myopic children.”

As a result of the pandemic, Vricella said, “children were forced indoors for social time and virtual learning, and their exposure to screen time skyrocketed up to 14 hours a

involving her mother’s care personally demonstrated problems in the health care industry she is challenging.

“My mother had a massive heart attack when she was 61, days before her birthday. Luckily, I had just finished nursing and had been a nurse for five or six years, but I was in management,” she said. “My mother was flown to a small town with a level one trauma center.”

According to Austin, the physician said he wasn’t going to do anything for her mother because she was “a smoker, overweight and had done this

how to alleviate stress. I started doing more research, and I was growing in it as a profession and got my certification to help other women.

WIB: What were some simple things that you initially started incorporating into your own life to alleviate that stress?

Deonne: I started writing a gratitude list. It wasn’t just about the things I was grateful for, it encompassed that I was grateful for a new day or the ability to have a new chance at life. But the gratitude list also incorporated things that I learned through those painful moments. So being grateful for the patience, being grateful for being kind to myself, being grateful for giving myself the opportunity to forgive myself and forgive others.

day, putting their eye health at greater risk for myopia development.”

Treehouse Eyes is a business specializing in Myopia Treatment. For a non-business-related perspective, Dr. James Hoekel, OD, Pediatric Optometrist at St. Louis Children’s Hospital Department of Pediatric Ophthalmology offers an opinion.

Hoekel said the relationship between increased myopia in children and COVIDrelated home confinement is a bit more complicated than many in his profession profess.

Yes, there’s an increase of nearsightedness around the world, Hoekel confirmed. And, yes, there’s an indoor component where children are not going outside as much as previous generations. But, the optometrist added, you can’t dismiss genetics.

“If both parents are myopic,” Hoekel said, “then it’s more likely the children will be myopic.” Hoekel, who’s been involved with FDA ophthalmology studies for almost four years, is not dismissive of a potential myopia epidemic among children that’s

to herself.”

“I worked with a famous trauma surgeon at [Memorial Herman Health Centers] in Houston,” she said. “The surgeon called that physician. I don’t know what he told him, but after that he treated my mother differently.”

Across the nation, racial and ethnic minority populations experience higher rates of poor health and disease in a range of health conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, obesity, asthma, and heart disease, when compared to their white counterparts, according to the Center for Disease Control and

WIB: Stress looks different for everybody. But how dangerous is it to bottle up stress?

Deonne: It’s very dangerous to bottle up stress because it’s layered. What people may not understand is that you can look (good) on the outside, but inwardly, there are things that are happening, and you feel those things. You know that something isn’t right, your heart is having palpitations and shortness of breath, and you’re not sleeping well — it’s a layered effect. If you don’t deal with it, one thing leads to another. And one thing begins to trigger the other, if you’re not careful, it will cause some significant effects physically, mentally, and emotionally, and it can cause death.

Anissa Durham is a health data reporter for Word In Black

related to COVID. He’s just cautious about classifying it as a direct impact on children in America….yet.

“If you go to Korea the rates are extremely high, like 98%,” Hoekel said. “But our rates are heading toward 50%. We’re not quite there yet but we’re increasing.”

Because of high myopia rates in children in places like Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong, Hoekel said some ophthalmologists and companies like TreeHouse Eyes “are trying all sorts of strategies” like orthokeratology (“ortho-k,”) where special lenses are worn overnight to gently correct the shape of the cornea.

Prevention.

This statistic illustrates how the incident with Austin’s mom is not an outlier but a consistent problem to be solved.

“What I learned from that interaction is that some people look at you, and based on your skin color, or what you do, or what you eat, and they make judgments,” Austin said.

“For me, no one should be worried about how they are going to be treated based on what they look like and I try to make sure that I am an example of treating everybody like you want to be treated.”

While at University Health,

Austin gained national attention when healthcare employees feared they would be left unprotected by a shortage of personal protective equipment, PPE, including masks, gowns and gloves.

She designed a replacement mask with materials that block more than 96% of airborne particles and will protect healthcare employees if needed. She also repurposed a sterilization process used to decontaminate surgical equipment and began using it to clean N95 masks.

Austin is the past recipient of several awards and hon-

ors, including being named as a 2020 and 2019 Modern Healthcare 50 Most Influential Clinical Executive, and as a 2018 Modern Healthcare Top 10 to Watch Minority Executive. She is a member of several professional societies, has written and received many grants, and has been published in a multitude of professional publications.

According to a statement, Tommye will succeed Denise Murphy, who shared her plans to retire in September earlier this year.

Kong have been going up regardless of COVID,” Hoekel explained. “When we were a nation of farmers, rural-based communities, myopia rates were very low. Then in the rural communities that became technologically advanced, myopia increased.”

n “Children were forced indoors for social time and virtual learning, and their exposure to screen time skyrocketed up to 14 hours a day, putting their eye health at greater risk for myopia development.”

– Dr. Vito Vricella, Lead Optometrist and Owner of Fenton Family Eye Care

But Hoekel also mentioned a robust “urban vs rural” discussion in the “myopia world” that predates COVID.

“The rates of myopia in Korea, Singapore and Hong

This phenomenon led some researchers to believe that technology (cell phones, tablets, and computer screens) caused the increase of childhood myopia. But, Hoekel stressed, what must also be considered is how the advent of technology changed the habits of children who spent time outside.

“If you have a bunch of children who are not outside as much anymore, then they’re more prone to becoming nearsighted,” Hoekel said. “But at the same time, if they’re on more technologically advanced devices, the two things may be happening simultaneously.

“So, which one has a higher environmental factor?” Hoekel continued. “It’s very difficult to parcel out. If Johnny goes nearsighted, it’s probably not because Johnny didn’t play outdoors. If you have heavily myopic parents are even moderately myopic parents, the rate of myopia increases.

“But if Johnny sits inside during a pandemic, watching his tabloid and not going outdoors and playing or not having recess or not having time on the ballfield, then Johnny’s risk of myopic development increases.”

There may be some semblance of truth to the old warning “watching TV up close causes nearsightedness, Hoekel added. What he defines as “near activities” having tablets, phones and reading devices held to the face may contribute to nearsightedness but the science hasn’t made a direct correlation between these activities and rising myopia rates among children, especially American children.

The eye, Hoekel said, “wasn’t meant to stay indoors, it was meant to have this part time indoor/outdoor” dynamic. Therefore, he added, several researchers are looking at

sunlight as protective.

“Others are looking at genetics but to me it’s probably a combination, not the root cause that causes a child to go nearsighted.”

The pandemic was certainly “worrisome” for those in the pediatric world,” Hoekel stressed. If, due to COVID restrictions, a child just sat in the house and didn’t go outside to “run track or play ball and just watched near activities at higher rates,” increased myopia may have occurred. But, at this time, there’s more research to be done and there are multiple interventions in clinical research phases still under FDA studies, Hoekel said. In summary, parents should be aware. If their children seem to have or are complaining of vision problems, they should take them to an optometrist immediately. But, Hoekel intimated; to definitively say that COVID conditions increased myopia among children may be a bit premature.

“It’s probably multifactual in nature,” Hoekel stressed. “It’s not one ideology that’s causing it. Therefore, there’s not one treatment strategy that will eliminate it.”

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

Tommye Austin has joined BJC HealthCare as its senior vice president and system chief nurse executive, and welcomes her role in St. Louis because she can serve more people.

Photo courtesy of University Health San Antonio

PRESENT:

PRESENT:

Nutrition Challenge:

Dining Out.

GRAINS

Fall Foods!

What Is ASize?Serving

The Smart Way!

Keep ‘em Whole!

Warm Up & Cool Down

Staying Active (Naturally) DuringSummer!the Smart Summer Eating!

Do This. Not That!

First Day of Spring!

Exercise Game

Tech-Neck

can be dangerous for several different reasons.

Nutrition Challenge:

When we’re lucky enough to have a chance to go out for dinner, there are a few ways to stay healthy with our food

Once you’re out of school, many of you may have a lot of extra time on your hands to be snacking. Resist the urge to eat sweet, salty, fried and high-calorie non-nutritious snacks this summer.

We each need at least 3 servings per day of whole grains. But what does that mean? How can we know what foods contain whole grains?

See if the restaurant will let you “share” a meal. Many meals are two, three or more times an actual serving size.

This week brings the first day of fall — and with that comes fall fruits and vegetables! Some things in season now are pumpkin, apples, squash and pears. “In season”

Look at the ingredients list of a package of food you are about to eat. If the word “whole” is used, then there is most likely a whole grain ingredient. A few items that don’t use the word whole

As soon as you’ve divided your plate into the right size servings, ask your server for a to-go box. Go ahead and box up what you don’t need to eat right away. You can enjoy

In our “Super-Size” world, we can easily lose track of what an actual serving size means. When reading labels on a food or drink product, you can determine the nutrients, sodium, fiber, sugar and calories of a serving size. But be careful; just because it looks like one small bottle

Healthy Kids

Healthy Kids

Healthy Kids

Healthy Kids

Healthy Kids

those leftovers for lunch the next day!

are popcorn, wheatberries, brown rice and wild rice.

> Ask the server how the different menu items are prepared. Fried, sautéed, and

Getting plenty of whole grains in your diet can improve your health and reduce your chance for some chronic illnesses such as stroke, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. Visit wholegrainscouncil.com for more information.

lifestyle. You can do this by forming new habits. For example, if you decide to eliminate sugary drinks completely, it only takes a few weeks until this becomes what you’re used to.

Create a Smart Summer Eating plan with your parents. Ask their help in finding nutritious snacks and meals for the

Here are the steps to making a healthy permanent change. We‘ll use the sugary drink change as an example.

> Decide you’re going to switch from soda to water.

Cocoa Puffers Cereal

generally means that the food is extra flavorful and yummy this time of year, but also easier to find and less expensive!

summer. Delicious juicy, ripe fruits are all around and are healthy for you too! Make it your goal to come back to school in the fall healthier and happier!

> Start by substituting one drink per day to water.

> Avoid gravies, cheese sauces and other kinds of toppings that often just add fat and calories.

Weekly Newspaper in Education Program

Latoya Woods, DNP, APRN, FNP-C

As the weather gets warmer, there are many ways that we can enjoy ourselves outdoors and stay healthy over the summer. Some naturally active things you can do include:

Fall brings cooler temperatures. It’ll no longer be too hot to enjoy the outdoors!

Let’s make a game out of exercise!

First, locate either a deck of cards or two dice.

Douglass, MSW

Deborah Edwards, School Nurse

As spring approaches, warmer weather allows us all to get more outdoor exercise. Here are some ways to become a more active person.

> Wash your parent’s car.

> After 3-4 weeks, this change will become a habit.

Review: What are some nutrition tips you learned by following The St. Louis American’s Healthy Kids page this school year? Send your answers to nie@stlamerican.com.

of soda — it may not be considered one serving size. For example, a 20-oz bottle contains 2.5 servings. So if the bottle states “110 calories per serving,” that means the entire bottle contains a total of 275 calories! Remember to watch those serving sizes and you’ll have better control over what you’re eating and drinking.

> Stick with water to drink. Not only will you save money, but you won’t be adding in extra calories from a sugarfilled drink.

> Every few days increase the amount of water and decrease your soda intake.

As a class, plan a Fall Foods Feast. What foods would you include, and what are nutritious, healthy ways that you could prepare them? What are ways that these foods might be served that aren’t so healthy?

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

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

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

Learning Standards: HPE 2,

> What are other ways to stay healthy while dining out?

When you automatically reach for water instead of soda, it has now become a lifestyle change!

even simmered can all mean, “cooked in oil.” Instead, choose baked or grilled options.

Where do you work? I am a family nurse practitioner for BJC Medical Group.

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

Staying active, getting your heart rate up and opening your lungs will help you start off next school year happier and healthier!

Where do you work? I am the founder and distance counselor for Goal Driven Counseling, LLC.

Where do you work? I am an EMT – B at Abbott EMS in Belleville, Illinois.

Where do you work? I am a school nurse with St. Louis Public Schools.

Where do you work? I am a school nurse at Monroe Elementary School.

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

> Help with yard work: planting, weeding, etc.

> Walking to the store when possible.

March 20, 2021, is the first day of spring. With spring comes warmer weather and longer days (later sunset). Make it a habit to spend as much time playing outside as the weather allows.

Secondly, when you are finished with any kind of strenuous (very active) exercise, take some time to cool down. You can slowly stretch your arms and

(using sticks or a sidewalk to mark your starting point). When you see a leaf fall from a tree see who can catch it before it hits the ground. The first one to catch 10 leaves wins!

Instead of watching TV — ride your bike with friends.

legs again, and continue with reduced speed movements until your heart rate begins to slow down.

Where did you go to school? I graduated from Lindbergh High School. I then attended the University of Arkansas in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where I studied biology.

So put on your shoes and jacket and go out and enjoy the weather. Choose activities that raise your heart rate and increase your breathing for at least 20 minutes.

Review: What are some exercise tips you learned by following The St. Louis American’s Healthy Kids page this school year? Send your answers to nie@ stlamerican.com.

Instead of playing video games — play baseball, football, badminton, or some other active game.

It’s important that before you embark on any kind of exercise to remember two things: warm up and cool down. Start with some slow stretches and movement (like walking) to increase your heart rate a little. Warm up for a good five minutes before increasing your heart rate.

> Play, play, play outside as much as you can!

Instead of surfing the ‘Net — go for a brisk walk around the neighborhood.

One fun fall activity is to have a leafcatch race. Stand behind a specific line

Next you’ll need to make a list of different types of exercise: jumping jacks, sit-ups, lunges, etc. Write each exercise item on a small piece of paper or index

> NEVER walk on a “frozen” pond, lake, river or any other body of water. Just because it looks frozen does not mean it is safe.

card and fold into a small square. Put these squares into a bowl. Take turns rolling the dice (or drawing a card) and selecting an exercise from the bowl. The total number on the dice or card tells you how many of the exercise you must do. Face cards (king,

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

Make a list of your favorite 10 activities to do outdoors. Compare your list with your classmates and create a chart to see what are the most popular.

Can you think of other ways to be more active? Going outside and staying active not only increases your heart rate and burns calories, but it also helps you build friendships!

Learning Standards:

Over the last 35 weeks we have discussed many smart choices that you can make to help you stay safe and healthy. Break into small groups and list as many Smart Choices that your group remembers. Now individually, choose one that you think is very important. Describe in your own words what that smart choice is, and how you can remember to make the right choice in the future. Name a new “smart choice“ that you will make this summer.

queen or jack) should all count as the number 10. Aces are “wild” and you can do as many as you want! To really challenge yourself, have one person roll the dice and the second can select the exercise. See who can complete the exercise challenge first!

This warm-up and recovery period is important for your heart health. It also helps to reduce the amount of muscle pulls and strains.

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

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 5, NH 1

Some fun outdoor games to play include tag, kickball, basketball, Frisbee, and bicycling. Choose activities that increase your heart rate and breathing. You want to have fun, but it’s also a great way to help keep your heart, lungs and body healthy.

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

> What to do if you see someone else bullied.

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 4, HPE 5, NH 1

Where did you go to school? I graduated from McCluer High School. I then earned a Bachelor of Nursing and a Master of Nursing Practice from the University of Missouri – St. Louis. And finally, I earned a Doctorate of Nursing Practice from Maryville University.

Where did you go to school? I graduated from Sumner High School. I then earned Associate Degree in Nursing from Forest Park College and a BS in Business Administration from Columbia College.

Healthier Cheese Stix

Cracker-wiches

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

Break into small groups and define what it means to be a bully. Share your ideas with the class. Did you have the same things listed (as the other groups) that you would consider as bullying behavior? Now back in your groups, create a newspaper ad that includes at least two of the following:

How much time do you spend each day looking down at a phone, laptop or video game?

> If you are with someone that falls through the ice, first run (or call) for help. Do not try to go out onto the ice to help your friend. You can fall through the ice too.

Studies show that one of the easiest ways to stay healthy and extend your life expectancy is to not smoke. Smoking affects your lungs, your heart and many other parts of your body. And smoking is very addictive. So it’s way easier not to start, than to stop later!

Chiropractors around the country see young patients every day suffering from back, neck and head-aches resulting from the extra strain you put on your body when you look down for long periods of time.

> How bullying hurts others.

A BMI (Body Mass Index) is a generic way to calculate where your weight falls into categories (thin, average, overweight, obese). However, it’s a good idea to remember that a BMI may not take into consideration many things such as athleticism (how athletic you are), your bone density and other factors. Discuss your BMI with your

> What to do if you are bullied.

> What to do if YOU are the bully.

doctor if you have any questions. The formula to calculate your BMI is 703 X weight (lbs) ÷ height (in inches/squared) or search “BMI Calculator” to find an easy fill-in chart online. If your number is high, what are some ways to lower your BMI?

1. Most importantly — take breaks! Have a goal of a 3 minute break every 15-20 minutes. Move around, stretch your neck and relax, without looking down!

> Also — remember to look up! Icicles injure numerous people every year. If you see large icicles forming over your front steps, ask your parents to use a broom handle to knock them off to the side before they break loose from your gutters.

Ingredients: 6 Mozzarella String cheese sticks ½ Cp. Panko breadcrumbs

1 Large Egg (mixed with a fork)

Ingredients:

1 cup blueberries

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

A couple of quick tips that will reduce that strain on your neck are:

> When walking on icecovered roadways or sidewalks, take baby steps. Walk carefully and slowly.

Look through the newspaper for examples of ad layouts and design. Discuss the words “compassion,” “empathy” and “sympathy.” How do they each play into your response to bullying at your school?

Dipping Sauce — Low-fat ranch, marinara, etc. (optional)

2. Set your tech device in a holder to keep it at eye level, reducing the need to look down.

> What other ice hazards are there?

Learning Standards: HPE 1, HPE 2, NH 5

Learning Standards: HPE 2,

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 5, NH 4

7

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

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

Ingredients: 1/2 Cp Vanilla Greek yogurt, 3 Tbsp Natural peanut butter, 1 Ripe banana (sliced and frozen), Splash of vanilla (optional) 6 Ice cubes

1 cup non-fat Greek Yogurt

Directions: Preheat oven to 425º and spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Toast the Panko breadcrumbs in a warm pan til browned, then cool and place in a small plate. Cut the cheese sticks into small 2-3 inch pieces. Dip in the egg mixture, roll in the breadcrumbs and place on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake until warm and cheese starts to soften (3-4 minutes).

1 15-Oz Can Garbanzo beans 1 Garlic clove, crushed 2 Tsp Cumin, 1 Tsp Olive oil, ½ Tsp Salt Directions: Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Enjoy with baked tortilla chips or raw vegetables.

Directions: Blend all ingredients until Smooth. Makes 2 yummy smoothies!

Directions: Spread peanut butter on four of the crackers and top with sliced strawberries. Drizzle with honey and top with the other crackers to make four cracker-wiches.

Directions: Drop each blueberry into the yogurt. Using a spoon, swirl around to coat and place each blueberry on a cookie sheet topped with parchment paper. Freeze for at least an hour.

Where do you work? I am self-employed as a Clinical Psychologist with Psychological Services and Program Director of Applied Educational Psychology and School Psychology at Webster University. Where did you go to school? I graduated from Watson Chapel High School. I then attended Tougaloo College (HBCU), and earned a Master’s and Doctoral degree from the University of Missoui, Columbia.

Where did you go to school? I graduated from McCluer North High School. I earned an Associate of Applied Science in Nursing from Meramec College in Kirkwood and completing my bachelor’s degree at Webster University in Webster Groves.

Where did you go to school? I graduated from Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago, IL: same as former first lady Mrs. Michelle Obama. I then earned a Bachelor of Science in Social Work, and a Master of Social Work from the University of Missouri – St. Louis. I also completed two more years of supervision and exams to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Missouri.

What does a Licensed Clinical Social Worker do?

What does a Clinical Psychologist do? I conduct evaluations, consultations, provide counseling / therapy to individuals, couples and families. Some days I work in my office, some days a hospital or nursing home, some days I’m working in a jail or prison, and some days I’m working virtually.

What does a family nurse practitioner do? Each day I have office visits with patients to help treat new health conditions and/or manage established health conditions. I perform physical examinations on patients, order labs, read x-rays results, and more.

What does a school nurse do? I assess the concerns of students who are ill, injured or experiencing alterations in their normal health. Nurses screen daily staff, students and visitors for safety. Monroe School is a pilot school for Covid-19 test sites in partnership with the city.

What does a school nurse do? I love giving students medications, so they’re able to focus on learning. I clean and bandage wounds. I use medical equipment like a stethoscope, for example, to evaluate whether or not my asthmatics are breathing well. Moreover, I teach and promote healthy habits to my students.

I use technology to help teens and young adults explore their emotions, better understand their feelings, work through relationships, and address common challenges completely online through a computer, tablet, or smart phone. Similar to a Facetime call, I support and guide my clients from the comfort of their home or private location where they are comfortable

Why did you choose this career? I chose this career to help improve the health of my community.

Why did you choose this career? I love nursing because there are many opportunities in hospitals, schools, clinics and offices, insurance, legal and research. My passion is working in the schools with students, parents, staff and community partners.

Why did you choose this career? I selected this career because it provided me with a good mix of working with people and science. A large part of psychology is based in science and research, which was appealing to me. I was also interested in being a Black psychologist dedicated to the mental health needs and improved health of the Black community. What is your favorite part of the job you have?

What does an EMT do? My day-to-day includes helping others when they aren’t feeling their best. I also assist getting them to the hospital when they can’t take themselves. Why did you choose this career? I chose this career because I enjoy helping others problem solve. Also, I have twin stepsons, one who wants to be a police officer, and the other who wants to be a doctor. I thought that being an EMT helped me to meet them both in the middle. And, back in 2018, I had my own medical emergency and was transported by ambulance to a hospital. The paramedic that took care of me was so comforting and assuring that I realized that becoming an EMT is an honorable career. I now work with that same paramedic, at the same company.

Why did you choose this career? I am a St. Louis native, and was an asthmatic child who experienced frequent hospitalizations. Besides having the influence of nurses in my family, the local nurses who helped take care of me were my “angels” and always managed to nurse me back to health, thus sparking my interest.

Why did you choose this career? I chose this career because I enjoy being a support to teens and young adults in a very challenging phase of life that can be overwhelming. I enjoy teaching them how to best take care of themselves so they can live healthy and fulfilling lives.

What is your favorite part of the job you have?

What is your favorite part of the job you have? Many chronic health conditions (diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure) are preventable, and early detection is key. Thus my favorite part of the job is partnering with patients to establish and manage a plan to help them each live a long and healthy life.

What is your favorite part of the job you have? I enjoy when a child tells you, “I want to be a nurse.” And best of all, I love the smiles, hugs and “thank-yous”.

What is your favorite part of the job you have? I enjoy meeting and learning about new people and cultures every day. I also like the adrenaline of driving fast with sirens going to get to an emergency quickly.

Traditionally, Black folks had the stereotype that mental health and therapy was not for black people, but luckily, we know that that was not true. The best part of my job is being able to see people feel more ready and able to change and improve their lives.

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

My childhood health challenges have given me sensitivity to children suffering with illness. After being given a new lease on life, I consider it an honor to be in a position to promote health to the children of my community, in whatever capacity I serve – in turn, being their “angel.”

What is your favorite part of the job you have? I love that my job makes talking about mental health not as scary and even makes it kind of cool. I love that I get to build valuable relationships with so many people that trust me to be there for them. I love that no matter where my clients are, we can simply connect with a video call and I can not only support them through hard times, but lots of good times as well.

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3 Melissa

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

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

Learning Standards: HPE 6, NH 3

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

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

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

Yonniece Rose, Registered Nurse

Frozen Yogurt Blueberry Bites

Banana PB Smoothie

Marnay Howard, EMT - B

Jameca Woody Cooper, PHD

The St. Louis American’s award winning NIE program provides newspapers and resources to more than 8,000 teachers and students each week throughout the school year, at no charge.

Questions or comments? Contact Cathy Sewell csewell@stlamerican.com or 618-910-9551

Summer Science Academy students investigate what can actually “cook” using solar energy, on a very hot and sunny day.

Power plants make energy that is sent through miles of electric power cable to the homes, offices, schools, and factories where it is used. Some power plants have large generators that are fueled by steam created by burning fossil fuels, such as coal, gas, or oil. Energy can also be created from renewable resources, such as wind mills and solar power. Solar power is used by capturing light’s energy and turning it in to electricity. Many calculators and digital watches have solar cells that allow them to operate using solar power.

SCIENCE INVESTIGATION

Background Information: In this experiment, you will see cornstarch appear to jump towards a balloon.

Materials Needed:

• Cornstarch • Vegetable Oil • Mixing Bowl • Vegetable Oil • Large Spoon • Balloon • Measuring Cup Process:

q Measure ¼ cup of cornstarch and pour it into the mixing bowl.

w Measure ¼ cup vegetable oil and add it to the cornstarch. Stir the cornstarch and oil until the mixture thickens.

e Blow up a balloon and tie it closed.

r Use your hair to statically charge the balloon (rub the balloon against your hair to create static electricity).

used ÷ 1000 x price per kWh (kilowatt hour) = cost of electricity.

z Your Xbox 360 uses 185 watts of electricity. If you use your Xbox 4 hours per day, and your electricity costs 25 cents per kilowatt hour, how much does it cost to use your Xbox for one day?______ One week?______ One month?______

x Your microwave oven uses 1440 watts of electricity. If you use your microwave an average of 15 minutes a day, and your cost of electricity is 25 cents per kwh, how much does it cost to use your microwave each day?______

DID YOU KNOW?

To learn more, visit: http://www.eia.gov/kids/. Teachers: You can request a visit from Ameren’s mascots Louie the Lightning Bug and Sniffy the Sniffasaurus. Visit https://ameren.com/community-members/ educators-and-students to complete the application.

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

tHold a spoonful of the cornstarch mixture and slowly bring the charged balloon near the spoon. Once you witness the cornstarch jump towards the balloon, slowly move the balloon away. How close is the balloon

when you see the reaction?

Evaluate: How does static electricity affect this experiment? What happens if you leave the cornstarch in the bowl, does it jump towards the balloon? If you do not add oil to the cornstarch, how does it affect this experiment?

Learning Standards: I can follow sequential directions to complete an experiment. I can evaluate results and draw conclusions.

c The television in your living room uses 200 watts of electricity. If you use your television 6 hours a day, and your cost of electricity is 25 cents per kwh, how much does it cost to use your television for one week?______

v If your furnace uses 6000 watts of electricity, and you use your furnace for 5 hours per day, and the rate of electricity is 25 cents per kwh, how much does it cost to use your furnace for one month?________

Learning Standards: I can use addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to solve a problem.

African-American Mechanical Engineer Cordell Reed

Cordell Reed was born in Chicago on March 26, 1938. After growing up in the housing projects, Reed went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, in 1960. He attended University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and became the third African American to earn that degree from UIUC.

After graduation, Reed went to work for Commonwealth Edison, which is an Illinois electric company and worked his way to an executive position, in 1975.

Reed was very successful at Commonwealth Edison and served as a department manager and a public spokesman for nuclear power. He served in three different departments before he earned the title of senior vice president. In 1994, Reed became their ethics officer and the chief diversity officer. He was in charge of purchasing materials for the company’s fossil fuel-fired energy-generating plants. In 1995, he even represented the company on a trade mission to South Africa. He retired in 1997.

Throughout his career, Reed earned many awards and honors. In 1988, he earned the lifetime achievement award from The Black Engineer of the Year awards. Five years later, he earned the Tommy Thompson Award from the American Nuclear Society. Reed has served on the board of directors for LaSalle bank, the Walgreen Company, Underwriters Laboratories, and Washington Group International. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, American Nuclear Society, Tau Beta Pi, the National Technical Association, and the Urban Financial Service Association. Reed has also volunteered his time and expertise for the following: John G. Shedd Aquarium, the Illinois Academic Decathlon Association, Cal-Met Village Senior Citizen Housing, the Development Fund for Black Students and the Metropolitan Family Services Advisory Board.

Learning Standards: I can read a biography about a person who has made contributions in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.

MAP CORNER

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

Activity One —

Adding Maps: Maps are very helpful tools and are often found in newspapers.

Skim your newspaper and find an article that you think would be improved with the addition of a map. Design a map that you think should accompany the article and present your map to your classmates.

Activity Two — Ad Critique: Choose 10 advertisements to evaluate for message (what are the ads trying to say) and impact (is the strategy effective). Next, revise three of those ads to appeal to people in a certain age group (teens, senior citizens, etc.)

Learning Standards: I can use the newspaper to locate information. I can create visual representation of information. I can write for a specified purpose and audience.

Believe it

Literacy lab opens in Barack Obama

St. Louis American staff

The Normandy Schools Collaborative is now home to a Believe Project literacy lab, an initiative of the St. Louis Black Authors of Children’s Literature [STLBACL.] A ribbon cutting ceremony was held will take at Barack Obama School on Sept. 29, 2022.

Nike’s Black Community Commitment initiative and the Nike St. Louis Air MI Black Employee Network chose STLBACL as a Black Community Commitment 2022 grantees, and it received $50,000 to support the literacy.

The funds provided will support teacher training, a library of diverse titles (ninety percent of the characters or authors featured in the reading space will be people of color), and

a colorful mural by St. Louisbased artist Bill Williams.

“As a proud recipient of a NIKE, Inc. Black Community Commitment grant, we’re thrilled to be part of a national movement of transformative change. We are especially excited to have Nike as a partner – an organization dedicated to leveling the playing field and providing access to opportunities that allow everyone to be successful in life,” said Julius B. Anthony, president, St. Louis Black Authors of Children’s Literature and The Believe Projects.

“Together, St. Louis Black Authors of Children’s Literature, Nike, and Normandy Schools Collaborative, can ensure all children become confident and competent readers by the end of third grade.”

The project is particularly meaningful for Normandy Schools graduate Craig Williams, Jordan Brand president.

“This is a special homecoming for me to be able to reconnect with the community that helped fuel my passion for learning. I know how quickly the work of the Believe Project Literacy Lab will become an important part of the educational journey of so many students here in St. Louis,” he said, “I’m excited to celebrate the growth of this organization, empowering local teachers and inspiring new futures for Normandy students.”

The Believe 7 literacy lab is also supported by community partners Nine PBS, The Noble Neighbor, and Ready Readers.

THE ASSAULT ON TRUTHAND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Barack Obama Elementary School 6th grader Faith Petty enjoys reading “Darryl’s Dream” in the school’s new reading room donated by the St. Louis Black Authors of Children’s Literature group founded by Julius Anthony. At left are 7th grader Kenneth Petty and 4th grader Jonathan Petty.

Labor Dept. backs regional workforce with $5.8 million grant

Madison County to play major role

Southwestern Illinois College, which has one of the region’s leading welding instruction programs, is a partner in the Apprenticeship Building America program, which has received a $5.8 million grant from the U.S. Labor Department.

By Alvin A. Reid St. Louis American

The Metro East will continue in assisting regional workforce development through a $5.8 million U.S. Labor Department grant.

Madison County and the St. Louis region workforce innovation initiative has received a four-year, $5.8 million grant as part of the Apprenticeship Building America program.

Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville and other institutions including Southwestern Illinois College, Lewis and Clark Community College, St. Louis Community College, Jefferson College, and Kaskaskia Community College will help connect apprentices to quality education and training programs.

“SIUE is a leader in online degree completion and corporate partnerships, supporting employee advancement through specialized post-secondary

opportunities at the bachelor’s, post-baccalaureate, and master’s levels,” SIUE Chancellor James T. Minor, PhD, said.

“We are proud to collaborate with numerous members of the Gateway Hub. Together, we are building partnerships that provide transformative experiences for individuals who seek something greater through high-quality academic development and hands-on skills training.”

The Gateway Hub is comprised of six workforce innovation partners. They include Madison County Employment and Training, St. Clair County Intergovernmental Grants Department, City of St. Louis, St. Louis County, St. Charles County, and the Jefferson/Franklin Consortium in Missouri.

“We are thrilled with this announcement from the Department of Labor to be able to launch the Gateway Registered Apprenticeship Programs Hub,” Employment and Training

Director Tony Fuhrmann said.

The project aims to register at least 750 new apprentices across the region and represents the first joint initiative between Illinois and Missouri workforce areas, Fuhrmann said

“These Local Workforce Innovation Areas serve more than 13 counties and 2.4 million residents across the St. Louis metropolitan region,” Fuhrmann said. “In addition to building capacity and awareness for apprenticeships as an ‘earnas-you-learn’ model for workforce development, the Gateway Hub will emphasize the inclusion of underserved populations in apprenticeship opportunities.”

He said the target industries are education, healthcare and social assistance and bioscience manufacturing research and development were selected due to alignment with regional compre-

See LABOR, B2

PeoPle on the Move

Grinston now manager at CASA of St. Louis

Cassandra Grinston was recently promoted to the manager of case advocacy services for CASA of St. Louis. Grinston graduated from SIU-Edwardsville with a bachelor’s degree in speech communication and obtained a master’s degree in human resources development from Webster University. She enjoys working with and advocating for children in care. Prior to coming to CASA of St. Louis, she worked for the State of Mo Children’s Division for almost 17 years. In her current role, she supervises and supports staff as well as CASAs and works closely with the chief program officer.

Virgil Pearson named dean of students

Virgil Pearson

Harris-Stowe State University has appointed Virgil Pearson to dean of students in the division of student affairs. As dean of students, Pearson will oversee several areas, including Residential Life, Student Engagement, Dining Services and the Bookstore. Pearson has worked in higher education for over nine years at several institutions, including private and public. He began working at HSSU in 2016 as a Residential Life Coordinator. He relates closely with current students because he attended and graduated from HSSU in 2013.

Barbara Sharp named executive director

Riverview Gardens School District announced the appointment of Barbara Sharp as executive director of continuous improvement/Title IX coordinator. Sharp will work collaboratively with the district’s turnaround vendor, administrators, school-based leadership teams, teachers and the community to facilitate the implementation of turnaround processes at the district and school levels. Prior to this appointment, Sharp served as professional development coordinator beginning in 2014. Sharp also served as principal of Vashon High School and as a middle and high school principal in the

Angelia Paul named director at ARCHS

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire

Angelia Paul has joined Area Resources for Community and Human Services (ARCHS) as direc-

tor of Family Support Initiatives. She will manage a portfolio of grants that enhance area human service initiatives. Paul has worked with the Boys and Girls Clubs, Resources for Human Development, Kentucky Cabinet of Health and Family Services (Hazelwood Facility), Missouri Department of Mental Health, and Every Child’s Hope (Evangelical Children’s Home). She has a bachelor’s degree from University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL).

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Cassandra Grinston

Labor

Continued from B1

hensive economic development strategies, strong employment demand and quality of jobs and previous success in collaborating with regional employers in these fields.

St. Louis County Workforce Development Director Gregory Laposa said he is “particularly excited by the opportunity for our bi-state regional workforce development boards to work together to implement a unified local workforce strategy.”

“While our workforce areas have regularly collaborated through our Regional Workforce Directors Board to establish collaborative goals and strategies, this represents our first joint grant proposal led by local boards and we are thrilled that the Department of Labor recognized the strong potential of our region to serve as a model for apprenticeship expansion.”

In addition to workforce and

CALLING ALL D9 GREEKS ROLL CALL!

The Divine 9 Fraternities and Sororities are in a race to help as many people as possible through United Way’s African American LeadershipCharmaine Chapman Society (CCS).

DIVINE 9

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PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETY.

United Way’s CCS is the No. 1 African American philanthropic organization in the nation. Your $1,000 commitment lets you engage with the leaders shaping our region, attend special events, and help make our community a better place for all.

Harris

Continued from B1

Vice President Kamala Harris used the platform to announce a public and private-sector effort to advance racial economic equity.

“Small businesses are the engines of our economy and the path to economic prosperity for countless Americans in underserved communities,” Harris said.

“Community lenders – including MDIs, and others – are vital to unlocking the full economic potential of these communities, turning previously sidelined talent into a source of economic growth and shared prosperity for all.”

Harris said Black-owned businesses routinely have more difficulty in finding funding, and acknowledged that “they are the first to suffer during an economic downturn.”

Harris said the Small Business Administration (SBA) would propose a rule later this year to expand its lender base by lifting the moratorium on new Small Business Lending Companies.

The action would allow new

employer partners, the Gateway Hub includes BioSTL, the non-profit innovation hub driving the bioscience sector across the St. Louis region. BioSTL will leverage the BioSTL Coalition, comprised of top business, science, academic, philanthropic, and public sector leaders, to advance registered apprenticeships across the bioscience cluster.

“This project is a testament to the St. Louis region’s unique position to build a robust, inclusive talent pipeline to fuel future pandemic response and recovery, while creating new economic opportunity, diversifying the local economy, and advancing health and economic equity,” BioSTL Director of Regional Workforce Strategy Justin Raymundo said.

“We look forward to leveraging the local, national, and international expertise of the BioSTL Coalition to support the impact of the Gateway Hub by convening industry, aligning workforce needs, and delivering on an inclusive strategy for St. Louis’ bioscience workforce.”

lenders to apply for a license to offer SBA-backed 7(a) small business loans.

Also, the Minority Business Development Agency (MDBA) will issue a $100 million notice of funding opportunity to provide technical assistance grants for entrepreneurship technical assistance providers to help businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals launch, scale, and connect with growth capital.

Harris said to facilitate greater availability of small-balance mortgages, and HUD would issue requests to solicit specific and actionable feedback on the barriers that prevent the origination of these mortgages and recommendations for increasing the volume of small-mortgage loans in federal programs.

The White House said these and a host of other new policy steps follow two recent announcements by the administration of billions of dollars in investments for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs).

The actions aim to deliver capital and resources to under-

In addition to the workforce partners, industry and employer groups, educational institutions, and community organizations will support creation and expansion of Registered Apprenticeship Programs. They include BJC HealthCare, Cortex Innovation Community, Gateway Regional Medical Center, Hospital Sisters Health System, Jersey County Hospital, MilliporeSigma, OSF Healthcare, Alton, Belleville, Collinsville, and Madison School Districts, and community organizations such as Rung for Women, the Urban League of Metro St. Louis, and the YWCA of Metro St. Louis.

“We are proud to collaborate with the Gateway Hub consortium to expand registered apprenticeship opportunities for the betterment of our workforce and our region,” BJC HealthCare President and CEO Richard J. Liekweg said.

“We look forward to the impact this effort will have on the health and well-being of the region.”

served small businesses and the community lenders who serve them, Harris stated. Janet Yellen, the U.S. Department of Treasury secretary, said the White House feels the Freedman’s Bank Forum is an excellent stage “to shine a spotlight on how the administration’s pandemic relief efforts supported Black – and minority-owned businesses.”

Since its inaugural year in 2015, the forum has sought to develop strategies to help stamp out and overcome systemic racism in the financial industry.

“Unfortunately, for too long, the small business ecosystem in underserved communities has struggled to keep up with better-funded businesses and entrepreneurs in more prosperous communities,” Harris stated.

“Entrepreneurs of color regularly report being turned away by traditional financial institutions for loans at higher rates than their white counterparts. And the community lenders committed to filling that gap similarly report that shortfalls in capital and technical capacity limit their ability to invest in the communities that need them the most.”

According to the Labor Dept., roughly 96% of Blackowned businesses are sole proprietorships and single-employee companies. These businesses have the hardest time finding funding and are often the first to suffer during economic downturns. They often turn to financial institutions for the underserved and other non-traditional lenders for micro-loans and grants.

The new support for community finance institutions, small businesses and low wealth communities is “an effort to unlock the economic potential of communities of color, rural areas, and others that have experienced limits on economic opportunity,” the department said.

Alvin A. Reid of the St. Louis American contributed to this report

Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville Chancellor James T. Minor says is institu-

U.S. Labor Department.

Photo courtesy of SIU-E

Whitfield grad Danielle Kayembe consults throughout the world

By Whitfield School

For The St. Louis American

After graduating from Whitfield, Danielle Kayembe attended Stanford University where she earned a B.A. in Political Science and a Master in Organizations, Business and Sociology. Danielle Kayembe is a female futurist and serial entrepreneur with a focus on projects at the intersection of women, innovation, and impact. Her expertise in technology, blockchain, and global economic policy makes her a frequent speaker at CES, SXSW, Cannes Lions, Blockchain Unbound, and the United Nations. Through her company GreyFire, she has an established track record of mentoring startups and advising large corporations on identifying overlooked and underrepre-

n Danielle Kayembe is a female futurist and serial entrepreneur with a focus on projects at the intersection of women, innovation, and impact.

sented initiatives. She is also currently an Entrepreneur in Residence at Nike. Featured on CNBC, Forbes, Refinery29, Danielle is the author of “The Silent Rise of the Female-Driven Economy,” a viral white paper centered on women and the future of innovation that reached an audience of over 1,000,000 readers. Danielle has over 10 years of experience in international consulting and finance in New York, London, and Africa and has worked on over $25 billion in business transactions for global banks. She is an advisor to social impact startups and a mentor to Columbia University’s business accelerator, Digital Undivided, and Backstage Capital. She is an Ariane de Rothschild Fellow, awarded to 20 Global

See KAYEMBE, B4

Wright in his seventh year leading New City

St. Louis American Staff Report

After a nation-wide search in 2016, Alexis Wright was unanimously selected by New City School’s Board of Trustees to serve as New City’s 5th Head of School, succeeding Tom Hoerr who previously led New City for 34 years. Prior to New City School, Wright served as Dean of Children’s Programs at Bank Street College of Education in New York City. Bank Street College is an internationally recognized institution devoted to early childhood education and teacher preparation and development. Wright began his career in education as a 5th and 6th grade science teacher at Rye Country Day School, in Rye, NY, where he also coached middle school baseball and football. He then moved into a leadership role as Middle School principal before moving to Chicago to become principal of the middle school at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. After three years in that position, Wright was recruited back to Rye Country Day, where he served as the assistant head of school and director of financial aid before moving to Bank Street College. According to Wright, New City has “intentionally created a community that is exceptionally diverse, and we embrace the joys and challenges that come with learning and living in a diverse environment. We define diversity very broadly and view children’s understanding of identity, diversity, and issues of social justice as key to achievement in life. “ Wright is a trustee on the

learn how to face challenges, set goals, reflect on their experiences and accomplishments, and support their fellow students.

By K. Michael Jones The St. Louis American

When SLUH adopted its Minority Action Plan nearly 30 years ago, approximately 2.7% of students identified themselves as African American, with even fewer identifying as Hispanic, Asian, or other. Today, African Americans represent 7% of the SLUH student body, Asian Americans 4%, and Hispanics 3%. Total minority enrollment for the 2020-21 school year is 16%. The recently admitted class of 2024 represents 13% minority enrollment. When it comes to equity and inclusion, SLUH is especially proud of several alumni who have done notable work toward creating a community where the wounds of poverty, hatred and discrimination are healed. Below are a few of the SLUH alumni who are featured on their Alumni Trailblazers display, celebrating the achievements of graduates of color. This display is situated in the main building near the

Robinson Library.

Kwofe Coleman –SLUH ‘01 In April 2021, The Muny board of directors announced the appointment of Kwofe Coleman as the theatre’s next president and CEO, effective January 1, 2022. Coleman assumed the role with more than a decade of extensive theatre management experience across multiple industry facets. Formerly, he served as the theatre’s managing director and oversaw the organizational, financial and business affairs of The Muny. Coleman joined The Muny full time in 2008 as a staff accountant, helping to manage the finances, accounting and payroll for The Muny’s multimillion-dollar annual budget. In the decade preceding his position as staff accountant, he performed a variety of roles, including house manager. In 2011, Coleman formed The Muny’s first digital communications department, recon-

Vianney

Jason Purnell

Forsyth uses ‘culture of challenge’ approach

By Forsyth

For The St. Louis American

Forsyth School is a place where

“personal best” counts! The challenging and engaging curriculum is supported by our talented faculty, committed administration, and caring families. Students learn how to accept and face challenges, set goals for themselves, reflect on their experiences and accomplishments, and support their fellow students.

Developmentally appropriate challenges—memory mapping, African dance, arthropod studies, Shakespeare performances, electrical engineering, and more—encourage students to try new things. In the Adventure Center, the high ropes course and climbing wall challenge kids to stretch beyond their comfort zones and set lofty goals for themselves—literally and figuratively! The high beam is a special graduation capstone experience reserved for Grade 6 students.

Nine specialist subject areas are an exciting part of everyday life at Forsyth:

• Art, Drama, & Music: Eyas–Grade 6

• Library: Eyas–Grade 6

• Science: Eyas–Grade 6

• Spanish: Eyas–Grade 6

• Physical Education: Junior-K–Grade 6

Danielle Kayembe

• Innovation & Design: Senior-K–

Grade 6

• Sustainability: Grades 3–6

Memory mapping is just one example of Forsyth’s culture of challenge across the grade-level continuum. In Grade 3, students receive an introduction to mapping using the Forsyth School campus. In Grade 4, students map the United States from memory. In Grade 5, they map North and South America. Finally, in Grade 6, the students map the entire world from memory. Each world map is individualized based on the student’s interests and goals. With a culture of challenge, our students gain the skills to successfully manage large-scale, multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary projects.

Portrait of a Graduate

As a result of Forsyth’s culture of challenge, our graduates are:

• Curious—they ask questions and take initiative

• Confident—they set goals and high expectations for themselves

• Willing to take risks, try new things, and try again

• Resilient—they can overcome obstacles and cope with setbacks

• Joyful—they delight in learning, encourage others, and celebrate accomplishments

Kayembe

Social Impact Entrepreneurs each year. Danielle has lectured at Yale School of Management, Barnard College, and Princeton University.

What message did you share with the Class of 2022 at graduation?

I focused on three messages: First, be true to yourself. Trust what makes you happy and follow what makes you come alive. Follow what gives your life meaning and purpose. Second, stay curious. Things

will not always go your way. Never leave a situation without a lesson.

Sometimes, you will have jobs or classes you don’t like. Always ask yourself in any situation: what am I learning that I can take with me? Am I learning a new skill or learning something about myself?

And finally, remember that it is your differences that make you special. I shared the larger truth that all of us - based on our unique perspectives - experience the world differently. And that those little daily discomforts you experience are valuable data points - because if something bothers you, it bothers millions of people. Your unique perspective

creates opportunities that no one but you can see. Your mission in life is to figure out how to use your combination of gifts and skills to make this world a better place. Your journey will be defined by how you use who you are, and what you learn, to build things that improve people’s lives - to make them feel seen, supported, and celebrated.

What were your primary interests and activities while you were at Whitfield?

I was on Whitfield’s founding lacrosse team, the cross country team, and the dance squad. I was a leader in Model U.N. and President of Amnesty

International. I also loved art and took this passion beyond the classroom; I even submitted an art portfolio to my prospective colleges.

What opportunities did Whitfield provide you that you might not have had elsewhere?

Whitfield provided me with the opportunity to try anything and everything I wanted. From dance squad to lacrosse to choir to Model U.N., if I wanted to be involved, I could be. The faculty sponsors encouraged me to explore my interests and supported me in this process.

At Forsyth, developmentally appropriate challenges— memory mapping, African dance, arthropod studies, Shakespeare performances, electrical engineering, and more—encourage students to try new things.

What skills do you use in your career that you began forming at Whitfield?

My career has been shaped by curiosity. Whitfield was a place where I felt the freedom to explore things I was curious about, whether inside or outside of the classroom. I feel like I learned how to learn. I gained confidence in taking on new things. As a result, I’ve always felt confident to make changes and do things outside of my comfort zone. Whitfield reinforced for me that you can choose to learn anything that you want if you are curious and passionate.

Vianney offers college-style schedule

By Vianney For The St. Louis American

Vianney’s two-semester, college-style schedule is much more than the mere restructuring of time. Learning within the block is a shift in the methodology of education.

In the two-semester, college-style schedule, a student takes more control of his education by being actively involved in the learning process. The environment fosters better interpersonal relationships, heightened critical thinking and stronger problem-solving skills, and allows students time for reflection.

The schedule is designed to reduce some of the obstacles that interfere with student achievement, such as insufficient time for in-depth thought, high stress levels and fragmented instruction.

Key features include:

• Four 80-minute academic periods provide time for in-depth focus and exploration.

• Teachers can give more personal attention to each student, because they have fewer students each semester.

• Extended class time enables teachers the opportunity to develop lessons that offer more variety and in-depth thought.

• Students take eight courses per year (four per semester) and graduate with 32 credits, among the highest in the Midwest.

• The 32-credit requirement means students can pursue more Advanced Placement (AP), Advanced College Credit (ACC) and Honors courses.

• As part of a college preparatory school, this schedule is better suited to a college and university format.

By using a college-style semester format, students complete full core credits in one semester. Therefore, students wishing to excel academically can fit up to 5 or 6 years of a given core subject into four years of school.

Class periods are long enough to allow for quality learning experiences that are less likely to occur in a shortened period. Activities are usually alternated within a class period for variety, including: debates, student presentations, in-depth laboratory experiments, concentrated writing projects, practice time for difficult concepts, guest speakers, teacher directed learning activities, exam-like testing conditions, time for meaningful research simulations, cooperative learning, and role playing.

Wright

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The schedule is designed to reduce some of the obstacles that interfere with student achievement, such as insufficient time for in-depth thought, high stress levels and fragmented instruction.

board of ERB (Educational Records Bureau), a member organization that provides admissions and achievement assessments and instructional services for schools and students. He is also a member of the boards of trustees of the St. Louis Association of

Independent Schools (ISSL) and the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS), the regional association that provides professional development and accreditation services

for member schools. Wright has presented on topics such as leadership and diversity at annual conferences of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and he is a contributing author

to the recent NAIS publication Diversity Work in Independent Schools.

Originally from New York City, Wright earned his MA in Marine Affairs and Policy from the University of Miami

(FL) and earned a BS in Human Ecology from Rutgers University (NJ). Wright and his wife have two daughters, one of whom is a graduate of New City School.

Several programs can help minority families pay for private school

Story provided by Candid.Learning

Getting grants for private schools K-12 is one of the best ways to help parents pay off the school fees that are often very expensive.

As could be imagined, private K-12 schools are highly demanding, financially. The annual tuition can really push some students’ families to the edge.

Statistically, getting this type of grant can be difficult, but it’s still possible. Around 20% of the students from private schools receive grants to ease the financial burden for their family. It is important to note that most of the grants are provided by the school.

Contact a prospective school’s administrative office to learn about the grants or scholarships opportunities available for these students.

Visiting school administrative office or financial aid office will also help gather some information, including the list of private scholarships that have been given to past students. Below are some of the private scholarship programs available for students of K-12 private schools:

A Better Chance www.abetterchance.org

A Better Chance is a national-scale program that provides school placement assistance for students of color entering grade 6 through 11. According to its website, the Better Chance College Preparatory Schools Program (CPSP) nationally recruits, places, and supports students enrolled in grades 4 through 9 at more than 200 independent day, boarding, and select public

schools. It does not provide scholarships but specializes in helping families navigate the admissions process for college preparatory schools in order to obtain a quality education - which includes orienting families to financial aid processes and leveraging scholarship funds on their behalf.

Black Student Fund www.blackstudentfund.org

Black K-12 private schools’ students can benefit from the Black Student Fund, which provides financial assistance in the form of tuition grants for children from families with modest financial condition. This program is available for students from kindergarten to grade 12. It provides essential advocacy, academic and retention support to academically motivated African American and other underserved students to facilitate their access, admission and successful matriculation and graduation from member schools.

BSF partners with member schools to provide financial assistance, as well as instruction, evaluations, feedback and monitoring necessary to facilitate the creation and maintenance of a supportive and responsive environment.

Children’s Scholarship Fund www.scholarshipfund.org

This is another national scale program that provides help in covering the school’s tuition fees. Parents can apply for the scholarship as early as when the child is

Established to racially desegregate the independent schools of the Washington D.C. area more than 50 years ago, the Black Student Fund strives to assure that all students and their families have financial and other support to gain equal access to superior educational opportunities.

in kindergarten (but he or she has to be at least 5 years old to be eligible). This program is a need-based program, meaning that people with low income are more likely to get this scholarship.

Young Scholars Program www.youngscholars program.org

If a student has exceptional achievements in their private school, they may be eli-

gible for the Young Scholars Program, which calls itself “The New Underground Railroad.” To be eligible, parents should send the scholarship application when their child is in 7th grade. A year after application, eligible students could enter the program until they graduate from high school.

Photo courtesy of Black Student Fund

UMSL with sixth Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award

The University of Missouri–St. Louis is among the most culturally and ethnically diverse universities in the state of Missouri, and its administrators, faculty, staff and students take pride in creating an environment where everyone can feel valued and thrive.

INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine has once again recognized that ongoing work, naming UMSL one of 103 recipients of the prestigious 2022 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award. The national honor recognizes U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate a commitment to diversity and inclusion.

UMSL received the HEED Award for the third consecutive year and the sixth time overall after previously being recognized in 2013 2014 2015 2 020 and 2021. It was also the only university in Missouri to be included in this year’s list of awardees.

UMSL’s application highlighted its ongoing efforts to provide access and opportunity to students from many different backgrounds, including students with high financial need. U.S. News & World Report recently ranked UMSL

St. Louis County Library named Missouri Library of the Year

St. Louis County Library has been named the 2022 Missouri Library of the Year for distinguished and outstanding work for the community by the Missouri Library Association. The award was presented during the Missouri Library Association’s annual conference on September 29, 2022 in Springfield, Missouri.

SLCL was recognized for work in the areas of digital equity, community partnerships, improved facilities, service to the justice involved, and

COVID-19 relief efforts. Throughout the pandemic, St. Louis County Library (SLCL) has worked with a variety of community partners to provide critical resources to the region. Efforts included using branch parking lots to distribute over 2 million drive-thru meals with Operation Food Search, providing emergency diapers and period supply kits from the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank, and issuing thousands of Chromebooks and Wi-Fi hotspots to area students to assist with virtual learning, as well as providing GrandPad tablets to help older adults access technology and stay connected through the Digital Equity Initiative. This is the second major

No. 75 nationally and first in Missouri on its list of “Top Performers on Social Mobility,” which highlights how well

award SLCL has won this year. In July, the Institute of Museum and Library Services announced that St. Louis County Library is one of six recipients of the 2022 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the nation’s highest honor given to museums and libraries that make significant and exceptional contributions to their communities.

SLU School of Nursing awarded $300K to combat nursing shortage

Saint Louis University is one of 11 Missouri colleges and

colleges and universities graduate students who receive federal Pell Grants. Earlier this year, UMSL also established

universities awarded nearly $3 million in grant funds to help enhance nursing education programs and develop solutions to alleviate staffing shortages nationwide.

SLU was awarded a $298,137 grant and will utilize a multidimensional approach to combat the nursing faculty shortage. The nursing school will offer a formalized Nurse Educator Pathway for Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) graduate students, develop a faculty mentoring program, and provide enhanced nurse educator apprenticeships. The nursing school will also collaborate with clinical partners to develop recruitment and marketing plans to enroll new students and provide scholarship funding for

UMSL was the only university in Missouri and one of 103 nationally to receive a 2022 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine. The award recognizes institutions that demonstrate a commitment to diversity and inclusion. UMSL was honored for the third straight year and sixth time overall.

the Close the Gap Grant for new undergraduate students with high financial need. The grant covers all remaining

students who enroll in the CNL Educator Pathway. The Missouri State Board of Nursing’s most recent workforce analysis report in 2021 indicated nursing shortages in certain geographic areas of the state. The demand for Registered Nurses (RN) in the past five years has increased by 98.5%, yet licensed RNs only increased by 17% during that same period. In Missouri, 23 schools of nursing have at least 50 open full-time faculty positions and need an additional 118 full-time faculty to accept all qualified nursing students, according to a Missouri Hospital Association report.

tuition costs above federal Pell Grants, subsidized loans and other aid so that financial constraints don’t prevent students from pursuing their education.

UMSL also is actively working to hire and retain a diverse group of faculty with a particular focus on increasing gender equity in the fields of science – including the social and behavioral sciences – technology, engineering and mathematics with the support of a $1 million National Science Foundation ADVANCE grant received in 2020 This summer, the ADVANCE grant helped support a series of equity advisor training sessions led by staff in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. A total of 26 faculty and staff members were certified as equity advisors so that, going forward, they will be able to provide an equitydriven lens regarding gender, race, ethnicity and other dimensions of identity.

Schnucks hosting career fair at all stores Oct. 6

Schnucks is hosting a company-wide career fair at all of its stores Thursday, October 6th from 1-5 pm. Schnucks plans to hire for a variety of positions offering flexible schedules and locations, career advancement, the option to be paid after each shift, health benefits (after a qualifying period) and other teammate perks. Most positions are part time to start. No experience is necessary.

Prospective teammates planning to attend the fair should visit www.schnucks.com/ careers and complete the online application prior to attending.

Photo by August Jennewein

FULL-TIME CHEF

The Chef prepares nutritious food and guides menu planning, food production, safety and sanitation, quality assurance and group education for clients and volunteers. Must have excellent people skills. Great benefits. Food Outreach is a non-profit agency providing nutritional support to men, women and children living with HIV/ AIDS or cancer.

Qualifications:

Must have a Culinary Degree from an accredited program. ServSafe Manager Certification (food safety and sanitation certification).

Hours are Tuesday – Friday 8:30 am – 4:30 pm, and Saturday 7:30 am – 3:30 pm

Must be able to lift a minimum of 50 lbs. The position may be financed (in part) (wholly) through an allocation of Community Development Block Grant funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the City of St. Louis’ Community Development Administration. Food Outreach is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

$40,000.00 per year

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The St. Louis Economic Development Partnership administers a Regulation CF (crowdfunding) entity, known as Nvsted. The Partnership solicits proposals for a consultant to provide an analysis and written report of Nvsted, based on various criteria to identify market potential and industry best practices. A copy of the full RFP is available at https://stlpartnership.com/ rfp-rfq/.

A five percent bid preference may be available to certified MBE firms. Submissions should be received no later than 3 PM CST on Friday, October 28, 2022.

St. Louis Economic Development Partnership Equal Opportunity Employer

EVENT T-SHIRTS

VENDOR OF RECORD RFP 2022

The Saint Louis Zoo seeks bids from qualified firms to submit proposals for Event T-Shirts

Vendor of Record RFP 2022. Bid documents are available as of 10/5/22 on the Saint Louis Zoo website: stlzoo.org/vendor

SOLICITING BID

Reinhardt Construction LLC is Soliciting Bids from MBE/WBE/ DBE/Veteran/SDVE for the following: University of Missouri Healthcare Project CP220851: Critical Care Addition – C4012 Imaging Equipment Replacements

Contact: Mike Murray ; mikem@reinhardtconstructionllc. com

Phone: 573-682-5505

ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

St. Louis Community College will receive separate sealed bids for CONTRACT NO. F23 501, Florissant Valley STLC Theater Batten & Rigging Replacement at Florissant Valley Campus, until 2:00 p.m. local time Thursday, October 27, 2022. Bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at the office of the Manager of Engineering and Design, 5464 Highland Park, St. Louis, MO 63110-1314. Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from the Manager’s office, at the above address or by calling (314) 644-9770.

Drawings, Specifications, bid forms and other related contract information may be obtained at ePlan. The documents will also be at The Builders Association and at the Mid-States Minority Supplier Development Council. Electronic bid sets are available and may be printed by the plan holders and in https://stlcc.bonfirehub.com/. Questions regarding the scope of work should be directed to Joe Buehler at jabuehler@hornershfrin.com.

VOLUNTARY PREBID MEETING: Monday, October 17, 2022

10:00am, Florissant Valley Theater Main Entrance will be the meeting point. A walk-through of the project will follow the meeting. Any inquiries about the pre-bid meeting can be sent to Pat Espy at pespy@stlcc.edu

The College has the proposed minority goals MBE 15% and WBE 12% Individuals with special needs as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act may contact 314-644-9039

An Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer

Date: October 5,

Improvement Harry S Truman State Park – Devil’s Backbone Campground, Warsaw, MO Project No. X210701 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, October 27, 2022. The State of Missouri, OA-FMDC, hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively ensure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, ancestry or national origin in consideration for an award.

BID PROPOSALS

Alberici Constructors, Kwame Building Group and the Saint Louis Zoo seek bids from qualified firms to submit proposals for a project at the Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Park. The project consists of interior construction, sitework and fencing for 10 barns. To request bid documents, please send an E-mail to stlzoobids@alberici.com

ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

St. Louis Community College will receive separate sealed bids for CONTRACT NO. F 23 603, Meramec Theater Batten and Rigging at St. Louis Community College at Meramec Campus, until 2:00 p.m. local time Thursday, October 27, 2022. Bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at the office of the Manager of Engineering and Design, 5464 Highland Park, St. Louis, MO 63110-1314.

Drawings, Specifications, bid forms and other related contract information may be obtained at ePlan. The documents will also be at The Builders Association and at the Mid-States Minority Supplier Development Council. Electronic bid sets are available and may be printed by the plan holders and in https://stlcc.bonfirehub.com/

Questions regarding the scope of work should be directed to Joe Buehler at jabuehler@hornershfrin.com

A voluntary pre-bid meeting will be held on 10/19/2022 10:00am in the Theater Stage at the Meramec Campus will be the meeting point. A walk-through of the project will follow the meeting. Any inquiries about the pre-bid meeting can be sent to Brandon Strauser at bstrauser1@ stlcc.edu

The College has the proposed minority goals MBE 15% and WBE 12% Individuals with special needs as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act may contact 314-644-9039

An Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer

Date: October 5, 2022

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District Requests for Quotes, Bids and Proposals are posted online for public download. Please navigate to www.msdprojectclear.org > Doing Business With Us > View Non-Capital Bids (commodities and services) or >Visit Planroom (capital construction bids)

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

O2245-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, Until 1:30 PM, October 25, 2022. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http:// oa.mo.gov/ facilities

Federal Land and Water Conservation Funds are being used in this project, and all relevant federal, state and local requirements apply. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo.gov/ facilities SEALED BIDS

Bids for Pavement Overlay, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Emergency Vehicle Operations Course, Jefferson City, MO Project No. R2302-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, October 27, 2022. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

INVITATION TO BID

WEBSTER GROVES SCHOOL DISTRICT SOUTH ADDITION TO: WEBSTER GROVES HIGH SCHOOL

Sealed bids are requested from qualified contractors for an addition to the school referenced above.

A mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on Thursday, October 27, 2022 at 4:00 p.m., at Webster Groves High School.

Bids will be received by Mr. Rob Steuber, Construction

Project Manager, on Tuesday, November 15. 2022 at 2:00 p.m., at the District Service Center Building, 3232 South Brentwood Boulevard, Webster Groves, MO 63119. Public bid opening will follow immediately thereafter.

The project consists of South Addition to Webster Groves High School.

Contract documents will be available on October 18, 2022 for a refundable deposit of $50.00. Checks to be made out to Webster Groves School District. Documents will be available through County Blue; call 314-961-3800 to arrange for documents. For project related questions, please contact Dickinson Hussman Architects (Stan Hampton) at (email at shampton@ dharch.com). Documents also on file at McGraw Hill Construction Dodge, 6330 Knox Industrial Drive, St. Louis Missouri 63139.

The owner reserves the right to reject any and all bids. Bidders must provide a Bid Bond in the amount of 5% of the proposed contract sum. The successful bidder will be required to provide 100% Performance and Payment Bonds, comply with the Missouri Department of Labor Standards Prevailing Wage Rates, and be enrolled in the E-Verify Federal Work Authorization Program.

CITY OF ST. LOUIS PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE AND DRAFT 2023 ANNUAL ACTION PLAN AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW AND COMMENT

The City of St. Louis is soliciting comments on its draft 2023 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.

The Community Development Administration (CDA) will conduct a virtual public hearing on November 8, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. CST to solicit public comments and answer questions pertaining to the draft 2023 Annual Action Plan. Instructions for attending the Virtual Public Hearing are available on the website: http://www.stlouis-mo.gov/ cda/

The 2023 Annual Action Plan will be available in draft form for review beginning on October 7, 2022. The plan will be available at the Central Branch of the St. Louis Public Library, located at 1301 Olive Street; on the City of St. Louis website at http://www. stlouis-mo.gov/cda/ and at CDA’s office, located at 1520 Market Street, Suite 2000. The views of citizens, public agencies and other interested parties are encouraged. Written comments may be submitted to CDBG@stlouis-mo.gov and will be accepted until 12:00 p.m. CST on November 7, 2022.

Persons with special needs should contact CDA Executive Director Mr. Nahuel Fefer at FeferN@stlouis-mo.gov or (314) 657-3835 or (314) 589-6000 (TDD). Interpreting services are available upon request by calling the Office on the Disabled at (314)622-3686 (voice) or (314)622-3693 (TTY). CDA is an equal opportunity agency (employer). Minority participation is encouraged.

LOUIS

OF ST.

CITY

BOARD OF PUBLIC SERVICE SECTION 001113.1

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS-SHORT

Electronically sealed bids for the hereinafter mentioned project will be received online by the Board of Public Service through Bid Express at https://www.bidexpress.com/ businesses/20618/home. The Bidder must pay $40 to submit a bid through the Bid Express Service. Monthly subscriptions are available. Proposals must be submitted before 1:45 PM, St. Louis Time, on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. The proposals will then be publicly opened and read.

Job Title: Forest Park Bowl Lake Pavilion Letting No.: 8755

Authorizing Ordinance: 69049

Contract Time: Substantial Completion by December 23, 2023, with procurement activities started within one (1) week after receipt of construction NTP and 90 Calendar Days once Work has started.

Schedule Related Liquidated Damages Per Day: $500

Project Contact Person, Email: Helen Bryant, Contract Supervisor, BryantH@stlouis-mo.gov

Estimated Cost: $575,000

Bid Deposit: $14,600

Bid Opening Location: Via Zoom, https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83445052494?pwd=eHZvQIRESxmxBREhJWjZFLzVBcitSUT09

(Passcode: 621348)

The proposed Work includes the construction of a new pavilion on Bowl Lake in Forest Park and associated site work, including a walking path and related pedestrian bridge upgrades.

Plans, Specifications, and the Agreement may be examined online through Bid Express at https://www.bidexpress.com/businesses/20618/home and may be downloaded for free.

An optional pre-bid conference for all contractors bidding on this project will be held onsite at the existing Seven Pools Bridge located at 5032 Clayton Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, on October 17, 2022, at 10:00 AM. All bidders are strongly encouraged to attend the pre-bid meeting. Attendance at the pre-bid meeting is considered an important element of a Contractor’s Good Faith Effort to maximize the utilization of M/WBE if M/WBE participation goals cannot be met.

Bidders shall comply with all applicable City, State, and Federal laws (including M/WBE policies.

The right of the Board of Public Service to reject any or all bids is expressly reserved.

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

St. Louis Community College will receive separate sealed bids for CONTRACT NO. F23 602, Interim Renovations at Meramec for STLCC Transformed, until 2:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday October 18, 2022. Bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at the office of the Manager of Engineering and Design, 5464 Highland Park, St. Louis, MO 63110-1314. Drawings, Specifications and bid forms and other related contract information may be obtained from Cross Rhodes’ Plan room at 2731 S. Jefferson, St. Louis, MO 63118 or at S. M. Wilson’s BuildingConnected website using the link below: https://app.buildingconnected.com/public/5913928fce945d0a00d28943.

Electronic bid sets are available and may be printed by the plan holders and in Bonfire at https://stlcc.bonfirehub.com. This project will include the following Work Packages: 02A Demolition, 08A Doors / Frames / Hardware, 09A Framing & Drywall, 09D Acoustic Ceilings, 09H Resilient Flooring, 09L Painting, 10A Visual Display Boards, 10C Signage, 22A Plumbing, 23A HVAC, 26A Electrical.

Questions regarding the scope of work should be directed to Patrick Aylesworth, patrick.aylesworth@smwilson.com. A pre-bid meeting will be held on October 11th, 2022 at 10am CST at the Meramec Campus room BA 105. A walk-through of the project will follow the meeting. You may schedule site visits by contacting Nathan Webb at nwebb18@stlcc.edu

The College has the proposed minority goals MBE 15% and WBE 12% Individuals with special needs as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act may contact: 314-984-7673

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for the McKelvey Road Resurfacing - Phase II project, St. Louis County

Project No. AR-1718, Federal Project No. STP-5558(610), will be received electronically thru the County’s Vendor Self Service portal at https://stlouiscountymovendors.munisselfservice.com/Vendors/default.aspx, until 2:00 p.m. on November 9, 2022

Plans and specifications will be available on October 3, 2022, from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouiscountymo.gov) or by contacting Cross Rhodes Print & Technologies, 2731 South Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63118 (314) 678-0087.

DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

ST. LOUIS, COUNTY

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for the Heintz Road Bridge No. 513 Replacement, St. Louis County Project No. CR-1282, Federal Project No. STP-4900(639), will be received electronically thru the County’s Vendor Self Service portal at https://stlouiscountymovendors.munisselfservice.com/Vendors/default.aspx, until 2:00 p.m. on November 2, 2022

Plans and specifications will be available on October 3, 2022, from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouiscountymo.gov) or by contacting Cross Rhodes Print & Technologies, 2731 South Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63118 (314) 678-0087.

DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

ST. LOUIS, COUNTY

Living It

Classical music clarion Keys locked in as Helium Comedy Club headliner

St. Louisan Maria Ellis to make Carnegie Hall debut next summer

By Danielle Brown

The St. Louis American

Maria Ellis’ aunts’ vocal prowess and range intrigued her so much that she would mimic their soprano stylings. Her aunts performed in a group with her father and other siblings.

Her family’s singing tradition inspired her to follow suit and she was a member of the family choir throughout her primary and secondary school years and at church. Her interest in classical music began in sixth grade after the St. Louis Children’s Choir introduced the genre to her.

“I thought I was really important because I got to read music,” Ellis said. “Sheet music is important because everything I was used to learning was learned by ear from my gospel background.”

Ellis said she enjoyed learning how to read music because it made her feel like “she was really doing something.” Her musical education continued at Millikin University for a year, and she returned home to work for AT&T.

The lessons learned were invaluable when she was offered an opportunity to “revamp” the Lively Stone Church of God’s children’s choir.

While the basic knowledge was there, she realized she didn’t have all the information she needed to teach the kids.

To gain more insight, she enrolled in the University of Missouri-St. Louis’ opera program, which is part of its music education department.

“I couldn’t speak the language,” she said. “I knew what I was doing but just didn’t know the language for it.”

Lord of the Film

Drew Brown ‘lens’ support to fellow Black filmmakers

By Ashley Winters

The St. Louis American

Drew Brown, who is known as ‘The Film Lord,’ is only 27 but he has been in the industry for a decade. The filmmaker has used his talent in cinematography, directing, script writing, producing, and casting since he was 17.

“I like being that prism that is between people’s thoughts and reality,” Brown said.

“It’s my passion.”

Brown’s father Hakim Brown inspired him to pick up a camera, after he saw many photos shot by his dad while growing up.

“I saw him as my superhero,” said Brown.

Brown said his father grew up in an under-served part of north St. Louis. He enlisted in the Army but his dream of becoming a photographer for the military went unfulfilled. But he took advantage of his time overseas by taking photos during his free time in different war zones. Three months before Brown was born, his dad started capturing images of Brown’s mom’s pregnancy. He says his dad didn’t miss an opportunity to get a photo of his son for the next seven years.

his relationship with his daughter. He features her in many of his projects. When he snapped photos used on the St. Louis Aquarium website, he featured her, adding that he wants her to see Black girls in a positive light.

“I want her to see representation, but also that she can be anything she wants to be,” said Brown.

n “I’ve been groomed to see life differently through the eyes of a filmmaker, through the eyes of a lens, a literal lens. This has always been a part of my life.”

-

Drew Brown

Brown brings that attitude and work ethic into

Brown received his bachelor’s degree in Digital Film and Video Production from the Art Institute of St. Louis, and his film work has been used on Nelly’s reality TV show, Nellyville, American Ninja Warrior, and the NFL Network.

He is currently working on a documentary featuring local Black-owned businesses. At 17, Brown leased Jamestown Mall to shoot a movie, and commissioned his classmates in the theater department at his school, Hazelwood Central High School, to serve as actors and crew.

Brown sold some of his sneakers to pay the young aspiring actors and actresses for their time and talent. He says he wanted to bring on talent that looked like him and came from the same area as he did.

Brown said the day of his high school graduation he was the lone student in the auditorium before the ceremony began. He remembers ask-

Opera had never been something she saw herself being involved in, but she did not back away from the challenge. She says she “fell in love” with singing operatic songs, and in time became a classical music conductor.

Her path motivated her to teach students about classical music in a way that was authentic to her.

She used gospel, R&B, and hip-hop references to bridge the two worlds. Her company, Girl Conductor, continues to follow that instructional formula.

She makes music education accessible and relatable to Black youth, especially Black girls, by utilizing hip-hop songs to help them read

U.City native debuts Oct. 7-8

By Danielle Brown The St. Louis American

Cameron Keys’ perseverance over the past seven years has led him towards his dreams and aspirations. And it is paying off in more ways than he can imagine, he told The American The 25-year-old rising comic has hosted and performed on stage with several iconic artists including St. Louis’ own Cedric the Entertainer, Jeremiah ‘J.J.’ Williamson, Rodney Perry, Tony Rock, Dominique, and more. In a phone interview from Cleveland, Ohio, Keys said he was part of a three-day weekend showcase with actor and comedian, Alex Thomas, popular for his character “Phil” on “The Jamie Foxx Show.”

“It’s a dope experience,” Keys said. “Alex is super friendly. I’ve been talking to him about the business of writing for TV. I learned he wrote for “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, because I didn’t know that.” Keys’ official headlining showcase is this weekend Oct. 7-8 at The Garage at Helium Comedy Club. While he’s headlined in smaller venues in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Atlanta, he credits this weekend’s lineups as his first headlining honor because “it’s in his hometown and in an actual comedy club.”

“I’m very excited and I plan to put my all into making this event something special,” Keys said. “I’m looking forward to trying out these jokes and people coming to see me.” Keys says he doesn’t picture himself as a former class clown in school, that was the experience of some of his peers.

“They were more physical with their jokes; they did things like wear their clothes backwards. Boys would wear girl hoodies for attention, and students would hop on the teacher’s desk when they stepped out,” he explained. However, he was talkative and far from shy. He and his friends hosted lunch rap battles freestyling to see who was the funniest.

“My mission everyday at school was to make people laugh,” Keys said. “I wasn’t good at anything else—sports, video games, I was okay at school, not super studious.”

His grandfather allowed him to watch “Chappelle’s Show” with him, which sparked his interest in sketches, films, and short films.

“I was super young watching with my grandpa and then I’d sneak and watch by myself,” Keys said. “I was always intrigued because I thought how is he [Dave Chappelle] making people laugh?’” His grandpa introduced him to other comics including the greats Flip Wilson, Richard Pryor, and Eddie Murphy. He also learned from his grandpa that he, along with his mother, made videos and comedy sketches of their own.

Like his family, he also tried his hand at writing sketches, but they weren’t to his liking.

“I started writing sketches,” Keys said. “I’ve written a lot of sketches over the years. They started off trash, but I’ve gotten better.”

A talent show at College Bound in 2014 was Keys’ first time stepping foot on stage to tell jokes, where as most comedians do with their first set, he bombed.

“I did 13 minutes the first time I was on stage,” Keys said. “I wasn’t good. I was like, ‘I can’t do this standup thing.’”

ing God to allow his creativity to take him overseas

Fast forward a year, to Keys’ senior year at University City High School. He told his mom and friends he was going to perform standup at the senior assembly. However, showtime jitters got the best of him. Friends helped him overcome his nervousness, and his set went better than he thought.

See Ellis, D4

See Keys, D4

Photo by Wiley Price | St. Louis American Videographer Drew Brown a.k.a. The Film Lord in his downtown St. Louis studio.

Photo by Wiley Price I St. Louis American

Maria Ellis “Girl Conductor” is a Music Educator, Choral Conductor, Arts and Administrative Fellow for The St. Louis Symphony and currently serves as the Community Engagement Manager for The St. Louis Children’s Choirs . She is also the Founding Conductor of The Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Galleries’ newly formed City of Music All-Star Chorus.

Courtesy of Cameron Keys

Cameron Keys’ official headlining showcase is this weekend Oct. 7-8 at The Garage at Helium Comedy Club.

Mahalia Jackson story to air on Hulu

Statue to honor her in Chicago

St. Louis American staff

Hulu will premier and exclusively air “Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story,” a biographical movie that examines the life of the Queen of Gospel.

Grammy Award Winner Ledisi, a New Orleans native portrays Jackson. The movie begins in New Orleans and covers five decades of Jackson’s life and time in Chicago.

“[The film] explores the tumultuous relationship Mahalia shared with her mother’s older sister Aunt Duke (Janet Hubert),” according to a release.

The film also explores Mahalia’s unbreakable relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Columbus Short) and her integral role in the Civil

Rights Movement. “When I originally wrote Remember Me, I never imagined the world would embrace it the way it has, writer and executive producer Ericka Nicole Malone said. “I am elated for audiences to see the remarkable work that went behind this film in celebrating and honoring our national treasure Mahalia Jackson, played by a musical icon, in my view, Ledisi. Denise Dowse was a phenomenal director, and I’m incredibly honored to see our vision for this film come to life.” Ledisi is a 2021 Grammy winner and has been nominated 13 times during her two-decade career. She has won three Soul Train Music Awards, an NAACP Theatre Award and 10 NAACP Image Award nominations.

Joining her and Short in the cast are Keith David (Greenleaf), Janet Hubert

Spiritually Speaking…

Love your neighbor is not just talk

By James Washington

The road to spiritual salvation is sometimes so obvious, so apparent that we just miss it. Like most of Jesus’ message, it doesn’t seem possible that by simply changing ones’ outlook, the Kingdom of Heaven is yours. “Teacher, which is greatest commandment of the law?” Jesus replied, “Love the

Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is just like it; “Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40. It is not always through guile and deceit that the devil works his evil. He can accomplish his goals if

he can convince you that what is important is of minor matter and no consequence. This love thing is well documented throughout the Bible and Christ certainly clarifies its importance in the above passage. Remember this is the Son of God talking. The single most important thing I can do to abide in God’s will is to possess love in my heart for God and my fellow man. Is that it? Yeah. That’s it! If that’s as close to a guarantee as we can get, why are many of us hell bent on doing the things that will insure our place at the table in Hell’s Kitchen? I personally think the

(The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, AMC’s Demascus), Wendy Raquel Robinson (The Game), Vanessa Estelle Williams (Soul

concept of loving God is easy to comprehend. Most of us, dare I say, are arguably trying to accomplish this in one way or another. It’s the loving your neighbor as yourself that’s causing the problem.

Columnist James Washington

The devil is having a field day with this one. Count how many people you can’t stand at this very moment. Take your shoes off and add to your list those people, who if they died tomorrow, you would be among those who would say ‘good riddance.’

The devil knows man is not perfect, so he entices us into hating the imperfection of others, their flaws and faults, their weaknesses, and

Food, 9-1-1), Keith Robinson (Dreamgirls), and Corbin Bleu (High School Musical).

Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story won The Audience Award: Feature Narrative at the Pan African Film Festival. It won Best Feature Film, Best Actress in a Feature (Ledisi) and Best Female Director (Denise Dowse) at the Las Vegas Black Film Festival. Other honors include Audience Favorite at the Roxbury International Film Festival in Boston; Best Feature, Best Director, and Best Actress at the Charlotte Black Film Festival and is an HBO Max 2022 Winner (Best Score) at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival. Emmy Award and Dove Award-winning composer Paul Wright III is the music supervisor for the film. Jackson frequently per-

shortcomings. All the while, being imperfect ourselves.

Isn’t it interesting that most people, who claim being saved, tell you they first had to realize that God through Jesus’ sacrifice loved them warts and all? The stories come from former drug addicts, adulterers, petty gossipers, murderers, and greedy self-absorbed takers in life, who wished they knew how to have a healthy respectful loving relationship with another human being.

One by one, they, we, line up and confess that once we accepted that God indeed loves us, then and only then, are we able to love ourselves and subsequently love others just like they are all imperfect, all flawed children of God, all welcomed at his eternal table. At this point, one sees God in

formed at King’s speeches, including a solo before his famed address Aug. 28, 1963 “I Have a Dream speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Jackson will be honored with a statue on a memorial plaza Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood. The

every man, every woman, and every child, because once you accept that God resides in your own sinful soul, you can see God in others.

God knew you before you knew you and he loved you anyway despite what He knew you were going to do or become. As incredible as those sounds, it’s true. It’s called love.

God’s point is so simple. If He’s got it for you, the least you can do is have it for others. Step back, Satan. I love me and I ain’t got nothing but love for you too. May God bless and keep you always.

This commentary originally ran in The Dallas Weekly

Photo courtesy of Hulu

“Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story” includes the close bond between Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., [Columbus Short] and Jackson, who is portrayed by Grammy Award winner Ledisi.

prEp Football NotEbook

By Earl Austin Jr.

St. Mary’s can make final run at history

School will be closing

By Earl Austin Jr.

The St. Louis American

The St. Mary’s Dragons made history last season when they won the first state championship in football.

The Dragons dominated the competition through the Class 3 state championship game, when they dismantled Kansas City St. Pius X 54-0 in Columbia.

After last season’s run to a state title, the Dragons are primed to make another strong postseason run in 2022. This season, St. Mary’s has been moved up to Class 4. For the first six weeks of the season, the Dragons have looked the part of a statechampionship contender with a dominant 5-1 record.

The opportunity to become a back-to-back state championship team is a great incentive for the Dragons to cement their legacy as a great program. Now, there’s more motivation for St. Mary’s as it looks like this will be its final season of high school football. It was announced last week that St. Mary’s will be closing its doors at the end of the school year.

The Dragons have been rolling in the first six weeks of the season with its talent-laden roster on both sides of the ball. They have several players who are Division I college prospects, including senior running back Jamal Roberts, who committed to Missouri and defensive back Donovan McIntosh, who is headed to Kansas State.

Roberts has been the offensive linchpin for the Dragons offense with 830 yards rushing on 55 carries. He has also scored 14 touchdowns. Fellow senior John Roberts has also been very productive running the football with 449 yards rushing and nine touchdowns.

Leading the offense has been junior quarterback David Leonard, who has completed 41 of 76 passes for 678 yards and eight touchdowns. His top receiver target is senior Chase Hendricks, who has 18 receptions for 368 yards and eight touchdowns. He is another player with multiple Division I scholarship offers.

The Dragons have a talented group of players on defense with McIntosh, along with fellow seniors Kaliel Boyd, Jaylain Hampton

and juniors Zamier Collins and Derron Perkins. St. Mary’s will continue with its rugged schedule on Friday night when they host Class 6 DeSmet at 7 p.m. The Dragons will then travel to Louisville to take on perennial Kentucky state power Trinity before concluding its regular season at Lutheran North.

Week 6 Top Performers

• Running back Jareese Howard of Riverview Gardens rushed for 173 yards on 12 carries and scored on a 70-yard touchdown run

in the Rams’ 29-14 victory over Normandy.

• Wide receiver Christian Joiner of O’Fallon had eight receptions for 128 yards and three touchdowns in the Panthers’ 49-13 victory over Belleville East.

• Running back Ricky Dixon of Lutheran North rushed for 230 yards on 31 carries and four touchdowns in the Crusaders’ 34-16 victory over MICDS.

• Quarterback Christian Cotton of DeSmet

SportS EyE

With Alvin A. Reid

My mother was born Erma Jean Wiley in 1935 in segregated Pine Bluff, Ark. She was the seventh of eight children born to Pastor Paul and Grace Wiley. The couples’ eighth child, Wilfred Harvey Wiley, was born shortly before Pastor Wiley passed away. Of the eight children, all found success in life. Most went to college and earned undergraduate, Master’s and/ or Ph.D. degrees. My uncle Wilfred joined the Navy and served a distinguished military career, which included service on an aircraft carrier. He would settle in St. Louis where my family lived along with the eldest Wiley sibling, Joe Wiley. My Uncle Joe was an educator in the Catholic high school system and served as principal at DeAndres then Mercy High School. Wilfred would work many years at the Old Post Office downtown and let me tell you

he was 1970s cool. He wore leather pants, he wore hats, he wore alligator skin boots. He was tall, thin and had a bachelor pad in the Central West End on Taylor. He also had football season tickets for the St. Louis Cardinals. Wilfred and I saw more than 20 games as I grew into a teen and before I went to college. My father was first choice, but Dad liked being off on Sundays and not dealing with all the commotion of an NFL game. If there is a game Cardinal fans remember in Busch Stadium during that time, Wilfred and I were probably there. If he were unable to attend, he would let me take a friend.

Tight end Jackie S mith breaks multiple tackles during a 19-yard touchdown reception from Jim Hart in a 31-28 victory over by beloved Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 13, 1974? I was there with my friend Ray Taylor. Smith was mobbed by teammates, many of them leaving the Cardinals bench area which was unheard of back then. No penalty was assessed.

The phantom Mel Gray catch against the Washington Redskins on Nov. 16, 1975? We had a perfect view. The ball wedged between Gray and Redskins defensive back Pat Fischer. Gray never had it. The refs blew it. The touchdown tied the game at 17-17, and the Cardinals won in overtime 20-17. Some guy named Jim Braxton rushed for 160 yards and three touchdowns for the

Buffalo Bills on a bitterly cold Nov. 27, 1975, Thanksgiving Day? Wilfred and I were right there. The Bills blasted the Cardinals 32-14. By the way, O.J. Simpson rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown. Cardinals running back Terry Metcalf ripping off a 62-yard TD run, followed by a 77-yard TD jaunt by Dallas Cowboys rookie Tony Dorsett on successive offensive plays in a hard-fought 30-24 Cowboys

rushed for 77 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 204 yards and another touchdown in the Spartans’ 37-20 victory over SLUH.

• Running back Marquis Gleghorn of Vashon rushed for 158 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns in the Wolverines 40-32 victory over Fort Zumwalt North.

• Quarterback Cole Ruble of Seckman rushed for 204 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 130 yards and two touchdowns in the Jaguars 50-6 victory over Parkway South.

• Running back Kevin Emmanuel of Eureka rushed for 244 yards on 43 carries in the Wildcats’ 34-7 victory over Pattonville.

• Quarterback Josh Baker-Mays of Duchesne threw six touchdown passes in the Pioneers’ 54-0 victory over Jennings.

• Running back Derrick Warren of Francis Howell North rushed for 157 yards on 17 carries and three touchdowns in the Knights’ 42-21 victory over Francis Howell Central.

• Running back Zyan Royal of Parkway North rushed for 224 yards and two touchdowns and caught four passes for 77 yards and two more TDs in the Vikings’ 40-35 victory over Parkway West.

• Wide receiver Nick Bova of Troy had seven receptions for 168 yards and four touchdowns in the Trojans 44-12 victory over Timberland.

• Running back Dre Davis of Lafayette rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns and had 68 yards receiving and one touchdown in the Lancers’ 49-10 over Ladue.

What’s on Tap for Week 7

Earl’s Pick Game: Lift for Life (5-1) at Cardinal Ritter (6-0), Saturday, 1 p.m.

• SLUH (2-4) at Chaminade (2-4), Friday, 6 p.m.

• Lafayette (4-2) at Eureka (6-0), Friday, 7 p.m.

• Seckman (5-1) at Pattonville (4-2), Friday, 7 p.m.

• DeSmet (3-3) at St. Mary’s (5-1), Friday, 7 p.m.

• Lutheran North (4-2) at Maryville, Friday, 7 p.m.

• Hazelwood Central (3-3) at Ladue (3-3), Friday, 7 p.m.

• Alton (1-5) at East St. Louis (4-2), Friday, 7 p.m.

• Belleville East (3-3) at Edwardsville (5-1), Friday, 7 p.m.

• Kirkwood (2-3) at Lindbergh (4-2), Friday, 7 p.m.

• Ritenour (4-2) at Marquette (5-1), Friday, 7 p.m.

victory on Oct. 9, 1977? We were there, and I was wearing a new Cowboys baseball cap I purchased that week. Those are just a handful of memories of some great times with my Uncle Wilfred at Busch Stadium After working at various newspapers with Gannett, I returned to St. Louis in 1995. I was literally driving my car over the Blanchette Bridge during a press conference announcing the L.A. Rams would move here. I invited Wilfred to several games, sometimes in suites, but always great seats. He declined. However, we would go to several St. Louis Cardinals baseball games, and have a great time. He would always sneak a bottle of bourbon in. That was Wilfred. My Uncle Wilfred passed away on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. I was in Lawrence, Kansas for Homecoming Weekend at KU. He knew that my pitiful football program has somehow turned it around and the Jayhawks moved to 5-0 with a 14-11 win over Iowa State. The Cyclones kicker hit the right

upright of the goal post on two respective field goal attempts, and then shanked another attempt that would have tied the game with seconds left. I think Wilfred helped a bit from heaven. Thank you, and I love you.

The Alvin Wilfred Roundup

One last story I’ll share with you. Wilfred gave me a ride back to college on the Sunday following Thanksgiving during my freshman year in 1978. My late Aunt DeLois Wiley was University of Arkansas Pine Bluff dean of music, and the UAPB Golden Lions marching band was performing at the San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs game. The Chiefs would finish 3-11 that season but clobbered the Chargers 23-0 on that cold Sunday. My stupid self somehow managed to lock Wilfred’s keys in the trunk in a parking lot before the game. He had to push the lock in with a screwdriver to open the trunk and retrieve the keys. I felt like an idiot. He just laughed it off.

Alvin A. Reid

Earl Austin Jr.

n “He was loved from day one.”

– Former L.A. Lakers star Shaquille O’Neal on Kobe Bryant joining team in 1996

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Riverview Gardens receiver Jacobie Bibbs (18) loses the handle on a catch after it was stripped from his grasp by Normandy’s Tayshaun Thompson during second-quarter action against Normandy Saturday, Oct. 1, at Riverview. The Rams of Riverview went on to defeat the Vikings of Normandy 29-14.

My Uncle Wilfred was a big Mel Gray fan

Photo courtesy of St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame

Ellis

Continued from D1

notes, or by using a gospel song to teach them certain phrases taught by ear.

“I take classical terms and then break them down so people who don’t come from that world can understand them because that’s what I needed when I was in college,” she said. “I felt so lost because they were saying all these terms and I was like, ‘I don’t know what any of this stuff means.’”

Ellis also uses Beyoncé’s “Brown Skin Girl,” to increase understanding of music intervals and the pitch distance between two notes. She recalls how in college her professors used the “Here Comes the Bride” song to describe intervals, but she found that method to be outdated because it is now rarely played.

“I want them to wonder, ‘is this Beyoncé or is it a [Johan Sebastian] Bach piece?’ It [sounds] like it could be Bach when in essence it’s Beyoncé,” she said.

Ellis hosts a show on Classic 107.3 called “Bach & Beyoncé.”

“I was offered a radio show and they said ‘what do you wanna talk about?,’” she said.

“And I said, ‘well I love Bach and Beyoncé, so I wanna talk about them and how their worlds intertwine.’ They’re not as separate as we think they are.”

Ellis knows there aren’t many women in classical music who look like her. However, several Black women paved a way for her and others to find a seat at the table. The problem, she says, is that these influences aren’t taught in school.

“We aren’t taught about the Black people who made contributions to classical music,”

she said. “We’re only taught Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and others. We don’t talk about all the African Americans in the United States who were writing operas and classical pieces like Florence Price, and Chevalier de Saint-Georges, who is said to have influenced Mozart.

She thinks The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra does a great job with diversity and

His goal isn’t to make a lot of money but to support businesses that are overlooked or counted out. He provides a high-quality commercial, without business owners having to spend high-quality prices.

shooting the documentary “Theory of the Underdog” in Sweden. The film followed international basketball players, showing the ins and outs of their daily lives.

Last year, he began filming commercials for $100 for local Black-owned businesses.

“I want to give back to St. Louis as much as possible, specifically my community, my people,” said Brown. He is mentoring at his alma mater Riverroads Lutheran School and shares the importance of Black filmmakers. He

He talked about the school, his favorite and least favorite teachers and more. Following graduation, he saw Tony Rock was booked for a show at the Westport Funny Bone. He saw it as a good opportunity to connect with him and seek knowledge. He tweeted Rock and told him he had just graduated high school, was coming to his show that evening and wanted to get some advice about standup. Rock replied and said, “Cool, aight bet.”

teaches students how to use the equipment, and capture images.

Brown says the inner city private school is underfunded.

“If U don’t invest in the young minds of tomorrow, then who will? We didn’t have much at my school, but it’s where I got my start and it made me who I am today,” said Brown.

He hopes to inspire those kids beyond what they see in their neighborhoods, and he believes in afterschool pro-

inclusion. Last season, the symphony featured the works of several minority composers. She adds that there could be more works of Black women composers on the symphony’s schedule - which is a driving force behind Girl Conductor.

“I didn’t see Black women, I saw my first Black woman conductor in 2020,” she said.

grams.

“Those hours between when school is out and parents return home from work are crucial to young impressionable kids and they need someone who can help keep their focus and out of trouble,” he said.

“I want to teach them all that I have learned so that they can get an earlier start like I did,” said Brown.

Brown hopes to one day fill in the shoes of Shonda Rhimes [who is this?] He also aspires to

Keys walked into the Funny Bone’s showroom and saw Rock sitting on the back of a chair. Rock told him to write everyday, read everyday, and find inspiration in anything he sees - even if it’s not immediately funny. Not long after his family went on a cruise to Mexico, he told his mom he was going to give comedy a try.

He officially entered St. Louis’ comedy circuit on July 21, 2015 and he performed at open mics all around town including St. Louis Funny Bone. He was writing everyday, coming up with new jokes to hone his craft, and create tight five minute sets.

“My main goal was to have a tight five to 10 minutes to at least get me in the door to host at a comedy club,” Keys said.

After the Helium Comedy Club in the Saint Louis Galleria Mall was built in 2016, Keys started performing and hosting open mics there. The club’s manager messaged him and asked if he would be interested in hosting a weekend for Ali Saddiq. He agreed, and just like that he had his first hosting weekend.

October 13 – 22

His second hosting weekend was for Rodney Perry then from there he did hosting for Bruce Bruce, Don ‘D.C.’ Curry, and Karlous Miller.

He started with four minute sets, then worked his way to eight to 10 minutes. Referrals led him doing a show with the late Paul Mooney.

He recalls his father telling him how he was close friends with J.J. Williamson and Cedric the Entertainer. His father had said he wanted him to meet Williamson, but Keys didn’t give it much thought. That changed in 2017 when his dad died.

Although Keys had never

n “I take classical terms and then break them down so people who don’t come from that world can understand them because that’s what I needed when I was in college.”

-Maria Ellis

“When you think of orchestral conductors you think of white men. You don’t think of women at all, especially not Black women.”

Ellis, will conduct works by St. Louis native Dr. Robert Ray at Carnegie Hall on June 25, 2023.

“Since he’s from St. Louis I wanted to honor him since I’m also from St. Louis and St. Louis made,” she said. “I also wanted to honor him while he’s still living.”

For her Carnegie Hall debut, she would love to have students from The Sheldon’s all-star chorus [an ensemble made up of youth from low in-come households in North St. Louis County and St. Louis City) join her. Right now she’s in the process of raising money for them to be able to come.

Anyone interested in donating to Ellis, can email her at girlconductor@icloud.com. Ellis is host of the weekly program Bach & Beyoncé; she’s also a conductor, musi-cian, cohost of live SLSO broadcasts, and an educator at Sumner High School. She pres-ents her unconventional teach-ings and ideas in workshops around the country.

Visit https://girlconductor. com/ for more information.

emulate St. Louis’ own Micheal D Francis, a local videographer, and cinematographer, who Brown says he worked with on Nellyville and American Ninja Warrior

“I watched and studied how Francis maneuvers behind the scenes,” he said.

“He [Francis] is pivotal in getting Black people jobs in the industry,” said Brown, who hopes to do the same in the film industry Filming is more than a job,

met Williamson, the comedian called him and told him how devastated he was about his father’s passing and that they would meet up soon to chat about the industry.

A year later in 2018, the pair finally got the opportunity to meet at the now-closed Laugh Lounge. Williamson gave Keys a guest spot in his lineup.

“It was a cool moment to have a guest spot for him because he’s one of my dad’s friends and I got to know him on a more personal level,” Keys said. “It felt like my dad was watching out for me.”

That same year while he was working at a senior living facility he learned Rock was back in town. Since it had been three years since they first met, Keys thought it was a good opportunity to get to his show and let him know he’s actively doing standup.

He said Rock asked where he knew me fromfrom and Keys told him how they met three years ago at the Funny Bone. He confidently explained to Rock how he had been getting consistent standup gigs. Rock was impressed and asked if Keys wanted to host his weekend when the initial host did not show up.

It sounded like a great idea until Keys realized he was supposed to work the whole weekend. He skipped work and hosted the shows. That summer he was regularly booked with Williamson, leading some

it’s a lifestyle, Brown said. In fact, ‘The

and the name and logo are tattooed on his body.

“I’ve been groomed to see life differently through the eyes of a filmmaker, through the eyes of a lens, a literal lens. This has always been a part of my life,” said Brown.

Ashley Winters is a Report for America reporter

to believe the opportunity was only there because of him and his dad’s friendship.

“I’ve heard in the past a lot of people would say I was only with J.J. because my dad knew him and now he’s looking out for me because my dad passed,” Keys said. That’s not true I wouldn’t be on the road with him if I wasn’t funny.” Keys’ homegoing show was at Blueberry Hill’s Duck Room in 2018, he said it sold out and was well received. In 2018, he relocated to Atlanta then in 2019 he had the honor of finally meeting another one of his late father’s beloved friends, Cedric the Entertainer.

“It was a dope full circle moment for me,” Keys said. “I grew up hearing about these guys from being friends with my dad, it was a cool moment in time.”

Keys has come a long way since his early days of doing comedy. He feels blessed to be booked as consistently as he has been over the last few years. In 2020, he wrote and acted in “Black Parasite” a parody of “Parasite” alongside Cocoa Brown and Rodney Perry. He plans to eventually relocate to New York since that’s where many “heavy hitters” got established. Purchase tickets to see Keys’ shows at 8 p.m. Oct. 7-8 here: https://st-louis.heliumcomedy. com/events/61733.

Film Lord’ is his logo,

Photo by Wiley Price I St. Louis American