October 7th, 2021 edition

St. LouiS AmericAn

Black community plans to challenge McKee

Recalcitrant developer ducks reporter’s inquiry

By JoAnn Weaver The St. Louis American

The movement to strip a three-bed health facility of the name Homer G. Phillips is gaining momentum - and developer Paul McKee apparently knows it.

A St. Louis American reporter on Wednesday asked McKee for a comment on his use of the name, and was directed to speak to his attorney.

Community leaders gathered at the Southside Wellness Center on Sept. 30 to protect the cherished Homer G. Phillips name.

“We thought it was wrong for Paul McKee to place Phillips’ name on a three-bed hospital and we felt it was wrong for him to disgrace such a powerful leader who is responsible for so many Black doctors and nurses,”

said Ollie Stewart, the meeting’s organizer.

Nurses, developers, and other leaders who attended are insistent that the past effects their action against developer Paul McKee.

Zenobia Thompson, a retired Homer G. Phillips

Hospital nurse and activist, said a St. Louis American article on a panel discussion at Saint Louis University, where the use of Homer G. Phillips’ name was sharply criticized and sparked reaction, drew much community response.

“People were concerned, so Ms. Ollie agreed to set up a meeting and we worked to reach out to community members and representatives,” Thompson said.

“We will proceed with strategizing on what we feel

n “We thought it was wrong for Paul McKee to place Phillips’ name on a three-bed hospital and we felt it was wrong for him to disgrace such a powerful leader who is responsible for so many Black doctors and nurses.”

–Ollie Stewart

NGA neighbors will have say in nearby development

SLDC executive director: public input to be sought

By Karen Robinson-Jacobs

Diggs named Stellar Performer in Education

be asked to wear masks regularly — begin to grow up during COVID-19.

Former Homer G. Phillips nurse Zenobia Thompson speaks to a group gathered at the Southside Senior Center Sept. 30, 2021 about trying to stop an urgent care facility near the site of the new NGA from continuing to be named after Atty. Homer G. Phillips whose name was on the legendary former hospital in The Ville neighborhood.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

See McKEE, A7

Dr. Gwendolyn Diggs

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Keshia Knight Pulliam weds Brad James

Keshia Knight Pulliam and her former costar, actor Brad James, have tied the knot. Pulliam posted to her Instagram on Saturday, Oct. 2, that she and James exchanged vows in an intimate wedding ceremony late last month. She shared wedding photos including Ella, the four-year-old daughter she has with Ed Hartwell.

“Last week my life forever changed,” she wrote. “I married my best friend at our home surrounded by family & it was magical!!! It wasn’t the large destination wed ding we were originally planning. Instead, it was intimate, whimsi cal, full of love, laughter and joy… Absolutely perfect!! Maybe one day I will share the events that inspired our change of plans. However, for now I can say God makes no mistakes & the joy is in the journey.”

She continued, “Covid

has definitely taught us to live in the moment and that the present is the greatest ‘present’ that exists. Thank you to everyone who celebrated with us!! Most of all thank you to @mrbradjames my amazing husband, my person, my soulmate. Thank you for renewing my vulnerability & faith in unconditionally love.”

James, shared pics to his Instagram and wrote, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step... I’m grateful to take mine with you.”

The two began dating in 2019, after meeting on the set of 2019’s Pride and Prejudice: Atlanta. Pulliam announced their engagement in December 2020 and said on Instagram that “heart is so filled with joy!!”

Ashanti to re-record and release debut album

After almost 20 years, Ashanti has decided to re-record her debut album. On a recent virtual appearance on Tamron Hall Show, she talked about how surreal it is that she has finally secured her masters, and she announced that she will re-record her self-titled album, which was originally released in

“I have an amazing legal team, and I got my first record deal when I was 14 years

old, so understanding and seeing how things have changed so much from then to now and conceptually understanding what you’re signing is so imperative, it’s so important nowadays,” she told Hall. The album won Ashanti a Grammy in 2003 for best contemporary R&B album, including the hit singles “Foolish,” “Baby,” and “Happy.” Now as an independent artist, she is re-recording the project. She said she’s “grateful” for the “humbling” experience.

“It’s such a blessing, you know, the fact that we are still here, we’re living through a pandemic, and these blessings are still coming in, it just makes me so happy again, so humbled and such a believer,” she told Hall.

temic racism are responsible for an “assault on successful Black men.”

“Gloria Allred did the same thing that she did with him,” Wyatt said Wednesday. “You parade women out, and you stir up the public sentiment to go against him, and that’s what they did to R. Kelly.”

“There’s a higher power, and I think that just being as a person and praying and putting your heart into things you get that energy back, and I think that’s so important.

So, I’m just really, really happy.”

Bill Cosby says R.Kelly “railroaded” in conviction

Bill Cosby believes that R.Kelly was “railroaded” in his recent conviction and predicts he will win an appeal of the verdict.

Andrew Wyatt, a spokesman for Cosby, told TMZ that attorney Gloria Allred and sys-

Kelly was found guilty on charges related to sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping, bribery, forced labor, sex trafficking across state lines and racketeering involving six victims.

Cosby was freed from prison on June 30 after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court annulled his sentence finding he had a prior deal with another prosecutor that was supposed to stop him from being criminally charged.

Prior to his release, Cosby served two years of his three-to-ten-year sentence.

A week prior to his release, he was granted an appeal, an option Wyatt said could be possible for Kelly.

“I see R. Kelly having a strong case on appeal,” Wyatt added. “I think when he gets to the highest court in the land, we’ll see a conviction overturned.”

“We see the Black and white issue,” Wyatt continued, arguing white people accused of crimes seem to get special treatment. “We see this cancel culture issue in America.”

Sources: eonline.com, people.com, yahoo.com, www.revolt.tv

Keshia Knight Pulliam

Ashanti

Bill Cosby

Cori Bush brings Congress to local libraries

“Neighborhood Service Centers” connect constituents with federal help

By Sophie Hurwitz

The St. Louis American

Starting this week, four libraries in the St. Louis area will be providing a new service: face-to-face meetings with members of U.S. Rep. Cori Bush’s staff. Patrons entering the libraries now walk past a table with a sign that reads “Congress in your neighborhood!” staffed by a member of Bush’s office who is ready to answer constituent questions. Throughout the pandemic, libraries have been increasing the services they offer in order to keep their communities afloat such as renting out laptops and hotspots, distributing food, helping people apply for rental aid and holding online storytime sessions — all this, of course, on top of the libraries’ regular educational and entertainment programming and book-lending.

Now that the libraries are open on their full-time schedules once more, staffers from Bush’s office will be joining the libraries’ efforts as part of a new community outreach program in four libraries: Walnut Grove and Carpenter branches within the St. Louis Public Library system, and Lewis and Clark and Rock Road Libraries within the St. Louis County system.

St. Louis Public Libraries Executive Director Waller McGuire said this is the first partnership the libraries have established with a politician at

Bush’s level.

“We’ve never done this before ... Congresswoman Bush is the first federal congressperson who’s ever asked us to work with them in this way,” he said.

The neighborhood service centers in these four branches offer walk-in help with navigating federal agencies, immigration casework and other local issues impacting the community. On a tour of the Walnut Grove branch Tuesday, Bush said that many constituents don’t even know what services they’re able to ask of their representative.

“I’m just excited for people to feel like they have access to what they have access to,” she said.

And by placing staff in the libraries, Bush plans to emphasize to the community that the services offered by her office are — like library services — free.

“One thing is, when people walk into the library, they know that they can walk in and there are services that are free,” she said. “They know they can walk in the door, and know that there’s nobody standing there asking them for $5 to be able to come in the door.”

Without the barrier of having to travel to Bush’s local congressional office, or the concern of having to pay for services, the representative hopes to be able to reach more constituents and answer their questions.

In particular, as the evic-

tion moratorium has expired, Bush’s office has been fielding calls from residents fearing that they’ll be kicked out of their homes and asking for rental aid. Though her office does not provide these things directly, they do their best to connect people with the services they need.

“So even though we don’t do the applications ourselves, we can point people in the direction of those resources,” she said.

The first day Bush’s staff set up their constituent service tables at the Carpenter Branch, staffer Aja Owens said people showed up with questions about rental aid and utility bill assis-

tance, even as the team was still setting up.

Liz McArthur, director of Neighborhood Services for the St. Louis Public Library system, said this collaboration was assembled quickly. Bush’s team reached out less than a month before the plan was brought to fruition.

“We’re … extremely excited about this opportunity to partner with them and to provide additional services to our customers,” McArthur said.

She said that library staff members already spend a portion of their time trying to connect people with the day-to-day

resources they need.

“We help people with notarizing documents, with applying for housing assistance ... with food,” McArthur said. Some branches give out food, and those which don’t offer to help patrons apply for SNAP and similar programs. They help people apply for passports, a service that McArthur said has seen increased demand in recent weeks.

“And having congressional staffers here in the library is really going to give us another level of being able to say, like … here’s a resource, here’s someone who can advocate for

St. Louis Public Library Executive Director Waller McGuire talks with first district congresswoman Cori Bush at the Carpenter Branch Library on South Grand about bringing social services to where constituents can access them quickly. The congresswoman will be using four local libraries in St. Louis and St. Louis County to assist our residents in navigating federal agencies and other local issues impacting the community.

you,” McArthur said. For executive director McGuire, bringing Congress directly into neighborhood library branches is a crucial part of furthering the library’s mission to democratize access to information.

“Public libraries are the most democratic institution there is, in many ways … so by giving people access to [the] government, we’re helping with a very important information need,” McGuire said. “Access is what libraries are all about, and by opening the government’s doors as widely as we can, and giving everyone access to the remarkable resources that Congress controls … I think that is very much part of the library’s mission.”

Photo by Wiley Price | St. Louis American

Rural areas pay highest price for GOP Medicaid antics

Two of the first statistical trends to emerge during the earliest months of the COVID-19 pandemic was that African Americans were contracting the virus at higher rates and dying more frequently.

A major determinant is the lack of adequate health care in some Black communities, which is why the Missouri voters initiative to expand Medicaid in August 2020 was vital to more positive health outcomes in the future.

Rather than lend its support to immediate expansion, the state’s Republican supermajorities in the House and Senate continued to do any and everything possible to overturn the voters’ expressed will.

In April, House Republicans removed $1.9 billion allocated for the July 1 Medicaid expansion. The Senate followed suit.

Gov. Mike Parson, who initially said he would support the will of the people, took no action to return the Medicaid funding to the budget. This effectively withdrew the state’s support from expansion of Medicaid. He and Republican legislators willfully ignored 53.25% of voters who favored expansion.

These ignominious actions did not prevail in Missouri courts. When their callous and politically self-serving ploy was legally rejected, the next shameful move was to stall the inevitable. Conservative legislators leaned on their racist, deceptive message that still appeals to their political base. ‘It’s those people in the city that need Medicaid, not us. They want something for free.’

The truth is that Medicaid expansion will serve the under-insured residents of rural Missouri as much or more than people in the metropolitan areas of the state.

Again, the pandemic data illustrate why adequate health care options are important to every county in Missouri.

According to the Kaiser Institute, since the pandemic began, about 1 in 434 rural Americans has died from COVID-19, compared with roughly 1 in 513 urban Americans, the institute’s data shows. “And though vaccines have reduced overall COVID death rates since the winter peak, rural mortality rates are now more than double that of urban ones — and accelerating quickly,” the Institute said. The Institute concludes that rural residents without health care options comprise many of these deaths.

Thankfully, Republican state legislators failed in their attempt to derail, then slow Medicaid expansion. Medicaid applications began being processed on Oct. 1. More than 17,000 Missourians have applied, and up to

275,000 are now eligible.

Obviously, most of these Missourians are not people of color and do not reside in major cities and adjacent suburbs. These are just two of the fallacies championed by Republicans here, and nationally, to delude their loyal base voters.

The saddest part of that scheme is that these politicians knew that they were pulling the wool over many of their constituents’ eyes. Somehow, they were able to convince them to vote against Medicaid expansion, something that would serve their communities and rural hospitals.

A patently false reason Republicans gave for their behavior was that Missouri could not afford Medicaid expansion, ignoring the fact that the federal government would financially support it here just as it has in dozens of other states – including ones with Republicandominated legislatures.

On Monday, the U.S. Department of health and Human Services announced that Missouri will receive an estimated $968 million for expanding Medicaid to individuals making no more than about $178,000 a year.

“Hundreds of thousands of Missourians can now gain the peace of mind of having health coverage through Medicaid. This is a win for all Missourians who have fought long and hard to gain their rightful access to quality health insurance made possible through the Affordable Care Act (ACA),” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said.

That statement is important because it exposes one of the root causes of Republican success at delaying Medicaid for a decade. The ACA was passed strictly along party lines in 2010 and was then cynically dubbed “Obamacare” by Republicans. This became a dog whistle that led to huge losses for Democrats in 2012 and subsequently their loss of control of Congress. Defying President Obama’s historic legislation was more important to the state GOP than the health and well being of the people that put them in office.

This is shameless, but not surprising, behavior by Republican leaders of the state of Missouri, and the remaining red states that deny health coverage to the most needy. They exploit grievance and fear to seduce their voter base into supporting self-defeating policies. Fortunately, despite the cynical, unrelenting resistance from Missouri Republicans, more than 275,000, who are mostly the working poor, will belatedly have access to a basic human need, health care.

Successful Black business leaders unfairly targeted

By Dr. Benjamin

Jr.

Chavis

F.

There is an African proverb that captures one of the challenges that many financially successful Black-owned business leaders face in America. “Your earned riches may engender envy and jealous criticism but be not dismayed by the foolishness of the envious.” Across the nation as business owners attempt to recover from the COVID-19 global pandemic, African American business leaders who are defying the odds with their financial success are often targeted by “mainstream media” and others who summarily and unfairly castigate Black business leaders’ economic achievements. Is this syndrome racially motivated? The simple answer is “Yes.”

The late former U.S. Rep. Parren Mitchell, D-Maryland, once said in defense of Black business leaders, “There is a national systematic campaign to unfairly subjugate and to prevent the financial success of Black American businesses.”

It appears that business leaders from communities of color in the United States are being held to a different standard of business practice, ethics, and regulation. Such is the case of Jack Brown III, who was recently targeted for business practice criticism by the New York Times because of what

they state are personal financial profits that Brown earned as result of his businesses providing shelters to New York City homeless.

The Times emphasized, “Since 2017, as homelessness has risen to record levels, the city has awarded more than $352 million to a nonprofit run by Mr. Brown to operate shelters. The money is meant to help homeless people regain their footing in life, but it has benefited Mr. Brown, too.”

Is the Times implying that there is something wrong or unethical for earning a financial profit from one’s work and business? Brown’s CORE Services companies (non-profits and forprofits) have worked effectively in New York for over a decade. Both must be run as successful businesses to be sustainable. Brown has been a national leader in multiple Black-owned businesses not only in NYC, but also in other cities. He has been effective in providing much need services to the homeless and to people “returning” back to society after prison incarceration.

Investigative journalism has its rightful and respected space

Black voter suppression comes in many forms

By Rasheen Aldridge

Last year we witnessed the record turnout of Black voters across the country.

In response, we are now seeing an unprecedented amount of voter suppression bills introduced in state legislatures. They range from voter identification bills, closing polling locations in majority Black areas, voter roll purges, and even not allowing water to be distributed to people waiting in long lines to vote.

Last summer in the Missouri Legislature we saw hearings called for the sole purpose of inflaming fears that our state’s elections are corrupt. In fact, our Secretary of State has said the 2020 election was by far “the safest.”

The targeted suppression of Black voters in the United States is nothing new. One of the original tactics in the voter suppression playbook is barring the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated from the right to vote.

In Missouri, former felons’ voting rights can be restored but only after completing probation and parole. This restriction on the right to vote is nothing short of taxation with representation and entirely antithetical to this nation’s founding protest.

Our current law keeps over 60,000 Missourians from participating in the democratic process. Missourians that work and pay their taxes want to contribute to their neighborhoods. We know one way to stop recidivism is by including those formerly incarcerated in our society and giving them ownership in their community. Instead, we tell these folks that their voice is unwanted by saying, ‘you can work, but you can’t vote.’ We tell them they cannot have a voice in what happens at their children’s schools or what happens in their state.

A lesser-known dilution of the Black vote is the practice of prison gerrymandering. Every 10 years, U.S. Census data is taken. That data is used to draw city, state, and congressional legislative districts. The current system in Missouri counts people who are incarcerated in the district where the prison lies, even though most prison sentences are less than 10 years.

Letters to the

editor

Use of Homer G. Phillips name is racially, culturally insensitive in the least

The original Homer G. Phillips Hospital is near and dear to the Black community and well respected. We love that hospital, proud of the name it bears, proud of the 42 years it served our community particularly during segregation, and were saddened when it closed in 1979. We are glad and proud that our historic building still stands and has been repurposed into a senior living facility.

Our original beloved Homer G. Phillips Hospital is the only one that should bear the Homer G. Phillips name. That’s our hospital, our proud history. Appropriating this name for something else that doesn’t hold that pride, uniqueness, and historical significance is not an honor. It is racially and culturally insensitive in the least and sullies the Homer G. Phillip’s name and original hospital.

Lawanda Wallace, Belleville

in our democracy. But it should always be balanced and nonracially prejudicial. The Times piece on Brown was full of unsubstantiated innuendo and one-sided reporting.

Those of us in America’s Black press are aware of the double standards and the racial stereotyping that cast unfair dispersion on Black entrepreneurs who dare to strive to own legitimate multi-million-dollar businesses.

After the Times feature on Brown was published, Rudy Giuliani, who is well known for his unprincipled attacks on African American leaders, joined in the chorus against Brown. I conclude with the following tweet that I posted: It is questionable to see Rudy Giuliani and The NY Times aligned. But today the Times published an innuendo-filled story targeting successful Black-owned business leader, Jack Brown.” Giuliani then calls Brown a “poverty pimp.”

Sadly, former President Trump, Giuliani, some in the Times, and many others take the position that there are limits and ceilings both politically and economically across the nation that are categorically prescribed by race.

We do not agree. We will not submit.

Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. is president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA).

Government is wrong on its treatment of Haitian refugees

On Tuesday September 28th, over 50 St. Louis based African- American leaders gathered for a press conference to express their collective disappointment in the treatment of Haitian refugees and asylum seekers. In addition to the Ecumenical Leadership Council, which hosted the press

Therefore, rural communities, where most prisons are located, receive inflated population numbers. Those respective elected representatives have no accountability to the thousands who cannot vote housed in their districts. Through our racist system of mass incarceration, this gives rural, mostly white districts outsized power in the decisions that affect our daily lives. This year I am renewing my commitment to “Unlock the Vote” by reintroducing legislation that gives those on probation and parole their fundamental right to vote. I am also refiling legislation that would end the practice of prison gerrymandering in our state. For far too long, stripping voting rights and gerrymandering have been tools used by those in power to silence the voices of marginalized, Black and brown, communities. With this legislation we can begin to shift Missouri from a state that encourages voting rather than suppresses it. You vote and your voice matters.

Rasheen Aldridge is state representative of the 78th District

All letters are

for length and style.

conference, members of other organizations expressing disappointment and demanding better treatment for the Haitians were the American Federation of Teachers, MOKAN, Universal African Peoples Association, Campaign for Human Dignity, Missouri Alliance for Retired Americans, Concerned Haitians and Friends, and the Coalition of Black Trade Unions. The leaders gathered at Williams Temple COGIC in North St. Louis. Speakers included Bishop Lawrence Wooten, Rev. Roderick Burton, Atty. Kenny Powell, Zaki Buruti, Jay Ozier, Byron Clemens, and Mr. Harold Compere.

Among the issues raised among the group was the possibility of bringing 10,000 Haitians to St. Louis to fill the labor needs for local projects. Eddie Hassan, president of MOKAN said, “if we can get 10,000 of our Haitian brothers and sisters to St. Louis, we can find them some work. With all of the construction going on, there is plenty of work for skilled and unskilled labor.” The president of the St. Louis Chapter of the Ecumenical Leadership Council, Bishop Lawrence M. Wooten, PhD., stated, “Why is the U. S. government treating refugees and asylum seekers from Haiti different than those fleeing from other countries? Why can’t St. Louis invite 10,000 refugees here? We have plenty of space and lots of work”. The gathering ended in a chorus among those present as they shouted, “Bring 10,000 Haitians to St. Louis!!!”

The Ecumenical Leadership Council

Guest Columnist Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr.

Guest Columnist Rasheen Aldridge

Ameren offering customers $270 million for utility bill assistance

St. Louis American staff

Winter is quickly approaching, and with it will come higher utility bills for many households.

Ameren Missouri is partnering with the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis Inc., Community Action Agency of St. Louis County Inc and other community organizations to connect customers with energy assistance and encourage them to apply for available funding.

“We know many Missourians are doing their best to manage the challenges COVID-19 continues to present, and we want our customers to know help is out there,” said Tara Oglesby, vice president of customer experience for Ameren Missouri.

“We are partnering with state and local agencies to get these funds to the families who need them, in addition to the grants and flexible payment options we continue to offer customers.” The Community Action Agency St. Louis County Inc., received $100,000, and the Urban League, Jefferson-Franklin Community Action Corporation, and East Missouri Action Agency Inc., have been granted $75,000.

Less than 20% of the $324 million Missouri received in rental and utility assistance through the State Assistance for Housing Relief (SAFHR) program has been distributed.

The Missouri Housing and Development Commission (MHDC) has awarded $51.2 million and approved more than 10,000 applications. Most of those funds have gone to rental assistance. More than $270 million remains available.

Ameren is making $1 million available in funding as part of a $3.5 million effort to help low-income customers impacted by the pandemic.

In addition, Ameren Missouri will announce an additional energy assistance program intended to help middle-income families who may not qualify for state and federal funding, according to Oglesby.

Eligible customers can apply for SAFHR funding at mohousingresources.com. If approved, payment typically takes place in two to four weeks, directly to your landlord and/or utility companies. For assistance with applying, call (888) 471-1029.

Visit AmerenMissouri.com/ EnergyAssistance to learn more about various support options.

Normandy Early Learning Center kindergartners (from left) Kevin Davis, Mauri Rich, Bialie Peebles, and Mar’Khi Billinsley were on hand to greet state Sen. Brian Thompson and other dignitaries during their visit on Friday, Oct. 1. Over 200 students are enrolled in the learning center and there is a waiting list for the future, according to Principal Dr. Crystal Hunter.

Let’s create ‘Black Futures Month’ in June

By Michelle Ferguson

Over two years of tumult and tears, America has finally started reckoning with its racial history. But if we are going to embrace the challenge of this current century, we need to go a step further and start talking about securing Black futures.

So here is a small proposal: Let’s move Black History Month to June and rename it Black Future Month.

This is not so wild-eyed an idea as you might think. Recently, I came across a campaign echoing this idea to move Black History Month to June. We can and should honor exceptional lives like Harriet Tubman, George Washington Carver, Ida B. Wells, Dr. Charles Drew, and Madam C.J. Walker. But we better be talking about how to make folks like that the norm, not the exception.

We have mountains of talent in our communities — yet these beautiful minds are still being met with roadblocks of historical inequities and employment pipeline blockages and leaks. So, while it is good to honor the sacrifices and triumphs of the past – I would set our North Star to the future.

Our future will be written in code. Our economy is already reliant on highly skilled, high-tech workers. Automation, AI, cloud computing, and other trends will only magnify the demand. Yet far too often, there are barriers preventing Black talent from making their mark. Start with schools. During the pandemic, most schools shifted to online or hybrid learning. This move challenged all students, but Black and Brown households — which disproportionately lack the devices and broadband internet needed — were hurt the worst. Lack of investment in education means too many Black students are a step behind their peers.

Then, there are barriers to securing employment. Too often, potential Black employees have the skills [and many times education] but lack the formal experience or exact certifications to showcase their full value. These certifications can cost thousands to acquire, putting them out of reach for many who lack disposable income.

As the Change.org campaign points out, Fortune 500 companies and startups alike are trying. They celebrate Black history, declare that Black Lives Matter, and have made Juneteenth an internal company holiday. They often acknowledge that they have challenges with acquiring a diverse workforce and have focused on training and recruiting the best Black talent.

But retention and leadership are still lacking. Too often, Black employees find themselves unwelcomed, unheard, or tokenized, instead of empowered, valued, and in charge. High-tech companies struggle to retain top Black talent, while Black entrepreneurs struggle to access the capital and networks needed to become truly successful long term.

The result is unsurprising, and all around us: from algorithmic discrimination to a wealth and income gap, we can see what happens when brilliant Black minds can’t find a way into the careers that dictate our daily lives and determine our vast approaching future.

At the end of the day, we need Black leaders in the C-suites and building the technology we interface with daily more than we need feel-good corporate social media posts with black squares.

Black History is essential and moving it to June is a great start. But putting Black economic futures at the heart of that June celebration is what will put our community — and the whole country — on a path to future prosperity, for generations to come.

Michelle Ferguson is the National Community Initiatives Director for Dream Corps TECH, a national program cultivating future leaders and entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds, creating a pipeline of diverse talent that will shift the culture of the tech sector.

Photo courtesy of Normandy Schools Collaborative ‘Hi’ school

Michelle Ferguson

And supporting those children, for Diggs, means supporting an entire community. As the pandemic began, she said, “It was very important to make sure that I considered all individuals. It didn’t matter if they were staff, students or parents or families and the community. So I wasn’t isolating any individual group, but it was taking care of everyone as best I could.”

Her leadership during this period has already earned her a 100 Most Inspiring Saint Louisans Award and the PNC Lift Up St. Louis award, as she guided the Urban League’s Head Start centers, which are funded to serve a total of 931 students, through total shutdown, into virtual learning, and back into fully-in-person operation while complying with CDC standards. Working to

make sure the 184 staff members at all the centers had what they needed was also critical, Diggs said: “All of our teachers now have laptops, even those

positions that are outside of the classroom.”

During the months in which all Head Start and Early Head Start centers were closed,

Diggs also facilitated the distribution of Hatch tablets — educational tablet devices to help young children with image recognition and reading com-

Gwendolyn Diggs chats with young kids during their lunch at the Urban League Head Start program on Mon., Oct. 4, 2021.

my administrative certification, because I love seeing kids learn At Jennings, “Dr. McCoy and his leadership was very eye opening for me. I just looked at him as a stellar educator and mentor,” she said.

“It’s that eagerness or that hunger to make sure that I’m pouring into kids everything that I can pour into them,” Diggs said. Lately, she’s been focusing that eagerness on STEAM education for her very young students: making sure that their introduction to ideas around creative scientific and artistic thinking doesn’t just start in elementary or middle school.

prehension — to all Head Start students.

Now, as all the Head Start centers are in fully in-person operation again, Diggs is confident that her team has the skills to go back to remote learning and support parents in doing so, should that become necessary. While the number of children enrolled at the centers is still a little bit lower than normal thanks to families’ anxieties about COVID, Diggs looks forward to drawing families back in by working with her staff to improve curriculum.

Diggs credits her success in part to mentors like Dr. Art McCoy, who she worked with while serving in administration at Jennings, and Michael McMillian of the Urban League.

She began her career as a classroom educator, and “saw a lightbulb go off”: teaching kids and watching their learning and confidence progress was what she loved to do. Then, the lightbulb went off again, and she realized that by moving into administration, she could spread that love for children at a wider scale.

“If I can help 20 kids in a classroom, I could have more kids if I was in a different position,” Diggs said. “So at that point I started pursuing

NGA

Continued from A1

tial intelligence professionals in the U.S.

The five-member panel was one of several sessions focused on the geospatial industry in the St. Louis metro area, especially the complex taking shape in north St. Louis, near the intersection of Jefferson and Cass avenues.

The facility, which is expected to be ready for workers in 2025, represents the largest federal investment project in the history of St. Louis, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers which is managing the project along with McCarthy HITT Joint Venture. The U.S. Air Force owns the 97-acre site.

Called The Next NGA West complex, the development will include about 712,000 square foot office space, along with parking garages, and a visitor center, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. And it will impact six historic nearby neighborhoods including St. Louis Place, Old North and Hyde Park.

“We will start there with the neighborhood planning process,” said Richardson, noting that parts of the area are home to many low-income residents.

“We will begin engaging the current residents and businesses that live in the area, as well as other institutions, including NGA, and we will be designing neighborhood plans around what the residents … want to see.”

The planning process will include public meetings and will address everything from infrastructure to affordable housing and employment opportunities.

“We also must make sure that we do not displace those individuals who have been committed to” the city, Richardson said. Commerce in the area around the new campus now is scarce. The current neighbors are largely schools and churches, with the occasional boarded-up home.

Chris Gebben’s great grandfather started U.S. Wiping Materials, which makes and

“I don’t want them to just wait until they are getting into kindergarten or third grade or eighth grade or middle school,” she said. “Having that exposure early is just to increase their motivation to want to learn more in that field.” To achieve that early exposure, Diggs has set up partnerships between the Urban League’s Head Start program and various local institutions such as Washington University, PNC Bank, and Maryville University. In her work at the Urban League so far, Diggs is most proud of the feedback she’s gotten from parents and community members. “Just hearing from someone else that something that I have done has made a difference for them. And that can be different every day, you know, just knowing that my efforts made a difference in their lives,” she said. Diggs is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and a regular volunteer at Urban League programs even outside of the Head Start sphere.

The 34th Annual Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship & Awards Virtual Gala will be celebrated online as a free virtual event on Friday, November 5, 2021, on stlamerican.com, the St. Louis American’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. For additional details on how to participate, please visit givebutter.com/2021EducationSalute.

distributes cleaning supplies, 106 years ago.

Gebben predicts that at some point new restaurants and hotels will pop up in the area.

“The people who work there are going to need a place to eat and the people coming from out of town will need a place to stay,” said Gebben, who doesn’t foresee a big impact on his business.

“I can’t imagine they won’t start building,” those amenities, he said. “That’ll make the neighborhood better.”

About 3,100 workers now at an NGA facility on 2nd street will move to the new campus, meaning most of the early jobs at the new site will come from attrition rather than a large creation of new jobs. The ethnic breakdown of the current NGA St. Louis workforce was not immediately available. Of the roughly 450 construction workers on-site now, about 18% are people of color, according to a presentation at the construction site. There also are at least four portions of the massive building project – including construction of two parking garages and a visitors center –have been set aside for small businesses.

The symposium comes weeks after the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency launched a second cohort for its St. Louis-based accelerator. The program, which attracts applicants from across the country, is designed to help the agency work more closely with the growing geospatial “ecosystem.” Each company selected to participate in the accelerator receives a $100,000 non-equity grant.

So far, the program has included one Missouri and one St. Louis-based startup, Officials did not have demographic information on the participants so far but Christine Woodard, ecosystem engagement lead with the NGA office in St. Louis said Wednesday that for the coming third cohort “we’re looking at options for increasing diversity.”

Karen Robinson-Jacobs is The St. Louis American / Type Investigations business reporter and a Report for America corps member.

Photo by Jennifer Sarti / St. Louis American

McKee

Continued from A1

will be the goals to get Homer G. Phillips’ name removed from that building.”

Business owner Walle Amusa said, “Closing the first Homer G. Phillips hospital was an appeal to racism and a callous disregard for Black people.”

“I must say that it is an absolute lie to talk about those who are close to the Homer G. Phillips Hospital, whose name is being attached to a three-bed clinic, as being people who don’t care about healthcare.”

Meeting attendees called for a public meeting with McKee.

“Step one is a professional request for a community meeting to hear from the owner and their partners,” Amusa said.

“Paul McKee has poisoned some people of the community and made them think that they don’t have to answer to anyone. What Paul McKee is doing reflects the lack of regard, respect and appreciation by the history of the struggles; that you can arbitrarily without any consultation snag a historical name.

“It’s not about if we want healthcare or not, it’s about people robbing us of our legacy.”

There was a proposal to name the clinic after the late Alderwoman Mary Ross. Ross was a member of the community and implemented significant city upgrades, including a project to reconstruct public sidewalks, alleys, tree planting, traffic lights and other infrastructure needs.

Murry Edwards, president and CEO of Contract Design and Development, LLC, said the time for talking McKee has passed and it is time to take legal action.

“I think we’ve met with him enough. I think we should find another course of action,” Edwards said.

“Their plan is to remove us, so we must fight back. The court of public opinion is what can win this battle. I know nurses who have fought these ongoing battles in court. We do not need Paul McKee at our table.” Edwards later agreed that

Steward

Continued from A1

Oprah Winfrey Network and other assets — making her one of the richest American entertainers, but $300 million short of the cutoff for this year’s Forbes 400.

According to Forbes, there are eight African-American billionaires in the U.S. Besides Steward, and Robert Smith

($6 billion) who are both on the Forbes 400 list, and Oprah Winfrey, other billionaires include: Kanye West ($1.8 billion), Rihanna ($1.7 billion), Michael Jordan ($1.6 billion), Jay-Z ($1.4 billion), and Tyler Perry ($1 billion).

World Wide Technology continues its tremendous growth

World Wide Technology (WWT) was recently listed No.

a community meeting with McKee and civil litigation should both happen.

Additionally, Mayor Tishaura O. Jones denounced Phillips’ name being used in the name for the new medical

2 on The St. Louis Business Journal’s list of the 150 Largest Privately Owned Businesses. According to the Business Journal, WWT “finished 2020 with revenue of $13.4 billion, a 12% increase from 2019.”

facility.

“Homer G. Phillips Hospital was a beacon for North City residents and for Black medical professionals across the country,” Jones said in a tweet.

“Using the Homer G. Phillips

Here’s a partial list of some of WWT’s other accolades in 2021”

• Named to TIME’s inaugural list of the TIME100 Most Influential Companies

name for a small facility over the objections of clergy, nurses, and the community is exploitative and wrong.”

In a Facebook post, Cassandra Butler called McKee, “a living example of

• Ranked #73 on Fortune’s list of 100 Best Companies to Work For

• Ranked #14 on Fortune’s list of Best Workplaces in Technology

Business owner Walle Amusa said the use of Homer G. Phillips’ honored legacy “reflects the lack of regard, respect and appreciation by the history of the struggles; that you can arbitrarily without any consultation snag a historical name.”

total ignorance to the Black community.”

“It’s like a master eating steak at his table, and serving his servants the leftover bone and expecting gratitude.

Based in St. Louis, WWT employs 7,000 employees and operates more than four million square feet of warehousing, distribution and integration space in more than 20 facilities throughout the world.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

We don’t need another report on bad policing

No matter how one tries to clean it up, spin it, suppress it or lie about it, the facts are irrefutable and compelling.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is corrupt, violent and racist. Further, it is incapable of self-correction.

Columnist Jamala Rogers

The description and the prognosis require acknowledgment first, then an appropriate response. More police to address any situation is an illogical and ineffective short-term solution. What do we know about the SLMPD? When I say “know”

I’m referring to empirical data because in the white world of public opinion, Black experiences with the police are not totally legit. We found that out in the late 1990s with Driving While Black complaints. We were told our Black imaginations were running wild. Once a law was passed to collect the hard data on police stops, it confirmed that it was the police who were running wild.

Here’s what we know:

-St. Louis has more police per capita than most cities of its size in the country. With a force of about 1,600, we have 38 cops per 10,000 citizens.

-St. Louis cops have persistently stopped more Black motorists than whites since data collection by the Missouri attorney general started in 2000.

-St. Louis City police are responsible for more killings per capita than any of the 100 largest police departments in the nation.

-SLMPD failed to share its police-involved shootings investigations with the Civilian Oversight Board, an independent investigative body of citizens that reviews complaints about the police.

-Black residents were subjected to brutal force four times more often than white residents.

breathe it and endure it. Have done so for decades.

It’s why informed St. Louis voters elected a trifecta of change—a mayor, a prosecutor and a comptroller. Over half of our city revenue goes to public safety with minimal benefit to the public. People are definitely not feeling the safety part. All three of these elected officials have authority over major parts of the solutions.

Taking needed steps to make our city safer

By Tishaura O. Jones

When I was a teenager, I went to an under-18 club called Animal House. We lived in Walnut Park, so either my mom or dad would drive me and friends just up the road to North County. It was the spot to go to for kids across our region.

Yet another scathing study was recently released by the Center for Police Equity, which looked at racial disparities over a 7-year period of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. For most Black people who witnessed, or have been victimized by this racially targeted and ruthless policing, there was not much in the way of surprises. We live it, see it,

The common demand by voters was to transform public safety by any means necessary, so that it encompasses a humane and just approach. This means less police and punishment and more services and programs to meet the needs of our citizens.

n St. Louis cops have persistently stopped more Black motorists than whites since data collection by the Missouri attorney general started in 2000.

Enough of reports about our lived reality, about the brutal nature of police and criminal justice systems upon our families and communities. We want a coordinated, holistic plan that first and foremost respects Black Lives.

Our hard-earned tax dollars must be re-imagined, disinvested, re-allocated or invested-depending on the issue—to carry out a transparent strategy that builds inclusive, secure and viable neighborhoods.

Racial disparities in police are an obvious problem. The solutions are equally as obvious, but they will take thoughtful leadership and engaged citizens holding one another accountable to make a decisive and powerful breakthrough. No more studies on the problem. Let’s start studying the impact of the solutions.

SAT, 10/9/2021 9:00 AM

The other event I loved was First Fridays, which went to different venues each month giving us “20-somethings” something to do and somewhere to go where we could hang out and have fun in a safe environment surrounded by our peers. Nowadays, those spaces are hard for our babies to find. When I ran for this office, I ran on a platform of reimagining public safety to address root causes of crime. Let me be clear - police are not the only answer to keep our neighborhoods safe. What helps make our neighborhoods safer is having events and destinations like the ones I grew up with, bringing communities together and giving our young people safe and fun places to go. What creates long-term safety is fostering good jobs and opportunities; someone is less likely to pick up a gun if they can pick up a paycheck with a living

wage. At our first public safety town hall last week, I outlined three principles for reshaping public safety for our city. First, we must use smart-on-crime strategies to prevent crime, protect physical safety, and allow police to focus on solving violent offenses. This means expanding our co-responder programs, like Cops and Clinicians, which has already handled 2,100 calls. We must build healthy communities, combating crime through economic investment in disinvested neighborhoods, workforce development, and more. And we are moving towards responsive governing that listens to the demands of the people and develops real solutions to meet community needs, like involving community members in the search for a new police chief. My son and I often fall asleep to a lullaby of gunshots, and he’s almost been a victim of gun violence himself. Crime

is an issue that touches us all; poverty, housing instability, and other root causes converge to create it. While Missouri’s lax gun laws limit our ability to take action with common sense gun safety measures at the local level, we are using every tool in our toolbox to try and help people stay safe. Already, we are using $11.5 million American Rescue Plan funds to help improve public safety through increased funding for violence intervention programs and youth programming, as well as millions of dollars for home repair, small business assistance, and an economic empowerment hub in North St. Louis.

Animal House may have closed its doors, but my administration will keep fighting to create

COMMUNITY MEETING MON, 10/11/2021 10:00 AM

Dedicated Senior Medical Ctr. 3649 Page Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63113

COMMUNITY MEETING MON, 10/13/2021 10:00 AM

Dedicated Senior Medical Ctr. 175 N. Oaks Plaza St. Louis, MO 63121

Tishaura

Guest Columnist Tishaura O. Jones

Ray Reed hopes to become first person of color to represent MO 2

He joins 2 other Democratic primary candidates

By Dana Rieck

The St. Louis American

Hoping to become the first person of color to represent Missouri’s second congressional district and the youngest person to serve in the 118th Congress, Raymond Reed Sept. 30 announced his candidacy for the U.S. House.

The 24-year-old Brentwood resident said his announcement to run in the Democratic primary comes after months of meetings with community leaders, clergy, and young people in the district. He will turn 25 in November, thus making him eligible for office.

“I have a great state representative, Rep. Jo Doll, so running for a state House seat wouldn’t be the best use of myself to the party in the state

of Missouri,” Reed said. “… I think to challenge Ann Wagner, we can’t run the same old candidates that we’ve been running. My opponents fit the same mold as the last two candidates in the cycle — in 2018 and 2020.”

Missouri District 2 will hold its next election Nov. 8, 2022, after the Aug. 2 primary. So far, three Democratic candidates have announced their intention to run — Reed, state Rep. Trish Gunby and Ben Samuels.

Whoever wins the August primary will run against Rep. Anne Wagner, who was first elected in 2012. In 2016 and 2018 she was re-elected by margins of 21 and four percentage points, respectively. Last year, Wagner beat out Democratic candidate Jill Schupp by just over six percentage points.

Have you, or someone you know, experienced loss of a job or home due to COVID-19, and are looking for quality child care?

Enroll your child ages 6 weeks to 5 years into the YWCA St. Louis Early Education Program. Go to www.ywcastl.org to begin the enrollment process today!

Missouri’s District 2 encompasses the area west of St. Louis and includes Chesterfield, Des Peres, Sunset Hills, Arnold, Eureka, Creve Coeur and a portion of Maryland Heights.

Reed said in order for a Democratic candidate to take the seat, he believes they need to be a young, energetic person who brings new energy to the election.

“Someone who represents this district in more ways than one and someone who can build a broader coalition of voters across divisions of race, region, religion, gender and income. So, I think I’m that candidate,”

Raymond Reed, 24, has announced he hopes to become the first person of color to represent Missouri’s second district.

he said.

Reed said he plans to exploit the Republican party’s divides saying he believes the party has two major factions now — the Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) side and the Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) side.

“And Ann Wagner has really kind of done a dance from both sides of those leading up to Jan. 6 and even post Jan. 6,” Reed said. “So, she’s just going to have to pick a side — is she going to be a Republican for West County voters, West County Republicans, that are more Bush [and] Romney Republicans, or is she going to go to the more rural Missouri side with the Trump base of voters.”

Reed said he is passion-

ate about lowering the cost of health care, college tuition while also forgiving student loans, supporting unions, expanding social security and addressing gun violence.

If elected, Reed said he would introduce a $15 minimum wage bill on day one of his term and his second bill would seek to federalize central bargaining for labor unions.

Reed has served on former Gov. Jeremiah Nixon’s policy team working on bill reviews and clemency application and on the Missouri Democratic Party as the party affairs coordinator and in organizing for state House and Senate candidates across Missouri.

If elected, Reed would become the youngest person to serve in the 118th Congress — but not the youngest ever.

More recently, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won her seat representing New York in the 2018 midterms shortly after her 29th birthday (making her the youngest woman ever elected to Congress and the youngest representative in the 116th Congress).

Then Rep. Madison Cawthorn, 25, in November was elected to represent North Carolina’s 11th District. He was the first person born in the 1990s to be elected to Congress.

“I’ve got, I think, enough experience, good experience, to run for this seat,” Reed said regarding his age and the decision to run now. “And I think it’d be more risky for us to run the same type of candidates that we’ve been running in what will be a more difficult district and expect a different outcome against Ann Wagner.”

William Charles Cole Claiborne of Tennessee became the youngest person ever to serve in the U.S. House in 1797 at the age of 22 when he was elected to complete former President Andrew Jackson’s term in the 5th Congress. Though he was younger than the constitutionally required age of 25, the House chose to seat him anyway.

“Taking Care of You”

By Tammy Boyd and Dr. Michael Knight

Congress may soon enact a historic expansion of Medicare benefits to include services like dental, vision, and hearing. For millions of seniors, access to these services will be life changing.

But a critical issue is missing from the conversation around Medicare expansion, with dire consequences for millions of Americans nation’s health. Congress must also prioritize care for obesity, a national epidemic, dire health equity issue, and leading comorbidity for serious cases of COVID19.

Not only does obesity impact 1-in-3 Americans, but it also takes a disproportionate toll on communities of color since almost half of Black Americans are living with obesity. Obesity is also a leading risk factor for COVID-19; 78% of people who were hospitalized, placed on a ventilator, or died from the pandemic were overweight or living with obesity. And we know that COVID-19 disproportionately impacts Black and Latino communities, who are nearly three times as likely to be hospitalized for severe cases of COVID-19 than whites.

In short, obesity is a life-or-death issue, but Medicare restrictions on obesity care perpetuate outdated, dangerous, and, frankly, discriminatory laws that disenfranchise millions of Americans and block access to safe and effective treatment options.

By JoAnn Weaver The St.

The Family Home Health Aide Program (FHHA) provides parents the opportunity to become trained, certified and hired caregivers for their loved one while operating under the supervision and guidance of a registered nurse case manager. The problem is that Missouri Medicaid does not cover the FHHA program, which currently prevents hundreds of Missouri kids from leaving overcrowded hospitals to receive care in their homes. Stephanie Currie is a Missouri mom of six kids. At the age of three, her youngest child Gabriella, or Gabby, is a special needs child who needs around-the-clock care. She requires full time care with almost

Many people don’t know that when Medicare Part D was first passed in 2003, the nation wrongly viewed obesity as a chosen lifestyle. In the intervening years, the medical community caught up with the science and in 2013, the American Medical Association took the historic step of designating obesity as a

Missouri starts processing Medicaid expansion applications

More than 17,000 people have applied

By Dana Rieck

The St. Louis American

The state of Missouri on Oct. 1 began processing Medicaid applications for those newly eligible, a major win not only for residents now covered but for activists and politicians who have worked to pass and implement the voter-approved expansion.

More than 17,000 Missourians have already applied for Medicaid coverage under the expansion, but applications submitted prior to Friday were presumed to be just sitting there after an Aug. 11 video meant for staff went public and revealed Kim Evans, director of the Family Support Division, saying that while people can start applying staff would not be allowed to finalize any applications until Oct. 1

n Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said she’s focused on addressing health disparities by creating tangible solutions, not just lip service.

because of computer system upgrades.

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator of the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), said the expansion is a game changer in terms of addressing health disparities. “So, for the Biden-Harris administra-

Photo courtesy of Currie family

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure

Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Tammy Boyd

Dr. Michael Knight

Home Care

Continued from A12 everything,” Currie said. “She cannot sit on her own; she’s G-2 dependent so she does not eat by mouth but through a feeding tube, and she is nonverbal.”

One of the biggest challenges Currie faces is not having enough time in the day. She takes care of Gabby full-time, so she doesn’t have time to work.

“We’re involved with her from the time she wakes up until the time she goes to bed, making sure she’s happy and has everything that she needs, gets to her weekly doctor’s appointments on time, and gets play time in,” Currie said. “With everything that Gabby requires, I have chosen not to work.”

“Because she requires a significant amount of physical therapy and doctor’s appointments, I didn’t feel like having a regular ‘9 to 5’ job would work for me.”

One of Gabby’s conditions is epilepsy, which requires Currie to be available to take her to get medical care. Currie’s husband is responsible for the family’s income, which sometimes requires him to work seven days per week.

“It’s hard to take care of a family of eight on one income,” Currie said. “With dad working seven days a week, more than 50 hours, it’s hard for the kids especially Gabby; she deserves to spend time with both of her parents.”

A group of parents and caregivers have filed a federal lawsuit against the Missouri Department of Social Services to compel the state to ensure coverage of in-home nursing care these children need. Currie is a part of this lawsuit.

“[The] majority of the families in the group have a hard time finding quality health care for their children along with reliable, dependable nurses to come into the home,” Currie said.

“Gabby is nonverbal so she can’t tell me if the nurses aren’t taking care of her properly.

Medicaid

Continued from A12 tion, getting health insurance coverage is critical and we view it as a human right and a civil right,” she said. “And I think the pandemic has shown us the price we pay, not just as individuals, but as a country, when people don’t have access to quality care.”

Brooks-LaSure became the first Black woman to head the federal agency when she was sworn in at the end of May. She said she feels privileged to fill the role.

“One of the things that’s been so remarkable about sitting in this chair is how meaningful it is to so many women across the country,” she said. “There’s not a week that goes by where there isn’t someone who really appreciates having someone who looks like me sitting in this chair. And I think that it is incredibly meaningful for this barrier to have been broken, and I feel very humbled to be a part of that.”

Obesity

Continued from A12

disease requiring treatment and medical attention.

Despite this decision, Medicare rules remain dangerously out of step. Today, obesity care is on a short list of excluded drug categories, including hair loss drugs, erectile dysfunction medication, and cold and flu treatments. These categories were meant

I worry about what goes on when I’m not around.” With the FHHA Program, parents are required to go through the state and Board of Nursing mandated schooling to become a certified nursing

Moving forward, BrooksLaSure said she’s focused on addressing health disparities by creating tangible solutions, not just lip service. CMS on Monday released information regarding the new incentives for states to expand coverage that were included in the American Rescue Plan. Because of those incentives, Missouri is eligible to receive an estimated $968 million in federal funding for their Medicaid over the next two years. The American Rescue Plan incentivizes states to expand coverage through Medicaid by offering a 5% increase in their regular federal matching rate for many medical services for two years. This is in addition to the 90% federal matching funds currently available through the Affordable Care Act for medical services for Medicaid expansion enrollees. With the addition of Missouri, 38 states and the District of Columbia have expanded health coverage through Medicaid.

to exclude cosmetic or traditionally over-the-counter treatments when Part D was passed, yet instead they deny people life-saving obesity care, with far-reaching health implications on Black and Latinx communities. Along with intensive behavioral therapy, studies show that anti-obesity medications lead to clinically meaningful weight loss of up to 15%. Without action from policymakers, patients will not have access

and economic

assistant. They can potentially get hired by an agency to provide physician-ordered, skilled personal care to their child.

All facets of employment will adhere to state regulations, board of nursing rules, labor

Missouri residents who qualify can visit mydss.mo.gov to apply for coverage. They can also call 855-373-9994 or download a paper application. If filling out a paper application, residents may mail it to 615 E. 13th St. Kansas City, MO 64106. Or fax it to 573-526-9400. For additional information and questions, residents can call the Cover Missouri hotline at 1-800466-3213.

“I would say that we’ve seen over the last year and a half what it means to have to have people not have full access to coverage,” Brooks-LaSure said. “And we will be better off as a country if people have access to care before they need it.”

laws, accreditation standards, and agency policies and procedures.

Team Select Home Care offers this type of training and development through the FHHA Program to help medi-

Missouri’s path to Medicaid expansion

n “I would say that we’ve seen over the last year and a half what it means to have to have people not have full access to coverage. And we will be better off as a country if people have access to care before they need it.”

— Chiquita BrooksLaSure, administrator of the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services

Prior to expansion, Missouri had one of the most restrictive Medicaid eligibility levels for parents and childless adults in the nation, according to the Missouri Budget Project. As it stood, the program provided coverage for low-wage parents earning no more than $388 per month for a family of three, the lowest level allowed under federal law and the third-lowest eligibility level in the nation.

In August 2020, 53.25% of Missouri residents who voted were in favor of a constitutional amendment in Missouri to implement Medicaid expansion. The new eligibility was slated

to these new therapies, since weight loss medications are rarely prescribed to eligible patients. As COVID-19 worsens, this lack of access to the full continuum of care for obesity puts our entire community at increased risk from the pandemic, especially communities of color. Congress must, and can, act to right this injustice. Obesity care must be part of the conversation around Medicare expansion, including in the ongoing negotiations around budget

reconciliation. The solution is simple, since legislation already exists to fix this problem: The Treat and Reduce Obesity Act, bipartisan legislation that would provide the full continuum of care and relief for the many seniors living with obesity, making their lives safer and healthier. As part of a new nationwide Obesity Care Now campaign, an effort by 25+ obesity care advocacy groups, including the Black Women’s Health Imperative, the YMCA, and

Since her birth three years ago, Gabby Currie has needed a significant amount of physical therapy and many visits to doctors. Her mother Stephanie, the Currie family and hundreds of other Missouri families would benefit if Medicaid covered medically fragile children.

doing.

“The problem is that Missouri does not want to ‘pay people to raise their kids’ although that is not the intention of this program,” Bill Sczepanski, vice president of government relations at Team Select Home Care, said. “This program educates parents in addition to giving children the medical attention they need.”

Sczepanski talked about the value of the Family Home Health Aide program.

“The way this program works is by sending either a licensed professional nurse or a registered nurse into homes to care for children with different acuity levels, ranging for a couple of hours a day to 24 hours,” Sczepanski said.

Although it is a global problem, nursing workforce data shows that in Missouri, shortages currently exist in certain areas of the state, according to the Department of Commerce and Insurance.

“This issue is particularly severe in Missouri, resulting in hospitals being so full that children are having to be sent out-of-state,” Sczepanski said. “Some children have been in hospitals for over five years, just waiting for proper nursing staff so they can come home.” Additionally, Sczepanski talked about how the nursing shortage impacts medically fragile children. Nurses in this line of work are often paid significantly less than other nurses.

“An agency can pay a nurse somewhere between $20-$24 per hour to provide care through this program,” Sczepanski said. “The problem is that it is an incredibly low wage for a nurse which makes it harder to recruit nurses when travel nurses in Missouri are being offered up to $200 per hour.”

cally fragile families and caregivers. This program takes the pressure of the already challenged nursing system, while allowing parents of medically fragile children to get paid for the work they are already

to take effect July 1. But the long road to implementation began in April, when House Republicans resisted the will of the voters by removing $1.9 billion allocated for the program’s July expansion when crafting the 2022 state budget.

The Senate then also voted against funding the program expansion.

Six days after the General Assembly presented Parson with the 2022 budget sans the expansion funding, the governor withdrew the state from its plan to expand Medicaid coverage altogether.

Protests across the state were held following the announcement. Shortly after, proponents took the matter to court.

Meanwhile, Parson warned that if the legislature did not reauthorize the medical provider tax, he could be forced to take a knife to the 2021-22 budget to fund the state’s Medicaid program.

The nursing shortage is forcing families to hospitalize children since there are not enough private duty nurses to care for them at home. With its successful track record, the FHHA program could potentially keep kids at home while receiving the medical care they need.

The legislature did not pass the reauthorization of that tax, as several GOP members wanted to include language in the bill that bans Medicaid coverage of certain birth control methods and blocks government funding of Planned Parenthood. Parson called the special session, and the tax bill was then passed without the amendments regarding birth control and abortion. Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem struck down the lawsuit filed by advocates seeking to expand Medicaid, but the Missouri Supreme Court in July issued a unanimous ruling reversing that decision.

The case was handed back to Beetem, who in mid-August ruled the Missouri Department of Social Services must allow newly eligible residents that qualify for benefits under voter-approved Medicaid expansion to enroll and cannot impose greater restrictions on them.

The Medicaid provider tax is collected from hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies and generates $1.6 billion annually. Missouri is then eligible to receive an additional $3 billion in federal funds.

others, we are leading the fight to modernize policies and actively working with Congress to provide obesity care, save lives, and pass TROA now. As lifelong advocates for healthy Black communities, this issue is personal. Over the past 18 months, we have seen friends, family, and community members impacted by obesity and the pandemic. Now, with the rising Delta variant, the threat is only getting worse. We cannot address

all the pandemic related issues affecting the Black community, but we can take action to provide obesity care now to those in need. Tammy Boyd is the chief policy officer and senior counsel for Black Women’s Health Imperative. Dr. Michael Knight is board certified in internal medicine and obesity medicine, and practices clinically at the GW Medical Faculty Associates in Washington, D.C.

Photo courtesy of Currie family

PRESENT:

PRESENT:

Nutrition Challenge:

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

Dining Out.

What Is ASize?Serving

GRAINS

Keep ‘em Whole!

The Smart Way!

Warm Up & Cool Down

Do This. Not That!

First Day of Spring!

Exercise Game

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.

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

Tech-Neck

for several different reasons.

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

When is the last time you tried a new food? Break into small groups and come up with a list of five fruits or vegetables that you have never tasted. Compare your list with those of the other groups. Now as a class, pick three of these that you would like to try.

Let’s make a game out of exercise!

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

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

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.

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

Cocoa Puffers Cereal

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.

Research to see which have some of the best nutritional content.

INGREDIENTS:

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

> 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.

Melissa Douglass, MSW

Weekly Newspaper in Education Program

Latoya Woods, DNP, APRN, FNP-C

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

Write a letter to a few local grocery stores

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.

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

could create another way to purchase these new foods.) If a store does donate to your class, be sure to take a picture of your class tasting the new food and send it to the store’s manager along with a thank-you letter. Adding variety to your diet helps you eat healthier. Give it a try!

Karen Sistrunk Cowan, MD, MPE

to see if one of them would be willing to donate the new, “adventure” foods for your class to try. (Or perhaps your class

Learning Standards:

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

Learning Standards:

> 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.

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

Learning Standards:

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

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

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.

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

Learning Standards:

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.

Exercise Challenge: Walk! Walking is one of the best forms of exercise and most of us can do it. While always keeping safety in mind, seek out opportunities to walk each day. Your goal should be to walk for at least 30 minutes, 5 days per week.

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.

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

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

Some fun outdoor games to play include tag, kickball, basketball, Frisbee, and bicycling. Choose activities that increase your heart rate

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

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:

As the weather starts to turn colder, flu season can hit area schools. To avoid passing/or getting someone else’s germs, remember to:

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,

and breathing. You want to have fun, but it’s also a great way to help keep your heart, lungs and body healthy. 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!

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:

HPE1, HPE 2, HPE 5, NH 1, NH 5

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!

Learning Standards: HPE

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.

3, NH 1, NH 7 Sneezing Season!

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

> Sneeze into a tissue and immediately throw it away.

> 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.

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.

> If caught without a tissue, sneeze into your elbow (while turning away from your friends). Do not sneeze into your hands!

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

Learning Standards:

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 the bully.

> 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.

> Wash your hands frequently throughout the day and avoid touching your face: eyes, nose, and mouth.

> How bullying hurts others.

> What to do if you are bullied.

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!

Cracker-wiches

Easy Hummus Dip

Ingredients:

Frozen Yogurt Blueberry Bites

Ingredients:

1 15-Oz Can Garbanzo beans

1 cup blueberries

> What other ice hazards are there?

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?

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

1 cup non-fat Greek Yogurt

1 Garlic clove, crushed

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

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 5, NH 4

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 5, HPE 7, NH 5, NH 7

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

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

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

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

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 a school nurse with St. Louis Public Schools.

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

Where do you work? I am a staff physician and consultant/liaison for the US Dept. of Veterans Affairs at the VA Hospital. Where did you go to school? I graduated from William Beaumont High School. I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from UMSL, a medical degree at UMC School of Medicine and residency training at Washington/Barnes Hospital. I continued with a post-doctoral fellowship leading to a master’s degree in psychiatric epidemiology.

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.

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 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 Licensed Clinical Social Worker do? 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

What does a VA staff physician do? I see veterans in crisis with depression, addiction and violent tendencies related to having PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) from combat. I also assess and treat veterans hospitalized for nonpsychiatric reasons, but who are experiencing psychiatric conditions. There has been an increase in suicide, depression and anxiety as a result of the Covid pandemic.

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 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 enjoy treating the whole person. As a physician in psychiatry, I understand that other medical problems must be assessed first. I also have to consider environmental contributors knowing that the brain controls all of the overall health.

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? It is quite rewarding to witness our nation’s heroes resume pursuit of their life endeavors. Each day affords the opportunity to enhance the lives of others! I deeply enjoy encouraging others to never give up on their dreams.

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

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

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.”

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

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

Learning Standards: HPE 6, NH 3

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

“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

Banana PB Smoothie

Deborah Edwards, School Nurse

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.

CLASSOOM SPOTLIGHT

Students in Ms. Rhonda Stovall’s (Ed.S.) class enjoy learning in the Science Enrichment Lab. Fifth grade Students Shann Hopson, Dylan Hamilton, Carl Brown and Fosiyo Abdi are exploring the properties, structures, and characteristics of matter.

Students use independent research to study animals and their habitats and then create one of their own based on their research.

Photo by Rhonda Stovall

Teachers,

Designing A Car!

SCIENCE CORNER

What Is Civil Engineering ?

SCIENCE STARS

Civil engineering includes the design and construction of buildings, roads, bridges and dams. It is one of the oldest forms of engineering and involves further specialty areas such as transportation, water resources, surveying and construction. Civil engineers may work in offices or at construction sites.

Civil engineers must be creative, analytical, inquisitive, and detail oriented. They must be able to work well as part of a team and communicate well in speaking and writing. Important classes include algebra,

Have you ever dreamed of designing a car? Do you wonder how these ideas become a reality? Car designers start with research. They study the current trends and interests. The car has to appeal to the buyers. Next, they sketch a design of the car (computers are often used for this stage). After the design is perfected, a prototype is built. A prototype is a sample, or model, of the car. The next stage is testing. Cars must undergo many tests to see how they will handle crashes, extreme temperatures, wind variations, and various road conditions. Once the car has passed the tests, then it will be built.

SCIENCE INVESTIGATION

geometry, physics, and chemistry.

A bachelor’s degree is required to begin a career in civil engineering. The middle 50 percent of civil engineers earn between $41,800 and $74,550.

To Learn More About Civil Engineering, Visit: www. youtube.com/watch?v=cJaRjI7K-Lw

In factories, a steel sheet is cut according to the size of the part and then is bent and cut in a stamping machine to make parts such as car doors, roofs, and hoods. Welders use electricity to melt these stamps at certain points to join them together to form the car. One car has approximately 30,000 parts counting every part down to the small screws. After the car is formed, it will be painted. Cars can be made customized to the customer’s order.

To create your own car online, visit: http://www.abcya.com/create_ and_build_car.htm.

Learning Standards: I can read nonfiction text to learn more about careers in math and science.

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

Your Own Quicksand!

SCIENCE INVESTIGATION

Design A Puff Mobile!

Have you ever wondered how quicksand works? In this experiment you will create quicksand.

Background Information:

Materials Needed:

In this open-ended experiment, you will design a car. Get ready for some critical thinking!

1 Box of Cornstarch • Water • Large Bowl • Spoon

• Gallon Size Zipper-lock Bag • Small Plastic Toy

Materials Needed:

• 3 Straws • 4 Lifesavers • 1 Piece of Paper

Process:

• 2 Paper Clips • 50 Centimeters of Tape Process:

q Pour 1/4 cup of the box of cornstarch into the bowl, add 1/2 cup of water and stir. It might be easier to mix with your hands. Continue adding cornstarch and water until it is the consistency of honey. This will use the entire box of cornstarch and 1 to 2 cups of water.

q Use the materials given to design a car. This car will be used for a race. Here’s the catch! You can only move the cars by blowing on them!

w Sink your hand into the bowl of quicksand and move your hand around slowly and then very quickly. What is the difference? Is it harder to move quickly?

e Sink your entire hand into the quicksand and try to pull it out. This is the sensation of sinking in quicksand.

Answer these questions about cars. z A local car show sold 12,000 tickets its first year and 14,000 tickets its second year. On the third year, it sold 50% more than first two years combined. How many tickets were sold in the third year? ______

MATH CONNECTION

One mathematical concept that civil engineers use is slope. Slope is the change in height divided by the change in length. Use that formula to answer the following problems.

Example Question: A civil engineer surveyed a 360 feet section of country road. He placed one stake at the top of the hill, 18 feet higher than the other stake placed at the intersection at the bottom of the hill. What is the slope of the incline on this section of the road? __________

Example Answer: Slope is the change in height (18 feet) divided by the change in length (360 feet), which is .05. Therefore, the slope is .05.

DID YOU KNOW?

DID YOU KNOW?

AFRICAN-AMERICAN CIVIL ENGINEER & EDUCATOR:

African-American Industrial Designer Earl Lucas

Delon Hampton

Lucas was

Delon Hampton was born in 1935 in Chicago, Illinois. He went to the University of Illinois where he received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. In 1958, Hampton earned his master’s degree in civil engineering from Purdue University. Three years later, he earned a doctorate degree in civil engineering at Purdue.

He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School of Performing and Visual Arts. At a high school career fair, he met representatives from The College for Creative Studies. Musicians Norah Jones and Erykah Badu attended this school.

In 1961, Brown began work as an assistant professor at Kansas State University, taking a leave to complete soil mechanics research with the University of New Mexico. In 1967, he became a senior research engineer at the Illinois Institute of Technology Research in Chicago, Illinois. The next year, Hampton became a professor at Howard University as a professor of civil engineering. He stayed there until 1985.

Lucas went to the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan, to study 3D jewelry design. He later switched to Industrial Design because of his interest in transportation. While in college, he worked with friends to help design a van to transport elderly citizens. After college, Lucas worked designing car seats, panels for doors, and headliners for an auto supply company. In Texas, he was given the amazing opportunity to design extravagant planes with gold, platinum, and jewels for the Sultan of Brunei.

Hampton worked as part of an engineering consulting firm in Washington, D.C., before he founded Hampton and Associates in 1973. In 1999, he became the first African American president of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He has also served as a member of the U.S. Trade Advisory Committee on Africa.

In 1999, Lucas was hired to design cars for Ford. He designs the exterior of the car. Of his 10-20 designs, he will narrow it down to one that works. He was part of the design team that developed the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO, 2003 Lincoln Navigator and Expedition. His favorite part about the job? Lucas replies, “You get paid for sketching!” According to Black Enterprise magazine, Lucas is one of 25 to 30 AfricanAmerican car designers in the world.

r Drop a plastic toy into the quicksand and then try to pull it back out. What happens? t At the end of the experiment, pour the quicksand into the zipper-lock bag for disposal. Do not put it down a drain. It will clog the drain.

Analyze: What did you notice about the most effective designs? What surprised you? What would you do differently next time?

Learning Standards: I can complete an experiment and create a model. I can analyze results.

Reflect: The cornstarch and water mixture acts like a solid sometimes and a liquid at other times. This “quicksand” is an example of a suspension — a mixture of two substances, one of which is finely divided and dispersed in the other. In the case of the cornstarch quicksand, it’s a solid dispersed in a liquid. When you sink your hand into the cornstarch quicksand, you force the long starch molecules closer together. The impact of this force traps the water between the starch chains to form a semirigid structure. When the pressure is released, the cornstarch flows again.

x An 800 car parking lot is divided into three sections. There are 270 spots in section 1, and there are 150 more in section 2 than section 3. How many cars are in section 3?

Learning Standards: I can follow directions to complete a procedure and analyze the results.

c Angela’s parents buy a used car for $3,500. They agree to sell it to her if she can pay it off in 16 months. How much will Angela need to pay per month?

w You’re celebrating the first snow of the season by sledding down your favorite hill. The hill is 18 feet tall and 7 feet wide, what is the slope of the hill?

v Andrew rented a car. The charge was $49/day plus $.10/ mile driven. If he had the car for two days and drove a total of 180 miles, how much did he spend?

you know engineers designed the shoes you’re wearing now? Engineers designed running

in

q Tony Hawk is building a new skate board ramp in his backyard. Beginning at the origin, the base of the ramp is 10 ft. long and it is 15 ft. high. What would be the slope of his ramp? __________________

b Ben’s car gets 28 miles per gallon. If he has to drive 350 miles, how many gallons of gas will he use? If gas costs $2.49/gallon, how much will he spend for the gas?

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

Learning Standards: I can use a formula to calculate slope.

whole foot so that we can walk, run and play comfortably.

All roller coasters are designed by engineers. The world’s largest steel roller coaster — The Millennium Force — reaches a height of 310 feet, which is longer than a football field, and a speed of 92 miles per hour, which is faster than a cheetah.

“Whether I’m designing cars for the average person or planes for the world’s richest man, it’s those lessons I learned at College for Creative Studies that helped me become the designer I am today,” said Lucas. “I was used to working in an atmosphere where pressure and competition were the norm. Because I was not treated as a star student, I yearned for better design solutions and attention. This forced me to work harder.”

Hampton has received many awards and distinctions, including Old Master and Distinguished Engineering Alumnus by Purdue University. He also received the University of Illinois Civil Engineering Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. He has earned the Edmund Friedman Professional Recognition Award and the James Laurie Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers. In 2010, the American Public Transportation Association recognized him as an outstanding public transportation business member. Hampton has received two honorary doctorate degrees, has published over forty papers, and is registered as a professional engineer in eighteen states.

Discuss:

To read more about Earl Lucas and his designs, visit: http://www.ebony.com/life/the-brother-who-revivedthe-ford-taurus-earl-lucas#axzz3m32AUwm2.

Dr. Hampton served as a professor, researcher, and a partner before becoming the CEO of his own company. Think of your dream profession. What is the path to get there? Are there alternate paths? What might they be?

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

MAP CORNER

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

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

MAP CORNER

Use the newspaper to complete these activities:

Activity One — Margin of Victory: Use the sports section of the newspaper to compare numbers. Locate the final scores of two different games. Use pictures, objects, or symbols to calculate the distances covered.

Activity One — Science and Technology: There are various social, economic, and environmental issues that can be overcome by the use of science and technology. Use the newspaper to locate an example of a problem that can be overcome by the use of science and/or technology. Explain the solution and how society created the need and development of science.

Activity Two — Newspaper Road Map: With a friend, choose a news story to be your make believe road map. Both of you cut the story from two separate newspapers. Your starting point will be the first word. Your partner directions (ex: 2 words east, 4 lines south, 1 word west, etc.), while they also navigate the route. When they say “stop,” compare your maps. Choose another article so you can give your partner directions.

Activity Two — Shortages and Surpluses: Students will work in groups to find newspaper stories about shortages and surpluses of natural resources. After discussion, students will write down their thoughts about how such shortages and surpluses occur and how they affect the community.

Learning Standards: I can use the newspaper to locate information. I can compare numbers. I can follow directions.

I can state a claim and support it with evidence. I can use the newspaper to locate information.

Earl

born in Dallas, Texas, 1970. As a kid, Lucas loved to draw.

‘Deaconess dollars’ a welcome investment in community

The Deaconess Foundation’s support of Justine PETERSEN has helped the non-profit’s initiative to increase wealth and assets through participation in asset-building services. This includes supporting first-time homebuyers like Jerry Johnson. “I am so happy that I do not pay rent anymore. It feels great to come home every night.”

Foundation seeks proposals

By JoAnn Weaver

The St. Louis American

The Deaconess Foundation is accepting proposals for up to $600,000 in community investment funding through its mission-related investments initiative.

The initiative provides low-interest loans to social impact organizations with capital management and a strong commitment to advancing the health and well-being of children and families in the St. Louis region.

Kiesha Davis, director of partnerships and capacity building at Deaconess Foundation, said, “We have an opportunity within our portfolio to support mission-related investments through low-interest loans to social impact organizations that have a strong commitment to the health and well-being of children and families in our region.”

Mission-related investments are part of the Foundation’s commitment to spending up to two percent of the market value of the Foundation’s endowment, or up to $1 million, on community investments.

“I would say this work is very crucial, especially since we are navigating an economic downturn created by the global pandemic,” Davis said. “We know that there are many social impact organizations working on behalf of families and the community that could use additional

capital.”

The Foundation has supported many mission-related investments over the years, including Justine PETERSEN’s initiative to provide 200 low- and moderate-income families with children the opportunity to increase their wealth and assets through participation in asset-building services.

“The Deaconess dollars have directly resourced familial financial asset building, which is not just building financial assets for an individual but for the family in addition to inter-generational asset building, which is thinking about how asset building can transfer from one generation to the next,” said Galen Gondolfi, Justine PETERSEN senior loan counselor and chief communications officer.

According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s website, a community development financial institution (CDFI) is a mission-driven financial institution that has been certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s CDFI Fund.

“In our first partnership with a philanthropic organization as it relates to social impact investing, so in fact, the investment with Deaconess is monumental in many ways, not only for Justine

PETERSEN but for community development financial institutions in St. Louis,” Gondolfi said. CDFIs include credit unions, banks, loan funds, and venture capital funds that operate with a primary mission of serving low-income communities.

“The Deaconess Foundation’s investment in Justine PETERSEN is considered the first social impact investment by a philanthropic foundation with a CDFI in St. Louis,” Gondolfi said. “From a national perspective, CDFIs get a lot of attention on the east coast and there has been a robust history in philanthropic organizations supporting CFDIs on the east coast. This is somewhat of an anomaly, although this has happened in Chicago. Here in St. Louis, Deaconess has made a historic investment,” Gondolfi said.

The organization serves as a port of entry to mainstream finance, equipping and empowering individuals and families with the necessary knowledge, tools and products necessary to build intergenerational assets and wealth.

The Deaconess Foundation gave its first loan to Justine PETERSEN in August 2004, making the partnership just over 17 years old

“Over the past almost two decades, Justine PETERSEN has partnered with the Deaconess Foundation, as it relates to social impact investing and deploying that capital under resource manage-

See DEACONESS, B4

Beyond Housing, Ameren partner to improve 400 North County homes

By Sophie Hurwitz

The

St. Louis American

Taylor has been

the house

with her 11 and three-year-old sons from the Beyond Housing program for two years. Her house, which sits in the Overland/St. Ann area, was built in the 1940s, and is one of the older homes involved in Beyond Housing’s subsidized-rental program for low-income families. Over the past year, Beyond Housing has partnered with Ameren Missouri to offer no-cost energy efficiency audits, updates, and refurbishment in Beyond Housing homes such as Taylor’s. Those upgrades, depending on individual renters’ needs, range from new thermostats and lightbulb replacements, to improved insulation, to new furnaces and air conditioning units. In total, this energy efficiency upgrade program has served 400 families -- almost all in North County -- and completed about $1.1 million worth of work towards the goal of using less energy and lowering families’ electric bills. See HOUSING, B2

PeoPle on the Move

Mayor Tishaura O. Jones announced the appointment of Yusef Scoggin as director of the Department of Human Services (DHS) for the City of St. Louis. Scoggin will join the administration from the St. Louis County Department of Human Services, where he has worked since 2017. Scoggin’s work focuses on the development of human capital through sustainable holistic systems and partnerships.

Moore to speak at global conference

Sandra Moore will be presenting at the Milken Institute Global Conference on Oct. 17. Milken is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that helps people build meaningful lives. They do work in areas ranging from philanthropy to economic studies, and other regional work as well. The Global Conference Moore will be presenting at convenes the best minds in the world to tackle its most urgent challenges and to help realize its most exciting opportunities. Moore is the managing director and chief impact officer of Advantage Capital, an investment adviser providing equity and debt financing to established and emerging companies located in communities that are underserved by conventional sources of capital. Scoggin to lead human services department

Nate K. Johnson has been named Missouri REALTORS® 2021 REALTOR® of the Year. This prestigious award is given to a member who exemplifies “REALTOR® Spirit.” Serving as a licensed realtor since 1999 and owner of Real Estate Solutions, Johnson continues to be involved in the

receives design achievement award

Brian H. Hurd

Brian H. Hurd, director of community planning and implementation for Rise Community Development, Inc., in St. Louis, is a recipient of the 2021 Design Achievement Award presented by the Iowa State University College of Design. The award recognizes outstanding creative and professional achievements of alumni in all the college’s disciplines. Hurd serves on several St. Louis area boards and commissions, including Alpha Terrace Development Corporation, East Side Aligned, STL VentureWorks, Inc. and U.S. Green Building Council Missouri Gateway Chapter.

Yusef Scoggin

Sandra Moore

Photo courtesy of Justine PETERSON

Nate K. Johnson

Hurd

Chris Krehmeyer, president of Beyond Housing, called its partnership with Ameren to help make many North County homes more energy efficient and reduce utility bills “a godsend.” Upgrades range from new thermostats and lightbulb replacements, to improved insulation, to new furnaces and air conditioning units.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Kiesha Davis

Harris-Stowe, Lincoln use Fed funds to clear COVID-related student debt

By Rebecca Rivas Missouri Independent

Harris-Stowe State University junior De’Ketra Tatum remembers listening to a lecture in February 2020 about what could happen if the coronavirus hit the United States.

A month later, she got an email saying that all students had to leave the campus.

“It was terrifying,” she said. “It took a lot for me to stay calm and be able to make sure that I’m able to balance my emotions about the pandemic, while still trying to be a scholar first.”

She went home to Memphis, Tennessee, where her father works hard to help put her and her siblings through college. She’s the first of the eight siblings to move out of state to study.

This summer, Tatum was among about 300 students at Harris-Stowe — an historically Black university near downtown St. Louis — who got a call saying that the student debt she incurred during the pandemic months will be canceled.

“It just really helped out my family a lot,” she said, “that way my dad doesn’t have to worry about coming out of pocket so much to assist me.”

Missouri’s two HBCUs — Harris-Stowe and Lincoln University — are among those across the country that came together and decided to use federal relief funding to cancel out student debt. Leaders found that balances were keeping students from re-enrolling in the fall semester, and they didn’t want the pandemic to further impact their students’ lives.

“Paying for college has long been a point of concern for far too many of our

Deaconess

Continued from B1

ment, our relationship started actually when Nathan Joseph was leading the Foundation, which goes back a number of years,” Gondolfi said.

The Foundation built a relationship with the organization with the common

Housing

Continued from B1

The program was implemented by environmental consulting company Resource Innovations For Taylor, this program has been a blessing, as her electricity bills have gone down dramatically. Ameren’s contractors replaced her thermostat with a “smart thermostat” system she can operate and optimize from her phone, and replaced all lightbulbs in her home with energy-efficient ones.

“My favorite thing they did would be the lightbulbs, the energy-efficient light bulbs,” Taylor said. “I honestly don’t think I’ve changed a lightbulb

students, but even more so as we deal with the economic issues the pandemic has caused,” said John Moseley, interim president of Lincoln University.

At the onset of the pandemic, HBCU leaders leaned on each other more than they ever have before to get advice on COVID guidelines and safety, said LaTonia Collins Smith, interim president for Harris-Stowe. They shared protocols and ideas on holding classes, COVID testing, school athletics and many other things, she said.

Out of that camaraderie came the idea of loanforgiveness.

“It also put us in a place where you feel as though I’m not alone,” she said. “I’m not the only institution who has this problem or is trying to figure out a solution for this particular issue.”

This summer, Collins Smith noticed that their fall enrollment was low because some students had incurred an “unsurmountable burden” during the pandemic, she said. The past year had been particularly hard on minority communities, and tacking on more student debt was not in the cards for many families.

“We thought about: how could we best help our students to persist?” she said.

It was an issue that other HBCUs across the country were facing as well, and leaders came together to talk about using federal relief funding to help debt cancellation initiatives. Through the three stimulus packages, Congress directed at least $5 billion to the institutions, according to the U.S. Department of Education At Wilberforce University, an HBCU in Ohio, leaders

understanding of how Justine PETERSEN assists the community. Financial health is one of the social determinants of health the United Health Foundation looked at in its 2021 racial disparities report. Economic factors such as child poverty and food insecurity were among the top issues for Missouri.

yet.” And her combined electricity and air conditioning bills have remained below $200 per month, each month since the upgrades.

“A lot of people in the program, in Beyond Housing, have brand-new houses. I have an older house, because of the area I decided to stay in,” Taylor said. “So for them to come and upgrade everything...I loved it.” Chris Krehmeyer, president of Beyond Housing, said that he was proud of the things they have been able to accomplish in homes like Taylor’s. The majority of the people living in these houses, he said, are single moms, living on modest incomes and trying to make ends meet. That meant that the program included some special considerations: like $100 gift-

announced at a commencement ceremony in May that it was clearing the debts of all the graduates of 2020 and 2021.

Harris-Stowe will eliminate about $330,000 in student debt resulting from the 2020-2021 academic year. On average, it’s about $1,076 per student. Lincoln University, located in Jefferson City, forgave $1.5 million in student balances for more than 900 students.

“Our founders used the funds they had to provide the opportunity of education back in 1866,” Moseley said. “We are doing the same for our students in 2021, thanks to the CARES Act.”

Black graduates have an average of $52,000 in student loan debt, about $25,000 more on average than the debt of their white counterparts, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

The pandemic is now providing a way to give HBCU students — who are often firstgeneration college students from low-income families — a chance to enter their next chapter of life without the enormous burden of debt, Collins Smith said. And it definitely provided incentive for students to re-enroll this fall, she said. At Harris-Stowe, the students didn’t have to apply for the aid. The only thing they had to do was say “yes.”

Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent. com.

“I think the Deaconess always had a comprehensive understanding of how Justine PETERSEN impacts the financial health of St. Louis families and that’s somewhat of a new connection that is linking public health to financial wellness,” Gondolfi said. The Foundation will accept proposals through Friday, Oct. 15.

card incentives to help parents and children get out of the house for a few hours while the upgrades are taking place.

“For the families, it means the world, because it’s going to cut their bill down dramatically,” Krehmeyer said. And when you’re on thin margins, and you don’t have much room for error...having the utility bills go down, it’s a godsend.”

Marty Lyons, president of Ameren Missouri, said that these improvements can save families 20% on energy bills throughout the year. “We had a great opportunity during COVID--when it wasn’t always easy--to help residents with energy audits, energy-efficiency devices, and many other ways to help them become more energy efficient,” he said. The houses, ultimately, are “meant to be a stepping stone” into financial stability for families, Krehmeyer said. So, keeping them running and keeping them efficient is more important than ever during COVID19, a time in which Beyond Housing’s homes have had about a 97% tenant retention rate, according to Krehmeyer. And they’ve been providing rental assistance, so that “not one of our tenants is any further behind on rent today than they were in March 2020.”

“We have a reputation for our stick-to-it-iveness. We weather the storms and continue to be here for families,” Krehmeyer said. Individuals who wish to apply for rental assistance, employment or education help, or other services through Beyond Housing can do so at beyondhousing.org or 1-314533-0600.

Sports

OCTOBER 7 – 13, 2021

InSIdE SportS

By Earl Austin Jr.

MICDS Rams on top of Metro League with 6-0 record

Next up is Lutheran South

Winning football games and competing for championships has been a way of life at MICDS for decades.

This season is no different, as the Rams have raced to a 6-0 record a year after reaching the Class 4 state championship game. MICDS put itself in the driver’s seat for the Metro League championship with back-to-back victories over rivals John Burroughs and Lutheran North.

The Oct. 1 victory at Lutheran North saw the Rams break open a close game and win 56-37. Senior quarterback Reagan Andrew, a four-year starter, has passed for 1,201 yards and 14 touchdowns while rushing for 530 yards and nine more scores.

Talented junior running back Steve Hall has rushed for 627 yards and eight touchdowns, while fellow junior Winston Moore has 321 yards rushing, 369 yards receiving and eight touchdowns. Senior wide receiver PJ Behan has 28 receptions for 562 yards and nine touchdowns.

MICDS will host Lutheran South in a Metro League game at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Top Performers from Week 6

• Senior Jared Rhodes of Ladue rushed for 223 yards on 24 carries and three touchdowns in a victory over Seckman.

• Running back John Clay of Brentwood rushed for 195 yards on 12 carries and five touchdowns in a victory over Principia.

• Quarterback Hasaan Cody of Jennings rushed for 187 yards on 12 carries and four touchdowns in a victory over Normandy.

• Receiver Kameron Gillespie of McCluer had three receptions for 138 yards and three touchdowns in a victory over Gateway STEM.

• Receiver ClayShaun Davis of Hazelwood Central had three receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns in a victory over Hazelwood West.

• Quarterback Booker Simmons of Francis

Howell completed 10 of 19 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Wentzville Holt.

On Tap This Weekend

CBC (5-1) at Chaminade (3-3), 6 p.m. Friday

Rockhurst at DeSmet (5-1), 6 p.m. Friday Marquette (5-1) at Kirkwood (4-1), 7 p.m. Friday Troy (5-1) at Holt (6-0), 7 p.m. Friday Oakville (3-3) at Mehlville (2-4), 7 p.m.

Friday Cardinal Ritter (3-3) at St. Mary’s (4-1), 1 p.m. Saturday Jennings (4-2) at McCluer (5-1), 1 p.m.

Saturday

Eliza Maupin Commits to Kansas State Webster Groves girls’ basketball standout

Eliza Maupin has given a commitment to Kansas State University this week. The 6’2” senior forward, a top prospect in the state of Missouri, is ranked No. 21 in the Class of 2022 by the recruiting website Prep Girls Hoops Missouri.

As a junior, Maupin averaged 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks while shooting 53 percent from the field. The Stateswomen gained a berth in the Class 6 state championship game. Maupin had 11 points and 12 rebounds in Webster’s upset victory over Springfield Kickapoo in the Class 6 state semifinals.

A multi-sport athlete, Maupin also excels in volleyball and track and field. She is a two-time state champion in the high jump and the school’s record holder in the long jump. Fall leagues conclude

A pair of the area’s top fall basketball leagues

SportS EyE

With Alvin A. Reid

Black NASCAR driver

Bubba Wallace has always shown promise on the demanding circuit. On Monday, Oct. 4 he fulfilled that promise by winning the first race of his career. The victory came in the rain shortened YellaWood 500 Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, and Wallace sent a message out to youths around America and the world.

“This is for all those kids out there that want to have an opportunity in whatever they want to achieve, be the best at what they do,” he said.

will conclude Oct. 8-10 with playoff competition at Cardinal Ritter College Prep. The Rameybasketball Fall League playoffs will begin on Saturday with first round games in the morning and quarterfinal games in the evening. The semifinals are at noon and 1 p.m. Sunday with the championship game at 4 p.m. The Sweet Hoops Girls Fall League will be holding their playoffs at 11 a.m. and noon Sunday and the championship game follows at 3 p.m. The league will hold its All-Star Game at 2 p.m. Saturday. All the games are at Lift for Life Academy.

Featured players in the All-Star game include sophomore standouts JaNyla Bush of Whitfield and Chantrel Clayton of Cardinal Ritter and seniors Zaire Harrell of MICDS and Taylor Brown of Lift for Life.

Bubba Wallace brings home historic first NASCAR victory

Michael Jordan co-owns the 23XI Racing team with driver Denny Hamlin. After establishing the team, they immediately tabbed Wallace as its lead driver.

“I’m so happy for Bubba and our entire 23XI Racing team,” Jordan wrote on Twitter.

Alvin A. Reid

“You’re going to go through a lot of (things). But you always got to stick true to your path and not let the nonsense get to you, stay strong, stay humble, stay hungry.

“Been plenty of times where I wanted to give up. You surround yourself with the right people, it’s moments like this that you appreciate.”

NBA Hall of Famer and Charlotte Bobcats owner

“This is a huge milestone and a historic win for us. From the day we signed him, I knew Bubba had the talent to win and Denny and I could not be more proud of him. Let’s go!” Wallace said he appreciated Jordan and Hamlin giving him the opportunity and “just so proud of everybody at 23XI.”

“I know a lot of history was made today I believe, which is really cool. But it’s about my guys, about our team, what we’ve done.” Wallace called it “pretty damn cool” to become the first Black racer to triumph on the circuit since Scott achieved the feat 58 years ago.

“Yeah, I never think about those things. When you say it like that, it obviously brings a

driver to win a NASCAR top circuit race sine Wendell Scott in 1963.

lot of emotion, a lot of joy to my family, fans, friends,” he said.

Talladega also holds more than racing history for Wallace. In June 2020, a NASCAR official found a noose in the garage that Wallace was supposed to use at the track.

The incident occurred shortly after NASCAR banned the Confederate flag at its events, which Wallace strongly encouraged. The FBI investigated and later determined it was not a hate crime because the noose had been there for months.

HBCU Lawsuit moves forward

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Young recently denied the NCAA’s motion to dismiss a class-action lawsuit filed by HBCU students Troyce Manassa and Austin Dasent that alleges the NCAA’s Academic Performance Program is racially discriminatory. The program was created to help improve academic performance among student-athletes and the NCAA rewards schools with high scores.

The plaintiffs argue that the APP ignores the fact that HBCUs enroll low-income, at-risk students who are disadvantaged academically because of historic discrimination.

This “perpetuates a system that punishes Black student-athletes at HBCUs,” according to the lawsuit.

The Reid Roundup

St. Louis native Howard Richards has been inducted into the University of Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. Richards was a second-team offensive lineman All-American in

1980 and was the 26th overall selection in the 1981 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. He played six seasons with Dallas and was a part of two NFC East titles. A business owner, Richards also serves as an analyst on Mizzou Radio Network football broadcasts… Jordan-Samuels Thomas, an African American, has been named to the 2021-22 NHL and the American Hockey League officiating roster. He was hired part-time as an AHL referee in March and received an NHL contract for this season. While Samuels-Thomas, 31, won’t start the season in the NHL, he is now on a path that could lead to him being a full-time NHL official…Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will likely play for another team in 2022, and he is not bashful about his respect for Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. The two had a playful exchange during last week’s game, and Rodgers later tweeted, “It’s a lot of respect. I’ve had some friends play over there and the stories are very consistent with the kind of

coach that he is. I like his demeanor.”

dayto-day

Earl Austin Jr.

Bubba Wallace made history at Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 4 by winning the YeallaWood 500 and becoming the first Black

MICDS running back Winston Moore (2) picks up yards out of the back field during Friday night’s game at Lutheran North Oct. 1. The Rams went on to defeat the Crusaders 56-37.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Photo courtesy of AP

Living It

60 tempting years Pain meets laughter

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Senior Correspondent

The 60th anniversary celebration of The Temptations, the legendary, Grammy Awardwinning group known as the “No. 1 R&B Artists of All Time” (Billboard) is underway.

The group released a brand-new single in late September, “Is it Gonna Be Yes or No,” a duet between the group and the equally legendary Smokey Robinson, the man who delivered their first hits.

The song, also written and produced by Smokey, is a preview of the upcoming “TEMPTATIONS 60 album.”

Robinson brought in stellar studio musicians to play on the ballad, including his longtime associate Dave Garfield on keyboards, bassist Freddie Washington and drummer Steve Ferrone.

“It’s wonderful to be back together. When The Tempts first met Smoke we were teenagers, young Black men in Detroit who had no clue that our partnership at Motown would produce ‘My Girl,’ one of the greatest hits of all time,” says Williams.

“And our success together didn’t stop there. We had chart hit after chart hit and, soon after, our music was heard around the world. Now, 60 years later, as I turn 80, Smoke and I have come full circle. I never imagined we would have the opportunity to get back in the studio and do it all again.”

Robinson adds, “When Otis called me and said, ‘Hey man, we’re doing a new album

and we’d like you to do a song, that got me excited about working together again. That was it, that’s all it took. I proceeded to write a new song for them, and I was very happy to, because it’s been a long time. When I showed up at the studio, Otis said, ‘Man, I want you to sing on this one with us.’ So, I said, ‘Oh, okay, I’m very excited about the song, let’s do it! You, know, it’s just great

n “It’s wonderful to be back together. When The Tempts first met Smoke we were teenagers, young black men in Detroit who had no clue that our partnership at Motown would produce ‘My Girl,’ one of the greatest hits of all time.”

- Otis Williams

working with them, always.”

The year-long campaign includes the new album in 2022, a 50-city tour through the end of this year, with more global dates to be announced, remastering of their music videos, including “Standing on the Top” with Rick James and their No. 1 hit “Stay.”

There’s also a new content series; the Imperial

Theatre re-opening on October 16th of the Broadway musical, “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations, based on Otis Williams’s personal journey that was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and won the Tony Award for Best Choreography at the 73rd Tony Awards ceremony in June 2019 and whose original cast album was Grammy-nominated; and celebratory events along the way including Otis Williams’ 80th birthday on Oct. 30.

Williams’ critically acclaimed autobiography, “Temptations,” was recently released as an audiobook for the first time, with a new introduction by Williams.

Temptations History

The Temptations are today one of the most iconic, bestselling brands in the entertainment world. With Otis Williams, the founding and sole surviving member of the original group, their track record of history-making music is breathtaking, their presence across multi-media platforms has never been more vivid, and their popularity is ever-increasing. Most recently, adding to their dozens of sampled tracks, their hit “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone,” was used as the foundation of the Migos smash, “Avalanche.”

The Temptations rank No. 1 in Billboard magazine’s most recent list of Greatest R&B/

Set in a not-so-distant future world looking forward between three to ten years, playwright Steph Del Rosso’s work, The Gradient imagines a world where men accused of sexual misconduct can be transformed into responsible law abiding citizens. It raises the question: can we mass-produce forgiveness?

The Gradient asks, can we mass-produce forgiveness?

By Danielle Brown The St. Louis American

Four years ago, the internet was flooded with sexual assault allegations against film producer Harvey Weinsten. Notable actresses accused him of engaging in inappropriate behavior in return for help in launching their careers. This resulted in Weinsten admitting he has “caused a lot of pain.” It also opened the doors for other sexual assault and misconduct accusations against other powerful men in Hollywood. With women telling their stories and holding abusers accountable, it sparked what we now know as the Me Too Movement.

Playwright Steph Del Rosso’s inspiration for her play “The Gradient” comes from the news and responses that circulated at that time. She felt inundated by public apologies from famous men and saw the trend of PR statements to save face.

But in her eyes the statements weren’t sufficient, she felt there was more to be addressed. Bothered by all that was happening, she decided to write a play.

Del Rosso’s work, “The Gradient” imagines a world where men accused of sexual misconduct can be transformed into responsible, law-abiding

See Gradient, C8

Murphy Lee’s “2nd Time Around” reflects on his 20-year career

By Danielle Brown

The St. Louis American

“Who say St. Louis ain’t hip hop?’ Derrty, we hop to what’s hip.”

The reaction and momentum from that line Murphy Lee spit on Jermaine Dupri’s “Welcome to Atlanta (Coast 2 Coast remix)” had fans going crazy, especially in his hometown. It made St. Louisans loud and proud. Other places including Atlanta, New York, and West Coast cities had their own emcees they championed. When it comes to Murphy Lee and the St. Lunatic members, they are unapologetic representatives of their beloved city.

Nearly 20 years after that unwavering love and support still lingers around the first hip-hop artists to put St. Louis on the map and bring

worldwide attention to the local music scene. Murphy Lee, who’s proven himself to be a fan favorite, has continued to promote and release new music since launching his solo career in 2003. From his introduction to stardom to the present, he’s seen a lot and learned a lot. All that he’s experienced has molded and shaped him into a better man and artist today. With this newest project “2nd Time Around,” he considers this point in his career as a rebirth because when he got his taste of the music business he was young and focused on following every direction his former label Universal

Records presented him. Now, he’s an independent artist and has much more freedom to do what he wants creatively.

“ I was doing what I was supposed to do or whatever the music industry wanted me to do,” Murphy Lee said. “My second time around it’s more in a boss manner, teacher manner, entrepreneurial manner where I’m controlling things more.”

Similar to the first album he dropped independently, “You See Me,” where his oldest son Righteous intros the beginning, he does the same thing with “2nd Time Around.” This round, he enlisted his youngest son, Divine.

With this newest project “2nd Time Around,” he considers this point in his career as rebirth because when he got his taste of the music business he was young and focused on following every direction his former label Universal Records presented him. Now, he’s an independent artist and has much more freedom to do what he wants creatively.

Photo courtesy of Videll TheDesigner

“What up world! My name is Baby Divine, my daddy is Murphy Lee,” Divine says on the track. “Thank you for buying my daddy’s album cause I’m about to get me some new toys. On my mama, UCME.”

The second track, which is also the title track for the album, features the soulful melodies of The Hamiltones. He reflects on all he went through when he signed his contract which includes the line, “Don’t sign nothing unless that check right. And don’t spend ya money till ya bag tight.”

“I think a lot of times we forget that we’re the talent,” Murphy Lee said. “We wanna get signed or somebody to validate us so badly that we would do anything to get it. You have the power so make sure you’re watching what you’re signing and it benefits your life.”

His wife Seviin Li, has been one of the main people in his corner from the beginning. They

See Murphy, C8

Photo courtesy of The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

See Temptations, C8

The Temptations last surviving original member Otis Williams (left) is celebrating the group’s 60th anniversary and a national tour with current members Ron Tyson, Terry Weeks, Willie Green, and Mario Corbino.

Photo courtesy of The Temptations

The Saint Louis Art Museum opened its new exhibition Art Along the Rivers: A Bicentennial Celebration to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Missouri’s statehood. The exhibition explores the confluence region and features more than 150 objects produced or collected near the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio rivers in Missouri and Illinois. With art objects covering more than 1,000 years, this exhibition acknowledges the inequities and conflicts in the confluence region that empower some artistic voices and silence others, including the deep scars of legalized slavery. Art Along the Rivers amplifies these many complex stories offered by the remarkable works of art it presents. The objects have very personal stories, 14 of which are featured in recorded commentary by area residents on the Art Along the Rivers audio guide. St. Louisans Lois Conley and Abdul-Kaba Abdullah lend their voices and insights into two of the works.

Conley introduces us to Robert J. Wilkinson through an 1860 daguerreotype photograph. Take a journey with

Conley to learn about the state of Black life in the antebellum St. Louis through Wilkinson, who owned and operated a thriving barbershop in a popular downtown hotel. Because of discriminatory public accommodation laws that prevailed, he could work there and even own a business there but he could not rent a room and spend the night there. Conley is the founder and executive director of the Griot Museum of Black History. For more than 25 years, Conley has directed the museum’s daily operations, curatorial activities, and community partnerships.

Abdul-Kaba Abdullah takes us to a giant, threestory outdoor mural entitled Race Wall created in 1968 by volunteers from St. Louis civil rights groups. In a photograph

taken of the mural, two men sit among painted portraits of Black leaders on the “Wall of Respect.” The photograph taken in 1971 documents one of St. Louis’ most important community-based art projects that were part of a national urban mural movement celebrating African American achievement. Abdullah is executive director of Park Central Development, a community development corporation that builds urban, vibrant, equitable neighborhoods for all people to live, work, and play. Preview the Art Along the Rivers audio guide from the comfort of your home to learn about the extraordinary works of art. You can hear the two presentations shared above and other recordings by visiting slam.org/audio.

Pianos for People provides free access to the transformative power of music for those who need it most – children and families with limited resources, and the organizations that serve them.

St. Louis American staff

Elton John and Stevie Wonder are far from finished with their acclaimed music careers, and their new “Finish Line” is proof.

Billboard calls the upcoming release “Gospel magic.” Backed by The Sunday Service Choir, a group that often sings with Kanye West during church services, “John and Wonder both deliver a soulful performance on the track, which speaks of overcoming times of darkness with the help of a friend,” wrote Billboard’s Starr Bowenbank.

“I couldn’t be more proud of ‘Finish Line.’ I’d go as far to say it’s one of the best records I’ve ever made. Stevie’s voice is as good as I can remember

hearing him. He sounds like a 17-yearold again -- he’s singing with a sheer joy and exuberance in his vocals,”

John said in a press release.

“It was a magical process. I’ve always loved collaborating with Stevie, and I’m delighted that after 50 years of friendship we finally get to do a full-blown duet. He has always been so kind and sweet to me, and his talent is beyond ridiculous. When you listen to what he does vocally and instrumentally on ‘Finish Line,’ you think, ‘This is a true genius here.’”

Wonder said he was overjoyed to work with John again in studio after their years of friendship and shared artistry.

“It is both a joy and honor to sing, play piano and harmonica for Elton!

Spiritually Speaking… If

Can we have a frank discussion about freedom? The freedom I’m talking about is the freedom afforded to anyone who finds his or her way to Jesus the Christ. There is something quite liberating when you know or come to realize that you’ve been “set free’” as they say.

Have you ever thought about what that really means? The word, release,

comes to mind, at least for me. Some claim relief. However you want to characterize it, the revelation of Christ as Lord and Savior removes the burdens and the barriers, we, as human beings, place upon ourselves. That’s why I think when people finally come to Christ, they are overcome by a new perspective on life, a truly enlightened one.

Religion

He has truly been one of the great spirits of music, life, friendship and love, who I’ve met on this journey,” he said in a release.

“True artistry and music like love equals a forever commitment lasting many lifetimes. Elton, anyone who hears your voice singing ‘Finish Line’ will hear and feel your wisdom, your pain, your soul, your love, but also your resilience ... I love it! Congratulations to you and our forever and never, never-ending friendship, life-song! Long live Sir Elton John!”

In a real sense addiction are cured, feelings are healed, guilt is removed, and insecurities are conquered, just to name few things when Christ enters the picture. One of the biggest things that takes place when Christ enters your life is that you are now able to overcome your fears. And if we’re honest with each other, we all have fears. I know I do or did. It can be the fear of being alone, or, of being ostracized, criticized, humiliated, or of not being accepted or rejected, or it’s the fear of dying. The knowledge of Christ in all these situations will cancel out the fear of them. That’s what people mean when they refer to being set free. It’s the freedom to know that you know that

Stevie Wonder says he is honored to work with friend Elton John again, and John shared that Wonder “sounds like a 17-year-old again on their duet “Finish Line.” John made this photo of the two available through his Facebook page.

Blue skies for ‘Clouds’

The Mighty Clouds of Joy recently released “Take Me To The Water,” remastered anthology peaked at #1 on the Christian iTunes Charts and #3 All Categories iTunes Charts. The album’s eight tracks were digitally enhanced from original recordings.

“All efforts have been made to maintain the original quality of the music,” said Ivan Cavric Sonorous Records label manager.

“We are very excited about having

you know that you are who God made and not who the world tries to make you. That’s how I’ve come to understand joy. In the context of the spiritual awareness of being blood bought and saved, I have been set free from fear, anger, greed, selfishness, pride, and personal self-doubt. Hopefully and prayerfully, these things have been replaced with integrity, honesty, faith and hope, truth, and the promise of everlasting life and yes, love above all else. One of the hardest things to understand in this life and then do is to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

Without Christ in your life, I believe that concept of self-love is often dis-

the album achieve such a favorable reception.”

The Mighty Clouds of Joy was formed in 1959 in Los Angeles and two years later had several national hits. The group’s use of bass, drums and keyboards with standard guitar created a unique split between Rhythm and Blues and Gospel.

The group’s last recorded release was in 2012 but remains popular with its fan base. It is among the groups that have a display in the Apollo Theater.

Ghana’s great Gospel

Internationally acclaimed artist KobbySalm received an artist-high ten 2021 Urban Gospel Music Awards nominations in his native Ghana. Nominated songs include “Jejeli”, “Obiara Nse Wo” and “Gye Yen So”, from his debut album “In The Midst Of Comfort’ KobbySalm is also nominated in the Album of the Year, Music Video, Afro Pop Song, Songwriter, Collaboration, Record of the Year, Overall Artist. Event Act, Rap Artist and Most Popular Song categories.

torted and, in some cases, perverted. Love with humility is an awesome thing. When love is set free within you, life does take on a whole new meaning. You no longer live in a pretense. Rather, you and I exist in the light of the truth. That truth again is we are who God made us to be and not what the world tries to make us. I can be who God destined me to be. You can too. You can then show the world you, and not what you think the world needs to see. I am who God made. If that’s good enough for God, then it’s surely good enough for you. If not, bless you. I am free and it’s wonderful. Freedom is my gift from God, paid for by Jesus Christ. What you see is what you get, and I’m thrilled about that. Hopefully, you are too. May God bless and keep you always.

Columnist James Washington

SENIOR INCENTIVES MANAGER

St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) has opening for a Senior Incentives Manager. To apply online and see a full job description go to: http://www.stlouis-mo.gov/ sldc/ and click on “Careers at SLDC.”

SLDC is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity.

CONTRACT COMPLIANCE ADMINISTRATOR

St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) has opening for a Contract Compliance Administrator.

To apply online and see a full job description go to: http://www.stlouis-mo.gov/ sldc/ and click on “Careers at SLDC.” SLDC is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity.

FOSTER CARE CASE MANAGER

Provide

COMPLIANCE ASSISTANT

St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) has opening for a Compliance Assistant.

To apply online and see a full job description go to: http://www.stlouis-mo.gov/ sldc/ and click on “Careers at SLDC.”

SLDC is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity.

DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC WORKFORCE & COMPLIANCE

St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) has opening for a Director of Strategic Workforce & Compliance. To apply online and see a full job description go to: http://www.stlouis-mo.gov/ sldc/ and click on “Careers at SLDC.”

SLDC is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

O’FALLON FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT

The O’Fallon Fire Protection District is currently seeking qualified applicants to establish a hiring pool for the position of Firefighter/EMT-P. Application packets may be picked up at the O’Fallon Fire Protection District Administration Office located at 111 Laura K Drive, O’Fallon, MO 63366 beginning September 27, 2021 through October 1, 2021 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. CST, and must be returned to the Administration Office beginning October 4, 2021 through October 8, 2021 between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. CST. Packets may also be accessed from our website: ofallonfire.org by clicking on the link located on the first page; the hiring packet may be downloaded and printed. Your completed packet may be returned in person or returned via US Mail or other carrier. The O’Fallon Fire Protection District is not responsible for any correspondence or mail that is lost or misdirected, or received after October 8, 2021, 2:00p.m. CST.

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

FLEET MECHANIC/ BLDG. MAINTENANCE CUSTODIAN

The City of Jennings is accepting applications for the Full-Time position of Fleet Mechanic/Bldg. Maintenance Custodian in the Public Works Department. Duties include: performs semi-skilled, skilled tasks in the custodian care and maintenance of City buildings, vehicles and assist with mechanical equipment of the City. High School diploma or GED equivalent, plus a minimum of three years of related experience in Mechanics and/or Building Maintenance are required. Rate of pay starts at $17.34 per hour. Visit the City of Jennings’ website at www.cityofjennings.org for more details about the position.

OUTREACH COORDINATOR

Great Rivers Greenway is seeking an Outreach Coordinator to join our team! Go to www.greatriversgreenway.org/ jobs-bids and submit.

TARLTON CORPORATION

We value integrity, enthusiasm and a can-do attitude. We’re

Project

https://jobs.ourcareerpages.com/job/618064?source=

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Experienced Administrative Assistant sought by Criminal Justice Ministry. Will assist with administration, data entry and maintain records. More information at www.cjmstlouis.org. Submit resume to apply@cjmstlouis.org

SEPTEMBER

30, 2021

ST. LOUIS COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT JOB VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT-OPEN COMPETITIVE

Position: Assistant Director of Human Resources

Status: Full-Time

Manager: Ed Long, Director of Human Resources

Duties: This position is responsible for performing work of considerable difficulty in assisting with directing the 21st Circuit Court’s Department of Human Resources. Work is performed under the administrative direction of the Director of Human Resources. Work involves assisting with administering the entire human resources function including recruitment and selection, classification, payroll processing, employee relations, legal compliance (e.g., EEO, ADA, etc.), management consultation, and training and organizational development. Work is reviewed through supervisory conferences, reports, and periodic briefings, achievement of stated goals and broad objectives, and adherence to legal mandates.

Minimum Qualifications: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred) in Human Resources, Social Work, Clinical Psychology, or a related social/behavioral science is required. Plus at least six years of professional experience, of which at least two years should be at the management level; or any equivalent combination of training and experience.

Salary: Range 114 $50,856 - $83,636 This position is non-merit and County funded; will receive 10% addition to pay.

To Apply: Candidates wishing to apply should visit the following address and complete an online application and submit a resume and cover letter by October 14, 2021: http://agency.governmentjobs.com/stlouis/default.cfm

EOE. Please contact the Human Resources Department at (314) 615-4471 (voice) or (314) 615-5889 (TTY) if you need any accommodations in the application process, or if you would like this posting in an alternative format.

St. LouiS american Bids & Public Notices

CITY OF ST. LOUIS

Affordable Housing Commission

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) – Tiny Homes Request for Proposals

In response to the public health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the City of St. Louis Affordable Housing Commission (AHC) is accepting proposals for activities that will assist in the reduction of City residents facing homelessness.

Beginning 12 Noon, Friday, October 1, 2021, with funding from State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) made available by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the Affordable Housing Commission (AHC) will make available applications for Tiny Homes Proposals.

The RFP and related documents can be found on the Affordable Housing Commission (AHC) website at http://www.stlouis-mo.gov/affordable-housing/ tinyhomes

The AHC Tiny Homes proposal deadline is Monday, October 25, 2021, 4:00 p.m., CST.

Questions concerning the RFP process may be directed to the Affordable Housing Commission at ahcslfrf@stlouis-mo.gov

AHC is an equal opportunity agency. Minority participation is encouraged.

LETTING 8736

TRANSPORTATION SERVICES (MICROTRANSIT PILOT)

FOR NEAR NORTH AND DOWNTOWN ST. LOUIS NEIGHBORHOODS ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

SEALED PROPOSALS will be received by the Board of Public Service in Room 301 City Hall, 1200 Market Street, St. Louis, Mo. Until 1:45 PM, CT, on October 19, 2021, then publicly opened and read. Project requirements may be examined on the Board of Public Service website http://www.stl-bps.org/planroom (BPS On Line Plan Room) and may be purchased directly through the BPS website from INDOX Services at cost plus shipping. No refunds will be made.

Bidders shall comply with all applicable City, State, and Federal laws.

All bidders must regard Federal Executive Order 11246, “Notice of Requirement for Affirmative Action to Ensure Equal Employment Opportunity”, the “Equal Opportunity Clause” and the “Standard Federal Equal Employment Specifications” set forth within and referenced at www.stl-bps.org (Announcements.)

SOLICITATION FOR PROPOSALS

CITY OF ST. LOUIS

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES

The City of St. Louis Department of Human Services and The Affordable Housing Commission are soliciting proposals for the FY2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), for multiple categories of projects.

Beginning September 30, 2021, RFP packets will be available via pick-up at: Department of Human Services

Homeless Services Division 1520 Market, Room 4065, St. Louis, MO 63103 Or at: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/ procurement/

Informational Bidder’s Conference Webinar will be held via Zoom on October 11, 2021, 3-4:30pm. Email Amy Bickford at BickfordA@stlouis-mo.gov to obtain Zoom Webinar link, by October 8, 2021.

Questions may be referred by email only and must be submitted on or before October 15, 2021, to Amy Bickford, Chief Program Manager, at BickfordA@ stlouis-mo.gov

The RFPs closing date is 4:00 p.m., October 22, 2021.

WE PRINT EVERY THURSDAY ST. LOUIS COUNTY, ST. LOUIS CITY, ST. CHARLES, & PORTIONS OF ILLINOIS Email, ANGELITA HOUSTON AT ahouston@stlamerican.com

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Replacement Light Poles for Multi Modial

Will be received by City of St. Louis Treasurer UNTIL 3:00PM 10/26/2021 For specific project information, go to https://www.stltreasurer.org/ Request for Proposals/

WELLSTON STATION STABILIZATION

Vanstar Construction is accepting subcontractor proposals to rehab Wellston Station at 6111 Dr Martin Luther King Dr. Primary scope: demo/abatement/masonry/carpentry/ siding/roof/carpentry

Contact Erin ehugeback@vanstarconstruction.com / 314-770-2400 for more info. This project has MBE/WBE business, workforce, Section 3 goals.

RETIREMENT PLAN FIDUCIARY, EMPLOYEE EDUCATION AND INVESTMENT ADVISORY SERVICES FOR A 457(B) DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN RFP 2021

The Saint Louis Zoo seeks bids from qualified firms to submit proposals for Retirement Plan Fiduciary, Employee Education and Investment Advisory Services for a 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan RFP 2021. Bid documents are available as of 9/29/2021 on the Saint Louis Zoo website: stlzoo.org/vendor

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The City of Crestwood is accepting proposals for a Park Master Plan. Submittal deadline is 3:00 PM, October 22, 2021. Bid specifications can be obtained from the city website www.cityofcrestwood.org/ bids.aspx. Bids should be submitted to the Crestwood Community Center, 9245 Whitecliff Park Lane, Crestwood, MO 63126.

CITY OF ST. LOUIS

BOARD OF PUBLIC SERVICE

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS for PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR TESTING AND INSPECTION OF MATERIALS FOR PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI. Statements of Qualifications due by 5:00 PM CT, OCTOBER 22, 2021 at Board of Public Service, 1200 Market, Room 301 City Hall, St. Louis, MO 63103. RFQ may be obtained from BPS website www.stl-bps.org, under On Line Plan Room-Plan Room, or call Board of Public Service at 314-589-6214.

25% & 5% MBE/WBE participation goal.

SEALED BIDS

Bids for Upgrade E l e c t r i c a l , Badger & Coyote L o o p M a r k Tw a i n S t a t e Park, Project No. X2105-01 will be received

b y F M D C , State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, Thursday, N o v e m b e r 4, 2021. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http:// oa.mo.gov/ facilities

WAITING LIST

WOODLAND TOWERS APARTMENTS

306 PINE LAKE ROAD

COLLINSVILLE, IL 62234

Seniors 62 and older Apply now for an affordable 1-bedroom unit. Stop by the office or Call: (618) 345-7240 for an application Applications may be returned in person, by mail or by e-mail. Monday-Friday 8-5 Managed by Related Management Company

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for the 2021 ITS Program-North, St. Louis County Project No. AR-1771, will be received electronically thru the County’s Vendor Self Service portal at https://stlouisco. munisselfservice.com/Vendors/ default.aspx, until 2:00 p.m. on November 3, 2021

Plans and specifications will be available on October 4, 2021 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

CHARITABLE ESTATE PLANNING CONSULTING

RFP 2021

The Saint Louis Zoo seeks bids from qualified firms to submit proposals for Charitable Estate Planning Consulting RFP 2021. Bid documents are available as of 9/29/2021 on the Saint Louis Zoo website: stlzoo.org/vendor

SOLICITING BID

Reinhardt Construction, LLC is Soliciting Bids MBE/WBE/DBE/ Veteran/SDVE for the following: University of Missouri Locust Street Building- Modify Space for A&S Relocation CP21921 Bids October 19

Contact: Mike Murray, mikem@reinhardtconstructionllc. com Phone: 573-682-5505

SOLICITING BID

PJ Hoerr, Inc is Soliciting Bids MBE/WBE/DBE/Veteran/SDVE for the following: UMTH Update Elevators. CP192031. Bids October 12

Contact: Mike Murray, mikem@pjhoerr.com Phone: 573-682-5505

ORTHWEIN ANIMAL NUTRITION CENTER HVAC REPLACEMENT RFP 2021

SEALED BIDS

Renovation, M i s s o u r i School for the Blind Project No. E2005-01 will be received b y F M D C , State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, October 28, 2021. For specific project i n f o r m a t i o n and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

The Saint Louis Zoo seeks bids from qualified firms to submit proposals for Orthwein Animal Nutrition Center HVAC Replacement RFP 2021. Bid documents are available as of 10/6/2021 on the Saint Louis Zoo website: stlzoo.org/vendor

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

SOLICITATION FOR PROPOSALS

CITY OF ST. LOUIS

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES

The City of St. Louis Department of Human Services is soliciting Proposals for the FY2021Continuum of Care (CoC) – Annual NOFO Competition for the Renewal of Existing Projects and New Projects. There are a variety of permanent housing project types available under this RFP. Beginning September 15, 2021, RFP packets will be available via pick-up at:

Department of Human Services

Homeless Services Division 1520 Market, Room 4065

St. Louis, MO 63103

Or at the following website: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/procurement/

A Bidder’s Conference regarding this RFP will be held on Friday, September 17, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. via Zoom link. Contact Donette Coleman via email ColemanDo@ stlouis-mo.gov to request the Zoom Link for the meeting. If you are unable to attend the September 17th Bidder’s Conference, the meeting will be recorded and access to the meeting will be posted on the City website following the meeting.

Questions may be referred by email only and must be submitted on or before Oct. 6, 2021, to Amy Bickford, Chief Program Manager, at bickforda@stlouis-mo.gov All responses to the RFP shall be addressed and returned in sealed envelopes or containers to the above address. The RFP closing date is 5:00 p.m. Friday, October 8, 2021.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Paric Corporation is seeking proposals for the following project: MU Teaching Hospital Elevator Upgrades – 7 elevators on 7 floors for The University of Missouri.

The scope of work includes but is not limited to demo, doors, smoke curtain doors, drywall, finishes, Fire Protection, Plumbing, HVAC and Electrical.

This project has a diversity participation goal of 10% MBE and 10% combined WBE, DBE, Veteran Owned Business and 3% SDVE.

Bids for this project are due on October 11, at 3:00 p.m. For any questions or would like to find out more detailed information on this opportunity, please contact John Davis at 314-704-6075 or jcdavis@paric.com

All bids should be delivered to Paric via e-mail (bids@paric.com) or fax (636-561-9501).

PARIC CORPORATION IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

INVITATION TO BID:

E.M. Harris Construction Company (EMH) seeks subcontractor bids for Meadowglen Apartments located at 12465 Scenic Lake Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138. Scope of work involves renovation of 208 apartment units in 37 buildings, including, but not limited to, roofing, gutters/downspouts, siding/ trim, carpentry, parking restriping, trees removal, sitework, signage, mechanical, plumbing, lighting, flooring, cabinetry/countertops, painting, and misc. repairs. A pre-bid site walk through will be held October 13, 2021 from 1 PM to 3 PM (meet at leasing office). Minority and Women Business Enterprises are strongly encouraged to bid. All workers must be OSHA 10 certified. EMH is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Project plans & specifications are available for viewing online through an invitation to bid and at:

• MOKAN Plan Room, 4666 Natural Bridge, St. Louis, MO 63115

• EMH Plan Room, 2600 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63103

All bids due to EMH office by 5 pm, Friday, October 22, 2021. Project contact: Vic Hoffmeister vic@emharris.com or fax 314-436–6691.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

S. M. Wilson & Co. is requesting bids for Washington University – School of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology and Department of Otolaryngology. Bids must be submitted by Monday, October 11th, 2021 at 12:00 noon.

Bid Documents are available at BuildingConnected.com https://app.buildingconnected.com/public/ 5913928fce945d0a00d28943

You can view the project by setting up a free account on the BuildingConnected Website.

S. M. Wilson & Co. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. S. M. Wilson strives to make our industry a more inclusive community and to sustain this model for future generations. Bidders agree to take all reasonable steps necessary to ensure Minority, Women and Disadvantage Business Enterprises have an opportunity to participate in the performance of this project.

St. LouiS american Bids & Public Notices

CITY OF ST. LOUIS ST. LOUIS LAMBERT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

Service: Government Relations Services

Pre-Proposal Meeting Date: October 7, 2021 Meeting will be held via teleconference. See RFP for details.

M/WBE Goals & Incentives: MBE goals: 25% WBE goal: 5%.

A 15% M/WBE incentive credit shall be applied to the evaluation of professional service prime contracts who are currently certified MBE-African American, Hispanic American, Asian American, Native American and WBE-Women owned Business Enterprises

Point of Contact: Gigi Glasper – gxglasper@flystl.com

Proposal documents may be obtained at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, Airport Properties Division, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., or by calling (314) 890-1802. This RFP may also

License Required Plans and Specifications are available for free electronic download. Please go to MSD’s website and look for a link to “ELECTRONIC PLANROOM.” Plans and Specifications are also available for viewing or purchase at Cross Rhodes Reprographics located at 2731 S. Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63118 or at www.stlmsdplanroom.com. All bidders must obtain a set of plans and specifications in order to submit a bid in the name of the entity submitting the bid. The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Cellco Partnership and its controlled affiliates doing business as Verizon Wireless (Verizon Wireless) proposes to collocate antennas on a 39-foot free standing public light. The Site location is near 5214 Walsh Street, St. Louis, St. Louis City County, MO 63109. Public comments regarding potential effects on historic properties may be submitted within 30 days from the date of this publication to: Environmental Resources Management, C/O Danna Allen, Wireless Projects, 235 Magrath Darby Boulevard, Suite 130, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464, or by email vzwnepa@erm.com, or phone 1-678-904-4399.

Date of Publication: 09/30/2021

City of St. Louis: Community Development Administration (CDA) 1520 Market Street St. Louis, Missouri 63103 314-657-3700 / 314-589-6000 (TDD)

These notices shall satisfy two separate but related procedural requirements for

undertaken by the City of St. Louis (“The City.”)

REQUEST FOR RELEASE OF FUNDS

On or after 10/18/21, the City will submit a request to the U.S. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) for the release of the City’s Federal CDBG Program funds under Title II of the National Affordable Housing Act of 1990, as amended, to undertake the following projects:

Project Title: 2706-16 Hickory St., 2748-50 Rutger St.

Purpose: New construction of six (6) single-family homes, on vacant lots, each containing approximately 1,742 square feet, three bedrooms and three bathrooms

Location: 2706 Hickory St., 2708 Hickory, 2710 Hickory, 2716 Hickory, 2748 Rutger St., 2750 Rutger, St. Louis, Missouri 63104

Estimated Cost: Total development cost of this project is approximately $1,944,890, with $625,000.00 of funding coming from St. Louis City’s Year 2020 Federal CDBG Program Funds— Grant # B-20-MC-29-0006.

FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT

The City has determined that these projects will have no significant impact on the human environment. Certain conditions will apply to this project. Therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) is not required. Additional information for each project is contained in the Environmental Review Record (ERR) on file at the City CDA, at the above address, where the ERR is available for review and may be examined or copied weekdays, 8 A.M. to 4 P.M.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Any individual, group, or agency may submit written comments on the ERR to Lisa Selligman, Architectural Manager, CDA, at the address listed above. All comments received by 10/15/21 will be considered by the City prior to authorizing submission of a request for release of funds. Comments should specify which notice they are addressing.

RELEASE OF FUNDS

The City certifies to HUD that, Justin Jackson, in his capacity as Executive Director, consents to accept the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts if an action is brought to enforce responsibilities in relation to the environmental review process and that these responsibilities have been satisfied. HUD’s approval of the certification satisfies its responsibilities under NEPA and related laws and authorities and allows the City to use the City’s above-referenced HUD program funds.

OBJECTION TO RELEASE OF FUNDS

HUD will accept objections to its release of funds and the City’s certification for a period of 15 days following the anticipated submission date or its actual receipt of the request (whichever is later) only if they are on one of the following bases: a) the certification was not executed by the Certifying Officer of the City; b) the City has omitted a step or failed to make a decision or finding required by HUD regulations at 24 CFR Part 58; c) the grant recipient has committed funds or incurred costs not authorized by 24 CFR Part 58 before approval of the release of funds by HUD; or d) another Federal agency acting pursuant to 40 CFR Part 1504 has submitted a written finding that the project is unsatisfactory from the standpoint of environmental quality. Objections must be prepared and submitted in accordance with the required procedures (24 CFR Part 58.76) and shall be addressed to Ms. Renee Ryles, Acting Community Planning & Development Director, HUD, 1222 Spruce Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103 (314) 418-5405. Potential objectors should contact HUD to verify the actual last day of the objection period.

Justin

Jackson Certifying Officer

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE:

Advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act,

tise any preference, imitation, or discrimination because of

familial\status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference,

crimination.“We will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.” Call Angelita Houston at 314-289-5430 or email ahouston@stlamerican.com to place your ads today!

Continued from C1

met on the first day of their junior year of high school at South Technical High School. They started off as friends and it blossomed into a love that spawned marriage and three kids.

She’s featured on the song “She Is Her,” which he dedicates in her honor. “Never thought that 15 years ago you would be my number one fan front row,” Murphy Lee raps. “Now I know what best friends for.”

What’s helped them sustain a successful marriage and relationship is the fact that they know how to coexist without each other and can genuinely tolerate being around each other all the time.

“Understanding that no one can make you happy, you have to just be happy if you want happiness,” Murphy Lee said. “Whatever happens in our life we always gone meet at that pillow. I come home. I’m just glad I have to tolerate my best friend and not just a human cause I fell in love and had kids with her.”

Five months ago, The Drink Champs Podcast named rappers who would never be in their top five. Murphy Lee was one of the rappers mentioned. He used the clip from that episode on the track, “St. Louis Cheat Code.” When he first heard it it made him think about working more.

“I was like aww you ain’t hear me, aww that’s what it is,” he said. “So it’s really more work. Everybody ain’t gone get it. It was super dope to me. It came right in time when I was doing skits on my album. So it was perfect to use.”

Gradient

Continued from C1

citizens. It raises the question: can we mass-produce forgiveness?

“The play is grappling with this idea: what does actual accountability look like and how can we move beyond just a verbal statement of change to actual change?” Del Rosso said.

“Since it’s a play, I try to reflect the world as it is, but also on a tilt or through a fun house mirror. How can I take all these ideas and put them into this sort of dystopian slightly surreal comedic thing?”

“The Gradient” follows the story of four main characters: Tess played by Stephanie Machado, Jackson played by Yousof Sultani, Natalia played by Christina Acosta Robinson, Louis played by William DeMeritt, along with clients one through eight played by Stephen Cefalu.

Amelia Acosta Powell, associate artistic director at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, said the cast for the play is filled with diversity. Robinson, who plays the leader of a company, is currently pregnant. Although in the original work the character isn’t pregnant, Powell said it was intentional for her to be cast as an expectant mother.

“It’s been amazing to play alongside her and embrace the fact that we have a Black woman on stage who is pregnant, portraying this powerful

The album offers something for everyone exploring themes of love, growth, police brutality, racism, recognition.

He said at first the album mainly consisted of socioeconomic and racial constructs, but instead he wanted to find a way to combine those elements with other themes like party records.

“When I created this album I had to figure out how can I mix the ying and the yang with it all,” Murphy Lee said. “I got a few jammers on there that you can dance to. I can tell you something that we all need to hear but I try to make sure I tell it on a great beat, on a great concept instead of just putting it over whatever just to get the point across. I wanted it to still be jamming but teach you.” He said this album is for

leadership role,” Powell said.

“Of course we know that in the real world there’s lots of powerful smart Black women who are leaders of businesses, companies, social ventures and who are also mothers. But we don’t get to see that a lot of the time. It’s really amazing to have the opportunity to portray that out on stage. I think the room of artists who are making choices around the casting all agreed that it would be wonderful to embrace that storytelling without having to comment on it, it’s just a simple fact.”

n “Of course we know that in the real world there’s lots of powerful smart Black women who are leaders of businesses, companies, social ventures and who are also mothers. But we don’t get to see that a lot of the time."

- Amelia Acosta Powell, associate artistic director at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

While the play’s subject matter is serious, Del Rosso classifies it as a dark comedy. She chose that category because she never wants to traumatize the audience. Her hope is for the audience to feel a spectrum of emotions with one of them

Temptations

Continued from C1

Hip-Hop Artists of All Time, and the group appears in the magazine’s list of 125 Greatest of All Time Artists. Rolling Stone magazine commented that the Temptations are “Indisputably the greatest Black vocal group of the modern era…,” and listed the group’s Anthology album among the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The group has won four Grammy Awards, including Motown’s first-ever statuette, awarded to the Tempts for “Cloud Nine” for Best Rhythm and Blues Performance by a Duo or Group, Vocal or Instrumental in 1969.

n The group has won four Grammy Awards, including Motown’s firstever statuette, awarded to the Tempts for “Cloud Nine” for Best Rhythm and Blues Performance by a Duo or Group, Vocal or Instrumental in 1969.

all the day one fans who’ve always loved his style and the St. Lunatics’ style of rapping (Kyjuan & Ali are featured on the song, “Talk That S**t Time”).

“This is for the people who’ve been knowing me and loving me from the beginning,” he said. “This is strictly for people who love us who were raised on us who always been down since day one. This was specifically made for them,” he said. Fans have an unconventional method of getting their hands on this album. In order to get a hold of the project they will have to text Murphy Lee at 314-408-TICS (314-408-8427). It is available to purchase for $10.

being humor and laughter.

“All my plays, I try to approach through the lens of comedy just because I think that when we’re laughing we’re open and I think that’s super important,” Del Rosso said.

“When you’re laughing you’re receptive and you’re more able to take in the story. What excites me about comedy is that there’s so many iterations of laughter. You can laugh out of discomfort, you can laugh out of recognition and so I’m interested in those different dynamics.

“It can be kind of cathartic too to laugh. I hope that with some audience members there’s a sense of catharsis and a sense of ‘oh, I’m not crazy.’ I think sometimes laughter can be a vehicle for that too.” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis will premiere “The Gradient” on Friday, Oct. 8, at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) Catherine B. Berges Theatre. The production will run through Oct. 24.

“We are thrilled to produce the world premiere of Steph Del Rosso’s thought and soul-provoking psychological thriller,” Hana S. Sharif, artistic director at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis said in a statement. ‘“The Gradient” explores the complicated duality of accountability and redemption with a dexterity that is sure to keep audiences buzzing long after the curtain closes.” For tickets and more information about the play, visit The Rep’s website: https://www. repstl.org/.

The Tempts were also awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, while their No. 1 hits “My Girl” and “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” are in the Grammy Hall of Fame. The group has been inducted into the Rock & Roll, National Rhythm & Blues Music, and Vocal Group Halls of Fame, and they have a star on both the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Apollo Theater’s Walk of Fame. Throughout the group’s evolution, it has released countless gold, platinum and multi-platinum chart hits, many of which are considered American masterpieces. They have 16 No. 1 R&B chart albums, 44 Top 10 R&B chart hits, including, 14 No. 1 R&B singles, plus four No. 1 Hot 100 singles.

Murphy Lee’s “2nd Time Around” album gives retrospection on his nearly 20-year career.

Nerinx Hall creates position to support diversity efforts

Mary Dubose named director of diversity, equity, and inclusion

By Dana Rieck

American

Louis

The St.

For Mary Dubose, a career in education is in her DNA — her mother was a teacher and so she spent her childhood helping out in the classroom.

“I think that that’s where really [my] love of education and teaching came from, because she’s always been really passionate about it,” Dubose said.

students, with about 15% of the student body identifying with a race other than white, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

n “We want to make sure that everyone feels that the school is a second home to them.”

— Mary Dubose, Nerinx Hall’s director of diversity, equity, and inclusion

Dubose graduated from Nerinx in 2007, and in July came back to the school to be the school’s director of diversity, equity, and inclusion. During her time away she earned her master’s degree from Lindenwood University in reading teacher education.

The private Catholic school is home to approximately 600

She’s the first person to take on this newly established role for the school, which was born out of conversations with current and past students, along with faculty members, who said that while diversity has always been a priority at Nerinx, they wanted to know what the school was doing for the students once they arrived. “Once we get girls from diverse backgrounds in the building, what is their experience like? And are they able to feel at home here? Are they able to be themselves here? I

See DUBOSE, D7

SLUH pushes for more diversity

Proud of its inspiring African-American alums

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 will assume the role with more than a decade of extensive theatre management experience across multiple industry facets. Currently, he serves as the theatre’s managing director and oversees 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-

See SLUH, D7

public schools. For instance, there were 12 two-year or public four-year HBCUs in the rankings that preceded any private HBCUs. And Shorter College, the most affordable private college on this list, is unique as it’s the U.S.’s only private, two-year HBCU. There are some cheaper private HBCUs that can offer students lower-cost options, especially if they’re looking for a faith-based school. As private institutions, these HBCUs have no difference in tuition for in-state or out-of-state students, so even those coming from out of state can cash in on the lower price tag.

1. Shorter College: North Little Rock, Ark.

Undergraduate tuition: $5,596

Founded in 1886 by the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Shorter College is a faith based, two-year HBCU. It’s worth noting that the school is quite small, at about 570 students.

Shorter College students can study subjects including church leadership and ministry, childhood development, criminal justice, entrepreneurial studies, and computer programming. It also has options available for those who are on parole, as well as those in the state juvenile justice system.

2. Simmons College of Kentucky: Louisville, Ky.

Undergraduate tuition: $6,390 Ranking as the second most affordable private HBCU — and the 21st among all

Mary Dubose collaborates with Nerinx students and members of the diversity club, Olivia Samaniego (left) and Synmar Johnson (right).

Photo courtesy of Nerinx Hall

Robert Butler Jr. now leads Forsyth School

Forsyth School welcomed Robert Butler, Jr., as new

Kwofe Coleman

Consider Montessori education

By Z.K. Whitfield

For the St. Louis American

Baden Montessori is a new school that plans to bring a fully implemented Montessori program that is affordable for many families in the St. Louis region. As the new school year gets underway, final preparations are taking place to accept the first class of students, ages two-and-a-half to six. The school is a nonprofit organization located in the Baden neighborhood. Applications are still being accepted.

Q: Please briefly explain what is Montessori?

A: A Montessori education involves nurturing the whole child. This is achieved by having scientifically made materials in a prepared classroom environment that is specifically designed to satisfy the developmental needs of the child. Because the materials are designed for them, children are able to explore and learn independently, as well as in groups, said Kimberly Kendle Roberson, head of school and teacher for the primary program. In addition, in a fully implemented Montessori program, children learn within their appropriate mixed-age groups: 3-6; 6-9; 9-12, adolescent, or middle school, and high school. The teachers are called guides, as they are guiding the children towards their own academic growth and independence. The lessons start out in a very concrete manner that develops the child’s senses during what Maria Montessori called the “sensitive periods”. Gradually, those lessons evolve into more abstract concepts, and those concepts get reintroduced in more broader and deeper forms as the child moves from primary to elementary to adolescent ages, if they continue Montessori into elementary, middle or high

school, Roberson said.

Q: Why should parents consider Montessori in general for their child and Baden Montessori specifically?

A: Montessori is a developmentally appropriate approach to learning that focuses on the whole child. It has a track record of educational success and has been around for 150 years. Research shows that Montessori levels the playing field for students of color and low-income students in closing the opportunity/achievement gap. To get there, families have to have a way to access that education. That’s where we come in at Baden Montessori.

Our mission is to provide families with access to a high quality, high fidelity Montessori program. To do that, tuition will be based on a sliding scale, with no tuition charged for families at or below the poverty level. To help subsidize the cost, tuition will be paid via state subsidy for those who qualify, along with funds raised from public and private donations. For parents who are looking for a small, start-up micro school, then Baden is a good option to consider, Roberson said.

Q: You mentioned that Baden Montessori is a startup school. Starting a school

is hard work. What type of support, if any, have you received?

A: We received both in-kind and a renovation donation from the church that manages the building where we are located. This allowed us to add a bathroom to the classroom. The Montessori community embraced us with their support. Our school received a grant from the Montessori Global Growth Fund. This fund helps grassroots schools such as ours get started. We are the first school that they funded in the United States. The Black Montessori Education Fund (BMEF) recently offered their support by paying for a POD

to be moved from California to St. Louis so that we could receive Montessori materials that were donated by a retired Montessorian. In fact, most of our materials have been donated from fellow Montessori schools in the St. Louis area. We have also received individual donations from colleagues, friends and supporters of Montessori education.

Q: How can families learn more about Baden Montessori and support your school?

A: For more information or to support Baden directly, they can contact me at 314-266-8176. To support

Montessori, I would encourage them to give to the Montessori Global Growth Fund www. montessori-mggf.org and the Black Montessori Education Fund www.blackmontessorieducationfund.org so that more small, grassroots schools like our can be supported. These organizations work to provide grants, which can go towards funding items such as start-up costs; scholarships, operational support and other needs. And the Association Montessori International/ USA (AMI-USA) has started a campaign to recruit more Montessori teachers in general and teachers of color called #ConsiderMontessori.

Baden Montessori School received a grant from the Montessori Global Growth Fund, which helps grassroots schools like theirs get started.

At Home at The College School

By Stephanie Dents

For The St. Louis American

For close to 20 years now, my family has been involved with The College School – an independent/private, experiential K-8 school in Webster Groves. When our oldest son, who is now 22, was approaching kindergarten age, we had planned to send him to public school. My husband, Jemal, and I are both products of the public school system. Jemal was raised in Texas, and I was raised in Webster Groves. We had settled in Webster fully intending to take advantage of the strong public school system. At the kindergarten open house, someone told us about The College School, and we decided to take the tour. I remember visiting for the first time and thinking about how different it was. When we visited it was clear that experiences, collaboration, and reflection were cornerstones of the learning model. The children were not at desks all day and they took trips to visit a local river to learn about the environment and apply science and math. They were involved in hands-on projects and discussed how they applied to real life. We heard stories and saw pictures of trips all over the metropolitan area and camping trips to other parts of the country. We thought to ourselves, “I wished I could have attended a school like this when I was a kid.” As our son marveled at the magical loft in the kindergarten room, his excitement and how the teachers interacted with him made it clear that The College School was a place we could call home. Fast forward almost 20 years, a relocation and return to St. Louis, and a second child and we are still a part of The College School community. Our youngest is currently in 8th grade at TCS and thinking about what high school to attend. Although her path forward may be a different high school than her brother chose, we are confident knowing the education our kids received at The College School has taught

The Dents Family them to be curious learners and it has helped them develop a level of emotional IQ the is so needed today. For many of us in the

African-American community, a non-traditional approach to education may feel unorthodox or just plain weird. You may be thinking, “We don’t camp”

and “The College School’s approach to educating kids is different than my experiences.” This may be true (it was for us) but come check it out

before discounting. Your next question might be, “How many people of color attend The College School?” You might be shocked to learn The College School has 30% students of color, making it one of the most diverse independent schools in the area. The College School is proud of its diversity numbers, and they haven’t happened without intentionality. When Jemal served on the Board of Trustees from 20052011, improving the school’s diversity was in its early stages. Over the years, training, administrative leadership, and community involvement have pushed The College School’s diversity numbers to all time highs. But our journey is not over. We continue to take steps to make this unique educational opportunity accessible and we hope that through outreach and education other families of all types of backgrounds will make TCS their home. Even though this is the last year our kids will be attending school on either of the College School campus,’ our commitment as a family continues. I am currently serving my first year as the Chair of the Board of Trustees and will continue through 2023 - an honor that I proudly undertake. As the first African American female chair, I look forward to taking the stage when our daughter, along with the entire 8th grade class, give their graduation speeches – a time honored tradition at the school. The confidence my children have gained and the growth our family has experienced with The College School community is unparalleled. We understand the best way to learn and retain information is by doing. Experience is the best teacher. Experiential learning is what The College School is all about.

Photo courtesy of the Dents Family

Robert Butler Jr. now leads Forsyth School in 2021 and beyond

By St. Louis American Staff

Forsyth School welcomed Robert Butler, Jr. as new head of school on July 1, 2021. Butler returned to St. Louis and joined Forsyth with more than 20 years of experience as a teacher, coach, and administrator. He comes to Forsyth from University Liggett School (Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan), where he had been the assistant head of school and head of the middle school since 2017. Before that, he worked at Whitfield School in St. Louis for seven years in a variety of teaching, coaching,

and administrative roles, ending his tenure there as the middle school director.

According to the committee that chose Butler, “Rob emphasized growth as personal, professional, and institutional... He talked about student growth and empathy. He spoke directly to equity and inclusion. He talked about collaboration and decisionmaking… He spoke to both the human and institutional elements of running a school. In short, Forsyth would be lucky to have him.”

Butler holds a master of arts in English from Oklahoma State University

and a bachelor of arts in education from Northeastern State University. He has served on the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) Board of Trustees since 2015 and recently participated in the ISACS Leadership Academy in partnership with the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.

The following are excerpts from Butler’s introductory letter to the Forsyth com-

munity: “With a profound sense of honor and gratitude, I welcome the opportunity to serve as head of school at Forsyth. Before my tenure at University Liggett School in Michigan, my family and I proudly called St. Louis home. I learned quite a bit about Forsyth when I worked at Whitfield School, and I was consistently impressed with the quality of Forsyth graduates. In addition to being academically sound, Forsyth students were well-equipped

HBCU

Continued from D1

the HBCUs we studied — is Simmons College of Kentucky. Its $6,390 tuition comes in just over the maximum Pell Grant award for the 2020-21 academic year ($6,345).

Like Shorter College, Simmons has its roots in religion, via the Kentucky State Convention of Colored Baptist Churches, which proposed the college in the 1860s. It describes itself as an “institution of biblical higher education,” and this religious background does figure heavily into its educational offerings: Bachelor of Arts students are required to take a series of “Biblical-Ethical” courses to graduate.

3. Selma University: Selma, Ala. Undergraduate tuition: $7,280 Coming in third among

with the tools needed for success in secondary school and beyond.”

Butler continued, “Forsyth students always stood out for being incredibly thoughtful, articulate, determined, and prepared to embrace challenges. For all of these reasons, the opportunity to serve as a leader at Forsyth felt more like a calling than a job prospect. The magic of Forsyth became abundantly clear from the moment I set foot on campus. Even through the masks, social distancing, and other (necessary) safety protocols, the community’s warmth, passion, and joy were palpable.

private HBCUs is Selma University. The school opened in 1878 with an aim to educate Black Baptist ministers and formerly enslaved Black people, beginning with a first class of just four. It’s grown since but remains small, with 540 students enrolled. Selma identifies itself as a Bible college, offering students higher education alongside religious studies.

Students can study topics including theology, health science, business and biology. Like Simmons College, general education requirements include 30 hours of Bible and theology coursework.

4. Southwestern Christian College: Terrell, Texas

Undergraduate tuition: $8,131

Maintaining its No. 4 position, Southwestern Christian College offers another affordable private HBCU option. The school was founded in 1948 and is sponsored by members of Churches of Christ. Its enrollment is tiny,

From the bright young eyes shining in the Eyas Program’s Falcon’s Nest, to the Grade 6 students who warmly engaged me in a conversation about math, to the intense energy of the Grade 5 students on the playground, I found a place that is a testament to the value of private elementary education. Forsyth is a place where the bedrock of honorable, confident, impactful global citizens is cultivated and nurtured by a talented and dedicated faculty and staff.” Forsyth is currently celebrating the 60th anniversary of its founding.

though, as it only had 87 students in the fall of 2018. Students can choose from several associate and bachelor’s programs.

5. Arkansas Baptist College: Little Rock, Ark.

Undergraduate tuition: $8,760 Behind Southwestern Christian College is Arkansas Baptist College, which rounds out the top five most affordable private HBCUs. The school was founded in 1884 by the Colored Baptists of Arkansas as the Minister’s Institute, changing its name the following year.

Religious studies remain one of the school’s primary educational programs, though other options include business administration, fine arts, public administration, social and behavioral sciences. This article was provided by StudentLoanHero. This content is not provided or commissioned by any financial institution.

Robert Butler Jr.

Wright continues to lead New City

Remains one of the most diverse grade schools in the region

Special to The American

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, “Community is hallmark of the New City School experience. We have 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.” He notes that at New City they “define diversity very broadly and view children’s understanding of identity, diversity, and issues of social justice as key to achievement in life.”

Records Bureau), a member organization that provides admissions and achievement assessments and instructional services for schools and students.

Wright is a trustee on the board of ERB (Educational

Wright 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. He 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

The June 2021 graduating class of New City School

and earned a BS in Human Ecology from Rutgers University. Wright and his wife have two daughters, one of whom is a graduate of New City School (the other still has a few more years until graduation!).

Photo courtesy of New City School

Alexis S. Wright

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 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.youngscholarsprogram.org

If a student has exceptional achievements in their pri-

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.

vate school, they may be eligible 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

Private school people on the move

Camdyn Closson ‘23

St. Joseph’s Academy

Camdyn Closson ‘23 was chosen to attend the prestigious “At the Well Conferences” virtual “College Prep Weekend!”

The program, traditionally held on the Princeton University campus, seeks “to empower young women locally to become effective leaders globally. By promoting excellence in education, young talent will transform their communities. We encourage girls to live beyond their limitations, achieve beyond their dreams, and impact communities beyond their reach.”

Madison Alexander ‘21 Incarnate Word Academy

SLUH

Continued from D1

structing The Muny’s internet presence and social media identity while also dramatically increasing the theatre’s internet sales stream, national presence and forming connections with next-generation audiences. He was promoted to director of marketing and communications in 2014, where he managed The Muny’s branding and marketing efforts through its 2018 centennial season. During this time, Coleman was also key in the creation of both The Muny’s Second Century Strategic Plan and The Muny’s $100 million Second Century Capital Campaign. Coleman was a 2018 Fellowship Advisor for the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland and is an active contributor to the St. Louis community, serving on the St. Louis University High School Board of Trustees, Cor Jesu Academy Advisory Council, Common Circles Advisory Council and as a proud founding board member of Atlas School. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Saint Louis Club, as well as other various social service organizations. During the 2020 holiday season, Coleman served as executive producer for A New Holiday, a short film musical set in St. Louis created by LIFE Creative Group. He is a 2015 recipient of the St. Louis American’s Salute to Young Leaders Award and was named to the 2020 St. Louis Business Journal 40 under 40.

Jason Purnell –SLUH ‘95

In 2020, Jason Purnell, PhD, MPH, joined BJC as vice president of community health improvement. At the time, Purnell lead Health Equity Works, a communityfacing research group at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. Simultaneously, he has also served in a consulting capacity with BJC’s Center for Clinical Excellence for the past two years. Along with his new responsibilities, Purnell will

Debose

Continued from D1

think the majority would say yes, but then we always had some girls which that was not the case,” Dubose said.

“And that’s not ever what we want. We want to make sure that everyone feels that the school is a second home to them.” Her main goal right now for the new position is to ensure all students feel like they have a seat at the table and their voice can be heard.

She now moderates a diversity club for the students

Madison Alexander is the president of the Diversity Club at Incarnate Word Academy. The president’s roles are: lead the club to achieve its goals for the year; preside effectively at club and board meetings; organize and direct the work for the club’s board of directors and committees; serve as primary representative of the club within the school community; and communicate club goals and programs to the club members.

Samantha Thomas Nerinx Hall High School

Samantha Thomas joined Nerinx Hall as its newest academic and wellness counselor. She comes to Nerinx from Kansas State University, where she served as the St. Louis

continue to hold a faculty position at the Brown School and support the soon-to-beannounced leadership of Health Equity Works. He also will provide support for the Brown School’s strategic planning efforts to advance communityscience and align initiatives between the school and BJC. Purnell holds a PhD in counseling psychology from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, a master’s degree in public health from the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, and a bachelor’s degree in government and philosophy from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Originally from St. Louis, Purnell remains active in his hometown community, including leading the COVID19 Regional Response Team to address the needs of vulnerable populations during the current pandemic. He also serves on the board of the Show-Me School-Based Health Alliance and on the leadership council of Ready by 21. Earlier in 2020, he was invited to join the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Roundtable on Population Health Improvement. He is also a former director of community engagement with the United Way of Greater St. Louis.

Dr. Michael DeBaun –SLUH ‘78

Dr. DeBaun is an internationally recognized physician-scientist whose advocacy and research have resulted in fundamental advances in medical care of children and adults with sickle cell disease (SCD) and children with Beckwith Wiedemann Syndrome, a cancer predisposition syndrome. He is professor of pediatrics and medicine, vice chair of Clinical and Translational Research in the Department of Pediatrics and holds the JC Peterson Endowed Chair at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

and has worked to implement a biased reporting program through a form available on the school’s computers — allowing students to submit a report if they witness or experience an incident of bias at the school. Dubose then helps the students find resolutions through conversations and other mediation. She said she believes the school has made significant strides in its diversity but there’s always room for improvement — particularly when an institution finds itself in a Catholic school bubble.

“And so, we’re just kind of trying to cast a wider net and make sure everybody knows what we have available here at

regional admissions representative. Ms. Thomas loves helping students achieve their academic goals, but what you might not know is that she is also extremely artistic and creative. In fact, she once painted some pretty big murals and wall pieces in college and says she really enjoys creating loud, beautiful art. What’s more — Ms. Thomas also has a green thumb and enjoys keeping her garden growing.

Linda Churchwell-Varga

John Burroughs High School

Linda Churchwell-Varga joined John Burroughs School as the principal of the 7th and 8th grades in summer 2021. Previously, she taught

6th grade and served as 6th grade advisor at New City School, where she also served in a number of other leadership roles, including New City’s head-of-school search committee, ISACS accreditations and DEI programming. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Spelman College, and has a master’s in teaching from Wayne State University. In addition to her education experience, ChurchwellVarga taught at Aim High St. Louis on the JBS campus, and she has taught hundreds of Burroughs grads who came from New City.

Keith Vassall

John Burroughs High School

Keith Vassall recently joined John Burroughs’ team in college counseling as well as diversity, equity and inclusion. Before joining Burroughs, he served as director of college counseling and as a humanities teacher at Moorestown Friends School in Moorestown, New Jersey. Prior to Moorestown Friends, he worked in the college counseling office at various independent schools on the East Coast. Vassall began his career in education as an admissions officer at his alma mater, Lake Forest College in Illinois. Before his transition to independent schools, he was the associate director of admissions and director of diversity recruitment at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, where he earned his master’s degree in education, school counseling.

After receiving his degrees from Stanford, he completed his pediatric residency, served as chief resident, and completed his pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine. He then completed a four-year United States Public Health Service Epidemiology fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). During the fellowship he obtained an MPH degree from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (2003).

Dr. DeBaun returned to St. Louis and spent 14 years at Washington University School of Medicine where he was promoted to professor of pediatrics, biostatistics, and neurology, and was the inaugural Ferring Family Chair in Pediatrics. He also received the following Washington University Medical School Awards: Humanism in Medicine Award (2002), Clinical Teacher of the Year Award (2008), and Distinguished Faculty Award (2009).

In 2010, Dr. DeBaun was recruited to Vanderbilt University School of Medicine where he founded the Vanderbilt-Meharry Center of Excellence in Sickle Cell Disease. The Center is one of the first in the country to establish a medical home care model for children and adults with SCD in a community health center.

For over two decades, Dr. DeBaun has received continu-

Nerinx,” she said.

Shortly before Dubose came on board, Nerinx Hall faculty created what they call cultural and conversation norms: make valid statements, assume positive intent, remember context matters, keep an open and inclusive mind, embrace differences and celebrate diversity, respectfully listen and separate the person from the argument.

“Those were created … just kind of out of knowing that we’re going to have difficult conversations,” Dubose said. “But I think the world — [with] social media access and internet access that kids have

See DEBOSE, D10

funding from the National

and

In 2020, Jason Purnell, PhD, MPH, joined BJC as vice president of community health improvement.

Errin Braddock is a vice president and the chief diversity officer for Enterprise Holdings, Inc. In this position, he is responsible for bringing to life the company’s strategic vision for diversity, equity and inclusion. Outside of his full-time job, Braddock has dedicated his time and expertise to organizations committed to serving underrepresented communities.

of the Sickle Cell Treatment Act, signed by President Bush into law on Oct. 22, 2004 Title VII, creating regional networks for enhanced services for with SCD.

Dr. DeBaun is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation (2006), Association of American Physicians (2008) and National Academy of Medicine (2009). He has received the Ernest Beutler Prize and Lecture in Clinical Science from the American Society of Hematology (2014) and two international mentor awards for his work in Ghana, Nigeria and U.S.: the Maureen Andrews Mentor Award from the Society of Pediatric Research (2017) and the American Society of Hematology Mentor Award (2019).

Errin Braddock DeSmet Jesuit High School

Camdyn Closson Madison Alexander

Samantha Thomas Linda ChurchwellVarga

Keith Vassall

Errin Braddock

ous

Institute of Health (NIH) and Robert Wood Johnson, Doris

Duke

Burroughs Wellcome foundations. Dr. DeBaun was the primary physician author

Photo by James Byard / WUSTL

Dr. Michael DeBaun

Creative ways to connect kids to science and encourage STEM learning

3M Sponsored Content

The pandemic has deeply impacted learning experiences for students across America. As educators and students return to school this year, they will continue to navigate these challenges as they look for ways to redefine learning.

The pandemic also put a stark spotlight on inequities in the sciences and science education, especially the lack of equal access. The good thing is that this has sparked an increased awareness and a desire for change to begin addressing these issues.

With new norms of educational learning still being defined, we have a real opportunity to find creative and engaging ways to expose young and diverse thinkers to the vast world of science around them. One of the ways to do this is by connecting science to the things kids are already passionate about –sports, music, dance, art, gaming, or anything else they may be interested in.

America’s favorite rapping teacher, Dwayne Reed, shares creative ways educators and parents can help kids find a “way-in” to science that will ignite their passion for STEM learning and make science more approachable:

1. Extend STEM Beyond the Classroom. Show kids how to apply the scientific method in their day-to-day lives and activities. As individuals, we make observations daily and ask questions – or hypothesize – based on what we observe. Parents and educators can foster an inquisitive mindset by challenging kids to explore the world around them. This creates fun and relatable learning experiences inside and outside the classroom.

2. Connect Personal Passions to STEM Learning. When students lack confidence in a particular subject, it can feel intimidating. As a result, they can often have a hard time seeing themselves as successful in that subject or can lose interest altogether. As teachers and educators, we want to encourage our kids and show them they can be anything they want. One of the ways to do this is by connecting what they already love to something they are not as confident in. STEM is a perfect example of this. Show

students how science can be applied to their other interests, including sports, music, dance, gaming, art, or anything else they may be passionate about. By helping connect the dots for students, they can turn their passions into something that can benefit the world around them.

3. Keep A Pulse on New Educational Resources. Stay updated on new resources and information that could positively impact your students. The great thing about this is

that teachers and parents can both get involved. A few ways you can stay up to date are reading blogs, educational articles, and looking for resources on social media. One learning resource to check out is 3M’s Science at Home video series. This online library of DIY science experiments uses common household items to help make STEM learning fun and accessible while showing kids they can connect science to just about anything. Teachers will also note that the step-bystep resources include national

science teaching standards for easy lesson planning.

4. Challenge Kids to Try Something New. Challenge kids to put themselves into roles they may not naturally see themselves in. Provide encouragement, resources, and confidence to get them to the next level. With a bit of creativity, you can open their eyes to a whole world of opportunities they may not be thinking about. Make STEM learning feel relatable and fun – even if it’s new for them.

Educators are looking to find creative and engaging ways to expose young and diverse thinkers to the vast world of science. One of the ways to do this is by connecting science to the things kids are already passionate about –sports, music, dance, art, gaming.

It’s all about reframing the way students look at the world and giving them assurance and an opportunity to explore what’s around them.

The importance of maintaining a stable and engaging learning experience for students remains a priority. And with just a few creative learning techniques and models, educators and parents can ensure their students are connected, actively learning, and feeling encouraged both in and out of the classroom.

Cardinal Ritter College Prep celebrates athletic complex ribbon cutting

St. Louis American staff

Cardinal Ritter College Preparatory High School celebrated its homecoming and official ribbon cutting of its state-of-art athletic facility on Sept. 24, 2021.

The project expanded the weight room by about 1,200 square feet, a boon for the future of the athletic program. The facility also creates needed space to enhance learning opportunities for all students, not just athletes.

Kwame Building Group (KWAME) served as the construction manager at risk and managed the design and construction process, performed cost estimates and reviewed the design team’s deliverables. Knoebel Construction was the general contractor partner for the project. The architect was JEMA. Together, the companies created the facility which offers natural light and direct access to outdoor fields.

A commercial washer and dryer and a charging station are now available to students, and a new athletic field and track are also part of the school’s athletic complex update.

The upgraded complex will serve the community at-large by being available to elementary schools, youth clubs and community-based organizations. More than 10,000 youth and adults can use the school’s athletic facilities each year.

“This facility is nothing short of state of the art. It’s on a collegiate level and fits nicely into our strategic health and wellness plan,” said Tamiko Armstead, president of Cardinal Ritter said last spring.

The renovation is part of the

Project expanded weight room by about 1,200 square feet

Cardinal Ritter’s Health and Wellness Initiative, funded in large part by Barbara and Andy

Taylor, Enterprise Holdings Foundation, the Crawford Taylor Foundation, Centene

Charitable Foundation, Edward Jones, and William T. Kemper Foundation.

The celebration included a reception, musical performances, and tours. The day was capped by Ritter’s 42-21 victory over St. Dominic in the Homecoming football game.

Tamiko Armstead, Cardinal Ritter College Prep president and a 1991 graduate, leads a tour of the Catholic private school’s state-of-art athletic facility following its ribbon cutting celebration on Sept. 24, 2021.

Photo courtesy of Cardinal Ritter College Prep

Debose

Continued from D7

these days — the world kind of lends itself to be very polarizing. Like you either believe this or you believe that. You’re on this side or you’re on that side, and that then flows into the classroom, as well. And sometimes those conversations can

be difficult”

Dubose emphasized that Nerinx has always sought to empower women, so the intent is not to shy away from those conversations but to make sure they are happening in a meaningful, productive way. Moving forward, she hopes to ensure that diversity is part of the school and its culture, and not viewed as a separate effort that ends once the stu-

dent enrolls. “I want it to be something where there’s pieces of diversity, or we’re inserting more diversity, in all of the parts of our school,” Dubose said. “Whether it be just activities that we have, whether it be classroom curriculum or whether it be just in our conversations. And that’s my hope, is that this extends far beyond me.”

St. Joseph’s hires director of diversity, culture and climate

By St. Joseph’s Academy

St. Joseph’s Academy recently hired Dr. Julia Wilkins Kohrmann as its director of diversity, culture, and climate. Wilkins Kohrmann comes to St. Joseph’s Academy with a diverse educational background. She received her doctoral degree in educational practice, with a focus on creativity and generative design, from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She has worked with educators and students in four different countries including England, Honduras, Switzerland, and now the US. Her passion for diversity and inclusive school communities derives from her experiences as an educator of lolor and an expatriate.

Wilkins Kohrmann’s

research heavily focuses on ways in which experiential learning enhances knowledge growth. She is currently working with the entire SJA community, the students, families, and staff, as well as the outside community, to increase the programming surrounding topics related to diversity and expand socio-economic, racial, ethnic, and religious diversity. Wilkins Kohrmann is moderating the Diversity Club at the school, which has taken on the task of using projects like bulletin boards or other larger events to help educate their classmates and the SJA employees and staff on various topics related to diversity and social justice. An overarching theme for the club this year is “Diversity in the Arts”,

so they are also working with several local community organizations to bring this theme to life at school.

Additionally, Wilkins Kohrmann’s commitment to quality education for all includes working with several local non-profit organizations, serving on various boards, and teaching at a local university. She is currently on the steering committee for the Gateway Early Childhood Alliance and volunteers with COCA for COCAcabana each year. St. Joseph’s Academy is privileged to have Dr. Julia Wilkins Kohrmann as an inspiring educator and mentor, as she is doing a great deal of work to bring St. Louis’ rich community of leaders and innovators together in partnership with the school.

Among her many duties at St. Joseph’s Academy, Dr. Wilkins Kohrmann is moderat-

ing the Diversity Club at the school.