September 13th, 2018 Edition

Director Kym Moore speaks on art having

‘Close the Workhouse’

Advocates publish report with plan and call for shuttering notorious city jail

By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American

When Inez Bordeaux first walked into the Medium Security Institution commonly known as the Workhouse, she said she could feel the hopelessness. It was festering like the black mold on the walls and rats running under the cell doors.

“You can feel the desperation,” said Bordeaux, a mother of four who was working as a nurse at the time.

Stepping up for the King

The Gentlemen of Vision performed during rededication ceremonies for the Martin Luther King Jr. statue in Fountain Park on September 5. The statue had been taken down after 40 years to be repaired and cleaned.

n “I was crying because I was separated from my children and devastated to be in the worst place possible.”

– Inez Bordeaux

In spring 2017, Bordeaux was arrested while driving for failing to report to a

probation officer – an officer who had actually never been assigned to her, she said. She landed in the Workhouse with a bond set at $25,000. Because she earned less than $1,000 per month, she wasn’t able to pay even 10 percent of the bond and ended up spending 30 days in the Workhouse awaiting a probation violation hearing.

For the first three days, she was held in solitary confinement because the nurse deemed her a suicide risk.

“I was crying because I was separated from my children and devastated to be in the worst place possible,” Inez said. “And

See WORKHOUSE, A7

Michael McMillan is 2018 Stellar Performer in Education

By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American

When 26-year-old Lorenzo Davis lost his job recently, he knew he had to do some fast thinking. He sent a quick text message to Jamie Dennis, director of the Save Our Sons program with the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis.

“The bills don’t pay themselves,” Davis said. “The fridge – empty. I didn’t have any food in the house, but Brother Dennis – him being the goodhearted person he is – he went to his house, picked some

McMillan congratulated Save Our Sons participants Kamry Thames and Taron Booker when they received a scholarship at the Urban League Annual Dinner in 2016.

By Mike Jones For The St. Louis American

Part of a year-long series, presented by The American and the Brown School at Washington University, on changing the narratives and outcomes of young black males in St. Louis. When I was 12 or 13 years old, my father gave me some advice that became the compass for my journey through this American life. He said, “Michael, if you’re going to gamble, the first thing you have to do is learn to cheat. Not so you can cheat people, but so you’ll know when people are cheating you. Because there are no straight games; in every game, somebody’s cheating.” He would also say your objective is not to make the game straight (fair), but to beat the cheat. I didn’t have the skill or the heart to be a professional gambler, but I would come to realize he knew that when he gave the advice. He was giving me a simple metaphor to explain what I would need to understand if I was going to make my way in America as a black man. I’m a member of arguably the most successful generation of black men in the history of the United States. Some would argue this success is a function of access to education and the expanding economic opportunities afforded us by a more

Fundraiser for officer shot by fellow cop

All proceeds raised by Ethical Society of Police will benefit Milton Green’s family

American staff

The Ethical Society of Police is hosting a cigar social fundraiser to benefit former St. Louis Police Officer Milton Green, who was shot by another officer while assisting an arrest on June 21, 2017. Green sustained serious injuries that ended his police career. The fundraiser will be held 1-6 p.m. Sunday, September 23 at Montrey’s Cigar Lounge, 401 South Florissant Rd. in Ferguson. All proceeds will benefit Green and his children.

Prior to his career-ending injury, Green was his family’s primary breadwinner. He is now forced to apply for disability, struggling to support his family, and is having a hard time meeting his children’s needs. Donations and proceeds from the fundraiser are needed to help

Photo by Wiley Price

See

Michael

Photo by Wiley Price

Mike Jones

Milton Green

Alleged former R. Kelly harem survivor has tell-all book on the way

R. Kelly accuser Asante McGee let the world know via social media that her tell-all book – which will reportedly detail alleged abuses suffered during her time with the singer – is slated to be released this fall.

“My book has been in the making for over a year,” McGee said via Instagram. “At first, I wasn’t going to release it due to all the negative responses I’ve been receiving, but I decided to continue my journey. My book will be available Oct. 1, 2018 #muterkelly #happinessisthekey #healing #nothingwillstopme.”

According to her Instagram, the book will be titled “No Longer Trapped in the Closet.”

Over the past year, McGee has made several appearances and conducted interviews regarding her alleged abuse – including a detailed interview with “Teen Vogue.”

“I saw a side of him abusing women mentally, physically and sexually. I knew at that point...I had to go,” McGee told TeenVogue.com. “This was not what I wanted, this is not how I should be treated, and no other woman should be treated that

way.” She claims she met the singer after a concert in 2013 and first became romantically involved with him after a show in February 2014. She claims she was required to accompany Kelly to tour stops and wait for him to call her before a friend allegedly helped her escape from the harem.

Did Iyanla fail at trying to fix the Braxtons?

Last week, it was rumored that the Braxton sisters would appear on an episode of the OWN Network show “Iyanla: Fix My Life.”

According to ET, it’s the other way around.

“ET can exclusively reveal that on the twopart season finale of Braxton Family Values, the sisters are turning to famed life coach and spiritual adviser Iyanla Vanzant to help them sit down and discuss their issues. Vanzant is the star of ‘Iyanla: Fix My Life’ on OWN, and has helped everyday people as well as celebrities, including a past episode with Trina Braxton,” the web site for the celebrity news program said.

Based on Tamar Braxton’s Twitter account, the visit did not go well – and several outlets claim the sisters walked out on the taping featuring Vanzant.

“Rhonda is the devil, TRUST ME!!,” Tamar said in response to a comment that refers to that [expletive] as “a fraud.” Rhonda Harris is the birth name of Iyanla Vanzant.

Young Thug facing several felonies

According to Fox 5 News, Atlanta rapper Young Thug faces new felony charges related to an arrest last year.

The artist, whose real name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, is charged with possession of meth, hydrocodone, and marijuana with intent to distribute as well as having three other controlled substances and a firearm during the commission of a felony.

The case stems from September 2017 when police arrested the trio after allegedly finding narcotics, liquid codeine and firearms in their car during a traffic stop. Officers also reported finding thousands in cash. Officers said they initially pulled over the 2016 Mercedes Benz Maybach for illegally tinted windows before making the discoveries.

Nicki Minaj mortified over public clash with Cardi B

In an interview on Beats 1 on Apple Music, Nicki Minaj said she was “humiliated” by her fight with Cardi B. Minaj was embarrassed by the altercation with the ‘Bodak Yellow’ rapper at New York Fashion Week.

Cardi and Minaj were involved in an altercation at the Harper’s Bazaar party

over the weekend. Soon after, Cardi took to Instagram to explain her actions.

“I’ve let a lot of [expletive] slide. I let you sneak diss me. I let you lie on me. I let you attempt to stop my bags, [expletive] up the way I eat! You’ve threatened other artists in the industry, told them if they work with me you’ll stop [expletive] with them! I let you talk big [expletive] about me. (sic).”

Cardi said her actions were the result of negative comments that Minaj reportedly made about her child and her parenting skills.

The interview was the first time Minaj addressed the incident.

“The other night I was a part of something so mortifying, so humiliating to go through in front of upper echelon people – it’s not about black or white - people who have their lives together,” Minaj said. “I was mortified ... I could not believe how humiliated I felt .... how we – and I use the term ‘we’ loosely - made ourselves look.”

She also denied claims to have said anything about Cardi’s daughter- claiming that Cardi is using the rumor as an excuse to justify her actions.

Sources: Instagram, Fox5 News, Entertainment Tonight, TeenVogue. com, Celebretainment. com, Twitter.com

Young Thug

Illinois offers ‘Commitment’ for low-income students

U of I offers free tuition for Illinois residents whose family makes $61,000 or less

American staff

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign offers an “Illinois Commitment” that covers the cost of tuition and campus fees for Illinois residents under the age of 24 whose family makes $61,000 (the state’s current median family income ) or less and has less than $50,000 in family assets. Family income includes parent and student Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) as well as parent and student untaxed income. Income of the noncustodial parent may be considered when determining AGI. AGI is a combination of the parent’s and student’s income as reported on line 37 of an IRS Form 1040, line

21 of an IRS Form 1040A, or line 4 of an IRS Form 1040EZ. Parents and students with a negative AGI are generally not eligible for this program.

Family assets include savings/checking, investments, real estate and business net worth. Home value, qualified retirement accounts and family farms not required to be reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) are not counted in family assets. Illinois Commitment does not cover room and board, fees related to specific courses (course fees), summer classes, winter classes, study abroad, books and other student expenses. It is available for eligible

new freshmen for up to four years, eight semesters of continuous enrollment. It covers tuition and campus fees for up to three years and six semesters of continuous enrollment for new transfer students. Students must have an eligible Satisfactory Academic Program (SAP)

status to continue receiving their Illinois Commitment financial aid package. Eligible SAP status occurs by meeting the requirements of the SAP Policy or having an SAP appeal approved. This program is only for students enrolled in their first bachelor’s degree. Students must complete an admissions application to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and complete a FAFSA. Be sure to include the University of Illinois Federal School Code (001775) on your FAFSA. The student and the parent(s) on the FAFSA must both be residents of Illinois.

Students applying for scholarships and tuition assistance are encouraged to file the FAFSA as soon as possible after it becomes available on October 1.

The university will cover the cost of tuition and campus fees not covered by other federal, state, institutional and private awards including Federal Pell Grant, State of Illinois MAP Program (MAP), and other awards.

Students are encouraged to file the FAFSA as soon as possible after it becomes available on October 1 and no later than our priority deadline of March 15 to be fully considered for Illinois Commitment and all other financial aid program opportunities. For more information, visit https://forms.illinois.edu/ sec/8012164.

New law makes it easier for crime victims to apply for assistance

American staff

A new law reforming Missouri’s Crime Victims’ Compensation Program to make it simpler for victims to apply for assistance and which expands eligibility for compensation took effect on August 28. The changes include allowing victims more time to report the crimes committed against them and removing a cap on payments for counseling services provided to victims. The changes to Missouri’s Crime Victims’ Compensation program are a result of House Bill 1355, which includes the

following changes:

· Provides victims more time to report their crime by eliminating the requirement that the crime be reported within 48 hours.

· Allows compensation claims for continuing expenses to be paid beyond the previous three-year limit.

· Eliminates the requirement that victim application forms be notarized.

· Eliminates previous $2,500 maximum payment per claim on expenses related to psychological or counseling expenses.

· Eliminates $50

n The Crime Victims’ Compensation program caps benefits at a maximum of $25,000 and does not include payments for pain or suffering.

minimum in expenses for a claim to be filed; eliminates $250 maximum loss for compensation for property seized by police as part of the crime investigation; and eliminates the requirement that applicants for reimbursement of

lost wages must have missed at least two continuous weeks of employment.

· Allows victims who have previously been convicted of felony crimes to qualify for assistance. Victims can now meet

the requirement to report the crime through alternate methods. Also, sworn statement indicating the applicant believes he or she is a victim of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, human trafficking or stalking and fears further violent acts from his or her assailant is now acceptable in lieu of other records.

The Crime Victims’ Compensation program caps benefits at a maximum of $25,000 and does not include payments for pain or suffering. The program is a payer of last resort; it considers outof-pocket losses and expenses not covered by other sources, including insurance, worker’s compensation, public assistance like Medicaid or Medicare, paid sick or annual leave, restitution or civil lawsuits. The program utilizes both federal and state funds. The federal funding source is the Victims of Crime Act grant, which is funded through fines and penalties paid by offenders. State funding utilizes fees and judgments assessed by state and municipal courts. For more information, visit https://dps.mo.gov/dir/ programs/cvc.

If your vote doesn’t matter, then why are Republicans suppressing it?

There are two very important dates coming up on the calendar for those of us who care about things like a living wage, affordable health care, fair elections, transparency in government – all matters before the voters in one way or another this midterm election in Missouri –not to mention democracy in America. One is November 6, the date of the general election, and the other is October 10, the last day to register to vote in this election.

If you are eligible to vote and not registered, you may have decided your individual vote is worthless. It is easy to prove that outlook is misguided, particularly for black voters. If black votes have no value, then why is so much money, misinformation and energy being devoted to making it harder for black people to vote?

Missouri is one of a growing number of states that has enacted a voter photo ID law, allegedly to combat a type of voter fraud that has never been proven to exist in the state. These laws are pushed by Republicans for the simple reason that they make it more difficult for people to vote who vote against Republicans and their issues. The people who do not have a governmentissued photo ID tend to be older minority voters, students, or low-income people who do not drive or travel overseas, and when people in these groups vote they tend to vote for Democrats and progressive ballot initiatives. (We will come back to voter photo ID and voting in the November 6 election in Missouri.)

Republicans have pushed voter photo ID laws for decades, but in this upcoming election cycle we are seeing newer, more aggressive forms of minority voter suppression. As Marc E. Elias, a voting rights lawyer aligned with the Democratic Party, revealed on Twitter on September 4, Trump’s Department of Justice has issued sweeping subpoenas demanding that millions of North Carolina voter records be turned over to immigration authorities by September 25. According to the New York Times, many of the 44 counties whose election boards were subpoenaed have populations that are disproportionately poor and black. “With just two months to go before the midterms,” the Times noted, “the subpoenas threatened to sow chaos in the state’s election machinery.” If your vote wasn’t worth anything, then nobody would be trying so hard to keep you from voting. So, if you are eligible to vote, it’s time that you register to vote and start voting. You are eligible to vote if you are a citizen of the United States, a resident of the state and jurisdiction where you vote, and at least 18 years old (though you can register when you are 17 years and 6 months of age). If you are a convicted felon, you can still vote in Missouri so long as you are not on probation or parole. You cannot vote if you have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor connected to voting, or if you have been declared incapacitated. You may register to vote at your local election authority (300 N. Tucker Blvd. in St. Louis, 725 Northwest Plaza Dr. in St. Ann for St. Louis County). You may access a voter registration form online at https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/ goVoteMissouri/register. Also, the League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis will register people to vote at 61 area libraries from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 29. You will need your driver’s license number and Social Security number if you have been issued those

documents, as well as other identifying personal information.

If you are registered to vote, you should make sure that you are still on the voting rolls. Missouri uses the Voter Crosscheck system, another voter suppression tool that allegedly targets nonexistent types of voter fraud. If someone else with your same name is registered to vote elsewhere, Voter Crosscheck may have falsely flagged you as being registered to vote in two places and removed you from the rolls. To make sure you are still registered to vote, call your local election board (314-622-4800 in St. Louis, 314-615-1800 in St. Louis County) or check at https://s1.sos.mo.gov/elections/ voterlookup.

As for Missouri’s voter photo ID law, it recognizes the following as valid IDs: a Missouri Driver License, a Missouri Nondriver License, a U.S. Passport or a U.S. Military ID. If you want to vote and do not possess one of these forms of ID, the state is required to provide you with a Missouri Nondriver License at no cost. Just contact the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office toll-free at 866-868-3245 or by email at showit2vote@sos.mo.gov; the office cannot guarantee how long the process will take without knowing what identifying documents you can provide.

However, registered voters can vote in Missouri on November 6 without a governmentissued photo ID. They would need to sign an official statement that they are who they claim to be and show either a voter registration card; an ID from a Missouri university, college, vocational or technical school; or one of a number of documents issued to them: a utility bill, a bank statement, a government check, a paycheck, or another government document showing their name and address.

In the weeks ahead before this crucial election – when so many important matters will be decided relevant to our health, prosperity and identity as a nation – The American will offer endorsements on a wide range of candidates and ballot initiatives. These include an opportunity to raise the minimum wage, clean up many aspects of our elections and politics, and legalize medical marijuana, as well as your U.S. senator, congressional representative and a number of other key offices. In many states, though not Missouri, African-American candidates are on statewide ballots with a real chance to win what in some cases will be historic victories. African-American voters always are crucial to the electoral fortunes of Democrats, and in 2018 they have propelled black Democratic candidates – shockingly – to the general election for governor in Florida in Georgia, among other exciting races nationwide.

In Missouri, we have an incumbent Democratic U.S. senator who has voted consistently to protect affordable healthcare for people with preexisting conditions being challenged by a pro-Trump Republican who has filed suit to gut these very protections. And the statewide ballot initiatives to raise the minimum wage, clean up politics and legalize medical marijuana have the potential to be transformative. But you will not have a say in these matters of dire importance if you do not register to vote before October 10 and exercise your right to vote on November 6. Remember, your vote is your voice and now, in the age of Trumpism, it needs to be heard more than ever.

Vote November 6 like your life depends on it – it does

By Charles Jaco For The St. Louis American

On November 6, the racist Trump regime will discover whether voter suppression, gerrymandering, and mobilizing raging white nationalists will be enough to keep it in power by making sure both houses of Congress remain in the hands of Republicans too spineless to even consider removing the most unfit president in American history from office.

Trump’s name won’t be on the ballot on November 6, but his white nationalism will. That’s because every Republican on the ballot, for every office, is complicit with Trump’s vicious campaign against any American who isn’t a white Christian conservative.

Republicans in Congress have refused to stand up to Trump for two very simple reasons: they fear his angry white voters, and they’re terrified of losing money from rich, white donors who reject the idea of a multiethnic, multi-cultural America. Whether they’re running for U.S. Senator or local alderman, Republican candidates are convinced they have to be Trump sock puppets in order to survive.

Once Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report is filed, everyone expects there will be more than enough legitimate grounds to impeach an authoritarian grifter whose entire public career has been fueled by racism and white supremacy. But unless a majority of the House of Representatives votes to impeach Trump, and two-thirds of the Senate votes to convict him on those impeachment charges, Trump will stay in office.

Democrats won’t even say the word “impeachment” for fear of mobilizing Trump’s angry, racist voter base, but when they say this election is about America’s future, impeachment is exactly what they’re talking about. Republicans, who’ve been playing footsies with white nationalists ever since the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts of the mid-sixties, are completely comfortable now that the GOP has finished morphing into the White People’s Party, and want Trump and his campaign of white grievance to remain in office.

They may get their wish if the Democrats’ core of African

L

U.S. needs No First Use policy

Two years into his presidency, Trump has brought this country to the brink of nuclear war more times than any other president. Whether he’s tweeting “fire and fury” at North Korea at 2 am or proposing to increased our arsenal tenfold, Trump threatens too cavalierly to use weapons that would wipe entire cities off the map and destroy communities. If our candidates for Congress are serious about stopping Trump from pushing the red button, they need to endorse a No First Use policy this race.

Americans, Hispanics, white progressives, and organized labor voters stay home or, worse, vote Republican. It takes a lot of different colors to make a blue wave, and despite projections of a Democratic voting surge in November, it might not be big enough. Black voters, like all voters, vote less in midterms than they do in a presidential election year. But in St. Louis city and county, AfricanAmerican turnout dropped in 2016, compared to the Obama elections of ’08 and ’12. In the city, black turnout was 83 percent in 2008, when Obama first ran. In 2012, it dropped to 74 percent, and in the 2016 election that brought actual American fascism to power, only 67.6 percent of registered AfricanAmerican voters bothered to turn out. Meanwhile, voter turnout surged in white-flight areas like St. Charles and Jefferson counties.

Hispanics in the St. Louis area have not made up a significant part of the population since over half of the city’s Mexican population was driven out during the Great Depression by a combination of white racists and stepped-up federal deportation programs. But the few thousand registered Hispanic voters in the region should show up in force, given that Mexicans have been the first targets of Trump’s attempt to turn America into a white ethno-state.

Progressives have their own problems, as is apparent to anyone who spends more than five minutes on social media.

The activists, white and black, who supported Cori Bush in her failed attempt to oust U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay in the 1st Congressional District primary might just stay home November 6.

Organized labor is the most problematic part of any Democratic coalition to fight Trump because a significant number of union members are racists, a problem not unique to St. Louis, nor new in American political life. Even though progressives campaigned alongside union members to defeat “Right to Work” on the

August 7 Missouri ballot, a lot of those same white unionists vote GOP. Even after every racist, vicious, unhinged, and potentially treasonous thing Trump has done, he still has the support of 47 percent of union members nationwide, according to a May poll by Reuters/Ipsos. Of those four, the single biggest key is the black vote. In a red state like Missouri, that’s a problem because red state Democrats, like U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, campaign hard in white, conservative, rural areas, trying to peel off a few thousand right-of-center votes, while mostly ignoring black areas and concerns, figuring black voters will vote for them anyway.

In normal times, that might cause many black voters to stay home. But these are anything but normal times. We are living in what presidential historian Michael Bechloss calls “a national emergency.” Controlling Trump means the only other viable national alternative, the Democrats, must control either the U.S. House or Senate this November. And that means every part of that Democratic coalition needs to vote – holding their noses, if necessary – for any Democrat running for the House or the Senate. In Missouri, that means McCaskill for the Senate, and Democrats like Cort VanOstran in the 2nd Congressional District, the seat currently held by pro-Trump U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner. If you think Trump siding with white nationalists is awful –and his targeting of Mexicans, Muslims, and dark-skinned immigrants – is bad now, just watch what happens if the GOP continues to control Congress after the November 6 election. A president who calls black figures from Maxine Waters to Colin Kapaernick “low IQ… stupid…treasonous.” who wanted the Central Park Five executed, who discriminated against African Americans during his entire career as a landlord, and who reportedly said condemning neo-Nazis was “The biggest f**king mistake I’ve made” is just waiting for GOP House and Senate victories so he can accelerate his racist agenda. Vote November 6 like your family’s life depends on it. Because it does. Charles Jaco is a journalist, author, and activist. Follow him on Twitter at @ charlesjaco1.

As it stands, the president can command the use of a nuclear weapon whenever, wherever; there are no checks and balances on his authority over the country’s arsenal. A No First Use policy would mandate that the U.S. will never again initiate nuclear war, a policy that India and China have already adopted and Obama considered before leaving office. Not only would this prevent Trump (or any president!) from launching us into nuclear war by whim or miscalculation, it would also preclude the U.S. ever acting again as a nuclear aggressor globally. No one should be able to decide to go to nuclear war unilaterally, and it’s high time we made sure our laws reflected that.

Candidates and congressmen alike have expressed horror at the most incendiary of Trump’s stances on nuclear weapons, but failed to take bold action to stop him from using them. In moments of crisis, we need our politicians to take principled stances for forward thinking and bold action. If our Congressional candidates are serious about stopping Trump and nuclear war for good, they need to endorse a US No First Use platform this race.

John

Via email

Moszyk

Guest Columnist Charles Jaco

Photo by Carolina Hidalgo / St. Louis Public Radio

Scholarship Academy. This scholarship is designed to support enrollment of students who are underrepresented in their anticipated field of study. For more information, visit http://www.siue.edu/financial-aid.

Speeding fines doubled in Natural Bridge ‘Travel Safe Zone’

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and Missouri Department of Transportation have declared a “Travel Safe Zone” on Natural Bridge Avenue between Parnell Street and Goodfellow Boulevard. Under Missouri law, this allows for the court to double the fine of any person that pleads guilty or is found guilty of a speeding violation in this zone during all hours of the day and night.

This decisions was spurred by a rash of fatalities on the road. The Natural Bridge corridor has had 18 fatal crashes with 20 people killed since 2012, according to St. Louis police. Of those fatal crashes, 13 involved pedestrians. Overall, between 2012 and 2016, there were a total of 1469 crashes on the Natural Bridge Corridor, which is three times the number of expected accidents. Additionally, between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m., drivers are often driving 60-plus mph, which is excessively higher than the posted speed limit of 35 mph, police said. Police said a regional “Travel Safe Zone” team, comprised of engineering, law enforcement and public information individuals, will conduct periodic monitoring to determine the timeframe for ending this initiative before moving it to other areas of the city that are also a traffic safety concern. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/y8l6jfx6.

Metro Arts in Transit deadline is Sept. 21

Metro Arts in Transit is offering local visual artists an opportunity to display their works across the St. Louis region and to get paid for their creations. Artists who reside within 50 miles of St. Louis are invited to enter their original work for 2018 MetroScapes, a public transit art program that showcases local art at Metro transit locations. Ten different artworks will be reproduced as largescale posters that will be displayed at more than 200 MetroBus shelters throughout the St. Louis region. The deadline for submissions is Friday, September 21 at 11:59 p.m. For more information, visit artsintransit.org.

By state Senator Jamilah Nasheed

For The St. Louis American

Five years ago, our city returned local control of our police department for the first time in more than 150 years. In these past five years, we have worked together to make sure that police leadership is held accountable to the people of St. Louis, not some bureaucrat in Jefferson City.

In the past week, this ability to hold our leaders accountable has been incredibly important as we learned that the Circuit Attorney’s Office would no longer accept criminal cases involving 28 former and current St. Louis Metropolitan Police officers.

The disclosure of this “exclusion list” of officers is deeply troubling. More troubling, is the contradicting information put forward from the Circuit Attorney’s Office and the chief of police as to the origins of the list. The citizens of St. Louis deserve to know the truth. If the Circuit Attorney’s Office no longer trusts the word of more than two dozen former and current police officers, the people should know why and how this trust was broken.

Right now, we need facts and we need transparency. We do not need a continued war of words between the city’s top law enforcement leaders.

That is why I formally requested that the St. Louis Board of Alderman’s Public Safety Committee immediately hold hearings into this “exclusion list” so that we can protect and restore the public’s trust in its keepers of peace and justice.

As the Missouri state senator representing the 5th Senatorial District in the City of St. Louis, and as sponsor of House Bill 71 that returned local control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to the City of St. Louis, I look forward to a positive resolution of this issue for the people we serve.

Until then, I will continue to fight for the families, businesses and people of St. Louis who deserve openness and honesty from all their leaders.

Jamilah Nasheed

SIUE emeritus professor and former administrator Johnetta Randolph Haley (center) poses with the SIUE Johnetta Haley Scholars. Also shown are SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook (far right) and Earleen Patterson, director of the SIUE Johnetta Haley

Johnetta Haley and her scholars

SALUTE

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things out and delivered them straight to my doorstep.”

Dennis also told Davis to attend an orientation for the Save Our Sons program, a fourweek job-training initiative for economically disadvantaged African-American men living in Ferguson and surrounding St. Louis County communities.

“Brother Dennis had the floor and was basically talking about what the young men had to do to be the leaders in the community,” Davis said. “He didn’t say fill out this application. I had to have patience. I changed my whole wardrobe. I’m working on my posture, my attitude.”

Now two weeks in, Davis already has job interviews lined up, he said, and is confident he will walk out of the program with employment.

Davis is among about 520 men who have participated in Save Our Sons since it was founded in January 2015. The program came out of a call that Michael McMillan, president and CEO of St. Louis’ Urban League, heard on the streets during the Ferguson unrest –after Michael Brown was shot and killed by a Ferguson Police officer in August 2014.

One night in the streets of Ferguson, McMillan was talking with three young men about the Urban League’s programs when he saw a can fly through the air in their direction.

“The name ‘tear gas’ does not do it justice,” McMillan told The American in 2014. “I felt it in my skin. The struggle is real.”

During those conversations at Ground Zero, McMillan

OFFICER

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Green support his family and fulfill the promises he made to his children to properly

heard the young men on the street saying they needed jobs, he said, so Save Our Sons was born. In July 2017, McMillan and community leaders cut the ribbon on the Ferguson Community Empowerment Center that now houses the program. It’s a job training center built on the site of the burned-down QuikTrip convenience store, which was destroyed during the unrest. “At a time when St. Louis was floundering and did not have a sense of direction because of the Ferguson incident, Michael came up with

n “He set up a program that gave youth the skillset and the reason to have hope for the future.”

– Michael Neidorff, on Michael McMillan

Save Our Sons,” said Michael Neidorff, chairman/CEO of Centene Corporation and chairman of the National Urban League. “He set up a program that gave youth the skillset and the reason to have hope for the future.”

On Saturday, September 29, McMillan will receive the 2018 Stellar Performer in Education Award at the St. Louis American Foundation’s 2018 Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship & Awards Gala.

“Seldom do you have find someone with the competence of Michael, the skillset of Michael, the business acumen and the humility,” Neidorff said. “He is among the most humble individuals I’ve ever met and, at the same time, the most successful I’ve seen

educate them and allow them to continue to participate in school activities and sports. The fundraiser will feature cigar specials, 50/50 raffle, auction and live painting by artist Micah Shelton. Food, beverages and cigars will be

at leading a city in a socially responsible way to overcome issues and become the best they can be.”

Save Our Sons – along with Save Our Sisters, which was established last year – is just one of the educational programs offered at the Urban League. McMillan “runs a big operation,” said Keith Williamson, general counsel at Centene and board chair of the St. Louis Urban League chapter. McMillan oversees a staff of 225 and 13 locations that serve more than 100,000 individuals per year through 30 programs.

“Many of those programs impact education, starting with Head Start,” Williamson said. “Our programs not only focus on 672 young children, but start with their moms – with training classes while the moms are pregnant.”

The Urban League hosts a popular back-to-school expo in conjunction with the St. Louis Public Schools, he said, and offers many technical-training programs to help people get jobs and lead productive lives.

“Michael has been a true force for positive change in our community,” Williamson said.

“I’ve had the pleasure to get to know his mother, Rita (McMillan), and it’s very obvious where some of his good qualities come from.”

Rita, a human resources consultant at Saint Louis University (SLU), said Michael has always had a passion for helping students, especially African-American children. As a junior and senior at Bishop DuBourg High School, Michael worked at Denny’s and used his tips – which were matched by Denny’s – to establish a scholarship for AfricanAmerican students, Rita said.

“He’s always been giving

available for purchase, and Montrey’s will donate up to 15 percent of those sales. All other proceeds will benefit Green and his family.

The Ethical Society of Police (E.S.O.P.) is an association of police officers,

A school named for Dr. Givens

Dr.

and making sure everyone else has a seat at the table,” Rita said.

Michael himself earned enough scholarships –including one from the Urban League – to attend SLU and graduate debt-free, Rita said.

Celerstine Johnson, retired associate vice president at SLU, remembers when Michael began working for her as a freshman in the student education services office as a peer mentor.

“His job was to connect with students and help them make the adjustment to college,” Johnson said. “When I hired him, I didn’t realize what a gem I had.”

Though just an undergrad, he ended up strengthening the university’s peer counseling model, she said.

“He has a magnetic way of dealing with people,” Johnson said. “You want to do something to help him because he has that kind of personality.”

While still in college, he founded St. Louis’ Young Democrats and worked parttime for then-Mayor Freeman

park rangers, and civilians that advocates for racial and gender equity in the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) and St. Louis County Police Department.

Green’s family has received

Bosley Jr. Michael was elected as the city’s 19th Ward alderman at 25 and became the youngest person to hold an aldermanic post. Then, at 35, he became the youngest St. Louisan ever elected citywide as license collector.

Michael joined the Urban League on his 16th birthday, and he has now been with the organization for 31 years. Last year, his birthday of July 26 landed on the first day of the annual National Urban League Conference, which was hosted in St. Louis – and became the largest convention in the national organization’s history.

These are all some of Michael’s proudest achievements, he said. He is also proud of being taught by the Jesuits to be “a man for others.”

“They also told us that really there are three days in life that are the most important to you: the day that you were born, the day you die, and the day that you realize your purpose on this earth and what the Lord has put you here to do,” Michael said. “In my opinion, my purpose is to help St. Louis,

previous financial support from ESOP and its individual members, the St. Louis Police Officers Association, the St. Louis Police Foundation, Shield of Hope (the Fraternal Order of Police’s charitable arm), Backstoppers and

to help this community to try to move forward and to make St. Louis city the best city it can be.”

His leadership role at the Urban League allows him to push for this every single day.

“And that’s what I’ve always wanted to do, whether it’s with my community service, governmental service or not-for-profit service,” Michael said, “and I will always be committed to that because I think it’s most important for all of us to leave a legacy trying to give back and help humanity.”

The 2018 Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship & Awards Gala will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, September 29, 2018 at the America’s Center Ballroom, following a reception at 5 p.m. Tickets are on sale now. Individual tickets are $85 each/$850 table, and VIP/Corporate tickets are $1,500 table. For more information or to purchase tickets, click here or call 314533-8000.

Captain Michael Deeba. For more information, call (314) 478-8140 or email admin@esopstl.org. Donations can also be made on GoFundMe at www.gofundme. com/fundraiser-for-officermilton-green.

Henry Givens Jr. cut the ribbon on the new Dr. Henry Givens Jr. Elementary School, formerly the Webster Groves Elementary Computer School in the Webster Groves School District, on September 6. The president emeritus of Harris-Stowe State University, Givens got his start in education teaching elementary school in Webster Groves and rose to assistant superintendent in the district.

Photo by Wiley Price

so they deemed me a suicide risk and they took me to the women’s pod and they took all my clothes away. They gave me a suicide smock, and they left me in that room for three days.” She lost her job and her nursing license, which she spent a year trying to get back. Inez is now a leader in the Close the Workhouse campaign, which was announced on Thursday, September 13 in the form of a 42-page report with that title. The primary authors are four local advocacy groups: Action St. Louis, ArchCity Defenders, the Bail Project and Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment (M.O.R.E.)

“The City of St. Louis condemns hundreds of mostly poor and black people to suffer in unspeakably hellish and inhumane conditions at the ‘Workhouse,’” the report states. “Over 95 percent of people at the Workhouse are awaiting

MALES

Continued from A1

Continued from A1 liberal, culturally inclusive American society. But this gives white America too much undeserved credit for that success.

No, our success as black men is because we are the last generation of black boys raised by black men who had to know how to live by their wits. You had to know how to make a living and take care of yourself by being smart enough to figure out how to take advantage of the system while the system thought it was taking advantage of you. There is a story that will explain what I’m talking about.

Way back in the day, at the beginning of the 20th century when you could really buy something with a nickel or a dime, an elderly black gentleman was retiring from his long-held position as locker room attendant at an exclusive club for very rich white men. The club hired a young brother to take his place, and the older brother’s last duty was to train his replacement.

The younger brother observed that as the rich white men were leaving, they would tip the older brother. The exchange between the white men and the older brother annoyed and angered the

trial and remain incarcerated due to their inability to afford unusually high and unconstitutional cash bonds.”

The Close the Workhouse campaign calls for the immediate closure of the Workhouse, a reduced incarcerated population in St. Louis and overall reform to public safety. It provides statistics, along with several first-hand accounts of people who have served time in the Workhouse. It also makes direct calls to action to the mayor, the circuit attorney and the Board of Aldermen.

The campaign calls on the mayor to push forward legislation that would close the Workhouse. It asks the Board of Aldermen to stop approving funding for the Workhouse and introduce legislation to close it. The report gives a lengthier list of recommendations for the circuit attorney, which are detailed below.

The St. Louis American received an embargoed copy of the report and was not able to request a comment about the specific research from Mayor Lyda Krewson and Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner

younger brother, because the white men would invariably show the older brother a nickel and a dime and ask him which one was worth more and say he could have the one he chose. After some hesitation, the older brother would always say the nickel was larger and heavier so it must be worth more. They would all laugh and give him the nickel.

Fed up and enraged, the young brother confronted the old brother, saying, “You know better, so why do you allow those rich white men to believe you don’t?” The old brother smiled and said, “Son, of course I know a dime is worth more than a nickel, but if I take the dime the game is over.” He went on to explain the reason he was retiring was his house was paid for and his youngest child had just graduated from college.

My generation’s success is really a result of knowing how to hustle. That’s the moral of that story. Yeah, we went to college, but that was so you didn’t end up with a hard hustle. We learned how to hustle because we were taught by the preceding generations of black men how you had to function in order to survive in America.

Here’s the truth about America that all black boys got taught back then that we no longer teach: America was not created or designed for you. In

before press time. However, The American did ask Krewson and Gardner about closing the Workhouse and the critiques mentioned.

Krewson did not comment on whether she supports the jail’s closure. Her spokesman stated in an email, “We are committed to reducing the population in our city’s jails in safe and responsible ways. Over the past 12 months, the city’s jail population has decreased 12 percent, mostly from the Medium Security Institution,” or Workhouse.

Funds from Prop 1, which the voters passed this summer, will allow the city to make upgrades to the facility, according to Krewson’s statement.

As the city’s lead prosecutor, Gardner has the power to decline to prosecute certain crimes and to dismiss charges, the report states.

“Current prosecutorial practices result in a cycle of incarcerating poor people and communities of color,” the report states. “Racial profiling leads courtrooms and jails to be unjustly filled with people of color.”

America, if you’re black, the cards are marked, the dice are loaded and the deck is always stacked. To the extent America thinks about you, it will always be trying to limit your possibilities. But anybody can be played, once you understand how they cheat. We were the last generation raised in a totally segregated America. In segregated America, black boys had the benefit of being nurtured and protected by the entire black community until they could protect themselves. Because we regularly heard “this ain’t for you” or “time for y’all to go” is why we all got over. We also are the first generation to live as adults in a desegregated America.

“Lest our feet stray from the places, our God where we met

Black people are 85 percent more likely to be stopped by police than white people, it states, “although there are no statistics showing they are more likely to commit crimes.”

Nearly 90 percent of the people incarcerated at the jail are black, while just under half of St. Louis city residents are black, according to the report.

The campaign is calling on the circuit attorney to recommend automatic pretrial release for individuals charged with misdemeanors, victimless crimes and poverty-related offenses.

In March 2018, there were 107 individuals in the Workhouse for technical probation violations, 16 for driving-related charges and 167 for drug possession charges, according to the report. There were also 225 people who faced what the campaign calls “poverty-related charges,” which include non-payment of child support, trespassing, stealing (not a car or a firearm), prostitution, and receiving stolen property. And 186 people faced what the report deemed to be “victimless charges,” including unlawful

Thee. Lest our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee.” These verses from “Lift Every Voice and Sing” poetically capture the reason for the physical and spiritual malaise of the black community in post-Civil Rights America. You could say we have spent the last 40 years wandering the desert. What has happened to today’s young black males is we – my generation – never passed on the lessons. We didn’t teach what we had been taught. We let the chain that connects the past to future by way of the present break. Too many of today’s young black males don’t know who they are or where they are because they don’t know from whence they came. If our forefathers had done

possession of a gun, resisting arrest and perjury.

“Kim Gardner has admitted that most people in the Workhouse are facing charges that are not serious and are non-violent, but only [about] 4 percent of people in St. Louis are ever offered release on a promise to appear,” the report states. “If rates of pretrial release were similar to other progressive cities, like Philadelphia, this would result in the immediate release of 480 people. This move alone would allow us to shut down the Workhouse.”

When The American asked Gardner if she was going to push for automatic pretrial release, her spokeswoman said in an email, “The circuit attorney is committed to ensuring that we have a bail system that focuses on public safety and improving individual appearances at court proceedings. Gardner has already made policy changes in her office that reduce the chances of someone being confined pre-trial solely because of a person’s inability to pay.”

One year of incarceration

for us what we have done for the generations that have come after us, none of us would be here. Some of us have been extraordinarily materially successful, but there will come an hour when we’ll hear, “Fool tonight thy soul is required of thee.” We – my generation –have collectively violated a scared trust and will be judged harshly.

But the story of young black males is still unfolding, and the lesson my father taught me still holds true and still can be learned. The cheat may have changed, but it’s still on. And you might need to beat it in new ways, but it still can be beat. You can continue to protest and demand equality and fairness – we all deserve those things – but you still need to learn to beat the cheat.

costs St. Louis $25,000. The report emphasized the importance of diversion programs that provide opportunities and programs to keep people out of the criminal justice system.

“Gardner’s office has four diversion programs, but they are very limited with only 150 participants in over one year,” the report states. “All diversion programs must be expanded, with a special focus on pre-plea diversion.”

Gardner said that the city has several diversion programs with more than 300 participants in them.

Last year, ArchCity Defenders filed a classaction lawsuit against the city for inhumane conditions at the Workhouse, said Blake Strode, executive director of ArchCity Defenders. Now they are calling for its permanent closure.

“This report highlights the systemic disparities and structural racism which has plagued our region for decades,” Strode said. “The Workhouse in many ways symbolizes these destructive forces.”

Mike Jones is a former senior staffer in St. Louis city and county government and current member of the Missouri State Board of Education and The St. Louis American editorial board. In 2016 and 2017, he was awarded Best Serious Columnist for all of the state’s large weeklies by the Missouri Press Association.

“Homegrown Black Males” is a partnership between HomeGrown STL at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis and The St. Louis American, edited by Sean Joe, Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor and associate dean at the Brown School, and Chris King, managing editor of The American, in memory of Michael Brown.

North County mentor program celebrates 12 years

Pathways to Success

By The St. Louis American Staff

Despiterisingcollegecosts,aclearmajority of families believe higher education is wellworth the investment, and most students and parents are willing to stretch themselves financially to make it happen, according to a new study.

The national study from Sallie Mae and Ipsos, “How America Values College 2018,” found that 66 percent of college-going families believe they are getting a good value for the price they are paying for college, and 20 percent say college is worth every penny.

Even those willing to stretch financially are taking deliberate, resourceful and concrete steps to make college more affordable. Fortyfive percent of college students are working year-round to earn money for school, and 37 percent of students live at home with parents or relatives to save on housing costs.

“Families resoundingly shared that college is worth the cost, and their resourcefulness made it more affordable,” said Raymond J. Quinlan, chairman and CEO of Sallie Mae.

Other ways students are saving on college costs? Sixty-seven percent of students are cutting back their spending and 24 percent are taking classes over a shorter period of time in order to graduate sooner and reduce costs.

While many families are making such significant strides to prepare for college costs and save money, Quinlan points out that there’s still work to do when it comes to equipping more families with tools and information needed to create a plan to pay for college.

Planning, and ultimately paying for college also involves terms and jargon that may

leave many scratching their heads. Indeed, when asked a series of true or false questions about certain paying-for-college terminology, lingering misconceptions persisted: 42 percent of families mistakenly believe work-study funds are automatic, more than 20 percent believe “free tuition” means college is free and 19 percent believe the sticker price is what college will cost them.

Do you have questions about college

Sponsored

The Special Friends Extended Mentor Program, which invites professionals from the community to come to schools and mentor students on life skills, celebrated 12 years on September 7 with a donor/mentor appreciation reception at Bissingers Chocolatier in the Central West End. The program empowers 1,500 students in North County through mentoring and awarding students that maintain good grades and good character. Centene Corporation and Church On The Rock were the major donors. Left to right: Stephanie Williams; Keith Williamson, general counsel at Centene Corporation; Dawn Moore, patient account representative at SMC Health Center; Holly Cousins, director and founder of the program; and Steven Cousins, attorney at Armstrong Teasdale Law firm.

Better Family Life to host PeaceFest on September 15

Better Family Life will host 2018 PeaceFest 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday, September 15 at Bellefontaine Park, 9665 Bellefontaine Rd. Activities include the St. Louis Leadership Softball Classic, the Mid-West Regional Kick-Ball Classic, food trucks, a children’s play area, specialty vendors, and performances by Kim Massie, Rhoda G, Marquise Knox, local church choirs, Kidgoalss and Love Jones, The Band. Local pastors will deliver a message on the importance of peace, now. It is also the official Clean Sweep Volunteer appreciation event, with free food, for volunteers. Bring blankets and lawn chairs. There is a $100 vendor fee for entrepreneurs and small businesses. For more information call (314) 381-8200.

Golfing for scholarships for U. City students

The Darren’s Lions2Tigers will host its second annual golf tournament at Pevely Farms Golf Club (400 Lewis Road, Eureka, Mo.) on Friday, September 21. The event will start with a lunch at noon and 1 p.m. shotgun start. Funds raised will be used for scholarships to benefit University City High School graduates (UCHS Lions) attending The University of Missouri-Columbia (Mizzou Tigers).

Last year, the foundation awarded a total of $7,500 to three UCHS graduates based on their academic success, essays and acceptance to Mizzou. The 2018 Lions2Tigers scholars are Kathryn Fuller, communications; Jahlyn Richmond, business accounting, and Jonathan York, information technology.

For information on the scholarship, contact Sam Martin, UCHS dean of Students, at (314) 290-4104

or stmartin@ucityschools. org or visit ucityschools.org/ Lions2Tigers.

The foundation was created to honor Darren Valeriote, UCHS Class of 1988, who passed away in February 2016. He graduated from Mizzou in 1993 with a psychology degree and went on to establish a successful home healthcare business, Senior Services. He is survived by his wife Stacey and sons Steven and Alex. Steven is following

in his father’s footsteps and is a sophomore at Mizzou; Alex is a junior at Eureka High School. The cost for the tournament is $125 per golfer (lunch and beverages are included) and the deadline to enter is Saturday, September 15. To sign up or sponsor a hole, visit birdeasepro.com/ DarrensLions2Tigers or contact Chris Valeriote at 314-3412710 or cvaleriote@msn.com.

Virgil Edward Hudson

Naomi Thelma White

Ethnic cleansing, the blue wave and Cort VanOstran

Charles Jaco – journalist, author, and activist (on Twitter at @charlesjaco1) – who took down U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill’s Republican challenger Todd Akin six years ago in a bruising broadcast interview, has come out of retirement to write for The American before the November 6 general election. He penned this guest Political EYE. In Rwanda and Serbia, ethnic cleansing required guns and rivers of blood. In Missouri, all it required was a few strokes of a computer mouse and, poof, thousands of black people disappeared. Which is why most people reading this will probably end up voting for U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay for Congress. When the 2010 Census results came in, the Missouri Legislature had to re-draw the state’s congressional district boundaries. When they re-drew the lines in these parts, they made sure of two things. One, the City of St. Louis would have only one congressman, and two, every black person possible would be shoehorned into the new 1st Congressional District represented by Clay. That’s why the border between Clay’s district, and GOP U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner’s 2nd Congressional District looks like it was drawn by someone who had a sudden spasm when the computer cursor moved over a black neighborhood. The border moves smoothly south along Hanley Road, where it suddenly makes a sharp turn west along Manchester Road, then goes south along Berry Road, then zigzags back east, taking all the black neighborhoods of Rock Hill and north Webster Groves and jamming them into Clay’s district. The GOP state lawmakers who drew it

wanted to make sure every black, reliably Democratic neighborhood possible was removed from Republican Wagner’s district and placed into Democrat Clay’s area. It worked. Clay’s 1st Congressional District is 50 percent African-American. Wagner’s 2nd District is 89 percent white. And what, in 21st Century America, is 89 percent white besides a Donald Trump rally, Wyoming, and the line for Toby Keith tickets? This gerrymandering guarantees that Clay will be re-elected in the general election, and that if Jesus Christ ran as a Democrat, he couldn’t win in the 2nd District. But then again, maybe not. Wagner, the former chair of the Missouri GOP and former U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg (more on that later), has won re-election three times by margins of 64 percent, 82 percent, and 59 percent. She’s voted with Trump 96 percent of the time and has mobilized her white-flight constituents with her hardline conservative, antiabortion agenda. Her opponent, Democrat Cort VanOstran, is a 29-year-old lawyer who was raised by a single mother in Joplin, got a scholarship to Harvard University and is still paying off his student loans. In any other year, VanOstran would probably be road kill. But his campaign has raised almost $500,000. He has held town hall meetings across Wagner’s district, pointing out that Wagner has refused to hold any constituent town halls for six years. He has hammered her on shouting “Freedom!” for the TV cameras after voting to repeal Obamacare and potentially taking health coverage away from people with pre-existing conditions. VanOstran’s volunteers

have been trudging through neighborhoods and knocking on doors from Clayton to Eureka. And he even managed to run a TV ad.

So why should he stand a chance in a district whiter than a St. Louis police union group photo in a blizzard? Because Wagner has voted with Trump an astonishing 96 percent of the time. Because she has voted against health care, for tax cuts that mostly benefit the rich, and is part of the “Nothing to see here, so move along” GOP brigade in Congress that has aided and abetted Trump’s unfitness, collusion, obstruction of justice, racism, and praise of Vladimir Putin

In other words, it’s Trump, and as much as everyone tries to localize elections like these, everyone knows it. Wagner campaign handouts claims, “We’ve brought America Peace and Prosperity.” Aside from the absurdity of crediting Trump because he inherited Barack

Obama’s improving economy and associating the word “peace” with a guy who is just one Twitter tantrum away from launching a nuclear strike against North Korea, Iran, or Canada, the most striking thing about her statement is the word “we.” She means, of course, herself and Trump. Wagner briefly separated herself from Trump in early 2016, issuing a carefully parsed but bloodless condemnation of his virulent sexism. But that evaporated once he got the nomination, and she since has been gleefully supporting both his agenda and his persona in White House photo ops. There’s no real surprise there, since Wagner has always been one of the establishment Republicans who gladly winked and nodded at the party’s farright wing. Take 2010, at the height of the anti-Obama Tea Party frenzy, when Wagner returned home from being U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg

and said she hoped “socialism hasn’t followed me home across the pond.”

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, a splinter of a European country with a population of 600,000, requires citizens to have health insurance, provides world-class health care either free or inexpensively, has a maximum tax rate of 42 percent (as opposed to 35 percent here), and provides generous retirement, maternity, and unemployment benefits.

If that’s socialism, most Americans might say, “Sign me up.”

Politically, it’s a tiny step from calling sensible social policy “socialism” to enthusiastically supporting America’s Benito Mussolini And Wagner took that step easily, voting to gut Obamacare, cut taxes for the rich, make it easy for companies to dodge compensation claims, loosen

regulations on the banks that caused the ’08 crash, and proposing that workers get paid family leave only if they agree to cut their future Social Security benefits. All that, plus supporting Right-to-Work, rejected by 70 percent of Missouri voters in August. But this year, voting for extremist policies proposed by a Republican president isn’t the usual no-brainer in the 2nd Congressional District, mainly because this president is the unfit, racist, and (probably) treasonous Donald Trump. Democrat Cort VanOstran, by running against Wagner, is running against Trump. The choice for the (mostly) white, (nominally) Republican 2nd District is clear –re-elect a Trump sock puppet or go with the new kid on the block. This is more than a political choice. It’s a basic, moral test, one that Wagner has repeatedly failed.

U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Missouri) – who has voted with President Trump 96 percent of the time – faces a spirited challenge in the 2nd Congressional District from Cort VanOstran (right).

West End Clinic Expands

On Saturday August 4, 2018, the West End Clinic broke ground on the expansion of its Clinical facility located at 5736 W. Florissant Ave. The West End Clinic has been in operation since 1983 and has been at its current location since 1999. This expansion will be the first major development project in Walnut Park since the construction of Northwest High School in 1962. The West Clinic is the only drug treatment clinic located within the St. Louis City Limits. For more info please check our website at westendclinic.org.

Stephen Westbrook, IFF; Sen. Karla May; John Mueller, JEMA; Tisha Gholston, WEC Director; Tishaura Jones, City of St. Louis Treasurer; Wardell Carter, WEC CEO; Joan Bicker, Blackline Construction; Mark Stringer, DMH; Sen. Jamilah Nasheed; Mike Patterson, WEC, BP; Hon. Yolanda Austin, Mayor of Jennings

Mark Stringer, Director, Missouri Dept. of Mental Health and Wardell Carter, President/CEO of West End Clinic

Saint Louis Police Chief John Hayden and some of St. Louis’ finest

Sen. Jamilah Nasheed speaks alongside Diana Harris of Missouri Dept. of Corrections, Tishaura Jones and Wardell Carter

The crowd enjoys the festivities.

Attendees listen to some of the honored guests.

Tishaura Jones and Joe Ambrose, Vice Chairman of First Bank

Wardell Carter, Nathan Sykes of US Bank and Mayor Yolanda Austin

A cake for the special occasion

John Mueller, Architect with JEMA, and Wardell Carter

Ceremonial shovels and hardhats

Jennings Mayor Yolanda Austin with Sen. Karla May and Mark Stringer

Virvus Jones and Sen. Jamilah Nasheed

Diana Harris, Tishaura Jones, Wardell Carter, Keena Carter (Committeeperson, 27th Ward), and Mike Patterson

The crowd waits for the ceremony to begin.

Kent Minor, Virvus Jones, Wardell Carter, Nancy McCain, Paulette Phillips and Mike Patterson

Tim Person and Lionel Phillips

More scenes of the crowd

Photos by Wiley Price

Columbus statue in Tower Grove Park is under review

In my November 4, 2004 column, I asked, “How did you observe Columbus Day? Were you one of the millions who went shopping downtown or at a mall, taking advantage of the many holiday sales? Did you attend a parade or participate in any of the scores of celebrations around the nation? Or did you join the thousands of Native Americans who protested the holiday?”

The controversy surrounding Christopher Columbus continues today. I now ask, “How will you observe Columbus Day? Will you march in or attend a Columbus Day parade? Will you take advantage of the many sales that will be associated with the holiday? Will you throw paint or trash on his image?”

There’s disagreement over the Christopher Columbus statue in Tower Grove Park that has stood there for more than 130 years, but some community members want it removed. A commission of historians and experts from local arts institutions, and representatives of Italian-American and Native American people in St. Louis, has been established to consider whether to eliminate the statue.

Italian Americans have been celebrating Columbus Day long since it became a federal holiday in 1937, and a wreath is laid on the statue in Tower Grove Park to honor their ethnicity.

Martin Gardner once wrote, “Biographical history, as taught in our public schools, is still largely a history of ridiculous kings and queens, compulsive voyagers, and ignorant generals. The men, who radically altered history, are seldom mentioned, if at all.”

Cities have been named Columbus or Columbia in Connecticut, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, etc. We have a federal holiday informing us when we’re to celebrate Christopher Columbus’ birthday. There are statues of Christopher Columbus all over America. His portrait has been on postage stamps. There is a huge figure of Columbus and Queen Isabella of Spain towering above the ground floor rotunda

of the California Statehouse in Sacramento.

Our history books tell us that “in 1492, Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue.” Actually, Columbus never saw or set foot on the mainland of the New World until his third voyage six years later on August 5, 1498.

Historians note that Columbus landed on the island of Hispaniola, site of presentday Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and the native people maintain that he was responsible for the systematic

n Most native people contend that to dignify Columbus and his legacy with parades, holidays and other celebrations is intolerable.

murder of nearly nine million indigenous people over the course of 40 years after his arrival there in the late 15th century. They assert that in less than a normal lifetime, Columbus and his invaders destroyed a whole culture.

Moreover, 1492 was not a good year. In the spring of 1492, the Moors were banned from Granada, and Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain expelled all the Jews from their lands, ending the largest and most distinguished Jewish settlement in Europe.

The United States is a nation of immigrants. During the mass emigration from Italy during

the century between1876 to 1976, the U.S. was the largest single recipient of Italian immigrants in the world, so naturally Columbus is a hero to the Italian community. Every ethnic group in America is proud of its roots. Race and ethnicity are subjects of great importance today throughout the U.S. and, indeed, throughout the world, but Columbus might be the wrong idol, particularly in the eyes of indigenous peoples.

The American Indian Movement insists the divisive Columbus Day holiday be replaced by a celebration that is much more inclusive and more accurately reflective of the cultural and racial richness of the Americas. They demand that federal, state, and local authorities begin the removal of anti-Indian icons throughout the country, beginning with Columbus. They also want the elimination of statues, street names, public parks, and any other public object that seeks to celebrate or honor devastators of Indian peoples.

Perhaps it would be better to celebrate the explorations of Amerigo Vespucci, the man after whom North America and South America were named. Most native people contend that to dignify Columbus and his legacy with parades, holidays and other celebrations is intolerable.

Please watch the Bernie Hayes TV program Saturday night at 10 p.m. and Sunday evenings at 5:30 p.m. on NLEC-TV Ch. 24.2. I can be reached by fax at (314) 8373369, on e-mail at berhay@ swbell.net or on Twitter @ berhay.

Bernie Hayes

Operation Food Search served over 92,000 free summer meals

Operation Food Search, a non-profit hunger relief organization, served over 92,000 meals during its Summer Food Service Program. The program was funded by the USDA to ensure children ages 18 years of age and younger continue receiving nutritious meals when school is not in session. There were 30 stationary meal service locations, and the mobile meal vans served 33 locations via three routes. Missouri ranks among the top 10 states with the highest percentage of households classified as food insecure or having very low food security according to Sunny Schaefer, executive director of Operation Food Search. Now the organization is accepting applications for its afterschool meal program through the Child and Adult Care Food Program. For more information, call (314) 726-5355 or visit http://www.OperationFoodSearch.org.

‘National crisis’ in heart health is preventable

CDC reports ‘staggering number’ of cardiovascular deaths and hospitalizations

By Chris King Of The St. Louis American

The latest Vital Signs report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a heart-stopper.

The CDC reported that heart attacks, strokes, heart failure and other related conditions in the U.S. caused 2.2 million hospitalizations in 2016, resulting in $32.7 billion in costs and 415,000 deaths, despite being largely preventable.

n “Most of these events can be prevented through daily actions to help lower risk and better manage medical conditions.”

– Dr. Anne Schuchat, CDC

Many of these events were in adults ages 35-64, with over 775,000 hospitalizations and 75,000 deaths occurring within this group in 2016

“Most of these events can be prevented through daily actions to help lower risk and better manage medical conditions,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC.

She said that the “staggering number of cardiovascular deaths and hospitalizations” arise from opportunities missed in finding and treating the common, controllable causes of cardiovascular diseases.

The CDC reported that 9 million American adults are not yet taking aspirin as recommended, 40 million adults with high

blood pressure are not yet under safe control, 39 million adults can benefit from managing their cholesterol, 54 million adults are smokers, and 71 million adults are not physically active.

According to the CDC, if every state reduced these life-changing events by six percent, one million cardiac events could be prevented by 2022 – hence the name of a collaborative initiative called “Million Hearts.”

“The solution for this national crisis does not depend on a brilliant new discovery or a breakthrough in science,” said Janet Wright,

M.D., a board certified cardiologist and executive director of Million Hearts “Small changes – the right changes, sustained over time – can produce huge improvements in cardiovascular health.” Wright urged healthcare professionals and healthcare systems to focus on the ABCS of heart health – Aspirin use when appropriate, Blood pressure control, Cholesterol management, and Smoking cessation – and to promote physical activity and healthy eating among their patients and employees. For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/ vitalsigns.

Kavanaugh is a threat to right to abortion and birth control

By Jose Caldera For The Missouri Forum

We are in the midst of confirmation process for U.S. Supreme Court Nominee Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh. This lifetime appointment will greatly impact the lives of every Missourian for decades to come. Our constitutional rights – including access to abortion, birth control, health care, and the right to live free of discrimination – are on the line. Most of us don’t have the time to watch hours of U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, so I want to share my perspective as a lawyer with experience working for an elected official and a lifelong Missourian. The Supreme Court has established an unbroken line of precedent – most recently in the 2016 case Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt — that people have a constitutional right to decide for themselves whether to continue a pregnancy or have an abortion. If Judge Kavanaugh is given a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court, the future of this half-century of unbroken precedent will be in his hands. During the confirmation hearings, Judge Kavanaugh was given at least 12 opportunities to tell us whether Roe v. Wade was correctly decided or whether there is a constitutional right to an abortion, and he danced around it every time.

As a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Law and a lawyer practicing in Missouri for seven years, my experience tells me that the best way to know how a judge will rule on a case is by looking at their past record in similar cases. Well, Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s record is clear – he would decimate abortion rights, eliminate protections for people living with a pre-existing condition, and erode birth control access for millions of women in this country.

n Kavanaugh’s record is clear – he would decimate abortion rights, eliminate protections for people living with a pre-existing condition, and erode birth control access.

Just last year, he tried to block an undocumented woman entering the United States from accessing her constitutional right to have an abortion. Judge Kavanaugh suggested that the ACA’s consumer protections for preexisting conditions were “linked” to the individual mandate and “won’t work without an individual mandate attached to it.” Under his view, if the individual mandate is struck down, the pre-existing conditions ban must go too. This view is shared by Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Judge Kavanaugh authored the dissenting opinion in the D.C. Circuit’s 2015 ruling on the Affordable Care Act’s birth control benefit – writing that he believed employers have the right to deny their employees’ health insurance coverage for birth control.

Much (too much, in my opinion) attention has been given to Kavanaugh’s statement that Roe is “settled law.” However, newly disclosed documents reveal Judge Brett Kavanaugh knows calling Roe v. Wade “settled law” is effectively meaningless – because it can be overruled by any Supreme Court.

In addition, during his testimony, Kavanaugh invoked a medically inaccurate anti-abortion code word and referred to birth control as an “abortion-inducing drug.”

The threat here is not theoretical, it is very much immediate. President Trump promised to nominate a Supreme Court justice who would

2018

Jose Caldera

By Sandra Jordan

Of The St. Louis American

Low-dose aspirin has become a low-cost, over-thecounter preventative regimen to avoid cardiovascular events. It acts as a blood thinner, reducing the risk of clots forming that can cause strokes and heart attacks. Doctors have known that aspirin works against secondand third-time incidents. But two new studies both show that a daily dose of aspirin increases the risk of bleeding while yielding mixed results as to whether it helps to prevent a first-time heart attack or stroke.

The ASCEND study in the United Kingdom involved 15,480 participants with diabetes who are not known to have any heart or vascular disease. This study looked at whether taking 100 mg of aspirin and fish oil supplements would safely reduce serious vascular events in these patients.

“They actually did find a reduction in the endpoint of cardiovascular events,” said cardiologist Andrew Kates, M.D. of BarnesJewish Hospital. “Patients did benefit from being treated with aspirin. The cost for it, though, was a higher risk for bleeding.”

Daily low-dose aspirin and first-time heart attacks

New research shows increased risk of bleeding, mixed results preventing first-time heart events

As reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, “Aspirin use prevented serious vascular events in persons who had diabetes and no evident cardiovascular disease at trial entry, but it also caused

SSM partners in new not-forprofit generic drug company

SSM Health, headquartered in St. Louis, is one of seven organizations, representing about 500 U.S. hospitals, that have partnered in a new not-for-profit generic drug company. Civica Rx, previously known as Project Rx, will at first focus on 14 hospital-administered generic drugs.

“We are creating a public asset with a mission to ensure that essential generic medications are accessible and affordable,” said Martin VanTrieste, CEO of Civica Rx and former chief quality officer for Amgen, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies.

Since the initiative was announced in January 2018, more than 120 health organizations representing about a third of the nation’s hospitals have contacted Civica Rx and expressed a commitment or interest in participating, which “shows a great need for this initiative,” VanTrieste said.

The other initial governing members of Civica Rx include Catholic Health Initiatives, HCA Healthcare, Intermountain Healthcare, Mayo Clinic, Providence St.

CALDERA

Continued from A14 overturn Roe v. Wade, and the Supreme Court will have the chance to rule on the right to access abortion, birth control, and care at Planned Parenthood health centers within two years. We have the power to ensure that the Supreme Court upholds its duty to protect our constitutional rights – including a woman’s right to safe, legal abortion.

Joseph Health, and Trinity Health. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will also work in consultation with Civica Rx to address its particular needs.

Three major philanthropies will also join Civica Rx as governing members – the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, the Peterson Center on Healthcare, and the Gary and Mary West Foundation – “to further support and safeguard the company’s not-for-profit, social welfare mission,” VanTrieste said. The company is organized as a Delaware nonstock, not-for-profit corporation, and will be headquartered in Utah. Civica Rx expects to have its first products on the market as early as 2019. Civica Rx is collaborating with the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) newly formed AHA Center for Health Innovation to address inquiries about the initiative. Health systems and hospitals may call 800242-4677 with questions or visit www.civicarx.org.

Now is the time to speak up and contact your senators about Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination. We deserve to know if he believes that the Constitution protects individual liberty and the rights of all people to make personal decisions about their bodies and personal relationships, and whether he will uphold these rights.

Jose Caldera was senior counsel for former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander and currently practices in Columbia, Missouri.

major bleeding events. The absolute benefits were largely counterbalanced by the bleeding hazard.”

“So, there’s a tradeoff, avoiding a heart attack or stroke – but with a higher

bleeding risk,” Dr. Kates said.

The finding on the omega 3 fatty acid fish oil supplement showed no benefit.

Findings of the ARRIVE study were presented late last month at the European Society

of Cardiology’s 2018 Congress held in Munich, Germany. It involved 12,546 participants who were men age 55 and older and women age 60 and older without cardiovascular disease and no diabetes or high

risk for bleeding. Dr. Kates, a professor of Medicine at and director of the Cardiology Fellowship program at Washington University School of Medicine, attended the conference.

“They gave the patients 100 mg of aspirin daily and looking at the effect on outcomes – heart attack, strokes, cardiovascular death and other things – and there was no benefit from being treated with aspirin versus placebo,” Dr. Kates said, “but there was an increase in bleeding,” specifically gastrointestinal bleeding.

If you are currently taking a daily low-dose aspirin, he said, do not stop taking them until you first speak to your doctor. For patients who already have experienced a stroke or heart attack, that low dose or baby aspirin does serve as secondary prevention for another occurrence.

“For patients who do have cardiovascular disease, or you’ve had a heart attack or stroke, or you’ve got a stent put in or if you have peripheral vascular disease – those are patients who should really continue on aspirin,” Dr. Kates said. “The data is very good to show that that does reduce the risk of cardiovascular events.”

100 Black Men host Community Health Day

The 100 Black Men of Metropolitan St. Louis will host its 16th annual Community Health Day/ Prostate Walk & 5K on Saturday, September 22 on the campus at Harris-Stowe State University. The event will

be held from 8 a.m. to noon. Registration starts at 7:30 a.m.

The event will feature health booths, including free prostate screening, blood pressure, HIV, cholesterol, hearing/ vision screening for kids, obesity, diet and

nutritional information.

Free food, refreshments, entertainment, and great door prizes will also be available.

“The Community Health day will only be successful if our families come out and support this event at no

charge,” organizers stated. There is no cost to attend the event. There is a cost of $25 for the 5K and Walk portion of the event. Payment and registration can be made at www.100blackmenstl.com.

Program on Child Well-Being in Out-of-School Time

A group of youth advocates will host a program on Child Well-Being in Out-of-School Time for youth development professionals on Tuesday, September 25 at Deaconess Center for Child Well-Being, 1000 N. Vandeventer Ave.

A light breakfast will be available at 8:30 and the program will begin at 8:45 am. “Join leaders of the East Side Aligned movement as they share the success and lessons learned from the GSK IMPACT Grant supporting their efforts to build and sustain an integrated out-of-school time system that advances child well-being in Greater East St. Louis, Illinois.”

Organizers stated. “This session will focus on program quality improvement efforts and coordination of activities across organizations with opportunities for developing regional strategies in preparation for National Lights on Afterschool Day.”

The program will be co-hosted by the Missouri

AfterSchool Network, Illinois Afterschool Network, ACT Now Illinois, and Vision for Children at Risk for youth program directors and coordinators throughout the St. Louis region. For information, call 314534-6015. Register at https:// tinyurl.com/youth-wellbeing.

Free PSA screenings for prostate cancer

The Salvation Army and Christian Hospital, partners in the Pathway to Health program at the Ferguson Community Empowerment Center, will host a free PSA Screening event on Saturday, September 15, from 1-4 p.m.

at the Empowerment Center, 9420 W. Florissant Rd. Screenings are blooddraw only and provided by health care professionals from Siteman Cancer Center and the Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities. Each

participant receives a free gift.

Prostate screenings are recommended for men aged 40 years and over with a family history of prostate cancer; African-American men aged 40 and over; men aged 50-plus who have not had a prostate

screening in the last year and have not already been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Funding for Pathway to Health is provided in whole by Missouri Foundation for Health.

Medicare conducting survey of beneficiaries

An official survey of Medicare beneficiaries is under way, and the Missouri Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) is offering pointers to those who may receive visits.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has contracted with NORC at the University of Chicago to conduct a national study to provide information on

the health care experiences of Medicare recipients. As part of the effort, the NORC representatives are interviewing Medicare beneficiaries in Missouri.

Because the Missouri SMP has been vigilant in warning people against unwittingly answering personal healthcare questions, the SMP wants to make the public aware that this survey – the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey

– is an official research study of the U.S. government. The data collected will be used to analyze health care policy issues and improve planning of health care services.

Interviewers will visit preselected households. While Medicare officials are seeking consumers’ cooperation with these researchers, participation is completely voluntary.

Interviewers will wear photo ID, will adhere to strict

professional standards, and will be trained and legally bound to pledges of confidentiality. Individuals’ answers will be kept private, and answers will not affect a participant’s benefits. If you have questions, call the Senior Medicare Patrol at 1-888-515-6565. If you have concerns about privacy or confidentiality, visit http:// www.mcbs.norc.org.

Calorie?

Nutrition Challenge:

One way to make sure you’re getting the nutrition your body needs is to have a goal of (at least) 5 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables — every single day! Each serving is only about ½ cup, so it’s easier than you think! Here are a few tips.

Calories are a way to measure the amount of “energy” gained from eating something. So if you eat a medium apple (about 100 calories), that’ll provide the energy for you to do a simple physical task such as walk around the block. Calories aren’t the bad guys; extra weight happens

Healthy Kids Kids

> Start off your day with a piece of fruit!

> Try new fruits and vegetables each week.

> Why not add fruits or vegetables to your fall baking? You can boil and puree many different kinds to add to cakes, breads, etc.

> What are some other ways to add fruits/ vegetables to your diet?

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

when we consume (eat) more of them than we need. That’s why it’s important to stay physical and burn those calories throughout the day. Here are some ideas, and the calories an average 125-pound person will burn in 30 minutes (depending on speed).

One of the best ways to protect yourself from getting sick is to wash your hands. Think about surfaces that are touched by many people: door handles, computer keys, telephones, stair railings and sports equipment. If the person using it before you is sick and then you touch it, you could catch their illness from the germs they leave behind. So practice washing your hands multiple times a day, especially before eating, to stay healthier!

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 3, NH 1, NH 7 Wash Your Hands!

> Walking = 120-150

> Running = 180-300

> Biking = 240-300

> Mowing = 135

> Watching TV = 23 Visit http://www.myfooddiary. com for an excellent guide to the calories in the foods you eat.

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 5, NH 1, NH3

Garlic Parmesan Kale Chips

Dr. Moyosore K. Onifade, Primary Care Doctor

Where do you work? I am a primary care doctor at St. Louis Primary Care Center and a healthcare technology entrepreneur at Practical Health Technology Solutions. Where did you go to school? I graduated from South Carolina Governor’s School for Science & Mathematics. I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, and a Medical Doctor degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

What does a primary care doctor do? I examine patients during their medical visits. My team and I work together to educate patients about their health conditions. We’re very excited about using healthcare technology in our office towards improving our patients’ health.

Why did you choose this career? When I was young, I fell sick a lot and my grandma took care of me. My father brought me to America at age 7. I missed my grandma and promised myself I would become a doctor when I grew up so I could take care of her when she grew old.

What is your favorite part of the job you have? We started a company called Practical Health Technology Solutions that developed a computer program called MyPHTS Care Management that doctors can use to help improve their patients’ health. It is exciting working on the puzzle of how we can provide better healthcare for more people by developing innovative and practical healthcare technology solutions.

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

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

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

CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT

Gateway Elementary School 5th grade teacher

Miss Howell instructs her students (seated) Kennedy Williams, Maurice Davis, Gabrielle Washington (standing) Blake Williamson and Deirra

Teachers,

SCIENCE STARS

AFRICAN AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER AND

POLICY MAKER:

Lisa P. Jackson

Lisa P. Jackson was born on February 8, 1962, and was raised by her adoptive family in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1979, she graduated as valedictorian from St. Mary’s Dominican High School. She received a scholarship from Shell Oil Company and used it to attend Tulane University, where she graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1983. Three years later, she received her master’s degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University.

SCIENCE CORNER How Do Tectonic Plates Work?

The Earth has a top layer of crust covered by giant pieces which are called tectonic plates. These plates are varying sizes and move at a very slow pace, about 2 cm to 10 cm per year, in varying directions. Oceanic plates are located under the ocean and continental plates are located under continents.

Boundaries are the places where the plates meet. New crust forms at the boundaries and the old crust is returned to the core to be melted again. This cycle takes about 100 million years to complete. Divergent boundaries are formed when plates move away from each other. The top layer of crust breaks apart and falls in to the second layer, creating a rift. Convergent boundaries are

SCIENCE INVESTIGATION

In this experiment, you will see plate tectonics in action, on a smaller scale.

Materials Needed:

1 Candy Bar Per Student (must contain layers, i.e., Snickers, Milky Way, Twix) • Plastic Knife

Process:

formed when two plates push against each other. One plate is pushed upward causing mountain ranges or volcanoes to form. The other plate is forced downward, where it will eventually sink into the core and melt. Earthquakes occur along these boundaries. Two plates sliding against each other as they move in different directions is called transform boundaries. As they slide past each other, neither plate is destroyed or pushed up or down. Instead, the movement causes energy to build up which may later be released as earthquakes.

For More Information, Visit: http://www.kidsgeo.com/geology-forkids/0043-plate-tectonics.php.

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

e Use your candy bar to represent the tectonic movement of compression: push the ends of the candy bar together. How does this affect your fault line?

q Use the plastic knife to make cracks in the chocolate. These cracks represent fault lines.

w Use your candy bar to represent the tectonic movement of tension: pull the ends of the candy bar apart. How does this affect your fault lines?

As an environmental scientist, Lisa P. Jackson is concerned about recycling. Use your math skills to answer these recycling word problems.

q Janell collected 36 aluminum cans; Garrett collected 8 more than Janell. How many did they collect all together? __________

r Use your candy bar to represent the tectonic movement of shearing: move the two halves of the candy bar opposite one another. How does this affect your fault line?

Evaluate: Which type of movement is responsible for rifts? Which type of movement is responsible for mountains? Which type of movement is responsible for earthquakes?

Learning Standards: I can follow directions to complete an experiment. I can make deductions from my observations.

Recycle

w Andrea decided to recycle newspapers. The first week, she received 6 bundles from her neighbors. The second week, she collected 9 bundles. The third week, she collected 12. How many bundles did she collect altogether? ________ If she continues to increase the number

Earth seems to be

There are around 30 tectonic plates, the largest being the Pacific Plate.

of bundles at the same rate per week, how many will she collect in one month? ____________

e Heather, Maria, and Donald decided to save gasoline by helping their parents set up a ShareA-Ride carpool for daily rides to work. They saved 6 gallons of gas each day for 5 days. How many gallons did they save in one work week? _________ How much can they save per month? ________ How much can they save per year? _______

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

Tectonic plates move on average at the same speed as fingernail growth.

Jackson began working with Clean Sites, a non-profit organization that cleaned up hazardous waste sites. Inspired by this work, she began a fifteen-year employment with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 2002, she started work with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Energy. Four years later, Governor Jon Corzine appointed her as the New Jersey Commissioner of Environmental Protection. With her leadership, there was an end to bear hunting in New Jersey, and a plan to reduce carbon emissions by 20% by 2020 was implemented. In 2008, the Governor of New Jersey appointed Jackson to Chief of Staff. In December of the same year, President Barack Obama appointed Jackson to serve as the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. She was the first African American to hold this position.

For More Information About The Environmental Protection Agency, Visit: www.epa.gov.

Discuss: Mrs. Jackson graduated as valedictorian of her high school. What is a valedictorian? What do you think she had to do to become valedictorian?

Mrs. Jackson received her degrees in mechanical and chemical engineering, but she is mostly known for her work in environmental policy. What strengths do you think a background in science gave her in her approach to environmental policy?

Learning Standards: I can read a biography about a person who has made an impact in the fields of science, technology, or mathematics.

MAP CORNER

Use the newspaper to complete these activities to sharpen your skills for the MAP test.

Activity One — That Can Be Recycled:

Recycling is an easy and effective way to preserve resources. Use the newspaper to locate items that can and cannot be recycled. For the items that cannot be recycled, list ways that you can use this item or an alternate item to preserve resources.

Activity Two —

Newspaper Road Map:

With a partner, choose a news story to be your make believe road map. Both of you cut the story from separate newspapers. Your starting point will be the first word. Your partner will give you cardinal directions (ex: two words east, 4 lines south, 1 word west, etc.) while your partner also navigates the route. When he/she says, “stop,” compare your maps. Choose another article so you can give your partner directions.

Learning Standards:

I can use the newspaper to locate information. I can follow cardinal directions. I can classify items that can and cannot be recycled.

This special Newspaper In Education initiative is made possible through The St. Louis American Foundation and its NIE Corporate Partners:

Wiley

SEPTEMBER 13 – 19, 2018

Illinois utilities increase spending on diverse suppliers

By Chris King Of The St. Louis American

A study chartered by the Illinois Utilities Business Diversity Council (IUBDC) revealed that leading Illinois utilities spent $1.05 billion on goods and services provided by minorityowned, women-owned, veteran-owned, and small business enterprises in 2017. This investment added more than $2 billion to the state’s gross domestic product and generated $341.5 million in federal, state and local taxes. This spending by the IUBDC represented an increase of nearly 8 percent in sourcing from diverse suppliers over the previous year. It supported more than 7,000 jobs at diverse supplier companies paying $411 million in wages, according to the report.

“The results of the study demonstrate that

n “Diverse suppliers are key drivers of economic growth, job creation and the financial well-being of our communities and our state.”

– Richard J. Mark, chairman of

the IUBDC Board of Directors

diverse suppliers are key drivers of economic growth, job creation and the financial well-being of our communities and our state,” said Richard J. Mark, chairman of the IUBDC Board of Directors, and chairman and president of Ameren Illinois.

“Every member company in the IUBDC has demonstrated a commitment to not only source from diverse companies, but also to participate actively in developing the capabilities of these firms to participate at a higher level of our supply chains.”

David Mason + Associates, Inc. is a certified minority-owned business enterprise (MBE) and now a preferred engineering and construction support services provider to many of Illinois’ largest utilities.

“Our relationships with IUBDC has allowed us to expand our practice into other regional and national opportunities with other utility providers,” said Taylor Mason, principal at David Mason + Associates. “In fact, the growth in our engineering and construction services

ACLU of Missouri sues Missouri Commission on Human Rights

Claims ruling against transgender employee is ‘unequal, and unfair, and contrary to the statute’

By Sophie Hurwitz For The St. Louis American

On August 8, the Missouri Commission on

Anthony Rothert

ruling, arguing that it is ultimately detrimental to the well-being of all Missouri citizens, particularly transgender and gender-nonconforming people, who can now be discriminated against by their employer for their gender identity or how they present themselves – how they speak, act, dress, or move through the world.

“There’s a law, in Missouri, that you can’t discriminate because of sex, including someone’s failure to comply with sexual stereotypes about what a man should be and do, and what a woman should be and do,” said Tony Rothert, ACLU of Missouri legal director. “And this decision basically has the effect of exempting transgender individuals, or other individuals who are gender-non conforming from the protection of Missouri’s law. That is unequal, and unfair, and

Brian C. Gibson joined Providence Bank as president – Fairview Heights Region. He will be responsible for the management of commercial banking activities and all market development aspects within the Fairview Heights region. He has an office at the Fairview Heights Banking Center at 4600 North Illinois St. in Fairview Heights. He is a senior-level executive with over 20 years of business development, credit analyst and team leadership banking experience.

MaryAnn Taylor Crate joined United Way of Greater St. Louis as director of the West Region, which serves Western St. Louis, St. Charles, Warren and Lincoln counties. She is responsible for fostering and maintaining relationships with corporate partners and managing workplace and leadership giving efforts in the West Region. In addition, she oversees recruitment and training of board members and other volunteers.

Terrence Hamilton will be inducted into the 2018 Lincoln University Athletic Hall of Fame. He is the athletic director for the Normandy Schools Collaborative. He earned All-MIAA (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) second-team honors during the 1987-88 season at Lincoln before being named to the allconference first team the following season. He was also a National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District V second team selection both years.

Alexis I. White joined the Central Bank of St. Louis as senior assistant branch manager. A University of Missouri - Kansas Trustee Scholar, she graduated with honors with a degree in Business Administration, emphasis in Finance. A banker by day and performer by night, she recently performed in the Under Cover Weekend concert series at Delmar Hall singing with TreG as he covered the music of Usher.

Sir David Adjaye will receive the 2018 International Humanities Prize from Washington University in St. Louis. Granted biennially, the prize honors the lifetime work of a noted scholar, writer or artist who has made a significant and sustained contribution to the world of letters or the arts. The principle of Adjaye Associates, he designed the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture, among many other projects.

Ericca Willis is the new president of the St. Louis Chapter of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), one of the oldest African-American trade organizations in the United States. NAREB was established in 1947 with the mission of supporting equal housing opportunities for all and “reimagining the dream of homeownership through advocacy, activism and action. NAREB has 90 chapters in 33 states. On the move? Congratulations! Send your professional news and a color headshot to cking@stlamerican.com

Brian C. Gibson

Terrence Hamilton

Ericca Willis

David Adjaye

MaryAnn Taylor Crate

Alexis I. White

Richard J. Mark, chairman of the Board of Directors for the Illinois Utilities Business Diversity Council (IUBDC) and chairman and president of Ameren Illinois; Edilberto Ortiz, president of E.C. Ortiz & Company; and DeShana L. Forney, chair of the IUBDC Engagement Committee and senior director of Government & Community Relations for Peoples Gas & North Shore Gas, subsidiaries of WEC Energy Group.

The Enterprise Holdings Foundation and Enterprise’s owners, the Taylor family, donated $250,000 to HarrisStowe State University to support the Hornet Summer Bridge Program, a five-week residential experience to help incoming first-year students

New

dual degree in healthcare administration and informatics

Southern Illinois

University Edwardsville is introducing a new Master of Science dual degree program in healthcare and nursing administration and healthcare informatics.

The dual degree program prepares nurses for entry into management positions in healthcare organizations and refines the skills of experienced nurse managers to mentor them for executivelevel positions. Additionally, this program fosters skill development and perspective in planning, designing, implementing and using information technologies.

“In 2008, less than 10 percent of acute care hospitals were using electronic medical records,” said Frank Lyerla, SIUE healthcare informatics director. “Today, that percentage is nearing 100 percent! Graduates of our dual degree program will be well situated for leadership positions in two fields that are growing and in high demand.” For more information, visit siue.edu/nurse-admininformatics.

Enterprise Holdings Foundation extends support of Harris-Stowe Summer Bridge Program

transition from high school to college. Enterprise initially funded the program in 2015, and this gift will fund it for an additional two years. Summer Bridge students have the opportunity to complete seven credit hours of coursework, participate in field

The City of East St. Louis and the National Development Council have partnered to establish the Grow East St. Louis Fund, which will make $2 million available in loans to small businesses in East St. Louis that are seeking to expand

Women in Aerospace Manufacturing information event

experiences and learn about the history of Missouri and the Civil Rights Movement. University data indicates that participants are more active in campus activities and more likely to remain in school to graduate than nonparticipants.

“Summer Bridge not only

set me up to have great success in the classroom, it also transformed me into a leader on campus,” said Dajon Stewart of St. Louis, who completed the program in 2016. Since its introduction, 121 students have successfully participated in the program.

The program grows each year:

The first group consisted of 25 students, then 47 students in 2016, and 50 students in 2017. Now in its fourth year, the program drew 54 participants from eight states.

“Inspired by the legacy of my grandfather and Enterprise

founder, Jack Taylor, our company is committed to expanding economic mobility and workforce development through education,” said Carolyn Kindle Betz, senior vice president and executive director of the Enterprise Holdings Foundation.

$2M available in loans to small businesses in East St. Louis

operations and create jobs. It was facilitated by a $500,000 equity investment approved by the City Council.

The program offers longterm fixed rate financing designed to minimize monthly payments to maximize cash flow. The amount a business

American staff

St. Louis Community College and Boeing St. Louis will host their annual Women in Aerospace Manufacturing information event 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, October 9 at the St. Louis Community College Center for Workforce Innovation, 3344 Pershall Rd. in Ferguson. Learn about in-demand careers in aerospace manufacturing and try your hand at drilling and riveting sheet metal and at layup and fabrication of carbon fiber composites. Plus, attendees will learn more about Boeing’s pre-employment training program, which is offered at no cost to students through St. Louis Community College. The event is free, but registration is required at stlcc.edu/boeing.

can borrower is subject to underwriting guidelines and loan fund availability. Once obtained, loan funds may be used for working capital, to be repaid over 10 years; machinery and equipment, to be repaid over 10 years; real estate acquisitions

and/or renovation of owneroccupied businesses, to be repaid over 25 years; tenant improvements, to be repaid over the life of the lease; or to refinance existing debts.

“We will use the Grow America Fund to expand the footprint of businesses

within East St. Louis,” East St. Louis Mayor Emeka Jackson-Hicks. For more information, call 212-682-1106 or email smallbusiness@ndconline. org.

Zoo expanding into North County

Prop Z on November 6 ballot floated to fund expansion to determine what the public component will entail, but there is likely to be “some kind of a safari experience.”

Using privately donated funds, the Saint Louis Zoo Association has purchased a 425-acre complex in Spanish Lake for $7.1 million. The property, which was owned by the Plumbers’ and Pipefitters’ Welfare Educational Fund, will be used by the Zoo association to help the Zoo’s mission to conserve animals.

According to Jeffrey Bonner, president and chief executive officer of the Saint Louis Zoo, the new campus will host a Conservation & Animal Science Center “dedicated to sustaining endangered and threatened species, as well as a public component with attractions that connect people with nature and animals.” He said research is underway

The Zoo currently supports as many as 2,000 jobs and helps to generate over $215 million annually in economic impact for the local economy, Bonner said. He estimated that the new campus could create approximately 100 full-time jobs and about 200 seasonal jobs.

In order to develop and operate the new North County facility, and to support the maintenance of the aging campus in Forest Park, St. Louis County has agreed to submit for approval by county voters a 1/8 of one percent sales tax. Proposition Z, as the ballot initiative is known, will appear on the St. Louis County ballot on November 6. However, the

Zoo will not pursue a sales tax in the city at this time, in light of “other issues St. Louis city is currently addressing,” Bonner said. Among other issues, the city is having difficulties carting away garbage from city neighborhoods.

If Proposition Z is approved by St. Louis County residents this November, the main attraction at the new campus would only be free for them, Bonner said. Everyone else would be charged an admission fee. Admission to the Zoo in Forest Park would continue to remain free for everyone, pursuant to state law.

“We’re very excited to expand the Zoo’s footprint into St. Louis County,” said Joseph T. Ambrose, president of the Saint Louis

Zoo Association. “This new campus will help the Zoo grow its conservation efforts while also expanding our educational programs for children and offering new and exciting public attractions for local audiences and tourists.” The Saint Louis Zoo Association is a separately incorporated 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization whose volunteer board is comprised of business and community leaders. Its purpose is to support the Zoo by providing leadership for fundraising, and oversight for the Zoo’s conservation education, programming, facilities, government relations and special events.

n “Why would I leave here and go to a team that’s not as good as this team?”

– Free agent pitcher David Price of the Boston

Sports

PreP FooTball noTebook

Ferguson commits to Mizzou

The week in prep football was highlighted by a pair of commitments from the talented Class of 2019. Kirkwood High’s standout defensive end Arvell Ferguson gave a commitment to the University of Missouri while prime-time athlete Kendall Abdur-Rahman gave a pledge to Notre Dame.

Earl Austin Jr.

The 6’5,” 225-pound Ferguson becomes the third player from the St. Louis area to commit to Barry Odom’s program. He joins wide receiver and Kirkwood High teammate Maurice Massey and offensive tackle Jack Buford of Lutheran North as future Missouri Tigers. Rahman, an exciting dual-threat quarterback for the Tigers, is the second player from the St. Louis metro area to commit to the Fighting Irish. He and Vianney’s Kyren Willams will be headed to South Bend, Indiana next fall. Both players have been dynamic playmakers throughout their prep careers.

Some Individual Standouts

Senior Jeremiah Austin of Clayton had four quarterback sacks in a 34-32 double overtime victory over Jennings last Thursday.

Junior Robert Miles of Clayton had 10 receptions for 153 yards and two touchdowns in the victory over Jennings.

Sophomore Travion Ford of Lutheran-St. Charles had three sacks in a 27-12 victory over ChristianO’Fallon.

Senior Daylan Dalton of Francis Howell had five receptions for 118 yards in a victory over Granite City.

Freshman Phenom

Freshman wide receiver Kevin Coleman continues to have a tremendous opening campaign for the St. Mary’s Dragons. Last week, Coleman had three receptions for 127

Shawn Porter outworks Danny Garcia

GGG vs Canelo II

When it comes to boxing skills, technique and fluidity are two of the most praised attributes for fighters to possess. When analyzing prospects, we pontificate over the sharpness of the fighters’ jabs or the compactness of their hooks. Defensively, we want to know about foot speed, angles and head movement.

Highly-touted prospects are often brought along slowly, so we don’t get an opportunity to judge a fighter’s heart or willpower until several years into their career. As a result, those attributes are often seen as bonuses, the icing on top, rather than essential skills. With “Showtime” Shawn Porter (29-2-1, 17 KO), his biggest skill is his will. Pitted against Danny “Swift” Garcia (34-2-0, 20 KO), Porter used relentless pressure and physicality to defeat Garcia via unanimous decision (116-112, 115-113, 115-113). With the victory, Porter won the WBC welterweight title that was vacated by Keith Thurman

The early rounds of the fight were controlled by Garcia. It seemed that Porter was intent on trying to prove everybody wrong by out-boxing the boxer. By the fourth round though, Porter reverted back to the style that has made him so successful. He stopped trying to be cute and started invading Garcia’s personal space.

Inside, Porter unleashed lethal body shots and headbutts From the outside, Porter was willing to eat Garcia’s best shots in order to land his own lunging, looping punches. As awkward and technically flawed as Porter is, his saving grace is his ability to press fighters into discomfort.

After the decision was announced, Garcia stated that he thought he did enough to win the fight. However, a look at the CompuBox stats highlights the difference in punch output and aggressiveness. Garcia landed 168 of 472 punches (36 percent). That averages out to less than 40 punches thrown per round.

to Porter’s

Red Sox

See CLUTCH, B5

punches per round. Despite Garcia’s wide margin of victory in terms of accuracy, he simply didn’t let his

hands go enough to pull out the decision.

said I wasn’t leaving New York without this belt,” Porter

stated after the fight. “And I’m not leaving New York without

PREP, B5

Ishmael H. Sistrunk

Ishmael H. Sistrunk

The Pattonville Pirates’ Shawn Brooks II carried the ball 29 times for 170 yards on Friday, Sept. 7, 2018 at Parkway North. The Pirates went on to defeat the Vikings 18-0.

Shawn Porter landed a vicious body shot against Danny Garcia during their WBC welterweight title fight Saturday night. Porter earned a unanimous decision victory.

Photo by Wiley Price

With Earl Austin Jr.

SportS EyE

With Alvin A. Reid

Mahomes on fire for K.C. Chiefs, it’s must see TV

As St. Louis enters its third season since the Rams departed, it is time to look West, folks. You don’t have to look all the way to Los Angeles, where the Rams have pieced together one of the best teams in the NFC and are a Super Bowl contender.

One of the most exiting stories in the NFL – and American sports, is less than 250 miles away.

Patrick Mahomes II, Tyreek Hill and the Kansas City Chiefs are a national hit and you’d be a fool not to want to see them.

The Chiefs throttled the host San Diego Chargers 38-28 on Sunday in Mahomes’ second start of his career. He won a meaningless game at Denver last December, but this was the real deal. He showed what coach Andy Reid and the Chiefs’ hierarchy already knew – he is really good.

Mahomes passed for 256 yards and four touchdowns. He put up one of the best quarterback performances in the NFL’s first week. And the black, handsome, witty, smart quarterback remains humble.

“There is stuff that I have to keep learning from,” Mahomes said following the game.

“I’ll see that from the film, but just from being out there, there’s just little stuff like that that you have to keep improving in order to have success in this league.” Hill, who snagged a sidearm laser beam slant pass from Mahomes and turned it into a 58-yard touchdown, said the young QB was in control.

“Every time Pat stepped into the huddle, he was very comfortable. And the play calling, he was like ‘Okay guys, let’s drive this ball down their throat.’ And the receivers, tight ends, and offensive lineman were like ‘Okay, we’ve got a great leader in our huddle,’” said Hill, who caught seven passes for 169 yards and also returned a punt 91 yards for a touchdown.

“Pat showed great confidence, great leadership today, and he was awesome.”

Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star, the state’s best sports columnist by far, wrote, “This was Mahomes’ moment, and everyone understood that, including Mahomes. But the line works as more than irony, because really, this game was less about Mahomes than what the Chiefs can be around his head-shaking talent.” Rave reviews are coming in nationally, too.

“Mahomes is an athletic, strong-armed quarterback capa-

for NFL fans

ble of hitting targets at every level of the field and generally wreaking havoc in an efficient and explosive manner on a weekly basis. That’s what we were led to believe this offseason, and based on one week’s worth of work, it wasn’t a lie,” wrote Will Brinson of CBS Sports.

Danny Heifetz of The Ringer titled his story Monday, “Patrick Mahomes II is the NFL’s must-watch player.”

“Mahomes’ early success is like Christmas morning to the fans and fantasy owners who bought into the hype, but his play also represents something larger than himself: teams’ increasing openness to college offenses.

“Right now, the Chiefs are the most fun team in football, and Mahomes is the star of the show.”

The Chiefs travel to Pittsburgh on Sunday and Kansas City fans won’t outnumber Steelers fans like they did in San Diego last week. It will be Mahomes’ toughest test. I’ll be watching. It’s must-see TV and it’s coming to K.C. live and in color in two weeks.

Ups and downs

The NFL’s fraternity of black coaches experienced some respective highs, lows and the unusual last Sunday.

Todd Bowles’ New York Jets traveled to Detroit with rookie quarterback Sam Darnold starting his first game. The Lions were a solid favorite, but the Jets spanked the Lions 48-17 behind five interceptions from a fired-up defense, two touchdown passes by Darnold and a long TD punt return.

After his first pass as a pro was intercepted and returned for a touchdown, Bowles told Darnold, “Don’t flinch. The game just started.”

He didn’t and neither did Bowles’ team.

“It’s a new era. It’s a new team. It’s a new swagger. And we’re excited,” said safety Jamal Adams

By the way, Lions coach Matt Patricia, 2017 New England Patriots defensive coordinator who replaced African-American Jim Caldwell in Detroit, got embarrassed in his first game at the helm.

Vance Joseph is not respon-

sible for his unenviable quarterback situation in Denver, but he begins the season in need of victories to ensure his job status. He got a big 27-24 victory over the visiting Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

The Broncos controlled the game early, then almost let it slip away. But Joseph had his troops prepared.

“We talked about it (Saturday), when adversity shows its head, just play right through it,” Joseph said after the game. “Last year, we had some chances where adversity showed, and we didn’t play through it.”

Marvin Lewis of the Cincinnati Bengals, the dean of the NFL’s black coaches, took his squad to Indianapolis to face Andrew Luck and the Colts. A late defensive touchdown sealed the 34-23 win for the Bengals and brought a rare sideline smile to Lewis’ face.

His team had trailed throughout the game, made too many turnovers and penalties and was watching the Colts drive to a potential game-winning TD – but it prevailed.

“You don’t get time to hiccup or flinch,” Lewis said. “You’ve just got to keep playing.”

“There’s a lot of stuff we can do better. Too many penalties in critical situations … it could really hurt us.”

At least Lewis is 1-0. A pair of black coaches started the year with stinging losses.

As mentioned before, Mahomes and the Chiefs handed the Chargers a 38-28 setback and left Chargers coach Anthony Lynn in choppy water when it comes to job security.

While the Chiefs showed the nation how explosive they can be on offense, the Chargers were plagued by untimely dropped passes.

“You keep playing. Those guys, they’re good receivers. They’ll bounce back. I don’t dwell on it,” Lynn said. “I try not to beat a guy down because of it. I try to encourage these guys so they can make the next play.”

Chiefs fans took over StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., last Sunday. If Lynn is to survive as coach, he better start winning.

Rookie head coach Steve Wilks watched the visiting Washington Redskins rip his Arizona Cardinals 24-6 in his debut. Surely, it wasn’t what he imagined for his first game as a NFL team leader.

“All night we were playing catch-up and that was really the issue, that we were never really able to get into a rhythm when we got behind,” Wilks told AZCentral.com on Monday.

“Guys (were) trying to

make plays when it’s not their play, and they’re getting out of their gaps.”

There has been a gap of almost two years since Hue Jackson’s Cleveland Browns won a football game. With the Pittsburgh Steelers visiting for Sunday’s season opener, the odds were against the Browns getting a victory. With less than a minute remaining in overtime, the Browns were a short field goal away from a stunning upset. It was blocked, and Jackson and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin had to settle for a 21-21 tie.

Jackson’s team rallied for 14 fourth-quarter points to tie the game, but he was far from satisfied with the result.

‘’We did not play very well yesterday, let’s just be honest. We need to play better,” While also disappointed, Tomlin brought his usual rye humor to the postgame press conference.

“It was an awkward feeling after a game like that,” Tomlin said. “You don’t know what to feel or to say or think.

“They say a kiss like kissing your sister. That sounds kind of (odd). We’ll find somebody else to kiss and get ready for next week.”

The Reid Roundup

Carlos Ramos, the chair umpire who docked Serena Williams a point, then a game because he was offended by a black woman challenging him, should be suspended indefinitely. …Congratulations to Naomi Osaka, who dominated Williams even without the shady umpire helping her effort, for winning the U.S. Open women’s title. … In a column for the Washington Post Billie Jean King wrote “The ceiling that women of color face on their path to leadership never felt more impenetrable than it did at the women’s U.S. Open final on Saturday. Did Ramos treat Williams differently than male players have been treated? I think he did. Women are treated differently in most arenas of life. This is especially true for women of color. And what played out on the court yesterday happens far too often.” … With Kirkwood’s Arvel Ferguson joining teammate Maurice Massey and Lutheran North’s Jack Buford in Mizzou football’s 2019 recruiting class, the Tigers are finally making some St. Louis inroads… The K.C. Star reported that that Missouri’s top basketball recruits, E.J. Liddell and Mario McKinney, were taking official visits to campus last weekend. McKinney canceled a visit to Kansas State to join Liddell and coach Bruce Weber is not pleased… Would the Nike shoe burners please consider giving them to Goodwill or a similar clothing outlet? … Nike online sales jumped 31 percent after the Colin Kaepernick ad made its debut. Nike stock has made up the 2 percent loss from last week… NFL ratings were up for Sunday afternoon games. The late afternoon window on FOX (mostly Cowboys-Panthers) drew a 15.7 overnight rating, up from 15.6 last year. In the early afternoon, CBS was up with a 10.6 this year compared to an 8.6 last year. FOX was up 8.8 this year from an 8.4 last year. The prime-time Bears-Packers on NBC got a 14.4, down from 15.8 for Giants-Cowboys last year. Alvin A. Reid was honored as the 2017 “Best Sports Columnist – Weeklies” in the Missouri Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest and is a New York Times contributor. He is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook, a weekly contributor to “The Charlie Tuna Show” on KFNS and appears monthly on “The Dave Glover Show” on 97.1 Talk.” His Twitter handle is @aareid1.

Alvin A. Reid

The Kansas City Chiefs throttled the host San Diego Chargers 38-28 on Sunday in Patrick Mahomes’ second start of his career. He won a meaningless game at Denver last December, but this was the real deal.

I fought for my country, now NFL players are kneeling for me

By Samuel Innocent

For The St. Louis American

I’m a veteran of the U.S. Army. So it may come as a surprise that the day I read about NFL players kneeling during the national anthem, I could not have been prouder.

I was proud because after serving my country for seven years, it felt like someone was finally looking out for me. As someone who served as a sergeant in Afghanistan, only to take a civilian job helping veterans upon returning home, I fully understand patriotism. I work hard to embody it every day. That’s precisely why I think it’s so important to stop mischaracterizing Colin Kaepernick’s movement as unpatriotic. Players are not kneeling to protest the national anthem, as they’ve explained time and time again. They are kneeling to say that the ways in which police officers and the criminal justice system treat African Americans — people like me and my

CLUTCH

Continued from C5

this belt!” Porter said After the fight, IBF middleweight champ Errol Spence entered the ring and challenged Porter to a unification bout.

“The same way that you called Danny out, I’m going to call you out,” Spence said. “I think I’m the best welterweight in the division. I’m the truth, and I guarantee you I come home as unified champion. I definitely want that fight against Porter.”

This is going to be the easiest fight to make in boxing,” Porter responded. “Do I look worried?”

GGG vs Canelo II

Last September, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin squared off in a middleweight title about against Canelo Alvarez After 12 hard-fought rounds, it appeared that Golovkin did just enough to earn a decision victory. Somehow, shaky scorecard queen judge Adelaide Byrd managed to score the bout 118-110 in favor of Alvarez. Meanwhile, Dave Moretti scored it 115-113 in favor of Golovkin and Don Trella scored it a draw at 114-114. Though the fight was ruled a majority draw, it seemed as if a

Continued from B3

yards and three touchdowns in a victory over Normandy. He also returned another kickoff for a touchdown. For the season, Coleman has 16 receptions for 374 yards and eight touchdowns, with three of those scores coming on kickoff returns.

Pick Game of the Week

CBC (3-0) at DeSmet (3-0), Friday, 7 p.m. – This Metro

family — constitute a national crisis I’m grateful for the players’ decision to take a knee. Because when many people set eyes on me, the first thing they see isn’t someone who may have missed his sister’s wedding, lost his father, and buried several friends during his tour of duty. They don’t see a former combat medic who’d risked his life for their country or a man whose seven years of honorable service didn’t include a moment to grieve. Instead of a veteran, they see a black man first and foremost. And in 2014, police saw a potential criminal.

The awakening came only a few years after leaving the Army and returning home to my beloved New York. I’d enrolled in college, one of the major steps for reintegrating back into society after service. My new dream was to work on local policy.

I commuted daily from the Bronx to Manhattan to attend my classes at City College of

New York. One night, during the two-block stroll from the subway to my apartment, New York Police Department officers stopped me in my path. I fit the description of someone who’d just committed a crime, they said. “What was the crime?” I asked. They said they couldn’t tell me. When I asked if the description was for someone who looked like me — someone wearing a shirt and tie — they said I would have to call the station to find out. I was then put against a wall and searched. I felt humiliated and helpless.

But I knew that this practice disproportionally occurred in poorer neighborhoods and overwhelmingly targeted young black men.

It was only when they asked for my ID that they saw my veteran status at the top of it. Finally, the degrading and unwarranted search came to an end. They told me to have a nice day.

A part of me wanted to dismiss what had just happened to me as an isolated incident.

A report by the New York Civil Liberties Union showed that innocent New Yorkers were subjected to stop-andfrisk tactics more than 5 million times since 2002, with people of color comprising the vast majority. These racially discriminatory NYPD stops were ruled unconstitutional in 2013, but this year officials revealed that black New Yorkers were still 8 times more likely than white residents to be arrested for low-level marijuana charges, despite the groups using it as similar rates. Tragically, racially biased policing isn’t contained to my hometown and leads to deadly consequences across America. Last year, a journalistic investigation found that

on Saturday, Sept. 15 on HBO PPV.

majority of fight fans believed Golovkin deserved the victory. An immediate rematch was ordered but then was canceled after Alvarez tested positive for banned substances. After a year of haggling and disputes

Catholic Conference showdown features the powerhouse CBC Cadets against an up and coming DeSmet team that is showing some powerhouse tendencies. CBC is the defending Class 6 state champions while DeSmet is one the serious come-up after winning only a total of four games in the past three seasons.

CBC’s well-balanced offense is averaging 58 points a game through three weeks. They are led by quarterback Brett Gabbert, running back Bryan Bradford and receiver Julian Williams. DeSmet’s has a staunch defensive unit that

over Alvarez’s drug drama, the two middleweight combatants will finally meet each other in the ring for a highly-anticipated rematch.

In the first fight, Golovkin played the role of stalker and

has only surrendered 26 points this season. They anchored by lineman Mekhi Wingo, Carter Edwards and linebacker Lanell Carr. On offense, quarterback Nate Martens and receiver Jordan Johnson are a potent passing combination.

On tap this weekend

• Trinity (1-2) at ChristianO’Fallon (2-1), Friday, 7 p.m.

• Seckman (3-0) at Northwest Cedar Hill (3-0), Friday, 7 p.m.

• Belleville West (3-0) at Alton (2-1), Friday, 7 p.m.

• Fox (3-0) at Mehlville

black people were shot more often than white people by police, although black people were less likely to be found with a weapon.

When I left to join the military, it wasn’t for me — it was for my family and loved ones who I would leave behind. I felt like I was doing my part, so they wouldn’t have to live in fear of events like 9/11 happening again. But my service in Afghanistan hasn’t made my family safer from the people sworn to protect us in our own backyards.

So yes, I was proud of players like Colin Kaepernick, Eric Reid and Olivier Vernon because I knew how few people would be willing to risk their careers to shed light on issues that are urgent for people of color but that others often sweep under the rug. I’m proud that when Americans tune in to be entertained, the players in turn make the world more cognizant of the need to change how law enforcement operates.

imagine that Golovkin will cut off the ring better in the second bout and be able to land punches more consistently. With all the drama regarding the failed drug test, it would be a reasonable assumption that Alvarez has been somewhat distracted over the past year. Alvarez blamed the issue on eating tainted meat. Many inside the boxing world have cast doubts on that excuse. That means Alvarez has been forced to do some image maintenance along the way.

On the other side, at age 36, Golovkin is a year closer to Father Time reclaiming those reflexes. One of the first things to go with older fighters is often stamina. The 28-year-old

The players are not disrespecting veterans by kneeling. My local Veterans Affairs hospital in Brooklyn has slowly shut down parts of the facility and forced veterans to seek care elsewhere. This truly is disrespectful and not the promise that this nation made to its service members. Disrespect is the struggle that veteran charities face when trying to raise money. If you feel that forcing America to grapple with its continued systematic oppression of racial minorities is disrespectful, take a deeper look at why it bothers you. I pray that one day my fellow countrymen will see me for who I am: a veteran and a black man who wants to be treated the same as everyone else — whether I’m in uniform or not. I fought for our nation abroad, and now the players fight for my inclusion at home. Samuel Innocent is a former Army combat medic who served in Afghanistan and a Pat Tillman Foundation scholar.

Alvarez will likely stay on his toes against the naturally bigger opponent. That means Golovkin will have to dig deep to earn the victory many though he deserved in the first fight.

Prediction: Last year’s fight truly was a “Big Drama Show.” This year, I think GGG still has enough in the tank to chop down Canelo. If Alvarez really was using banned substances, he’ll struggle without them in his system this go round, courtesy of enhanced testing. Golovkin will bully his way to a unanimous decision victory.

Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @ishcreates.

he ST. LouiS AmericAn AreA coLLege

Alvarez moved around the ring well. Golovkin is known for tracking down his opponents by cutting off the ring, but he struggled in that area during the first bout. Having seen Alvarez in the ring once, I have to

(2-1), Friday, 7 p.m.

• Priory (3-0) at MICDS (3-0), Saturday, 1 p.m.

• Lutheran South (2-1) at John Burroughs (3-0), Saturday, 1 p.m.

The sophomore quarterback enjoyed a huge performance in the Flyers victory over Southwestern Conference rival Edwardsville last Friday night. Macon amassed 334 yards of total offense to lead East St. Louis to a 34-21 victory. He rushed for 162 yards and scored a touchdown on an 82-yard

run. He also threw for 172 yards and two touchdowns on scoring passes of 22 and 31 yards. For the season, Macon has rushed for 375 yards and six touchdowns while passing for 411 yards and three touchdowns. East St. Louis (2-1) will host Belleville East on Friday night at 7 p.m.

Samuel Innocent

Gennady Golovkin lands a straight right hand to the chin of Canelo Alvarez during their first fight a year ago. After battling to a majority draw, the two men will face off against

contrary to the statute.”

In addition, Rothert said, this ruling creates harm outside the law – it takes a group of people who are already one of the most vulnerable in society and makes them even more so. Transgender people are disproportionately unemployed and experience violence, harassment and suicide at much higher rates than the rest of the population. The average life expectancy for transgender women, for example, is only 35, according to a 2014 study.

That’s why Rothert asserted the MCHR’s ruling is “also harmful outside the law, outside the legal reasons, in that it takes a vulnerable group of people who are already subject to discrimination and hardship and allows them to – on a whim – be fired by any employer for simply being who they are.” Lawson’s employer, Dollar General, refused to use his chosen pronouns – he, him, his – and supervisors instead informed him that they were to use no gendered pronouns for him. They also prevented him from using the men’s restroom, including a single-stall restroom that was available to other male

UTILITIES

employees, and insisted that he use the women’s restroom. The MCHR, however, has ruled that this does not count as gender discrimination, meaning that transgender employees who have been discriminated against by their employers on the basis of sex or gender may be unable to retaliate.

Rothert said that this ruling is part of a broader pattern on the part of Missouri government of discrimination against all minority groups, not just transgender people.

n Rothert said the ruling, besides being unfair, supports “stupid business. You attract the best employees when they know they’re not going to be discriminated against.”

“The Legislature has, in recent years, taken steps to make it easier for employers to discriminate against employees, without recourse, putting additional barriers in the way of employees who’ve been discriminated against based on race or sex or any unprotected categories,” Rothert said. In 2017, the NAACP issued a travel advisory/boycott, suggesting that African Americans avoid Missouri, due to a new law that made it difficult to prove discrimination in housing.

“This is similar, in that it is part of the same scheme of making it easier for employers to discriminate and harder for employees to do anything about it,” Rothert said. “It’s different, in that, at least the heightening of what you have to prove to show discrimination was done through the legislative process. Elected officials made a decision and changed the

law, and the governor signed it, and there’s a debate about it, including the travel advisory.”

This decision, he said, was made by a non-elected committee, without any public accountability. “This decision, to exempt trans and gender non-conforming individuals from protection against sex discrimination, has been made by an agency with no transparency as to why they’ve changed their position on this. There were no debates, and it’s not elected officials, it’s

continued from page B1 has helped contribute to our firm’s economic impact and employment opportunities throughout Illinois.”

The IUBDC also provides educational opportunities and forums to share best practices. In a joint effort with the National Minority Supplier Development Council, the IUBDC entered into a partnership with the Kellogg Executive Program at Northwestern University to provide certified, established,

expansion-oriented MBEs with the tools and skills needed to achieve and sustain accelerated growth.

“Thanks to a scholarship program from IUBDC, we were able to participate in a world-class training and development opportunity to engage in succession planning,

appointed officials. There’s no transparency, and no accountability. This is even more undemocratic and secretive.”

The ACLU of Missouri filed a similar lawsuit in 2010, under nearly identical circumstances, and were successful. “The agency changed its position for a while before reverting back to their original position recently,” Rothert said. He said a better course would be for legislators to amend

capacity-building acumen to enhance our long-term, value-added partnerships with multiple utility purchasing representatives,” said Edilberto Ortiz, president of E.C. Ortiz & Company, a certified MBE.

The IUBDC was formed in 2015, with support from the Illinois Commerce

the statute “to make explicit that it most certainly does protect individuals who are transgender or gender non-conforming, as well as everyone else in the state.”

Rothert said the ruling, besides being unfair, supports “stupid business.”

“You attract the best employees when they know they’re not going to be discriminated against,” Rothert said. “Employers can and often do have policies that explicitly prohibit

Commission, to increase business opportunities for diverse suppliers through closer collaboration, technical development and sharing of best practices among Illinois’ leading utilities. IUBDC charter members include Ameren Illinois, ComEd, Illinois American Water, Nicor

discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and take steps to ensure that individuals, especially transgender and gendernon-conforming individuals, do not find themselves in a hostile work environment, by educating other employees and weeding out ignorance to make the workplace a comfortable place. That benefits the company by having a productive and effective workforce.”

Gas, North Shore Gas and Peoples Gas. The study was conducted by supplier.io, a Chicagobased research company that works with businesses to improve supplier development results. For more information, visit iubdc.com.

The ACLU of Missouri has filed a lawsuit to change a ruling by the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, which closed a sex-based discrimination complaint that a transgender man filed against his employer, Dollar General.

Living It

‘The Hair Whisperer’ headed to Macy’s

Tendai Morris celebrates with Texture Talk and ‘Nappily Every After’ screening

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

Tendai Morris, also known as “The Hair Whisperer” was selling her Healthy Hair Solutions product line at the National Urban League Convention last year in St. Louis when the president of the Columbus Chapter asked her to sell her product at their national convention when it comes to her city. So, she

Salute style and grace

Cast and production crew shine in ‘Crowns’

Black Rep opens season 42 with Regina Taylor’s regional theater favorite

By Kenya Vaughn

Of The St. Louis American

The Black Rep opened season 42 by taking its audience to church with their staging of Regina Taylor’s “Crowns.” An adaptation of Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry’s picture-book, “Crowns: Portrait of Black Women in Church Hats,” the play mixes monologues with beloved familiar gospel music with the intention of sharing a teen girl’s journey to self-discovery as she connects with her roots.

“Crowns” has become a regional theatre favorite in the 15 years since its premiere, but this weekend’s opening marked the musical’s Black Rep debut. Directed by Linda Kennedy, “Crowns” continues through September 23 at Washington University’s Edison Theatre.

Black Rep audiences were no doubt eager to see the historically black arts institution’s

first attempt at “Crowns,” which played The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis back in 2005. The play tells the story of Yolanda, a Brooklyn teen who is sent to live with her grandmother in an unnamed southern small

The Black Rep opened its 42nd season Friday with Regina Taylor’s ‘Crowns.’ The production continues at Washington University’s Edison Theatre through Sunday, September 23.

Filmmaker David Kirkman to premiere latest project next Thursday at the Tivoli

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

“So, Richie, can you keep a secret?” Virgil Hawkins asked his friend after a long day at high school in the trailer for David Kirkman’s film, “Static.” The friend gives a perfunctory “Yes.”

“Are you positive? I need for you to be surer than that,” Hawkins said.

After getting the desired level of enthusiasm, Hawkins claps his hands together. A current of energy causes the electronics to go haywire. Richie stands in awe as his friend reveals himself to be “Static.” Hawkins basks in Richie’s amazement before the trailer flashes forward to several action-driven scenes that give context fort the film.

Audiences who attended Gentleman Jack’s Real to Reel Showcase in St. Louis this June were blown away by the clip. It came as no surprise when it won the local top honors for the national competition that sheds light on emerging black filmmakers.

After participating in a panel discussion with Real to Reel’s nationwide winner Damien Smith (also a St. Louis native), viewers were eager to find out when and where they could see “Static” in its entirety. Next Thursday, they will get their chance when the film premieres at The Tivoli.

Based on the trailer, “Static” is a cross between “The Dark Knight” and “Spiderman” in premise.

town to regroup following a family tragedy. The experience is a culture shock to say the least

With his father in the throes of a mayoral campaign as a freshman politician seeking to use public office as a vehicle for systemic change, “Static” uses his newfound energy (pun intended) to dismantle corruption and underworld connections to the city’s political machine. It takes the standard unlikely superhero film format and gives it a face that is relatable with

Maalik Shakoor stars in the title role of David Kirkman’s ‘Static,’ which will premiere

Lawrence Bryant, Styled by Skylar Barnes

How to place a calendar listing

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

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

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

concerts

Fri., Sept. 14, 8 p.m., Old Rock House presents Big Sam’s Funky Nation. 1200 S. 7th St., 63104. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Sept. 14 – 16, St. Louis Symphony presents Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Concert. Grab your broom and get ready for the tasks ahead as the Triwizard Tournament comes to Hogwarts. 718 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www.slso.org.

Sat., Sept. 15, 7 p.m., The Ambassador presents A Temptations Tribute in Honor of Dennis Edwards feat. Masters Touch with Zena. 9800 Halls Ferry Rd., 63136. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com.

Sat., Sept. 15, 9 p.m., The Pageant present Moneybagg Yo. 6161 Delmar Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Sun., Sept. 16, 7 p.m., Chaifetz Arena presents RBRM: Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky & Mike. 1 S. Compton Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. ticketmaster.com.

Fri., Sept. 28, 6 p.m., Joy FM presents Mandisa: Girls Night Live. With guests Blanca, Candace Payne, and Jasmine Murray. Family Arena, 2002 Arena Parkway, 63303. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com.

Mon., Oct. 1, 8:30 p.m., The Pageant presents Sting & Shaggy – The 44/876 Tour 6161 Delmar Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. thepageant.com.

Fri., Oct. 5, 6 p.m., Chaifetz Arena presents Ms. Lauryn Hill. Celebrate the 20th anniversary of The

Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. 1 S. Compton Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. chaifetzarena.com.

Fri., Oct. 5, 8 p.m., Touhill

Performing Arts Center presents Black Violin. UMSL, 1 University Blvd., 63121. For more information, visit www. touhill.org.

Sun., Oct. 7, 8 p.m., The Pageant presents Tech N9ne 6161 Delmar Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. thepageant.com.

Wed., Oct. 10, 8 p.m., Delmar Hall presents Lupe Fiasco. 6133 Delmar Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www.delmarhall.com.

local gigs

Fri., Sept. 14, 8 p.m., Sheldon Concert Hall presents Illphonics with Black Spade 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.thesheldon.org.

Sun., Sept 30, 5 p.m., An evening of Blues, Soul and R&B starring blues legend Eugene Johnson, The Signature Room, 9002 Page Ave. Tickets can be purchased at Afro World 7276 Natural Bridge Ave. For more information, call (314) 3895194 or e-mail cjames4280. cj@gmail.com

special events

Fri., Sept. 14, 6 p.m., Radio Arts Foundation presents Wine & Jazz Under the Stars. The Butterfly House, Faust Park, 15193 Olive Blvd., 63017. For more information, visit www.rafstl. org/wineandjazz.

Sept. 14 – 15, Great Forest Park Balloon Race and Glow. Art Hill, Fine

The Guide

Kenya

recommends

Arts Dr., 63110. For more information, visit www. greatforestparkballoonrace. com.

Sat., Sept. 15, 9 a.m., Truelight Baptist Church invites you to their Annual Clothing, Shoes & Household Items Giveaway. 1535 Tudor Ave., East St. Louis, IL. 62207. For more information, call (618) 874-0812 or visit www.truelight-estl.com/event/ gems-annual-giveaway.

Sat., Sept. 15, 10 a.m., Guns & Hoses Basketball Charity Event 2018. St. Louis Fire Department vs. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Proceeds benefit the Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club. 4245 N. Kingshighway Blvd., 63115. For more information, call (314) 345-0280.

Sun., Sept. 16, 12 p.m., I Do, I Do Bridal Show. Orlando’s Events & Banquets, 2050 Dorsett Village Plaza, 63043. For more information, visit www.bridestlouis.com.

Sun., Sept. 16, 3 p.m., 3rd Annual Heaven Sent Brunch and Fashion Show Fundraiser. 2668 Daman Ct., 63136. For more information, visit www.healmending.org.

Sun., Sept. 16, 4 p.m., AllN-1 Entertainment hosts a Red Carpet Balloon Fashion Show. LaunchCode, 4811

Delmar Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Mon., Sept. 17, 9 a.m., Pfizer St. Louis Career Fair. In search of professionals in Quality, Inspection, Operations, Process and Validation engineering positions to join our teams. Hilton Frontenac, 1335 S. Lindbergh Blvd., 63131. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Tues., Sept. 18, 11 a.m., National Career Fairs St. Louis Career Fair Hilton DoubleTree, 1973 Craigshire Rd., 63146. For more information, visit www. nationalcareerfairs.com.

Thur., Sept. 20, 5:30 p.m., Operation Food Search’s Party for Packs. An evening of music and tastings. Proceeds support Operation Backpack, which provides weekend meals to food-insecure kids. 1644 Lotsie Blvd., 63132. For more information, visit www. operationfoodsearch.org.

Sept. 21 – 23, Greater St. Louis Hispanic Festival. Hispanic Folkloric dancers, over 70 booths and the Los Ninos Kids Corner with piñatas and traditional Hispanic games and crafts. Soulard Park, 7 th St. and Lafayette Ave., 63104. For more information, visit www. hispanicfestivalstl.com.

snacks, fashion, and music. 4604 Washington St., 63108. For more information, visit www.expeditionsubsahara. com.

Sept. 22 – 23, 4th Annual St. Louis Natural Hair and Black Cultural Expo 2018. Consumer classes, live demonstrations, vendors, and more. Holiday Inn Downtown, 811 N. 9th St., 63101. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sat., Sept. 22, 6:30 p.m., Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Epsilon Lambda Chapter and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Omicron Eta Omega Chapter present The Phirst Phamily Paragon Awards Soiree. Renaissance Hotel, 9801 Natural Bridge Rd., 63134. For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

Sat., Sept. 22, 9 a.m., Best Friends Animal Society invites you to Strut Your Mutt. Walk to support homeless pets, visit vendors, and enjoy family friendly activities. Tower Grove Park, 4256 Magnolia Ave., 63110. For more information, visit www.bestfriends.org.

Sat., Sept. 22, 11 a.m., Everybody Eats STL hosts Taste of Black St. Louis Tower Grove Park, 4256 Magnolia Ave., 63116. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sat., Sept. 22, 11 a.m., ConsciousFest 2018. A celebration of culture, call to consciousness and unity. 1111 S. Broadway, 63104. For more information, visit www. consciousfest.net.

Sat., Sept. 22, 1 p.m., Glennon Gallop FieldSide Party. Sport your best Kentucky Derby inspired attire for this derby-like party. Proceeds benefit Danis Pediatric Center. Kraftig Polo Club, 4020 Benne Rd., 63341. For more information, visit www.glennon.org/gallopfieldside.

Sat., Sept. 22, 1 p.m., An African Market in St. Louis. Get a glimpse of what an open-air market is like in Senegal, complete with a traditional beverages and

Sat., Sept. 22-Sept. 23, 4th Annual The St. Louis Natural Hair & Black Culture Expo, Holiday Inn Downtown, 811 N. 9th St. For more information, https://www.eventbrite.com/ e/4th-annual-stlouis-naturalhair-black-cultural-expo2018-tickets-46887190850

Sun., Sept. 23, 3 p.m., Disney on Ice presents Dare to Dream Chaifetz Arena, 1 S. Compton Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. thechaifetzarena.com.

Tues., Sept. 25, 7 a.m., St. Louis Business Diversity Connect 2018. Diverse business owners can meet with procurement representatives and supplier diversity managers. Marriott St. Louis Grand Hotel, 800 Washington Ave., 63101. For more information, call (314) 5846842.

Sat., Sept. 29, 9:45 a.m., Zeta Charitable Foundation of St. Louis, Inc. presents A Winery Trip. Proceeds benefit scholarship fund. Stone Hill and Oak Glenn Wineries. Depart from North Hanley Metrolink Station, 4398 Hanley Rd., 63121. For more information, visit www. zetafoundationstl.org.

Sat., Sept. 29, 6 p.m., The St. Louis American Foundation presents the 31st Annual Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship and Awards Gala, America’s Center. For more information, visit www.stlamerican.com or call (314) 533-8000.

Vaughn

Sheldon Concert Hall presents Illphonics with Black Spade. For more information, see LOCAL GIGS.

Sat., Oct. 6, 2 p.m., 13th Annual Grove Fest. Featuring a kid’s zone, live music, and amazing food and drinks from local Grove businesses, local artists and vendors, and more. The Grove, 63110. For more information, visit www. thegrovestl.com/grove-fest.

literary

Thur., Sept. 13, 7 p.m., DeRay Mckesson signs and discusses On The Other Side of Freedom. Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 Union Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.leftbank.com.

Thur., Sept. 20, 3 p.m., Center for Social Development hosts author Richard Reeves, author of Dream Hoarders: How the American Upper Middle Class Is Leaving Everyone Else in the Dust, Why That Is a Problem, and What to Do About It. Brown School, Washington University, 6351 Forsyth Blvd., 63105. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Fri., Sept. 21, 7 p.m., Bookfest St. Louis: An Evening with Sally Field. The actor will discuss her book, In Pieces, a memoir about being a woman in the last half of the 20th century. Chase Park Plaza, 212 N. Kingshighway Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.leftbank.com.

Fri., Sept. 21, 7 p.m., Pulitzer Arts Foundation presents 100 Boots: Aditi Machado and Geoffrey G. O’Brien. This series presents readings by a range of local and national poets. 3716 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.pulitzerarts.og.

Sat., Sept. 22, 10:30 a.m., Bookfest St. Louis. The festival features author presentations, panel discussions, book signings family-friendly activities and more. Central West End, 63108. For more information,

visit www.bookfeststl.com.

Tues., Sept. 25, 4 p.m., Sheila Nolan Whalen Series: Rowan Ricardo Phillips. Phillips will read his poetry. DuBourg Hall, St. Louis University, 221 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www.slu. edu.

Tues., Sept. 25, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books hosts author Matthew Horace, author of The Black and the Blue: A Cop Reveals the Crimes, Racism, and Injustice in America’s Law Enforcement. Left Bank Books, 399 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www.left-bank.com.

Wed., Sept. 26, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books hosts author Marc Perrusquia, author of A Spy in Canaan: How the FBI Used a Famous Photographer to Infiltrate the Civil Rights Movement. Left Bank Books, 399 N. Euclid Ave., 63108.

theatre

Fri., Sept. 14, 7:30 p.m., Deeply Rooted Dance Theater. Chicago’s DRDT is rooted in traditions of American and AfricanAmerican dance and storytelling. Dunham Hall Theater, SIUE, 50 Hairpin Dr., Edwardsville, IL. 62026. For more information, visit www. artsandissues.com.

Sept. 19 – 21, Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site’s Dramatic First Person Impressions. Sept. 19: Frederick Douglass by Charles Pace; Sept. 20: Martin Luther King Jr. by Stephon Ferguson; Sept. 21: Harriet Tubman by Kathryn Harris. 7400 Grant Rd., 63123. For more information, visit www.nps. gov/ulsg/index.htm.

Through Sept. 23, The Black Rep presents Crowns. Edison Theatre, 6445 Forsyth Blvd., 63105. For more information, visit www.edison.wustl.edu.

Fri., Sept. 14, 7 p.m., GLoveBoxX Arts & Ent. presents septembERotica: The Art Show. Celebrating the Black body and exploring Black sensuality. Third Degree Glass Factory, 5200 Delmar Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. GLoveBoxX.com.

Sat., Sept. 22, 4 p.m., Peace Weaving Wholeness presents A Taste of Art for Peace Goes Caribbean. Enjoy music, costume contests, silent auction, and more. 14th Street Artist Community, 2701 N. 14th St., 63106. For more information, visit www.14thstreetartist community.com.

Through Sept. 28, Fontbonne University Faculty and Staff Exhibition & Speaker Series. Artist talks will take place weekly. Fontbonne University Gallery of Fine Art, 6800 Wydown Blvd., 63105. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Through Sept. 28, Emerging Artists Showcase. TechArtista, 4818 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Sun., Sept. 30, 10 a.m., Art in the Park St. Louis Hills. 70 artists will come together to showcase their creative wares amid live music, tasty food and kids’ activities. Francis Park, 5399 Donovan Ave., 63109. For more information, visit www.artintheparkstl.com.

Oct. 6 – 7, The Shaw Neighborhood Improvement Association presents the Historic Shaw Art Fair. Featuring 135 artists and includes food, music, art demonstrations and kid’s activities, and more. 4100 & 4200 blocks of Flora Pl., 63110. For more information, visit www.shawstlouis.org.

lectures and workshops

Thur., Sept. 13, 8:30 a.m., Citizens for Modern Transit and St. Louis Community College present Talking Transit. Discuss the results of the Northside/Southside MetroLink Corridor Study. Forest Park Campus, 5600

Oakland Ave., 63110. For more information, call (314) 2317272.

Sat., Sept. 15, 10 a.m., Enough is Enough. Girls ages 12-18 will learning about selflove and healthy relationships. William J. Harrison Education Center, 3140 Cass Ave., 63106. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com..

health

Sun., Sept. 16, 8 a.m., The National Children’s Cancer Society 2nd Annual Golf Classic. Proceeds will go to families that are battling childhood cancer. Stonewolf Golf Club, 1195 Stonewolf Trail, Fairview Heights, IL. 62208. For more information, visit www.thenccs.org/golf.

spiritual

Through September 13, Christ the King United Church of Christ Revival 11370 Old Halls Ferry Rd., 63033. For more information, call (314) 741-6808 or visit www.ctk-ucc.org.

Sun., Sept. 16, 5:30 p.m., Arts & Faith St. Louis Eighth Annual Interfaith Concert: Great Music of Many Faiths The Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.artsfaithstl.org.

Tuesdays in September, Greater Faith M.B. Church City of Love presents September 2 Remember. 4114 W. Natural Bridge Rd., 63115. For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

Sun., Oct. 7, 3 p.m., No More Sitting Out: Metropolitan Congregations United 2018 District Meetings Discuss school suspensions, police in schools, ballot issues, and election equity. Multiple locations. For more information, visit www. mcustlouis.org or call (314) 704-7485.

Kenya Vaughn recommends

Chaifetz Arena presents Ms. Lauryn Hill. Celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.’ See CONCERTS for details.

president raved. She was the vice president of diversity and inclusion for Macy’s.

Out of that exchange came a once in a lifetime experience.

Healthy Hair Solutions product line, which is an extension of Morris’ homemade brown bottles with “Whisper Whip” printed on labels in the front, will now be featured at Macy’s as part of the Macy’s Market Place program.

The product launches in San Antonio, Texas this week, and will also be on shelves at Macy’s in Atlanta and here in St. Louis.

She will celebrate the partnership with a special Texture Talk and a premiere screening of the new Netflix film, “Nappily Ever After” next Friday (September 21) at the House of Soul.

“I still can’t believe it,” Morris said. “I couldn’t have planned this if I wanted to –even though I know this is something that I’m supposed to be doing.” Coming from a long line of barbers and cosmetologists, she started doing hair when she was 12 years old. Several years ago, she decided that she would go against grain of what had been

a decades-long legacy of bone straight hair by way of chemical treatment. She stopped using relaxers on her clients’ hair. She then started to educate herself on the process of styling textured hair helping black

women embrace their natural curl pattern. It was about more than just the hair.

“When you are disconnected from the strands of your hair, you are literally not really living your full potential,” Morris

n “I’m really thankful to be a part of showing it to St. Louis. I have walked this path with women several times. I tell them, ‘Oh you will be beautiful with it. Why wouldn’t you be beautiful?”

- Tendai Morris

said. “You really can’t until you are able to truly accept what is growing out of your head for what it is – and then understand that it can be beautiful and then learn how to do it. That’s a huge thing.”

In “Nappily Ever After,” which is adapted from Trisha R. Thomas book series, the situation plays out in the life of Violent Jones. After being a slave to her weave, Jones opts for the most dramatic of big chops. Morris could have written a version of it herself based on what she has experienced in her chair and in her life.

“When I saw the trailer, I was like, ‘Somebody got it. This is awesome,’” Morris said.

“I’m really thankful to be a part of showing it to St. Louis. I have walked this path with women several times. I tell

them, ‘Oh you will be beautiful with it. Why wouldn’t you be beautiful?” I work to counteract and put a positive spin on anything that was negative –because for so long it has been unacceptable for us as black women to wear our hair in its natural state.”

Morris spoke of a time when she came to work with her hair in Bantu knots in the 1990s and was reprimanded by her employer.

“I walked in there and I immediately got pulled into the office – and I worked in the call center, so no one could see me,” Morris said. “A black gentleman pulled me into the office and told me I could not wear my hair like that.”

To now be a part of helping women embrace their kinks, curls and coils is an experience she finds gratifying beyond words.

“We as black women have led the movement for women to start accepting their texture – and not just black women –all women,” Morris said. “The new normal is natural hair. When you look at a commercial on television you are going to see somebody with natural hair. When you see somebody at the bank with a suit on, they are going to have textured hair.”

In addition to her product line, Morris has been invited to give her “Texture Talks” at expos and trade shows across

the nation. She’s been featured at ESSENCE Festival and will be a featured guest at the 4th annual St. Louis Natural Hair Expo being held next weekend at the Holiday Inn Express. She’s had women who have listened to her sit down in her booth and allow her to cut their hair on the spot.

“They cry because they see themselves for the first time,” Morris said. “Some might see it as a little bitty thing, but it’s huge. The conversations that come out of how they’ve hidden for all these years. Their child is like, ‘Wow mommy, your hair is like mine.’ The daughter is saying, ‘I don’t want my hair straightened, I want to wear it like yours.’ Their sons come to see textured hair as beautiful. You become this hero to your child.” She can’t wait for the Texture Talk that will come out of watching “Nappily Ever After,” next weekend.

“When they cut their hair off, they are cutting those strings to that negative past and it starts a whole new journey,” Morris said. “Not just for you, but for the whole family – and the whole community.” The Nappily Ever After Red Carpet Premiere Party will take place at 6 p.m. on Friday, September 21 at The House of Soul, 1204 Washington. The event is free and open to the public

young black fans. Wearing a bright yellow hoodie with the line “Black Men Smile Too” sprawled across the front, Hawkins quickly gets about the business of using his powers to save the fictional Dakota City.

There was also a moment of Wakanda-style pride as Hawkins and other students sat through a history lesson that focused on the powerful ancient African empires.

“When you realize who you are and what you are capable of, nothing and no one can stop you,” Ms. Jackson, played by Gina Cheatham, told her students during the scene.

“Everything that we do is going to be for black empow-

erment,” Kirkman told The American last year. Back then “Static” was an idea he was moving forward with. Now it has become one of a handful of projects Kirkman has created by the tender age of 23. He directed his first feature film, “The Rising,” shortly after graduating from Parkway North High School in 2013. By 2017, he was screening the first episode of his series “Gonzo” to a sold-out crowd at Ronnie’s. He wrote and directed “Static,” which stars Maalik Shakoor, Bruce Carlton Cunningham, Jr., Gabriel Beckerle, Dylan Houston, Joel Antony, Sean Brasfield, Keith Nussbaum, Cheatham, Jelani Talib and Simply Chris.

After the trailer screening, Kirkman thanked the crowd Real to Reel for their rousing applause just before the discussion between he and Smith got

underway.

The biggest ovation came from the cast of “Static” who was sitting in the back of Delmar Hall watching the audience receive their hard work.

“I’m just so excited,” said Shakoor, who stars as the title character. “I can’t wait for everyone to see it once we finish.”

The wait is finally over.

The premiere of “Static” will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 20 at Landmark’s Tivoli Theatre, 6350 Delmar Boulevard, St. Louis, Mo. 63130. The screening is free and open to the public until RSVP reaches capacity. It will include a postshow Q&A with members of the cast and crew. For more information, visit https:// www.eventbrite.com/e/staticpremiere-vip-afterpartytickets-49570738413

the next musical selection.

to Yolanda, who is a product of the hip-hop generation. As she listens to the stories and songs of her elders, she makes connects with her heritage and carries that rich history and a new sense of pride with her as she forges ahead to create her future.

The idea of “Crowns,” using the fashion anchor of the black church to shed light on the women who wear them and create an intergenerational connection within the black community, is to be commended.

And based on the continued popularity of the show, it is one that is willing to be embraced. Unfortunately, Taylor’s words don’t live up to the task at hand. Hollow monologues and malnourished anecdotes fail to crack the surface of providing more insight into the black woman’s experience by way of faith-based fashion. Even the central character Yolanda gets lost in the shuffle of stories that don’t offer much to aid her on the path to self-love and pride. The opportunity to go deeper into the conviction and resilience of black women as anchors of the black church –and the black family – is lost, and audiences will find themselves impatiently aching for

Fortunately, the Black Rep has a solid ensemble of performers that make those moments worth the wait.

Young actors Tyler White and Myke Andrews are extremely impressive in their respective roles as Yolanda and Man. Charged with the responsibility of portraying a host of male characters over the course of the production, Andrews proves himself a chameleon on stage as he weaves in and of roles that include a pastor, dutiful and doting husband and African ancestor. White shows herself to be a quadruple threat in the making as she rapped, danced, sang and told Yolanda’s story with equal

parts of passion and intention. And Eleanor Humphrey makes an impressive Black Rep debut as the prissy Jeanette, as does famed Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater alum and current Co-Artistic Director of Dance at COCA – who choreographed “Crowns.” Led by Black Rep veteran Anita Jackson as Mother Shaw, company regulars Leah Stewart, Amber Rose and Maureen Williams are true to form as they sing the stage down in selections such as “I Got A Crown Up in The Kingdom,” “Marching to Zion,” “I’m On the Battlefield,” “Wade in the Water,” “Mary Don’t You Weep” and many others that illustrate the savvy of musical director Charles Creath. As per usual, The Black Rep was consistent with its reputation for production value – thanks particularly the scenic design. The set leaves a lasting impression on guests even before the show begins. As they settle into their seats, they will notice that Dunsi Dai turned the idea of a sparingly intimate set on its head by creating a crown as the centerpiece. With benches on either side, the performers sing, dance and recite monologues while working the circumference of the blonde wood that creates the perfect illusion of a Sunday straw hat – including the pop of color that represents the ribbon. The backdrop of stained glass windows provides an extra bit of pop and seem to intentionally compliment costume designer Daryl Harris’ colorful rotation of crowns that adorn the cast over the

Young filmmaker David Kirkman will premiere his latest film ‘Static’ at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 20 at The Tivoli.

Just Born

Reunions

All reunion announcements can be viewed online!

Beaumont High Class of 1978 40th Reunion

Extravaganza, Save the Date: October 5-7, 2018. Call or text Marietta Shegog Shelby at 314-799-5296 for further details.

East St. Louis Sr. High School Class of 1968 will celebrate its 50 year reunion

on Friday, October 12, 2018 at the Main Street Brewing Center, 6435 West Main Street, Belleville, IL. 62223. For more information contact Linda Ward Spencer (618) 830-8221 or laws50@aol.com.

Hadley Teach classes of 1962-1963 will host their Annual Picnic on Saturday, Aug. 18 at Marvin’s Park, 4003 Camellia. Hot dogs, soda and water provided. Bring chairs, family and friends! For more information, contact: Virdell Robinson Stennis 314773-8177, Ora Scott Roberts 314-222-3662, Wilhelmina Gibson Baker 314-630-9647 or Marvin Young 314-422-5757.

Northwest High Class of 1979 is planning on cruising for our 40th class reunion and

Celebrations

Birthdays

Happy Birthday to Delores Means on September 11! This is an example of what God can do when the doctor’s report says otherwise. Cancer free and 62! With love from your grandson, Amarion

Eighteen years ago, on September 13, we were blessed with our adorable first born baby boy who has grown into a wonderful and handsome young man. Happy Birthday, Brandon West! Love, Mom & Dad

Minnie Anderson celebrated 105 years on September 7 at Grand Manor Nursing and Rehab Center. Congratulations on this milestone!

would love for you to join us! Date to sail is set for July 20, 2019 and you can feel free to contact: Duane Daniels at 314-568-2057 or Howard Day at 414-698-4261 for further information. Please don’t miss the boat!

Southwest High School Longhorns would like to announce the class reunion for the classes 1985-1989, Date: September 14-16, 2018. For more information please contact Revitra Greco (314) 358-9522 or Kim Taylor (314) 369-3537.

St. Rose of Lima (Goodfellow & Etzel, closed 1977) will host an all-class reunion on Saturday, Sept. 8, Jewel Center, 407 Dunn Rd. See www.strosereunion.com for details.

Sumner High Class of 1979 will hold its “Bulldogs Rock the Boat” BIG 4-0 Reunion Cruise, June 22-27, 2019. For further information, email your contact information to sumner1979@ymail.com or call 314-406-4309. Join our Facebook group at Sumner High Class of ‘79.

Vashon High School Class of 1973 will celebrate its 45th reunion on Saturday, August 11, 2018 in St. Louis. We’re still in the process of rounding up all of our graduates and would love for you all to contact us. Please email us at tpjgramells@aol.com for additional information. You may also RSVP and pay by going to VashonHigh1973.

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

St. Louis American Celebrations c/o Kate Daniel 2315 Pine St. St. Louis, MO 63103 FREE OF CHARGE

Reunion notices are free of charge and based on space availability. We prefer that notices be emailed to us! However, notices may also be sent by mail to: Kate Daniel, 2315 Pine St., St. Louis, MO 63103

Deadline is 10 a.m. on Friday. If you’d like your class to be featured in a reunion profile, email or mail photos to us. Our email address is: reunions@stlamerican.com

myevent.com. For those not on the internet, please call Terri (Bell) Johnson 314-313-2113.

O’Fallon Tech will be celebrating its “50th” Class Reunion on Nov. 2-3, 2018 at Hollywood Casino, 777 Casino Center Dr. Maryland

Heights, MO 63043. Class of 1969 and others are invited. To RSVP for the head count, so please contact: Joann Durham Harris 314-363-4260, Donnell Jackson 314-494-4807, Gloria Houston King 314-591-7306 or Kelvin Murphy 314-616-1007.

Courtland and Deonca would like to announce the birth of their baby girl, Deliyah Andrea Reed, born on August 21, 2018 at 1:28 pm, seven pounds and 19 inches long.

Delores Means

Brandon West

Minnie Anderson

Swag Snap of the Week

Two weeks until Salute. Y’all already know what it is and my gown – inspired by the opening the Queen’s opening “Beychella” outfit (yes, girl … the cape and headpiece and all.of.it.) should be ready any day now as we count down the days until The St. Louis American Foundation turns America’s Center into an awards show gala love-child of The NAACP Image Awards and the late, great, Lou Rawls UNCF Parade of Stars. Seriously, we give glamour and black excellence in the name of education every single year and the 31st Annual Salute to Excellence in Education, happening Saturday, September 29 will be no different. I’m predicting Dr. Kacy Seals principal of Central Visual and Performing Arts High School and Stellar Performer awardee Michael McMillian’s lovely mother Ms. Rita to be among my style winners. But there will certainly be others. I suspect the AKAs will be coordinating as they come out in droves to support Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient Johnetta Haley. It’s going to be a serious matter indeed. Come through and get into it. Each year you can rub shoulders with the who’s who of Black St. Louis – and party like it’s 1999 once the formal program is over. And the icing on the cake is that it’s an opportunity to get into everybody’s elegance and opulence. Every year I am blown away by how y’all bring it with respect to style and grace, so much so that I never tire of talking about it in the weeks leading up to the big evening. And I am thrilled to announce that the foundation is giving away a cool million in scholarships and grants at this year’s Salute. Yes, you read that right. Seven figures, thanks to the foundation and the university partner scholarships that have been established over the years. This year we will be seven figure-givers and I can’t wait to be in the room when it happens. You’ll want to be there too. Get your tickets at stlamerican.com or by calling (314)533-8000. Ain’t no party like 90s party. You know it’s true … be mad and jealous that the turnup of the peak MTV generation will not be defeated. The folks proved me right when they braved the storm in crimped hair and stonewashed jeans to holler “Whoomp There It Is” from the lawn seats at Hollywood Casino’s 90s House Party Saturday night. Me, Young MC, Tone Loc, Rob Base, Naughty By Nature, Montell Jordan, Coolio and the baritone from All 4 One were about the only black folks up in there. But we still had a ball. Young MC got the party started. I’m not here to body-shame anybody, but the crew in bedazzled ballcaps sitting to my left that looked like anybody’s Aunt Cheryl were in my head when they said, “He needs to go ahead and start buying a 2X.” He sounded great onstage and gave a cute little show as part of the opening roster that got about 9.2 minutes apiece. Was his voice always that ashy? It didn’t stop the women who clearly cut bangs just for the show from grinding up on their high school sweethearts to “Wild Thing.” Coolio needs to let those five braids go so that I won’t be utterly distracted by them and miss him pouring his soul out onstage. And who knew that “Gangsta’s Paradise” is to the general population what “Shed So Many Tears” is to us. They feel that song and know every single word like they are recently reformed from claiming somebody’s set. Now I’ve come to the highlight of the evening for me. Can we talk just for a second about how fine Montell Jordan is? Salvation has done his body good. I don’t remember him being such eye candy – perhaps because I had such an aversion to his biggest hit. He let the folks know that he is a pastor – and even gave a mini sermon about God’s love before jumping into “This Is How We Do It.” The folks were checking for his “the doors of the church are now open moment,” but they quickly forgave him and went about the business of getting their groove on when the song called for it. All 4 One was regular as they borrowed from other 90s boy bands to fill up their set. Rob Base stretched his two songs to 12 minutes and had the place low key rockin.’ I was a bit disappointed in Naughty By Nature. It seems like they still don’t get along – and were onstage together just for the check. And Treach’s Tupac tribute that involved him talking to and pouring Hennessey on his forearm tattoo was a bit much. I was proud of the folks who came of age in the 90s and quick to dispute the claims it was a corny time to be alive – that was until headliner Vanilla Ice came out rapping with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle as his hype man. No seriously…he did. Help. The vibe never bounced back for me.

A tiny taste of Tank and Bangas. I raced down I-70 to catch the super-talented, hip-hop soul band Tank and Da Bangas tear down the stage at the Old Rock House Saturday in a special sold-out LouFest substitute performance. I said to myself “I don’t care if I only get there in time for the last song, I’m going. Be careful what you speak into the universe, because that’s exactly what happened. I came in as they were bowing out and sneaking out the side door. Luckily, they killed it to the point where the folks demanded an encore – and they were nice enough to oblige. As I expected, it was life more abundantly, and so was the show according to the folks who actually caught the whole thing. The whole entire audience (of mostly general population) kept coming up to Theresa Payne telling her how amazing she was. And just before I was about to shame myself by letting the folks know that she is not Tank or one of the Bangas, another person told me that she was invited to do a song on stage during the set and absolutely killed it.

Ready to roll with RBRM. This Sunday, I will know for sure whether New Edition

would have been able to function without Ralph or Johnny when RBRM (Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky and Mike) hit the stage at Chaifetz Arena Sunday night. I’ve seen BBD and Bobby Brown separately, so I imagine it’s going to be a great time – and word on the curb is Bobbaye been hitting the gym to get right tight for the tour. I just really hope that folks don’t cut up on the RBRM the way some do every single time they go see Tony! Toni! Tone and act all surprised that Raphael Saddiq is not performing. It’s been almost 20 years since he left the group, why complain if you knew what it was when you bought the ticket. Speaking of tickets, you can get yours for RBRM at ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets and the Chaifetz Arena box office.

Vanita Thompson and Theresa Payne took in the sounds of Tank and Da Bangas Saturday night @ The Old Rock House

‘Crowns’ co-stars Anita and Eleanor at the opening night performance of the Black Rep’s 42nd Season premiere Friday @ Edison Theatre

Heather Himes and ‘Crowns’ choreographer Kirven Douthit-Boyd connected at the opening night performance of the Black Rep’s 42nd season Friday night @ Edison Theatre

Sharon and Sherion checking out ‘Zella,’ a stage drama written and directed by Sir ERviin Williams III Friday @Harris-Stowe State University’s Emerson Performance Center

Natalie, Jelani and Robhyne raved about Tank and Da Bangas performance Saturday night @ The Old Rock House

‘Crowns’ cast members Amber Rose and Tyler White celebrated at job well done Friday @ Edison Theatre

Maven sang the praises of Jelly and the rest of the Tank and Da Bangas after their Set Saturday night @ The Old Rock House

Darren and Paige Alyssa had the time of their lives checking out Tank and Da Bangas Saturday @ The Old Rock House

Black Rep House Manager Cheryl Beal and ‘Crowns’ Costume Designer Daryl Harris after performance of ‘Crowns’ Friday @ Edison Theatre

Nesby and Pam couldn’t help but partake in the 90s House Party happening Saturday night @ Hollywood Casino

R&B veteran turned pastor Montell Jordan was among the highlights of the 90s House Party Saturday night at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre. Young MC, Coolio, All 4 One, Rob Base, Naughty By Nature and headliner Vanilla Ice joined him on the bill.

LOYOLA ACADEMY OF ST. LOUIS Donor Relations Manager

Loyola Academy of St. Louis, a Jesuit-sponsored middle schools for boys, seeks a dynamic person to serve as the full-time Donor Relations Manager. Loyola Academy is committed to breaking the cycle of poverty by providing a rigorous education, extra-curricular programming, and an emphasis on personal and spiritual development to sixty students. The Donor Relations Manager is a new position at Loyola and will play a pivotal role in helping the school nurture relationships and properly steward donors. This position reports to the Director of Development and Marketing. The Donor Relations Manager will track and acknowledge donor gifts, develop new and creative approaches to communicate with donors, assist in marketing strategies and help to coordinate fundraising events. The successful candidate will have a Bachelor-level degree and a 1-2 year solid track record in development. Please submit a letter of interest and resume to Tim Plunkett, Coordinator of the Search Committee, at tplunkett@loyolaacademy.org by September 21, 2018. No phone inquiries. For additional information and a full job description, please visit the school’s website, www.loyolaacademy.org.

INTERIM PASTOR

Missionary Baptist Church is seeking a Interim Pastor. Please submit resumes to Johnsonc1625@yahoo.com Contact Person Cynthia Johnson 314-922-8396

The Brentwood School District seeks to hire the following position FT Day Maintenance Technician 7am-3pm or 8am-4:30pm

• High school diploma or GED strongly

•

LARGE CASUALTY WORKERS’ COMPENSATION ANALYST

Responsible for handling assigned claims from initial assignment to closure as well as provide assistance in various administrative functions associated with the primary WC LOB. To apply, please visit: https://www.safetynational.com/ careers-page/.

TEACHER

Building Futures needs design and build teacher for grades K-12 to teach model-making, wood-working, design, computer programs and problem solving. Full time; 35- 45K. Must love working with young people and learning new skills. Call: 314 – 518 – 5279 or info@building-futures.org.

Frank Lorberbaum Gay Lorberbaum Assoc AIA LEED AP Architect, Sr. Lecturer Founder- Co-Director Washington University Founder - Co-Director

Now Hiring

Brooking Park, a not-for-profit, faith-based Life Plan Retirement Community for active seniors, offering a full spectrum of health services is seeking to hire compassionate individuals who enjoy enriching the lives of others. We offer competitive salaries and excellent benefits. Immediate opening include:

RN/LPN/CMT/CNA

Maintenance tech

Music Therapist

Servers & Cooks

Please visit our website at www.brookingpark.com. or apply in person at: 307 S. Woods Mill Road, Chesterfield, MO. 63017.

DIRECTOR - CORPORATE COMPLIANCE

Under direction of the VP Corporate Compliance, provide managerial oversight of the Product Compliance functional unit of the Corporate Compliance Department in addition to conducting compliance-related research, analysis, guidance and documentary support related to all underwriting products and services across the Safety National platform. To apply, please visit: https://www. safetynational.com/careers-page/.

VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION COUNSELOR

The State

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for the 2018 ARS Improvements Program, Area B, St. Louis County Project No. AR-1757, will be received at the Office of the Director of Procurement for the County of St. Louis, County Government Center Administration Building, 41 South Central Avenue, 8th Floor, Clayton, Missouri 63105, until 11:00 a.m. on October 10, 2018. Plans and specifications will be available on September 10, 2018 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouisco.com), or by contacting County Blue Reprographics, Inc., 1449 Strassner Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63144, (314) 961-3800.

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

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

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for 2018 ITS ProgramInterconnect Camera and Beacon Improvements project, St. Louis County Project No. AR-1689, will be received at the Office of the Director of Procurement for the County of St. Louis, County Government Center Administration Building, 41 South Central Avenue, 8th Floor, Clayton, Missouri 63105, until 11:00 a.m. on October 3, 2018. Plans and specifications will be available on September 10, 2018 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouisco.com), or by contacting County Blue Reprographics, Inc., 1449 Strassner Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63144, (314) 961-3800.

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS

SEWER DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District will receive RFQ’s in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103-2555 until 10:00 a.m. on October 15, 2018 to contract with a company for: CUSTOM FORD TRANSIT VAN INTERIORS.

Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from www.stlmsd.com, click on the “MSD AT WORK” link, (bid opportunities). The bid document will be identified as 9560 RFQ. If you do not have access to the internet, call 314.768.2735 to request a copy of this bid. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

SEALED BIDS

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

A public hearing will be held at 5:45 p.m., September 20, 2018, at the office of the City of St. Louis Mental Health Board of Trustees, Suite 200, 333 S. 18th Street (Annex at Union Station), St. Louis, Missouri, at which time citizens may be heard on the property tax rates proposed to be fixed for the current year for the Community Mental Health Fund and the Community Children’s Services Fund, by the City of St. Louis Mental Health Board. The tax rate shall be fixed to produce revenues which the budgets for each fund for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2018 show to be required from the property tax. For the Community Mental Health Fund a rate of $0.09 on each $100 assessed property value was authorized by the vote of the people on November 3, 1992. For the Community Children’s Services Fund a rate of $0.19 on each $100 assessed property value was authorized by the vote of the people on November 2, 2004. The maximum tax rate permitted by Article X, Section 22 of the Missouri Constitution and Section 137.073 R.S.Mo for the Community Mental Health Fund is $0.0891, and for the Community Children’s Services Fund is $0.1886. These amounts, plus an additional amount which may be approved by the Missouri State Auditor’s office as provided by Sec. 137.073(2) (a) and (b) R.S.Mo to allow recoupment of certain tax revenue due to valuation, reductions in 2017 assessed values, are proposed to be adopted. The recoupment amount is not known at this time.

ASSESSED VALUE (by categories)

for Upgrade Building Automation System, Lewis & Clark State Office Building, Jefferson City, Missouri, Project No. O1804-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 10/4/2018. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/ facilities

SEALED BIDS

for Replace Dry Pipe Sprinkler Systems, Roberts State Office Building, Jefferson City, Missouri, Project No. O1814-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 10/4/2018. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/ facilities

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

The St. Louis County Department of Human Services, Homeless Services Program, is seeking proposals for the St. Louis County FY18-19 Warming and Cooling Shelter. The total funding available is approximately $130,000.00. Proposals are due by 2:00 p.m. on October 12, 2018. A Pre-Proposal Conference will be held on September 20 at 9:30-10:30 a.m. Request For Proposal details and specifications can be obtained on August 31 at the St. Louis County Bids and RFPs webpage located at http://www. stlouisco.com/YourGovernment/ BidsandRFPs

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District will receive RFQ’s in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103-2555 until 10:00 a.m. on October 16, 2018 to contract with a company for: Batteries for Uninterrupted Power Supply at Pump Stations. Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from www.stlmsd.com, click on the “MSD AT WORK” link, (bid opportunities). The bid document will be identified as 9561 RFQ. If you do not have access to the internet, call 314.768.2735 to request a copy of this bid. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS

SEWER DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District will receive sealed bids in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103-2555 until 10:00am October 12, 2018 for: Comminutor Parts

Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from www.stlmsd.com - click on “MSD At Work”, then “Bidding on Projects”. The bid document will be identified as 9558 RFQ. If you do not have access to the internet, call (314) 768-6314 to request a copy of this bid.

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

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is accepting proposals in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103-2555 until 10:00 a.m. on October 9th, 2018 to contract with a company for: Green Infrastructure Landscape Maintenance Services. Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from www.stlmsd.com, click on the “MSD AT WORK” link, (bid opportunities). The bid document will be identified as 9553 RFQ. If you do not have access to the internet, call 314.768.2735 to request a copy of this bid. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure several educational institutions in the region per the District’s education assistance program. The programs policy does not require employees to attend a specific school but an accredited institution. The District is proposing a single source procurement in order to fulfill this program. Any inquiries should be sent to strenz@stlmsd.com.

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

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Notice is hereby given that The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (District) will receive sealed bids for Patrina Court Bank Stabilization under Letting No. 11018-015.1, at this office, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103, until 02:00 PM on Friday, October 12, 2018, at a place designated. Bids will be received only from companies that are pre-qualified by the District’s Engineering Department for: NATURAL CHANNEL STABILIZATION Plans and Specifications are available for free electronic download. Please go to MSD’s website and look for a link to “ELECTRONIC PLANROOM.” Plans and Specifications are also available for viewing or purchase at Cross Rhodes Reprographics located at 1712 Macklind Avenue, St. Louis MO 63110. All bidders must obtain a set of plans and specifications in order to submit a bid in the name of the entity submitting the bid. The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure: SCHWING BIOSET FOR #5 REBUILD. The District is proposing single source procurement for this equipment because SCHWING BIOSET INC is the only available source for the equipment. Any inquiries should be sent to gjamison@stlmsd.com. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

LETTING #8673

Terminal 1 Charging Station Devices and Entry Airlock Doors 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 At

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Notice is hereby given that The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (District) will receive sealed bids

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.

CITY OF ST. LOUIS BOARD OF PUBLIC SERVICE

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS for DESIGN SERVICES FOR TERMINAL 2 BAGGAGE

CAROUSEL EXPANSION AT ST.

LOUIS LAMBERT INTERNATIONAL

AIRPORT. Statements of Qualifications due by 5:00 P.M., CT, September 27, 2018 at Board of Public Service, 1200 Market, Room 301 City Hall, St. Louis, MO 63103. RFQ may be obtained from website www.stl-bps.org, under On Line Plan Room, or call Helen Bryant at 314-589-6214. 25% MBE and 5% WBE participation goals.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Notice is hereby given that The Metropolitan St.

ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY

COLLEGE

Responses for St. Louis Community College on RFP B0003723 for Media Buying

Services will be received until 2:00 P.M. (local time) on October 5, 2018 at the Dept. of Purchasing, 300 S. Broadway, St. Louis, MO 63102, and immediately thereafter opened and read. RFP documents can be accessed on our website at www. stlcc.edu/purchasing or by calling (314) 539-5227. EOE/AA Employer.

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure several educational institutions in the region per the District’s education assistance program. The programs policy does not require employees to attend a specific school but an accredited institution. The District is proposing a single source procurement in order to fulfill this program. Any inquiries should be sent to strenz@stlmsd.com.

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

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for Big Bend North ARS Infrastructure project, St. Louis County Project No.-AR-1675, will be received at the Office of the Director of Procurement for the County of St. Louis, County Government Center Administration Building, 41 South Central Avenue, 8th Floor, Clayton, Missouri 63105, until 11:00 a.m. on September 26, 2018.

Plans and specifications will be available on September 3, 2018 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www. stlouisco.com), or by contacting County Blue Reprographics, Inc., 1449 Strassner Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63144, (314) 961-3800

ADVERTISE YOUR BID NOTICES, SERVICES HOMES FOR SALE & RENTALS

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Louis County, Missouri. To be considered, proposals must be received no later than 3:00 PM CST on Thursday, October 4, 2018. Proposals should be sent by e-mail to hbean@stlpartnership.com, or to St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, ATTN: Howl Bean II, 7733 Forsyth Blvd., Suite 2200, St. Louis, Missouri 63105. DBE, MBE, and WBE firms are encouraged to bid, and a five percent bid preference may be available to certified MBE firms.

The Request for Proposals is available at the

The Partnership reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive informalities therein. Any questions should be directed to Howl Bean II at (314) 615-7663 or

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed

2018 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouisco.com), or by contacting County Blue Reprographics, Inc., 1449 Strassner Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63144, (314) 961-3800.

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

MBE/WBE/SDVBE INVITATION TO BID

St. Paul’s Lutheran School-Phase 1 Building Addition, St. Louis, MO, Bid 9/19/18 Crisp Hall Renovation, Cape Girardeau, MO, Bid 9/18/18 Plans and Specs can be viewed at www.ksgcstlplanroom.com Submit Bids to estimating@ksgcstl.com or Fax 314-647-5302 Contact Dennis Dyes @ 314-647-3535 with questions

Religion

Bishop Ellis apologizes to Ariana Grande Trust in

Franklin family offended by eulogy

American staff

After being slammed by the internet for invading the personal space of singer Ariana Grande - and accused of groping her - Bishop Charles Ellis III issued an apology for his interaction with the pop star during Aretha Franklin’s funeral.

“It would never be my intention to touch any woman’s breast. … I don’t know, I guess I put my arm around her,” Ellis said. “Maybe I crossed the border, maybe I was too friendly or familiar but again, I apologize. The last thing I want to do is to be a distraction to this day. This is all about Aretha Franklin.”

Ellis also apologized for saying when he saw Grande’s name on the program he thought it was a new menu item from Taco Bell.

“I personally and sincerely apologize to Ariana and to her fans and to the whole Hispanic community,” Ellis said.

“When you’re doing a program for nine hours you try to keep it lively, you try to insert some jokes here and there.”

Despite Ellis extending his apology to “the whole Hispanic community,” Grande is an Italian American who grew up in Florida. In related news, Aretha Franklin’s family slammed Rev. Jasper Williams Jr. for delivering an “offensive and distasteful” eulogy at her funeral. They blasted the pastor for neglecting to honor her memory and disparaging single mothers and the Black Lives Matter movement during his remarks.

“We found the comments to be offensive and distasteful,” her nephew Vaughn Franklin, speaking on behalf of the family, said in a statement. “Rev. Jasper Williams spent more than 50 minutes speaking and at no time did he properly eulogize her. We feel that Rev. Jasper Williams Jr. used this

Bishop Charles Ellis III appeared to grope Ariana Grande during Aretha Franklin’s funeral and said the singer’s name sounded like a new menu item from Taco Bell. He then apologized to her and “the whole Hispanic community,” though Grande is an Italian American.

platform to push his negative agenda, which as a family, we do not agree with.”

After the eulogy was delivered, Stevie Wonder appeared to address the comments when he took to the stage.

He was applauded as he said: “We need to make love great again because black lives do matter, because all lives do matter.”

The pastor “regrets” upsetting Aretha Franklin’s family and respects their opinion.

“I understand it. I regret it,” Williams said. “But I’m sorry they feel that way.”

Kingdom Impact Conference

The James Lee Ward, Sr. District of

the Eastern Missouri First Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ will host “A Day With the King of Kings” Kingdom Impact Conference on Saturday, September 22 at 11 a.m. with guest speaker Pastor Keith Clinton of Promise Land Christian Church & The James Lee Ward, Sr. District Praise Team, workshops, and more at Nazareth Temple Church of God in Christ 3300 Marshall Ave., St. Louis, MO 63114. Auxiliary Bishop Melvin Smith is host pastor. Immediately following The Kingdom Impact Conference, The James Lee Ward, Sr. District Men’s Department will meet, hosted by Pastor Kevin Dunn, president of James Lee Ward, Sr. District Men’s Department.

The Message

Sometimes words alone cannot convey meaning and feelings the way we’d like them to. Trust, for example. The reference point for my meaning is “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all things acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6.

Trust is such a complex thing. Have you ever been betrayed by someone in whom you had total trust? Have you been able to totally trust another person since? You can see how easily misplaced trust puts you in a terribly vulnerable place. It’s uncomfortable. It’s abnormal. It ain’t fun. Yet, in this passage we are instructed to put our trust in the Lord.

The question is: Can you do it? Are you able to put trust in your heart after you experience devastating betrayal? And we’ve all been betrayed in one way or another, either by having our beliefs proven false or maybe your heart has been broken. Everyone knows someone who has been crippled by a lover or spouse gone crazy, or watched someone stumble up on the truth about a situation that everybody but them knew the real deal. In the real world, that kind of stuff hurts. In a real sense, once destroyed, “trust don’t come ‘round here anymore.”

the Lord

Can you deal with this concept every day? How much of a struggle are you having trying to trust people who have taught you not to give them the time of day? Do you treat all people this way or just the one(s) who betrayed you? Can you forgive? Can you ever forget? Do you really want to?

But now we’re supposed to go out and trust in the Lord implicitly. You get my meaning? Extreme caution usually follows crippling betrayal. New relationships are founded largely on mistrust and “prove it to me,” not blind faith and unconditional trust. Life teaches us that only a fool would allow themselves to be misused again and again. Therein lies my question about trust and what it means to you.

And what does all of this have to do with God? How are you treating Him in the trust area? “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” 1 Corinthians 4:2. Now, exactly, who’s proving what to whom? Are you requiring God to prove something to you before you trust Him? Are you demanding from God those same things you demand from someone, anyone, before you would even consider giving him or her your love? You see, it is so easy to succumb to a lifestyle which requires proof before love is given. It’s so easy to demand the possible from people who are incapable of giving it to you. But how can you base your relationship with God on worldly principles grounded in betrayal and disappointment? Are you requiring God to prove His love to you before you give yours to Him? We first have to confront those demons which have plagued us for years. And yes, that means all the pain that goes with them. Then and only then can we begin to even accept the concept of trust and loyalty, total and without equivocation. Because then trust means knowing. Trust means truth. I know that regardless of conditions and circumstances, I am God’s child. After all, He loved you first and has never gone back on His word. Trust that!

Columnist James Washington