September 16th, 2021 edition

St. LouiS AmericAn

Former staffers blast use of Homer G. Phillips’ name

Nearly-complete clinic called a ‘second-rate facility’

By JoAnn Weaver The St. Louis American

“This is a second-rate facility,” Zenobia Thompson, former head nurse at Homer G. Phillips Hospital said of a new clinic bearing that name in north St. Louis during a panel discussion at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine on Wednesday. Panel members Dr. Mary Tillman, Jobyna

Foster, retired nurses Thompson, Wanda Trotter, and Johnnye Ferrell agreed that use of the name is disrespectful.

“Here at Saint Louis University, they have created a beautiful hospital,” Thompson said. “To call the new facility they are building in North City a hospital, and in the name of Homer G. Phillips, is a political violation.”

care facility being built in North St. Louis as part of the Northside Regeneration plan. Retired pediatrician Dr. Mary Tillman said, “They are banking on the fact that the mapping agency is creating a small health center for people who are insured and have the means. They do not want a bunch of people who do not have money to come to it.

Panelists weighed in on the name of the hospital being used for a three-bed urgent See

Smile for the birdie

Wood Day School

St. Louis Schools Collaborative works on COVID safety

By Sophie Hurwitz The St. Louis American

Two weeks into the school year, many students and parents are still on edge: the delta variant is spreading, and vaccines still aren’t accessible to children under the age of 12. St. Louis schools are presenting a united front against COVID-19 in response to the uncertainty.

On Wednesday, Sept. 8th, members of the St. Louis Schools Collaborative — comprised of St. Louis Public Schools, plus most major charter schools and networks in the city — released a statement reaffirming their commitment to COVID safety in schools.

Kelvin Adams, SLPS superintendent, wrote in a statement, “We, as school leaders, are working together to address the greater concerns of the pandemic and ensure healthy school environments for all students, families, and staff.”

The collaborative meets monthly to share health and safety best practices, and began meeting about a year ago.

“What the pandemic has taught us is [that] we can come together, and we really have far more in common than we do that’s not,” Candice Carter-Oliver, CEO of Confluence Academies, said.

At SLPS, as well as several charter schools in the district, a vaccination is mandatory for teachers and staff. Some charters, including the Confluence Academies system, have chosen not to mandate staff vaccinations. Others, including

Alderman accused of harassing Black deacon

Police called during third incident involving Prop R signatures

By Dana Rieck

The St. Louis American

A North St. Louis deacon says Alderman Joe Vaccaro, Ward 23, harassed him multiple times while the deacon was outside the Hampton Schnucks collecting petition signatures for Proposition R on behalf of Show Me Integrity’s campaign Reform St. Louis.

Charles Chatman, a deacon at Saints Fellowship Mission, said Vaccaro has harassed him on three separate occasions, telling The St. Louis American that Vaccaro threatened to tear up his signed petitions, called him a liar and tried to stop voters from

n “This is the reason we the people need to take back the power and at least have the ability to vote on making changes.”

— Deacon Charles Chatman

reading the petition, among other things.

“He told them they shouldn’t read it and shouldn’t sign it,” Chatman said.

The situation escalated to police involvement during their third encounter when a store manager called officers to diffuse the situation. Even though no one from the store asked him to

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Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Jannis Williams and her grandson, Mekhi Robenson, 9, a student at Blossom

in Hazelwood, take a picture with PGA pro golfer Christian Heavens from East St. Louis, Illinois following the Accenture Youth Golf Clinic Thursday, Sept. 9, at Norwood Hills Country Club.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Zenobia Thompson, a nurse who graduated from the Homer G. Phillips School of Nursing, opposes use of the hospital’s name by Paul McKee.

Deacon Charles Chatman with Reform St. Louis collects signatures to get Proposition R on the November ballot on

Sept.

2021, in the Hampton Village Plaza.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

Nelly debuts his Burger King combo meal

“Have it your way.”

Like the Burger King slogan, University City native and diamond-selling rapper Nelly, and other artists now have combination meals crafted to their liking.

The combos were released Sept. 12 in partnership with BK’s “Keep It Real” meals campaign.

Nelly’s ‘Cornell Haynes Jr.’ meal, his birth name, comes with a Whopper with cheese, small fries and a small Sprite.

BK says it has removed more than 120 artificial ingredients from its menu, but guarantees customers won’t notice a taste difference.

“We put every single food item that had a change associated with it through some exhaustive con sumer testing so that we could ensure that not only the ingre dient matches or is better than its prior taste,” Burger King’s chief marketing officer Doty told CNN.

Love potentially in the air for Diddy, Joie Chavis

Ladies love Diddy. Since his breakup with Cassie in 2018, he’s been linked to Yung Miami, Tina Louise, and Lori Harvey.

In lieu of his annual Labor Day weekend white party, he cozied up on a yacht in Capri with model Joie Chavis

Prior to his PDA session with Chavis, he watched his daughters D’Lila and Jessie (twin daughters he shares with the late Kim Porter), and Chance (whom he shares with Sarah Chapman) make their runway debuts at the Dolce & Gabbana fashion show.

Justin Christian

As for Joie, this wouldn’t be her first time dating a rapper. She shares daughBow Wow and son Future She didn’t address dating rumors. However, she did take to Instagram posing in a bikini with the caption, “How deep I gotta dig for you to pipe down.”

Diddy, who follows Chavis on Instagram, posted to his Insta Story, “have a blessed day.”

Zendaya aspires to direct Black women-led movies

Zendaya’s acting chops have positioned her to grace the small screen and box office theaters, but she eventually wants to make her directorial debut.

In a cover story with British Vogue, she shared that she wants to learn how to direct and create movies with Black Women in lead roles.

“If I ever do become a filmmaker, I know that the leads of my films will always be Black women,” she said. “I gotta hurry up and figure out how to f*cking become a director, man. I’m trying, I’m learning every day, I really am. There’s so much I want to do.”

Sam Levinson, who directed Zendaya in both Malcolm & Marie and Euphoria, said he believes she’ll be “an astonishing filmmaker.”

Raven-Symoné wants

“That’s So Raven” character to remain heterosexual

was asked if she wanted to change her character to be a lesbian, but she rejected the idea.

“I was asked a question, ‘Would you like Raven Baxter to be a lesbian?’ And I said no,” she said on the latest episode of the Pride podcast.

The actress, who has been married to Miranda Pearman-Maday since 2020, told Pride host Levi Chambers that there was a reason why she declined the change.

“The reason I said no wasn’t because I wasn’t proud of who I was, or I didn’t want to represent the LGBTQ+ community in any way,” she said. “It was because Raven Baxter is Raven Baxter, and there was no reason for me to change the human that she was in order to fit the actress that played her.” Raven-Symoné said she wants to remain authentic to her character being straight in the original series, That’s So Raven “Raven Baxter is a character that I was proud to play — even if she is straight, cisgender, I don’t mind. Let her have her moment,” she said. “She was divorced though [on the spin-off], and I had no worries about saying, ‘No boyfriends.’”

Raven-Symoné’s return to her character Raven Baxter on the Disney Channel spinoff Raven’s Home (premiered in 2017), came several years after she publicly announced her affiliation in the LGBTQ+ community. She

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Nelly debuts his Burger King combo meal

“Have it your way.”

Like the Burger King slogan, University City native and diamond-selling rapperNelly and other artists now have combination meals crafted to their liking.

The combos were released Sept. 12 in partnership with BK’s “Keep It Real” meals campaign.

Nelly’s ‘Cornell Haynes meal, his birth name, Whopper with cheese, and a small Sprite.

BK says it has removed than 120 arti cial ingredients its menu, but guarantees won’t notice a taste di erence.

“We put every single that had a change associated it through some exhaustive sumer testing so that ensure that not only the dient matches or is better its prior taste,” Burger chief marketing o cer Doty told CNN.

Love potentially in the air for Diddy, Joie Chavis

Ladies love Diddy Since his breakup with Cassie in 2018, he’s been linked to Yung Miami, Tina Louise and Lori Harvey.

In lieu of his annual Labor Day weekend white party, he cozied up on a yacht in Capri with model Joie Chavis

Prior to his PDA session with Chavis, he watched his daughters D’Lila and Jessie (twin daughters he shares with the late Kim Porter), and Chance (whom he shares with Sarah Chapman) make their runway debuts at the Dolce & Gabbana fashion show.

Justin Christian

wouldn’t be her first She shares daughBow Wow and son Future address dating rumors. she did take to Instagram posing in a bikini the caption, “How gotta dig for you to down.”

Diddy, who follows Chavis on Instagram, posted to his Insta Story, “have a blessed day.”

Zendaya aspires to direct Black women-led movies

Zendaya’s acting chops have positioned her to grace the small screen and box office theaters, but she eventually wants to make her directorial debut.

In a cover story with British Vogue, she shared that she wants to learn how to direct and create movies with Black Women in lead roles.

“If I ever do become a filmmaker, I know that the leads of my films will always be Black women,” she said. “I gotta hurry up and figure out how to f*cking become a director, man. I’m trying, I’m learning every day, I really am. There’s so much I want to do.”

Sam Levinson, who directed Zendaya in both Malcolm & Marie and Euphoria said he believes she’ll be “an astonishing filmmaker.”

Raven-Symoné wants “That’s So Raven” character to remain heterosexual

was asked if she wanted to change her character to be a lesbian, but she rejected the idea. “I was asked a question, ‘Would you like Raven Baxter to be a lesbian?’ And I said no,” she said on the latest episode of the Pride podcast. The actress, who has been married to Miranda Pearman-Maday since 2020, told Pride host Levi Chambers that there was a reason why she declined the change.

“The reason I said no wasn’t because I wasn’t proud of who I was, or I didn’t want to represent the LGBTQ+ community in

Raven-Symoné’s return to her character

Raven Baxter on the Disney Channel spinoff Raven’s Home (premiered in 2017), came several years after she publicly announced her affiliation in the LGBTQ+ community. She

St. Louisans rally for reproductive rights

U.S. Rep. Cori Bush shares abortion story for first time

By Sophie Hurwitz and Dana Rieck

The St. Louis American

During a reproductive rights rally on the steps of the Old Courthouse on Sept. 9, U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, told a story she had never shared publicly. She was a young girl in St. Louis who became pregnant before she was ready and was ostracized by loved ones after choosing to get an abortion.

“She went through a lot, but services were available to treat her,” Bush remembered. “That woman now stands before you as your United States Congresswoman.”

Bush, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and other local lawmakers are pushing back against attempts by Missouri Republican legislators to make abortions illegal.

“If these bills are allowed to pass, each and every one of us will be impacted, starting with Black and brown and LGBTQ folks first,” Bush said. “Because everyone knows someone who has had an abortion.”

In August, a Texas law took effect banning all abortions after the six-week mark, well before most people even know they are experiencing a pregnancy. Now, in Missouri, state Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold, said she plans to introduce a bill that is similar to the Texas law. This is a continuation of a

ceaseless push by Republicans in Missouri to eliminate abortions in the state entirely: abortion rights have been heavily restricted in this state for years, with only one functioning clinic providing abortions in the entire state. All abortions in the state are already illegal after eight weeks, though the state cannot enforce this restriction while legal challenges make their way through federal court.

Nonetheless, most people who need abortions in Missouri have long since been travelling to nearby states such as Illinois to do so or performing them themselves. Missouri law requires a 72-hour waiting period between scheduling an approved abortion procedure and getting the procedure done, which advocates say adds another hurdle to the process.

Those who do get abortions in Missouri get them at the Planned Parenthood clinic in the Central West End in St. Louis, which has borne a banner reading “STILL HERE” for multiple years now.

So, when the Supreme Court upheld Texas’ decision — and made what many advocates called a move against the landmark Roe V. Wade decision of 1973 — reproductive rights supporters in Missouri were already prepared to act.

Yamelsie Rodríguez, president and CEO of Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, spoke at Thursday’s rally on the Old Courthouse

tion bans and restrictions from neighboring states. The providers say that the number of women crossing state lines to have an abortion in Illinois has grown each year since 2014.

While Oklahoma and Arkansas sit between Texas and Missouri, those states just don’t have the resources or laws to serve Texan patients. St. Louis is more than 600 miles from Dallas, Texas, one of the most northern populous cities in the state — but for some Texas patients, clinics that far might soon be the closest accessible option.

Pro-Choice Missouri’s Executive Director Mallory Schwarz said in not acting on this issue, the U.S. Supreme Court abandoned Roe v. Wade and stripped Texans of their fundamental right to access abortion.

“Their decision was not only an act of cowardice, but a calculated assault on every woman and person with capacity for pregnancy,” she said in a statement. “The courts are no longer our last refuge from the mounting attacks on reproductive freedom.”

steps, in front of a crowd of hundreds of supporters and a few hecklers.

“We don’t have to guess what a post-Roe world looks like,” Rodríguez said. “That reality has already arrived.”

If patients can’t book appointments at Missouri’s one abortion clinic, they could go to Illinois, which many patients find financially impossible. Patients from Texas are already flocking to St. Louis and Granite City-area clinics to access abortion care as

the states between Texas and Missouri, like Arkansas and Oklahoma, also introduce highly restrictive abortion legislation.

In a similar situation last year when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott used COVID-19 to ban abortion, providers in the St. Louis region began to see patients traveling from Texas for care, according to Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region.

“Under this ban, people no

longer have control over their lives, they cannot decide when they become parents and something that will greatly impact the trajectory of their life and their income,” Jones said.

“We are ready to help patients from Texas access the care they need and deserve,” said Rodríguez.

Planned Parenthood and Hope Clinic in Granite City, Illinois, report having invested nearly $10 million in clinical capacity and infrastructure in preparation for more abor-

Meanwhile, House Bill 126, the 2019 bill which would ban all abortions in Missouri after eight weeks, will be heard in the Eighth Circuit Court on Sept. 21.

“It’s not a matter of if these bans will spread across the country, it’s a matter of when. And for Missouri, it’s happening right now,” Bush said. She called on Democrats in the U.S. House and Senate to pass an act reinforcing Roe v. Wade, and to move to abolish the filibuster if this act is held up in the Senate.

Photo by Wiley Price/St. Louis American

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and other local lawmakers are pushing back against attempts by Missouri Republican legislators to make abortions illegal.

McKee’s persistent use of Homer G. Phillips’ name is disrespectful

Commentary Homer G. Phillips Hospital was no 3-bed urgent care clinic

By William L. Clay For The St. Louis American

“It is apparent that many in the St. Louis community are unfamiliar with the history of that magnificent institution,” Clay noted, “and what it means to the survival of Blacks in the city and the health treatment of Blacks in every state of the union.”

Homer G. Phillips Hospital came into being as the result of a 23-year struggle that began in 1914 to build a medical facility staffed by Black doctors, Black nurses, Black technicians, and Black administrations. It was a period when the health care of the city’s Black citizens was criminally neglected by city elected officials and at a time when Black medical students graduating from Howard University and Meharry Medical College had no hospitals for their internships.

A 1923 bond issue provided for spending $1 million to open a hospital for Blacks, run and operated by Blacks, but the city fathers diverted the monies for other purposes like street lighting and sidewalk installation.

patients, a five-story nurse’s building for training, housing students, and classrooms. The structure was ranked in the 10 largest hospitals in the country and was one of only two institutions where Black doctors could go for training.

The opening of Phillips Hospital was a magnificent economic and medical achievement for Blacks in St. Louis and Blacks involved in the country’s segregated medical field. The 600-bed facility, at its peak, created nearly 1,000 Black skilled and semi-skilled health care jobs. Hired were hundreds of orderlies, aides, janitors, and ambulance drivers.

Columnist William L. Clay

“I [Dr. Will Ross] got a call from (then-St. Louis mayor) Lyda Krewson, who agreed that the name was chosen to placate the AfricanAmerican community and get ready buy-in,” Ross said. “She thought it was culturally insensitive.” The “buy-in” in question relates to much more than developer Paul McKee’s proposed medical facility – which, to be clear, will start as nothing more than a three-bed urgent care facility. The St. Louis Board of Aldermen has approved nearly $8 million in incentives for this modest development. This is in addition to hundreds of millions of state and city tax incentives for McKee’s much-prolonged NorthSide Regeneration project, of which the urgent care center (and, purportedly, eventually a hospital) would form a part.

“The Homer G. Phillips Nursing Alumni Association called me,” Ross said, “and were also indignant that the name was appropriated without community input.”

Here is some more of the good advice that Ross delivered to McKee in his letter, along with a history lesson.

“The legendary Homer G. Phillips Hospital in the Ville neighborhood was a cultural icon, the pride of not just North St. Louis but our entire community. It achieved the status of one of the most influential Black hospitals in the country during its tenure from 1937 to 1979. It was a magnificent edifice, an architectural masterpiece, and a place of physical, mental and spiritual healing for generations of African American St. Louisans. It trained the best and brightest physicians, nurses and allied health professionals in the country,” Ross wrote to McKee.

“It should have never closed; the racially motivated effort that led to its closure tore apart the African American community and left a gaping cultural wound that will take more generations to heal. Please do not abuse the legacy of the Homer G. Phillips Hospital with this paternalistic approach to placate the AfricanAmerican community. This whitewashing of history is truly disrespectful.”

Excerpted from a report by former managing editor Chris King in the Jan. 2, 2020 edition of The St. Louis American.

—Will Ross, MD, MPH. Associate Dean for Diversity at Washington University School of Medicine and co-author of a book on Homer G. Phillips Hospital’s legacy

Developer Paul McKee has a bad record when it comes to keeping his word. He once promised the people of north St. Louis billions of dollars in investments for new homes, offices and retail spaces. That didn’t happen. He promised, along with then-Mayor Francis Slay, that eminent domain would not be used to take property in his Northside Regeneration footprint. That promise was also broken. Most recently, in his significantly scaleddown version of Northside Regeneration’s development plans, he promised a hospital to the people of north St. Louis. To date, that hospital — whose scale has shrunk to a more modest three-bed clinic — also hasn’t happened yet. But that’s just fine to some Black St. Louisans, who find the proposed name insulting. McKee wants to call the clinic the Homer G.

Phillips Hospital, the same name as one of the most important institutions in the city’s AfricanAmerican history. At one time, Homer G. Phillips Hospital was ranked among the 10 largest general hospitals in America. From 1937 to 1979, the hospital, which operated at 2601 N. Whittier Street in the historic Ville neighborhood, primarily served the needs of St. Louis’ Black citizens. In fact, until city hospitals were desegregated in 1955, it was the only hospital for Black St. Louisans.

City leaders should not allow McKee to appropriate the legacy of Homer G. Phillips Hospital for his development. The name has a special place in St. Louis history — one that deserves to be protected.

—Excerpted from The St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial dated Jan. 7, 2020

Any community, particularly a community like Black St. Louis that has had to endure historic efforts to diminish its value and selfworth, must not have the glorification of one of its inspirational individuals, leaders and institutions subverted.

This newspaper is not taking a stand against this undergoing north side health facility itself, but rather the insensitivity shown by the developer toward a community’s concern for his appropriation of the name of one of the Black community’s most hallowed and esteemed institutions. How dare someone from outside the Black community question the legitimacy of our affection for an important part of our history?

The Black community, rightly, is sensitive about how its cherished achievements are handled by non-Black people. Even if there is no negative intent, these actions are often seen as an extension of a perennial disrespect that is deeply ingrained in the fabric of this country.

There are many distinguished medical professionals in the rich history of African Americans in the medical profession who have served the St. Louis Black community, including Dr. William H. Sinkler. He was named medical director of Homer G. Phillips Hospital in 1941 at the age of 35. (He passed away at only age 54.) An outstanding hospital administrator, highly-respected surgeon and also an assistant professor at Washington University School of Medicine, Dr. Sinkler is remembered for his pioneering efforts to provide African American physicians with first-rate postgraduate medical training. He believed that caring for patients was a privilege requiring physicians to treat their patients with excellent medical care and to always treat them with dignity, empathy and respect.

We feel that Paul McKee is being more than insensitive and disrespectful.

It is offensive and unacceptable for McKee-a developer without a broad consensus from the Black community--to ignore the legitimate outrage felt by many about an action taken by him in North St. Louis that disregards the expressed concerns, even outrage, about his decision.

Maybe McKee is misinformed, but nevertheless, the Black community should demand accountability for this affront from him and any others who are part of this enterprise. Obviously he feels that this discontent will be of no consequence over time. We need to prove him wrong.

But the Black community would not give up the idea of a facility to provide quality health for its people and used its political voting power to unseat the Republican mayor and his party responsible for stealing the funding money. The new Democratic mayor petitioned the newly installed Roosevelt administration for support, and Harold Ickes, secretary of the Interior answered the call. He provided the $1 million and brought in the Works Project Administration to construct the magnificent buildings.

The hospital consisted of accommodations for 600

In addition, it provided a training facility for educating nurses and housing for them during their educational period. The hospital was not only the cornerstone of medical, professional, economic, and employment stability for the Black community, it also was the glue that held the minority community together. For more than 30 years, it was the primary source of medical care for indigent Negroes. The hospital complex was the only agency of city government where Blacks held significant jobs in professional and white-collar positions.

The jobs were a godsend in a city where Blacks were totally excluded from employment in every major area except for the most menial positions: the utilities, downtown department

Letters to the editor

Congresswoman Bush lauds Black press ahead of receiving prestigious award

Congresswoman Cori Bush, will receive the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) 2021 National Leadership Award. The Congresswoman sits as vice-chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, and the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties. Additionally, Congresswoman Bush is

a member of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy and the House Oversight Subcommittee on the Environment. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., the president and CEO of the NNPA, said the Black Press “is saluting excellence and innovative leadership in Black America.”

A St. Louis native, Bush also counts as the recipient of the 2015 “Woman of Courage Award” from the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation, as well as the 2020 “Black Rep’s Frankie Muse Freeman Spirit Award.” “I am humbled to receive a National Leadership Award from the NNPA and the Black Press of America,” stated

stores, banks, insurance companies, bakeries, breweries, daily newspapers, fire and police departments, even religious publishing companies. For a period of 20 years, 75% of all Black doctors in the country interned at Homer G. Phillips Hospital. By 1961, it had trained the largest number of Black doctors and nurses in the world. Shame on white America and its mostly religiously Christian hospitals that because of rampant racist discrimination refused to admit Blacks as staff members or interns in their facilities. From the time Homer G. Phillips Hospital was dedicated in 1937 until it closed in 1979, the Black community was preoccupied with the fight to keep the doors open. Efforts to close the facility were led by numerous white politicians, the two medical schools of Washington and St. Louis Universities, the publishers and editors of the two daily newspapers, and downtown financial leaders. These forces constituted a serious and continuous agitating catalyst for closure. The Black community had no effective means of retaliating against the medical schools, newspapers, and business leaders but used its political muscle to make the political opponents pay a heavy price. White elected officials who tried to close the hospital were defeated in election after election.

Retired Congressman William L. “Bill” Clay submitted this piece in January 2020 in response to news reports that developer Paul McKee Jr. plans to use the name “Homer G. Phillips Hospital” for a new, small urgent-care clinic.

and style.

Congresswoman Bush, who earned a nursing degree from the Lutheran School of Nursing in St. Louis. “As we know, Black journalists have been denied a platform in this country for far too long. The excellence of Black journalism should never be taken for granted,” the Congresswoman added. “From the incredible writers in St. Louis to the journalists pushing for equality abroad, I am deeply honored to be in the company of such dedicated individuals who lead our campaign for a better future for every human being, starting with those who have the least.”

Provided

by NNPA Newswire

Photo courtesy of the Becker Library Medical Archives, Washington University School of Medicine, Dr. Will Ross

Homer G. Phillips Hospital staff, including Dr. William H. Sinkler Jr., wearing the hat and Dr. Frank Richards with his hand on the mailbox.

Betty Jean Kerr’s legacy lives on through scholarship winners

St. Louis American staff

The 2021 class of Betty Jean Kerr Scholarship recipients was recently honored during a ceremony at People’s Lacy Clay Center for Children’s Health.

Kerr joined People’s Health Centers in 1975, three years after it was founded in a storefront on Kingsbury and Des Peres in University City. She was instrumental in its expansion throughout the St. Louis community. There are now three sites with over 200 staffers, including doctors, dentists, nurse practitioners, and mental health counselors.

n “She [Betty Jean Kerr] spent her life fighting to serve the health needs of the underserved community with the dignity and respect that all lives deserve. She became a CEO and great community activist, but she never described herself as anything other than a nurse.”

– Dwayne Butler

Kerr was honored as a Lifetime Achiever for Excellence in Health Care in 2004 by the St. Louis American Foundation. When she retired in 2007, the center changed its name to Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers and created a scholarship foundation in her honor. Her son, Dwayne Butler, was named her successor as

CEO.

Kerr passed on Sept. 12, 2020, at the age of 82.

“My mother was a nurse, with the heart of a nurse in everything she did, and she lived a life of serving,” Butler told The St. Louis American.

“She spent her life fighting to serve the health needs of the underserved community with the dignity and respect that all lives deserve. She became a CEO and great community activist, but she never described herself as anything other than a nurse. Her commitment and resolve to serve her community were beyond special.”

He said donations to the scholarship foundation “not only support the indelible legacy of Betty Jean Kerr but, more importantly, support the aspiration and educational dreams of our future health care leaders and advocates for health care equity in our underserved communities.”

Making sense of the new multiracial America

By Julianne Malveaux NNPA Newswire

So, you are sitting on a park bench, just enjoying the weather. What is the likelihood that the next person that walks by you is of a different race? In 2010 the probability of a person of another race walking by was 54.9%. It rose to 61.1% by 2020. We are more likely to see people who are different than us in the classroom, the boardroom, or on the sidewalk. From what we see these days, our nation is not ready for this change.

2020 Census data, released a few weeks ago, reinforced what we already knew. The white population, still our nation’s largest, is dwindling, down by 8.6% from a decade ago. The Latino population, which includes people of any race (yes, there are Black Latinos), rose by 23%. It is the fastest-growing population in the country. The Black population rocks steady at around 13%. And the population that identifies itself as “multiracial” has grown by a factor of three. The multiracial population, which was 9 million in 2010, grew to 33.8 million by 2020. This reflects two things. First, the rate of racial intermarriage has increased, leading to an increase of mixed-race children.

Equally important, the number of people who are willing to self-identify as mixed race has grown. People who once hid their mixed-race identity or felt pressured to choose one identity or the other, now feel free to embrace the totality of their identity.

The increase in the number of people who identify as multiracial is both a blessing and an illusion. It’s a blessing because the accursed “one drop” rule was an oppressive way of managing racial classification. But the new multiculturalism is an illusion because it should not inspire “fear of a Black Planet.”

As Richard Alba writes in his book, The Great Demographic Illusion: Majority, Minority and the Expanding American Mainstream, “everybody brown ain’t down.”

In other words, many who identify as multiracial take on the identity and politics of their white parent, not their Latino or Asian parent. They embrace their multiracial identity, but not necessarily multiracial politics.

Many young people whose multiracialism are partly Black do “get” Black issues and speak up for them. Some, though, are conflicted and want to see “both sides.” There are no two sides in the face of the outrageous police killings of Black men and women, but some who identify with their white parents are not as ready as others to take a strong stand.

Still, young voices are driving our reality. On August 28, young Tamika Mallory spoke at the “Good Trouble” Rally that drew thousands to the Lincoln Memorial on the 58th Anniversary of the March on Washington.

In the tradition of Dr. King, who was but 34 when he delivered the “I Have a Dream Speech,” Mallory called people out and took them to task. She asserted her leadership role and said she would take it, come what may. More importantly, she told Democrats to do their job, do their work, end the filibuster, and implement the voting rights agenda. She is powerful, fierce, and surrounded by a multiracial team that supports her.

This is the future of our nation—young, bold, bodacious, multiracial energy. There are too many who would throwback to the past, too many who would deny the demographics, too many who are frightened about what comes next, who insist on humming, singing and swaying plaintively, “We Shall Overcome.” In this multiracial world, there will be less singing and swaying, and more demanding. Julianne Malveaux is an economist, author, and Founding Dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at California State University at Los Angeles.

The 2021 class of Betty Jean Kerr Scholarship winners includes (from left) Xavier Perkins, Alysia Palm, Ronice Porter, Calina Harriel, Marcus Sanford, Amanda Petty, Taniya Buggs, and Jessica Tipton. Other scholarship winners are Zoe Williams, Autumn Blue, and Taylor Moore.

Photo courtesy of Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers

Juliane Malveaux

By JoAnn Weaver

The St. Louis American

A St. Louis doctor is working with the National Institute of Health and CDC to complete COVID-19 vaccine trials and testing studies in local school districts.

Dr. Jason Newland, pediatric infectious disease physician at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Washington University St. Louis, and his team completed a pilot research study for the CDC, which ran from January to March.

“We partnered with the Pattonville School District, University City School District and the Rockwood School District, to investigate COVID19 transmissions in schools,” Newland said.

While CDC health guidelines for the pandemic have

NIH, CDC partner with local doctor on COVID-19 research

been extremely politicized, the study’s research found that the CDC recommended guidelines of washing your hands, wearing a mask, and not going to school when you are sick, were highly effective.

“There are a crazy number of COVID-19 transmissions at schools,” Newland said. “It’s an interesting project in the respect that this is voluntary, so some people do not agree to get weekly testing because if they have a positive COVID-19 test then it may impact their livelihood.”

“In spite of this, we have received a good amount of participation.”

This research study concluded there was a 1% COVID 19 transmission rate in schools with students with masks.

Newland is currently working on a project where he and

his team analyze how to best utilize COVID-19 testing in local school districts.

“This project involves five school districts in North St. Louis County including Jennings, Normandy, University City, Ferguson-Florissant, and Pattonville with participants of all ages, including those under the age of 12,” Newland said.

A key part of these studies is transparency. Newland makes sure participants are informed about everything happening to ensure accurate testing.

“People usually have questions, so we do our best to answer them all from those

who have them in our predominantly Black school districts because we also believe in accurate testing,” Newland said. “We provide testing to all community members, including students, teachers, staff, parents, and others.”

This study will be completed during the 2020-21 school year.

Newland is also working with the NIH on the Moderna vaccine trials, which has over 5,000 participants.

“We initially received interest from 5,000 families and over 10,000 children, who are enrolled in a registry, which we select from randomly,” Newland said. “Our team did a good job to ensure we had a diverse population that will be reflected in the trials.”

The vaccine trials are estimated to last 6-8 weeks, which is until early October, although researchers await more information.

Newland estimates that a vaccine for children ages 6-11 should be available by November. He went on to advocate for people who are eligible for the vaccine to get it to protect kids defenseless against COVID-19.

“Ninetyfive percent of people being hospitalized for COVID19 are unvaccinated,” Newland said.

“The vaccination rate of the elderly population is between 70-80%, so we are seeing a younger population, who have contracted COVID-19, fill hospital beds.

children, but there are a higher number of cases where kids have contracted the virus.

“I would say in children, the delta variant has not shown itself to be more severe, just more kids are getting it,” Newland said. “When more kids get it, then there will be more hospitalizations to watch them.”

n “People usually have questions, so we do our best to answer them all from those who have them in our predominantly Black school districts because we also believe in accurate testing. We provide testing to all community members, including students, teachers, staff, parents, and others.”

According to current data, Newland believes the delta variant is not as deadly in

Newland continues to dispel myths around the vaccine while he encourages people to get it.

“The reality is that it is safe because millions of doses have been administered and it has continuously shown itself to be safe, that’s number one,” Newland said.

“Number two is to wear a mask because the research shows transmission of the virus while wearing a mask is way down.”

Dr. Jason Newland

Phillips

Continued from A1

That’s what I think.”

The hospital will have three rooms dedicated to inpatient services and one emergency room as opposed to the original Homer G. Phillips hospital, which was a full-service five-story hospital.

Homer G. Phillips Hospital, which was segregated when it opened, had 600 beds and nearly 1,000 skilled health care workers.

“There were letters from not only the former Congressman William L. Clay, Dr. Will Ross at Washington University and Homer G. Phillips alumni, but other citizens in the community [responding] negatively to them appropriating the name.

It trivializes the significance of what the name ‘Homer G. Phillips’ memorializes,” Thompson said.

COVID

Citygarden Montessori, have done so.

Foster, a retired nurse and former president of the Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni Incorporated, said opposition from alumni members has not been taken seriously.

“In the last four months, we have voted to have our name trademarked so that our name doesn’t appear on a ‘905’ or a liquor store anywhere,” Foster said. “We wrote, with regards to the use of Homer G. Phillips, in opposition; we expressed that this new facility is a hospital with only three beds and at the time, it wasn’t even identified as having only three beds.

“We have questions about that. We oppose that whole scenario and plan developer Paul McKee had brought to St. Louis.”

During the panel discussion, the audience, which was majority white, was asked if they were willing to talk about systemic racism in the hospital setting, since it is a persistent problem seen in the medical

Continued from A1 is impossible due to space and time constraints to maintain these COVID-minimizing measures. Carter-Oliver acknowledges this, saying that in order to make social distancing and masking work as well as possible, the key is to “modify plans and schedules.”

In all area schools, students older than two are expected to wear masks while in school buildings and on school transportation, as are all employees. Children are required to maintain a social distance of three feet and adults are expected to maintain a six-foot distance. In many cases, however, it

Deacon

Continued from A1 leave, Chatman eventually felt it was best to vacate the area. No police report was filed. It was after these three incidents that he found out the man was Vaccaro.

“That’s exactly why I’m out here — that’s exactly why [Prop R] needs to get on the ballot,” Chatman said. “To hold them accountable, to stop them from being able to do the things that they are doing … this is the reason we the people need to take back the power and at least have the ability to vote on making changes.”

The deacon noted he’s collected signatures at that store for almost three months and has not received a complaint from anyone else. Chatman, who is Black, said the other man who collects signatures at that location is white and has

In some schools in the collaborative, lunch periods have been staggered to ensure that students distance while eating. In others, arrival and dismissal periods have been altered in order to avoid bottlenecks. And vaccinations, while

not received similar treatment from Vaccaro or anyone else.

“The elephant in the room is that … him attacking me is basically a racist issue, you can sugar coat it, you can do whatever you want. But if it looks like a duck, it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it’s a duck,” Chatman said. Vaccaro declined to be interviewed but wrote in an email that he was not harassing Chatman but was well within his rights to ask people not to sign it or to ask them to read what they were signing. He denied trying to tear up the signed petitions and maintains that Schnucks managers don’t want Chatman collecting signatures on the private property.

The store’s manager declined to comment on the matter but directed inquiries to the customer service team, which could not be reached.

A lawyer informed the Reform St. Louis campaign that it is in fact legal to gath-

field. Only three hands went up in response.

Dr. Denise Hooks-Anderson, associate professor of family and community medicine at SLU and interim assistant dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion, hosted the panel dis-

critical, aren’t the only part of the solution: masking, distancing, and sanitation are making a difference, even as the highly transmissible delta variant continues to spread.

“It’s not just one effort, it is a combination of all of them together, that then creates a safe environment,” CarterOliver said.

Five-hundred-six SLPS students were placed into quarantine due to COVID-19 exposure during the week of August 27th through September 2nd, the second week of school

er signatures, sell Girl Scout cookies, solicit donations for Salvation Army and do other types of activities outside grocery store entrances, unless the property owner asks the person engaging in such activities to leave — which is something Chatman said did not happen during his interactions with Vaccaro.

Chatman said Vaccaro also accused him of being paid per signature, something he and a spokesperson for Show Me

cussion as part of a new course presented at SLU designed to educate medical students about political and societal factors in the medical field.

“We are hoping to increase education around social determinants of health,” Theresa

for the district. Most were quarantined due to a potential in-school exposure, and most of those affected were elementary schoolers. However, only 30 positive cases from that week have been confirmed thus far. All but three of those cases have not been due to school contact. Out of a total district population of about 23,000 students, these numbers remain relatively low.

Each charter, meanwhile, reports their numbers individually: in the Confluence Academies network, for exam-

Integrity said isn’t true. They did confirm that both volunteers and paid workers collect signatures for the campaign — Chatman is paid, but not per signature.

“I was totally perplexed because if this is an alderman, okay, he is supposed to know that anybody has the freedom of speech and I was expressing my freedom of speech, but he was trying to deny that … I just felt like honestly, I don’t really have a racist bone in my

Jobyna Foster, a graduate of the Homer G. Phillips Hospital School of Nursing, wants to have the name Homer G. Phillips trademarked to protect it from use by developer Paul McKee.

Drallmeier, assistant professor and director of curriculum and scholarship for the SLU Family Medicine Residency in St. Louis said.

“Basically, all of the things that impact health outcomes that are not about medicine

ple, 12 students were quarantined by the end of week one, according to Carter-Oliver.

Among faculty and staff at SLPS, only seven people were quarantined by the end of the week of August 2.

As the SLPS data dashboard says, most quarantines end up being uninfected students. “Our practice is to err on the side of safety and quarantine any student or unvaccinated staff member that has potentially had a close contact with a positive individual, even if it means higher numbers of quarantines.

body, but he was racist. He wanted me to get belligerent. He wanted me to do some things, but I refused and the more and more I refused, the more and more [angry] he got,” Chapman said.

Activists expect Proposition R to be on November’s ballot.

Its goal is to increase aldermanic accountability and ensure racial equity in redistricting. It proposes the city does this by decreasing the influence of big money by stopping aldermanic

itself, but rather the systemic and societal factors that can help people be healthy or cause them not to be, like the impact of racism on medicine, LGBTQ health, immigrant and refugee health, bias and cultural humility.”

In a question-and-answer section, the panelists gave the auditorium, filled with future medical professionals, advice to use in their various medical career paths.

“Address your patients’ needs and don’t brush them off,” Foster said.

“To the future doctors of the world, make sure that this is the profession you want to be in because as a physician, this is not just for today, but you will be a physician for life. Make sure you treat the patient with dignity and respect regardless of their ethnic background because they are looking to you for their health.”

The good news is that our protocols are working well.” SLPS mandated vaccination for all employees the day after the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine received full FDA approval. All employees must be fully vaccinated by October 15, or risk disciplinary action. The collaborative plans to continue working together to assess and distribute health information going forward, Carter-Oliver said. “We’re all together...pushing the information out for everyone that’s interested.”

conflicts of interest; ensuring ward boundary maps drawn by an equitably selected independent citizen commission; preventing the Board of Aldermen from overriding the will of voters; and ensuring the public knows if an alderman has a personal conflict of interest in something they are voting on. To learn more about the Reform St. Louis campaign and Proposition R, visit reformstlouis.com.

Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American

County Council mandates vaccination or periodic testing for employees

By Jason Rosenbaum St. Louis Public Radio

St. Louis County’s employees will be required to either be vaccinated against COVID-19 or face periodic testing.

The county council voted 4-3 along party lines Tuesday, Sept. 14 to approve Democratic Councilwoman Shalonda Webb’s bill that requires new county employees to be vaccinated 30 days after their first day on the job. If an employee refuses, they have to get tested for the virus every 7 days. There are exemptions for medical reasons or religious

objections to the vaccine. Webb’s legislation now heads to County Executive Sam Page, who is expected to sign it. Shortly after the vote, he tweeted: “We must lead the way to get past this pandemic.”

Council members Rita Days, Lisa Clancy and Kelli Dunaway joined Webb in voting for the bill. They agreed that county government needed to set a good example if they were going to encourage residents to get the vaccine.

Webb said that she felt the bill struck the right balance, especially since employees who refuse the vaccine could still get tested.

“So we’re doing the best that we’re doing to compromise so that those who don’t want to get vaccinated at least get tested,” Webb said. “So if something does pop off, if there is a spread, if there is an outbreak — we can at least make sure that we’re within that timeframe so we can do contact tracing.”

The council’s three Republicans, Tim Fitch, Mark Harder and Ernie Trakas, voted against Webb’s legislation. They argued, among other things, that county employees should decide for

themselves whether to get the shot without fear of their livelihoods being affected.

For weeks, dozens of people have flooded the council’s public forum section to speak out against mandating the vaccine — and the vaccine itself. Often, public speakers espoused dubious conspiracy theories or unproven or debunked information. Others contended that requiring vaccines is an affront to personal liberties.

Webb said that she listened to what the speakers had to say, but added she “had a different balance and listened to the other side — something we have not had here for the past five weeks.”

“However you want to turn and twist this bill, it is about a choice,” Webb said. “There are medical exemptions and religious exemptions. And there’s even if you don’t want to take the vaccinations, just get tested.”

Fitch asked Webb to hold her bill until his legislation that would have provided compensation or time off for people adversely affected by the vaccine was heard. Webb declined.

CareSTL Health RMA Dana Hunter administers a vaccine to Tyrone Anderson, 60, at a vaccination event earlier this year.

Photo by Wiley Price | The St. Louis American

NAF launches high school academies in STL

NAF — a national nonprofit that works with local business leaders to establish career-readiness programs in schools — is expanding its national network for the 2021-2022 school year with 50 new academies in cities across America, including St. Louis.

Expands work-based learning opportunities

By Sophie Hurwitz

The St. Louis American

NAF (formerly known as the National Academy Foundation) — a national nonprofit that works with local business leaders to establish career-readiness programs in schools — is expanding its national network for the 20212022 school year with 50 new academies in cities across America, including St. Louis. This year, they are opening academies — that is to say, career-readiness learning programs based around different jobs — at McCluer High School, McCluer North High School, Bryan Adams High School, STEAM Academy at McCluer South-Berkeley High School and The Innovation School. The “academies,” are described on NAF’s

n NAF will open academies — that is to say, career-readiness learning programs based around different jobs — at McCluer High School, McCluer North High School, Bryan Adams High School, STEAM Academy at McCluer South-Berkeley High School and The Innovation School.

website as “small, focused learning communities that fit within and enhance high school systems, allowing NAF to become an integral part of a plan for higher achievement at low

cost.” Bill Taylor, Vice President of Outreach and Partnership Development at NAF, points out that this model is relatively accessible to students from all backgrounds, as it works on a basis of open enrollment; any student who wishes to enroll in an NAF academy may do so. Nationwide, students who enroll in NAF academies have a 99% high school graduation rate, even when the academies are based at schools with significantly lower graduation rates. Of those students who graduate, according to Taylor, 87% go on to some type of postsecondary education.

Taylor emphasized the open-enrollment nature of the academies as a tool for increasing equity in STEM. “We encourage schools to make sure the academies are open enrollment, so students

Building foundations for increased Black home ownership

HUD Sec. Fudge backs Biden plan

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire

WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary

Marcia L. Fudge is continuing her office’s push to increase Black home ownership in America.

“Even before the pandemic, nearly 11 million households spent more than half their incomes on rent – and that people of color represent a disproportionate number of these households,” she noted during a recent virtual roundtable discussion with over 90 mayors, state legislators, county commissioners, and local municipal leaders.

Fudge, the first Black woman to hold her office in more than 40 years, said the BidenHarris Administration’s “Build Back Better” plan’s investments in housing construction and rehabilitation, economic development, and community revitalization will be vital in increasing the number of African American homeowners.

In addition, Black Enterprise magazine hosted a Homeownership Town Hall last week with

n Black homeownership rate stood at just over 44% at the end of last year, virtually unchanged from the same point in 2019. The homeownership rate for White Americans increased to 74.5% from 73.7% over the same period.

Earl ‘Butch’ Graves Jr.

speakers including Operation Hope Founder, Chairman and CEO John Hope Bryant, Freddie Mac Equitable Housing/Single Family Business Vice President Pam Perry, and Walmart Specialty Tax Vice President Wayne Hamilton.

“This enormous Black/ White wealth gap and other economic disparities are clear evidence of the impact of generations of inequality and discrimination, as well as the continuing cycle of diminished access to opportunity,” said Black Enterprise CEO Earl “Butch” Graves Jr.

“What should corporate America, and especially financial institutions, do to demonstrate a true commitment to dismantling systems of inequality, and investing in programs to promote equity in wealth and ownership for Black people? Additionally, what should we be doing in our own households and communities to increase Black homeownership and close the racial wealth gap?”

A root cause for the problem is personal wealth.

At $171,000, the net worth of a typical white family is roughly ten times greater than that of a Black family at $17,150.

“That yawning gap is most clearly reflected in rates of homeownership, the cornerstone of American family wealth,” said Graves.

The Center for American Progress and its work on Black homeownership was recently included in a CNN business story.

The think tank’s analysis showed that the Black homeownership rate stood at just over 44% at the end of last year, virtually unchanged from the same point in 2019. The homeownership rate for White Americans increased to 74.5% from 73.7% over the same period.

“Homeownership among African Americans grew more slowly than it did for white households

See HOMES, A10

PeoPle on the Move

The African-American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC) inducted Pier Yvette Alsup, Together Credit Union’s first chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer, into its Hall of Fame during a virtual black-tie event kicking off the coalition’s annual conference. Alsup is responsible for designing initiatives to identify inequities within Together Credit Union, implementing policies that overcome barriers to success, fostering an inclusive and engaging culture, and developing diverse recruiting and hiring practices.

Jazell Thomas named Advocate of the Year

Jazell Thomas, coordinator of counseling and social work for the Hazelwood School District (HSD), has been named the 20202021 Advocate of the Year by the Missouri School Counselor Association. While the award is for last year, the announcement was delayed by the pandemic, so Thomas will receive the award later this month. In her role, Thomas guides the district’s school counselors, social workers, and home school communicators. Thomas has worked in the Hazelwood School District since 1998. Alsup inducted into AACUC’s Hall of Fame

Powell Jr. promoted to director of diversity

McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. has promoted Ralph Powell Jr. to the position of director of diversity for the company’s Central Region. In his new role, Powell will draw on his 18 years of handson construction field experience to expand McCarthy’s supplier diversity and community outreach program. This includes building and nurturing relationships with small and diverse businesses, capacity building and driving a comprehensive outreach strategy. He’ll also manage diversity initiatives for major McCarthy building projects across the 28-state Central Region.

Tasha Pettis-

Tasha Pettis-Bonds has joined Midwest BankCentre as vice president of community engagement and business development. In her new role, Pettis-Bonds applies more than 20 years of business, retail and mortgage banking experience in St. Louis, central Illinois and Chicago. She supports the bank’s mortgage, commercial, small business and retail teams in collaborating with faith-based organizations and nonprofits to advocate for equity in underserved communities and build on existing community strengths. She also provides tools and resources for financial education and empowerment through community partnerships.

Pier Yvette Alsup

Jazell Thomas

Bonds

Photo courtesy of NAF

Ralph Powell Jr.

Pettis-Bonds named VP at Midwest BankCentre

NAF

Continued from A9

can gain access to the academy because of their interest, not because they’ve met some kind of prerequisite of a 3.5 GPA or other screening requirements,” Taylor said. “Because these academies in particular are designed for students who historically have had a lot of... structural racism, other issues, that have typically prevented young people of color and young women from succeeding, particularly in STEM fields. So if we’re going to be intentional about increasing opportunities, then we have to make sure we aren’t placing any limiting barriers...right up front.”

About 400 St. Louis-area students participated in NAF academies last year, 95% of them being students of color and/or young women.

Students in NAF academies generally start out their fouryear trajectory with ‘career awareness activities,’ or lessons that help expose students to the different career possibilities that exist. Then, they allow students to explore those possibilities, culminating in an internship with a local company like MasterCard or KPMG. One

Homes

Continued from A9

during the pandemic, despite historically low mortgage interest rates,” the study concludes. “Simply put, Black households faced more obstacles to becoming and staying

of those companies is World Wide Technology, a major tech employer in St. Louis, where Juanita Logan serves as area vice president. Logan is also on the regional business advisory board for NAF. The group, she said, is always seeking more partnerships to join their educational work.

“That’s the goal, that’s the aspiration, is to get more corporate partners — it doesn’t have to be big corporations, it could be any business that sees the value and wants to provide opportunity for young people, particularly in underrepresented communities, to work in the tech field and the STEM fields,” Logan said.

Jennings High School, under the leadership of then-Superintendent Art McCoy, was the first local school to implement a NAF academy, Logan said. Next came University City. Now, there are 11 academies being established this year in the Ferguson-Florissant school district, joining the others in the city of St. Louis and University City school districts.

At WWT, Logan said, they usually take between 20 and 25 student interns through NAF programs per summer. These internships are, on aver-

homeowners because they had less money to fall back on.”

This year, career-readiness learning programs based around different jobs will be launched at at McCluer High School, McCluer North High School, Bryan Adams High School, STEAM Academy at McCluer SouthBerkeley High School and The Innovation School.

age, four weeks long, and are paid. Students are assigned a mentor at their host company, and “have different experiences relative to what it is to be a professional in a tech environment,” Logan said.

And after their culminating internship experience, many students use the skills they learned during their NAF experience to move on to other skill-building programs towards tech careers. “We have students that have come out of high school, that have participated, for instance, in the NPower program, and then found employment,” Logan said. Students have also been connected to programs such as Rankin and LaunchCode through NAF. Sometimes, they even return to the places they interned in high school as college-level interns.

Taylor says the secret to the academies’ success is the connection they make between skills learned in the classroom and skills that might be of use in a corporate setting.

“Relevancy...that’s what really engages young people, gets them excited about what they’re learning,” he said. Students want to know what businesses are actually doing, and the NAF academies help them do so.

Redlining and mortgage lending discrimination also contribute to Black households having less wealth on average than the general population. A result is that it is more difficult for parents of Black millennials and Gen Zers to help their children purchase their first home.

“It’s just emblematic of the confluence, the coming together of many different economic pressure points for people of color,” said Christian Weller, one of the study’s authors.

“They’re losing their jobs sooner than white people. They’re out of a job longer. They have fewer savings, which means they have less money for a down payment. Things can spiral out of control very quickly, especially for African American homeowners.”

Nearly a quarter of all homebuyers today are all-cash purchasers who aren’t utilizing mortgage loans, according to Jessica Lautz, vice president of demographics and behavioral insights at the National Association of Realtors.

Between April and July of last year, 82% of Americans who purchased homes were White, according to a NAR study. Just 9% were Hispanic, 8% were Asian and 5% were Black.

“It’s a small section of the economy who is able to pay all cash for property and wave appraisals,” Lautz told Fintech Zoom Business. “We do see a very large share of them are white individuals.”

Photo courtesy of NAF

Local women win Women of Achievement awards

By St. Louis American Staff

Women of Achievement

recently honored the 2021 Women of Achievement – a selection of 10 extraordinary volunteers from the St. Louis metropolitan region. The St. Louis Women of Achievement Award, which was founded in 1955, is the oldest ongoing program in the area whose sole mission is to honor and recognize the volunteer service and volunteer leadership of women.

The 10 honorees were recognized at the 66th Women of Achievement Awards Celebration—an hourlong awards broadcast on Nine PBS on Monday, Sept. 13. A recording of the program is also online on Women of Achievement’s website (woastl.org).

Three of this year’s honorees are noted African American women in the St. Louis community:

Rebeccah L. Bennett

Equitable Leadership

Lannis E. Hall, MD

Health Advocacy

Cheryl D.S. Walker —

Impactful Leadership

“Once again, we recognize and honor phenomenal women committed to causes they believe in. Their extraordinary volunteer service and volunteer leadership remind us we are fortunate to have such strong, committed, passionate, and courageous women in the St. Louis region,” said Women of Achievement President Marian Nunn. Women of Achievement honorees are selected from nominations from the St. Louis metropolitan area, including Metro East Illinois, who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to the betterment of the St. Louis region through voluntary contributions, volunteer leadership and the significant breadth of their

volunteer careers. Women of Achievement considers nominees with significant volunteer impact in areas such as, but not limited to, education, arts, health and human services, youth and family, philanthropy, social justice and advocacy.

Rebeccah L. Bennett

Equitable Leadership

Rebeccah L. Bennett

Rebeccah Bennett is Founder of Emerging Wisdom LLC and its subsidiary, InPower Institute, social enterprises that help individuals live empowered lives, leaders build impactful organizations, and communities advance brighter futures. Bennett’s background in community engagement and public policy has enabled her to work on many of St. Louis’ most significant transformation efforts focused on addressing structural inequities. In her civic leadership, Bennett has chaired and co-chaired organizations that promote racial and social justice, infant and maternal well-being, foster care and adoption, educational opportunity and women’s professional development. Among the organizations that Bennett has led are Forward Through Ferguson, Generate Health, Jamaa Learning Center, and the Professional Organization of Women.

Lannis E. Hall, MD Health Advocacy

Dr. Hall received incredible guidance from her grandparents, and she often recounts how devastated she was at the time of their passing. As she grew older, Dr. Hall learned that three out of her four grand-

Lannis E. Hall, MD

parents were lost to preventable cancers. When she ultimately chose the field of Radiation Oncology, Dr. Hall promised to dedicate herself to educating the community about early detection. For the last 20 years, Dr. Hall has honored that promise by dedicating herself to reducing cancer disparities and promoting health and wellness in the St. Louis region. Some of the many ways Dr. Hall has exemplified this dedication include: partnering with church leaders to provide health, wellness, and cancer education for congregations across St. Louis; co-founding the Prostate Cancer Coalition; and co-developing an 11-episode podcast series called Our Healthy Men: The Prostate Cancer Question and Answer Show.

Cheryl D.S. Walker Impactful Leadership

Cheryl D.S. Walker

Cheryl D. S. Walker is motivated by the spirit of kuumba “to do always as much as [she] can, in the way [she] can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than [she] inherited it,” which she demonstrates through law, community and poetry. Whether serving in leadership roles in arts, education, ethics, or health and well-being, Walker cherishes the fact that she stands on the shoulders of all those who came before her so that she can always be lifting her parents, Lloyd and Paula Smith.

“Taking Care of You”

are immunocompromised.

Family pleads for children’s health, safety

Vaccinations are vital

By JoAnn Weaver

“I am a funny person who is goofy, love to draw and paint and I have a kind heart,” 10-year-old Olivia Mike said.

With a personality that soars through the roof, Olivia is just like every other fun-loving child except that she lives with a disease that makes it difficult to fight infections. The pandemic has changed her life.

“It changed my life a lot because we all had to go into shut down and we haven’t seen anyone, that I didn’t get to see my friends,” Mike said. “I missed seeing my friends and

seeing my teachers.” If Olivia contracts COVID-19 it could devastating, even fatal. Because of this, she and her family do everything they can to keep her safe.

Keionna Mike, Olivia’s mother, said the bubbly 10-year-old was diagnosed as a newborn at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

“Her father and I both carry the sickle cell trait, so Olivia needed to get tested,” Mike said. “They determined she had sickle cell disease, not just the trait.”

Olivia is attending 5th grade in-person at Henderson Elementary, where protocols in

Help save lives –especially in the Black community

By Dr. Denise Hooks-Anderson

1. Vaccines are effective and safe: The research that led to the development of the COVID-19 vaccine is not new. NIH scientists have been working on the technology used in the vaccine for many years. One of the scientists, Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, an African American viral immunologist, was a central figure in the mRNA research that paved the way for the vaccine.

2. You care about your family: This new delta variant is more infectious and dangerous than the previous virus. This variant is causing our children to be sick and hospitalized. Theoretically, a working parent could bring home the virus and infect their children, who in turn infect their classmates. This type of spread is not uncommon and is happening across the country. The American Academy of Pediatrics reported on Sept. 14 that COVID-19 infections have risen “exponentially” among children in the U.S. since July. The group reported 243,373 new cases among children over the past week. It is about a 240% increase since early July, when children accounted for 71,726 cases.

3. You care about your community: This pandemic has infiltrated every corner of our society. Your neighbors lost their jobs and in some cases their businesses. Recent news also confirms that people are now being evicted from their homes and in some cases are no longer protected from the CDC moratorium on evictions. Getting the vaccine helps to ensure that we can prevent another massive shut-down that caused these financial catastrophes.

4. Don’t want to end up in the ICU: Though vaccinated individuals can still become infected by the COVID-19 virus, they are less likely to be hospitalized or die. In some areas, over 95% of the COVID admissions are in unvaccinated patients. Unvaccinated people are 11 times

‘Ghana don’t play with COVID’

By Sylvester Brown Jr.

The St. Louis American

Cheryl Walker, a retired real estate advisor and financial specialist, wasn’t particularly concerned about the coronavirus as she prepared for her 10-day vacation to Elmina, Ghana. She had been planning the trip since March and did the necessary research. Walker knew that Ghana is one of the African nations that has been praised for its effective COVID-19 strategies. Ghana and other African nations, including South Africa, have been heralded by health officials for taking early, decisive action that initially appear to have COVID-19 under control. Ghana’s population of 30.4 million is about 10 percent of America’s 328 million residents. Yet, its confirmed 1,084 deaths from the disease are proportionately lower than America’s more than 650,000 coronavirus deaths.

Trip to Ghana delivers life-affirming lessons

Because of the Ebola outbreak in 2014, many African countries were prepared to deploy widespread safety measures such as early testing, travel bans, closing schools, and borders and limiting public gatherings.

COVID-19 infection numbers are rising in Africa due to the delta variant. But late last year, the World Health Organizations (WHO) praised several African nations, including Ghana, for quickly rolling out doses of vaccines and routine immunization programs when vaccines became available.

“Africa learned ‘what it takes’ the hard way during the Ebola crisis,” Hafez Ghanem, World Bank Vice-President for Africa, said early last year.

Although Walker was comfortable traveling to Ghana during the pandemic, she wasn’t prepared for the rigid and costly protocol to enter the African nation. Before boarding a flight to Amsterdam, she was required to have a negative test result within 42 hours of boarding. The problem was that it would take 72 hours to get from America to Ghana. So, another test had to be scheduled online before she could leave Amsterdam’s air-

The parents of Olivia Mike (above), who has sickle cell anemia, are urging people to get vaccinated to protect those who

Photo courtesy of the Mike Family

See ANDERSON, A13

Denise HooksAnderson, MD

Cheryl Walker and son, Steven J. Smith, at the Elmina Market in Ghana.

Photo courtesy of Cheryl Walker

Family

Continued from A12 place are not only necessary but can be lifesaving for immunocompromised students.

“We meet every year to go over her needs,” Keionna said. “They make sure she gets extra water rest time and bathroom breaks, even excuses from gym class.

“There are mild symptoms that can lead up to bigger issues with sickle cell disease, so they’ve been really great and flexible.”

According to the Francis Howell School District’s online COVID-19 pandemic policies, district staff and students are required to wear masks and social distance to protect the vulnerable young population, who at this time cannot get vaccinated.

“Before COVID, kids would have gym on a Monday and art class on Wednesday, but now the kids are grouped in rotations, so they have three weeks of gym, then three weeks of art, music, so on, so it keeps exposure to COVID down because if one of the kiddos get COVID, they are able to contact trace it,” Keionna said.

The Mike family encourages others to wear a mask and get vaccinated to protect immunocompromised children like Olivia.

“I think we have a responsibility as adults to protect all kids,” Keionna said. “We have that responsibility to love one another and think of others and not just ourselves.”

Dr. Monica Hubert, Washington University Physician at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and director of the Sickle Cell Disease Program at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, talked about how

Ghana

Continued from A12 port for Ghana. She scrambled to meet the protocol, but the total $300 in COVID-testing costs was unexpected.

Upon arrival in Elmina, she presented her online registration, got tested again and received the green light to leave the airport.

“Ghana don’t play with COVID,” Walker stated. Walker said she encountered a few people who espoused conspiracy theories and expressed fears about taking vaccines. But like in the U.S., health officials have waged a concerted war against misinformation that has, for the most part, started in western nations and found fertile ground in Africa.

she’s worked with Olivia since she was a baby and how important it is to protect immunocompromised individuals.

“At Children’s Hospital, we’ve been really proactive in encouraging vaccinations in people who are eligible to get it,” Hubert said. “In addition to children over the age of 12, we

have conversations with parents to get vaccinated to protect themselves, their children and the community as a whole.” Hubert also said it’s been easier to talk to families about the COVID-19 vaccine since she has built a rapport with them to care for kids who have sickle cell disease.

“In the case of Olivia and other kids like her, we’ve been taking care of them since they were babies identified with sickle cell on their screenings,” Hubert said. “We build up trust with these families which makes it easier to have conversations about vaccinations since they trust us to do what’s best

for their child.” There are 100,000 people in the United States with sickle cell disease. However, there has not been enough funding to discover the best treatments and ensure everyone with sickle cell disease has access to them, according to research from the American Journal of

Managed Care Currently, the healthcare community is doing everything it can to encourage people to get vaccinated with the hope that stories like Olivia’s might help with those efforts.

n “Our government needs to stop playing with these folk. We need blanket rules.”

- Cheryl Walker, comparing America’s response to COVID-19 to Ghana’s

She noted mask and hand-washing stations everywhere, portable disinfection fogging units at hotels and other public places, social distancing requirements and restaurants where soap and a dish of hot water came with every meal.

That comment was a revelation of sorts to Walker. She realized that Americans, unlike Africans, have the liberty to dismiss, downplay and rebel against science and measures aimed at containing the disease. Mostly because of political influence.

Public officials have noted how the “politicization” of COVID-19 in America and other European countries has fueled stubborn resistance to health measures. President Donald Trump’s downplaying of the deadly disease early last year was but one part of the damaging political and societal mix that led to high rates of infections.

Last year, the US National Library of Medicine released a study that examined the level of politicization and polarization in COVID-19 news coverage. The analysis showed that both newspaper and network news are “highly politicized and polarized,” noting how politicians appear more frequently than scientists, especially in

“What I heard repeatedly was, ‘Here in Ghana, we take COVID seriously.’ They (Ghanaians) feel like we’re crazy because we (Americans) don’t take it seriously. One man told me, in the states, ‘you guys made it political.’”

newspaper coverage.

Walker said her trip provided insightful revelations about the need to respect science.

“A tour guide I met was shocked when I told him some Americans walk around without masks,” Walker recalled.

“In America, our politicians feel like no one will vote for them if they support mask mandates. It’s ridiculous!

“I was told before I went that I was going to learn the meaning of respect. In Ghana, they respect their ministers,

Continued from A12

more likely to die from COVID-19 than those who are fully vaccinated, according to the latest report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released on Sept. 10. The CDC also found that vaccinated people were nearly five times less likely to get infected and 10 times less likely to get so sick they ended up in the hospital.

5. You care about the health care workers: Early in the pandemic, people started referring to health care workers as heroes. I personally believe that we did not enter this field to be heroes. We became health providers because we wanted to contribute to the overall well-being of each patient we encountered. For many of us, our practice is more than a job, it is a ministry. Therefore, it is hurtful when we see so many people

doctors, and people of authority. If they say, ‘we need to do it this way,’ Ghanaians simply say ‘OK.’ We can learn a lot from them.”

The trip, Walker adds, was also life-affirming. She marveled at the inherent adult protectiveness and the seemingly carefree lifestyles of children. She was surprised by the absence of the homeless and how food was just a banana or coconut tree away. She remembers how “snacks” sold in gas stations or convenience stores

n This new delta variant is more infectious and dangerous than the previous virus. This variant is causing our children to be sick and hospitalized. Theoretically, a working parent could bring home the virus and infect their children, who in turn infect their classmates.

disregard the recommendations provided that will keep us all safe. Each health care worker that shows up to work at your local clinic, pharmacy, nursing home, and hospital, puts their

lives and the lives of their families at risk every day for you.

6. Separate science from politics: Science has been a

were natural, unprocessed commodities, not sugary or chemical-laced treats like in America.

“I think Ghanaians live the way God intended…off the land, off their hard work. I could have gotten lost and stayed there. They are so free!”

Mostly, though, her takeaway is that America needs to take COVID and its science-based remedies more seriously. Walker’s husband, daughter and nephew had the

part of our culture since the beginning of time. Every day each of us is surrounded by scientific inventions that we do not question. When we purchase food, we believe it is safe and will not cause us harm. That’s science. When we get into our cars, we believe that the car will work as it should and keep us safe. That’s science. You believe that the medicine that we take for our headaches, our high blood pressure, and our diabetes will work as it should and not cause us harm. That’s

coronavirus but survived. She feels the country needs to stop tolerating the misinformation spread by anti-vaxxers and the stubborn attitudes of vaccine-hesitant Americans.

“Our government needs to stop playing with these folk. We need blanket rules. We need vaccines to address this virus. So, it needs to just say it and then enforce it!”

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

science. Lastly, the vaccines we received as a child worked and kept us from getting those illnesses that we didn’t even know existed. That’s science. Science evolves. Technologies change and we see that with the COVID-19 vaccines. Trust the science, not the vitriol of politics.

Denise Hooks-Anderson, M.D., FAAFP is an associate professor, SLUCare Family Medicine and interim assistant dean of diversity equity and inclusion.

Photo courtesy of Cheryl Walker

Cheryl Walker and son, Steven J. Smith, at Fisherman’s Port in Ghana with Elmina Slave castle in the distance.

Olivia (left), is pictured with her family. Olivia’s mother, Keionna Mike, said the bubbly 10-year-old was diagnosed as a newborn at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Photo courtesy of the Mike Family

PRESENT:

PRESENT:

Nutrition Challenge:

Nutrition Challenge:

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

Dining Out.

What Is ASize?Serving

GRAINS

Keep ‘em Whole!

The Smart Way!

How Healthy Is Your Heart?

Warm Up & Cool Down

Do This. Not That!

First Day of Spring!

Exercise Game

Eating nutritious healthy foods often starts at the grocery store. Here are some tips to smart shopping.

4 Eat Before You Go

4 Make a List

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

Some Sleep!

Tech-Neck

for several different reasons.

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

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

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

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

Cola

4 Shop the Walls (Natural, healthier choices are often located along the walls of the store.)

Let’s make a game out of exercise!

Healthy Kids

Healthy Kids

Healthy Kids

Healthy Kids

those leftovers for lunch the next day!

are popcorn, wheatberries, brown rice and wild rice.

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

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

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

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

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

Cocoa Puffers Cereal

INGREDIENTS:

> Start by substituting one drink per day to water.

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

4 Read Labels (Look for lower fat, sodium and sugar and higher fiber options!)

Weekly Newspaper in Education Program

Alexzandria Miller, BSN, RN, MSW

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

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

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

4 Colorize — Just like your dinner plate should be “colorful,” so should your shopping cart. Fill your basket with colorful, fresh fruits and vegetables.

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

Learning Standards:

Learning Standards: HPE 2,

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

Your heart is an amazing thing! It is actually a muscle that pumps blood throughout your body. A beating heart is what keeps you alive.

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

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

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

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

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

Latoya Woods, DNP, APRN, FNP-C

Yonniece Rose, Registered Nurse

Douglass, MSW

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Instead of watching TV — ride your bike with friends.

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

Let’s test your heart health. First make sure you have been completely inactive for at least 10 minutes. Locate your pulse* and count how many beats you feel in 15 seconds. Multiply that by 4 and you have your resting heart rate. Ideally this number should be 60-100 beats for anyone over 10 years old.

If your resting heart rate is above that, your heart is possibly working too hard. Discuss with your pediatrician or school nurse ways that you can improve your heart’s health. Following the Nutrition and Exercise guidelines in the Healthy Kids page over the next several months can help improve your heart health too!

Visit:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Learning Standards:

*http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/heartfailure/watching-rate-monitor for tips on how to take your pulse.

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

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

Learning Standards: HPE 1, NH 1, NH 5

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 5, NH 1

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

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

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

Where do you work? I am a registered nurse for BJC Healthcare. Where did you go to school? I graduated from Parkway West High School. I then earned a Bachelor of Art in Psychology degree from the University of Missouri, St. Louis, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Goldfarb School of Nursing, and a Master of Social Work from Washington University, St. Louis.

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

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

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

> What to do if you see someone else bullied.

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

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

Cracker-wiches

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

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

> What to do if YOU are the bully.

What are some things a registered nurse does? I draw blood from patients for testing. I perform wound care. I also assist doctors with procedures at the patient’s bedside. Why did you choose this career? I made the decision to become a nurse because of spending a lot of time in the hospital with my mother when she was ill. It was then that I saw all sides of nursing and I wanted to be a part of that. Also, this position allows me to help others, which is my passion.

> Do you often feel tired during the day?

> Do you fall asleep at your desk? In order to be at your best, go to bed early enough to allow for at least 8 hours of sleep. You’ll feel more rested and alert and ready to start a new day!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Frozen Yogurt Blueberry Bites

Ingredients:

1 cup blueberries

> How bullying hurts others.

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

> What to do if you are bullied.

What does a school nurse do? I assess the concerns of students who are ill, injured or experiencing alterations in their normal health. Nurses screen daily staff, students and visitors for safety. Monroe School is a pilot school for Covid-19 test sites in partnership with the city. Why did you choose this career? I love nursing because there are many opportunities in hospitals, schools, clinics and offices, insurance, legal and research. My passion is working in the schools with students, parents, staff and community partners.

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

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

What is your favorite part of the job you have? I love the teamwork aspect of my position and meeting a variety of different patients.

What is your favorite part of the job you have?

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

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

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

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

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

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

> What other ice hazards are there?

Learning Standards: HPE 1, HPE 2, NH 5

1 cup non-fat Greek Yogurt

ingredients for a delicious dip!

Learning Standards: HPE 2, HPE 5, NH 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

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

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

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

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

Learning Standards: HPE 6, NH 3

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

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

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

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

Banana PB Smoothie

Ingredients: 1/2 Cp Vanilla Greek yogurt, 3 Tbsp Natural peanut butter,

Deborah Edwards, School Nurse

CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT

Teacher Dr. Georgene Collier assists students with their protective boxes for an egg-drop experiment.

WhatDoesAnIndustrialEngineerDo?

Do you enjoy solving problems? Are you creative? Do you work well as part of a team? If so, industrial engineering may be a good career for you. Industrial engineers carefully observe a process—such as creating or delivering a product and analyze ways to make the process more efficient.

Industrial engineers help companies increase their productivity.

Industrial engineers must earn a bachelor’s degree and show skills in math, science, and language arts. Due to the nature of their job, industrial engineers must work well with others. For example, if an industrial engineer is studying the process in a factory, they will go to the factory and make

SCIENCE INVESTIGATION

Background Information:

Industrial engineers study efficiency.

This involves careful observations and modifications. In this procedure, you will be creating and testing a parachute.

Materials Needed: • A Plastic Bag or Lightweight Material • Scissors • String

• A Small Object (to act as a weight—a little action figure would be perfect)

Procedure:

q Cut a large square from the plastic bag/material.

observations and collect data. This career also requires a lot of research, as well as the ability to communicate clearly and effectively.

For More Information About Industrial Engineers, Visit: http://www. sciencebuddies.org/ science-engineeringcareers/engineering/ industrial-engineer -orhttp://www.careercornerstone.org/industrial/industrial.htm.

Learning Standards: I can read nonfiction text for main idea and supporting details to help provide background knowledge.

Design and Test a Parachute

r Cut 8 pieces of string to the same length and attach them to the holes.

t Tie the pieces of string to the object you are using as a weight.

y Test your parachute by dropping it from a high spot. A parachute should land as slowly as possible.

u Evaluate your design, make modifications, and retest.

SCIENCE STARS

AFRICAN-AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL ENGINEER: April Savoy

April Savoy grew up in a small Louisiana town, where she received encouragement from her parents that she could be anything she wanted to be. Savoy graduated as valedictorian from her high school before attending Xavier University, where she earned an impressive perfect grade point average in Computer Science. In 2008, she earned her doctoral degree in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University.

While at Purdue, she was part of an eight-person team that won a national NASA Exploration Systems Directorate competition. This victory granted them invites to be VIP attendees at a space shuttle launch and a reward of $2,500. In this competition, Savoy helped to improve communication amongst NASA ground operations personnel. (To read more about the competition, go to: https://engineering.purdue. edu/IE/Spotlights/IEstudentswinNASAcompetition.)

After graduating from Purdue, Savoy worked as a professor at the American InterContinental University in the Department of Information Technology while serving as a guest lecturer at Purdue University and Central Catholic High School in West Lafayette, Indiana. From there, she went to Indiana University East to serve as assistant professor of business administration and program director for Informatics. Savoy also works as a research associate for SA Technologies Inc., where she has authored chapters for textbooks and educational journals. She is also a member of the following organizations: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Women in Engineering Program, National Society of Black Engineers, Computer Science Women’s Network, Alpha Pi Mu, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

In an interview with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Savoy states, “I recognize my responsibility as an engineer to make the world a better place by using new technology to solve the neglected simple problems… My aim is to bridge the gap of the digital divide and provide technology to those that need it.”

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

w Trim the edges of the square to create an octagon shape.

e Cut a small hole on the edge of each side.

MATH CONNECTION

Industrial engineers use math skills to help individuals and businesses become more efficient. Store owners need to know how much of a product they should stock on a shelf and how many employees are needed to work each shift. Industrial engineers study these types of situations and much more.

In the following word problems, you will be applying some of those skills to answer the questions.

z The local pizza shop found that they were wasting money by ordering too many ingredients. The ingredients often went to waste, which resulted in a loss of profit. They hired an industrial engineer to help them. The industrial engineer observed that the local pizzeria sold an average of 40 pizzas on a weeknight, and 108 pizzas

DID YOU KNOW?

i Repeat step 7 until you have a satisfactory design. Analyze: Which designs worked best? What did they have in common? Why do you think those designs were successful?

Learning Standards: I can follow sequential directions to complete an experiment. I can make observations and modifications and analyze results.

Efficiency Problems!

on a weekend. They also noted a 65% increase in sales after a sports tournament at the local high school. If the sports tournament took place on a week night, how many pizzas were sold at that time? ________

x The sequel to a New York Times best seller is going to be released. After analyzing the advertisements and spending techniques, industrial engineers predict that 38% of women ages 20-35 will buy the book. If a town has approximately 3,500 women of this age, how many copies of the book should the bookstore stock?

For More Information About Math and Industrial Engineers, Visit: http://www.xpmath.com/careers/ jobsresult.php?groupID=2&jobID=20.

Learning Standards: I can add, subtract, multiply, and divide to solve a problem. I can connect the importance of math to an individual career.

management” and an “efficiency expert.”

After studying the efficiency of an operating room, industrial engineers created the procedure of nurses handing doctors the necessary tools and supplies for surgery. This allowed the doctor to work more quickly and efficiently to help the patient.

MAP CORNER

Use the newspaper to complete the following activities.

Activity One — Writing to Persuade: addition to being informative, newspapers often intend to be persuasive. You’ll find advertisements created to persuade you to try a product, service, or company. You’ll find campaign information to persuade you to vote a certain way. You’ll find editorial cartoons, letters to the editor, editorial columns, etc., all designed to persuade you to think about a certain issue or topic. Use the newspaper to find an example of persuasive writing. Who is the author? Who is the intended audience? What techniques are they using to persuade the readers? Is it effective? Why?

Activity Two — Area/Perimeter: Use the front page of the newspaper to calculate the area and perimeter of a news story and a photograph. Next, calculate the area and perimeter of an article and photograph found in a different section of the paper. Compare your results. Why was the newspaper designed this way?

Learning Standards: I can use the newspaper to locate information. I can analyze persuasive writing techniques. I can calculate area and perimeter.

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

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.

The snowboard was invented by engineers. It developed from an invention created by Sherman Poppen called a Snurfer.

Frederick Taylor is credited with being the first Industrial engineer. He is also known as the “father of scientific

Beacon of hope African Pride

Play shares deeper insight on historic ‘The Ville’ neighborhood

Danielle Brown and Sophie Hurwitz

The St. Louis American

The Ville:Avengeance! —The play supported by St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s Shakespeare in the Streets (a grassroots theatrical experience that invites St. Louis neighborhoods to tell their stories) is just what the doctor ordered.

For three nights, Sept. 9-11, guests filled every seat stretched out in front of the Annie Malone Children & Family Services Center to watch and listen to the history of The Ville, as soundtracked by Shakespeare, the Legend Singers Choral Ensemble, and original dramatic writing by and for the neighborhood.

Originally named Elleardsville after florist and horticulturist Charles Elleard, The Ville was once a thriving African American neighborhood home to plentiful businesses, stellar educational systems, affordable housing, and various attractions. It was incorporated in 1876 and its name was shortened to “The Ville.”

The work, written by Mariah Richardson and directed by Thomasina Clarke, provides a deep history lesson and retrospection on how The

A Taste of Luxurie

Black regality, elegance flood Clayton Plaza Hotel for Lyfe Jennings

By Danielle Brown The St. Louis American

Men dressed dapperly in their best tailored suits with hard bottom shoes and women adorned in sparkly body-hugging frocks with stiletto heels perfectly set the tone for looks at the A Taste of Luxurie event on Friday, Sept. 10. The popular celebration which promotes Black excellence in fashion, food, and entertainment presented by Thomas “Cash Cohnes” Cohnes of Cohnes Entertainment and sponsored by Lisa Lee of Rémy Martin, invited national recording artist Lyfe Jennings for a performance at the Clayton Plaza Hotel. Media personality Meghan O hosted the event and DJ Charlie Chan Soprano provided entertainment. Jennings started his set with “My Life,” from his 2004 debut album “Lyfe 268-192.” However, it was clear at the beginning of the

For three nights, Sept. 9-11, guests filled every seat stretched out in front of the Annie Malone Children & Family Services Center to watch and listen to the history of The Ville: Avengeance as soundtracked by Shakespeare, the Legend Singers Choral Ensemble, and original dramatic writing by and for the neighborhood.

Ville was during the 1900s. Inspired by William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, it follows a similar plot with the ghosts of characters’ past sharing stories and delivering.

But it also is a modern urban tale as it follows the life of Hamlet Simmons, a young man who is forced to choose between two possible fates: Will he move into the old house his grandfather left him in The Ville and begin revitalization work to restore the neighborhood? Or will he instead continue living in the county and hold a nonchalant attitude toward his community?

As he ponders his next move, he and his best friend Horatio are — like the original Hamlet — met by ghosts: first, a narrator, then the ghost of Annie Malone herself, then finally a young man known only as “Hopeless.” These ghosts advise Hamlet, and teach him the history of the neighborhood that he starts the play desperate to leave behind.

The show opens with the narrator standing alone in front of the Annie Malone Center (formerly the St. Louis Colored Orphans’ Home), telling the story of the annual Annie Malone May Day Parade. She walks the audience down memory lane, painting the legacy of Malone herself — one of the first Black women mil-

lionaires, with an unflinching devotion to the children and families of her community — and of the ways in which the Ville was redlined, abandoned, and pushed from a jewel of Black St. Louis towards the state of decay much of the neighborhood is in today.

She informs the audience that the parade proudly occupied The Ville neighborhood for more than 100 years before moving to Market Street in downtown St. Louis. (Last year and this year’s parade were held virtually due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.)

Malone’s ghost questions why the celebration moved from its original meeting place. Hopless, a young gun violence victim, like his name, has no optimism. He shares that it relocated away from “the hood” due to gun violence and fights. Malone is taken aback by him referring to The Ville as the hood. Her quest to figure out what happened to her beloved neighborhood sets the tone for the story.

To provide more insight and dig deeper on why The Ville matters, Malone and the narrator each take turns feeding knowledge to Hopeless,

track that many in the audience weren’t familiar with the song. He jokingly said, “they say suits and dresses make you lose your memory.” He continued “I know we dressed up tonight, but we ain’t dressed out. You still remember where you came from right?” To take it back to the early days of his career

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents “Dreaming Zenzile, the story of African international singer and activist Miriam Makeba which premieres Sept. 17-Oct. 3 at Webster University’s LorettoHilton Center for the Performing Arts.

Dreaming Zenzile narrates international superstar Miriam Makeba’s success

By Danielle Brown

The St. Louis American

Zenzile Miriam Makeba’s decades-long awardwinning musical career and her importance in African history and culture will be honored on stage by The Repertory Theater.

To begin the story, it makes sense to ask who Miriam Makeba was and why should people care about her life?

According to Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Somi Kakoma, Makeba was “one of the greatest voices of the 20th century.”

Born on March 4, 1932 in Johannesburg, South Africa to a Swazi mother and a Xhosa father, she became prominent to the people of the Sophiatown district of Johannesburg in the 1950s before professionally singing with the Manhattan Brothers and the Skylarks.

Makeba, nicknamed “Mama Africa,” was the first African artist to achieve international commercial success and was the first African artist to win a Grammy award.

Her professional relationship and mentorship with Harry Belafonte proved she was a force to reckon with in the industry. Another beloved artist she befriended was the late incomparable Nina Simone.

Not only did she accomplish impressive milestones in music, she was also a major supporter the anti-apartheid movement. She was introduced to activism by her ex-husband Stokely Carmichael, (a member of The Black Panther Party) who later changed his name to Kwame Ture.

See Ville, B10 n Somi Kakoma, writer, and star of Dreaming Zenzile, a live production about Zenzile Miriam Makeba’s life directed by Lileana BlainCruz, will play her role.

Men dressed dapperly in their best tailored suits with hard bottom shoes and women adorned in sparkly body-hugging frocks with stiletto heels perfectly set the tone for looks at the A Taste of Luxurie event on Friday, Sept. 10. Lyfe Jennings headlined the show.

Photo by www.michaeltarrellphotographic.com

he circled back to singing “My Life” and then the crowd “remembered” the song and joined him in unison. Jennings, sporting casual clothing compared to the evening’s guests, said he enjoys coming

Ture’s leadership silenced her career in the United States and she was blacklisted at the height of the civil rights movement. The same issue plagued her in her native country. She was exiled for speaking out against apartheid and eventually moved to West Africa with Ture. They divorced; she was married three other times and those marriages also ended in divorce.

Makeba died in

2008 at age 76 after suffering a heart attack following a concert in Italy.

Kakoma, writer and star of Dreaming Zenzile, a live production about Makeba’s life directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, will play her role.

Kakoma, a first-generation American citizen raised by Ugandan and Rwandan immigrants, grew up listening to Makeba’s music. A budding jazz singer, she looked to her for inspiration on how an African woman can choose a non-traditional career path.

“As the daughter of Rwandan and Ugandan immigrants, this show is personal because Miriam Makeba paved the way for artists like me,” Kakoma said in a press release. “This work is about uplifting her legacy as a conscious revolutionary who brought Africa to the world’s center stage.”

Kakoma said the play goes through a journey of Makeba’s youth in South Africa, and how she became a mega star in her country before gaining notoriety in the United States.

“It takes you on a journey of who she was when she was becoming herself and then once she stood in who she was, what was that journey, how did that impact who we are, and how does her voice

See Play, B2

Photo by Phillip Hamer Photography

Mill Creek Valley and LaClede Town

By Bailey Stock and Andrew Wanko,

Missouri Historical Society

During World War I, St. Louis saw an approximately 41 percent increase in the Black population due to a labor shortage. These new St. Louisans, part of the first wave of the Great Migration, found work and established communities of their own. Originally settled in the mid-1800s, Mill Creek Valley became one of the largest neighborhoods for African Americans in the early 20th century. Two famous St. Louisans who gained worldwide fame, Scott Joplin and Josephine Baker, were products of this midtown neighborhood.

Mill Creek Valley’s streets flourished with stores, churches, bars, and nightclubs. Notable buildings included City Hospital No. 2, the Pine Street YMCA, and Vashon High School. The neighborhood developed a distinct African American culture based on religion, music, and activism that spread throughout the St. Louis area and even across the US. By the early 1950s, more than 20,000 Black St. Louisans lived in Mill Creek Valley. Unfortunately, as a consequence of redlining and segregation, by the World War II era Mill Creek Valley’s population experienced unsanitary conditions, a lack of water and electricity, and deteriorating buildings. The US government passed the 1954 Federal Housing Act and other initiatives to fund urban renewal projects across the country. The following year the City of St. Louis, under Mayor Raymond R. Tucker, passed a $110 million bond issue, $10 million of which was designated for the demolition of Mill Creek Valley. Upon completion of this major project, St. Louis would gain new highways (including US Highway 40) and new buildings for residential living and industrial zones.

While it may not have been acknowledged at the time, Mill Creek Valley was one of many urban renewal projects that used federal funds to systematically discriminate against African Americans and hinder their progress. Regardless of their historical significance, buildings across

the neighborhood’s 465 acres were destroyed.

In February 1959, the first rounds of land clearance took place on Laclede Avenue, where Saint Louis University’s Marchetti Towers stand today. By the time the land clearance was completed in the 1960s, the once lively district of Mill Creek Valley was unrecognizable and many thousands of Black St. Louisans had been displaced.

At the close of the project, the City of St. Louis began developing new public housing units, hoping to replenish the area with a more utopian structure. One of the larger public housing projects was LaClede Town, a unique experiment that attempted to create a mixed-income, mixed-race neighborhood from scratch. Unlike the superblock housing towers of most public housing developments of the era, LaClede Town was built as a low-rise neighborhood, with a barber shop, laundry, grocery, and café interspersed with the housing units.

From 1968 to 1972, the Black Artists Group (BAG) headquarters at 2665 Washington Avenue in LaClede Town was an incubator for dozens of avant-garde Black visual artists, dancers, poets, painters, authors, and musicians, many of whom also lived in the neighborhood. The first floor housed living quarters and live performance spaces, while the second floor became an open artist’s studio. The Circle Coffee House was a regular spot to catch BAG members’ poetry readings, improvised theatre, and musical performances.

LaClede Town was lauded for successfully integrating Black and white tenants, but the developers struggled with money issues. In 1995 it became a victim of demolition, just like Mill Creek Valley. Today the area is home to buildings belonging to Saint Louis University and Harris-Stowe State University. Although the majority of Mill Creek Valley’s historic landmarks no longer stand, a few buildings, such as the old Vashon High School, managed to make it through several other urban renewal projects.

Mill Creek Valley and LaClede Town are featured in the Missouri History Museum’s new exhibit, St. Louis Sound. Learn more about St. Louis’s contributions to popular music by visit-

Be a Tourist in Your Own Town

St. Louis Opera makes history at the Met

By Barry Draper, Explore St. Louis

When the curtain opens at the Met in New York this September, it will be a historic occasion — the first production by a Black composer in its 136-year history, and the first Opera Theatre of St. Louis commission to be re-mounted there.

The traumatic memoir of a New York Times columnist from Gibsland, Louisiana, along with the musical score by a renowned trumpeter from New Orleans, have put St. Louis on the map in terms of innovation, arts in education, artistic collaboration and — opera. And those credited with the creation and commission of the resulting theatrical production are now headed to opening night at the Metropolitan Opera’s season premiere on Sept. 27.

James Robinson, Artistic Director of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL), had just read New York Times op-ed columnist Charles Blow’s piece about his memoir, “Fire Shut Up in My Bones”, which opens with a gripping scene: a young Black man, full of rage, driving down a Louisiana highway to shoot the man who molested him as a child. Robinson, who has helped to commission and produce several other “outside the box” world premiere operas at OTSL, sent an email to Blow asking if he’d consider having an opera adapted from his book. Blow responded within 20 minutes to Robinson. Yes.

Review Award (Outstanding Directorial Debut) and Independent Spirit Award (Best First Feature), she has earned multiple accolades. She, Blanchard, and the creative team, including Robinson (who served in multiple roles as OTSL’s Artistic Director, the stage director of the production, and the dramaturg for “Fire”) met with Blow in St. Louis at the beginning of the development process. They brainstormed how to tell the story of Blow’s childhood, which was heavily influenced by violence, tough love and sexual abuse. Blow stated up front to the team he didn’t want to see the final product until opening night. The pressure was on.

As Blanchard continued his composing, the buzz around “Fire” continued to grow.

“What really connects Opera Theatre very powerfully to St. Louis is the work that is routinely done to anchor these pieces in the community before they come to the stage,” Andrew Jorgensen, General Director of OTSL, said. “We took Kasi, Charles and Terence throughout St. Louis in the months before the show – from East St. Louis to West County and beyond. Local artists had a chance to interact with these professionals.”

Enter Terence Blanchard, the New Orleans jazz musician and composer with five Grammy Awards and two Oscar nominations (including one for Best Original Score for Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman”), who is a proven force in making powerful musical statements about painful American tragedies. Including opera.

St. Louis native and filmmaker Kasi Lemmons was brought on as librettist, the special someone who writes the lyrics to an opera. Famed for her movies, including “Eve’s Bayou” starring Samuel L. Jackson, which garnered a National Board of

Play

Continued from B1

continue to inspire us. I think that’s the real thing that I want people to step away, understanding that her voice continues to inspire us especially in these times,” she said.

It goes into great detail about her significance to the antiapartheid movement and the civil rights movement.

“She set out to be a singer and ended up being this sight of liberation and inspiration for so many people,” Kakoma said.

“That’s why people often refer her to as Mama Africa because she was really in many ways an icon at the time of the African Independence movement, the Civil Rights movement and became a voice for anti-apartheid.”

OTSL also held numerous community conversations surrounding the premiere. Titled, “Representation & Responsibility,” the conversations explored issues of race and gender across the mediums of classical music, jazz, hip hop, film, TV and media. The series sparked dialogue about the arts and equity in the St. Louis community. Robinson and Camille A. Brown, who both also created the Met’s recent production of “Porgy and Bess,” are co-directing “Fire.” Brown, who is also the production’s choreographer, becomes the first Black director to create a mainstage Met production. Visit www.metopera.org/ season/tickets for more information and tickets.

now that it’s such a public conversation and that they’re still relevant,” she said. “She [Makeba] is somebody we can look to and understand what it is to persist, to survive and to speak truth.”

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Dreaming Zenzile Sept. 17- Oct. 3 at Webster University’s LorettoHilton Center located at 130 Edgar Rd in Webster Groves. Adherence to COVID19 protocol limits seating at The Rep to 50%. Pairs of the same household will be seated together with empty seats between households. It is recommended that guests use its digital ticketing option. Playbills are digital and accessible via smartphone. To ensure the safety of the company, all who attend performances are required to bring a photo ID, along with a COVID vaccination card/photo of card or proof of negative COVID test within 72 hours of the scheduled performance date.

She began writing the play more than five years ago. It was originally slated to premiere in April 2020 but was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It was originally set to open during protests of the killing of George Floyd. Kakoma noticed the similarities between that sit-

uation and the global reverberations of the Black Lives Matter movement in comparison to Makeba’s activism.

“I think it [racial and socioeconomic issues] was important then but it’s interesting

For more information about the musical or The Rep’s COVID-19 procedures, visit https://www.repstl.org for more information.

Guest Columnist Barry Draper

Photo by Chris Schwagga

Somi Kakoma, writer and star of Dreaming Zenzile, a live production about Zenzile Miriam Makeba’ life, will play the lead role.

CareSTL Health’s Project O Awareness Walk/Run

CareSTL Health held the second Opioid Awareness Day Walk/Run in Forest Park, Saturday, August 28, 2021, on the upper Muny parking lot. Event sponsors were St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Anthem, United Healthcare, and Humana. All-star DJ Service Plus President Sir Thurl kept the music flowing for participants. St. Louis Mayor Tishuara Jones welcomed hundreds of participants and proclaimed August 28 Opioid Awareness Day in St. Louis. CareSTL Health proudly welcomed representation from Congresswoman Cori Bush and the Missouri Attorney

General’s office, Miranda Jones and Amy Haywood, respectively. Walkers and runners didn’t let a little heat stop them from choosing between a fun one or three-mile walk. Approximately 25 vendors were on hand with educational materials. The walk or run groups with the most participants took home top prizes of $100, $75, and $50. Congratulations to the National Association of Black Accountants for taking home first place for the second time. CareSTL Health offers integrated primary and behavioral care, including opioid use disorder treatment. For more information, call 314-367-5820.

Sponsors

for being on hand for the

Event sponsor Mary McCray, Ladies Tee Golf Chapter presented the winner with a certificate for her first lesson.

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones welcomes participants to the second Opioid Awareness Day Walk/Run and presented CareSTL Health with a proclamation. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Angela Clabon is pictured on the right.

CareSTL Health Chief Dental Officer (CDO) Dr. Carol Henley and Rev. Richard Jackson.

DJ Sir Thurl kept the crowd moving with great music from start to finish.

Attorney General’s Chief Counsel of Consumer Protection,

Haywood informs the crowd about

against opioid abuse.

the music and the event make you move, Sherrod F. O. Murff showed the crowd how it’s done!

CareSTL Health CEO Angela Clabon and staff members of B.A.S.I.C.

CareSTL Health Director of Volunteer and Student Engagement Regina Askew

Village

Winners of the Save-A-Lot gift cards were interviewed by the host of Them Yo People Mr. Gary.

Dr. Melissa Nash and CareSTL Health CEO Angela Clabon pose for a selfie.

H.E.A.L.: STOP HEROIN founders Patti and Ellis Fitzwalter participated in the event as a vendor for a second time.

CareSTL Health’s Chief Financial Officer Jason Ware and CEO Angela Clabon thank the wonderful ladies of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. for volunteering at the opioid walk.

Anthony Jackson and the host of Them Yo People, Mr. Gary

Connecting Kids to Care vendors posed for a photo with CareSTL Health leadership. Pictured (bottom to top, right to left) Far-right, Samantha Schrage, Staff Attorney Legal Services of Eastern; Donovan Hill, SLU Law Student and Maya Lawson, SLU Law Student. Top left to right, CareSTL Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Hari Nallapaneni, and CEO Angela Clabon.

The threemile race winner!

Senator Karla May shared information regarding the opioid epidemic. CareSTL Health CEO Angela Clabon, TV Personality Kelly Hoskins and CareSTL Health Warm-up crew joined Senator May onstage.

Dr. Melissa Nash, CareSTL Health CEO Angela Clabon, and St. Louis Children’s Hospital’s Kel Ward take time for a photo before the walk

CareSTL Health Whittier Site Coordinator Renee Coleman

Enthusiastic participants heading out to a one or three-mile walk. Special thanks to the St. Louis Fire Department

flag detail.

Sports

InSIdE SportS

By Earl Austin Jr.

Jeremy Maclin’s undefeated Pioneers feature powerful offense

Face 3-0 Ladue

Friday night

The Kirkwood Pioneers are off to an impressive 3-0 start behind first-year head coach Jeremy Maclin.

A former star two-sport athlete at Kirkwood in football and basketball, Maclin went on to success as a collegian at the University of Missouri, and then in the National Football League.

Maclin is now home and has his talented team rolling into Friday night’s showdown against Ladue, another excellent 3-0 team. The Pioneers’ offensive attack has been explosive, averaging 56 points a game. They are led by junior running back Deion Brown, who has rushed for 522 yards and nine touchdowns. Brown had 172 yards and four touchdowns in a 48-0 victory over Pattonville on Sept. 10.

Senior quarterback Louis Kavanaugh has passed for 365 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for three more scores. Junior Tyler Macon is the team’s top receiver with 12 receptions for 243 yards and three touchdowns.

Friday night’s assignment for Kirkwood is a strong Ladue team led by talented senior running back in Jared Rhodes, who has scored nine touchdowns. He scored on a 20-yard run in double overtime to give the Rams an exciting 19-13 victory over Lindbergh.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Friday night at Ladue.

Standout Performers from Week 3

• Senior Shaun Blackmon of Hazelwood West rushed for 184 yards and a touchdown in the Wildcats’ 28-21 victory over Ritenour.

• Senior Brian Brown of Lutheran North had 510 yards of total offense and four touchdowns in the Crusaders’ loss to St. Thomas Aquinas (Kansas). He passed for 401 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 109 yards.

• Senior Luther Burden III of East St. Louis had 10 receptions for 169 yards and three touchdowns in the Flyers’ loss to nationally ranked

High. He went on to star in football for the University of Missouri and in the National Football League.

St. John Bosco (CA).

• Senior Arlen Harris Jr. of Lutheran St. Charles rushed for 161 yards and scored three touchdowns in their 56-19 victory over Duchesne.

• Junior Winston Moore of MICDS had 190 yards of total offense and scored four touchdowns in the Rams’ 49-14 victory over Westminster Christian.

• Freshman Dierre Hill of Vashon rushed for 140 yards and four touchdowns in the Wolverines’ 35-6 victory over Soldan.

• Senior Derrick Baker of SLUH rushed for 204 yards and scored a touchdown in the Junior Billikens’ 35-26 victory over Chaminade.

• Junior Maury Sullivan of Normandy threw four touchdown passes and rushed for another score in the Vikings’ 54-36 victory over Affton. SEPTEMBER 16 – 22, 2021

On Tap this Weekend

• Lift for Life (1-2) at Jennings (2-1), 5 p.m.

Thursday

• Timberland (3-0) at Holt (3-0), 7 p.m.

Friday

• Edwardsville (2-1) at O’Fallon (2-1), 7 p.m.

Friday

• Seckman (3-0) at Hazelwood Central (3-0),

noon Saturday

• Priory (3-0) at MICDS (3-0), 1 p.m.

Saturday Fall Basketball Leagues

High school basketball season will not get underway until the last week of November, but fans still have an opportunity to watch excit-

SportS EyE

With Alvin A. Reid

NFL Black QBs show they

Seven Black and one Samoan American quarterback led their respective teams into the NFL’s opening season games and, all but two, brought home impressive victories. While he lost to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Bucs on a last-second field goal, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was spectacular in his return from a devastating ankle injury.

Prescott completed 42 of 58 pass attempts for three touchdowns, with one interception. He posted a Quarterback Rating of 101.54.

made the right decision. Winston was 14-of-20 for 148 yards passing, with five touchdowns, and no interceptions in the Saints’ 38-3 beat down of quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.

Alvin A. Reid

“I’m not surprised about the way that I went out there and fought. Ran the ball a couple times and did all the things that I’d normally do 11 months ago. No, I feel like I’m a better player than I was when I left the field [injured last year] and I told y’all that was the expectations I had for myself,” he said following the game.

After being discarded by the Bucs in favor of Brady last year, Jameis Winston patiently waited behind New Orleans Saints future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees last season for his chance. He won the starting role, and promptly showed coach Sean Peyton he

“I’ll probably reflect on it after our season is over, but right now we have to keep getting better. There’s some things that I won’t like when I watch the film tonight, so we still have to get better,” he said. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs trailed the visiting Cleveland Browns by 12 points twice in their season opening game. Most fans expected Mahomes to mount a game-winning rally and he delivered.

Mahomes finished 27-of-36 for 337 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in the Chiefs’ 33-29 victory. Mahomes has 117 career passing touchdowns, passing Dan Marino (116) for the most passing touchdowns through 50 starts in NFL history. He also passed Kurt Warner for the most passing yards (14,489) through a player’s first 50 starts (Warner had 14,372).

“We found ways to win at the end of the day and so you just have that belief in each

are

ing high school hoops in area Fall Leagues in September and October. The Ramey basketball Fall League is taking place on weekends at Cardinal Ritter. The league has a high school division and a middle school division. Team rosters and the league schedule can be found via Twitter @Rameybasketball. Another top boys’ Fall League is being hosted by the Southwest Illinois Jets. The games are played on Saturdays and Sundays at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville, Illinois. Team rosters and a league schedule can be found via Twitter@Coachmcmurray. On the girls’ side, the Sweet Hoops Fall League is back for its fourth season. The games are held each weekend at Lift for Life Academy. Visit www.sweethoopsevents.com for the league schedule.

a force to be reckoned with

other which makes you believe you can find a way to win any single game,” he said. Kyler Murray and his Arizona Cardinals opened on the road as an underdog against the host Tennessee Titans. You

would not have known that after Murray’s spectacular performance at quarterback in his team’s 38-13 win. Murray threw four touchdown passes, rushed for one and completed 21-of-32 passes

with no interceptions.

“This gives us some juice,” Murray said after the game. “Total team effort.”

Overlooked is an understatement for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.

His team is supposed to be bad, and the Eagles fan showed little confidence in the second-year player during the preseason.

For at least a week, Hurts silenced his doubters by completing 27-of-35 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns in his team’s 32-6 road win over the Atlanta Falcons.

The Carolina Panthers traded Teddy Bridgewater to the Denver Broncos after signing former New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold as a free agent. Once at Denver, Bridgewater won the starting role over former Missouri quarterback Drew Lock. Bridgewater was stellar in a 27-13 victory over the host New York Giants. He completed 28-of-36 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. By the game’s end, most of fans left were Broncos’ supporters shouting, “Teddy, Teddy, Teddy.” Bridgewater also shared home humor after the game, saying, “I was joking with the guys the other day. ‘Man, I don’t think I got it anymore.’ My moves don’t work any-

more. They’re a little outdated.’”

DeShaun Watson had no interest in playing another game with the Houston Texans after last season, then his civil, and possible, legal problems left him in limbo.

Tyrod Taylor did more than just fill in during the Texans’ 37-21 win over Jacksonville. He completed 21-of-33 passes for 291 yards and two touchdowns.

“It was big to start the season off with a win against a divisional opponent,” Taylor said. “Proud of the guys for the way they came out and worked.”

Tua Tagovailoa found himself in a showdown with fellow former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones when the Miami Dolphins took on the host New England Patriots. Jones, a rookie, won the starting role over the unvaccinated Cam Newton and then Newton was released. Tagovailoa won the muchhyped contest 17-16. He completed 16-of-27 passes for 202 yards with one touchdown and one interception and rushed for a TD. Unfortunately, Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson was disappointing. He fumbled three times and lost two – one in overtime – in his team’s 33-27 overtime loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Earl Austin Jr.

Jameis Winston was 14-of-20 for 148 yards passing, with five touchdowns, and no interceptions in the Saints’ 38-3 beat down of quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.

First-year Kirkwood High head football coach Jeremy Maclin has the Pioneers off to a 3-0 start. Maclin was a star two-sport athlete in football and basketball during his time as a student/athlete at Kirkwood

Photo courtesy of Kirkwood High School

Black woman pastor wins historic election to Baptist organization post

By Adelle M. Banks Religious News Service

The Rev. Gina Stewart has been elected as the first woman president of the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Society, marking the first time a female has been chosen for the highest post of a Black Baptist organization. Stewart, the senior pastor of Christ Missionary Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, has previously served in vice presidential roles of the mission organization for six years, three as second vice president and three as first vice president. She was recently elected Aug. 12 to a three-year term as president,

succeeding the Rev. Gregory Jackson to lead the society, which dates to 1897. The organization is named after the Rev. Lott Carey, a formerly enslaved African American man who purchased his freedom and established the first Baptist mission work in Liberia in 1822.

“I’m honored, first of all, for the privilege to lead and to serve,” Stewart told Religion News Service in an interview on Monday (Aug. 16). “I think it’s significant that this organization, that is Baptist by heritage but ecumenical in its practice and its commitment, is taking the step, a courageous step, to elect a woman to serve in a titular leadership position.”

She said she was not aware of any

Spiritually Speaking… Vaccines, masks are protection provided by God

By Shewanda Riley

I’ve spent a lot of time lately reading news stories about unvaccinated people dying from COVID-19 complications and vaccinated people having “breakthrough” cases that they survived. Being vaccinated myself, at first, I wondered if I’d made the right decision to get the vaccine if it meant I could still get COVID. And the more I thought about it, it seemed like I saw more and more stories of vaccinated

folks getting infected and, in a few cases, dying.

Even though the vaccine was not promoted as a cure for COVID-19, some have expressed shock that vaccinated people can be infected. The science behind all vaccines can be confusing for people like me who aren’t trained scientists and medical researchers.

But what I do understand about the vaccine is that it is a form of protection but not necessarily the cure. From what

other woman who had been chosen for a similar top position in Black Baptist circles, though women have served as presidents on state and regional levels.

“I don’t think that there’s any national organization that has a female

I understand is that the vaccine does its best work by equipping the body to fight off the attack of the virus. In other words, the vaccine empowers the body.

I thought about this idea of protection and empowerment as I continue to pray about those being impacted by COVID-19. What came to mind first was the song “No Weapon” by Fred Hammond.

It’s always been one of my favorite worship songs because it reminds me to be courageous even during challenging situations. The lyrics of the song come directly from Isaiah 54:17.

“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteous-

serving in a senior leadership role as president,” said Stewart.

“I believe Lott Carey is the first.”

Stewart said she and her church have worked for two decades with Lott Carey, an ecumenical organization with Black Baptist roots that partners with about 2,000 congregations, the Red Cross and other groups to meet needs in some 20 countries. Among its causes are fighting hunger, addressing HIV/AIDS and seeking to reduce human trafficking.

Stewart plans to hit the ground running, as she has already met with other leaders of her organization about how to assist Haiti as it begins to recover from a massive earthquake that has killed more than 1,200 people.

They are planning to start raising an initial $50,000 this week to help meet immediate needs, including purchasing medical supplies and food.

“Lott Carey already has partners in Haiti,” she said. “Because we already have the infrastructure, it’s a lot easier for us to make some significant moves in terms of supporting them in this crisis.”

In addition to her roles as a pastor, Stewart, 61, is the author of the

ness is from Me,’ says the Lord.” (NKJV)

The scripture and song lyrics remind us that bad things may happen but that they will not prevail or overtake us. And why is that? Because God promises in the end that there will be vindication and the Amplified Version of the Bible further explains that this heritage or inheritance is “peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition.” We may get a little bruised in the battle, but in the end, we win. Perhaps, I’m overthinking this…and this would not be the first time for that. For me, in spiritual terms breakthrough isn’t an attack from the “enemy;” the breakthrough is moving from doubt and fear to a higher level of assurance and confidence that comes from having faith in Godly protection.

book “We’ve Got Next: HERstory in HIStory.”

The Rev. Cheryl Townsend Gilkes, professor of African American studies and sociology at Colby College, called Stewart’s rise in the ranks of Lott Carey “absolutely historic” and a “really big” development about the role of African American female religious leaders.

“The presidency of Lott Carey is historic AND it represents the reaching of very high ground in the struggle for equity, justice, and inclusion for Baptist women,” she said in an email message.

Anthea Butler, professor of religion at the University of Pennsylvania, said this marks a shift for Black Baptists, who often have not supported female leaders.

“I think it is significant, important, and past time for a woman to be in leadership in Black Baptist circles, missions or otherwise,” she said in an email message. “Women are the fundraisers and foundation of the church.”

Maybe this example is too simplistic but thinking about this helped me to better understand the importance of getting the vaccine, despite the risk of the rare breakthrough Covid cases. This also made me wonder why so many Christians state that they are relying on faith in God’s “protection” but choose not to get the vaccine. It just seems kind of obvious that the vaccine and wearing a mask are the protection that God promises to send. Please, get the vaccine and the booster shot if you are eligible. Wear a mask and socially distance. For more information, search vaccines.gov, text your ZIP code to 438829 or call 1-800232-0233 to find vaccination locations near you.

Shewanda Riley is a Fort Worthbased author of “Writing to the Beat of God’s Heart: A Book of Prayers for Writers.”

The Rev. Gina Stewart is Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Society’s first woman president

Guest Columnist

Shewanda Riley

FIREFIGHTER/ PARAMEDIC

The City of Richmond Heights is accepting applications for the position of Firefighter/ Paramedic, $60,668 - 69,833 DOQ. To apply go to https://richmondheights. applicantpro.com/jobs/ Applications will be accepted from September 7, 2021 through October 1, 2021.

HQS INSPECTOR

Skill in performing onsite housing inspections of the Section 8 Units administered by the Housing Authority. 2 years at an accredited college or university and/or 1 year experience and/or training in Building/Housing Inspection. Good communications skills and ability to deal with the public.

Salary $36,855 Annually. Apply via our website www.slha.org Position will be open until filled.

A Drug Free Work Place/EOE.

COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING SPECIALIST

The City of Clayton is hiring for a Communications & Marketing Specialist. Apply now: https://claytonmo. applicantpro.com/jobs/ EOE

MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY CURRENT JOB OPENINGS!

The Missouri Historical Society is actively hiring for the following positions:

• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Coordinator

• Early Childhood and Family Programs Coordinator

• IMLS Cataloging and Digitization Archivist

• Registrar • Soldiers Memorial Visitor Engagement Coordinator

Please visit www.mohistory.org under the “Current Openings” tab for position details and to apply.

An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative

Action Employer Services Provided On A NonDiscriminatory Basis

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY O’FALLON FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT

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

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

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE

The City of Clayton is hiring for the Director of Finance. Apply now: https://claytonmo.applicantpro.com/jobs/ EOE

•

•

Duties and Responsibilities (Including, but not limited to, the following):

• Provide homework support.

• Assist with daily activities (restroom use, lunch/snack, hand washing) as needed

• Establish a professional rapport with each student and family in order to provide quality care and support.

• Maintain a professional self-image and project the values of the organization at all times.

Qualifications:

• High School diploma or equivalent

• Two years successful work experience in a related field

• Must be able to pass a criminal background check by hiring date To apply please email resume and three professional references to scotton-johnson@theyfc.org. No phone calls please.

Compensation: $12 per hour

EOE

SUPPORT ADVOCATE JOB DESCRIPTION COMPENSATION: $36,000 - $38,500 DEPENDING ON EXPERIENCE

The Youth and Family Center, a proud United Way member agency, is searching for an experienced and results driven Family Support Advocate. This position reports to the Program Manager. The person that holds this role will assess community needs and ensure that all program objectives are met. The ideal team player must be well versed in being highly organized, empathetic, compassionate, nonjudgmental, and eager to help youth, aging adults and the YFC families.

Requirements:

• Assess clients’ physical and mental wellness, needs, preferences and abilities, and develop plans to improve

• Willingness to participate with YFC Community Café, special events, including donor/volunteer appreciation events and other programming initiatives (may include an occasional weekend)

• Some home visits and case management are required.

• Track data and report performance to support program out comes.

• Additional duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of agency mission, vision, and services.

• Ability to motivate clients to follow care plans

• Great communication skills and ability to articulate care plans to clients, loved ones and health care professionals

• Excellent organizational and record-keeping skills, as well as the ability to manage case load

• Sound critical thinking and problem-solving skills to assess clients, analyze feedback from multiple sources, and determine the best course of action

• Excellent computer skills and ability to maintain electronic case records

• Ability to be flexible and adapt to changing needs and time pressures.

• Ability to create and sustain positive working relationships at all levels of the agency; internal and external.

• Proven relationship-building skills to support collaboration and partnership activities.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, psychology, gerontology, public health, or related field preferred. MSW/LCSW preferred

• At least 3 years of relatable experience preferred

• Case management or counseling experience preferred

• Excellent organizational & customer service skills

• Strong experience preparing reports.

To apply please email resume, salary requirements and three professional references to scotton-johnson@theyfc.org No phone calls please.

EOE

JENNINGS SCHOOL DISTRICT HIRING FAIR

Thursday, September 23, 2021, from 4-6 pm Gary Gore Community Center 2545 Dorwood Drive, Jennings, MO 63136

We will have onsite interviews for the following positions:

K-12 substitute teachers, special education paraprofessionals, elementary special education teachers, high school social studies, and English teachers

For more information contact Human Resources at 314-653-8000

FAMILY SUPPORT SPECIALIST II

Urban Strategies, Inc is seeking applicants for the Family Support Specialist II. To view the full job description, visit https://tinyurl.com/y3pmmxrx or our website www.urbanstrategiesinc. org. After entering our website, click on Who We Are and select Join Our Team to find career opportunities. USI is an Equal Opportunity employer, and this position is funded in whole or in part with Choice Neighborhood Initiative grant funds from the US Department of HUD. Deadline to apply is 10/8/21

Bids & Public Notices

WAITING LIST

WOODLAND TOWERS APARTMENTS

306 PINE LAKE ROAD

COLLINSVILLE, IL 62234

Seniors 62 and older

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

Managed by Related Management Company

PUBLIC NOTICE

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

CITY OF ST. LOUIS

BOARD OF ALDERMEN

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL –PROP S YOUTH AT RISK PROGRAMS

The Public Safety Committee of the Board of Aldermen has approximately $936,000 available to award in calendar year 2022 for programs designed to prevent crimes perpetrated by youth in the City of St. Louis. The Committee is seeking proposals from qualified not-for-profit organizations to serve at-risk youth in the 11 to 24-year-old demographic. For the purposes of this RFP, crime prevention programs are defined as those programs that, either on an individual or group level, work to reduce the likelihood of youth involvement in criminal activity. Previous awards have averaged $60,000. Please note that the application will be online and applicants may find the online submission page through the following link: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/youth-at-risk/ For questions please contact Ben Gigli, Department of Public Safety, at Giglib@stlouis-mo.gov Proposals must be received

UMSL CHILLER REPLACEMENT

Nooter Construction is accepting quotes from union MBE/MWBE/DBE/SDVE subcontractors.

For more information, send capabilities profile to cslittle@nooter.com

St. Louis County Department of Human Services Housing Urban Development Continuum of Care FY21 Notice of Funding Opportunity

The St. Louis County Department of Human Services - Homeless Services Program is seeking proposals for the Housing Urban Development Continuum of Care FY21 Notice of Funding Opportunity-Bid number 1375. The total funding available is approximately $3.265,472 Proposals are due by 11:00 a.m. October 6, 2021. A Pre-Proposal Conference will be held on September 23, 2021 from 10:00-11:30 a.m. via Zoom @ https:// us06web.zoom.us/j/87250788117?pwd=c3hhcEdsTVZZUVV5S21ybFo2akZEQT09 Request For Proposal details and specifications can be obtained at the St. Louis County Bids and RFPs webpage located at https://stlouisco.munisselfservice.com/ Vendors/VBids/Default.aspx

BUSINESS ASSISTANCE MANAGER

Justine PETERSEN, a Non-Profit focused on credit building, homeownership, and micro-enterprise lending and training is accepting applications for a Business Assistance Manager. To apply go to justinepetersen.org/

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT I

The City of Jennings is accepting applications for the position of Administrative Assistant I in the Building Department. Duties include assisting with routine clerical and administrative work in answering phones, receiving the public, providing customer assistance, data processing, and bookkeeping. Assists in the sewer lateral program, processing permit applications, monitoring progress for status reports and maintaining records of the permit process. Minimum two years office experience required, with excellent clerical, computer and customer service skills and attention to detail. High school diploma or GED equivalent. Starting salary $28,541 (GS-8-C). Application available at Jennings City Hall or online at www.cityofjennings.org Application and resume MUST be submitted together. NO RESUMES ACCEPTED WITHOUT COMPLETION OF OUR APPLICATION! Completed applications with resumes may be delivered to City Hall, mailed, emailed to jobs@cityofjennings.org or faxed to 314-388-3999.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Sealed Proposals for B22-1213 HR Salary Compensation, Job Description, Performance Mgmt. will be received at Lincoln University Purchasing Dept 1002 Chestnut St, RM 101 Shipping & Receiving Bldg, JCMO 65101 until 2 PM CT on 05Oct2021. Download Proposal Request at http://www.lincolnu.edu/web/ purchasing/bids

LETTING NO. 8735

BID NOTICE

Great Rivers Greenway is seeking sealed bids for Two (2) Spotting Scopes and Two (2) Bases. Go to www.greatriversgreenway.org/ jobs-bids and submit by September 30, 2021.

CERVANTES CONVENTION CENTER EXPANSION AND MODERNIZATIONEARLY UTILITIES PACKAGE ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

PROPOSALS will be received by the Board of Public Service until 1:45 PM, CT, on October 26, 2021, through the Bid Express online portal then publicly opened and read. Plans and Specifications may be examined on the Board of Public Service website http://www.stl-bps.org/ planroom (BPS On Line Plan Room) and may be purchased directly through the BPS website from INDOX Services at cost plus shipping. No refunds will be made.

A pre-bid conference for all contractors bidding on this project will be held on September 27, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. at the Convention Center on the corner of Cole Street and 9th Street.

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

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

PUBLIC NOTICE

S. M. Wilson & Co. is requesting subcontractor bids for the Normandy School Collaborative project: Normandy High School – Secured Connector Addition Bids must be submitted by Wednesday, September 29th, at 2:00pm Bid Documents will be available at BuildingConnected.com https://app.buildingconnected.com/ projects/6140793c8b5ffb00a95dd56f/ info You can view the project by logging into the BuildingConnected site and setting up a free account. Alternate Locations: https://www.x-rhodesplanroom.com/ jobs/public

S. M. Wilson & Co. is an Equal Opportunity Employer

& OFFICE OF THE TREASURER

The City of St. Louis Department of Human Services (DHS), jointly with the Office of the Treasurer are soliciting proposals for the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) State Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF)

Beginning September 16, 2021, RFP packets will be available via pick-up at the: Treasurer’s Office 1200 Market Street City Hall, Room 220 St. Louis, MO 63103 Or at the following website: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/procurement/

If you are interested in participating in a Bidder’s Conference via Zoom Webinar on September 27, 2021, please email Shirley Rukcic by Wednesday, September 23, 2021, at Rukcics@stltreasurer.org to be added to the Calendar Invite. Notification will be provided via email prior to the virtual meeting.

Questions may be referred by email only and must be submitted on or before September 23, 2021, to Shirley Rukcic, at Rukcics@stltreasurer.org

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

St. LouiS american Bids & Public Notices St. LouiS american

CROWN

A public hearing will be held at 5:45 p.m., September 23, 2021, at the

office as provided by Sec. 137.073(2)(a) and (b) R.S.Mo are proposed to be adopted.

ASSESSED VALUE (by categories)

Current Tax Year 2021

Real Estate

$3,669,164,398

Personal Property

$1,048,391,174

$3,568,310,128

$1,034,233,508 TOTAL $4,602,543,636 For the Community Mental Health Fund, the current year assessed values are projected to accrue property tax revenue of $4,060,379. For the Community Children’s Services Fund the current year assessed values are projected to accrue property tax revenue of $11,375,581. These amounts do not include any possible revenues due to recoupment.

City of St. Louis Mental Health

Board of Trustees – September 23, 2021

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

A public hearing will be held at 10:00 a.m., September 23 2021, via zoom link, at which time citizens may be heard on the property tax rate proposed to be fixed for the current year for the City of St. Louis Senior Citizen Services Fund. The tax rate shall be fixed to produce revenues which the budget for the fund for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2021 show to be required from the property tax. For the City of St. Louis Senior Citizen Services Fund a rate of $0.05 on each $100 assessed property value was authorized by the vote of the people on November 8, 2016. The maximum tax rate permitted by Article X, Section 22 of the Missouri Constitution and Section 137.073 R.S.Mo for the City of St. Louis Senior Citizen Services Fund is $0.0488. This amount is proposed to be adopted.

ASSESSED VALUE (by categories)

Current Tax Year 2021

Real Estate

$3,669,164,398

Personal Property

$1,048,391,174

$1,034,233,508

$4,602,543,636 For the City of St. Louis Senior Citizen Services Fund, the current year assessed values are projected to accrue property tax revenue of $2,272,322. City of St. Louis Senior Citizen Services Fund September 23, 2021

CENTER FOR SENIOR LIVING WAITING LIST REOPENING

Effective October 1, 2021, Crown Center for Senior Living will reopen the Waiting List for the HUD-Subsidized apartments in the Weinberg Building, 8348 Delcrest Drive, St. Louis, MO 63124. Applications will be available by contacting Crown Center at (314) 991-2055 between the hours of 9:00AM and 5:00PM, Monday through Friday. Applications will be accepted only for subsidized one-bedroom apartments in the Weinberg Building. not for non-subsidized apartments. Questions may be directed via email to info@crowncenterstl.org or by calling (314) 991-2055.

SEALED BIDS

Bids for Roof Replacement, T r a n s i t i o n Center of St. Louis, Project No. C2003-01, will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1 : 3 0 P M , 10/7/2021 via MissouriBUYS. Bidders must be registered t o b i d . F o r specific project information, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

SEALED BIDS

REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS FOR PUBLIC HOUSING DEMOLITION, INSTALLATIONS & REPAIRS CALIFORNIA GARDENS FENCING AND SECURITY SOLICITATION NO: RD 21-15 ISSUE DATE: SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

The St. Louis Housing Authority (SLHA) is seeking quotes from qualified general contractors to perform the following scope of work:

Scope of Work

The General Scope of Work for this project will consist of, but will not be limited to the demolition, removal and replacement of the existing masonry and metal perimeter fencing and four (4) entry gates. Security cameras, recording equipment and electronic entry hardware will be installed to improved security and access to the property. This work will include concrete sidewalk repairs, hollow metal security doors and frames. Electrical repairs and installations needed for the operation of security equipment will also be required. The anticipated performance period for this project is 60 calendar days.

Bid documents will be available Tuesday, September 14, 2021 at https://www.slha.org/for-partners/vendors/ or at www.questcdn.com under Login using QuestCDN eBidDoc# 7108875. Contact QuestCDN.com at 952-233-1632 or info@questcdn.com for assistance in membership registration, downloading this digital project information and online submittal of your proposal.

A Pre-Quotation conference will be held Tuesday September 28, 2021 at 10:30 AM (Local Time) via ZOOM at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/ tZAvf-GrpzMqE9VDY2jtQYbQzrUi_ixVyTq8

SLHA will receive sealed quotes for this service until 3:00 p.m. (CST), on Thursday, October 14, 2021. Krista S. Peyton Contracting Officer AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

FFSD is requesting proposals for the procurement of design, fabrication, purchase and installation of all components for the “launch vehicle” experience for the Challenger Learning Center located in Ferguson, MO. Sealed bids are due Friday, October 8 at 3pm. Additional information can be found at https://www.challengerstl.org/ job-opportunities/

limited to the installation of a handrail on a portion of the stairs from the first floor to the second floor.

Bidders are informed that the Authority is the sub-recipient of a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocation from the City of St. Louis through its Community Development Administration (CDA) and has entered into a sub-recipient agreement with CDA. This agreement outlines all requirements for the LRA

Act (40 U.S.C. 276a to a-7) and as supplemented by Department of Labor regulations (29 CFR part 5, “Labor Standards Provisions Applicable to Contracts Governing Federally Financed and Assisted Construction”).

The Contractor shall provide a list of projects completed within the last ten years that complied with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. Such compliance may be demonstrated by the successful completion of the requirements for the granting of state and/or federal historic tax credits or the demonstration that the project may have qualified for such credits, had they been applied for.

The project site will be available from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM on Wednesday, September 22, 2021. A virtual pre-bid conference will be held via ZOOM at 9:00 AM on Tuesday, September 28, 2021.

Bids will be received until 12:00 PM on Thursday, October 7, 2021 at St. Louis Development Corporation and will be publicly read aloud immediately thereafter via ZOOM. In-person attendance is not permitted.

Attention: Rob Orr, 1520 Market Street Suite 2000, St. Louis, Missouri 63103. The complete Bid Package is available for download from Cross Rhodes: https://www.sldcplanroom.com/ And at: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/ procurement.cfm

Instruction to join the ZOOM virtual meetings for pre-bid conference and sealed-bid opening will be made available at the websites above by 9/24/2021.

to spots like Clayton and seeing Black people in formal attire. Although it was different from what he sees at most venues, he liked the attire requirement. But with the dress code, he told everyone to never forget how they got to the current moment.

“While we all are dressed up I don’t want nobody to forget how hard it was getting to this moment,” he said.

From there he transitioned back to another song from his first album, “Stick Up Kid.”

He went on to sing many of his other hits including “Statistics,” “Never Never Land,” “Let’s Stay Together,” and more.

In between each song he provided comic relief, transparency, and dropped many life gems as one would suspect because of his stage name.

“I suspect when you were 16, 15 you had a lot of dreams in your life; wanna be this, wanna be that,” he said. “Then when you get a little older and you’re with this man sometimes

you mistake where your life is at.”

He briefly talked about how sometimes the person you want for you isn’t the right one and God is blocking the connection because they don’t make you happy.

“When you were younger you wanted that man and didn’t understand why God didn’t give you that man, but you also wanted happiness,” he said. “God couldn’t give you that man cause he wasn’t gonna make you happy.”

As requested by Lee, who also was celebrating her birthday that night, he concluded the show with the song that launched his career to stardom, “Must Be Nice.” Everyone passionately sung the song word for word.

Prior to him coming to the stage, Cohnes and Lee shouted out veteran media personality Tammie Holland and sent prayers her way as she is currently battling stage four cancer. In the past, Holland served as the original host for their Taste of Luxurie events.

“Raise your glass or hand if you believe in healing, extend love, thanks, concern, and heartfelt to Tammie Holland and this fight.” Lee said.

Local artists Tish Haynes Keys, a former The Voice contestant, Stringz EMB, and Lydia Caesar were the opening acts for the showcase.

Keys proved why she was chosen for the show with her signature soulful covers of Fantasia’s “Lose to Win’’,: Natalie Cole’s “Our Love,” Janet Jackson’s “That’s the Way Love Goes,” and more.

EMB showcased his easygoing, free-flowing deep storytelling with his song, “Time,” then transitioned to his “most favorite song” “Perfect,” and ended with “Lights On,” featuring Katarra Parson and Will Buchanan, a track about depression that he released for Mental Health Awareness Month. Queens, New York native

Lydia Caesar, who describes her music as Rock&B amazed the crowd with her soul-stirring performance of “St. Louis” ( an appreciation song about her husband who’s a University City native), her latest single “The Ones We Love,” and her own twist to Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana.”

At one point, she forgot one of the verses to the song, but

like a true artist, she humorously sang, “Tryna remember the words to the last verse.

Anybody know the words to the last verse, just give me one line,” in a playful and graceful way. Eventually, she remembered the words and received a joyful round of applause concluding her performance.

While Jennings was the headliner of the show, local acts still received the love and praise they deserved.

“ I wanna thank everybody for helping us sell out these last few events and continue to support us.” Cohnes said. “We’re gonna keep bringing these great events and thank you again.”

Continued from B1

Horatio, and Hamlet.

Larkin’s Shoe Repair, Joe’s Music Shop, Atkinson Grocery Store, and Billy Burt’s are just a few of the booming businesses that existed in earlier years inside The Ville neighborhood. As these businesses were mentioned in the play during flashback scenes, audience members recognized the landmarks of their home, and cheered. While narrator and Malone conducted history lessons, a voice periodically projected from the speakers saying “Extra, Extra read all about it” and

read headlines from St. Louis’ Black papers: the Sentinel, the Argus, and of course, the American The headlines varied; one about St. Louis Sentinel reports desegregation program indevelopment and even one from The St. Louis American about the destruction of Mill Creek Valley (A former Black neighborhood tore down to build Highway 40/Interstate 64). After Mill Creek was destroyed, Black people were redlined to The Ville (Blacks were refused loan access at banks due to their skin color and only allowed to live in areas with their race). Then when the supreme court ruled Brown v. Board of Education’s case unconstitutional for schools to

be segregated, schools became integrated.

While schools became integrated Sumner High School (originally sat on the corner of Saint Ferdinand and Pendleton) remained a powerful beacon for Black students to receive a high-level education and participate in endless extracurricular activities such as chess club, drama club, and more. It is also highly praised for its a capella choir that was led by Dr. Kenneth Brown Billups. This choir appeared in the play, singing during interludes in the action.

The Legend Singers Choral Ensemble founded by Billups in 1940 performed two spirituals “Witness,” arranged by Jack Halloran, and “Every Time I

Feel the Spirit,” arranged by Billups in tribute to him.

Notable Sumner alumni were shouted out including Tina Turner, Chuck Berry, Arthur Ashe, Mariah Richardson, Michelle Dillard and Wiley Price II, the city’s first Black DJ.

Horatio asks if Price takes photos for The St. Louis American — mistaking Price III for his father — and Simmons, surprised that his friend even knew about the newspaper, asked if he read it. Horatio responded it has great pictures and Jay clarified that Price III is Price II’s son.

“What would the Ville look like if people returned to breathe life back into this area?” Narrator asks the audience. This, then, is the primary

question the play poses to its audience: to be or not to be, to return to a place left for dead or let the past go.

Malone replied, “Demand schools stay open, abolish redlining, and stop letting the city dismantle The Ville brickby-brick.”

As Malone continues persuading Simmons to stay in The Ville, the production concludes with her asking Hamlet “What Is Your Answer” and the phrase scrolling across the screen.

Congresswoman Cori Bushwas featured in a slide presentation during the play that showed Black women political changemakers alongside Mayor Tishaura Jones and Alderwoman Dwinderlin Evans (to the delight of the fictionalized

Malone, who never saw such Black women politicians in her own lifetime). Bush hopped up on stage to speak after the show, saying it was amazing and she’s never seen anything like it before — especially right in the community.

“Thank you for what you all have given us. Thank you for what you’ve shown us and for this work. I learned so much sitting there that I didn’t know about The Ville. This is how we continue on legacy, we gotta teach it.” she said. And that’s what the show teaches audiences: to learn, to teach, and perhaps, to return with Avengeance

Ville

The A Taste of Luxurie event celebration, which promotes Black excellence in fashion, food, and entertainment invited national recording artists Lyfe Jennings and Lydia Caesar for a performance at the Clayton Plaza Hotel.

Photo by www.michaeltarrellphotographic.com