September 21st, 2017 Edition

‘The whole damn system is guilty as hell’

The protests of the not-guilty verdict in the Jason Stockley murder trial started at Tucker and Market not long after the verdict was handed down early in the morning of Friday, September 15.

Annie Smith, the mother of Anthony Lamar Smith, marched in protest with Brother Anthony Shahid, who kept the Jason Stockley case alive since he killed Smith in 2011, and hundreds of others in St. Louis on Sunday, September 17.

Week of protests follows Jason Stockley verdict

Protesters

strategize

By Jessica Karins and Kenya Vaughn

“No justice! No peace! No racist police!” This was the most dominant chant at the initial protests responding to the notguilty verdict for former St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley, which began on

for economic disruption, over 120 arrested

Friday, September 15 outside of St. Louis City Hall. Another frequent refrain was “the whole damn system was guilty as hell”. Protesters reacted with anger and sadness to St. Louis Circuit Judge Timothy Wilson’s acquittal of Stockley, who was charged with first-degree murder in the 2011 shooting of 24-year-old Anthony Lamar Smith.

Among the speakers at the morning protest was Brother Anthony Shahid, the veteran activist who, along with Rev. Phillip Duval, kept the Stockley case moving from when it was first buried in 2011 to last year when charges finally were filed. He and many others called for an

protestors sprayed by police at close range

By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American

Police deployed chemical agents to subdue protestors on Friday, September 15, the day of the not-guilty verdict in the Jason Stockley trial.

On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri sent a letter to the city counselor directing him to ensure the police department saves all electronic communications from the protest for the discovery phase of the trial in the suit the ACLU plans to file regarding constitutional violations by the police at the Jason Stockley verdict protests. The ACLU’s list of alleged constitutional violations contains several charges related to the use of chemical agents: “Attacking people indiscriminately with gratuitous use of pepper spray, pepper balls, rubber bullets, and tear gas when no apparent illegal activity had occurred; excessively using of force, including violent arrests that caused injuries; deploying chemicals, such as tear gas and pepper spray, without warning; deploying tear gas on routes where people were leaving.” They all match the protest experiences of Kennard Williams, an activist and organizer who serves as a street

By Mike Jones Of The St. Louis American

On September 15, 2017, another white policeman was acquitted in the murder of a (very likely) unarmed black man, this time here in St Louis, Missouri. Now if you’re black, you could have a range of reactions, but there are two emotions I will not permit you – shock or surprise. You couldn’t have honestly entertained the possibility that this could or would end with a different outcome.

The U.S. Constitution created the governing framework for the American republic, but it’s the Declaration of Independence that provided the raison d’être (reason to be) for the republic’s creation.

The second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence begins, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Kevin Hart admits to cheating, Eniko said to be standing by her man

Kevin Hart posted an emotional video on his Instagram Saturday night, apologizing to his wife and children and claiming an unidentified person was trying to extort him over a “sexually suggestive” video.

Hart, 38, admitted to his “bad error in judgment” and specifically addressed the apology to his wife, Eniko Parrish, who is expecting her first child with the actor, and his two older children.

behavior and vowed to “do better” in the future. The actor then revealed a person tried to “have financial gain” off his mistakes.

“But I’m also not going to allow a person to have financial gain off of my mistakes and in this particular situation that was what was attempted. I said I’d rather fess up to my mistakes,” Hart said.

Meanwhile, sources close to Eniko say that she has no intentions of leaving the marriage.

“I’m at a place in my life where I feel like I have a target on my back,” Hart said in the post. “And because of that I should make smart decisions. And recently, I didn’t. You know, I’m not perfect. And I made a bad error in judgment and I put myself in a bad environment where only bad things can happen and they did.”

Hart said there were “no excuses” for his

“There is absolutely no divorce talk,” a source told PEOPLE Magazine. “She obviously knows about the cheating allegations. To her, Kevin is a great husband. Eniko is aware that Kevin has been accused of being a ladies’ man. She doesn’t care. He is her husband and he always comes home to her.”

Jada says she’s no Scientologist (CNN) – Jada Pinkett Smith wants everyone to know she’s not a Scientologist.

The actress is disputing Leah Remini’s assertion that she’s a member of the controversial Church of Scientology. Remini, whose A&E series, “Scientology and the Aftermath,” recently told The Daily Beast that Pinkett Smith has “been in Scientology a long time.”

“I never saw Will there,” Remini said,

referring to Pinkett Smith’s famous husband,

“but I saw Jada at the Celebrity Centre. I had seen her at the Scientology Celebrity Centre all the time.”

But Pinkett Smith tweeted Tuesday that “I have studied Dianetics, and appreciate the merits of Study Tech... but I am not a Scientologist.”

“I practice human kindness, and I believe that we each have the right to determine what we are and what we are not,” she said. “NO ONE ELSE can hold that power.”

Is there trouble in Hollywood for Steve Harvey’s TV show?

Back in April, Steve Harvey announced he was moving his Chicago talk show to Los Angeles and changing the format to celebrity interviews.

Insiders told Radar Online that the decision to relocate may not have been the best idea.

“It’s a disaster,” a source told the celebrity news and gossip site. “Execs assumed moving Steve from Chicago to L.A. would make it easier to get stars on his show. It hasn’t

worked. Steve has zero relationships with Hollywood, and he’s hired people who tell him ‘yes’ instead of producers connected to A-list managers and publicists. If he’s lucky, he’ll be able to book a few Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and some celebrity chefs. But that’s about the extent of the talent to expect on his show!”

Has JAY-Z joined the NFL boycott in support of Kaepernick?

According The Source JAY-Z turned down an invitation to play the 2018 Super Bowl Halftime show. Some are saying that the decision was to show solidarity for quarterback Colin Kaepernick – who has been blacklisted for kneeling during the National Anthem in protest of police brutality and the fatal shootings of people of color at the hands of law enforcement. Over the weekend, he dedicated “The

Parrish

Wesley House celebrates director’s 31-year tenure

Charitable organization in 21st Ward renames street after Terry ‘Chip’ Jones

By Jessica Karins For the St. Louis American

In honor of its longtime leader’s upcoming retirement, the community around social services agency Wesley House gathered to grant him a special honor, one they had been keeping a secret for weeks.

Terry “Chip” Jones, the director of Wesley House for 31 years, was the only person attending the celebration on August 25 who did not know that it would end with the reveal of a new street sign outside Wesley House bearing his name.

The event was attended by community leaders, including 21st Ward Alderman John Collins Muhammad, president of the Board of Alderman Lewis E. Reed and St. Louis Mayor Linda Krewson, as well as many of Jones’ friends, family members, classmates and fraternity brothers.

“Everyone has been lying to you, including your wife,” Muhammad said. “But that’s okay, it’s for a good reason.”

The Board of Aldermen unveiled their resolution honoring Jones’ work with Wesley House, which praised

the organization’s work providing food to around 300 seniors a month and educational services to 10,000 middle and high school students over its history, among other social services projects.

The organization, founded in 1903, is affiliated with United Way.

Reed said the resolution recognizing Jones’ work is the highest honor the Board of Aldermen can give to an individual.

“We commit your name to the permanent records of the City of St. Louis,” Reed said. “One hundred, two hundred years from now, when you research the records of the city of St. Louis, you will see amongst those records Terry ‘Chip’ Jones.”

The event then moved outside, where Wesley House revealed a new street sign outside of its headquarters, marking a section of Lee Avenue as Terry “Chip” Jones Way.

“Many of you are aware I’m a student of philosophy,” Jones said in his address to the crowd. “I like Chinese philosophy a whole lot. A cat named Confucius had a student

Terry “Chip” Jones, the director of Wesley House for 31 years, was honored during a celebration on August 25 that ended with the installation of a new street sign outside Wesley House bearing his name.

n “One hundred, two hundred years from now, when you research the records of the city of St. Louis, you will see amongst those records Terry ‘Chip’ Jones.”

- Alderman Lewis Reed

we have an African-American man stepping up to work with our kids and create a positive influence all across this city.”

Mike Jones, Terry Jones’ brother and a member of The St. Louis American’s editorial board, was the first person to encourage him to get involved at Wesley House.

but people all over St. Louis.

named Mencius, and he said, ‘It is not important that the work you do be recognized,’ and for me, it hasn’t ever been important. But it is important that the work you do is worthy of recognition.”

Reed said Jones has impacted not just the neighborhood of the 21st Ward,

“Some of the biggest challenges we have in our city are positive role models that some of these young kids can look up to, so that they can say,

‘You know what, I can go on to do great things also,’” Reed said. “As an African-American male, it’s so important that

“I’ll say on behalf of Chip’s family that Chip is to our family what he is to the Wesley House family,” Mike Jones said. “He’s both the foundation and the anchor. He’s always been the mortar that held our individual bricks together.”

Mike Jones said he and his brother both learned their life philosophy from their father, who ran a barbershop. The

brothers asked their father why he charged $1.25 for haircuts at a time when everyone else was charging $1.50. He replied that people who didn’t make much money also needed haircuts and he wanted to charge them only as much as he needed to make a living.

For the last 31 years at Wesley House, Mike Jones said, Terry Jones has put that lesson into action.

“Everybody has a hero,” Michael Jones said. “My brother has always been my hero.”

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

Photo by Wiley Price

Editorial /CommEntary

Judge Wilson is guilty – as hell – of explicit bias

There is a story told about a public defender who went to work for a prosecutor. After prosecuting a few cases, he went to his boss in frustration. “Now I get what you guys are up against,” he said. “The prosecution has to build an entire structure that is perfect beyond a reasonable doubt. All that a defense attorney has to do is put one little rock in one little window, and that perfect house is ruined.”

We suspect Robert Steele, lead attorney for the prosecution, is feeling this in the wake of Judge Timothy Wilson’s egregious ruling on the Jason Stockley murder case. A veteran public defender trying his first murder case – a first-degree murder case, at that, and against a police officer – as a prosecutor, Steele lost and Stockley walked free. Before we get to systemic racism and lack of police accountability, let’s recognize that Stockley’s defense team put some holes in the state’s case. Stockley said he was going to kill Anthony Lamar Smith 45 seconds before he killed him, which sure looks like compelling evidence for premeditated (first-degree) murder. But as Stockley’s defense pointed out, the recording is garbled before and after this statement. Stockley’s defense argued that Stockley may have stated a conditional that we can’t hear on the recording. As an example, Stockley’s counsel offered, “If he tries to run over us again, then we’re going to …”

Then there is the question of Stockley’s approach to Smith’s car after his patrol partner smashed into it, ending the high-speed chase. Stockley killed Smith 45 seconds after saying he would kill him, but 15 of those seconds were spent at the side of Smith’s car before Stockley opened fire. An eyewitness – not a police officer; no other cop testified on Stockley’s behalf – said he heard Stockley giving Smith orders before he opened fire. This could be a premeditated murderer providing cover for himself before he takes his victim’s life, or it could be a cop trying to apprehend a suspect who suddenly appears to reach for a gun, as Stockley claimed. That brings us to the other major

hole in the state’s case. There is no video or eyewitness evidence of what Stockley saw when he looked into Smith’s vehicle other than Stockley’s claims. That left a simple defense strategy that the defense followed very simply. They put Stockley on the stand and had him agree to a

tremendous amount of incriminating evidence against him, including that he said he was going to kill Smith. That made Stockley look like a credible witness, since he agreed to elements of the state’s case that worked against him. Then, when he testified to what he saw, there was no other version of those events in the trial record. If you had come to trust Stockley as a witness, then you might trust his version of events and decide –whatever he may have said beforehand – that he did reasonably fear for his life when he opened fire. A judge or jury looking for reasonable doubt could find it there.

St. Louis still hasn’t learned its lesson

By Malik Ahmed

For The St. Louis American

Better Family Life strongly believes that justice was once again abused, betrayed and denied in the not-guilty verdict of former St. Louis Police Officer Jason Stockley rendered on Friday, September 15. Even in the face incontrovertible evidence, it was not enough to convince circuit Judge Timothy Wilson that Jason Stockley was guilty of pre-meditated, first-degree murder of Anthony Lamar Smith on December 20, 2011 following a high-speed car chase.

The questionable killing of another African American, whose case was suppressed for over five years by city officials, superficially investigated by the FBI and ignored by the Civil Rights division of Obama’s Justice Department is just another example of how African Americans are mistreated by all branches of the criminal justice system. Since the killings by police of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Gardner, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray and countless others, African Americans and their rainbow allies have grown tired and frustrated with the criminal “injustice” system. Just like the uprising following the killing of Michael Brown by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson, African Americans and others took to the streets. One of their chants was “no justice no peace.”

In Ferguson, for nearly two months, stores were looted and burned down, hundreds were

arrested and a few people lost their lives. St. Louis was plastered all over the world as an unsafe place. Scores of consequences followed: conventions were cancelled, parents refused to send their children to St. Louis colleges and universities, average citizens felt unsafe, and the divide between blacks and whites widened.

This current eruption of protests, vandalism and arrests attest to the fact that St. Louis still hasn’t learned its lesson.

Today’s protests are being orchestrated by a new generation of activists as well as some seasoned veterans and clergy. What is different is how these new activists are responding to what is perceived as injustice and affirming why “Black

n This current eruption of protests, vandalism and arrests attest to the fact that St. Louis still hasn’t learned its lesson.

Lives Matter.” Now, they are chanting, “No justice, no profits.” They are tired of seeing senseless acts of murder by police officers who use the all-inclusive justification of fearing for their life. They are tired of hearing how powerful institutions of the state such as judges and police, use highly charged racist stereotypes of African-American males such as Darren Wilson’s description of his fear of Michael Brown as a gorilla-like, menacing, 240pound thug to justify his plea of self-defense.

In the written decision of Judge Timothy Wilson, he characterized Anthony Smith

as an “urban heroin dealer” and expressed the fatal words, which many believe was the basis of his not-guilty verdict, “that an urban heroin dealer not in possession of a firearm would be an anomaly.” The judge’s description is equivalent to saying Smith was worthless and deserved to die.

When did police change from arresting suspects to killing them? When an overwhelming number of police officers continue to be acquitted of senseless killings, which led some police officers to feel they can get away with it.

St. Louis’ African-American community has many social and economic problems that we deal with each day. Some of them are what we inflict upon each other that we must be more forceful and intentional in solving. Perhaps our selfimposed violence is a symptom of a larger state-sanctioned violence directed at poor, vulnerable communities.

If St. Louis is to become a progressive 21st century city, the justice system must work for African Americans. The police must exercise extreme care and undergo better training to prevent the wanton killing of African Americans, even those who may commit egregious crimes. Judges must render true justice and not racist opinions that are unjust and inhumane.

The powerful must align with the powerless to rebuild decrepit and deplorable neighborhoods such as those found in North St. Louis.

Job training, placement and state-of-the-art schools must be a right not a meager line item in city and state budgets. Economic development must include all sectors of the city, especially in North St. Louis.

Malik Ahmed is CEO of Better Family Life, Inc.

But there is more than a little rock thrown through Judge Timothy Wilson’s ruling, and it blows more than a tiny hole in his verdict, and the judge did this damage himself. Wilson had been adjudging DNA evidence and deciding it was inconclusive, according to the state’s own expert witnesses (which is true, another hole in the state’s evidence – the absence of Smith’s DNA on the gun allegedly found in his car does not prove that he never handled the gun). Then the judge offered this amazing observation: “Finally, the Court observes, based on its nearly thirty years on the bench, that an urban

Letters to the editor

Racism and climate change are real

In the case against Jason Stockley, there was overwhelming evidence against the officer, and yet the judge ruled “not guilty.” This inability of the judicial system to see the truth laid bare before their eyes sounds like another crisis we’re not adequately addressing.

In last week’s St. Louis American, columnist Eugene Robinson lamented our nation’s inability to even discuss climate change. Jamala Rogers’ piece in the same paper calls recent hurricanes “human-induced disasters” and illustrates how devastating climate change is to communities of color.

These two writers call on us to recognize the human role in climate change and to proactively work to make our communities more resilient. They point out that citizens will have to innovate and agitate to make sure that these changes happen because it’s clear we can’t count on the Trump administration to help.

The good news is that initiatives like the Ferguson Commission report and the Paris Climate Accord provide a roadmap to doing something about both systemic racism and climate change. Step one is acknowledging and admitting the human role in these destructive systems.

Andy Heaslet

St. Louis

Judge Wilson, ‘urban’ folks and ‘anomalies’

Here we go again: Another police officer is cleared of shooting and killing an AfricanAmerican male. Time and time again mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers cry themselves to sleep after their loved ones are killed by a police officer.

But this time, St. Louis Circuit Judge Timothy Wilson not only cleared ex-St. Louis

heroin dealer not in possession of a firearm would be an anomaly.”

What?

As we all know, “urban” is frequently used as a racial code word. Wilson is saying that he would expect for a black heroin dealer to have a firearm. Smith did not live to defend himself against this judicial charge of dealing drugs, and no amount of prior trial experience should prejudge Wilson as to the facts on any individual case. This is an outrageous statement of prejudgment, tinged with racist suspicion. The stunning explicit bias in this statement invalidates Wilson – appointed to the bench in 1989 by the odious then-Governor John Ashcroft – unfit to rule on this case. If he were a juror, on the basis of this statement alone, he would have been tossed from the jury as biased toward the defendant.

But, instead, the defendant chose a jury of one, namely this biased jurist, and yet another white police officer who killed a black man – 45 seconds after saying he was going to kill him and ordering his rookie patrol officer to smash into the man’s car to provide an opportunity to kill him – walked free. Needless to say, this biased ruling in favor of a white police officer who killed a (very likely unarmed) black man comes at a time when our nation is reeling from a series of such incidents where no justice was served to the victims, their families or the many Americans fighter for greater racial equity in our criminal justice system.

The outraged protestors say, “The whole damn system is guilty as hell.” In fact, we believe that sometimes our criminal justice system does work, and there are many diligent and honest people working within it. But Judge Wilson is guilty of bias. He should never have ruled on this case, and – due to constitutional protections against double jeopardy – Stockley can never be tried again for this murder of Smith. And we believe a St. Louis jury – with all of the Timothy Wilsons sent home without serving due to racial bias – would have convicted Stockley on the evidence presented. There was no justice. Why should we expect peace?

Police Officer Jason Stockley of shooting and killing Anthony Lamar Smith, he made an appalling statement in his verdict: “The court observes, based on its nearly 30 years on the bench, that an urban heroin dealer not in possession of a firearm would be an anomaly.”

Webster Dictionary defines “anomaly,” as “something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected.”

Webster Dictionary defines “urban,” as “relating to, characteristic of, constituting a city.”

Is it an “anomaly” that thousands of AfricanAmerican children in urban neighborhoods go to school each day to learn and better themselves to become productive citizens in America?

Is it an “anomaly” that hundreds of thousands of

African-American men and women in urban neighborhoods go to work each day, pay their taxes, go the movies, eat at restaurants and worship at church?

Is it an “anomaly” that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was raised in an urban neighborhood and entered Morehouse College as an earlyadmission student at the age of 15?

Is it an “anomaly” that Oprah Winfrey was raised in an urban neighborhood and is now the first African-American billionaire?

Perhaps this 30-year veteran of the bench’s word choice is simply an anomaly. I’m not really sure. What I do know is that his verdict is not.

Johnny Little Jr. St. Louis

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Judge Wilson’s decision was posted at the Carnahan Courthouse where Jason Stockley stood trial the day the not-guilty verdict was handed down, Friday, September 15.

Prisoner rights group holds annual conference

On Saturday, September 23, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Missouri Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE) will hold its 14th annual Statewide Conference in St. Louis at Greater St. Mark Family Church, 9950 Glen Owen.

The keynote speaker will be attorney Mae Quinn, director of the MacArthur Justice Center in St. Louis, who exposed the Missouri Parole Board scandal in July. State Rep. Bruce Franks Jr., a member of Missouri’s Corrections Committee, will be a special guest speaker.

CURE believes that prison should be only for those who must be incarcerated and that prisoners should have all the resources needed to turn their lives around. Our members are prisoners themselves, their families and loved ones, and other concerned members of the community. Workshops will be held on legislation; prisoner health; abuse and long-term segregation; and re-entry. Awards will be presented. Admission is free and lunch will be provided. All are welcome to attend.

Jason Stockley and white supremacy

It is vividly clear to a new and growing sector of our community (and nation) that white supremacy will be protected at all costs. Judge Timothy Wilson’s decision to acquit former cop Jason Stockley was a shock to some and the tipping point for action for others. The white power structure and its supporters are keeping alive the words of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney in the St. Louis case of Dred Scott. Blacks are “unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or political relations; and so far, inferior, that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect; and that the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit.”

This is the ugly legacy that freedomloving people of all backgrounds are still fighting to change.

This country is a growing powder keg. You have a sitting president who supported racial violence and is responsible for the wave of white supremacist groups coming out to flex their muscles. You have the conspiratorial alliance between police departments, mayors and prosecutors who consistently send the message that black lives don’t matter through their policies and actions. Black and brown lives are not just collateral damage but the hard targets of this country’s strategy to maintain the status quo. All these incendiary elements are adding to the fires.

the pedigree and depth of racism that we are dealing with in the region.

Many legal observers believed that if ever there was a case that should’ve resulted in a conviction of some degree, the Stockley case was the one. If not first-degree murder, then second-degree murder or manslaughter. But nothing! Not only did justice elude the family and community with the acquittal, Obama’s Justice Department previously declined to prosecute Stockley for civil rights violations.

Stockley came to the scene with an AK-47 in violation of department rules that prohibit unauthorized personal weapons. During the police chase, Stockley says he’s “going to kill” Anthony Lamar Smith. Forty-five seconds later, Stockley delivers the kill shot. Stockley attempts to shield an interior police cam showing him rummaging in his police duffel bag. A gun appears later on the front seat of Smith’s car; test results confirmed only Stockley’s DNA on the gun.

The explicit racial bias of the judge was evident in his 30-page justification. Most notably was his reference that an “urban heroin dealer not in possession of a firearm would be an anomaly.” This made headlines across the country that again showed the world

After the Michael Brown killing by thenFerguson cop Darren Wilson, then-St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson set up a new unit to investigate officer-involved shootings. This is a farce – officers investigating themselves. They refuse to testify against one another. Stockley’s partner Brian Bianchi refused to testify. There are over 20 pending officer-involved shootings under consideration in the circuit attorney’s office. Some may never get to the trial level but others will. We should probably expect that none of them will want a jury of their peers and like Stockley, will opt for a jury by one person. This is not an automatic wish and judges can refuse the motion for a bench trial, especially if there’s a vested community interest in the outcome. Only a trial by jury is a constitutional right. Communities should be mindful of this new possible trend and oppose it as the easy way out for cops to avoid accountability. #nojusticenoprofits is a hashtag and rallying call which signifies that the business life of the region will be disrupted. You won’t always know in advance when and where it will happen, but if the safety and security of black people are shattered daily so will the flow of capital. This will not be a desirable place for enlightened people to live or for businesses to drop their anchors.

This city and country have spent billions to maintain the white status quo at the expense of working people and people of color. This comes in the forms of opposing fair wages, legal actions and settlements by police and corporations for criminal acts, payoff to lawmakers and lobbyists to undercut laws that protect citizen rights, the roll-back of laws and policies that protect people and the environment, and the list goes on.

Historian Lerone Bennett Jr. writes, “A nation is a choice. It chooses itself at fateful forks in the road by turning left or right, by giving up something or taking something – and in the giving up and the taking, in the deciding and not deciding, the nation becomes.” It is up to the majority – not the elite few –to determine what this nation will become. It must be a nation of laws that applies to all. It must be a nation that protects the human rights of all its citizens, especially regardless of race and economic status. It must be a nation that lives up to its democratic ideals for all. That’s our collective challenge going forward.

Jamala Rogers

A man was all shadow as he fled tear gas on Friday, September 15, the first day of protests over the not-guilty verdict in the Jason Stockley murder trial.

Shadow in flight

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

PROTESTS

Continued from A1 economic boycott in response to the verdict.

“This was an open-andshut case to me,” protestor Gwendolyn Cogshell said. “It was like Rodney King. Everybody saw what happened on TV and heard what was said.”

Cogshell said that the verdict was symptomatic of both patterns of racial injustice through the country, and a failure of the government and justice system in St. Louis specifically to treat black citizens as equal. She said the right way to fight back was with boycotts.

“Stop spending money,” Cogshell said. “Get groups and clergy to tell people not to come to St. Louis. We’re not going to be respected. It’s like taxation without representation.”

Several streets around the area of Market and Tucker were blocked by protesters and police vehicles. Other streets, and many businesses in the area, voluntarily shut down. A temporary flight restriction was also issued over the protest.

Over the weekend, protesters put their strategy of economic disruption into practice, both in the city and St. Louis County. Saturday saw demonstrations at suburban malls in Des Peres and Chesterfield. The resulting lack of police availability, among other concerns, led to the cancellation of many public events, including a St. Louis Symphony Orchestra performance, the weekend of Shakespeare in the Streets, and heavily anticipated concerts from U2 and Ed Sheeran. Students at many St. Louisarea universities and high schools – including Saint Louis University, Webster University and Kirkwood High School – held walk-out protests on Monday.

The first arrest came on Friday, around 11 am; the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department announced that a male suspect was taken into

custody at Washington Avenue and 14th Street after damaging a police vehicle. He was charged with Destruction of Property and Failure to Obey.

The protestor was riding a bicycle and did not appear to be resisting arrest.

“He tried to slow down the police car, and it almost hit him,” an ACLU legal observer present at the protest said.

Another protestor passed out face masks and bandages to those in the crowd.

By Saturday night, 43 arrests had been made; another 123 came during the protests on Sunday. On those nights, small groups shattered windows in the Delmar Loop and vandalized the home of St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson.

Not everyone arrested was accused of participating in property damage, however.

Viral photos and video showed police trampling 63-year-old Laura Jones when she did not immediately move out of their way. Jones was then arrested for interfering with a police officer.

“Many of the demonstrators were peaceful; however after dark, the agitators outnumbered the peaceful demonstrators and the unruly crowd became a mob,” St. Louis Police said in a statement following Sunday’s mass arrest. The statement also said that multiple businesses also sustained property damage and one bike officer suffered a serious injury after falling.

On Monday, protestors and

legal observers criticized the police for the use of kettling, a tactic in which officers, often in riot gear, physically block off an area and sweep in to make mass arrests. The tactic is often used to facilitate mass arrests when a crowd is refusing to disperse as ordered.

In this instance, the ACLU of Missouri reported the kettling tactics were accompanied by the use of excessive force and affected many protesters who had committed no crime, as well as some reporters and bystanders, after a few were seen vandalizing property.

The kettle on Monday night contained about 100 people.

Many St. Louis and Missouri-based advocacy groups have issued statements condemning the verdict, including ArchCity Defenders, St. Louis Action Council and M.O.R.E. in a joint statement.

“This devastating verdict reinforces the message that law enforcement can use fatal, excessive force against communities of color and turn to the courts for protection,” the statement read in part. “The egregious facts of this case underscore the failures of the criminal legal system even in clear cut cases of police violence.”

The ACLU of Missouri, whose legal observers have attended the protests, issued a letter to Krewson, acting police chief Lawrence O’Toole and St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts to prevent law enforcement from violating protesters’ first amendment rights.

“We know there were sporadic moments of violence and vandalism – these are not covered by the Constitutional right to protest,” the ACLU letter said. “However, outside of these moments, officers broke their vow to protect the public by engaging in illegal activities and actions that violated policies of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and agreed-upon rules of engagement made during 2014 protests.”

The ACLU said their observers had seen illegal behavior from officers including arresting protesters with questionable probable cause, excessive force including the use of tear gas and rubber bullets and failing to wear name tags identifying themselves.

Police also adopted a chant frequently used by protesters, giving an ironic twist to the words, “Whose streets? Our streets!”

The controversial message was underlined by O’Toole, who said in statement, “I’m proud to tell you the city of St. Louis is safe and police owned the night. We are in control of this city, and we are going to protect it.”

The Ethical Society of Police, which also condemned the verdict in the Stockley case, objected to the use of the chant.

“We as officers took a sworn oath to uphold the mission, purpose, and goals of our department toward our community, whether we encounter them in the street

or in their homes,” ESOP

President Heather Taylor said in an email. “We must abide by that oath under all circumstances. Our Code of Ethics states, ‘I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, political beliefs, aspirations, animosities or friendships to influence my decisions.’ That chant goes against the very code of ethics we swore to abide by. Whether we agree with demonstrations, protests, or acts of violence, it is our job to do our job free of personal bias.”

Though the protest remained peaceful on its first night, there were scenes of internal conflict.

n “If you are a protestor, you are a protestor. If you are a vandal, then you are a vandal. If you are an agitator, you’re an agitator. They are not the same.”

– Tory Russell

At Market Street, one white protester took the megaphone to urge those gathered to work for police reform and transparency, telling them, “You must not give up. You must keep going, regardless of failures.”

Several black protestors objected, one saying, “Don’t tell us not to be mad.”

Monday saw a very different kind of protest from Friday’s bold chanting. Marching orders were given in a whisper by state Rep. Bruce Franks Jr. As 200-plus marched down Market Street, starting at 16th Street, there was utter silence. They walked uncharacteristically

n “Let’s let this system feel what we feel. It hurts us, we want to hurt them. We want to keep it peaceful, though. I’m not for violence.”

– Eddie Littleton

slow for the typical fervent pace of protest march. They were almost in formation with their footsteps. The group made their way down the busy street during the Monday morning work commute in rows of 12 with their arms locked, heads held high and mouths closed.

“Grow up! Some of us have to get to work,” a man yelled out of his car window as they blocked traffic.

Aside from a “God bless you” softly spoken to the man by a clergy member in the march, the crowd never dignified him with a response.

Tory Russell, a familiar face from the Ferguson unrest, was next to address the crowd.

“We want to change the narrative of what’s going on,” Russell said. “Things about this movement are being misconstrued, but St. Louis

is the new Selma. Let me say that again: St. Louis is the new Selma. We are not divided. We are organized. We are unified. And we are strong.” Russell said that the “good vs. bad protestor” narrative is a strategy to foster division and fear.

“They used the same tactics in Ferguson,” Russell said. “They will try to create the narrative of a good protestor and a bad protestor. If you are a protestor, you are a protestor. If you are a vandal, then you are a vandal. If you are an agitator, you’re an agitator. They are not the same.” Russell urged them to define themselves – and hold the system accountable, in relation to the acquittal of Jason Stockley, the force imposed on protesters by law enforcement and beyond.

Protestor Eddie Littleton, who said he has been involved in activism in St. Louis since the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, hoped the St. Louis community would come together to speak out against the verdict.

“I’m basically out to let the people know to come out, to vote, and let’s face the system,” Littleton said on Friday. “It’s not right. Let’s let it be known by all.” Littleton was also supportive of using economic means to get the protestors’ point across, saying he hoped the money lost by businesses and events over the weekend would make an impact.

“Let’s let this system feel what we feel,” Littleton said. “It hurts us, we want to hurt them. We want to keep it peaceful, though. I’m not for violence. We want to hurt it where it hurts the most – in their pockets.”

In the evening, a crowd at least four times the size of the early morning marchers stood across the street from City Hall at the Justice Center – where they shouted all the chants they had refrained from during the morning demonstration. They originally met in the Delmar Loop, the site of their Saturday evening demonstrations, but redirected themselves back downtown – where more than 100 were arrested the evening before.

“The people, united, will never be divided,” the wet crowd shouted along with the voices from the megaphones. A group of more than 50 stood before the crowd to address them, many with megaphones. A huge banner that said “Disobey” was held up at the steps of the Justice Center, which became a stage for the organizers. The massive group bled into the middle of Tucker. Anthony Lamar Smith’s mother was standing with the leaders of the action. After a moment of silence, the crowd was directed to say his name.

“Anthony Lamar Smith,” the crowd repeated, growing louder each time his name was chanted. “Anthony Lamar Smith. Anthony Lamar Smith!” St. Louis Public Radio contributed to this report.

A protestor confronted a police officer working a Stockley verdict protest in the University City Loop on Saturday, September 16.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

medic.

He said during protests in St. Louis by the Police Academy on Friday, September 15, the day the verdict was handed down, protestors were catching it from both sides.

“What the police did Friday, they started macing people on the side of the Police Academy building next to the City Hall parking lot. A bunch of us tried to pull people out who got hit at very close range,” Williams said.

“When people started to move back, officers on the other side began spraying people and forcing them up against the gate – that walled gate on the side of City Hall parking lot.” He said they continued macing people until they got on Tucker Blvd.

“People got caught into a vice and they were spraying them on both sides.”

These airborne noxious agents can affect anyone in the area, including nondemonstrators, news crews, old people and children. You do not have to be next to it to be its target.

“This stuff travels on the

MESSAGE

Continued from A1

Continued from A1 are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” While most are familiar with this beginning they are totally ignorant of what Jefferson writes next: “That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed; That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it,” Much like Pharaoh, Jefferson condemns the government he founded with his own words. You see this oft-referred to “American Experiment” was not founded upon the principles that Jefferson espoused in the Declaration, but on the pernicious and malevolent

wind, and it can immediately affect anybody in the area,” Williams said. “It’s sprayed with such a copious amount they use when they are spraying it and the cans spray so much out … like fire extinguishers.”

He said the unchecked use of these chemical weapons on protestors says a lot about the city and its leaders. “There are people who bring their kids out; there are people who bring younger folks out here who are angry about this, who are upset about this, and everybody has a right to exercise their first amendment right to free speech,” Williams said. “And with them using these weapons like this, in the open, indiscriminately on anybody, that really says something about the St. Louis Police Department and our mayor for allowing them to continue using it.”

Williams himself was hit during Friday’s protests.

“I got sprayed several times pulling out people who had been sprayed close-range by police,” Williams said. “It burns. It burns a lot. It burns any skin it contacts; it burns your eyes, your sinuses; it causes your mucous membranes in your nose to really start to work up. It’s pretty terrible.”

idea of white male privilege. No amount of rhetorical embellishment will change the fundamental character of the founding of the United States. If you sprinkle sugar on a pile of manure, it’s still a pile of manure.

The exploitation and oppression of people of color are fundamental to the American experience. While Jefferson was never the epitome of his words, it doesn’t change the importance of what he wrote to the development of human history. He codified the intrinsic value of all human life and further stated that the sole purpose of government is to secure and ensure that value. He also did something equally as important: He established as a national founding principle that when government undermines or negates these inalienable rights, the People have a moral responsibility to change or abolish that government.

No matter what legal rationalizations are used,

The ACLU claim police sprayed people indiscriminately with gratuitous use of chemical agents when no apparent illegal activity had occurred, deployed chemicals without warning, and deployed tear gas on routes where people were leaving.

The brand Chemical Mace is described as a nonlethal spray containing purified tear gas and chemical solvents that cause eye and skin irritations to temporarily incapacitate and subdue people. Williams said he was hit at least three times in the afternoon, and his arms were burning well into the evening.

the Jason Stockley verdict is one more reminder that the effective purpose of American law is to maintain the order of white male privilege. So everyone in the streets protesting that verdict had a moral duty to be there on behalf of our collective humanity, establishing, once again, that this order governs without our consent and its power is not legitimate.

He said it takes multiple washing of the affected area to remove the chemicals.

To provide immediate attention, demonstrators turn into street medics like Williams, using spray bottles of diluted milk of magnesium to wash the caustic irritants out of the eyes of its victims. Again, an over-the-counter

today as it was the day it was written.

n Everyone in the streets protesting that verdict had a moral duty to be there on behalf of our collective humanity.

Speaking of the protests on Friday night, we need to address one more issue, the concerns of white moderates and their African-American collaborators. You know who I’m talking about, the “I support your goals but can’t support what you’re doing to achieve them” crowd. The definitive answer to this objection was written over 50 years ago and is as cogent

“You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations. … You would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis that deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes,” Martin Luther King Jr. wrote from the

laxative, milk of magnesia, is used to provide a different type of relief.

“We have been using milk of magnesia and water, a 50-50 mix,” Williams said. “Milk of magnesia and water mixed into a squirt bottle container— that way, when it’s held over somebody, it can be squirted into their eyes. You have them

Birmingham city jail on April 16, 1963.

“I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress. ... I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is

look up and tilt their head a little bit and spray each eye so you can flush the eyes. We definitely tell them not to rub, because it can transfer the chemicals further.”

He said water alone often activates the material more and causes it to burn a lot more.

He said some demonstrators also carry bottles of apple vinegar to counteract chemical attacks.

“Apple cider vinegar goes on bandanas to soak them through,” he said, “so it kind of stops some of the irritants that are in the air from the tear gas.”

The other alleged violations listed by the ACLU are: “arresting people with questionable probable cause, illegally searching bags and other possessions, not wearing name tags and not identifying themselves, blocking access to public spaces without apparent cause of officer safety, ongoing investigation, or public safety hazard, forcefully blocking recordings of police conduct in public spaces at safe and reasonable distances, selectively enforcing access to public spaces, entering safe spaces against policy and with questionable probable cause, using intimidating displays of force, explicitly contrary to agreement prior to release of verdict.”

more devoted to ‘order’ than to ‘justice.’” I wrote this commentary so the young activists involved in the serious work of social change are not slowed by the need to provide a public rationale for their work to those of us not physically active in the struggle, and so they will know (if they care) there is substantial historical intellectual and moral justification for their position, and so they know there are some old heads who believe in them and uphold them. Mike Jones is a member of the St. Louis American editorial board and the State Board of Education.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

STL takes to the streets after Stockley verdict

Police respond with intimidation tactics

Photos by Lawrence Bryant & V. Lang

Photos by Lawrence Bryant & V. Lang

Message to Mayor Krewson and white moderates

St. Louis American editorial board

The stormy protests in the aftermath of the Jason Stockley verdict left two particularly vivid images of white women in distress. That’s unusual, because this case was about a white man who said he was going to kill a black man, did kill him 45 seconds later, and then was absolved of firstdegree murder by another white man in a bench trial. And when the grief and rage of black people are interpreted through images of white women, bad things tend to happen to black people, especially to black men. But these images of white women must be discussed and understood after the events of Friday, September 15.

One was an older white woman who got trampled – inadvertently, one would hope, but the visual evidence doesn’t look too good – by an approaching line of St. Louis police officers in riot gear. The other was St. Louis’ first woman mayor, whose house was damaged when a protest crowd tried to get her to come out of her house and either talk to them or (in an obvious parody of neighborly civility) loan them a cup of sugar.

The woman trampled by the police – Laura Jones, 63 – was arrested for interfering with a police officer. They claim she was told to move and arrested when she didn’t comply with orders (that is, after a little trampling). Charlie Brennan of KMOX, who would take the side of the police if they trampled his own mother, said he heard the woman telling other protestors she would shield them because “the police won’t bother an old lady.” Message sent: The St. Louis police will bother an “old lady,” even a white older woman, if she stands with the police accountability movement (and won’t move when ordered by police at a protest).

There always is a deep paradox in police policing a protest of police unaccountability. But who else are you gonna call? And if we were to impute some willful aggression to the police officers who walked over this woman – if we are to conjecture that they were doing a little more than “their job” –then they are only acting in their own ruthless self-interest. If enough older

white women were to line up with the police accountability movement, its public perception might change and its concerns might advance a little further. If you are a police officer interested in maintaining the status quo or rolling back scrutiny of police work to preObama, pre-Ferguson levels, then that “little old lady” shielding protestors is your enemy. Again, to be clear, this is a movement that starts with mostly armed black men being killed by heavily armed white men paid – by taxpayers of all races – to protect the public as agents of the government. It’s not about white women. But white women have gotten tangled up in it – even older white women who look like most cops’ grandma – and that changes things in St. Louis and America.

Mike Jones of our editorial board reminds us of Dr. King’s scorn and disappointment at the white moderate who holds back progress, Dr. King came to believe, even more than white supremacists hold back progress. The white moderate serves as the buffer to the white supremacist – the white moderate shields the white supremacist, much like this courageous woman shielded protestors. White moderates protect

Laura Jones, 63, was trampled by St. Louis police at a protest on Friday, September 15, the day of the Jason

verdict, then arrested and charged with interference. A man who tried to help her was pepper-sprayed.

white supremacists, even if they are not personally racist. It would be unfair to pivot from the role of the white moderate to Mayor Lyda Krewson. People who know her well assure us she is more liberal than her base of supporters in the recent mayoral contest (when she narrowly beat a brash, black female progressive), and she is right now confronting her first major crisis. We do not want this mayor to fail, because we would fail with her, and we believe she should be given an opportunity to show competent, compassionate leadership through a crisis whose proportions are not yet clear.

Krewson individually and politically had next to nothing to do with the Stockley verdict. ThenGov. John Ashcroft appointed Judge Timothy Wilson, the judge who absolved Stockley (another white Wilson causing St. Louis grief), and Stockley did not work for the city when Krewson was elected mayor. As a veteran alderwoman, she had minimal oversight over police and their training and discipline. But Jason Stockley is her problem now. A judge who interjects a wisecrack about “urban heroin dealers” into a ruling on a capital crime – where he is absolving a white cop who killed an “urban”

man who can’t even be charged with dealing heroin, let alone convicted, because a cop killed him before he could search him – is her problem now. A police force that tramples women who look not entirely unlike the mayor herself, because they are protecting protestors, is her problem now.

To be clear: We do not think the mayor is responsible for the Stockley verdict in any way. Though she is a servant of the people, we believe she deserves the privacy of her own home. Further, we think vandalism is a terrible way to advance social change, and a nuisance crime that should be investigated and punished fairly. We think it is wrong to damage the mayor’s home. We also think it is wrong to throw bricks at police officers. We understand the legitimate grief and rage many people rightly feel about the criminal justice system and the police in particular, but physical violence is not the way to proceed. Not even is it wrong in its own right to harm other people, it’s also a losing strategy. If you want to fight the police – physically fight them – you are going to lose in the end, in one way or another.

Above all, though, we side with the protestors in their deep sense of

wrong that drove them into the streets: It is wrong for police to keep killing black people. If we right that wrong, the opportunity for all of these others wrongs disappears. We remind the mayor of what her own appointed interim police chief said to news directors to help prepare them to cover the aftermath of the Stockley verdict: Pay attention to the message of the protestors. Don’t let their noisy – and, at times, destructive and self-destructive – tactics distract you from their message. And what they are telling you is that St. Louis needs more than just more police officers. We also need a police department that is better trained, better disciplined, and held more accountable. The police are paid agents of the government – paid by people of all races – who swore an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution, which extends equal rights and protections to all. Community trust in the police is essential to not only a just society, but to a stable and functioning society, as a string of cancelled public events in St. Louis since the Stockley verdict reminds us. If we don’t make the police more accountable and more worthy of the trust of all people, we will never get out of this hell we are in.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Stockley

Gardner wants Hawley to prosecute trooper traffic tickets

Hawley wants to prosecute more high-profile protestor arrests

The Missouri attorney general wants to get in on prosecuting Jason Stockley verdict protestors, as he steps past the 3,500 misdemeanor and traffic tickets written by the Missouri State Highway Patrol officers who were on traffic duty in St. Louis highways, under orders of Governor Eric Greitens Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley sent a letter dated September 16 to St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner, offering help in the more high-profile prosecution of demonstrators arrested following the Stockley verdict. Hawley has formed an exploratory committee to run for U.S. Senate in 2018.

the misdemeanor division of her office in prosecuting those 3,500 un-reviewed tickets and actions stacked up under their cooperative agreement with St. Louis Police and the Missouri Highway Patrol.

Back in July, the Highway Patrol began patrolling highways within the city limits under Greitens’ order in order to free St. Louis police to concentrate on crime, Greitens said. Thus far, their work has yielded over 3,500 tickets or actions.

At this pace, Gardner said the Highway Patrol is on track to add over 35,000 tickets or misdemeanors to the Associate Circuit Court docket within one year.

“My office stands ready to provide you with any assistance, support, and resources necessary to protect the lives, property, and constitutional rights of the residents of St. Louis,” Hawley’s letter read.

That offer of support and concern about her caseload, however, is not where her office needs Hawley’s help. There have only been four protest cases to the prosecutor by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, and Gardner’s office has it handled.

In her response, Gardner stated that her office is only “reviewing recommended charges for people arrested for alleged illegal conduct involving violence, assaultive behavior and/or destruction of property” and that police had not brought any charges related to rioting.

Wednesday morning, September 20, Gardner sent a letter to Greitens, asking him to direct Hawley instead to assist

“We cannot absorb what is tantamount to an unfunded mandate,” said Gardner. Traditionally, the bulk of traffic and misdemeanor matters have been handled by the St. Louis city counselor at a local level. “We are not staffed or funded to handle the additional workload presented by the Missouri Highway Patrol. The best and most valuable use of our limited resources and manpower is to protect public safety by addressing the rising violent crime facing our community.”

She said her office will continue to address the DWIs, outstanding misdemeanor warrants/arrests and all outstanding felony warrants/ arrests brought to the office by the Highway Patrol. Regarding protestor arrests, Gardner said police are bringing arrests for alleged illegal conduct involving non-violent trespass, non-violent civil disobedience to the City Counselor’s team for charging review. She added that incidents involving

nonviolent disobedience or non-assaultive behavior are not being referred to the circuit attorney for review for state charges.

Circuit attorney reacts to Stockley verdict

Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner stated:

“While officer-involved shootings are very difficult to obtain a guilty verdict, I am confident that we presented sufficient evidence at trial to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jason Stockley was guilty of murder in the firstdegree. But at end the day, it was Judge Timothy Wilson who served as the finder of fact and had the legal duty to determine the outcome of this case. As the circuit attorney, my obligation is to pursue justice and not just seek convictions. It is not my job to determine guilt or innocence; rather, it is my responsibility to present compelling evidence to a judge or jury to meet our legal burden. To that end, I am extremely proud of the hard work of the lead prosecutor in this case and as his team, my first assistant, Robert Steele, and assistant circuit attorneys Aaron Levinson and Devin Vincent, who worked tirelessly to present a compelling case.

“I remain committed to

doing whatever is necessary to hold individuals accountable for violating the laws of Missouri, regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, occupation or station in life. In the case of officerinvolved shootings, we must re-examine not just how we prosecute these cases but how we investigate them. The ability to have a comprehensive and objective investigation is critical to the unbiased pursuit of justice.”

City fiscal body approves police body cameras

A long back-and-forth between protesters and St. Louis’ Board of Estimate and Appointment ended in a successful agreement to bring body cameras to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

The proposal was brought to the board by Lewis Reed, the president of the Board of Aldermen. As Reed read the proposal and other board members began to ask questions, a large group of activists gathered in the room – the meeting drew a standingroom-only crowd – began to talk back.

“We’re tired of sitting,” a voice in the crowd said.

“They don’t protect us,” another said.

“Take care of the business now,” a third said.

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson began to question Reed about the cost of the contract, which had been provided to the other members of the board earlier that day. The contract is with Axon, the company formerly known as Taser. The company has a program which gives police departments free body cameras and unlimited cloud services to manage video evidence. After that, the cameras would each cost $1,000.

In response to Krewson questions, another protester called back with, “No amount of human life.”

“I agree with that,” Krewson said.

As protesters called on Comptroller Darlene Green to speak up, she too questioned the logic of accepting the contract with Axon.

It became clear there was a conflict between Green and Reed, who are both black, about how to handle the issue of body cameras. Reed wanted to move ahead with the proposal immediately, saying previous attempts to put off the issue had resulted in inaction. Green said the board had not been given enough time to consider and negotiate the contract.

“I don’t like that any time we have an issue regarding our people, you grandstand,” Green said, addressing Reed.

“Any time you stand up for your people, they call it grandstanding,” he said.

In 2015, Green was the member of the Board of Estimate and Appointments who spoke out in favor of body cameras. Reed, along with then-Mayor Francis G. Slay, raised a number of questions about how a body camera program would be implemented, including how it would be funded and how the city would negotiate with police unions.

St. Louis did not adopt

body cameras at that time, and still has not. This makes it the exception to the rule; 95 percent of large police departments nationwide either have already implemented body camera programs or are in the process.

Green, who has long argued for them, found herself on the other side of the issue.

“We need body cameras,” Green said. “We need police in this room right now.” She was met with a chorus of, “No, we don’t!” Constituents in the audience called upon Reed to set those concerns aside and vote for Reed’s proposal, which allows the city to return the cameras with no further commitment after 30 days if they do not want to continue.

“Show all these white people that we’re black and we can stand together,” one man in the audience said.

Protesters focused their pressure on Green and on the mayor, with some starting a chant of “Lyda Krewson, vote yes.”

The contentious conversation between the members of the board and the many gathered observers continued for about an hour and a half, and it was difficult for anyone to finish an unbroken thought. Krewson said Reed was speaking over her and Green rather than allowing them to participate in a meaningful conversation.

“I don’t understand why that is a productive way to conduct business with your two colleagues, who both want the same things you do,” Krewson said.

Ultimately, though, Reed, Green and Krewson were able to make an agreement. They voted to adopt the agreement with Axon and to reach a more permanent solution, allocating a yearly line item in the city’s budget for body cameras, by the end of the year. The motion passed with three votes in favor.

Photo by Vincent Lang

Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers worked a protest in St. Louis on Sunday, September 17. St. Louis

Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner wants Attorney General Josh Hawley to help her office prosecute all of the misdemeanor traffic tickets (more than 3,500) that troopers have been writing since Governor Eric Greitens deployed them to patrol St. Louis highways in July. Hawley had volunteered for the more mediagenic opportunity to prosecute protest arrests.

To help area children get vital dental care, Delta Dental of Missouri’s chief sales and marketing officer, Ed

By Eugene Robinson Washington Post

Mobile dental program gets $132K grant

Delta Dental of Missouri funds

Health Foundation

By Sandra Jordan

Of The St. Louis American

n “With Delta Dental of Missouri’s generous gift, we’re thrilled to be able to install a wheelchair lift in one of our two dental vans, so we can expand our care to children of all ability levels.”

– Byron Duvall, DDS

Delta Dental of Missouri donated $132,617 to the foundation’s mobile dental program. The mobile units provide comprehensive dental treatment for children in need, regardless of their families’ ability to pay. The foundation has two mobile dental vans, portable

(right), presented a donation for the Gateway to Oral Health Foundation mobile dental program to president, Byron DuVall, DDS, at the foundation’s open house event in St. Louis on September 16. equipment and dentistry teams to treat children at schools in 12 districts in St. Louis, as well as at daycare centers and preschools.

Delta Dental of Missouri’s charitable giving committee member and chief sales and marketing officer, Ed Pattarozzi, presented the grant check to Gateway to Oral Health Foundation President and CEO Byron Duvall, DDS at its recently completed offices at 2211 Olive St.

“With Delta Dental of Missouri’s generous gift, we’re thrilled to be able to install a wheelchair lift in one of our two dental vans, so we can expand our care to children of all ability levels,” said DuVall, co-founder of the non-profit that was started in 1996.

“The funds will also allow us to upgrade our x-ray sensors and dental software to facilitate

SSM Health offers free flu vaccinations Sat.,

Seven free flu clinics from 8 a.m. until noon

In an effort to reduce influenza risk for children, adults and their families, SSM Health is offering free flu vaccinations on Saturday, October 7 from 8 a.m. until noon at seven locations in the St. Louis area. According to the Centers for Disease Control, an annual seasonal flu vaccination is the best way to reduce chances of being diagnosed with influenza or spreading it to others. All SSM Health flu clinics are for available to individuals ages 9 and older. Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital is the only location that will vaccinate ages 6 months and above. For all of the flu clinics, vaccinations are available by injection only. There will not be a preservative-free option. Pregnant women are advised to obtain a flu shot from their primary care physician. No appointments are

October 7

necessary. Participants should wear loose-fit clothing. Flu shots will be given on a first-come, first-served basis and are available while supplies last. Locations of the free SSM Health flu clinics on Saturday, October 7 are:

SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital Drive-thru parking lot next to Ronald McDonald House 3450 Park Avenue Saint Louis, MO 63104

SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital Drive-thru Bellevue Ave. (one block south of Clayton Rd.) Richmond Heights, MO 63117

SSM Health St. Clare Hospital – Fenton Conference Center 1015 Bowles Avenue

See FLU, A13

The smartest, savviest people in Washington will tell you Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare for all” idea is dead on arrival, a waste of time and energy. But since those same smart, savvy people told you Donald Trump didn’t have a prayer of becoming president, I’d advise keeping an open mind. What the Vermont senator’s bill has going for it is simple: It’s the right thing to do. The issue is not whether we should have socialized medicine in this country. We already do – Medicare for everyone over 65; Medicaid for the indigent, the working poor and the disabled; the Children’s Health Insurance Program for minors in modest-income families. That’s a total of around 133 million Americans who already enjoy most of the benefits of a single-payer health system similar to those in other wealthy countries. The philosophical debate about whether government should play a major role in medical care is over, as evidenced by the GOP’s “repeal and replace” fiasco. In trying vainly to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, Republicans argued about how to subsidize health insurance, not whether to do so. The most conservative approach – working through the existing free-market, fee-for-service health care system mediated by private insurance companies – had already been tried. It is called Obamacare.

In the end, Republicans couldn’t pull the trigger. The question now is whether Democrats will continue to settle for halfmeasures or finally demand what the party has claimed to want for decades: fully universal health care as a right, not as a privilege.

Sixteen Democratic senators have announced support for Sanders’ bill, introduced September 13, “to establish a Medicare-for-all national health insurance program.” It is no accident that among them are such potential 2020 presidential hopefuls as Kamala Harris of California, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Al Franken of Minnesota. They probably believe, as I do, that the party’s activist base is ready to go big on health care, even if

Pattarozzi

Eugene Robinson

Public comments sought on state health insurance exchange rate hikes

Proposed rates for the 2018 Missouri health insurance exchange have been released by the Missouri Department of Insurance. Requested increases average between 35 and 42 percent according to a review by the department.

According to the Consumers Council of Missouri, these increases come with compromised transparency to the general public, allowing carriers to hide critical elements they are relying on to justify significant increases. While many states allow no redactions at all, Missouri insurance companies routinely omit reasons for increases from public documents. The council has requested more transparency from the state.

“Under Governor Greitens, the state has launched an initiative to increase transparency and within that framework, Consumers Council of Missouri submits a formal argument that the Department’s regulation 20 CSR § 10-2.400, on the redaction of trade secrets, should be updated to reflect what is required by law and that nothing that isn’t a trade secret should be withheld from the public,” the council stated.

“Insurance companies routinely designate a substantial amount of information in their rate filings as confidential which makes it virtually impossible for consumers to weigh in during federally mandated public comment periods. If we really want to increase transparency as a state, we should add transparency, we should start with the rising costs of health care.”

The Consumers Council of Missouri asks citizens to weigh in on these proposed rates within the 30-day comment period. Email cara@moconsumers.org if you’d like guidance on submitting comment. For more information on the council, visit https:// moconsumers.org.

Street medic to the rescue

Free Medicare service at Cardinal Ritter Senior Services

For 12 years, Cardinal Ritter Senior Services has helped local residents understand Medicare. That help has come through a partnership with CLAIM, the official state health insurance assistance program. They now have extended that service for an additional three years.

DENTAL

Continued from A12

treatment for the kids, as well as improve measurement of outcomes achieved for our patients.”

DuVall anticipates seeing a 15 percent increase in the number of patients treated each year, after van modification and digital upgrades funded by Delta Dental. In 2016, Gateway to Oral Health treated 10,301 children at daycare centers and at 162 area schools.

He said Ollie Fisher, DDS, director of quality control at the foundation, approached Delta Dental about the helping them meet the dental needs of children on a daily basis. Delta Dental of Missouri holds a Give Kids A Smile free dental care event during two-day dental clinics twice a year.

“He emphasized to them their dollars could reach more

MEDICARE

Continued from A12

the congressional leadership remains guarded and skeptical. Both Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi are studiedly noncommittal. There is, of course, the not-insignificant fact that Republicans control both the Senate and the House. Even though Trump has to be considered a wild card – he has, over time, taken every conceivable position on health care – it is hard to imagine this Congress jumping on the universal-care bandwagon. But what Sanders did with his insurgent campaign for the Democratic presidential

Partnership with state health insurance assistance program extended three years

Cardinal Ritter Senior Services will continue to provide a home for in-person meetings and access to equipment, such as a computer and telephone. Trained volunteers will continue working out of Florissant to provide free assistance to Medicare beneficiaries.

children if they were to give some assistance to a program like Gateway because we are there daily as opposed to twice a year,” DuVall said. “We’re hoping that it’s an ongoing relationship.”

“We share mutual goals with the foundation – to improve oral health and to bring dental care to those who need it the most,” Pattarozzi said. “We’re so glad to know that our contribution will help expand the reach of the foundation to touch even more lives in the communities we’re both privileged to serve.”

Gateway’s mobile dental teams provide preventive and restorative treatment, including exams, x-rays, cleanings, fluoride applications, sealants, fillings, extractions, root canals and stainless steel crowns. If a child has dental pain or a tooth injury, the team will provide an emergency appointment within 24 hours.

“Thousands of children in the metro area don’t have

nomination was to bring “Medicare for all” in from the fringe and make it an acceptable topic for public debate. Medicare is enormously popular among seniors because it works. Why wouldn’t it work for the rest of us?

Critics reply that it would be ruinously expensive. They point to a 2016 Urban Institute study projecting that “Medicare for all” would cost a staggering $32 trillion over the next decade. However, this assumes the federal government would take over all current health care spending by state and local governments, employers and individuals, which would add up to $26 trillion over that same period. Even if this money were paid to the government rather than to health providers and insurance

CLAIM leads a network of volunteers and organizations in Missouri dedicated to providing help with Medicare issues. CLAIM provides free and confidential Medicare assistance through a network of more than 300 certified volunteers. These volunteers answer questions about Medicare benefits, options and

changes.

CLAIM was founded in 1993 and has helped Missourians save millions in out-of-pocket expenses by helping beneficiaries understand their Medicare benefits and by providing enrollment assistance.The nonprofit program receives financial assistance from

the Administration for Community Living and the Missouri Department of Insurance. Services are provided by Primaris Foundation, a non-profit organization.

“As the Medicare program becomes increasingly complex, the need for these services grows,” said Carol Beahan, director of CLAIM. “Without organizations like Cardinal Ritter Senior Services, our program would not be possible.” For free Medicare assistance or to apply to become a volunteer, visit www.missouriclaim.org or call 1-800-390-3330.

access to proper dental care, and many live with constant tooth pain,” said Ollie Fisher, DDS, director of quality control at the Foundation.

“Delta Dental’s grant gives us the resources to provide this critical care to many more at-risk kids to improve the

companies, according to this analysis, there would still be a sizable gap to somehow fill. During last year’s presidential campaign, Sanders estimated that offering Medicare to all would cost $14 trillion over a decade and be offset by tax increases. He has not yet placed a price tag on the bill introduced this week. There is another way to look at costs, however. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in 2015 the United States spent $9,507 per capita on health care. That’s more than twice the amount spent per capita in Britain ($4,125), France ($4,530) or Canada ($4,533), all of which have universal health care. In rankings based on factors such as life expectancy and infant

quality of their lives, their self-esteem and their ability to concentrate, so they can thrive in school.”

In addition to providing dental care for area children during the school year, the Gateway to Oral Health Foundation teams will be able

mortality, the United States lags behind countries that spend much less on health.

As Trump and the Republicans in Congress discovered, health care is difficult. The details are devilish, but the big picture is clear: Our system is too byzantine, too expensive, too unfair. Other advanced nations produce better outcomes with single-payer systems that their populations would never trade for ours.

The ACA was a giant step on the road that leads logically to something very much like what Sanders is proposing. Progressives should take the next step by loudly and proudly proclaiming the destination.

Eugene Robinson’s email address is eugenerobinson@ washpost.com.

to give treatment to senior individuals at nursing homes during the summer months, following the installation of the dental van wheelchair lift.

“We did that this past summer and we are going to expand that program as well.” DuVall added.

FLU

Continued from A12

SSM

MO 63026

To learn more about the Gateway to Oral Health Foundation, call 314-8723930, email gtohfoundation@ sbcglobal.net or visit www. gtohfoundation.org.

SSM

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

A street medic helped a protestor recover from the effects of being pepper-sprayed during a protest over the not-guilty verdict in the Jason Stockley trial on Friday, September 15.

Using two mobile dental vans and portable equipment, the Gateway to Oral Health Foundation dentistry teams

provide care to children at schools in 12 St. Louis districts, and at daycare centers and pre-schools.

Get Moving!

try. (Or perhaps your class

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

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

> Sneeze into a tissue and immediately throw it away.

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

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

Learning Standards: HPE 3, NH 1, NH 7

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

5

CLASSOOM SPOTLIGHT

SCIENCE CORNER

Imagine you have the best chocolate chip cookie recipe that you like to make for family and friends. Imagine you sold this recipe to a company. Now, they need to produce thousands of cookies each day. Each cookie must be the same size and have the same taste. What kind of equipment would they use? How would the recipe change? How could they produce the cookies at a low cost? These are the questions for a chemical engineer. Chemical engineers use math, chemistry, and physics to solve problems, such as pollution. They design equipment and find ways to make chemicals. Chemical engineers work in labs, factories, or testing

What Is Chemical Engineering?

sites. In order to become a chemical engineer, you will need to earn your bachelor’s degree, taking courses in math, English, chemistry, biology, physics, social studies, and computers. Engineering majors often do projects as teams, so cooperation skills are very important. If you are a creative and curious person who loves math, logic, and solving problems, this is a good career for you.

Materials + Chemical Engineer + Manufacturing Facility = Cookies

SCIENCE INVESTIGATION

As you know, chemical engineers are good problem solvers. One method of problem solving is trial and error. That means, you try your idea and learn from any errors you make. Sometimes your ideas work well, sometimes they might need some revising. In this experiment, you are going to use your problem solving skills to create square bubbles.

Materials Needed:

• 1 Cup Liquid Dishwashing Soap

• 4 Teaspoons Sugar • 2 ½ Cups of Water • Mixing bowl • Spoon • Straws

• Wire Coat Hanger • Paper • Pencil

Directions:

q Mix the soap, sugar, and water in the mixing bowl to create a bubble solution.

MATH CONNECTION

For More Information and Interactive Games, Visit: www.discoverengineering.org.

Learning Standards: I can read nonfiction text to gain information about careers in math, science, and technology.

Square Bubbles?

w Working with a group, brainstorm ideas of how to create a device that will create square bubbles.

e Use trial and error to evaluate your ideas.

r Record your results on paper, noting what worked and what didn’t work. What changes did your group make?

t Discuss results as a class.

Discussion Questions: Did your group work well together? Were you able to create square bubbles? What method was the most effective?

Learning Standards: I can follow directions to complete an experiment. I can use trial and error to evaluate my ideas. I can work cooperatively with a group. Can You Recognize the pattern?

Calling all problem solvers! Put your skills to the test as you find the pattern in the following problems.

2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16

40, 36, 32, 28, 24, 20

3, 9, 15, 21, 27, 33, 39

24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84

3, 3, 9, 27, 243

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

Describe the pattern_______________________________________

Describe the pattern_______________________________________

Describe the pattern_______________________________________

Describe the pattern_______________________________________

Describe the pattern_______________________________________

DID YOU KNOW?

SCIENCE STARS

1ST FEMALE AFRICAN AMERICAN TO RECEIVE A DOCTORATE IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING: Lilia Ann Abron

Lilia Ann Abron was born on March 8, 1945, in Memphis, Tennessee, and was the first African-American woman in the nation to receive her doctorate degree in chemical engineering. Abron’s father was a principal and her mother was a school teacher who taught art and geography. Her parents and three siblings encouraged her interest in science and encouraged her education.

Abron earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1966 from Lemoyne College, her master’s degree in 1968 from Washington University, and her doctorate degree in 1972 from the University of Iowa.

Abron worked for the Kansas City Water Department and went on to become a research engineer for the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Chicago. She taught sanitary engineering at Tennessee State University, Vanderbilt University, and Howard University. Abron founded PEER Consultants, an environmental engineering consulting firm. PEER provides solutions to contamination problems to government and private industry clients. Some of Abron’s clients included the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy. Abron’s firm was active in the Boston Harbor cleanup and worked in South Africa to build energyefficient homes.

Abron is a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, the International Women’s Forum, the Water Environment Federation, American Water Works Association, and American Society of Civil Engineers. Abron has been active in the community, serving as the president of the Washington, D.C., chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., and as a board member of the Baptist Home for Children. She has received numerous awards, including the Hancher-Finkbine Alumni Medallion from the University of Iowa, the Magic Hands Award by Lemoyne-Owen College, and she was elected to the National Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has three sons and five grandchildren.

The water was so dirty in Boston Harbor that a song was written about it in 1966 by the Standells, called “Dirty Water.” In 1985, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) was created to clean up Boston’s Harbor. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calls Boston Harbor a “great American jewel.”

Discussion Questions: Dr. Abron’s consulting firm helps companies use resources to be less harmful to the environment. What are ways you can help the environment every day? What kind of city departments do you think need engineers? Why? Why is sanitary engineering important? Dr. Abron is active in many organizations to help her community. In what ways can you help your community?

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

Science involves identifying a problem and finding a solution. Find a newspaper story about a problem and a solution. Summarize the problem and solution in a paragraph. In addition to natural hazards, there are also chemical hazards (such as pollution), biological hazards (such as pollen and viruses), safety hazards (such as workplace safety, transportation), and personal hazards (such as smoking and drinking). Discuss the risk of these hazards, then find newspaper stories or pictures and identify the type of hazard that is illustrated.

Learning Standards: I can use the newspaper to find information. I can locate a problem and solution. I can categorize.

Mrs. Johnson’s Class - Woerner Elementary, SLPS

At Woerner Elementary School, Mrs. Freddie Johnson’s students Demarcus Merrill, Jason Conejo, Austin Lopez, Hunter Tebeau and Dion Krasniqi, learn how static electricity works from using an experiment found in the STEM page in the newspaper. Photo by Wiley Price Teachers, if you are using the St. Louis American’s NIE program and would like to nominate your class for a Classroom Spotlight, please email: csewell@stlamerican.com

Andrew Grove, the founder of Intel, majored in Chemical Engineering.

Photo/Technology Association of Iowa

Delmar Loop businesses take damage in stride

Business owner: ‘All kind of people, black, white, they were here supporting us’

Steven N. Cousins was selected by The Missouri Bar Foundation to receive the 2017 Martin J. Purcell award. The award acknowledges a Missouri lawyer who has consistently demonstrated exceptional competency, integrity and civility in both professional and civic activities. A nationally recognized bankruptcy practitioner, Cousins is a Financial and Real Estate Services partner in the law firm Armstrong Teasdale.

Melba R. Moore, acting director/ commissioner of health for the City of St. Louis Department of Health received the Equalizer Award in Health Education & Support from the Youth and Family Center in St. Louis. The Award was presented on August 31 at the YFC “Cruising to Cape Town, South Africa” FUNraiser.

Marcus Foston was awarded a five year, $250,000 grant from the American Chemical Society Herman Frasch Fund for Chemical Research to find a technology that will create greater value for lignin, a byproduct of paper and bioethanol production which is usually thrown away or burned. His expertise is breaking down lignin and turning it into useful products. Foston is an assistant professor in the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University St. Louis.

By

Restaurants and shops along the Delmar Loop in University City were bustling Sunday, hours after protesters took to the streets in the arts and entertainment district. On Saturday night, Delmar Boulevard was packed with people expressing outrage over a judge’s decision to find former St. Louis Police Officer Jason Stockley not guilty of first-degree murder in the 2011 death of Anthony Lamar Smith. The protests were peaceful, but after the official demonstration was over, there were some confrontations between protesters and police. Twenty-three businesses were damaged, with dozens of windows broken, according to the University City Police Department. There were no serious injuries, but officers

n “Nobody got hurt. Nothing was stolen or looted,” Rubin de la Borbolla said. “There wasn’t things put on fire.”

made 10 arrests and five people face various charges from looting to assault on a law enforcement officer, officials with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, St. Louis County Police and University City Police said. On Sunday, shoppers and families dining at restaurants mingled with volunteers who painted plywood covering broken storefront windows.

Artist Cornell McKay said he was taking a break from a nearby art project to help. McKay,

who is black, said he wanted to give people a different impression of young African-American men.

“Me and my cousin, we’re not protestors. We didn’t come out here to protest with the police or with the rioters. We just stood in the gap,” McKay said. “And we’re out here to help those business owners have a different perspective on the people who probably bust their windows.”

Chris Rubin de la Borbolla’s business, Oso Style Lab, had a double-paned window broken in front of a clothing display. But he took the damage in stride, saying he has insurance.

“There was a lot of really small glass all over the place,” he said. “Luckily, things were not destroyed. Not too much was broken.”

Oso was open for business Sunday, and

How about the people who use it?

By Frank Hamsher Guest columnist

Scottrade Center is once again in the headlines. The question isn’t whether the facility needs to be renovated but how to pay for it. The Political EYE in The American has rightly said the Scottrade situation is “all kinds of messed up.” Comptroller Darlene Green and Alderwoman Cara Spencer are spot on to raise questions. How to pay the millions in renovation costs for hockey facilities isn’t yet finalized, but the Blues are forging ahead with the work, assuming that city taxpayers will pick up the tab.

Frank Hamsher

This is a regional venue. It is a regional issue, not a city issue. But somehow it’s dumped in the laps of hardpressed city taxpayers to solve the problem. Most of the people who attend games and events there live outside the city. City residents are barely 10 percent of the region, and more than 30 percent are below the poverty line. About half of the city’s residents are African Americans, but only a tiny

n This is a regional venue. It is a regional issue, not a city issue.

fraction of hockey fans are African Americans. Just look around at a hockey game. Why should city residents pay about $3.5 million a year – for 30 years – to buy scoreboards, seats and ice chillers at a facility

Alvitta Ottley joined the Department of Computer Science & Engineering from Tufts University, where she recently completed a doctorate. Previously, she was a research intern for IBM Research and the Human-Centered Computing Lab at Clemson University and an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Washington University St. Louis.

Shamed Dogan was named the chair of the House Local Government Committee by House Speaker Todd Richardson. Dogan, a Republican state representative from Ballwin, said it is important that the same reforms enacted by the majority caucus are enacted with local governments to ensure that government operates in a transparent and fiscally responsible way. Dogan is a former alderman in Ballwin.

Ka’Trina Cannon Holt launched her 20-years-in-themaking debut novel, “A Rainbow Across St. Louis Skies: A Single Mom’s Urban Journey for a Slice of the American Pie” at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Atlanta. The Normandy High School graduate has worked as a court specialist for Child Support Enforcement, an in-home daycare owner, and a Dekalb County teacher.

On the move? Congratulations!

Steven N. Cousins

Camille Phillips Of St. Louis Public Radio

Marcus Foston

Alvitta Ottley

Black Lives Matter supporters pitched in to clean up after windows were smashed on the University City Loop when a confrontation between protestors and police got ugly following a peaceful protest action that already had concluded on Saturday, September 16.

Ka’Trina Cannon Holt

Shamed Dogan

Melba R. Moore

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Equifax data breach leaves at least 143 million consumers credit at risk

By Charlene Crowell Columnist

Record-breaking backto-back hurricanes in Houston and Florida brought unprecedented winds and rains affecting millions of Americans. Yet another storm just as brutal but financial in nature is also raging and affects at least 143 million Americans, as well as consumers in Canada and the United Kingdom: the Equifax data breach that took place from mid-May to July of this year.

On July 29, Equifax, one of the three major credit reporting corporations, discovered that unauthorized data access had occurred. Yet it was not until September 7 when the multi-national data breach was announced publicly. This massive cybersecurity breach includes federal income tax records, as well as employee records for government employees and those of Fortune 500 firms. Even recipients of major government programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are affected.

class action lawsuits are going after Equifax. As many as 50 have been filed in at least 14 states and the District of Columbia as of September 12. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is reportedly examining what went wrong from a criminal perspective.

On the civil side of the law, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is beginning its own independent investigation.

Now a growing number of bipartisan inquiries from Capitol Hill are demanding to know why these breaches of personally identifiable information (PII) came about, what actions Equifax took, and what the global firm intends to do on behalf of consumers whose names, birth dates, addresses, Social Security numbers and drivers’ licenses are all in jeopardy. Equifax also knew that an estimated 209,000 credit card holders and some 182,000 consumers in the U.S. who have a dispute on file with a creditor also had comprised PII.

“This hack into sensitive information compiled and maintained

For consumers, the personal information exposed to fraud and identity theft could mean a lifetime of closely monitoring and defending personal data to fight theft, fines and more. For businesses, questions will emerge as to whether millions of credit accounts were fraudulently opened and additionally whether they will be held partially responsible for its perpetuation. In reaction to this cybercrime, a surge of federal

“This hack into sensitive information compiled and maintained by Equifax is one of the largest data breaches in our nation’s history and someone has to be held accountable,” said Congresswoman Maxine Waters, the Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee in an article for Business Insider

“Given the important role credit scores play in the lives and financial futures of hardworking Americans, Congress must

diligently examine the way our credit reporting agencies are operating and impose additional statutory and regulatory reforms to protect the integrity of the country’s credit reporting system,” Waters continued.

In a September 11 letter to Richard F. Smith, Equifax’s Chairman and Chief Executive Office, the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee went further to pose a series of questions to be answered by September

26. Issues raised in the letter include binding arbitration clauses that deny affected consumers the right of class action lawsuits, the firm’s security systems and controls, how consumers can expect to be officially notified, and what, if any, protections Equifax will offer to affected consumers.

“The scope and scale of this breach appears to make it one of the largest on record, and the sensitivity of the information compromised may make it the most costly to taxpayers and consumers,” wrote Senators Orrin Hatch, Senate Finance Chair and Ron Wyden, the committee’s Ranking Member.

The following day, September 12, another letter to Equifax included questions on what data changes to Equifax’s security plans and procedures were made as this breach now becomes its third one in only two years.

Signed by 24 Members of Congress who serve on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, they represent 15 states. Three are also members of the Congressional Black Caucus: Representatives G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina, Brooklyn’s Yvette Clarke and Bobby L. Rush of Chicago.

“Your company profits from collecting highly sensitive personal information from American consumers – it should take seriously its responsibility to keep data safe and to inform consumers when its protections fail”, wrote the Representatives.

“The massive Equifax data breach is one of the largest in our country’s history, affecting half of the United States population and nearly three-quarters of consumers with credit reports,” said Chi Chi Wu with the National Consumer Law Center. “A security freeze is the most effective measure against “new account” identity theft, because it stops thieves from using the consumer’s stolen information.”

To follow Wu’s advice, consumers will need to contact all three of the major credit reporting bureaus and request that no new accounts be

HAMSHER

continued from page B1

that many of them will never be able to afford to visit? Meanwhile the other 2.5 million residents of the region, most of whom have much higher incomes, are not asked to pay anything. It doesn’t make sense. And there’s an obvious better solution staring us in the face: People who attend Scottrade events could easily pay to keep

opened in their names. Once requested, consumers will not be able to easily apply for new credit accounts or apply for a loan. An additional layer of precaution would be to contact every creditor and request that respective accounts be flagged for unusual or new credit activity. Detailed information on how consumers caught in the Equifax breach can take these and other steps to protect their credit is available on the Federal Trade Commission’s web.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also has another consumer-friendly rule that Congress is currently fighting: preserving the right for consumers to file lawsuits when financial disputes could not be resolved otherwise.

n For consumers, the personal information exposed to fraud and identity theft could mean a lifetime of closely monitoring and defending personal data to fight theft, fines and more.

Announced on July 10, Richard Cordray, CFPB Director explained why the rule is important.

“Arbitration clauses in contracts for products like bank accounts and credit cards make it nearly impossible for people to take companies to court when things go wrong,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “These clauses allow companies to avoid accountability by blocking group lawsuits and forcing people to go it alone or give up. Our new rule will stop companies from sidestepping the courts and ensure that people who are harmed together can take action together.”

Days later on July 20, Capitol Hill lawmakers turned to a seldom-used option, the Congressional Review Act, to deny the rule from taking effect. Sen. Mike Crapo, Chair

up the facility they use.

More than 750,000 people attend Blues games every year. Several hundred thousand more attend other events. Way over a million spectators a year go through Scottrade’s doors. The simple solution to pay to fix up Scottrade is $4 a ticket paid by those who attend games and events. Before we hear “fans can’t afford it,” keep in mind that the per-ticket service charge to process tickets is whole lot more than that already. Service charges on Blues tickets

of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, Chair of the House Committee on Financial Services announced a coordinated legislative attack to roll back CFPB’s arbitration rule. The law allows Congress to fast track a veto of new federal regulation with limited debate and a simple majority vote in each chamber.

On July 25, the House passed its resolution on a highly-partisan vote of 231190. To date, the Senate has yet to take a corresponding vote.

“The Equifax data breach is yet another reason to support the CFPB’s arbitration rule that would restore consumers’ day in court,” noted Melissa Stegman, a senior policy counsel with the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL).

“When a company has injured consumers, it should not also decide whether those affected have a right to pursue justice.

Although Equifax claimed it will not assert arbitration in the aftermath of its data breach, consumers must be able to challenge corporate wrongdoing in the courts and Congress should cease its efforts to quash the rule.” Congresswoman Waters prefers a legislative approach – one that will ensure this type of financial disaster from happening again.

“I have long advocated for an overhaul of our nation’s credit reporting system,” said Waters, “and I will reintroduce legislation that will enhance consumer protection tools available to minimize harm caused by identity theft.”

“Equifax proves why we must protect your right to join class actions,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren.

At this juncture, CFPB and at least 143 million American consumers would agree.

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

average over $10 a ticket. Even a $30 ticket to Disney on Ice carries a $7.60 service charge; concert service charges are as much as almost $20. Who can afford it better – hockey fans or the taxpayers of a city that’s almost broke? The people who use and benefit from Scottrade should pay to keep it up. This is a much better solution for everyone. Frank Hamsher is an independent public policy and communications consultant in St. Louis.

by Equifax is one of the largest data breaches in our nation’s history and someone has to be held accountable,” said Congresswoman Maxine Waters.

Charlene Crowell

Photo: CNN

Vianney picks up where they left off

2016 Class 5 state champs off to 5-0 start in 2017

Vianney emerged on the statewide scene last season by winning the Class 5 state championship with an impressive performance in the stretch run.

The Golden Griffins were 2-5 at one point of the season before surging all the way to their state title. Things are little different for Vianney this season as it has started the year with a 5-0 record behind an explosive offense and stingy defense.

Senior quarterback Tionne Harris has been impressive in his final run at the controls for the Golden Griffins, passing for 981 yards and 13 touchdowns and rushing for 425 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Kyren Williams is a dualthreat performer with 369 yards rushing and eight touchdowns and 22 receptions for 339 yards and six touchdowns.

Senior Percy Mitchell has rushed for 195 yards and a touchdown. The other top receiver is senior Zach Zerwig, who has 22 receptions for 334 yards and four touchdowns.

Vianney’s defense has several quality performers, led by senior defensive tackle Qadry Taalib with 36 tackles and a teamhigh seven quarterback sacks. Senior linebacker Jordan Guilfoy has 42 tackles and sophomore linebacker Devin Ward has a team-high 45 tackles. Junior defensive end Nate Thurman has five sacks while Mitchell has four sacks on defense.

*Lutheran North breaks its own record

It’s common for professional athletes to synthesize criticism and doubt into motivation. Since the beginning of time, athletes have used the doubt of others to fuel their success. For much of the modern sports era, athletes have used quotes from the media or opposing players and coaches as “bulletin board” material. However, the age of social media has given a loud voice to a slew of new critics – the fans. Most star athletes understand that harsh criticism from sports fans is the cover charge for fame and fortune. After all, this is the golden age of the internet troll. Everybody knows that the best way to get rid of trolls is by not to feeding them. Kevin Durant just gave Twitter trolls a meal to last a lifetime.

fans. When Twitter user @ ColeCashwell tweeted “…give me one legitimate reason for leaving okc other than getting a championship.” Durant’s response was much more than he bargained for. Whether by accident or on purpose, Durant responded from his official @KDTrey5 account. The newly-crowned NBA champion tweeted, “he didn’t like the organization or playing for Billy Donovan. His roster wasn’t that good, it was just him and russ [sic].”

Durant followed up with, “imagine taking russ off that team, see how bad they were. Kd can’t win a championship with those cats [sic].” The fact that Durant referred to himself in third person, led many to believe he was attempting to reply from

Durant, the reigning NBA Finals MVP, is suspected of attempting to use a secret account to counter-troll critical

Earl Austin Jr.

CLUTCH, B5

For once, Durant took the criticism on the chin, apologized and didn’t make any excuses.

Ishmael H. Sistrunk

“My peers are going to look at me like an idiot. All the jokes – bring ‘em. I deserve it.”

Kevin Durant

Career Academy’s John Tutwiler (6) makes his way to the end zone against Soldan Saturday afternoon. The Phoenix of Miller Career Academy defeated the Soldan Tigers 22-0.

Photo By Wiley Price

SportS EyE

With Alvin A. Reid

Vance Joseph quickly rising to vanguard of NFL head coaching ranks

The NFL has seven black head coaches and, while it’s early, one of its rookies has his team playing great football. Through his success, wit and bright smile, he is becoming a media darling.

Welcome to Denver, Vance Joseph Joseph’s Broncos are 2-0 after a 45-17 thumping of the visiting Dallas Cowboys. The Broncos completely shut down Ezekiel Elliott and made Dak Prescott look below average throughout last Sunday’s contest. Joseph, who was the Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator in 2016, inherited the top-flight defense, and all indications are he will make it even better.

Amazingly, the 44-year-old Joseph is also getting the best out of quarterback Trevor Simien too. Simien was 22-of-32 passing, 231 yards, four TDs and a 129.0 QB rating against the Cowboys.

SB Nation reported that “(Joseph’s) fingerprints are everywhere, from the meeting rooms to the players’ T-shirts, to the staff and to the playbook, all bearing the lessons he has learned and lived by as a player and coach.”

“It’s simple,” Joseph said.

“I didn’t want a bunch of messages where they’re long mission statements. I wanted just three or four things where we all could grab. It’s easy. ‘Championship habits.’ What’s that? It’s a lifestyle for us.”

His experience as a longtime assistant coach with several franchises prepared him to delegate responsibility – and stay out of the way.

“I’m not coaching a position and I’m not calling a defense,” Joseph said. “And that’s different for me. I want to get in there so bad and take over and micromanage, but I don’t want to do it to my guys. I’ve been micromanaged before and I didn’t like it.”

So far, so good for Joseph.

In a move that certainly had to be planned, the NFL had Joseph matched up against fellow black rookie head coach Anthony Lynn of the Los Angeles Chargers in a Monday night game on Sept. 11. Lynn, who came to the Chargers from Buffalo, took over a team that was fleeing San Diego and has found no real fan base in L.A.

He is 0-2 – but could be 2-0 if his field goal unit was about anything. A blocked attempt cost him a chance at over-

time at Denver. Last Sunday, before less than 30,000 fans at StubHub Field, a missed field goal resulted in a three-point loss to the Miami Dolphins. His task will be keeping his team on an even keel in the tough AFC West and changing his team’s history of losing close games.

“We talked about that a little bit in our team meeting,” Lynn told the L.A. Times.

“Some people say, ‘same old Chargers.’ It’s not the same old Chargers. We lost a couple of close games. We have 14 games left. We’ll see at the end. … I started out 0-2 last year [as an assistant at Buffalo] and we won the next four games.”

My guess is that Lynn will still be head coach when the Chargers begin sharing Stan Kroenke’s new football palace in Inglewood with the L.A. Rams in three years.

A couple of veteran black coaches, Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jim Caldwell of the Detroit Lions, have their respective squads off to 2-0 starts.

It’s hard to believe that Tomlin is just 45 years old, has won a Super Bowl and registered 103 career wins. He has never had a losing season in Pittsburgh. Yet he has detractors including CBS analyst Terry Bradshaw, who questioned his coaching ability last year.

There certainly will be head coaching positions coming open after the 2017 season and Pittsburgh owner Art Rooney II explained this week why it’s worth taking a chance on a Mike Tomlin.

“I probably would have told you then (in 2007) that Mike was not the guy we were going to hire,” he told the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

“He was on our list but only one year as a coordinator was the scary part, there’s no denying it. But every time we talked to Mike we felt better and better about him. He has that presence in a room that you look for; that you know will keep the players’ attention day in and day out.”

A great hire resulted and success has followed.

As for Caldwell, it seems he can’t win for losing. After going 9-7 and leading the Lions to the playoffs in 2016, many fans still wanted a change in Motor City.

He remains on a constant hot seat, but it is somewhat cooler after his team roared out of the gate 2-0, including a 24-10 thumping of the host New York Giants on Monday Night Football.

“I think across the board, the guys played tough and played well against a team that’s very difficult to beat,” Caldwell said. “I think our guys overall did a nice job.”

With the Lions hosting the defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, his team can show the NFL world it is for real.

If Caldwell can conquer the Green Bay Packers and win the division, he might have found a longtime home in Detroit. If not, he’ll be right back in hot water and most likely out of a job.

Hue Jackson and the Cleveland Browns are 0-2, but his team put up a scrap in the season’s first game before falling to Pittsburgh.

The Browns got blasted 24-10 at Baltimore and rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer struggled before, and after, briefly leaving the game in the second quarter with a migraine headache.

Jackson said Kizer won’t be shaken after his four-turnover performance and that he will remain the Browns’ starter.

“He’s not that kind of kid,” Jackson told Cleveland.com.

“He’s not going to get rattled by this. He’ll go back to work with more resolve. He’ll grow from this.”

Meanwhile in Cincinnati, Marvin Lewis and the Bengals are 0-2. Quarterback Andy Dalton (who obviously misses his former offensive coordinator and QB coach Hue Jackson) looks positively lost. Lewis is still haunted by the fact he has never won a playoff game – and he’s had seven chances. Unless his team’s season turns around immediately and dramatically, look for him to join some network’s NFL TV coverage.

I have no doubt New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles knows his stuff. But he’s not with a great organization, and his team has been stripped of many of its top players. He is not a high-octane, great personality guy and his team seems destined to win only a game or two. While it’s not his fault, I doubt he’ll be around after this season. Who should replace him?

The Jets, and any team with a vacancy, should schedule an interview with Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin

Taking it E-Z

Ezekiel Elliott is under scrutiny for not giving allout effort to chase defenders following two interceptions in Dallas’ loss at Denver last Sunday.

Head coach Jason Garrett said he planned to have a conversation with Elliott about his lack of hustle. Elliott rushed for under 10 yards and was a total non-factor in the game –but give him a break. It wasn’t the on-field defense that kept him bottled up and zapped his energy. Elliott is flat-worn out emotionally. It was obvious against the Broncos. On Monday, the NFL’s request to have an injunction lifted was rejected by the same court that slapped it on them. He didn’t know his fate on Sunday.

Elliott looks good to go for the rest of the season. He ultimately will serve some suspension time, but it looks like it won’t be in 2017. He was frazzled Sunday and emotionally spent. He’ll be back to normal by next week’s kickoff.

Don’t blame Dexter

While injuries have plagued him this year, Dexter Fowler has delivered for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017 – especially in Chicago last weekend. While the Cardinals were being swept, Fowler went 4-6 with a walk and he was hit by a pitch. His three-run home run on Sunday tied the game at 3-3 and gave the Redbirds hope that they could escape from Wrigley Field with one very vital win.

After falling behind 4-3, Fowler’s two-out ninth-inning blast fell just short being a home run and tying the game.

While his first half of the season was lacking, Fowler has now posted a respectable .261 batting average with 16 home runs and 55 RBIs. He has also scored 61 runs – on a team that just hasn’t score enough. While I’m not a big analytics fan, Tyler Brandt of Cardsblog.com uses data in his article, “Dexter Fowler Saved His Own Season.”

“Dexter Fowler isn’t a perfect player, but he never was. There was always a chance that Fowler would end up a poor fit in the field. And the team knew that he was unlikely to carry over his .350 Batting Average on Balls in Play from last year,” he wrote.

“Similarly, he isn’t the guy who is hitting .350 on balls in play since June 15. Fowler’s second half just proves that he isn’t what we saw in the first half.

“The Fowler contract looked like it was going to be terrible for those first 64 games. Fowler was on pace for a season worth 1-1.5 wins above replacement. Now, it looks about the same as it did when he signed the contract. … Fowler is once again a high on-base player and a valuable asset. That is exactly what the Cardinals needed Fowler to show in the second half.”

Alvin A. Reid is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook, is a weekly contributor to “The Charlie Tuna Show” on KFNS and can also be heard on Frank Cusumano’s “The Press Box.” His Twitter handle is #aareid1.

Alvin A. Reid

Vance Joseph’s Broncos are 2-0 after a 45-17 thumping of the visiting Dallas Cowboys.

InsIde sports

With Earl Austin Jr.

Some area hoop stars give oral commitments

Former CBC gridiron star Tre Bryant off to fast start at Nebraska

Some of the St. Louis area’s top prep basketball standouts have given verbal commitments to their chosen colleges this week.

Kale Catchings of Wentzville Liberty is headed to the Ivy League after giving a commitment to Harvard University on Monday night.

The 6’5” senior forward is the No. 12 ranked player in the Prep Hoops Missouri Class of 2018 rankings. Catchings chose Harvard over Brown, Evansville,

CLUTCH

Continued from B3

“I own up to it. I want to move on from it,” Durant told USA Today’s Sam Amick.

“My peers are going to look at me like an idiot,” he added. “All the jokes – bring ‘em. I deserve it.” Durant apologized to Billy Donovan and the Oklahoma City Thunder for his comments, but the damage is done.

A player who fought through unwarranted criticism for putting himself in the best position to succeed on the basketball court just gave the Twitter trolls unlimited ammunition. Durant’s seeming desire to be loved and respected by all isn’t just unrealistic, it’s a liability. He admitted that he couldn’t sleep for two days after the incident, and the predictable Twitter roasting, became public. Durant essentially showed everyone that his sensitivity to criticism can be a weakness. Instead of worrying about what us fickle fans think or putting so much energy into clapbacks, Durant should just channel the hate into buckets. He should block shots like the POTUS blocks Twitter users. He should stay focused on winning championships, not Twitter wars.

As a strong advocate for players not needing to “just stick to sports,” I’m not suggesting that Durant should not tweet to or disagree with fans at all. I’m simply pointing out that it’s dangerous to expend so much energy trying to gain universal love and admiration. It’s just not going to happen.

PREP

Continued from B3

On opening night, Lutheran North broke a single-game scoring record when it defeated Orchard Farm 79-7. The Crusaders broke that record last Saturday when it defeated Metro League foe John Burroughs 82-14 last Saturday. The Crusaders rushed for a total of 533 yards and averaged more than 14 yards a carry during their rout of the Bombers. Seniors Nick Lotts and Donovan Marshall both rushed for 176 yards and two touchdowns while senior

t

Cleveland State and several other schools. He was a threeyear starter at CBC before transferring to the Liberty for his senior season.

As a junior at CBC, Catchings averaged 16.6 points and 6.1 rebounds while shooting 51 percent from the field and 77 percent from the free throw line in leading the Cadets to a 20-10 record and a berth in the Class 5 state quarterfinals.

Kirkwood High girls’ standout Jaidah Stewart gave a pledge to the University of

Minnesota on Monday afternoon. The 5’9” Stewart is one of the state’s top guard prospects.

Stewart transferred to Kirkwood after a stellar three-year run at Webster Groves, where she scored 1,514 points in her career. As a junior, Stewart averaged 18.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.3 steals while shooting 46 percent in leading Webster Groves

to a 17-12 record. St. Mary’s boys’ standout Yahuza Rasas gave a verbal pledge to Lindenwood University last week. The 6’6” Rasas will be entering his fourth season as a starter with the Dragons. As a junior, Rasas averaged 12.9 points and 7.7 rebounds while blocking 77 shots and shooting 61 percent from the field in helping St.

Most fight observers saw a close and exciting fight between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin. Judge Adalaide Byrd somehow saw a 118-110 blowout in favor of Alvarez.

Also, when it comes to defeating online trolls, as they say, “the internet is undefeated.”

Byrd trolls Golovkin

Speaking of trolls, boxing judge Adalaide Byrd trolled the heck out of Gennady Golovkin with her ridiculous 118-110 card in favor of Canelo Alvarez during Saturday’s middleweight championship fight. The fight

Canaan Brooks rushed for 138 yards and five touchdowns.

Lutheran North is currently 5-0 and averaging 63 points a game.

Miller Career Academy gets defensive

Miller Career Academy took down Soldan 14-0 in a key Public High League contest at Soldan last Saturday afternoon. The Phoenix used a great defensive effort to hold down a very potent Soldan passing game. Garrett Burton had a teamhigh 10 tackles while Johnrico Parker had six tackles and one sack. The Phoenix had four quarterback sacks on the after-

st. LouIs AmerIcAn prep AthLete of the Week Marquis

Fort Zumwalt West – Football

The senior wide receiver enjoyed a big day in lead-

down on a 95-yard kickoff return in the third quarter. For the season, Majors has 33 receptions for 554 yards and nine touchdowns. As a junior, Majors had 70 receptions for 828 yards and 12 touchdowns. He was also a starting guard on Fort Zumwalt West’s district championship team in basketball.

a

was fairly close, though a majority of onlookers seem to believe that Golovkin won (this writer included). Somehow, Byrd managed to come up with a completely lopsided score in favor of Alvarez that bewildered everyone.

Judge Dave Moretti scored the bout 115-113 for Golovkin and Don Trella scored it even at 114-114. Both cards were respectable, considering the ebb and flow of the fight. Alvarez controlled the early

noon. On offense, Deon Parlow rushed for 176 yards on 18 carries and scored a touchdown.

Miller Career Academy is currently 3-0 in PHL play with games against Roosevelt and Gateway STEM still on tap.

Cole Mueller runs wild

Junior running back Cole Mueller of Holt enjoyed a huge night in the Indians’ 60-48 victory over Liberty last Friday night. Mueller rushed for 479 yards on 40 carries and scored six touchdowns on runs of 83, 10, 73, 1, 1 and 18 yards. For the season, Mueller has rushed for 1,446 yards and 17 touchdowns.

rounds and came back strong near the end of the fight. Golovkin controlled the middle rounds.

If Alvarez was given the benefit of the doubt in all of the close rounds, the best he should’ve walked away with is a draw. There’s simply no comprehensible way that Alvarez won 10 of the 12 rounds as Byrd scored it.

I’m not sure if Byrd was binge watching Power, setting up her MyPlayer on NBA

Top Games of the Week

Lutheran South (3-2) at Lutheran North (5-0), Friday, 7 p.m.

Francis Howell (4-1) at Fort Zumwalt West (3-2), Friday, 7 p.m. CBC (4-1) at SLUH (3-2), Friday, 7 p.m. Parkway North (3-1) at Ritenour (5-0), Friday, 7 p.m. Fort Zumwalt North (5-0) at Holt (2-3), Friday, 7 p.m. Ladue (3-2) at Parkway West (5-0), Saturday, noon Gateway STEM (3-2) at Soldan (3-2), Saturday, 1 p.m.

Miller Career Academy (3-2) at Hogan Prep (4-1), Saturday, 1 p.m. John Burroughs (2-3) at MICDS (3-2), Saturday, 2 p.m.

Mary’s to a 24-5 record and a berth in the Class 4 sectional playoffs. Rasas begins his senior season with 1,010 points in his career.

Tre Bryant off to a fast start at Nebraska

Former CBC football standout Tre Bryant is off to a fast start during his sophomore season at Nebraska. In his first two games, the 5’11” 200-pound sophomore running back has rushed for 299 yards

2K18 or watching ‘iPhone X vs Note 8’ videos on YouTube, but she certainly wasn’t paying attention to the fight in front of her.

According to The Telegraph, Bob Bennett, the executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission is preparing to give Byrd “a small break.”

“I’m not going to put her right back in,” Bennett said.

“She’ll still be in the business, but she needs to catch her breath.”

and two touchdowns while averaging six yards per carry. Bryant rushed rushed for 192 yards and a touchdown in the Cornhuskers’ opening season victory over Arkansas State. He added another 102 yards and a touchdown in a 42-35 loss to Oregon.

Bryant sat out Nebraska’s game with Northern Illinois last Saturday and his loss was clearly felt as the Cornhuskers dropped a 21-14 decision in one of the biggest upsets of the weekend.

This isn’t the first time that Byrd has put forth a wildly disputed scorecard. In 2008, she scored the bout between Bernard Hopkins and Joe Calzaghe 114-113 for Hopkins despite a clear victory for Calzaghe (who earned a split decision victory). Byrd was summarily dragged on social media for her atrocious score in last weekend’s bout. Fortunately for her, there are no reports of her going undercover to defend the card. If she wants to outsource the job, I know a guy.

Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @ IshmaelSistrunk

the st. LouIs AmerIcAn coLLege AthLetes of the Week

Deantrell Prince

Lindenwood University – Football

The junior wide receiver from Christian-O’Fallon High enjoyed a big performance in the Lions’ loss to Washburn last Saturday. The 5’11” 218-pound junior caught six passes for 116 yards, which were both season highs. For the season, Prince has 11 receptions for

199 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 18.4 yards per catch. During the 2016 season, Prince was second on the team in receiving with 51 receptions for 579 yards and eight touchdowns. He was an Honorable Mention AllMIAA selection.

Ifeoma Ufondu

Washington University – Volleyball

The junior outside hitter from Lancaster, California has been one of the top performers for the Bears during the first month of the season. The 6’0” Ufondu had a career best 20 kills in a victory over St. Mary’s (Minn.) last week. She currently leads Washington U. in kills with

132 this season. As a sophomore, Ufondu was selected to the AllUniversity Athletic Association Second Team. She was also named to the All-Whitewater Regional team after the Bears’ participating in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Earl Austin Jr.

Her awful scorecard has earned her

“small break” from judging fights.

LOOP

continued from page B1 the boutique has had a lot of support from neighbors and customers, Rubin de la Borbolla said.

“Nobody got hurt. Nothing was stolen or looted,” Rubin de la Borbolla said. “There wasn’t things put on fire.”

Protestors said they wanted to air their concerns at the Delmar Loop – as they did Saturday at the West County Center mall in Des Peres –because they wanted to send a message to people with comfortable lives.

“We going to disrupt, the same thing we said two weeks ago. We’re going to disrupt the whole city,” activist Tory Russell said Saturday. “The message right now is: ‘Stop killing us.’”

That’s how they’ll send a message about systemic injustice, according Blake

Strode, an attorney for Arch City Defenders, a civil rights law firm. He said people upset by the judge’s decision to find Stockley not-guilty want others to know about the lives of poor people and people of color that are destroyed by the system.

“People only pay attention when they are inconvenienced,” Strode said. “There are people for whom these issues of race and justice are not on their radar. The goal of protesters is to put it on their radar – and you can’t do that without going where they are.”

The protests continued Sunday outside St. Louis police headquarters, where the crowd blocked 20th and Olive streets.

“They say we can’t organize; we look pretty organized right now,” one protest leader said. “We’re gonna take some time and we’re gonna show our anger, our frustration, by chanting together all at once. Nobody’s smiling today. This is not a smiling matter ... I am an angry

black woman because they keep killing us.”

Back in University City, a Syrian restaurant was closed Sunday afternoon so workers could finish covering three broken windows.

Ranoush owner Aboud Alhamid said he closed early Saturday because of the protests, and is losing business while workers clean up the mess.

Alhamid said there was a lot of glass in the restaurant’s kitchens, on tables and chairs. But he was glad nobody was hurt.

“Money comes, money goes,” he said. “It’s tough. It’s like, really hurting inside. But at the same time I’m so happy from the community, everybody comes to help me clean up my restaurant. All kind of people, black, white, they were here supporting us.”

Follow Camille on Twitter: @cmpcamille.

Reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.

Financial Focus

By Aaron Ezell

Five tips for women business owners

you

Community members clean up Plowsharing Crafts after windows were smashed on the University City Loop when a confrontation between protestors and police got ugly following a peaceful protest action that already had concluded on Saturday, September 16.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Up close and personal with Mary J. Blige

Singer shares emotional wounds during phenomenal ‘Strength of

a Woman’ tour

By Kenya Vaughn

Of The St. Louis American

“There’s a special place in hell for [n-word expletive] like you,” Mary J. Blige sang during “Set Me Free,” the anchor single from her “Strength of a Woman” album. The jab was meant for her ex, Kendu Isaacs. It was one of many that took place over the course of the night. Just like the record for which the tour is named, Blige was completely transparent during her return to St. Louis Wednesday night before a soldout crowd at The Fox Theatre. In her typical fashion, she used her pain to fuel her craft – and delivered a performance that will have fans hailing her as the queen of hip-hop soul until the hereafter.

Blige made it clear from the beginning of the show that that she is a woman scorned. But just like she has done through her music over the past 25-plus years, she hit the road to show that she is also an overcomer – and to inspire her legion of fans by working through the pain of her current divorce drama as proof. Except for a few vocal glitches, everything about her latest stop in St. Louis was absolutely perfect. She created a new “my favorite Mary J. Blige concert” moment for her fans with this performance. The show was billed as “An Evening with Mary J. Blige,” and that’s exactly what she offered. There was no opening performance. And Blige poured her soul on the stage for what felt more like an edge of your seat, tellall biographical musical one-woman show than a traditional concert.

“Can I talk to y’all St. Louis?” Blige asked more than once over the course of

See MARY, C4

Marching with the masses

‘Marshall’ and justice

East St. Louis native Reginald Hudlin’s new film sheds light on long history of systemic racism

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

When director, producer, filmmaker and East St. Louis native Reginald Hudlin called The American on Friday to talk about his upcoming film “Marshall,” protests were underway in downtown St. Louis. Earlier that morning, Judge Timothy Wilson handed down a not guilty verdict in the murder trial of former St. Louis Police officer Jason Stockley for the 2011 shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith.

“I know things are bananas at home right now,” Hudlin said. “I’m hoping movies like this create a better consciousness about actions like that. When you see the specifics of how institutional racism works, I think that changes people.”

The film, which Hudlin directs, opens in theatres nationwide on October 13. “Marshall” centers around a 1941 case where a black driver is accused of raping his wealthy white employer’s wife. A young Thurgood Marshall – who was 32 at the time, but had already argued before the United States Supreme Court – was sent to Connecticut to work on the case by the NAACP. The judge would not allow him to represent the accused. Marshall is forced to team up with a

Jewish lawyer with zero experience with criminal trials, and be silent in the courtroom as the case is presented.

“This was a really crucial case as far as forming his career,” Hudlin said about the story that unfolds over the course of the film. “I’ve been playing the film to audiences for the past month and people have left theatre saying, ‘I didn’t know about this part of his life – or about who he really was as a person,’ because the film captures the spirit of the type of person he was.”

Before he became the first African-American U.S. Supreme Court Judge, even before he argued the landmark Brown vs. The Board of Education case, Marshall was a gifted and hungry attorney that fought for change in a system built with the odds stacked against people of color. Hudlin has always felt that Marshall was an underrated hero in Black History when it comes

With her attorney Lisa Bloom, Montia Sabbag faced cameras Wednesday and said she was in an “intimate relationship” with the actor about a month ago and was unknowingly photographed in the process.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Josh Gad, Chadwick Boseman and Sterling K. Brown in a scene from the film “Marshall.”

Film and television star Nick Cannon took time before performing as part of Hot 104.1 FM’s presentation of his Wild’N Out Live show to demonstrate with protesters Saturday evening as they marched down Delmar in the U. City Loop. Cannon shouted out protesters, activists and the entire city for standing up against injustice as soon as he stepped on stage at The Ambassador Saturday night.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

How to place a calendar listing

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

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

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

concerts

Thur., Sept. 21, 7 p.m., St. louis Public Library presents Not So Quiet! Live on Olive: Kim Massie. 1301 Olive St., 63103. For more information, visit www.slpl.org.

Thur., Sept. 21, 8 p.m., Let’s Start the Music feat. Brian Owens. A performance of Michael Jackson’s “Off the Wall “album. Proceeds benefit Let’s Start, a program for families impacted by incarceration. Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Fri., Sept. 22, 8 p.m., Blueberry Hill presents Kahsan. 6504 Delmar Blvd., 63130. For more information, visit www.blueberryhill.com.

Sun., Sept. 24, 7 p.m., From the Soul – Unplugged Acoustic Show feat. Drew “X-Man” Exum & the X-Men Band. Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Sq., 63108. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Sun., Sept. 24, 6:30 p.m., The Sheldon Concert Hall presents Black Violin. 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Sun., Sept. 24, 6:30 p.m., The Sheldon Concert Hall presents Black Violin. 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Sun., Sept. 24, 5 p.m., The Signature Club presents the Branson Motown Revue. 9002 Overland Plaza, 63114. For more information, visit www.thesignatureclub.com.

Wed., Sept. 27, 8 p.m., The Monocle presents David Ryan Harris. 4150 Manchester Ave., 63110. For more information, visit www. ticketfly.com.

Fri., Sept. 29, 5 p.m., National Blues Museum presents Howlin’ Fridays Concert Series with Annika Chambers. 615 Washington Ave., 63101. For more information, visit www. nationalbluesmuseum.org.

special events

Thur., Sept. 21, 5:30 p.m., Community Action Agency of St. Louis County invites you to the Doors of Opportunity Fundraiser. Join us for a fun evening to raise funds to help move people from poverty. 2050 Dorsett Village Plaza, 63034. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Thur., Sept. 21, 6 p.m., City of St. Louis Government invites you to a Town Hall Meeting. Mayor Lyda Krewson and other department heads will answer your questions. St. Louis Public Library, Carpenter Branch, 3309 S. Grand Blvd., 63118. For more information, visit www.stlouis-mo.gov.

Fri., Sept. 22, 7 a.m., McDonald’s presents the Scramble for Charity Golf Tournament. Proceeds benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of St. Louis. The Legends Country Club, 625 Legends Parkway, 63025. For more information, visit www. rmhcstl.com/scramble/.

Fri., Sept. 22, 8 a.m., Mosaic Ceiling presents Women of Color & Culture Power Summit. Join us for networking, speakers, panels, breakout sessions, and more. Four Seasons Hotel, 999 N. 2nd St., 63102. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sept. 22 – 24, Greater St. Louis Hispanic Festival. We will have authentic food from Latin & South America, over

The Guide

Kenya Vaughn recommends

70 booths, a kid’s corner, and a low rider car cruise. For more information, visit www. hispanicfestivalstl.com.

Sat., Sept. 23, 8 a.m., Strut Your Mutt 2017. Join us for a 1 – 2 miles walk to raise money for animal welfare organizations. Tower Grove Park, 4256 Magnolia Ave., 63110. For more information, visit www.support.bestfriends. org.

Sat., Sept. 23, 9 a.m., Women in Aviation St. Louis presents Girls in Aviation Day 2017. Learn about being a professional pilot, control a pretend air traffic control tower, and more. Lambert Field, 63044. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sat., Sept. 23, 10 a.m., Chefs Cook Real Cook-Off Challenge. Five of the area’s best chefs will compete. Try food from each chef, vote for your favorite and support your local farmer’s market. Midtown Farmers Market, 6655 Delmar Blvd., 63130. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Sat., Sept. 23, 1 p.m., Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Phi Nu Zeta Chapter presents Be Lifted Up! Come out for a free bra fitting. St. Louis County Library, Florissant Valley Branch, 195 S. New Florissant Rd., 63031. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Sat., Sept. 23, 6 p.m., The St.

Louis American Foundation presents the 30th Annual Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship & Awards Dinner. America’s Center, 701 Convention Plaza, 63101. For more information, call (314) 533-8000.

Sat., Sept. 23, 9 p.m., Rollin’ for Backstoppers Skate Jam. Skate King, 6100 Natural Bridge Rd., 631231. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Wed., Sept. 27, The Nine Network and Express Scripts present Connect in the Commons. Mix and mingle with St. Louis’ next generation of leaders while learning about nonprofits and how to get involved. 3653 Olive St., 63108. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Fri., Sept. 29, 5 p.m., Jazzmine Marie Nolan Foundation Charity Event. Join us for food, music, and a speaker, while also learning about our programs aimed at ending youth homelessness. 11836 West Florissant Ave., 63033. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Fri., Sept. 29, 8 p.m., The Sumner Alumni Association presents its Maroon & White Homecoming Dance, Machinist Hall, 12365 St. Charles Rock Road 63044. For tickets, call 314.556.3944 or 314.452.1275. For more info email: sumneralumniassn@ yahoo.com.

St. Louis Art Museum presents Conversation with the Artist: Mickalene Thomas. See ART for details.

Sat., Sept. 30, 11 a.m., Brains, Beauty & Brunch. Industry professionals will their journey, and discuss entrepreneurship and what it takes to thrive in business. .Zach Urban Ballroom, 3224 Locust St., 63103. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sat., Sept. 30, 8 p.m., The Factory Fashion Show and Night Market. Preview clothing lines from some of St. Louis’ best local designers. 2720 Cherokee St., 63118. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sun., Oct. 1, 3 p.m., Pretty Girls Rock presents the Walking Pretty Fashion Show. The Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry Rd., 63136. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

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

Oct. 7 – 8, 3rd Annual St. Louis Natural Hair and Black Cultural Expo 2017. We will have vendors, natural hair care classes, demonstrations, a fashion show, and more. Holiday Inn Downtown, 811 N. 9th St., 63101. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

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

comedy

Sept. 15 – 16, Helium Comedy Club presents Sherri Shepard. 1151 St. Louis Galleria, 63117. Sept. 15 – 16, The Laugh Lounge presents Tony Roberts. 11208 W. Florissant Ave., 63033. For more information, visd., 63120. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

literary

Fri., Sept. 22, 7 p.m., Pulitzer Arts Foundation presents the 100 Boots Poetry Series: Wendy Xu & Rickey Laurentiis. Xu is the author of Phrasis, and Laurentiis is the author of Boy with Thorn 3716 Washington Blvd., 63018. For more information, visit www.left-bank.com.

Sat., Sept. 23, 10:30 a.m., Central West End Scene and Left Bank Books present BookFest St. Louis. Featuring locally and internationally renowned writers, speaker panels, activities, and more.

4715 McPherson Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www.bookfeststl.com.

Sat., Sept. 23, 12 noon – 3 p.m., Author Lewis Diuguid will sign and discuss his latest book Our Fathers: Making Black Men, George B. Vashon African American Museum, 2223 St. Louis Ave.

Tues., Sept. 26, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books hosts author Dan Jones, author of The Templars: The Rise and Spectacular Fall of God’s Holy Warriors. The true story of the Christian warriors shrouded in myth. 399 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www.leftbank.com.

Wed., Sept. 27, 7 p.m., St. Louis on the Air welcomes author Nick Pistor, author of Shooting Lincoln: The Race to Photograph the Story of the Century. The story of two media pioneers who raced to “shoot” Lincoln in the days after he died and the assassins on the day they died.

Sat., Sept. 30, 4 p.m., Don’t Call it a Comeback: Beating the Odds Book Release Party with author Sherrod Tunstall. Come out for music, a book discussion, a raffle, and more. Legacy Books and Café, 5249 Delmar Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com

Thur., Sept. 21, 6 p.m., Contemporary Art Museum presents Perspective: Artist on Artist – Vivian Watt. Watt performs in response to our fall exhibitions through dance. 3750 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.tinyurl.com/ vivianwatt.

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

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

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

lectures and workshops

Fri., Sept. 29, 5:30 p.m., Artists First presents HeART of the City. We are a nonprofit open art studio for adults with disabilities, youth with and without disabilities, and Veterans. Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 Union Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. artistsfirststl.org.

Wednesdays, Sept. 20 – Oct. 5, 6:30 p.m., The Missouri Bar presents the 2017 Mini Law School for the Public. Learn about the courts, jury trials, landlord-tenant law, lawsuits and more. S. Central Ave., 63105. For more information, call visit www. missourilawyershelp.org/minilaw-school.

Thur., Sept. 21, 6:30 p.m., Overcriminalization – How’d We Get Here and Where Do We Go? A presentation and panel discussion on the politics of mass incarceration. Harmon Hall, Lindenwood, 209 S. Kingshighway, 63301. For more information, visit www.lindenwood.edu.

Wed., Sept. 27, 6:30 p.m.,

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

Sat., Sept. 30, 1:30 p.m., Black Jurors Matter Campaign. Speaker William Snowden, J.D. will discuss the discriminatory practices of removing jurors from the jury panel. Legacy Books and Café, 5249 Delmar Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

Sat., Oct. 7, 10 a.m., Women on a Rise presents Speak Out: Domestic Violence Awareness Event. Gain awareness about domestic violence, healthy relationships,

and more. Youth and Family Center, 818 Cass Ave., 63106. For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

theatre

Through Sept. 24, The St. Louis Black Repertory Company will open their 41st season with Colman Domingo’s new comedy DOT. The Edison Theatre on the campus of Washington University. For more information, visit www. theblackrep.org or call (314) 534-3807.

Oct. 3 – 15, Fox Theatre presents The Bodyguard The Musical Deborah Cox stars in this story of a former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard is hired to protect a superstar from an unknown stalker. 527 N. Grand Blvd.,

63103. For more information, visit www.fabulousfox.com.

health

Fri., Sept. 22, 6 p.m., Sickle Cell Town Hall Meeting. Christian Hospital, 11133 Dunn Rd., 63136. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sat., Sept. 23, 7:30 a.m., 100 Black Men of Metropolitan St. Louis and St. Louis and The Prostate Cancer Coalition present the 15th Annual Community Health Day and Prostate Cancer Run/Walk, Harris-Stowe State University. For more information, visit http:// www.100blackmenstl.com/ community-health-day.html

Sat., Sept. 23, 9 a.m., Taking Control Of Your Diabetes

Conference & Health Fair. America’s Center, 701 Convention Plaza, 63101. For more information, visit www. tcoyd.org.

Sat., Sept. 23, 11 a.m., Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Xi Zeta Chapter presents a Sickle Cell Awareness Month Blood Drive. University City School Administration Building, 8136 Groby Rd., 63130. For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

Sat., Sept. 23, 12 noon, Recovery Walk to help raise awareness on addiction and put a new look to recovery. O’Fallon Park Recreation Complex, 4343 W. Florissant.

Sun., Sept. 24, 7 a.m., Pancreatic Cancer Action Network presents Purple Stride 2017. Join us for a 5K run or family-friendly walk as make strides against pancreatic cancer. 5595 Grand Dr., 63112. For more information, visit www.purplestride.org.

Tues., Sept. 26, 2 p.m., Seniors Home Care presents Understanding Chronic Lung Disease in Adults. Learn information and tools to use when caring for a loved one with chronic lung disease. 504 Marshall Ave., 63119. For more information, visit www. seniorshomecare.com.

Fri., Sept. 22, 7 p.m., Kingdom Promotions hosts Tamela and David Mann’s World Tour – Concert & Comedy Show. Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church, 5553 Dr. Martin Luther King Dr., 63112. For more information, visit www. kingdomtickets.com.

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

The St. Louis American Foundation presents the 30th Annual Salute to

Excellence in Education Scholarship & Awards Dinner. For more information, see SPECIAL EVENTS.

Kenya Vaughn recommends

Continued from C1

her 100-minute set. The confessionals and advice she gave for the men of the show – as well as the emotionally charged performances that accompanied her insights –were clearly therapeutic.

“I appreciate all of this love and energy more than you can ever know,” Blige said. “You’ve been there since 1991 – whether things were good or bad. When everybody was running away from me, you were there.”

Her pristinely curated set list of fan favorites gave special emphasis to what she revealed was her favorite decade.

“There’s just something about the 90s,” Blige said. “I was just coming in the music business. I was just coming into being a woman. And y’all have

been with me from the very beginning.”

“Real Love,” “I Can Love You,” “Reminisce,” “Love No Limit,” “You Remind Me,”

“Not Gon’ Cry,” “My Life,” “Share My World” and more were all in the mix. As usual, her 1994 cover of the Rose Royce classic “I’m Going Down” was a fullfledged sing-a-long. Blige was overwhelmed with emotion as her fans became a chorus singing along with every note of her rendition.

“Y’all just don’t know how good being here with you tonight has made me feel. I needed this,” Blige said.

Songs like “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore,” “Not Gon’ Cry” had special significance and lent themselves to the confessionals about her messy divorce from Isaacs that is still playing out before the world. And Blige proved herself to be the queen of keeping it real

would love to do that.’

Continued from C1

to other giants like Harriet Tubman, Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.

“He played such a crucial role in America fulfilling its promise,” Hudlin said. “Basically, you’ve got the Constitution, which has all of these great ideas, but is flawed from the beginning because of the presence of slaveholders and racism. What he did was take that and say, ‘Okay, this is the promise of the country. I’m going to take these words and make you live up to them.’”

His regard for Marshall had everything to do with Hudlin signing on to direct the film when he was approached by producer Paula Wagner.

“She called me and said, ‘I have a movie about Thurgood Marshall. I was like ‘I’m in,’ Hudlin said. “I was like, ‘I should read this first, but yes I

The film stars Chadwick Boseman, Kate Hudson, Josh Gad and St. Louis native Sterling K. Brown.

“I teased him a little bit for being from St. Louis as opposed to East St. Louis,” Hudlin said. “We had a lot of fun. Sterling’s an amazing person. He’s so talented, so smart and so charming that you just want to be around him. I felt that from the moment I met him and it was just an absolute joy working with him – and I can’t wait to do it again.”

While it is certainly a big deal to have a director from East St. Louis and a co-star from St. Louis, Hudlin says that the region shouldn’t be surprised, because of the rich legacy in arts and entertainment.

“St. Louis and East St. Louis – the entire area has generated so many talented stars,” Hudlin said. “I grew up two doors down from where Ike met Tina. And about 10 blocks from my house was the night club

as she discussed the details of her broken marriage. Naturally, most of those conversations were framed around the “Strength of A Woman” material.

“If it’s over, then go,” Blige said. “But why do I have to be financially responsible for your [expletive]. I don’t get it. It feels disgusting to my stomach.”

With songs like “Just Fine,” and “No More Drama,” Blige assured the crowd that this too shall pass.

“St. Louis, y’all know I’m a soldier, right?” Blige proclaimed. “If you are out here fighting for your life – up against, cancer or divorce – or whatever you are going through – I want you to put your fist in the air like this with me tonight.”

The entire crowd stood with fist raised to the sky, inspired by Blige’s strength to carry on with their respective battles.

where Chuck Berry created Rock and Roll. Miles Davis’ mother taught third grade at my elementary school. The truth is that we were surrounded by greatness. We have always made a tremendous contribution.”

As far as “Marshall,” Hudlin says the film’s message falls directly in line with what is happening as people protest their outrage with the Stockley verdict and attempt to hold the system accountable with their demonstrations.

“We see it right now in the streets of St. Louis,” Hudlin said. “If we stand side by side with our allies – right minded people who may not look like us, or may not start from the same place as us –if you link arms and work together, you can overcome unbelievable obstacles.”

“Marshall” opens in theaters nationwide on Friday, October 13. The film is rated PG-13 with a running time of 118 minutes.

30 years of Salute style

Elegance overload expected for St. Louis American Foundation gala milestone

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

“Get ready for this glamour, honey!”

I got more than I bargained for when I asked a regular attendee in passing at an event last week if she was coming to the Salute this year.

The St. Louis American Foundation’s 30th Annual Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship and Awards Gala is happening on Saturday, September 23 at America’s Center.

“I’m taking ‘snatched’ to a whole new level,” she continued.

For those unfamiliar with the ever-changing slang of the

day, “snatched” refers to being pulled together from head to toe.

She was eager to make it known that not only is she coming, but she is bringing her A-game for the event that has become synonymous with glamour over the years. As does everyone.

Some start planning their ensembles as soon as the previous Salute ends.

“Last year I went short, so this year I knew I was going long,” said Mary Easter. “I like to switch it up like that.”

Cocktail dresses and gowns (as well as suits and tuxedos) of all colors, lengths and styles make their way down the Salute red carpet – and could rival any awards show – every year.

Fashion designer and personal stylist Skylar Barnes says that he can’t wait to see what people will be wearing for Salute, especially since it’s a milestone year.

“The better you feel in something, chances are the better you will look in it,” Barnes said. “When you look good and feel good, you exude confidence – which is the best accessory for any outfit.”

The St. Louis American Foundation’s 30th Annual Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship and Awards Gala will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 23 at America’s Center. For more information, call (314) 533-8000 or visit www.stlamerican.com.

“Salute actually has its own flavor– and it’s all about the individual,” Barnes said. “You do see trendy from the younger people, but for the most part it’s people expressing their own style and keeping it classic –and classy.” Barnes admits black is a go-to when it comes to formalwear, but advises those few who are still on the fence about what they will be wearing to not be afraid to be bold – as long as they are comfortable in their final selection.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

How old panoramas offer new insight

See historic photo of League of Struggle for Negro Rights in History Museum

By Adam Kloppe For The St. Louis American

If you have attended any modern protests in the United States—or even seen pictures of them—you may have noticed that certain signs pop up again and again. They say things like “End Police Brutality” or “Equal Pay for Equal Work.” As one panoramic photograph in the collections of the Missouri Historical Society shows (now on display as part of the exhibition Panoramas of the City), those causes are not new to protests and meetings that champion racial equality.

On November 15, 1930, at the United Brothers of Friendship Hall in Mill Creek Valley in St. Louis 120 activists (73 black and 47 white) from 18 states gathered to oversee the creation of a new group that advocated for equality: the League of Struggle for Negro Rights (LSNR). The LSNR was a Communist group that had

risen from the ashes of another Communist organization called the American Negro Labor Congress. St. Louis was where the delegates officially disbanded the ANLC and formed the LSNR in its place.

The delegates crafted a manifesto that articulated what the group hoped to accomplish, such as breaking up large Southern landholdings and disrupting Jim Crow laws throughout the American South. They also wanted to unite civil rights activists in opposition to lynching. Over the course of the next several years the LSNR would use its newspaper, The Liberator, to call attention

to the ways that activists could organize against lynching and put pressure on elected officials to enact legislation that made lynching a federal crime. Despite the group’s efforts, federal anti-lynching legislation was never passed in the US Congress.

n Though the activists had big dreams for the LSNR, they were never realized.

Though some of the signs in this crowd are reminiscent of today’s important issues, others reveal stories about activism in the United States that have been nearly forgotten. On the lower right side of the image, you can see a man holding a sign that says “Demand the Release of the Atlanta Six.”

The Atlanta Six were

activists who had been arrested for passing out what the state of Georgia claimed was “insurrectionary literature,” based on the fact that it advocated for overturning Jim Crow and featured an image of a black man and a white man shaking hands in solidarity. If those activists had been found guilty, they could have been put to death. That story makes the gesture of a black man and a white man shaking hands on the left side of the panorama take on a powerful new meaning—their handshake transforms from one of solidarity into a bold political statement.

This panorama shows the LSNR at the moment of its creation, when its members dreamed about all the ways they might change the world. But the convention’s delegates were soon confronted with old prejudices. When the conference ended, Harry Haywood—the delegate who

drafted the first version of the LSNR manifesto—claimed he was on top of the world. But he soon met a harsh reminder of the racism that existed in St. Louis and the nation.

After the last session of the conference, on November 19, 1930, Haywood and three other African-American activists were headed to the St. Louis home of two white LSNR members. As they walked down the street in a white neighborhood, they were stopped by police officers who hurled racial epithets at them and demanded to know what they were doing. In his autobiography A Black Communist in the Freedom Struggle: The Life of Harry Haywood, he wrote, “The incident had a sobering effect, cutting through the euphoria of the evening and bringing us back to solid ground. It would have been ironic for us to be the first victims of the police brutality against which we had

inveighed at the congress!” Though the activists had big dreams for the LSNR, they were never realized. The group’s official membership topped out at about 10,000 members. When the organization was on the on the brink of breaking up in 1934, Langston Hughes was appointed its honorary president in the hope that his celebrity would persuade more people to join the cause. Hughes’s presence didn’t help. Membership in the LSNR dwindled, and the group officially dissolved in 1936. See a larger-thanlife reproduction of this panorama—and many others—at the Missouri History Museum’s newest exhibition, Panoramas of the City. It remains open until August 12, 2018, and admission is free. Adam Kloppe is public historian at the Missouri History Museum.

Photo by Sievers Studio

On November 15, 1930, at the United Brothers of Friendship Hall in Mill Creek Valley in St. Louis 120 activists (73 black and 47 white) from 18 states gathered to oversee the creation of a new group that advocated for equality: the League of Struggle for Negro Rights.

Celebrations

Anniversaries

Happy 50th wedding anniversary to Walter and Joyce McDaniel pm September 23! Fifty years have passed since you started walking side by side through good and difficult times. On behalf of your children and grandchildren, love always and we wish you all the best now and for the next 50 years. #BlackLove #September23

Reunions

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

Beaumont High Class of

Birthdays

Happy 100th Birthday to Mrs. Fannie Lou Withman Moore on September 22! Fannie enjoys beauty shop visits and onion rings. Love, your friends Monica and Danny

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Marcus Henderson who celebrated their 9th wedding anniversary on September 20!

1978 will celebrate its 40-year reunion in 2018. For further information, please contact: Marietta Shegog Shelby, 314-799-5296, madeshe@ sbcglobal.net.

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

Jennings Sr. High School

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

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

Northwest High School Class of 1978 is planning its 40-year reunion for next year. PLEASE reach out to our classmates, tell them get

Happy 90th Birthday to Martha Greer on September 22, with love from your friends, relatives and Bethesda Temple Church family.

ready for this. If you have any questions please contact Sly at (314) 397-0311 or email us at northwestbluedevils@78gmail. com. Check us out on Facebook Northwest High School-Class of 1978.

Soldan High School Class of 1967 will be holding its 50th class reunion September 29-30, 2017. For additional information, please contact Nona Binion Simpkins at 314361-3799or Melvia Forniss at 314-725-8103.

University City High School Homecoming will be October 21, 2017. Parade at 10am; Tailgate at Jackson Park immediately after parade; U. City vs. Jennings game at 1

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

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

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

St. Louis American Celebrations c/o Kate Daniel 2315 Pine St. St. Louis,

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

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

Swag Snap of the Week

A sad day for St. Louis. I’m not trying to get political up in here, but all wouldn’t be well with my soul if I didn’t say that a major injustice was served on a chilled platter by Judge Timothy Wilson when he acquitted Jason Stockley for the murder of Anthony Lamar Smith Friday morning. Let me take a moment to send my condolences to the Smith family. Hearing that news must have been like losing him all over again. As far as the protests go, I will quote the words of Cori Bush at the Monday night protest when hundreds of folks stood in the pouring rain outside of The Justice Center to show their solidarity with the Smith family – and the dozens of protesters who have been arrested while keeping to what must be their theme, “If we don’t get no justice, y’all don’t get no peace.” Bush said, “You are saving lives with your activism. Because of all of you out here, the next time a cop says, ‘I’m going to kill this mother f-er [abbreviation of the f-word expletive],’ they will think about what might happen in this city if they pull the trigger.”

Salute 30 eve. I must admit that the recent turn of events that have turned my city upside down caused a major setback in the home stretch of my Salute body challenge, but as of today the dress still fits. That means you can get ready for me to bring Dominique Deveraux (Diahann Carroll’s ultra-glam character from “Dynasty”) realness to the Salute red carpet Saturday night. I’m so ready. Let me tell y’all, it’s going to be epic at America’s Center on Saturday night for the St. Louis American Foundation’s 30th Annual Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship and Awards Gala! I’ll be taking notes and plan on shouting out the best dressed of the evening – and you’ll have to slay to the second power to be on this list. We are honoring leaders and learners. I don’t have the official count, but HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS in scholarships will be given away. We’ll also celebrate are educators. Oh, and did I mention we will be having the after party of all after parties with the one and only DJ Kut? Jazz Diva Denise Thimes will be headlining the annual jazz cabaret at the same time. If you don’t have your tickets already, you may be out of luck to find a group together. But call (314) 533-8000 or visit www.stlamerican.com to see what can be worked out. You really don’t want to miss this 30th. It’s going to be something special for sure.

Hush at Home. It’s known throughout the city that Niddy has a knack for bringing out the beautiful people. On Friday, he scored another with his Hush party at Club Home. I mean it was baddie central up in there. I’m not sure what was happening with some of the security who were telling folks it was at capacity way before it got that way, but I still had a good time. Niddy – who is also known for bringing out the big names – had Diddy’s right-hand man Kenny Burns in the building too. Local stars like Mocha Latte, Deerra Nikol, Michelle Granger, Mo Spoon, and a gang load of others, hit up Home to show Niddy love. The party was life! And seeing the reaction by the folks in the fanny packs and cigarette stained sweatpants as Niddy’s revelers strolled through Ameristar dressed to the nines was almost as fun as the party itself!

The loudest silent party ever. After I left Home, I headed to Marquee for their Silent Trap Party. The first thing I thought was, “I thought this was supposed to be a silent party?” The folks were screaming the lyrics to their favorite songs louder than any DJ could have played music. But don’t be discouraged from coming because of it – you can’t hear anything because of the personal headphones. Before I put mine on, I noticed that y’all know the words to all these songs that I pretend not to listen to in public better than me. Now I don’t feel so bad. But back to the party, if ever there was any doubt how the folks in St. Louis feel about Memphis rapper Yo Gotti, the Silent Trap Party made it plain. When “Rake It Up” came on, the girls got to droppin’ it so viciously that I almost got twerked clean out the door. Usually when that song comes on, I know to stay clear of the dance floor. But because everybody had on headphones and I was listening to a different station, I was hit by an ambush twerk off. It was a good time, and the Marquee packed it out. I’m expecting for them to have a few more of the silent trap party sets based on how well this first one was received.

Packed in and Wild’N Out. Hot 104.1 FM had the Ambassador on lean thanks to their presentation of Nick Cannon’s Wild’N Out Live show Saturday night. I know the audience was feeling some type of way because the show had a super late start. I’m sure they felt better when they learned the delay was because Nick was out there marching with protesters in the Delmar Loop. I really made me feel good to know that he was saying all sorts of positive stuff about the folks who were out their making their voices heard. I love him so much for that that I won’t say a single thing about those little plaits peeking out of his turban. But I will say, that I never got the memo that Nick was on P90X, Crossfit or whatever he’s doing to have that body snatched. His upper body was looking as good as Colin Kaepernick in that Kaepernick jersey. Oh, so I’m the only one who thought so? Yeah, right. I can’t say that I watch a whole lot of Wild’N Out, but I’m clearly the only one. For those who don’t know, it’s a hip-hop freestyle comedy show that airs on MTV. And it features St. Louis’ own Hitman Holla! But back to the show. It was 100 percent at capacity up in there – and truth be told, they could’ve sold the seats in the bathroom stalls and somebody would have purchased them. I had a good little time. And when Nick Cannon made a rhyme saying that one of the crew was too scared to wear his gold jewelry in Walnut Park,

almost fell out!

I

Jamaland and Conswayla climbed the stairs to Reggae on the Roof @ The Obar Saturday

Erin and Wanda supported Keidra as she hosted the “StembERotica” art show Saturday @ Exodus gallery

Summer, Raven and Tiffany made a girl’s night out of the HUSH party Friday @ Home

Doss, Adam, Gabby, Amber and Trade came together to host the 2nd Annual Conscious Fest Saturday

Kira Alexis and Dee Nichols enjoyed a quick chat outside during The Movement Sunday @ The Gramophone

Ahammara, J. Scott and Adrienne enjoyed the latest silent party Friday @ The Marquee

Kimberly and Shawn waited for the Wild ‘N Out crew to take the stage Saturday @ The Ambassador

Jessica and David hosted The Movement day party Sunday @ the Gramophone

Jarvion and Tyquisha turned up @ Mood and continued their wedding celebration until the club closed

Queen2funny, Antanika Shahid and Brother Anthony Shahid had an opportunity to speak with Nick Cannon before the Wild “N Out crew let loose on The Ambassador Saturday night.

Photos by V. Lang

The HUSH Party @ Club Home was the place to be Friday for Romaine and KK

HOUSEKEEPER

LAUNDRY SHIRT

INSPECTOR/ASSEMBLY

Will train. Competitive pay, Clayton location. Call 314-725-4500

The Missouri History Museum seeks a full-time Housekeeper. Visit www.mohistory.org for position details. An Equal Opportunity Employer

a leadership role in the development, implementation & management of the Affirmative Action Program for MU, align the plan with the MU’s inclusive excellence framework, & assist with other reporting related to EEO. For the full announcement & to apply, visit http://hrs.missouri.edu/find-a-job/staff/ index.php, enter job ID 23254.

COALITION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT SEEKS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Protect Missouri’s environment by raising $ from major donors, grants, members, direct mail & events. 2 years fundraising experience required; 5 years preferred. For full job description see http://www.moenvironment.org/get-involved/job-openings

ASSISTANT CLAIMS

LARGE CASUALTY MAIL

Responsible for various tasks related to: categorizing, imaging and processing incoming mail. To apply, please visit: www.safetynational.com and click on the Careers tab..

Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure: Janitorial Service. The District is proposing single source procurement to Archway Building Maintenance. Any inquiries should be sent to dlegrand@stlmsd.com Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer Districtwill receive sealed bids in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103-2555 until 10:00am October 26, 2017 for Service of: Repaving Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from www.stlmsd.com - click on “MSD At Work”, then “Bidding on Projects”. The bid document will be identified as 9168 RFQ. If you do not have access to the internet, call (314) 768-6250 to request a copy of this bid.

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

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure: FOXBORO SYSTEM SUPPORT SERVICES. The District is proposing single source procurement for this equipment/ service because SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC SYSTEMS USA is the only known available source for the equipment/ service. Any inquiries should be sent to gjamison@stlmsd.com Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

St. LouiS american Bids & Public Notices

LETTING # 8649

GERMANIA STREET IMPROVEMENTS, GRAVOIS AVENUE TO I-55 FEDERAL PROJECT NO. STP-5424(606)

TIP NO. 6501-16

Sealed proposals will be received by the Board of Public Service in Room 208, City Hall, 1200 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103 until 1:45 PM, CT, on OCTOBER 10, 2017, then publicly opened and read. Drawings and Specifications may be examined on the Board of Public Service website http://www.stl-bps.org/ planroom.aspx (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. The prime contractor must have a fully responsive contractor questionnaire on file with the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission at least 7 days prior to bid opening date in order for MODOT to concur with the award of this project. Bidders shall comply with all applicable City, State and Federal laws (including DBE 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).

MWBE Pre-bid Meeting Notice

The SITE Improvement Association is hosting a Pre-bid meeting for Qualified and Certified MWBE contractors to discuss working on

Pickwick-Bernadine-Bimini Sanitary Sewer Relief Project Part 2 Contract Letting No. 11698-015.2

This meeting is being held on behalf of the following SITE contractor members:

J.M. Marschuetz Construction 15 Truitt Drive Eureka, MO 63025 636/938-3600

The meeting will take place at 10:00 a.m.

September 28, 2017

SITE Improvement Association 2071 Exchange Drive, St. Charles, MO 63303

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

SEALED BIDS

Sealed bids must delivered to the Construction

Exterior Building Signage

There will be a Pre-bid Meeting scheduled on September 28th, 2017 at 4:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Creve Coeur Fire Protection District, Fire House No. 2 at 10940 Schuetz Road St. Louis, MO 63146.

The purpose of this meeting is to address technical questions concerning the project from prospective bidders. All Contractors are encouraged to attend this meeting. Those Contractors who do not attend the Pre-Bid Meeting but wish to schedule a site visit must contact Project Manager Steve Platt at S. M. Wilson & Co 314/645-9595. Contractors are not allowed to visit the site unless prior arrangements are made with the Construction Manager.

The bid package will be available for viewing after September 19, 2017 at the following locations: Smartbidnet https://secure.smartbidnet.com/External/PublicPlanRoom.aspx?Id=328295

The Fire District reserves the right to reject any and all Bids, to waive informalities therein to determine the lowest and best bid, and to approve the Bond. The prevailing wage law is in effect on this project. No Bid may be withdrawn for a period of Sixty (60) days subsequent to the specified time for receipt of Bids.

A Bid Bond or Certified Check made payable to the Owner, in the amount of 5% of the Base Bid shall accompany the Bid Packages as a guarantee that the bidder, if awarded the Contract, will furnish a satisfactory Performance and Payment Bond; execute the Contract; and proceed with the work. Upon failure to do so, he shall forfeit the deposit or amount of the Bid Bond as liquidated damages, and no mistakes or errors on the part of the Bidder shall excuse the Bidder or entitle him to a return of the deposit or Bid Bond. If a Bid Bond or Certified Check is not attached to the bid at the time of the opening, the bid will not be read or considered for the project.

Bidders must be in compliance with the rules and regulations of the Fair Employment Practices Commission. The Construction Manager for this project is S. M. Wilson & Co. and the Project Manager is Mr. Steve Platt, (314/645-9595 phone, steve.platt@smwilson.com email or 314/645-1700 fax.) or the Estimator Mr. Mike O’Sullivan(phone (314)645-9595, fax (314) 645-1700 or email mike.osullivan@smwilson.com or 314/6451700 fax).

S. M. Wilson & Co. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Creve Coeur Fire Protection District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

NOTICE TO MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE (MBE) (AFRICAN AMERICAN AND/OR HISPANIC AMERICAN)) ADVERTISEMENT RIVER CITY CONSTRUCTION, L.L.C., 101 HOFFER LANE, EAST PEORIA, ILLINOIS 61611, (309) 694-3120 (PHONE) (309) 694-1332 (FAX) IS SEEKING QUALIFIED MBE (AFRICAN AMERICAN AND/OR HISPANIC AMERICAN) BUSINESSES FOR THE COLDWATER CREEK WWTF FINAL CLARIFIERS

REPLACEMENT PROJECT IN FLORRISANT, MISSOURI FOR THE SUBCONTRACTING/ SUPPLIER/ INSTALLER & MANUFACTURER OPPORTUNITIES IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS: DEMOLITION, EARTHWORK, PAVING, CONCRETE, METALS, THERMAL & MOISTURE PROTECTION, FINISHES -PAINTING, HVAC, ELECTRICAL, PROCESS INTERCONNECTIONS, HOISTS AND EQUIPMENT ALL INTERESTED AND QUALIFIED MBE BUSINESSES SHOULD CONTACT, IN WRITING, (CERTIFIED LETTER, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED) KENT KAMPWERTH OR JR PETERSON, TO DISCUSS THE SUBCONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES. ALL NEGOTIATIONS MUST BE COMPLETED PRIOR TO THE BID OPENING BID DATE OF 10/10/2017 @ 2:00 PM.PROPOSALS WILL BE EVALUATED IN ORDER ON THE BASIS OF LOW RESPONSIVE BID RECEIVED. PROOF OF MBE CERTIFICATION MUST BE PROVIDED WHEN SUBMITTING A BID.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

# 57817262, Instruction in programming/coding (using Java) and virtual reality to middle school minority male students

Harris-Stowe State University (HSSU) is requesting sealed proposals for providing instruction in programming/coding (using Java) and virtual reality to middle school minority male students . A copy of the RFP is available by calling (314) 3403325, emailing: barskys@hssu.edu or faxing a written request to: (314) 340-3322.

Proposals will be received until 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 10, 2017 and should be mailed or delivered in sealed envelopes clearly marked “Proposal for Instruction in Programming/Coding and Virtual Reality” to Harris-Stowe State University,Attn: Shelley Barsky; 3026 Laclede Ave., Room 105, St, Louis, MO 63103.

BIDS

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

Public Notice

St. Louis Community College is seeking comments from the public about the College in preparation for its periodic evaluation by its regional accrediting agency. The College will host a visit February 26-27, 2018, with a team representing the Higher Learning Commission. St. Louis Community College has been accredited by HLC since 1966. The team will review the institution’s ongoing ability to meet HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation.

The public is invited to submit comments regarding the College to the following address: Public Comment on St. Louis Community College Higher Learning Commission 230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500 Chicago, IL 60604-1411

The public may also submit comments on HLC’s website at www.hlcommission.org/comment

Comments must address substantive matters related to the quality of the institution or its academic programs. Comments must be in writing.

All comments must be received by January 25, 2018.

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure: Public Block Program (Training).

The District is proposing single source procurement to National Seminar Training.

Any inquiries should be sent to dlegrand@stlmsd.com

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

BID NOTICE

Bids for St. Louis Community College

Bid No. B0003662-Contract for Investment & Asset Management Services/ Non-Certificated Employees Retirement Plan will be received until 3:00 p.m. (local time) Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017, at the Dept. of Purchasing, 300 S. Broadway, St. Louis, MO 63102, and immediately thereafter opened and read. Bid documents can be accessed on our website at www.stlcc.edu/ purchasing or call (314) 539-5225. EOE/ AA Employer.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for Big Bend Boulevard and Manchester Road, St. Louis County Project No. AR-1519, will

at the Office of the Director of Procurement for the County of St. Louis, County Government Center Administration Building, 41 South Central Avenue, 8th Floor, Clayton, Missouri 63105, until 2:00 p.m. on September 27, 2017.

Plans and specifications will be available on September 11, 2017 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouisco.com), or by contacting County Blue Reprographics, Inc., 1449 Strassner Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63144, (314) 961-3800.

DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES ST. LOUIS, COUNTY

SEALED BIDS

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The St. Louis County Port Authority (the “Authority”) is soliciting proposals for a qualified contractor to purchase salvage rights to materials located in the former Macy’s (500 Jamestown Mall) and former JC Penney (246 Jamestown Mall) at the Jamestown Mall site in Florissant, Missouri 63034. The successful contractor shall obtain the rights to remove all materials whose removal does not compromise the security of the site. To be considered, proposals must be received no later than 3:00 PM on Thursday, October 12, 2017. Proposals should be sent by e-mail to hbean@stlpartnership.com, or to St. Louis County Port Authority, c/o St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, ATTN: Howl Bean II, 7733 Forsyth Blvd., Suite 2200, St. Louis, Missouri 63105. DBE, MBE, and WBE firms are encouraged to bid. The Request for Proposals may be obtained from the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership’s web site at www.stlpartnership.com. The Authority reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive informalities therein. Any questions should be directed to Howl Bean II, Staff Attorney, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership at (314) 615-7663 or hbean@ stlpartnership.com.

St. Louis Economic Development Partnership Equal Opportunity Employer

for Replace Perimeter Fence Detection Systems, Algoa and Tipton Correctional Centers, Jefferson City and Tipton, Missouri, Project No. C1606-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 10/12/2017. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/ facilities

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for the Dorsett Road (West) ARS Infrastructure, St. Louis County Project No. AR-1588, will be received at the Office of the Director of Procurement for the County of St. Louis, County Government Center Administration Building, 41 South Central Avenue, 8th Floor, Clayton, Missouri 63105, until 2:00 p.m. on October 4, 2017

Plans and specifications will be available on September 14 and September 21, 2017 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouisco.com), or by contacting County Blue Reprographics, Inc., 1449 Strassner Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63144, (314) 961-3800.

DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES ST. LOUIS, COUNTY

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The St. Louis Economic Development Partnership (the “Partnership”) is soliciting proposals from qualified graphic design firms to conceptualize, design, and deliver supporting collateral materials for the Partnership and its affiliated entities for various projects throughout the year, with an option for a one-year renewal. To be considered, proposals must be received no later than 3:00 PM on Thursday, September 28, 2017. Proposals should be sent by email to hbean@stlpartnership.com. DBE, MBE, and WBE firms are encouraged to bid.

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

St. Louis Economic Development Partnership Equal Opportunity Employer

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE:

Advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, imitation, or discrimination because of race,color, religion, sex, handicap, familial\status, or

origin, or intention to make any such preference,limitation, or discrimination.“We will not knowingly

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The St. Louis County Port Authority (the “Authority”) is soliciting proposals from qualified contractors to research and develop a food industry cluster study and strategy in St. Louis County, Missouri.

To be considered, proposals must be received no later than 3:00 PM on Thursday, October 12, 2017. Proposals should be sent by e-mail to dallison@stlpartnership.com, or to St. Louis County Port Authority, c/o St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, ATTN: Dustin Allison, General Counsel, 7733 Forsyth Blvd., Suite 2200, St. Louis, Missouri 63105. DBE, MBE, and WBE firms are encouraged to bid.

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

St. Louis Economic Development Partnership Equal Opportunity Employer

for Bridge Restoration, Union Covered Bridge, State Historic Site, Paris, MO, Project No. X1703-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 10/12/2017.

DEACONESS SEEKING COMPANY FOR INTERIOR SIGNAGE

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

LCMS National Housing Support Corporation (NHSC) is seeking a consultant to create a Comprehensive Development Plan NHSC is soliciting proposals from consultants that are interested in creating a comprehensive development plan that will guide future revitalization activities in the College Hill neighborhood in north Saint Louis, MO. For a copy of the full RFP, please go the following website www. nationalhousingsupport.org to download. Proposals must be received no later than Monday, September 25, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. CST.

D4

The Message

Arm yourselves

I went to a metaphysical church on Sunday and it compelled me to remember the moment of my own salvation. I remembered the Sunday I was moved to accept the truth about Christ but couldn’t seem to pull the trigger on my public declaration of faith.

Hindsight suggests there were three simple questions and should have been answered immediately and affirmatively that I believed in Jesus’ deity and His life, His death and His life again. But it wasn’t that simple for me and I’ll save that for another day.

Salvation is really very simple, and we tend to complicate matters by ignoring the fact that we live in a world dominated by Satan. As my former bible classmates would always remind me, he is as slick as they come and relishes his work 24/7. And why not? We keep him highly, motivated. My favorite part of the bible is Matthew 4:1-11 and I would ask you to read and reread it often. This is it for me; the ultimate confrontation between Jesus and the devil, good vs. evil. When push came to shove and the devil tried to persuade Jesus to do everything but accept and respond based on Jesus’ deity, Christ simply replied, “It is written.” Go back and check. The fallback position for Christ at this critical moment for us was to rely on scripture to put the devil in his place. Now Jesus could look the devil and his temptation in the face and stare him down enough to make Satan back down. I don’t claim that kind of strength. I know I need help. Maybe you do too. But it would seem to me that the ammunition you need to fight your own battle of life and death and (eternal) life is contained in God’s Word. Don’t go into battle with an unloaded gun. If Jesus used the Word to win His battle, shouldn’t you at least try to do the same thing? The answer to the devil’s attempt to rob you and God of your soul, your eternal life, is contained in scripture. You just need to find it. Read the book, please. And remember all you have to do is to acknowledge Christ’s position in the universe and try to follow His example.

This rather short piece of text in Matthew provides a blueprint for everything that follows. I have always found it ironic that once the devil is defeated, “angels came and attended Him (Jesus).” Everything and I do mean everything the devil offered, God granted.

So on Sunday I kept thinking about a simple affirmation of faith. Yes, I believe in Jesus. Yes, I believe He is the son of God and yes, I believe he died for my sins and rose from the dead. That’s it.

Now go back and reread His greatest challenge on the battlefield of life. Recognize that He won and when He did, we did. That means you. Now arm yourself with His Word and go fight your battles of today. You’ll lose some and you’ll win some. But the war is already won. Arm yourselves.

Religion

Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church celebrates 116 years

Also, Spanish Lake Senior Resource Fair at BethanyPeace Church

American staff

Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church –2235 Bond Ave.- E. St. Louis, IL – will celebrate 116 years and Mortgage Burning Ceremony. The anniversary theme is: “GOD DID IT” (2Chronicles 20:15).

The weekend activities include: Celebration Banquet, Friday, September 22, from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snow ( 442 S. DeMazenod Dr., Belleville, IL 62223) – with special guest speaker, Bishop Kenneth Ulmer. Ticket cost: $40.

Saturday, September 23, from 11 a.m. –

3 p.m. Community Picnic with free food, fun, games and bounce houses for the children to be held at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church – 2235 Bond Ave. E. St. Louis, IL

Sunday, September 24 at 10:40 a.m.

Morning Worship with guest speaker, Rev. Dr. Jerome Jackson, Pastor of Southern Mission Missionary Baptist Church

Sunday afternoon, September 2 at 3:30 p.m. Special Guest Speaker Bishop Kenneth Ulmer, son of Mt. Zion and pastor of Faithful Central Bible Church, Los Angeles California. Also, Mt. Zion’s Mass Voices featuring “special reunion choir” under the direction of Dr. Dello Thedford and the Gospel Symphonic Choir will be invited guests.

The pastor at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church is Dr. Curtis E. Levingston, its 12th spiritual leader. He was installed on November 3, 2013.

Dr. Levingston was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, and was ordained at Genesis Missionary Baptist Church, where he served as associate minister from 1991 through 1999. His maternal grandfather, the late Rev. Henry Levingston Sr., established

Genesis and his paternal grandfather, the late Rev. Robert B. Poe, pastored Canaan Missionary Baptist Church for more than 30 years. While his spiritual journal began in the Midwest, teaching and preaching the gospel would lead him to other parts of the country. Before returning to his Midwestern roots, he served as senior pastor of New Beginnings Worship Center, in Graham, North Carolina, for two years. Prior to that, he pastored First Baptist Church of Graham for 11 years.

Dr. Levingston is a strong proponent of learning and education. His ministry is centered on stewardship, discipleship and worship. His vision is for Mt. Zion to be an “effective, liberating, biblical and educational institution.” He advocates for a ministry that reaches beyond the church’s four walls through evangelism, where lives and communities can be uplifted and saved. Everyone is invited to the celebration. For additional information, please contact

Dr. Doris McGilberry at (618) 875-0091 or Sis. Susie Green at (618) 292-0207 or mtzionclerk@att.net. Or mail mtzion2235@att.net or visit www.mtzionesl.org or www.facebook.com/ mtziones1.

Spanish Lake Senior Resource Fair at Bethany-Peace Church

The Spanish Lake Community Association will host its 2017 Senior Resource Fair Saturday, September 30 at Bethany-Peace United Church of Christ from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Senior Resource Fair is an opportunity to learn about resources available to senior citizens in the St. Louis area. Bethany-Peace United Church of Christ is located at 11952 Bellefontaine Road in Spanish Lake. For more information contact Julie Griffith at 314-791-8083.

Columnist

James Washington

The pastor at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church is Dr. Curtis E. Levingston, its 12th spiritual leader.