December 11th, 2014 Edition by The St. Louis American

Protest movement goes global

‘Ferguson provides a model for what resistance can look like’

By Rebecca Rivas

Of The St. Louis American

n “The people were fed up. If someone said, ‘Meet up at 9 p.m. in Shaw,’ the people just knew they needed to go.” – Keeshan Harley

Growing up in Brooklyn, 20-year-old Keeshan Harley has been frisked more than 150 times since he was 13, he said. He often chooses to stay home rather than chance an encounter with police, he said, where he could be stuck in the back of a cop car for an hour. Even a walk down the block to the corner store can end in being roughed up by police for no reason, he said.

When the Brooklyn college student heard that Michael Brown Jr. was shot and killed by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson, he immediately felt drawn to come to Ferguson.

“Everything in my body said it’s where I needed to be,” said Harley, youth leader with the New York-based nonprofit Make the Road. “There was that innate sense of urgency. Being a young black male, I understand what that’s like. That could have been me just walking home from the store.” Harley came to St. Louis in October for the

prepared

National, regional leaders meet with Governor, Attorney General at Capitol

By Bridjes O’Neil Of The St. Louis American

Participants

new Office of Community Engagement, addressed marchers and supporters at a “Journey for Justice” rally in the State Capitol Rotunda. Brown’s mother and step-father, Lesley McSpadden and Louis Head, also spoke.

“They thanked us for the work we were doing, and we reaffirmed our commitment to work with them on getting some justice,” said St. Louis City NAACP President Adolphus Pruitt. Many packed into the State Capitol Rotunda including a “good contingency” of young Ferguson protestors, Pruitt said. Gov. Jay Nixon said in a statement on Friday

See NAACP, A7

Ferguson unrest propels measure mayor vetoed in ’06

By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American

Alisha Sonnier, president of Tribe X, adopted a new slogan of the national movement to reform police work during a protest in front of the Fox Theatre in Midtown St. Louis on Sunday, December 7. Eric Garner repeatedly told the New York City police officer strangling him to death on July 17, “I can’t breathe.” On Wednesday, December 3, a New York grand jury decided not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo in Garner’s death, sparking a new wave of protests globally.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Protestors locked arms and

for a direct action in St. Louis’ Central West End on Wednesday, December 3, after a New York grand jury decided not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the chokehold death of Eric Garner. Like Michael Brown Jr. in Ferguson, Garner is considered a martyr of the Black Lives Matters protest movement.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

50 extends olive branch to Floyd following tragic murder/suicide

50 Cent reached out to his ex-best friend, Floyd Mayweather, in the wake of the murder suicide of Floyd’s other bff, rapper Earl Hayes and his estranged wife, “Hit the Floor” dancer Stephanie Mosley.

Amid reports that Mayweather may have witnessed the murder via FaceTime after Earl called him in a fit of rage to complain about his wife’s infidelity, 50 Cent puts his issues with Mayweather aside and expressed his condolences via social media.

been deleted, 50 Cent all but confirms the rumors.

“How you get in this T, talkin’ like a pimp,” 50 wrote below an album cover photo of Songz. “LOVE? Call my phone.”

Drake and Diddy duke it out in Miami

While TMZ.com is reporting that Floyd actually witnessed the shocking incident Money Team insiders told Baller Alert Hayes actually called Mayweather BEFORE the murder-suicide telling Mayweather of his intentions and saying his goodbyes.

TMZ is also reporting that Hayes believed Mosley had been having an affair with R&B singer Trey Songz.

In a messy post on Instagram, that has since

Several outlets are reporting that rappers Sean “Diddy” Combs and Drake were involved in a fight outside a top Miami club Sunday night, which ended with Drake going to the hospital with an injured shoulder.

According to witnesses, the fight started outside Liv at the Fontainebleau Hotel in the early hours of Monday morning.

One source to The New York Post, “Diddy left Liv on his own and made a beeline towards the car, like he was a man on a mission. Drake got out of his SUV, and there was a scuffle before it seemed that Drake had hurt himself, he was holding his shoulder like it was dislocated. He was in obvious pain. Diddy was heard shouting something to the effect of, ‘Handle your business!’”

Diddy then went back inside the club while Drake decided not to follow him in. Both were attending a birthday party for DJ

Khaled at Liv. Rick Ross’ DJ, Sam Sneaker, who was also there, tweeted, “Diddy put hands on that boy… And he Ain’t go 0-100 … That boy left.”

Turk believes Weezy wants out at Cash Money

New Orleans rapper Turk recently offered his thoughts on Lil Wayne’s possible fallout with Cash Money Records during an interview with Vlad TV.

The former Cash Money Records believes all the tweets were sent from Wayne. He then added that he supports the rapper “onethousand percent” in whatever decision he chooses to make.

“I think it was. I think that’s how he feel,” Turk said. “We put in a lot of work with Cash Money. Wayne has held Cash Money up. Even when we left. My hat goes off to him, man. He held it down. He put in his grind…Sometimes things come to an end. We’ll just have to see how it gon’ all play out.”

In a series of tweets sent earlier this month, Lil Wayne aired out his grievances with Cash Money.

“To all my fans, I want

u to know that my album won’t and hasn’t been released bekuz Baby & Cash Money Rec. refuse to release it. This is not my fault. I am truly and deeply sorry to all my fans but most of all to myself and my family for putting us in this situation. I want off this label and nothing to do with these people but unfortunately it ain’t that easy,” Wayne said in a handful of tweets sent on December 4.

Is Kerry living separately from her husband?

Insiders claim Scandal star Kerry Washington and husband Nnamdi Asomugha have been spending less and less time together. Washington rarely talks about her marriage or the couple’s 7-month-old daughter Isabelle. An insider told OK! Magazine that even though they’ve been married for over one year, Washington has “spent very little time” with him, hinting that even if they were more open, Washington and her former footballer husband wouldn’t have much to tell about their relationship since they are rarely together.

Sources: Vlad TV, OK Magazine, TMZ.com, Baller Alert, Twitter.com, Instagram

U.S. Korean War vet receives long-due honors

‘I have never been more honored to salute an enlisted man,’ says Brigadier General

By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American

This Veterans’ Day marks a long overdue fulfillment of promises made by the US Army to one of its soldiers.

Korean War veteran Leo Hardin received four awards for his military service, including a Purple Heart with one Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster.

Hardin thanked everyone who witnessed the event and worked on his behalf to get him his deserved military honors.

“As one general said, ‘War is hell,’ and to have been there, done that, and then to be favored by God that I didn’t return in a box,” Hardin said. “And I know it’s been a long time. It’s been a long struggle, just trying to get what was due me … and thanks be to God that I have prevailed.”

Heart was for shrapnel injuries to his right leg, which occurred in September 1951 in the Battle of Bloody Ridge in central Korea.

Brigadier General James M. Robinson, Assistant Adjutant General-Army of the Missouri Army National Guard, also presented Hardin with the Combat Infantryman Badge, the National Defense Medal, and the United Nations Service Medal. Those in attendance stood as Hardin received the awards.

n “On behalf of a grateful nation, it is my honor to give you this long overdue Purple Heart, PFC Hardin.”

– Brigadier General James M. Robinson

“I said ‘in the absence of order’ because 60 years ago, there would have been a room full of soldiers as they stood at attention as the order was read,” Gen. Robinson said.

“On behalf of a grateful nation, it is my honor to give you this long overdue Purple Heart, PFC Hardin. I have never been more honored to salute an enlisted man.”

Korean War veteran Leo Hardin received four awards for his military service, including a Purple Heart with one Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, from Brigadier General James M. Robinson, Assistant Adjutant General-Army of the Missouri Army National Guard.

confirmed they would issue Hardin’s awards.

The Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster represents two Purple Hearts as Hardin was injured twice in combat. The first were second-degree frostbite injuries occurring in December 1950 in the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. The second Purple

After U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill’s office was informed that Leo Hardin never received these awards, her office submitted the necessary documentation to correct the error and the U.S. Army

“We owe the veterans who have sacrificed for our country an unknowable debt of gratitude,” said McCaskill, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and daughter of a World War II veteran. “One of the best parts of my job is helping honor those sacrifices and making sure we’re keeping our promises to our veterans long after they return from the

Young Leader nominations now being accepted

20 Under age 40 will be awarded

Readers have until Friday, December 19th to submit nominations of outstanding young African-American professionals (under age 40) who are performing at a high level professionally and/or are involved in community work.

Please check stlamerican. com and upcoming editions of The St. Louis American for more information about the Salute to Young Leaders Networking Awards Reception. The final 20 selected awardees will be honored at the St. Louis American Foundation’s fifth annual Salute to Young Leaders Networking Awards Reception, Thursday, February 19 at the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis. They will also be featured in the commemorative special section of The St. Louis American newspaper and on stlamerican.com.

battlefield.”

Hardin, a veteran of the 2nd Infantry Division, served in Japan in the late 1940s as well as in Korea from 1950-1953.

Hardin’s title has changed from PFC to Reverend, now serving on God’s spiritual battlefield.

“Let us always remember to pray for your soldiers,” Rev. Hardin told those at ceremony. “The military needs your prayers.”

Exceptional young leaders are critical to an improved community. They are: committed, compassionate and generous individuals who are already making a positive impact in our community. The St. Louis American Foundation is requesting readers’ assistance in nominating individuals they feel deserved to be recognized as a Young Leader. We’re looking for a broad base of nominations of young African-Americans with diverse vocations, from throughout the St. Louis region. Nominees must be under 40 years of age as of February 18, 2015. A committee of local, young African-American professionals will select this year’s 20 awardees. Questions should be directed to Kate Daniel at 314-289-5413, or kdaniel@ stlamerican.com. Please visit stlamerican. com to nominate a Young Leader, or see the form on Page 10A of this week’s paper and email to kdaniel@stlamerican.com. The deadline for nominations is December 19, 2014.

Photo by Wiley Price

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Challenges of the Ferguson Commission

First, let us say that we support unequivocally the stated mission and proposed work of the Ferguson Commission and want to do anything in our power to help the commissioners better communicate their efforts in addressing the deeply-entrenched, long-neglected problems underlying the crisis in Ferguson. While we share with many observers a great deal of skepticism about the usual outcome of commissions and generally doubt their ability to foster positive change, we commend Gov. Jay Nixon (he received 300 applications) for forming the commission and endorse many of the solid choices he made for the commission.

The governor rightly charged the commission to make recommendations across a broad range of concerns that include “police and community interactions and relations, racial and ethnic relations, disparities in education, economic opportunity and housing.”

Co-chair Rev. Starsky Wilson, in particular, has experience engaging with both civic leaders and front-line protestors and seems to have good rapport with his co-chair, Rich McClure, who has deep and wide access to St. Louis’ corporate and civic elite. They have worked together in the past on urban education issues. Among their fellow commissioners, the Rev. Traci Blackmon has credibility with the grass-roots protest movement and Brittany Packnett is herself one of the Millennial Activists United group that has worked tirelessly on crafting the movement’s message and communicating it. Even closer to the ground, commissioner Rasheen Aldridge, 20, could be a poster youth for the protest movement – he is so close to the front lines that he has been charged for pushing a St. Louis city marshal at a St. Louis City Hall protest since he was appointed to serve by the Governor.

We met with the commission co-chairs on December 4 and would like to share publicly some of the conversation we had with Wilson and McClure and the assurances they gave us. We cautioned them that the Governor who formed their commission has had very little credibility in the African-American community, the community that will be most directly impacted by their work. They assured us that the commission is independent of the Governor and has independent operating funds that are administered by the United Way. Nixon formed the commission with $100,000 in discretionary state seed money, and the commission intends to raise an additional mix of private and public funds to conduct its business.

We cautioned them that the roots of the crisis in Ferguson date far before August 9, when an unarmed Michael Brown Jr., 18, was killed by a Ferguson police officer. The response from an infuriated community was spontaneous

Ferguson Commissioner Brittany Packnett, director of Teach for America St. Louis and member of Millennial Activists United, addressed the public at the commission’s second meeting, held Monday, November 8 in St. Louis’ Shaw neighborhood. Photo by Lawrence Bryant

and has been undeterred since its beginning. This community awakening since the killing of Brown has been led by younger African Americans (who have been joined by others, in many cases) who are determined to bear witness to still another police killing and the suspect official reaction. The courage and persistent determination of these young people to make their voices heard helped spawn the beginning of a movement that has struck a chord and spread across the country and around the world. The protestors have been inventive and relentless in their insistence that justice be served in the Brown case and beyond.

We are in accord with the of words Governor Nixon, as he spoke in a different tone on November 18 when he swore in the 16 members of the Ferguson Commission at the Missouri History Museum. He said, “Their most important work will not be what is written on sheets of paper or on a website. Their most important work will be the changes we see in our institutions and our work places, in our communities and in our interactions with one another. Change of this magnitude is hard; but maintaining the status quo is simply not acceptable.” We are grateful to the protestors who have forced this conversation and are demanding this change.

Both co-chairs assured us that they understand the complexity and difficulty of their challenges and are prepared to work for change. “If the status quo worked,” the Rev. Wilson told us, “there wouldn’t be a Ferguson Commission at all. I want it to be clear, and I want us to be on the record saying that – if the status quo worked, we wouldn’t still be talking about August 9.”

Political show trial at work

It was a show trial.

Yes, technically, St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch held a press conference on November 24 to present the results of a grand jury investigation into whether murder charges should be filed against a white policeman who shot and killed an unarmed, black teenager. They filed no charges. Yet, everyone familiar with this type of theater –this type of justice – knew it was, in fact, a political show trial or a proceeding more concerned with images and public spectacle than with justice. Really, it had one, single purpose: to defend the summary execution of a black teenager.

Everyone familiar with America’s massive, unjust, intolerant and relentlessly brutal prison-industrial complex knows that a prosecutor does not need much to indict a person for a crime, compelling him or her to stand trial, allowing a jury to publicly and, with hope, fairly weigh the evidence.

And we all know, the prosecutor knows, people in prison know, people on death row know, and the spirits of the unjustly convicted and executed know about hopelessly flakey eyewitnesses. Prosecutors and courts use them all the time to indict, to convict, and often to kill.

The prosecutor only has to believe that he can tell a good story, weaving together the chaos of irretrievable past events, unreliable testimony,

and even of flawed, “scientific” evidence to indict someone. He connects the dots.

So, normally it is the role of the prosecution to make an argument, as it is the role of the defense to poke holes in it. This is important. The defense cannot reasonably assert what hasn’t first been established by the prosecution. Otherwise, it looks crazy, arguing against nothing and for nothing.

But, in a political show trial, all of this gets turned around. The roles of perpetrator, accused and victim get confused. And the burden of proof falls not on the prosecutor, but on the victim, who finds himself or herself in the impossible, unjust and devastating position of having to prove that he or she didn’t do anything.

So, when the grand jury and McCulloch decided not to press charges against the Ferguson policeman, the state decided that it didn’t have to prove why it killed Michael Brown Jr. Instead, it became the role of the dead teenager to prove why he didn’t deserve to die; why he deserved to live.

This is not new. Enslaved Africans and their descendants have always seemed crazy as they argued for the innocence that everyone but them takes for granted.

First, Africans had to prove why they didn’t deserve to be captured, bred and forced to work. And since then, their descendants have had to prove why they don’t deserve continuing punishment, legalized abuse, disenfranchisement and relentless exclusion by a society largely organized around racism.

So, McCulloch didn’t have to make an argument or tell a story because one was already

No country for black men

I can’t breathe. Those were Eric Garner’s last words, and today they apply to me. The decision by a Staten Island grand jury to not indict the police officer who killed him takes my breath away. In the depressing reality series that should be called “No Country for Black Men,” this sick plot twist was shocking beyond belief. There should have been an indictment in the Ferguson case, in my view, but at least the events that led to Michael Brown Jr.’s killing were in dispute. Garner’s homicide was captured on video. We saw him being choked, heard him plead of his distress, watched as no attempt was made to revive him and his life slipped away. This time, there were literally millions of eyewitnesses. Somebody tell me, just theoretically, how many does it take? Or is this whole “equal justice under the law” thing just a cruel joke?

African-American men are being taught a lesson about how this society values, or devalues, our lives. I’ve always said the notion that racism is a thing of the past was absurd. Now, tragically, you see why. Garner, 43, was an African-

American man. On July 17, he allegedly committed the heinous crime of selling individual cigarettes on the street. A group of New York City police officers approached and surrounded him. As seen in cellphone video footage recorded by an onlooker, Garner was puzzled that the officers seemed to be taking him into custody for such a piddling offense. He was a big man, but at no point did he strike out at the officers or show them disrespect.

But he wasn’t assuming a submissive posture as quickly as the cops wanted. Officer Daniel Pantaleo placed him in a chokehold, compressing his windpipe – a maneuver that the New York Police Department outlawed two decades ago.

Garner complained repeatedly that he was having trouble breathing. The officers wrestled him to the sidewalk, where he died. An emergency medical crew was summoned but officers made no immediate attempt to resuscitate him.

The coroner ruled Garner’s death a homicide. He suffered from asthma, and Pantaleo’s chokehold killed him.

there. And that story organizes society, our imaginations, our lives and our communities.

It’s all there in the images of a black teenager stealing cheap cigars at a convenience store. It’s there in the sad, empty images of people looting and burning a Dollar Store, a Beauty Supply store and a SelfStorage facility.

It’s there in the strip malls, poisonous fast food restaurants, and auto-title loan companies. It’s there in the expectations of white flight and the disappearance of the high-paying, low-skill jobs of factories and auto-plants. It’s there in the failed schools, inept governments, and predatory legal systems of devastated, suburban wastelands.

It’s there in bullying public servants who distribute frontier justice and make capital offenses of disrespect, jay walking, petty theft and questioning their manhood.

The President of the United States and his Attorney General will, of course, place political pressure over justice and what they must know is right. Undoubtedly, they will not seek a just hearing for the dead child and charge the police officer with civil rights violations under laws specifically designed to thwart such a use of local, state power to protect those who may have committed crimes against the defenseless.

That’s how political show trials work. The burden of proof falls on the victims. They must perpetually stand before the nation and the world, desperately and quixotically trying to prove what cannot and should not need to be established: their humanity.

Stephen Casmier is an associate professor in the Department of English at Saint Louis University.

Lack of justice

It is with much sadness that we look upon the Staten Island grand jury’s decision not to indict Eric Garner’s killer. It is a tragic time in our nation’s history when a killing has been captured on videotape and the killer has been allowed to go free. The unconscionable acts of Officer Daniel Pantaleo should not go unpunished by the federal government.

The presence of the video clearly shows that body cameras alone cannot eliminate the potential for excessive use of police force and brutality against our citizens. Community policing and civilian review boards are crucial to increase law enforcement’s accountability to the residents and stem the tide of racial profiling and brutality.

The lack of justice given in both Eric Garner and Michael Brown Jr.’s case has shown that our nation’s criminal justice system is failing our young black men. However, we are hopeful that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s investigation into both cases to determine whether civil rights charges should be brought against Pantaleo and Darren Wilson will result in a positive outcome.

Michael McMillan President,Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis

Appoint a special prosecutor

We will continue to press, alongside others who care about justice, to have the Governor appoint a special prosecutor to re-consider indicting Daniel Pantaleo for the tragic death of Eric Garner. Additionally, we will ask the Justice Department to press forward with a federal civil rights indictment against the officer and to look at and investigate the policies and practices of the NYPD, in particular the use of choke holds.

Hazel Dukes, President NAACP New York State Conference

He will be truly missed

We are truly saddened to hear the news of Bryan

There are two big issues here. One involves the excessive license we now give to police – permission, essentially, to do whatever they must in order to guarantee safe streets. The pendulum has clearly swung too far in the law-and-order direction, at the expense of liberty and justice. The other big issue, inescapably, is race. The greatest injury of the Brown and Garner cases is that grand juries examined the evidence and decided there was no probable cause to believe the officers did anything wrong. I find it impossible to believe this would be the result if the victims were white.

Garner didn’t even fit into the “young black male” category that defines this nation’s most feared and loathed citizens. He was an overweight, middle-aged, asthmatic man. Now we’re told that the man who killed him did nothing wrong. Eric Garner was engaged in an activity that warranted no more than a warning to move along. But he also committed a capital offense: He was the wrong color.

The Staten Island prosecutor presented evidence against Pantaleo to a grand jury; the other officers involved in the incident were given immunity in exchange for their testimony. On December 3, it was announced that the grand jury had declined to indict Pantaleo on any charge. This travesty came just nine days after a St. Louis County grand jury declined to indict Officer Darren Wilson for Brown’s death. Demonstrators took to the streets across Manhattan.

Letters to the editor

Burwell’s untimely passing; Bryan was a great guy with tons of talent and was an even better person. His class and dignity will be truly missed and we were all better people after our time with Bryan.

Chris “Hoss” Neupert, Program Director, 101ESPN

Unequal by design

People who think the American justice system is broken are mistaken. The United States has a long history of brutalizing people of color. You can look through more than 200 years of policies, laws and actions. And the story is the same: people of color are not treated equal under the law.

From the genocide, slavery, red-taping, segregation, internment camps, restricted covenants, gerrymandering, and countless other policies, it’s clear that the system was not designed for equal rights. The system was built on a system of oppression. That is the American justice system. It is not broken.

Christopher Fan St. Louis

We will not stand down

The grand jury’s decision not to indict Daniel Pantaleo for the tragic death of Eric Garner does not mean a crime was not committed in Staten Island, New York, and it does not mean we are done fighting for Eric Garner. It is precisely for this reason we are completing our “Journey for Justice March: Ferguson to Jefferson City” because we must bring racial profiling and police brutality to the forefront of our national consciousness. The NAACP and our allies will not stand down until accountability and justice in cases of police misconduct are served for Garner and the countless other men and women who lost their lives to such police discrimination.

Cornell William Brooks, President NAACP

Guest Columnist

Stephen Casmier

Columnist Eugene Robinson

Gateway to black power

Building bridges, one conversation at a time

By Yemi S. Akande-Bartsch For The St. Louis American

In the aftermath of Ferguson, voices in our region have called for many things – for peace, for justice, for dialogue, for answers, for change, for healing. The issues at hand are complex, which makes the call for leadership all that much greater.

While we cannot predict what lies ahead, FOCUS St. Louis will continue to do our best to support our region and its citizens. We will strive to be a neutral convener and facilitator and to empower our community to work together.

In the face of pain and conflict, it can be tempting to turn away, but as we reiterate time and again in our programs, leaders show up. Our hope is that our FOCUS alumni, friends and community we serve will continue to “show up,” in ways both big and small, to influence positive community change. Our frustration and sadness over what is still lacking or broken should not overshadow our gratitude for what we do have, or our motivation to make things better for our neighbor and region. One of the ways in which we can begin to do that is to build community and trust, one conversation at a time.

In 1993, the Bridges Against Racial Polarization program was founded by two Leadership St. Louis alumni, Daniel Schesch and Gregory Freeman. The program allowed participants to get to know people from other races and cultures while increasing their awareness and understanding of racial issues. In May 2002, the Bridges program was one of 19 initiatives across the United States to be recognized as a “Solution for America” by the Pew Partnership for Civic Change.

The format of the program is simple – groups of eight to 15 individuals meet six times a year over a potluck supper and have meaningful discussions about race and culture. The goal of the program is to build trust and friendship across races, cultures and backgrounds.

In light of the crisis in Ferguson, FOCUS St. Louis recently sought to engage citizens from our region on the issues involved during An Evening of Learning at the Missouri History Museum. The starting point and framework for the evening was the 2002 FOCUS task force report, prepared by 30 citizens, that looked at the state of racial equality in the St. Louis region over an 18-month period.

The task force’s report found that while individual attitudes toward race have improved substantially, there had only been marginal institutional progress. The report looked at the intersection of race with education, economic development, housing, transportation and community engagement, all points of discussion for our evening.

We learned from attendees that we are a very divided community and have much work to do. This isn’t just about Ferguson, but the painful reality that racism is systemic in our community.

We learned that we in the St. Louis region have an historic opportunity to bring about real change, and the optimism and commitment to move forward.

We learned that we need to develop action planning groups about policy change. There is no single course forward or magic fix – lasting and meaningful change will require effort on many fronts, from many individuals, communities and organizations.

As a neutral convener, our goal in bringing the community together was not to chart a course of action or try to quickly “fix” the problem, but instead to move the conversation forward and open eyes, minds and hearts to the many ways that each individual can be an agent of change. Because, as we’ve seen through the Bridges program and many other FOCUS programs, changing attitudes, perceptions and beliefs starts on a personal and individual level.

The recent events in Ferguson highlight the importance of programs such as Bridges as vehicles for addressing racial polarization in the St. Louis region through dialogue in relaxed settings. Programs like Bridges address change on a personal level using the development of relationships and self enlightenment as lightning rods for individual growth and broader community impact.

If you are interested in starting or joining a conversation, contact us at FOCUS—314-6221250, ext. 105.

Yemi S. Akande-Bartsch is Executive Director of FOCUS St. Louis.

Protestors rallied in downtown St. Louis in sight of the Gateway Arch on Nov. 26.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Yemi S. Akande-Bartsch

Weekend of Resistance.

What he experienced, he said, helped prepare him and other New York organizers for this week of protests following the December 3 grand jury’s non-indictment decision of a New York City police officer in the chokehold death of Eric Garner.

The importance of spontaneity was one of the crucial things they learned in Ferguson, he said.

“Understanding that things don’t have to be followed in a rigid way, where there’s one person speaking,” he said. “In Ferguson, there was a profound sense of responsibility. The people were fed up. If someone said, ‘Meet up at 9 p.m. in Shaw,’ the people just knew they needed to go.”

The Ferguson movement’s hallmark element of spontaneity hit new levels last week as thousands of protestors worldwide walked out of schools, shut down highways, occupied retail spaces and took to the streets to demand police accountability.

The day of the grand jury’s announcement in the Garner case, thousands poured into the streets and marched throughout Manhattan. They caused lanes to be closed on the Brooklyn Bridge, West Side Highway and the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels.

“None of that was planned,” said Carl Dix, co-founder of the Stop Mass Incarceration Network. “People came out in

BILL

Continued from A1

Alderman Stephen Conway, Alderwoman Lyda Krewson and Slay, who all helped to defeat the 2006 bill.

anger and figured out what they were going to do.”

Several groups also staged mass die-ins in other parts of New York City, drawing from what they’ve seen in Ferguson, said Dix, who also participated in Ferguson October.

The St. Louis activist group Tribe X – which has since splintered into Black Souljahz – orchestrated the first Ferguson die-in action on November 17 in the University City Loop. It has now spread nationally as a staple of the movement.

Tribe X president Alisha Sonnier said in all the actions they have led, including the historic occupation of Saint Louis University’s campus, “You have to be flexible and let the action take its course.

Spontaneity is our friend.”

This week, New York organizers have called for a “Week of Outrage.”

On Monday morning, activists stormed the Verrazano Bridge during rush hour and carrying banners that read “Eric Garner,” “Mike Brown” and “Black Lives Matter.” They also laid coffins on the freeway, which connects Staten Island to Brooklyn. The shutdown was symbolic because many NYPD officers travel to work from Staten Island, where Garner was killed.

“Someone can tweet, ‘Meet me at Union Square at 6 p.m.,’ and even that has been a successful tool,” said Jose Lopez, lead organizer with Make the Road. “There have been so many groups and individuals organizing actions daily. There are folks using

This time, Slay wanted to rush the bill’s passage before the announcement of a St. Louis County grand jury’s decision in the Darren Wilson case, said Jamala Rogers, one of the co-chairs of the Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression (CAPCR).

Protestors shut down the intersection of Kingshighway and Lindell boulevards in St. Louis’ Central West End on Wednesday, December 3, after a New York grand jury decided not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the chokehold death of Eric Garner. The location of the Chase Park Plaza was targeted because the hotel is rumored to be one of the places where now former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson stayed since he went into hiding following his fatal shooting of Michael Brown Jr. on Aug. 9.

different tactics. It’s partially why we will be able to sustain the movement.”

Lopez was among a handful of young organizers who met with President Barack Obama on December 1 regarding issues of police brutality. In New York, the public safety conversation has largely been focused on investing money into the police department and precincts.

“And that’s the wrong conversation to be had,” Lopez said. “If we have funding that could be spent, is it not better to resource individuals and organizations and cultural institutions that are more responsible for the safety of the community than a local

“But we said, ‘Hold up now,’” Rogers said. “’We’ve been trying to get you to the table for a while. We’ve been working on this for a long time, and we believe it’s important to get it right. Or else it won’t work.’”

In many ways, the bill promises to be stronger than the 2006 version – particularly because the city now has local control of its police department and the community is immersed in the issue of police accountability.

precinct might be? How do we deal with the fact that people of color are targeted, stopped and frisked daily?”

Dante Barry, executive director of the New York-based Million Hoodies Movement for Justice, has traveled to Ferguson about seven times since Brown’s death. NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo killed Eric Garner in a chokehold on July 17, less than a month before Brown’s shooting death. However, the reaction that New York witnessed in Ferguson “helped propel” their own response, said Barry, who started Million Hoodies after Trayvon Martin’s death.

“Ferguson provides a model for what resistance can look

The bill authorizes the oversight board to review citizen complaints, as well as Internal Affairs investigations. As the legislation is written now, the board would have the power to send investigations back to Internal Affairs with recommendations for further questions or additional evidence that is needed. If the board is still unsatisfied, it can conduct its own independent investigation and make recommendations to the police chief regarding discipline.

Also critical, the bill also gives the board access to all documents and allows for some monitoring of Internal Affairs investigations.

But like any legislation, just because it’s on paper doesn’t guarantee its success, said John Chasnoff of CAPCR.

“It will always require that the community stay active on this issue – that they provide some oversight of the oversight board,” Chasnoff said.

During the Ferguson October weekend, protestors stormed St. Louis City Hall. Young protest leaders –including Kennard Williams and Ferguson Commissioner Rasheen Aldridge – listed civilian review among their demands to Mayor Slay. That kind of energy and attention needs to continue, especially

like,” Barry said. “We are seeing a collective response all across this country that is recognizing that direct action is the avenue to go to change culture but also to have a conversation.”

Barry is fighting for two things. First, he wants an end to “broken-windows policing,” where police arrest people of color for petty crimes, such as selling loose cigarettes or falling asleep on the subway. And second, he wants demilitarization of police.

“In every sense, Ferguson is everywhere,” he said. “You can see conditions that you see in Ferguson all across the country.”

DeRay Mckesson and

during the selection of board members, said Chasnoff and Rogers.

Ferguson has shown that the alternative mediation aspect of the legislation is important, Rogers said. Many people want to be heard and be allowed to confront the authorities.

“There will be times when you don’t need to go through an entire investigation, especially if it’s not a killing or shooting – but just to be able to sit down with both parties,” Rogers said. “Sometimes people just want the officers to understand what they were feeling.”

Some contend that the bill gives the mayor too much authority over the board’s membership. The bill allows the mayor to nominate seven members of the board by choosing from the aldermen’s recommendations. The aldermen have authority to confirm or reject those nominations. A public hearing on the nominations is required to allow for public input.

Rogers said this was a compromise to giving the mayor full control of appointing the board’s members, without aldermanic or public input.

This bill is the first in

Johnetta Elzie were among two Ferguson protestors who traveled to New York after the grand jury’s decision, as a way to return the support they received in Ferguson. Mckesson said it was humbling to see Ferguson-originated actions play out among thousands of people and amid the city’s skyscrapers. He learned a lot from New Yorkers, as well, he said. Like many activists, Mckesson expressed the importance of a decentralized movement.

“The power structure doesn’t want to deal with all of us,” McKesson said. “You cannot co-op one person and say, ‘Stop the protests.’ It makes them responsible to the people en masse.” What was so amazing about Ferguson, Barry said, was that so much of the community rose up.

“There’s always a role for someone in this movement,” Barry said. “It’s not about having a chairperson. It’s about having low ego and high impact. It’s an issue that affects a lot of folks, and it’s organic.” And it will be the people who continue to lead the movement, Harley said.

“The community will escalate things until something systemic and substantive has changed, until we see our police officers are held to high esteem,” Harley said. “I don’t think there’s one young black male in Brooklyn who isn’t fed up and ready to yell through the streets. We are not going to be overlooked. And we are not going anywhere.”

a series of steps, Chasnoff said. They will push for two companion bills to increase the powers and independence of the board – one to create a new Department of Civilian Oversight equipped with the right staff and resources to succeed, and another to grant independent subpoena power to this new department. On Friday, about 200 people came to the Board of Aldermen meeting to show their support of the bill. After it was introduced, about eight aldermen stood up and held signs that said, “Black lives matter.” Several of them spoke about police accountability and issues of race in St. Louis. Kennedy took the microphone and said, “When we first entertained this notion, I mentioned in the testimony then that St. Louis is a powderkeg and that St. Louis is on the verge of being ignited. I said that back then. I don’t stand here to say I told you so, but I said it back then.” Kennedy expects the bill will go before the Public Safety Committee after the holidays. Rogers and Chasnoff said that if they can get the bill passed in the city they will work to enact similar legislation in St. Louis County.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

NAACP

Continued from A1

that he was honored to have met with the leadership of the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization on Wednesday, December 3. That evening Gov. Nixon met with NAACP President Cornell Brooks in his office in the Capitol. The Governor invited Brooks and other national and state NAACP leaders to meet with him and key members of his administration, including Coleman, her deputy director Marvin Teer and Dan Isom, director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety.

“Through honest dialogue and mutual respect, I’m confident that together we can make meaningful change to address the challenges underlying the events in Ferguson, and build a future of greater peace, opportunity and fairness for all,” Nixon said in a release.

Pruitt said the meeting went fairly well and that Nixon seemed sincere in his efforts to help move the

St. Louis region forward. NAACP leaders discussed with Nixon their discontent with the “flawed” grand jury process, led by St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert P. McCulloch, that failed to indict Wilson in Brown’s death – and renewed their call for a special prosecutor.

Pruitt said the group also met with Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, who is expected to run for Governor to succeed the term-limited Nixon.

“He also agrees that this is a moment in time where we all need to get it right and make sure we address the longterm problems,” Pruitt said of Koster.

Pruitt reflected on their march through Linn, Missouri by phone late on Thursday, December 4.

“It’s been a long day,” Pruitt said. “We’ve been dealing with a lot of stuff. Linn, Missouri was a lot like Rosebud.”

In Rosebud, they were greeted with the words “Shoot Thieves” spray-painted on a large barrel. While their bus was stopped and empty, someone shot at a window

NAACP President Cornell Brooks and St. Louis City NAACP President Adolphus Pruitt lead marchers down Lindbergh Boulevard in St. Louis County on Sunday, December 7. They marched 134 miles from Ferguson to the State Capitol in Jefferson City as part of the national movement for police reform.

and shattered the glass. Some townsfolk left out 40-ounce beer cans, chicken wings and watermelon.

In Linn, townsfolk held signs defending Officer Wilson

and defaming Michael Brown Jr. Andrew McFadyenKetchum, a white adjunct professor at the University of Colorado and former activist,

said he flew from Denver to St. Louis to participate in the march.

“These guys embraced me,” McFadyen-Ketchum said of the NAACP marchers. “I

don’t know how I’m going to go home after this and have my normal life without a community of people. We have bonded in a way that I’ve never bonded with anyone before.”

In Rosebud, McFadyenKetchum said they encountered “hardcore” racism. “I really didn’t realize that people were that racist,” he said.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol followed marchers along Route 50, with the exception of one day. Pruitt said he was glad to have extra eyes monitoring the situation in case things got tense.

Despite encountering an overwhelming negative response from some on their journey to the State Capitol, Pruitt applauded those that came out to support their efforts.

Pruitt said, “The fact that we found them all along the route demonstrated to us that not only was this march needed, but that there’s support throughout the state – even in rural Missouri – for the issues we in the urban areas have been protesting.”

Follow this reporter on Twitter: @BridjesONeil.

Photo by Carlston Edwards

STL supports Garner

All photos by Lawrence Bryant

The Ferguson Commissions that weren’t

Once there was a Ferguson crisis, there was going to be a Ferguson Commission.

The first player to push for the idea was the office of Mayor Francis Slay. The Slay administration has been the White House’s primary on-theground contact in the St. Louis region since August, despite the fact that the first and worst blowups in the ongoing crisis have been in St. Louis County.

A Ferguson Commission idea was shopped to the Obama White House by Slay operatives fairly early on. In a détente between the Slay administration and The St. Louis American brought about by the crisis in Ferguson, this newspaper was included early on the invite list to get behind the commission idea. Virvus Jones, the most cynical member of a deeply skeptical editorial board, said a commission is just a “pacification effort,” and we agreed at that point (late August) that it was still too early to be talking in the stentorian tones of a commission.

The EYE is not certain what happened next with the Slay administration, but they seem to have downgraded their proposed commission to gubernatorial rather than presidential level and signed up the Post-Dispatch as allies when we could not be had. But it’s just as likely that Slay and the Post editorial board met halfway on the road

to the Governor’s Mansion after Slay’s failed bid to get Obama’s imprimatur for a commission.

Why Obama didn’t bite on a Ferguson Commission may come out in senior staff memoirs one day, but it followed the administration’s trend of withholding major federal support in advance of a St. Louis County grand jury decision on the Darren Wilson case, since it was widely expected that Wilson would walk and this would result in a worse round of arson and vandalism (and perhaps bloodshed). And, of course, all of that happened, exactly as expected – it felt, at times, exactly as scripted. “They would rather come in and fix it after it’s completely broken,” a Slay operative surmised of the Obama White House strategy, “than come in now and get part of the blame when it falls completely apart.”

The Bob Woodwardesque, imbiber of confidential government source pageturner on Ferguson could well play senior Slay staffer Jeff Rainford as a one-man Camelot, who tried valiantly to pull together resources and put together deals in the oceanic void left by the St. Louis County Executive. Lameduck Exec Charlie Dooley eventually came right out and said he did nothing to lead during the crisis – and then went back to doing nothing much to lead during the crisis.

Exec-elect Steve Stenger said it was Dooley’s problem and Dooley’s problem alone until Stenger is sworn into office next year. This might be a savvy strategy for a jailhouse lawyer trying to minimize liability to a favorite client (himself), but an appalling response to an acute political crisis in a county where a majority of voters told you they want you to lead their county government. Since nobody was in the office at Clayton, Room 200 at City Hall went to work. The EYE expects there will be a crescendo of federal support for the St. Louis region, now that the arson and vandalism have come and gone, and if so the Slay administration’s wrangling of federal resources starting in August will deserve to be credited. However, in a smaller political tragedy –within the greater tragedy of dead young men, killer cops and contentious prosecutors – is the failure of Rainford to make good on his Camelot

act, however well-intentioned. When he was the person in the region best positioned to marshal resources behind a series of complex deals that might have moved the community forward at a critical time, he did not have the political credibility to get it done. All those years of over-reaching authority, knocking heads and poisoning the media against adversaries (real or projected) made too many people hesitant to trust his leadership at a moment when snap decisions were needed. After all those years of demanding unwarranted snap decisions, Rainford called for snap decisions when they actually needed to be made. Those decisions were not made, and the moment passed, leaving behind a long trail of broken deals and torched businesses along West Florissant Avenue. Another politico sifting regretfully through the ashes of those broken deals and burnt out businesses is Missouri Attorney General

grand jury decision kept being delayed, making it difficult to schedule, and the Post kept hammering at Nixon, making it more and more likely Nixon would cave. We held back, Nixon caved, and now we have the Ferguson Commission he called into being.

Chris Koster, Rainford’s co-dealmaker on noble, ambitious efforts to convince the City of Ferguson to make some dramatic changes to its police department in advance of the grand jury decision. Koster, who wants to be Governor, has his own credibility issues, and they were made way worse by his appearing as the featured player in a New York Times take-out piece on state attorneys general fundraising for their campaigns from companies with cases before their offices. Koster – who might have been directing his considerable intelligence and influence at Ferguson inside players – suddenly was forced into a more personal damage control mode and compelled to morph himself overnight into the universe’s most fierce (and most quickly assembled) hawk over campaign fundraising improprieties.

Before leaving behind these broken deals to consider a deal that, finally, did get done, the Ferguson Commission established by Gov. Jay Nixon at the repeated urging of the Post-Dispatch, here is another commission footnote. The American was queried about a foundation commission, as well as the White House one that didn’t happen. A national civil rights figure approached The American with foundation support and a think tank’s conceptual resources. It looked like we might move forward with the commission and even started asking potential commissioners, but then the

This Ferguson Commission has now hosted two public meetings, one during the day in the county, the other during the evening in the city. Neither meeting was protested outright, but both were eventually disrupted by some members of the public, who demanded to be heard. Some protestors also demanded that other speakers not be heard. St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson was protested into silence at the commission meeting on Monday, December 8. Dotson’s department has two fatal police shootings under investigation, the shootings of Kajieme Powell and VonDerrit Myers Jr. It’s especially difficult to see Dotson speaking at public meetings in St. Louis about police work while those investigations are active. This is part of the reality that the Ferguson movement has metastasized. Ferguson was always also about St. Louis, and was understood locally that way, but the shootings of Powell and especially Myers really brought the movement home to City Hall and its locally controlled police department – which will be the focus of much future attention and pressure for reform. Further, the EYE understands that the foiled one-man Camelot that is Jeff Rainford will be stepping down from the castle early next year, leaving (the EYE is told) Mary Ellen Ponder at Slay’s right hand. It’s fascinating to imagine Slay running the city without his longtime head knocker and political strategist, especially as the Mayor nurses a string of stinging local political surrogate defeats – so many consecutive defeats that Slay haters lose count, not being sure which failed ballot initiatives the Mayor shadowsupported should be counted. The early indications are not good for Francis. Several aldermen told the EYE the Mayor tried to personally whip votes for the Civilian Review bill he introduced at the Board of Aldermen, where a senior South Side alderman told the Mayor (in so many words) to go back to his office and stay there – unless Slay wants some formidable South Side competition for that office the next time he is on the ballot. It’s a new St. Louis, in so many more ways than one.

Part of the Ferguson Commission that is: co-chairs the Rev. Starsky Wilson and Rich McClure, flanked by the Rev. Traci Blackmon and Scott Negwer, listened to testimony during the commission’s first meeting on Monday, December 1. Photo by Wiley Price

Mother, daughter march to Jeff City for Mike Brown

Braving racist taunts ‘showed my daughter discipline and unity’

By Rebecca Rivas Of The St.

American

Louis

It was eerily quiet when the group of about 75 people on the NAACP’s “Journey for Justice” entered the small town of Rosebud, Missouri on Wednesday, December 3.

St. Louis Public Schools instructor Rhea Willis turned to her daughter, Cheyenne, 15, and asked her, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

They had started the 134mile trek from Ferguson to Jefferson City on Saturday, November 29, seeking systemic change to the criminal justice system and justice for Michael Brown Jr.

And although they were greeted with the words “Shoot Thieves” spray-painted on a large barrel outside of Rosebud, Cheyenne was determined to walk through the town.

“There were people out on both sides of the streets, but they were just staring at us at first,” said Cheyenne, a sophomore at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience Magnet High School. “We were calm. Then they started calling us names, like ‘thieves.’”

The people started yelling, “Get a job! Get off welfare!”

One of the most disheartening sights, Rhea said, was seeing a young boy, about the age of eight, hold

up a sign that said, “Go home, (N-word).”

“It wasn’t a shock because I know how these small counties in Missouri are,” Rhea said. “I expected it, but it wasn’t until you actually see it. Wow, it was amazing.”

While their bus was stopped and empty, someone shot at a window and shattered the glass. Some townsfolk left out 40-ounce beer cans, chicken wings and watermelon. Rhea said one woman was supportive and told them, “Good job!” But a man next to her said, “Yea, they are good (N-word).”

Before coming on the trip, Rhea prepared her daughter for what she might experience. All of Cheyenne’s life, Rhea had talked about the Civil Rights Movement and showed her movies. So Cheyenne told Rhea she felt ready. Among the group that went the whole

distance, Cheyenne was the youngest participant.

“When she went all the way through the town, I was so proud of her,” Rhea said.

Every once in a while, they would joke between themselves to lighten the tense mood in Rosebud. Cheyenne once said, “Mom, they think we don’t have jobs. Do they have jobs? Because they are out here protesting against us in the middle of the day.”

But other than a few quiet comments to each other, the entire group was serious, Rhea said. They walked in a tight formation and did not respond to the taunts.

“We were so united,” she said. “We were disciplined. We did not allow their chants and signs to affect us. We let them know you would not intimidate us. And it showed my daughter discipline and unity above all.”

NAACP “Journey for Justice” marchers from Ferguson to Jefferson City were met with racist taunt and signs in the town of Rosebud, Missouri in Gasconade County on Wednesday, December 3.

Afterwards, Cheyenne tried to tell her friends what happened, but she said they couldn’t believe it.

“Racism still exits,” she said. “It’s not a joke. I learned how to cope and deal with people who are ignorant. And no matter what, no one can stop me from doing what I need to do.”

Overall, Rhea and Cheyenne said they had empowering, positive experiences. They were awed that people from as far as Brazil and Canada joined the group at certain points.

For Rhea, it’s all worth it when her daughter says to her, “Mom, I’m going to come back a different person.”

“I said, ‘We all are,’” Rhea said. “I’m proud of her. She’s a true soldier.”

Follow this reporter on Twitter @rebeccarivas.

By Rev. Osagyefo Sekou For The St. Louis American

On the very day we lay Tamir Rice to rest - a 12-yearold child shot to death by police as he played with a toy gun - we also lower the last vestiges of democracy into the ground.

One week after a highly irregular, leak-ridden and widely criticized St Louis County grand jury failed to find enough evidence merely to establish probable cause that Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown Jr. in Ferguson on August 9, we now see the absurdity of one of NYPD’s finest, Officer Daniel Pantaleo, literally getting away with murder – utilizing a chokehold banned for some 20 years, surrounded by several other officers (who have all been granted immunity from prosecution), for the apparently summarily fatally punished crime of allegedly selling loose cigarettes.

attempt to resuscitate the dying man have been placed on administrative pay without leave.

Mr. Garner’s death was captured on camera by several onlookers, but as we are constantly reminded, the camera makes little difference when black lives are in the frame. Rodney King’s brutal beating was indelibly caught on camera, the murder of Oscar Grant as he lay –handcuffed behind his back on a BART platform – was caught on multiple cameras, the assassination of John Crawford was filmed, and Eric Garner’s last moments are captured in living color – despite police threats to those filmingincluding his heartbreaking final statement, “This stops today.”

The New York Medical Examiner has already ruled Mr. Garner’s death a homicide, and four emergency medical personnel who made no

Body cameras are not a panacea to lethal racial bias. Shortly after the death of Michael Brown Jr., weapon manufacturers rejoiced as stocks soared and investors piled in on this surveillance gold mine. Body cameras for police officers may improve some interactions and perhaps shore up the “he said – he said” that invariably sides with the voice of authority, but ideally, police would stop brutalizing people of color simply because it is the right thing to do, not because they might get in trouble. Furthermore, as clearly seen in the notorious 2009 St Louis case of Officer - now Ferguson City Councilwoman - Kim Tihen and her cohorts assaulting Henry Davis (then infamously sending him a bill for bleeding on their uniforms) cameras can “break,” be “out of service” or just never turned on. And while the cameras themselves may be relatively inexpensive, the sensitive business of storing the accompanying millions of hours of footage merely allows weapons manufacturers and the like to further gouge the taxpayer.

Black lives matter. Black lives matter. Black lives should have mattered before they were gunned down or choked to death, both to the officers charged with protecting and serving them and to a judicial system that has exposed itself as involved in a deadly chokehold of its own.

The Reverend Osagyefo Sekou is a Boston Pastor and Freeman Fellow at the Fellowship of Reconciliation.

Still time for a special prosecutor

By Richard Kuhns For The St. Louis American

Guest Columnist Richard Kuhns

A few years ago I was part of a group of prospective jurors for a criminal trial. In response to questions from the prosecutor and defense counsel, a number of the other white prospective jurors said that, all else being equal, they would resolve a conflict in testimony between a police officer and the defendant (should he choose to testify) in favor of the officer.

The prospective jurors’ instincts were understandable. They probably viewed the police as protectors and had had few, if any, bad dealings with the police. If they had gotten traffic tickets, the officers were probably polite. And, of course, they must have realized that the defendant facing a possible criminal conviction had a motive to lie. What these prospective jurors may not have known, however, is that the phenomenon of extensive police perjury has been well documented. Judges should and do disqualify for cause prospective jurors who express a predisposition to favor the credibility of police officers.

Members of the Darren Wilson grand jury may well have had the same predisposition to view police officers as credible witnesses. However, when they were first impaneled, nobody expected that they would be hearing conflicting testimony of any kind. Rather, the expectation was that the prosecutors, relying heavily on police testimony, would present only one side of the case for the purpose of persuading the grand jurors to return an indictment. Thus, there was no reason to ask the grand jurors

about their possible pro-police biases, much less to disqualify any juror who may have expressed such a bias.

The situation changed dramatically when Robert McCulloch decided to present “all” of the evidence in the Darren Wilson case to the same grand jury that had been hearing routine requests for indictments. As McCulloch well knew, the grand jurors would be considering conflicting evidence, and the grand jurors would have to make credibility assessments. Whatever pre-existing propolice predispositions they had would inevitably come into play.

Moreover, through no fault of their own, the grand jurors’ experience in their preceding weeks of service inevitably contributed to the likelihood that they would have a propolice bias. They had, after all, been regularly hearing police testimony that the prosecutors were asking them

n The responsibility for grand jury’s pro-police bias lies squarely at the feet of Robert McCulloch.

to believe. Indeed, it is likely that most of the witnesses before the grand jury had been police officers.

As if that were not enough, the transcripts released by McCulloch’s office demonstrate that his prosecutors contributed to a likely pro-police bias by the manner in which they questioned witnesses. In contrast to their treatment of some witnesses whose stories the prosecutors vigorously challenged, the prosecutors were extremely deferential to police officers, including Darren Wilson.

For example, Wilson clearly had been well coached by his attorneys. The words he used were carefully crafted to fit potential defenses. Yet, the prosecutors did nothing to challenge Wilson or suggest to the jurors that Wilson was, in effect, testifying from a script. Rather, the tacit message from the prosecutors, whether intended or not, was that Wilson, like the other officers who testified before the grand jury, deserved to be believed. The prosecutors know and work with police officers on a regular basis. They rely upon them for testimony. And with respect to officers other than Wilson, much of the their testimony about the Wilson case was fairly routine – for example, describing physical evidence or recounting interviews with other witnesses. With respect to Wilson, the prosecutors must have realized that if there were an indictment, Wilson might well testify at the trial. They may have made a tactical decision to forgo giving Wilson a preview of how they could attack his credibility. In short, neither the grand jurors nor perhaps the two prosecutors who presented the evidence to the grand jury can be faulted for having or exhibiting a pro-police bias. The responsibility for grand jury’s pro-police bias lies squarely at the feet of Robert McCulloch.

Since McCulloch was unwilling to have his office seek an indictment, the propolice bias issue could have been substantially mitigated by the appointment of a special prosecutor and a new grand jury to hear the Wilson case. Those options still remain. It is important to restore both fairness and the appearance of fairness to the grand jury process. It is time to act.

Richard Kuhns is Professor of Laws Emeritus at Washington University.

Only justice will bring peace

By Comptroller Darlene Green For The St. Louis American

The name Michael Brown Jr. from Ferguson, Missouri will forever be connected with the movement that brought to light the social injustices that continue to permeate our communities throughout today’s America. Racial proiling and use of excessive force by police have brought people from all walks of life to the streets to stand up and say enough is enough. The time for change is now.

The November 24 grand jury decision not to indict the oficer that killed Michael Brown caused the sustained unrest and protests in Ferguson and the St. Louis region to morph into a movement nationwide and the world. The mood of the country with respect to Ferguson is somber and on edge at the same time.

Led by the Department of Justice, we have the real opportunity to make very speciic policy changes that include a national mandate for police body cameras; national police training standards; and a national jobs program. Nonetheless, policy changes alone only scratch the surface of the much larger issues of social and economic injustices in today’s America. State legislative bodies have the opportunity to change laws that will mandate independent investigations and mandate an independent prosecutor for police-involved shootings. Wisconsin law requires an independent investigation for police-involved shootings; but not without a hard ight for reform.

Guest Columnist

Darlene Green

The community unrest will be around as long as the injustice is not dealt with. The federal investigation is now looked to for justice. Only justice will bring peace to the family of Michael Brown Jr. and the Ferguson community.

It is my prayer that in the weeks and months ahead, our community and communities across the country will seek to live together peaceably, work together with respect, and engage in creating positive ways to improve social and economic justice for all people.

Darlene Green is Comptroller of the City of St. Louis.

Unified effort to help

By Orvin Kimbrough For The St. Louis American

As part of this community, United Way of Greater St. Louis cares about the people and neighborhoods we serve.

Like you, I spent the majority of the night of November 24 and the morning after watching with a heavy heart and grave concern as the devastating results of the protests in Ferguson unfolded. While violence drowned out voices of peaceful protest, we are fortunate for all who are committed to our community’s healing and stand at this intersection ready to meet immediate needs and support our unified path forward. United Way is once again assessing the needs of people who need help and stands ready to connect the citizens of our region with the help they need. Our experience shows that as situations evolve, so do the needs of residents. In a unified effort to help meet these needs, we

will continue to join with partner organizations to help people in this region recover in the shortand long-term.

Guest Columnist Orvin Kimbrough

There is little doubt that the regional challenges that lie ahead will be complex. Right now, our neighbors in the affected areas who need non-emergency help are encouraged to call United Way 2-1-1 to register their needs and get connected with available assistance.

As our community moves forward, it is the generous spirit of our region and our ability to stick together that will help us heal. Thank you for being part of the healing.

For more information on United Way’s efforts to help people in Ferguson and beyond, visit HelpingPeople.org/ HelpingFerguson. To connect to resources, simply dial 2-1-1 or call 1-800-427-4626.

Orvin Kimbrough is President and CEO of United Way of Greater St. Louis.

slit on the right side of the card that is the exact width of your phone. Use your phone and trace to be sure you’re cutting it the correct size. Then carefully chop off the the bottom left corner keeping in mind this corner will determine the angle of your phone’s screen when finished. Now slide the right side slot over the front of your phone and set the plastic card’s missing corner onto a flat surface. You’re ready to watch videos without having to hold your phone!

Earbud Headphone Holder Template

PRESENT:

Healthy Kids Kids

Healthcare Careers

RightEating on a Budget

Circuit Training

Nutrition Challenge:

We often hear people talk about how hard it is to eat healthy on a budget. Let’s look at some ways to be successful at this challenge!

> Cook from “scratch” whenever possible. This is the best way to know exactly what ingredients go into a dish. And it is usually cheaper than buying pre-packaged products.

> Use coupons and buy the healthy items in bulk when they’re on sale.

Create a list of 6-10 different kinds of exercise. You can ask your health or P.E. teacher for suggestions. You and your friends should spread out in an open room. Each friend chooses a different exercise.

Set a timer for two minutes. For

This time of year many of your family, friends and neighbors are putting up holiday decorations. Stay safe this holiday season by following a few simple rules:

> Never use Holiday Lights with broken or frayed wiring. (And make sure there are no empty bulb sockets!)

> If you decorate a real tree in your house, place it far away from a ﬁreplace or electric space heater. Dried-out trees are extremely ﬂammable!

> Comparison shop — use the grocery ads found in The St. Louis American to compare prices for similar, healthy food choices at different stores.

> Buy fruits and vegetables that are in season. These will be the lower-cost options.

> Think about packaging. For example, a head of lettuce will make more salads than a smaller, more expensive bag of lettuce.

> What are other ways that you can save and shop smart?

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

those two minutes you work hard to see how many times you can do the exercise you chose. When the timer goes off, switch places and reset the timer – until you have all done each of the exercises.

Keeping your heart rate up and

> Keep pets and younger siblings away from tiny, poisonous or electrical decorations.

> If you use candles, never leave one unattended, keep it away from anything ﬂammable, and make sure it is in a glass or ﬁre-proof container (and out of reach of small hands or pets).

> Remember that some holiday plants are poisonous including holly berries and mistletoe!

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

breathing heavily helps build a stronger heart, burn calories and increases your lung capacity.

Set a goal to do Circuit Training at least three days a week with your friends!

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

Healthy Snacks

Dr. Lauren Steward, General Surgeon

Where do you work? I work at Barnes Jewish Hospital.

Where did you go to school? I graduated from John Burroughs High School. I then received my BA of Human Biology from Stanford University and my medical degree from Harvard Medical School. What does a general surgeon do? I operate on people every day for a variety of different health problems, such as an inﬂamed appendix or gallbladder, or cancer of the various organs. I also help those that have been involved in a major bike or car accident with injuries to the abdominal organs, such as the spleen, bowel, or kidneys. Why did you choose this career? I chose this career because I enjoy helping people feel better, and because I like to operate.

Ingredients: 8 whole-wheat graham crackersﬁnely ground, ¼ Cp raisins, ¼ Cp natural peanut butter, 2 ½ Tbsp honey, 4 Tsp unsweet coconut (optional)

Directions: Combine all ingredients (except coconut) in a bowl. Pat into 8 cookies and press lightly into coconut.

What is your favorite part of the job you have? The best part of my job is seeing how well patients do after I operate on them. Surgeons often deal with solvable, mechanical problems; something inside the patient is injured or not working properly. When I know what is wrong with a patient, and I can go in and “ﬁx” what is wrong, it is very gratifying.

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT

Barack Obama Elementary 5th grade teacher

Megan McQuiston helps students Shaun Williams and Makhia Williams look for articles that promote healthy living as a STEM lesson.

Barack Obama Elementary is in the Normandy Schools Collaborative.

email: nie@stlamerican.com.

SCIENCE CORNER

What Does An Industrial Engineer Do?

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

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

SCIENCE EXPERIMENT

Background Information:

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

Materials Needed: • A Plastic Bag or Lightweight Material • Scissors • String • A Small Object (to act as a weight—a little action ﬁgure would be perfect)

Procedure:

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

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

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

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

Design and Test a Parachute

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

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

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

u Evaluate your design, make modiﬁcations, and retest.

SCIENCE STARS

AFRICAN AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL ENGINEER: April Savoy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MATH CONNECTION

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

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

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

DID YOU KNOW?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Did you the snowboard was invented by engineers? It developed from an invention created by Sherman Poppen called a Snurfer. Frederick Taylor is credited with being the first Industrial engineer. He is also known as the “father of scientific management” and an “efficiency expert.”

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

MAP CORNER

Use the newspaper to complete the following activities.

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

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

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

The St. Louis American’s award winning NIE program provides newspapers and resources to more than 7,000 teachers and students each week throughout the school year, at no charge.

Photo by Wiley Price/St. Louis American

Business

Where health meets economic opportunities

For the Sake of All researchers convene first public

By Sandra Jordan Of The St.

American

Louis

Creating economic opportunities

was the focus of a recent public brainstorming session for organizers of For the Sake of All, a report released earlier this year that highlights health disparities in St. Louis city and county.

Lead researcher Jason Q. Purnell of the Brown School at Washington University put together a panel of leaders who described their community-minded approaches to develop economic opportunity for young people in St. Louis.

forum after report

n “Race discrimination – that’s what Ferguson is all about – that’s what these young people are talking about.”

– Eric E. Vickers

Rebecca Bennett, founder and principal of Emerging Wisdom LLC and the InPower Institute, facilitated the discussion. She asked panelists what excited them in the area of workforce development, financial services and creating economic opportunities for low- to moderateincome families in the St. Louis area.

Tishaura Jones, St. Louis Treasurer,

has been working to establish an Office of Financial Empowerment and has brought forth new programs and resources related to financial literacy.

“We’ve offered monthly lunchand-learns in financial literacy for our employees, partnered with churches and integrated financial literacy into the summer youth

employment program,” she said.

“We are opening an Empowerment Center in City Hall in the Treasurer’s Office, because we realize people visit City Hall for a myriad of reasons and 90 percent of them are not pleasant, so we want to change that trajectory and give people a reason to come down to City Hall for something good.”

Jones is also a proponent of providing children’s college savings accounts, similar to a program in its fifth year in San Francisco. Jones said San Francisco has over 1,200 families saving more than $650,000 of their

Rebuilding Ferguson businesses

By Jason Rosenbaum

Of St. Louis Public Radio

Jeniece Andrews invested her life savings — and her family’s money —into an upscale boutique in Ferguson called Hidden Treasures. Attached to a Little Caesar’s restaurant, the store sold jewelry, clothing and accessories to a diverse clientele throughout Ferguson. But late last month, after a grand jury decided not to indict Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown Jr., arson engulfed the city of Ferguson. Andrew’s store was one of many buildings that burned in a chaotic night of looting and arson. Thanks to a fireproof protective wall, the interior of Little Caesar’s actually held up pretty well — as evidenced by well-preserved soda bottles in a refrigerator. Andrews wasn’t as lucky. Her store was a total loss. Like other business owners in Ferguson and Dellwood, Andrews set up a fundraising page online to help her get back in business. But she could potentially benefit from a no-interest loan program organized

n “We believed that there is a shared reality that we have not formed here in St. Louis.”

– Joe Reagan, Regional Chamber

to stabilize the area and get these entrepreneurs the support they need to get back up and running,” said Joe Reagan, the Chamber’s president and CEO. The St. Louis Business Council’s Reinvest North County Fund is awarding $119,500 to support businesses and school districts. And some key players within the St. Louis business community promised relief to riot-stricken businesses as well as millions of dollars to help bolster the region’s poorest communities. But can those efforts make a difference? At least two professors with experience in community

Benjamin Randall was promoted to Regional VicePresident for 24 Hours Fitness.

Headquartered in San Ramon, Calif., 24 Hour Fitness serves nearly four million members in more than 400 clubs across the U.S. He will be responsible for Las Vegas, Southern California and Hawaii. Randall is a graduate of Cleveland NJROTC High School and the University of Pennsylvania and a veteran of the U.S. Marines.

State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, was appointed by state Senate leadership to the Joint Committee on Governmental Accountability. The committee studies and analyzes inefficiencies, fraud and misconduct in state government and determined from study and analysis the need for modification in statutory law, rules, or policies. Joint committees are usually composed of seven senators and seven representatives.

Patrick D. Walker, JD, MBA, was recognized as a 2014 Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award recipient. In August, Walker was awarded Teacher of the Year at Lindenwood University. He serves as an associate professor of nonprofit administration in the School of Human Services. Walker serves on the board of Small Business Institute, YMCA, and Community Council of St. Charles County and volunteers with a host of non-profits.

Shamika Black was recognized as a 2014 Emerging Scholar by St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley. She was recognized as Emerging Scholar of the Year. Black is working to complete an associate degree in liberal arts and plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in English at UMSL. She is a member of the Garden Club and Phi Theta Kappa. She has volunteered for several political campaigns.

George Cotton has been appointed assistant vice president for Major and Planned Gifts at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He joined the Wake Forest staff in 2011 as senior director of Development and led fundraising initiatives for the Institute for Regenerative Medicine. He will now have responsibility for managing teams of Major Gift officers and directors.

Alice Bynum RN, successfully completed a contract with Elsevier-Nursing Division. Elsevier is a world provider of information solutions that enhance the performance of science, health and technology professionals. As subject matter expert, she provided research and case study analysis for an upcoming publication. Bynum is CEO of Different Directions, a healthcare education consulting company.

On the move? Congratulations!

Jamilah Nasheed

Patrick D. Walker

Shamika Black

George Cotton

See FORUM, B6

Benjamin Randall

Alice Bynum

Ronald Jackson and Sue Stepleton listened as Roosevelt High School Principal Crystal Gale discussed identifying behaviors that may be the root of why a student lacks attention in the classroom during a community forum convened by “For the Sake of All” researchers recently at the Missouri History Museum.

Photo by Wiley Price

Jeniece Andrews addressed the Ferguson Commission on December 1, telling them about her efforts to rebuild her upscale boutique Hidden Treasures, which was destroyed by arson following the grand jury decision in the Darren Wilson case.

Photo by Wiley Price

Delivering more debt then degrees

By Charlene Crowell Center for Responsible Lending

The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) has released research that finds high-cost, for-profit colleges make millions each year by targeting students of color. While these college profits are generated largely from taxpayer funding, their students incur heavy debts with low graduation rates and nearly no marketable skills.

Titled, Do Students of Color Profit from For-Profit College? , the report compared educational and financial outcomes at public or private, non-profit schools with those at for-profit institutions.

CRL researchers found that a student enrolling in for-profit, four-year colleges would pay over $40,000 more than a similar program at a public institution. Although for-profit colleges actually enroll only 13 percent of all college students, they account for nearly half of all student loan defaults.

According to the report, “Because students of color disproportionately attend for-profit colleges, borrow more, and have lower graduation rates, they may be at greater risk and experience disproportionate harm.”

“For profit colleges have positioned themselves as a means for traditionally underserved students of color to achieve educational success

FERGUSON

Continued from B1 fell flat. They worry that big companies are more focused on philanthropy than with empowering communities.

and thus to increase their ability to earn higher incomes, and build wealth,” states the report. “If these schools do not engender better outcomes for their students and instead merely saddle students with debt, then the access these schools provide could prove to widen existing income and wealth gaps, rather than to narrow them.”

These poor outcomes and high costs at for-profit schools annually cost taxpayers about $33 billion in funds through Title IV of the Higher Education Act. Title IV provides funding for both Pell Grants and federal student loans. Currently, Title IV funds can contribute up to 90 percent of an institution’s revenues in a school year.

These disturbing findings could help to shape the upcoming “gainful employment rule” that will establish new parameters for institutions offering career education programs. Expected to be announced by early November, the rule will consider formal comments received earlier this year that informed DoE of concerns from a wide number of education stakeholders.

promised high-quality job prospects when it actually paid some employers to temporarily hired its students for as short a period as a single work day. Corinthian is also alleged to have charged tuition rates so high that its students were forced into taking on private label loans – in addition to federal ones – with repayment terms that began while they were still enrolled.

When these same colleges recruit current or former military service men and women, even more taxpayerfunded revenues are accessed through the Post-9/11 GI Bill. These revenues are in addition to those received through Title IV. Yet access to these large public revenues has little to do with for-profit instruction. Only 17 percent is actually spent on instruction. Marketing and recruitment, for example, represents 23 percent of expenditures.

“To get involved in community organizing is to literally give up some control,” said Todd Swanstrom, a political science professor at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. “Because obviously what you’re saying is the agenda will be set by the community — not by the corporation.”

In late May, a coalition of 53 state and national organizations that included educators, civil rights leaders, veterans, labor and consumer advocates wrote Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Their unified voices said in part, “[O]f all the federal financial aid recipients enrolled at the lowest performing programs, 98 percent are at for-profit colleges. . . . These poor outcomes are of particular concern for low-income and minority students, since they are heavily recruited by many for-profit colleges and enroll disproportionately as a result.”

Later on September 16, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a lawsuit against one of the largest forprofits, Corinthian Colleges. CFPB is seeking $569 million in forgiveness of loans for its use of bogus advertising that

Some of the region’s largest companies have made big commitments since Michael Brown Jr. was shot and killed in early August. Some have pledged money to non-profit groups, while others promised to expand their footprint within north St. Louis County.

Some of the commitments include: Centene said it will build a facility in Ferguson. The

Corinthian also faces further charges from by 20 state attorneys general and received a federal grand jury subpoena in Florida, and another from Georgia.

With for-profit colleges relying so heavily on taxpayer-funded dollars, they should be thrifty stewards of the public purse. Instead, they are price-gouging and leaving what should have been a student’s promising career into a struggle to overcome extraordinarily high debt with few -- if any – marketable skills.

Here’s hoping that DoE will announce a new rule that is strong and broad enough to eliminate financial predators from higher education.

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

company also pledged to hire people from within the city.

Monsanto pledged $1 million to several non-profit groups, including the United Way of Greater St. Louis, the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and Legal Services of Eastern Missouri.

Ferguson-based Emerson donated millions of dollars to numerous organizations. The company will fund scholarships and employment efforts throughout north St. Louis County.

“Emerson has tried to take a leadership position, primarily because our headquarters are in Ferguson and have been for almost 75 years,” said Patrick Sly, an executive vice president with Emerson. “And we have been somewhat successful in getting the rest of the business community involved.”

“It’s really important that we focus on how this is going to give youth jobs and a chance to learn, develop and be successful,” said Centene CEO Michael Neidorff.

Rich McClure — the former chairman of Unigroup and one of two chairmen of the Ferguson Commission — said the “business community is very interested and must be committed to see this as a broad, wide-ranging set of challenges and issues and to engage in addressing those issues.”

But Peter Drier heard similar promises after his city experienced unrest and destruction in the early 1990s, following the acquittal of

Federal employment report shows steady job growth

The private sector has added 10.9 million jobs over 57 straight months of job growth, extending the longest streak on record, according to a new federal employment report. Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 321,000 in November, mainly reflecting a 314,000 increase in private employment –the third strongest month for private payrolls over the past 57 months. Private-sector job growth was revised up for September and October by a combined 32,000, so that over the past three months, private-sector job growth has averaged 266,000 per month. Private employment has risen by at least 200,000 for 10 consecutive months, the first time that has happened since the 1990s. In addition, the average workweek in the private sector rose to 34.6 hours in November, the highest since 2008. Total employment has risen by 2.65 million in the eleven months this year, already totaling more jobs than in any full calendar year since the late 1990s. The pace of job growth has increased, averaging 241,000 per month so far in 2014, up from 194,000 per month last year. On a percentage basis, the economy is adding jobs at a rate of about 2 percent per year, also on pace for the largest percentage increase in any calendar year since the late 1990s.

Reinvest North County Fund awards $119,500

The Reinvest North County Fund awarded $119,500 to support 11 small businesses and children in four school districts. The businesses receiving funding are BJ’S Everlasting Oils; Children’s City Discount Clothing; Clip Appeal; Daba Hair Braiding; Drake’s Place Restaurant; Fan Wireless, LLC; Mounas and Sisters; S and K PX Market; St. Louis Cordless Communications, LLC; Sole Pro Shoetique; and xSolo Insurance Service. This brings the total donated to $248,000. The St. Louis Regional Business Council organized the fund with North County Inc. Regional Development Association. Visit www.NorthStLouisCounty.com for more information.

several police officers who were videotaped beating Rodney King. Dreier is a professor at Occidental College in Los Angeles. He recalls the business community there setting up an organization called “Rebuild L.A.” as a response of sorts to rioting that destroyed parts of the city.

“The idea was to get the business community to invest in the neighborhoods that had been the epicenter of the riots,” Dreier said. “And that meant grocery stores and retail outlets and a couple of shopping malls that never quite got off the ground.”

When the unwieldy group’s promises didn’t materialize, Dreier said it was up to other groups to step up. He said labor unions, activist groups and environmentalists became forces for change within the city.

“There’s been a lot more efforts to raise wages for the low-wage workers, to clean up the environment, to provide more affordable housing,” Dreier said. “And that has come from the bottom up, not from the top down. And it’s made the business community more responsible, although some have done it kicking and screaming.”

“In case of the events of Ferguson, I think the corporate community in St. Louis needs to think more broadly about what generated these issues in the first place,” UMSL professor Swanstrom said. “We need more forward-thinking projects that address the

problems of rising concentrated poverty, weak institutions, fiscal stress and political empowerment.”

Added Dreier: “What Ferguson and the other cities around St. Louis that have similar problems of poverty and racial segregation need is not more charity. They need more justice. They need more jobs. Emerson’s Sly said that his company plans to give beyond its initial investment — which he said now exceeded $6 million.

“One of the ideas that we have is a business incubator where we can use our training center on campus and our expertise to go out and help businesses,” Sly said. “Not only help them repair the damage that’s been done, but also help them get restarted and give them the professional advice they need to be successful.”

“We believed that there is a shared reality that we have not formed here in St. Louis,” Reagan said. “We have to be able to get on the same page and say ‘This is what the situation is around jobs, around socioeconomic gaps, around education gaps, around despair that people have and around policing.’”

St. Louis Public Radio’s Maria Altman contributed to this story. Edited for length and reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.

Charlene Crowell

n “Shout out to the Rams. I appreciated that. It speaks volumes that somebody else is willing to do something, a peaceful protest.”

– St. Louis native Sheldon Richardson of the New York Jets

Devon carrying STL on his back vs. Khan

Welterweights to battle Saturday in Las Vegas

Saturday night the eyes of the boxing world will be on St. Louis’ own Devon Alexander “The Great”. The speedy southpaw is set to battle Great Britain’s Amir “King” Khan in an electrifying welterweight showdown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. With all the scrutiny St. Louis has received surrounding the Ferguson protests, the former two-division champion is hoping to hold his “hands up” in victory and bring some positivity and holiday

story video at www.stlamerican.com

cheer back to his hometown.

Though Alexander (26-2-0, 14 KO) has held titles in both the junior welterweight and welterweight divisions, it’s almost shocking to learn that he has never fought under the bright Las Vegas lights in his 10-year professional career.

It’s not from a lack of trying. Alexander had a few bouts scheduled to take place in the boxing

Could even record against Arizona on Thursday

In Landover, Maryland the St. Louis Rams defense posted their second straight shutout with a 24-0 win over the Washington Redskins. The Rams don’t get long to enjoy the victory, because this will be a short week with the Arizona Cardinals coming in to play Thursday night in a nationally televised game. The Rams defense has been playing at an elite level. That’s the same level that many of us anticipated with the arrival of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

Palmer L. Alexander

The Rams got seven sacks from six different players. Defensive end Robert Quinn and linebacker James Laurinaitas each had 1.5 sacks. This pushes Quinn’s total to 10.5 sacks, which is very impressive since he had a slow start. Also, the defense had 11 tackles for a loss and two interceptions and held the Redskins to just 27 rushing yards. They made Alfred Morris a non-factor holding him to -0.8 yards per carry.

Rookie defensive tackle Aaron Donald also contributed

capital of the world but they each fell through for different reasons. Still, that didn’t deter or discourage Alexander. The 27-year-old fighter remembers watching heavyweight legend Mike Tyson ply his trade in the same storied arena where he will do his business Saturday night. For Alexander, it was all about timing.

“[I

don’t

CLUTCH, B5

Sistrunk

Earl remember his mentor and friend, Bryan Burwell

The St. Louis area and the sports world lost a national treasure last week when St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bryan Burwell passed away after a short bout with cancer. He was 59. Bryan was the total package. He was a brilliant writer, as well as a tremendous communicator through the radio and television airwaves. He was also a great person who was well respected by friends, colleagues and adversaries alike.

I’m truly heartbroken over Bryan’s passing because not only did I lose a good friend, I lost a great role model. As a young African American who loves sports journalism, there were people in life that I followed and said to myself, “I really like him and one day I want to do what he does.” Bryan was one of those special individuals.

When I was a child living in Milwaukee, that person was the late Larry Whiteside, a Hall of Fame baseball writer who wrote for the Milwaukee Journal. He was a neighbor. During my high school-age years while living here in St. Louis, I followed the late Morris Henderson and Richard “Onion” Horton, who both wrote for The St. Louis American, as well as future colleague Mike Claiborne, who I listened to all the time on KMOX radio. Charlie Tuna was also another voice that I listened to all the time.

n Bryan was always on point, yet he was so cool and distinguished in his presentation. Bryan Burwell

During my time in college, as well my early days in the journalism business, I really became attached to the work of Bryan Burwell, Michael Wilbon and the late Ralph Wiley on the national scene. These men were brilliant and larger than life to me. As more writers became fixtures on television, it became easy for me to follow these talented men on a regular basis. Bryan was always on point, yet he was so cool and distinguished in his presentation. I was truly excited on the day it was

Tavon Austin had a breakout performance, with 143 puntreturn yards including a sizzling 78-yard punt return for a touchdown.

n The Rams defense had 11 tackles for a loss and two interceptions and held the Redskins to just 27 rushing yards.

I know it was against a Redskins team that has 99 problems and then some, but the way the Rams won this game on the road was impressive. This young football team took a step forward. The Rams made plenty of mistakes that have cost them several games this year, but this time around they were able to

Ishmael H. Sistrunk

Devon Alexander is set to battle Great Britain’s Amir “King” Khan in an electrifying welterweight showdown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Photo by Wiley Price

cLAib’S cALL

With Mike Claiborne

Thank you, Bryan Burwell, a friend in so many ways

I have been writing since I started at The St. Louis American in 1981. I have written well over a thousand columns and stories that have truly spanned the globe. I never realized that writing about a friend would be this challenging. The passing of Bryan Burwell truly hit close to home last week as he was more than just a colleague. He was a friend in so many ways. It was not uncommon for Bryan and I to be the only two African Americans in a press box. While he would be writing and I would be in the broadcast booth, we would always find a way to circle back to pick each other’s brain on what we had experienced, be it the game we were covering or some other issue that would have nothing to do with the score. It could be strategy, second guessing or someone who would attempt to remind us that we were black and they were not. Fortunately, the latter did not come into play often as Bryan would check that person like a hat at the door. Bryan Burwell was a real man in so many ways. Being a real man did not require being tough, caustic to others or reminding people that he had it and you didn’t. Bryan’s approach was much more cerebral. He was cool. He went out of his way to speak to people he didn’t know. He never brought an attitude or issues to work. He was always reasonable when reason was needed. Bryan was a friend to many. In the press box, on the golf course or in any social environment, he could blend in. Burwell, always the conspiracy theorist, could peel off the first layer of an issue if it did not smell right to him. He was loyal to a fault when it came to teams or coaches. When the Rams were awful with no relief in sight a few years ago, Bryan could still make chicken salad out of the worst parts of a chicken. When he did that, I would always get the inquiry: “What’s wrong with Burwell?” I would simply reply, “Nothing, that’s

just Bryan.” I never appreciated him more when he would stray off the traditional reservation, because he gave us something new to look at.

I remember calling Bryan to get him to come to St. Louis when the Post-Dispatch was looking for a columnist. When he decided to come, I made sure he became a part of my family, as he and his family shared my friends and my family. Including my golf game. Yes, Brian was bitten by the golf bug. While he would never be confused for anyone with the last name “Woods,” it was hard to tell him that. He really felt like his game was improving after he gave you the reasons why he had not been playing or practicing. He made his shot infrequently at

n He got hate mail and he seemed to thrive on it, as it was vindication that he was writing about the tough subjects.

times, but when he was on he had no problem reminding you of it. His friends could offer an assortment of adjectives to describe his game. “Comical” would be one way to describe it, and yet you seldom turned down the chance to play with him. Bryan and I would haggle over his score keeping, and yet he would lodge a complaint with others about how I kept his score. Now, that was comedy.

The sad thing is that all I have now are the memories. I wish there were one more time

I could look at him in disbelief when he put down a 5 on his score card, clearly having forgotten two strokes. I wish I had one more time to watch him throw a club and then turn and look around and say it was ok for us to laugh. Yes, I will miss Bryan Burwell.

Bryan Burwell was a lot of things to a lot of people. He was a truly loving husband who valued time with his wife and daughter in a manner that made us envious. He was a mentor to any young person who was trying to learn about the business and would give them as much time as they needed.

Bryan had no problem calling out people who deserved to get called out. In 2006 there was a player who

had gotten way out of line in how he treated people around town and at the ball park. Bryan had had enough and proceeded to skewer this deserving player to the point where many congratulated him for stepping up and doing the right thing. Many were grateful for his actions. That was Bryan. He got enough hate mail from the racially challenged and he seemed to thrive on it, as it was vindication that he was writing about the tough subjects.

Bryan Burwell was a colleague I never had in St. Louis before his arrival. He helped me get better in so many ways that I will be eternally grateful for. He will no longer write stories for the daily paper, but I will always feel like he will be paying attention and some way, somehow, he will find a way to get the final word in, like he always did.

Thank you, Bryan Burwell. You will be missed for all you gave us.

Cardinal Ritter, DeAndreis, Laboure’ In a kind gesture, the folks at Cardinal Ritter College Prep will play Thursday night at Cardinal Ritter. The difference here is they will be wearing the uniform of the now-defunct, once-mighty DeAndries Wildcats and the ladies of Laboure’ High Schools. It’s throwback Thursday at Cardinal Ritter, and all DeAndreis and Laboure’ alums are invited. It will be a night of homecoming and honor, as well as war stories being told. The proceeds for the game will go to the scholarship fund in the name of Joe Wiley who taught at all three schools. The girls’ game tips off at 5 p.m., with the boys to follow at 6:15 p.m. An alum reception will take place right after the game. Great idea and a great cause that could use your support.

Mike Claiborne

Bryan Burwell, who passed away December 4, 2014 at the age of 59, was a friend to many. In the press box, on the golf course or in any social environment, he could blend in.

Recap of hoop action, from Pattonville to Springfield and all points between

RAMS

Continued from B3 Rams offensive line had some rough moments surrendering four sacks. The Rams were penalized 11 times for 98 yards. Then their sometimes shaky field goal kicker Greg Zuerlein went a total of 1 for 3 on field goal attempts and missed an extra point kick. Given all that, the Rams were able to still preserve a shutout, which is hard to do in the NFL. The Rams grew up a little before our eyes. They’re showing resolve and mental

CLUTCH

Continued from B3

see too much of that. It’s amazing!” Alexander’s trainer, Kevin Cunningham, echoed the statement on the magnitude of the bout. Cunningham is confident that Alexander has put in all the necessary work in the gym to be successful in the most important bout of his career.

“This is the biggest fight of the year, outside a Mayweather or Pacquiao fight,” Cunningham said. “We’ve had a tremendous training camp. He’s ready. He’s prepared.”

If that’s true, Alexander must be prepared for a tough battle against a physically gifted boxer-puncher with tremendous speed and power. While Alexander isn’t known as a devastating knockout puncher, he realizes that in order to be victorious Saturday night, he’ll have to be about the “hurt business” to expose Khan’s (29-3-0, 19 KO) glaring weakness. The Brit’s shaky chin always leaves him susceptible for a mid-fight nap. Even in

toughness. Tight end Jared Cook was on the receiving end of a vicious hit by Redskins safety Ryan Clark. Cook passed the concussion test and returned back to the game and gave the Rams offense a spark, with two of his four receptions going for touchdowns. Tavon Austin had a breakout performance, with 143 puntreturn yards including a sizzling 78-yard punt return for a touchdown. He also was big in the running game with 5 carries for 46 yard a nice 9.2 yard average. Reserve running back Benny Cunningham extended a couple of drives with some nifty open-field

his victories, Khan tastes the canvas so often you’d think it was on the menu at his neighborhood McDonald’s. That fact hasn’t escaped the eyes of Cunningham and Alexander, who expect to serve Khan with powerful and precise combos to test his meddle.

“People sleep on my power a lot, which is good because once I sneak in there and I touch him the right way he’s gonna drop,” Alexander said.

One might attempt to write off Alexander’s strong words as pre-fight hype, but fans who watched his last bout against Jesus Soto Karass saw him stay in the pocket and throw punches with bad intentions throughout the fight. Even with a decision victory in the bag, during the final round Alexander looked to close the show to prove he can be an exciting fighter. According to Cunningham, the victor of this fight will be at the front of the line for a title shot against the Money Man himself, Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Even though, like all fighters, he yearns for respect, titles and trinkets in the ring, the humble-but-confident fighter has another immediate focus

Continued from B3 announced that Bryan was coming to St. Louis to write for the Post-Dispatch. It is one thing to admire someone from afar, but it was truly a blessing to be able to sit down and talk sports with someone you have followed and idolized for so many years. And to become his friend in the process. It’s priceless. I was so glad to be able to tell him what a big impact he had made in my career. Now, I am so thankful that I did. I will always treasure those times we spent together in New York when Bryan came to follow Saint Louis University during the Atlantic 10 Tournament. We got a chance to hang out, eat dinner and just talk basketball with another hoops junkie. He covered the Knicks while in New York, the Bullets during his time in Washington, D.C. and the Pistons while in Detroit. I loved listening to his stories about Hubie Brown and the Knicks and the Bad Boys, whom he covered while in Detroit. While in D.C., he got

Last week in high school basketball featured several good early-season tournaments. Here is a quick recap of last week’s activity.

Pattonville Tournament: Chaminade defeated Metro Catholic Conference rival SLUH 52-41 in the championship game. The highlight game of the tournament came in the semifinals when Chaminade edged Cardinal Ritter 73-68 in an overtime thriller. AllAmerican Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 45 points for Chaminade as they avoided the upset loss to the Lions. Cardinal Ritter edged Pattonville 52-51 in the thirdplace game.

Vianney: Hazelwood

Central defeated the host Golden Griffins 60-47 to win the championship for the 13th time. The Hawks were led by 6’5” junior forward Xavier Sneed with 21 points. Vianney was led by talented 6’7” freshman Car’Teare Gordon’s 20 points. In the thirdplace game, Ladue defeated Belleville West.

Troy: Fort Zumwalt South defeated Columbia Hickman 92-77 in a very entertaining championship game. Senior

running and is carving his own niche in the Rams’ offense. He reminds me a lot of former New England Patriots player Kevin Faulk. At 6-7 the Rams get a chance to get to .500 with a win against the Arizona Cardinals, which is sporting a 10-3 record after beating the Kansas City Chiefs 17-14. The Rams will look to even their record against a NFC West foe that got the best of them a few weeks back when they had Austin Davis as the QB.

Bye, brother Bryan

As many of our readers

outside the squared circle.

The streets of St. Louis have been the center of the world as standoffs between police officers and protesters seeking justice for the killing of Mike Brown have been televised all over the world. Though Alexander declined to pack up and move his training camp out of town, he denies any distraction caused by the protests. However, he maintains that his heart goes out to all those affected and hopes a victory against Khan will be a positive sign for a city involved in so much unrest and turmoil. He also wants to be a positive role model for young children affected by the unrest.

“The whole world is watching Ferguson. [This fight is] important because we need that positive image,” Alexander said. “When I win this, we’re going to be able to talk about some positivity.”

In a year lacking boxing blockbusters and full of mismatches, Alexander vs Khan is a rare ‘pick ‘em’ bout between two evenly matched, highly rated contenders. This fight should’ve occurred last year, but Khan backed out at the last minute thinking he could

to know my uncle Wes Unseld, really well as well as former Georgetown basketball coach John Thompson. We shared so many memories about the Bullets and the Hoyas during the days when the old Big East Conference was in its glory. Just listening to him tell story after story of his old experiences was captivating. We are all saddened and heartbroken to lose someone like Bryan Burwell so soon, but heaven picked up one of the most gifted sports communicators or our generation last week. He will be sorely missed.

BASketBALL noteBook

With Earl Austin Jr.

forward Marshawn Blackmon scored a career-high 40 points to lead the Bulldogs while teammate Preston Whitfield added 28 points.

Southside Classic: St. Mary’s defeated John Burroughs last Friday night 44-35 to win the championship game. The tournament title was a very successful debut for new head coach Kelvin Lee, who took over the St. Mary’s program.

in the championship game.

n At the Springfield Hall of Fame Classic, Lafayette defeated DeSmet 64-51 in a championship game that featured two teams from St. Louis.

Senior guard Jarrett CoxBradley averaged 28.7 points a game in the tournament to lead the Colts.

Shootout at Vashon on Saturday

Springfield Hall of Fame Classic: Lafayette defeated DeSmet 64-51 in a championship game that featured two teams from St. Louis. Senior guard Cameron Scales was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament for the Lancers.

Parkway Tip-Off: Parkway Central finished 3-0 for the week to win the Gerald Linneman Tip-Off Classic, which features all four of the Parkway schools. Central defeated Parkway West 57-43

know, we lost one of the best sports journalists of our generation in Bryan Burwell. I had the pleasure of getting to know him and I appreciated the time he gave me and was always there for me whenever I needed that big brotherly advice. Bryan treated me with the same dignity and respect he would Michael Wilborn (ESPN) or Peter King (Sports Illustrated). He’s an example of being your “Brother’s Keeper.” A one-of-a-kind man whose legacy will be remembered and cherished forever.

get a shortcut to the Money train. That failed and now he’s back on board trying to earn his way to the Mayday payday.

My pick: In a tossup bout, I’m inclined to go with the guy who tends to stay upright. Plus, Khan’s lack of courage last winter doesn’t bode well for his warrior spirit. I’ll take Alexander via split decision victory

Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @ IshmaelSistrunk

The 6’4” senior forward led the Bulldogs to the championship of the Troy Tournament last week. Blackmon had a career-high 40 points, 15 rebounds and four assists to lead South past Columbia Hickman 92-77 in the championship game. He was 16 of 18 from the field. In the semifinals, Blackmon had 22 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in a 73-47 victory over Westminster. He also had 28 points and 11 rebounds in a 76-57 victory over Holt in the first round. Through four games, Blackmon is averaging 26 points, 8.8

Chaminade’s Jayson Tatum jams home two of his 20 points in the Red Devils’ 81-59 victory over visiting CBC in a Metro Catholic Conference showdown on Tuesday night. Chaminade improved its record to 4-1.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

FORUM

Continued from B1 own money in children’s savings accounts.

“What they do is similar to what we’ll be doing,” Jones said. “They give each kindergartener in a public school a $50 deposit-only account and if you’re eligible for free-and-reduced lunch, you get an extra $50. I don’t know if we have the money to do that, but, we are going to give every kindergartner in a public or charter school $50 on an account at a local credit union.”

Additionally, Jones said the Wells Fargo’s Hands on Banking program will provide financial education and the office will raise funds for incentives for kids who are making positive strides in school.

“We are doing this because I personally think it’s the government’s responsibility to eradicate poverty,” she said.

Michael Sherraden, the director of Washington University’s Center for Social Development, said he was excited about the efforts of the City Treasurer. Washington University has been studying a similar project, SEED for Oklahoma Kids, which gave 1,346 children a $1,000 college savings account at birth.

“We find that is the children have an account their parents have higher expectations for their educational achievement,” Sherraden said. “We know that’s very much associated with educational achievement later on. We have more positive measures of child development, especially social and emotional development, with children and their mothers.”

For Roderick Nunn, interim president of St. Louis Community College at Forest Park, spoke about the Adult Learning Academy, which offers developmental curriculum presented in nontraditional ways.

“All of the curriculum and

the math computations were contextualized to the health discipline, so you might be doing dosage calculations and things like that,” Nunn said. “It’s kind of tweaking your interests in terms of what you want to be in terms of your career goals.”

Nunn added, according to the college’s initial data, students are completing developmental math much faster pace. Currently only a few hundred students out of 21,000 enrolled are participating in the project. Nunn said is excited about the idea of bringing it to scale in developmental reading, developmental writing and developmental math.

Edward Bryant, president of the St. Louis Minority Business Council, said there are opportunities to look forward rather than back in regional entrepreneurship.

“I am looking at ways to make that entrepreneurial ecosystem more economically inclusive so that we don’t just become another bunch of hip young white guys,” Bryant said. “That ecosystem needs to look more like the entire region.”

n “I am looking at ways to make that entrepreneurial ecosystem more economically inclusive so that we don’t just become another bunch of hip young white guys.”

– Edward Bryant, Minority Business Council

Attendees became participants when asked to list on one notecard related activities from their communities that are creating economic opportunities.

The most animated discussions came from responses listed on the second

notecard –what attendees thought was missing from the equation. They came back with financial education beginning early in life, guidance in career paths, parenting skills training, key influencers and persons most affected by economic and health disparities.

“We’re missing white folk in all these meetings –white folk with power, with influence,” said Karen Kalish, an education advocate. “We are missing the outrage of what is going on in this community; we are missing the outrage of letting all these kids in North

Photo by Wiley Price

City, North County not get educated – and we are standing by.”

She said also missing are people outraged at having 92 municipalities in St. Louis County. “That is the most ridiculous, ineffective way to govern, and how are we going to get them together and realize it?” Kalish said.

Race and its role in persistent economic disparities never came up, until attorney Eric E. Vickers called it out for the audience to consider.

“The reason there is a lack of economic development in the black community is largely because of pure, straight-out race discrimination,” Vickers said. “Blacks can’t go to a bank and get a loan like whites; blacks can’t go and apply for a job like whites and expect to get employed. It’s race discrimination that we all deal with, and we don’t discuss it.”

Jason Q. Purnell of

addressed a group convened to discuss communityminded approaches to develop economic opportunity for young people in St. Louis recently at the Missouri History Museum.

Vickers asked Purnell, a social psychologist, why can’t this community just have a frank discussion about race.

“Race discrimination –that’s what Ferguson is all about – that’s what these young people are talking about,” Vickers said. “They are being treated differently, and they are not the only ones saying it. Every black person in this city is saying it right now.”

The forum was made possible by the Missouri Foundation for Health, Focus St. Louis and Washington University St. Louis. In early 2015, the For the Sake of All project will take an in-depth look at early childhood development in the St. Louis area.

For more information about the report, forum or related activities, visit forthesakeofall. org.

the Brown School at Washington University

and best

opens

Top Rock

Familiar role raises bar, delivers on screen rhythm for popular comic

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

The general consensus – as “Top Five” has enjoyed rave reviews while making its festival appearances and limited release run earlier this month – is it’s “the best Chris Rock movie ever.”

While true, limiting comparisons to Rock’s prior body of work in Hollywood is actually a disservice to the film – which opens in theatres nationwide tomorrow.

That’s not to say Rock’s contributions have been terrible – “Pootie Tang” aside. But even at his best, Rock’s usual modus operandi of expanding bits to feature length (and/or attempting to update one of his favorite films for the enjoyment of himself and his fans) doesn’t merit comparison to his transformational cinematic moment via “Top Five.”

In “Top Five” audiences see Rock closer than ever to realizing his potential as movie star – a task more than 20 years in the making.

Despite his unmatched wit and broad fan base, Rock hasn’t enjoyed the expected transition into blockbuster film star – a measure of success imposed on post-Eddie Murphy generations of black comedians.

In all fairness, Rock doesn’t have the organic ability of Jamie Foxx or the unyielding energy and charm of a Kevin Hart that tend to fare especially well on screen.

But the third time is obviously a charm for Rock’s attempt as a writer (or in some cases adapter), director and star.

In “Top Five” he portrays Andre Allen, a comedian turned movie star dealing with the downsides of celebrity and creative frustration after being boxed into a role that doesn’t leave provisions for artistic growth.

As he broods over a gamble to abandon his lovable character for a serious starring role – and attempts to mentally prepare for his marriage to a fame-thirsty reality starlet – Allen is forced to spend the day with a reporter whose publication

Flavor Flav comes to Ferguson

Rapper and reality star marches with protestors

By Kenya Vaughn Of The

“I

“Because Ferguson is ground zero for all of this.” Two days after a grand jury in his native New York voted not to indict a police officer in the choking death of Eric Garner, Flav stood before a group of protestors to show his solidarity with their movement. He also gave them credit for kicking off international protests in the name of Michael Brown Jr. that now call for an end to deaths at the hands of law enforcement nationwide.

“We’re here today because we’re tired,” said Pastor Derek Robinson, one of the organizers for the event. “This continues to

Temporary beauty

Darling style divas

Fashionistas from toddler to teen made their way down the catwalk once again as LAHA Clothing’s Lillian Jones presented her annual winter Children’s fashion show at The North County Recreation Center Sunday night. Several local designers pitch in, donating their time and talent to create lines for a production that has become a must attend among the St. Louis style community in just a few short years.

By Camille Phillips

Chris Rock’s new

film “Top Five,” co-starring Rosario Dawson,

in theatres nationwide on Friday, December 12.

Flavor Flav came to Ferguson to march with protestors on December 4, he said, “because Ferguson is ground zero for all of this.” Photo by Lawrence Bryant See FLAV, C9

Photo by Wiley Price

Aaron Dickerson paints St. Louis cityscape on the plywood covering the windows of an auto parts shop in Dellwood on Saturday, December 6, 2014. Credit Camille Phillips/St. Louis Public Radio

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.

holiday haps

Dec. 3 – 27, Chase Park Plaza presents The Annual Holiday Extravaganza. A month-long event featuring Christmas carolers, cookie decorating, a gingerbread house, elves, a Hanukkah Celebration, a special Kwanzaa display, and free photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus. The festivities begin with the outdoor arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus by a Holiday-themed horse drawn carriage as Caroling St. Louis, dressed in period costumes, perform in the hotel lobby. The evening also includes complimentary cookies, hot chocolate and hot cider. Tour the Chase’s elegant lobby as it is transformed into a magical Winter Wonderland. 212 N. Kingshighway Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.chaseparkplaza.com.

Fri., Dec. 12, 8:30 p.m., The Kranzberg Arts Center presents Javier Mendoza’s Christmas Concert. 501 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. javiermendoza.com.

Dec. 12 – 14, The Fox Theatre presents A Christmas Carol. When Charles Dickens wrote his “ghostly little tale” in 1843, he couldn’t know that it was destined to become one of the most beloved holiday traditions of all time. By telling this fable illustrating the unfairness of the Industrial Revolution and the necessity for brotherhood and unselishness, Dickens gave the world one of its most enduring Christmas stories. 527 N Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. fabulousfox.com.

Sat., Dec. 13, 7 p.m., The Platinum Group presents Networking Christmas Party. Polish Heritage Center, 1413 N. 20th St., 63106. For more information, call (314) 660-9610 or email platinumgroup02@gmail.com.

Sat., Dec. 13, 8 p.m., The

Sheldon Concert Hall presents Blind Boys of Alabama with Kelly Hunt and Ruthie Foster. The Blind Boys of Alabama have spread the spirit and energy of pure soul gospel music for over 60 years, ever since the original group formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in 1939. Back by popular demand, the Blind Boys return with their soulful, uplifting Christmas celebration. 3648 Washington Blvd., Sat., Dec. 13, 8 p.m., Florissant Fine Arts Council presents The Standards in Jazz Christmas Concert. Musicians and vocalists will be invited to perform in tribute to “homegrown” national champion and force behind the growth and development of many professional jazz musicians, Ross Gentile. Florissant Civic Center, James J. Eagan Center, 1 James J. Eagan Dr., 63033. For more information, call 314-921-5678 or visit www.FlorissantMO. com.

Sun., Dec. 14, 3 p.m., Northwinds Concert Band presents Hometown Holiday Special. This annual Holiday concert is a cherished family tradition. Under the direction of Larry Marsh, this acclaimed community band will present a varied program of brightspirited music, including traditional holiday favorites, with special guest soloists and a few surprises. Northwinds is a program of FergusonFlorissant’s Community Education Department. Florissant Civic Center, James J. Eagan Center, 1 James J. Eagan Dr., 63033. For more information, call 314-921-5678 or visit www.FlorissantMO. com.

Sun., Dec. 14, 8:30 p.m., The Magic House hosts Breakfast with Santa. Parents and their little short stacks are sure to “lip” over this breakfast. Families can make their morning (or evening) sizzle with a yummy pancake

Calendar

breakfast cooked by a pancake lipper extraordinaire. This isn’t any normal pancake breakfast, as kids will catch their pancakes as they are tossed through the air by Chris Cakes Catering’s master chef. The kids can also have a special photo taken with Santa, enjoy playtime in the museum and even have the opportunity to make a fun holiday craft to take home. Reservations are required. 516 S. Kirkwood Rd., 63122. For more information, visit www.magichouse.org.

Sun., Dec. 14, 10 a.m., Lafayette Square Restoration Committee presents The Holiday Parlor Tour. The restoration committee seeks to facilitate the preservation and redevelopment of Lafayette Square, respecting its special historic character and enhancing its overall livability. Lafayette Square was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and has been named one of the “prettiest painted places in America.” Visitors will enjoy the sights, sounds, and scents of a Victorian wonderland as they tour ten decorated homes. The tour will also feature carriage rides around Lafayette Park, trolley rides to tour destinations, holiday caroling, and live music.1917 Park Ave, Saint Louis, MO 63104. For more information, visit www. lafayettesquare.org.

Sun., Dec. 14, 12 noon, Holiday Soul Food Buffet at the New Northside Conference Center, 5939 Goodfellow. Blvd., St. Louis, MO. 63147. Come Enjoy delicious food, fellowship and Christmas Cheer with us on Sunday, December 14, 2014 from 12 pm- 5 pm. Adult dinner $12.95, Children ages 4 to 10 - $9.95 and children under 3 are FREE.

Through Dec. 14, 5:30 p.m., Missouri Botanical Garden presents Garden Glow Holiday Light Exhibit. Visitors will have the opportunity to stroll through the Garden at night surrounded by a spectacle of unique light installations. Hundreds of thousands of lights will adorn some of the Garden’s most iconic locations including the Climatron®, Kaeser Memorial Maze, the Central Axis and Tower Grove House. Walkways will be transformed into an explosion of visual magic, while more traditional

displays will delight crowds of all ages. 4344 Shaw Blvd., 63110. For more information, call (314) 577-5100 or visit www.missouribotanicalgarden. org.

Tues., Dec. 16, 6 p.m., The EBR Writer’s Club presents Annual Pre-Kwanza Cultural Expo: Kuumba (creativity) and Umoja (unity) for Peace. A celebration of family, community, and culture featuring exhibits, dancers, “poetrees,” and drums. Presenters include Darlene Roy, Roscoe Crenshaw, Jaye P. Willis, Charlois Lumpkin, Treasure Shields Redmond, “Ackurate,” Sunshine’s ensemble, Theo Jamison, Reginald Petty, and Eugene B. Redmond. East St. Louis Higher Education Center, 601 James R. Thompson Blvd., East St. Louis, IL. 62201. For more information, call (618) 650-3991 or email eredmon@ siue.edu.

Dec. 16 – Jan. 4, The Fox Theatre presents A Christmas Story. With songs both funny and heartfelt, and a faithful yet inventive book, A Christmas Story captures holiday wonder with such deliciously wicked wit that it is sure to delight children and grown-ups alike. It’s the Christmas present that you’ll cherish all holiday long. 527 N Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. fabulousfox.com.

Wednesdays, Through Dec. 17, 12 p.m., Historic Holiday Concert Series at the Old Courthouse. Bring your lunch and enjoy this free midweek performance of traditional holiday music. 11 N. 4th St., 63102. For more information, visit www.gatewayarch.com.

Wed., Dec. 17, 12 p.m., Historic Holiday Concert Series at the Old Courthouse. Bring your lunch and enjoy this free midweek performance of traditional holiday music. 11 N. 4th St., 63102. For more information, visit www. gatewayarch.com.

Thur., Dec. 18, 7:30 p.m., A Gospel Christmas with Oleta Adams. Oleta Adams joins the STL Symphony and IN UNISON Chorus led by director Kevin McBeth for a night of soul-stirring Gospel music to celebrate the most joyous of seasons. Powell Symphony Hall, 718

The Ambassador welcomes Corey Holcomb. See COMEDY for details.

N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, call (314) 534-1700 or visit www. stlsymphony.org.

Dec. 19 – 20, 5:30 p.m., The St. Louis Ballet presents Nutcracker Dinner. Enjoy a three-course dinner (with kid-friendly options) in the festively decorated Lee Theatre in advance of two selected Nutcracker performances at 7 p.m. Children will receive a signed, commemorative photo of the cast and have an opportunity to visit with a special guest – Santa Claus. Tickets for performances are sold separately. Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, UMSL, 1 University Blvd., 63121. For more information, visit www.touhill. org.

Dec. 20, 3:30 p.m., A Shelly Jenkins Christmas (stage play) 3623 Finney Ave, St. Louis MO, 63113.

Tues., Dec. 23, 7:30 p.m., Powell Symphony Hall presents Bach Society of St. Louis Christmas Candlelight Concert. Capture the spirit of Christmas with Handel’s Messiah. The well-known selections will highlight solos by soprano Jane Jennings, mezzo soprano Debra Hillabrand and tenor Don Frazure. Then, experience the much-anticipated candlelight procession, a cornerstone of this concert since 1951, with the Bach Society Chorus and special guests The St. Louis Children’s Choirs processing throughout the hall. Favorite carols of the season and an audience sing-along promise to make this the perfect holiday family tradition. 718 N Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. bachsociety.org.

Sun., Dec. 28, 12 noon, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. & Saint Louis Art Museum present KWANZAA: Holding Our Past, Strengthening Our Present, Saint Louis Art Museum and The Farrell Auditorium at The St. Louis Art Museum for Musical Performance. For more information, visit www. dstslmac.com

Fri., Dec. 26, 8 p.m., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Gamma Omega Chapter presents End of the Year Jam The Machinists Hall, 12365 St.

Charles Rock Rd., 63044. For more information, call (314) 973-9801 or (314) 303-4082. Mon., Dec. 29, 12 p.m., The Botanical Garden hosts Kwanzaa: The Festival of the First Fruits. Kwanzaa is a Swahili term that means “irst fruits,” and this contemporary African-American holiday centers on the feast table of the harvest. A Kwanzaa ceremony highlights a day of storytelling, craft and jewelry displays, and authentic African drumming and musical performances. 4344 Shaw Blvd., 63110. For more information, visit www. missouribotanicalgarden.org.

Wed., Dec. 31, 6 p.m., First Night in Grand Center. In celebration of the 250th Birthday of the City of St. Louis, this year’s First Night will be an evening to remember! The winter celebration features visual and performing arts, musicians, storytellers, dancers, magicians, actors, puppeteers and visual and media artists. This year’s theme is “St. Lou-minous.” The opening ceremony begins at 6:00 p.m. on the Main Stage at Grand and Lindell. There will be a children’s ireworks show at 9:00 p.m. and Grand Finale Fireworks at midnight. Grand Center District, Grand and Lindell, 63103. For more information, call (314) 2891500 or visit www.grandcenter. org.

Wed., Dec. 31, 9:30 p.m., Gateway Arch Riverboat New Year’s Eve Cruise. Ring in the New Year on a 19th century replica steamboat, cruising down the Mississippi. Enjoy a 3 1/2 hour cruise featuring beef medallions, shrimp, potatoes, vegetable medley, salad and the chef’s special dessert. The cruise also includes an open house bar, DJ, party favors and a champagne toast at midnight. Leonor K. Sullivan Blvd., 63102. For more information, visit www. gatewayarch.com.

Through Jan. 1, Tilles Park hosts Winter Wonder Land Park Carriage Rides. Winter Wonderland is open for vehicular trafic Sunday through Friday from 5:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Saturdays are closed to vehicular trafic and reserved for carriage rides only. Horse drawn carriage rides are available every night except Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Advanced reservations are required for all carriage rides. 9551 Litzinger Rd., 63124. For more information, call (314) 615-5000 or for tickets visit www.metrotix.com

Thur. – Sun. through Jan. 4, 6 p.m., Anheuser Busch Brewery Christmas Lights Experience. The towering, Germanic-style red-brick buildings adorned with thousands of lights can be enjoyed up-close through a self-guided walking tour. Guests aged 21 and older can sample complimentary beers along the walking tour route, get comfy and cozy around warm ire pits to roast s’mores, and pose for a souvenir photo in a themed snow globe or with a Budweiser Clydesdale. Drive-through tours are welcome on Monday and Wednesday evenings. 12th & Lynch St., 63118. For more information, visit www. budweisertours.com

Featured Event

Sat., Dec. 20, PSG Entertainment presents The Infamous Slum Tour w/ Prodigy of Mobb Deep and Slum Village and featuring Tef Poe, Rockwell Knuckles Thelonius Kryptonite, Nato Caliph & Nappy DJ Needles, Plush St. Louis, 3224 Locust St, St Louis, MO. For more information, visit http:// ampstlouis.com

Wed., Dec. 17 – Sat., Dec. 20, Jazz St. Louis welcomes The Roy Hargrove Quintet, Ferring Jazz Bistro, Harold

and Thelma Steward Center for Jazz, 3536 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www.jazzstl. org.

Dec. 26 & 27, Jazz at the Bistro in Grand Center presents Good 4 the Soul. This explosive four-piece outfit, led by John King on bass, with Adaron “Pops” Jackson on keys, James Jackson on drums, and Shaun Robinson on guitar, draws upon jazz, funk, fusion, gospel, and R&B repertoires to deliver a powerful and unapologetic sound that excites and thrills audiences. When this band hits the stage, there are no boundaries. The only guarantee is a night of world-class music that is Good 4 the Soul. 3536 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. jazzstl.org.

local gigs

Wednesdays, 6-10 p.m., Lexus Len’s “Winedown Wednesdays,” Live Band featuring: Cheryl Brown, Jeremiah Allen, Jeff Taylor, Gerald Warren & Amos Brewer, The Loft, 3112 Olive.

Sat., Dec. 13, 9 p.m., Troy’s Jazz Gallery presents Ladies Sing the Blu’zz Masterpieces. Come experience the smooth and sultry vocal styles of Mary Dyson & Diane Vaughn. 4519 Olive St., 63108. For more information, call (314) 9231120.

comedy

Through Dec. 13, Satori presents STL Up Late. This is an interactive late night talk show featuring the most talented & engaging guests that St. Louis has to offer. STL Up Late takes all of the best elements of your favorite televised late night talk shows, like live music & famous personalities, and adds interactive audience games, sketch comedy, and a spontaneity that you can’t ind on FCC regulated TV shows. 3003 Locust St., 63103. For more information, visit www. stluplate.com.

Sat., Dec. 20, 8 p.m. Corey Holcomb, The Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com or call (314) 5341111.

special events

Fri., Dec. 12, 7:45 p.m., The Pageant hosts Kurt Warner’s Night with Champions. Kurt and Brenda Warner host this event, along with special guests from the 1999 Super Bowl winning Rams: Head Coach Dick Vermeil, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, and Orlando Pace. This will be an evening of entertainment as Kurt Warner and the panel of guests relive the excitement of that fairytale season. All proceeds beneit the St. Louis outreach of the Kurt Warner First Things First Foundation. 6161 Delmar Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www.

thepageant.com.

Sat., Jan. 3, 7 p.m., The Scottrade Center presents Harlem Globetrotters Fans Rule World Tour. The world famous Harlem Globetrotters have been thrilling families and millions of fans for 88 years, all the while innovating the game in exciting new ways. Last year, the Globetrotters did something unparalleled in the history of sports and entertainment, letting fans vote on new rules to be used in actual games. It was so much fun, we are doing it again, and there are cool new rules to choose from: Hot Hand Jersey, Make or Miss, or Trick Shot Challenge Take your kids to www. harlemglobetrotters.com/rule to vote for their favorite, craziest rule. Then, get your tickets to the game, where you will see the winning rules put into live action. 1401 Clark Ave., 63103. For more information, call (314) 622-5400 or visit www.scottradecenter.com.

Jan. 3 – 4, 10 a.m., EPIC STL Productions presents STL Motorcycle Show. This is the event of the year for any motorcycle enthusiast. Every make and model that St. Louis has to offer will be represented. Live bike trial demonstration from some of the hottest trick riders in the country. America’s Center, 701 Convention Plaza, 63101. For more information, call (314) 276-4497 or visit www.stlmotorcycleshow.com.

Jan. 3 – 4, 11 a.m., St. Louis Bride & Groom Magazine presents The Wedding Show. This is the largest wedding planning event in the Midwest. In just one afternoon you will see more wedding businesses than you could visit in a month on your own. See some of the hottest designer bridal fashions, on a New York-style professional runway show. The show features bridal gowns, bridesmaid dresses, tuxedos, beautiful motherof-the-brides gowns, and even swimwear perfect for a tropical honeymoon. Enjoy some of the area’s top wedding musicians as they perform throughout the day in a special staging area with seating. 701 Convention Plaza, 63101. For more information, call (636) 530-7989 or visit www. stlbrideandgroom.com.

Wed., Jan. 7, 7:30 p.m., Chaifetz Arena presents Cirque Du Soleil: Varekai Deep within a forest, at the summit of a volcano, exists an extraordinary world - a world where something else is possible. From the sky falls a solitary young man, and the story of Varekai begins. Parachuted into the shadows of a magical forest, a kaleidoscopic world populated by fantastical creatures, this young man sets off on an adventure both absurd and extraordinary. On this day at the edge of time, in this place of all possibilities, begins an inspired incantation to life rediscovered. This production pays tribute to the nomadic soul, to the spirit and art of the circus tradition, and to the infinite passion of those whose quest takes them along the path that leads to Varekai 1 Compton Ave., 63101. For more information, call (314) 977-5000 or visit www.

The EBR Writer’s Club presents Annual PreKwanza Cultural Expo: Kuumba (creativity) and Umoja (unity) for Peace. For more information, see HOLIDAY HAPS.

thechaifetzarena.com.

Sat., Jan. 17, 7 p.m., Sumner Class of ’59 Alumni presents 37th Annual Oldie But Goodie Dance. There will be music provided by Baby O & Master Blaster. Machinists Hall, 12365 St. Charles Rock Rd., 63044. For more information, call (314) 6808324 or (314) 791-5504.

Thursdays, 7 p.m. (6 p.m. practice), The Cultural Bop Society Of St. Louis Continuing the Bop with Style (CBS) (BOP the official Dance of St. Louis, Free Bop Lessons and Bop Set Every Thursday Night, 7555 Olive Blvd. in U-City, St. Louis, MO 63130.

theatre

Through Dec. 14, The Peabody Opera House presents Pippin. Come experience one young man’s journey to be extraordinary in this high-flying, death-defying hit musical. 1400 Market St., 63103. For more information, call (314) 499-7600 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Through Dec. 21, The Black Rep presents A Raisin in the Sun. Emerson Performance Center, Harris-Stowe State University, 3026 Laclede Ave., 63103. For more information, call (314) 534-3807 or visit www.theblackrep.org.

arts

Fridays & Saturdays

Through Dec. 20, 10:30 a.m.,

The Alliance of Black Art Galleries presents Hands Up, Don’t Shoot: Artists Respond Exhibiting artists include: Lenard Hinds, Bill Murphy, Lola Ogbara, Eva Sutton, Jacquelyn Williams, (St. Louis), Edna PattersonPetty (East St. Louis), Sean Starowitz & Lauren Tweedie (Kansas City), Teamworks Unlimited (New York). The Griot Museum of Black History, 2505 St. Louis Ave., 63106. For more information, call (314) 241-7057.

Through Jan. 4, St. Louis Art Museum presents Atua: Sacred Gods from Polynesia Explore, in unprecedented

an understanding of what is expected of them as well as the kinds of questions that they should expect from an interviewer. Participants will also receive tips on business etiquette and resume writing. Please dress professionally and bring your resume.

Mid-County Branch, St. Louis County Library, 7821 Maryland Ave., 63105. For more information, visit www. circleoinluence.us.

depth, the relationship between art objects and Polynesian concepts of atua—gods, ancestors, and spirit beings that are fundamental to the Polynesian cosmos. Organized geographically, Atua leads visitors across the vast span of Polynesian islands. With the arrival of missionaries, artworks associated with atua often were destroyed or exported to the West as souvenirs of conversion and colonialism. Among those sculptures that did survive this period, the most powerful and celebrated objects are presented in this exhibit. One Fine Arts Dr., 63110. For more information, call (314) 7210072 or visit www.slam.org/ atua.

lectures

Sat., Dec. 13, 11 a.m., Circle of Inluence hosts Mock Interview Workshop. This workshop will provide an interactive experience with participants by helping them to practice their interviewing skills. Participants will gain

Sat., Dec. 13, 10:00 a.m., St. Louis Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Economic Development Committee presents An Innovative Entrepreneurship Workshop. Panelists of minority business owners will speak on how they started their own business. Participating business areas include: daycares, catering, construction, real estate, healthcare, and education. There will also be refreshments, prizes, giveaways, and more. RSVPs must be received no later than Nov. 22. O’Fallon Park Recreation Complex, 4343 West Florissant Ave., 63115. For more information, call (314) 790-1243.

Through Jan. 4, 2015, The St. Louis Science Center presents The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes. Step in to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Victorian London and work sideby-side with his legendary detective. You will become Holmes’ eyes and ears as he tackles a baffling new case in a world steeped in innovation and experimentation. Along the way you’ll see a dazzling array of original manuscripts, publications, period artifacts, film and television props and costumes. You’ll learn to use investigative tools and techniques from Holmes himself, and test yourself with exciting, interactive crimesolving opportunities. Come Solve the Mystery. 5050 Oakland Ave., 63110. For more information, call (314) 289-4400 or visit www.slsc. org/watson.

Sat. Dec. 6, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., Free Mammograms at the Health Resource Center, Victor Roberts Building, 1408 Kingshighway in St. Louis; for female patients age 40 and older in conjunction with Mercy St. Louis Breast Center mobile mammogram van. Free flu shots, physical therapy evaluations, health screenings and info, family counseling and social work consultations are also available at this event. To schedule a mammogram or for more information, call 314-389-0008.

Sat., Dec. 13, 10 a.m., Omega Psi Phi Charles Drew Blood Drive. The Omega Center, 3900 Goodfellow Blvd., 63120. For more information or to make an appointment, call (314) 385-4100.

Sat., Dec. 20, 9:30 a.m., Health Protection and Education Services presents Free Health Screenings and Physician Referrals. Health Protection and Education Services, a health organization operating in University City offers free health screenings and referrals for people who are under-insured. They employ volunteer doctors, nurses and medical and nursing students to screen people for ailments. Translators available. Referrals are made to the People’s Health Center. University City Public Library, 6701 Delmar Blvd., 63130. For more information, call (314) 448-7373.

film

Fri., Dec. 12, Top Five starring Chris Rock and Cedric The Entertainer opens in theatres nationwide. Fri., Dec. 19, Annie starring Jamie Foxx and Quvenzhané Wallis opens in theatres nationwide.

Makeup star makes stop in STL

AJ Crimson returns to demo additions to his popular line

By Danie Rae, Stylebroker

For The St. Louis American

Over the last five years, the make-up industry has been one of the fastest growing industries in today’s retail market. With that growth, there has been a shift in manufacturing, marketing and selling of makeup and other beauty products. Long gone are the days when multi-million dollar companies like L’oreal monopolized the market. Independent companies have made a stamp on the industry by using the popularity of social media to power their beauty brand’s movement. One of my favorite beauty gurus is AJ Crimson. He returned to St. Louis on Friday, December 5 for an intimate make-up class and demo to promote the newest addition to his makeup line, AJ Crimson Pro. As an entrepreneur, entertainment brand mogul and beauty/lifestyle authority, AJ wears many hats that complement each other well. Whether he is promoting a new singer/songwriter, working on TV or film sets, or on tour promoting his makeup, his charismatic charm and sharp disposition capture any audience. And his “Pro on the Go” tour is proving that he is in demand.

The AJ Crimson Pro line of cosmetics offers women of color friendly makeup that doesn’t ashen out our skin. The line consists of:

application, similar to what he does for his celebrity clientele, who include LeToya Luckett, Brandy and Christian Milian.

n The AJ Crimson Pro line of cosmetics offers women of color friendly make-up that doesn’t ashen out our skin.

• BB+D Cream (short for “Beauty Balm plus Vitamin D”), which serves as a moisturizer, primer and sheer foundation

• the Dual Skin Pro Pan cream concealer

• LipCheeque, which is a cream color that can be used as a blush, lip color or cream eye shadow,

• Banana Cream

• and the Universal Finishing Powder.

Using only his products, AJ demo’d a full face make-up

The event hosted about 30 of the area’s makeup enthusiasts, including host make-up artist Tara Lowery. Lowery, who specializes in bridal makeup, opened up her studio, The Make-up Lounge, to AJ to add the perfect ambiance to his product.

“I’m excited about AJ’s products,” Lowery said. “They will change a lot of clients’ perception about wearing makeup. The line brings out the natural beauty in a client.”

She’s right. During the demo on college student Brandi Fields, artists witnessed AJ take a blank canvass and enhance it with natural, realistic tones.

With AJ’s foundation products, the consumer doesn’t have to use a primer or any other “prepping” products.

Using his newest product, Dual Skin Pro Pan concealer, he highlighted and contoured the model’s face to cameraready perfection. He used the LipCheeque colors to create eye shadow dimension, and as

a blush and lip color. When it came to enhancing the brows, AJ is not a fan of the extra concealed or “housewife” brow that so many women make the mistake of rocking.

Not only did he dish on the do’s and don’ts of make-up, but he also provided beauty branding knowledge. Breaking down the concept of creating “looks,” he educated artists about adding layers of makeup.

“Every time you apply an additional product and/or layer to the face, you are creating another look,” said AJ.

As a part of the “Pro on the Go” tour, AJ was joined by fellow beauty beast, Jamaal Buster. Jamal is an eyelash guru to the stars. His lash

brand, Jamaal Buster Lashes, is a quality blend of human and synthetic fibers for a lightweight feel to the lash. His lashes include strip and individual options for a night on the town or the lady who wants to always have a little extra flair for her eyes.

The “Pro on the Go” tour still has a couple of stops left across the country in cities such as New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Houston, Dallas and San Francisco.

The price points for the line are affordable, ranging from $15- $38, and can be purchased via www.ajcrimson.com

Be sure to follow Danie Rae, Style Broker on social media sites @Danierae_stylebroker.

TEMPORARY

Continued from C1

“And not just people from Ferguson, but outside.”

Between last weekend and this Saturday, more than 150 people volunteered to paint the plywood covering the windows of area businesses.

Halaska said so many people showed up Saturday that all of the businesses who wanted to participate have been painted. He said they worked with businesses to keep the artwork in line with what they had in mind.

Many of the paintings convey messages of peace and unity, and Halaska said he has had a few people say they weren’t ready for such a pretty sentiment. “I understand that viewpoint,” he said.

Part of the reason Halaska planned the art project was so that people could build that sense of community by meeting new people. He said people from throughout the region came out to paint, from professional artists to those who said they have no artistic talent but wanted to help.

A good cross-section proving Halaska’s point showed up within 20 minutes of each other to pick up supplies at Vincenzo’s . Cousins Cheynne Harris and Quron Harris, both 17, picked carefully through all the colors of paint available. They are visual art students at Grand Center Arts Academy and said they wanted to paint something that makes people think.

“It’s easy to make a person look at something and just have one thought about it. But it’s hard to make people look at it multiple times and think, ‘What does that mean? What could it mean? What could it be?’” Cheynne Harris said.

“I want to make them think about some of the struggles

that’s been happening for people that don’t know and just might be driving past, and about the positivity that can come out of just doing stuff like this,” Quron Harris said.

Professional artist Lisa Sanditz came to paint with her grade school friend Tammy Maclean, a teacher from Olivette. “It doesn’t matter where you’re from or what you look like, painting is very therapeutic,” Maclean said. “And I think right now we all need a little healing therapy for what’s going on in our city.”

The two friends painted a colorful and healthy tree on the side of an auto parts store in Dellwood to symbolize new growth. They were joined by Adrienne Hawkins, who painted a neonhued butterfly, and Dixie Herrington, who painted Snoopy.

Hawkins is a Ferguson resident and a member of One Ferguson. She said that while her organization is focused on long-range change, it was nice to come out and help with something that has immediate impact. Aaron Dickerson of Richmond Heights also joined the group, painting a large mural of the St. Louis skyline with a dove and the words “Believe there is good in the world.” He said he also came out and painted in the Shaw neighborhood and in Ferguson. With the first boards painted in Ferguson just last week, and plans under way to take them down beginning next week, the art won’t be in place for long.

But Halaska said some of the plywood murals will have a second life –either as part of a display at the Missouri History Museum or at an art gallery.

Reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.

Follow Camille Phillips on Twitter: @cmpcamille.

AJ Crimson returned to St. Louis on Friday, December 5 to promote the newest addition to his makeup line, AJ Crimson Pro. His celebrity clientele include LeToya Luckett, Brandy and Christian Milian. Photos by John Scott

Happy Birthday to CJ Wilford, Jr. on December 13. CJ is currently living in Okinawa,

but his St. Louis family sends love and best birthday

Reunions

Beaumont High Class of 1970 is looking for team members to plan its’ 45th year reunion. Interested? Please email Beatrice Palmer (Vanzant-Smith) at bvanzantsmith@yahoo.com or bsmithrealtor@att.net.

Beaumont High Class of 1984 can stay updated via our Facebook page “Beaumont

Class of 1984”. We meet the last Friday of every month. Contact Rochelle Williams at rochellewilliams001@yahoo. com.

Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri District 3 would like to invite you to an Alumni Event. We are looking for anyone who worked in or was a member of Girl Scouts in St. Louis City. If you would like to participate, please contact Essie Harrison at essie.harrison@att.net or call (314) 400-4602 with your name, address, phone number, and email address.

Soldan Class of “75” Planning Committee is hosting a Holiday Extravaganza, Saturday, December 13, 2014, 6pm. Gents Social Club,

Celebrations

Birthdays

Happy 1st Birthday to “The Prince” Devon Lewis II. You are a blessing from God and you definitely keep me on my toes. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for you! Love always, Mommy (Tameka Bryant)

Mrs. Anita Banks celebrated her 90th birthday at a party on December 6 at Lombardo’s Trattoria, surrounded by family members and friends. Happiest Birthday wishes to this fantastic lady!

Look who’s turning 30 on December 11—Shawn Hoskin! Happy Birthday! Love, Mom and Dad

2707 N. Taylor. Celebrate the holiday with us. Prizes, Music , and Lots of Fun. Contact: Roslyn (Cookie) Williams (314) 616 4892, Arvell Roberts (314) 640 0380, or email us at soldanclass75@gmail.com . Thank You So Much For Your Service...

Sumner High School Class of 1965 is planning a 50th year reunion for June 12-14. 2015. Please join us via Facebook: Class of ‘65 Sumner High School St. Louis, MO. St. Louis Community College needs your help identifying STLCC alumni. Alumni are encouraged to visit the website: www.stlcc.edu/foundation/, to become members or update information. For more

information, contact Ashley Budde, coordinator of alumni relations, at abudde6@stlcc. edu, or 314-539-5145.

Sumner High Class of 1965 is planning its 50th Reunion on the second and fourth Mondays at 7 p.m. at the Lower Level of Ronald L. Jones Funeral Chapel. For updates and/or to leave your contact info--visit our Facebook group Sumner Class of ‘65.

Sumner High Class of 1975 has started planning its 40th reunion. Please provide contact information to sumnerclassof75@gmail.com or C. Jackson 314-477-6785 for more information.

Sumner Class of ‘76 Annual

Christmas Party, Friday, December 19, 2014, 6 pm at Deja Vu II Cafe, 2805 Target Dr, St. Louis, MO 63136. Two for one drinks (5:30 - 8 p.m.), food available to buy from kitchen, free parking, no cover charge. Please RSVPASAP with B. Louis at 314-385-9843.

Upward Bound (Webster University ) Class of ‘66 thru ‘70 of Kinloch, Beaumont, Vashon, Summer, Central, Soldan, Northwest, McKinney and Laboure, we are the process of planning a reunion around June/ July 2015. Please respond by contacting via email or Facebook Lawrence (Larry) Lewis: lewis3936@gm.com or Kenneth W. McClendon irisingridarlene@aol.com.

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, graduation, 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. Louis, MO 63103 FREE OF CHARGE

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

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

Japan,

wishes!

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2014

PRAYER VIGIL @ 10:00 AM Doors open at 9:30 AM

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church 2411 Belle Glade Avenue | St. Louis, MO

The time is NOW to unite our community in healing and rebuilding! We are NOT IN PROTEST, BUT IN PROACTIVE MOVEMENT, as we come together in our quest for restoration in Ferguson and the St. Louis metropolitan area.The community is invited to attend this important gathering of pastors and leaders. Hear inspiring words of hope, encouraging musical performances and powerful prayers of healing!

YOUTH SUMMIT @ 12:00 PM

Registration opens at 11:30 AM

Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club 2901 N. Grand Boulevard | St. Louis, MO 63107

“Empowering Youth to Make Right Choices” We are committed to uplifting and strengthening our next generation! ALL youth are invited to attend and LET YOUR VOICES BE HEARD! You are the next generation of leaders! LUNCH PROVIDED

@ 4:30

Juanita’s Fashions R Boutique 9844 W. Florissant Avenue | St. Louis, MO 63136

Join us in solidarity as we link hands in uniied prayer in support of this local business destroyed during the riots. Be a part of the collective efforts to help raise dollars to restore this valuable business back to the community.

‘Die-in’ leads to getting run over

Motorist who hit protestors taken into custody

By Bridjes O’Neil and Rebecca Rivas

Of The St. Louis American

A motorist hit several protestors who were staging a die-in in the Central West End, at about 8 p.m. on Wednesday, December 3. The incident occurred in the 300 block of N. Euclid, according to St. Louis police.

The driver told police that as he approached the intersection of Maryland and Euclid avenues in his vehicle, he observed a large group of people protesting in the intersection and attempted to pass the group. About 16 people were laying in the middle of the intersection, demonstrating their dissent to a New York City grand jury’s decision not to indict a police officer in the chokehold death of Eric Garner. His death was ruled a homicide after an NYPD officer used an illegal chokehold to restrain Garner during an arrest. In a press conference on December 3, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Justice Department is proceeding with a federal civil rights investigation into Garner’s death.

made that clear.”

On Monday, November 24, a St. Louis County grand jury decided not to indict now former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed teen Michael Brown Jr. Led by Bishop Derrick Robinson, the protest group met at Coffee Cartel and then moved to shut down the intersection for 4.5 minutes, representing the 4.5 hours that Brown lay dead in Canfield Drive before police removed his body.

“This is not a New York issue or a Ferguson issue alone.”

The driver, a 57-year-old white male, sped through the semi-circle of protestors who were protecting those lying on the ground and struck three protestors, according to a protestor involved in the incident. The witness, a 36-yearold white male who prefers not to be identified for safety reasons, said an unidentified third person not mentioned in the police report wound up on the van’s hood.

of the media (including The St. Louis American) – saw a minivan moving at about 15 miles an hour towards the group. The witness said the driver ran a stop sign before hitting them.

The driver did not stop after hitting the people but turned down Maryland. A small group of protestors chased after the car as the driver tried to get away. They surrounded it, preventing him from moving. That’s when he showed his gun and called the police. While he was surrounded, someone threw a rock through his rearview window.

observed the vehicle had sustained a broken rear window and a dent. Police recovered a large rock inside the rear passenger area of the vehicle.

The witness, along with an American reporter, saw police recover several duffle bags out of the driver’s black Chrysler minivan – information also left out of the incident report. The witness and other protestors told police they thought the duffle bags were full of guns.

When The American inquired about the duffle bags, police said the investigation is ongoing.

had been set up for Cary Ball Jr., another young, black man shot and killed by police on April 24, 2013.

Clayton die-in

Earlier at 4:30 p.m., about 200 protestors marched along the sidewalks in Clayton and then held a die-in by the Buzz Westfall Justice Center. Organized by the Gamaliel National Network, the action brought together clergy and network members from around the country.

The federal and local governments could and should do more to prevent deaths from police shootings, such as Eric Garner and Michael Brown Jr., group leaders said. John Classen, a retired businessman and Gamaliel member from the San Francisco Bay area, spoke about a federal judge’s role in reforming the Oakland Police Department. In December 2012, Oakland became the first U.S. city to voluntarily surrender authority over its command staff to a federal court-appointed director. That was after the police department failed to meet a federal judge’s 2003 order for police reforms. Because of the federal oversight, Oakland has not had a case of an officer using lethal force in 18 months, Classen said. Equally important, he said there have been no officers killed in the line of duty as well.

“This is not a New York issue or a Ferguson issue alone,” Holder said. “Those who have protested peacefully across our great nation following the grand jury’s decision in Ferguson have

An 18-year old black male was also hit, police said. The witness said police later told the group that the driver was a retired federal agent. Police sources later told The American the driver was a retired U.S. marshal working private security. Accounts differ on who acted as the aggressor –protestors or the driver. Several people participating in the action – as well as members

However, the driver told police that a group of protestors had “surrounded his vehicle and began striking, banging and throwing objects at the vehicle, breaking the rear window.”

Fearing for his safety, the driver said, he attempted to drive around the group. And as he drove, he struck protestors, he told police.

The driver stated that upon realizing his rear window had shattered, he retrieved his gun while inside of his vehicle, and then contacted police. Officers

responded, and the driver was detained and released pending further investigation. Officers

Protestors sustained minor injuries and were treated by EMS at the scene. They refused further medical attention.

Protestors then marched to The Chase Park Plaza and shut down traffic at the intersection of Lindell and Kingshighway and later at Washington and Tucker in downtown St. Louis. They successfully staged another “die-in” before marching to the Lumiere Casino on Laclede’s Landing. Afterwards, they marched to Carr Street near the Edward Jones Dome. There a memorial

The group – which includes the clergy coalition Metropolitan Congregations – is urging St. Louis County Executive Elect Steve Stenger to increase community-policing procedures throughout the county and reform the debtor’s prison system that traps the poor and minorities in prison for minor traffic violations.

“We cannot imagine a more important priority than reforming policing and judicial practices across our 91 municipalities,” the group stated in their petition. Follow these reporters on Twitter: @BridjesONeil @ rebeccarivas.

– Attorney General Eric Holder

A motorist who hit several protestors during the diein in the Central West End on December 3 was taken into custody by St. Louis police but then released, pending an investigation. He also brandished a firearm at protestors when they surrounded his vehicle.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

On December 3, a protest group met at Coffee Cartel and then moved to shut down the intersection for 4.5 minutes, representing the 4.5 hours that Michael Brown Jr. lay dead in Canfield Drive before police removed his body P hoto by Lawrence Bryant

FLAV

Continued from C1

invade our community, over and over again – and we will not be quiet. We will not go home.”

Younger generations associate him with his pioneering antics for unsavory reality television, but he paid tribute to his roots as a member of the highly political iconic rap group Public Enemy with his visit to Ferguson. He stood in the church pulpit in a pink and black fur coat, dark shades and his signature clock. But his ostentatious swag didn’t cloud his intentions as he addressed the audience.

“If we want justice for Mike Brown, if we want justice for Trayvon Martin, if we want justice for that little 12-year-old boy playing with his pellet gun we need to be on the street to get it,” Flav said.”

Nearly 25 years ago, Flav led the Public Enemy hit “911 is a Joke.” The rap classic’s subject matter suggests that law enforcement and emergency services regularly disregard communities of color.

In Ferguson he echoed the same sentiment for the justice system.

“You saw what happened yesterday with Eric Garner. They’re talking about body cameras. What are body cameras going to do? They’re not going to do nothing,” Flav said.

“Eric Garner got killed on tape. His hands were up. This man got choked out by a white policeman even after he kept telling him ‘I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.’

The whole world saw that –and yet his killer walks free.” Flav said that race is at the heart of the matter – and that law enforcement and the judicial system work together to keep it that way.

“People say it’s not about race – yes, it is about race,”

ROCK

Continued from C1

has taunted him mercilessly for a run of poor film choices.

“Top Five” is clearly heavily influenced by the work of Woody Allen in the film’s structure, cinematography and the “day in the life on the streets of New York” format.

But unlike Allen’s New York, there is actually diversity among the people that dwell and operate in the city in “Top Five,” which blends dark comedy, romantic comedy and satire. Rock proves to be relentless in his pursuit of a hit film with “Top Five,” and he calls in favors from all of his famous friends to aid him in the process. Jay Z and Kanye West are among the film’s producers. Jerry Seinfeld plays himself, Kevin Hart plays Allen’s agent and St. Louis’ own Cedric The Entertainer appears, all in brief but absolutely unforgettable

“I came out here to march with y’all for justice,” Flavor Flav hyped the crowd when he came to Ferguson to march with protestors on December 4.

Flav said. “All the people that have died were black. All the ones who did the killing were white. You never hear of a black police officer shooting and killing an unarmed white person. And we’re not dealing with years of racism, we are not dealing with decades of racism – we are dealing with centuries of racism.”

There were some moments of him preaching to the choir as he urged the group of protestors to remain peaceful and refrain from looting.

“When Mike Brown’s stepfather said ‘burn this [expletive] down,’ that wasn’t a cry of destruction, that was a cry of hurt,” Flav said. “I could understand why he felt that way – and why it wasn’t only him that felt that way.”

While there were a few twisted faces, the group just sat quietly as he talked. His words suggested that he bought into the hype that the tiny element responsible for the damage during the Ferguson unrest ago was among the masses.

performances. “Top Five” is filled with shameless cameos of comedians stealing scenes for the sake of a laugh. Although the ploy works, it wasn’t why the film was most enjoyable. Rock’s natural connection with co-star Rosario Dawson would have made “Top Five” stand on its own.

n Chris Rock’s natural connection with co-star Rosario Dawson would have made “Top Five” stand on its own without all the celebrity cameos.

The cast also features J.B. Smoove, Gabrielle Union and Romany Malco, along with the countless celebrity cameos.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

But Flav managed to recapture their attention.

“And why are they picking on him? Pick on the ones that’s got us out here acting like this – it’s the judicial system that’s got us acting like this,” Flav said. “They’ve got us going crazy right now, but we need to stop for a minute and think about what we’re doing, about what we want and how we’re gonna get it.”

The crowd erupted when he announced that he would be marching in Ferguson side by side with protestors upon leaving the church.

“I want justice for Mike Brown – and I want justice for all of these young men getting shot down and killed by these policemen and the policemen are walking free,” Flav said. “That’s why I came out to Ferguson tonight. I didn’t come out here to be a celebrity. I came out here to march with y’all for justice. I came out here to show you that my heart is just as broken as yours.”

Even though elements of the character were essentially Rock playing himself, he was able to deliver authentic moments that haven’t necessarily been a part of his essentially squeaky clean Hollywood image.

The cast, content and hiphop references may also help “Top Five” bridge a disconnect between Rock and the urban comedy/urban film fan base.

“Top Five” has all of the ingredients of a hot standup performance – profanity, explicit sexual references, punchlines that hit hard, a few duds and one or two references that go over the audience’s head.

There’s also a moment (or three) where “Top Five” slips over the thin line between hilariously raunchy and downright crude. But – like a good standup performance –“Top Five” manages to reel the audience back in before they realize what hit them.

Top Five opens in theatres nationwide on Friday, Dec. 12. The film is rated R with a running time of 95 minutes.

Winter Celebrations Continue at the Saint Louis Art Museum

The Saint Louis Art Museum invites you to join us each Sunday in December to celebrate winter festivals around the world. Sharing cultural traditions is one way for children and adults of all ages to learn to honor our similarities and to respect our differences. Last Sunday, the Museum kicked-off this year’s Winter Celebrations with a family day dedicated to honoring Mexican culture and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In collaboration with the Mexican Cultural Society of St. Louis, families enjoyed Mexican art, dance, and music, including a spectacular ballet folklorico performance and refreshments.

The sharing of cultures through winter celebrations will continue this Sunday, December 14 with an afternoon filled with music, storytelling, and art activities centered around Hanukkah: The Jewish Festival of Lights. Beginning at noon, families can take part in an art project inspired by Jewish artist Roy Lichtenstein and learn about Hanukkah with a scavenger hunt through the collection. At 2:00 pm Rhythm ‘N’ Ruach and Barbara Raznick take the auditorium stage for an interactive program connecting children and the young at heart with an upbeat, high- energy musical and storytelling performance. Visitors can enjoy

hot chocolate and cookies following the performance (kosher treats provided).

All Family Sunday activities are free and open to the public. While the performance is free, a ticket is required for entry to the auditorium. Tickets can be reserved in person at the Museum’s Information Centers or through MetroTix (314.534.1111). Tickets reserved through MetroTix incur a $3 per ticket service charge; the charge is waived for tickets picked up at the Museum. We’ll celebrate Christmas on Sunday, December 21 with a showing of the hit Disney movie Frozen and traditional carols. Winter Celebrations will conclude with the Museum’s annual Kwanzaa extravaganza on Sunday, December 28. Kwanzaa: Honoring our Past, Strengthening our Present is sponsored in collaboration with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., St. Louis Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter. We hope that you will join us every Sunday in December for our free Family Programs: Winter Celebrations. Visitors of all ages will enjoy exploring a different winter holidays each week with art activities, performances and refreshments. For more information please visit www.slam.org.

Family Sundays are sponsored by Wells Fargo Advisors.

Time for Ferguson. I want to send a heartfelt shout out to the folks at Time magazine for giving the Ferguson protesters shine as second place for their coveted Person of the Year for 2014. It was clearly a close call, but playing second to the folks who contained the Ebola virus is nothing to scoff about, if you ask me. And I loved, loved, loved the feature that Time had about Ferguson on their website – which gave nods to some of the familiar faces in the movement like Johnetta Elzie, DeRay McKesson and Brittany Packnett. I want to show love to all of the people who had a hand in grabbing the world’s attention with their reaction to the tragic death of Michael Brown Jr. – especially those names we will never know who stood strong from the very beginning in streets of Canfield demanding justice. Two thumbs up for ‘Top Five.’ I made my way to the midday screening of Chris Rock’s newest film “Top Five” presented by Radio One St. Louis yesterday afternoon at the oh so plush MX Theatre downtown. I had to make some magic happen to get this scoop for y’all and not miss deadline, so you’re welcome. I’ll tell you what, if I take that stairway to heaven up to the theatre level twice a week I won’t need to go to anybody’s cardio pump class. But back to the screening … Y’all didn’t have a single care in the world about quietly dusting work for a few hours to see what the fuss was about! So many people stopped through that some had to be turned away. And that scramble to find a seat struggle was real! It was partly because Chris Rock breezed through to say hello and ask the folks who got the hookup for the free screening to tell their friends to support the movie so he doesn’t end up on “Love and Hip-Hop.” Please tell your cousins not to holler out “I see you, Pookie,” as the man promotes his movie. He probably talked bad about St. Louis the whole plane ride to his next promo city. He told the people to get on social media and help him get the word out – and said if they didn’t like the movie, to keep that a secret. Well, based on gags and hollers throughout the course of the movie, I don’t think he has too much to worry about as far as people not liking the film. Let me tell you, I know I missed six jokes because of the residual laughter from the previous jokes. And when Cedric The Entertainer came on the screen offering an unforgettable “hot mess moment” – St. Louis movie fans got a large bucket of life with extra butter-like oil substance. Anyway, y’all know as a straightno-chaser that I wouldn’t send you to any type of mess. And I’m telling you to go see “Top Five.” You won’t be sorry.

Marquee nights. Okay, now back to your regularly scheduled Partyline programming. Man, I’m telling you I’m going to ask Dre and Melanie to switch out one of those couches in the one of the upper level VIP sections a pullout and camouflage a chest of drawers into the wall for my personal effects as much time as I’ve been spending up in the Marquee over the past few weeks. It started the day before Thanksgiving with Grace, and it looks like it’s going to carry up into the New Year. I can’t say that I’m mad about it. I like variety up in Partyline as much as y’all do, but if there’s not much else crackin’ then what’s a girl to do? She’ll perch at the Marquee all weekend – that’s what she’ll do. It was cute enough both Friday and Saturday night.

Umbrella at the Goat. I also made my way to the Rustic Goat to show some love to Raphael and the rest of the Umbrella Group crew Saturday night. I must say that their crowd is usually quite soulful, but things were more subdued and grown for the moment I popped my head up in there. It was a nice little look.

DELUX holiday with Dwele. Speaking of Rustic Goat, Dwele Unplugged will be the featured experience for the DELUX Magazine holiday concert and party this Sunday evening (December 14). It’s the perfect opportunity to get decked out and cake up with your boo thang (yes, I said thang) as he oh so quietly demands you to get into his whispery jazzy neo-soul offerings. I can’t wait to peep the vibe and energy with this one right here. Please note that the start time is slated for 5 p.m., so I wouldn’t recommend you moseying through at standard club time or you might miss out.

A Platinum Christmas. It’s that time of the year again when Jacque and Leata Land present one of my favorite holiday parties of the season with their annual “Have a Platinum Christmas” Holiday Party and Networking Symposium. They’ll be returning to the Polish Heritage Center and it’s your opportunity to get some great holiday grub, get your groove on and mingle with some of the STL VIPs. A portion of the proceeds will go to families in need for the holiday season – including those affected by the Ferguson unrest. Be sure to call (314) 660-9610 or e-mail platinumgroup02@gmail. com for more information.

Cackling with Corey Holcomb. One of my favorite comics is making his annual visit to STL next weekend and I.CAN’T.WAIT. Corey Holcomb – who I feel one of the most underrated comedians on the scene – will be hitting the stage NEXT Saturday (Dec. 20) at the Ambassador. I know I’ve seen him at least five times and I can’t remember one time where I didn’t leave having laughed my Betty Boop lashes clean off my face. I’m willing to bet that it will be more of the same on December 20. I don’t have all of the details, but I’m also willing to bet that my brother from another mother Jessie Taylor will be in the building as well. Those two have been tight for almost as long as I’ve known Jessie to do comedy – so I’m sure he will be given room to rip the stage down as a featured performer.

It was all eyes on Anikia and Nichole as the two stopped through to kick it with The Umbrella Group Saturday @ The Rustic Goat

Tabby and Deeana were in the building as friends celebrated birthdays Saturday @ The Rustic Goat.

Erika and Melanie came out to help the Rams bask in the glory of back to back wins Sunday night @ Envy

Fat-Fat and Daryel Oliver were making sure the crowd was in good spirits and enjoying themselves Saturday night @ The Rustic Goat

Keisha and Michelle joined the party @ The Marquee for element Saturdays

Some of the St. Louis Rams stopped through Envy Sunday night to celebrate their second straight shutout with their win against the Washington Redskins

Ed and Tina came out to be a part of Umbrella Group’s Life of the Party Saturday night @ The Rustic Goat

Ne’cole, Jeanne, and Stephanie hung out in their booth @ the Rustic Goat Saturday

Triky and Keith of Koncepts helped show the St. Louis Rams plenty of hospitality Sunday night @ Envy

STL star DJ Kut was the host with the most as A-list comedian and film star Chris Rock stopped through MX downtown Wednesday afternoon for Radio One St. Louis’ screening of his upcoming film “Top Five,” which opens in theatres nationwide tomorrow.

Photos by Lawrence Bryant & John Scott

CONSTRUCTION

St. Louis Regional Convention & Sports Complex Authority Position Available

ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority (the Authority) is seeking an Assistant Executive Director. The Authority is a statutorily-created entity that owns the Edward Jones Dome, currently the home field of the St. Louis Rams and functions as an integral part of the America’s Center Complex in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.

The Assistant ED will assist the ED who acts as custodian of the Authority’s assets and is responsible to the eleven member board for all activities entrusted to the Authority by its sponsoring governmental entities.

The applicant must have a minimum of fifteen (15) years of financing, design and/or construction of large projects and proven leadership skills in dealing with contractors, consultants and governing bodies. ABachelor’s degree in Architecture, Engineering, Finance, or equivalent, is required.

63101. Amore detailed job description may be obtained by calling 314/342-5320.

REQUESTFOR BIDS

REQUESTFOR AUDIT PROPOSALS

REQUEST FOR BIDS

REQUESTFOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

The City of St. Louis Department of Health (DOH) is requesting proposals from organizations or individuals to conduct surveillance of City residents around obesity and obesity-related indicators. Interested parties are encouraged to respond to the solicitation for proposal beginning December 2nd, 2014. An RFPpacket may be obtained from Carl Filler,1520 Market Street, Room 4038, phone 314-657-1521, email fillerc@stlouis-mo.gov or downloaded from the St. Louis City website at www.stlouismo.gov/government/procurement.cfm. The deadline for submitting proposals is 5:00pm Wednesday, December 24th, 2014 at the above address.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Breckinridge School of Nursing and Health Sciences – Earth City, MO (US17404100) is requesting any Public Comments regarding the Associate of Science of Nursing Degree program Routine Site Survey by the Missouri State Board of Nursing Educational Division. The Routine Site Survey is schedule for January 28, 2015 starting at 8:00am. Please feel free to forward any comments to: Missouri State Board of Nursing Attention: Education Division 3605 Missouri Boulevard P.O. Box 656 Jefferson City, MO 65102-0656 573.751.0681 Telephone 573.751.0075 Fax 800.735.2966 TTY 800.735.2466 Voice Relay nursing@pr.mo.gov http://pr.mo.gov/nursing.asp

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

CANDIDATE FILING DATES

CAP, MOKAN and MCI. Plans and specifications are available for purchase by contacting CrossRhodes Reprographics, 1712 Macklind Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63118 [Phone (314) 678-0087]. Project requirements include goals of 10% MBE and 5%WBE participation.

If you should have any questions or would like to find out more detailed information on this project, please contact Evan Chiles 636-561-9544 or emchiles@paric.com PARIC CORPORATION IS AN EQUALOPPORTUNITYEMPLOYER

REQUESTFOR BIDS

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PUBLISHER’S NOTICE:

Why I got arrested in Ferguson

‘We have nothing to lose but our chains!’

By Lisa Sharon Harper For CNN

It seems every few months for the past few decades we witness fresh protests to push a prosecutor to indict the killer of a black man – especially if that killer is white.

In fact, these protests have become commonplace, even expected, as if protestors are stock characters in a national theatrical classic, revived in cities across the country every year.

When Michael Brown Jr. was shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on August 9, it looked like Ferguson, Missouri, was going to serve as just one more stop on the national tour of this classic drama. But it didn’t.

We have seen the officer, security guard or vigilante assailant – protected from arrest and whisked out of the reach of the angry black people. We have seen indictments await grand jury approval. We have seen prosecutors bungle trials.

But when was the last time we saw the local police department turn on the crowd with the militarized force and vitriol demonstrated by Ferguson and St. Louis County’s finest?

When was the last time that we saw a prosecutor and governor play political games to avoid a recusal?

And when was the last time we saw the prosecutor try a case as both defending attorney and prosecutor – sharing the

defendant’s evidence along with his own and offering no instructions to the jury on what charge the evidence warrants?

That is why I joined thousands in Ferguson for the #FergusonOctober protests and the faith community’s #MoralMonday civil disobedience.

We confessed our complicity in the deaths of Michael Brown Jr. and Ezell Ford and Jonathan Crawford and Eric Garner and VonDerrit Myers Jr. and … and … and. …

We confessed our acceptance of the national drama that helped set the conditions for their deaths.

We consecrated the grounds of the Ferguson police station by drawing the tracing of a dead body that symbolized Michael

The Message

Listen up to God

if God says it’s your turn to do His bidding, carry His message or simply let others see Him in you. You cannot refuse God when He comes a knocking.

We called them to repent for their complicity in the deaths of Michael Brown Jr. and VonDerrit Myers Jr. and the protection of police assailants encased in privilege and process.

We confessed our acceptance of unjust theatrics that lulled us to silence and complicity when trials never came and prosecutors never defended the dead.

We consecrated the grounds of the Ferguson police station by drawing the tracing of a dead body that symbolized Michael Brown Jr.’s.

We read the names of unarmed black men who died at the hands of police, security guards or vigilantes last year. We stood face to face with officers sworn to uphold injustice.

And I stood face to face with an officer and shared my own story of awakening. I met

n I said to the officer in front of me: “I have to do this.” He answered: “You know I have to do this, too.”

a group of young people from Ferguson at the protests on West Florissant Avenue in midAugust. They were frustrated –fighting hopelessness and fear. They worried that they could meet the same end as their friend.

Clergy from the historic black church, the mainline church, the evangelical church, the Catholic Church, Jewish rabbis and Muslim imams approached officers offering the opportunity to confess and

The couple recently lost their home.

Sam lives in Jefferson County and is the sole bread-winner in his family. His wife has two sickly elderly parents. The couple has three kids under twelve. He makes $10,500 annually. They have past due heating bills mounting to $1,100.

Finally there is Georgette, a single parent, who lives in Metro East. Despite having to take care of her of four kids, and her elderly mother, she manages to work. She makes about $9,500 annually cleaning homes. Two of Georgette's smallest children are disabled. She attempts to pay something on her $900 past due utility bills, while making tough choices on life’s essentials.

repent of their complicity with the system that terrorizes black and brown men and boys.

Then we declared to the officers that we only wanted to meet with the Ferguson police chief.

We took one step forward, and the police in front of us pushed back with their batons. I leaned in and pressed against the police line. I said to the officer in front of me: “I have to do this.”

He answered: “You know I have to do this, too.”

I passed through the line and was arrested. Four by four, more than 40 demonstrators were arrested.

We were handcuffed and loaded into police wagons, where we continued to chant the words of the young people who have been arrested daily since Brown’s death: “We have a duty to fight. We have a duty to win. We must love and respect each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains!”

Lisa Sharon Harper is Sojourners’ senior director of mobilizing. She is the author of three books, including “Forgive Us: Confessions of a Compromised Faith.”

In scripture it’s understood that God uses people in the strangest ways. God uses strange people to carry out His will. The Bible is made up of “strange” men and women, chosen by God to exercise heavenly strength here on earth. Moses was a murderer. Paul killed a few Jesus lovers in his time. Rahab was a ho and Jacob was – well, y’all know all about Jacob’s shortcomings. God uses the least of us to carry out His plan in spite of what we think we’re capable or worthy of. Most of the prophets were reluctant participants in how God’s message for His people was delivered. Most did not want anything to do with carrying the Word either because they didn’t think they were worthy or they didn’t think the people would listen.

James A. Washington

Ask yourself: what are you reluctant to do in the name of God? Only you know if you’re in denial. Only you know if you’re trying to convince God to choose somebody else. How long will it take you to realize, as they all did, that sooner or later you’re going to do what God is commanding you to do?

We should all be mindful that the hand of the Lord is at work where He deems it will do the most good. Regardless of what we think, anyone and everyone is a candidate for greatness in the eyes of the Almighty, including you.

I used to think that only the one who was called to preach had the gift of ministry. Try telling that to anyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Slowly I’ve come to accept, we all have a ministry according to the will of God.

Neither economic status, social class or educational attainment means anything

You might want to get to that conclusion before God stops asking you do anything and starts telling you. God just might take no as your answer and abandon you all together. The measure of your life and mine is how we respond to God’s call, and not how hard we work, even if that work is somehow judged by us as benefiting others. We all must still obey, according to what we’re called to do. God will not allow Himself to be confusing to you. He is talking all the time. The key for us is to make a very deliberate and conscious effort to hear Him. That requires persistence and prayer.

I’m trying to hear God each and every day. I continue to say very loudly and clearly that Jesus is Lord and if you also believe this, then you better tell somebody.

Sarah, a senior citizen lives on social security in St. Charles County. Her past due utility bill is $350. She suffers with heart disease and arthritis, paying about $500 monthly for her

Brown Jr.’s. Photo by Lawrence Bryant